"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" Blog Post

In the "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh", Ray Bradbury uses the setting and character to create a rich story. He describes everything, from the guns of the soldiers lying on the grass, to the peach blossoms that float down to the ground. I thought more about these things, and I found out they were metaphors for common sayings. The peach blossoms were a sign for change, and how change can be good or bad. The careless guns of the men are symbols of how they are as careless as where they place their guns. It says in the passgae,
"the guns were like eternal lightning in the grass". This shows they are unsure of themselves in war. Most of the soldiers described in the story were described as young men, and even boys. They were unsure of themselves, but hid it with the excitement of war. This connects to one of the main ideas in the story, which is the men are the bones of the army, but bones can be broken.
Another setting metaphor is the drum, which is important several times in the story. It symbolizes Joby's fear, his fear of war. Because Joby is scared of war, and Ray Bradbury suggests in the passage that he dislikes war, than this must be an important detail in the story. About the drum, they are several parts in the story where he remarks how little weaponry he has, and how that is unfair. The drum is the war, so he is afraid of the drum.
The peach blossoms are also a symbol, because several times during the story he mentions how the peach blossoms fell on the drum. He also says that nothing is as it once was, relating to the blossoms. This is similar to the past idea, which is that the soldiers were unsure. Joby is scared, and he doesn't think he is important in life. But when the general talks to him,. he soon realizes his self-importance.Blossoms in general, symbolize  overcoming change and blossoming because of it. Such as getting stronger and weaker.
I can connect to the Joby because I know what it feels like to be unsure of myself. Most people at 13 years old don't have a clear idea of who they are and who they want to be in life. There is also is a lot of stress on 13 year old's because this when you figure what high school you go to and that can be hard. Like Joby, at the end of it all, we realize that everything is going to be okay and when were worrying about high school we really didn't have to worry. Maybe we don't figure out a lot about self-importance in the way Joby did, but we do find a lot about ourselves.