Johnny Got His Gun By Dalton Trumbo Essay Example

other options have been exhausted. However, this unrelenting approach to thinking can result in boredom due to the limited range of activities to engage in. Despite this, the mind continues to persist and shows no signs of diverting. This can be frustrating for psychologists, but fortunately, the brain remains the central force that sustains all activities.

A person's senses gather information for the brain to function, with the eyes being a primary source. One can view green leaves or beautiful places to relieve boredom. However, the lack of other senses can result in similar or even greater deprivation than blindness.

The unfortunate reality is that only the sense of touch, pain, and vibration remains in the protagonist. This sensory deprivation forces him to feel only discomfort and suffering, leading his frustrated mind to search for blame or reason for existence. In the novel Johnny Got His Gun, the author comes to recognize the folly of humanity's greatest atrocity: war (Littell and Littell, 1846; Schmidt, 2005). This book serves as a powerful anti-war message, taking the stance of a pro-revolutionary oppositionist. It argues against government decision-making that results in drafting innocent young individuals who are then killed for intangible concepts like freedom or democracy.

Considering the survival of a healthy twenty-year-old man's mind as a war victim with only his sense of touch and pain remaining intact is truly remarkable. Joe managed to communicate with the outside world through a book, but he had to wait for long periods without any response except from himself. He struggled to express his personal speech due to extreme anxiety caused by values developed prior to the war. His experience was

compared to lying in bed next to an unanswered ringing phone, which led him towards becoming somewhat unhinged.

Joe longed for a peaceful sleep, hoping that the constant ringing of his phone would stop. Unfortunately, he answered the call only to learn that his father had passed away despite suffering from a severe headache. His mother delivered this news to him, bringing back memories of similar experiences during the war. Joe realized that his dream was not real and felt even more pain as he couldn't participate in such experiences due to being incapacitated. When he woke up from this dream, he found himself covered in bandages and completely blind and deaf.

Despite Joe's deafness, the writer of the book has beautifully conveyed his motivation to answer the phone he had always dreamt of, which keeps ringing even after his horrific injury. Unfortunately, Joe cannot move anymore and has lost all senses except touch - leaving him passive. Being passive has further lowered his spirits and emphasized his extreme powerlessness.

Relevant excerpts from the book describe how Joe suffered greatly after being blown up by an artillery shell during World War I. One vivid passage stated, "He was a dead man with a mind that could still think… He could tell them mister there's nothing worth dying for I know because I'm dead. There's no word worth your life. I would rather work in a coal mine deep under the earth and never see sunlight and eat crusts and water and work twenty hours a day. I would rather do that than be dead. I would trade democracy for life."

I am willing to sacrifice my autonomy, integrity, liberty,

and morals in exchange for the preservation of my existence. All of these things are at your disposal if I can once again possess the faculties of walking, seeing, hearing, breathing and tasting. Even my capacity for speech could be surrendered if it leads to the restoration of my life (Trumbo, 1998, 153).

Despite feeling regret for surviving and making difficult choices, the protagonist was sent to war in the guise of advancing "freedom" and "democracy" (Dittmar and Michaud, 1990; Hunt and Rygiel, 2006), an experience he never found enjoyable. In fact, he compares himself to a comatose patient who may be allowed to die by euthanasia due to the futility of further medical treatment. As he sees no hope for recovery, he has mentally accepted his own death, freeing himself from the pain of its inevitable sting.

In a way, Joe expressed his disappointment as he had sacrificed everything for democracy, independence, honor, freedom, and decency only to lose his faculties along with his life. Additionally, one must contemplate the passages in the books that state "You had ample time to ponder. Time to comprehend things you never considered before... You were so isolated on your hill that noise and humans didn't factor into your contemplation at all."

According to Trumbo (1998, 142), you appeared to have better clarity of thought and your responses were more sensible. Even if they were nonsensical, it was deemed unimportant as there was no ability to take action on them. Joe's reaction can be deemed utterly useless as it is senseless and cannot be corrected due to his inability to communicate with the external world.

Within himself alone, communication is present.

This results in a forced "solitude". It can be concluded that Johnny Got His Gun is an anti-war book that highlights the reality that everyone loses in war. Joe's experience shows the unfairness of sending young men and women to war for intangible things. Lost senses cannot be restored and Joe's experience exemplifies this. Therefore, the main character's unique experiences demonstrate the consequences of losing senses in a senseless war (Dittmar and Michaud, 1990; Hunt and Rygiel , 2006).

In brief, the main character clarifies that the assurances given to him prior to his deployment were immeasurable. Although he had no desire to participate in the conflict, he carried out his obligation to his nation and suffered a loss of ability as a consequence. Joe thinks that he ought to be able to recover what he relinquished owing to the war in return for his dedication, but it is presently impossible. The sole sensation that remains with him is agony.