Jonathan's Situation

(Author's note: This piece describes the point of view of the protagonist of the book "The Fighting Ground")

Jonathan can’t resist the call of the tavern bell, despite his parents’ warnings. He enlisted as a Minute Man the first chance he got. At this time, he had no idea how much this decision would impact him. He got himself way over his head. He was expected to kill or be killed. When he couldn’t take getting shot at anymore, he ran into the woods and got himself captured. He was so afraid and wished he was back in his loving parents’ arms.

The book is told from the view point of Jonathan. He tells it like a scared kid who wants to be brave. He wishes that he could do his country good, but always seems to chicken out at times he is needed. As the book goes on, he tries to kill his captors, but then questions if they care about him or not. He believes that they are his friends and ends up warning them about the Americans surrounding the house they were in. He believed that since he ran away from the rest of the Americans, they were his only friends left.

His captors, the three Hessians, didn’t feel the same way. The oldest one thought him more as a prize to bring to his commander. The only Hessian who even interacted with Jonathan was the youngest one. He tried to teach him a little German. The last one completely ignored him altogether. The Hessians weren’t afraid to be in war. If the book was in their point of view, it would be much less exciting. The story would be more focused on getting paid, not fighting for what is right. The Hessians were fighting for money.

Jonathon’s decision to fight was influenced by his pride in his country, not money. His outlook on the war is that he is afraid of it, but deep in his heart he knows it is necessary. In the war, he didn't kill anybody. He escaped with his life, and his innocence. He is one of the lucky ones. I'm sure that he will never enlist into the army ever again