The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

In the “Drummer Boy of Shiloh” By Ray Bradbury one of the themes is sometimes you don’t realize how important you really are. In the story Joby thought that he was just playing the drums so he didn’t feel important. He thought that you have to have a gun to be important. The general came up to Joby and told him how important he is. He told him that if you have a slow drumbeat the soldiers would be slow and sluggish. If you have a fast paced drumbeat the soldiers will be energetic and ready to fight. Joby was like the heart of the army.

If you don’t know how important you are then you will not be living to your full potential. Your job could be very important but you wouldn’t know. Sometimes it takes another person to help you realize that you are important, like in the story the general helped Joby. People may not think so but everyone’s job helps people in a different way no matter what you do.

In the Million Dollar Throw the conflict started resolving when Nate Brodie started to believe in himself. Before, when he didn’t believe in himself he started failing in all of his games. Nate didn't think he could do it so he couldn't. Nate knew he was a good football player but he had to prove it to himself first. When Nate started trusting himself he finally started to win all of his games. The theme of the story is that in order to achieve things in life you have to believe in yourself. It connects to the real world because in order to do your job or to do anything you need to believe in yourself. If you don’t then you wont accomplish anything and no one will believe in your abilities because you cant prove them to people.

Million dollar throw

The book Million Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica is about a kid who has a once in a lifetime chance of winning a million dollars. The only thing stopping him is himself. Before he found out about his chance he was an all star quarterback, one of the best in the state. As his season progresses his skills start to deteriorate. Everyone on his team and in his life knows that he is an amazing athlete but he is not believing in himself anymore. While this is going on his life long friend is loosing her vision, is dad is losing his job, and his mom has to work after hours just to keep their family on their feet. Later on in the season the main character realizes that he can do it. When he starts believing in himself he starts to win his games. When the day comes of the million dollar throw he drives to the stadium with his mom, his dad, his life long friend, and some of his teammates. Its halftime and he walks on to the field and is greeted by is all time favorite football player and athlete, Tom Brady. Tom Brady gives him some tips and they start to have a catch. When the time comes he goes to the spot where he has to throw the football from and pulls out his most prized possession, his Tom Brady signed football. He rears back and throws the ball, a perfect spiral through the twenty inch hole. He doesn't believe it. He just won a million dollars. The main character takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for his best friends eye surgery. With the leftover money is helped his family grow together because now they can be with each other for more than an hour or so. Million Dollar Throw is a good book that teaches to help others and to believe in yourself.