Revised Drummer Boy of Shiloh

Drummer Boy of Shiloh

Reading Response-Henry Kiem, 812

In “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” by Ray Bradbury, the main character, a 14-year-old run away boy soldier named Joby is trying to find his purpose in the great civil war. The northern troops are settled at a small church called Shiloh. They are awaiting the confederate army. I really think that this tension and waiting has a huge affect on Joby’s emotions. This is displayed through his conversation with the General who helps motivate Joby and explain his duty in the army.

     One way the General helps motivate Joby is by helping him find what his duty is to the army. One point in which he does this is on pg. 53 when he tells Joby: "‘you are the heart of the army. Think about that. You are the heart of the army.’" This shows Joby what his real job is in the army and gives him a deeper purpose. This especially helps influence Joby because of the General's role in the army. He is such an important figure and to be speaking directly to the drummer boy could really impose such ideas. This helped Joby see how important he is, which makes him much more confident for the following days.

     One reason why I think Joby listens to the general is because he looks up to him. I think this is because he describes him as a father figure. Generally, father figures can be very influential on young boys ideas. One quote from the text that supports this is on page 51. "The man's knees cracked as he bent still closer. He smelled as all fathers should smell, of salt-sweat, tobacco, horse and boot leather, and the earth he walked upon."  This shows that Joby thinks of the General as a father figure. Another example from the text is on pg. 52. "'You want to cry some more, go ahead. I did the same last night.’” This shows the General as a father figure because he is trying to support Joby.

     Overall, I thought that there were many reasons why Joby and the General have such an elaborate relationship. Even though, throughout the story the General is cheering up Joby and making him feel more important and giving him a purpose, I think that the boy, Joby really taught a lot to the general. Like the General said, Joby is the heart of the army and it would be valuable for any General to understand his army better. Joby taught him in a brief conversation what the entire Army feels. I definitely thought this story had a lot of interesting points that could be elaborated on and I would recommend it to any reader.

Calpurnia Tate Response 10/10/12

   In The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Henry Holt, I raised an interesting question. How seriously does Calpurnia's grandfather take their relationship and what does Calpurnia mean to him? This was a great story with a lot of great details. I loved all the little descriptions of the house and of the wild landscape. I think this author did a great job at describing his setting, but also his characters, and that is what sparked my question.

   There are multiple answers to this question. Firstly, I think her grandfather takes their relationship very seriously. One example of this is how much he trusts her with his precious work. One example of this comes towards the middle of the story. Her Grandfather is trying to distill pecans into whisky and Calpurnia is assisting. He finishes one batch and takes a sip. "I think, I think we may have something approaching drinkable." he says. He then gives a glass of the liquor to Calpurnia. He then tells her to taste the whisky and be the deciding taste test. This shows that he is trusting Calpurnia, a 12 year old girl, with the basis on his work. That is a big deal! This makes me think, what does Calpurnia think of her Grandfather? I think she is generally nervous around him because he is the only one that really understands her and she really doesn't want to screw their relationship up.

   Secondly, I really think that her Grandfather respects Calpurnia as a person. His old fashion values and ideas should go against him being so encouraging of Calpurnia but like I said earlier, I think he really understands her better than most people. For example, when Calpurnia received 

"The Science of Housewifery" her grandfather's eyebrows were "puckered in concern" as the author describes it. At no point later on in the book did he speak to Calpurnia about the present but this small facial expression shows that he actually cares for her. I think that when he was a child he could have had the same kind of experience. maybe his mother or father wanted him to do something and he wanted to live his own life. I dont really know what life was like back then though.

   I think I answered my question by forming another one. Is this how all kids feel? I can definitely relate to Calpurnia. Not in the way of feminism or anything but the fact that her parents want her to be somebody besides herself. In many ways this is how the world works. If you think about it though, the greatest minds followed their own paths, not those created by others. I will leave you with that thought reader. 

Drummer Boy of Shiloh Reading Response

     In The Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Bradbury a 14 year old boy named Joby, runs away from home to join the Northern troops at shiloh in the American Civil War. He is the Drummer boy of his regiment and the army is expecting battle any time soon. At one point in the story Joby wakes up a few hours before dawn (and the battle) and is overcome with emotion about his purpose and his meaning in such a huge war. I think that in war, and in everyday life, a mentor or someone to look up too and follow is extremely important. In the story I think Joby is overcome by these emotions because he hasn't found someone to motivate him until along comes the General who takes Joby under his arm.

     One way the General helps motivate Joby is by helping him find what he means to the war. One point in which he does this is on pg. 53 when he tells Joby: "'You are the heart of the army. Think about that. You are the heart of the army.'" This shows Joby what his real job is in the army and gives him a deeper purpose. This especially helps influence Joby because of the General's role in the army. He is duch an important figure and to be speaking directly to the drummer boy could really impose such ideas. This helped Joby see how important he is, which makes him much more confident for the following days.

     Another reason I think Joby looks up to the General is because he describes him as a father figure. Generally, father figures can be very influential on a young boys ideas. One quote from the text that supports this is on page 51. "The man's knees cracked as he bent still closer. He smelled as all fathers should smell, of salt-sweat, tobacco, horse and boot leather, and the earth he walked upon."  This shows that Joby thinks of the General as a father figure. Another example from the text is on pg 52. "'You want to cry some more, go ahead. I did the same last night.'" is said by the general to Joby. This shows the General as a father figure because he is trying to support Joby.

     In the end, I thought that there were many reasons why Joby and the General have such an interesting relationship. Even though, throughout the story the General is cheering up Joby and making him feel more important and giving him a purpose, I think that the boy, Joby really taught a lot to the general. Like the General said, Joby is the heart of the army and it would be valuable for the General to understand his army better. Joby taught him in a brief conversation what the entire Army feels. I definetly thought this story had a lot of interesting points that could be elaborated on and I would recommend it to any reader.