In
the story, The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, the author writes about a boy,
Joby, who is a drummer boy in the war. The author explains through the story how
Joby, a fourteen year old boy who has to witness a war first hand, has a lack
of self confidence. In the story his general talks to him about his importance
to the war.
I
think the fact that the general came along to talk to Joby is very important to
the story. I believe it is important because no boy Joby’s age should have to
experience being in a war, and if they did it is no good to have an “I’m not
important” mind set. I know that if I had to go to war at my age I would be
scared out of my mind, but making an effort to stay confident is the right
thing to do. If Joby continued to behave with no self confidence he could’ve
been hurt in a dangerous situation.
To
me it’s kind of like the way you walk down the street, if you have your head
held up highly in confidence you are most likely not to get bothered, but if
your head is held down low like you have no confidence or direction, someone
could easily sense your weakness and bother you thinking you won’t defend
yourself. This situation connects to The Drummer Boy of Shiloh because
in the story the author writes “Me,
thought the boy, I got only a drum, two sticks to beat it, and no shield.” This
shows that Joby lacks self confidence because he thinks he cannot defend
himself, “his head is held down low”. Joby probably would have gotten himself
into some kind of sticky situation if the general had not come around and
knocked some sense into him.
In
conclusion, self confidence is a good thing to have whether you are walking
down the street or in the middle of an active battlefield. Joby might have only
had a more confident attitude because of the general, but no matter where or
how he got his boost of confidence, he really needed it, and no one should go
through life with out it.
