Honors English Deibler 4

1. I can completely understand why Mark would contemplate suicide given his circumstances throughout his whole life. Although he has every reason in the world to want to end his life, that does not justify his decision to commit suicide. Honestly, I think witnessing the murder was not the main factor in his suicidal thoughts. In my opinion, I think that the true motive for his morbid thoughts was the fact that for years he did not have a father or anything to eat. All of these emotions finally built up and became seemingly unbearable to Mark. Also, Mark may not have been able to think clearly because he was malnourished.
Mark also very seldom felt loved and appreciated. The feeling of having nothing to live for also played a major roll in his suicidal thoughts. From an extremely young age Mark was beaten and bullied emotionally and physically by his father. His father only cared for himself and would beat Mark and his family, especially Mark’s mother. Throughout the years Mark has had to put up with all of these living conditions, which are starting to take over the way he is thinking. In his mid he thinks that if he ends his life he will not have to live with the fear of the police breaking into his house, demanding money, food, possession, and just taking whatever they please. He also is on his own most of the time and does not have parental guidance. For years he did not have a father at all, and even when his father was hoe he did nothing but beat him and make him feel useless.

2. “’Look at your sisters over there…. They’ll miss you very much…They’ll have no big brother to help them and to protect them. They’ll have no big brother to look up to. They’ll have no big brother to help them go to school when they grow up…I would miss you more than anyone else…You’re the only hope I have.’” Page 169

In my opinion this is the most influential passage because it made Mark realize that he was hurting every one he loved by attempting suicide. Mark realized that he was the only hope for his family, especially his sisters. He began to tear up when he thought about how devastated they would be if he were no longer around to guide and mentor them. His mother opened his eyes to the fact that he was the main reason she was still able to have hope and overcome her everyday obstacles. He also realized that if his sisters were gong to live a better life, he was there only passage out of Alexandra. I am the oldest child in my family and have two younger siblings like Mark. Reading this passage made me realize for myself how important I am to my younger brothers and how big of a roll I play in their life

3. Does Mark’s father not want him to attend school for a realistic belief or is out of fear that Mark will overpower him one day, or is it jelousy because he did not have the chance to attend school as a child himself?

In my opinion, non-fiction stories are more effective in successfully portraying a dystopian society.  Although in a fiction story the author can make up the story to fit perfectly the point he is trying to get across to his audience, it does not give me the same feeling because I know that the events did not actually occur.  The author can make the conditions harder than in a real-world situation, but it does not have the same effect.  This is what I believe because you can feel the raw emotion of the author in a non-fiction book and the pain he felt, rather than an author just making up a story from no past experiences or self- knowing.  An example to show this is the feelings of pain and what the author actually felt going through hardships in the book Kaffir Boy, rather than the story Harrison Bergeron.  Although the story Harrison Bergeron shows something that would not be enjoyed or wanted by the majority of people in the world, it is not the same.  Kaffir Boy goes into detail and portrays the everyday struggle his family and himself had to go through just to survive day after day.  The author can put emotion and feelings into his story Kaffir Boy, through memories and personal experiences, while the author of Harrison Bergeron does not have the ability to do such.