Journal Four by Max Balderson

Part one:

     I have enjoyed the reading that we have been assigned for this class. I personally find both of the book interesting for different reasons. A Long Way Gone does a very good job of going into the fine details of the story, no matter how gruesome they may be. Beah does a very good job of reporting the story from his perspective. However, sometimes I feel like he is reporting events, rather than telling his own emotional story of Sierra Leone. I have also enjoyed reading The House On Mango Street. Cisneros does a very good job of storytelling, and injects her own personality into the book. When you read the book, it almost feels like little girl is telling you the stories of her childhood. Although this style of writing makes this book unique, it also causes problems in some sections. When Cisneros tells you stories, she keeps them very brief, only giving you a small story from her childhood, and leaves many questions unanswered. Also, her style of writing is nontraditional and can sometimes be difficult to read. I have been active reading in both of these books. The portion of active reading that I have found the most useful is highlighting important parts and key phrases in chapters.

Part Two:

     The title that I have created for this chapter is “Fear, Hunger, Loneliness, and Memories”. Beah runs without stopping for two days. He becomes lost in a forest and needs to survive on his own. He meets up with 6 other boys. A term that I didn’t know in the chapter was crapes, which means sneakers. A conflict in this chapter was Beah’s loneliness. While Beah is lost in the forest, he mentions, “The most difficult part of being in the forest was the loneliness. It came unbearable each day” (Beah 52) With all these new, horrifying experiences he’s had, Beah was having trouble coping without the company of others. This makes him crave the company of others. This conflict is partially resolved when he finds the six other boys. He no longer had to sit in silence and deal with his thoughts.