"Call It Courage" -Armstrong Sperry

The book was alright. Some of the things that I liked about it were that the author described everything, that we where able to create a connection with the main character, Mafatu, and that the content of the book show the reader what the author's understanding of courage is. Some of the things that I didn't like were that the author didn't explain a lot about Mafatu's background and his culture, Mafatu thought too highly of himself, and Sperry made it seem like Mafatu's feelings were the only feelings.

The author describing everything was a big help to me, because I am a visual learner. The precise description of every last thing helped me grasp the island better than I could have otherwise. Also, the author made it feel like I was seeing through Mafatu's eyes when he explained everything around Mafatu using all of the senses.

The way that the author made the reader connect with the main character, Mafatu, was that he wrote Mafatu's feelings, his pain, and his thoughts. This made me feel as if I was there alongside Mafatu on his journey to find his courage.

In the book and through the main character, the author expressed to the reader what he  understood was the meaning of courage. He showed this by having Mafatu's thoughts and actions display his ideas.

Sperry didn't show a lot about Mafatu's background or his culture, and it is nice to know at least a little background information on the main character(s). It would have been better if he had written about the history of Mafatu's people, or about Mafatu's culture, like why they did certain things, and why they worshiped certain gods. 

I didn't like that Mafatu thought so highly of himself, by thinking how he would kill the boar and would be like by all of the people on his home island. Even though he knew himself a fearful boy, he used that to praise himself. I wish that he would have just confessed that he was afraid, and left it at that, not gone on and on about it.

The last thing that I disliked about the book, was that Sperry made it seem like what Mafatu felt were the only feelings. He didn't write about the people on Mafatu's island were feeling, or the animals around him, or the man-eaters either. Only about what Mafatu thought and felt. The book could have been more open minded if Sperry had included what other charachters thought and felt as well as Mafatu.

In conclusion, the book was alright. There were some things that I really like and some that I disliked very much. Some of the things that I liked about it were that the author described everything, that we where able to create a connection with the main character, Mafatu, and that the content of the book show the reader what the author's understanding of courage is. Some of the things that I didn't like were that the author didn't explain a lot about Mafatu's background and his culture, Mafatu thought too highly of himself, and Sperry made it seem like Mafatu's feelings were the only feelings.