The novel Johnny Got His Gun (1939), by Dalton Trumbo, is a clear example of how the narrative voice in the novel has been used in unique ways. The novel centers around an American soldier who has been severley wounded in the first World War. His name is Joe and his legs, arms, and the frontside of his face have been blown off. He is, in all aspects, immobile and unable to communicate with the outside word. Yet, he still retains all conscious functions. In order to most accurately depict Joe’s struggles, Trumbo chooses the “narrative perspective of a subjective personal narrator drifting in and out–at times in a kind of stream of consciousness fashion–of his ordinary reality, oscillating between actual events happening in and around his bed and his memories and fantasies” (Pospíšil 141). The fact that the book tells the story from the perspective of this soldier who is unable to communicate with the outside world, yet is still so engaging and deals with such important topics is a, is a testament to the skill of Trumbo as a novelist and the power of the novel itself.

Pospíšil, Tomáš. “As Crippled As It Gets: Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun (1939; 1971). Brno Studies in English. 2012, vol. 38, iss. 1, pp. 139-49.