In the novel Across Five Aprils how did Jethro grow up in the end and what did he do that was courageous?

Question

In the novel Across Five Aprils how did Jethro grow up in the end and what did he do that was courageous?

Answer 1

From SparkNotes:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/fiveaprils...

"Jethro Creighton:  When the [Civil] war begins, Jethro is quite young. He even thinks the war is kind of neat, imagining horses, trumpets, and polished brass buttons. Throughout the book he not only loses that glamorous image, but he comes to understand that the war is an unrelenting force that propels him and everyone else forward without mercy. Jethro is hurled from boyhood into manhood, as he assumes responsibilities left after his father has a heart attack. He is the only boy in the family not fighting in the war, and thus he is somewhat of an outsider. While he does not have to experience the death and destruction of war directly, what he does experience—the news of his family members' experience of war—is more out of his control and sometimes harder to handle. He must wait for letters from his family to know if they are dead or alive, and he must sit back and watch the deteriorating effects of the war on people he loves. He worries about the outcome of the war and consumes himself with trying to understand exactly what is happening and why.

The war strips away Jethro's identity. Tangibly, it takes away his brothers, his teachers, and his ability to enjoy the freedom of boyhood. Jethro must deal with this set of alien circumstances while at the same time growing up. Jethro loses some of the shine in his eyes and is less precocious and talkative at the end of the text, but he gains valuable knowledge and experience, and, at the end of the book, he returns to his studies."

As I see Jethro, he is a boy who survived and came of age during the brutal and unrelenting war between the Union and the Confederacy.  He may have waivered, but he does not give up the struggle to understand himself and the ravages of war.  His sudden loss of innocence, the terrible effects of the war, and, near the end, the assassination of President Lincoln test him.  His grief is deep, yet he is able to regain his equilibrium and go on with his studies.

Too young to enlist, Jethro shows special courage as he attempts to meet daunting challenges:  The conflict within his family -- his brothers choose opposing sides in the war -- his father's ill-health and the tensions of having to shoulder adult responsibilities as a boy.