Analysis of Braving the Fire by John B. Severance

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Analysis of Braving the Fire by John B. Severance

I read the book Braving the Fire. It takes place in the year 1863. The book is about a 15 year old boy from Maryland named Jem Bridwell. He lives on a farm with his father, grandfather, and their slaves. Because Maryland was a “border state” during the civil war, it was not considered part of the Confederacy, although most of the people living in Maryland at the time were for the Confederates. Jem’s father, Tom Bridwell, on the other hand had joined the Union Army because he believed in freeing the slaves and keeping the Union. James Bridwell, Jem’s grandfather, was completely against Tom’s being in the Union Army and the Union itself.

After being seriously injured in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Tom Bridwell spent some weeks in a hospital, and then went home to recuperate. Jem liked having his father home, but it seemed that they couldn’t even sit down to dinner without the conversation turning to war. Jem’s grandfather could never understand why Jem’s dad didn’t share his beliefs. Tom suddenly has to leave for the war again. Jem is being torn between the two men he loves. He comes to believe what his father believes in and wants to go fight for Mr. Lincoln, but chores at the farm, his age, and his grandfather is what keeps him home.

A couple days after Jem’s father leaves for the war, their head field hand, Solomon, runs way. So Jem’s grandfather decides to go off for supplies incase soldiers come and take their food. So he departs, leaving Jem in charge of the farm. He supposedly will be back in two days. While his grandfather is gone, Confederates ransacked and burned the Bridwell’s barn house. After a week of watching over the rest of the farm, the house, and doing his chores, Jem’s grandfather still doesn’t come back.

Jem is starting to really hate farm chores. He is being swayed by his best friend, Hank Dawson, into joining the Union Army. He finally decides to runaway with Hank and enlists in the army because he’s so sick of farm chores (He left the farm in the hands of a house slave, Bertie), he wants to be a part of the glory in the war, and he misses both his grandfather and father. They are hardly ready for the true face of battle as they fight the enemy.

They become part of the regiment proudly known as General Barlow’s Boys. The war turned out to be nothing like they expected. All ...

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...as nice to know what the book was talking about when it mentioned places, people, and battles like Cold Harbor, the Battle of Manassas, the Wilderness, Sergeant Evans, General Grant, “Bobby Lee”, etc. I liked the way the author ended the book, the fact that both his friend, Hank, and his father died, made it more realistic. If I were in his shoes, I probably would’ve run away to the army also. It’s sad how their barn house was burned by the Confederates. He must’ve thought there to be a lot of glory in the war to have run away instead of do chores at the farm. I’m sure a lot of young men at that time wanted to be a part of the war just like Jem and Hank. I admire how Jem loved his father so much, and wanted to follow him to the war. He didn’t want to only go into the war for the glory like his friend Hank, but he believed that the slaves should be set free. His family had their share of slaves, but in the book they were treated well. The details of Jem’s daily life as a soldier are interwoven with vivid depictions of actual battles and historical figures in this taut, fast-paced story. And that’s what I like about this book. It brings alive the realities of war and its aftermath.

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