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Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Starship Troopers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Militarism
Citizenship
Moral Decline and Discipline
Communism vs. Moral Individualism
Summary
Analysis
The night after Hendrick’s flogging, Johnnie can’t sleep. He has stopped worrying about his demotion because he has decided to resign. In just one second, Hendrick had made a mistake so serious it cost him his chance of citizenship—which was the reason he’d volunteered in the first place. Johnnie thinks he’s ready to admit that his Father was right, to go to Harvard, and to join the family business. The only reason he’s waiting until morning is to avoid waking up Sergeant Zim in the middle of the night. And Johnnie is also worried about Zim.
Johnnie reveals Hendrick’s reasons for volunteering: he wanted to attain citizenship and eventually have a political career. He’s a vivid example of the wrong kind of volunteer that Sergeant Ho and Mr. Rico both disparaged in Chapter 2. Witnessing Hendricks’ court-martial and punishment also forces Johnnie to see, for the first time, exactly what kind of a commitment he has made. This is part of the book’s argument for corporal punishment, which in this case sends a very clear message to Johnnie and the other recruits about how they must behave themselves to succeed. And, although Johnnie initially thinks that Hendrick’s court-martial is a sign to get out while he still can, his concern for Zim shows how important the sergeant is becoming as a father-figure and inspiration to him.
Themes
After the court-martial, Zim had asked to speak to Captain Frankel, and although Johnnie left the room, he could hear their conversation through the thin wall. Zim requested transfer to a combat team. Frankel ignored the request and asked what happened. He said that Zim was the one who messed up by even giving Hendrick a chance to strike him. The recruits are “wild animals,” and an instructor should know better than to turn his back on them. Zim admitted that he had liked Hendrick and thought he was “safe” because he was so determined to complete his term despite his lack of aptitude.
Frankel and Zim hold themselves at least as responsible for Hendrick’s actions as they hold him. By calling the recruits “wild animals,” Frankel contributes to the book’s argument that evolution is directed by violence and that the role of society is to discipline direct violence into purposeful directions. By taking responsibility for Hendrick’s actions, Zim shows Johnnie how to take responsibility for his men in the way he has been asked to do (remember, he got demoted for something some men on his team did in Chapter 5). Painting the officers in a virtuous light contributes to glorifying the military. But it also shows how important taking care of one’s fellows is to the success of the M.I.
Themes
Frankel reminded Zim that an instructor couldn’t afford to like recruits. Both Zim and Frankel wished they could have taken the flogging instead of Hendrick. Frankel had intentionally ignored Zim’s black eye and tried to brush off the incident. Hendrick’s unrepentant insistence that he’d hit Zim forced them to carry out punishment. They had to enforce regulations, even if they were ultimately to blame for keeping an unfit recruit in training. But Frankel denied Zim’s transfer request. Zim had been his instructor in basic training, so he knew that no one was better qualified to turn “unspanked young cubs” into soldiers.
Zim and Frankel’s conversation acknowledges their efforts to avoid punishing Hendrick; if they are taken at their word, then Hendrick truly earned his punishment not only by his actions but also by being too immature or too stupid to play along. Like Jelly, Rasczak, and other officers Johnnie encounters throughout the book, Frankel and Zim are completely noble, good, and responsible—they can do no wrong. The book’s glorification of militarism is thus built on an unquestioned assumption that the military’s leaders are always good and will always do the right thing.
Themes
Hendrick’s flogging also served as a warning for the other recruits. Warning Zim to ensure that he and his instructors wouldn’t allow any other recruits to successfully land a strike on their superiors, Frankel dismissed him and returned to his own busy schedule of work. He ordered Johnnie to send the commanders of the battalion’s other companies to him, to set out his dress uniform, and to go to sick call.
Hendrick’s flogging was the first instance of corporal punishment being used to enforce the rules and standards in the book. Later, Johnnie will recall History and Moral Philosophy conversations that develop the theory of corporal punishment. But for now, it’s important to note that the fear of physical pain seems to be the best incentive for good behavior.
Themes
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Johnnie is unsettled by how upset the unflappable Sergeant Zim was over his failure and by hearing Captain Frankel “chew out” the sergeant. He is also bothered to learn that officers like Frankel, who had seemed so untouchable, are subject to at least as much hard work and worry as the recruits. Johnnie feels sure that he doesn’t want to be in the M.I. if it’s so hard that even the officer-“gods” are unhappy. He also worries about making mistakes that could get him flogged, or even hanged. No one in his family has ever been flogged. Even though his Father doesn’t value citizenship, he would be very upset if Johnnie did anything to deserve a flogging. Johnnie had wished to strike the instructors himself, and he believed that only fear of being hit by their batons had stopped him.
Johnnie didn’t have strong reasons for joining the Federal Service, so his dawning realization of how serious the commitment he’s made is unsettles him. He’s beginning to understand that there’s no end point where it becomes easy: the instructors work at least as hard as the recruits—and they have more responsibility. Johnnie’s immaturity shows itself in his reliance on external discipline: he’s still more motivated by avoiding the pain and shame of punishment than he is inspired to behave in virtuous ways.
Themes
Johnnie decides to resign, and his Mother’s letter confirms his choice. She writes about how Johnnie hurt his Father’s pride by volunteering. She was also hurt, but she still loves Johnnie and thinks of him as her little boy. She hopes that he still feels a childish need for her comfort. Her letter brings Johnnie to tears.
The letter from Johnnie’s mother puts him back into his childish role. The letter features deeply infantilizing language, calling Johnnie his mother’s “little boy.” Johnnie falls prey to it (crying, deciding to resign) in part because he’s still behaving in a childish way. Instead of accepting responsibility for his demotion, he felt sorry for himself. Although he avoided making Hendrick’s mistake this time, he worries that he won’t have the self-discipline to avoid being punished again in the future.
Themes
Johnnie falls asleep after reading the letter but is quickly awakened by an alert. The recruits are sent to the bombing range and put into a freeze, which lasts at least an hour. While he is holding perfectly still, an animal—probably a coyote—runs right over Johnnie’s body and he doesn’t even twitch. Although he gets cold, he comforts himself with the thought that this is his last freeze ever.
The midnight freeze order tests the recruits and demonstrates how effective Hendrick’s punishment was: no one moves a muscle through the grueling test. It also acts as a reminder to the recruits that they must earn their citizenship by proving that they can handle difficulty and discomfort.
Themes
The next morning, Zim isn’t at breakfast, preventing Johnnie from taking the first step in resigning. Immediately afterwards, the recruits leave on a march, and when Zim brings them their lunch and mail in the field, Johnnie receives a letter from Mr. Dubois. The M.I. places a high value on getting the recruits their mail as quickly as possible.
Chance intervenes in the morning as several things prevent Johnnie from following through on his decision to resign: Zim isn’t at breakfast and the recruits are immediately sent on a march. Mr. Dubois’s letter, however, has a very different effect on Johnnie’s plans.
Themes
Mr. Dubois writes of his delight to discover that Johnnie has volunteered and become an infantryman. Mr. Dubois himself had been M.I. As a student, Johnnie was a rare gold nugget among rough pebbles. Mr. Dubois says he waited to write until he was sure Johnnie would make it through training. He's been keeping an eye on him through his own connections, and he feels certain that Johnnie must now be now over the “hump,” having made the deep, internal changes necessary to become the kind of soldier who would gladly put his body on the line to protect his home. Mr. Dubois writes to Johnnie, “You’ve made me proud.”
With this letter, Mr. Dubois truly becomes an alternate father-figure for Johnnie. His letter of recommendation to Mr. Weiss in Chapter 2 suggested his support, but now Johnnie has clear evidence of the value Mr. Dubois places on his character. While Mr. Rico didn’t value citizenship and tried to dissuade Johnnie from service, Mr. Dubois recognized Johnnie’s untapped potential. If Hendrick’s flogging inspired Johnnie by negative example, Mr. Dubois’ letter inspires him with a vision of himself as a virtuous, noble man. It also offers the basic rationale for the militarism that guides the book: the best thing a person can do is to place his own body between his home and its enemies.
Themes
Johnnie is surprised to learn from his signature that Mr. Dubois had been a lieutenant colonel. Mr. Dubois hadn’t boasted about his rank at school, so Johnnie assumed that he was just a corporal who’d retired after he lost his arm and was given the “soft job” of teaching History and Moral Philosophy (a class which must be taught by a citizen). Johnnie thinks about the letter on the march back, especially its warm tone and the friendly way Lieutenant Colonel Dubois had addressed him, a recruit private, as “comrade.”
The rank that Johnnie assumed Mr. Dubois held—corporal—is about six ranks below the one he earned. Moreover, Mr. Dubois was a commissioned officer, selected for Officer Candidate School and given responsibility over soldiers in action. This respected man recognizes and appreciates Johnnie’s innate virtue, even if Johnnie hasn’t yet seen himself as citizenship material. And, while his mother addressed him as a child, Mr. Dubois addresses him as a man.
Themes
Johnnie recalls a lecture in History and Moral Philosophy in which Mr. Dubois had explained the difference between the Marxist theory of “value” and the “orthodox ‘use’ theory.” He used everyday examples to demonstrate that work doesn’t always add value, and sometimes subtracts it. But although he declared communism a magnificent fraud, Mr. Dubois credited Marx for his understanding that “value” is relative, not absolute. The value of a thing is always relative to a particular person, based on its cost and use to him. Twentieth-century democracies failed because they didn’t understand that things—such as the right to vote—were not valued if they didn’t have a cost.
This is the first of many episodes where the book develops its arguments about the importance of military service, citizenship, discipline, and communism. Here and elsewhere, Mr. Dubois becomes the voice of reason while Johnnie and the other students offer up incorrect viewpoints for him to refute. In this case, the subject is how people value things. Mr. Dubois’s grudging appreciation for Marx arises from his understanding that value can only be defined in specific contexts. His related claim—that 20th-century societies didn’t “charge” enough for valuable things like citizenship—develops the theme of moral decay through which the book criticizes the cultural context in which it was written.
Themes
Nothing of value is free, and for this reason, Mr. Dubois pitied the wealthy students who hadn’t earned their privilege. As an example, he called out Johnnie and “awarded” him a ribbon for winning the hundred-meter dash. But it didn’t make him happy because he had really come in fourth. Johnnie found the award worthless because he hadn’t earned it. Mr. Dubois clarified that lyrics to an old song claiming “the best things in life are free” meant that the best things in life must be purchased with something other than money. The cost of truly valuable things is agony, sweat, and devotion.
Mr. Dubois offers an example to prove his point about value: if Johnnie didn’t earn an award like first prize, he won’t value it. By analogy, Mr. Dubois claims that citizenship can only be valued if it’s earned through hard work or suffering. In making this claim, he represents the book’s view that citizenship isn’t properly valued amidst the moral decay of 20th-century society. However, the analogy is limited: Mr. Dubois’s analogy only makes sense if citizenship is a prize, and he doesn’t acknowledge any other reasons that people might value citizenship. Within the limits of this worldview, military service—precisely because it is hard and dangerous—is the only way to earn truly valuable things.
Themes
Johnnie remembers this lecture while he marches back to camp and sings military songs with the band. The band—made up of recruits—provides a valuable morale boost. Johnnie suddenly realizes he feels good, not because he is going to resign, but because he has gotten over the hump and knows he is going to complete his term. As they reach the Camp, Zim asks Johnnie about Mr. Dubois; they both know the same man and this is the only time that Johnnie feels he ever impresses Zim even slightly. Zim reveals that he fought alongside Johnnie’s teacher in the past and says how lucky he was to have been his student.
Without realizing it, Johnnie has decided to stay, because Mr. Dubois’s letter has shown him that he does have the character of a soldier and citizen. Zim knows and respects Mr. Dubois and Johnnie benefits from his association with Mr. Dubois—perhaps contradicting Mr. Dubois’s claim in History and Moral Philosophy class that only things one earns through one’s own effort have any value. In any case, the association between Zim and Mr. Dubois marks them both as important father-figures to Johnnie.
Themes
