Change In Soldier's Heart By Gary Paulsen

Words: 556
Pages: 3

“He heard it all, Charley did; heard the drums and songs and slogans and knew what everybody and his rooster was crowing,” (Soldier’s Heart). Everyone is enthusiastic for the Civil War. They think the war is going to be a fast, easy win, but they are wrong. The book Soldier’s Heart written by Gary Paulsen is about a young boy with the name Charley, who dreams of being in the Union Army, and he gets his wish. Only if someone could warn Charley of what is yet to come. Throughout the story, Charley develops a soldier’s heart. A soldier’s heart is a way to explain the mental damage done to soldiers at war. Charley changes from a young boy seeking adventure to a young man with a soldier’s heart.
At the beginning of the book, Charley, a very curious
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“Death was everywhere… Bullets flew past him with evil little snaps and snickers as they cut the air,” (Soldier’s Heart). It does not feel like a fun adventure now. Charley witnesses some extremely gruesome events that make his mind start to change. Death happens to be one of the few things Charley can think about. Blood and resting bodies cover the ground all around him, luckily the blood does not belong to him. The soldiers all around him drop like flies. Nothing seems like what he imagines war to be like. Charley starts to develop something known as shell-shock or soldier’s heart. Even though he remains unscathed, his mind starts to go crazy. Horrific events he sees and does starts to make his heart evolve into a soldier’s heart.
During the war, Charley witnesses one of the people he knew very slightly commit suicide, yet it still causes lots of mental damage. Even though, Charley came out of the war alive, he came out with a soldier’s heart. He did change physically. For instance, Only at the age of twenty-one, “He was tired and broken, walking with a cane and passing blood,” (Soldier’s Heart). But worst of all he transforms mentally. He even has thoughts about committing suicide himself. Everything about the war pulls him down, eating away at