The book The Bite of the Mango is a great example of strength because normally people think that strength is on the outside, but a 12 year old girl shows everyone how to be strong within. I have currently read up to chapter 9 and the first part of the book really shows how cruel the rebels were. The rebels were a group of people who all dressed the same and were just equally as horrible. A point of interest I had so far was the part of the book where the rebels came in. This part of the book really took my attention because it showed how they treated everyone who was not them. “I heard voices coming from the house beside me. The rebels had blockaded the doors and windows with big wooden planks. Inside, one of the rebels told me,were about 20 people. A single voice stood out, that of my friend Mariatu. She was wailing, calling for help, trapped with the others.” page 31. This part of the book explains how careless the rebels were! They could lock a bunch of people up and set them on fire, without holding any feelings. “I tried to find somewhere my eyes could rest, but the first place they landed was back on the house. Three young rebels, no older than me, were walking alongside it, brandishing torches that set the roof on fire.” page 31. The part that really caught my attention was the fact that the people doing the mischief was young boys, no older than Mariatu. The rebels were ruthless people and wouldn’t do anything to benefit anyone but themselves.“Which hand do you want to lose first?” page 39. Just when I thought these men were done, they did something so horrible I am sure it made them the worst people. “Two boys steadied me as my body began to sway. As the machete came down, things went silent. I closed my eyes tightly, but then they popped open and I saw everything. It took the boy two attempts to cut off my right hand. The first swipe didn’t get through the bones,which I saw sticking out in all different shapes and sizes. He brought the machete down again in a different spot, higher up on my arm. This time, my hand flew from the rock onto the ground.” page 40-41. Only the cruelest people would be able to do this. They chopped off her hand and then left her there, knowing she would survive enough to tell the government about them. I found this part of the book interesting because it really caught my attention of how brutal the rebels were and it was the first part of the book that explains who they were.
Friday, December 16, 2016
The Rebels
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I liked that you had lots of quotes from the story to give you more insight into the book. I totally agree with you, this was a very intense part of the book and gave it its whole story line. I thought it was good that you added so much background info about the rebels so that you can completely understand who they are and why they were doing the things that they did. I can't even imagine getting my hands cut off or even seeing my friend and other people get tortured like the people in this story did. What would you have done if you were in Mariatu's situation. Would you run? Would you have let yourself die there? How would you have felt?
ReplyDeleteI also think that this was a very interesting part of the book, and I agree with you saying how brutal the rebels are. Perhaps the reason why the rebels are all dressed the same was because it made them look intimidating, and that’s what they wanted. The rebels were definitely very careless towards the environment and the people in the village!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the rebels were generally horrible, brutal, vicious, and merciless, but the part I have to disagree with you on, at least partially, is the part where you said, "The rebels were a group of people who all dressed the same and were just equally as horrible." While, yes, the rebels do generally dress in the same way, but they are not all equally horrible. Whilst some of them are ruthless, stone-cold killers, others are just young boys (and girls) that have been taken from their villages, away from their families, handed a gun, and commanded to shoot. Some of them have no choice in the matter, for their only other option is torture and death. They choose to live and kill others rather than die themselves because they know that, with people like the rebels, death will be neither quick nor clean, but painful and drawn out.
ReplyDelete