Book Report Book Title: The Orphan Train Adventures Author: Joan Lowery Nixon Task 1: Telling which part of the story impresses me most.
After the orphans and Frances had arrived Missouri, some couples began to sign up to take the orphans with them. Though some orphans were not being chosen in the first round, Frances did not let the couples take them up easily. They must tell Frances why they would like to take care of them, the situation of the family, or other necessary information. If Frances thought that the environment was not suitable for the orphans to live in, she refused their request. At last, one boy, Eddie, was not chosen by any of the family.
I am impressed by the attitude of Frances. Towards the end of the selection, I believe that most people will try to finish their jobs as soon as possible by sending away the remaining orphans by the willing families. At that time, the selection criteria will be less stringent. However, Frances did not lower her standard of selection. At last, Eddie was not chosen but Frances did not give him up. She took him to her house to live with her.
Soon after, her boy friend, Johnny begged her to marry. As a condition for the marriage, she insisted to take care of the orphan after marriage. I believe that I should take this attitude at work. Task 2: Reading Strategies 5.
I tried to put myself in the place of the story characters or think like the author ? Explain which characters you chose to be, and why? I choose to be Aggie because she is capable and persistent. She was never afraid and cried even when she broke a rule and had to go without supper, or when her hands were beaten with a ruler. Throughout the whole journey, she acted as the assistant of Frances and she had performed her duty very well. Mentally, I am quite weak. When I came across difficulties, I would rely on my parents and friends to help me solve the problem. For example, I would cry if I did not know how to do a math problem as I felt very frustrated.
Then, I would not think of it anymore and wait for an answer from my sister. I understand that this is not a good habit. Therefore, I imagine that I were Aggie in the story so that I may learn from her. ? If you were the author, how would you rewrite a character to make it more appealing to the readers? Give reasons.
If I were the author, I would rewrite Frances to make her independent and persistent that she did not have to rely on love. I would let reader know that love is not the whole of our life. There are a lot of things that we can treasure. We, women have the right to say “ No”. We should not always let the men to make the decision.
If I were the author, I will write a meaningful ending. After Frances had traveled with the orphans, she realized that there were many orphans needed her help and care. At the end of the story, she decided to put herself to serve the society. So, she refused Johnny when he begged Frances to marry him.
Task 3: Describing one character that you like/ dislike most. In the story, I like Aggie most because she is persistent and capable, as what I have mentioned in part two. I also think that she is independent. Though she was an orphan, she never looked down at herself. At the end of the story, she was one of the few orphans that were not being taken up any couples.
However, she did not afraid. She was very confident that she could live on her own. She is a decisive person. When she was not selected by the couples, Frances asked her to put on a ribbon so that she would look lovelier. However, she refused to do so.
If she was selected because of the ribbon, the couple was not really like her. She would rather like to have parents really love her so that she would live happily. I would like to be as decisive and independent as Aggie. I realize that no people would be as good as my parents who will never hurt me or harm me.
However, they cannot be by my side forever. I have to stand alone finally. I cannot rely on my friends. Because of conflict of interest, they may not advise me at my benefit or even hurt me to achieve their goal. Task 4: Reflection In the story, there are a lot of orphans. I feel sorry for them.
I wonder how they suffer from loneliness. I do not understand why their parents give birth to them if they do not want to take care of them. A lot of children become orphans because their parents give birth to them accidentally. In recent years, I have heard of a lot of such cases.
I remember that there was one last week: after a woman had given birth to a baby, she put it into a plastic bag and left it in a rubbish bin. When the baby was discovered by people afterwards, it had already died. I wonder if the baby was saved, it would be another orphan. I believe that if people would like to give birth to a baby, they have to take up their responsibilities of taking care of the baby I think that the society should put more emphasis on the care of orphans. Even though there are orphanages for them to live in and have guardant to take care of them, they lack family care.
They may be mentally unhealthy and may be unwilling to communicate with others. I suggest that the government should put more resources in taking care of them and to help them integrating into the community. We, as a citizen, should also help to give warmth to the orphans, to visit the orphanage regularly and to give the orphans a feeling of family. To eliminate the tragedy, I sincerely hope that couples, before they make a decision of having a baby, should think thoroughly and carefully whether they are mature enough to take up their responsibility.
