An Introduction for “The Big Hump” written by Gary Smith
26 February 2020
If you ever wanted insight into Marine Corp life, you are sure to get your fix in Gary Smiths 2020 essay about a drill in the day of a life of an American Marine soldier. Gary’s prose is lax, almost bored when describing his officers, soldiers and things to do. But his sassy quips and textured details is what brings the piece alive. It describes the life of someone who feels so much physically, and suppresses much emotionally. It is the perfect storm of an essay. And without any dilly dally, I will delve into what the essay does and how it works.
The form of the essay is personal. As far as I know, “The Big Hump” is a personal essay which recollects the author’s time serving in the U.S. Marines. The title “The Big Hump” refers to a type of drill Marines are often made to do in order to build up their strength and stamina in the field. Written in first person (because he is recalling a memory), and is written in chronological order as the author lays out the day for the reader. My first thought of the title was its meaning, which I thought had something to do with Wednesday since our creative non-fiction workshop takes place on Wednesday nights and Wednesdays are usually referred to as “hump day”.
The intention of the piece is to let the reader in on the culture of the Marines. (Or any U.S. military faction) The author describes the moods and behaviors of his fellow soldiers and gives his little anecdotes about past behavior in the ranks. “The colonel stops in the road facing us as we file past him. He seems pleased with our enthusiasm, and if you really look close, he might have a smile on his face. Or he’s having a stroke. I’m sure he’ll let someone know if that’s the case” (7). Another anecdote that lets us in the culture is when the author describes the marching activity. “Some teasing will start among the ranks, which is unusually taken well. You get made fun of, you make fun of your buddy, it’s all fair game and not many mean anything by it. Occasionally though, your constant ribbing in the Marine Corps takes a turn for the worse. There have been some pretty bloody fights that started because a guy wasn’t in the mood for someone’s bullshit, or someone didn’t understand when to let it be” (7).
The theme of the piece is about how suffering is bearable depending on what you surround yourself with. The simple things. “I sit in the shower until the hot water runs out, or I run out of beer” (9). Another anecdote is about his drill instructor who “in boot camp sang his cadence to the melody of Pink Floyd songs. It was very impressive as the guy could sing, but not one thing he sang was an actual word” (3).
The tone of the author sounds tired, but a little bit smartassy. There are little comments that the author throws in that make an annoying person or statement be more funny or acceptable to the reader. Like when the author describes the Ops officer. “Captain What’s-his-Name from Operations is going over there now to kiss ass or whatever it is that Ops officers do. He approaches, salutes and seems to want to join in on the joke. He looks like someone’s sad kid brother; if sad kid brother were assholes and everyone hated them” (2).
The intended audience of this essay seems to be people who have served sometime in any military faction in America. I don’t know what an “Osprey or a nice REI pack” (4) is, so I think those who have served in the military will be able to grasp onto the language.
There you have it. A collection of my thoughts of “The Big Hump” all packed up and read to march off into a hump with. As you read the essay, think: have io really been lumping all military factions together as if they do not separately have their own cultures to navigate?
Carolina Reyes