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Soldier's Heart
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Soldier's Heart (1998) (edit title/settings)

Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers

by Gary Paulsen (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

In June 1861, when the Civil War began, Charley Goddard enlisted in the First Minnesota Volunteers. He was 15. He didn't know what a "shooting war" meant or what he was fighting for. But he didn't want to miss out on a great adventure. The "shooting war" turned out to be the horror of combat... read more

Summary edit see section history

Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen


In 1861 Charley Goddard heard there was to be a shooting war. The Rebel soldiers against President Lincoln’s troops. The Rebels were fighting to keep their slaves, Lincoln’s troops to free them. Charley, being under age to fight, lies about his age... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen


In 1861 Charley Goddard heard there was to be a shooting war. The Rebel soldiers against President Lincoln’s troops. The Rebels were fighting to keep their slaves, Lincoln’s troops to free them. Charley, being under age to fight, lies about his age to get into Lincoln’s army, but soon after regrets it.

Charley finds the war (later called the Civil War) very hard, but soon gets used to manual labor and gets through it. He also finds that what you see at war can scar you for life. Seeing how many die is unbearable for him. He lives through many battles only to wish more and more he had not seen what he had. The memories stay with him even till the war is won in his side’s favor.

After the war is won in 1867 Charley, who is was now twenty-three, decides to deal with his horrible memories. Charley takes a pistol and lets the bullet ease into his head. This wipes away all of the horrible memories. Charley Goddard’s memories of war, along with his life, sweep away forever.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Charley Goddard: Charley is a young boy from Minnesota. He wants to join the army to fight in the Civil War. He didn’t even know what a "shooting war" was but he knew he didn’t want to miss out on a great adventure.
  • Ma (Charley's mom): Charley's mom is very unsupportive of her son going to fight in the Civil War. When Charley goes off to the war, she writes him letters about how she misses him and wants him to come home.
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “He looked to where they had been yesterday and saw the lumps that were bodies.”
  • “The black powder smoke clouded from the rifles and the rebel guns on the hill and it was impossible to see or to understand anything.”
  • “"Here we be, both farmers, talking and trading goods and tomorrow or the next day we got to shoot at each other."”
    Charley and Southern boy soldier
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • All the soldiers talked about the poor white trash and how these were the people they had come to fight, people who couldn’t get out of their yards, let alone fight a proper army.
    Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers
  • “lawbreakers and wrong thinkers” that were trying to “bust up the Union.”
    Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Minnesota: The story starts off in Minnesota where Charley is living. Charley is trying to join the army in Minnesota. Charley eventually leaves Minnesota when the war starts.
  • Virginia: Two battles took place in Virginia. The first battle, Bull Run, and the second battle, also part of Bull Run. The soldiers were here for a short time before they moved on to Maryland.
  • Maryland: The third battle in this book took place in Maryland. It took place near the border of Virginia and Maryland. The soldiers soon traveled through Maryland and into Pennsylvania by railroad.
  • Pennsylvania: The fourth battle takes place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Charley is shot here, but he does not die.

Organizations edit see section history

  • Union Army: soldiers from the northern states formed this union to fight the Confederate soldiers in the Civil War.
  • Confederate Army: soldiers from the southern states formed this group to fight the Union soldiers in the Civil War.

First Sentence edit see section history

He heard it all, Charley did; heard the drums and songs and slogans and knew what everybody and his rooster was crowing.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Foreword / xiii
One: June 1861 / 1
Two: Fort Snelling / 7
Three: Toward Manassas / 14
Four: Bull Run / 21
Five: Night / 27
Six: Farming / 40
Seven: Town Life / 58
Eight: Winter / 71
Nine: Gettysburg / 90
Ten: June 1867 / 97
Author's Note / 103
Selected Sources / 105
About the Author / 107

Glossary edit see section history

  • Forage: food for animals especially when taken by browsing or grazing

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Survival: I think a theme of this book is survival because Charley is struggling at some points through the book to survive in the battles. Charley is scarred at some points but sometimes he is also very confident in himself that he will make it through the battles alive and in good health.
  • Confident: I think that this is a good theme for this book too. It shows that even though Charley is a young boy, he can still fight the battles like any other grown man. Charley and the rest of the soldiers have much confidence in each other that they will get the job done and will be successful in the battles.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Gary Paulsen (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Country: USA
Publication Date: 1998
ISBN: 0385324987
Page Count: 128

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ7.2843So 1998
  • Dewey: Fic--dc21

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

I would suggest this book to high schoolers because it is sometimes hard to understand and it is somewhat gross at some points in the book.

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