How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Captain Betts looked grim and hard. […] "Tim, go over and ring the church bell. Get cracking."
I didn't want to get into it, but I had to obey. I started toward the door, but my mother grabbed my collar. "No, no," she said. "Not my boy. You don't involve any more Meekers in this terrible war. Send your own child out to play soldier if you want, Stephen Betts, but no more of mine." (11.21-22)
Tim is used to obeying the orders adults give him. Sometimes this means he'll do what a Tory says, and sometimes this means he'll do what a Patriot says. Here, we see that there's only one thing that can stop Tim from obeying an adult: his duty to his mom. Watch out Betts, Mrs. Meeker is going to have the last word here.
Quote #8
"When is your enlistment up, Sam?"
He frowned. "In two months. But I'm going to reenlist."
"No, Sam. You have to come home."
[…]
"God, Mother," he said, "I came to pay a visit and first Tim badgered me about Father and now you're badgering me about coming home. I can't come home until it's over. It's my duty to stay and fight."
"You have a duty to your family, too."
"My duty to my country comes first." (11.131-133, 136-138)
Sam makes his priorities clear: duty to country comes above duty to family. We're thinking this doesn't make Mrs. Meeker feel too great. But since Sam has disobeyed his father plenty in the past, we're also not that surprised that he puts country as number one on his priority list.
Quote #9
But this time I knew he was wrong. He was staying in the army because he wanted to stay in the army, not because of duty or anything else. He liked the excitement of it. Oh I guessed he was miserable a lot of the time when he was cold and hungry and maybe being shot at, but still, he was part of something big, he thought that what he was doing was important. It felt good to be part of it, and I knew that was the real reason why he didn't want to come home. (11.151)
Sam says he's staying in the army because he has a duty to fight for his country. But here's the thing: Tim disagrees. Are we supposed to trust what Tim says about Sam's feelings? After all, he even admits that he "guessed" at some of this stuff. And what do you think Sam would say to this?