Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers written by Robert A. Heinlein is a story about a young man named Juan Rico with his adventures on joining the military. The military he joins is a human race known as the Terran who are in conflict with race called the Bugs. Throughout the story, there are many subliminal messages indicating propaganda within the text. The propaganda served in this text shows a positive influence on a militaristic society based on the value of a human and freedom.

The propagandistic nature of Starship Troopers appears as early as the second chapter of the novel. When asked by his instructor Mr. Dubois, Rico recites a strikingly militaristic statement memorized out of a textbook. Rico states that "a soldier accepts personal responsibility for the safety of the body politic of which he is a member, defending it, if need be, with his life. The citizen does not." (p.26). Rico's regurgitation of the textbook talks highly of the moral obligation of the soldier. The soldier gains the right to participate in the government that he chooses to protect with his life, along with its people. The statement implies that the soldier knows better than the common citizen when it comes to politics and life values. Whether or not Rico truly believes this is irrelevant. What is truly important is that the text reinforces a positive and reverent view of the soldier. The passage not only talks up the soldier but goes as far to discredit the citizen. At the end of Rico's recitation of passage is the sentence "The citizen does not" (p.26). The phrase, when added to the end, extenuates the moral and civic superiority of the soldier. Because soldiers are superior in the narrative the have suffrage and civilians do not have that right. This is a clear example of propaganda cleverly placed in the text in a place where it is camouflaged into the reading. The section sets up the view of soldiers in the Terran army throughout the novel and provides a motivation for someone to join the military in the novel.

In another example of propaganda, Rico begins respect his superiors based off of military. When Rico and another soldier are discussing their superiors' tactics, they decide to follow orders. "But sometimes he does things a certain way without being able to explain why. The Captain's hunches, I've learned to respect them" (p.308). Rico's Captain has given him orders that he does not fully understand, but he respected his superiors' decision. In this moment in the text, one can infer another benefit for military service. Because of his training, Rico has gained respect for his superiors. Respect is a trait that can be transferred to all aspects of one's life and is learned thoroughly in the military and is heavily used throughout the text. When Rico's Lieutenant died, it was clear how much respect he had for his commanding officer. As Rico described it " our family had its head chopped off. The head of the family from which we took our name, the father who made us what we were" (p.145). Rico's undying admiration from this man grew from the trying times the Lieutenant guided them through in boot camp and in combat. He was their leader. Through his advice, training, and strategies, he indeed made them who they were.

Freedom of choice is another theme of propaganda used in Starship Troopers. When Rico makes the decision to go career in the military instead of the two years he signed up for he decided to make a career of defending his race from the Bugs. Upon entering his Lieutenant's office, he stammers, then finally muttering: "Sir, I want to go career" (p.209) Rico's decision is not a light one. He is in the Mobile Infantry which sees the most combat during conflict, so his choice to become an officer is a major one. Most Privates, like Al Jenkins, chose to stay Privates. "Who wants to be an officer? Or even a Sargent? You're going to be breathing the same air, eating the same food and making the same drops. But no worries," (p.209). Even in a strict, follow-your-orders