Johnny Got His Gun

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"There's nothing noble about dying. Not even if you die for honor. Not even if you die the greatest hero the world ever saw. Not even if you're so great your name will never be forgotten and who's that great? The most important thing is your life, little guys. You're worth nothing dead except for speeches. Don't let them kid you any more. 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."

A 1938 novel by Dalton Trumbo that became a rallying point for the political left during World War II. It follows a young man named Joe Bonham, who, after becoming grievously injured during World War One, is left deaf, blind, dumb, and without any limbs. Throughout the book, Joe reminisces about the life he lost, waxes philosophical on war and conscription, and tries desperately to communicate with the doctors keeping him alive.

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Tropes:

• And I Must Scream
• Armies Are Evil: A nurse realizes that Joe is banging his head against the headstand in Morse Code. But she doesn't know Morse. So she brings in an officer to translate. When the officer realizes that Joe is asking to be either displayed as a monument to the horrors of war or permitted to die, all his response is missing is an Evil Laugh - probably because he doesn't want the nurse to interfere.

What you ask is against regulations.

• Author Tract
• Based on a True Story: Trumbo claims he came up with the idea for Johnny Got His Gun after reading an article about the Prince of Wales's visit to a soldier who had lost all of his limbs and senses in a Canadian veterans' hospital.
  • Trumbo stated this in a New York Times interview shortly after the Johnny Got His Gun movie came out and it's been repeated ad nauseam. But no one ever seems to have looked into it.
• The Blank
• Body Horror
• Character Filibuster: Joe in the last two chapters.
• Contemplate Our Navels: Well, that's all he can do.
• Cruel Twist Ending: The military officer's response to Joe's request to be put on display to show the public what happens to people like him who are unwillingly sent out to die: What you ask is against regulations. Who are you? Leads right into the Downer Ending.
• Downer Ending
• Fate Worse Than Death: Let's say that you're blind and deaf, you can't move because you have no limbs, you can't talk aside from banging your head in Morse code, and you can't even tell if you're dreaming or not. Now imagine having to live this way for what seems to be several years. That's Joe's situation in a nutshell.
• Filk Song: Metallica's "One". They even purchased the rights for the movie to use it in the video.
• The Film of the Book: A film adaptation was made in 1971, written and directed by Trumbo.
• Hope Spot: When Joe finally manages to get his anti-draft message across to the people.
• Messianic Archetype: Joe sees himself as this as he continues to think about his unique condition.
• Sarcastic Title: The book is fiercely anti-war, but the title comes from the American World War One rallying slogan 'Johnny get your gun'.
• War Is Hell: One of the central messages of the novel and film.