History Literature / JohnnyGotHisGun

** The Prince of Wales did visit a soldier who lost his limbs in a Canadian veterans hospital, and the same soldier did appear in at least one newspaper article which referenced the meeting. [[http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/how-this-wwi-veteran-became-metallicas-one]] The rest appears to be Trumbo's own invention.
* TheBlank: Joe's entire face is blown off, including his entire mouth. All he is left with is one hole for breathing

* AltumVidetur: A title card before the film's closing credit reads "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" which means "It is sweet and proper to die for one's country".

* MindScrew: Due to his horrendous impairment, Joe can't discern dream and reality. He sees crazy imagery such as Jesus Christ and other strange mish mash between his memories and imagination. The movie expands of those. The novel implies a lot of Joe's MindScrew is caused by [[MushroomSamba the copious injection of tranquilizers]].

A 1938 novel by DaltonTrumbo that became a rallying point for the political left during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. It follows a young man named Joe Bonham, who, after becoming grievously injured during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, is left deaf, blind, dumb, and without any limbs. Throughout the book, Joe reminisces about the life he lost, waxes philosophical on war and conscription, and tries desperately to communicate with the doctors keeping him alive.

* BasedOnATrueStory: Trumbo claims he came up with the idea for ''Johnny Got His Gun'' after reading an article about the Prince of Wales's visit to a soldier who had lost all of his limbs and senses in a Canadian veterans' hospital.

* MindScrew: Due to his horrendous impairment, Joe can't discern dream and reality. He sees crazy imagery such as Jesus Christ and other strange mish mash between his memories and imagination. The movie expands of those.
** The novel implies a lot of Joe's MindScrew is caused by [[MushroomSamba the copious injection of tranquilizers]].

** MadnessMantra: [[spoiler:Just before fading to black, "S.O.S. Help me"]].

* [[StillFightingTheCivilWar Still Fighting The Forty-Five]]: During one of his reveries, Joe remembers a Scottish soldier who refused to fight against a Bavarian regiment because they were led by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupprecht,_Crown_Prince_of_Bavaria Crown Prince Rupert]], [[HanoverStuartWars who held the Jacobite claim to the throne of England]]. Joe was amazed the soldier's superiors didn't just shoot him for treason; instead, they rotated him to the back of the trenches until the Bavarians themselves were rotated out.

* ICannotSelfTerminate: Joe begs to be killed. In the movie a nurse tries to give end his life, but is stopped.

* DramaticIrony: In the film Joe is raised a Christian Scientist, whose belief entails that the material world doesn't exist, including disease and injury. Realizing this will heal you. Joe is seen desperately trying to tell himself "Nothing exists but mind" without success.

* ArmiesAreEvil: A nurse realizes that Joe is banging his head against the headstand in Morse Code. But she doesn't know Morse. So she brings in an officer to translate. When the officer realizes that Joe is asking to be either displayed as a monument to the horrors of war or permitted to die, all his response is "What you ask is against regulations."

* BodyHorror: Joe is reduced to the minimum necessary to sustain life. Even his limbs have been completely disarticulated so he doesn't have so much as a stump.

* EveryoneKnowsMorse: Joe mentions that he learned the morse code [[ChekhovsHobby in his childhood]] when he used it to communicate with a neighbor boy.

* HelpfulHallucination: In one of his fantasy sequences, Joe's father reminds him to use the morse code for communication.
* HopeSpot: When Joe [[spoiler: finally manages to get his anti-draft message across to the people]].
* ICannotSelfTerminate: Joe begs to be killed. In the movie a nurse tries to give him one, but is stopped.

* TheBlank: Joe's entire face is blown off, including his entre mouth. All he is left with is one hole for breathing

* TheLonelyDoor: In the film, during Joe's halucinations he steps out of the bakery door and into a forest scene with the door still standing amidst the trees.

* MindScrew: Due to his horrendous impairement, Joe can't discern dream and reality. He sees crazy imagery such as Jesus Christ and other strange mish mash between his memories and imagination. The movie expands of those.

* [[StillFightingTheCivilWar Still Fighting The Forty-Five]]: During one of his reveries, Joe remembers a Scottish soldier who refused to fight against a Bavarian regiment because they were led by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupprecht,_Crown_Prince_of_Bavaria Crown Prince Rupert]], [[HanoverStuartWars who held the Jacobite claim to the throne of England]]. Joe was amazed the soldier's superiors didn't just shoot him for treason; instead, they rotated him to the back of the trenches until the Bavarians themseleves were rotated out.

!!Tropes:

* DownerEnding

* MercyKill: Joe begs for one. In the movie a nurse tries to give him one, but is stopped.

* TheBlank
* BodyHorror

* SarcasticTitle: The book is fiercely anti-war, but the title comes from the American UsefulNotes/WorldWarI rallying slogan 'Johnny get your gun'.

A 1938 novel by DaltonTrumbo that became a rallying point for the political left during WorldWarII. It follows a young man named Joe Bonham, who, after becoming grievously injured during WorldWarOne, is left deaf, blind, dumb, and without any limbs. Throughout the book, Joe reminisces about the life he lost, waxes philosophical on war and conscription, and tries desperately to communicate with the doctors keeping him alive.

* SarcasticTitle: The book is fiercely anti-war, but the title comes from the American WorldWarOne rallying slogan 'Johnny get your gun'.

** MadnessMantra: [[spoiler: just before fading to black, "S.O.S. Help me"]].

----

* WarIsHell: One of the central messages of the novel and film.

* WarIsHell: One of the central messages of the novel and film.

----
<<|{{Literature}}|>>

* ArmiesAreEvil: A nurse realizes that Joe is banging his head against the headstand in Morse Code. But she doesn't know Morse. So she brings in an officer to translate. When the officer realizes that Joe is asking to be either displayed as a monument to the horrors of war or permitted to die, all his response is ''What you ask is against regulations.''

* [[StillFightingTheCivilWar Stll Fighting The Forty-Five]]: During one of his reveries, Joe remembers a Scottish soldier who refused to fight against a Bavarian regiment because they were led by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupprecht,_Crown_Prince_of_Bavaria Crown Prince Rupert]], [[HanoverStuartWars who held the Jacobite claim to the throne of England]]. Joe was amazed the soldier's superiors didn't just shoot him for treason; instead, they rotated him to the back of the trenches until the Bavarians themseleves were rotated out.

* ArmiesAreEvil: A nurse realizes that Joe is banging his head against the headstand in Morse Code. But she doesn't know Morse. So she brings in an officer to translate. When the officer realizes that Joe is asking to be either displayed as a monument to the horrors of war or permitted to die, all his response is missing is an EvilLaugh - probably because he doesn't want the nurse to interfere.
-->''What you ask is against regulations.''

* [[StillFightingTheCivilWar Stll Fighting The Forty-Five]]: During one of his reveries, Joe remembers a Scottish soldier who refused to fight against a Bavarian regiment because they were lead by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupprecht,_Crown_Prince_of_Bavaria Crown Prince Rupert]], [[HanoverStuartWars who held the Jacobite claim to the throne of England]]. Joe was amazed the soldier's superiors didn't just shoot him for treason; instead, they rotated him to the back of the trenches until the Bavarians themseleves were rotated out.

* [[StillFightingTheCivilWar Stll Fighting The Forty-Five]]: During one of his reveries, Joe remembers a Scottish soldier who refused to fight against a Bavarian regiment because they were lead by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupprecht,_Crown_Prince_of_Bavaria Crown Prince Rupert]], [[HanoverStuartWars who held the Jacobite claim to the throne of England]]. He's amazed his superiors don't just shoot him for treason; instead, they rotate him to the back of the trenches until the Bavarians themseleves were rotated out.

* AndIMustScream

* TimeDissonance: Telling time becomes an obsession for Joe, who has no idea how much time has passed since his accident. He starts to tell time by how often a nurse comes in to change his sheets and then by trying to feel the sun on his body.