The+Write+Up

=__Letter to His Son__=

Major Themes:
-War: how it divides a nation that was built upon trust and bondage towards one another -Pride & Commitment: Taking divided loyalties and sticking to what you really stand for

Robert E. Lee is the author of, Letter to His Son, which was written on January 23, 1861. He was an ardent letter writer with most of the letters addressed to his family members. This particular letter was written just before his resigning of the U.S. Army commission. In this letter you discover Lee’s thoughts on how his loyalties towards his country changed. Throughout the letter Lee’s main focus and argument is how secession divided our country and what we once thought would protect us, being our Constitution, could be so easily defied and it was intended for “perpetual union”.

He believed that warring with each other would solve nothing and that it was destroying peoples lives like he said, “… a Union that can only be maintained by swords and bayonets, and in which strife and civil war are to take the place of brotherly love and kindness, has no charm for me. I shall mourn for my country and for the welfare and progress of mankind.” (R. Lee). Another big theme was that of loyalty and pride, he had major loyalty towards his state of Virginia, “…I shall return to my native state and share the miseries of my people; and, save in defense, will draw my sword on none.” (R. Lee).

Lee clearly tapped into the art of Realism which means “the depiction of subjects as they appear in life, without embellishment or interpretation”. He showed how our government was thought to be a strong one from the time it was enacted, but that it could easily be defied as stated earlier. Concerning naturalism, it seems as if there is not much difference between it and realism. As naturalism deals with factual or realistic representation.



Letter to His Son Letters From Soldiers in Iraq The Write Up Notes for Letter to his Son Works Cited Letter To His Son Worksheet