Eli
To the kids the writing class, Mark is like a fatherly figure. He looks out for them and the boys do the same. They back each other up and that is the way I feel how classroom interaction should be like. I guarantee that Mark cares about the boys a lot and he would have never thought he’d be feeling that way when he first started teaching that class. Mark’s reaction to one of the boys being sentenced to life will most definitely not be a good one. He is one of those people where no matter how much something bothers him; he still will not do anything to make it better. He might feel like he has been teaching the boy to better himself for nothing because he’s going prison for life. Even though he will never be free again, he can still be a better person and when the boy grows old and dies; he will die with a smile on his face. I feel that when Mark finds out, it won’t seem to be a bother for him but I think that inside he will feel great sorrow for the boy. Teaching a class and then finding out one of your students are sentenced to life in the pen is very sad. In a way it is like your kid going to prison because you’ve taught them and helped better them and is related to what a parent would do as well. Having this happen to me would not be a good thing because I would just feel so bad about it and I would feel pretty bad for the boy. It would feel good to know what you’ve taught them a lot but at the same time it would feel like that was all for nothing in a way.
Chris
Change is what life is all about. You may be used to something one day and the next you would be taken by surprise. Having change teaches you and gives you more experience. In my opinion, I feel that the changes Marjane is going through are for the better and for the worst. She realizes a lot of things when these changes start to commence. What is happening to her is taking her innocence in a way because before all of the madness occurred; she was just a little girl with big dream and her head in the clouds. It is also not a good thing because having these changes happen to her may turn her into something she is not or it may turn her into something she has to be but for the worst. She probably feels like life just hit her square in the face. She falls down and that is representing her grasping the sense in life and her getting up represents her understanding the world and taking it for what is really is. But there some good things for these changes happening to her. Yes it is unfortunate that all of this has happened to her but the good thing about is that it can make her a better person. When you realize things, you tend to adapt and try to make the best of it. I feel like Marjane really needed to grow up and having the war by where she lives was the wakeup call of her life. I feel like her witnessing this is turning her into a young educated lady. In my opinion, things are both for the best and worst.