Brutality Of War In 'My Brother Sam Is Dead'

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

Towards the end of the book the British made a stop at Redding, Tim’s town: “ He slid his sword into Ned’s stomach,...Ned’s head jumped off his body and popped into the air” (144-145). Tim expected that since Ned was innocent and was only using self defense the Loyalist would have left him alone, but what happened was the exact opposite. The Loyalists did not leave Ned alone only because of his race; the Loyalists were being injustice to Ned. This upset Tim because they were being senseless and only killed him because of his skin color. Tim was deceived into thinking that the Loyalists were fair to everyone and fought for the innocent people, but they had just killed Ned. The way they killed Ned was brutal; the Loyalists stabbed Ned and beheaded him but they did not stop there. They even burnt down his house. Tim experienced this all first hand and realized the bigger picture. The Loyalist say they fight for freedom but how much freedom do they mean? Tim did not want to be on a side that fought and killed people for only a small amount of those people to be free. This is why he chose to go

Tim’s father was captured by cowboys and take away from Tim. At the time Tim blamed the Patriots cause they were the ones who took him. Months later Tim and his mother get some news: “ In June of that year, 1777, we found out that Father was dead… he’d been sent to a prison ship...it wasn’t a Rebel prison ship,it was a British one”(164). Tim’s expectations for this situation were not met. Since cowboys had taken his father he thought the Patriots were to blame, but in reality it was the Loyalists. Tim inferred that since Life was loyal to the Loyalists for all of his life they would trust him and return the favor, that was not the case in this situation. The Loyalists were being dishonest to their followers and betrayed most of them including Life. Tim was shocked once he realized this; he felt betrayed by the side he was on at the time. Tim concluded that loyalty is not rewarded in any way, shape, or form. Life had not been given the give or take relationship Tim thought he would have gotten and this realization led Tim down the path of