Drummer Boy of Shiloh Response
"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury, is the story of a fourteen year old boy named Joby, who is a drummerboy in the civil war for the battle of Shiloh. Joby, in the begining of the story, has low self esteem and and low confidence. This is because he feels sad that he is just an unimportant drummer boy, when he is surrounded by men who have guns and shields and will be fighting the next day. Soon the army's general comes to Joby and cheers him up by showing him that he is important, and that being the drummer boy is a great role. I too, have found myself feeling overwhelmed or unimportant, for example, when I entered a Level 1 tennis tournament for my first tennis tournament, and saw my competition, I felt like I was nothing compared to what I saw. All I had was a year of lessons, going up against the number 1. ranked players in the metropolitan area. Though while I was reading the story, I asked myself about what Joby's conflicts were, and how he resolved them.
In the begining of the story, Joby's conflict is that he has low self esteem and wants to be something more than a drummer boy. In the begining, he is wishing to himself that he could be something more. He says "Me thought the boy, I only got a drum, two sticks to beat it and no shield." I think that this shows that Joby does not feel like he is good enough to have anything more than a drum, which then relates to him having low self esteem. All in all, Joby had very low self esteem in the begining of the book.
After Joby is sad, Bradbury shows that the power of someone speaking to you can completely turn your mood around. While Joby is sitting alone, the army's general comes over to him and raises his confidence/self esteem. "You boy, you are the heart of the army," said the general to Joby. I think that by the general telling this to Joby, he is trying to show the importance of Joby to the battle tommorow, and that his performance will help them win, or lose. Overall, the general made Joby much happier.
After the general cheers Joby up, he feels much better about himself, and feels almost more important than the men with guns and shields. Once the general leaves, Joby stays in the same spot he had been in the entire book, but he adjusts his drum to face the moon and lays next to it with his arm around it. "He swallowed. He wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat. He settled himself. Then at last, very slowly and firmly, he turned his drum so it faced up toward the sky." I think that by Joby doing this, it shows that instead of him being ashamed of being the drummer boy, he is proud. All in all, by the end of the story Joby feels much better about being the drummer boy.
In conclusion, Joby dealt with his problems and resolved them. I think that the way Joby resolved his sadness, was just by listening to the general, and by believing him. I think this because he had gone from crying to being a proud drummer boy. I think that the reason that the general cheered up Joby was because he was upset and wanted him to be in good condition for the next day, but also because it is possible that he had been in a similar situation, and he knew how Joby felt. This story shows that the simple act of talking to someone, can completely change your view on anything, and in this case, being a drummer boy.
In the begining of the story, Joby's conflict is that he has low self esteem and wants to be something more than a drummer boy. In the begining, he is wishing to himself that he could be something more. He says "Me thought the boy, I only got a drum, two sticks to beat it and no shield." I think that this shows that Joby does not feel like he is good enough to have anything more than a drum, which then relates to him having low self esteem. All in all, Joby had very low self esteem in the begining of the book.
After Joby is sad, Bradbury shows that the power of someone speaking to you can completely turn your mood around. While Joby is sitting alone, the army's general comes over to him and raises his confidence/self esteem. "You boy, you are the heart of the army," said the general to Joby. I think that by the general telling this to Joby, he is trying to show the importance of Joby to the battle tommorow, and that his performance will help them win, or lose. Overall, the general made Joby much happier.
After the general cheers Joby up, he feels much better about himself, and feels almost more important than the men with guns and shields. Once the general leaves, Joby stays in the same spot he had been in the entire book, but he adjusts his drum to face the moon and lays next to it with his arm around it. "He swallowed. He wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat. He settled himself. Then at last, very slowly and firmly, he turned his drum so it faced up toward the sky." I think that by Joby doing this, it shows that instead of him being ashamed of being the drummer boy, he is proud. All in all, by the end of the story Joby feels much better about being the drummer boy.
In conclusion, Joby dealt with his problems and resolved them. I think that the way Joby resolved his sadness, was just by listening to the general, and by believing him. I think this because he had gone from crying to being a proud drummer boy. I think that the reason that the general cheered up Joby was because he was upset and wanted him to be in good condition for the next day, but also because it is possible that he had been in a similar situation, and he knew how Joby felt. This story shows that the simple act of talking to someone, can completely change your view on anything, and in this case, being a drummer boy.
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