Everyone has an Opinion

Author’s Note: This is a Text Structure and point of view piece written from the book My Brother Sam is Dead about how different the story would have been if it was told from the perspective of Father/Life/Eliphalet Meeker.

                What would you do if your oldest son went off to fight in the Revolutionary War at only 16 years old? Well, Life Meeker is under these circumstances and he isn’t handling them very well. His son Sam stole his Brown Bess musket, went off to fight in the war, and Father was left without his gun, and the worries of his oldest son’s death. If I was Life, I would encourage Sam to be whatever he wants to be and to do what he thinks is right.

                Everyone can interpret certain stories different than one another. The way I took the book, My Brother Sam is Dead, is that Life Meeker has two sons, a wife and a tavern. His oldest son, Sam, decided to go off and fight in the war without his father’s okay. He joined the American Revolution (or Minutemen) and drove the British lobster backs right out of Boston when they came looking for John Adams and John Hancock. The story is told from the perspective of the youngest son, Tim Meeker who is only younger than 16 years of age, comes out as a mature and responsible boy who is slightly shy. When he is living normally, some challenges come at him and he is stuck with some choices and feelings.

                If this book was told from the perspective of Eliphalet Meeker, then many of the events would have been told quite differently. For example, when Sam stole the musket, in Life’s mind, he would be absolutely furious, Tim was astonished, and Sam felt pride. A great line from the story that helps tell what kind of person is “That’s that way Father was—do right first, then be friendly”. Another example is when Father was talking to the cowboys who had stopped him and Tim on their journey to buy and sell things for the tavern and barn. We would know exactly what they wanted, why they wanted it, and where it was going to go if he let them have it. They all have different thought about things, but to me, the most interesting character is Father. He is a bold man who hates to be bossed around by other people, talked back to, and yelled at.

                As stated earlier, everyone interprets things differently and they all have different thoughts about books, stories, etc. Mr. Meeker has many different traits that help you understand him better throughout the book. He can be mean, he can be scared or caring; his emotions are always different throughout the events in My Brother Sam is Dead.