The Drummer Boy Of Shiloh Sparknotes

Wei, Jayden

English 8/8H

7 February 2023

“The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” Literary Analysis “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” was a historical fiction written by Ray Bradbury that is inspired by the two-day world-renowned battle that occurred on April 6, 1862, the Battle of Shiloh. This battle was no ordinary battle as it became one of the first engagements of the Civil War. However, this historical fiction is not exactly yet very similar to what happened, yet depicts the feelings and emotions sought out the night before the Battle of Shiloh really happens. In this story, a young boy named Joby runs away from home to enlist in the army, later becoming a drummer boy. However, Joby starts to think about the next day and when the war occurs, slowly realizing

In the Battle of Shiloh, a large percentage of the people in the military were just teenagers and children, who later became drummer boys, after running away from their homes to enlist. For example, in lines 89-93, the General states “ ‘Damn-fool question,’ said the General. ‘Do you shave yet, boy? Even more of a damn-fool. There’s your cheek, fell right off the tree overhead. And the others here not much older. Raw, raw, damn raw, the lot of you. You ready for tomorrow or the next day, Joby?’ ” Therefore, Joby is seen as a teenager that hasn’t even started shaving, meaning that he is very young for the army. In addition, peach blossoms symbolized the innocence of life before the war and the ability to calm the war down and wave away evil. Also, evidence that shows this symbol shows innocence before the war would be on the night before the war when Joby had a weary face, but after the first day, “the peach blossoms fell on the drum,”(Lines 202-203) indicating that Joby became stern and emotionless, being more prepared for the next

First off, the General on lines 141-142 tells Joby that ‘[he] you are the heart of the army. Think of that. You’re the heart of the army. Listen, now.’ Thus, the General makes it easy to infer that the role of the drummer boy is very dependent on, as well as important, because a “heart” is a vital organ for us humans, and we depend on it to live. Also, the General wants us to think that the drummer boys made sounds that also sounded like a heartbeat. In fact, warfare during the Battle of Shiloh was very loud as well, and orders given were almost impossible to hear, so the drum beats were assigned different orders to clear confusion and tell the soldiers what they should do. The quote “If he, Joby, beat slow tomorrow, the heart would beat slow in the men. They would lag by the wayside. They would drowse in the fields on their muskets. They would sleep forever, after that, in those same fields, their hearts slowed by a drummer boy and stopped by enemy lead,”(Lines 146-150) shows that the drummer boys also kept the whole army in sync and upbeat, as well as motivating them to do their job and win the