Dec 24, 2009

Johnny Got His Gun | Johnny Got His Gun

At a glance:

Author: Dalton Trumbo
First Published: 1939
Type of Plot: War
Time of Work: The first two decades of the twentieth century
Setting: Shale City, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; and a hospital room in an unknown country
Principal Characters: Joe Bonham, Coreen, Bill Harper, Nurse, José
Genres: Long fiction, War fiction
Subjects: Psychology or psychologists, Violence, World War I, Soldiers, Horror
Locales: Los Angeles, CA, Colorado

The Novel

Johnny Got His Gun is a modified stream-of-consciousness narrative occurring in the mind of a soldier whose arms, legs, ears, eyes, nose, and mouth have been blown away in a bomb blast during World War I. Written by Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, the novel is told using cinematic techniques, particularly in book 1, “The Dead,” which is a fusion of flashbacks and soliloquies in the mind of Joe Bonham.

Awakening in a hospital bed, Bonham first remembers the announcement of his father’s death. Recalling sensory images of his youth, Bonham...

[The entire page is 2081 words long]

Johnny Got His Gun | Johnny Got His Gun

At a glance:

The Novel

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