"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" By Ray Bradbury
A Friendship Between Two
By Conor Green
This book is about the friendship of two people before a war.the General comforts Joby to be the Drummer Boy of Shiloh and it is okay to be scared. This teaches us to not be scared to be brave trust and friendship.
At the beginning Joby is crying in bed and then the general come to comfort him. Even the the General says he is scared but he still comforts Joby. The General pulls some tobacco out and tells Joby how he is scared about the war to. The General was drummer boy. Joby is going to be Drummer Boy of Shiloh. As the General chews his tobacco he tells Joby it is okay to be scared.
Since the Joby was scared the General comforts him. The General talks to Joby about being scared and helps Joby to be the Drummer Boy. They are sitting by a fire talking and the General is chewing tobacco. The General smelled like all fathers should smell of salt sweat, ginger, tobacco, horse and boot leather.
The General talks to Joby about how one day Joby when he talks to his kids he can tell them how he was the Drummer Boy at Shiloh. The General asked Joby if he shaved yet. The General says how tomorrow the soldiers knees will look like the waves in a ocean. One knee goes forward and one goes back and it is a constant rhythm. Then the General stood up and the tobacco, brass, boot polish, salt sweat and leather walked away through the grass.
The book the Drummer Boy of Shiloh is about friendship of two people the night before the war. This is on two people who the general who comforts the boy to be the Drummer Boy of Shiloh. This book is about friendship and it teaches us that it is ok to be scared.
Two Unlikely People Connect
By Layla D.
Joby was afraid and needed comfort from someone who understands him. From experience I’ve learned that when you’re afraid, it’s best to find someone you relates to you and will talk to you. The General comforted, related and showed friendship to Joby when Joby was afraid of the war.
Joby was terrified of the war, but with the help of the General, he realizes the he’s not alone. Joby was a restless, young boy who was found crying by the General, who comforts him. The General tells Joby how he too had cried the previous night for mainly the same reasons: they were both afraid of the war. Both of them needed to speak of their fears and to be near another person who understood their fears. By the end of the story, Joby feels ready and more confident for the next day. Together, the General and Joby do not fear being alone.
Joby was afraid of the war, but the General showed Joby why not to be afraid. Joby ran away to join the war, but his role left him unarmed. Not doubt Joby thought his job was useless and a suicide mission, seeing how he was equipped with only a drum and no weapon. On the other hand, the General thought otherwise. The General told Joby of Joby’s real job; to lead the army. The General told Joby that if he beat slow, the army would march slow and unsurely. But if he beat steadily, the army would also march steadily into battle. The General also told Joby that if he was left behind, that it was Joby’s job to lead the army. That was exactly was Joby needed; to be told of his true job- to lead the army.
Joby was a nervous wreck, not being able to go to sleep with the fear of the war haunting him., but the General comforts him and shows him his true job, allowing Joby to sleep. After the General tells Joby of his fears that they share and that Joby has a big role, Joby is able to fall asleep. Beforehand, Joby was crying and shaking, not able to fall asleep. The comforting words of the General relaxes Joby making him sleep. At the very end of the story, the narrator suggests the peacefulness that swallows Joby, finally allowing him to sleep. The General’s goal was to help calm and to make Joby confident, and that goal was reached.
Joby and the General shared fears and comforted each other when they were afraid of the war. The General approached Joby and showed him kindness and friendship. There, he showed kindness and friendship with the intent to make Joby feel better and less afraid. The best way to cure fear is with someone you relate to.
Unlikely Friendship
By Ethan M.
Everyone has been through a struggle in their lives. They have worried or been scared about something. But there is always someone who helps you out, offers support, and carries you through the time of hardship. This is true for joby, the drummer boy at the Battle of Shiloh. He gets that support from The General, a strong leader who needs the drummer boy to succeed. With Joby needing The General for support and The General needing Joby to win, they quickly form an unbreakable bond between each other that will last a lifetime.
In The General’s conversation with Joby, The General explains Joby’s importance as a drummer boy. The General explains “ I got to make one army of them. And for that boy, I need you.” He says this when explaining how every man is an army, and he needs Joby to make one army out of all of them. This line shows that The General needs Joby to help win this important battle.
You can tell Joby and The General are becoming friends, when you see The General talk about his thoughts and feelings so openly with Joby. “ You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same thing last night.” Men usually don’t openly admit to crying, especially when it's someone they don’t know. This shows a deep trust between Joby and The General. “ It’s wrong, boy, it’s wrong as a head put on hind side front and a man marching backward through life”. This is a general in the army expressing his distaste for war to a person he has never met. This is another example of Joby and The General becoming close friends. At both of these points it is when The General is talking to Joby.
The General and Joby are good friends, and because of that they openly and willing talk about everyday things. “You ready for tomorrow or the next day, Joby ?” This is an example of them talking about the battle. “ What’s your name, boy? … All right, Joby, don’t stir.” this is the General getting to know Joby, signaling a friendship. These two examples are just a taste of the bond these men form.
A lasting friendship between two soldiers. Two men who found support in each other during times of hardship. Now the question is; what happened after? Did the General die, did Joby? The reader never knows which side they were on, The North or The South. If they both survived, what did they do? Did they have a family? All we really know about The General and Joby is that they were two extraordinary men in extraordinary circumstances.
Friendship
Michael B.
The Drummer Boy of Shiloh takes place during the Civil War, in a camp for the soldiers of one of the armies. Joby, the main character, is trying to sleep among the other soldiers, but he cannot, so he starts to think about what’ ahead of him in the upcoming battle, and how he has no defense, no weapons, only a drum and his sticks. As he is thinking about how he might be the one who will survive the war and return home, he realizes that he is not the only one thinking this. He realizes all of the other soldiers are thinking the same thing along with him. This is the only thing they have to hang on to, the belief that they will be the one to return home. Then there is a skip in the story.
The skip begins with the General finding Joby crying. The General asks Joby some questions on his enlistment and also asks him if he is ready for the next day. After this, the General admits to Joby that he too had cried the night before. To Joby, this fact is very surprising.The General then commences into a speech about what he thinks about the War. HE says that thinks the battle ahead of them is going to be a crazy time. He also says that both armies have too little experience and should “turn tail and train” some more. He also states that both armies are ”mistaking spring fever for bloodlust” and “Using sulphur for cannons instead of with molasses.”
Then, the General starts to compliment Joby to inspire courage in him. He said that Joby was the one who controlled the men’s hearts. If Joby played a slow tempo on the drum, then the men’s hearts would beat slow, and they would slow and die. But if Joby played a fast tempo, the men’s hearts would beat fast and then they would fight better and with more confidence. Also, the General says that Joby is his left hand and his right. He also said that even though he gave the orders, Joby set the pace.
The General also talks about the way the soldiers will be when Joby plays. He asks Joby if he has ever seen the ocean wave rolling in on the shore like a good cavalry. He says that is how the men should be. He wants Joby to get their hearts racing and their spine straight. To make them feel as if they wearing steel armor over themselves. Their wounds would feel less pain. They would feel less pain. For their blood would be hot. And Joby would be the reason that they would fight better.
Unlikely Friends
By Joey P.
In “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh”, by Ray Bradbury, friendship brings two people together, under unlikely circumstances. The main character, Joby, is a drummer boy during the Civil War. Joby is nervous and all he wants is to make it back home. The other character, The General is a caring man who provides comfort for a boy in need. This story shows how friendship can be found in unlikely places. The author shows this by making the main characters that become friends, have ranks that are on opposite ends of the spectrum… a lowly drummer boy and a high ranking general.
The author also does a good job of showing equality between the two, in the sense that they are both only human. For example when The General walks in on a Joby crying, he explains how he did the same last night, showing him that in some ways, they are equal. There also a few moments of humor between the two to comfort each other. They have playful banter about how they will team up to defeat their enemies in war. This makes it easy to see how friends can be made even in unfortunate situations.
Even though they show equality, Joby shows respect to his superior as well. Joby always calls The General “sir” to show him respect. The General shows respect to Joby by not talking down to him as if he was not important, even though he very well could. The General makes Joby’s time more comfortable in that awful place. Joby and The General are a great example of honest and loving people.
Later in the book, The General prepares Joby for the possible rough times of bloodshed to come. He tells him of the chances of innocents dying. He almost acts as a father figure to Joby, comforting him, and giving him knowledge of the world around him. The General explains to Joby how important he is in uniting the army as the drummer boy. He tells him this to lift his spirits, like any good friend/father would do. I feel that in this part of the story, the author is pushing really hard to tell us that their friendship is almost becoming more of a father and son bond. While Bradbury is showing likeness between the two, he is also emphasizing the General’s role as Joby’s elder.
The General goes on to teach Joby strategy, to help the army succeed. He also tells him of the most effective rhythm to coordinate the soldiers march. The General puts all his faith in Joby, showing the trust gained in their new friendship. At the very end, The General speaks to Joby in a way that we haven’t heard before. He speaks to Joby and makes him feel confident and proud. Throughout all the twists and turns of this book one theme remains the same… the strong loving feeling of friendship.
Drummer Boy Of Shiloh
By Shemar J.
In the Beginning of The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, the little boy is feared of his nightmares. When all this happen it started in April night. He tried and tried to wake up from his dreams. The little boy finally woke up when he heard a loud boom.
Later on that night he was still up. He tried to hide himself by closing his eyes. Someone was walking past him and he heard a silently voice whispering to him. He had open his eyes very slowly to see who it was. When he open his eyes he ended up in a battle. He heard some men talking saying one of the soldiers will never get any rest. They were talking very quietly about it. The boy could only guess it was him. Then he said to himself that it me i’m the one who won’t get any rest. He knew though he won’t be the one that will die.
All of the men harvested by night and blindled around campfires. The boy had turned on his side to lay down and a moth came by a and brushed his face. Nothing wouldn’t stop flying around him, nothing at all. So he laid still all through the night. The next morning the soldiers had to put on their bravery cap. He was stilled laying down why the all of the soldiers got ready. Someone walk past him and stood over him. They had said to someone he a soldier crying before the fight. They told him to get over it. It will all be over soon. They told him it won’t be time to cry once it all starts. And the voice The boy could feel his eyes, sense him slowly bending near. It was about to move on when the boy, startled, touched the drum at his elbow.
It was General standing over him and he asked what was his name. The boy told him his named was Joby. The general ask how long you been with us and he told him 3 weeks. Then the General ask do you shaved yet. The boy couldn't answer his questions . You ready for tomorrow asked the General. The boy said not really sir. You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same last night.” “You, sir?” They said it will all be over once you know it just take a deep breath before the battle.
The General left to make a pile of winter leaves. He also pile up a up a whole bunch of twigs to make fire for the darkness. He told the the boy this fire should give us light and keep us warm for the night. The General told the boy, “God willing, many nights from tonight, many years from now, when you’re as old or far much older than me.” The boy said he was the drummer boy at Shiloh. The general stood up. “Well, then. God bless you, boy. Good night. He lay next to it, his arm around it, feeling the tremor, the touch, the muted thunder as, all the rest of the April night in the year 1862, near the Tennessee River, not far from the Owl Creek, very close to the church named Shiloh, the peach blossoms fell on the drum. THE END.
