My Brother Sam Is Dead Essay

The American Revolution was a war of principles fought between the Loyalists and the Patriots. The Loyalists believed that they should stay loyal to the king because they didn't want to go into war. They didn't want to lose their fortune or businesses because if the Patriots won they would lose it all. Moreover, the Patriots fought for the principle of freedom. They fought for their rights. They also fought to be free from the taxes that they didn't want to be charged for. In the novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, a family struggles with the decision of being Loyalists or Patriots. War is a negative because off the injustice of Life, Jerry, and Sam’s death, all of which convince Tim to become neutral.

First, Life’s death causes Tim’s neutrality. For instance, Tim discovers that his father is taken by the cowboys on their way home from Verplanck's point. “In June of that year, 1777,we found out that father was dead… it wasn’t a Rebel prison ship, it was a British one”(164). Tim thought his father was going to die by the cowboys because they had previously attacked him, but the British which is his side killed him. Tim was very upset about how war was so unfair and how innocent people die because of betrayal. Their loyalty isn't valued or rewarded. Tim stays neutral because he doesn't want to link

For instance, Mr. Heron betrays the Patriots to the Loyalists, and, as a result, Jerry is taken onto a prison ship. Betsy states, “‘They sunk his body in Long Island Sound in a weighted sack’”(166). Tim figured that they would release Jerry since he is a ten year old innocent boy who has no knowledge of the war. It was the exact opposite of what he thought. They kept a young boy to die then threw him in the ocean and made Jerry’s family suffer. Tim was very mad and sad that the Loyalists killed his best friend in a brutal way when he did nothing wrong. Tim stays neutral because the war is betraying people and being