glory essays

glory essays GLORY The movie Glory tells the history and the story of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. It became the first black regiment to fight for the North in the Civil War. The Regiment was made up of black soldiers some were Northern freemen, some were escaped slaves. The leader was General Robert Gould Shaw, the son of Boston abolitionists. The men of the 54th Regiment proved themselves worthy of the freedom for which they fighting, and the respect of their fellow white soldiers. Glory is told mainly through the eyes of Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick. At the beginning of the movie, Shaw is fighting in a battle, and manages to survive, despite heavy Union losses. He is horrified with the violence of the war, and returns home to recover from his wounds. Shaw is recruited to lead the newly formed black regiment. Although he has grown up and still retained his abolitionist opinions, he still has doubts about the capability of black troops. The 54th Infantry was comprised of a very divers e group of men. An older gentleman, John Rawlins (played by Morgan Freeman), is the fatherly-type man of the group. He watches out for the others. Another man, Trip (Denzel Washington), is an escaped slave. Trip is a very vindictive young man he is disrespectful, even to his own comrades. Another character, Thomas, also referred to as Snowflake, is a well-educated, free black man. At one point, Tripp calls Thomas a nigger, in response to Thomas quiet, respectful and educated demeanor. Meanwhile, Rawlins replied to him, dont forget where you came from, boy, because if you can call him a nigger, then you must be one too. During the civil war, white soldiers were paid wages of thirteen dollars per hour. When it came time to pay the black soldiers, they received a wage of only ten dollars. The men realize this is because of their skin color, and wonder if they should quit the...