Essay On My Brother Sam Is Dead

Tim Meeker concludes the epilogue with,” But somehow, even fifty years later, I keep thinking that there might have been another way, besides war, to achieve the same end” (Collier and Collier 211). Fifty years after the war, Meeker reflects on his life during the Revolutionary War with Britain and the American colonies. He has been torn between the sides of war, fought with family, experienced deaths of loved ones, and other conflicts the war has brought him. Authors James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier express Meeker’s troubles and thoughts along with lessons that the war has taught him. Tim learned from the way war affected him that war is futile.

The book My Brother Sam is Dead is written by the Collier brothers. It takes place during the American Revolutionary War. Tim Meeker is the protagonist and narrator of the story. Tim has an older brother named Sam Meeker, a father named Eliphalet(or Life)Meeker, and a mother named Susannah Meeker. When Sam comes back home from college to Redding, Connecticut. Sam says that he is a Patriot, and Father gets very mad. Father gets mad at Sam because Father is a Loyalist, and feels betrayed that Sam is a Patriot. Father was so angry, he kicked Sam out of the house. He did this by saying, “Go, Sam. Go. Get out of my sight. I can’t bare to look at you in that vile costume. Get out. And don’t come back until you come dressed as my son, not a stranger.”(pg.22) When Father says, “...don’t come back until you come dressed as my son, not a stranger.” I think it means that Father feels like Sam would never disagree with him about something like this, and so he feels betrayed. This is an example of how war is impacting Tim’s family. Tim’s family is now split into Patriots and Loyalists.

One way the authors argue against war is how they show examples of family division. A major conflict in the Meeker family was Mr. Meeker being loyal to the British King and Sam fighting as a patriot soldier in the war. This resulted in Tim being caught in the middle, questioning which side of the war he should support. Either choice, he decided, would be a disappointment to at least one of his family members. “...between worrying about that and being confused over which side was right I couldn’t concentrate on church much” (Collier and Collier 29). The tension between Mr.

Chapter 3 in My Brother Sam is Dead illustrates how war doesn’t necessarily affects everyone, even if you can get news of a battle before nightfall and it happened at noon. In the beginning, Tim talks of how the war is not really affecting the people of Redding. Betsy Read comes by the tavern. Betsy and Tim talk in secret behind the tavern. Betsy makes Tim swear to not tell anyone if Sam were to come back to Redding. As predicted, Sam is coming back to Redding. Betsy doesn’t know when Sam is coming back. Tim doesn’t receive word of Sam’s return for about two months. Betsy gives Tim a signal that Sam is back in October.

Flash-forward a year later (page 179) Tim and his mother get word that their father has died on a prison ship due to Cholera. This makes Tim become truly the man of the house. Taking care of his mother, The house and their tavern business. The beginning of the end starts when Tim does not know what to do with their 8 cows (183) . He wants to sell them for cash. Sam returns to Redding with his troops and advises Tim to kill the cows and hide the meat so as to prevent them to be stolen but Tim is hesitant. Eventually, two men try to steal the cows from the barn, and when Sam runs out to stop them, the men grab him and frame him as the cattle thief. Since cow stealing has been a problem in the army, Sams general is determined to make an example out of somebody. Both Tim and his mother beg for impunity to the rebel officers, pleading Sam's innocence. but the general will not change his mind. Tim tries to break into the encampment and save his brother (page 216), but nothing comes of it. On February 16, 1779, Tim looks on as Sam is publicly shot. (page 218) The story fast forwards several years as it reveals Tim now lives a happy life, But he will always miss his older brother. (page 218)

The American Revolution was one bloody battle, but it made is what we are today. In 1763, The French and Indian War (also referred to as the Seven Years War) concluded; the Proclamation of 1763 was signed, thus The Proclamation Line along the Appalachian Mountains was formed which angered many colonist. The war debt built up, and eventually money was scarce. As their solution, they taxed the American Colonist and formed acts to pay war debts. The colonist thought that this was unnecessary and the colonist eventually rioted and boycotted these taxes.

The patriots had everything to lose. The British on the other hand would lose trade and land rights. The patriots if they lost would be tried for treason and hanged. The British troops in america showed lack of determination. David McCullough shows the british lack of determination by writing, “ What, in God’s name, are ye all about in England? Have you forgot us?’ asked a british officer in a letter from a Boston published in London’s Morning Chronicle. He wished that all the ‘violent people’ who favored more vigorous measures in America could be sent over to see for themselves. Their vigor would be quickly cooled.’God send us peace and a good fireside in Old England. (McCullough, David G. 1776).” The British soldier shows his feelings of anger and homesickness. Homesickness and Anger in the British troops caused them not to fight with 100%. The determination of the Patriots and British troops in the end played an important

“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” - Benjamin Franklin. This famous quote is said during the American Revolution, an event that created a new country, the United States of America, now one of the most powerful countries in the world. The American colonists, under the unfair and strict laws of the British government, fought and rebelled for their rights and liberty. But were the colonists justified in waging war with Britain? The answer is yes, the colonists were justified due to the unconstitutional acts made, the lack of representation in political affairs, and the cruel and unrightful punishments given by Great Britain.

Tim still chooses neutrality because his brother gets executed for something that he didn’t do and he is killed by his own sied the Patriots. Tim chooses neutrality because on both sides both his brother and dad get killed by the side they were on. In reality both Patriots and Loyalists are not loyal. Jerry’s death persuades Tim to join the neutral side because Mr.Heron is the one who kills Jerry who is still a child about Tim’s age. “Is Jerry Stanford all right, sir?...

In addition, Tim is torn between both sides. He asks why Sam has to be not nice to Father and tells him that he had it nice; he had money for books and studies that Father sent him. He asks, “Listen, Sam, why do you always have to get into a fight with Father?” (Collier and Collier, 15). According to later chapters Tim looks up to both his father and brother. The split between father and brother causes his dilemma. After being torn between sides and fighting about the sides, it is evident that war tears families apart.

One way the authors argue against war is it tears families apart. “No, you’re going to get yourself killed. Well you might as well. Let’s have it all done with at once. How does the old line go? Men must fight and women must weep, but you’ll get no more tears from me. I’ve done my weeping for this war.” Mrs.Meeker is basically saying she’s over the war, and does not want anything to do with it. Tim and Mrs.Meeker are having an argument, which is showing how their family is broken. “They can murder who they like, church who they like, but I’m not going. For me the war is over.” This line from the book says it all. That quote is the thing that shows a broken family. Not going to see your son one last time before

In conclusion, the Colonists were very justified in waging war as they were being over taxed, being ruled from across the sea, and weren’t being taken seriously. The main reason was that the King was no longer for his people and was for the money instead. They were rightly justified because a leader of a country should always be for his people. These reasons helped the Colonists because it gave them a reason to keep going when things got tough. They could see the future of this country and they continued to fight until they could live their vision and

A small family of four, living in the Tory town of Redding. Life was great Mr. and Mrs. Meeker owned a small tavern that supplies their town with food, rum, and supplies. Their son Timmy helped around the tavern and did chores, because his older brother Sam was off at college. Everyone in Redding was close and knew the Meeker family, they all admired how they had raised Sam and Timmy. Every year after college was over, Sam would come home and visit, except one.

“Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death!” famously argues for the colonies to renounce reconciliation with Britain in favor of war. Henry claims that the British intend to use force in order to impose their power, and therefore, the colonists must prepare to fight. His claims and argument prove valid and are supported with relevant and sufficient evidence. For example, Henry sites “war-like preparations which cover our waters and darken our land.” Again, he asks if the “fleets and armies” from Britain are needed for “a work of love and reconciliation.” This demonstrates effective reasoning by calling attention to the noticeable and evident military presence along side the ridiculousness of thinking peace is possible. In this light, the

“For war, as a grave act of killing, needs to be justified.” These words were written by Murray N. Rothbard, dean of the Austrian School and founder of modern libertarianism, who spent much of his academic career trying to determine what, exactly, defined a “just war”. In fact, for as long as humans have been fighting wars, there have been quotations referring to the justification and moralities of wars and how warfare can be considered fair and acceptable to each society’s individual standards. While the time and place of each war differs, the reality of the devastation of battle may be found warranted by those fighting using these just war standards to vindicate their actions.