Responding to "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"

   The short story "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury is about a 14 year old boy named Joby, who has joined the war. Throughout the story, Joby develops a strong connection with the general of the army.  He has a huge effect on Joby. 

     At the beginning of the story, Joby is trying to sleep near a peach tree. In the text it says " The boy turned on his side. A moth brushed his face , but it was a peach blossom. A peach blossom flicked him, but it was a moth." This makes me think that Joby is extremely nervous, too nervous to realize whether it's a peach blossom or a moth. This is a symbol for his situation. This takes place before an extremely bloody battle, and everything's changing for him. He's just turned 14, and his life is changing. He's a boy in war- war isn't for children. I can sort of relate to Joby in a way. Being a teenager is hard, because everything's going on and you finally have to make decisions for yourself. I can't even imagine adding the responsibility of being a drummer boy onto yourself. I guess it would be extremely overwhelming.

     Later in the story, the general finds Joby crying and says it's smart to cry "before the fight".  A line I thought really showed how Joby sort of looks up to the general is when the general comes closer to Joby and it says "He smelled as all fathers should smell." Joby sees the general as a father figure, and also a mentor. He looks up to him metaphorically and physically. But, this also made me think that Joby should be home- with his own father, not sleeping in a peach orchard scared out of his mind. I know if I was him, I'd be extremely homesick, missing my family, friends, and a normal life.

     The general really has an effect on Joby. Towards the end, The general begins to make a speech, trying to empower him and get Joby to realize that he matters. He calls Joby "the heart of the army". When I visualize this, I see it like a human body. A heart sends and receives blood from everywhere in the body. (Just like Joby playing the drum informs soldiers about what's going to happen) Also, It's one of the most important organs in the body. (Just like Joby is an important component to the army). A body without a heart, is like an army without a drummer. It's incomplete.

    The general saying that really changed Joby's point of view, and gave him more self esteem ( which most teenagers don't have a lot of). I really think that the general is an important person to Joby. Without him, Joby would have never thought he was important to the war at all, and if he did that, his attitude might affect the other soldiers. This makes me think that the author wants us to understand that a positive attitude can affect others, and so can a bad one. So, it's really important to do your role and do it well, so that your positive attitude can rub off on others. Also, I think that the relationship between Joby and the general is highly effective. The general was a good influence on Joby, which made Joby become more positive.And overall, being positive is a good thing.