Book Review: Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

Hello my lovely bookworms! I had quite an expreience reading this book.

I am not the biggest propaganda book fan, so it really says something when I picked up to read Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo and loved it. Published in 1939, Johnny Got His Gun was the book that got Trumbo blacklisted by the government during the Mcarthy Era, as it was considered a piece of communist propaganda. And yes, it does show, but it goes further than that, actually criticizing the nature of democracy when it comes to war. Finally a book that I can agree on!!

Johnny Got His Gun is an anti-war novel set in the aftermath of the first world war. The main character is Joe Bonham, a 20 year old serving in the army at the time. When a morter shell hits him, he looses all his limbs and his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. He basically reduced to a living piece of meat with a perfectly functioning brain. But the horror of it is, he is a prisoner of his own body, being unable to interact with the world around him. Throughout the book, which takes place all in Joe's head by the way, we see Joe reflect on his life before the war, such as his night job at a local bakery, his close relationship with his father and his girlfriend Kareen, and some of the dreams and ideas he has. He starts by trying to feel like he is a human again, attempting to regain his sense of time, and sense of communication. He actually is able to reach out to the people taking care of him, by tapping his head against the pillow in morse code. How it ends, well you'll just have to read the book.

When reading the book, I really felt like I was getting a glimpse into Joe's psyche. Seeing how he processes his thoughts. While the way he processes them, and how one thought leads to another, seems very bizarre, but at the same time, it's very realistic. We see what drives him, what made him happy, sad, angry and how he interacted with others. The way he drifts between reality and fantasy is confusing, but for a reason. He isn't aware of his own conciousness. Since he has no senses, he doesn't know when he's awake or asleep, making it hard to distiguish a dream from real life. To watch 

Joe making the effort to regain basic human awareness, such as time, is such an obstacle for him, which for us is so simple. This makes his situation greater than we see it. But with every small accomplishment he makes, it makes the horror of his condition greater. He will always be a living piece of meat, and can never be human down to his pure existence.

Now, this book is a product of its time. The casual racism and sexism appear within the pages of the book. Thankfully, its nothing more than a reflection of the fundamental ways of thinking of the time, and doesn't aim to bash either race or gender. Considering this book is a propaganda piece really shows as well. There are many points in the novel where Joe goes into passionate tirades about what it really means to fight for democracy. Does democracy have a meaning at all? It goes beyond the classic message of war being all hell. In fact it goes deeper than that. The deepest and probably most powerful statement in the book was when Joe thought about all the men who died in the war. They didn't die thinking of honor. Their last dying thought was fear. When it comes down to it, we are all human with human desires and fears. We desire freedom, we fear death, and why should we die for something we can't gain since we are dead for it. Now these rants made in the book are obviously statements being made from the author through his character, and it gets very in your face. While some may find it distracting, I found it facinating. At the end of the day, it really comes down to your personal political views and whether you agree with Trumbo or not. 

Now one of the flaws many people might find with this book is the way it was written. I don't know if Trumbo was going for a stream-of-consciousness narrative or not, since the book alternates between the third and first person perspective. The first person perspective is really Joe's thoughts and feelings, which are mimicked by the narrater as well. Also in sentences where there are supposed to be quotation marks and commas, there isn't any. The only puncuation marks that appear are periods. However, this wasn't a product of poor editing or even poor writing, this was intentional. Trumbo was trying to mimick the constant process of thinking humans possess.

I would call this book and instant classic. The ideas presented are interesting, and the book goes into subjects not many people like to talk about and its a good look into a dark aspect of America's past. But I would hesitate to read this book. My initial reaction to the book was upsetting, but that's what made it so good. It gets you thinking about your own views of the world, as well as make you thankful for the basic thinks in life you have, such as limbs and senses. It's amazing how a message so basic can be so powerful. If you're looking for a book that can make you think, and challenge your beliefs, check it out!!

But these are just my opinions. Have you read the book? If so, how was it? Comment below and stay tuned for more!!