Nevertheless, many people who leave the island for better opportunities and a way to help their families are often criticized for leaving despite there being no systematic changes in place to keep them home
the meaning of the story kind of takes a turn here. the whole time it seemed like this was a unique thing between her and her dad, now we find at that it is more common. the barrels also began to be portrayed in a more negative way here.
I will not say that I loved the barrels more than my father, but I will say that I think I did.
this sentence is very impactful, gets at why the barrels were mentioned earlier.
He then took us to the top of the hill to a place called Lookout at night where we could see the sparkling lights of Kingston down below.
Has very good imagery. This whole paragraph reminds me of the paper we had to write on taking a journey.
My father continued to live up there in the clouds, where my mind placed him.
I can picture this in my head. The longing of a child as they look up to the sky waiting for they dad. This sentence sounds like it is coming directly from a child's mind.
shifting about the globe
like this part alot. this ongoing metaphor about plant being like migrants, traveling around the world and settling their roots in new places away from their home.
“Don’t let that happen to you,” she said. “Go back while you are still young and can make a life. Don’t be left here.”
A little confused about this ending. I'm not sure if this is expressing regret about leaving, or if this means that she should travel back to New Zealand while she still can (her "home").
hem fills me with love and immense gratitude—and a twinge of guilt
interesting how something so insignificant to some people, just normal oysters, can carry so much meaning for others. felt like this really shows the authors individuality from the rest of the world.
I felt guilty. I suspected that if she had a thousand oysters, she would offer them all to me before she ate any herself.
Kind of a strong thought for a 7 year old. For most kids, eating food from a restaurant would be done without thinking. However, for the author, since restaurants have such an impact on her life (where both her parent work long hours) this simple action hold more meaning than for most other kids.