Journal three by Chas

     I would say my active reading is going well. I feel like it’s easier to make more comments and marks in A Long Way Gone because the suspenseful moments make my mind wonder and start thinking. It’s easy for me to write down my thoughts about a situation that happens in the book but I’m struggling to get some of the good metaphors mentioned in class because I just read over them without even thinking. I am starting to get better at least with picking them up.
      I would have to say that both of these books are great and have many strengths and few weaknesses. I do feel like that Beah does a good job describing all the horrific things he’s seen and witnessed. The only weakness I see with all the gore, torture and hate. It’s not having the same effect as it did in the beginning. Reading it every chapter you just get used to reading it and even though it’s still disturbing it starts to lose it’s effect in my opinion. A House On Mango Street is written so beautifully. I love books where you have to analyze the text to better understand what’s truly happening. Even re-reading some chapters I pick up things I didn’t pick up before and it sometimes makes the chapter so much better. I haven’t noticed any weaknesses in her writing.
     The theme I’ve noticed in the chapters so far is isolation. Everyone separates them and treats them differently because they are seen as the enemy. This is gonna eventually gonna start making drastic changes to Beah. It already has in my opinion, he’s stealing food, and camping in the forest to avoid everyone. I think the part where he is almost killed for going into a the village is a underrated scene. He is a 12 year old boy having a gun pointed at his head because he’s a 12 year old boy. Not stealing food and not causing trouble. Just because he’s 12, imagine what changes this made to Beah. Specially on page 38 Beah describes the experience, “Then our hands were pulled behind our backs until our elbows touched, making our chest tight from the pressure. I was in tears from the pain.” This is the game changer for Beah. He is now unwanted by everybody except maybe the rebels.