Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Journal Three: Alyssa

Overall, I think that a Long Way Gone is going better for me. In that book there are a lot of section that really resonate with me. I can very easily make connections to my life, and some of the things that I have learned over the years. When I am doing my active reading I'll just write down anything in the margins that come to my mind when I'm reading the book. Sometimes I get really into the story line and don't really have in thought so I forget to write anything down. For the most part, I'll write down any of the new characters that I come across and even when Ishmael talks about the character I'll write down that characters name and a few things that stick out about them. In The House on Mango Street, the chapters are really short but the words are really powerful. I have always just liked stories that are longer because I like having more time with an author and reading about their experiences.

In chapter 8 I chose the title The Forest, and the Seven Boys.
Ishmael lived in a forest for several months where he survived on fruits (that could have been poisonous). He came a cross a batch of wild pigs that chased him and tried to kill him. After a while of adventuring through a forest he came across these 6 boys, three of them he went to school with. They decided to group up and continue their journey towards Yele.
I think Waleh is an important vocabulart word in this chapter, it means slate. It shows the different names and meaning one culture had from another.
A major conflict in this chapter was definitely Ishmael's will to move on. He said in the chapter that "When I was very little, my father used to say, 'if you are alive there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.' I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn't know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive." If it wasn't for Ishmeal's father and his wise words, Ishmael may have lost hope and gave up. There are very few things that are more motivating than a person's hope. Many times Ishmael was forced to come to terms with dying, all of those times some miracle happened that allowed him to continue living. This shows that there is still hope for him to come to happier days.

4 comments:

  1. I liked the passage of, if you are still alive there is hope for a better day. Although, in Ishmael's world, this would be so difficult! He has shown so much courage.

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  2. I believe Cisneros is able to say so much with short stories that isn't common in many books. Each short chapter brings new Ideas and more to think about

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  3. I like the title direct and very memorable.

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  4. Nice vocabulary word! Very different.

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