, and then finally gets one. Throughout the book several are named. Joe is even betrayed by his best friend Bill for a girlfriend. When Joe goes to war, his girlfriend Kareen tries to stop him. Girls always surround Joe. Even when he is faceless, there always seems to be a nurse around him. In this way women play a pivotal role in the book. It is obviously apparent that Trumbo is viciously against war through his novel. He aptly shows this through the pain and suffering one soldier endures for the rest of his life. Although Trumbo was never in a war himself, Joe’s civilian experiences are also first-hand experiences for the author. For instance, both Joe and Trumbo worked in a bakery when they were younger, and both lived a civilian life with a family, friends, and girlfriends. Trumbo’s major source is secondary though. He was inspired to write the novel when he read a newspaper article about a horribly disfigured British officer from World War I. Though he has no first hand experience with war, he captures the essence of it admirably. And also even though the novel is fictitious, with no bibliography or works cited, Trumbo most likely did a great deal of research on the topic before writing.Despite the fact that Johnny Got His Gun is strongly colored by Trumbo’s own intense anti-war sentiments, I feel it’s a good cautionary tale. So many young men and women, especially in these days, yearn for war and hope the ‘bad guys’ die; they often forget that just as often one of their numbers may die. After reading this book, I realize that war is not a glory; it’s not large battles and wondrous fights with our country emerging victorious. War is a very destructive and powerful force… War is a necessary evil to me, where many lose their life, and few come home in fame....
