Honors English Deibler 5

1.    Mark contemplates suicide on these pages.  While influenced by one main event, he also considers his life-long struggles as he ponders this decision.   The gravity of this idea is even more tremendous given his age.  Are Mark’s thoughts justifiable based on what he witnesses and experiences in his life?  Include specific details that support your thoughts.  (2-3 paragraphs; min. 5 sentences/paragraph)

I believe that Mark’s thoughts are justifiable based on what he witnesses and experiences in life. Though he is so young at only ten years old, his experiences have forced him to age beyond his years, and to grow up more quickly than he is able to deal with. From the beginning of his life, Mark is confronted with horrific poverty, daily violence and the imminent threat of violence. He must care for his younger siblings, deal with his father’s alcoholism and emotional instability, and constantly wonder and worry whether he will eat every day. The one specific event which seems to trigger Mark’s thoughts of suicide is when he witnessed the murder of a man by the tsotsis. The man was gutted and his throat was cut. Mark claims he witnessed the light and life leave the man’s eyes. Though he has seen unspeakable amounts of violence in his lifetime, he has never before witnessed a cold-blooded murder. Mark has nightmares of the incident for months, and his mind is too young to cope with the gravity of the incident. He is too young and emotionally incapable to deal with the horror of the murder, which leads him to contemplate suicide. Though it is shocking that someone so young would think of killing themselves, Mark’s thoughts and feelings of desperation, abandonment, and loneliness are absolutely justifiable based on the horrific situation of his daily life.

2.    Chapters 25-28 focus on a number of life-altering moments.  Choose one specific passage from these chapters that struck you as the most significant.  Record the entire passage, the page number(s), and 3-5 sentences explaining your choice.

I found 2 passages, one from chapter 25 and one from chapter 28 which I believe correlate with each other, and show the contrast between Mark’s attitude towards his situation and position in the world, especially as a black child living during apartheid.

Chapter 25, page 158:

“Has anyone since fought for any rights?” “No.” “Why?” “Because everyone is afraid.” “Afraid of what?” “Afraid of dying, silly. Now stop asking questions and go do your homework.” “When I grow up, Mama,” I said stoutly, as I took my books to go do homework with a friend who lived in the neighborhood, “I’ll fight for my rights.”

Chapter 28, page 167

“I was weary of being hungry all the time, weary of being beaten all the time: at school, at home, and in the streets. I felt that somehow the whole world was against me. I felt that the courage, the resiliency and the unswerving, fanatical will to survive, to dream of a bright future, to accomplish, to conquer, of early years had deserted me.”

In chapter 25, Mark learns, somewhat, of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death in America, and that he died fighting for the rights of black people. Mark vows that when he is old enough, he will continue fighting for the rights of himself and other blacks. However, in chapter 28, Mark begins to feel the weight of his situation and loses the will to fight that he had earlier.

3.    Present 1-2 open-ended questions that you are wondering as you read the book.  The question may be one to which we’ll find answer, or it may be one that will never reach a definite solution.  Be sure that the question or questions are open-ended (yes/no responses will not work).

Do you think that the mood story is colored by the fact that Mark is writing about his experiences from an older, and arguably wiser, perspective? For example, do you think his recollection of the day he contemplated suicide would be different if he wrote it at 12 years old?