Author's Note: I recently watched the Patriot and read My Brother Sam is Dead. I am grading this on the writing rubric for my next conference. I'm also meeting my word choice goal.
My Brother Sam is Dead is a historical fiction novel written by James Lincoln Collier about Sam Meeker, who joins the Continental Army against his family's will, and his family's adventures while he's gone. The Patriot is a movie made in 2000, and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is set when the American Revolution is in full swing, where Benjamin Martin and his family of seven, and where one of his sons, Gabriel, joins the Continentals. The Patriot and My Brother Sam is Dead both portray realistic and yet completely different views of the skirmishes and happenings of the Revolutionary War.
In The Patriot, everything was done to make the film as realistic as possible. Even the characters were based off of real people. For example, Benjamin Martin was based on Joseph Plumb Martin, Francis Marion, Daniel Morgan, and Thomas Sumter - all soldiers or officers in the Revolutionary War. On the British side of the war, the fictitious Colonel William Tavington was loosely based on Colonel Banastre Tarleton, who was particularly known for his brutality. In the movie, when Martin's family has to hide, someone was uubrought in to recommend a realistic place to hide - the Gullah village. Throughout the movie, all battles were as realistic as the wars we have today. The uniforms, the battle tactics, how the characters reacted to different scenarios, they were all solid and well-though-out the film. Although some parts of The Patriot weren't like reality - such as people in the movie could reload in three seconds, and never missed - most parts were.
In the book My Brother Sam is Dead, it's setting in Redding, Connecticut is a realistic and peaceful area of the colonies. Tim and his family live and run a tavern together, but his family is split between political beliefs - Father, for the British, Sam for the Union, and Tim torn apart, trying to decide which one to listen to. During the Revolutionary War, this was happening all over the colonies. On the way back from selling supplies to the British in New York, Father and Tim are ambushed by cattle-stealers, where Father is captured and put on a prison ship, where he eventually dies of chorea. Other details include real-life guns, battles that actually happened, and the torsion that can happen amidst a family when members of it take opposite sides in something that effects them greatly.
Throughout the stories, differences are readily apparent, but that isn't because of the accuracy of the events. It's because of the viewpoint and setting. In the book My Brother Sam is Dead, it's set in Redding, Connecticut, which was a nice "safe zone" during the Revolutionary War. This is a real place, and in the book, for the most part it's peaceful. Tim and Life, his father, go about their daily lives, servicing and running the tavern. The Patriot, however, the main character's family plantation is practically at the front line of the war, with British troops and Patriots alike marching straight through their front yard every day. There is also far more action in The Patriot than My Brother Sam is Dead because of the setting. In the book My Brother Sam is Dead, the main conflict is emotional. In The Patriot, the conflict is purely physical.
While both give a realistic view of the era, the value of The Patriot lies in setting, action, and battle style, whereas the value of My Brother Sam is Dead lies in setting, relationships, and lifestyle. Together they provide a view that encompasses virtually aspects of life in that time period.
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