Characterization

In the book, "A boat to Nowhere", I believe that the most significant, interesting character is Kien. Kien was first discovered by Loc, and was thought as the Monster Man. Loc calls the villagers to the forest and they eventually discover that Kien is a stranger. Kien is a young boy, who came from the city in Vietnam. He has traveled a lot because of the war and lost his parents. So, he has lived in orphanges and wears filthy clothing. At first, Kien was unwelcomed by the villagers. The villagers disagreed with Thay Van Chai letting Kien to stay in the village, because of his rude, disrespectful, negative attitude. Kien would always mock the village and villagers about how much they didn't know and how small it was. However, one day, Big Tam was severly injured or cut and Kien saved Big Tam's life. After that incident, the village treated him well. Mai becomes angry and envious since Kien acts differently infront of her and the villagers. She does not have a good relationship with Kien, since she thought he was a fake, but when he took Mai and Loc out to the sea, we can see that Kien wanted to become good friends with her as well. Kien becomes a great support towards the village, since he knew a lot about the war and what was going on. Throughout the story, Kien becomes mature. Also, Kien turns out to be thoughtful, clever, and respectful towards the end of the story. Kien has gone through a big change in character and personality. In addition, readers can predict that Kien is loving and kind, but didn't know how to express love towards another since he didn't feel like he belonged to anywhere. However, later on, he becomes part of the village. Later in the end, we can predict that Kien is loyal and trustworthy as well, because before Thay Van Chai dies, he tells Kien to go back to Vietnam and to take care of Mai and Loc. It shows that Thay Van Chai trusts Kien that he would be responsible of Vietnam, Mai, and Loc. I think that Kien is my favorite character in the story, since he is truthful, shows characteristics that we have, and transforms into a better person in the end.

Class Hub Site

http://reading8classhub.blogspot.com/

Theme

The theme of 'A boat to Nowhere' is about traveling off to the sea because of the new changes that occur in their environment. The small group of villagers in Vietnam goes off to adventure by their boat, the Sea Breeze. The villagers travel off to the sea because they are escaping from the new government, which was caused because of the Vietnamese War. The theme begins when Kien tells Thay Van Chai about the war going on at Vietnam during the beginning of the book. Eventually, the Vietnamese War affects towards the village as well because the new government puts them into trouble. So, they travel off by their boat, and throughout the story, it describes the obstacles of traveling in the sea such as when they went to Thailand and they weren't allowed to go into Thailand. Also, they have many struggles with hunger because they do not have plentiful amount of food, and while traveling, Thay Van Chai thinks about going back to the village. I think the theme of the book grabs the attention of the readers! In addition, I think that the author has chosen a good title that relates to the theme, 'A boat to Nowhere'. Without having the theme, I believe that the story would be boring and dull.

Setting

The reading literacy circle book, "A Boat to Nowhere" has the setting placed in Vietnam. The story takes place during the Vietnam War, which was probably few decades ago. In Vietnam, the characters live in a quiet, peaceful village, which they don't have much interaction. They also did not have interaction with foreign countries, until they meet a strange boy named Kien whom probably came escaping from another country. I think the setting is very interesting and it's new to me because I do not know much about Vietnam.

Secret Secret Secret

When I was in kindergarden I went to a mart with my friend's family during the weekend. Her parents went to shop and look around in the adult section, and told us we could go to a section that we wished to look around. My friend and I decided to go to the junk food section and saw a big package of our favorite candy. We both realized that there was a big hole in the package. So, trying to be sneaky, we stuck our hands and pulled out two pieces of candy. We stuck them into our mouths and it was delicious. Before her parents came, we decided to take more candy and we put them into our pockets. When we went outside and met her parents, they asked what was in our mouths. My friend felt so guilty and she confessed to her parents. We both got a spanky and got in trouble at home and both cried our heads off. I learned a big lesson. This reveals my personality that I get tantalized at times by something that I like, but eventually get caught in the end. I get attracted by things easily, and have a hard times refusing towards it.

Courage

A moment in my life when I was courageous was when I first rode the roller coaster in an amusement park when I was in third grade. We went to a school fieldtrip to the amusement park located in Korea. We rode many rides because it was a weekday. My friends and I decided to ride the rollercoaster after all. With a thumping heart I was in the line for the rollercoaster and when the ride went down swiftly as a bumble bee, I was terrified by what I've seen. I was anxious and worried at the same time. Also, I was thinking about waiting for my friends outside until they were done, but my friends encouraged me to ride it and said that I would miss so much fun not riding it. Eventually, I got on the rollercoaster and I had my head down screaming the whole time during the ride. Time flew by really quickly and I was off the rollercoaster in five minutes. I felt so scared when riding the rollercoaster, but after I got off the rollercoaster, I was so excited and hyper. If I did not ride the rollercoaster that moment, I think I would have regretted so much because now, rollercoaster is one of my favorite, addicting rides. My experience on the rollercoaster reveals my personality and identity because it shows that it takes a long time for me to get used to new things, but once I adapt and get used to it, it becomes my favorite and I can do the best in. When something new appears, I tend to get very frightened and shocked, but I think time is the way that cures my fear and brings me closer to the new things I've adapted in. Like the rollercoaster, I still have this habit of being scared of achieving new things that appears in my life and adapting to changes quickly. I think this habit affects me a lot negatively and I trying hard to fix or improve in my habit.