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The novel, "My Brother Sam is Dead" is written by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier. They describe the difficult life of fourteen year old Tim, through his eyes.The story takes place in Redding, Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. When Tim's older brother, Sam, goes to fight in the war, Tim struggles to decide which side he is on, a Tory like his father or a Patriot like his brother. After seeing the brutality of the British, Tim is still indecisive but just wants the war to end. We watch Tim mature into a young adult when his  father dies on a prison ship, and he must step up and help his mother with the tavern. Sam comes back to Redding with the troops, and is wrongfully accused of stealing cattle. In the end, Tim is shown the cruelty the war has brought by watching his beloved brother being executed.

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Tim Meeker-Tim is a fourteen year old boy who narrates the story. He looks up to his older brother, and is faced with a difficult decision throughout the story. Tim matures very quickly and takes much more responsibility.

Sam Meeker-At the age of sixteen, Sam becomes a Patriot soldier, against his father's word. His life ends tragically when he is convicted as a cattle thief.

Eliphalet (a.k.a "Life) Meeker-Life is the patriarch of the Meeker family. He is strongly against the war, and when Sam goes to be a soldier, he is greatly disappointed in Sam. This causes some arguments between him and his son. He dies on a British prison ship. He is also owner of the Meeker tavern.

Susannah Meeker- Wife to Eliphalet Meeker, and mother to Sam and Tim. She struggles when her husband dies, and is heartbroken when she hears that Sam will die too. She is a dedicated wife and works hard in the Meeker tavern.

Betsy Read - Betsy is Sam's girlfriend and daughter of Colonel Read. She supports Sam and the Patriots.

Colonel Read - Colonel Read is a loyal Patriot and father to Betsy Read.

Tom Warrups -  Tom Warrups is an Indian who lets Sam hide in his teepee for a while. He stays out of people's way and keeps to himself.

Jerry Stanford - He is one of Tim's friends. He was captured by the British and died on a prison ship despite his young age.

Mr. Beach - The preacher of a church in Redding. He prays for the king, and is not frightened when people disagree with him.

Mr. Heron - A wealthy man who is neither a Tory or Patriot, but helps both sides.

Benedict Arnold -  The captain of Sam's company.

General Putnam - The leader of the Patriots who are staying in Redding. He is very strict and unsympathetic, and wanted to make an example of someone. He is the person who sentenced Sam to execution.

Colonel Parsons is much more kind that General Putnam. He believes Sam is not guilty and should not be punished.

Mr. Platt - Lives in New Salem and is Tim's and Sam's uncle.

Ezekiel Platt - family hosted Tim and his father when they were traveling Verplancks Point. Ezekiel is Tim's and Sam's cousin. He has one other brother and four sisters.

Captain Betts - One of the few Patriots in Redding, since most of the population are Loyalists. He was captured by the British with a few others including Jerry Stanford, but unlike Jerry he was released by the British.

Captain Starr - A Patriot and was killed by the British when the Patriots ambushed the British. But there were a lot more British soldiers than Patriots.

Ned - A black slave owned by Samuel Smith. He was beheaded by the British. He died alongside Captain Starr and other men.

Dr. Hobart - The only doctor in Redding. He saved the man who was shot by the British in the leg.

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My Brother Sam is Dead won the John Newbery Medal in 1975.

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A popular musket used during the Revolutionary War. The musket caused many disagreements in the Meeker household. Most of the soldiers had muskets like this.
3rd Model Brown Bess Flintlock Musket.www.militaryheritage.com/musket1.htm .

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Simile- " He'll lead us through the Lobsterbacks like a hot knife through butter." (Page 16)

Imagery- "The sun dropped behind the hills in back of me, leaving a red smear on the sky." (Page 123)

Metaphor - " The file making the metal sing" (Page 45)

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1.  Throughout the book,Tim constantly trying decide whether he is a Tory, like his father. Or a Patriot, like his older brother whom he looks up to greatly. In chapter ten page 145, Tim has seen the destruction the British did. " I didn't feel much like being a Tory anymore." He was a Tory before, but seeing how brutal the British were, he reconsidered.
2. In chapter nine pages 120-121, Tim is trying to decide what to do after his father was captured by the British. He could go after the "cowboys" and go rescue his father. Or he could go back to the wagon and drive it home, and hope for the best for his father. He is trying to choose to do what his father would do, or what Sam would do. Finally he chooses to do what his father would do, go drive the wagon home.

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"My Brother Sam is Dead" is a very exiting book. It shows how life was back in the Revolutionary War, and that everyone experienced the hardships, not only the soldiers but children as well. The author describes the battles that some families went through, and how some families were divided among each other due to different opinions. One of the things that I disliked about the book is the title, because it tells us about one of the most important events without us even having to open the book. Another thing that I disliked was that the plot was very predictable. Overall I enjoyed reading this book because it illustrated the everyday lives of people during the war. Also the authors were very detailed and brought the story to life. The authors made it where you can visualize the scene they are writing to you about. For example they depict Sam's execution, you can feel the tension in the air, you hear the guns go off, and the gasp as people watch(page 208). I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about history or middle school or high school history classes. I would recommend this book to a older age group. The reading itself isn't to challenging but the book is quite graphic with some profanity.

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Map of Connecticut. historyofredding.net/connecticut-map.htm .

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“Untold Truths About the American Revolution.” Untold Truths About the American Revolution, www.howardzinn.org/untold-truths-about-the-american-revolution/ .

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1.  In chapter 1 page 6-8, father and Sam argue about the war. Sam  wants to fight for freedom, but father thinks that the war is foolish and wants to be loyal to the king. On page 7 father gets angry and he shouts, " Free? Free to do what, Sam? Free to mock your king? To shoot your neighbor? To make a mess of thousands of lives?" Father isn't only loyal to the king, but is against the war in general.
2. In chapter four, Tim went to Tom Wurrup's where Sam was hiding. Tim stole the Brown Bess from him. Sam cam chasing after Tim for the gun. Tim threatened to shoot Sam if he moved. on page 56 it says, " Then he lunged. I never knew whether I would have pulled the trigger because the next thing I was lying on the ground with Sam on top of me, and he'd got the gun." Tim was so frightened about his father being killed that he almost shot his brother.

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Square 1 (Page 207) - Sam is in a wagon with Edward Jones. Tim shouts, "Sam". Sam hears Tim and gave him a small, weak smile.
Square 2 (Page 208) - After Edward Jones is executed, Sam comes up with a sack over his head, and the minister says a prayer. A large crowd is there.
Square 3 (Page 208) - Three soldiers come up to Sam, and take out their muskets. Tim shouts, " Don't shoot him, don't shoot him!"
Square 4 (Page 208) - All three soldiers shoot, and Sam falls over. "They had shot him so close that his clothes were on fire."
Square 5 (Page 208) - Finally Tim looked away from his dead brother's body, heartbroken he walks away.

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This is what the Meeker tavern might have looked like.
Sons of Liberty, www.bostonteapartyship.com/sons-of-liberty .

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Click on it and scroll down all the way.