Jennifer Shen Ms. Patterson English II Honors 1st 8 February 2016 Bamboo People Mitali Perkins Reading Log: Date read Number of pages & chapters 2/3/16 Pg.109 (chapter 23) – pg. 176 (Part 2 chapter 9) Part 1: General Sense After a few weeks of being tirelessly “trained,” Chiko finds a way to escape from some parts of camp work. A sergeant of the army, U-Tha-Din, does not know how to read and write, and Chiko sees this as an opportunity to use his literacy skills for something other than training. He is then tasked with reading letters to the sergeant out loud and writing responses to various people in the army. After a couple of weeks, the commander, who does not like Tai and Chiko, comes back to pick one of the boys to be a “mine …show more content…
Because the book takes place in a foreign country, many of the references made tend to be cultural. Perkins uses the Burmese titles such as “Ko” and “Mua” to mimic the time and location in which the story took place (125, 168). The use of the Burmese and Karenni words create a realistic atmosphere and makes the story more believable. It also makes the story a bit more meaningful seeing as foreign or non-English words “stick” in readers’ minds longer. In addition, the transition between Burmese and Karenni words helps to show the different sides of the war. By switching from Burmese to Karenni or from Karenni to Burmese, Perkins can create certain emotions and meanings that would not be present in English. When Chiko was taken in by a Karenni tribe across the border, he was suspected of being a spy and was put on trial. To convince the tribe members that he was not a spy, Chiko referred to his father as “Peh” rather than the Burmese word for father (Perkins 172). The diction also helps describe the current state of the war in the book. It is clear that Tu Reh despises the Burmese so he often portrays himself in a superior tone while using Karenni. Chiko on the other hand, picks up on bits of the language and uses it to convey a sense of trust rather than