Owen Poles' FINAL!!!

Part 1
Why I Chose this Piece
I chose this piece because it was one of the pieces I felt truly able to improve.  I tightened up the argument and added more references. I really think that writing like this was where I improved most so that is what I am showcasing. 

Part 2
Is Historical Accuracy or a Good Story More Important in Historical Fiction?

The historical fiction My Brother Sam is Dead by James and Christopher Collier is set in the Revolutionary War and very historically accurate when compared to the nonfiction text, The American Journey by Appleby et. al. It is also an interesting read, keeping you hooked at each chapter and surprising you at the end. This proves that it doesn’t really matter whether it is more important to be historically accurate or a good story; My Brother Sam is Dead shows that a book can be both.
There are many occasions where the book My Brother Sam is Dead is accurate. On page 173 it says, “The whole country is starving.” This is when one of the characters, Sam, is explaining to his family why he is so thin, and saying the continental troops are hungry. This fact is mirrored on page 162 of the nonfiction text The American Journey. It says, ”They lacked decent food”, or that they were hungry and what food they had was poor quality, when talking about the continental troops. The similarity between the fiction and nonfiction books makes me believe that the book is accurate on this occasion.
The book has many other places where we can prove its accuracy. One place is on page 86 where Tim says, “The rebel troops had been beaten and the British had taken over the city. But the way Sam wrote about it he made it seem like a glorious victory for the rebels, He said his regiment had made a magnificent retreat and that the British were lucky to get out of there alive but it seemed the other way round to me.” The main character, Tim is right so if we look at this ‘the other way round’ we find that the meaning is pretty simple. The colonists were defeated and barely escaped alive. And then the textbook, The American Journey, confirms this. On page 156-157 It says “Outnumbered and outmaneuvered the continental army faced serious retreat at the hands of the British.” So the meaning of that is basically the same. They were outmaneuvered and defeated. The accuracy is a constant factor throughout the book, seen in many more places. The main characters in the book are the Meeker family who actually existed, along with their hometown of Redding, which was, as described in the book was really a pro British settlement. The accuracy of the book is really quite astonishing.

            So as you can see the book, My Brother Sam is Dead is very historically accurate, and I believe that it is a good story. The reviews I found also like it rating it in the 3.5-4 star range. It has also won the John Newbery medal and it taught in schools as an example of historical fiction. It is perfect example that a book can be both historically accurate and a good story. Now if I was forced to choose I would say that a good story is usually more important, that is why the reader is reading fiction. However, some books, such as textbooks, are centered on facts not the story and then facts are the most important part. On the other hand, sometimes if a book is historical fiction centered on the facts, then you can add some interesting but true facts to keep the reader hooked and the story interesting. But it usually better to have a good story. This book shows, however, that an author doesn’t have to choose because a book can be both.

Part 1

Why I Chose This Piece

Hi I am Owen Poles and I am a 13-year-old member of the Dewitt community. I have English with Mr. Scott and have improved a huge amount this year. I have done because of the help from Mr. Scott and help from my parents. I hope that you enjoyed my piece and plan to try to write books someday. Thanks for reading.