What is the What (Ch.15-18)

Second post of the day. I'm really sorry. I would've posted an entry up once a day, but I was focused on finishing the book and returning it.

I couldn't help but feel immense sadness for Valentino, (how often will I use that term for this book?) especially after the robbery when the police officer didn't do anything to help him and Achor Achor. All she did was call it a complaint, whatever that means, and go off. Valentino feels extreme pain, but I'm sure it's not just physical that he's talking about.

And then Julian!!! At the doctors! Is this all related to racism? It seems as though just because he's different, (it doesn't matter if the skin tone is the same as other African Americans,) he is being alienated, excluded. I'm sure most of the other Lost Boys feel the same way, and it makes me mad! I wish the people he's "telling" his story to would actually be able to hear it. I think this is another good time to say that I love the way this book was written. I hope all those people picked up his book and read it.

Valentino has lost his innocence; for a boy that young to see all that violence and death, it's definitely inevitable for him to lose it. However, when he's playing with the local boys in Ethiopia, it seems that, for a while, he is a kid again, and it makes me happy...until he steps on the dead man's head that is. It killed the moment.

Another thing I noticed was the trees: again, the author's use of personification amazes me. He makes the trees alive: they "shield" people from the sun. But I remember that the description was more than that, it was amazing, I just can't remember the exact words. Curse the person who put a hold on the book :c

Also, I couldn't help but notice the author's use of colors: he throws around blue, yellow, red, brown, green, black, and white, but I'm not sure what they mean. Yellow is the one that stood out to me most (whatnot with the mother's dress, the sun, and yellow eyes.) I'm not sure what the sun means: it's either good or bad, but as of now, it's bad because the heat is killing off boys. As for the yellow eyes, there's no other thing that that could symbolize other than sickness and death. However, the mother's dress makes this color a happy and warm one. The blue shows up with that dog and the sky...I'm not sure what it means though. Black has a negative connotation as well (ash, smoke, guns, night, bombs, etc.)

Now, I forget who in the book told him this but: "You have the power to make people see." And honestly, I think he does. After finishing this book, he made me see, (obviously not symbols or anything I should've been paying attention to,) but he opened up my mind.