Joe mastering time

While Joe is in the hospital for many years he is becoming severely bored and doesn't even know what to do with himself. He cant do anything because he cant see smell or barley move. Keeping tack and mastering time for Joe is a huge accomplishment for him and gives him something to look forward to. For example, because Joe can master time he can give himself something to look forward too, like holidays. When holidays come around in his head he can imagine and pretend that he is truly with his family and his girlfriend that he loved very much. Joe doesn't have anything else to do with his life because all he can do is lay and sleep in a hospital bed. This really helps Joe because he would go insane if all he did everyday was lay in bed and not know what day and time it was. The way Joe is able to keep track of the time is by having the rays from the sun shine down onto his skin. He is able to feel when the first rays hit his skin because he sense of touch has gotten extremely better because all of his other senses are gone. This is how and why keeping track of time and mastering it is so important to Joe and keeps him looking forward to something everyday. 

What is worth fighting for?

In the novel of Johnny Got His Gun Joe thinks there are certain reasons for which you should fight and certain reasons for why you shouldn't fight. Joe believes that you should fight for something that is true to your heart and something you can see. When I say true to your heart I am saying that Joe believes that it that something you are fighting for is worth more than your life to you then you should fight for it. Joe doesn't see any point in fighting for something that doesn't mean more to you than your life. Joe also thinks that you should only fight for something that you can see like a girlfriend or something like that. He believes that if you cant see the thing that you are fighting for then what is the point. One thing that Joe doesn't think that you should fight for is something that is in words. For example, Joe talks about how you shouldn't fight for words like liberty, freedom, or honor. He says this because he himself is not sure what those words mean and if you are not even sure what the words mean then why should you fight for them. These are the reasons for which Joe believes you should fight and why you should not fight. 

The rat

Joe is still in the hospital miserable from all the pain he is in and knowing that he doesn't have any arms or legs. Even though this really frustrates him because he cant really do anything he gets a visitor from a rat. When the rat comes in and visits Joe it sits on his face and starts to chew on it. There are scabs on his face so the rat finds enjoyment in nibbling and chewing on the scabs and scars. The rat comes and goes because it can and nobody is stopping it from coming. The rat represents a couple of different things to Joe. First of all the rat helps joe keep track of time because it comes during the night when the nurses are gone and nobody is around. Then the rat goes away during the day when it is busy and hectic throughout the hospital. This is how the rat helps Joe keep track of time. The rat also represents Joe's time during the war because when the rat keeps bugging him and wont go away it reminds him of being in battle. It also reminds him of being in battle because Joe is helpless due to having no arms or legs so he cant get the e off of his face. Joe not being able to get the rat off of his face represents Joe's troubles throughout the war and how he was helpless. 

The Bakery and Jose

As we read more into the novel of Johnny Got His Gun we learn more about Joe and his memories. One big memory that we learn about is the Bakery. Joe remembers the bakery because that was a time in which he could walk and also had his arms. He remembers walking to and from the bakery doing whatever he needed to do. He remembered that he never even use to think about how grateful legs and arms were. Now all he thinks about is how he wants his legs and arms, which is why he remembers the bakery. Joe also starts talking about how much he admires Jose. Joe admires Jose because he remembers Jose always working as hard as he could and never slacked off. Also he remembers stories that Jose had told him and everyone else, but at the mission nobody would believe other peoples stories because they were all a bunch of lies. This wast true until Jose got a letter from a girl that was the cause of him running away and going to the mission. When he got the letter he showed other people and they all were in aw because Jose was actually telling the truth. This is why Joe admires Jose so much because he works hard and to his full potential and was also the only person who told the truth about why he came to the mission. 

Joe

As we start to read into the novel we meet a guy named Joe. Joe is a very confused and lost character in the novel. Joe doesn't have any arms or hearing. This causes joe to become very unhappy and confused in his life. In a way Joe doesn't even know which side is up and down. Sometimes Joe feels alright and starts to get happy, but the all of the sudden he is hit with the old miserable feeling of feeling terrible and not knowing what is going on. Joe compares this too drowning because both are very similar to one another. For example, when you are drowning you come up for a breath of air which can be compared to Joe feeling better for a little bit. After you come up trying to get air, then you suddenly go back under because you are drowning, which compares to Joe feeling horrible and being confused all over again after finally feeling better. This is how and why he compares his feelings and troubles to drowning, which I find to be very interesting.