Johnny Got His Gun Page #3

Father, I need help.

I'm in terrible trouble,

and I need help.

Father?

Did you hear me?

Father?

I hear ya, son. But I

got troubles of my own.

Nothing I have in this world

is really any good, you know?

My house is small.

My job is small.

My salary is also small.

Son is small.

So is my wife,

and get right down to it,

I'm no giant, myself.

Everything

around me is small,

inferior,

except this fishing pole.

I, myself,

wind it every year

with the best

of silk thread.

See this lacquer?

Comes from China.

No finer lacquer

in the world.

See those guides?

Pure amber.

Nobody in town has

a fishing pole like this.

Not even Mr. Ladamer

down at the bank.

My life is so poor

and shoddy

that without this pole,

why,

I'd have nothing to set me

apart from other men.

Nothing to give me distinction,

nothing at all.

That's why

I love it so much.

Do you love it more

than you love me?

'Course I do.

What is there about you

that can give a man distinction?

You're not unusual at all.

Yes I am, Father.

How's that?

I may not be

unusual now,

but I'm going to be.

Of course you are.

You're gonna make the world

safe for democracy, aren't ya?

What is democracy?

Well, I was never very

clear on it, myself.

Like every other

kind of government,

it's got something to do

with young men

killing each other,

I believe.

Why don't old men

kill each other?

Well, the old men

are needed

to keep the home

fires burning.

Couldn't the young men

do that just as well?

Young men don't have homes.

That's why they must go out

and kill each other.

When it comes my turn,

will you want me to go?

For democracy,

any man would give

his only begotten son.

I wouldn't.

I won't be here

to stop you, Joe.

Put your arms around me.

I need their warmth

to keep the chill

of death away.

I can't.

Please?

No!

Well...

I guess it always

comes down to that.

Each man faces

death by himself.

Alone.

From now on, it's

a simple matter

of good nursing care,

I can always be

reached at GHQ

if anything develops.

Let's try the mask.

Thank God. They're

finally getting

this stuff off my face.

The air feels good.

Feels cool.

Repairs seem to

have healed well.

What's this?

You see?

Works very well.

Any questions?

Good luck.

It's better.

It does let

the air in.

But I thought when

they unbandaged my face,

I'd be all healed.

She's cleaning

my breathing tube.

I thought when they took

this stuff off my face,

they'd take

the tubes out, too.

But they didn't.

I don't understand.

Where is she going now?

Oh, yes. I know.

I've still got

my feeding tube.

When am I gonna

be able to feed myself?

When am I going to get well?

Dinner's over.

But it won't always

be like this, will it?

Now wait.

Think for a minute.

There's something

funny here--

something cool,

something wet.

I thought my face

was just wrapped up,

when they unwrapped it,

I could--

Oh. Oh, please, I--

Now, get a hold

of yourself, Joe.

Don't lose your head.

Your jaws.

You can't move your jaws.

They don't work.

You haven't got any.

Well, take your tongue, rub

it around inside your teeth

like you were chasing

a raspberry seed.

I-- I haven't got any tongue!

I-- I haven't got

any teeth for it to feel.

I haven't got anything

here but a hole.

How big is it?

How-- How does it go?

Now don't panic.

Think.

Inside of the hole is--

is wet.

The edges of it are dry.

Wet, dry.

Yes, that's it.

Now, figure out

where it's dry.

Feel. Yes.

I'm feeling.

Dry-- And shouldn't

the hole go up?

Up.

No eyes.

I haven't got any eyes

or mouth or teeth,

tongue, or nose.

I haven't gotten anything,

but my whole face

is scooped out!

Oh, Jesus Christ,

it's me, and I'm alive!

Oh, no. It can't be!

Not me! I--

I can't live like this!

I-- I can't.

Please, no, I can't--

I can't!

Help me. Somebody

please help me.

Mother, where are ya?

Help me, Mother.

I'm having a nightmare

and I can't wake up.

If you don't wake me up

I'll be like this for years

and years

and years

Pray for me, please.

Please, pray for me.

To all those

in the armed forces

who sacrificed

their young lives

in this just and holy war

for everlasting peace,

I grant absolution

of all their sins.

In the name of the Father

and of the Son

and of the

Holy Ghost, amen.

Let us pray.

A place like this,

you've gotta think

in order to keep

from thinking.

There are eight planets,

Earth, Venus,

Mars, Jupiter,

Mercury--

What's that?

There's something

chewing on my forehead.

It's a rat!

It's one of those great

big fat trench rats.

Help me, somebody.

Kill it!

No, couldn't be a rat.

They wouldn't let

rats run around

chewing up the customers

in a place like this.

It's a dream.

No, it isn't.

It is a rat.

It's crawling.

It's crawling.

No. No, no, no, no.

Don't--

Don't let it get me.

No. No, no. No, no, no.

He's close.

He's on my chest.

Don't even scare him.

Hold still and he will--

Where'd it go?

Did somebody kill it?

Or did it just go away?

What if it comes back?

It was a dream.

It had to be.

But how can you tell

what's a dream

and what's real

when you can't even

tell when you're awake

and when you're asleep?

Or maybe the rat's real

and the nurse here

is a dream.

Oh, Jesus Christ,

how can I ever be able to tell the difference?

The thing to do is yell.

Sometimes, even now,

I have this old dream

that somebody

wants to kill me.

And my mother and father

are running away

with me to Egypt.

I hear the sound of

soldiers riding at night

and the screams.

And I yell.

And the yell wakes me up.

And then I know

that it's a dream.

So what you have

to do is yell.

But, you see,

I can't yell.

I can't even whisper.

Well, whispering

wouldn't help anyhow.

Another way is just

to tell yourself

"Wait a minute, here.

This is a nightmare.

"And I have to wake up

in order to stop it."

Then just force

your eyes open,

and the dream

will be gone.

Oh, I can't open my eyes.

I haven't got any.

Well, that complicates things.

Maybe the thing to do

is police your mind

before you go to sleep.

Say to yourself,

"I'm going to sleep now.

"And I'm not going

to have any nightmares."

Could be done, you know?

With practice.

You feel yourself

getting drowsy--

I never feel drowsy.

I haven't got anything

to feel drowsy with.

Nothing?

Maybe we should

take a different

line of attack,

altogether.

Let us begin

by assuming

that everything

is a dream,

which by and large,

it is.

When we're awake,

we have one kind of dream.

When we're asleep,

we have another.

The difference is

that we control

our daydreams.

And the dream

that comes at night

controls us.

Now think about that.

When you dream that

the rat is there,

do you control the dream?

Or does the dream

control you?

It controls me.

Yes, exactly.

If the rat

were really there,

you'd knock it off,

wouldn't you?

Of course.

So the fact that

you don't knock it off

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