Bamboo Grove #5: Final Post

1) My response to the ending of the book was not that great. I thought that there was going to be a little more information about the father and also that the ending was to short. It could of been longer and it was to right to the point. I did not find it satisfying because it was to right to the point and they could of been a little more in depth with the ending because to me the ending is the best part. Some conflict that got resolved was that they had to evacuate there house, and they had to leave Hideyo behind, but eventually the got back together. Some unresolved conflict was that the children in her school were still calling Yoko "rag doll" and mean names like that. Also that she did not get her shoes that she always needed. And last but not least Mr. Naido is her only friend Yoko has at school.

I do not really know why she ended the book there. I think that she ended the book there because that is where her Honorable brother returns. And the people that are reading this book are the ones that want to know what happened to Hideyo or what happened to the father. But other then that I really do not know why she ended the book right there. Maybe because she wanted to make it a happy ending or something.

2) I think they just wanted to be a little more closer to there custom. And also to remind the things that were most important to them. It was kind of like a tradition in there family, so they wanted to keep the tradition going. I think the purpose of this was to keep the tradition going and to show them they are Japanese. I also thought that the purpose of this was to remind them selves what they thought was important to them. If I was in the Kawashima family I would observe their traditional food because in my family we make a certain food for Christmas every year. I would also observe the sayings of Honroable Brother or Honorable Sister because that is just a great way to treat people with respect for your brother and sisters.

3) I respect Hiedyo because it is probably really hard for him to find his family. And if I was lost like he was I would probably be really scared. I also respect him because he was really smart not getting find by the people that were coming close to him. He was really brave for doing that. He is also like the father of the family now because he did his fathers chores and stuff. I also respect him because he shows great leadership.

Another person I respect was Mr. Naido because he helped Yoko sell cans and stuff like that to get Yoko some food. And he shows that he really cares for people. I also respect him for being Yoko's friend and if I did not have any friends and people were calling me "rag doll", I think that Mr. Naido would be a great friend to have. He is also really kind and generous for giving Yoko, paper, pencils and more school supplies. He is probably Yoko's best friend ever.

4) What I learned from this book was that Korea was in World War II. I also learned that Koreans carried stuff on their hips and that the Japanese people carried stuff on their backs. I also learned that they took people at the age of 12 to 50 into the war. And that 12 year old were allowed to fight in the war. How scary is that! I would like to know how the war even began? Was it because they wanted each others land?

5) When I read So Far From The Bamboo Grove I learned that you should appreciate what you have. Because in the story Yoko did not even have 1 scratch of paper to begin with when she went to school. She did not even have a decent pair of shoes. And they hardly had shelter and food. With us we have nice classmates we have paper to write on and we have pencils to write with. In her world she bassically had nothing and all she had was her family. Which is also good to!