Chapters 17- 20

The end of the book was very sad. It was sad how Bruno died when he never thought that he would be put into that situation. He only wanted to help his only friend but yet it ended with him and his friend dying. I thought a significant part of this book was the way Bruno died. He died with his hand holding Schmuel's hand. I thought this was significant because it shows you how much Bruno cared for Schmuel and the other way around. They both went through a lot but they ended their lives together which was kind of good in a way. I was happy how Bruno finally understood how Schmuel's life was, because Bruno could no longer relate to how everyone else lived. He couldn't relate to their pain or their struggle to keep their lives. I know Bruno was trying to help his friend find his father, but if i were Bruno i would have not gone to the other side. I know Bruno didn't think he would die, but Schmuel even said that it might be best that he stays on his side rather than coming over. I felt bad for Bruno's family because of the pain they felt when they couldn't find Bruno. I never thought that Gretel would cry as much as she did or that Bruno's father would be so depressed and not even care about his job anymore, which surprised me. Overall i thought the book was very good i just wish i would have known what happened to Bruno's fahter at the end, because i didn't know if he died or was taken away. But i thought the last chapters were sad because of the way Bruno died. It was sad that he was thrown into a room with many people and was gassed to death. But overall this was a great book!

Chapters 13-16

These chapters were very interesting. first off i felt really bad about Pavel. It wasn't his fault that he dropped it, he couldn't help it. I still don't know why he was so shaky in the first place. But if someone would have dropped something on me i would have gotten a little angry but not like Kotler did. What he did was uncalled for and just plain wrong. I can't believe Kotler killed Pavel even though it was obvious he did and i hated it how everyone just watched it happen but didnt do anything to stop Kotler from killing Pavel. I also didnt like it how Bruno's mother was having an affair with Kotler because he was an evil, rude, and arrogant man. I really liked it how Bruno's father made him leave since he found out about the affair because now Kotler wasn't going to bother Bruno anymore or his sister. I found it interesting with the way Gretel tried to explain the difference between them and the Jews because she really didnt know much more than Bruno did which was kind of funny since she thinks she knows everything. I also felt really bad for Schmuel because now he was the house servant and now Bruno had to watch his friend do work around the house for his family. I know Bruno was trying to help Schmuel by giving him food, but if i was Bruno i would have listened to Schmuel, so that he wouldn't have gotten into trouble. But it seems like things were getting better for Bruno until the Schmuel inccident

chapters 9-12

These chapters were some what surprising to me. It was hard for Bruno to understand what is going on in the world around him. His father works for Hitler, but yet Bruno doesnt even know who that is. It kind of made me mad when Bruno thought that he felt the same way as Schmuel. Bruno just couldn't understand what Schmuel went through with being in the same room as eleven other people. I felt bad for him when he was beat up by the other family's son, Laika, who would beat up Schmuel for no apparent reason. Schmuel has been through so much at such a young age, but yet Bruno can't completely comprehend. It shocked me when Bruno found out that Schmuel was born on the same day as Bruno. This actually made Bruno very happy, because it was a thing that had in common. He said they were like twins. I am very glad that Bruno talks to Schmuel, but i get a feeling that someone is going to find out about Bruno leaving to meet Schmuel everyday. But Bruno doesn't even think about that at the moment, he is just happy that he finally found someone that the thinks is some what like him.

These four chapters were a little bi more interesting to me personally. At first, i really liked it how Bruno and his father finally talked since this rarely happens. His father asks Bruno what he thinks about the house and Bruno, of course, says that he hates it and that they should move back immediately. His father gets very angry, because Bruno interrupts and raises his voice to his father which he isnt suppose to do. I was kind of shocked when his father asked him nicely to go up to his room, rather than screaming at Bruno. I like it how you find out how Maria came into the family and i thought it was interesting on how nice Bruno's father was to Maria when she first started working. You can tell how much Bruno's father means to Maria because he saved her life basically and gave her a place to stay and food to eat because she was starving. Another part i liked during these four chapters was when Bruno finally found something to do, which was swinging on a tire. He had some fun until it fell and he hurt himself pretty badly. The part i didnt like was when Pavel helped Bruno get better, but Bruno's mother told Pavel to say that she helped Bruno and not Pavel so that he wouldn't get punished which i really didnt quite understand. The last chapter though surprised me in that Bruno's grandmother really didnt like what his father's job was and what he did as a living. It shocked me to read how much she hated his father's job and that she wanted him to stop his job and find another one, because i thought his parents would have been supportive with the job he had, but i was wrong.

My reactions to chapters 1-4

The first two chapters weren't as good as i had expected them to be, because it was kind of boring. I thought it was weird about the rules the children had, like not being able to yell in the house. But after the second chapter, it started to get interesting. I liked the part when Bruno looked outside of the window at the end of the hallway. He was so happy, because it was actually smaller than he was, and this made him very proud since he was always made fun of for being so small. I liked it how him and his sister started to get along and could actually agree on something. I feel bad for Bruno and his sister, since they had to move so far away from their other house, and move into the middle of no where. They were use to being able to be with friends and walk home with their friends after school. They were use to not being able to walk through the streets on Saturday because of so many people that roamed throughout the town. They had a beautiful and large house, and the house they live in now, is small, and plain. It is no where as interesting as their old house, and they don't have any friends. There is nothing to do or no one to play with. I feel bad for them, and i feel bad for all of the boys and men and grandfathers that are having to work inside of the fence that Bruno and Gretel don't know what it is exactly. When the both of them saw the people working and being yelled at, all they could do was watch in awe. They were left to think about what they just saw and try to think about what is going happening on the other side of that fence. So far i think the book is pretty good, i just hope it gets better over the next few chapters.

BOOKS I WANT TO READ
1. THE BOY IN STRIPED PAJAMAS
2. GO ASK ALICE

BOOKS I DONT WANT TO READ!!!
1. BLACK HAWK DOWN
2. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD- already have read!!!

LAST CHAPTERRR

This last chapter had a few turns for the worse. First Ishmael thought everything would be okay, like usual, but it never happens that way. He is back in school with his friend Mohamed, and they are having a great time. They would walk to school slowly because Ishmael would want to think about where his life was going and he thought that his life could not get any worse than it had been. Which was very unfortunate since he lost his grandfather not long after. It was very sad, because Ishmael was there and had his grandfather in his arms when he died. “ I was always loosing everything that meant something to me.” I really like this quote because it shows you that Ishmael makes strong connections with the ones he loves, but then he looses it not long after. It shows you how much Ishmael really cares about people he loves and that he would do anything for them, like when he had to get food for his family even though he almost died. It shows you that Ishmael’s spirits start to rise up, but then they are lost. He thought everything was coming back to normal, but then a war broke out. For months guns shots were heard all over the town, but people got so use to it. People got back to their lives after a few weeks of the war. People would go into town trying to buy food for their families but were killed. This was horrible for Ishmael, because it brought back the bad memories when he was a soldier. The last thing he wanted to do was become a soldier again and start where he left off. So eh decided to run away and get away from the war so that he wouldn’t be killed or become a soldier again. He runs away, hides in the bushes, and takes so many bus rides. Finally he arrives to Conakry, the capital of Guinea. Here, Ishmael is able to start a new life and leave everything behind him and focus on the present. Overall, I loved this book, not only because it was a true story, but because it showed you how much Ishmael Beah had to go through at such a young age. He had to live a life that none of us would ever dream of living, and he made it out alive which was a miracle.

Chapter 19 and 20

I was so happy when Ishmael Beah was asked to go to New York, and that he decided to go. This showed you that Ishmael wanted to get away from everything and try new things. I thought these chapters were pretty funny, especially when Ishmael didn’t know what an elevator was. He just stood there waiting for something to happen, and continued to stand there. I felt bad for him though, because the kids around him were laughing. But I mean if you think about it, anyone here in the U.S would know how to use an elevator and this really shows you how completely different Ishmael’s lifestyle is compared to ours. I loved the part describing New York City, because I think I would do the same thing. I think I would look at all of the beautiful lights and just be mesmerized. I can relate to the part where Ishmael was stunned at how cold it was outside, because I am the same way when winter comes around. Out of these two chapters, I was really happy for Ishmael to be able to try new things and be able to have fun and have his mind off of the war for a little while.

Chapter 17 and 18

In these chapters Ishmael really understands what he has been missing since the war started, which was love and family. Since he cooled down and has been attending his classes he has finally started to turn his life around. I was so glad when him and Ether finally started talking and becoming friends. Esther is the only person who listens and really understands Ishmael and what he is going through. She is always there for him if he needs to talk about anything and she is very nice to him. She brings Coca- Cola’s and is telling him to come by if he just needs some company. One of the parts I really liked out of these two chapters was when Esther gave him those Bob Marley tapes. He actually smiled and was happy for once since the war. He finally started to believe that someone actually cared about him. Esther is just like Ishmael, because she writes the lyrics to the songs and just likes listening to them. I am so glad that Ishmael has finally found someone he can relate to. The other I really liked in the book was when they found Ishmael’s uncle. His uncle just started crying and gave Ishmael a huge hug. Ishmael didn’t know how to react and was afraid at first because he didn’t know who he was. But after, Ishmael realized that he was wanted in someone else’s life and he finally opened himself up. In these two chapters you see that there are really people who care about Ishmael, but he just doesn’t know it or know how to react to it since he has been alone for so long.

Chapter 15 and 16

These chapters really show you how much Ishmael has changed. The drugs have taken complete control of him and he goes in withdraw. I can't believe how much disrespect the boys show to the people that are working at the building that the boys are living in. They beat the windows with their bare fists, they beat up the people that work there especially the cook. They kick and beat up the cook, they chase the nurses, and they throw their beds out the windows. They just dont have any respect for anybody but themselves even when people are trying to make their lives better. A part in these two chapters that made me feel sick was when they were burying the captives. Ishmael and his army made the captives that they caught, shovel their own graves and then threw them in there. The captives couldnt save themselves or they would get shot, so they were buried alive and Ishmael said you could hear the screams coming up form the graves. THis made me feel so digusted, because you really see how much the war has affected Ishmael's life. He can't even remember his childhood memories because they are overtaken with what happened during the war. These two chapters were very sad to read, except for the part where Ishamel nd two other buddies caught a bus into town and you could really see how much fun they had before the war. So i thought that going into town was a good thing for Ishmael so he could get his mind off of the war and death.

books i want to read..

i really honestly dont care what books we read i just dont want to read like really chick flick books and like love and romance books...but other than that it doesnt matter what we read

Chapters 13 AND 14

In chapters 13 and 14, you start to see how much Ishmael is beginning to change. He no longer has any feelings. What really disturbed me was when Ishmael wasn’t afraid to kill someone. He used to shake when he saw a gun but now it was an instinct. IF one of his friends died like Musa it would make him want to kill even more rebels. Instead of trying to get away, he was becoming more and more like the rebels maybe even worse. Another part that made me sick was when they were having the knife contest. That really made me angry when Ishmael was so happy with himself that he slit a rebel’s throat. He was happy that everyone around him was cheering for him and he felt like he had accomplished something so great. It just makes me sick when I think about how much Ishmael really cared for people and hated war and wanted nothing to do with it, but all of that went away. The only things he worries about now is drugs, war, and was movies. Now, everything is about war even the movies he watches and him and his friends discuss that they want to be like Rambo and be able to kill so many people by themselves. This chapter for me, has really shown how much the war has affected Ishmael’s life. He has changed for the worse, but he doesn’t want to do anything about it. He feels content with who he is and that is what disappoints me the most.

Chapters 11 and 12

These two chapters were the most disturbing chapters so far. There were parts where I had to just sit there and think about what just happened. I knew from the beginning that Ishmael wouldn’t get to see his family, because nothing has gone right for him. He hasn’t had any luck and this makes his faith go down. When I read that they just had to walk over the hill and they would be to the village, I knew how much faith Ishmael had gained. But within a few moments, it was all lost. I felt bad because if they didn’t have to stop and take a break, he could have seen his family for the last time. But the downside to that would be that he would be dead as well. But Ishmael said that he didn’t care if he had died, because at least he would be dying with his family as well. I felt sick to my stomach when I read about the wife and child being caught on fire and trying to save their lives but then they fell to the ground and stopped moving. It is so unfortunate that Ishmael never got to see his family, and it almost made me cry when he over heard the soldiers saying that they had killed everyone in this village. This was very sad for me, because I knew that Ishmael would no longer have his family with him and a part of him died when his family died. You knew that Ishmael had lost any faith, because he attacked his friends, who are the only people he has left. These two chapters overall have been the most saddest and most disturbing chapters so far.

Chapter 10

“I didn’t know what I as going to do with my life. I felt that I was starting over and over again.” This quote is in the beginning of chapter 10. I think this quote is trying to say that Ishmael feels like his life is going nowhere and that where ever he made a stop, he always knew that it would be temporary. He has finally given up on trying to be happy. “It was much easier to be sad than to go back and forth between emotions, and this gave me the determination I needed to keep moving. I was never disappointed, since I always expected the worst to happen.” I think this quote is very important because you know what pain Ishmael is feeling. He feels like there is no happiness left in the world and even if there is, it doesn’t last long. He tries not to make connections with other people, afraid that something bad will happen because it usually does happen. When Saidu died I couldn’t imagine how much sadness and pain the other six boys must have felt. You were hoping that after they heard the news of that their families were in the next villages away that their lives would finally become happier. But instead, their lives got even worse and the happiness was drained away. I feel sympathy for the boys because they lost a friend who was apart of their family and now he is gone and won’t be returning. You hoped things would go well, but as usual, they didn’t and no one can change that.

Chapter 8 and 9

These two chapters really showed me how much this war has affected Ishmael. I think it frightened Ishmael when he walked through the burnt village and saw the dead bodies all over the ground. “I had passed through the burnt villages where dead bodies of men, women, and children of all ages were scattered like leaves on the ground after a storm.” This made me put the book down because I took a minute to think of what if that was me? What would I do or how would I react? “I had seen heads cut off by machetes, smashed by cement bricks, and rivers filled with so much blood that the water had ceased flowing.” This part made me also want to put the book down. I couldn’t imagine walking through a town and seeing dead bodies and blood everywhere. I would never be able to get it out of my head and I wouldn’t know how to react to this. I have never been in that position before and I hope I never will have to. Besides this part I am very glad that Ishmael finally found people he could trust. I just feel bad because he has lost everyone so far and I’m afraid that it’s going to happen again. Everyone that he loves, he looses and he tries to not to think about what has happened but it’s the only thing on his mind at the moment.

Chapter 6 and 7

At the end of chapter 6 when it said, “ It was the last time I saw Junior, my older brother.” When I read this I had to put the book down. I knew that Ishamel would be nothing without his brother, and I felt bad. I felt bad, because Junior was all that Ishmael had and now he is gone too. “I was loosing everyone, my family, my friends.” This quote showed me how much pain and suffering Ishmael was going through. I just wanted to be around him and comfort him because he has no one. After he found Kaloko I was very happy. But then I felt disappointed when he decided to leave and go on his own. I could never walk alone not knowing where I was going or what I would encounter on the way. I cant believe Ishmael did this especially with how young he is. These chapters were hard to read, because it shows you how much this war can break everyone up. “I was glad to see other faces and at the same time, disappointed that the war had destroyed the enjoyment of the very experience of meeting people.”

chapters 3-5

These 3 chapters have been the most suspenseful so far. the suspense for me that kept building up was whether or not Ishmael was going to die. I don't think that i could walk with my heads over my head with a rebel aiming his gun at me, knowing that there is a chance that i might not make it out alive or see my family ever again. I was so glad when Ishmael got away right before he was about to be killed. It seems like he is getting very lucky because he is always getting away at the right moment and he is still alive after everything that has happened so far, even though we are only on the 6th chapter. I am just trying to think about what if i was put into Ishmael's situation. I don't know if i would be brave enough to go into a village where rebels are roaming and be able to have such courage. I couldn't watch other people being killed around me and not stop to help them but rather run away to save my own life. That would be the hardest part for me, because i couldn't watch someone sturggle like the boy who tried to get his bag and stand tehre looking at him and then run away knowing that he wouldn't live. This book for me is very hard to read not just because of the graphics but because people will do anything to save their own life even if that means leaving their families behind.

Thoughts about chapter 1 and 2

After reading the first two chapters, I got a sense of what kinds of events would be going on in the book. The part that I really didn’t like was when he described what people looked like after they had been killed. When I read that a baby was shot multiple times on his mother’s back and yet she didn’t die really got to me. When I read that bodies were falling out of the van that a man had driven made me feel sick. I just know what I would do if I saw bodies lying all over the ground, dead, and yet I couldn’t do anything about it. I don’t know what I would do if I knew that my parents were probably dead. After reading these two chapters I closed the book and looked down at it. These two chapters really shocked me and I didn’t know how to react. If I was put in this situation where I had to run for my life I don’t know if I could be brave enough. I don’t know where I would run to or if I would ever stop running. It’s just weird knowing that just two chapters have already made me want to put down the book, but these chapters are preparing me for what is still to come.

Why things fall apart..

The Ibo people believed that the white people were evil because of what they did to the people in Abame. They knew that the white men destroyed their lands and the Ibo people were afraid that the same thing would happen to them. To prepare themselves they would have their weapons to make sure that they and their families were protected. When the white men arrived from the beginning they were trying to convert the Ibo people into Christianity. The white people brought Mr. Brown who was a missionary also and who built a church for his people to pray in. This was good for the white people because they had a place to pray, but for the Ibo people this very bad. This meant that more of the Ibo people who convert so that they could pray to the new gods. This made the Ibo people very angry and it was the complete opposite for the white people. This raised the white people’s spirits but it lowered the Ibo people’s spirits. Then the worse thing happened and it was when Enoch killed an egwugwu. This is the worse crime an Ibo person could commit. The action that the Ibo people took apart in was burning the church. After they burned down the church, everything went down hill. Six Ibo leaders were arrested, a head kotma was killed, and Okonkwo killed himself. Because of the white people, the Ibo tribe feel apart. Their families were converting to another religion and the whole tribe was falling apart, especially Okonkwo’s life. The white people destroyed the Ibo people’s lives even though the Ibo did nothing in the first place. People’s lives were changed forever and no one would be able to regain them and it was all because of the white people.

Things Okonkwo does to others...

Okonkwo treats people with disrespect and looks down upon them. He thinks that everyone has to be manly and can’t show emotion. If someone does show emotion Okonkwo disciplines them. An example of this was when his second wife went to get her haircut and she wasn’t back in time for dinner. Okonkwo waited till she got home and then threatened to kill her by sticking a gun to her head. He only cares about himself rather than others. If someone isn’t doing something his way he will yell and beat them. He thinks that he is god like and that everyone should be like him. He wants his children to be manly and not be failures like his father was. The reason why Okonkwo is like this is so that he wont turn up to be like his father who is a failure and has no future in his life. When Nwoye left to be with the missionaries and Okonkwo heard about this, he tried to kill him. He tried to choke him and took his anger out on Nwoye. Okonkwo expresses his anger in a physical manner. Okonkwo has so much on his mind, most of it being anger, so his way of letting it go is being physical. I think that you the worse thing you can do is to kill a family member and Okonkwo did this. He killed Ikemufuna even though Ikemufuna did nothing. He killed his innocent “son” and Ikemufuna had made such an impact on people especially Nwoye. He was an older brother for Nwoye and taught him ways to be strong, but Okonkwo ended this. Overall, Okonkwo is rude, and has no respect for anyone but himself.

Thoughts about Okonkwo

My thoughts on Okonkwo are that I think he is rude. He is rude, because he beat his wife because she got a couple of leafs off of the banana tree. He hit Nwoye because he was crying and Okonkwo doesn’t think that a man should cry. I also don’t like him because he wants to be the complete opposite of his father. He thinks that he has to be manly so that his people will not think that he is weak. An example of him that shows that he doesn’t want to be weak was when he killed Ikefuma. He was told not to kill Ikefuma, because he was considered a father. “That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death.” (57) HE thought that if he didn’t kill his son, he would be considered weak and that was the last thing he wanted to be known as. “Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.” (57) He does not want to be thought of being lazy either so he is always working and ordering people around. I think Okonkwo doesn’t mean to be mean, he just doesn’t want to end up like his father so he treats everyone like they are not as important.

So Much Unfairness Of Things!

Phillip Sadler Wilkinson a.k.a P.S was severely punished for cheating on his Latin exam. P.S did plan on cheating but when the exam came, he felt that cheating was the only way he could pass the exam. He felt that if he failed the exam again for the second time that his father would be disappointed in him and that he wouldn’t be forgiven. When P.S was near the end of the exam he only needed 15 more points to get the passing grade, but he didn’t know how to complete the last part of the exam. He remembered that the passage on the exam was on his paper, which was inside of his desk. P.S decided that the only way he could pass the test was to look on the paper and copy the answers, and P.S did just this. P.S was eventually caught and his punishment was to be expelled from the school. I feel that this was the correct punishment, because he did cheat and he broke the rules. He knew what the consequences that followed if he did get caught cheating. I also believed that the treatments from the staff, friends, and his father were agreeable. The staff treated him nicely to my surprise except Nelson, who wouldn’t shut up. Everyone else believed that he never meant to cheat but that it was just a mistake that sadly ended in an expulsion. But his father realized that he never had a true relationship with his son, and that he was one of the reasons why Phillip cheated in the first place. His father was not angry at him, because he knew it was partly his own fault. His friends did not treat him differently as for Phillip as well. So overall Phillip’s punishment was not all that bad as it could have been.

SENTENCES!!!

The last meal i had at a restaurant was a hamburger.

Reading is something i intensely dislike.

The full moon looked pretty last nigh.

Smiling is one of my favorite local expression.

Sometimes its best to listen to the teacher while he or she is talking.

Walle is the best movie I've seen so far this year.

And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hanging out with my boyfriend. Tomorrow my plans include cleaning my room and doing homework, and Sunday i want to hang out with my friends.

Certain life situation

In my life, I have met many different people. Sometimes I make assumptions about that person even before I meet them. I don’t mean to, but it just happens. It is just an instinct. There have been many scenarios where I thought someone was really mean, but once I started to get to know them, it was the complete opposite. You can’t judge a book by its cover, until you see for yourself. I know I am not innocent on this, but if your friend has an opinion about a specific person, you need to check that person out yourself to see if what was said about them was actually true.
There was a situation in my life where I changed my opinion about someone I knew. The first year I attended Orchard, there was this guy in my grade that was supposedly a big jerk and a big player. Well when I first met him it seemed like all he wanted to do is flirt with me, so then I knew that he was a player liked everyone said. But as the days went on, I started talking to him more and I really thought he wasn’t a jerk or that big of a player. I just assumed he was, because some people in my grade thought he was. I just felt bad, because instead of talking to him and getting to know who he really was inside, I just agreed and went along with everyone else. As the years went by we became really good friends and people asked me why I was talking to him, but I just would say you only see what is on the outside and not what is truly on the inside.
In this certain situation, I judged a boy, now a good friend of mine, because of what other people told me. I didn’t take it upon myself and find out what kind of person he really was. So the lesson I learned was to not judge a book by its cover or listen to what other people’s opinions are, because in the end their opinion doesn’t matter, yours is the one that counts.

HELLO

well hello there....i got it to WORK!!! yyyaaayyy =)