the drummer boy of shiloh

"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh"

        In the beginning of "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" we were introduced to Joby. A 14 year old boy who ran away from home to join, and fight in the army, Joby was distraught and alone, so he moved into this state of constant upset and he doubted himself and his place in the army, but then Joby met the general and the general thankfully changed jobys ways. 

      Joby obviously had no hope for himself in the beginning of the story. Joby continuously mentioned his doomed fait " me, thought the boy, i got only a drum, two sticks  to beat it and no shield." this quote shows clearly that Joby has lost most, if not all hope for himself. I know that I have no personal connection to being 14 and in the war but I think my rection might be a lot like Joby's. Any war would be a nerve racking one but if your a baby ( child ) it's going to be 100 times worse for you. 

      Joby was spotted by the general and taken under the generals wing. I dont think that this kind of thing is realtistic and doesn't have a big possibility of happening in the 21st century, but I think that the General talking to Joby improved everything about the story. The bigger portion of the rest of the story is the general giving Joby a speech. There are moments in life when you need to be told that you are the  better person and you are more important then everyone else, and even if the general did or did not think that about Joby, the general told Joby he was the " heart of the army " and those simple words lifted Jobys heart tremendously, and at the end Joby " lifted his drum to the sky and heard the peach blossm's on the drum. Joby over came his sadness, and he became a more confident better person. 

     Joby changed, like all people do. But Joby changed for the better and progressed. In the beginning of "The Drummer of Shiloh" Joby had no love for drumming and no passion for being in the army. Joby was lost and upset with his past decisions, Joby was angry that this was going on, but the general helped Joby changed. The general opened jobys eyes to the army, he explained that its not just fighting and dying and getting a gun put in your hands, the general explained to Joby that Joby was such and importnat part of the army and joby is the " general when the general can't go on." Now thanks to those words Joby became so much more confident and pround of himself and of the army.