25-28 Elle Patton
Question #1:
Although Mark had seen many murders before, the murder that occurred in chapter 27 made a big impression on Mark. This is just one experience in Mark’s life that happened to push him a little too far into thinking that the suffering and pain that he goes through daily is too much to handle for him. While contemplating his death, many thoughts pass through Mark’s mind: “Should I leave a note for my mother? Would anyone care? Did I have the courage?” I believe that Mark’s thoughts are reasonable because of the experiences he has.
Almost any person in our time period that had witnessed these types of events in their life would most likely have post traumatic stress disorder and would also probably contemplate suicide, as Mark does in chapter 28. The events that Mark has witnessed in his life are not appropriate for a child of such a young age to witness, although Mark, along with many others, witness murders everyday. The thoughts running through Mark’s head would be very reasonable, however, if we would step into Mark’s shoes.
Question #2:
“Through some superman effort, it seemed, the man, now bleeding heavily from gaping wounds, managed to break through the cordon of butchers and make a mad dash for the street. The tsotsis didn’t chase after him immediately, tarrying a while to rummage through the packages he had dropped. The wounded man staggered left and right, clutching his slashed throat, which spewed blood. I was now bathed in perspiration. My breath was coming out in spurts. As the wounded man staggered past me, I detected tube-like things unwinding like a spool of thread through his slashed overalls. His guts were spilling from his belly! Nausea overcame me. I wanted desperately to faint and be away from it all. I thought I would panic any minute. The fatally wounded man turned his bleeding head in the direction of the fortified shacks, as if pleading for the m to open and let him in. There was a dreadful glint in his eyes, the glint of death creeping in. I can never forget the look on his face for as long as I live. “ Page 163-164
This passage struck me as the most significant in the chapters because of the detail. Mark describes every thing that is occurring so well, I feel like I can see the man attempting to run away from the tsotsis. It is so graphic that the image in my mind of the bleeding man, begging for them not to kill him, makes me feel sick and makes me feel like I am actually watching the murder.
Question #3:
1) If you were in Mark’s shoes during the street murder, what would you have done?
2) What would your reaction if you were in Mark’s mother’s position, walking in on your son about to commit suicide?