Johnny Got His Gun Summary
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Here you will find a Johnny Got His Gun summary (Dalton Trumbo's book).
We begin with a summary of the entire book, and then you can read each individual chapter's summary by visiting the links on the "Chapters" section.
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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024
Chapters
Chapters Johnny Got His Gun Summary Overview
In a medical facility, Joe Bonham lies grievously wounded, his mind filled with flashbacks of his former life: his father's demise, his goodbye to his sweetheart Kareen before heading to fight in a foreign conflict, and his youth in Shale City, a humble community in Colorado. His recollections bubble with simple yet poignant moments of his past, like home-cooked meals, the first plane touching down in Shale City, and losing his love, Diane, to his closest friend, Bill Harper. His thoughts oscillate between the past and the present, filled with rue over his decision to be a part of a war that had nothing to do with him. It dawns on him that he has sustained major injuries, having been in a hospital bed all along. He senses that his limbs have been removed and he no longer has the ability to talk, see, hear, or smell due to the loss of his face. He grapples with the harsh reality of his condition, questioning the doctors' decision to keep him alive. As he navigates through a labyrinth of memories and horrifying dreams, he reminisces about his father's lush gardens, the taste of wholesome meals, and the seeming aimlessness of his father's life because he didn't amass any wealth. His mind keeps circling back to the absurdity of fighting and sacrificing oneself for a war that had no relevance to him, and the deceptive nature of lofty terms like 'liberty', 'democracy', 'freedom', and 'decency'. Time trudges on, and Joe fills his thoughts with stories, facts, and figures, trying to sense the world outside using the remaining skin on his neck. He hatches a plan to count the days by feeling the warmth of the sunrise, marking the nurses' visits, and keeping a tally of the passing days. After a year, he successfully completes his count and silently celebrates the New Year. In his fourth year, he is startled to feel that he is being displayed to visitors, and a medal is placed on his chest. His anger flares, and he attempts to show the visitors the war's damage by removing his mask. He realizes that he can communicate through vibrations, and starts tapping out SOS in Morse code. However, his nurse misunderstands his tapping as seizures and sedates him. When he wakes up, he discovers a new nurse who tries to communicate with him. After many attempts, she realizes he's communicating in Morse code. After summoning a Morse code expert, Joe asks to be shown to the world as a testament to the realities of war. However, his request is denied due to regulations. In despair, Joe tries to understand why he is denied the chance to communicate his story, and realizes that the authorities are scared to reveal the true face of war to the public.
chapter 1
Joe Bonham is rattled by a nagging sickness and a persistent ringing, which reminds him of a phone. He reminisces about a time when he was in a bakery where he previously worked, struggling to answer a phone call. On the line is his mother, informing him of his father's passing, a message he subsequently relays to Jody Simmons, the night foreman. Joe is given a ride home by a fellow employee, navigating through the rain-drenched streets of Los Angeles. His home is eerily silent, with his father's lifeless body covered by a sheet. His older sister is in the corner, crying, and his mother welcomes him. Joe ushers the two women into the kitchen before the men tasked with retrieving his father's body arrive. Taking a final look at his 51-year-old father’s weary face, Joe feels sympathy. He observes from the kitchen as the men place his father in a wicker coffin and transport it downstairs, contemplating if they are handling it as delicately as his father would have. His memory fades, leaving him thinking about the frequency of such relapses in his current condition, with the relentless phone ringing. Gradually, Joe discerns that he isn't recovering from a hangover, but is truly ill. The silence is unnerving, broken only by the recurring phone ringing, which seems more isolated than any ringing he's heard before. Fear sets in as Joe realizes he's awake yet blind. Sweating, he becomes aware of the bandages encasing him. The shocking reality that he's deaf hits him when he fails to hear his own heartbeat. He contemplates a life communicating through written words, finding solace in the thought that he won’t have to endure the sounds of war anymore. He drifts back into his past. He remembers his parents' happiness and their fond recollections of their courtship days. His father used to call his mother from a distance of eighteen miles over a shared line, expressing his love and asking her to play the piano. With neighbors eavesdropping, she would play music for him and also fulfill their song requests. As he recalls the lonely phone ringing and the faint piano sounds, a sense of nausea washes over him, emphasizing the profound silence in his mind.
chapter 2
Joe recalls his mother's routine of baking bread and preserving fruits in the fall, often singing as she worked. His childhood memories include fetching hamburgers for his late-working father, playing with his sled in the snow, and picking primroses with friends in spring. When Lincoln Beechy, a renowned aviator, visited Shale City, it was a significant event. Even the school superintendent, Mr. Hargraves, spoke about the unity the invention of airplanes facilitated, predicting a peaceful future. Beechy's subsequent death was deeply mourned by the people of Shale City. Joe's birthday celebrations in December were always grand with a feast for friends and a show later, courtesy of his father. Other cherished memories include attending the County Fair in the fall, swimming and discussing girls in the summer, and dating at the pavilion when he was old enough. In Shale City, the cigar store was a hub for older men to discuss the imminent war. However, it was only when his family relocated to Los Angeles that Joe started understanding the war's reality. The situation worsened when his father passed away, America joined the war, and Joe himself was enlisted. Reflecting on his involvement, Joe feels regret, realizing the war had no relevance to him.
chapter 3
Joe regains awareness, feeling like he's been rescued from drowning. He can't see or hear, but he can feel the doctors tending to him, which he initially appreciates. The sensation of a pinch in his left arm leads him to the horrifying realization that his arm has been amputated. He feels a surge of anger, thinking the doctors took the easy way out. He wonders what will become of his severed limb, then recalls the ring from his girlfriend, Kareen, that was on his now missing hand. His memories pivot to his last encounter with Kareen. She gave him her mother's ring to wear on his pinky finger. They were interrupted on Kareen's couch by her father, Mike, a coal miner worn down by labor. Mike unexpectedly permits them to share a room on Joe's last night before deployment. Joe and Kareen spent their time holding each other, with Mike delivering breakfast the following morning. Kareen, Mike, Joe's mother, and sisters watch as Joe joins the other soldiers at the train station. Amid the patriotic soundtracks and speeches, a mother appears, looking for her son who enlisted to avoid jail time. Joe is suddenly struck by the memory of holding Kareen, and in a painful epiphany, realizes he has lost both arms. He screams internally.
chapter 4
Joe is struck by a wave of heat and it triggers a recollection of a summer spent laboring on a railroad in the desert with his friend Howie. They only survived a day of grueling work before succumbing to the harsh conditions, while the rest of the predominantly Mexican crew pushed on. The pair had left their town, Shale City, following the heartbreak of their girlfriends, Diane and Onie, betraying them with a young man called Glen Hogan. Howie gets a telegram from Onie that night, disavowing Glen and pleading for Howie's return. Joe is aware that Onie is only renouncing Glen because he dumped her for Diane, Joe's girlfriend, but he still supports Howie's decision to return to Shale City. They catch the gravel train out that very night. During the journey, Joe ruminates on an altercation with his longtime friend, Bill Harper, who had disclosed the affair between Diane and Glen. He pledges to reconcile with Bill when he arrives back in Shale City. Upon their arrival, Howie rushes to meet Onie, leaving Joe to go home alone. Unintentionally, Joe finds himself on Diane's street. He observes Diane bidding goodnight to a boy with a kiss from her front steps, who he realizes is Bill Harper. This revelation fills him with self-disgust and loneliness as he walks home and cries himself to sleep, acutely aware that his life has been irrevocably altered. Returning to the present, Joe reflects on how long ago these events were, before his family's move to Los Angeles. He has since been informed of Bill's death in the war, and he ruefully muses that Bill got the girl and was then spared the horrors of life. Despite his mind being clouded, Joe takes comfort in the fact that he is finally cooling down.
chapter 5
Joe finds himself feeling as if he's floating in a familiar river from his childhood, located in Shale City. As he floats, he reflects on and converses with Kareen. Despite his efforts to stay afloat, he starts sinking, unable to swim due to his lack of arms. He lies drowned at the river's bottom, observing the world above the water, unreachable for him. Sudden explosions and flashes of rockets and bombs interrupt his peaceful floating. His pain vanishes, giving him a moment of relief. Despite his lack of arms and hearing, he remains hopeful for a fulfilling life. He dismisses his vision of drowning when he realizes his legs are elevated. However, his relief is short-lived as he discovers he no longer has legs. Fear overtakes him and he attempts to distract himself from the dreadful realization. When he tries to scream, he discovers he no longer has a mouth, tongue, or palate. He can't feel his breath coming through his nose. Believing he's on the brink of death, he resolves to ascertain the full extent of his injuries. He realizes a gaping hole spans his neck to forehead, leaving him without eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The realization that he's stuck in a state between living and dying terrifies him. He mentally pleads with his mother to save him, his mind echoing with, "No no no please no."
chapter 6
Joe recalls his time at a Los Angeles bakery, where they often brought in extra help from a local unemployment shelter on busy Friday nights. One day, a diligent Puerto Rican man named Jose arrives. During a break, Jose shares his story of leaving his previous job as a chauffeur in New York as the family's daughter fell in love with him. His claim is met with skepticism but the bakery staff don't challenge him. Soon, Jose becomes a regular at the bakery. A letter arrives one day from the girl he mentioned, now looking to marry him using her inheritance. However, Jose seeks advice to let her down gently as he doesn't reciprocate her feelings. Jose's dilemma escalates when he gets a daytime job at a studio but can't leave his bakery job, being too grateful to Jody Simmons, the manager. Despite suggestions from colleagues on how to quit, Jose finds himself stuck between the two jobs, managing only forty-five minutes of sleep. One night, a colleague, Pinky Carson advises Jose to deliberately drop pies to get fired. Jose tries, but Jody forgives him. The plan is repeated with a cart of pies and this time, Jody, who had received a bouquet of roses mysteriously, storms at Jose and fires him. Jose offers to reimburse the pie costs and leaves, never to be seen again. Coming back to reality from these memories, Joe momentarily believes Jose is still present, only to remember he's alone.
chapter 7
Joe's mental struggle to understand his condition continues. He compares his state to being in the womb, albeit with no future prospects. He mournfully contemplates the experiences he'll never have again. He contemplates his fragility and the cruel irony of his survival when others with minor injuries didn't make it. He considers the disturbing tales of war survivors, like a man with an exposed stomach and another with a burnt face who was killed by his spouse at home. He cynically acknowledges that his survival is a testament to the doctors' abilities, with no regard for his own wellbeing. Joe starts to soothe himself and detects the cloth mask fastened on his face. He decides to take it off but it dawns on him that even this minor action is beyond his reach. He becomes aware of an unhealed wound on his side that is oozing, likely producing a foul smell, something he's relieved to not perceive. Fatigue engulfs him and he starts to drift away. He has a nightmarish vision of a rat feasting on his wound. It reminds him of a similar incident from the war, where they found a deceased Prussian soldier with a rat eating his face. Despite killing the rat, they felt silly later. Joe reflects on it again and concludes that the true enemy isn't the opponent in the war, but the rat. As he senses the rat consuming his wound, he realizes his helplessness against it. Overwhelmed and screaming, fatigue takes over him once again.
chapter 8
Joe experiences the nurse tending to his wounds, a confirmation that the rat was merely part of a nightmare. His fear, though, is that the same nightmare will return. Previously, upon realizing he was having a nightmare, he could easily open his eyes, but his current lack of sight makes this impossible. He's concerned about not being able to differentiate between his waking and sleeping states. He also ponders on how he'll exhaust himself enough to sleep without the ability to move. Despite his mounting panic, Joe decides to be assertive about distinguishing his sleeping from his waking periods. He makes a resolution to cease dreaming of the past during his wakeful hours, instead focusing intently until fatigue engulfs him and sleep takes over. He realizes the importance of enforcing this as failing to differentiate between sleep and wakefulness would render him "nothing and less than nothing."
chapter 9
Joe fondly recalls a childhood summer of camping and fishing with his father. At the age of fifteen, he expresses a desire to go fishing with his friend, Bill Harper, instead of his father. His father easily agrees and even lends his cherished fishing rod for Bill. Unfortunately, during their fishing trip, Joe and Bill accidentally lose the special rod in the water. Troubled, Joe returns alone to the camp, contemplating how to break the news to his father. Although the family is not financially well-off, they've managed to survive comfortably on home-grown produce and preserved foods. Despite this, Joe feels they're a "failure" as his father isn't able to earn much. He fears his father won't be able to afford a replacement rod. Upon reaching the camp, Joe reveals the loss to his father. After a momentary silence, his father comforts him, expressing they shouldn't let the lost rod "spoil our last trip together." Joe is filled with sadness as he comprehends his father's words - this is their last trip together as future summers would involve outings with their respective age groups. Waking up, Joe feels intense loneliness.
chapter 10
Joe, completely isolated, begins to reevaluate complex concepts like war, forming his own understanding without any external influence. He questions why he never contemplated the repercussions or the intentions of those who urged him to go to war. He reflects on the ambiguity of terms like "liberty," "honor," and "decency," which hold diverse interpretations for different individuals. People often engage in wars without fully understanding their purposes. Maybe they are content with their simple freedoms, like strolling with their girlfriend; the struggle for another form of liberty is unrelated to them. Joe questions if the battle for liberty is merely an attempt to impose America's values on the global stage. What if other parts of the world are satisfied with their own form of liberty and honor? Joe yearns for something tangible to fight for, so even if everything else was lost, he would comprehend what he gained. Joe contemplates the tactics of army recruiters, who, failing to attract volunteers with abstract notions of liberty, resort to the claim that women are in danger and being violated by the enemy. He does not see this as an "honest deal" eventually - one's life exchanged for something superior. Joe even doubts the merit of fighting for ideals, sacrificing one's life for them. Joe's suspicion about ideals stems from their abstract nature and the fact that the deceased cannot affirm whether an idea was truly worth their life. He envisions the multitudes who died for democracy - their final thoughts were of their loved ones, not democracy. Joe is certain of this given his state, being "the nearest thing to a dead man on earth." He would surrender democracy, honor, independence, freedom, and decency to reclaim his life, arguing that "there's nothing noble about dying." He cautions against going to war based on others' words, as death is agonizing and hideous and wanting to live is not an act of cowardice.
chapter 11
Joe engages his mind by recalling multiplication tables, grammar rules, and storylines from novels such as David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol, and The Last of the Mohicans. He also recites "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and "When the Frost is on the Pumpkin" poems, remembers the solar systems, the Ten Commandments, and various psalms. He regrets not having memorized more as it would have served as a source of mental entertainment. Contemplating on an idea to teach himself something new, Joe chooses to understand time. He struggles to figure out the time passed since he was hurt in September 1918 and when he woke up to realise his deafness, but he's been thinking about time tracking for a while. Initially, he tries to count the time between nurse visits but finds it hard to keep up. Realizing the complexity, he chooses to track simpler schedules like his bowel movements and bed changes. Later, Joe discovers that his skin can perceive the external world and decides to sense sunrise. Assuming the nurse bathes him in the morning, and her visits are approximately every two hours, he plans to count till her last visit before dawn and then prepare to feel the sunrise warmth. Successfully sensing the warmth on his neck, he feels connected to the world, imagining dawn over his hometown and the Colorado mountains. For him, it's a cherished experience of time.
chapter 12
Joe marks New Year's Eve, a year after mastering the concept of timekeeping. He recalls past New Year's memories from Colorado and Los Angeles. With time, he has adjusted to the nurses' routines and can differentiate them by their unique vibrations. His favorite nurse is the day nurse, who he perceives as mature and efficient in her duties. He can discern a new nurse by the way they react upon seeing him, either crying or leaving the room. With his understanding of time and his observational skills, Joe creates structure in his world. He dedicates every Sunday afternoon to imagining a walk in the woodland near Paris. He reminisces about Kareen, his former lover, and yearns for American hospital care. He believes he's probably in an English facility, as he was close to a British regiment when injured. He contemplates on his time with the English troops, especially a Scottish soldier who declined to fight against Germans when he discovered Bavarians were among them, due to Scotland's historic connection to Bavaria. The English didn't punish the Scottish soldier, but relocated him. Joe recalls an incident where a German soldier was killed and left hanging on barbed wire near English trenches. As the body began to rot, it was ordered to be buried by an English corporal. However, after a shelling, the body resurfaced. The English soldiers named the corpse "Lazarus" and attempted to bury it again, this time with a full Anglican funeral service. Despite complying, Corporal Timlon was shot during the service. Yet, another round of artillery fire brought Lazarus back to the surface, causing the troops to shoot at the corpse. A young officer, on his first patrol, stumbled upon Lazarus, leading to his mental breakdown. Joe ponders about a potential mind swap with the young officer, who presumably no longer needs his healthy body.
chapter 13
Over two years have elapsed since the previous chapter, with the only significant events being a nurse's fall and Joe's relocation to a different room. Suddenly, Joe senses preparations for guests. Initially, he hopes for a visit from Kareen and his family, but soon, feeling self-conscious about his condition, he hopes it's not them. Reacting to the visitors' arrival, Joe violently moves to shield his disfigured body, feeling hands on his forehead and the blanket being adjusted. At first, he assumes it's doctors come to examine him, a living corpse. But then he feels a pin on his chest and a kiss on his head. He realizes they are generals, awarding him a medal. Joe grows progressively angrier at the generals' hypocrisy; they're unscathed from the battlefield yet bestowing him with a medal. He vigorously moves again, this time intending to expose his ruined body. He feels a vibration in his throat, realizing he's making an audible sound. As he senses the men departing, it dawns on him that he may be able to communicate through vibrations. He recalls communicating via wireless sets with Bill Harper. Inspired, he decides to tap his head in Morse code to send a message to his nurse. However, when the nurse arrives, she fails to understand his "SOS" signal, merely pressing her hand on his forehead to pacify him.
chapter 14
Joe finds himself in a world without time, incessantly tapping out messages to no avail. Despite his nurse's gentle ministrations, her lack of understanding frustrates him. A noticeable shift in her touch disturbs him, as she misinterprets his needs for sexual gratification. Memories of his past sexual encounters come flooding back. Ruby, the first girl he was intimate with, was an initiation rite for the boys in town. Laurette, a prostitute at a local brothel, was a favorite of his due to her love for books and engaging conversation. She gifted him gold cufflinks for graduation, leading him to believe she had feelings for him. This illusion was shattered when she disappeared to Estes Park for her annual vacation. Bonnie, a former schoolmate turned prostitute in Los Angeles, and Lucky, an American prostitute working overseas, are also remembered. Joe reminisces about Lucky's familiar presence amongst the cacophony of foreign voices in Paris. He imagines the shell, which would later disfigure him, being produced by a German girl at the same time. Haunted by voices of soldiers and the imagined trajectory of the shell, Joe is suffused with a sense of impending doom. The anticipation of the shell's arrival leaves him feeling vulnerable and desperate for serenity.
chapter 15
Joe keeps on tapping, hoping for someone to decode his message. He loses his sense of time and starts to feel trapped within his own mind. He begins to view himself as a captive, with the nurse being his keeper. His thoughts drift to the enslaved who were forced to row ships in the Mediterranean, and the eyeless guardians protecting treasures in ancient Carthage. These thoughts lead Joe to a realization that he shares a similar fate with these slaves: "the fate of the little guy the fate of men like himself." He's been yanked away from his home, made to clash with his fellow captives, much like the ancient gladiators. His predicament, however, is worse than theirs as he remains trapped in an unending limbo of life, mutilated beyond any slave in history. A doctor arrives to administer a sedative. As the substance enters his body, Joe understands that "they" are trying to "shut him up." He attempts to reject the sedative through shaking his head, but as the drug takes hold and his thoughts become hazy, Joe recognizes that, once again, they have "won."
chapter 16
Under the influence of medications, Joe's mind generates a series of vivid mental pictures. He has a dreamlike vision which starts with the same woman he recalled from the train station when he was leaving for war. This woman is searching for her teenage son, who was given an ultimatum in Tucson; either he goes to war or stays in jail. In Joe's vision, the woman's son is Christ, who emerges from Tucson's desert. In the dream, Christ comes to the railway station and joins Joe and a few other men for a card game. Christ serves whiskey to each man, leading to a conversation about their impending deaths. Suddenly, one man suggests that Joe doesn't belong in their group since he's not destined to die in the war. However, upon hearing Joe's fate, the men withdraw from him, realizing his fate is more terrible than theirs. The men then depart to board the train, with Christ bidding them farewell, as he has many more men to meet before they meet their end. Feeling isolated on the train with men facing their demise, Joe decides to leap off. He frantically runs across the desert towards Christ and falls at his feet.
chapter 17
Joe wakes up from his sedated sleep, automatically signalling "SOS". He soon halts as he notices a different day nurse. He can tell from her lighter, shorter, and more spirited steps. He braces himself for her reaction to his disfigured body - the crying or fleeing - but it doesn't come. Instead, she gently rests her hand on his forehead, showing no signs of repulsion or fear. Just as Joe readies himself to communicate with her, she begins to draw something on his chest. Joe zeros in and understands that she's sketching the letter "M". Acknowledging his understanding, she continues to spell out "MERRY CHRISTMAS". Joe excitedly expresses his grasp of the message, which triggers a flood of past Christmas memories: his mother reciting "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and the story of Jesus' birth from the Bible. He mentally narrates the nativity tale in his own words, ending with Mary clutching her newborn, filled with "pain and fear" as celestial beings and wisemen draw near.
chapter 18
Brimming with hope, Joe recognizes his day nurse's understanding of his desire to communicate. He starts tapping out "SOS" once more. The nurse attempts various things to increase his comfort, trying to figure out what he's asking. Joe dismisses each attempt with a shake of his head until the nurse pauses, awaiting his next move. He taps again and, in response, the nurse cautiously taps his forehead. Recognizing her understanding, Joe nods enthusiastically. When she leaves the room, his heart fills with victorious joy, feeling as though he's just experienced a rebirth. He readies himself for the rush of hospital staff eager to witness his newfound ability to "talk." However, his anticipation is met with a single man, brought in by the nurse. The man, with his weighted finger, taps onto Joe's forehead, asking, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
chapter 19
Overwhelmed by the Morse code question "WHAT DO YOU WANT?", Joe struggles to respond. Having spent so much time simply wanting to communicate, he hadn't considered anything beyond that. Considering a list of physical possessions seems meaningless, as he has no use for them. The hospital staff's query feels cruel, as what he truly wants—to regain his body—is unattainable. Joe yearns to leave his mental isolation and reconnect with others. However, he knows he can't request to leave the hospital due to financial constraints. Then, he realizes he could potentially fund his own freedom by being exhibited as a living testament to war's horrors. Excitement and anger surge within him as he communicates this idea, painting himself as "the dead-man-who-is-alive the live-man-who-is-dead." He envisions the words used to market him to various audiences—families, men, students, children—describing the stark contrast between their impersonal pitch and the reality of his condition. He imagines being displayed in government buildings and churches as a stark reminder of the consequences of war and human violence. He visualizes himself as a mirror reflecting their foolishness back at them.
chapter 20
Joe senses the Morse code operator leave and questions whether his message was misinterpreted or jumbled. He clings onto the hope that the operator is fetching a superior. When the operator returns and taps into his forehead "WHAT YOU ASK IS AGAINST REGULATIONS WHO ARE YOU," Joe is shocked and experiences sharp pain. He doesn't understand why he is being treated this way, given he believes he's done nothing wrong. Suddenly, the bitter realization dawns on Joe that he's being forgotten. His loneliness would persist without any reprieve. Desperate, Joe pleas for freedom but is met with the soothing touch of a nurse and the sting of an alcohol swab. He is being subdued again. Despite his terror, he realizes his words are being censored. His taps become slower as he questions repeatedly, "why? why? why?" Joe then understands the reason for his enforced silence. He sees himself "as a new kind of Christ as a man who carries within himself all the seeds of a new order of things. He was the new messiah of the battlefields." His truth would disrupt the war narrative and thus had to be kept hidden. The revelation of the terrors of war could spark an uprising, with people refusing to be pawns in war and insisting that those profiting from conflict be the ones to suffer. The people would unite, transforming the weapons of the oppressors into tools for peace.
