Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein Tuesday 30

'Intelligence believed that prisoners were always taken to Klendathu; the Bugs are as curious about us as we are about them--a race of individuals able to build cities, starships, armies, may be even more mysterious to a hive entity than a hive entity is to us.
As may be, we wanted those prisoners back! In the grim logic of the universe this may be a weakness. Perhaps some race that never bothers to rescue an individual may exploit this human trait to wipe us out. The Skinnies have such a trait only slightly and the Bugs don't seem to have it at all--nobody ever saw a Bug come to the rescue of another because he was wounded; they c0-operate perfectly in fighting but units are abandoned the instant they are no longer useful. Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?-- TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF DROWNING CHILD. If a man gets lost in the mountains, hundreds will search and often two or three searchers are killed. But the next time somebody gets lost just as many volunteers turn out. Poor arithmetic... but very human. It runs through all our folklore, all human religions, all our literature-- a racial conviction that when one human needs rescue, others should not count the price. Weakness? It might be the unique strength that wins us a galaxy' (Heinlein 223).

The reason why this passage is important to the story is because it reveals the main character's mindset about the social virtues and responsibilities of his people. The passage also shows how the Bugs, Earth's mortal enemies, are different from the humans in that they seem to lack all care for the individual and live only to serve the whole. The main character also mentions that that lack of individual care is what is the greatest difference between the Bugs and the humans, even though he said previously that a part of being a soldier was to die in order to preserve the whole if need be, a virtue not unlike the mindset of the Bugs.
One question I have about the story is: What is the reason for the war between humans and Bugs?
A question about the plot that I have is: The main character says at the beginning that wanting to rescue individuals may be a weakness. So why does he state at the end that 'It might be the unique strength that wins a galaxy' ?

Starship Troopers By Robert A. Heinlein Thursday 25

'Never the less I had signed up in order to win a vote. Or had I? Had I ever cared about voting? No, it was the prestige, the pride, the status... of being a citizen. Or was it? I couldn't to save my life remember why I had signed up. Anyhow, it wasn't the process of voting that made a citizen-- the Lieutenant had been a citizen in the truest sense of the word, even though he had not lived long enough ever to cast a ballot.He had "voted" every time he made a drop. And so had I! I could hear Colonel Dubois in my mind: "Citizenship is an attitude, a state of mind, an emotional conviction that the whole is greater than the part... and that the part should be humbly proud to sacrifice itself that the whole may live." '
'Patriotism was a bit esoteric for me, too large-scale to see. But the M.I. was my gang, I belonged. They were all the family I had left; they were the brothers I had never had, closer than Carl had ever been. If I left them, I'd be lost' (Heinlein 162-163).

I choose this passage because it shows how the main character has finally found a true purpose in what he is doing. Before, he wasn't even sure if what he was doing was right. Another reason why I choose this passage is because the passage answers my previous question of why he signed up for the mobile infantry(M.I.). The passage is also important for character development, because the main character is very attached to his job in the infantry, even though he resented it in the beginning of the story.
A question I have the text is: What other privileges come with being a citizen in the future other than the right to vote?
A question about the plot is: What is going to be different in the main character's attitude about the military and the war situation now that he finally knows why he joined up?

Starship Troopers By Robert A. Heinlein Tuesday 23

'It doesn't matter who he was. What did matter was that our family had had its head chopped off. The head of the family from which we took our name, the father who made us what we were.
After the Lieutenant had to leave us Captain Deladrier invited Sergeant Jelal to eat forward, with the other heads of departments. But he begged to be excused. Have you ever seen a widow with stern character keep her family together by behaving as if the head of the family had simply stepped out and would return at any moment? That's what Jelly did. He was just a touch more strict with us than ever and if he ever had to say: "The Lieutenant wouldn't like that," it was almost more than a man could take. Jelly didn't say it very often' (Heinlein 145).

The main reason why I choose this passage is because it shows how the military unit of which the main character is a part of is like the family he never had. Unlike his real family, his outfit in the military seems to much closer, caring both about the individual and the unit as a whole. I also chose this passage because it sets the stage for the second part of the book, the main character choosing to accept the military as his new life.

My first question about this passage is: How important is rank in this futuristic military?
Another question about the plot is: Is 'Jelly', the former Sergeant, capable of filling the shoes of the Lieutenant?

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

'Ten minutes later, dressed in trousers, undershirt, and shoes, I was lined up with the others in ragged ranks for setting-up exercises just as the Sun looked over the eastern horizon. Facing us was a big broad-shouldered, mean looking-man, dressed just as we were--except that while I looked and felt like a poor job of embalming, his chin was shaved blue, his trousers were sharply creased, you could have used his shoes for mirrors, and his manner was alert, wide-awake, relaxed, and rested. You got the impression that he never needed to sleep-- just ten-thousand-mile checkups and dust him off occasionally' (Heinlein 42).

I think this passage is perfect for showing the current setting of the story, because it shows to the reader where the main character is, and that he is struggling to keep up with the discipline and daily life of boot camp. This is made apparent by the fact that he is making fun of the neat appearance and the efficiency of his superior officer. The passage also shows that the main character seems to lack the discipline needed to be in the army.

What is main reason why he joined the army?


' "This very personal relationship, 'value,' has two factors for a human being: first, what he can do with a thing, its use to him... and second, what he must do to get it, its cost to him. There is an old song which asserts 'the best things in life are free.' Not true! Utterly false! This was the tragic fallacy which brought on the decadence and collapse of the democracies of the twentieth century; those noble experiments failed because the people had been led to believe that they could simply vote for whatever they wanted... and get it, without toil, without sweat, without tears. "Nothing of value is free. Even the breath of live is purchased at birth only through gasping effort and pain." He had been still looking at me and added, "If you boys and girls had to sweat for your toys the way a newly born baby has to struggle to live you would be happier... and much richer. As it is, with some of you, I pity the poverty of your wealth. You! I've just awarded you the prize for the hundred-meter dash. Does it make you happy?" "Uh, I suppose it would."
"No dodging, please. You have the prize-- here, I'll write it out: 'Grant prize winner for the championship, one hundred-meter sprint.' " He had actually come back to my seat and pinned it on my chest. "There! Are you happy? You value it-- or don't you?"
I ripped it off and chucked it at him. Mr. Dubois had looked surprised. "It doesn't make you happy?"
"You know darn well I placed fourth!"
"Exactly! The prize for first place is worthless to you... because you haven't earned it. But you enjoy a modest satisfaction in placing fourth; you earned it. I trust that some of the somnambulists here understood this little morality play. I fancy that the poet who wrote that song meant to imply that the best things in life must be purchased other than with money--which is true-- just as the literal meaning of his words is false. The best things in life are beyond money; their price is agony and sweat and devotion... and the price demanded for the most precious of all things in life is life itself--ultimate cost for perfect value'' '(Heinlein 93-94).

I chose this passage mainly because it answers my previous question of why he joined the army; and the answer is to earn his right to vote and to prove to himself and others that he has earned that right. His teacher's example of giving the main character the first place for the hundred-meter dash shows that the main character, and anyone else, is only proud of those things which he or she has actually done, something the main character has yet to fully grasp.
One question I have so far about the text is:What is a somnambulist?
Another question about the development of the story is: How will the main character's teacher influence his future actions?