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Johnny Got His Gun
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Plot Summary of Johnny Got His Gun
"Johnny is a small town American boy who has to go and fight in World War 1. He gets terribly injured, and comes to in a war hospital. As he recovers, he realises that he is blind, and deaf, and has no mouth, and no arms, and no legs. He is just a stump with a mind.

The story has two sides. One the one side we see him as a young man before the war, understand what he was like and what his future could have been like. One the other side, he is coming to realise his present situation and prospects.

This is a very dramatic look at what war is really about, and is particularly relevant in these days when so many people seem keen to fight."

John Samson, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Johnny Got His Gun
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 1900-1920's
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - conduct in war
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians Yes
Brain/Body disability? - physical disability
Conflict: - War, general - War, WW I

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - infantry soldier
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - missing body parts/abilities

Main Adversary
Identity: - society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 (a fair amount)
United States Yes
Misc setting - fort/military installation

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - a lot of stream of consciousness - written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to Johnny Got His Gun
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Shamrock Green by Jessica Stirling
Regeneration by Pat Barker
The Wars by Timothy Findley
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek


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