The Drummer Boy Of Shiloh

 The drummer boy of Shiloh

By: Terri Thampan 804

    

   The story, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” by Ray Bradbury is, undeniably, a tale of war. War. The word is short and not very sweet. It is like the many deaths that litter the grounds because of this thing, this, war. It’s something that only fools lust after for, fools who have illusions of grandeur, glory, bloodlust, and winning. They barely even think about what war really is, trapped in their greed.  War, is when humans fight their fellow humans, and only after they truly experience this horrible event, they realize the cold heart truth, how grave the situation really is.

    Joby. He is our main character. He’s just turned fourteen, and it makes me scared. What if I was a boy? Joby is around my age, and yet, he’s in the war. I feel great sympathy for him, and wonder, would I too be sent to war if I was a boy living in that time?

   Joby is scared. You can feel it, and really, you can’t blame him. Many people, even “grown ups” are scared about war. Because, when war is among us, we start to realize how fragile and quick life is. It’s a scary thought. One day, I could just die, just like that, because life is the most unpredictable thing, a thing that many like to cling to. In Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort, desperately clings to being “alive”, by splitting his soul to be immortal. But then that makes you think, if you didn’t have a soul, would you still truly be “alive”?

    Joby only has his drum and two sticks. This makes him even more scared. He feels like, he can’t protect himself, and that brings him closer to the thing called death. I feel like, everyone is a little bit scared of Death, of what happens when we die. Even I, in all my own teenage angst, have thoughts in the morbid zone of death. But of course, every time I think such thoughts, no matter how sad I may feel (curse you teenage angst!) I cling to life. I fear what lies beyond, and I realize, I’m scared of Death.

   Joby cries. Cries and his fears come out. It makes me wonder, does he miss his parents? To be left out in the world, during war, without anyone who will protect him. Is that how all the soldiers feel? Do they miss their families, do they miss the feeling of being protected, rather than being the one who has to protect? I can’t imagine what it would be like, to have to suddenly grow up, because the people, who have always protected you and cared for you, are gone, and you’re lost in the world all by yourself with no one to guide you. I wonder if Joby weeps because he misses his parents and family.

    The General comes. He talks to Joby, giving a speech that fills him up with encouragement. This makes me again think of Harry Potter. Harry, who even though has never had his parents to protect him, has had his friends. They were the ones who gave him encouragement, like the General to Joby. He then, overcomes the fear of Death, and sacrifices himself so that Voldemort can be defeated. I feel like the speech the General made, made Joby think of how he wanted to protect his family, and fight for what he believed in, and he wouldn't be scared of death, and he had an important job in the war.

Chains

                      Chains 

By: Laurie Halse Anderson

Terri Thampan 804

      Chains is a realistic story that takes place during The American Revolution. The main character, Isabel, and her sister Ruthie, are slaves. They were born into slavery, and their parents, are presumably, dead. The start of the story shows the funeral of Isabel and Ruthie's last mistress. Isabel was told by her now dead Mistress that once the Mistress was dead, Isabel and Ruthie would be free. Even though Isabel was expecting to be free, her old Mistress's nephew took both Ruth and Isabel, not caring at all when Isabel said they were free. He then sells them, and is not seen again.

      During the story, the war between the rebel Americans was going strong against the British. Isabel, goes through great confusion as to which side she really is on. She truly only cares about her and Ruthie's safety. and realizes she doesn't care which side she helps, as long as they can give her and Ruthie freedom.

       Ruthie, has a medical problem. She is a bit, "special", and is prone to getting seizures. Because of her seizures, many think she is overcome by demons. She is later sent away because of her seizures, though their new Mistress tells Isabel that she sold Ruthie.

        Isabel is overcome by great grief. But she has a friend named Curzon. He is also a slave who is greatly influenced by his Master, who is a rebel. He is the one who convinces Isabel to be a spy for the rebels, as her masters are Tories, or people who support rule by the King.

        This story is a loss of innocence story. Although Isabel is raised as a slave, she was treated kindly, and her old Mistress teaches her how to read and write. She lives a more sheltered life, better than what most slaves live. But once her old Mistress dies, she faces the harsh new reality. There are slave masters who are cruel. She is forced to do hard labor, even more so than she is used to. She is not considered much, eve though before she never was. And she learns, not always to trust people.

     Isabel turns to the British side, so that she could be set free, but in the end, because her masters were Tories, she was not. She learns not to trust the British side. She also sees Curzon brought into the jail, because he and others who were fighting got caught by the British. She bravely sneaks in food and things in for him, in any ways that she can.

      She experiences the world around her as it is in the middle of the war. She is separated from her sister, and believes her to be dead, or soon to be dead, because no one wants a slave who is "possessed" by evil spirits.

      Soon, she gains the courage, and finds some freedom papers. She signs them using the precious skills of writing that her old mistress taught her. She takes on the name Isabel Gardener. Then, she, sneaking off to the prison, breaks out a sickly Curzon and together they run away from the authorities, who are soon to come after them when they are realized to be missing. Isabel also holds on to the hope of finding Ruthie who was actually put in a different property house by her mistress (the one she is running away from), but was only told that Ruthie was sold to dampen her spirit.