My Brother Sam Is Dead Essay

Death is something that occurs often in a war due to the violence and dangerous areas. Everyone takes on the thought of someone dying in different ways, whether they maintained a close relationship with the person or not guilt could become an instant reaction of the persons' death because of a feeling of maybe being responsible for the death that occurred. The thought of maybe being responsible for one of the soldiers that you have spent day night serving with could leave an enormous amount of guilt in one person. When witnessing a death or anything traumatic it is easy to blame someone else or even yourself for the tragic accident. Multiple characters in the book The Things They Carried demonstrated the guilt and responsibility of another

Sarah Vowell and Annie Dillard both wrote essays about their youth with nostalgia, highlighting the significance of childhood as an innocent and mischievous time in their lives. In Sarah Vowell’s essay “Shooting Dad,” Vowell realizes that despite their hostility at home and conflicting ideologies concerning guns and politics, she finds that her obsessions, projects, and mannerisms are reflective of her father’s. On the other hand in Annie Dillard’s essay “An American Childhood” Dillard runs away from a man after throwing a snowball at his car, after getting caught she realizes that what matters most in life is to try her best at every challenge she faces no matter the end result. Sarah Vowell’s essay is more effective than Annie Dillard’s because she includes allusions and tones, which juxtaposes warfare and religion with the innocent

War. It divides to conquer? Ending in triumph, or does it leave us broken? Who’s to say, it can do both. It all depends on the war itself. War is about principles. It can be used to end injustice, tyranny, or both. It can band people together to form a bond that is unbreakable, all fighting for the same cause. But that bond can have a high price. War kills soldiers, tearing them from family; it kills innocent people, just trying to survive. People are brutal, whether it be a harsh commander with deathly penalties, or even a rude soldier, demanding supplies or a roof from a civilian. Many think war is not the only way, there can be a peaceful solution. Two such people are the authors of My Brother Sam is Dead, James and Christopher Collier. They show this belief through the life of Tim Meeker, who struggles to decide who to side with, his brother, Sam, or his father. The ironic and horrible deaths of Jerry, Ned, and his own brother, Sam, eventually force Tim to choose neutrality.

Back during the Revolutionary War, families were divided and many people were trying to decide one question. Should they join the side of the Patriots, Loyalists, or remain neutral? War can be a brutal, violent, and cruel way of achieving power or freedom; and in the process, many lives are lost. However, sometimes war is necessary as it helps get rid of tyranny and injustice. In the book My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, a boy named Tim Meeker lives in a family where his father is a Loyalist, and his dear brother is a Patriot. Throughout the book, Tim tries to decide what side he is on; then, after a few deaths of people close to him, he decides to remain neutral and oppose war. In My Brother Sam is Dead, Tim makes his decision to remain neutral after the ironic, cruel deaths of Life Meeker, Jerry Sanford, and Sam Meeker.

In the historical fiction novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, Tim learns that no matter what side of war you are on it is still bloody and horrid and should be avoided. In the exposition of the novel, Tim Meeker, is a tweenaged boy who is a hard working boy caught in the middle of the American Revolution. As the conflict develops, Tim faces the challenge of surviving the war and staying out of trouble while still trying to decide what side of the war he was on. In the rising action of the story, Tim Meeker, watches his brother, Sam Meeker, announce that he left college and signed up to fight in the war on the patriots side. Then Tim father takes him on the yearly trip to Verbanks Point, instead

With all of the problems in today’s society, war is the most heavily debated dilemma because it can have a positive and negative effect depending on a person’s view about it. War has some good effects like erasing injustice and ending tyranny. However, there are also negative effects, due to the brutality of war and all of the innocent lives lost. In the book, My Brother Sam is Dead, it explains what it was like to live during the Revolutionary War, though the eyes of a boy named Tim. Not only does he have to witness this life changing battle, but he also ends up having a inner-battle with himself. He has to choose between a Loyalist, his Father’s side, or a Patriot, his brother’s side. Throughout the story he changes his sides until he finally

The mother wept as she watched her son walk away into the fog. She knew the war would take his life, as it had her husband. During the American REvolution, times were hard for many colonial families. Families were torn apart, divided by their belief and choices. Generations clashed. Many tears were shed and lives lost.The Meekers were a family that say the grim brutality of war, more than the glory. In My Brother Sam is Dead, although both sides of the war are shown, author's Collier and Collier ultimately argue that war is futile.

War is a series of sacrifices used to resolve an international dispute. Choosing a side will show your beliefs and principals. Injustice causes war and war induces violence and destruction of nations. Freedom costs many lives, so a better future is ensured for the next generations. Authors James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier accurately portray war as an expectation and reality through the novel My Brother Sam is Dead. The novel constantly portrays the unprofitable risks and outcomes of a war. Tim, the main character, decides that neutrality is the best side to take based on the irony of war; the unjust nature of war caused the death of Ned, Life, and Sam.

For the average reader of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, it is hard to understand why the author chose the title he chose. Even though the first chapter is literally about what the soldiers carried, the rest of the book seems like just a collection of stories. From how war changes people to blame and to killing people, the books seemingly discusses everything but what the men in Vietnam carried. But at a closer glance, Tim O’Brien actually is writing about what the soldiers carried. The physical pain they experience day in and day out. The psychological burden that comes from wanting to blame someone for all the madness that is war and not having anyone to blame is one of the heaviest things the soldiers have to carry and think

“They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture.” (O’Brien 77) Tim O’Brien clearly demonstrates to the reader that one of the most difficult burdens to bear is being a coward because even though carrying over fifty pounds of equipment is hard on the body physically cowardice is among the worst pain because you can never put that feeling down for even a second to relieve the pain. The novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, intends to show the reader how the platoons soldier’s cowardice and dread can effect them in the form of regret later in

How does a person’s response to and perspective of a crisis define him or her?

This chapter “The Ghost Soldiers”, showed us how Tim O’Brien and the other soldiers were dealing with the war both physically and psychologically. It also shows us how the Tim O'Brien behaved and felt when he was shot, wounded and had a bacteria infection on his butt and how the war changed the way he thought, and viewed the other soldiers around him.

Death will always complement war. This is seen clearly in Tim O’Brien’s short story “The Man I Killed”. In this tale the Main character, Tim, is vividly describing in his mind the enemy Vietcong solider he just killed life story before his death. He details everything, from the visible wounds on the soldier’s body to a fantasy of the man’s life. Meanwhile, to soldiers in Tim’s platoon acknowledge that he killed this man and try to speak to him about it. The first solider, Azar, congratulates Tim on the kill, while the other, Kiowa, tries to rationalize the man’s death to Tim. With this context, it can be stated that the overarching theme within “The Man I Killed” is death in war, specifically its after effects on the soldiers. These after effects are illustrated through the characters Azar, Kiowa, and Tim.

There is no doubt people grow with each new experience. In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the character Tim O’Brien faces many trials after running away from the draft, deciding to go, and then experiencing many different dilemmas he has never experienced before. It is through emotional and physical turmoil, he learns to grow morally and developmentally. Being drafted forced Tim O’Brien into alienation from his former country, however this leads him to enrich his mind through a greater understand of human nature, proving understanding comes with experience.

Life Meeker’s opinion on Sam staying home and being loyal to the King, was correct. Their family needed Sam’s help around the farm. Life knew that war can and will turn men into beasts. He also knew, that if Sam came out of the war, he would never be the same. You die in the war in more ways than one. Sam could have been a patriot from his home. He could have stayed home and been safe and still believed what he believed. He risked his life and caused his family a lot of pain for something he could have supported at home.