My Brother Sam Is Dead Analysis

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Futility of War

4,435 Americans were killed in the Revolutionary War. All of the dead Americans were killed due to the pointless war. The killing and slaughtering by the hundreds of the innocent people would be terrible to watch. However,war comes with injustice; some die, some do not. It all comes down to mere luck. The most difficult thing is watching families torn apart due to the war. Arguments, fighting, and running away all caused by this unnecessary feud between countries. In My Brother Sam is Dead, the authors, Collier and Collier, state the futility of war. The events that take place in war are gruesome and full of brutality. Tim, a young boy, witnessed the killing of a slave Ned while vomiting all over himself. “Ned’s head jumped off his body and popped into the air(Collier and Collier 145).” Ned was beheaded in the British raid in Tim’s hometown. In another instance, Mr, Meeker, Tim’s father, tells his son ,Sam, about the brutality of war.. “Have you ever seen a …show more content…

In My Brother Sam is Dead, the Meeker family is being torn apart. Sam, the son of his loyalist father, Mr. Meeker, decides to join the war to fight for the Patriots. Mr. Meeker and Sam are arguing over him enlisting. Mr. Meeker yells, “Go, Sam. Go. Get out of my sight. I can’t bear to look at you anymore in that vile costume.” This causes Sam to run away. Later that evening, Tim sees his father crying on the table in the taproom. “I’d never seen him cry before in my whole life; and I knew bad times were coming.” Tim knows that Sam joining the war has caused Mr. Meeker to break down in tears, and it foretells bad things to come. After Sam joins the army, he tells Tim he is going to steal Father’s gun. Tim does not agree,” I knew that was wrong and I shook my head. It doesn’t belong to the family; it belongs to father. Tim is torn whether on whether to tell his Father, or keep a secret for Sam. Families are being torn apart due to the

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