Journal Four- Mychaela Brown

 I think a really important chapter that I read was, “Papa Who Wakes Up Tired In The Dark”. I think an important theme in this chapter was empathy. I chose this chapter because the events in the chapter actually just recently happened in my life. Esperanza learns from her father that her grandfather has died. She has to take on the responsibility of tell her siblings that they cannot play today either. Esperanza also has to put things into perspective as to what life would be like if her father was to die. I think this is the first time Esperanza has come face-to-face with male emotions, because all of her other interactions with emotions and empathy in the book haven’t been so direct.

“I hold and hold and hold him” (56). Out of the entire chapter, this sentence was one that really stuck. I think this is Esperanza’s reaction to that eye opening thought of the possibility that she too could lose her father. To see her father express such negative emotions is overwhelming for her. 

I think my older sister Yanni had quite a good influence on me. We are only three years apart, so not too far and not too close. She’s only my half sister and we don’t live together. I’ve always looked up to her; her style, personality, just the way she carried herself. She wasn’t the “popular” girl in school but everyone knew of her and she had a quite a bit of friends. She just was cool and had a lot of things going for herself and I wanted to be like that.