Starship Troopers (novel): Difference between revisions

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* [[Corporal Punishment]]: Discussed at length. In the Mobile Infantry, any and all corporal punishment -- from a [[Dope Slap]] to a ''summary execution'' is legal... as long as the punisher can demonstrate that it was necessary and reasonable. Nor is it restricted to the military -- it's a civilian criminal sentence as well, and even ''public schools'' are mentioned to (rarely) use it on students.

** [[A Taste of the Lash]]: A common judicial punishment both in the military and in civilian life. It's mentioned as the sentence for everything from drunk driving to dereliction of duty. One notable scene has Rico watching a whipping being carried out; he passes out just from ''watching'' halfway through. He's later whipped himself (though fewer lashes) and describes it as ''easier'' than watching. In both cases it's explicitly mentioned inflict ''pain'' but not ''harm''. The conditions of the whipping are carefully controlled and the subject receives medical attention immediately afterwards -- it doesn't even leave scars.

* [[Death From Above]] via [[~~Its~~ Raining Men]]: Mobile Infantry troopers are dropped from orbit to land in a combat zone. They also have weapons that can "glass" a planet's surface from orbit but are reluctant to destroy the valuable real estate they're fighting over; it's mentioned that later in the war [[Earthshattering Kaboom|planet-buster bombs]] get developed. They are also reluctant to kill sapient beings unnecessarily so they only use the force needed to accomplish their mission.

* [[Death From Above]] via [[It's Raining Men]]: Mobile Infantry troopers are dropped from orbit to land in a combat zone. They also have weapons that can "glass" a planet's surface from orbit but are reluctant to destroy the valuable real estate they're fighting over; it's mentioned that later in the war [[Earthshattering Kaboom|planet-buster bombs]] get developed. They are also reluctant to kill sapient beings unnecessarily so they only use the force needed to accomplish their mission.

* [[Dear John Letter]]: Played with. When at OCS Johnny claims he and Carmen were dating, but she sent him a "Dear John". This is technically true, since he and Carmen went on a few dates, nothing serious, and she always begins her (occasional) letters with "Dear John". Essentially, Johnny is playing up the trope to gain some street cred.

* [["Dear John" Letter]]: Played with. When at OCS Johnny claims he and Carmen were dating, but she sent him a "Dear John". This is technically true, since he and Carmen went on a few dates, nothing serious, and she always begins her (occasional) letters with "Dear John". Essentially, Johnny is playing up the trope to gain some street cred.

* [[Defector From Decadence]]: Johnnie, who joins the Mobile Infantry to prove himself instead of just climbing the ladder in his father's company.

* [[Desk Jockey]]/[[Soldiers At the Rear]]: Both doubly subverted; Everyone in the MI fights, and other support jobs are either done by the Navy or farmed out to civilian contractors. Because all MI officers fight, and they drop first (and therefore sustain a higher casualty rate than enlisted men), officers often find themselves juggling multiple desk jobs along with their combat duty.

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{{quote| '''Thirty Second Bomb''': I'm a 30 second bomb! I'm a 30 second bomb! 29, 28...}}

* [[Fantastic Racism]]: most of the human characters in the book knows they might have to exterminate the Bugs to win, and are basically okay with that ("Us or them" is the exact phrase). Arguably a [[Justified Trope]]: all those characters are [[A Real Man Is a Killer|soldiers]], and the Bugs ''are'' pretty clearly bent on exterminating us. Bugs are also a different species so calling this "racism" is a bit of a stretch anyway.

* [[Faster Than Light Travel]]: Handwaved with the [[Minovsky Physics|"Cherenkov drive."]] [[Viewers Are Geniuses|Cherenkov radiation is a bluish glow given off when particles exceed the speed of light in the medium they are traveling in, like high energy electrons from a nuclear reactor exceed the speed of light in water.]]

* [[Faster-Than-Light Travel]]: Handwaved with the [[Minovsky Physics|"Cherenkov drive."]] [[Viewers Are Geniuses|Cherenkov radiation is a bluish glow given off when particles exceed the speed of light in the medium they are traveling in, like high energy electrons from a nuclear reactor exceed the speed of light in water.]]

* [[A Father to His Men]]: Every officer and most non-coms -- maybe excepting only the inexperienced.

* [[The Federation]]: Terran Federation.

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* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: See [[Chaste Hero]] - Heinlein skirts the trope occasionally by way of [[Sound Effect Bleep]].

** Johnny specifically refers to "shucks" as a curse at one point.

* [[The Great Politics Mess Up]]: An "Anglo-American-Russian" alliance is mentioned as part of Earth's history.

* [[The Great Politics Mess-Up]]: An "Anglo-American-Russian" alliance is mentioned as part of Earth's history.

* [[Guilt Free Extermination War]]: The war between the Terran Federation and the Bugs (Arachnids).

* [[Guilt-Free Extermination War]]: The war between the Terran Federation and the Bugs (Arachnids).

* [[Hard On Soft Science]]: Johnnie states at one point that "everything useful is based on math", and his teachers tend to have a fairly low opinion of the social sciences (see [[Politically Motivated Teacher]]).

* [[Hard On Soft Science]]: Johnnie states at one point that "everything useful is based on math", and his teachers tend to have a fairly low opinion of the social sciences (see [[Politically-Motivated Teacher]]).

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: A major theme of the book; Rico's ship, the ''Rodger Young'', is named after a private who did exactly such a thing during the Battle of the Pacific.

* [[Hobbes Was Right]]: The general consensus in the novel is that the great democracies of the 20th Century all inevitably crumbled because most people are too stupid to know how to govern themselves effectively. See also [[Humans Are Bastards]], below.

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* [[Planetville]]

** Justified, as Sanctuary is pretty much just one city, which serves as both a spot for R&R, and a secondary base in case the Bugs conquer/destroy Earth.

* [[Politically Motivated Teacher]]: A [[Justified Trope|justified]] example. The History and Moral Philosophy class exists to implant pro-military beliefs and encourage joining the Federal Service, so the teachers naturally push these political and philosophical values on their students. At least, that's the theory. Rico's dad thinks that they're using it to, through reverse psychology, ''dissuade'' students from signing up. Rico's own teacher, meanwhile, seems to be trying to separate the wheat from the chaff, encouraging morally able students who want to defend humanity, while discouraging crazies, glory hounds and would-be [[Sociopathic Soldier|Sociopathic Soldiers]]. Every student is required to ''take'' the class, but passing or failing is irrelevant, giving some credence to the third theory.

* [[Politically-Motivated Teacher]]: A [[Justified Trope|justified]] example. The History and Moral Philosophy class exists to implant pro-military beliefs and encourage joining the Federal Service, so the teachers naturally push these political and philosophical values on their students. At least, that's the theory. Rico's dad thinks that they're using it to, through reverse psychology, ''dissuade'' students from signing up. Rico's own teacher, meanwhile, seems to be trying to separate the wheat from the chaff, encouraging morally able students who want to defend humanity, while discouraging crazies, glory hounds and would-be [[Sociopathic Soldier|Sociopathic Soldiers]]. Every student is required to ''take'' the class, but passing or failing is irrelevant, giving some credence to the third theory.

* [[Powered Armor]]: [[Trope Codifier]] for Western culture.

* [[Psychic Powers]]: Not focused upon, but present; one "sensitive" is brought in to draw a map of a tunnel network near the end. It's the real deal, but Rico himself is skeptical. Rico also refers in passing to the "talents" assigned to Logistics & Communications (including "telepaths", "sensers", and "lucky men").

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* [[Writer On Board]]: As pointed out above, that was the reason it was written. Heinlein stopped working on ''Stranger In A Strange Land'' just so that he could start this book.

* [[You Are in Command Now]]: Discussed multiple times; happens to Johnnie during Operation Royalty.

* [[Zerg Rush]], subverted: the rush was mostly composed of non-combatant bugs and was meant as a decoy. Played straight later when the Cap Troops actually get rushed by warriors when moving in to rescue {{spoiler|Sergeant Zim}} who'd captured a brain bug. Due to the close proximity of the bugs and the fear of friendly fire (which the bugs don't have towards other warriors) the MI are forced to fight the bugs hand to hand. {{spoiler|Sergeant Zim}} used a similar tactic with regards to the Brain Bug. He rushed in alone and captured it, then positioned himself so to fire on him was to shoot the Brain Bug. For the bugs to attack him would literally require [[Boom Headshot]].

* [[Zerg Rush]], subverted: the rush was mostly composed of non-combatant bugs and was meant as a decoy. Played straight later when the Cap Troops actually get rushed by warriors when moving in to rescue {{spoiler|Sergeant Zim}} who'd captured a brain bug. Due to the close proximity of the bugs and the fear of friendly fire (which the bugs don't have towards other warriors) the MI are forced to fight the bugs hand to hand. {{spoiler|Sergeant Zim}} used a similar tactic with regards to the Brain Bug. He rushed in alone and captured it, then positioned himself so to fire on him was to shoot the Brain Bug. For the bugs to attack him would literally require [[Boom! Headshot!]].