Chrummboew

My one problem with Trumbo's assertion in that soldiers can only fight for a cause that is their own and not an ideal is the lack of unity within an army if all the things the soldiers are fighting for are separate. The purpose of fighting for an ideal, or at least to the higher-ups in an army, is to unite all the soldiers behind this idea. This makes these soldiers a much more cohesive unit with more drive to fight, eventually making the whole army more powerful. However, where Trumbo is right is that some people will not believe in the ideal in the first place, and this is where the situation gets tricky. Creating a draft, although sometimes necessary, causes problems in the way of camaraderie and the inner drive of soldiers, so such a practice should be avoided until circumstances call for its definite necessity.

I can't think of a good phonetic scramble for this one. I'm all worn out.

This is just a personal observation, and it relates to my personality as a reader and probably nobody else's, but I find the organization of the book to be a major pain. Once I understood that Joe was in bandages from head to foot, or lack thereof, I wanted to find out more about Joe's condition! Would he be all right? What permanent damage will he suffer? (I now know the answer to that question is a bunch) But instead, I read a bunch of flashbacks to Joe's past. His friends, his family, his enemies, and even people he barely knew intertwine in his thoughts throughout the novel, and it really bothers me because I find this part irrelevant to the knowledge I want to obtain. I don't care what message is trying to be made through these memories, but the only message I wanted to receive from the book is what happened to Joe. I know Dalton Trumbo is a greater writer than I could ever hope to be yadda yadda yadda but that aspect of the book, at least for me, was a major nuisance.

Jhahknee gaht hihss Ghuhnn

The general themes of "The March of the Flags" by Albert Beveridge and "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo are not entirely related, but there is one idea from both pieces of fighting on foreign soil for "liberty and civilization." The main goal behind America's entry into the First World War was to preserve said liberty in Europe, and the entries into both wars came about as the result of attacks on American ships, thus creating a threat to American civilization. However, Beveridge's speech takes a more positive optimistic approach to such action, while Joe Bonham takes a cynical approach to such ideals, which is perfectly reasonable seeing as he no longer had a face, arms, or legs due to the preservation of "liberty and civilization."

Uhmehrrikuh Da Byootiphull

The main connection between "America the Beautiful" and "Johnny Got His Gun" is the emphasis on a lack of understanding of Americans about why they fight in the wars each writing is related to: The former for the Iraq war and the latter for World War I. As he lies deaf, blind, dumb, and limbless in his hospital bed, Joe Bonham wonders why what happened to him was needed; why did he have to go fight. "America the Beautiful" Also questions the level of understanding of Americans of the current American war and discusses how important this is to a secure, safe and united population. Both pieces are clearly antiwar in that they question whether or not there really is any way to understand why wars are being though almost no matter what the situation is.