Why does Henry enlist? What new thoughts does he struggle with before battle? Do other soldiers share these thoughts? Explain.

Henry "had burned several times to enlist. Tales of great movements shook the land. They might not be distinctly Homeric, but there seemed to be much glory in them. He had read of marches, sieges, conflicts, and he had longed to see it all" (p. 46).

Henry was intrigued by the "glory" of it.

Henry struggles with a number of things before battle.

"In his life he had taken certain things for granted, never challenging his belief in ultimate success, and bothering little about means and roads. But here he was confronted with a thing of moment. It had suddenly appeared to him that perhaps in a battle he might run"

Henry's "laws of life" found on Page 52 are "derived from conventional ideas that he has never closely examined" no longer apply; the result is that he starts to think for himself, perceiving his fellow soldiers, generals, and himself in new ways. And his perceptions change and waver with his mood. About his companions, "sometimes he inclined to believing them all heroes. . . . Then, in other moments, he flouted these theories, and assured himself that his fellows were all privately wondering and quaking" (Page 57)

While marching into his first battle Henry thought, "that he had never wished to come to the war. He had not enlisted of his free will. He had been dragged by the merciless government. And now they were taking him out to be slaughtered" (Page 68)

And then he runs away.............