Author's Note: This piece was written as an assignment for my social studies class to compare the book My Brother Sam is Dead to the movie The Patriot. Both of these stories incorporated strong relationships between father and son: one loving, and one hating.
Right now, there are approximately 3,324,047,000 males in the world. Each one of them is the son of another male and each one of those is a son as well. This chain dates back all the way to the beginning of human existence. And out of this vast amount of different father- son pairs, every one of them has a different relationship. Some see each other often but do not seize the opportunity when they're together. Others seldom get the chance to spend time with one another and cherish the moments they have with each other. Some are very close, others haven't even met. And there's a reason for this; for all of this. Each family has their story and each story has its occurrences. But it's the ending that really counts- how they chose to fight their battles of differences, either with or against each other- that determine they way they function as a family.
In the movie The Patriot, Gabriel and his father, Benjamin, recognize their differences early on. Gabriel has high hopes set to join the continental army, while his father doesn't believe that it's a good idea. Gabriel immediately ran away from his father and his rules against going to fight against the British and later came back wounded. It is then, when his father bans him from returning to war, that another argument breaks out about how unjust it is for his father to make all of his decisions for him. And in the midst of that argument, Benjamin admits to his son that he is scared for his safety and doesn't want to lose him. The next morning the British attack their house, taking the life of Gabriel's brother and influencing his father to also join the army.
However, things take a spin in another direction in the book My Brother Sam is Dead. Sam and his father, too, have different opinions about Sam fighting in the war, although in this book, Mr. Meeker doesn't approve of the side in which his son wishes to defend. As a loyalist, he doesn't believe it to be wise for his to fight in the Continental Army against the British. And like Gabriel, Sam runs away to a hut where he chooses to hide out and enlists the army in contradiction to his fathers directions. After being gone, fighting, for several months, Sam returns to town and steals his fathers gun in the night. Mr. Meeker is unaware of the robbery until one night British soldiers invade his tavern demanding for his gun. Witnessing this, Sam's younger brother, Tim, aware of the theft his brother committed, does not say anything although sneaks over to Sam's hut and informs him about the nights events. Though aware of the trouble he has caused for his father, Sam refuses to return the gun.
As you can see, the two stories vary greatly when it comes to the relationships between the two father- son pairs. Gabriel and his father may have had their differences in the beginning, but eventually learn to work together, versus against each other, to concur a bigger battle- that being to win the war. On the other hand, Sam and his father don't even consider working together, therefore creating harder struggles on themselves. Also, as a patriot, Benjamin believed in freedom and wanted the Continental Army to win the war. His problem sprouted from the love of his son and his hope for nothing bad to ever happen to his precious son. But, being a loyalist, Mr. Meeker sided with the British government and refused to associate with someone unlike him. His hatred was so strong that it over powered his love towards his son and eventually he even disowned him as family.
3,324,047,000 males, 3,324,047,000 relationships, and not one of them the same. All different people, all different stories; loving, hating, befriending, disowning. Will you end up loving like Gabriel and Benjamin, or take the route of hatred as did by Sam and Mr. Meeker? No one quite knows for sure yet, everything keeps on changing. But, in reality, when it comes down to the end, the choice is up to you.
