SOLDIER’S HEART



SOLDIER’S HEART by Gary Paulsen

BEFORE YOU READ

Beliefs about War

Read each statement and mark whether you AGREE or DISAGREE with it.

Agree Disagree

|War solves more problems than it creates. | |X |

|War always has a winner and a loser. | |X |

|War is sometimes necessary. |X | |

|Big wars are bad but smaller wars are okay. | |X |

|In a war there are “good guys” and “bad guys.” | |X |

|In a war, everybody thinks his side is right. | |X |

|I think it would be exciting to fight in a war. | |X |

|War should always be the last result of a conflict. |X | |

WHILE YOU READ

FOREWORD

1. When men returned from war they often have some mental damage, what was it called in:

World War II: battle fatigue

World War I: shell shocked

Current wars: thousand-yard stare

CHAPTER 1

2. How old is Charley?

15 years old

3. What happened to Charley’s dad?

He was kicked to death by a horse. The horse was being stung by bees so if went on a rampage.

➢ Go to the map. Mark where Charley lived and draw a line to where he went to sign up for the war. You should continue the line after each chapter to show where he traveled. Sometimes he won’t go anywhere and that is fine.

CHAPTER 2

4. What did Charley get for a uniform?

He got a pair of black pants, gray socks, and a black felt hat.

5. Describe what Charley’s training was like.

Charley’s training was difficult at times, but gradually got boring. He would practice shooting, loading, marching, etc.

6. Charley traveled from Winona, to Fort Snelling, then St. Paul, to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and finally he headed east. What three methods of transportation did Charley use?

Charley walked/ marched, road steamboats and a train.

➢ Go to the map to mark Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 3

7. Why did Charley wonder if the slaves would be free after the war?

Charley wondered that because he said the war wasn’t just about slavery, but also about stopping lawbreakers. He wasn’t sure if the whites would still be allowed to keep their slaves even after the war ended.

8. Charley notices poor white people when he gets to Maryland. What did it mean when, “…a private named Swenson, said, ‘You could throw a cat through their house without hitting a wall.’”

He is trying to emphasize how poor the people truly were. A quote from the book states, “They don’t have anything. Not a thing.”

9. What might happen to a soldier who is hit with a bullet with dirty clothes on?

The soldier could get his wound infected and could possibly die. Back then, medical help was low due to many people get injured and killed. Disease spread around and a small wound like that, could end a life.

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 4

10. What is the name of the battle that Charley fights in?

The battle of Bull Run.

11. “Charley heard them going past his ears like horizontal hail and he decided to lie down.” What literary device is used in this sentence? What is the author trying to show the reader?

The literary device used in this sentence is representing a simile. The author is trying to show the reader the comparison of the “horizontal hail” and bullets flying through the air.

12. What is Charley’s reaction to the battle?

Charley’s reaction to the battle is shocking. He didn’t believe he should be there and he was terrified. He knew he made a mistake. When the guns started firing and people were getting blown apart, that is when he knew that this was wrong.

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 5

13. Charley thinks he sees fireflies on the battlefield. What does he really see?

Charley starts to see lanterns and candles lit by the deceased and wounded bodies.

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 6

14. Who was the commander of the army?

The commander of the army was McClellan.

15. Charley says the regiment “farmed” as they traveled. What does he mean?

When Charley said the regiment farmed, he means they killed and slaughtered the chickens and pigs for food. Also, if people left food behind, they would eat that as well and call it “farming”.

16. What does Charley do for Nelson when he sees he is wounded?

After Nelson is wounded, Charley comforts him and then when Nelson tells Charley to leave, Nelson takes his own life. Nelson knew that the rebels would come back and kill him, and he knew he was going to die due to his wound.

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 7

17. Describe some of the problems in the camp.

Disease started to spread through the camp and the soldiers didn’t do much in the camp. Also, rumors were being spread around the camp about multiple things.

18. Why do you suppose Paulson included the scene where Charley ended up talking and trading with the Confederate soldier?

I think the author included this part in the story to show how desperate the soldiers were. Also to show that not every soldier immediately thought of violence when it came to the North and the South.

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 8

19. Reread the pages describing the battle and Charley’s experience at the tent hospital. Complete the following chart using all of the imagery language Paulsen uses to let us “see” this scene.

|Sight |Smell |Sound |Touch |

|Frozen muddy road |Coffee |Artillery booming |Easy Walking |

|No soldiers |Trees and Woods |Rattling- Ripping |Grabs Rifle |

|Men and horses dropping while being |Dead bodies |Officers Yelling |Reloading Rifle |

|shot | | | |

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 9 (Gettysburg; July 3-5, 1863)

20. Charley says, “It was the same and yet completely different.” What is the same?

And, what is different? (90-91)

The things about the battles that were the same were he’s feeling of what he was doing and witnessing wasn’t right. Also, the things that are different is how he is unleashing the “beast”. We is actually fighting instead of wimping out.

21. What was Charley’s advantage in this battle?

His advantage was that he was above and protected from the rebels. He also has many guns to protect him.

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

CHAPTER 10

22. How many years have passed? 6 About how old is Charley? 21

23. On p. 98 it says, “So many of the men he knew were there already, gone across…” What does this mean?

I think this means that many of the men he knew had crossed over, or deceased. That’s what he means by gone across.

24. What do you think Charley is considering? What made you come to this conclusion?

I think he is considering suicide. I came up with conclusion because he has been through and seen very traumatic events. He is showing signs that he might kill himself.

➢ Go to the map and track Charley’s travels as needed.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

25. Write down the facts about the number of people killed at Gettysburg.

More men were killed there in just two hours than in all the previous American wars. Many people died and got severely injured in this battle.

26. When and how did Charley die?

Charley died in December of 1868. His wounds, mental health and stress took him.

27. Go back to the Beliefs about War chart you did before reading this novel. Is there anything that you would answer differently? Explain why or why not.

“In a war, everybody thinks his side is right.” In the chart above, I disagreed with this statement and I still do. After reading the book, I really realized this more. Yes, I understand that Charley and the Confederate soldier were not friends, but this showed that not every person wanted to kill someone right then and their because of which side they were on.

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