How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"They say that the whole colony of Massachusetts is ready to fight and if Massachusetts fights, Connecticut will fight, too."
Finally my father lost his temper and slammed his hand down on the table, making the plates jump. "I will not have treason spoken in my house, Sam."
"Father, that isn't treas—" (2.36-38)
Sam has come back from college with some new-fangled ideas. He wants the American colonies to be free, and he's ready to join the fight. Check out how he thinks tons of other people will be just as patriotic as him. But clearly Mr. Meeker disagrees; what Sam calls patriotism, his papa calls "treason." What do you think of this distinction?
Quote #2
I still hadn't made up my mind which side I was on in the war, and I didn't care whether Sam was a Patriot or a Tory or what. All I could think about was snuggling up to him and listening to him talk about scoring telling points. (3.21)
So the contest goes like this: patriotism vs. Sam. And who does Tim choose? Sam, of course. To Tim, this is a no brainer. Sam may be all caught up in being a Patriot, but Tim just wants his brother to be home again.
Quote #3
I wondered, if I went for a soldier, which army would I join? The British had the best uniforms and the shiny new guns, but there was something exciting about the Patriots—being underdogs and fighting off the mighty British army. (5.8)
Patriotism isn't an easy peasy decision for Tim. He's not sure which side he should support. But instead of focusing on big issues like taxation, Tim focuses on, well, something else. He's more interested in uniforms or excitement. Is Tim taking this decision seriously? Or is he too young to make this decision at all?
Quote #4
"I do, though." I didn't—I mean I didn't have any opinion either way—but I thought it would help if he believed that I was a strong Loyalist. (6.11-13)
Sometimes, Tim is willing to take either side, just so he can be part of the action. When he tells Mr. Heron that he's a Loyalist, he's not telling the whole truth. Here's the deal: Tim can't decide which side he's on. Keep an eye out for how his opinion about the war develops throughout the book.
Quote #5
"Sam's fighting for the rebels, did you know that?"
"We heard that," Ezekiel said. "Father got into a rage. He said that Sam was too smart a boy to be fooled by sedition." (8.20-21)
Sometimes when Tim talks about the Continentals, he calls them "Patriots," and sometimes he calls them "rebels." What's the difference between these two terms? And while we're on the subject, what Sam calls fighting for his country, Mr. Meeker and Mr. Platt call "treason" and "sedition." What do you think the difference is between sedition and patriotism?
Quote #6
"The way Sam explains it, it sounds right to be a Rebel. And when Father explains it, it sounds right to be a Loyalist. Although if you want to know the truth, I don't think Father really cares. He's just against wars."
We didn't say anything for a while. "If you go to be a soldier, which side would you fight on?"
"The loyalist, I guess." But in my head I wasn't sure about that. Suppose one day we were fighting and I suddenly saw that it was Sam I was aiming my gun at? (8.26-28)
Tim doesn't know which side he'd choose. As he says, you can argue it both ways. Plus, the whole thing just gets more complicated because of his family. The decision for Tim to be patriotic isn't just a political one—it's personal, too.
Quote #7
Colonel Read had been head of a whole regiment of militia, but he'd quit the job. He said it was because he was too old, but everybody knew that was just an excuse: he'd quit because he was against the war and didn't want to fight in it. He was a Patriot, but he didn't approve of the war. (10.6)
Colonel Read is a complex fellow. On the one hand, he's a "Patriot." This means that he supports the American Colonies and wants them to gain freedom from England. But on the other hand, he's against the war. This means that even though he wants American freedom, he doesn't think fighting is the right way to get there. What do you think about Colonel Read's position? Can he both be a Patriot and be against the war?
Quote #8
"How is it yer not afroid of us, you tykes?"
"We're mostly Tories here." Suddenly I realized that I was. Father's capture had done that. (10.41-42)
Alert the media: Tim has finally picked a side! Looks like Tim is going to show his patriotism for England instead of the American Colonies. This is a huge revelation for our guy, since he's been struggling with this question the whole book. But don't get too comfy—Tim doesn't quite stick to his guns.
Quote #9
I didn't feel much like being a Tory anymore. (10.64)
After he's seen the British army commit a lot of violent acts, Tim changes his mind. Again. What do you think of the change? Does Tim change his mind for good reason? Or is he being too indecisive?
Quote #10
Captain Betts looked grim and hard. […] "Tim, go over and ring the church bell. Get cracking."
I didn't want to get into it, but I had to obey. I started toward the door, but my mother grabbed my collar. "No, no," she said. "Not my boy. You don't involve any more Meekers in this terrible war. Send your own child out to play soldier if you want, Stephen Betts, but no more of mine."
Betts stared at Mother. "Where's your patriotism, woman?"
"Bah, patriotism. Your patriotism has got my husband in prison and one of my children out there in the rain and the muck shooting people and likely to be dead any minute and my business half ruined. Go sell your patriotism elsewhere, I've had enough of it." (11.21-24)
Mrs. Meeker doesn't care for this abstract idea of "patriotism." She looks at the facts: she's missing two family members, and her business is going under. Patriotism hasn't done any favors for Mrs. M, so she figures she doesn't owe it a thing.