Drummer Boy of Shiloh

         In the short story the Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Bradbury the setting takes place the night before the battle of Shiloh. In this story the main character, Joby is the youngest out of everyone in war, and that is his main issue. In the story Joby is given the position of the drummer boy and with that position he thinks he can't do much because all he has is a drum and two sticks, but all these thoughts turn the other way after Joby meets the general. The general advises Joby a lot of things, and the generals advice makes me feel that he is trying to tell Joby that your position or your age doesn't matter in war what actually matters is  how hard you work to succeed in war. I think this because in the story the general advises Joby a lot of things, but Joby's age doesn't come up even once, the general advised Joby how to succeed in war, even though not knowing his age. This is why i think of your position or your age doesn't matter in war what actually matters is  how hard you work to succeed in war.
    One big change i realize in Joby is that Joby turned to boy to man through out the whole story. For instance in the beginning of the story Joby was thinking about how all the other soldiers will die and he is the only one that is going to come back, this shows that Joby doesn't yet realize how serious war actually is, and things going good can turn bad in one minute.He also thought that with a drum and two sticks he can't make a difference in war, but by the end of the story Joby realizes the seriousness about war and he can make a difference with a drum and two sticks. Joby also got that confidence, which he didn't have in the beginning of the story. for example in the beginning of the story his words was" I think so sir" and at the end his words was "Yes sir". Theses two quotes show that in the beginning Joby was unsure and at the end it shows he gained more confidence.
   i think Joby gained this confidence from the relationship between the general and himself, because after the pep talk with the general Joby realized all this that your position or your age doesn't matter in war, what actually matters is  how hard you work to succeed in war. Also that all positions are all equally important either if you are the drummer boy or the general. i think the author explains that in the quote " you're the heart of the army". To me it explains that without a drummer boy there is no army and that the drums are the heart of the army.
      All i think Joby needed was a boast of confidence and that is what he got, and that  realized that he IS needed and he IS important.