Blog Post Q2 11/26/12

Private Peaceful is a beautifully written book. In this part in the book, Thomas is feeling pressured to join the army, even though he is underage. He thinks that if he doesn't join the army, his whole family will blame him for cowardice, which they won't. He and his brave older brother, Charlie, join the military. For the first month or so, they are in what they considered a "living hell". There staff sergeant, Sergeant Hanley.  Hanley is  a rude, cruel sergeant who always ruins everything for Thomas's platoon. If even one soldier does something that is even slightly incorrect, he makes all of them do even more extensive training such as running miles and miles in the hot sun. Eventually, Hanley begins to have a grudge against Charlie. Charlie almost always resists what Hanley says. After weeks of training with Hanley, the platoon is glad to hear that they will be shipped off to Belgium. They are happy to get away from evil Sergeant Hanley, but are also nervous. After all, war is not a light matter, it is scary and very depressing. They get on board a ship and have about a weeks journey. On the journey, everybody is throwing up and getting sea sick. The waves tumble the ship from side to side. They are finally glad to arrive safely in Belgium.