Sample NN
This passage from "Johnny Got His Gun," by Dalton Trumbo analyzes the relationship between young Joe and his father. The two of them had been fishing together for years, but this year Joe wanted to go fishing with his friend. Through third person point of view, careful selection of detail, and simple sentences Trumbo characterizes the deep but changing relationship of the father and son.
By telling the story from a third person point of view, Trumbo provides the reader with a more universal view of the father-son relationship. Readers are able to see the feelings of both father and son.
The phrases "For a little while his father didn't say a thing" and "I'm tired and I think I'll rest all day" show how saddened the father was by his son's actions. However, he felt so deeply for his son that he said, "so you use my and let Bill use yours." Thankfully, the love the father felt for his son was always shared by the son for his father. "He felt a little lump in his throat as the thought that even as deserting his father for Bill Harper his father had volunteered the rod." Because the passage is told from a third person viewpoint, we are able to see that they loved each other and wanted to continue fishing together; sadly, things can't stay the same forever.
Trumbo constructed this passage very carefully in order to show the changing dynamics of the father-son relationship. By starting the passage off with peaceful visuals of camping and fishing, Dalton gives the reader an idea of the joy that the father and son received from each other. The line "sitting across from him and staring into the fire was his father" furthers the notion that the son looked up to the father and enjoyed being with him. However, as the passage progresses an outsider, Bill Harper, enters the story. Although the son still loves his father, he feels a greater desire to be with his friend. Also Trumbo shows the love the father has for his son by telling how he is willing to let his son use his greatest possession. Lastly, the image of the son sneaking away "without awakening his father" provides the reader with an image of a son being pulled in different directions, and a father who will awaken to a long and lonely day.
Through the use of simple syntax, Trumbo further characterizes the relationship of the father and son while also serving to reinforce the peaceful and related imagery of the poem, the simple syntax has the effect of showing the reader how much of an impact a small action can have on a relationship. Although the father and son will always love each other, it will never be the same between them again. The son's simple action to go off with Bill Harper has forever changed their relationship. Other fishing trips will come, but the father will always be wondering if his son wants to be there with him or if he'd rather go fishing with Bill Harper.
Many little boys view their father as the greatest man in the world. Unfortunately, as they age, they begin to see his flaws; they desire to instead, hang around with kids their age. We need to remember that although relationships change, we should always stay close to those who have always been there for us.
Sample TT
During the maturing of a young male there is always a moment where one parts from his father only to learn that he is more like his father than he would like to let on. This convention is a staple of many works concerning the father and sun relationships and Johnny Got His Gun is no exception. Dalton Trumbo uses a third person point of view, detailed descriptions, and syntax that implies similarities to characterize the close relationship between a Youngman and his father.
Throughout the passage the author uses a third person point of view to show the relationship between the boy and his father. The author uses pronouns such as they, he, and him to focus on the relationship between two males. While proper nouns would focus more on the characters the use of pronouns makes the reader focus more on the relationship between the characters and not the characters. The lack of dialogue also makes the reader focus more on what is being said compared to who is saying it. That skillful use of point-of-view, pronouns, and lack of dialogue all make the reader focus on the relationship between the character and not the characters themselves.
Perhaps the most significant point in the story comes when the father offers his rod to his son. This is significant because the rod is “the only extravagance his father had in his own life”. The author goes into detail about the rod and the lengths that the father goes to maintain the quality of the rod. The significance of the father lending his son his rod cannot be understood because “there was nothing his father treasured more”. The author uses detail when describing the rod to accent the significance of the father lending his son his rod.
Trumbo masterfully describes the relationship between the boy and his father. Trumbo uses long sentences to raise the tension before the boy asks his father about fishing with Bill Harper. The Youngman fishing with someone else does represent “the end of something” but at the same time it is also a beginning. By taking his father’s rod and teaching Bill Harper all that Joe knows about fishing Joe is assuming the role of his father and teaching someone else the ways and techniques of fishing that he had learned from his father. Joe shows growth and maturity by assuming the role of an adult and teaching someone else all that he knows. The fact that Joe has become an adult due to what his father has taught him speaks strongly of the relationship between Joe and his father.
While the father-son coming of age story has become a cliche of literature Dalton Trumbo manages to breathe new life into the story through skillful use of point of view, selection of detail, and syntax.
Sample YY
The best art creates not a judgement or an intellectual movement but instead creates a feeling, an emotion. In this way, the excerpt from Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun is true art, as it uses point of view and description to explore a beautiful father/son relationship, as the son comes of age.
In many ways, the narrative voice of this excerpt has a stunning impact. The third narrator has limited omnipotence, allowing us into Johnny’s thoughts, but not those of his father. This access to the son’s thought process and the overall descriptive voice gives the reader a sense of informality and intimacy with the characters. All dialogue is also stated without the use of quotation marks, breaking the walls of structure to give an added sense of fluidity. From this, the reader gains insight into both what is said and unsaid by the boy and his father, allowing the reader to understand the depth of their relationship.
The narrator is also skilled in revealing specific details that add greatly to the meaning of the story. The first paragraph describes “an enormous pine tree” and other seemingly insignificant details of the campsite. These details, however, are not at all insignificant. They reflect the connection of this boy to his surroundings. They reflect the boy’s vivid memory of each past trip, and how the subtle differences of this trip will remind him of the change Ð the time when his relationship with his father in which they became both seperate and stronger.
The beauty of the writing in Trumbo’s excerpt is most powerful because it vividly reflects the human mind. The speaker, dialogue and details are woven in such a way that the reader feels like Johnny, appreciates the campsite and understands the depth of this father/son relationship. As a result, the reader can feel; as a result the reader can witness art.
Sample C
The relationship between a father and son, although shaky at times, represents a solid rock for the son to lean against. Trumbo further illustrates this bond in the passage from “Johnny Got His Gun.” The passage is written in third person causing emotional language to be left out and a more objective point of view to be presented. The author recognizes seemingly mundane details in order to create an atmosphere that only a father-son trip can achieve.
Throughout the passage the reader is left to interpret exactly what Trumbo intends to convey. Emotions are not written into the story but the reader can infer from the thoughts and actions of both the father and son that their limited time together is held sacred. The son’s desire to fish with one of his friends is “a very serious thing.” (16) He is no longer a young boy eager to learn from his father but instead he wishes to spend time with Bill Harper, someone who “doesn’t know very much about fishing” (31-32). The needs of the son change with time and his desire to fish with Bill is “an ending” to youth and dependence on parents” provision. The son is at a new “beginning” and stepping into his role as equals with other adults.
The emotions of the father are omitted from the passage but his love for his son is clear. Rather than responding with anger at his son’s request to fish without him, he offers his valuable fishing rod to assist them. The father demonstrates his self-sacrificing love for his son by offering his “only extravagance,” despite the fact that it could be ruined. With the option of using his father’s rod, the son recognizes the father’s sacrifice. The “man in Colorado Springs” who year after year repairs the rod is a testament to father’s love of the rod itself. The son, Joe, believes “there is nothing his father treasures more.” He, however, does not understand that this is not true. His father gives his prized possession to the one he loves even more.
Trumbo’s inclusion of small details also adds substance to the passage. The detail’s such as the “roar of water” at night and the “enormous pine,” appeal to the reader’s emotions. Perhaps they remind the reader of their camping trips or past vacations. The scenery details brings the reader to a place where they can associate their experience with the father or son.
Trumbo shows in the passage that the relationship between a father and son is a strong bond. Actions speak louder than words and it is inferred that Joe’s father has a deep and endearing love for his son. Their experiences on the camping trips bring them common experiences that they can treasure more than any “valuable” fishing rod.
Sample V
In the selection from Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo, shows a boy shift from doing everything with his father, to becoming his own person. This selection is in third person, as if someone was reflecting on it. In third person the reader is able to understand the emotions going through both characters. At first we see how the son wants to spare his father’s feelings about leaving him. In the fifth paragraph we see the father’s understanding & he lets his son go. This shows growth between the characters as the boy grows up & the father lets him go.
Trumbo uses complete, concrete sentences in his writing. This he uses to tell a full circle story on the father & son. They would come “each summer to this place. (6)” & repeat the same activities each year. Once the boy turned 15, he wanted “go out with Billy Harper (30).” This shows the son wanting to do things with out his father. Finally the father agrees to let the son go, & gave his son his special rod. At this point the father is letting go of his son, & comming full circle.
The attention to detail is so important in this passage. It allows the reader to understand the relationship between the characters better. Instead of saying “each summer they came to this place (6),” Trumbo could of said they went camping. If that happened the reader would not have understood the special meaning the camping site had. The way Trumbo uses detail to show important things are enhances the story. With out that detail, we would not know how the father & son complete the ritual camping trip. Every year they go to the same place to camp, go fishing, & use the same rods. When the father relinquished his rod to his son, the reader understands what a step this is. If it was an important rod it would not matter as much. From the description of all the work that goes into it, the reader can see how big this is. The father is giving his son his prized possetion. This shows how much trust the father has developed in his son. The father & son have grown from doing everything together, to do things seperate.
The best art creates not a judgement or an intellectual movement but instead creates a feeling, an emotion. In this way, the excerpt from Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun is true art, as it uses point of view and description to explore a beautiful father/son relationship, as the son comes of age.
In many ways, the narrative voice of this excerpt has a stunning impact. The third narrator has limited omnipotence, allowing us into Johnny’s thoughts, but not those of his father. This access to the son’s thought process and the overall descriptive voice gives the reader a sense of informality and intimacy with the characters. All dialogue is also stated without the use of quotation marks, breaking the walls of structure to give an added sense of fluidity. From this, the reader gains insight into both what is said and unsaid by the boy and his father, allowing the reader to understand the depth of their relationship.
The narrator is also skilled in revealing specific details that add greatly to the meaning of the story. The first paragraph describes “an enormous pine tree” and other seemingly insignificant details of the campsite. These details, however, are not at all insignificant. They reflect the connection of this boy to his surroundings. They reflect the boy’s vivid memory of each past trip, and how the subtle differences of this trip will remind him of the change Ð the time when his relationship with his father in which they became both seperate and stronger.
The beauty of the writing in Trumbo’s excerpt is most powerful because it vividly reflects the human mind. The speaker, dialogue and details are woven in such a way that the reader feels like Johnny, appreciates the campsite and understands the depth of this father/son relationship. As a result, the reader can feel; as a result the reader can witness art.
Sample C
The relationship between a father and son, although shaky at times, represents a solid rock for the son to lean against. Trumbo further illustrates this bond in the passage from “Johnny Got His Gun.” The passage is written in third person causing emotional language to be left out and a more objective point of view to be presented. The author recognizes seemingly mundane details in order to create an atmosphere that only a father-son trip can achieve.
Throughout the passage the reader is left to interpret exactly what Trumbo intends to convey. Emotions are not written into the story but the reader can infer from the thoughts and actions of both the father and son that their limited time together is held sacred. The son’s desire to fish with one of his friends is “a very serious thing.” (16) He is no longer a young boy eager to learn from his father but instead he wishes to spend time with Bill Harper, someone who “doesn’t know very much about fishing” (31-32). The needs of the son change with time and his desire to fish with Bill is “an ending” to youth and dependence on parents” provision. The son is at a new “beginning” and stepping into his role as equals with other adults.
The emotions of the father are omitted from the passage but his love for his son is clear. Rather than responding with anger at his son’s request to fish without him, he offers his valuable fishing rod to assist them. The father demonstrates his self-sacrificing love for his son by offering his “only extravagance,” despite the fact that it could be ruined. With the option of using his father’s rod, the son recognizes the father’s sacrifice. The “man in Colorado Springs” who year after year repairs the rod is a testament to father’s love of the rod itself. The son, Joe, believes “there is nothing his father treasures more.” He, however, does not understand that this is not true. His father gives his prized possession to the one he loves even more.
Trumbo’s inclusion of small details also adds substance to the passage. The detail’s such as the “roar of water” at night and the “enormous pine,” appeal to the reader’s emotions. Perhaps they remind the reader of their camping trips or past vacations. The scenery details brings the reader to a place where they can associate their experience with the father or son.
Trumbo shows in the passage that the relationship between a father and son is a strong bond. Actions speak louder than words and it is inferred that Joe’s father has a deep and endearing love for his son. Their experiences on the camping trips bring them common experiences that they can treasure more than any “valuable” fishing rod.
Sample V
In the selection from Johnny Got His Gun, by Dalton Trumbo, shows a boy shift from doing everything with his father, to becoming his own person. This selection is in third person, as if someone was reflecting on it. In third person the reader is able to understand the emotions going through both characters. At first we see how the son wants to spare his father’s feelings about leaving him. In the fifth paragraph we see the father’s understanding & he lets his son go. This shows growth between the characters as the boy grows up & the father lets him go.
Trumbo uses complete, concrete sentences in his writing. This he uses to tell a full circle story on the father & son. They would come “each summer to this place. (6)” & repeat the same activities each year. Once the boy turned 15, he wanted “go out with Billy Harper (30).” This shows the son wanting to do things with out his father. Finally the father agrees to let the son go, & gave his son his special rod. At this point the father is letting go of his son, & comming full circle.
The attention to detail is so important in this passage. It allows the reader to understand the relationship between the characters better. Instead of saying “each summer they came to this place (6),” Trumbo could of said they went camping. If that happened the reader would not have understood the special meaning the camping site had. The way Trumbo uses detail to show important things are enhances the story. With out that detail, we would not know how the father & son complete the ritual camping trip. Every year they go to the same place to camp, go fishing, & use the same rods. When the father relinquished his rod to his son, the reader understands what a step this is. If it was an important rod it would not matter as much. From the description of all the work that goes into it, the reader can see how big this is. The father is giving his son his prized possetion. This shows how much trust the father has developed in his son. The father & son have grown from doing everything together, to do things seperate.
Sample G
In Dalton Trumbos “Johnny got His Gun,” a very simple yet complex scene is created between the father and son. Trumbo uses simple syntax, exquisite detail and a third person point of view to illustrate a son maturing and stepping away in front of the father.
The syntax Trumbos uses is very simple. The sentences are straightforward, as they provide insight into the father and son’s relationship. The simple syntax reflects the seemingly simple task of telling the father, as well as the clear, distinct element of the nature that surrounds them. Although it may seem simple to tell his father that he was going fishing, the syntax also portrays the boy with the internal conflict. Repetition is provided as the boy constantly battles over “how he should tell” his father. This shows the boys concern for his father and how he doesn’t want to hurt him. The syntax and repetition help illustrate a maturing boy who is dealing with an decision independent of his father. The idea of growing up is brought into play, as the boy will now have to do things on his own without his father being there.
A child stepping out and seeing the world for themselves is a main idea Trumbo portrays. Through his third person point of view, he makes the relationship more personal. The boy is referred to as “he” and the dad “father.” The ambiguity of their titles help make Trumbo’s point of view universal. Every child, whether he is going fishing on his own or just stepping out to see the world must separate themselves from their parents. The same goes for the father, as he knows the time has come to accept his son’s maturation. The third person narration and universal point of view also help to highlight the father’s acceptance. ”For a while his father didn’t say a thing. Then he said why sure.”
The details Trumbo provides also help reinforce his point of view. He gives the boys age, 15. The boy is a point in his life where he is going to be more independent. While he needed his father when he was seven, he can now handle fishing on his own. The rod is highly detailed, as the details serve to show the importance of the item. The father is passing it on to a son, who he trusts with his rod and feels that he can handle it now. This downs a strong bond between the father and son. The immense detail helps illustrate how much the father must love his son to let him go off with a prized possession. ”There was nothing his father treasured more.” The final bit of detail is the fact that the boy didn’t awake his father before he left. The rod was a symbol of acceptance, and knowing his boy was maturing, his father passed it down. The gesture marks a rite of passage, and the boy know there’s not need to awake the father.
Trumbo creates a strong bond between the young man and his father. Through his syntax, third person point of view and detail that helps illuminate the boys rite of passage, Trumbo creates an accepting father who is allowing his son to see the world with his rod at hand.
Sample S
This excerpt from Dalton Trumbo’s novel Johnny Got His Gun serves to portray the powerful bond between father and son. Trumbo uses the character’s point of view, selection of detail, and word choice, to portray the relationship between father and son.
”They had been coming to this place ever since he was seven. How he was fifteen and Bill Harper was coming tomorrow.” This shows the clash of loyalties in his own head. Wheather to stand fast and uphold a treasured tradition, or to sate his desire for the companionship of a friend. The son’s point of view is portrayed as a rebellious son who merely wishes to escape his father’s shadow.
Trumbo’s close choice of words in the beginning of the excerpt and at the end, serve to forbode a climax. ”The campfire was built in front of a tent and the tent was under and enormous pine. When you slept inside the tent it seemed always raining outside” this allusion to rain, raised the idea that there may be some conflict later on in the peice. ”At six o’clock Bill Harper whispered to him through the tent flap. He got up and gave Bill his rod and took his father’s for himself, and they went off without awakening his father” these final lines show the winner of the climax. The son did not even wake his father before walking off with his father’s most prized possesion.
Trumbo’s close attention to detail when describing the father’s fishing rod serves to heighten the fear and apprehension we perceve to be evident in the son. ”It was perhaps the only extravagance his father had in his whole life. It had amber leaders and beautiful silk windings.” Serves to show how much his father’s rod ment to the son, and the devestating effect it must have had on the father when the son walked away.
Sample EEE
A young man and his father go camping every summer, preferring each other’s company to that of friends their own age. until one summer, it changes suddenly. In this excerpt from Dalton Trumbo’s novel Johnny Got His Gun, Joe, a young man, comes of age. Through devices like symbolism, point of view, carefully described details, and unusual syntax, Trumbo creates a vivid sense of the relationship between Joe and his father.
The passage describes a father-son ritual in which the two of them retreat to a mountain and fish together, camping out “under an enormous pine.” (2) They bond through shared experiences, the key one of which is fishing. In eight years, Joe has never wanted to fish with anyone other than his father, but at the age of 15, he wants “to go fishing with [Bill Harper].” (line 24). The fishing trip is a symbol for the close relationship Joe has to his father. As he goes fishing with his friend, he is severing the ties with is father and exerting his autonomy. He is a young man with his own life, no longer a boy. As his father passes his fishing rod to his son, it symbolizes the transfer of independence in the relationship.
The point of view is third person, limited to Joe. This emphasizes the fact that in the father-son relationship, Joe has now begun to think for himself. Although he is close with his father and enjoys his company, Joe no longer thinks the same way that his father does. By keeping the narrative voice limited to Joe’s thoughts and feelings rather than extending the same treatment to his father, the excerpt draws attention to Joe as the newly independent one of the two.
Several details throughout the passage are included that help the reader understand the true importance of Joe’s coming of age. ”Each summer they came to this place which was nine thousand feet high and covered with pine trees and dotted with lakes...” (lines 6-8). These details about the physical location and pristine environment of the camping site show that going there every summer has been an important part of Joe’s childhood. Further description about how sleeping “inside the tent it seemed always that it was raining outside because the needles from the pine kept falling” (3-4) emphasizes the closeness Joe and his father feel as they share a tent. Perhaps the most detailed selection in the passage is the describing Joe’s father’s fishing rod. When his father casually offers him his rod, it symbolizes the passing of maturity and independence to Joe. Because the reader is told about how much the father values the rod, with its “amber leaders and beautiful silk windings,” the importance of Joe using this magnificent rod is magnified. It shows that his father realizes it is time to gracefully let go of Joe and to let him exert his autonomy.
The unusual syntax used in the passage further serves to show the relationship between Joe and his father. There are no quotation marks, no commas. Sentences are stripped bare of unnecessary grammatical techniques and structure, leaving prose that is simple to the extreme, clear and precise. This suggests that Joe and his father have a relationship in which much is accomplished with few words. They are close without saying much, and what they do say they really mean. Without much spoken communication, Joe and his father have a close relationship.
This excerpt of Johnny Got His Gun is written in bare language with simple sentence structure. Yet through this syntax, and through point of view, few, careful details, and ample use of symbolism, the close relationship between Joe and his father is portrayed. They understand each other implicitly, and as Joe reaches a coming of age, his father steps back and lets him become a man.
Sample CC
This passage extracted from “Johnny Got His Gun” tells of a simple story involving a father and son camping in the woods. Though the action in this story seems simple, the meaning behind it is quite emotional and telling. This story marks a change for both characters, for it tells of the transition in childhood when child only has interest in parent to the fateful day where he or she would rather hang out with a peer group. Through literary elements such as point of view, selection of detail and syntax the author characterizes the parent and son transition of relationships.
The point of view through most of the passage is third person limited. The thoughts and inner emotions are only known of the son Joe. This adds to the text as a whole because it underscores the uncertainty that Joe is experiencing towards his father and what his father is feeling by mirroring the readers uncertainty of how the father is feeling. This device manipulates the reader and allows the author to guarantee that the reader is emotionally entwined with the character Joe. There is also another subtle use of point of view very early on in the passage. ”You slept inside the tent” starts off the second sentence of the passage. This is technically second person point of view though it is not used in the rest of the passage. This is another subtle device used by the author in order to underscore and characterize the relationship between father and son. By using “you” the author wants the reader to interject his or her own experience with the parent/child relationship. The author manipulates the reader into using the emotions he or she felt (since parent/child relationship is universal) and applying it to the passage at hand. Thus the author employs point of view not only to highlight the uncertainty of the son Joe to his fathers emotions, but also to encourage the reader to apply universal emotions to the passage raising the text to not only a story about his father and son but to every father and son that ever existed.
Syntax is also used in order to underscore this universal relationship and transition between relationships. In the beginning of the passage when discussing the father and son relationship in years past short simple sentences are used. ”It was a very serious thing”. This underscores the fact that there was no uncertainty there. Also after Joe tells his father of his desire to go fishing with Bill Harper the syntax is once again short and simple. ”His father’s rod was a very valuable one.” These two sentences symbolize the father and son relationship before and after the transition both members no where they stand. However in the middle of the passage where the transition is occurring the syntax become muddled and extended. ”He said Bill Harper doesn’t know very much...and meet Harper and he and I will go fishing” (lines 31-34). This long extended sentance underscores the son’s desire not to hurt his fathers feelings, and the uncertainty and confusion that he feels about his own as well. Thus the syntax underscores the first stage young child/father with short concise sentances, the transition with complex run-on sentances, then to the third stage of adult son/father once again with consice clear sentances. Thus the syntax adds to the text as a whole because it allows the author to manipulate the readers reaction to the text subconsciously.
With the use of point of view and syntax the author highlights the main focus of the transition in the relationship however with his selection of detail he is able to highlight the specific emotions felt by the son and father. The passage opens with the tent pitched under “an enormous pine.” This is symbolic of the protected feeling a child experiences in the relationship of a parent. The confused emotions are underscored by Joe looking at his father in “front of the fire”, the flickering fire light underscores uncertainty. After Joe tells his father and the transition occurs the images do not become any less powerful, they just underscore different emotions. The author spends much time on describing the fathers fishing rod. This is used to underscore how valuable the rod is to his father with “amber leaders and beautiful silk windings.” It shows the reader as well as Joe that he isn’t mad at his son for growing up. Their relationship is now characterized by trust and maturity rather than protectiveness as earlier in the passage.
Thus the relationship transition is underscored by the author by employing such devices as point of view, syntax, and selection of detail. These literary devices come together to underscore the change in relationship between the father and son. At the beginning of the passage Joe was protected by his father, however, the ending image is completely different. Joe leaves “without waking his father” to symbolize that Joe is now going off into the world alone, he has grown up. Thus this passage accomplishes much more than just a simple story about a father and son, it shares the transition of every father and son, and the uncertainty of growing up.
In Dalton Trumbos “Johnny got His Gun,” a very simple yet complex scene is created between the father and son. Trumbo uses simple syntax, exquisite detail and a third person point of view to illustrate a son maturing and stepping away in front of the father.
The syntax Trumbos uses is very simple. The sentences are straightforward, as they provide insight into the father and son’s relationship. The simple syntax reflects the seemingly simple task of telling the father, as well as the clear, distinct element of the nature that surrounds them. Although it may seem simple to tell his father that he was going fishing, the syntax also portrays the boy with the internal conflict. Repetition is provided as the boy constantly battles over “how he should tell” his father. This shows the boys concern for his father and how he doesn’t want to hurt him. The syntax and repetition help illustrate a maturing boy who is dealing with an decision independent of his father. The idea of growing up is brought into play, as the boy will now have to do things on his own without his father being there.
A child stepping out and seeing the world for themselves is a main idea Trumbo portrays. Through his third person point of view, he makes the relationship more personal. The boy is referred to as “he” and the dad “father.” The ambiguity of their titles help make Trumbo’s point of view universal. Every child, whether he is going fishing on his own or just stepping out to see the world must separate themselves from their parents. The same goes for the father, as he knows the time has come to accept his son’s maturation. The third person narration and universal point of view also help to highlight the father’s acceptance. ”For a while his father didn’t say a thing. Then he said why sure.”
The details Trumbo provides also help reinforce his point of view. He gives the boys age, 15. The boy is a point in his life where he is going to be more independent. While he needed his father when he was seven, he can now handle fishing on his own. The rod is highly detailed, as the details serve to show the importance of the item. The father is passing it on to a son, who he trusts with his rod and feels that he can handle it now. This downs a strong bond between the father and son. The immense detail helps illustrate how much the father must love his son to let him go off with a prized possession. ”There was nothing his father treasured more.” The final bit of detail is the fact that the boy didn’t awake his father before he left. The rod was a symbol of acceptance, and knowing his boy was maturing, his father passed it down. The gesture marks a rite of passage, and the boy know there’s not need to awake the father.
Trumbo creates a strong bond between the young man and his father. Through his syntax, third person point of view and detail that helps illuminate the boys rite of passage, Trumbo creates an accepting father who is allowing his son to see the world with his rod at hand.
Sample S
This excerpt from Dalton Trumbo’s novel Johnny Got His Gun serves to portray the powerful bond between father and son. Trumbo uses the character’s point of view, selection of detail, and word choice, to portray the relationship between father and son.
”They had been coming to this place ever since he was seven. How he was fifteen and Bill Harper was coming tomorrow.” This shows the clash of loyalties in his own head. Wheather to stand fast and uphold a treasured tradition, or to sate his desire for the companionship of a friend. The son’s point of view is portrayed as a rebellious son who merely wishes to escape his father’s shadow.
Trumbo’s close choice of words in the beginning of the excerpt and at the end, serve to forbode a climax. ”The campfire was built in front of a tent and the tent was under and enormous pine. When you slept inside the tent it seemed always raining outside” this allusion to rain, raised the idea that there may be some conflict later on in the peice. ”At six o’clock Bill Harper whispered to him through the tent flap. He got up and gave Bill his rod and took his father’s for himself, and they went off without awakening his father” these final lines show the winner of the climax. The son did not even wake his father before walking off with his father’s most prized possesion.
Trumbo’s close attention to detail when describing the father’s fishing rod serves to heighten the fear and apprehension we perceve to be evident in the son. ”It was perhaps the only extravagance his father had in his whole life. It had amber leaders and beautiful silk windings.” Serves to show how much his father’s rod ment to the son, and the devestating effect it must have had on the father when the son walked away.
Sample EEE
A young man and his father go camping every summer, preferring each other’s company to that of friends their own age. until one summer, it changes suddenly. In this excerpt from Dalton Trumbo’s novel Johnny Got His Gun, Joe, a young man, comes of age. Through devices like symbolism, point of view, carefully described details, and unusual syntax, Trumbo creates a vivid sense of the relationship between Joe and his father.
The passage describes a father-son ritual in which the two of them retreat to a mountain and fish together, camping out “under an enormous pine.” (2) They bond through shared experiences, the key one of which is fishing. In eight years, Joe has never wanted to fish with anyone other than his father, but at the age of 15, he wants “to go fishing with [Bill Harper].” (line 24). The fishing trip is a symbol for the close relationship Joe has to his father. As he goes fishing with his friend, he is severing the ties with is father and exerting his autonomy. He is a young man with his own life, no longer a boy. As his father passes his fishing rod to his son, it symbolizes the transfer of independence in the relationship.
The point of view is third person, limited to Joe. This emphasizes the fact that in the father-son relationship, Joe has now begun to think for himself. Although he is close with his father and enjoys his company, Joe no longer thinks the same way that his father does. By keeping the narrative voice limited to Joe’s thoughts and feelings rather than extending the same treatment to his father, the excerpt draws attention to Joe as the newly independent one of the two.
Several details throughout the passage are included that help the reader understand the true importance of Joe’s coming of age. ”Each summer they came to this place which was nine thousand feet high and covered with pine trees and dotted with lakes...” (lines 6-8). These details about the physical location and pristine environment of the camping site show that going there every summer has been an important part of Joe’s childhood. Further description about how sleeping “inside the tent it seemed always that it was raining outside because the needles from the pine kept falling” (3-4) emphasizes the closeness Joe and his father feel as they share a tent. Perhaps the most detailed selection in the passage is the describing Joe’s father’s fishing rod. When his father casually offers him his rod, it symbolizes the passing of maturity and independence to Joe. Because the reader is told about how much the father values the rod, with its “amber leaders and beautiful silk windings,” the importance of Joe using this magnificent rod is magnified. It shows that his father realizes it is time to gracefully let go of Joe and to let him exert his autonomy.
The unusual syntax used in the passage further serves to show the relationship between Joe and his father. There are no quotation marks, no commas. Sentences are stripped bare of unnecessary grammatical techniques and structure, leaving prose that is simple to the extreme, clear and precise. This suggests that Joe and his father have a relationship in which much is accomplished with few words. They are close without saying much, and what they do say they really mean. Without much spoken communication, Joe and his father have a close relationship.
This excerpt of Johnny Got His Gun is written in bare language with simple sentence structure. Yet through this syntax, and through point of view, few, careful details, and ample use of symbolism, the close relationship between Joe and his father is portrayed. They understand each other implicitly, and as Joe reaches a coming of age, his father steps back and lets him become a man.
Sample CC
This passage extracted from “Johnny Got His Gun” tells of a simple story involving a father and son camping in the woods. Though the action in this story seems simple, the meaning behind it is quite emotional and telling. This story marks a change for both characters, for it tells of the transition in childhood when child only has interest in parent to the fateful day where he or she would rather hang out with a peer group. Through literary elements such as point of view, selection of detail and syntax the author characterizes the parent and son transition of relationships.
The point of view through most of the passage is third person limited. The thoughts and inner emotions are only known of the son Joe. This adds to the text as a whole because it underscores the uncertainty that Joe is experiencing towards his father and what his father is feeling by mirroring the readers uncertainty of how the father is feeling. This device manipulates the reader and allows the author to guarantee that the reader is emotionally entwined with the character Joe. There is also another subtle use of point of view very early on in the passage. ”You slept inside the tent” starts off the second sentence of the passage. This is technically second person point of view though it is not used in the rest of the passage. This is another subtle device used by the author in order to underscore and characterize the relationship between father and son. By using “you” the author wants the reader to interject his or her own experience with the parent/child relationship. The author manipulates the reader into using the emotions he or she felt (since parent/child relationship is universal) and applying it to the passage at hand. Thus the author employs point of view not only to highlight the uncertainty of the son Joe to his fathers emotions, but also to encourage the reader to apply universal emotions to the passage raising the text to not only a story about his father and son but to every father and son that ever existed.
Syntax is also used in order to underscore this universal relationship and transition between relationships. In the beginning of the passage when discussing the father and son relationship in years past short simple sentences are used. ”It was a very serious thing”. This underscores the fact that there was no uncertainty there. Also after Joe tells his father of his desire to go fishing with Bill Harper the syntax is once again short and simple. ”His father’s rod was a very valuable one.” These two sentences symbolize the father and son relationship before and after the transition both members no where they stand. However in the middle of the passage where the transition is occurring the syntax become muddled and extended. ”He said Bill Harper doesn’t know very much...and meet Harper and he and I will go fishing” (lines 31-34). This long extended sentance underscores the son’s desire not to hurt his fathers feelings, and the uncertainty and confusion that he feels about his own as well. Thus the syntax underscores the first stage young child/father with short concise sentances, the transition with complex run-on sentances, then to the third stage of adult son/father once again with consice clear sentances. Thus the syntax adds to the text as a whole because it allows the author to manipulate the readers reaction to the text subconsciously.
With the use of point of view and syntax the author highlights the main focus of the transition in the relationship however with his selection of detail he is able to highlight the specific emotions felt by the son and father. The passage opens with the tent pitched under “an enormous pine.” This is symbolic of the protected feeling a child experiences in the relationship of a parent. The confused emotions are underscored by Joe looking at his father in “front of the fire”, the flickering fire light underscores uncertainty. After Joe tells his father and the transition occurs the images do not become any less powerful, they just underscore different emotions. The author spends much time on describing the fathers fishing rod. This is used to underscore how valuable the rod is to his father with “amber leaders and beautiful silk windings.” It shows the reader as well as Joe that he isn’t mad at his son for growing up. Their relationship is now characterized by trust and maturity rather than protectiveness as earlier in the passage.
Thus the relationship transition is underscored by the author by employing such devices as point of view, syntax, and selection of detail. These literary devices come together to underscore the change in relationship between the father and son. At the beginning of the passage Joe was protected by his father, however, the ending image is completely different. Joe leaves “without waking his father” to symbolize that Joe is now going off into the world alone, he has grown up. Thus this passage accomplishes much more than just a simple story about a father and son, it shares the transition of every father and son, and the uncertainty of growing up.
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