To Kill A Mockingbird

Lit. Circle Post Four

What is the What

Sunday March 21

Page 521, Par 4

"We were thinking of of the kind of work we would do in the United States. We though of the school there, many of us imagining that we would, within weeks, be studying at American universities."

Significance: I think that this quote represents how hopeful they all are right before going to America; looking forward to education, jobs, homes and families. When I look at the position Achak is in currently I feel bad because he was working at a gym, still trying to finish college at age twenty-seven. Everyone leaving to America thought that they would receive immediate gratification and while a few did, many did not with Achak being one of them.

Personal Connection: I think that this relates to many things in everyday life, such as investing in stocks or insurance. While at first it may seem like your investment is pointless, when you get in a car crash or the stocks go up later on, you realize how beneficial it really was. Because Achak went to America instead of staying in America, he has achieved much more and will achieve much more.

Question: What is one experience that you benefitted in something that did not take effect immediately?

Page 531, Par 8

"-But we're no longer rain, I said, -We're no longer seeds. We're men. Now we can stand and decide. This is our first chance to choose our own unknown."

Significance: I think that this quote represents that the Lost Boys no longer have to follow someone else. Because they are going to America they can make their own decisions. Throughout his entire journey leaving Sudan he had been following people, being told what to do by the authorities at the numerous refugee camps. Now he and the rest of the Lost Boys have the opportunity to either be a seed for a new Sudan or go on to America to become successful.

Personal Connection: I can sympathize with Achak and the rest of the Lost Boys because I know about the privilege to make your own decisions. Because this is the first time that Achak has had control over his life, the pride of making his own decision was amplified.

Question: What is the What?

Lit. Circle Post Three

What is the What

Sunday, March 14



Page 349, Par. 2

“Even though we would soon cross the border into a country without war, this time I had no dreams of bowls of oranges. I knew that the world was the same everywhere, that there were only inconsequential variations between the suffering in one place and another.”

Significance: After arriving in Ethiopia, Achak realizes that the country is not so much different that Sudan and that William K’s visions were faulty. Now when he is walking to Kenya he does not let visions of a better life in the country intensify in his mind like he did when journeying to Ethiopia. I think that this shows that Achak has not only learned from experience but also how little hope he has. After being disappointed once he knows that he should not imagine things like it again because he will only be disheartened. I think that this is sad because he is only a boy. Children are supposed to dream but Achak, having his life turned upside down due to the civil war in Sudan, cannot because he know what will happen.

Personal Experience: Although I have not suffered as much disappointment as Achak has, I know that I, (and every other person) have indeed been disappointed. This gives me some insight to what Achak feels constantly, even if I only know a fraction of his disappointment.

Question: What is the most intense disappointment you have experience and how does it measure up to the disappointment Achak has faced?



Page 357, Par. 5

“God has a problem with me.”

Significance: I think that this sentence summarizes Achak’s experience throughout his journey leaving Sudan and coming to America. He went through so many horrific events that his life seems to be cursed. After having to be traumatized throughout his journey out of Sudan, when in America he still continues to have bad luck. Some examples are Tabitha dying and being robbed. It makes me feel bad for him, but I also realize that he has been lucky. There are countless others who did not even make it to Kakuma or even Pinyudo. Achak made it to America.

Personal Experience: I know that every person has felt sorry for him or herself at least once, so I know that Achak felt that the whole world was against him and that everything bad was happening to him. I can relate to how he felt because many times a sequence of bad things have happened to me and I felt like I was cursed. It is like in those cartoons where the character says that it can’t get any worse and then it starts to rain.

Question: What is one time that you felt like you were cursed and that the world was against you?

Lit. Circles Post Two

What is the What

Sunday, March 7^th

Page 178, Par 1

“It continually amazed Phil, I think, how little we knew, and how he could not assume that we knew any of the things he took for granted. He explained the thermostat in the apartment, and how to write a check, and how to pay a bill, and which buses took you where.”

Significance: This quote was from when Achak was talking about how Phil, his sponsor, helped him adjust to his life in America. I think that it is amazing how much we take for granted in America, compared to everywhere else in the world. Achak knew very little of the many things that we use and do every day. It shows that Achak’s life before he came to America, although luxurious compared to others in Sudan, was still underprivileged contrasted to life in the US.

Character Judgment: I think that this quote also shows how generous Phil is and how close he is to Achak. Most sponsors don’t help as much as Phil does. Phil doesn’t only help Achak economically, but mentally as well. This quote shows that Phil helps Achak adjust to his life in America.

Question: What are some examples of how you take things for granted?

Page 208, Par 4

“It was us. It was nothing.”

Significance: The night before the group of Lost Boys saw lights in the distance. Thinking that it was tanks from the government the boys ran away. There were many consequences to this rash decision making. As may as a dozen boys were lost. Even Achak suffered from this; his leg got cut by barbed wire. When he gets back to the rest of the boys William K tells him that it was only a Land Rover. In the night, the boys panicked and let their imaginations get the best of them. I think this also shows how hard the journey to Ethiopia was for them, expecting armies and tanks at every turn.

Personal Experience: I can understand how the boys thought that the lights were a tank. At night they were all expecting something bad to happen so when they saw the lights they thought the worst and so the illusion of a tank came to mind. I know that I too would probably panic like they did.

Question: If the boys did not panic and run away, what do you think would have happened?

Lit. Circles Post One

What is the What

Sunday, February 28th

Page 7, Paragraph 1

Quote: “I have had the fortune of having seen more suffering than I have suffered myself, but nevertheless, I have been starved, I have been beaten with sticks, with rods, with brooms and stones and spears…”

Significance: This quote is from when Achak gets robbed and he is reflecting on his experiences. I think this quote portrays the hardships of the main character, Valentino Achak when he was traveling to America. It also shows that America has been difficult for him and that he misses his native country. Even though he had faced so many difficulties and seen so many people killed when leaving Sudan, he still misses Africa. I think this is because he didn’t really want to leave his home town – before the men from the government came and destroyed his village, Achak was happy living with his mother, father and siblings and did not have any desire to leave. I think he also misses his native country because he is uneasy about America and Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia was a land that he was familiar with and knew how to act there.

Character Judgment: When I read this paragraph I felt sorry for Achak because he was younger than me when he witnessed all of the monstrosities that he did. To me, his thought that he missed Africa was expected for someone who didn’t care to leave their home country.

Question: When have you ever felt homesick and how was it different from the way Achak felt?

Page 15-16, Paragraph 9-1

Quote: “There is a circle of perhaps three hundred Sudanese in the U.S. who keep in touch, me with them but more often them with me, and we do so in a way that might be considered excessive.”

Significance: This excerpt from What is the What is from when Achak is talking about how all of the Sudanese in America call him. This quote shows that, although Achak came to America years ago, he assimilated to the new community but still kept in touch with his old culture. As noted, he often gets calls from the many other Sudanese and Lost Boys in the United States. Much of his culture still lingers – one example being that he and his roommate continue to cook in the “Sudanese way”.

Personal Connection: I relate to this quote because I understand Achak’s need to stay connected to his old culture. I know that if I were to come to a strange place would find comfort in talking to people from my old country and cooking in the tradition of that culture. It is a good way to keep one’s culture while still melting in with the American culture.

Question: What are some examples of how everyday Americans relate to their heritage?