Johnny Got His Gun is a novel written by Dalton Trumbo and published in 1939. It tells the story of Joe Bonham, a young man who has been severely injured in World War I and is now confined to a hospital bed, unable to move or communicate. Despite his injuries, Joe is fully aware of his surroundings and is able to think and reflect on his life and the world around him.
The novel is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of the horrors and absurdity of war. Through the eyes of Joe Bonham, the reader is able to see the devastating effects of war on the human body and psyche. Trumbo does not shy away from depicting the grisly details of Joe's injuries, and the reader is left with a sense of the true cost of war.
One of the most striking aspects of Johnny Got His Gun is its use of stream-of-consciousness storytelling. Trumbo uses this technique to great effect, allowing the reader to experience the world through the eyes of Joe Bonham. This makes the novel feel intimate and personal, and helps the reader to feel a strong connection to the main character.
Another notable feature of the novel is its anti-war message. Trumbo makes it clear that he believes war is a pointless and destructive endeavor that serves only to benefit those in power. He presents a compelling argument against the glorification of war and the willingness of people to sacrifice their lives for their country.
Overall, Johnny Got His Gun is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that forces the reader to confront the harsh realities of war. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the human cost of conflict and the dangers of blindly following the calls of nationalistic pride.
Johnny Got His Gun movie review (1971)
He was so sure the idea of no mouth was a dream that he could investigate it calmly. The acting isn't superb and some lines could have been different. The most important thing is your life little guys. War has many levels that are only explored physically and mentally by the soldier lying on the battlefield in the soundly chaos of the explosions. If you want to read a really good book about WW I - why young people decided to sign up for it, what it was like at the front, and what the war did to people - read Remarque's If you want to read a really good book about WW I - why young people decided to sign up for it, what it was like at the front, and what the war did to people - read Remarque's Instead of showing what actually happened at the front, Trumbo lets Joe ramble in his hospital bed, and his statements are not only abstract and simplistic, some of them are plain stupid.
Johnny Got His Gun: Full Book Summary
Trumbo uses the stream of consciousness technique, with less punctuation and capitalisation than is warranted, and the reader is plunged into a world of tortuous sentences that run on and on, interspersed with short staccato ones; and also beautiful passages tinged with nostalgia. Not even if you're so great your name will never be forgotten and who's that great? He was not terribly interested in the political agenda of the American Communist Party and dropped it in the mid 1940s to instead put his efforts into unionization. It is developed through a sustained interior monologue on a series of flashbacks to Johnny's infancy , his first and only night with his love interest -performed by Kathy Fields- , before leaving for the front , his employment in the local bakery and his relationship to his father- Jason Robards- and Christ well played by Donad Sutherland , including some breathtaking images in a train. He would never again be able to see sunlight or the stars or the little grasses that grow on a Colorado hillside. Isn't that message that this one human life was and is so valuable? But one American soldier has paid a price beyond measure. . Just say mister I'm sorry I got no time to die I'm too busy and then turn and run like hell.
Book Review: Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
He was targeted by McCarthy, and imprisoned for a year for standing on his 5th Amendment rights by refusing to testify before McCarthy's committee. I would describe this similar to someone trying to express themselves while having a panic attack or having a manic episode. For some reason, I group this book with I Am the Cheese, maybe because all three have similar themes of spoiled youth and corrupt government machinations. I just wish he'd do more movies. What a kick in the guts! Sheer joy in just being recognized. Pay no attention when they tap you on the shoulder and say come along we've got to fight for liberty or whatever their word is there's always a word. It blew my mind.
Johnny Got His Gun
Here was a loyal young American who went off and was hideously injured for no grand cause, and whose alert mind lives on as a staggering condemnation of powers that be who sent all the young men away to do this to one another. Certainly the whims and vagaries of official taste in the Stalinist Soviet Union were at least rivalled by the shifting mass opinion manufactured in the American political system. I was finishing the last page on an airplane and an 80 year old yoga teacher looked at me and quietly summed up this book. Only it's a special kind of word. That relationship can be an infatuational fling, a carnal attraction, a passionate love, a committed best friend, a life partner. One of the Highland regiments went over the top in its first battle behind forty kilted bagpipers, skirling away for all they were worth—at machine guns.
Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
What's noble about having your legs and arms blown off? But there are no brass bands and no welcome home for Joe. All of Joe's limbs are cut off, as well as his nose, mouth and ears. There's even a part where Joe talks to Jesus Christ himself, who tells him it is almost impossible to discern reality from dreams. He tried to work his jaws and he had no jaws. It should be noted that Dalton Trumbo 1905-1976 , author of the book and director of the movie was a brilliant Hollywood screenwriter who also wrote the scripts for several Academy Award winning movies such as Exodus, Roman Holiday, Spartacus and The Brave One.
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
The shell lands practically on top of him, but he somehow survives. VIDEO AND AU DIO Presented in 1. He was so surprised at not yelling when he tried that he began to work his jaws like a man who has found something interesting and wants to test it. The story takes place in the mind of a quadruple amputee who has also lost his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Trumbo refused to give information.
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
But so much more has been written since, with so much more graphic detail of the personal and national consequences of combat, that Johnny seems little more now than a tame historical relic which has more to teach about aesthetics in a democracy than pacifism. By 1939, he had a meteoric rise as screenwriter. What's noble about lying in the ground and rotting? It purely presents a set of circumstances. To me Dalton Trumbo epitomizes the genuinely anti establishment individual,not wanting to appear angry or discontented because it is stylish or in vogue, but being angry and discontented because unlike the rest of us he knows the true state of things and how deceptive our happy go lucky society really is. His career was effectively destroyed. Put the guns into our hands and we will use them. It's perhaps the juxtaposition of hope with hopelessness, and the condemnation by young men whose lives are destroyed of their elders.
