In Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, the victims of World War I are expressed through the eyes of the main character, Joe Bonham. Joe loses his arms, legs, eyes, nose, mouth and ears after a bomb falls on him while he is fighting in a war that, in reality, does not belong to him. As he lies in a hospital bed, Joe slowly becomes aware that he has lost almost all of his limbs and realizes that he would have to adapt to the current circumstances by any means possible. He passes the time by meditating on the lack of communication he is able to convey and relating its irregularities to the inhumane qualities of war. Although Joe illustrates many different issues weighing on him, one of the most important topics is the idea of ​​his voice, or lack thereof. Throughout the novel Johnny Got His Gun, Joe tries to come up with some ideas by which he can communicate with the doctors at the hospital, and hopes that this will result in likely recognition from those individuals who are unaware of his awareness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayJoe realizes that because he has lost his mouth, among other things, he must think deliberately in order to communicate with the outside world. The result of his decision to fight in the war ultimately meant that his life would end around the age of twenty. Things being what they are, Joe tries to express his anger but finds he can't shout or make other insistent noises. He cannot converse with anyone but himself: “It was as if someone had pushed a mattress into his face and held him there.” He remains lying helpless, already silenced by the absence of his mouth. He uses his loss of sight and hearing to sense the moment when the doctors open the door and enter the room. After being confined to a hospital bed for more than four years, Joe concludes that feeling the vibrations of each nurse's footsteps is an important part of communication. This instinctively brings back memories of his childhood and the times when he and Bill Harper, an old friend, used an unusual form of communication. They used Morse code to entertain themselves when restricted to certain areas of the house. Joe still remembers this code and immediately starts typing “SOS” with his head. Now, “all he has to do to get through to people…is lie in bed and rush to the nurse.” Joe lifts his head and lets it rest on his pillow, tapping again and again, three dots, three dashes, three dots. Ultimately, Joe defies all odds; the man without a mouth, nose, eyes, ears, legs or arms would finally have a voice. Now that Joe has found a new ability within himself, he feels like he has regained an abundant amount of everything that was lost. He taps his head again and again with exalted satisfaction until his neck grows weary; Yet his tapping is persistent. When Joe feels the vibrations of the nurse approaching, he types with more intention and longs for a response. At first, the doctors don't want to hear from Joe, unaware that he is trying to talk to them using Morse code. He thinks the doctors will be happy to hear from him; instead, they drug him to silence him. After some time passes and Joe realizes that he is suddenly surrounded by doctors, he continues to tap his head repeatedly. Once the doctors figure out what he's trying to do, they respond within him.