Character Analysis: My Brother Sam Is Dead

War doesn’t have a good side, whether it’s the side you're fighting on or the side you’re against, they both consist of massacres. Although there are a lot of unfortunate events that happen during war, the overall result - freedom throughout the country - is what makes war worth the fight. All the lives lost in war, have not died in vain. But, what really happens when people are in a first-hand experience with war? In the story My Brother Sam is Dead, Tim is caught in the middle of being a patriot or a loyalist. Because Life, a loyalist who died by the British; Sam, who was executed by his fellow companions and Jerry, a ten year old, who died for no reason; these horrendous events scrounge around Tim’s mind, he making him convinced that he will take a neutral stance.

Life has dedicated his life to being loyal to the British, but does that give him an advantage? Mother stated, “...he’d been sent to a prison ship in New York. There was one funny thing about it, though- it wasn’t a Rebel prison ship, it was a British one,” (164). Life was sent to a prison ship by the side of war he was rooting for, the British. Although Mr. Meeker supported the British, but they didn’t care who he was and let him rot on the ship; loyalty was not rewarded. The author included this in the story because the readers wouldn’t think Life would die by the British, twisting our expectations of his death. The author tells us, through the story, that it doesn’t matter what side you are, death will always trail behind. The way Life talks about how the British troops being the “good side” makes Tim want to a loyalist, but after the father dies by the British, this sways Tim’s