Journal 3 from Matt Stock

     My reading overall is doing great. I am keeping up on my reading and getting it all done at once. I feel like it is important to read all of the chapter at once because you don't forget details.  A Long Way Gone is a great story and a great lesson for everyday life. I feel like the author could add more humor into the book. I can see why he wrote it the way he did due to the topic.But, every time I read it I can't help but feel bad for Ishmael. The House on Mango Street is a very unique book and makes me think, and even laugh. I grew up inter city Columbus so I can relate to the city life and the beat down houses. I find this book hard to get into for the fact that they are short stories. As I start to get into the chapter it ends. I feel that A Long Way Gone is getting better for me because I can picture what Ishmael is going through. The story as I am reading is playing like a movie. It makes me feel like life isn't that bad at all. What Ishmael is going through is horrible but very inspiring. I am doing very well at my active reading. I do have my down falls even though I am highlighting and writing in the margin. I miss over great lines and topics. When we go over them in class I have the light bulb go off in my head. I ask myself how I missed that.
     I choose chapter 6 as my chapter to do journal 3 on. I feel like a great title for this chapter would be "doing it country style". I choose this due to the fact its funny and how hard the boys worked on the farm. The chapter starts with the boys getting captured by town guards as they passed through. The boy were tired up and questioned. The chief found the tape in Ishmael's pocket. Lucky one of the boys in the village knew the boys from school and saved them. The boy were let go and continued on. with the boys going from town to town trying to get as far from the rebels as they can. After not seeing people for a long time they come across a group of people. An old woman sees that boys and recognized Gibrilla. She told them that his aunt was in Kamator. The boys started out on the hill top as look outs for the village of Kamator. They did this in change for food and a place to live. After a long time the village decided they did not need a look out. The boys became farmers from Gibrilla's uncle. The work was very hard and long hours. After a three months the village was attacked and no one was ready. Ishmael ran and all the boys were speared. Ishmael said in this chapter it would be the last time he ever sees Junior again.  The word that I wanted to look up was "verandah"-a roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground.
     The major challenge in this chapter was when they were farming in Kamator. I think there was a positive out come on Ishmael's relationship with Gibrilla's uncle. I think Ishmael admired him for how good he was at farming. At the top of page 42 states "We spent three days cutting down our portions. He was done in less than three hours. When I held the cutlass in my hand to start attacking the bush, that Gibrilla's uncle couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing before he showed me how to hold the cutlass properly." Another big one was at the end of the chapter when the boys were separated. Even though we don't see the effects at the time of the chapter we can guess how it will effect him. Ishmael is not going to have the support system and he is going to be very lonely. End of page 43 states " It was during the attack in the village of Kamator that my friends and I separated. It was the last time I saw Junior, my older brother.".