Johnny Got His Gun
March 3, 2008 1:12 pm Authors, Books, Issues, People, Uncategorized
Johnny Got His Gun is an American anti-war novel, written in 1938 by Dalton Trumbo. Published in 1939, the novel illustrates the cruelty of war through the perspective of an American soldier named Joe Bonham.
During WWI, Joe suffers a debilitating injury from an artillery shell. He wakes up to a new reality — life in a hospital bed with no limbs or ears, not even a face. Joe is also stripped of his communicative capacities, unable to see, speak or hear. The text reveals a state of near lifelessness and the following nine years depict his observations, thoughts of past and present and the torment of a life confined to the mind.
Johnny Got His Gun is often used for studies in American proletarian literature, as it critiques the manner in which war effects different social classes — the upper class initiates and profits from war, while the lower class fights and dies for it.
About the Author
Dalton Trumbo was originally from Colorado. In 1925, he moved to California and started working at a bakery in Los Angeles. He eventually developed a successful career as a writer, working for large names like Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures.
Following WWII, Trumbo was among a number of people in the entertainment industry called to testify before McCarthy’s House Committee on Un-American Activities. For refusing to answer questions about involvement with the Communist Party, Trumbo and nine others became known as the Hollywood Ten. He served a year in prison and was blacklisted from the film industry until 1959.
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Sounds interesting! I’ll be sure to pick it up!
March 10th, 2008 at 12:17 am
i’m touched you blogged on this. nice brief homage to a powerful book that is often overlooked because it gives voice to a population of individuals that have and continue to be misused for the purpose of little gain. more bad than good has been said about it. kinda sad considering it resonates with the present experiences of recent iraqi veterans who experience shell shock or have lost a limb(s). but hey, look at it this way, at least the stock for prosthetics looks promising. maybe worthwhile to invest in some shares.
by the way, don’t know if you remember but trumbo’s hearing before the HUAC is quite comedic. worth checking out if you’re in for a laugh.