An Innocent Solider by Josef Holub
Blake Smith Book Report
An Innocent Soldier
Published in 1920
The book has won the Batchelder award which goes to a children's book who is greatly outstanding among others. This is the only award the book has.
"A strong bond with someone in life is essential to survival"
This quote to me shows meaning because instead of pushing others out, you need to develop a relationship and bond in order to make your life easier
"You saved my life twice. To do something like that means a lot to me. Only family would do that for each other, so you will be my brother from now on"
This is going back to the first quote, it shows how developing a bond with an unknown person could result in a benefit in your life, as it did in the book. In the story Adam would have never saved Konrad's life
“Looks like Napoleon has chewed off more than he can swallow. We’re supposed to be the Grand Army! So why the hell are we freezing and starving?”
This quote shows the importance of thinking things through, as what Napoleon did led to many death's in his "Grand Army"
The main conflict is within the main character Adam as he is taken out of his comfort zone
The most important point in the story is friendship, and staying strong against overwhelming odds
The resolution is when Adam and the lieutenant come out of the war successful
In the beginning, I find it interesting how Adam is traded off into the military to save the farmers own son from going into war. This is done because they do not care about Adam, he is the farm boy
Adam put into good hands
Halfway in the story, a young lieutenant took Adam in his hands, as a personal servant and changed his life. This really shows a connection between two characters, because Adam wants him to live so he doesn't have to go back to war
Importance of Survival
Throughout the story, Adam fights hunger. Every time food is presented, he tries at every attempt to eat.
In the story, Adam joins Napoleon's army and helps aid the war against Russia in 1811
War in Russia
The war lead to the destruction of his army through cold weather, and scarce food sources. In the book, Adam is struggling to live
The Fall of Napoleon
In the story, Adam came out successful and lived through it all. Napoleon's army went in with 42,000 soldiers and came out with 10,000. This ultimately defeated Napoleon, as he lost the majority of his "Grand Army"
To me, I feel like this is a very interesting book. It seems at the beginning that nobody will like Adam, but in the end, he has made a friend and survived. It is a very historical book when it comes to the history of Napoleon