Response A)
Copy down a quote from a character and explain why you think it's meaningful. What does it suggest about this character's personality? Personal qualities? Etc. Explain your thinking.
"Chicks always get more money." -Brent
At the beginning I found this sentence offensive. However, he has a point. Living on the streets as a female is pretty harsh. It has its ups and it has its downs. For example, if females get more sympathy than males on the streets then they got lucky. On the other hand, it's down is that it's possible to get sexually harassed or offered money for sexual relations! I personally find it very disturbing.
I think this phrase that Brent said reflects many different things. At the beginning, I thought he was being sexist! Later on, I discovered that it's true. Brent didn't get much money panhandling as Dana and Ashley did. In addition, the way you ask and the exaggeration you use plays a big role. He seemed like a tough, caring guy. It shows that he knows that females get more sympathy because they seem soft and desperate for the money to "get home" as the way they called it. Although, Brent seems like the guy that does not rely on females to get the money for him. It's true he knew they got more sympathy, but he still had dignity. He went out and took risks to survive. This is how you get through a normal life and on the streets. Taking risks. And that's one of the great things that caught my attention to Brent. He's always thinking of new ways to get "dough." He is also one of the protective guys. He never left Dana and Ashley alone overnight. He's like their big brother or their body guard.
One thing that draws my attention as well is that Eric Walters used the word "Chicks." Which is a synonym for a girl or a female. It's really cool that he uses the slangs we use to highlight the meaning of the words we use often.
- What were your feelings and first impressions after reading the opening chapters of this book? Explain.
I felt the most unexplainable feeling ever! I just wanted to keep reading and reading. I wanted to know more about how it feels living on the streets as a 14 years-old girl. I had the desire to take part of the story in the book. I felt like jumping to the last chapters and see what has happened at the end. Eric Walters has a way with his words! It's like poetry! You want to start with lines that suck in your reader and then leave them with a strong message at the end. And it's also great that he doesn't give out the major problem in the story. Although he gives you just the atmosphere but never gives you the secrets to the core until you read more. I think this is one of the successful recipes to a great beginning to a text where it sucks in your reader in!
