Journal Three- Madeline Allison

Madeline Allison
Eng 1109 M-W @ 10:15
Journal Three: Reading Response

      Actively reading these books has been a super interesting experience for me. Not only does it encourage me to look deeper into the text, but it helps me relate it to my own life. Also, because I have read these books before, it gives me a chance to ask new questions, and really absorb myself into the plot and themes. I do, however, struggle to keep track of characters and the parts they play. I started keeping a log in the front of my book of the significant characters and their roles to try and help with this, as well as writing them in the margins as suggested.
     I feel these books are very intriguing to read simultaneously because they are both life/ coming of age stories; but in drastically different settings and styles. I feel The House on Mango Street does an excellent job of using sensory details and metaphors to keep its content interesting.  I definitely can relate more directly with the events in The House on Mango Street. A Long Way Gone, however, is a very unique story about a boy who went through extreme trauma, literally across the globe, so it makes sense that I would not be able to relate as directly with the plot. However, I do feel like I relate more to the themes of A Long Way Gone, than those of The House on Mango Street. I do not really personally experience daily tribulations such as the racism or poverty shown in The House on Mango Street. However, I have had some issues with mental health and I feel a strong connection with nature, which is shown as a recurring theme in A Long Way Gone. So I think I can appreciate and enjoy both works; but maybe for different reasons. Though, I feel more emotionally attached to A Long Way Gone.
     The biggest theme I have seen in chapters 4,5,6,and 7 of A Long Way Gone, is that war affects not only a place, but the people in it. Although we all experience a certain amount of change throughout our lives, Ishmael had to grow up extremely fast and extremely young in order to survive. A motif showing the difference from a typical coming of age story and Ishmael's, is the war's impact on society. In Chapter 7, Ishmael has lost his bother and is all alone, fighting to survive the natural elements (Beah, 44-47). This is bad enough, and a normal 12 year old would be pretty messed up; but to add to this, the war has made people suspicious of everyone, even 12 year old boys. For example, Ishmael stumbles upon a family by a river in the woods; and even though he is just a single child, the parents seem uneasy and even scared of him. "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. Even a 12 year old boy couldn't be trusted anymore" (Beah, Chapter 7, P. 48). This is so important to his, and the story's development because not only was he torn from his family, but his entire idea of culture was flipped. Another example of this, is illustrated when Ishmael and his friends are temporarily captured by the Rebels. While this is happening, he sees these young boys mocking an elderly man. He explains why this is so significant when he says: "Before the war a young man wouldn't have dared to talk to anyone older in such a rude manner...Young people were required to respect their elders and everyone in the community" (Beah, Chapter 5, p. 33). This just goes to show how much a traumatic event like war can destroy a culture.