Talk:Johnny Got His Gun

The book itself
Is there a reason that this article doesn't actually mention anything at all about the actual content of the book? If this was edited out at some point, It would be good to know why. It is strange that the article says nothing at all about the book's subject, characters, plot line or message.

Ken Burch 5:56, 22 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Almost six years later we still say almost nothing about the book's themes.
 * Is the infobox datum appropriate, "Followed by [1971 film]"? It may be revealing. Perhaps there is an article rather than a stub for the book primarily because of the film. --P64 (talk) 18:49, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Argument against war
The book Johnny Got His Gun is a seething argument against war. Its messages are relevant today more than ever. Almost seventy years after the book was written, its prophetic vision has been proven to be accurate. Technological advancements have made it even easier for humans to kill themselves. This book should be read and remembered. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.17.32.26 (talk • contribs) 21:51, November 4, 2005 (UTC)


 * There have also been equally amazing advances in the field of medicine. The odds that a case like this would happen in modern times are very slim. A book to be remembered? Sure. But definatly not one to be thought of as an arguement against modern war. (USMA2010 18:20, 20 June 2006 (UTC))


 * Actually, given the recent revelations about conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other veterans' hospitals, and the fact that modern battlefield medicine has allowed many soldiers to survive wounds that would almost certainly have been fatal in prior wars, it is arguable that this novel is more timely than ever. —Josiah Rowe (talk • contribs) 18:18, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

"the book became "a rally point for the political left" which had opposed involvement in World War II"

This is wrong. It was the Robert Taft Republicans that were 'non-interventionists' and opposed to the war. It was used by the political left during the Vietnam War. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.57.57.126 (talk) 14:56, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

censored?
Wasn't the book censored in the US at several times? 84.44.169.124 06:28, 25 November 2006 (UTC)
 * According to the article on Dalton Trumbo, the author himself, stopped selling the 1939 book after Germany invaded Russia in 1941. He agreed to sell it again starting in 1959. Two years later President/General Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against the military-industrial complex in 1961.204.80.61.110 17:31, 8 March 2007 (UTC)Bennett Turk

Fair use rationale for Image:Gothisgun.jpg
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Connection to Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the book was based on the Irish song Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye (as the protagonist of the song comes back from war without legs or arms) but I can't find a source. Has anyone else heard this? 69.215.156.137 21:02, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
 * It's a similarity, but it's probably just a coincidence. Calgary (talk) 01:07, 13 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I have deleted this line, which is not attested by the source for its paragraph (SparkNotes).
 * There is a close connection with the early nineteenth century folk song "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" which cannot be accidental.
 * --P64 (talk) 18:17, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Resources
This article relies heavily on SparkNotes, perhaps more than the numerous references suggest. Yet it says almost nothing about the book's themes, where SparkNotes is eloquent. That is odd.

These three reviews must be useful. The first one is.
 * http://www.unz.org/Pub/SaturdayRev-1939sep09-00005?View=PDF Saturday Review of Literature 1939-09-09 (pdf)
 * http://www.lrb.co.uk/v22/n05/theo-tait/thats-democracy London Review of Books 2000-03-02 (partly for subscribers only)
 * http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/16/johnny-got-his-gun-trumbo theguardian The Observer 2009-08-15

I have deleted Amazon.com whose (current) page for this book may add nothing and does not give the referenced publication date January 1 that I have corrected to September 3. --P64 (talk) 18:28, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Original serial?
We say this was published as a book September 1939 (true), published serially in March 1940 (?), and we put it in Categories for original serials. --P64 (talk) 01:31, 27 January 2012 (UTC)

Song actually based on story, or coincidence?
Was just reading comments about the song, on another site, and a guy who sounded like he was relaying known info contradicted someone's statement about the song One being based on the story -- instead saying they made the song, then found out about the movie, and incorporated it into the music video. So is there a citation saying for sure it was based on the tale, or is it just a coincidence? I don't see any concrete claims either here or on the song's page. Someone please verify, or else rephrase to avoid saying it's based on the tale, only that the song's video makes use of the tale. Kilyle (talk) 11:15, 17 August 2016 (UTC)
 * YOU are "someone"! Go for it, Kilyle.  No editorial staff, here, just folks like you.  rags (talk) 10:27, 1 January 2018 (UTC)

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Communist
Trumbo was certainly a communist, at least early in his career, and possibly until death. He "joined the [American] Communist Party in 1943". That stipulated, the subject of this article is not communism, nor does it promote, or even mention, communist ideas. I suggest that it is inappropriate, therefore, to include in the lede this label of communist. The story is antiwar, yes. That doesn't equate to communist. rags (talk) 11:07, 1 January 2018 (UTC)
 * I see that the label was added less than two months ago. I would speculate that there is no consensus.  We'll see.  It's worth considering  that the "commies", at least the Soviets, were our allies when this book was written, and at least until the end of the war.  rags (talk) 13:11, 1 January 2018 (UTC)