Thin Red Line is the ultimate historical fiction novel

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	• The Thin Red Line James Jones, 1998 - 528 pages average customer review:based on 80 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Thin Red Line is the ultimate historical fiction novel

The story follows members of Jones's beloved C-for-Charlie company, who ascend the beaches of Guadalcanal to fight the Japanese. I'll admit, it was hard for me to get past the first chapter or two. But for some reason, after Charlie Company arrives and begins to explore the land, Jones's writing seemed to change, and he was able to completely drag me in. It was after this point that the book became personal, I didn't leave home without it, and finished it in about a week. The reason it becomes very personal is because Jones magnifies each character individually. We see their reactions to the horrors around them, which often turn out to be very uncomfortable for the reader (sexuality is a stand-out theme here). Unlike the recent film version, the novel centers mostly around Fife, a solitary, shy soldier who has an especially hard time adjusting to the violence and lifestyle of war. Witt (the main character in the movie) does appear here, and he's an interesting character, but he comes and goes. There are handfuls of other characters that you come to know and love (or hate). I knew from the beginning that everything the author said and explored would have to be believable because he went through the ordeal himself in the 25th Infantry Division. With that in mind, the way Jones jumped seamlessly from character to character, sharing their true thoughts and actions, was incredible. I've never experienced anything like it. There was nothing at all about the book that dissapointed me; in fact, I plan to read it again. My only regret it that I saw the movie first, and while the two are similar, they shouldn't be compared at all.

Since completing it, it's now hard for me to believe this book was written all the way back in 1962. James Jones comes off as a genius, a modern genius. Created into two movies, I don't think anyone should dream of going without reading this book, unless you're someone who has a hard time stomaching very dramatic themes. Jones explores issues of sexuality, violence, death, loneliness, and a variety of other serious emotions that do create a disturbing novel. An amazingly-written book.

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the harsh reality of battle humanity

the movie didn't do this book justice. the book captures the true misery of being on the front line and the manly ambivalence about manliness. it also covers well the rhythm of dehumanization. jones prose is non-melodic but certainly carries a rhythm (though I think it's more existential than hopeful).

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Top notch historical fiction

I had an urge lately to get a feel of what it must have been like for my Father when he was in the U.S. Amry and fought in the Solomon Islands and the Phillipines in WW2. I'll never really know as he never did speak much about it all. This book may have given me a glimpse. It is very well written, very vivid, and hard to put down. I'd say buy it and you will not regret it later. If the actual combat and conditions portrayed in this book are close to the real thing, I now know why Dad never spoke of it. Pretty horrible stuff. I am now reading 'The Naked And The Dead." Another fine book so far, that I think I will also recommend when finished.

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A Piece of the Action

I decided to reread this novel after a span of fifty years during which I devoured many, many other writings -- fiction and nonfiction -- about war. "The Thin Red Line," in my opinion, among the best in the fiction genre.

This is a story about a company of soldiers fighting on the island of Guadalcanal during WWII. One of the most hellish, drawn-out battles of the Pacific war, Guadalcanal brought the reality of combat home to Americans. This was early in the war, and the US Army was ill-prepared for jungle fighting, but troops were thrown into the meat grinder nevertheless. Most of those who survived the fighting on Guadalcanal developed malaria or dengue fever.

Jones makes no effort to pose the story as part of a larger, noble effort. This is about a group of mostly inexperienced soldiers who find themselves in hell. Each soldier (at least those who survive) comes to terms with the war in his own way, and each undergoes profound change, with the result that at the end of the book the surviving characters are not the people they were in the beginning. Due to strong characterization, and through the omnipotent point of view, Jones allows the reader to see the changes taking place. There is no message except, possibly: If you survive you win.

This is a classic of the war genre.

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A Comprehensive Review of The Thin Red Line

The Thin Red Line is a novel written by author James Jones, a World War II veteran. The title comes from an old Middlewestern saying, "There's only a thin red line between the sane and the mad". This book describes the Guadalcanal Campaign in the South Pacific in 1942, more specifically the C-For-Charlie company's experience in the campaign. Jones switches between each of the men in the company and describes the battles in their perspectives. The story begins with the transport heading towards Guadalcanal, and Jones introduces the characters there. Captain James (Bugger) Stein is the commander of the company, with 1st Lieutenant George (Brass) Band second in command. Bill Whyte commands the 1st Platoon, Thomas Blane commands the 2nd Platoon, and Al Gore commands the 3rd Platoon. Robert Culp is the commander of the 4th (Weapons) Platoon. The 1st Sergeant is a man named Ed Welsh, and various other Sergeants and Privates are also introduced. The book describes how even though war is glorified and impersonal, it is in reality a harsh and individual affair, with each person suffering individually and affected personally by the events and interprets them differently also. The thesis is best summed up by the subtitle of the book "Every Man Fights His Own War".
Stein cares a lot about the men in his company, and is very careful in everything that he does. He thinks before he acts. Brass Band is a very strict leader. He does not let his emotions get to him and fails to understand why Stein is so relaxed with the discipline in the company. Welsh is a caustic, mean man. And he seems to hate everybody under his command. Stein described Welsh as "insane. Truly a madman, and Stein never had understood him. He had no respect for anything or anybody. But it didn't really matter. Stein could afford to overlook his impertinences because he was so good at his job" (Jones 12). Corporal Fife is Welsh's clerk, and he is a pushover, getting yelled at by Welsh all the time. He considers himself to only having two friends, Privates by the names of Witt and Bell. Witt recently was transferred out of the company, even though he was a good soldier, and Bell is an old Private whom used to be a First Lieutenant in the early days of the war. He recently reenlisted and was made a private. Very inexperienced, he is afraid of the upcoming battle. Meanwhile, Private First Class Doll, a guy whom used to be quiet until he had a fight a few months back, is trying to prove himself by stealing a pistol, and he does so after several failed tries. This impresses Corporal Queen, a large man from Texas whom clearly is the tough guy of the group. After receiving another tirade from Welsh, Fife does nothing, and nobody around him cares enough to stand up for him, including Mess Sergeant Storm. He is 26 and in his third enlistment, and very prepared for everything. He is very organized. He makes sure that his cooks are responsible and that they are ready to feed the men one hot meal every day.
After arriving on the island and camping, an overall sense of gloom came over the men as it rained for two days, and the nightly air raids exposed how the people really thought of warfare. Fife discovered that he was a coward, "when he laughed and joked after a raid, it was plain to him that his laughter was more shaky and less sincere than the other's laughter" (92). Pfc. Doll, whom Fife envied, discovered that he was invulnerable. He felt that he proved it when shells from the night raids landed near him, leaving him without a scratch. Sergeant Welsh discovered that he was brave. He reasoned that by the ability to grin sardonically as the bombs dropped. Later in the week, the second cook, Charlie Dale, a rebellious guy, discovered a cache of Thompson submachine guns. Dale wants to get out of the kitchen duty and gain glory as a regular soldier. He made himself known by that find. The way Bugger Stein just accepted the raid for the Thompsons angered First Lieutenant Band. He did not like the way Stein is handling things, and he felt that Stein is getting too close to the men. After receiving orders to move to the battlefield, the men are scared, but they do so anyways. They arrive at a place called the "Dancing Elephant" because of its shape, and they witness a battle for the head of the elephant. Everything is in a state of pandemonium. After a day of fighting by the second battalion, they had captured Hill 209. First battalion, which included C-For-Charlie Company, was shocked at the ferocity of battle and the Japanese soldiers. The Japanese's treatment of their prisoners (killing them) had made Charlie Company mad. Everyone swore revenge. The attack on Hill 210 (elephant's head) by E-For-Easy Company had failed the next day, and now it was C-For-Charlie's turn. The attack next day involved the 1st platoon and 2nd platoon as forward platoons, and 3rd in reserve. They had to move up the hill and take the head, finding the hidden strong points that stopped the attack yesterday. Both the 1st and 2nd platoon made huge tactical blunders, when Lt. Whyte, without knowing the position of the machine gun nests, charged the hill and paid for it with his life. As 2nd platoon followed 1st platoon, Lt. Blane also died from hidden riflemen. The mortars, machine guns, and the enemy's well-hidden positions killed men easily, picking them off from their exposed positions before they took cover. It was Staff Sergeant Keck that got the situation under control by firing at intervals. Then Lieutenant Colonel Tall, the battalion commander, called to congratulate, to Stein's surprise, of this great sacrificial move to develop a hidden position. Pfc. Doll killed his first Japanese when he shot at a MG squad, killing one. This makes him feel very guilty, as this is the first human being that he killed. He hated them, and tried to convince his conscience that he did, but he still felt very guilty. With a sudden burst of courage, Doll ran back to the HQ on Hill 209, and reported on the situation. It was then Private Witt was revealed to be one of the medics. Private Witt had been transferred out of the company a few weeks earlier, but he still feels very attached to the company, so much so that he asked to join them in their battle, and was heartily agreed by Stein. Stein came up with a plan. He would use two squads from 2nd platoon and attack the MG position from another side. Sergeant Keck would be in command of that force. Charlie Dale eagerly volunteers, thinking that this would be the way to get out of kitchen duty and be a regular soldier. Doll, to his horror, also volunteered even though in his mind he felt scared. Many men died from the murderous hail of Machine Gun fire. Sergeant McCron, who commanded the 2nd squad, saw six men from his squad die, and snapped. He just threw down his rifle and started crying. Charlie Dale, now made the Acting Sergeant, took out the first Machine Gun nest with a grenade, and then knocked out another one with Doll. Now Bell, the ex-officer, was promoted to Acting Sergeant and commanded McCron's squad, since he was incapacitated. As his Thompson jammed, Keck excitedly tried pulling for a grenade, but got it by the pin. Realizing what has happened, he jumped back to protect his squad mates and the grenade exploded. He died a few minutes later. The attack had failed due to a lack of men. Private Tella, fell down a ledge and was instantly targeted by an enemy MG. The rounds wounded him severely in the stomach, but were not enough to kill him. He started yelling. The piercing screams had a great impact on everybody. Stein was numb, Fife lost all power to think reasonably, and Welsh looked blank, although inside he felt great sorrow. Stein sent out a medic to try and help Tella, but as soon as the medic reached him, he was shot. Welsh had watched all of this and felt anger. He did not know why, but he ran. He ran to Tella, and gave him the dead medic's morphine shots. Tella took them one by one until he died. When he got back, without being injured, Stein was amazed and wanted to recommend him, but Welsh refused, saying that "Captain...if you say one word to thank me, I will punch you square in the nose" (253). As the late Keck's forces lay trapped, Lt. Col. Tall orders Stein to pour all of his men to reinforce them. Stein refuses, knowing that it would be suicidal. Tall gives in, and agrees to come down and assess the situation by himself. During that time, Fife is hit by a mortar in the head. He is still able to stagger to the rear and get help. As Stein sends 2 more squads as reinforcements to Beck, the new leader of the force, he is astonished to see that no one was hit during the run to the position. He is even more astonished when he saw that there were about half of the original force still there. Then he realized it. Beck had acted on his own accord and knocked out five Japanese machinegun emplacements. Beck divided his force to two and sent Dale and Bell to attack. His plan worked perfectly. Bell even discovered the main strongpoint and accurately described it. Then Tall arrives and forms a new plan. Captain Gaff, from the battalion, would lead a seven-man assault party to take the strongpoint. They were immediately pinned down. At this point, Pfc. Doll simply could not stand it any longer. He leapt and ran towards the Japanese position, startled, the fire stopped. He fired his rifle, and then his pistol, after that, he jumped ten yards to the right and into safety. The others were saved by this act. They made their way back and decided to attack the next day.
During the night, a man, Pfc. Cash, volunteered to join the assault force. Known as "Big Un", he volunteered because he wanted revenge against the atrocities that the Japanese have committed. He carried a shotgun strong enough to rip a man in two. Dale immediately develops an animosity against Bell when Bell was appointed second in command even though Dale was an acting Sergeant longer. Through the use of grenades, Bell shrewdly got to the bunkers. A massacre ensued. Every man killed at least three Japanese. There were still three Japanese living, and Big Un, true to his words, killed two of them with his hands. At the end of the day, "they had learned that enemy, like themselves, was killable; was defeatable"(309). The bunker was taken. Witt, then runs back to Capt. Stein's position and informs him. The C-For-Charlie company was just about to assault a Japanese bivouac. The assault also turns into a massacre. The bloodthirsty men killed all the Japanese they could find, Sgt. Queen especially. The Japanese they found was all sick, haggard, and beaten-looking, and when they tried to surrender, they were punched, shoved, and socked, and any wrong move got them shot. At the end of the day, the "Dancing Elephant" was neutralized. Tall talked to Stein, and informed him that he is relieving Stein of his command, and that George Band will take over. This saddens Stein greatly, because he knows that he has been too soft. Witt is mad at the change, and he coldly requests to be sent back to his current company.
The company earned a week's rest. And they marched back, near the beach. At this time the story shifts to the hospital, where Fife is staying. To his dismay, the head wound he suffered was not serious at all. It was not even a fracture. One day, McCron, Storm, Fife, and a few others in the medical area learned that Stein was nearby and so they decided to visit him. He was at peace with himself over leaving his company, but his men are still outraged. When they return to the company, Fife learns that his clerk position has been taken over, appointed by Welsh. He has no choice but to become a regular soldier, to his dismay. The week goes by, and they return to Hill 210. Their mission now is to secure the road to Boola-Boola village. They first have to clear out a place called "The Sea Slug". They encounter heavy fire as they inch towards the position, but soon it stopped. When they reach the position unopposed, they realize that 3rd Battalion has already taken "The Sea Slug". So they moved on to the next position, called "The Giant Boiled Shrimp" because of its shape. Everything went smoothly. While looking for a watering hole, Cash was shot by a squad protecting the hole and died. Later, during the night, near Hill 279, which is near the village, Bell and Witt led a group of men to try and block the only route to the village, but as a result, 12 men, their whole squad, was killed by a whole company of Japanese troops. Only Bell and Witt survived because of luck. The next day the C-For-Charlie company moved on and captured the village easily.
Now the battle for Guadalcanal seems to be almost over. Fresh troops relieved the C-For-Charlie Company. And Band was relieved three days later. He was accused of being too independent and wasting 12 men on the Roadblock Massacre, as it became known. Promotions were handed out, medals given, and anybody with a scratch would be transferred to a hospital and shipped out of C-For-Charlie Company. New recruits were put into the company, and with the exception of a few people, the company was almost entirely filled with new people. The story ends with the men of C-For-Charlie Company boarding a landing craft and heading towards their next mission.

The author, James Jones was born in 1921 and died in 1977. He enlisted in the army in 1939. He witnessed the Pearl Harbor attack, detailed in his book From Here to Eternity, and from his experiences in Guadalcanal he wrote this book, The Thin Red Line. The author's viewpoint is obviously one of a soldier, and he conceivably used some of his squad mates as characters in his story. He has experienced war firsthand, and knows the experiences associated with it. The hospital scenes most likely would be his own experiences when he was wounded in battle at Guadalcanal. The text contains some grammatical mistakes, at the first reading it may seem unintentional, the misspellings ruining an otherwise great story, however on a close second reading, the reader may find that these mistakes contribute to the overall flow of the story and paints a picture of what life was like as a soldier. The way the soldiers talk, full of vulgarity, is also accurate. For example, he combines words, like Thompsongun, squadmates, cannonfodder, etc. His descriptions are simple, easy to understand, and paints a clear picture of the battle and the thoughts of the men and the conflicts that occur. Jones also uses obvious foreshadowing, such as "It was only five minutes after that that Fife himself got hit" (260) or "Two days later he blew most of his right hand off fishing" (486). And in the maps at the beginning of the book, he clearly write "Keck dies here" and "Cash dies here". This creates a unique suspense, not as to who dies, but to how and when. The anticipation is so high and the actual event is so delayed that the reader might think that the foreshadowed event might not occur, but it does so anyways.

Throughout the book, Jones presents his thesis through the thoughts of many different men. War, as presented to Welsh, was glorified. "He had watched the stories grow with the years and the drinking sprees, and he had been able to form only one conclusion and that was that every old vet was a hero."(23). And Bell thought that "American warfare had changed from individualist warfare to collectivist warfare...because he himself was now engaged" (238) But later Welsh realized how alone he really was when Tella was hurt, and nobody dared to help him. He lets his emotion get to him and decides to run blindly and help the poor soldier. The whole war thing to Bell, seemed unreal, almost "like some scene from a movie, a very bad, cliché, third rate war movie" (271). Things were so predictable for Bell, people dying, commanders asking the same things he is thinking. Storm feels that the war is just using him as a tool, and that all the war wants is just for him to feed his troops one hot meal a day of Spam sandwich, dehydrated potatoes, and canned fruit. War, for Dale, is a way of reaching glory of command. He starts out as a lowly cook, but as he progresses along the promotions, he is realizing his dream of leaving his kitchen and actually being in battle. War, to Welsh, is just another confirmation of the fact that the war is fought "all for property" as he says throughout the book. He thinks that all the people that died, died for no reason. They died for the United States Army and were just another piece of disposable property. Welsh himself made sure that he enlisted with no next of kin so that when he dies, he becomes the government's problem. Not his family. Fife exhibited the most dynamic change, the old Fife was just a clerk, always getting yelled at by Welsh, and as the battle wears on, he becomes more confident of himself and eventually stands up for himself. "The old Fife abhorred fistfights, largely because he was afraid of losing. The new Fife adored them, and had had six or eight more fights since his beating up of Corporal Weld (the clerk that replaced him)" (500). He still remains relatively humble, unlike Dale. One thing that affects all the soldiers is "combat numbness". After experiencing it at the end of the first day of battle, on the second day "Beck too, like Doll, was surprised to find that old, peculiar numbness was right there, already waiting, and that it had quickly taken him over...It was a good thing..."(415). This feeling left all the fear behind and left them mad, excited, bloodthirsty, and not care about their deaths. This, in effect, made the C-For-Charlie Company men all veterans after one day. They knew what to expect from battle and what to do. The numbness helps calm them down and ready to make coherent decisions. The numbness did not reach McCron, and as a result he snapped, along with S/Sgt. Stack, whom broke down even before reaching the battlefield. After fighting with equal ferocity and audacity as their superior, the Gaff assault force received no medals while Capt. Gaff himself received the Medal of Honor. "Another thing that brought laughter was the comprehension that Old Shorty (Lt. Col. Tall) was being promoted because of their exploits and their shed blood" (396). They understood that in the army, there is almost a caste system separating the enlisted and the officers, where the enlisted fought and the officers received all the glory. It is just the way things are. The men collectively also learned that war is ephemeral. At the beginning of the story, the C-For-Charlie Company's men had been together for about six months, and most of them had no experience. At the end of the story, C-For-Charlie Company's men, those that had survived had been through everything that war has to offer. Most of them left, by shipping out through the hospital with their injuries, however minor, or promoted to another squad, such as Beck, or in the case of Stein and Band, a new leader is placed. To replace these men, new recruits are put in the company, and the cycle continues again, with a few veterans guiding the fresh enlisted men.

Jones presents his evidence though the experiences of each man, and they all come to the same conclusion as the thesis. Jones does present the counterevidence, and that is how most people felt about war at the beginning of the story, but as it progresses, each person's experience proves him wrong. Different people conveys a different part of Jones's message, and put together, the soldiers of C-For-Charlie Company puts together a mosaic of how war really is, as opposed to how people have heard of it. The argument is very convincing, because the reader is able to read the thoughts of the characters and see exactly how they came up with their own conclusion about war.

The Brotherhood of War by W.E.B. Griffin is a great novel presenting war in an officer's point of view, beginning with The Lieutenants. It shows how the officers really think of the enlisted, the people who get all the dirty work, discriminated against, and not much of anything to the officer's eyes. Even when a Pfc. suddenly is promoted, he begins the transformation of being an officer. This book confirms what The Thin Red Line says about the officers.

The book is a great presentation of war from a common soldier's point of view, as Jones switches between the characters points of view throughout the story and shows precisely how they feel. The battles are real, horrifying, and death is always present, even if it is not expected, or in the case of the obvious foreshadowing, even if it is not welcome. The characters are both dynamic and static. Some adapt to war, and some, like Welsh, maintain his opinion all throughout the book. Anyone who wants to find out what soldiers think and respond to war should read this book. Anyone who wants to experience all aspects of war should read this book. And anyone who wants to see a side of war that is not glorified should read this book.

The book does not have just one main character, but rather the whole C-For-Charlie Company as a whole, with Jones switching effortlessly between each one and how the story is seen through their eyes. The reason why Jones chose Guadalcanal as the site of this story, he states in the preface, "It might have been possible to create a whole, entirely fictional island for the setting of this book. But what Guadalcanal stood for to Americans in 1942-1943 was a very special thing." He felt that by choosing Guadalcanal, the story is "Real" and would have a special meaning. Any other island would not be the same. He did make it an historical fiction by making up all the places that they fought and the people. The men, however, are very real as they easily could have been any one of the countless soldiers that fought in World War II. And the fact that Jones has experience makes the story more accurate and believable, and Jones certainly believes that he was a part of the whole experience of war, best summed up by the last sentence of the book, "One day one of their number would write a book about all this, but none of them would believe it, because none of them would remember it that way" (510).

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The World War II classic by the bestselling author of From Here to Eternity and Whistle, now a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox.

They are the men of C-for-Charlie Company--"Mad" 1stSgt. Eddie Welsh, SSgt. Don Doll, Pvt. John Bell, Capt. James Stein, Cpl. Fife, and dozens more just like them--infantrymen in "this man's army" who are about to land grim and white-faced on an atoll in the Pacific called Guadalcanal. This is their story, a shatteringly realistic walk into hell and back.

In the days ahead some will earn medals; others will do anything they can dream up to get evacuated before they land in a muddy grave. But they will all discover the thin red line that divides the sane from the mad--and the living from the dead--in this unforgettable portrait that captures for all time the total experience of men at war.

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