Brief Summary: The Life Of Charley Goddard

At 15 years of age and ready to fight. Charley Goddard is a young boy who lives in Minnesota with his mother and his younger brother Orren . He has large hands and,”while he worked as a man worked, in the fields all of a day and into a night.”( as it said in Soldier’s Heart) Charley has a high interest for war, he can not wait to join the army, and he is ready to do what soldiers do.
Charley says war is better than a circus, but he is not old enough to serve, so he has to fake his way into the army. He wants to go to war because he would make money. The book said, “ I hear they give eleven dollars a month. I’ll send most of it home to you and Orren.” He says that he will let them use the money. After waiting for the call, Charley is finally called to war. Charley is super excited about this, and he can not wait! When Charley arrived, his uniform is not a typical uniform, it was, “ a pair of black pants that were so short his calves showed, a pair of grey socks and a black felt hat. That was his uniform he received to go for a soldier.” The hat is so cheap, “ and with the first little sprinkle it sagged around his head and drooped …show more content…
Charley sees people dying everywhere, both friends and enemies. It was making him feel sick, “ the food felt like a stone in his stomach and the bloodied water seemed to sour it, curdle it, but it wouldn’t come up even when he stuck his finger down his throat.” He did not realize that it was going to be this tough. Charley is scared and he wants to go home, but he knows that going home is not an option. Charley is scared for his life and afraid he is going to die. “ I’ll be there on the ground with them. If I don’t run away I’ll be there on the ground with them. If I don’t run away I’ll be there like a broken doll. We all will. None of us can live if we walk out there