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
Johnnie goes to Camp Arthur Currie for his basic training. The recruits live in tents, and because he is used to a warm climate, Johnnie resents the cold of the northern prairie. On the first morning, the instructors wake the recruits before dawn. When Johnnie tries to go back to sleep, he finds his whole cot tipped over. Within ten minutes, the recruits are dressed and lined up outside, facing a large, “mean-looking” man. He is polished, “wide-awake, relaxed, and rested,” giving the impression that he never needed sleep. He introduces himself as Career Ship’s Sergeant Zim, the company commander.
The first day of basic training illustrates how soft and unprepared Johnnie is. Conversely, Zim demonstrates the epitome of military professionalism, and his demeanor contrasts sharply with the uncomfortable and cold recruits. He foreshadows what successful recruits can become, but at this point it’s not clear to Johnnie whether he’ll be one of the successful ones.
Themes
Sergeant Zim reminds the recruits to salute and say “Sir” when spoking to him or to anyone else carrying an instructor’s baton. While he speaks, someone sneezes, but no one will admit to being the man. Finally, Jenkins speaks up, saying he sneezed because he was cold. Zim warms him up by assigning him a run around a distant building, with a sergeant to pace him. Turning back to the rest of the shivering recruits, he addresses them as slack-bellied “apes” and declares that he’s never seen such a group of mama’s boys in his life. Johnnie forgets being cold while he listens to Zim’s creative description of the recruits’ every failing. He feels respect for Zim rather than feeling insulted.
Jenkins’s run indicates that everything, even the soldiers’ bodies, is subject to military discipline from this point on. Zim calls the recruits “mama’s boys” because they are soft and undisciplined, in contrast to “men.” The military can be a path of discipline and maturation for successful soldiers, and it’s his job to turn as many mama’s boys as he can into men. Johnnie’s reaction to Zim’s insults is important: he feels curious and impressed rather than stung. This is yet another indication of his innate aptitude for the military lifestyle, even if he doesn’t yet realize it.
Themes
Zim asks if there is a man in the crowd who will fight him. Eventually, a large recruit with a thick accent, Breckinridge, volunteers. Zim tosses his baton aside and quickly bests Breckinridge, accidentally breaking his wrist in the process. Zim sends him for medical treatment with a friendly slap on the back. Next, a pair of German recruits—Heinreich and Meyer—step up to fight. Johnnie thinks he sees the Germans try to outflank Zim, who quickly knocks them both out.
Despite his age, Zim quickly bests several recruits in hand-to-hand combat, suggesting that military power is not simply rooted in brute, physical force. Although he’s clearly dangerous in a fight, he banters with Heinreich and Meyer and he slaps Breckinridge on the back in a friendly way after injuring him—the fighting isn’t personal, it’s just a part of military culture. The range of recruits—some of whom speak German better than English—provides another reminder that 20th- and 21st-century national boundaries don’t have the same importance in the Earth of this future.
Themes
Zim asks for more volunteers. And a small recruit named Shujumi—the son of a Colonel whom Zim knows—steps forward. They agree to use martial arts contest rules. Shujumi initially throws Zim, but Zim lands on his feet and quickly returns to the fight, where he easily overpowers Shujumi. Zim then reveals that he was trained by Shujumi’s father.
The martial arts in which Shujumi is practiced emphasize set forms and rigorous discipline, so his bout with Zim follows “rules” and reinforces the idea that fighting is a disciplined practice, not a free-for-all. The fact that Shujumi’s father—himself a general—trained Zim again shows the transnational unity of this future humanity and emphasizes the familial component of the military, where everyone seems to know everyone else.
Themes
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Zim leads the recruits through their morning exercises, without breaking a sweat. This is the first and only time that Johnnie sees him before breakfast. After exercises, the recruits run to the mess tent to eat, because they run everywhere at Camp Currie. Breckinridge, sporting a cast, is already there. He amicably swears that he will eventually best Zim, but Johnnie doubts he can. Even though he dislikes Zim, he appreciates the man’s style.
By joining in the morning exercises, Zim both shows off his physical fitness (he’s not even out of breath) and demonstrates that he's not asking the recruits to do anything he himself can’t or won’t do. This emphasizes the fraternal feeling cultivated in the M.I. By taking his loss and injury in good humor, Breckinridge demonstrates the character of a future soldier. Zim will become an important father figure to Johnnie later in the book, so his grudging appreciation—despite his initial dislike— for the sergeant instructor lays the groundwork for their future relationship.
Themes
Breakfast tastes good to Johnnie; during basic, mealtimes are the only break from instructors’ commands. Jenkins returns partway through breakfast, out of breath and angry that Zim denied him a chance to catch his breath. As he eats, Jenkins quietly cusses Zim out, and when Zim leaves, he loudly asks what kind of a mother could have made such a man. One of the corporals answers that sergeants don’t have mothers—they reproduce themselves like bacteria.
In contrast to Breckinridge, Jenkins isn’t yet showing an aptitude for military life. He takes his “punishment” too personally, and his anger at Zim demonstrates a lack of self-discipline that contrasts with the instructor’s military professionalism. The joke cuts through Jenkins’s anger and shows that, while military business is deadly serious, there’s also room for fun and camaraderie.
Themes
