Going to war is one of the most controversial topics for a country to discuss, as it carries the weight of the future of nations and their relations with each other. In Johnny Got His Gun, Trumbo uses situational irony to portray the realities of deception created by society's upper class towards the middle and working class. Trumbo believes the upper class feed of war with little sacrifices and leave the heavy lifting to the lower classes.
Many ideas that were created in the interest of making the world more connected and peaceful, had a purpose disguised to the public. For example, when Joe has a flashback about his life before the war, “The airplane said Mr. Hargraves would cut down the distance between nations and peoples. The airplane…show more content… This is shown when Joe discusses a soldier's sacrifices to war, “That was a funny thing. The young Limey had legs and arms and he could talk and see and hear. Only he didn't know it he couldn't get any fun out of it there was no meaning to it for him. And lying in another English hospital was a guy who wasn't a bit crazy but who wished he was. He and the young Limey should swap minds. Then they'd both be happy.” (152). There is irony when these two men need what the has, to show that war has gruesome outcomes. Trumbo is telling us that people that go into war and live aren’t the same most of the time. They are often damaged, changed, and injured, making it impossible to live the lives they used to have. The upper class promises honor and decency after making sacrifices in war but when Joe is honored with a medal in the hospital he’s disgusted, “They had given him a medal. Three or four big guys famous guys who still had arms and legs and who could see and talk and smell and taste had come into his room and they had pinned a medal on him. They could afford to couldn't they the dirty bastards?”(160). Joe is honored and given a medal but the irony is the people honoring this man don’t even know who he is. Irony is used here to show that these men who give out medals have no risks, and when they promise honor with death they are deceiving the world. Irony makes the reader think about the situation and this allows them to see the theme Trumbo is
