Is Dalton Trumbos 1939 novel “Johnny Got His Gun” taught in schools any more?
I remember finishing it in high school and being fairly rocked back. It may be one of those books like, say, “The Catcher in the Rye,” “Lord of the Flies,” or “The Chocolate War” whose depressive, fatalistic sting strikes deepest when you’re in your teens. The emo years. A time when you can still be shocked and outraged at the unfairness of life. Trumbo’s novel tells the story of Joe Bonham, a soldier in World War I who loses his arms, legs, and even his face when a shell goes off nearby. There he lies in an Army hospital bed, kept alive only because the government doctors want to see how such a grievously wounded man can survive. Unable to communicate, Joe frequently retreats into his own head, where dreams and reality are impossible to tell apart. Finally a kindly nurse traces a message on his chest, which he understands, and he figures out a way to talk back by beating his head lightly against his pillow in Morse code. The story ends on a thorough bummer note, leaving us with nothin
