My Brother Sam Is Dead “I know”. War is never fair. Who chooses which men get killed and which ones don’t?”. In My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, war is discussed. The eldest son joins the Continental Army and then gets arrested for stealing his cattle. Sadly, he is executed for this unjust crime. His younger brother lives to write his tale of the Revolutionary War. In My Brother Sam is Dead, both sides of the war are shown, and this ultimately argues that war is futile. One way the author argues against war is the way the clash of generations is shown. “Yale students did rush away to get weapons and join the war in 1775.”(Collier and Collier 214). Just like in the book this happened, these young adults …show more content…
Wars will divide generations based on opinions and values. Another reason is that war tears families apart. “By that I suppose you mean the soldiers of your king.”Said father”(Collier and Collier 4). This states that the father has strong roots and still believes in his “king”. “I can’t bear to look at you anymore in that vile costume, GET OUT.” Said the father (Collier and Collier 22). One side of the family is for the war, while the other isn’t, their different values have led to fighting and broken bonds. Wars have drawn lines between families and pushed family members against each other. The final way the author proved that war isn’t worth it is The ideals of war vs. The brutal reality of the. “He was staying in the army because he wanted to stay in the army, not because of duty or anything else. He liked the excitement of it.”(Collier and Collier 162). Some soldiers join for duty while most (in the book) are in it for the thrill of being heroic. “Prices keep on spiraling upward, merchandise grew shorter and shorter in supply, and everybody seemed to be in debt.”(Collier and Collier 169). War has only made life hard for the common folk and left the people