Impressionable men in the squadron like Dobbs and Captain Flume were so deeply disturbed by Hungry Joe's shrieking nightmares that they woudl begin to have shrieking nightmares of their own, and the piercing obscenities they flung into the air every night from their separate places in the squadron rang against each other in the darkness romantically like the mating calls of songbirds with filthy minds.
(Impressionable men in the squadron like Dobbs and Captain Flume were so deeply disturbed by Hungry Joe's shrieking nightmares that they woudl begin to have shrieking nightmares of their own, and the piercing obscenities they flung into the air every night from their separate places in the squadron rang against each other in the darkness romantically like the mating calls of songbirds with filthy minds.)
I berättelsen påverkas karaktärer som Dobbs och Captain Flume alltmer av hungriga Joes intensiva och störande mardrömmar. De befinner sig som delar i skräcken när sina egna drömmar förvandlas till liknande mardrömliga upplevelser och visar kraften i kollektiva trauma inom skvadronen.
Denna delade psykologiska oro manifesteras i form av höga och obscena utbrott under natten. Dessa utgrider, även om de är fyllda med förtvivlan, tar en poetisk kvalitet när de resonerar i mörkret, påminner om Birdsong, om än besläktade med en grotesk vridning. Jämförelsen belyser den bisarra skärningspunkten mellan skönhet och skräck i deras upplevelser.