Starship Troopers - 1396 Words

The Novum presented in Starship Troopers is the rule of the Veterans and the resulting primacy of the military. This Novum sets the novel up as a utopic pandering to a readership demographic that the author himself is a member of. This is a normative sci-fi construction. Starship Troopers deviates in that the true target readership is the young man who has not yet been given a chance to join up. He is meant to gain a favorable understanding of the military man by sharing in his dream. The dream then - the world created – is the persuasive device. Heinlein begins by claiming historical inevitability for his Novum. Once our decadent civilization falls, the veterans; as the faction best equipped to counter anarchy, will simply take over†¦show more content†¦Sleep is the most highly thought of means of recreation for a soldier (45). This ultimately represents a yearning for the simplicity of the pre-modern. The complacency that one was birthed into in previous centuries is, in the military, presented as conscious lifestyle choice. On the matter of preference of placement within the military structure, Rico’s recruitment officer speaks dismissively of a â€Å"that† â€Å"being what you think would make you happy.† (28). The allure of the military lifestyle is not having to be concerned with one’s own happiness. Happiness is portioned out according to the decisions of men like Rico’s placement officer whom â€Å"you could relax and take it easy with† (32). That this easiness and happiness is built upon faith in a Chinese Legalism and a utilitarian calculus is un-concerning to Rico. That same placement officer has quotas and his first duty is to those quotas, people will suffer because of that. Similarly, the method through which complexity and moral ambiguity is avoided has caused suffering. The suffering of the Temporary Third Lieutenant on the HMS Chesapeake (154) is the price paid for a rigid and easy to u nderstand law of behavior that expects no field philosophizing. Rico as emblematic of the military man in general, does not what to think, does not want to know, and does not want to ask. This shown to not be as we would expect a discipline required of him but instead a favor grantedShow MoreRelatedStarship Troopers Essay619 Words   |  3 PagesStarship Troopers is a classic novel written in 1959 by retired Navy Lieutenant Robert Heinlein. At the time that it was published Starship Troopers was controversial yet won the Hugo Award in the 1960’s for being one of the best science fiction novels. One of the controversies surrounding the book is the main character’s history teacher’s view on violence and how violence â€Å"has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.† The book had such a cult following that there has been a filmRead MoreStarship Troopers2190 Words   |  9 Pagescan have crushes on each other, but the dark primal sexual ne eds and pleasures of adult life are totally absent (making the Heinleins world less believable); I bet even many real life teenagers have love lives more rich than anything seen in Starship Troopers. We have no idea about the art, music, recreation, romance, food, or larger non-military society of earth in the 22nd century. We have only the most unconvincing portrayal of the future family with a reconciliation taking place between RicoRead MoreHeinlein : New York : Putnam1526 Words   |  7 Pages Heinlein, R. A. (1959). Starship Troopers. New York: Putnam. INTRODUCTION: The author of this book was born on July 7,1907 in a town in Missouri. He graduated in 1929 from the Naval Academy, later on in his life Heinlein got sick which made him have to retire in 1934. After retiring from the Naval Academy he moved to California and was a professor of physics and mathematics at the University of California. In 1939 Astounding Magazine Company bought his first science fiction story and choseRead MoreEssay on The concept of earning ones citizenship2721 Words   |  11 Pagesfederal service in Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers† vers. 1.0 1996 Online. Internet. Available http://www.nitrosyncretic.com/rah 4 Oct. 2002 This Paper explores and attempts to more clearly define the nature of federal service Robert Heinlein wrote about in ‘Starship Troopers.† He does a great job of proving that even remarks that Heinlein made about his own book are incorrect. There is a great deal of controversy as to whether the ‘Starship Troopers† was a Fashist statement or not. This paperRead MoreMovie Analysis : Military Science Fiction1172 Words   |  5 Pagesdiscovered he had to battle evolving creatures that resembled everyone else. A matter of whom to trust was added to the need for survival. Survival amidst creatures dominating worlds was next. Johnny Rico had to battle world destroying Arachnids in Starship Troopers. The plot of survival has turned from a single person to an entire race. Megahitler further expounded on the plot of engaging a potentially dangerous enemy. After quite an interesting conversation with a nine-meter-tall representation of AdolphRead More A Canticle for Lei bowitz and Starship Troopers: The Movie Essay1904 Words   |  8 PagesA Canticle for Leibowitz and Starship Troopers: The Movie In this paper I intend to explore the attitudes toward the value of individual life vs. the value of a community as a whole expressed in A Canticle for Leibowitz and Starship Troopers: the Movie by analyzing their treatment of information control, euthanasia, and the idea of obtaining happiness through a sense of purpose. Starship Troopers may be a satire of a fascist state or an apology for fascist ideology or neither (I don’t pretendRead MoreEssay about Our America: Your Duty1516 Words   |  7 PagesIn the movie Starship Troopers, there are two classes of people, Civilians and Citizens. What are the differences? Citizens are the men and women, rich or poor that serve in the Federal Service; service guarantees citizenship. This is a short period in which a person serves in the military. A universal service that requires young (Americans) citizen, men and females: healthy and the disable, to obligatory serve an allotment of time. Basically, you have to earn the right to be called a citizen; thisRead More Impact of Pulp Magazines on American Culture Essay583 Words   |  3 PagesRice Burroughs (author of the Tarzan, Mars, and Pellicidar series), Lester Dent (author of the Doc Savage series), Walter Gibson (author of the Shadow series), Erle Stanley Gardner (author of the Perry Mason novels), Robert Heinlein (author of Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land), Robert E. Howard (author of the Conan stories), Robert Heinlein, Daishell Hammett (author of the Maltese Falcon and the Thin Man), Steven Crane, and Tennessee Williams. Such famous authors of great American literatureRead MoreThe Impact of Computers1014 Words   |  5 Pagesby computer animation, texturing, and graphics to make him more realistic then the older version when they used a man in a costume to play Godzilla. This wasn t the only movie made with computers. Movies like Jurassic Park, Wing Commander, Starship Troopers, Star Wars SE, and the latest Star Trek Movies used computers to make them look more interesting and realistic. There are even movies completely made by computers like Toy Story and A Bugs Life. Not only movies used computer animations andRead MoreRhetorical Analysis : The Tesla Wasnt God And Thomas Edison WasnT God986 Words   |  4 Pagesthat the readers view is already swaying before they even read the first sentence of the text. He uses a similar example later on in the text when he quotes Robert Heinlen, another popular writer responsible for science fiction classics such as starship troopers. He quotes Heinlen’s stance on innovation, writing, â€Å"When railroading time comes you can railroad--- but not before† (Robert Heinlen). This is yet another example of rhetorical strategies present within the article used for dramatic effect. Knapp’s