‘”No,’ Hideki said. ‘No, if we attack them, we’re their enemy. When they’re not under attack, when they’re not afraid, the Americans are human beings. They actually helped me. Gave me medicine. Sewed up my head.'”

This quote is significant as it is comments on human nature and how humans no longer become humans when they are afraid. This quote shows the perspective of the narrator who experienced the war and saw what both sides were like when they started fighting. This quote adds deeper meaning to the book Grenade and it shows how under the mask of war, violence, and hatred, there are still human beings underneath. The quote also demonstrates how Hideki has a deeper understanding of the situation than others. When they came across problems, Hideki wanted to resolve them peacefully while his companions to use violence. For example, when faced with the problem of crossing over an area guarded by a machine gun nest, Kimiko, Hideki’s sister, wanted to use the last grenade on the nest while Hideki was in favor of distracting the soldiers in the nest rather than killing them. This quote stands out because it seems like a simple observation but it has a lot of meaning to it. This also connects to the larger issue of war and how soldiers aren’t themselves when they are fighting. This quote also foreshadows later when a young boy was shot by an American soldier out of fear. The soldier was afraid because the Imperial Japanese army attached explosives to civilians who had no part in the war and sent them toward the American army. However, when they realized that Hideki, the kids, and his sister weren’t a threat, they sent them to a refugee camp where they received food, water, and medical attention. If Hideki had taken an alternate path and used the grenade, he probably would have died by an American hand. When people are afraid, they become animals, returning to our survival instincts where we will do anything, even kill innocent people, to protect ourselves from an external threat.