From page 50 to 100, the story becomes more interesting. The man and the boy met other survivors. But unfortunately the made conflict with each other and the man had a kill someone in front of the boy who was really scared. I guess as more events occur, the easier it is for me to concentrate on the whole plot and understand the book. I was thinking that the boy must be really terrified and confused at all these things happening to him, so I decided to write a letter to him.
Dear. Boy
I've been reading you and your fathers story all along and I guess the situation is getting worse. You probably wouldn't know but your father is having a hard time, too. At night, when you are asleep, he often reminds his past and thinks about your mother who left the family rejecting your fathers plea to stay. He is trying his best to cover the role of a mother, too. And the only hope that is left to him is you. Your the only family he has and that's why he hates you saying things about death. When you saw your father kill someone with the gun I surely understand that your were frightened, but because of that you should not doubt your father. He just did it to protect you, no other purpose. And the little boy you saw in the abandoned city, don't blame your father for it. There wasn't really anything he could do to help him. It may be confusing whether you are doing right or wrong. I figured that out in page.100 when you keep answering ' I don't know'
I see you are starting to ask your father questions about yourself. Like 'Are we still the good guys?' Although your father told you that you were the good guys, in my opinion there no clear judgement of good and bad in a situation like apocalyptic. Especially when people start turning insane. I mean every survivor is struggling to live each day. The lack of food, coldness, danger of encountering other aggressive people, clothes.. Most survivors including you and your father are in desperate surroundings which tightens you every single moment. I hope you understand that the situation is influencing the people. You should also understand that your father is starting to lose hope, too. While I was going through the story I have never seen your father scolding you and mentioning about death. In page 85 your father said ' Do you want to die? Is that what you want? ' He doesn't really mean it. It's just that your making his judgements and thoughts more unclear. So do not give up at least for your father. Well,, you should feel lucky to have survived in this disaster and be thankful for having a dad that protects you and loves you all the time. As you said in page 85 about the little boy, 'What if that little boy doesn't have anybody to take care of him? What if he doesn't have a papa?' you should realize that it is a gift of having a dad like that. I guess I kept talking about your behavior that I didn't thought was like. I'm sorry for it. Anyway, I'll continue reading the book and hope you survive till the end to meet a bright world again without any dark, gray ash.
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That was such a well-written letter! That was something :)
ReplyDeleteLast week, I wrote a letter to man and that's why I could easily agree with yours! I wrote it to encourage the man and to tell him that I knew that he's having a hard time surviving, king care of the boy, and being his "mother" at the same time. Sometimes, I think the boy's making it harder for the man, because he acts like a little child(Well, there isn't specific info about his age, but he doesn't seem like a tiny young kid), doesn't understand his father and tries to go against him. Well, it might have sounded like I've got a bad impression from the boy, but I guess the judgement of whether the man or the boy is a good buy or not dependes on the situations. Sometimes the man is being too cold and cruel, otherwise the boy is being too negative and childish....
The book is getting more and more interesting!
Let's keep sharing our thoughts so that we can understand the whole story better :D!
I agree that the boy should think about the man's hardships as well. However, I think you also need to think about the boy's feelings as well. I mean from what I remember the man doesn't answer the boy's questions clearly. For myself, I feel really bad when someone doesn't answer a question that I'm really curious about. Also, I can't imagine how bad it is to have no friends and only ash, but I think acting like a child is the boy's only way of being a child. I mean you can't expect a child to act like an adult! ......
ReplyDeleteThat, was just my thought :) I really liked your letter! I mean, for some reason I keep on thinking it in the boy's side so yours and Jessie's letter made me think about a different perspective. Before reading this I thought the man is just a thoughtful person who recalls a lot about the past. Anyways, really great job!
Sunny-- Your concern for reassuring the boy is quite touching. You are doing a fine job in assessing both the man's and the boy's characters--their different motivations and needs.
ReplyDeleteJessie and Annie--both of these characters are very human--flawed and imperfect, but trying their best. It's one of the things that makes the story so compelling. If they were perfect all the time, it would just be an action/survival story without much deeper meaning...