Homeless Bird

Arman September 16, 2009 Arman September 14, 2009  Period 4

                                                                                                        

                                                        Homeless Bird                 

 

    Hello, my name is Arman Hairapetyan and I'm here  to tell you about a book I've read called "Homeless Bird", written by Gloria Whelam. You probably want to know why I chose to talk about this book, and the reason why is because Mrs. Mischkot, my 6^th grade english and history teacher, wanted the class to read a book for a project that we would soon have to do. I wanted something intrasting and I judged the books that I was viewing in the classroom shelves by its cover. I saw the book "Homeless Bird" on the shelf and it caught my intrest because of its covar of a lonely girl in a corner quilting a  shawl . I read a few pages of the book to see if I made the right choice for me, and I did. I love to learn about the cultures of the world and this book had a great promise , but thats not the only reason I read it and if I tell you what  its really about , it will ruin the story for you. The main theme of the story actually starts in the beginning of the story .

     The main character of the story is named Koly, a fourteen Hindu girl from a small village in India. Koly from my point of view, would be the only main character in the story. Through out the story, Koly has been living with many different people such as her parents, in-laws, and in a home somewhat similar to an orphanage. So you see, Koly has been switching homes for many reasons weither it was her being abandoned or givin away to through out the story, she is mainly involved with those who she lives with, rarely those who she does not.  I wont try to give away to much details about the story , but here's a brief summery about the story. Koly is a fourteen year old hindu girl who is forced to an enranged marriage with a boy who was much younger than her. It was soon revealed through out the story that Kolys in-laws actually used Koly to receive her dowry money for their son who is actually very ill. They wanted  to use the money so they can go to the Ghengis river in a different city in order to hopefully have him healed once he is placed in the rivers water. Soon enough, Koly's husband, who was the boy died and her mother in-law has abandoned her in the city with barley any money. The book tries to send a message to its readers that you are never alone, people care about you and that you can live life if you fight for it. Koly went through tough situations that she solved on her own, which soon lead her to something that she didn't expect, and if she can do it so can you.

  There is a quote in the story that says" even a homeless bird can find a home". What the quote is trying to say is that you are not always alone and never give up on finding a family, or a place where you can relax and call your home. The reason why I chose this quote is because at one point, Koly did become a homeless as a child and she gave up hope and thought that she would always be alone, but she was wrong. She proved herself wrong when her dreams became reality. The importance of the quote  in the story is that it became reality and brought joy, hope, and love to a girl who once had a broken heart.

    I rate the book 5 stars because it was well written, the story was very detailed and even taught a bit of the Indian language.  The story described the characters and setting in detail to a way where you can imagine what it looks like. The story also brings in emotions towards Koly once you discover her suffering through out the book. As you can see above on the first page, there is an image of a dove. I chose a dove as an icon for the story. The reason why is because a dove resembles freedom, love, hope, and joy, as well as to nurture . All this that the dove resembles comes true for Koly as we discovers these facts one by one though her rough journey as the homeless bird comes to anend

 Three reasons why I recommend this book. One, because it teaches a large portion of the Indian culture and life. Two, the book send a message to children that they are never alone and can accomplice hardship. Three, its very detailed and starts your mind to think what could possibly happen next and also see a glimpse of what many hardship people young and old face today. I recommend this book to an audience who love to learn about other cultures ,and to those who love to follow a journey that of a child and how he or she accomplish their hardships and end their journey with a happy ending. There are no warnings that need to be notified.