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Spencer's 'Soldier Boys': Chapter Summary

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Soldier Boys is a novel about two young boys, Spencer and Dieter, who have gone off to fight in World War II. Both boys decide to enlist to prove a point; Spencer joins to show his family that he is no longer a silly teenage boy with a crush and Dieter to prove how great of a German boy and soldier he is to the Fuhrer and Germans all over the world. They soon learn that the war is not about them, but instead the people they have chosen to protect and the beliefs they must stick by. The author, gives great insight to both sides of the same war and the emotions involved, because he writes about why people on either side join, how other soldiers and their actions influence what type of soldier a person becomes, and how the outcome of a single …show more content…

He wants to prove himself worthy of becoming a soldier in the German army instead of a little boy in Hitler Youth. He sees another boy jump in and is determined to do the same, he succeeds. The reader learns his father is still bitter about his own time in the war and Dieter often refuses to give a second thought to his opinions. At this time he is blind of any consequences war may have on him, and is determined to join whether or not he be killed in the process stating, “If he ever got the chance to go to war, he would return with medals, not with whining complaints. Or perhaps he would not return, but in Krumbach every one would know of his bravery. On the other side of the world in a different year, Spencer Morgan has just turned fifteen. Everywhere he goes he hears about the Japs bombing Pearl Harbor and it’s no different when he gets home. Realizing how serious this is, his brother announces his decision to join. This gets him thinking, and all through the school day the war is the only thing on his mind, that is until LuAnn starts talking to him. He tells her that one day he will join and she laughs him off, making more determined than ever. His father soon allows Robert to join and he tries to make his father allow him to go off too. His father reluctantly agrees and he decided to join the

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Dieter Hendrick’s devotion gets him noticed and promoted from Hitler’s Youth into the German army. He is determined to show his braveness and become one of the best! Spencer on the other hand gets infuriated whenever Pearl Harbor happens and will do anything to help. He informs his family that he wants to become a Paratrooper but his family wanted him to become a missionary.

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