I have to be honest as a student and say that this What is the What book is a hard read for me because it goes back and forth between the present and the past. With that said I want to address the quote discussed in class about “the stories of our encounters with lions helped garner sympathy from our sponsors and our adopted country in general.” (30) Through Dave Eggers the main character Valentino is talking about how he and other lost boys gain the interest and sympathy of others by talking of their past. Although Valentino himself was not abducted by a lion, he had the horrendous exposure to see other boys around him be eaten alive.
He did though wake up on an occasion to find that the circle of boys had moved away from him and he no longer had the comfort of the circle surrounding him. By telling this story and possibly the stories about walking for miles with no food or water for days, or even the times he and others had to drink their own pee, the interruptions from the narrator make the story more real. Both the present situations he is in at his apartment and the story of what struggles he had to go through to get to the United States. I believe that if I were in Valention’s position I would want to tell the most truth as possible and only embellish upon things if the person I am telling my personal story to is not respecting me or caring. I believe the narrator’s story because his use of very vivid scenes and details make me want to understand him as a person more.
Video of Gabriel talking about the lion attacks.
No comments:
Post a Comment