The Drummer Boy Of Shiloh

       In the short story “The Drummer Boy Of Shiloh” Ray Bradbury shows character change.  The main character overcomes his fears and gains courage  even when times are rough.  

The character, Joby, is a young boy who is struggling with facing the deathly civil war.  In the beginning of the story Joby is hiding and camping out on the battle field.  Although he is hesitant to participate in the war, we realize that the war is of some importance to him because he is a runaway.  I believe the fact that he ran away shows that he feels he must drum for the soldiers and help them do their best.  He questions whether he will be able to survive.  “Me, thought the boy, I only got a drum, two sticks to beat it, and no shield.” 

Later on, Joby is found by the General of the army.  Although Joby had limited hope, the General gave him an inspiring talk.  He reassured him and told him that he was the “heart of the army.”  I think this was a big turning point in the story.  Joby’s character changed because he started to see that engaging in the fight and risking his life was not so bad.  It was for a good cause.  All of a sudden his fears went away.  If he was risking his life for his nation, it was worth it.  

By the end, the boy was ready to face the one thing that scared him the most: death.  “Then at last, very slowly and firmly he turned the drum so it faced up toward the sky.”  This quote proved that he was a true hero.  With his drum beats, he could help the soldiers take on any fight and earn victory.  

Although Joby had no hope in the beginning, it progressed throughout the story and the Generals talk encouraged him to face his fears.  Joby changed a lot during the story.  He was set on the idea that he would die but, was able to pu that behind him and fight.  He gained self confidence.  Therefore, Ray Bradbury showed tremendous character change.  

Alice Sebold As An Author

Yesterday I started "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. Already, it is an extremely intense book. After reading one chapter I realized that this book may be hard to read at sometimes because it is focused on such a depressing topic. I have read other Alice Sebold books and noticed that they all seem to be written about the same issue. Could Alice Sebold's real life have something to do with the problems she brings up in her books?

The issue faced in "The Lovely Bones" is rape and murder. It was challenging reading the parts describing the rape because it was so disturbing and horrifying. While I was reading I thought, if that ever happened to me I would be terrified. More than ever I would feel sorry for my family. In "The Lovely Bones" the young girl, Susie's family is trying to figure out what happened to their daughter. They are devastated and confused.

In another Alice Sebold book I read called "Lucky" the story is very similar though the main character does not face death. However, the girl is also raped. As I thought about it, I wondered whether this was an issue Alice Sebold experienced as a kid. In both of her books the character is around 13 years old. Both characters are harassed by older men and do not know how to deal with it.

Rape is a very serious and scary thing. Although it may not be true I am assuming that the author Alice Sebold experienced this during her childhood due to the topics of her novels "Lucky" and "The Lovely Bones." Whether she did or not, she shows her strong feelings about it through her writing. As I read I will try to note other relations I see in her book.

Make Lemonade

I recently finished Virginia Euwer Wolff's novel, "Make Lemonade". The book brought up many essential and real world issues. Some issues the characters were facing were poverty and death. The main character, Lavaughn, had lost her father when she was very young. He had been in a bad neighborhood during a shooting and had been accidentally shot. Lavaughn and her mom had been facing some financial problems, they were trying to save up for Lavaughn to go to college. To Lavaughn and her mother, they were severely struggling but, did not realize how fortune they were until they met someone who had even less.
Lavaughn and her mom decided that the best way to save up for college was for Lavaughn to get a job and chip in. As her other friends took jobs as cleaners, she chose to babysit. This was no regular babysitting job though, it changed everything. The mothers name was Jolly. She had two kids, Jilly and Jeremy. The minute Lavaughn walked into Jolly's home she knew she was in for handful of work. Beside the fact that the house was extremely small, the floors were covered with clothes and dishes were sprawled out around the house. Everything was dirty, old, and desperately needing repair. Although Lavaughn's mother opposed the job, she took it anyway. First of all, she needed the extra money and second, she knew that Jolly's life needed some fixing.
Later on in the story the author went deeper into the feelings and challenges the characters were facing. I liked the way Virginia Euwer Wolff eased the readers into getting to know the characters. By the middle of the book I learned that Jolly was struggling with a lot more than just tidying up. Both of her children were made from different fathers who both eventually left Jolly. She was being sexually harassed by her boss but keeping her mouth shut for the sake of losing her job which she eventually lost. And worse of all, she was struggling to maintain a stable life for her kids and being able to afford her house. Jolly had lived in a box on the street for most of her life. She had survived through the cold, and despair. She was a "strong soul" as Lavaughns mother exclaimed.
This book turned out to be one of my favorites. It was sad and at some times horrifying but memorable. Lavaughn had learned a very important lesson as the story progressed; never underestimate your life because other people have it much worse than you. She learned that although college was important to her, just getting by was hard for Jolly. This is why Lavaughn never left her side.