Urgent Questions and Bold Claims, Per 5

Urgent Questions

Bold Claims

Does Trumbo believe all wars are bad or the way that we fight wars is bad? Why does Trumbo present his final message as a paradox? Why did Joe choose communication over time, something he thought was so valuable? Why is Book I called “The Dead”? What’s the meaning of the music on 187 and 207? Why does Joe not have the same ending as the characters in the allusions? Why isn’t there a positive ending? Is Joe being sarcastic in Ch. 19? What does Joe’s body symbolize? Is the coldness of the doctors exaggerated for rhetorical purposes? What overall purpose do the flashbacks hold? Why does Joe refer to the pro-war authorities as “you”?

Ch 19 and 20 are climactic in the way that Joe exposes what war is for. Our enemies are not with others but with authorities who tell us what to do. Because Joe is his main character AND a messiah of war, Trumbo must be in favor of religion. Young people who don’t have control of their lives need to point the gun at those responsible. The book is anti-religious. War turns things that are holy into “manure.” With all the Biblical allusions, Trumbo must be religious. War is the best way for government to control people.