TOW #20 – "Heart of a Soldier" by James B. Stewart

Depicting both the suffering and valor associated with war, the nonfiction book Heart of a Soldier written by James B. Stewart introduces several truths about war and soldiers: one of heroism, one of chaos, one of comraderie. To demonstrate these truths of war, Stewart employs symbolism of danger and rhetorical questioning to present difficulties in decision-making during war. After being told about a lion who was attacking the livestock in a village, Rescorla extended his duties to fully protect the citizens. As he stood facing the threat, he fired his rifle and killed the lion. To be worn on a necklace later during war, “Rescorla had two of the lion’s teeth … [which were considered] a good-luck charm” (Stewart 50). Rescorla later told Dan Hill, his comrade, “[t]hey say it gives you the heart of a lion,” (Stewart 50) representing the soldier’s strength and valor on the battlefield. Later in the book, Stewart employs rhetorical questioning to demonstrated Rescorla’s distress during war: “Why had they marched overland to Albany without air support … Why had there been no reconnaissance units, farther forward … Any why hadn’t they reacted immediately to the capture of two North Vietnamese regulars?” (Stewart 104). These three questions were asked in no particular direction; they were primarily sequenced by Stewart to display the chaotic thought-process of Rescorla during war. As Rescorla was revisiting decisions that were already made, Stewart effectively shows that soldiers are heroes who hold an enormous importance in society. Reflected in this rhetorical questioning is the disorder of war, assisting Stewarts purpose of presenting these truths in the former half of the nonfiction book. Evidently, Stewart, writing to many Americans who have not served in the military, was effective in achieving his purpose via his use of symbolism with lion teeth, as well as rhetorical questioning.

Works Cited

Stewart, James B. Heart of a Soldier: a Story of Love, Heroism, and September 11th. New York, NY, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2003.