Previous
Captain Blackstone
Sergeant Jelal is Lieutenant Rasczak’s platoon sergeant and right-hand man until the Lieutenant’s death, when he is promoted to platoon commander. Jelly is of Finnish and Turkish descent, and he was born on one of the Terran Federation colonies. His elevated position in the platoon’s hierarchy thus demonstrates the meritocratic impulse of the Federal Service, in which personal character is far more important than race or birthright. Jelly is demanding on duty but friendly off duty, a sort of “mother” to his men. And he ignores doctrine to allow Ace and Johnnie to make it back to the retrieval boat when they must retrieve a wounded soldier, Dizzy Flores. This shows his devotion to the cohesion and safety of the group, as he also risks his own life to complete the pickup.
Sergeant Jelal (Jelly) Quotes in Starship Troopers
The Starship Troopers quotes below are all either spoken by Sergeant Jelal (Jelly) or refer to Sergeant Jelal (Jelly). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 14
Quotes
“Another Bug hunt, boys. This one is a little different, as you know. Since they still hold prisoners of ours, we can’t use a nova bomb on Klendathu—so this time we go down, stand on it, hold it, take it away from them. The boat won’t be down to retrieve us; instead it’ll fetch more ammo and rations. If you’re taken prisoner, keep your chin up and follow the rules—because you’ve got the whole outfit behind you, you’ve got the whole Federation behind you; we’ll come and get you. […]
“Don’t forget that we’ll have help all around us, lots of help above us. All we have to worry about is our one little piece, just the way we rehearsed it.
“One last thing. I had a letter from Captain Jelal just before we left. He says that his new legs work fine. But he also told me to tell you that he’s got you in mind … and he expects your names to shine!
“And so do I. Five minutes for the Padre.”
I felt myself beginning to shake.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Starship Troopers LitChart as a printable PDF.
Sergeant Jelal (Jelly) Quotes in Starship Troopers
The Starship Troopers quotes below are all either spoken by Sergeant Jelal (Jelly) or refer to Sergeant Jelal (Jelly). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 14
Quotes
“Another Bug hunt, boys. This one is a little different, as you know. Since they still hold prisoners of ours, we can’t use a nova bomb on Klendathu—so this time we go down, stand on it, hold it, take it away from them. The boat won’t be down to retrieve us; instead it’ll fetch more ammo and rations. If you’re taken prisoner, keep your chin up and follow the rules—because you’ve got the whole outfit behind you, you’ve got the whole Federation behind you; we’ll come and get you. […]
“Don’t forget that we’ll have help all around us, lots of help above us. All we have to worry about is our one little piece, just the way we rehearsed it.
“One last thing. I had a letter from Captain Jelal just before we left. He says that his new legs work fine. But he also told me to tell you that he’s got you in mind … and he expects your names to shine!
“And so do I. Five minutes for the Padre.”
I felt myself beginning to shake.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
