Symbolism In The Drummer Boy Of Shiloh By Ray Bradbury

To begin with, the mass bloodshed that occurred during the major, long-drawn conflict of 1861 to 1865 was called the Civil War. The stakes were dangerously raised as a casualty count climbed toward roughly 1,264,000 deaths and other similar ailments. Although, a number of books and historical fiction are based on the Civil War; the short story that we are particularly focusing on is â€Å"The Drummer Boy of Shiloh.† In this piece of literature beautifully written by the author, Ray Bradbury, we experience Bradbury’s story based on a 14-year old, dejected drummer boy, Joby, who doubts that he has a crucial role in the army. Throughout the short story, a various amount of symbols stick out like a sore thumb and ultimately enhance the story’s†¦show more content†¦Moreover, the next example of symbolism is the muted thunder that occurs when the peach blossoms beat against the drum. This important event occurs once Joby has changed his pitiful views based on himself, so inferences can be made to say that the muted thunder represents a new dawn and tranquility. Cited from the story on line 199-200, â€Å"He lay next to it, his arm around it, feeling the tremor, the touch, the muted thunder as†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , we can draw inferences that Joby has turned over a new leaf in terms of his emotional and mental state. Likewise, another object that holds relevance in this particular novel is the peach blossoms that appear throughout the story as repeated symbolism or a motif. This means that the object or relevant detail is repeated in a pattern of meaning to convey an emotion, idea, or element. The peach blossoms not only appear at the beginning of the short story where they fall before the two-day battle that began on April 6, 1862, near the southwestern Tennessee church from which the bloody clash takes its name, but also near the end to signify the new feelings and emotions that Joby experiences. In other words, the peach blossoms, in this case, corresponds with the idea of serenity and peace of mind because as seen on line 1-2, â€Å"In the April night, more than once,