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Themes In My Brother Sam Is Dead

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The majority of people during the American Revolution fought for liberty without realizing the actual cost and brutal reality of war. In the novel My Brother Sam is Dead, the Meeker family consisting of a Father name Life, a Mother named Susannah, a rebellious teen named Sam, and a conflicted teen named Tim, journey through the life of colonists owning a tavern during the Revolutionary War. Sam departs from his family to fight alongside the Patriots going against his Father, a Tory. War brings a lot of terrible things, but some examples are families splitting, clash of generation, and an overall theme of principle vs reality. The soldiers who fought in the war thought they were fighting for liberty, when really they caused havoc and awfulness. War causes a lot of malevolent things to …show more content…

Another way to hurt friends and family. As Sam was talking to Father and the church pastor, Mr.Beach, Mr.Beach stopped Sam and Father, “All right, all right. Let’s not argue the point” (Collier and Collier 5). Sam is part of a new generation, he is trying to persuade his Father and Mr.Beach, the old generation, that he is right and that only he knows what is going on. These two generations are clashing against each other in order to prove their knowledge and points about the war. Not only is the younger generation fighting to prove a point to the elders, but Yale students ran away to fight in the war. As the authors described the reality of the story, they both explain, “Yale students did rush away to get weapons and join the war in 1775” (Collier and Collier 214). The majority of the older generation did not go run to join the fight, but most young teens did. Even though the students think that they were doing something brave or bold, they did not listen to their parents to tell them otherwise. Both of these examples of clashing generations proves that war brings brutalness to families, clashes generations, and

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In the book My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, Sam came home from Yale wearing an army uniform to a tavern in Reding. Father and Sam didn 't get along. Most of their arguments were usually about Sam enlisting with the Patriots in war and how dangerous it would be. Even though Father told Sam not to go to war, Sam didn 't listen and bad things ended up happening. It turned out to be that Sam just came back home to steal Fathers Brown Bess.

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Vowell’s writing style is superior to Dillard’s because she makes allusions to warfare and separaion, which accentuates the gravity of the emotional quarrel she faced in her youth within her own family. Vowell begins her essay by explaining her and her father’s contrasting political views. Her home is described as a “house divided… [her] home [could be seen] for the Civil war battleground it was… the kitchen and the living room were well within the DMZ… guarded by totalitarian states… each of [them] declared [themselves] dictator” (Vowell). The American Civil War earned the nickname a “battle between brothers,” because Americans were killing other Americans over the distribution of federal power. By alluding to the American Civil war, Vowell parallels the hostility arising over the dispute of political ideals by a growing country at war with the arguments she had with her father.

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Not only does the book highlight the positive reflection on the events of the American Revolution, but gives an overall unbiased insight of the happenings on through Martin eyes. Martin has been successful in portraying the truthful picture of the American Revolutionary War that includes the flawless character and moral perfection coupled with the problems and burdens that befell the army, and how they took it In the initial events of the book, Martin enters the war as a young boy who is anxious to protect his country and experiences noteworthy adventures along the way of his dream. He fights against the

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My Brother Sam Is Dead Chapter 1: Page 1-22 Sam is Tim Meeker 's older brother. Tim always looks up to his older brother. Sam then comes home in a uniform at the tavern during April. He starts out by saying "We 've beaten the British in Massachusetts," which sparks up a fight between him and his father which is a loyalist (someone who respects the government and the king). Sam has a discussion with the guests at their tavern and his family on how the Minutemen had surprise attack on the "Lobster backs" (the British) in Lexington.

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665 Words | 3 Pages

In the book “My brother Sam is dead”, Sam wants to go and fight with the Patriots but his father strongly disagrees with his son, Sam. This war is known as the Revolutionary War. Sam’s younger brother, Tim, doesn’t know which side to pick. He can either go with his father who is a Loyalist or he can side with his brother sam, who is fighting for the Patriots. Life is fearful for his son going into battle and doesn’t want his son to have the same experience as he did.

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484 Words | 2 Pages

“Principle, Sam? You may know principle, Sam, but I know war.” (Collier and Collier 21). In the book My Brother Sam is Dead , Sam and Mr. Meeker disagree about war. The author uses the character, Mr. Meeker, and the book to express his opinion.

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Like any other war, much of the damage and casualties resulted from civilian deaths when the raging armies swept through the colonies. The Loyalists- those who supported Great Britain and King George- and the Patriots- those who supported the principles of freedom and independence- alike were both hurt, killed, imprisoned, or otherwise dragged into the war, even when they did not join the army for either side. The Collier brothers use various instances of deaths throughout the storyline of My Brother Sam is Dead to show how the injustices and violences of war inherently manifest themselves. The irony of Jerry Sanford, Eliphalet Meeker, and Samuel Meeker’s deaths ultimately induce Tim to make the decision to remain neutral for the duration of the American Revolution.

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You may know principle, Sam, but I know war”, (Collier and Collier 21). This quote shows

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My Brother Sam Is Dead Class: Rykhus 3 “My Brother Sam Is Dead” is a historical fiction novel about the American Revolution, or, the Revolutionary War. Basically in this novel, the Meeker family is torn apart by this war. Sam Meeker comes home from college wearing a uniform to tell his father that he needs to borrow the families’ brown bess to be in the American Revolutionary Army. The family has a huge argument about Sam not asking before he enlisted in the army. The Meeker family owns a tavern in Redding.

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My Brother Sam is Dead Sam and his father were very different in terms of how they wanted their country to be ran. Sam was a Patriot and his father was a Loyalist. A Patriot (also known as rebels in the book) were the colonist fighting against Britain for freedom. A Patriot wanted to be free to run their own government how they wanted. They didn't want to be under the rule of a king or queen.

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910 Words | 4 Pages

Some people still wonder if war can be justified by its principles or cause. It can be argued that war can be justified due to the principles of freedom and justice that soldiers are willing to die for. However, many argue against this saying that war should be avoided at all costs due to collateral damage and the massive loss of innocent life. In the book My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, Tim faces the biggest dilemma of his life when he has to decide whether to side with his brother who believes in the principles of war or his father who believes war should be avoided at all costs. When the novel comes to a conclusion, Tim decides that he is neutral and does not agree to either argument due to the irony contained within the deaths of

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299 Words | 2 Pages

In the minds of lower class men during the American Revolution, there was a sense of pride and desire for personal betterment. The war itself meant nothing to these men because they had nothing to gain in fighting for the cause - the cause being freedom from Europe 's tyranny. Fighting for that cause would be fighting for the freedom to live under the tyranny of a new nation - the United States. Instead, these men fought to raise within the ranks and gain a new social standing of their own, as well as best their neighbors.

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916 Words | 4 Pages

War is one of the most controversial and fascinating aspects of human life, which includes sacrifice, argument, and worst of all human death. The argument of war is whether or not the sacrifice of human life is necessary or not. The authors of My Brother Sam Is Dead are totally against war; they are neutral and they give Tim the same idea as them in the novel. They even show the irony and cruelty of war in the book by the punishing and ironic deaths of Ned, Sam, and Life. This novel is based in Redding, Conneticut during the time of the Revolutionary War.

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856 Words | 4 Pages

The war destroyed a family “It can take years to mold a dream. It takes only a fraction of a second for it to be shattered”. (Mary E. Pearson). Any war has horrible impacts in the lives of people who are especially involved. It destroys not only a family life but also national and international economy beside the safety of a whole country.

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War brings out the worst in people. War brings a discomfort to life and a rough heart when it is cast upon those involved. When Saranell points out the Pate family

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