My Brother Sam Is Dead Essay Topics

With all of the problems in our society, war is the most talked about dilemma in our messed up world. War could be both good and bad depending on a person’s view about it. War has some good objectives like erasing injustice and ending tyranny. If you think about it, there are also negative objectives, like how brutal war can be, or all of the innocent lives that are lost. In the book, My Brother Sam is Dead it explains how it may be like during the Revolutionary War, threw 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 choose neutral. Tim decides to become neutral because of Ned, Sam and His Father. Ned, was one of the reasons Tim made his decision to go neutral. Towards the end of the book the British made a stop at Redding; “ He slid his sword into Ned’s stomach,...Ned’s head jumped off his body and popped into the air” (144-145). The British never had a reason to kill Ned. They only did it because they could, and because he was black. Tim was on

Sam’s death was brutal and totally uncalled for. Sam was executed because he was falsely accused of cattle theft; “‘Timmy, get Colonel Parsons,’ he cried. ‘They’re taking me in as a cattle thief ’”(180). Tim went through great lengths to try and get him out. Sam was a great soldier on the battlefield, you would expect that he would get some telling points, but it didn’t matter. It’s ironic that he was killed even though he showed loyalty throughout the whole adventure. Since Sam was on the Patriot side, he was threatening the splitting of his family. He dedicated so much of his life to the Patriots, that he even went against his father’s wish, which was seen as a sin. Sam deserved more than he had originally