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.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo #2

          Right now I am reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. In this book, there are two main characters, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth Salander has been determined "socially inept" among other things, and has been thought of as strange on a number of occasions. Most of these assumptions have been created because of the way she looked/dressed. 
          Lisbeth Salander's appearance generally consists of all black clothing (t-shirt, jacket, pants, boots), multiple facial piercings, numerous tattoos, and an extremely skinny physique. This has often led to people judging her and making conclusions purely based on her appearance, which are often wrong. Once she was walking to work when suddenly a visor-clad riot police officer appeared in front of her. Without any provocation or instigation he hit her on the shoulders with his baton. Later she found out that "Reclaim the Streets" was holding a demonstration down the road. She of course, had nothing to do with it. 
          Towards the middle of the book, Lisbeth Salander is raped by her "guardian". Salander, being well of age supposedly needs a guardian because she has been declared "legally incompetent". Of course, she doesn't really need a guardian, but at this moment (and probably for awhile) she's stuck having her finances controlled by whoever the government has assigned her at the time. When Salander was raped by her guardian Nils Bjurman, she immediately rules out going to the police for help. It would be his word against hers after all. As Salander said, "In her world, this was the natural order of things. As a girl she was legal prey, especially if she was dressed in a worn black leather jacket and had pierced eyebrows, tattoos, and zero social status. There was no point whimpering about it." 
          I think this is very disturbing. Just because she wears black and has piercings, and the fact that she was mis-labeled socially inept etc., means that she can't rely on the police in a case of rape. It really makes me think about how society has created this ideal image of "normal", or not necessarily an image, just how people are supposed to act. I don't doubt that if she had gone to court, she probably would've lost, and that's really scary. Just because someone looks or acts differently then how we think they should doesn't mean we should neglect them or become prejudice, and yet we do.
          In conclusion, Salander's appearance has caused her some serious issues. She was assaulted by a police officer, and she can't even report rape because she knows that it would harm her rather than help her. She is well aware of this, and has adapted to her situation. It really shows what lengths people will take or not take, based on someone's appearance.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

          I am currently reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. This book is told in third person, and so far, I think it's safe to say that there are two main characters. The first main character is radical financial reporter Mikael Blomkvist, who has recently got caught in some trouble including a billionaire corporate leader, some possibly faulty information, and a court sentence of libel. Lisbeth Salander is a thorough investigator at Milton Security. Salander's appearance is a bit... off-putting, but even though her appearance may lead people to think of her as disturbed, or socially inept, her reports are (often disturbingly) comprehensive, and assiduous. I think these two characters are very similar.
          Lisbeth Salander simply does not care what other people think about her. She dresses how she pleases, does as she feels like, and if someone has an opinion, for their sake, they should keep it to themselves. Her wardrobe consists of all black, including many piercings, and her skinny physique leads to her often being mistaken as a child. She tends to keep to herself, and obey and dis-obey orders as she pleases. 
          Mikael Blomkvist is a liberal financial journalist who takes his job as a financial reporter very seriously. He believes in writing about the corrupt financial world as it is, and this generally makes him less popular with the less dedicated financial reporters, and causes politicians and financiers to keep a wary eye.
          I feel like the author chose these two characters for a reason. This book has many important characters and it is often hard to keep track of who is who. Whenever the story goes back to Salander or Blomkvist however, I always anticipate a forthright, biting, honest view of the world from both of them. These characters have a lot in common when it comes to their fundamental beliefs and their core personalities. Throughout her whole life, Lisbeth Salander hasn't ever cared what people thought of her. If she didn't feel like it, she wouldn't even share her thoughts or opinions. When she was in court as a youth, where they were debating what was "wrong" with her, she had the potential to change their minds or share her take on the situation, and yet, she said nothing. Salander however, is none-the-less extremely intelligent. Mikael Blomkvist believes in taking risks in his writing, if he believes that certain knowledge should be made public. Over his many years of financial journalism, he's created an unspoken goal to take down fraudulent business men/women as frequent as possible. Both characters have a significant bravery when it comes to how other people think of them, in the sense that generally, it's not of that much importance. Both characters take their work seriously, digging up awesome information about the people they are working on at the time. Salander and Blomkvist both have a stubbornness about them that can sometimes push them forward, or hold them back.
          In conclusion, I think that the two main characters, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are similar in many ways. I think that the author chose to write about two very driven people and I can't wait to see how they connect.