Tuesday, May 13, 2008
D Block's What is the What Discussion!
What is the What is based on the life story of Valentino Achak Deng. Valentino had to over come many hardships that children normally don't have to overcome anytime in their lives. Just as a young child he was separated from his family, and walked and crawled miles upon miles for freedom. He witnessed things that even adults don't witness. He had to live with the fear of being hunted down and eaten, or being shot and killed. As these thousands of boys were struggling to save their own lives and the lives of the people around them, we were sitting here doing nothing to help. What is your take on what has happened over the course of Valentino's life? Do you think you would be able to survive the struggles like he did? If you could ask him one question what would it be? Explain one difficulty he went through as a Lost Boy and tell what you would do in that situation.
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3 comments:
Valentino's life has been one struggle after another. If I had to ever go through the things that he had to go through, especially losing family members and friends, I probably wouldn't be able to handle it.
If I could him one question, it would probably be, "How can you go on and look at things positively after all that's happened to you?" I would be interested to learn about his outlook on life, and how the character continues to be happy, even after all that has happened to him.
When the rebels come to Marial Bai, and raid the area, him and his mother run to their aunt's home. They hide in hay, but when the mother hears the aunt scream, she goes to see what's wrong. As the book goes on, Achak gets farther and farther away from the town, therefore farther from his mother. If I was in that situation, I probably wouldn't be able to go on without my mother. After she ran off, I would have chased after her, because I wouldn't have wanted to leave her, because there would be a large chance that I would never see her again.
I think that Achak is one of the strongest people that I've ever heard, read, or learned about. He suffered through, like you said, more than any adult, let alone child, should have to suffer through. I think that the fact that he can persevere and want to further himself and his education in the United States is so inspiring. It would have been easier for him, for anybody, just to give up and let the rebels or murahaleen capture him and make him their slave, but he kept seeking freedom. I think that I speak for many people when I say that I could never suffer through what he did. I have lived in the safety of the US for my whole life, so enduring such hardships as losing my home, my family, and my friends seems impossible to me. If I could ask him one question, I would ask him how he found that perseverance within himself at such a young age. One difficulty Achak went through as a lost boy was walking day in and day out in a group of 30+ boys led by Dut Majok. "We saw fields that had been scorched, goats disemboweled and headless. We saw the tracks of horses and trucks...I had never walked so long in one day. We had not stopped since the morning and we had eaten nothing. What water we had been allowed we shared from one jerry can..."(pg. 125).
I think that Valentino's experiences are beyond what I could ever imagine. As I read the book, I try and picture what it must have been like for the thousands of children who dealt with the struggle to survive, but I don't think that I will ever completely understand how the pain that they experienced. Eggars does do an excellent job depicting the memories of Valentino and I try my best to put myself in his situation, and I think that I wouldn't be able to live under the conditions that he did. I think that if I ever had to go through what those boys did that I would give up because I feel as though I would have little to live for.
If I could ask Valentino one question, I think I would ask him, "How have your experiences changed the way that you look at the world and the people around you?" IU think that he would probably cherish his life a lot more and the people around him, and I would really enjoy hearing how everything that he has seen has positively influenced his view of the world. I'm sure that as I read more of the book I will get this answer, but I still would be eager to hear it straight from him.
I think that one of the hardest things to experience was not when he was just a young boy, but I think that when he is robbed and beaten was even worse in some ways. When he left for America, he thought that he was going to be okay and wouldn't have to deal with the struggle that he worked so hard to escape from in Africa. It must have been terrible to realize that even though he had already been through so much, that he was helpless on the ground being beaten, and on top of that, was being controlled by a young boy. Even though the experiences as a Lost Boy must have been terrible, I think that going back to a feeling of helplessness after everything must have been worse.
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