Old Man's War

“‘Take your time,’ I said. ‘I know the place is packed.’ This attempt at marginally sarcastic humor went ignored and unappreciated, which has been par for the course for the last few years; good to see I had not lost my form.”

From the start of the novel, John’s humor permeates his narration. Here, he attempts to joke with the cold employee at the recruitment center. He makes light of a difficult situation—leaving Earth and his old life behind—allowing for a humorous mood that offsets the tension and suspense of his new journey.

“Leaving Earth physically had been an irritating thing, thanks to Leon’s obnoxiousness, but leaving it emotionally had been surprisingly easy. I had decided a year before my departure that, yes, I would join the CDF; from there, it was simply a matter of making the arrangements and saying good-byes.”

John’s practicality is another character trait that defines him. As he discusses leaving Earth, something that one might expect to be extremely difficult after 75 years there, he notes how “easy” and “simple” it was. This lack of emotionality sets the stage for John’s military career, which will be largely defined by detachment and alienation.

“‘But I say unto you, Love your enemies,’ I quoted. ‘Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’”

In John’s first interaction with Jesse, they take turns quoting Bible verses. The quotes come from the Sermon on the Mount, which contains many of Jesus’s moral teachings. This one is ironic in context, as it discusses the importance of helping and being kind to everyone, even one’s enemies. However, Jesse and John are on the verge of joining the CDF and working to destroy humanity’s “enemies.”