Soldier's Heart

by Gary Paulsen

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Student Question

In "Soldier's Heart," why does Nelson ask Charley to load his rifle and remove his shoe after his stomach wound?

Quick answer:

Nelson asks Charley to load his rifle and remove his shoe because he has a fatal stomach wound and faces a slow, painful death. He intends to use the loaded rifle to end his life, pulling the trigger with his toe. Nelson requests the shoe removal under the pretense of an itch, but it is part of his plan to avoid an agonizing death. Charley complies, understanding the hopelessness of the situation.

Expert Answers

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Nelson knows that a stomach wound is fatal, and that the ambulance drivers, if they even came, would not take him to be treated by the surgeons.  Nelson faces "an agonizingly slow death - it might take two days - and ...pain (that) left men screaming until they were too hoarse to make another sound".  Rather than die like that, Nelson plans to take his own life.  He asks Charley to reload his rifle "just in case the Rebs come back", and to remove his right shoe because of "a powerful itch" on his foot, leaving the fact that there is no hope for him unsaid.  Nelson plans to shoot himself with his own weapon, pointing the muzzle towards himself and pulling the trigger with his toe.  Charley, though he tries to feign nonchalance, knows that there is nothing he can do for his friend, and so complies with his last requests (Chapter 6).

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