My Brother Sam Is Dead Character Analysis

For example, Mr. Meeker and Sam have an argument which leads to Mr.Meeker kicking Sam out. “Go Sam. Go. Get out of my sight. I can’t bear to look at you anymore in that vile costume. Get out. And don’t come back until you come dressed as my son, not a stranger.” (Collier and Collier 22). This quote is an example of the author’s message by showing readers that differing opinions over war or the side a family member takes can cause a disturbance in a family. War also tore the Meeker’s apart by having death occur within their family. War can obviously get someone killed and they cannot be brought back to life. Death can easily hurt a family and affect the remaining family members. For instance, after Mr.Meeker’s death, Susannah, Tim and Sam’s mother, becomes an alcoholic and Tim becomes more mature and responsible. This changed the Meeker’s way of how they act and the way they process information. It makes them take sides and blame others for actions they cannot control. “Bah patriotism. Your patriotism has got my husband in prison and one of my children out there in the rain and the muck shooting people and likely to be dead any minute, and my business is half ruined. Go sell your patriotism elsewhere, I’ve had enough of it.” (Collier and Collier 149) This quote is a perfect example of war ripping families

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.

Throughout the story My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, the character Sam, shows significant change. In the beginning of the book, Sam continuously argues with his father about going to war. Sam wants to fight for the Patriots and make the colonies independent from Britain. His father, Life, is a strong Tory, and does not approve of his son fighting for the Patriots. Sam is stubborn and runs away to fight. But once Sam learns of the hardship his family goes through while he is away, he becomes more sympathetic and helpful. Sam is a dynamic character, because he changes from being stubborn and disrespectful to his father, to understanding and forgiving about the choices he made, and who they affected.

The second comrade he has lost was Lt. Carroll, where he died to enemy fire. The death of Jenkins reveals the reality of war to Perry, where he sees the death of his fellow comrade and questions the moral reasoning of being in the war. The death of Lt. Carroll causes the loss of Perry’s innocence and causes him to lose a father figure, where in the war Lt. Carroll has cared for and watched over their squad. Consequently, the impact the war has on Perry affects him to the extent where he now fights for survival of himself and the squad. He also has to have the ability to see reality and experience maturity, but still be able to feel and give love. Perry is involved in a event where they had to burn American soldiers and their I.D. tags. He is then again involved in a event where he and Peewee kill opposing soldiers on the other side to save the lives of themselves and their squad, where at the end they were injured enough to go home and leave vietnam holding hands. The significant event of burning of American soldiers and identification cards symbolize their survival alone or with the squad, where the military views them as a “pawns” or a “diamond dozen”. Perry saving the squad with PeeWee

The first way the authors argue against war is that war tears families apart. In the book, Sam and Father do not get along. Father is against war while Sam goes to fight for the Patriots. “You may know principle, Sam, but I know war” (Collier Collier 21). The quote argues that both Sam and Father have different points of views on war. Sam tells his little brother that he is going to take the

War is when two or more nation groups have an armed conflict. In April 1775, an armed conflict began. The war was known as, the American Revolution. The American Revolution was a war of principles fought between the Loyalists and Patriots. The Loyalist were men who chose to be loyal to their king and who feared and did not want any chaos; Patriots were the opposite. Hankering, the Patriots believed in having principles for their freedom and nothing could stop them from achieving what they wanted. Although, the main groups in the war was between the Loyalists and Patriots there was numerous people who chose not to become a Loyalist nor to become a Patriot. For example, Tim in the novel, My Brother Sam Is Dead, struggles to make a decision to become a Patriot or a Loyalist .

War. It can either make a nation or break one. The people who have died in war to achieve their principles of freedom are the foundation of almost every great country. Legendary places, nations, and homes are the outgrowth of fruitful wars that have been fought by people wanting to end injustice. Even though war can end successfully with freedom and justice, it can also end with brutality and loss of life. In a lot of wars, fights have been fought and lives have been lost without the wanted outcome. In My Brother Sam is Dead, the Collier brothers have shown war’s injustice and brutality as well as the accomplishment of one’s principle. The passings of Jerry Sanford, Tim’s father(Life), and his brother, Sam Meeker, induced Tim’s decision of war to be neutral.

The ship was cold and food was scarce. It was no condition for a little ten year old boy. He was a prisoner of the war with little hope. Snatched out of his life he was helpless and was destined to die while others lived. He asked to himself, “Why me? Why not someone else?” His death actually happened in history, but also in the novel, My Brother Sam Is Dead. It is the year 1775, the Revolutionary War is just stirring among the people and around the life of the narrator, Tim Meeker. Tim is the youngest son in a family that runs a tavern in the town of Redding. The Meeker family goes through many sufferings at the cost of war. His older brother, Sam is a Yale student who goes to war to fight the British against his father’s wishes.

This makes fills Tim with the sense of unfairness seen throughout the war. Because Tim witnesses the cruel death of his brother Sam, he becomes an anti-war and resolves to not participate in it’s

To be engaged in war is to be engaged in an armed conflict. Death is an all too ordinary product of war. It is an unsolicited reward for many soldiers that are fighting for their country’s own fictitious freedom. For some of these men, the battlefield is a glimpse into hell, and for others, it is a means to heaven. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones while they’re fighting, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. The short stories "Soldier's Home” by Ernest Hemingway and "Speaking of Courage” by Tim O'Brien explore the thematic after effects of war and how it impacts a young person's life. Young people who

A little ten year old boy was taken as a prisoner of war. He was snatched out of his life and destined to die while others lived. His death actually happened in history, but also in the novel, My Brother Sam Is Dead. It is the year 1775, the Revolutionary War is just stirring among the people. The narrator is Tim Meeker, the youngest son in a family that runs their tavern in the town of Redding. The Meeker family goes through many sufferings at the cost of war. His older brother, Sam is a Yale student who goes to war to fight the British against his father’s wishes. Through the course of the book, many sufferings arise in Redding. Life gets tougher and the Meekers experience the hard reality of war. The authors are against war because they

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 the book it states on page 22,“‘You can’t order me anymore, Father I’m a man.’ ‘A man? Your a boy, Sam, a boy dressed up in a gaudy soldiers suit.’ Oh he sounded bitter. ‘Father--’ ‘Go, Sam get out of my sight. I can’t bear to look at you anymore in that vile costume. Get out. And don’t come back until you come dressed as my son, not as a stranger.’”(Collier and Collier) The war is tearing the Meeker family apart, Mr. Meeker had just kicked his son out of his house calling him a stranger. The war is making them disagree and thus making them split up. The war has forced people to choose sides. When they do, they disagree to what side is better. A quote that also justifies the claim that war is vicious is on page 71 when it states, “‘Father, why can't I carry messages for Mr. Heron? You're on the Tory side, too.’ ‘Because I said so.’ ‘That's no reason,’ I said. He stared at me. ‘If you don't stop arguing with me, I'll thrash you, Timmy.’ ‘I don't care,’ I said. ‘If we're supposed to be Loyalists, we should help--’ He slammed his fist down on the table and then jerked his thumb toward his chest. ‘I'll manage the politics in this family,’ he said. ‘Father--’ ‘Timothy, goddamn it I'm going to--’”(Collier and Collier) Tim and his father are arguing about Tim delivering a message. If the war could not have occurred and Tim had to deliver a message it would not be a big deal, but because of

This passage is very significant to the reality of the soldiers in the Vietnam War and brings to life the setting of the entire novel. The soldiers were primarily teenagers and young men in their early twenties who had not yet had the chance to experience life. They soon had found themselves in the midst of an intense war with nothing but uncertainty and fear. They hated it and they loved the fear and adrenaline that ran through their skin and bones. It

Tim had to get everything home safely and was forced to take over all of his father's duties. By this time many soldiers had come through Redding and killed many people, mostly friends. It was very hard for Tim and his mother to keep the tavern and chores up by themselves. Sam ended up being wintered in a town close to Redding and his mother begged him to come home but he insisted on staying in the military and fighting for freedom.