What is Daniel willing to sacrifice for Joel's freedom in The Bronze Bow?
After Joel is taken by the Romans, Daniel determines to rescue him. He discovers that he cannot count on Rosh, who considers people expendable in the larger scheme of the war, and so he gathers a few people together and stages an ambush. Daniel is not stupid, and knows that...
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the rescue is practically guaranteed to be a suicide mission, but he does not want to be the kind of person who sits back and allows his friends to be killed for nothing.
It was no flimsily-guarded caravan they awaited. And behind him was no tight-knit band that would move with precision and cunning, only a cluster of untried boys... Still, he could count on them. He knew that every boy in the band was prepared to give his life. It was up to him, the one they had chosen leader, to see that none of them had to.
(Speare, The Bronze Bow, Google Books)
Daniel has lost Rosh, the man he considered an almost infallible moral compass, because Rosh was willing to let Joel die to preserve the cause. Daniel has now discovered that he is not like Rosh at all; Daniel believes in himself and his men as individuals and as a team, not as pawns to be sacrificed. In the pursuit of his moral obligation to rescue Joel by any means possible, Daniel is willing to sacrifice himself to avoid becoming a coward like Rosh.
Further Reading
In The Bronze Bow, what is Joel willing to sacrifice for the cause?
After Daniel splits with Rosh and Joel's rescue, Joel's father informs him that he is sending him to a school in Jerusalem to continue his studies. Joel is resistant to this idea, and tells Daniel that he intends to run away and rejoin Rosh. Daniel, knowing that Rosh is no longer acceptable as the leader of the rebellion, argues against Joel's action.
"A new leader will come," he said. "We must go on making ready."
[...]
"But until he comes, Joel, you must go on studying. That's what you are suited for. When the day comes, we're going to need more than farmers and laborers. We'll need the priests and the scribes too, and you can win them over because you understand them."
(Speare, The Bronze Bow, Google Books)
Daniel correctly points out that the need for soldiers will be superceded by the need for educated men. It is not enough to have people willing to die for the cause; after victory, society will not succeed unless there are educated men able to take over the economic and governmental roles filled by the Romans. If everyone ignores their studies, like Joel, they will win but have no way of continuing civilized society afterwards. Daniel urges Joel to go to Jerusalem, and Joel finally understands the point, accepting that his role will come after victory, changing hearts and minds, not fighting and dying for the cause.
Further Reading