Similarities Between Charlie Anderson In Johnny Got His Gun

Charlie Anderson vs. Joe Bonham

War in America and other countries is a lot more prevalent than most desire. War happens for many different reasons, these reasons often being things that citizens can not control, and they often feel like the war is pointless and unreasonable. Whether reasonable and necessary or not, the lasting effects that war has can be both devastating and unfair. Dalton Trumbo's novel Johnny Got His Gun introduces readers to the protagonist Joe, who has lost his arms, legs, and facial features as a result of fighting in the war. In the classic 1965 film Shenandoah, viewers meet Charlie Anderson, a father of 6 who finds his family stuck in the middle of the Civil War. Although Charlie Anderson and Joe Bonham have differing

He remains this way even when they begin to fight on his land until one day, his son, Boy, is taken prisoner by soldiers. This is the turning point in the film where Charlie decides that they must get involved. When Gabriel, a friend of Boy, informs Charlie that Boy has been seized, Charlie says, “Now it concerns us” and rallies his sons to come with him in search of Boy. Trying to find his son involves the chance of being killed but because he values his family and Boy is so important to him, he knows that it is worth it. Hence, Charlie is affected by the war in many indirect ways, his son being taken the most

Primarily, Joe is also affected by war, just in a much more impactful and direct way. After being in the war, Joe wakes up without any legs, arms, or facial features. Because of his involvement in the war, his life is immensely changed forever. There are many things that he will never be able to do again as a consequence of fighting for his country. When Joe realizes his injuries, readers are able to read all of the things that Joe is going to miss. Joe thinks to himself, “He would never again be able to say hello how are you I love you. He would never again be able to hear music of the whisper of the wind through trees or the chuckle of running water. He would never again breathe in the smell of a steak frying in his mother’s kitchen or the dampness of springs in the air or the wonderful fragrance of sagebrush carried on the wind across a wide open plain. He would never again be able to see the faces of people who made you glad just to look at them of people like Kareen.” (81) This saddening quote proves that Joe believes that all the good things in his life are gone. There are countless amounts of things that he will never be able to do again because of his