Film Analysis: Johnny Got His Gun

Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, once accurately summed up the notion of war by stating: “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” In these words he conveyed what many Americans, particularly soldiers, feel during wartime. The novel Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo, shares the life and experiences of a gravely wounded WW1 soldier that is only able to think. In this stream of conscience narrative, Joe Bonham is in a constant battle with his mind as he discovers the extent of his injuries sustained from war, his inability to communicate with the outside world, and his struggles as he copes with loss. In the film Shenandoah, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, Charlie Anderson experiences non

stop conflict as he tries to keep him and his family out of the Civil War that continues to spread. These two works of literature seem to clearly demonstrate that when war is present, everyone is affected in some way, and that each character comes to represent the public’s diverse and dynamic view on war over the years. Despite the fact that Charlie and Joe are affected differently by war and react to it in distinct ways, both men share similar opinions on the government’s involvement in the war and find themselves in comparable family situations.
Since Joe and Charlie experience war under much different circumstances than one another, it is only expected that they are also affected by it differently.

For both, the losses associated with war are mainly physical, with emotional effects ensuing. In Joe’s case, the losses he experiences are on a more personal level when compared to Charlie’s. A few chapters of Johnny's Got His Gun are focused on the development of Joe’s loss as he slowly realizes how badly he has been injured while fighting in the war. As Joe takes the time to think about how he is feeling and puts things together, he gradually concludes that he “had no legs and no arms and no eyes and no ears and no nose and no mouth and no tongue,” thus summing up the extent of his physical injuries and showing that loss in this sense will forever render him severely disabled (Trumbo 62). Losing the freedom of movement and having a body takes a deep toll on his mental health as the book progresses. Seeing that he is unable to communicate and have control over his life, he decides that he “couldn't live like this because he would go crazy” (Trumbo 63). These effects are different from Charlie’s because the loss Charlie experiences is related to his family rather than injury. Although he attempts to shield his children from the surrounding war, his youngest son is mistakenly recognized as a confederate soldier and is taken as prisoner. As a result of this, Charlie and most of his children embark on a journey to rescue the boy from camp, though in these efforts Jacob dies by the shot of a soldier, and James and his wife Ann are killed at the hands of scavengers. Evidently, these losses are not physically harming, but cause the entire family to suffer because there are no longer as many hands to help out on the farm and because of the emotional trauma. However, Joe can relate to this loss of family in a similar sense because since he can no longer communicate and is unidentifiable, his family has no means of

knowing where he is and will never be able to talk to him again. Nonetheless, Joe and Charlie are affected differently by war because in Joe’s case, he is physically injured while his family remains unharmed, whereas in Charlie’s case, his family is harmed while he remains injury free.
Considering that Joe and Charlie are affected under unrelated conditions, it is reasonable to observe that both characters respond and react to the war in different ways. Joe’s response is more compliant when compared to Charlie’s more aggressive approach. When Joe is exposed to the war he initially reacts by supporting it, doing so by volunteering to fight. It is when Roumania enters the war that he develops a concern for foreign affairs and ultimately makes his decision to join. Looking back at this time, he claims that “It seemed very important,” and that once “America entered the war he had to come too” (Trumbo 23-24). Before participating in live combat, Joe seems to view being drafted as a duty to one's country that can not be avoided, or at least does not oppose it actively. After experiencing the horrors of war and dealing with the consequences of the battlefield, he projects a more informed opinion. Joe advises men who are chosen to be drafted to “Just say mister I’m sorry I got no time to die I’m too busy and then turn and run like hell,” something that he wishes he would have done in the past (Trumbo 118). On the other hand, when Charlie first encounters the war he reacts from a different viewpoint. Given that he is the father of six healthy sons that are capable of being enlisted, owns 500 acres of land, and has many resources that are valuable to the army, he finds it very difficult to stay uninvolved in the war. Towards the middle of the film, a military official stops by to use Charlie’s well and attempts to convince him to send his sons to war, to which he refuses. In a later scene, another government representative shows up to purchase Charlie’s horses that are clearly not for sale, and threatens to confiscate them if he does not comply. In response, Charlie punches the man and starts a fight between the numerous officials and his own family, successfully driving them off the property. In this way, Charlie reacts to the war by defending himself, his family, and his land while avoiding it for as long as possible, as opposed to Joe, who joins the war willingly.
Although each character’s response to the war varies in action, they both share feelings of detestment towards officials and the general notion that the government is responsible for war. For Joe, this idea is made clear to him after a group of generals enter his hospital room and decorate him with a medal. Joe grows angry at the thought of receiving a medal from the generals because he feels that since they make no real contribution to war in terms of sacrifice and fighting, they are not in any place to be handing out awards. Upon receiving the medal, he indignantly claims that “That was all they ever had time to do just run around putting medals on guys and feeling important and smug about it,” expressing his dislike for military officers (Trumbo 160). Further on in the novel, he recognizes that it is the government that causes war and that fighting is unnecessary in maintaining peace when he declares “It will be you- you who urge us on to battle you who incite us against ourselves,” referring to the idea that in the next war, those who plan for war should be the ones who fight it (Trumbo 242). In a similar fashion, Charlie expresses contempt for officials when one shows up and attempts to confiscate his horses, whom he describes as a stealer, and claims that “he's the only man I know that started at the bottom and went down in the world.” What is more, as he speaks to his deceased wife Martha, he acknowledges the government’s role in planning but not fighting the war. He explains that the politicians “talk about the glory of it” and that old men “talk about the need of it” to get people to fight in it so that they won't have to. To this extent, Joe and Charlie share similar thoughts when it comes to the government and its involvement in the war.
Indeed, these related opinions may be formed because of the fact that Joe and Charlie share similar characteristics in their family lives as well. One of the more notable similarities between the two is that they each believe in self-sustenance, or the importance of providing for oneself. Joe’s father Bill maintains a plot of land from which he is able to harvest all the food his family could need, varying from fruits, squash, bread, fresh meat, and even honey. Likewise, Charlie follows suit in a similar manner; by cultivating the 500 acres of land he owns, he and his family plant, harvest, and cook anything they desire, putting in the labor to do so. This not only emphasizes the value each family places on hard work, but also highlights a desire for a more traditional way of life. In addition to this, both families exhibit close bonds amongst family members, particularly between the father and children. Joe looks up to his father and describes him as a “good man and an honest man” (Trumbo 106). The extent of Joe’s relationship with his father is revealed when they spend time together on a fishing trip when he was younger. When Joe loses his father’s most expensive possession, a fishing pole, Bill replies “I don't think we should let a little thing like a fishing rod spoil our last trip together should we?” (Trumbo 107-108). In this response, Bill shows that he values his family more than materialistic items and that the relationship is healthy enough to forgive. On a similar note, Charlie displays his love towards his children when speaking to the boy who shot his son by accident: “I want you to have many, many, many children, and I want you to feel about your children then the way I feel about mine now.” By telling the young boy this, Charlie gets across the fact that he feels very strongly and proud regarding his children and he hopes that the boy will someday understand this. What is more, both characters find themselves dealing with a dead relative whom they feel very dearly about. In Joe’s situation, he loses his father while in Charlie’s case, he loses his wife Martha. This is significant because both characters look to these family members in times of need and base their basic perceptions off of their values. For example, since Joe’s father is presented through memories, Joe is influenced by his father because he looks to him when he needs comfort and has adopted some of his moral beliefs. In a like manner, Charlie is influenced by Martha because he has also taken on her beliefs, seeing that he goes to church each Sunday upon her request to raise a Christian family even though she is deceased. These corresponding qualities show that although both families are shaped around the general time period each is from, they still share part of the same basic foundation.
Overall, war can have diversified effects on families regardless of the circumstances. Even though Joe and Charlie experience war in seperate ways, thus reacting to it differently, their attitudes toward the war remain much the same and their family lives share similar characteristics when examined closely. Based off of each character’s attitudes, actions, and dialogue, one can say that both readily agree with President Herbert Hoover in that war is unjustly pinned on younger generations to fulfill the destructive visions of the old or those in charge.