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 rest of Johnnie’s training was uneventful, but he did get into trouble because of the powered suits. Powered armor makes the Infantry “Mobile”: it augments a soldier’s senses, strength, endurance, firepower, and situational awareness while decreasing his vulnerability. The powered armor is not a spacesuit, but it can function like one; it’s not just armor, but it does protect; it’s not a tank, but it's armed like one; it can fly a little; and it allows the soldier to do many things that an airplane, submarine, or spaceship can’t.
Although the life of the cap trooper is hard and military service is dangerous, the suits go a long way towards providing protection to the men who wear them. Johnnie describes the suits in loving detail; they make the hard work of soldiering somewhat easier by augmenting a trooper’s strength and training. Similarly, the M.I.’s capacity for violence and destruction augments the decisions of the Terran Federation’s government.
Themes
There are many ways to impersonally destroy the enemy and its territory, to end a war by completely obliterating a nation or planet. Instead, the M.I. makes war personal by applying the right amount of pressure at the right time and place to force the enemy to surrender rather than die. They are part of a long tradition of infantrymen who bring the war to the enemy; the weapons may have changed over the centuries, but the tactics haven’t. Maybe someday infantry will be unnecessary, but until then, Johnnie and his mates can handle the job. Maybe someday there will be no more war, but until then, Johnnie goes where the government sends him.
Johnnie’s words about the personalization of war recall Jelly’s description of the mission in the first chapter—a demonstration of firepower and frightfulness—and Zim’s assertion in Chapter 5 that the point of war is controlled and precisely applied violence. The suits enable the M.I. to do this work. The cap troopers are just the current version of the foot soldier, and foot soldiers have been the backbone of every military campaign during recorded human history. If there is still war—and there is still war, despite Mr. Rico’s belief in Chapter 2—soldiers like Johnnie will show up and do their work.
Themes
The suits make the soldiers look like steel gorillas, but the pseudo-musculature in them makes the soldiers much stronger than the apes. The soldier doesn’t have to control the suit, he just wears it like clothes, or like his own skin. Even though it weighs roughly 2,000 pounds, he can move as easily in it as he would without it, whether he’s picking something up delicately, dancing, or jumping over things in his way. Negative feedback and amplification give the suit its amazing adaptability. Johnnie can’t explain the suit’s design, even though he can do field maintenance and repairs on one. Serious repairs are done by an electromechanical engineer, usually a Navy lieutenant on a troop transport.
The suits make the men look more like the “ape” their sergeants and instructors sometimes call them, while simultaneously asserting humans’ place at the top of the evolutionary chain. Despite their size and bulk, the suits are easy to wear and use thanks to the advanced technology they contain. The suits imply that the best use of human technological innovation is military equipment—or at least that the need for violence to ensure survival has inspired the creation of advanced technology.
Themes
Basically, the suit is lined with hundreds of pressure sensors which take a soldier’s motion and amplify it. The suit’s feedback makes it exactly match any of the soldier’s motions with much greater force. It also intelligently controls this force. If a soldier jumped really hard, the suit’s jets would shoot him into the air, and its proximity and closing gear would use the same jets to soften his landing. The beauty of a powered suit is that the soldier doesn’t have to think about it at all; he just wears it, and it does what his muscles tell it to do. Thus, the soldier’s mind is free to focus on his weapons and mission.
If the M.I. provides the controlled force to enact the decisions of the Terran Federation’s government, the suits provide the controlled force to enact the movements of the cap trooper inside; the suits both symbolize and protect the M.I. as it functions in the Terran Federation. Johnnie’s explanation also drops a few more hints about the kind of imagined technology it would take to allow these futuristic suits to function.
Themes
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The “eyes” and “ears” of the suit also help the soldier without distracting him. While the radio frequency modulation necessary to maintain security on the suit’s communication channels is very complex, the soldier can simply bite down to switch channels. The mike and speakers are attached to his person, so he can speak and listen naturally. External microphones also keep him aware of his surroundings. Head movements control the various displays: for example, the soldier tosses his head to engage and disengage his infrared “snoopers.” The suits also take care of air and water supply and everything else so that the soldier can focus on his job, which is killing.
Not only do the suits augment speed, strength, and motion, but they also allow the individual trooper to communicate with his platoon and to survey his surroundings. By managing communications, surveillance, and firepower, one cap trooper can perform the tasks that required several soldiers in the less-advanced militaries of the past. The suits thus allow the trooper to focus on the job at hand, which Johnnie understands very clearly: the job of a soldier is to kill enemies.
Themes
The recruits needed practice to master using the systems in the helmets, but the only adjustment necessary for wearing and moving in the suits was getting used to the greater airtime when jumping. Seconds in the air are priceless opportunities to pick a target, take aim, communicate with the squad, fire weapons, or reload. The only drawback to the suits is that they won’t let you scratch where it itches. There are three kinds: scout suits are lightly armored, very fast, and long-range; command suits have extra communication and radar gear, extra speed, and more jumping power; marauder suits are for the infantry ranks—the “executioners.”
Different suits support different tasks necessary for any military action: scouts must be fast, marauders must be well-armed, and commanders must be able to serve as the connection point of the platoon. For the time being, however, he and the other recruits are just practicing with the suits until using their sophisticated communication and sensory equipment is second nature.
Themes
The day that Johnnie “goofed,” he was leading a section during a simulated battle. Although everything was simulated, he had to behave like it was real. The instructors simulated a casualty by cutting power to one of the recruit’s suits. Johnnie called in pickup for the incapacitated man, then began to throw simulated atomic bombs to cover the section’s retreat. He was supposed to fire diagonally, locating his men by radar instead of visually, to confirm that he’d wouldn’t catch anyone in the nuclear fallout. Johnnie, still slow at reading the radar display, gauged the distance visually, shot his “bomb,” and bounced off. As he jumped, Zim cut the power in his suit, so he landed frozen in a squat.
This training drill provides insight into the M.I.’s methods of making men into good soldiers and explains why it’s so important to observe discipline and doctrine. Johnnie correctly understands and reacts to the situation. But he not only cuts corners; he trusts his limited, human senses instead of the suit. When Zim cuts his power, the suit which previously augmented Johnnie’s ability now traps him, suggesting the limits that military discipline and protocol put on personal power.
Themes
Sergeant Zim bounded to Johnnie and began to berate his stupidity and clumsiness, asking if he thought his decisions would make Mr. Dubois proud. He left Johnnie frozen in the suit until the drill was over, then took him to see Captain Frankel. Frankel offered him the right to demand a court-martial, which indicated to Johnnie just how much trouble he was in. He waived his right and was taken to Major Malloy, the Regimental Commander, for discipline. Because Frankel vouches that Johnnie still has a chance to make a good solider, the Commander orders five lashes instead of discharge.
When Zim invokes Mr. Dubois to shame Johnnie, he reinforces the teacher’s position as one of Johnnie’s father figures. While he related Hendrick’s punishment in detail, Johnnie is sketchier about his own, generalizing what Zim, Captain Frankel, and Major Malloy say to him. This could be seen as showing shame for his actions or expressing distaste for recalling this event, but it’s also possible that his attention is limited until he understands the seriousness of his actions. Johnnie learned from Hendrick’s failure, and he takes responsibility for his actions, accepting his punishment without complaint.
Themes
After the doctor cleared Johnnie for punishment, Zim gave him a rubber mouthpiece to bite on. Zim knew from personal experience that it would help. Handcuffed, Johnnie was led to the parade ground, where he was punished for “gross negligence” in the simulation that would have caused the death of his teammates in real action. Surprisingly, Johnnie found it easier to get a flogging than to watch one, even though it did hurt.
The fact that a soldier as respected and disciplined as Zim has personal experience with flogging suggests that flogging is a tool to teach correct behavior rather than just a shameful punishment for mistakes. Johnnie finds the flogging easier to take than to have watched, suggesting that mental suffering is more powerful than physical suffering, which is temporary.
Themes
Afterwards, the instructors didn’t treat him any differently than they had before; as soon as he was treated by the doctor and sent back to duty, the ordeal was over and forgotten. Officially, the flogging was forgotten, because administrative punishment records are destroyed at the end of basic training. The only permanent record of the event was where it counted—on Johnnie’s body. It was a lesson he would not forget.
In the Terran Federation, corporal discipline is the norm, and once the punishment is complete, everyone moves on. There is no shame in corporal discipline itself, especially because it’s a tool for helping a person to internalize discipline. This is why the records of administrative discipline—at least the paper ones—are destroyed at the end of basic training. Johnnie will carry the “record” on his body as scarring for the rest of his life, ensuring that he won’t repeat his mistake.
Themes
