Reading+Reflections


 * 4th Quarter Reading Reflections:**

1.) Mosquito Coast I feel a little similar to how Allie Fox feels about some of the societal problems Charlie mentions in the book. But there are others that I don't really mind, for example; various products and goods made and manufactured in foreign countries. Allie gets and angry and starts to yell at a salesmen if he or she offers him a product made in a foreign country. I believe Allie is a very intelligent man and sees more than anyone else does. I was surprised when I read that he had attended Harvard, but soon dropped out because he felt the education was bad and a waste of time. When he makes the ice box and shows Mr. Polski his new invention, Mr. Polski disregarded it and said he had work to do and to leave him alone. I felt Mr. Fox's frustration and urge to leave America and to be alone.

2.) Mosquito Coast When the family prepares to leave the house and gets on the boat I still feel Allie is intelligent and his plan makes sense, but further along on the boat ride I begin to feel like he is a little arrogant and self centered. I felt his annoyance with the Spellgood family and how they were praying and singing their hymns constantly. I agreed with Allie Fox and the rest of his family that it was nonsense. When the ballast pump was not working on the boat and not even the captain could fix it and only Allie could, I was amazed and understood his reasoning to get away from civilization because no one knew very much at all any longer. When they got to the coast Allie knew where to go, what to avoid, and how to get land so they faced no trouble and could head inland as soon as possible. I was surprised about Allie's confidence on the coast when he was interacting with people with guns and weapons and how nonchalantly he went about his business ignoring the deadly weapons these people held.

3.) Mosquito Coast When they were pulling into the harbor in the //Little Hattie// and Allie decided to turn up the over flowing river and take the boat to its limits. I was surprised by this because it was not his boat and he did not care what he did to it. He was very courageous to attempt to go where no boats really travel but also very ignorant for doing what he wanted without putting very much thought or care into it. When they got to Jeronimo and began to set everything up I was surprised as to how quickly everything was set up and they made the small clearing in the forest into a comforting place they called home. When Allie built "Fat Boy," the ice machine, I was almost angry at his stupidity in trying to boast and show off his creation to the native people because they had never seen ice before. When he brought the huge ice berg of ice far into the jungle to show a tribe, he didn't take into account the distance needed to be traveled with such a huge block of ice, but also the temperature there making it easy for the ice to melt. Also he did not take into account what the people would do when they saw the ice. Would they become jealous and try to move to Jeronimo and almost hijack the small village they had created? Would they think nothing of it? Or would they even speak his language? He did not know and that made me angry because in the end he put everyone's lives at risk because he invited the two scavengers to come to Jeronimo. At this point I started to think he was beginning to go a bit crazy.

4.) Mosquito Coast I've become almost wanting to scream at Allie Fox because he has lost his mind and he is just bringing his family down with him. When I read about Charlie going in to the town where the Spellgoods were and getting the keys from Emily to the Jeep and planning on running away from his father with the rest of his family i thought they would be going home without him. But Mr. Fox decided to blow up the town's airplane and the generator because it was ruining the people there and bringing american society to the mosquito coast. When he died from the gun shot wound in his neck I didn't feel sympathy but happiness because the kids and Mrs. Fox had almost gained there freedom when he died, like slaves gaining there freedom.

5.) Fast Food Nation After reading chapters 1, 5, and 6, I was very discouraged from going to a fast food restaurant. I was not particularly surprised about some of the facts presented in the book after watching the movie Food Inc. in class. Yet it was still shocking to hear about the conditions that the workers themselves faced in these factories that should be labeled as deathtraps. It is frustrating to watch and see what is happening in our country and to our world while we are simply ignoring all that is going on in these places and how they are affecting us.