History Literature / TheUnknownSoldier

** RealityEnsues when the poor characters have to ''carry'' their {{BFG}} across forests and marshes, under enemy fire and while hungry and exhausted. Near the end they're gleefully happy to get to [[spoiler:throw their machine guns into a pond and become an ordinary rifle company.]]

** RealityEnsues when Rokka is saved from being sentenced to prison for disobedience only because the battalion leader decides to forgive him one last time, and when Viirilä [[spoiler:is shot on spot]] for refusing to obey orders to StandYourGround.

* RealityEnsues: On many levels, to the point that this trope could be seen as the heart of the novel. The reality that ensues is that when a small nation gets high on patriotic fervor and tries to take on a much larger neighbor, hoping to build "Greater Finland," Spoiler: it doesn't end well. All the nationalistic, idealistic dreams of the intellectual elite of the day are mercilessly shot down as unrealistic and in fact immoral. All pathetic, romantic beliefs of the heroism of war and warriors are torn to pieces. Hollow pro-war propaganda meets the dirty reality and doesn't survive the encounter.

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Lieutenant Koskela habitually ignores rules and even moral to [[TheMenFirst ease the life of his men]], who are suffering of genuine hunger and exhaustion. Ultimately, when he [[YouAreInCommandNow ends up filling in as the battalion leader]], he disobeys the Division leader's command for the battalion to [[StandYourGround keep on attacking in a hopeless situation]] and instead organizes a retreat through the marshes to save the battalion from being closed in and destroyed in a cauldron. He is mercilessly [[RealityEnsues verbally torn down for it in front of his men]] by the said division leader once he and the battalion get back to friendly territory.

* {{Foil}}: [[SociopathicSoldier Lehto]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Riitaoja]], [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Koskela]] and [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating Lammio]], [[BoisterousBruiser Rokka]] and [[TheQuietOne Susi]], [[TheHeart Hietanen]] and [[TheHedonist Rahikainen]], [[OfficerAndAGentleman Kariluoto]] and [[PsychopathicManchild Viirilä]]... the characters are regularly contrasted with their opposite.

* GallowsHumor: Among all the death, suffering, fear and bitterness there's plenty of life, and surprisingly often the reader finds himself laughing teary eyed at the cheeky banter of the characters. ''They'' need to find a way to cope with the misery of their situation, and doing so they help to prevent the reader [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy from phasing out]].

* BadassArmy: Mercilessly and hilariously [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] and [[ReconstructedTrope reconstructed]], to the disappointment of the more idealistic characters, who would not only want to be victorious, but to be victorious with style.

* CastOfExpies: Linna consciously drew inspiration from a culturally important 19th century novel, ''Seven Brothers'' by Aleksis Kivi, and mentioned half seriously that his novel was the story of Kivi's brothers going to war. The story does have a core cast of about 7 or 8 men, all part of the BandOfBrothers, and similarities have been seen between them and the brothers of Kivi's novel. See also WriteWhoYouKnow.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Captain Lammio. His men universally hate him for being an absolute martinet but lacking actual faults to loathe.
** Lieutenant Colonel Karjula. He is so pig-headed that ''even Lammio'' hates him.
* TheAce: Corporal Antti Rokka is easily the most capable fighter in the company.

* {{Adorkable}}: Hietanen gets all shy and clumsy when he meets pretty women.

* AngerBornOfWorry: Hietanen, yelling at the NewMeat who immediately forgot his instructions.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Corporal Lehto.
* AteHisGun: [[spoiler:Corporal Lehto. Also Private Ukkola as he gets severly wounded.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Sergeant Hietanen, Corporal Lahtinen and Major Sarastie.

* BadassBoast: Lieutenant Koskela usually behaves in very correctly and prudently, [[OutOfCharacterMoment but when drunk]]: ''Koskela Suomesta! Syö rautaa ja paskantaa kettinkiä!'' ("Koskela from Finland! Eats iron and shits out chain!")

** Notably Koskela drops his polite, considerate behavior once drunk, and lets out all his years-long bitterness caused by his Red family background and his inability to adapt to the company and mentality of the White officers, and so starts a drunken brawl with the other officers.
** Also Lehto is said to have quite a rich, intellectual internal life under his stone cold, silent surface - he just never tells anyone what he's thinking, as he doesn't want to let anyone close to him.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Lieutenant Kariluoto. Also 2nd Lieutenant Jalovaara at the end of the book.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Lieutenant Koskela.

* BigBrotherMentor: Rokka to the younger soldiers. He's older than them, already a veteran and a husband and a father, while most of the platoon members were taken into the army from their childhood homes.
* BigFun: Vanhala, the resident PluckyComicRelief and an essential and appreciated member of [[TheSquad the platoon]].
* TheBigGuy: Ironically the strongest, the most resilient and most stoic and reliable is Määttä, [[PintSizedPowerhouse the shortest]].

* BloodKnight: Lieutenant Colonel Uuno Eemeli Karjula, who is ''incredibly'' pig-headed. Doubles as MeaningfulName, as ''karju'' means "boar" in Finnish.

During its writing, the Unknown Soldier saw extensive ExecutiveMeddling by the publisher [=WSOY=]. The vulgarity of Linna's writing as well as many of the negative remarks by the characters of the book towards Finnish military high command, religion, communism, Soviet Union and the war itself were considered too Politically Incorrect for 1950s Finland and subsequently significant amount of these comments were deleted from the final release of the book by the publisher without them consulting with Linna about it. On the other hand the publisher also removed extensive [[AuthorFilibuster Author Filibusters]] by the narrator that the publisher and many readers alike felt ruined the flow of the book and were oftentimes {{Anvilicious}} in nature. An uncut version of Linna's writings was published in 2000 under the title ''Sotaromaani'' (A War Novel). Whether these last minute changes ultimately improved the work or not is still hotly debated by critics and audiences alike. Unfortunately the only currently existing English version of Sotaromaani [[BlindIdiotTranslation is very poorly translated]].

The book has been translated into many languages; however the original English translation not only omits some scenes but even changes some character's personalities entirely. A new English translation has been made in 2015 by Penguin Classics under the title '''Unknown Soldiers'''. It is highly recommended reading.

''The Unknown Soldier'' is a novel by Finnish author Väinö Linna. It is a war novel, with its milieu being the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union in 1941-1944. The story describes the tour of duty of a Finnish machine gun company and its men. The main protagonists are the men of rank and file and lower-ranking officers, who are all conscripts or reservists.

* RealityEnsues: On many levels, to the point that this trope could be seen as the heart of the novel. The Continuation War is the reality that ensues when a small nation gets high on patriotic fervor and tries to take on a much larger neighbor, hoping to build "Greater Finland". Spoiler: it doesn't end well. All the nationalistic, idealistic dreams of the intellectual elite of the day are mercilessly shot down as unrealistic and in fact immoral. All pathetic, romantic beliefs of the heroism of war and warriors are torn to pieces. Hollow pro-war propaganda meets the dirty reality and doesn't survive the encounter.

* WasItReallyWorthIt: In the beginning, the narrator wonders if the people who ask "were our sacrifices in the Winter War too heavy" really sacrificed that much themselves, for them to be asking such things. At the end of the novel, Finland gains nothing from the Continuation War it started, and the only success it has is managing to avoid the worst, aka being occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union.

* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: Full 10, both novel and all three films. By God, this is a ''[[CaptainObvious war novel]]''.

* HaveIMentionedIAmSexuallyActiveToday: As bragging about their sexual feats is a popular past time activity, they end up making themselves bigger Don Juans than they actually are.

* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: invoked only to be constantly turned down. The soldiers complain against every command, question the war and curse the higher ups. But as the narrator remarks, while to the outsider it might seem that the army is on the verge of TheMutiny, they still keep obeying loyally, save for isolated cases of disobedience.

* RagTagBunchOfMisfits: The narrator takes great pleasure in the fact that the {{Conscription}} army resembles this rather than the EliteArmy it's told to be in propaganda.

* NotSoDifferent: The Soviets. Double as PunchClockVillain s.

During its writing, the Unknown Soldier saw extensive ExecutiveMeddling by the publisher [=WSOY=]. The vulgarity of Linna's writing as well as many of the negative remarks by the characters of the book towards Finnish military high command, religion, communism, Soviet Union and the war itself were considered too Politically Incorrect for 1950s Finland and subsequently significant amount of these comments were deleted from the final release of the book by the publisher without them consulting with Linna about it. On the other hand the publisher also removed extensive [[AuthorFilibuster Author Filibusters]] by the narrator that the publisher and many readers alike felt ruined the flow of the book and were oftentimes {{Anvilicious}} in nature. An uncut version of Linna's writings was published in 2000 under the title ''Sotaromaani'' (A War Novel). Whether these last minute changes ultimately improved the work or not is still hotly debated by critics and audiences alike. Unfortunately the only currently existing English version of Sotaromaani [[BlindIdiotTranslation is very poorly translated]]

* SergeantRock: Sergeant Hietanen. Also Corporal Rokka to [[EnsignNewbie newbie 2nd Lieutenant Kariluoto]]

The book is written in extremely realistic style. Battle scenes are not sanitized, and the traits, personalities and psychologies of the soldiers are well portrayed. Because its utter naturalism, it is considered heavily an [[WarIsHell anti-war novel]] rather than a heroic epic.

** Even though, this isn't meant to be simply a straightforwardly heroic thing to do. Salo has through the story wanted to [[IJustWantToBeBadass be braver than he is]], only to be [[SmallNameBigEgo put down]] and [[TheFool mocked by the others]]. Now he uses this opportunity to shine, even if it means unreasonably and pointlessly exposing himself to mortal danger. But it works - the other characters are so impressed with his bravery that their entire memories of him are changed, and even though they never see him again, [[CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming from then on they remember him as a brave man]].

* TankGoodness: We only encounter Soviet tanks, and they're a source of terror among the Finns. Destroying one is a major CrowningMomentOfAwesome for anyone who succeeds in it.

* BombWhistle: DiscussedTrope. Sergeant Hietanen criticizes AllQuietOnTheWesternFront for claiming you can hear from the whistle which grenades are dangerous and which aren't.

** TruthIntelevision: in the real life most deserters simply returned voluntarily back to their units once they had gotten rest and their minds sorted. No further consequences ensued.

* BloodKnight: Lieutenant Colonel Uuno Eemeli Karjula, who is ''incredibly'' pig-headed. Doubles as MeaningfulName, as ''karju'' means "hog" in Finnish.

* GenreSavvy: Lieutenant Koskela always understands how to correctly react in each situation, whether it's an attack that gets nowhere, or the men seemingly being close to a mutiny.

* TheAce: Corporal Antti Rokka.

The novel has been made into a film two times: a black and white movie by Edvin Laine in 1955, and in colour by Rauni Mollberg in 1985. Both filmations had good success. Rumors of a third film adaption surfaced in 2014 but were initially denied by the director Aku Louhimies, however a few months later he confirmed the existence of the project and the movie was officially announced in August 18th 2015. The third film adaption is going to be based in the uncut Sotaromaani version of the book and was slated for release in October 27th, 2017, with a 7 million euro budget - the biggest and most expensive Finnish movie to date - with its premiere being part of the nationwide celebrations of the 100th year of Finnish independence.