Analysis Of Johnny Got His Gun By Dalton Trumbo

A young boy and his father have an old family tradition of going on a camping trip together. As time flies by however, their expectations change and they both find themselves in a predicament of growing up and making new decisions. In the passage from Dalton Trumbo’s novel, Johnny Got His Gun, a boy named Joe, is maturing into adolescence, while his father must accept the revelation that his son is not so little anymore. Trumbo’s use of literary techniques, such as point of view, selection of detail, and syntax creates the distant, but close relationship between Joe and his father.
Trumbo uses a third – person limited point of view to describe the setting in which Joe and his father had a strong bond. The readers have access into Joe’s thoughts, while also observing how he feels toward his father through vivid details of the camp. For example, in lines 1-5, Joe remembers what the campsite looked like by stating that, “The …show more content…
Joe tells his father about Bill Harper and the father ponders over this new change. The reader does not have access into the father’s thoughts, but there are moments that help reveal how the father faces Joe’s maturity. To illustrate, the father approves Joe’s decision by passing down his rod to his son like rite of passage. Joe describes his father’s rod as, “the only extravagance his father had in his whole life” The father is giving up something valuable to him to his son who is growing up. The father is well aware of his son’s maturity and is willing to let his son share their tradition with someone else. In addition, the father still cares for his son deeply as he gives Joe his rod instead of to Bill Harper, “Why don’t you take my rod and let Bill use yours?” The father trusts his son with an important keepsake and feels content with Joe’s decision. The father and Joe are not on the same page, but their love for each other never