Obstacles are something that every living specimen struggles with on a day to day basis. They are the mountains of sand one is forced to overcome whilst walking through the endless Sahara desert of life. Saying that these monumental hills affect one as a person is an understatement, they are more of a drastic transformation leading to the person that is yet to be formed. It’s as though humans have an outline for where they’re going in life, and factors along the way act as an eraser, forcing them to take out their pencil and draw something new. Sam Watkins is one of the many examples of someone merely trying to make it through the desert with never-ending hills. The figurative eraser hits him at various times throughout his period in the the Civil War; from coming to the realization that his commanders were cowards, to witnessing the definition of a carnage war, to finally grasping the fact that soldiers are but another pawn …show more content…
His personal accounts gave the reader only a slight insight as to what it might have been like to be a participant in the carnage first hand. There are copious accounts from other soldiers, generals, and bystanders that have gone unheard. The war was a puzzle that got solved as the country figured out where the pieces went. Sam Watkins’ stories help put the lost pieces back in place. His exuberant stories were a roller coaster ride of emotions and actions. Although, the struggles that he had to face were small in the aspect of a broader view, they were mountainous to him as a person. The road of war for him, was a life lesson of figuring out who he was as a person and what his values actually were. Entering the war was an option in the beginning, but as it dragged on he realized that the option to leave was no longer available. He took out his pencil, looked the eraser of life in the face, and began drawing. Sam Watkins made art out of pure