«With Every Drop of Blood» by James Lincoln Collier is about a southern boy named Johnny and an escaped slave named Cush. Johnny enters into a bloody Civil War without a good cause. His father dies from a bullet wound. Johnny made a promise before his father died that he wouldn’t join the Civil War. Soon after, Johnny was offered a deal that if he went to help the Confederate side of the war, he and his family would receive money. Johnny decided to join the Confederates in the Civil War to help transfer supplies in order to make money for his family. Johnny was foolish and he soon was captured by a former slave named Cush. Johnny never thought that he would be captured, but our lives are often affected by circumstances beyond our control.
«He wasn’t but a hundred feet from me, but what with the trees and the darkness from the rain, I couldn’t make him out too good. He wouldn’t have much trouble shooting me if he wanted to. My legs felt trembly, and the sweat on my face was as thick as the rain. He kept running toward me and then shouted, ”Put down that sword, Reb, or I’ll blow your damn head off.”» Johnny’s life was affected by circumstances that he couldn’t control. Johnny couldn’t have done anything to avoid getting caught. There was no way to stop the incoming attack from the Yankees.
Jeb Wagner doesn’t come into the story very often, but plays an important role. He is the one who convinced Johnny to help the Confederates in the war. Jeb also went to help the Confederates in the war, but is injured by the Yankees and is in a critical condition. «One of Jeb’s shoulders was all torn up, the cloth of his shirt mashed into the flesh and dripping blood.» Johnny takes Jeb with him, but soon Jeb passes away. «Then he began to shiver like a fever was passing through him, and a minute later he stopped breathing and lay still. The light faded out of his eyes.» None of them could do anything to stop Jeb from dying, it was out of his control. Johnny helped Jeb as much as he could by giving him water and staying by his side, but he still died.
Cush, a former slave, is the second main character in the story. Cush captures Johnny and they become friends. Towards the end of the book, Cush gets captured by Confederate soldiers and is put in a jail. «So the first one hauled Cush up behind him on the horse, and off they went through the woods.» Johnny had no way of saving Cush from being taken away. The soldiers came and kidnapped Cush for wearing a blue Union coat. Eventually, Johnny gets Cush out of jail by lying to Confederate soldiers.
The book, «With Every Drop of Blood» really shows how our lives are affected by events that are out of our control. Johnny couldn’t help getting caught by Cush. He had no control over Cush. Johnny couldn’t do anything to stop Jeb from dying. Johnny had no say when the Confederate soldiers took Cush away for wearing a blue Union coat. The book shows that the events Johnny went through were out of his control.