The Theme Of Loss In Johnny Got His Gun

Loss is a strange thing is it not? One minute there will be something or someone, but the next minute it will be gone forever. Charlie, the father from the film Shenandoah, and Joe, the protagonist in the novel Johnny Got His Gun written by Dalton Trumbo, both experience this strange thing called loss. Charlie is the father of six sons, one of which is married and they are expecting a child, and one daughter. Shenandoah takes place on the Anderson family ranch in Shenandoah, Virginia during the Civil War. The Anderson family wants to stay out of the war, but their plans change when the youngest son, Boy, is wrongly captured by the Union after being mistaken for a Confederate. When the Anderson family goes to rescue Boy, they experience tragic

They both lose people, future experiences, and self worth. In Johnny Got His Gun Joe loses many people as a result of his injuries. Because his injuries practically cut him off from the rest of the world, he loses everyone in the world. Some of the most important people are Joe’s mother, sisters, and Kareen, Joe’s girlfriend. In the end of the story Joe becomes able to communicate with the world, but the people he is communicating with believe silencing Joe is more convenient for them, so they keep him sedated (Trumbo 238). At this point in the novel, Joe is now completely cut off from any person and is very lonely now. Along with losing people, Joe also lost his future. Because of his injuries he is stuck in his head with no way out. One example of Joe missing out on his future experiences is how he will no longer be able to work. Joe comes to the realization of never being able to work again when he discovers one of his arms are missing. When he discovers his missing arm one of the first things he asks himself is “[h]ow am I going to work now?” (Trumbo 27) This thought of not being able to work again leads Joe to realize that he has lost any opportunity to become successful because in Joe’s eyes the only way to measure success is by how much money a person makes. Now that Joe will no longer be able to work, he will not be able to be successful

In the same way to Joe, Charlie faces the loss of people, future experiences, and his self worth. The film follows Charlie and his family's journey as they travel to find his youngest son Boy who had been captured by Union soldiers after being mistaken for a confederate. Charlie experienced the loss of loved ones throughout the movie. The first loss was Charlie’s wife, Martha. Martha died when she was giving birth to their youngest son, Boy. Next, Charlie lost Boy when he was captured. Although Boy eventually found his way back home, Charlie still experienced all of the feelings that came with the thought that Boy may never come home. Next, Charlie lost his eldest son, Jacob, when he was shot by a confederate soldier on their way back from their search for Boy. And lastly, Charlie lost his second eldest son James and his wife Ann. James and Ann decided to stay home because they just had a child and they were going to watch the house, but as they were robbers came and killed them both. This was a very tough time for Charlie because he had to endure the pain of four out of the five losses at the same time. This would have been a very hard weight on Charlie’s chest. This is similar to Joe in the fact that both experienced a flow of losses at once without any warning. Both situations would be very overwhelming. With all of these losses comes with a loss of future experiences with any of them. Charlie will never get