The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

          In the short story, "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury, the main character is a fourteen year old boy named Joby who ran away from home to join the army. He comes to realize that he has a huge role in this battle.
          It's the night before the war, and Joby is lying next to his drum, contemplating the day to come. When talking about the soldiers, the author says, "raw youth their protection and benediction". When he writes this, I interpret it to mean that because they're so young and "raw" they are not really thinking about the possibilities and consequences. Joby is very young, and pretty innocent. When it comes to his view of the war however, he is very aware. While most of the soldiers are "blindly plunging" into the war, Joby knows exactly how it is most likely going to end, and it isn't pretty. "What the men whispered the boy could only guess and he guessed it was 'Me, I'm the one. I'm the one of all the rest who won't die. I'll live through it. I'll go home. The band will play, and I'll be there to hear it.' Yes, thought the boy, that's all very well for them, they can give as good as they get!" So in this sense, he's very wise.
          Joby soon comes to realize that he has a huge role in the war as the drummer boy. Before he approaches this realization, he is very nervous. He talks about how every soldier has a weapon and shield and he has nothing. "But without these last," here Joby refers about the numerous weapons the soldiers have, "the boy felt his family move yet father off in the dark." He's saying that he feels his chances of surviving getting smaller and smaller, which shows he's smart about it, unlike most of the army. He feels that being the drummer boy, he doesn't have a purpose. When the General talks to him for a while however, after he explains to Joby his purpose, and how he can make a difference, Joby is very mature about it. "If he, Joby, beat slow tomorrow, the heart would beat slow in the men... But if he beat a sure, steady, ever faster rhythm, then, then their knees would come up in a long line down over that hill." He accepts his responsibility.
          In conclusion, Joby, the fourteen year old drummer boy of Shiloh is innocent yet wise at the same time. He has hopes and fears as any other fourteen year old, but he's bery mature and realistic about his world.