When asked if I feel bad for Makot, I'm not quite sure how to answer. In some ways I do and in others I don't. Most of all though I don't feel like I know him and his family well enough to decide. It's hard to say something about someone that you don't know much about. Throughout part 1 the author, Milton Murayama, kept Makot's family a mystery.
If I felt sorry for him, the reason would be because of his family. It seems that Makot's family has a bad reputation. I don't think that has anything to do with Makot himself though, I think it has to do with his parents. Based on meeting his mom I'd say that her job most likely isn't a respectable one, maybe something along the lines of being a prostitute. I'm also guessing that maybe Makot's father is okay and even supportive of her job. Even though Makot's family is wealthy, it seems to have come with the price of intergity.
A reason for not feeling sorry for him would be for the way that he acts. He seems to be a bad influence on the younger kids. However, he may act that way because of his family and because he is so disperate to be excepted. It's hard to say without knowing the whole story though. If it's not for his family or how he's treated then I can't think of a reason for his bad behavior.
It is true that only reading the first part of the book make it little difficult while judging the character of Makot. In this part only thing we came to know is, his parents were the only Japanese family in Pilipino camp who are digressed by the fellow Japanese peoples. But judging form the way his dad not working and riding around in brand new truck and his mother not behaving like normal woman and his shamefulness of his friend meeting his mother surely does tell that his family is not respectful family.
ReplyDeleteI as well was kinda torn between feeling bad for him and not. I kinda felt bad for him because who wouldn't feel bad for a young boy not communicating with his parents well and doesn't have good friends. On the other hand his family is giving off a weird vibe like they are not liked very well maybe because of their social or economic status. Is he any different than his parents?
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