Johnny Got His Gun Essay

In World War I the world saw a serious shift in culture. Technology advanced, international economies became more intertwined, and more people worldwide became politically active. However, World War I also began the dark times the world would see throughout the twentieth century. World War II, the Cold War, the War in Vietnam, and the various Latin American Revolutions were just a few of horrific wars during the century. As the wars grew darker, so did literature about the wars. Prior to the twentieth century, most writings about war were written glorifying the war and all the soldiers. The bloodiness of World War I made many authors and poets, like Johnny Got His Gun author Donald Trumbo, realize that war was not meant to be glorified, but condemned. The 1939 novel depicts the ultimate horrors of war. Many of these horrors were also seen in World War I era poetry. The character of Joe from Johnny Got His Gun is very

Sassoon is a very well known poet for poems like this, in which he heavily criticized the First World War and its supporters, while also making known the many horrors of war. Sassoon was born a wealthy Jew. In 1915, he began fighting in the war in the British army. After being wounded in action, he hospitalized two years later. It was while he was in the hospital in which he wrote the vast majority of his war poems. He was criticized for these poems for showing a lack of patriotism and for the extreme graphic detail. However, people still read his poems due to his accurate description of war. His war poems received great praise in Great Britain and by poets around the world. In 1957, Sassoon converted to Catholicism, and authored many more spiritual poems; however, these poems are considered less superior than his war poems. Sassoon is regarded as one of the most important poets in history because of his ability to make the truth of war