Choices

(Author's note: This is a text structure piece about the cause and effect of the Book "The Fighting Ground")

Jonathan was a boy who just wanted to prove himself. He didn't have to though, he could have just stayed at home while the adults went to fight. By responding to the call of arms, Jonathon plunged himself into a predicament, he was captured by the enemy. He eventually escaped, and was forced by his corporal to lead a troop of men to the place where they held him. The climax to the story is when Jonathan walked into the house where the Hessians were and warned them about the Americans outside. Instead of surrendering, they accepted sure defeat and were killed. This is the climax, because this is the peak of the book and the resolution follows.

Jonathon could have done many things differently. He fled into the woods when the other Americans stayed and fought. The Hessians captured him because he gave himself away. He should have stayed in his hiding spot and caught up with the other Americans later. After he was captured, he had the opportunity to kill his captors  in their sleep, but decided against it. He just wanted to go home, and the only way to do that at this point was to run away. It was an extreme stroke of luck that he found the American soldiers. They thought that he was dead, and gave up looking for him. Everyone was happy to see him, but instead of going home immediately, he was given an assignment by his corporal to lead them to the Hessians.

Jonathon's actions in the book did not go unpunished. It was a terrible mistake by him for answering the call of duty, but running away was his worst fault. He committed to the Americans Army and shouldn't  have back down from his promise. If he wouldn't have ran away, he never would have been captured. He could have just stayed with the Americans and been home before he knew it. Instead, he wimped out and eventually had to lead a mission to kill three people. If he would have just stayed at home, he wouldn't have had three deaths on his conscience.