Who is Makot? Do you feel sorry for him? What are your thoughts about him and the way he copes with his parents?
Makot is an older Filipino boy that likes to lead a group of younger Japanese boys. It appears that he feels a need to bribe them with food, gifts and activities in order to maintain their friendship and the ability to tell them what to do. The young boys listen in order to keep the fringe benefits of the friendship coming their way.
Makot seems to have a poor and chaotic family life. He must deal with being looked upon differently because of the strange parents that he has. I feel sorry for him that he must deal with such struggles as a child. Some think that a child’s actions reflect upon their parents but on the contrary, a parents actions can directly influence the way a child is treated by others due to the reputation of their parents. Although I would rather not state the specifics, I dealt with a very similar situation growing up. When asked my last name, there was hesitation because I knew that I would be associated with my parents and I knew their reputation. After answering and confirming who my parents were, I would get the look and the “Ohhhh….”. It would make me feel so embarrassed. So I can understand how Makot must have felt. These feelings can turn to anger which is why I think he shoves his mother out of the way when she is embarrassing him. Like I always say, “You don’t get to choose your parents”.
Hi Mandy,
ReplyDelete"You don't get to choose your parents" is a theme that will run throughout this text. The children in this story are all dealing with the debt, lifestyle, reputation, culture, social class, and expectations they were born into. We'll explore family structure as we continue reading, and we'll consider the ways children are allowed to determine their own identities, especially in light of cultural expectations and social class.
Thanks for your insights!
Take care,
Lauren
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you included that Makot would 'bribe' his younger friends in order to maintain a higher status with them and maintain their friendship. As I read more into this first part, it seems as though he was later "making" them work in order to continue receiving the good food or fun that they were now used to receiving. In a way, it seems as though he was taking advantage of the younger kids and they are not realizing it. It was a little difficult to understand who Makot really is in the first section since we did not get the whole story of his life, including his parents. Knowing who his parents are we may be able to better understand why he is the way he is and what he seeks in his younger friends.
At first I felt bad for Makot. He wanted friends so bad that he was bribing younger children so that they would be his friend. After a while into the book I no longer felt sorry for him. He started using things to get the children to do his dirty work basically. It was kind of confusing because the book did not give much insight into Makot and his family. It is obvious by Kiyoshi's parents' reaction that his parents must be doing something that was unfavorable. I am sorry that you had to grow up being embarrased of your parents and their reputation. It is totally true that you cannot choose who your parents are.
ReplyDeleteHello Mandy, I can also relate to you as well. I know it may be difficult to hide your reputation and feel insecure about it. It's normal and at some point in our lives, we all feel this way. It must be hard to Makot as well, but I have to disagree, Makot seems like he's a bully kind of. All he does is bribe the boys with gifts and food, but he hasn't done anything to show that he's sincere. I mean, he even told his mother to shut up. He seems very confused and stubborn. He doesn't obey his parents and are disrespectful to them. It is the parents fault, the reason why he turned out to be who he is. We cant assume anything yet, since we don't know much about makot.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I Enjoyed reading your thoughts.
Lesley
Hello Mandy,
ReplyDeleteI liked what Lauren posted on your wall “you don’t get to choose our parents" it is very true and Makot needs to learn how to live with his parents’ reputation and not let him affect his own person. Although we are raised by them, not necessarily means that we need to follow their steps. I have learned to learn from their mistakes and try to act in a different way when i am presented with a similar situation.
Thanks for sharing,
Natalia