Journal 4 from Noel

1) I think for the most part my active reading is doing well. A lot better than I would have done in high school. The part I struggle with the most is writing in the margins. I just have more of a struggle with knowing what to write in the margins and what parts I should put down as important. It isn't because I don't want to write in my book but more of I am not sure what to write or what is important in the chapter. I am doing well at highlighting parts that are well written and parts that are descriptive. Throughout my book I underline and highlight parts I find interesting or I think was a great way of writing. Something I marked in The House on Mango Street was from the chapter "There was an old woman she had so many children she didn't know what to do", I marked " Just stopped looking out when little Efren chipped his buck tooth on a parking meter and didn't even stop Refugia from getting her head stuck between two slats in the back gate and nobody looked up not once the day Angel Vargas learned to fly and dropped from the sky like a sugar donut, just like a falling star, and exploded down to earth without even an "oh". I marked this because it was weird, not because of what it was saying but because the sentence was so long. There were commas but the sentence kept going on and on to me and it felt weird. Also I liked it because there was many different things going on and the way she described them was detailed but had imagination in it as well. The part about the falling star and exploding just really made the scene clear to me and it was a creative way to put it.

2) I prefer A Long Way Gone, out of the two that we are reading. I have always liked this book and it was one of my favorite books in high school. It is nice being able to read a book you read and liked so well. It is a very sad and intense story, I think one of the reasons I like it so much is you feel as if you are there with him feeling the moment of panic, feeling the pain of losing friends and family. A theme I think can relate to this book is moving forward and not looking back is what will keep you going. Throughout this book Ishmael has had to go through so many difficult and horrible things that no one could ever imagine. His life will never be the same again, and the only way for him to keep his life some what together is to push on and not linger in the past. Sadly there is no way for him to have his family back together, there is no way to undo what the rebels have done. Moving forward and hoping for a new day is the best he can do right now.