Point of View

Starship Troopers is narrated in the first person, and generally in the present tense, by a personable narrator, Juan (“Johnny”) Rico. He never formally reveals his own name, any substantial information about his background, or any indication of to whom he is telling his life’s story. Toward the end of the novel, Rico lets slip that his first language is Tagalog, meaning he is from the Philippines. This explains why he finds basic training in the northern prairies of North America such a shock.. Rico suggests his family is affluent by describing relations with a high school friend, not immodestly suggesting he has been a big man on campus during high school, and outlining his father’s plans for his higher education and career.

The novel opens with Rico’s first combat mission as a non-commissioned officer. It then looks back on his enlistment and...