Mary Lonergan Mr. Pellerin AP Literature January 1, 2023 Johnny Got his Gun Essay In this excerpt from Daniel Trumbo’s Johnny Got his Gun, Joe struggles with his decision to fish with his friend, Bill, instead of his father. Through this seemingly insignificant decision, Trumbo illustrates the shifting nature of Joe’s relationship with his father as Joe enters adolescence and begins to rely more on the company of his peers. To emphasize this shift, Trumbo divulges carefully selected details that provide information about the characters’ lives and personalities. Furthermore, the author also chooses to write in limited third-person perspective, so the reader primarily has insight into Joe’s thoughts and emotions. Finally, the author’s simple …show more content…
For example, Trumbo demonstrates the established fishing tradition between Joe and his father, as he writes that Joe had been fishing since the age of seven and always preferred his father’s company “to that of other guys.” In this way, Trumbo stresses the importance of Joe’s unprecedented decision to fish with Bill instead of his father. Later in the passage, when Joe’s father agrees to let Joe fish with Bill, he offers his fishing rod to Joe. Although this may seem like a small sacrifice initially, Trumbo illustrates the meaning of this decision by writing that the fishing rod was Joe’s father’s “one luxury” that he habitually had refurbished and rewound. This reveals not only the value Joe’s father places on their fishing trips, but also reveals his trust in Joe and willingness to support him in his endeavors. Finally, Trumbo includes imagery describing the site of the fishing trip to illustrate the themes of ending and beginning within the passage. For instance, in the first paragraph, Trumbo describes the tent, which was “under an enormous pine.” Later, in the final paragraph, Trumbo reintroduces the imagery of the pine needles, as he writes that Joe and his father “went to sleep against a floor of pine needles”. Trumbo’s inclusion of similar imagery at the beginning and end of the passage contributes to the theme of endings in the