The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

In Ray Bradbury’s short story, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” the main character Joby goes through a lot of change.  Joby’s change takes place and is shown in the beginning, the middle and the end.

In the beginning of the story, Joby struggled with confidence and feeling lonely in the war. “Nothing stayed put. Nothing had a name. Nothing was as it once was,” and “…the boy shut his eyes to hide himself” show how hopeless and frightened Joby was feeling. This shows that life’s challenges are hard for Joby and he was struggling and feeling solemn about staying in the war.

Later in the story, Joby gained confidence with help from a talk with the general. This is shown in the deep conversation in the lines- “You are the heart of the army.” The general knew that Joby needed to feel confident about the war and more hopeful in his fellow soldiers. Joby’s confidence was gained and showed in the line about Joby and the general- “He gave the orders, but Joby set the pace.” This instilled confidence in Joby by the positive re-enforcement from a parental figure. It also helps Joby realize that without him, the soldiers would not feel confident in the war and therefor they might lose the war. This makes Joby feel needed.

In the end, Joby has gained confidence and now has a more hopeful look on life. This is shown after his talk with the general in the line: “Then, at last, very slowly and firmly he turned the drum so it faced up to the sky.”  This symbolizes Joby’s confidence because in the beginning Joby turned the drum down because he wasn’t ready to face life and used the drum as his shield from life. 

Finally, Joby altogether gained confidence and grew stronger and felt as though he could face life. His jump from the beginning, when he felt alone and hopeless, to the middle when he felt encouraged by the general, to the end, when Joby was ready to continue fighting the war. These things show Joby’s great character change.

Just the Beginning

         I just started the book Snobs by Julian Fellowes, who also created the show Downton Abbey. The book is hard and it is not action or anything like that so there is not a lot going on in the book. There is a story, told by the main character who is an actor, and his friendship with Edith Lavery. Edith is dating Charles the Earl of Broughton who she recently got engaged to. Although there is the story, a lot of the book is about English ways and manners. A lot of it is focused on how people want very badly to be high in society and how they climb the social ladder to get there. I am not very far into the book but I think that Edith will maybe realize that there isn't a very strong connection between here and Charles but she wants to be high in society just like everyone else.
         One thing that I think is strange is that considering what life was like back then compared to now, there is a big difference. Nowadays, when people get married its because they are in love (most of the time.) Back then people got married because it was the thing to do, to gain money, to be higher up in society. When you think about it, there are some people like that now too, but you don't see it very often. I find this a very interesting difference. I think that it changed because of the technology and differences in society.

Blast From the Past

!WARNING!
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ HARRY POTTER THIS HAS A SPOILER
     I am re-reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone which is number 1 in the series. If you have not read the series, it is about a boy named Harry Potter who discovers his destiny Harrys parents died when he young by the evil wizard Voldemort, who tried to kill Harry as well but miraculously survived and now everyone in the wizarding world knows about Harry. Harry thought he was just a normal boy but finds out that he is a wizard part of a magical, wonderful world. Harry goes to the wizard school Hogwarts where he learns the game of Quidditch but that he must study hard to succeed.
     I love the Harry Potter series and read them a while ago but had nothing to read so I decided to re read the first one. I didn't realize how good the writing is. J.K. Rowling really describes what is happening really well, so that you feel like you are there adventuring with Hermione, Ron, and Harry. I can connect to the writing with the lessons that we learn in ELA. I also can connect because although Harry is a wizard he is my age in the first book so you can connect to what he is feeling. Altogether I love the series, Harry Potter, and recommend the book to kids of all ages!

Finished!

I finished my last summer reading book, "From Baghdad, With Love." The book is about Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman (who wrote the book with Melinda Roth) and his time in the most recent war in Iraq. In 2004 Jay finds a little puppy who they name Lava, after the Lava Dogs, (a group of US Marine Corps.) Slowly Jay falls in love with Lava and begins on a mission to rescue the dog. The mission lasts until 2005 when the book ends. I really enjoyed the book because I love animals and this is a really heartwarming story but is also non-fiction which is not what I am used to and like. The book was also insanely sad when the authors described what general life was like in Iraq. It really showed me how terrible the war really was which is something you always say you understand but really don't. This book brought me closer to understanding how sad and devastating the war is. The end of the book was also really rewarding and I altogether loved the story. I strongly recommend this book if you like non-fiction, especially when it has a stronger story and plot line.