Odyssey of a hero

In Short

Vardis Fisher’s 1937 novel traces the tragic trajectory of John Benton, a sensitive veteran who returns to a roaring welcome only to shatter local illusions by calling war murder. Shunned and adrift, John learns to invent bloodthirsty exploits to win back public favor, sliding from disgrace to applause and back again as political winds shift toward depression and new global conflicts. The book endures as a sharp, unsparing psychological portrait of a weak-willed man trapped between his desperate need for social approval and his lingering, authentic horror of bloodshed.

The Story

Private John Benton returns to Idaho in 1919 decorated by three nations, greeted by roaring crowds, flag-draped stands, and hyperbolic speeches celebrating his single-handed capture of a machine-gun nest. When called upon to speak, John states simply that war is murder and that German soldiers were men much like himself. Stunned silence and swift ostracism follow, stripping him of employment and respect. Adrift in pool halls, John is coached by a cynical local named Bill Hawkworth, who explains that the town wanted tales of heroic slaughter, not Christian sentiment. Desiring affection and belonging, John reluctantly begins to embellish his exploits, gradually building a sensationalized legend of hand-to-hand combat against desperate foes.

As his fables grow more violent, the town embraces him once more. He dines with bankers and mayors, basking in adulation. However, as public sentiment shifts toward disarmament and peace, John's endless boasting turns him into an unwelcome nuisance and a public drunkard. Rebuked by a prominent banker, John undergoes a profound internal crisis, recovers his hidden conviction in peace, and finds a mentor in Arnold Jameson, a gentle college professor. Marrying a blue-eyed girl and becoming an ardent apostle of internationalism, John rises to become a respected college trustee and a sought-after speaker for peace.

Yet history turns again. With the Great Depression deepening, farm foreclosures mounting, and foreign wars flaring in China, Ethiopia, and Europe, the town’s mood hardens into xenophobia and aggressive nationalism. Peace advocates are increasingly branded as communists and traitors. When Jameson is hauled before the college board and forced to resign for teaching anti-war perspectives, John fails to defend him, crippled by his lifelong dread. Soon after, the local press demands John's own resignation from the board. Confronted by his fellow trustees in a closed room, John breaks down completely. Recounting his decorated service, his desperate efforts to please the town through both peace and war, and his profound betrayal by fickle citizens, his mind darkens. Groping and lost, he smiles a chilling smile and declares that he would fight again.

How It Unfolds

• The grand homecoming — John Benton returns to an overwhelming patriotic celebration in Idaho, where ecstatic townspeople shower him with flags, music, and thunderous applause.
• The fatal truth — Asked to speak before his neighbors, John shatters the festive mood by declaring plainly that war is murder and that he wants only peace.
• The lesson in myth-making — A cynical pool hall worker named Bill Hawkworth explains to John that the town demands bloodthirsty fables of heroic slaughter rather than honest reflections.
• The rising legend — Yielding to his desire for approval, John gradually elaborates his single-handed capture of a machine-gun nest into a breathless, violent epic.
• The second reversal — As national sentiment shifts toward peace and disarmament, John's incessant boasting turns him into an embarrassing, belligerent nuisance.
• The redemption through peace — Guided by Professor Arnold Jameson, John rejects his militaristic fables, marries, joins the church, and becomes a dedicated, respected advocate for international goodwill.
• The final betrayal — As economic depression and looming global conflicts spark local xenophobia, John and Jameson are smeared as communists and summoned before hostile college trustees.

The People

• John Benton — A shy, neurotic veteran who desperately wants to be liked and accepted. He shifts erratically between his authentic horror of war and fabricated tales of violence to please others, ultimately losing his mind under the relentless pressure of social hypocrisy.
• Bill Hawkworth — A lean, tubercular pool hall worker with cynical, lidless eyes. He cynically diagnoses the town's hypocrisy and teaches John how to manipulate public opinion by telling the violent lies people want to hear.
• Arnold Jameson — A small, unobtrusive college professor with large tragic eyes. Gentle and steadfast, he rescues John from his life as a drunkard and anchors his return to intellectual integrity and peace activism.
• Harry Cuthwright — A powerful, stern-jawed local banker. Representative of the prosperous establishment, he dictates community morality, rewards compliance, and ruthlessly crushes dissent when political winds change.

In Its Own Voice

He had been decorated by three nations and kissed by half the women in Paris, and the welcome given him by natives of his home town was one that rocked Idaho from end to end.

This opening description establishes the scale of the public adulation that greets John upon his return from France.

“War, my friends, is murder. We soldiers learned that the German soldiers were not our enemy. Maybe it was a good war, fought in a good cause, and maybe it was not. I don’t know.”

John delivers his fatal, truth-telling response during his homecoming speech, shocking the assembled townspeople into stunned silence.

“Buddy, you wanta know how to be a hero again? I’ll tell you. You say war’s a swell thing if you’re on the right side—and you was on the right side, buddy—”

Bill Hawkworth cynically advises John on how to pander to the public appetite for martial glory.

What It's Really About

The novel examines the corrosive fragility of individual identity when it is entirely dependent on community validation. Fisher explores how societies construct comforting myths about war to mask its brutal reality, demanding that veterans either validate those myths or face total erasure. The book questions whether a sensitive person can maintain moral integrity in a culture that swings violently between bloodthirsty jingoism and superficial pacifism. It also critiques the inherent cowardice of institutional power, showing how pillars of the community like bankers and bishops manipulate public fear to enforce ideological conformity during economic and social crises.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate psychological realism, unflinching character studies, and regional American literature will find much to admire here. Vardis Fisher writes with a stark, uncompromising precision that cuts straight to the bone of human weakness. Reading the novel feels like watching a slow-motion train wreck of the human spirit, capturing the suffocating atmosphere of a small town where everyone knows your name—and uses it to break you. While its mid-century style carries period attitudes and relentless psychological anguish, the book's core exploration of how societies manufacture consent, demonize dissent, and manipulate veterans feels strikingly relevant today. It leaves you with a haunting meditation on the heavy cost of standing alone when the crowd goes mad. Fisher does not offer easy comfort or neat redemptions, but rather a bracing, honest look at the fragile mechanics of courage.