Chapter 19

Abstract: Henry and the other soliders begin to charge. Henry begins to see everything really clearly at that moment. He can really see all the details and each corpse, and he can also see the other soliders getting shot. The men are kind of excited during the charge and are yelling. This excitement soon decreases though though, and they begin to hesitate because they feel like they may soon die to. Their lieutenant soon breaks them out of this thinking by yelling and cursing at them. Wilson then jumps up and starts shooting at the trees where the enemy is. This gets the others to start shooting too. They then run towards the trees and reach a clearing. They once again are hesitating and their lieutenant once again snaps them out of it. Henry then gets all of the power and drive he had to fight like he had previously, and he run towards into the field. Wilson, the other soliders, and the lieutenant then begin to follow Henry. When he is running, Henry realizes that he is running towards the colors. When he sees the flag, Henry remembers all of the love he has for the flag and the country behind it. He remembers what it stands for. The man carrying the flag is then shot and killed. He almost drops the flag, but Wilson and Henry get to it just in time and catch it. They wring it out of the dead soldier's hands. Henry and Wilson then carry it, and they continue marching.

Response:Henry really seems to be changing just like Wilson did. The author maybe was trying to show that Henry would change to be more like Wilson. Henry is no longer hesitant. He just charges right into battle. I also think he realizes what it really means to be a soldier. He is proud of his country and flag. He remembers what it stands for. He realized that it stood for beauty and strength. Henry is finally starting to become what he always wanted to be. He fights and is not really bothered by it. It seems like he does not even think about trying to show others that he is brave and courageous. He just goes and fights for what he stands for because of what he feels for his flag and country.