• Blog – What does Joe want and why is it against regulations?
Joe is finally able to communicate with the new nurse. After she spelled out “MARRY CHIRSTMAS” on his chest he begins tapping again. Instead of trying to comfort him like the other nurse did, she leaves, and comes back with a man who taps, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” Joe cannot however think of anything that he wants because has been longing to communicate with people and now he can do just that. At first Joe thinks to himself, maybe they are asking what material goods I want. Joe doesn’t want any material goods; he has no use for them. Then Joe goes into thinking that they, the hospital staff, should know what he wants, legs, arms, ect. Joe’s wanting to have a new life inspires himself to think more. However, Joe knows that taking this outside the hospital would cost money that he does not have. In order to pay for this Joe imagines himself being put on display for paying viewers to come and see his body. After he translates this to Morris Code the man leaves. Then comes back with the response, “WHAT YOU ASK FOR IS AGAINST REGULATIONS WHO YOU ARE.” He then feels the sharp pain of a needle being struck into his skin. At this point Joe realizes that the hospital just wants to get rid of him. They are giving him more dope. He doesn’t understand why they wont even let him talk. As Joe goes into an unconscious state, he has another dream with Christ. In this image Joe realizes now why they won’t let him talk. Joe’s body needs to be kept in secret so that generals can still recruit men to go off to war. If young men would happen to see Joe’s body they believe that it will scare them off because they have seen the common horrible truth about war.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 7
• Blog – Explain the dream with Christ.
Joe is seeing a collection off images in his mind. One of those images is of the women looking for her son at the train station. He sees that her son is Christ when he is coming up through the desert. The image goes on to when Christ goes to the railway station to play blackjack/cards with Joe and others. As the game progresses, the men strike up a conversation about war. One of the men states that, “…what the hell is this other guy doing here he ain’t going to die.” (Pg. 192) This is directed towards Joe because he will not actually die in the war. However, after Joe explains what happens to him instead of dying, the men agree that his fate is worse than theirs. After they bored the train, Joe goes out and searches for Christ, wanting him to aid his suffering. Joe in this image wants to have died rather then being in the state he is in now.
Joe is seeing a collection off images in his mind. One of those images is of the women looking for her son at the train station. He sees that her son is Christ when he is coming up through the desert. The image goes on to when Christ goes to the railway station to play blackjack/cards with Joe and others. As the game progresses, the men strike up a conversation about war. One of the men states that, “…what the hell is this other guy doing here he ain’t going to die.” (Pg. 192) This is directed towards Joe because he will not actually die in the war. However, after Joe explains what happens to him instead of dying, the men agree that his fate is worse than theirs. After they bored the train, Joe goes out and searches for Christ, wanting him to aid his suffering. Joe in this image wants to have died rather then being in the state he is in now.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 6
• Blog – Why does Joe start tapping?
Along with his attempts to master time, Joe is now trying to think of ways to communicate to people. What gets his mind on the idea are the vibrations that the doctors make when they come to see him. He determines that he could use tapping, or Morse code. When he was young he used to use the Morse code with his friend Bill Harper. They used it when their parents refused to let them go out because of the weather. “On such nights he and Bill Harper used to dot and dash each other and they had a hell of a good time.” (Pg. 162) Now Joe’s only problem was if the nurses could understand him. Much to Joe’s disappointment the nurse didn’t understand, or so he thought. Joe described how he could feel the nurse just standing over him looking at him. Instead of understanding his “SOS” message, the nurse just laid her hand on his head to try and clam him down. “His tapping grew slower and her hand got still heavier and finally he lay back very quietly against the pillow while she brushed his forehead.” (Pg. 164)
Along with his attempts to master time, Joe is now trying to think of ways to communicate to people. What gets his mind on the idea are the vibrations that the doctors make when they come to see him. He determines that he could use tapping, or Morse code. When he was young he used to use the Morse code with his friend Bill Harper. They used it when their parents refused to let them go out because of the weather. “On such nights he and Bill Harper used to dot and dash each other and they had a hell of a good time.” (Pg. 162) Now Joe’s only problem was if the nurses could understand him. Much to Joe’s disappointment the nurse didn’t understand, or so he thought. Joe described how he could feel the nurse just standing over him looking at him. Instead of understanding his “SOS” message, the nurse just laid her hand on his head to try and clam him down. “His tapping grew slower and her hand got still heavier and finally he lay back very quietly against the pillow while she brushed his forehead.” (Pg. 164)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 5
• Blog – Why does Joe decide to master time? How does he do it?
Joe decides that he wants to teach himself something new. He tries to remember math, narratives, but he is not entertained by that, he wants to try something new. He decides to try and teach himself to master time. Joe’s first attempts at mastering time fail. He tries to count every second, every minute, and every hour between nurse visits. Each time Joe gets to around eleven minutes then looses track. He is unable to concentrate for long periods of time. After giving it some more thought Joe realizes that he can sense the change in temperature with his skin. He knows when it is day and night because of the different nurses. During the day there is usually the same nurse, he has recognized the feel of her smooth hands and her thundering walk. Joe determines that every two hours or so he gets a visit from a nurse. This time his plan works flawlessly. Joe is able to imagine himself watching the sunrise over his town in Colorado.
Joe decides that he wants to teach himself something new. He tries to remember math, narratives, but he is not entertained by that, he wants to try something new. He decides to try and teach himself to master time. Joe’s first attempts at mastering time fail. He tries to count every second, every minute, and every hour between nurse visits. Each time Joe gets to around eleven minutes then looses track. He is unable to concentrate for long periods of time. After giving it some more thought Joe realizes that he can sense the change in temperature with his skin. He knows when it is day and night because of the different nurses. During the day there is usually the same nurse, he has recognized the feel of her smooth hands and her thundering walk. Joe determines that every two hours or so he gets a visit from a nurse. This time his plan works flawlessly. Joe is able to imagine himself watching the sunrise over his town in Colorado.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 4
• Blog – What does Joe believe is worth fighting for? What is not worth it?
Joe believes that your life is worth fighting for. He says that when most men go to war they were told that they are fighting for liberty. However, Joe cannot comprehend this because liberty is not something tangible, he cannot see it. “For Christ sake give us things to fight for we can see and feel and pin down and understand. No more highfalutin words that mean nothing like native land.” (Pg. 113) Joe feels that his reason is right because he considers himself the closest thing to a dead man on earth. He would trade all those meaningless words such as democracy, honor, liberty ect in a heartbeat for his life back. To Joe, there is nothing noble about dying. At the end of chapter X Joe is telling an imaginary person not to go to war based on these thoughts. “If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mister you’re a liar. Nothing is bigger than life. There’s nothing noble about death.” (Pg. 119)
Joe believes that your life is worth fighting for. He says that when most men go to war they were told that they are fighting for liberty. However, Joe cannot comprehend this because liberty is not something tangible, he cannot see it. “For Christ sake give us things to fight for we can see and feel and pin down and understand. No more highfalutin words that mean nothing like native land.” (Pg. 113) Joe feels that his reason is right because he considers himself the closest thing to a dead man on earth. He would trade all those meaningless words such as democracy, honor, liberty ect in a heartbeat for his life back. To Joe, there is nothing noble about dying. At the end of chapter X Joe is telling an imaginary person not to go to war based on these thoughts. “If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mister you’re a liar. Nothing is bigger than life. There’s nothing noble about death.” (Pg. 119)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 3
• Blog – Why does the rat come to visit Joe? What does it represent?
Joe once again slips into a sleep. This time he has the memory of the rat. He dreams that the rat crawls over him and begins to eat out of his wound. Joe is having this memory because when he was in war, he and his fellow soldier had seen a Prussian soldier whose dead body was being eaten by rats. He comes to a conclusion that people in war should worry for about rats then their real enemy. Joe knows that he cannot do anything to stop this rat from eating his wound; it will return night and night again to feed from it. The rat is a symbol of war. This is because that Joe thinks that a rat is a soldier’s true enemy, instead of the actual people. Joe sees the rat as a scavenger who benefits from others death.
Joe once again slips into a sleep. This time he has the memory of the rat. He dreams that the rat crawls over him and begins to eat out of his wound. Joe is having this memory because when he was in war, he and his fellow soldier had seen a Prussian soldier whose dead body was being eaten by rats. He comes to a conclusion that people in war should worry for about rats then their real enemy. Joe knows that he cannot do anything to stop this rat from eating his wound; it will return night and night again to feed from it. The rat is a symbol of war. This is because that Joe thinks that a rat is a soldier’s true enemy, instead of the actual people. Joe sees the rat as a scavenger who benefits from others death.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 2
• Blog –Why does Joe remember working at the bakery? What does he admire about Jose?
Joe, once again has drifted into unconsciousness. Jose was unlike the other guy from the Mission. He wasn’t confused he listened around quietly. “There was something about him that told you he was a little different from the other guys or that maybe he had been a little luckier than the rest.” (Pg. 66) Jose is an honest man. However, something astonishing happened to Jose a few days after Jody Simmons gave him a job at the bakery. Jose received a job working at a movie studio. While all the guys at the bakery were excited, Jose was worried. He didn’t want to let down Jody Simmons; after all, he was the one who gave him this job. “That made him indebted to Jody Simmons no? Very well. He was indebted to Jody Simmons and now he has found a job.” (Pg. 71) Jose was now worried about how he would get out of his current job without making Jody Simmons upset. This shows us how Jose is a compassionate character. The guys working at the bakery got excited when Jose asked them how to get out of his current job. Of course, they too wanted a better job so they had been thinking about this as long as they had worked there. Jose is not a violent person; he thinks “tipping pies” is considered violence. However, the pies are what allow him to move from his current job at the bakery to his new job at the studio. He even felt sorry that he had spilled the pies that he bought Jody Simmons flowers and asked the guys if he could pay for the pies he ruined. Jose must be an important person seeing that Joe’s memory of him spans the entire chapter.
Joe, once again has drifted into unconsciousness. Jose was unlike the other guy from the Mission. He wasn’t confused he listened around quietly. “There was something about him that told you he was a little different from the other guys or that maybe he had been a little luckier than the rest.” (Pg. 66) Jose is an honest man. However, something astonishing happened to Jose a few days after Jody Simmons gave him a job at the bakery. Jose received a job working at a movie studio. While all the guys at the bakery were excited, Jose was worried. He didn’t want to let down Jody Simmons; after all, he was the one who gave him this job. “That made him indebted to Jody Simmons no? Very well. He was indebted to Jody Simmons and now he has found a job.” (Pg. 71) Jose was now worried about how he would get out of his current job without making Jody Simmons upset. This shows us how Jose is a compassionate character. The guys working at the bakery got excited when Jose asked them how to get out of his current job. Of course, they too wanted a better job so they had been thinking about this as long as they had worked there. Jose is not a violent person; he thinks “tipping pies” is considered violence. However, the pies are what allow him to move from his current job at the bakery to his new job at the studio. He even felt sorry that he had spilled the pies that he bought Jody Simmons flowers and asked the guys if he could pay for the pies he ruined. Jose must be an important person seeing that Joe’s memory of him spans the entire chapter.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 1
• Blog – What is Joe’s situation? Why does he compare it to drowning?
The first few chapters tell us about Joe. Joe has recently gone deaf and he constantly hears a ringing noise in his head, which annoys him. This could be because of the war he was in and all of the explosions, which made him, go deaf. He has memories of his father dying. Later in chapter iii Joe becomes conscious again and relates it to drowning. “he’d been rising and sinking for days weeks months who could tell? (Pg. 25) He said that every time he would come back into conscious he would “resurface.” He ends up getting his arm amputated. He didn’t want this to happen and he didn’t want to live with both of his most important appendages gone. Another big reason he didn’t want to have his arms amputated was because of Kareen. Before he always used to hold her in his arms, which he now doesn’t have. So it is a real letdown, losing his arms, and being deaf.
The first few chapters tell us about Joe. Joe has recently gone deaf and he constantly hears a ringing noise in his head, which annoys him. This could be because of the war he was in and all of the explosions, which made him, go deaf. He has memories of his father dying. Later in chapter iii Joe becomes conscious again and relates it to drowning. “he’d been rising and sinking for days weeks months who could tell? (Pg. 25) He said that every time he would come back into conscious he would “resurface.” He ends up getting his arm amputated. He didn’t want this to happen and he didn’t want to live with both of his most important appendages gone. Another big reason he didn’t want to have his arms amputated was because of Kareen. Before he always used to hold her in his arms, which he now doesn’t have. So it is a real letdown, losing his arms, and being deaf.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)