My rating:

add to my books

Johnny Got His Gun

by Dalton Trumbo

4.12 · rating details · 7,442 ratings · 693 reviews

Few American novels are genuine classics, with a permanent place in our literature. This is one of them. First published in 1939, the story of an average American youth who "survives" World War I armless, legless and faceless with his mind intact was an immediate bestseller. Its anti-war message had a profound effect on Americans during the Vietnam era, and is no...more

Paperback, 336 pages

Published August 1st 2000 by Citadel Press (first published 1939)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Books that everyone should read at least once

270th out of 3,892 books — 16,438 voters

The Most Disturbing Book Ever Written

28th out of 459 books — 1,290 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 11,431)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Oct 23, 2007

Stephanie rated it

Recommends it for: anyone feeling sorry for themselves

Shelves: roughstuff, greatfnwriting

I read this book during my lunch breaks at the cafe of Barnes & Noble in Chelsea, NYC. I think I finished it in five sittings, with great big tears rolling down my face. While everybody around me was busy quaffing scalding hot lattes, I was trying to muffle the sounds of my agonized weeping into my scarf. Luckily, this is not seen as strange behavior in Manhattan, so I was able to finish the book unmolested.

Johnny Got His Gun sounds like it was written during the early stages of the...more

like 25 likes

· see review

Sep 04, 2007

Mme. Bookling ~ rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone with breath

Every time I read a book, I feel committed to it as if to a relationship. That relationship can be an infatuational fling, a carnal attraction, a passionate love, a committed best friend, a life partner...whatever form it takes will depend on how much I will remember it. Johnny Got His Gun got completely under my skin.

I was finishing the last page on an airplane and an 80 year old yoga teacher looked at me and quietly summed up this book. "I remember reading that. It blew my m...more

like 15 likes

· see review

Feb 27, 2008

Andy rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. “But it wasn't a dream” (Trumbo 63).

Since it's publication during World War II, through various wars and political movements, Johnny Got His Gun has been a book in the spotlight. Of course, Trumbo was a member of the Hollywood Ten, and the book was banned, but it has always found it's way into the hands of pacifists, and is still considered among the best anti-war novels to ever be published. Is there truth to this statement? Is the book still as relevant as it was upon it's release ...more“But it wasn't a dream” (Trumbo 63).

Since it's publication during World War II, through various wars and political movements, Johnny Got His Gun has been a book in the spotlight. Of course, Trumbo was a member of the Hollywood Ten, and the book was banned, but it has always found it's way into the hands of pacifists, and is still considered among the best anti-war novels to ever be published. Is there truth to this statement? Is the book still as relevant as it was upon it's release or even during the Vietnam war? In a word: absolutely.

In his introduction to Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo describes World War I as the last of the “romantic wars.” While I have just discussed how war is far from romantic, I believe that Trumbo has a point with his statement. What he is saying is that World War I was the big war that served to open up the eyes of the world and cause the general public to finally understand that they were being lied to. This is not to say there wasn't dissenters and pacifists prior to World War I, but it is saying that they were being silenced and that the general public didn't want to listen to them. After the countless injuries and deaths incurred from World War I, including a most extreme (and fictional) case detailed in this book, the public began to take a stand and speak out against war. Johnny Got His Gun has been a massively popular book for the harsh story that it tells, showing the pain that the massively crippled can endure. It's a reality that no one wants to face, and it's not the only book of it's kind, but it was one of the first landmark, much-read books to tell this story. Following 9/11, the United States of America went into a flag waving frenzy. This carried over for many years, and is still prevalent today, in 2008. Patriotism was bred out of catastrophe, an unjust and unrelated war stemmed from this sense of patriotism, and 5 years later is still going on as planned, with people turning their shoulders rather than participating in continuous protests. We are still lied to. The amount of money that goes into the war is glossed over, while nationwide, programs are cut, and people don't realize the correlation. Our soldiers are not dying, that's a good thing right? We have less casualties than any other war we have participated in. Yet, we also have more serious, life-altering injuries than ever before as well. They're alive, but are they functional? It's opening up a wave of jobs to cater to this veterans, that's a good thing, but at what cost? “When armies move and flags wave and slogans pop up watch out little guy because it's somebody else's chestnuts in the fire, not yours” (114).

Over time, Johnny Got His Gun has become the book most synonymous with the anti-war sentiment around the world. The brutal imagery coupled with an alarmingly real portrayal of what a victim might be going through internally is what gives this novel an edge over similar texts. The stream-of-consciousness prose, the near-insane jumping back and forth between the present and the past and the details of the pain that Joe Bonham is going through can turn the the stomach and hearts of even the hardest of us all. When comparing his situation to that of an American slave who had gone through unheard of torture and beatings, Joe says one of the most revelatory and arresting things I've ever read, “...the slaves could always die but he couldn't and he was mutilated far beyond any slave who ever live” (183). In this scene, the reality that Joe is truly powerless finally hits the reader. Thrust into this war, blown to smithereens, immobile, incommunicable, we have felt the pain that Joe is going through up until this point. But when we realize he hasn't even the power to end his own life, his only wish at this point. That's something that is hard to stomach. But it was all for “freedom and democracy.”

Certainly Dalton Trumbo was an extraordinary writer in many mediums, even the government knew that. However it is the reading of this book and the effect it has on people that can be a catalyst for those to stand up for what they believe and speak out against war. Joe was an ordinary guy, but it is through his struggles that we, the reader, connect. The societal change is ours for the changing, and we only need to push harder. Trumbo, the author and Joe Bonham, the brain both know and they tell us, “People wouldn't learn much about anatomy from him but they would learn all there was to know about war” (224). No matter how hard others try to deny us the truth and no matter how hard we try to ignore it, it's real.

So you're right Joe, you're right Mr. Trumbo. It wasn't a dream.(less)

like 7 likes

· see review

Mar 01, 2011

Esteban del Mal rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, americana, novel, war

What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs in the water?

Bob.

What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs on a porch?

Matt.

What do you call a guy with no arms and no legs on skis?

Skip.

What do you call a novel about a guy who has no arms and no legs because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Johnny Got His Gun.

***

This works best as a character sketch. As poor Jon ...more

like 21 likes

· see review

Nov 20, 2008

C rated it

One of my favorite books, and it seems, a favorite of many other lovers of peace and justice, I have used this book since 2000 with my senior students to discuss war and our current state of affairs. This book opens up readers to many other types of discussions, however. The fact that we can loose our capacity to act in a flash; or, that we can write the way we think.
Dalton Trumbo was a writer who saw beyond his times and was able to write for future generations, much like Orwell. I feel a...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Oct 05, 2008

Jennifer (aka EM) rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: for-the-desert-island, unhealthy4children

Infinite Jest has beaten me, again.

Instead, I picked this up. The new edition I got has a new Foreword by a woman named ~~Carol~~Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son Casey in Iraq in 2004. This is on top of the old new Foreword by Ron Kovic -- does that name ring a bell? It should, if you are a reader of war or anti-war novels. He is the writer of the book, and the individual on whom the lead character was based, of Born On The 4th Of July, which was of course about Vietnam. (And was th...more

like 1 like

· see review

Feb 26, 2009

Candice Trebus rated it

I finished this book in December of '07, Johnny Got his Gun, and it made me want to shoot myself in the face.
It is written in second person limited, which is annoying enough if not for the added limitation of narrating through a character with no eyes, nose, ears, mouth or limbs. Written primarily in stream-of-consciousness, I simply wanted to cut my eyes out so that I could at least fall asleep on my 5-hour flight. Johnny was supposed to be an anti-war novel, receiving a mountain of prais...more

like 5 likes

· see review

Nov 21, 2008

Luciano rated it

Reading this book really makes you realize that war is real. It isn't the crisp uniforms of army officers, the fast air force jets, or the big boom of navy guns that we see in commericals for the armed forces, images that paint a distorted picture of the reality of war.

War it dirty, dispairing, desperate, and destructive.

War is death.

Johnny Got His Gun is a book that shows another face of death. One that is mortally infinite. A death that you live, but you can...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Mar 28, 2009

Chris rated it

Recommends it for: anyone concerned with war or open to reading about it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Being a military son, it was difficult to read through this book without it conflicting somewhat with thoughts and/or support I may have had for my father's job. As I always try to do, however, I kept an open mind as I read through the book. Overall, I was stunned and thoroughly impressed by the ideas of warfare and the story presented by Dalton Trumbo.

The story of Johnny itself is very sad and emotional, and also a perfect vessel in which Trumbo describes his views on war. I was dr...more

· see review

Nov 11, 2011

John Stevens rated it

Recommends it for: No one. Everyone.

Recommended to John by: A military friend.

I read this book years ago. Back in the 70's. I'd barely missed Vietnam but did join the service voluntarily. A friend gave me this book.
It took a lot of guts to write the profoundly and emotionally descriptive story about the horror of war.
People come away from it with strong emotions. Not always the same. As a young man in my twenties, knowing guys that didn't come back from Vietnam and knowing a few who came back in body only, this book struck me hard. It helped me to und...more

· see review

Sep 15, 2011

Florence rated it

Sometimes honoring your country can be harmful and very dangerous. Many people enter the war willingly when they want to make a right and serve their country. Although today you have an option, during the Civil War there was a draft where people didn’t have a choice to join. The main character Johnny has a giant struggle throughout the book. During the war he was seriously injured and unfortunately lost a lot of privileges. These privileges aren’t items or freedom, but physical and mental privil...moreSometimes honoring your country can be harmful and very dangerous. Many people enter the war willingly when they want to make a right and serve their country. Although today you have an option, during the Civil War there was a draft where people didn’t have a choice to join. The main character Johnny has a giant struggle throughout the book. During the war he was seriously injured and unfortunately lost a lot of privileges. These privileges aren’t items or freedom, but physical and mental privileges. He could not hear, talk or see. Fortunately he could feel. The challenges he faces throughout the book reflect off of each and every one of his disabilities.
Although he no longer has those privileges, he finds ways to communicate with the people surrounding him. After his accident during the war Johnny is being taken care of by doctors and special trained people who deal with his disabilities. They help to communicate with him through different methods. Since he can feel there are certain things he can do to with that, which help him accomplish everyday simple tasks. There isn’t much you can do with no arms, legs, and some of your senses are gone. The nurse would help Johnny realize and reconnect with the world, so he would still know he was alive.

To know what time it is, the nurse will open the window so that he would know what time of the day it was. Since he couldn’t talk very much, they had to communicate by talking to him in Morse code. They would either tap on his forehead or on his arm. Sometimes the problems caused him to dream the events that happened during the war. These dreams were very real to him and caused him pain because at the same time his body was very sensitive about that. During this time period talking about the war was strictly inappropriate. The military didn’t want you talking about the war because; people mat get the impression that it was something bad and would not want to join
. When only a few thousand people showed up, they made the draft where the war was necessary if you were called. Johnny asks to tell his story, but is not permitted permission. The majority of the people who go to war wish to tell their story which seems why many people weren’t expected to survive the war. Johnny’s condition caused him to loose several body parts as well. The struggle between Johnny and the people around him is the communication. Throughout the book you learn how he recovers and his flashback about being in the war.
This is book was really good. I think at some parts it was really graphic, but I now realize that the way to understand what he’s talking about, it includes very descriptive pages. The writing was very strange; there were no periods or grammar marks so it was hard to follow along. I really want to read the other book just to get another perspective because this one was really depressing, but I don’t regret reading the book.(less)

· see review

Aug 18, 2011

Sandy rated it

I decided to pick this book up after reading of it in Newman and Jones' excellent overview volume, "Horror: 100 Best Books." While the overwhelming majority of the books discussed therein deal with ghosts, the supernatural, werewolves, vampires and the like, Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun" (1939) deals with horror of a different sort: the horror of war, or, more specifically, war's aftermath.

In this unforgettable novel, we meet a young man named Joe Bonham, ...moreI decided to pick this book up after reading of it in Newman and Jones' excellent overview volume, "Horror: 100 Best Books." While the overwhelming majority of the books discussed therein deal with ghosts, the supernatural, werewolves, vampires and the like, Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun" (1939) deals with horror of a different sort: the horror of war, or, more specifically, war's aftermath.

In this unforgettable novel, we meet a young man named Joe Bonham, a normal guy from Colorado who has been severely injured toward the end of World War I. And I do mean severely. Joe is now a literal basket case. Both of his legs and arms have been amputated and his face has been blown off. He cannot see, hear, taste or talk, and he lies in a hospital bed in an unknown country. His plight makes Helen Keller's seem enviable; indeed, his condition might well be the worst of any character's in any book ever written! Pretty gruesome horror fare, indeed. As Joe lies in his own world, he flashes back to happier days, and we learn of his family experiences, his love conquests and disappointments, his jobs and his friends. We sense that Joe is a sweet, likeable, um, average Joe, which makes us feel for him all the more. We also see, through his stream of consciousness, some hellish glimpses of the battlefield, but for the most part, those fighting scenes are kept to a minimum. Trumbo is more concerned with what war does to men, and unlike Erich Maria Remarque's "All Quiet on the Western Front," the scenes in the trenches are downplayed. In one intense section, Joe realizes that, deaf and blind as he is, he can no longer tell the difference between his waking moments and his horror-filled dreams, and Trumbo really makes us feel his plight. And toward the end of the book, Joe, after many attempts to communicate with his nurses, does succeed in breaking through, and delivers one of the most scathing indictments against warmongers that one could ever hope to read. Trumbo writes in a hot fury, fully aware that the world was gearing up for another global duke-out as he penned his words. And the result is perhaps the best antiwar novel ever written.

H.G. Wells, in his 1908 masterpiece "The War in the Air," treated us to some brilliant passages in which he decried the savage waste that is war, but Trumbo's book is far more passionate, more savage, and the excoriating, blasting denunciations much more prolonged. There IS one thing that Trumbo's book lacks, however, in all its 243 pages, and that is...commas. Imagine that: a 243-page book without a single comma to be found! Such is the breakneck pace with which Trumbo writes; such is Joe's uninterrupted stream of thought. The book is simply written--a junior high school student would have no trouble zipping through it--and yet devastating at the same time. Joe's communication breakthrough, after many years of trying, may very well have your eyes misting up with tears; if not, what happens as a result surely will. This is a book that should prove pretty hard to forget, and that is a good thing. Its message is one that we would all do well to incorporate. Truly, this book should be mandatory reading for all politicians, heads of state, dictators and other public officials, the whole world over...not to mention all thinking adults. It's just that important.(less)

· see review

Jul 10, 2011

Fred Maack rated it

Shelves: 2011-read, american, best-seller, character-study, classic, horror, leftist, novel, political, psychology, survival, war, world-war-i

This is an amazing book. It is almost an experiment in writing which ends up being a phenomenal piece of literature. It's almost like a creative writing assignment to write about a character with no nose, no mouth, no arms, no legs, no ears and no eyes.

There is one scene with a rat. I won't give too much away, but I'm not often bothered by graphic scenes in books. This scene had me squirming as it was so well written and so appropriate to the situation the character was in.

...more

· see review

Mar 27, 2011

Jaclyn rated it

I liked this book, even though it started off a little slow in my opinion. The author made the whole story pretty exciting, seeing as how the entire book is about a man named Joe with no mouth, no eyes, no ears, no nose, and no limbs lying in a hospital bed never doing anything. It was amazing reading about what this man, who's as close to being dead as any human could be, feels about fighting in wars. He feels that if he can ever learn to communicate with others, he can truly speak for the dead...moreI liked this book, even though it started off a little slow in my opinion. The author made the whole story pretty exciting, seeing as how the entire book is about a man named Joe with no mouth, no eyes, no ears, no nose, and no limbs lying in a hospital bed never doing anything. It was amazing reading about what this man, who's as close to being dead as any human could be, feels about fighting in wars. He feels that if he can ever learn to communicate with others, he can truly speak for the dead and show people the horrors that fighting for "justice" and "freedom" truly bring. He feels that people should enjoy their lives instead of fighting for words that people tell them to fight for, because what do justice and freedom really matter to you if you're dead?
There were two things I really did not like about this story. The first was how it was written. The author uses next to no punctuation, and a lot of the sentences are really confusing and hard to follow because of this. I think I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if the author had put in a few commas once in a while. I understand that run-on sentences must be this author's "style", but I really did not like it much.
The second thing was the ending. I normally like depressing endings, but this one just got on my nerves. For the entire story, Joe spends his time hoping and wishing that he can find a way to communicate. He wants to go outside, and share his tragic story with other people. He spends half the book doing nothing but slamming out words in morse code with his head, hoping the nurses or doctors will understand him. These parts got a little slow, but I kept reading, holding onto the hope that soon they would understand him. Finally, at the end of the book, he gets a new nurse who figures out what he's trying to do. He taps out a long message to the doctors, asking to be let outside after sitting in this room for 7 years and to share his story with others, and explaining that any money he made could go to the hospital. The doctors don't want to let him outside because they think he's the image of the future, and that if they show him to people, people wouldn't fight in their war anymore because that's what they'd become. So the doctor replies with, simply, "what you ask is against regulations", and Joe keeps tapping out "Why?" "Why?" "Why?" and basically that's where the story ends. I thought the book would end with at least something more than this, but no.
Overall the book was okay, and I'd probably recommend it because the message is a good one, but I don't think I'd read it a second time.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 15, 2011

Historyweaver rated it

While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy, hurroo, hurroo
While goin' the road to sweet Athy
A stick in me hand and a drop in me eye
A doleful damsel I heard cry,
Johnny I hardly knew ye.

With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums, hurroo, hurroo
With your drums and guns and guns and drums
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh my darling dear, Ye look so que...more

· see review

Jan 11, 2011

Matt Piechocinski rated it

This is maybe the third greatest anti-war novel I've read ... which puts Trumbo's book in the middle of The Things They Carried (occupying the first position) and All Quiet on the Western Front (at number 3). I think it's a great book because it really makes you run the gamut of feelings ... the two of which I found myself feeling were anger, and cynicism. I found myself disagreeing with Trumbo in that I think some ideas are worth dying for. If people hadn't, then I think this world would be ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 10, 2011

Kelly Sugalski added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I finished the book in about one and half hours. I wrote down important quotes and events. I really enjoyed the book because it had lots of symbolism. I realized that Johnny went to war because he was naive and wasn't aware of the consequences that can occur. Johnny lost his arms, legs, and was not able to see or hear. Johnny questioned why the doctors had saved him when he didn't have much to live for. As time went on, Johnny began to change his mind about the meaning of life and wanted to...more

· see review

Dec 26, 2010

Keith rated it

· review of another edition

Dalton Trumbo was one of Hollywood’s “black-listed” screen writers of the fifties and sixties following the HUAC testimony and McCarthy hearings. He was such a brilliant screen writer that he continued writing films under pseudonyms. This novel shows his incredible skill with dialog. Joe Bonham was a “doughboy” in France during the First World War, “The Great War”, “The War to End all War” and is wounded by an exploding artillery shell. His wounds are so extreme that to describe them here w...more

· see review

Oct 13, 2010

Jeannette rated it

I first read this book in HS and it's haunted me ever since. It was written in 1939 and is about a WWI soldier who's grieveously injured: he loses all his limbs, his sight, his hearing, his ability to communicate. But mentally -- he's all there. Problem is, no one knows it. Today, they'd do a brain scan, but.. this is the early 30s. The book was pulled from circulation during WWII because... well, it's not very uplifting and no one reading it would want to go to war. It's for this reason, though...more

like 1 like

· see review

Apr 25, 2010

Jb rated it

Shelves: anti-war

So I first discovered this book due to the Metallica video "One". I was floored by the video and wanted to learn more so after some investigating I found the movie and in turn the book. So those who say Metal is a waste, Ha!

Joe Bonham, a young soldier serving in World War I, awakens in a hospital bed after being caught in the blast of an exploding artillery shell. He gradually realizes that he has lost his arms, legs, and face, but that his mind functions perfectly, ...more

· see review

Mar 21, 2010

Ryan shirey rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Johnny Got His Gun was written in 1959 by the author Dalton Trumbo. The book is about the main character Joe Bonham who was an American soldier who was fighting in world war one before an unfortunate incident causes him to be stuck between dead and alive. Though he can still think and feel he has lost his ability to speak, hear, smell, see, and walk. The book about his long trail and suffering with his condition.

The book takes place in a hospital where Joe spends his time thinking ab...moreJohnny Got His Gun was written in 1959 by the author Dalton Trumbo. The book is about the main character Joe Bonham who was an American soldier who was fighting in world war one before an unfortunate incident causes him to be stuck between dead and alive. Though he can still think and feel he has lost his ability to speak, hear, smell, see, and walk. The book about his long trail and suffering with his condition.

The book takes place in a hospital where Joe spends his time thinking about how horrible war is and the things he regrets. With all this time he finds out many harsh things like how his body is nothing more then I completely disfigured face and torso. Having none of the senses that come with his missing body parts he can’t tell when he is dreaming or its reality. With such a mentally destructive situation he spends a lot of his time trying to grasp the world around him to keep him from losing his mind. He uses the only sense he has left to feel vibrations and heat so he knows which nurse or doctor is in the room caring for him and he can also tell whether its day or night by feeling the sunlight. Joe also spends a lot of time getting lost in old memories of before the incident and dreams, and a lot of time thinking about the world and his opinions on things.

The main point of this book was to show how horrible war is and to make the reader think of all the consequences of war and how the people involved are so brutally affected. This book does a great job of scarring the reader out of ever wanting to be in war. The author did that so well because the condition of the main character was so disgusting physically and unimaginably terrifying mentally. To go through years of your life only able to feel the daily footsteps of nurses, having no idea whether your dreams are reality and having only your own thoughts to keep you company and though these thoughts tell you to end your life you can’t because you can’t even hold your breath to kill yourself. I think that this idea was extremely freighting because of the mental torment and knowing that you’re slowly slipping into insanity. The main character does a very good job at handling the situation until when you finally think there’s hope in the end when he discovers away to talk to the others using Morse code asking to be put outside and all the government says is that’s against regulations and they lock him up and keep him a secret from the world. This is the final point the author makes showing how horrible governments involved in war are.

I thought this book was very powerful and interesting but it was also boring at times because it was a bit slow. I would recommend this book to strong readers who enjoy very thought provoking reading.

(less)

· see review

Mar 16, 2010

Susi rated it

Johnny Got His Gun
by Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by Susi Sanchez
Word Count: 534

Sometimes honoring your country can be harmful and very dangerous. Many people enter the war willingly when they want to make a right and serve their country. Although today you have an option, during the Civil War there was a draft where people didn’t have a choice to join. The main character Johnny has a giant struggle throughout the book. During the war he was seriously injured and unfortuna...moreJohnny Got His Gun
by Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by Susi Sanchez
Word Count: 534

Sometimes honoring your country can be harmful and very dangerous. Many people enter the war willingly when they want to make a right and serve their country. Although today you have an option, during the Civil War there was a draft where people didn’t have a choice to join. The main character Johnny has a giant struggle throughout the book. During the war he was seriously injured and unfortunately lost a lot of privileges. These privileges aren’t items or freedom, but physical and mental privileges. He could not hear, talk or see. Fortunately he could feel. The challenges he faces throughout the book reflect off of each and every one of his disabilities.

Although he no longer has those privileges, he finds ways to communicate with the people surrounding him. After his accident during the war Johnny is being taken care of by doctors and special trained people who deal with his disabilities. They help to communicate with him through different methods. Since he can feel there are certain things he can do to with that, which help him accomplish everyday simple tasks. There isn’t much you can do with no arms, legs, and some of your senses are gone. The nurse would help Johnny realize and reconnect with the world, so he would still know he was alive.

To know what time it is, the nurse will open the window so that he would know what time of the day it was. Since he couldn’t talk very much, they had to communicate by talking to him in Morse code. They would either tap on his forehead or on his arm. Sometimes the problems caused him to dream the events that happened during the war. These dreams were very real to him and caused him pain because at the same time his body was very sensitive about that. During this time period talking about the war was strictly inappropriate. The military didn’t want you talking about the war because; people mat get the impression that it was something bad and would not want to join

. When only a few thousand people showed up, they made the draft where the war was necessary if you were called. Johnny asks to tell his story, but is not permitted permission. The majority of the people who go to war wish to tell their story which seems why many people weren’t expected to survive the war. Johnny’s condition caused him to loose several body parts as well. The struggle between Johnny and the people around him is the communication. Throughout the book you learn how he recovers and his flashback about being in the war.

This is book was really good. I think at some parts it was really graphic, but I now realize that the way to understand what he’s talking about, it includes very descriptive pages. The writing was very strange; there were no periods or grammar marks so it was hard to follow along. I really want to read the other book just to get another perspective because this one was really depressing, but I don’t regret reading the book.
(less)

· see review

Mar 15, 2010

Ryan Toh added it

Johnny Got His Gun
Dalton Trumbo
Book Review By: Ryan Toh

When you hear about war, or read about it, it's usually patriotic, and when it's fiction, it's usually thrilling. The book Johnny Got His Gun is neither patriotic or thrilling, but rather a slap in the face to what war really is, and what happens to those that don't come home the same, physically or mentally.

The book itself was written after the First World War, but ironically before the horrors of the S...moreJohnny Got His Gun
Dalton Trumbo
Book Review By: Ryan Toh

When you hear about war, or read about it, it's usually patriotic, and when it's fiction, it's usually thrilling. The book Johnny Got His Gun is neither patriotic or thrilling, but rather a slap in the face to what war really is, and what happens to those that don't come home the same, physically or mentally.

The book itself was written after the First World War, but ironically before the horrors of the Second World War. The book is written in first person, set inside the mind of a man, Joe Bonham, who wakes up and realizes that he has no arms, legs, ears, nose, eyes, or mouth.

The book is written in a stream of consciousness, and quite literally streams the character's thoughts at you in endless monologues. There is a very small amount of punctuation in the entire book, in fact there wasn't a single coma, and the text was mostly runons. However, the lack of grammar just emphasizes the character's desperation and internal turmoil, symbolizing the destruction of his normal life. The book rarely goes into the actual battlefront, or the horrors that occurred there, for there were plenty, but spends most of the time reliving memories from his past, and coming to terms with his current and future condition as a vegetable. For him, witnessing the horror on the battlefront was not the real horror, but the permanent aftermath.

As Joe Bonham is a man who can think, but cannot do, I felt a strong connection to his frustration when he is unable to achieve what he wants, his paranoia, and his inability to communicate. His desires, his thoughts and wishes, his feelings and previous actions, are all traits that bring us back down to earth, for they are the same traits that we all share as members of the human race.

The book takes a strong stance against the horrors and failures of war, but does not explain it directly from the thoughts of Joe Bonham, but our pity for what an innocent and relatable man such has him has suffered because of war. His romances, his working life, major events in his life, are all explained in a strong and emotional way. When he confronts his life strapped to a hospital bed without even the liberty to end his own life, we feel his pain, and connect with him as a person. For there were people who did lose their limbs and senses from the war. From all wars, on a much larger scale as technology increases.

I found this book personally to be very emotional, I cried because of certain parts. What happens is not like any other book, where we can dismiss the writing as not pertaining to real people or inaccurate. For war does not become better, war does not make less suffering. War leaves emotional scars in whoever fight it, regardless of the media or propaganda. The commander in chief does not fight it, the generals who sit in the back do not endure what they know is on the front lines. Even today, countless veterans who come back from the middle east do not receive proper treatment for post traumatic stress disorder, and the ones who cannot even talk suffer even more.

The thoughts and wishes of the new Joe Bonham are not the views that we conclude with when we end the book, but we understand them fully as human beings. For in a sense, Joe Bonham is locked in the worst of prisons, the smallest of prison cells. He is locked in with the madness of his own mind, trapped by the one thing that we claim is necessary for all society, War.
(less)

· see review

Mar 15, 2010

Savannathecoolestpersonever rated it

I Was Expecting So Much More From This Book. It Had The Potential To Be A Truly Moving Story, But It Just Wasn't Carried Out Well. I Think I Would've Been Much More Affective If Trumbo Hadn't Felt The Need To Repeatedly Tell Me Exactly How I Was Supposed To Be Affected. A Conversation I Had With Friends Sums This Up Perfectly. When He Saw What I Was Reading He Asked About It. I Told Him It Was About The Horrors Of War And Had Gained A Reputation Since Its Publishing Of Being Synonymous With Vari...more

· see review

Mar 15, 2010

Blanca rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Johnny Got His Gun
By: Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by: Blanca Ahumada

The book Johnny Got His Gun is a book that is an anti-war book. This book is narrated by Joe who is the main character. The narration goes from first and third person. There are flashbacks from Joe’s life. The book is about Joe’s thoughts, memories, and his observation. Johnny Got His Gun takes place in a hospital bed in the early mid 1920s. This book allows the reader to see the other side of effect war has on...moreJohnny Got His Gun
By: Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by: Blanca Ahumada

The book Johnny Got His Gun is a book that is an anti-war book. This book is narrated by Joe who is the main character. The narration goes from first and third person. There are flashbacks from Joe’s life. The book is about Joe’s thoughts, memories, and his observation. Johnny Got His Gun takes place in a hospital bed in the early mid 1920s. This book allows the reader to see the other side of effect war has on people that we do not pay attention too. The most we hear about war is that many people died but this shows us that there are those you live but they can’t really support themselves and they need all the help they can get.
This book shows the daily struggle in the life of Joe after being injured in World War I. Throughout the novel Joe starts to realize that he has lost his limbs, his face, and he is now blind, deaf, and cannot smell. His biggest struggle is trying to communicate with the outside world. Joe spends every day in his bed just thinking and reminiscing about his past. When he is in his bed he eventually learns how to tell time by the vibrations of the nurse walking. He would count the seconds and minutes between the time the nurse would come and leave and return. He also learned when it was daylight because he could feel the sun when it hit his body.
When lying in his bed a general comes in and he thinks it was his family. The general starts to put something on his chest. Joe doesn’t know what it was at first but then he realizes that they are putting a badge on him. However instead of being happy about it he does the opposite he starts to get angry. He gets angry at the general because they have a higher status yet they don’t do anything that Joe did. They don’t go out and fight for their country but they have the more respect for them. Joe then begins to think of a way that he could show others the other side of war. Even if he wanted too he can’t he doesn’t have the money for them to able to take him out. He then begins with an idea for an exhibit as "the dead-man-who-is-alive… the live-man-who-is-dead."
I really enjoyed reading this book it was very interesting you never really know what was going to happen even if you thought you knew it would be completely opposite. The part I like was when he shared his thoughts and experiences. I would recommend this book to a more grown up audience because of some parts in this book. In my opinion I think the author tried to show people the other side of war that we usually don’t hear about and I think he had accomplished this. Before I even read this book I never really thought of those who struggle with daily life. We usually only hear about those who go to war or those who have died because of war but we never listen to those who have survive but who struggle with everyday life and this allows us the see the other point of view that we don’t hear about.
(less)

· see review

Mar 15, 2010

Terry Albea rated it

Johnny Got His Gun
Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by: Terry Justice Albea

Joe thought it was just another nightmare. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t open his eyes; he couldn’t move his arms, he couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t move his jaw to talk, or breathe through his nose. He couldn’t feel them. In reality, they were gone. Just as the artillery shell that hit him. Now he is a prisoner in his own body, and he can’t do anything about it.
Johnny Got His Gun has been one of the...moreJohnny Got His Gun
Dalton Trumbo
Reviewed by: Terry Justice Albea

Joe thought it was just another nightmare. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t open his eyes; he couldn’t move his arms, he couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t move his jaw to talk, or breathe through his nose. He couldn’t feel them. In reality, they were gone. Just as the artillery shell that hit him. Now he is a prisoner in his own body, and he can’t do anything about it.
Johnny Got His Gun has been one of the most controversial novels of all time. Written in 1938, almost immediately before the beginning of World War II, Trumbo wrote this novel to support the anti-war cause, when he was inspired by the story of a soldier who was horribly disfigured during World War I. Trumbo was eventually blacklisted from Hollywood as a result, Johnny Got His Gun and his other books were heavily criticized, and Trumbo was called a Communist (which was partially true).
The book begins with an introduction by Trumbo, which his first words describe World War I as a “summer festival, with “billowing skirts and golden epaulets.” He goes on to explain the true facts and statistics, where he states “It was a season of generosity; a time for boasts, bands, poems, songs, innocent prayers… Nine million corpses later, when the bands stopped and the serenities started running, the wail of bagpipes would never again sound the same.” Trumbo describes his own book as “the last American novel written about it” In his conclusion, he explains that the true purpose of the book is up to the reader, “Its present meaning is what the each reader conceives it to be, and each reader is gloriously different from every other reader, and each is also changing.”
The book begins with Joe Bonham, dwelling in the conscious of his mind, as he listens to the annoying ringing of a phone. He describes how lonely the ringing of the phone sounds, how it’s different from any phone he’s ever listened to. He eventually goes into his memories before his enlistment into the war, and his connections with everyone he met, as he wonders what their current fates are. As the book goes on, Joe slowly discovers his disabilities, starting from a missing left arm, to his right arm, to his legs, his jaw, and finally his nose. Many times he attempts to commit suicide, but is unsuccessful. As the story continues, he begins to truly recognize his situation, as he lives in his horrible nightmare.
Johnny Got His Gun is one of the most defining novels I have ever read, not just because of the story itself, but by the way it is presented. The book absolutely lacks any kind of commas, making it difficult to read whenever Joe begins to describe his past. However, this removal of such a simple kind of punctuation begins to change the whole environment in which the book is written. You almost begin to feel the deprivation from society that Joe experiences, the lost voice and sea of thoughts which Joe must continually pick through at a snail’s pace. He desperately tries to keep himself occupied, from trying to count the seconds, to remembering songs or Christmas jingles, and even trying to recite the bible. At times, even I tried to remember lyrics or pieces of songs or counting numbers just to put myself into his situation (which was very difficult!). This sort of deprivation of any kind of media begins to get to you, and you will continually attempt to put yourself into Joe’s situation.
Quite honestly, I believe that Trumbo really defines war perfectly in this book, as this could happen to anyone, as it is a very realistic situation. I couldn’t find any difficulties with this book, and I would recommend it to anyone, though more-so a mature audience. The suspense and thriller atmosphere of this book is absolutely amazing. I give Johnny Got His Gun a 5 out of 5.
(less)

· see review

Mar 15, 2010

Quinn added it

Johnny Got His Gun Review

Johnny Got His Gun is a disturbing novel about the horrors of war. It was written by Dalton Trumbo in 1938 about a young soldier who lost everything in World War I. Joe Bonham finds himself in a hospital bed and slowly realizes that both his legs and arms have been amputated and on top of that he can no longer speak, hear, see or smell. The entire book takes place inside his mind, reliving his past, questioning himself, his life, and authority, as...more
Johnny Got His Gun Review

Johnny Got His Gun is a disturbing novel about the horrors of war. It was written by Dalton Trumbo in 1938 about a young soldier who lost everything in World War I. Joe Bonham finds himself in a hospital bed and slowly realizes that both his legs and arms have been amputated and on top of that he can no longer speak, hear, see or smell. The entire book takes place inside his mind, reliving his past, questioning himself, his life, and authority, as well as trying to find ways to feel alive and live in the present. “He was a dead man with a mind that could still think. He knew all the answers that the dead knew and couldn't think about. He could speak for the dead because he was one of them. He was the first of all the soldiers who had died since the beginning of time who still had a brain left to think with.” Joe was a prisoner in his own mind, with no way out. He had trouble knowing whether he was asleep or awake and had no way of finding out the truth. Because Joe had nothing to look forward to, he was excited by the smallest changes or realizations. After being in the hospital for several years, Joe began to have a grasp on time. He was able to tell night from day by the change in temperature. Towards the end of the book he also found a way to communicate with other people through morse code, but feels lonelier than ever, when they don’t want to talk to him back.

This book was very controversial and in 1955 was banned because of its anti-war theme. After what happened to Joe, he thought a lot about how horrible war was.
“What the hell does liberty mean anyhow? It's just a word like house or table or any other word. Only it's a special kind of word. A guy says house and he can point to a house to prove it. But a guy says come on let's fight for liberty and he can't show you liberty. He can't prove the thing he's talking about so how in the hell can he be telling you to fight for it?” Trumbo expressed his feelings about war, through the mind of the fictional character Joe Bonham. Even though this book was written about WWI, it is still relatable today, and will continue to be relevant as long as war continues.
(less)

· see review

Mar 16, 2010

Joseph Anthony added it

Situation

The main situation/ thing about this book, is about a man named Johnny. This man Johnny was fighting in a war when he was hit by a bomb. The book had explained how severe the condition Johnny was in after he was hit. It was explained that all four limbs were directly affected and so was his face. In the end, the doctors had ended up cutting off/ amputating his legs. His conditions became worse, instead of good. The doctors had eventually got off his arms off as w...more

Situation

The main situation/ thing about this book, is about a man named Johnny. This man Johnny was fighting in a war when he was hit by a bomb. The book had explained how severe the condition Johnny was in after he was hit. It was explained that all four limbs were directly affected and so was his face. In the end, the doctors had ended up cutting off/ amputating his legs. His conditions became worse, instead of good. The doctors had eventually got off his arms off as well. Now he is without any limbs at all. He cannot walk and he cannot do anything really considering his face was affected as well; he couldn’t hear, talk, or see. Life was very tough for him. Every day, when it was necessary for him to eat, he was fed food through some kind of tube. As if this weren’t bad enough for him, he also didn’t know when it was day or night. At some points in the book, he did now even know if he were asleep of awake.

Things that seem different about this book

On of the things that seemed different about this book is the grammar. Throughout the book, I had noticed that there are several grammar mistakes. I would be reading a sentence and then, out of nowhere I would be reading into a different thought/ line. For example while I was reading, I believe that there were lines that were supposed to have a punctual ending to it- a period. Another thing about this book, it had seemed to be a book that it is in a way against war; and anti- war book. After reading what had occurred, from the perspective of the person, it had seemed very harsh. The book had talked about what had happened to Johnny and what the doctors had to do to him in order to keep him alive. Considering all of this had happened all because of war, it had brought up the feeling that war has and can destroy lives.

General feelings about this book

Overall, I had felt that this book was writing alright. Even though the “Chicago Daily News” had said great things about this book, I cannot say things as great as they had said. I think that this book was in fact engaging, but I feel that it was not engaging enough to the point where I had been absolutely amazed. Even though I say this, I still feel that I was interested in the majority of the book. Before in the past, I have read many other books and some of these other books just seemed as if I was reading a documentary of an event that has occurred. But when I had read this book, it did not seem like other books. This book seemed to be coming from a perspective of someone who has gone through/ has gone through what had happened. I suppose that when a book is written in this kind of perspective, it seems to become more and more interesting to me. It demonstrates exactly the purpose of a book is: to tell a story to the readers. For example, this is one the ways that this book had done this: “He showed me…”

(less)

· see review

Mar 14, 2010

Carolina rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Johnny Got His Gun
By Dalton Trumbo
Review by Carolina Esquivel

When soldiers go to war, they shouldn’t expect to come back home with all of their body parts. The main character of Johnny Got his Gun didn’t have most of his body parts, he didn’t even have the opportunity to come back home again. The author, Dalton Trumbo, never mentions the action in the war that is taking place in the book. Instead you stay inside the mind of the main character and his thoughts on his past...moreJohnny Got His Gun
By Dalton Trumbo
Review by Carolina Esquivel

When soldiers go to war, they shouldn’t expect to come back home with all of their body parts. The main character of Johnny Got his Gun didn’t have most of his body parts, he didn’t even have the opportunity to come back home again. The author, Dalton Trumbo, never mentions the action in the war that is taking place in the book. Instead you stay inside the mind of the main character and his thoughts on his past, future and present. The main character, Johnny, has no legs, arms, eyes, ears, mouth or nose; he is just a piece of body that has a mind. After reading the description of his physicality, Trumbo makes you think and wonder; what would you do if you were in Johnny’s shoes? But he already has an answer for that question in his book.
Johnny’s memories take you to know what his past, it makes you feel a closer connection with the main character. But he is just a confused person, he use to have legs and arms, although the doctors cut them off and all that he can do is wonder why. Even for a man that lies in bed all day, he has many things to worry about, like why the doctors cut off his arms and legs, what day is it, where is his family, was he awake or asleep, dreaming or having nightmares? After being inside of his mind for three years, he could only come up with so much.
One of the conclusions that he had come to was; the war wasn’t what everybody thought it was. In reality it just destroyed the lives of many men and families, and for what? For liberty? He thought to himself, “And all the guys who died all the five million or seven million or ten million who went out and died to make the world safe for democracy to make the world safe for words without meaning how did they feel about it just before they died…so did all those kids die thinking of democracy and liberty and honor and the safety of the home and the stars and stripes forever?” In other words the war is destroying the lives of the millions of teenagers that fight for something that they don’t know so much about.
After staying in his mind for so long and having no other opinion to distract him, he begins to wonder about everything that is going on in the war. He begins to make questions and tries to commit suicide but can’t because there is no way. Then he remembers using Morse code with his childhood friend, using this method he tries to communicate with the nurses that tend his needs. He begins to tap his head against the pillow and begins to say SOS.
This interesting book does have its message. It entertains you and makes you curious to know what would you do if you were Johnny and what goes through his head when he in the hospital bed not able to do anything. I recommend this book to people who are into fiction books and like surprises in the end.

(less)

· see review

Mar 13, 2010

Mia Sheperd added it

Johnny Got His Gun was all about tragedies that can occur during war. This book was originally was published in 1939, two days after the outbreak of World War II. The novel was a pacifist piece published in wartime. It taught the bad ideas of war and Hitler burned all copies in the 1940’s. This story is written about a man who had nothing and had to live and survive with only his mind to rely on. You find out early on in the book that due to the war he lost all his limbs, his mouth, ears, ...more
Johnny Got His Gun was all about tragedies that can occur during war. This book was originally was published in 1939, two days after the outbreak of World War II. The novel was a pacifist piece published in wartime. It taught the bad ideas of war and Hitler burned all copies in the 1940’s. This story is written about a man who had nothing and had to live and survive with only his mind to rely on. You find out early on in the book that due to the war he lost all his limbs, his mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. This tragic loss for the main character, Joe, was being drafted into World War I.

After he was sent to war at 19 years old, he got severely injured and brought to a hospital. Instead of trying to save him and heal Joe’s wounds, they cut off every part of him that had a harsh wound. This left him with only a mind and a pumping heart to keep him alive. In this estate Joe goes through a series of flashbacks of his past and does what ever he can to occupy himself. He also has many dreams. At times you don’t know if the dreams are real or just a dream. The scary part is, the character oe also admits that he cannot ell what is a dream and what is reality. He cannot tell when he is sleeping or when he is awake. A part of one of his dreams goes like this, “When he had run without legs until he was tired and when he had screamed without voice until his throat hurt he fell back into the womb back into the quietude back into the loneliness and the blackness and the terrible silence."

The entire story is spent inside Joe’s mind. You learn what his past was about ad how hard it would be to not be able to hear, see, smell, taste or touch anything around you. Over time Joe discovers things that are beyond his mind. He discovers time, location, even size of a human being just being on a hospital bed.
I thought that Johnny Got His Gun was a very interesting and sad story. The way the author’s writing was very different and personally, not something I liked. He never used any punctuation such as commas or quotations. This made it very difficult to follow because I did not know what was being said and what was being thought. Also, no dates were used. There are many flashbacks throughout the book and none of which are separated by the present time of the book, which makes it difficult to know what is past and present. Another problem I had with this book was the randomness of it. I would be reading a part about what is happening in the hospital and then suddenly he goes and talks about a completely separate subject that I feel has no connection. There might have been some type of connection that I just didn’t understand, but I felt it was completely unnecessary.

Overall I liked this story a lot. I think that if it had been less confusing with the dates and times I would have liked it better. I loved how the author stayed inside Joe’s mind the entire novel. It made it seem so real and terrifying at times. I thought that the author was very clear about the inhumanity of modern warfare. At the end of the story, Joe even wants to share with people the brutal realities of war. I suggest reading Johnny Got His Gun to those who would like to learn the failures of war.
(less)

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 381 382 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Who has read this and what did you think?	8	23	Jan 21, 2012 05:43am

combine
Other Editions (40)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

101 users

War

75 users

Historical Fiction

58 users

Literature

26 users

Novels

20 users

Politics

18 users

Literature > American

9 users

Philosophy

8 users

War > Military

8 users

Literature > 20th Century

8 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Dalton Trumbo

Dalton Trumbo worked as a cub reporter for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, covering courts, the high school, the mortuary and civic organizations. He attended the University of Colorado for two years working as a reporter for the Boulder Daily Camera and contributing to the campus humor magazine, the yearbook and the campus newspaper. He got his start working for Vogue magazine. His first publi...more

More about Dalton Trumbo...

Books by Dalton Trumbo

The Time of the Toad: A Study of Inquisition in America & Two Related Pamphlets

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Johnny Got His Gun

16 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Johnny Got His Gun

“did anybody ever come back from the dead any single one of the millions who got killed did any one of them ever come back and say by god i'm glad i'm dead because death is always better than dishonor? did they say i'm glad i died to make the world safe for democracy? did they say i like death better than losing liberty? did any of them ever say it's good to think i got my guts blown out for the honor of my country? did any of them ever say look at me i'm dead but i died for decency and that's better than being alive? did any of them ever say here i am i've been rotting for two years in a foreign grave but it's wonderful to die for your native land? did any of them say hurray i died for womanhood and i'm happy see how i sing even though my mouth is choked with worms?” — 16 people liked it

“Of course a lot of guys were ashamed. Somebody said let's go out and fight for liberty and so they went out and got killed without ever once thinking of liberty. And what kind of liberty were they fighting for anyway? How much liberty and whose kind of liberty? Were they fighting for the liberty of eating free ice cream cones all their lives or for the liberty of robbing anybody they pleased whenever they wanted to or what? You tell a man he can't rob and you take away some of his liberty. You've got to. What the hell does liberty mean anyhow? It's a word like house or table or any other word. Only it's a special kind of word. A guy says house and he can point to a house to prove it. But a guy says come on let's fight for liberty and he can't show you liberty. He can't prove the thing he's talking about so how in the hell can he be telling you to fight for it? No sir anybody who went out and got into the front line trenches to fight for liberty was a goddamn fool and the guy who got him there was a liar.” — 11 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved Johnny Got His Gun

History, Medicine, and Sc...

560 members

last activity Feb 04, 2012 12:28pm

shelf: read

Around the World in 80 Books

330 members

last activity 38 minutes ago

shelf: to-read

title link	preview: Johnny Got His Gun
avg rating	preview: Johnny Got His Gun Goodreads rating: 4.12 (7442 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51606.Johnny_Got_His_Gun?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223648549m/51606.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51606.Johnny_Got_His_Gun?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo[/url]

Johnny Got His Gun

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website