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Johnny Got His Gun Analysis

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Having a purpose in life is important, but finding purpose can be a difficult task for some. An individual can take a lifetime to figure out his purpose in life, and some may never figure it out. Some may have a clear idea of what their purpose is, but can be easily taken away when tragedy strikes. Shenandoah and Johnny Got His Gun both feature characters that face unruly situations that threaten the fulfillment of their purpose. Although neither Jacob nor Joe fulfills his final purpose, each has a distinct and clear idea of what his purpose is.
Joe’s sense of purpose comes from his hatred of war. Involvement in war is not something Joe wanted, and then going to war destroys his life. War leaves him as a “stump of a body” with no purpose. Throughout this whole experience, Joe debates with himself …show more content…
Jacob's family avoid involvement in the war because they have never and will never own slaves, but the war keeps getting closer and closer to them. Battles taking place on their property and officers coming to recruit the boys in the family; all of this happening so close to them, and yet they still stay out of the war. Then one night at dinner, Jacob’s father asks Jacob what he has to say. He responds with, “I know how you feel about this war Pa...but I don’t see how we can just sit by and ignore it any longer. Now you say it’s not our business, not our fight, but we’re Virginians, and I believe that anything that concerns Virginia, concerns us” (Shenandoah). He wants to fight and defend Virginia, because it is what he feels is right. Experience with the horrors of war is not something that Jacob has, but Joe does. When Jacob says this, he does not know what he will be facing. He really believes that fighting is the right thing to do, and then his family heads to war to save his brother Boy, Jacob is ready to go. Compared to Joe not wanting to go to war, Jacob’s ambition to go is very

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