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.