On “Starship Troopers” (part 1)

Today I would like to discuss one of my favorite books, Robert A. Heinlein’s extremely controversial science-fiction novel Starship Troopers. The book was so popular—and so controversial—that has spawned a B-movie series and has become a permanent fixture in the history of “classic” science fiction. I would like to address several of the concepts explored in the novel, as well as some of the book’s criticisms.

The plot of Starship Troopers is relatively simple: the novel follows a Filipino infantryman’s plight through a futuristic boot camp and into a war with insect-like aliens.

However, the plot is probably the least important aspect of the novel—Heinlein fills it to the brim with lectures about politics, philosophy, social issues, and economics. There is far more description and discussion than dialogue or action, and most of the time the plot and the character development take a back seat.

The main complaint Heinlein received was that Starship Troopers glorifies the military. Because Heinlein was discharged from the Navy for tuberculosis just before WWII, many complain that he knows nothing about war. Heinlein denied the claim that the book was militaristic, since all of the army recruits in Starship Troopers are volunteers, and at the time the book was written the draft was still in use. He also stated that the infantry deserves to be glorified, because they are rarely appreciated. On the whole, though, Heinlein’s picture of the military is unrealistic—I doubt any army in history ever saw so much action. And, even though Heinlein states that war is something to be endured, not enjoyed, he does glorify patriotism and dying for one’s country.

Heinlein was also criticized for racism. This complaint, though, must be dismissed immediately: Heinlein was one of the most progressive thinkers of his time when it came to race—few of his books feature white protagonists (including Starship Troopers, whose protagonist is Filipino), and his attitudes toward race are clearly explained in his other books, sometimes in eyebrow-raising ways. (For example: in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, written in the early 1960’s, the main character, a person of  “mixed race” drops bombs on North America.) What critics are referring to in Starship Troopers is Earth’s attitude toward the aliens—they are referred to as “Bugs” or similar derogatory terms. In fact, what Heinlein is doing is showing what happens to a culture dominated by militarism; he is portraying racism in a negative way. This is probably a reference to the Korean War, which had just ended when the book was published, and WWII (the internment of Japanese Americans).

The book has also come under fire from literary critics. Many complain that his character are undeveloped, the plot is almost non-existent, and Heinlein’s lecturing dominates the novel. Though all of these claims are clearly true, these critics are incorrect in saying that Heinlein’s fiction suffers because of his writing style. Starship Troopers (and many of his other works that feature excessive lecturing) remain hugely popular, proving that the public does not share the same view as these critics. For this reason, Heinlein is clearly not “lecturing at the expense of his fiction.”

Interestingly, Starship Troopers spawned the subgenre of “military science fiction,” which is ironic because there are so few action scenes in the novel. Scores of books were written in response to it, including Ender’s Game, The Forever War, Armor, and many others. Starship Troopers is on the reading list of several military academies, and the military is currently researching the concept of “powered armor,” which was first mentioned in the book.

Tomorrow, I will discuss some of the philosophical topics explored in the novel.