Journal Three- Meah McGary

Journal Three

The active reading for me is going really well. I think that highlighting, margining and research work helps me out so much. I'm not a really big reader and honestly I hate to read, but when you have to be active with the reading it makes it more useful. It also helps you to comprehend more of what's going on because there is a better chance that you will understand the reading more if you break it down and write take important notes throughout the reading. The only thing that I can say that I've struggled with throughout the reading was just trying to get myself caught up. Since I didn't get my book till last week it put me a little behind with my active reading so having to go back and find things from a reading tat I had already read and remember what I thought was important was kind of frustrating. Other than that though, my active reading has been going really well.

The weaknesses that I have come across while reading are more from the book The Long Way Gone. I actually really like the book and think that it's a great book but since I've never been an active reader or ever liked reading the long chapters, and extreme detail gets me so unengaged. I find myself having to take breaks quite often while reading. I like The House on Mango Street because the chapters are so short, though it becomes a problem at times because it makes it hard to remember what it is that you just read about. It's like everything is just bunched together in one. With the chapters being so short it’s hard to actually get something out of the reading.

I think that the theme throughout the last couple of chapters has been fear, wondering what is going to happen to them or their family if they get caught. In chapter 4 Beah says “ I thought about where my family was, whether I would be able to see them again,and wished that they were safe and not too heartbroken about junior and me”. ( PG. 26 ) It also shows how much  family means to them, because instead of thinking about themselves they were worried about their family and if they would see them again. The theme is important because it shows loyalty through the family they didn’t want anything to happen to them and did what they could to not get caught and stay together as a family.