Letter to my Son

Robert E. Lee was a confederate general, and in fact was probably the best confederate general there was. That is quite a statement considering that most of the military leaders went with the south because they stayed loyal to their states. Robert E. Lee for example did not own slaves but stayed true to his state and fought for the confederacy. Robert e. Lee was a man of extraordinary courage and intelligence, he trained the confederate army from a bunch of farmers and wealthy fat men into a hardened fighting force in just a few weeks (Meet). In his letter to his Lee expresses some of the things he wishes for his son to learn. This was the only way Lee could contact his family as he was always out on the road fighting in battles and leading troops. So this letter carried a lot of weight in this young boys life. One of the things that Lee tried to impart on his son was the responsibility of duty. In the letter lee relates the story of a legislature. The legislature was in session when a solar eclipse occurred. Something that would have seemed magical and godlike to the people. Most of the lawmakers were worried and claiming it to be the end of days. There was one lawmaker though, an old puritan who stood and said " If I am to die id rather die doing my duty so I move for candles to be brought inside." Lee said that this old puritans example was one we should all strive for. To do our absolute best in the face of a duty that we can because it was the honorable thing to do. Then Lee relates it to the young boys life by saying it is the child's duty to listen to his mother and that neither Lee or his wife should ever been stressed by the boys lack of doing his duty (Lee). In another part of the letter Lee talks about the morality he wishes to impart on his son. When he says "If you have any fault to find with any one, tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's face and another behind his back." (Lee). This was something that even I could related to almost 150 years later. Everyone can elate and learn from this philosophy of not talk about people behind their back. This letter almost seemed like he wanted to leave something to his son like a guide of sorts on how to be a good man or person. it felt like Lee was worried he would not be there to see his son grow up and to pass on this knowledge by himself so he sent this letter just in case. Such a letter would have not just shown his son the type of man Lee wanted him to be but would have also shown the type of man Lee was. lee was obviously a man of great honor and a resounding sense of duty that led him to somewhere he may not have agreed with but continued with his duty.

Lee, Robert E. "Letter to His Son." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 385. Print.

"Meet Robert E. Lee." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffery D. Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw Hill, 2009. 382. Print.