MHS AP Language discussion

I think that Dave Eggers love to get into extreme details with describing events. He uses tons of vivid imagery, and describe everything down to the last detail.

Egger's purpose in What is the What is to portray the struggles that occur in less fortunate areas of the world. He does so through the body of Achek Deng, making the novel emotional, and one that tears at the heart of the reader.

I enjoyed reading the memoir, but it wasn't completely cohesive, in my mind, when I was reading it. It seemed to be all over the place, and the jumping back and forth wasn't as clean as it should've been. But all in all, I really enjoyed the book and hope the best for Valentino! :)

This memoir was very interesting because Eggers was very descriptive in telling his story. I think that it was a bit too dragged out, he went chapters and chapters about one stupid thing.

I enjoyed reading What is the What, it was a little long, the book in itself was a little confusing because he would jump back and forth for the present to the past but I could really feel what he was feeling at moments in the book. The author did a good job in portraying how Valentino was feeling at times and connecting his past to his present.

what is the what was an interesting book to read because i had to keep focused all the time since the author kept going back and forth. The story of Valentino Deng impressed me because he had gone through so much as a young boy but he was still trying to live his life in a somewhat normal way. The things that happened to him when he was younger didn't affect him negatively it only helped him grow stronger.

"What is the What" was an interesting novel. I enjoyed reading it even though the book was very large. I think Egger's purpose of the novel was to show that anyone is capable of anything they believe in. Valentino experienced many terrifying moments in his life from losing his entire family and the robbery at his home in Atlanta. Even though Valentino faced struggles in his life, he was still able to better himself. The novel reflected on his past during the civil war and showed his progression to his present life in the United States.

I am still unsure of what exactly the what is. I remember Achak's father explaining the story about the humans and how God gave them the choice of the what or something else, and how he brings it up throughout the book, but I do not remember him fully explaining it.

What is the What was my favorite summer reading book this year. I was very interested in the story about Valentino Achak Deng's life, as Egger's way of switching back and forth between the present and past made the reading much more interesting. I also enjoyed reading this book because there was a great amount of detail on Valentino's journey out of Sudan.

In my opinion I thought What is the What was an interesting book to read because it gave me a view into a world that I was not aware of. I really believe the purpose of the novel is to bring awareness to the audience about the reality of life and how there are horrible things going on to people. The audience, well me in particular,I really learned about a side of a world I was not aware of. It's a real big eye opener. I really liked the way the author told the story, the use of modern day life to reflect back on the past.

Joel wrote: "I am still unsure of what exactly the what is. I remember Achak's father explaining the story about the humans and how God gave them the choice of the what or something else, and how he brings it u..."

Nice comment, bro :) I totally agree with you.

I thought the book was a bit depressing, generally. Yet, it still had its uplifting moments when Achak spoke about Tabitha, but I preferred What is the What, over The Gatekeepers. Even so, it was interesting and heartbreaking to hear some information about the Sudanese Civil War. My favorite moment of the book was when Achak spoke about a photo he had of Tabitha where she was wearing her glasses, and how she hated how he had that picture of her, but still kept it no matter what since he loved her very much.

The main purpose of the novel, What is the What is to persuade the readers on the Civil War affected Lost Boys of Sudan, especially Valentino. My favorite part of the story the novel were the scenes when he talks about Tabitha because he was really in love with her. Also I'm still confused on what is the what.

In Dave Eggers' "What is the What", the purpose of this novel was to inform about historical events that happened in Sudan and also, the impact of adversity and how to overcome it. My favorite moment was when Valentino got some encouragement about how he's not limited to opportunities in life because he is a human from Sudan. I thought it was a very powerful paragraph!

"What is the What" was very refreshing to me because I got to open my mind to things I've never thought of before, like the hardships faced by people who come to live in another country and are not treated the way they'd initially expect to be treated. For me, the purpose of this novel was to inform readers on the struggles and experiences that someone from a different country faces and how one might react to certain situations dealing with racism and stereotypes.

In my my opinion What is the What was a good book though I did not like how it was set up. The chapters were very jumpy. All in all the idea of the book was good, I enjoyed the story.

The purpose of the novel through my eyes is to show the rest of the world the problems of the war in Africa and how people are being treated. It shows us how bad and real these problems are for these people, that they actually do get killed not only by solders but by the wild life. What we think is hell is what they experience every second of their life. The starvation and dehydration for these people trying to escape was real. It also shows through the jumping from Valentino's American life to his life in Africa trying to escape explains how if he can survive the treacherous African land then he can survive in America.

What is the What was a long, long read. I did not mind reading it, but it is not something I would read in my spare time really. The purpose of this work was to recall what had happened and what is happening in Sudan and other regions in Africa, and I liked that Valentino was able to tell his story. However, I kept feeling his pain and it was, to tell the truth, bumming me out. I think that was part of the purpose though, the author used this technique to let the reader feel what Valentino went through, which, obviously was successful. I liked how so many people reached how to Valentino, however, everyone was so charitable when he came to America.

I think that this book was alright because it was a little confusing, but over all it was a good read.

Egger's purpose in writing the story of Valentino Achak Deng was to explore the difficulties and struggles that the Southern Sudanese faced as their lives were under attack. One of my favorite moments of this book was when Achak and his acting troupe were able to take a trip outside of Kakuma to a new city. It was definitely placed very well in the book. After all, most of the book was of hardship and struggle - with this scene, they were able to relax and discover new things, that we, as Americans, have seen since we were born.