Drummer boy of Shiloh

I just finished reading "The Drummer boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury. This story is mainly about a 14 year old boy named Joby who is the drummer boy for the army. He ran away from home and the only thing he has is his drum. When he is alone at night the general comes to talk to him about the battle that lays ahead. At first Joby is afraid, but under the general's influence Joby learns to be stronger.

 In this story there are a lot of ideas about manhood. What does it even mean to be a man? Joby is what only 14 years old and he has already run away from home to become a drummer boy. When the general comes up to talk to him he asks Joby "Do you shave yet boy?" The fact that the general even has to ask this is just proving that Joby is a boy.
 
I think that being confidant definitely has something to do with growing up and being big and strong.  In the beginning of the story Joby feels lost, alone, and scared. It even says in the story "Joby felt his family move farther off into the dark." This quote is saying he is just a boy small and afraid, the only thing he has is that drum. He actually feels his family moving farther away. I wonder if his family even knows where he is. In life I think that being a child, or a boy is also being vulnerable and childlike. When you're a child you are allowed to be afraid, but when you become a "man" there is more pressure to become big, strong, confidant, and ready to leave you family behind. 

When the general comes to talk to Joby at first the general says to him "Are you ready for the battle tomorrow?" Joby says "I think." By saying "I think" gives the reader the idea he's not sure, he's still scared, he's still a boy not a man. 

Toward the end of the story when the general has talked to Joby about how imp0rtant he is and how much this army needs him and how he (Joby) is the heart of the army, it changes him. Then the general says again "Are you ready for the battle tomorrow?" Joby then says "Yes sir!" Now Joby is stronger and more confidant in himself. He was able to realize that he is important. He was also able to realize he too can be a man just like the rest of them. 

In the world I think there is a lot of talk about when a boy becomes a man. When does Joby become a man? Does he become a man at all? I think because this story took place in the 1800's expectations of when children grew up were much sooner then they are now. Joby is only 14 years old, but that wasn't considered that young back then. For boys out there would you leave everything at this age or a little older to join the army, not matter if it was to be a drummer boy or actually fight? Would you leave home, love, shelter, and kindness? I know I wouldn't.  What even pushes people to join the army? The love of their country? Are they forced into it? Do they really believe in the cause? I mean I do love my country,  but on the other hand I don't think I would be able to risk my life. It may sound selfish and I am so grateful for people that do it but I don't think I could. 

Joby becomes a man at heart by the end. He realizes that he too just like all the other soldiers are important. For him to realize this it took the general to help him. Sometimes in life it does take another person to help or influence you in order to see something you didn't see before. 

In the beginning and end of the book it also mentions peach blossoms falling from the trees. I think this also symbolizes manhood in the sense that peach blossoms are only blossoms. They are soft, childlike, and not yet a peach -or in this case a man. When the peach blossoms fall in the beginning of the story it shows how Joby himself isn't a man yet. When they fall again at the end, in my mind it shows how he has changed and learned more about what it means to be a man. 

The peach blossoms haven't yet bloomed and maybe neither has Joby but he has learned a lot. Maybe Joby isn't physically a man yet and maybe he doesn't totally have to be, and maybe the idea of being a man doesn't have to be so stereotypical. But no matter if Joby became a man or not he definitely changed from scared to confidant, and that in my opinion relates from boy to man. 

Joby learned a lot about himself throughout the story. He learned he is important and to be confidant in himself no matter what happens in the future, good or bad. 

Response to book that I read over the summer; A long walk to water

A long walk to water is a very moving, hooking, and educational tale. This dual narrative follows two stories, both taking place in Sudan. One is in  2008 about a girl named Nya who walks 8 hours a day to a pond in order to get water for her family. The other story takes place in 1985 and is about a boy named Salva  and his war-torn village. When he gets separated from his family he goes on a determined march through Africa with a group of people from his village who are also lost. He is searching for safety, food, but most importantly his family. These two stories eventually cross in the most surprising, yet moving way.

I would have to say that both Salva and Nya are the protagonists. Both have conflict, Nya's being that she has to walk 8 hours a day to try and find clean water for her family but especially for her sick sister. You immediately begin to try to sympathize with her because having clean water is a gift that many of us take for granted. Whenever there is a character that is struggling for something you have, it makes you think about how lucky you are to have that thing no matter if it's water or anything else. Also whenever a character is struggling you feel bad for them which makes you like the character much more. Nya is a quiet character but we,(the reader's) get to hear some of her thoughts which definitely makes you see things about her that people on the outside wouldn't get to see, if you weren't in her head. Even though the story is written in third person you still get more of an idea of what she's thinking about then if you were on the outside.

Salva is probably even more so  the protagonist then Nya is.  His struggle is probably even worse. When he is separated from his family and walking alone with strangers he doesn't know, all you want to do is reach out and give him a hug, but obviously you can't because it's a book. Anyway Salva is a special character. You watch him go through a struggle but you also watch him get even stronger.

Salva  changes a lot through this book. In the beginning he is scared, alone, and afraid. At first he has no one he knows and thinks all his family is dead. But when he sees that his uncle is in the same group as him he is overjoyed. His uncle pushes him to keep going and to stay strong even though he is hungry thirsty and ready to give up. Salva watches his uncle die right before his eyes and that makes him want to find safety and his family even more. I think that in life sometimes the terrible things that happen also shape us as people. After Salva was able to re-unite with his family and come out alive what he wanted to do was to help others and find clean water and safety for others before they would even have to imagine going through what he went through. Even though Salva had to watch terrible things happen to people he cared for, it made him a fighter in the end. It also made him a better person, a  person who wanted to work and to help others- others like Nya who didn't have clean water, and that's what Salva ended up doing.

Salva and Nya both had major conflicts and also minor conflicts. The major ones being war, and no clean water. The minor ones being wanting to find your family and trying to get your sick sister better. No matter how big the conflict is there is always another person or thing holding you back. I don't necessarily think that there was one specific antagonist, considering there was more then one story to follow but I think that the whole idea of mean bad people standing in their way, like evil men who killed Salva's uncle ect.

Both Salva and Nya learn and change through the story. They both learn to fight through struggle and in the end if you fight as hard as you can and you get lucky you will pull out in the end. This is a very moving story and I liked it a lot. I would also highly suggest it to others to read(if I didn't spoil it too much!)