Dear Mrs. Zrihen
For the past four days I have had a hard time putting this amazing piece of literature down. At the beginning of the book I thought of what to expect from a critically acclaimed author, John Steinbeck who is famous for books like East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, and The Pearl to name some of his works. The strategy that I used while reading was prediction . This helped me to tell beforehand what was going to happen to them during their adventures. In part three Steinbeck’s wife, Elaine, flew from the east to Chicago for a momentarily visit. That was good for Steinbeck because he was feeling lonely so she filled up that empty hotel room with joy and tranquility. Then he continued his journey to Illinois and then heading to Wisconsin. At this point, the way Steinbeck used his narrative to describe all the places amused me. I felt like I was actually with them in the book seeing the sights that he saw in marvel and amazement. If I were to give the book another title it would have to be “ The real Three Musketeers” I would name it that because they represent Steinbeck, His French Poodle Charley, and his truck Rocinante, being together through all their adventures.
The message that I think Steinbeck is trying to explain to the readers is that you have to see things with your own eyes in order to get your opinion, like when people always criticize him for not going to a national landmark. It is like when you go to New York and someone asks you if you have visited the Statue of Liberty and you respond with “no” and say that you must be crazy!
While reading this book I found quite a few new words, I diverse between using the dictionary and applying the technique of context clues to comprehend their meaning. Like for example, when he wrote “I must confess to a laxness in the matter of National Parks. I haven’t visited many of them.” I used context clues to understand the word “laxness” when he said that he hasn’t visited many of them. So I understood that he doesn’t care about the national parks much. Another word I found was “escarpments rising into the clouds.” when I continue reading he said “a kind of natural Great Wall of China.” So I understood that “escarpments” has to do with something steep and big.
The figurative language that Steinbeck used a lot in this novel is personification in which he gave human qualities to his dog Charley. One example that I can mention is when they went to visit Yellowstone National Park. When he entered the park, the forest ranger warned Steinbeck about how the bears don’t get along with the dogs, so the ranger recommended to put a leash on Charley. But Steinbeck replies telling him that his dog is unique and that he respects all the animals. Also he said “I suggest that the greatest danger to your bears will be pique at being ignored by Charley.” So he was giving Charley all the emotions and feelings that a human being can feel when being exposed to the unknown, like for Charley first time seeing a bear up front.
From your student,
Alan Alvarez
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