Sampson Wu > Recent Status Updates

In this chapter, Mosscap seemed to have a purpose in his journey out of the robots' home. He knows exactly why he is there and he has a clear goal or mission. Thus, Mosscap feels secure in its role as a representative of the robots. However, Dex does not know what they are doing. Dex was searching for crickets but they don't exactly have a clear goal. That makes me think of the question: what do humans actually need?

It was very interesting when Mosscap said that the robots were studying humans from a distance for many years. The robots used to be tools and things to make human lives easier, but now, they have developed so much that they could study humans without getting noticed. They did not revenge on humans or attack humans like the movie Terminator. The robots were actually very autonomous and had their own boundaries.

Going a little bit back into the plot, the reason the author gave about Dex leaving Panga is that there were no crickets. However, I think the crickets represent something bigger, a new thing or a conflict. Things are going too well for Dex, so he needs a thing to get out of the perfectionist routine which is also the reason why he left Panga. The extinction of crickets was not natural. Humans killed all of them.

It is really interesting how the robots left Panga, and then Dex chose to leave as well because the city is too peaceful. The robots chose freedom long ago, but now, one robot, Mosscap, has returned. This is the first time a human and a robot have met in a long time, meaning that there might be a huge event and the story plot is going to be on these two characters. They both chose a different route from their peers.

It is really interesting how the robots left Panga, and then Dex chose to leave as well because the city is too peaceful. The robots chose freedom long ago, but now, one robot, Mosscap, has returned. This is the first time a human and a robot have met in a long time, meaning that there might be a huge event and the story plot is going to be on these two characters. They both chose a different route from their peers.

At the end of the book, Changez and the American were leaving the coffee shop. I felt like it was really awkward or the American was very nervous. Later when they were walking to the hotel, a group of people walked by them. The American's reaction was very interesting. Even if Changez said they are not harmful, he was still ready to defend himself. But Hamid stopped the story there, an ending for us to guess.

When Changez returned from his trip to Chile, everything felt different and New York didn't feel like home to him. People were looking at his huge beard and it can connect to his identity as a Pakistani because of 9/11. He felt like he was left out and an outsider of a place that he was originally part of. It feels bad. This shows how America has changed and how Changez is going to change his perspective on America.

After reading chapter 10, I realized how important Juanis is towards Changez. He is the mentor of Changez and he values the things other people don't in Underwood Samson. Juan sees people/things more than numbers on a chart and the profits. Juan also tells Changez about the janissary. He can see the internal conflict Changez has, since Changez was fully committed to work and he seems to be distracted by something.

When Changez watched the Twin Towers fall on TV, he had an unexpected smile on his face. I think the reason for that might be that he still has a hidden resentment toward the US, since the US dominates so many things. And he has an internal conflict within himself. He knows he isn't part of the US, and as a Pakistani, it is even harder to be part of it. This might be the turning point in his loyalty towards the US.

Erica disappeared for a while in the book. Before, I thought Changez and Erica were going to have a romantic relationship. However, Erica is still trapped by Chris, her ex-boyfriend. She is not just simply sad. More importantly, she is emotionally paralyzed by Chris leaving. I feel really bad for Changez because the girl he likes might not actually like him. He might be a replacement for Erica.

After reading the 9/11 incident in the book, I felt nervous for Changez's future at Underwood Samson. Being a Pakistani, it is very hard for others to not have a filter when they are looking at Changez. His different identity does not match the American dream he is trying to achieve in New York. People might think he is a terrorist or a spy from Pakistan and Changez might be planning for another terrorist attack.

When Changez got sent by Underwood Samson to Manila, he was impressed. That made him relate to his hometown, Lahore. Even a place like Manila, Philippines, looks more fancy and modern than Lahore. I think it made Changez want to be more "American" and wanted to adapt to a more American style. This creates an interesting comparison of how he respects Pakistan for not looking at the looks of things, but now, he is.

When Changez and Erica got more and more familiar with each other, Changez visited Erica's home for dinner. It is really interesting when I see Changez finding even more information about Erica and her family. Her dad even made a comment on the corruption of Pakistan (stereotype), while Pakistan has some good technology. That is quite similar to what we were thinking before we made researches on Pakistan.

The author describes in the book how Americans moslty focuses on the image and looks. However, Pakistan focuses more on the thing and the purpose itself. For example, Princeton tried to make its campus beautiful with the "fake" ancient buildings. On the other hand, it is pretty ironic that Changez was attracted to the looks of Erica. He considers himself not as a facade person, but he kind of is.

At the end of the book, Davy had grown a lot especially from Wes and Frank. He realized that his dad doesn't need to be the "tough guy" and carries a Cot .45 around all the time like in the movie to be a good sheriff. Battling between justice and family members can be even harder than whatever the stereotype for sheriff is. The justice in Bentrock is limited and shaped by power rather than fairness.

At the end of the book, Davy had grown a lot especially with Wesley and Frank. He realized that his dad doesn't need to be the "tough" sheriff and carries a Colt .45 around all the time like in the movie to be a good sheriff. It is a hard job when people has to deal with justice and emotional conflicts. Davy learned that justice in Bentrock is limited and often shaped by power rather than FAIRNESS.

At the end of the book, Davy had grown a lot especially with Wesley and Frank. He realized that his dad doesn't need to be the "tough" sheriff and carries a Colt .45 around all the time like in the movie to be a good sheriff. It is a hard job when people has to deal with justice and emotional conflicts. Davy learned that justice in Bentrock is limited and often shaped by power rather than FAIRNESS.

Frank's death wasn't such as surprise to me. Although it is almost the end of the story, but it is a huge turning point of the story. Frank's assault towards Marie was spreading in the society, and the Hayden family really want a good reputation. So Frank didn't want to live with accusations. He would rather die than getting imprisoned, and that shows how he relied on his status and power to protect his actions.

When Wes decided to arrest Frank, the community kind of started to know something happened in the Hayden family. However, the society was not that easy. I feel bad for Marie because she was getting discriminated since she was a Native. Bentrock people didn't want to accuse Frank, a white male, for a Native woman. This also shows how corrupt the society was, how the Hayden family's power was greater than justice.

Towards the end of part 2, David realizes how unfair the world can be. That stood out to me because just 50 pages ago, David was a naive, 12 year-old boy knowing nothing in the adult's world. Marie's situation completely changed his perspective. I think people just don't know what they should do. Lying or not being justice is obviously not good. But sometimes, doing the right things can cause huge consequences.

When I saw Marie suddenly died, I was actually not surprised. It is pretty obvious that Frank sexually assaulted Marie. I think the reason is the power in the Hayden family was extremely imbalance. The timing of her death was pretty interesting as well. She was the only direct evidence to show that Frank raped her. But now, the evidence is destroyed by Frank, and it makes the case harder to solve.

Wesley was finally dealing and confronting the raping case of Frank and Marie. But Wes was still reluctant and didn't want to do it. It if pretty interesting to see Wes fighting himself and deciding to investigate on the case. On one side, he is the sheriff and on the other side, he is Frank's brother. It was a super hard decision for Wes to choose justice over his family, arresting Frank.

At the end of part 1, Wesley was frustrating between his sheriff job and family. Thus, David felt the cruelty and the hidden truth in his town or even the whole society. The world is not perfect anymore in David's mind and he was losing his innocence then. Some people would abuse their powers such as what Frank did to the Native American woman. I feel like David suddenly grew up from a 12 year-old to a man.

On page 9, the father could've been a lawyer but his father, the grandfather made him into a sheriff, because he wanted to keep his power. I think it is interesting that how the dad was so obedient to the grandpa. Also, the dad was being the sheriff in another way. He didn't shoot anyone, and he talked to people to solve issues. That is because he was the lawyer that needed to deal with cases vocally.

In the prologue, the author mentions how the dad was on the floor begging for help from the mother. I think that is pretty interesting because his dad was the sheriff. The sheriff should be a tough, hardcore guy that is always the one that stands up while confronting issues. However, Davey's dad did the opposite. Also, the mother is usually depicted as weak, but she pulled a shotgun out.

Possum brought Cal to the woods and the difference is that this woods no one cares about the kids. So they can put stuff in the woods like Possum did. The boys liked that place because they can play freely in the woods and hide stuff. Possum hid guns, bows, and other stuff that I think is not allowed in the Challagi school.

In the school, kids were saying "Yes sir!" I feel like this is too strict for a school. Normally, a school is for kids to study or in this case to let Indian kids be American. But I kind of feel like this school is a military. Teachers are super strict and kids don't act like happy kids any more. Meanwhile, this might be understandable because guys want these kids to change drastically.

I know what happened when Pop talked about their great-great-grandfather was moved away from their homelands by the colonists. I am pretty confident to say that Manifest Destiny caused that. I feel that is bad because the colonists just got their land and didn't give any good thing to the Indians.

Cal recalled that other people said he and Pop had the same hair, same brown skin, and the same bent-nosed profile. Then Cal was trying to clear the idea out of this mind. What I feel from those paragraphs is that Cal had been brainwashed by other people that being an Indian is bad because a normal kid won't think Indian is bad. Cal is trying to tell himself that he is not a Indian which is kind of racist.

On page 43, Pop said his mom was still humorous even when she was sick. Normally, when someone is humorous they are happy or they want to make other people happy. I think why she did that is to show Pop that she is fine, she can still make jokes. She doesn't Pop to concern her too much. I think that is good because she was sick, which is bad, but she doesn't want other people feel bad about her.