My Brother Sam Is Dead

My Brother Sam is Dead As you go through the journey of life you begin to realize the many obstacles you have to over come but what charts your growth is home you over come them. This quote resembles the story of My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. Brothers Christopher and James have been writing historical fiction for young people since the early 1970s and have been known as masters of the genre. This book was named a Newbery Honor Book in 1975 and recently received a Phoenix Award. It has also taught an entertaining glimpse into a teenager 's life in colonial times. Using real dates, people, and historical events it has a almost reality based story to grow and progress as a character of the American Revolution. The main character in My Brother Sam is dead is Tim Meeker. He is the youngest of two boys in the Meeker family following in the shadow of his brother Sam’s foot steps. In the beginning of the book Tim starts out as a onlooker of his father and bother Sam’s fights about Sam joining the rebel army. With his father being a loyalist to the British Sam runs away to fulfill his dream as fighting for the American side. After Sam leaves Tim has to take on the duty of being the only son of the house and doing all the chores and responsibilities that come with it. But when Sam returns to take the brown Bess ,a bayonet gun which his father owns, Tim is forced to fight Sam knowing that father needs the gun to protect himself on his trips to Verplancks Point. Although Sam got the gun the first time, when Tim hears that Sam has come to visit his love Betsy Read he attempts to steal the gun while Sam is sleeping. But when startled by the movement of Sam he wakes up and chases him to retrieve the gun. At this

moment in the story Tim’s growth has shown as realizing that to protect his family he needs to go against his blood brother. After a long time of waiting and strife from war Winter finally arrives and

Cited: Collier, Christopher, and James L. Collier. My Brother Sam is Dead. New York: Macmillan Co., 1974. McElmeel, Sharron. "Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier." Book Report. Sept.-Oct. 1996. Teaching History with Fiction. 27 May 2007 <http://www.mcelmeel.com/writing/collier.html>.