The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

In "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury, Joby a fourteen year old boy, runs off to be part of the war. We find him under a peach tree, scared of the battle that is about to take place.He is only a kid, but by the end of the story, he has gone through a major change. He goes from being no longer a scared and nervous kid; but a confident and mature man.

We see Joby as that scared and nervous kid at the beginning of the story. I think that the reason he is nervous is because he has realized that he doesn't know what could happen. Anything, for good or for life changing terrible.I could understand that Joby was crying because i have been in his shoes. I don't mean that i have been at war, but we've all been scared for the reason that we don't know what could happen to us in certain situations that we find ourselves in. We can't be blamed for crying or not knowing because sometimes even the people in charge don't know what is going to happen, and they are scared too. For example, in the text it says, "You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same last night." This shows why Joby was scared and nervous about the upcoming battle.

On the other hand, We do see Joby's change by the end of the story. "I was the Drummer Boy at Shiloh"

"Yes Sir."

These two lines show Joby's change because he is accepting his role as the drummer boy at Shiloh. He realizes that this is his responsibility and he steps up to claim it. Not only does this show that he is accepting his responsibility but he is maturing. He is not longer a kid who is crying. He is talking to the GENERAL OF THE ARMY. His age says that he is a kid, but these actions, compared to the beginning show he is a confident and mature man.

In conclusion, we don't see a kid pulling through a war the same way we see a kid nowadays pulling through a tough time. We see a boy who went to war and before the war has even started he changed. Joby has matured but most of all, he was the drummer boy of Shiloh.

Blogpost One: A Long Walk To Water

A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park, is a book about a man named Salva works towards bringing water to his tribe and the opposing tribe's land. The story begins as Salva as a kid. He goes to school one day but a war breaks out. He is then forced by the circumstances to walk with the group he has found to a refugee camp. The walk was very long and tiring for young Salva but the people he meets and loses along the way keep him motivated and focused on one day getting back to his family.

Years pass as young Salva develops into a teen. He had spent his childhood in a refugee camp and hasn't seen his family in almost six years!

Anyways, I think that A Long Walk To Water is a great book because it teaches us lessons. The first lesson I think this book teaches us is that people have it bad growing up but are still able to do really great things with their lives and actually use it as motivation. We see that he uses bad experiences when his friend has died. Instead of breaking down and becoming weak, he insists to himself that he carry on for his sake, and that he finishes the journey in honor of him.

Another lesson that this book teaches us, and something that I thought about was, that we should be grateful for who we do have. Those of us who have families and kids that live in good areas, and pretty much anyone who lives in America takes this for granted. Instead of counting the things we don't have, i think we should count the things we do have, the people we have, and the places we are lucky to be in.

Lastly, I recommend this book to pretty much anyone who is looking for a good book.