NAME Maddie DATE 10/19/10
TITLE Elephant Run TIME 4 HOURS
AUTHOR Ronald Smith PAGES 1- 318
TOTAL PAGES THIS WEEK 318
The book Elephant Run was one of the best books I have ever read. It was a fascinating and exciting story of a boy trying to survive in World War II and save his family and friends. It was a thrilling and action-packed adventure that kept you turning the pages to figure out more. I loved reading this story and I learned a lot of new interesting things about Burmese culture. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys thrilling adventures and captivating plots.
This book had a lot of very strong points but there was one line that really stood out to me. It was, "In the end, the only thing that really matters is family. These are the people who will be beside you when you die. Or you at theirs." It was so meaningful; family is the only thing that survives through thick and thin. Family will always be there for you when you need them, they stay by your side. This book refers a lot to the importance of family but this quote meant a lot to me. Family is what it all comes down to, those are the people that you can trust, the people that know you the most. There was so much power behind those words, so much strength. The reason Nick's father pushed himself through each day at a rough labor camp was the image of seeing his son when the war had ended. Family will give anything for each other. Their bonds are so strong that nothing can break them; nothing can tear them apart. Indaw stayed at his labor camp because he knew if he escaped his sister could be killed. Families give their lives for each other, everything they have. This quote shares the importance and strength of family and the power that it holds.
Many of things I read in this book surprised me. The war was shocking. How could these soldiers be so senseless to shoot someone on the spot, to behead people that were in defiance. They lived every day, they slept and woke up, they ate and drank, they had families too, but they were different. These soldiers were ruthless, they killed innocent adults and children. They enslaved all of the Burmese and forced them to work as slaves or in camps. This was shocking to me. Some of these people had families and children, how could they look into the eyes of people who's children they had just killed? How could they not feel any pain when they looked at the starving people they had enslaved? Yet they felt no remorse or pain, only hatred. That was another thing that surprised me in this book, the hatred. People in this war had such strong hate for each other. They would be willing to kill the other, some of them wanted to. These people did not know each other, their back rounds or who they were, but they were willing to take their lives away. The hatred was that strong.
I felt a lot of different emotions while reading this book, I was scared for Nick, I wanted him to escape and save his family and friends and I wanted the war to be over. Every minute Nick spent as a slave he was in danger. When he escaped with Mya every second they were at risk of being discovered. If they were discovered they would be killed. I was always scared and worried about what could happen, the dangers they were facing and the threats that it could have on their life. Everything had a risk, a chance of death, nothing was safe. I was scared for Nick and Mya and wanted them to escape. I was sad for the soldiers like Sonji that were forced to work in the war, the innocent people they had to watch be murdered or starve to death. Also, I was angry. Angry at the people who started the war, killed all these people, and separated all these families. What right did they have to take over this land and murder these innocent people? I thought about all the pain and suffering, on both sides. I wondered, is this really worth it? Through out this book I have felt scared for Nick and Mya,and felt fear and sadness for the soldiers and families lost in the war. Also, I felt anger at the people who started this war and the pain and death it caused.
This book had a lot of very strong points but there was one line that really stood out to me. It was, "In the end, the only thing that really matters is family. These are the people who will be beside you when you die. Or you at theirs." It was so meaningful; family is the only thing that survives through thick and thin. Family will always be there for you when you need them, they stay by your side. This book refers a lot to the importance of family but this quote meant a lot to me. Family is what it all comes down to, those are the people that you can trust, the people that know you the most. There was so much power behind those words, so much strength. The reason Nick's father pushed himself through each day at a rough labor camp was the image of seeing his son when the war had ended. Family will give anything for each other. Their bonds are so strong that nothing can break them; nothing can tear them apart. Indaw stayed at his labor camp because he knew if he escaped his sister could be killed. Families give their lives for each other, everything they have. This quote shares the importance and strength of family and the power that it holds.
Many of things I read in this book surprised me. The war was shocking. How could these soldiers be so senseless to shoot someone on the spot, to behead people that were in defiance. They lived every day, they slept and woke up, they ate and drank, they had families too, but they were different. These soldiers were ruthless, they killed innocent adults and children. They enslaved all of the Burmese and forced them to work as slaves or in camps. This was shocking to me. Some of these people had families and children, how could they look into the eyes of people who's children they had just killed? How could they not feel any pain when they looked at the starving people they had enslaved? Yet they felt no remorse or pain, only hatred. That was another thing that surprised me in this book, the hatred. People in this war had such strong hate for each other. They would be willing to kill the other, some of them wanted to. These people did not know each other, their back rounds or who they were, but they were willing to take their lives away. The hatred was that strong.
I felt a lot of different emotions while reading this book, I was scared for Nick, I wanted him to escape and save his family and friends and I wanted the war to be over. Every minute Nick spent as a slave he was in danger. When he escaped with Mya every second they were at risk of being discovered. If they were discovered they would be killed. I was always scared and worried about what could happen, the dangers they were facing and the threats that it could have on their life. Everything had a risk, a chance of death, nothing was safe. I was scared for Nick and Mya and wanted them to escape. I was sad for the soldiers like Sonji that were forced to work in the war, the innocent people they had to watch be murdered or starve to death. Also, I was angry. Angry at the people who started the war, killed all these people, and separated all these families. What right did they have to take over this land and murder these innocent people? I thought about all the pain and suffering, on both sides. I wondered, is this really worth it? Through out this book I have felt scared for Nick and Mya,and felt fear and sadness for the soldiers and families lost in the war. Also, I felt anger at the people who started this war and the pain and death it caused.
I think the authors message in this book was not only about the power that war has. The anger and hate of people and the fights that cost many people's lives. This story shows the life of a country that couldn't fight back even though some wanted to. A people were taken over and treated as prisoners of war. This story is about a couple people's lives as they lived through the war and eventually ran away together. The unfairness of wars and the obstacles they had to overcome. But there was another message even deeper then that. Family and friendship was one of the main themes in this book. The power that families have, they will do anything for each other. As you grow your friends will change and you will meet new people and forget about the old ones. Family is not like that. You are always family, through everything that happened, is happening, or will ever happen. Family keeps us going through the day, the people who will put our broken pieces back together. We need them and they need us, we keep each other going. The power and love that families have is a big part of this story during the war. The sacrifices people made and the pain they went through. Nick's father was dying he hung onto his life for longer than anyone could expect, he survived. It was just so he could see his sons face once again that kept him clinging for his life. That is what it all comes down to, family. These are the people that have known you forever and will know you forever. Family is the glue between our many cracks that keeps us going and patches us back together. You can always count on family. This book taught me a lot about the importance of family, I have never read anything like it. I really enjoyed reading it and learned a lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment