JGHG Discussion Questions

1. What are Trumbo’s major and minor purposes in writing Johnny Got His Gun?
2. Define Trumbo’s style. What rhetorical strategies does he depend on consistently? How do those rhetorical strategies help him create his stream of consciousness?
3. Dalton Trumbo chooses to use punctuation inconsistently throughout the novel. Pick a moment when his use of unconventional (or conventional) punctuation is particularly conspicuous. What is the effect of his punctuation and how does this effect fit into one of Trumbo’s larger purposes? [Note: you will notice that areas that are least conventionally punctuated are richest in rhetorical devices.]
4. Select a moment where stream of consciousness has a particularly powerful effect. How does this effect fit into one of Trumbo’s larger purposes? It might be useful to identify moments where Joe is particularly lucid to contrast with moments of stream of consciousness.
5. Compare Trumbo’s arguments against war in Chapter 10 to his arguments in Chapter 19. How are they similar? How are they different? Why does he need both? Be prepared to refute his arguments.
6. Identify significant allusions from a variety of places in the novel. What is the effect of these allusions and how do they help Trumbo achieve his purposes?
7. Make a list of Joe’s major memories over the course of the novel. What does this list reveal about Trumbo’s values? How does Trumbo use these values to support one or more of his larger purposes? 
8. Examine Trumbo’s description of Joe’s doctors. What is Trumbo’s attitude towards Joe’s doctors? How does that argument fit into his major and minor purposes?
9. Consider the structure of the novel. Think about how chapters begin and end, how Trumbo transitions from one chapter to the next, and how the novel is divided into parts. Why did he structure the novel the way he did? 
10. What is the most interesting element of the novel that we haven’t discussed as a whole class?