This sentence stuck out to me when reading because it gave an insight into what Mr. Conroy was thinking and feeling at this point in the book. When he said that he saw a reflection of him in Jim and Joe it made me think. Mr. Conroy was a Jim and Joe all wrapped up in one. He described Jim as being a caring and compassionate boy who was dedicated to helping the children succeed, even if it was in just a recess game. Joe was the boy who wondered just what exactly he was doing on the island and if he was really making a difference at all. Mr. Conroy compared himself to these two because he felt like both. He wanted to do well and help the children succeed. Yet, there were times he wondered what he was doing and if it even was worth it.
This sentence also clearly pointed out one reason he went to the island. “Expiation,” I have to admit I did not know what this word meant, but when I looked it up the definition was (compensation for a wrong). This connects Mr. Conroy’s guilt with how the white man had treated the blacks for so long in the history of the U.S.A. If this reason was mentioned before in the book I did not pay attention to it. This made me see Mr. Conroy as a very good person. He was doing a job that he thought could help in some way compensate for the years when the white people treated the blacks terribly.
This chapter was about the two visitors that came to the island from California, Jim and Joe. It also had a couple of Mr. Conroy’s class discussions in it as well. The students on day had a huge discussion on the Wizard or Oz and another day on how they are suppose to treat animals. By reading these discussions it helped me to understand the children a little more. The reactions of the students and their comments they make showed me a little about how they had been raised and what they believe.
Brittney, I also liked that sentence because he felt like he seen himself in those boys, and that is a big compliment to those boys. On my first blog I said that I felt that he was on the island because he felt bad about the way he treated the black people when he was younger. I feel that Conroy is a great teacher because he cares about the students and he shows that in his classroom. The way he let the students give their version of The Wizard of Oz. Not alot of teachers would allow that. He has alot of characteristics of a teacher that I hope to have one day.
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