For this week, the reading that stood out to me the most was Saint Kentigern and the Robin from The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown (1900). I thought that Kentigern wasn't a very likable character. He reminded me of the teachers' pet, but I think that in a retelling I could show off his good character more often. It was strange to me that he seemed to have no friends at all besides his teacher, and eventually the robin.
I also thought that beheading the robin was a little bit violent, and I was surprised that the teacher was so willing to suspect Kentigern with no evidence whatsoever. It seems like Kentigern would be at least safe from suspicion since he spent so much time with the teacher and seemed to be his favorite.
I thought the part of the story where the other boys put out the fire in the hearth made Kentigern seem more like a good person because he didn't feel the need to tell someone in charge that the boys had played a trick on him. Instead, he just acted like everything was normal.
I feel like the aspect of all the boys hating Kentigern just because he was smart is a really modern and understandable theme. It's too easy to be jealous of someone who is perceived as being the best or smartest. I'm glad that in the end of the story, the boys decided to be kind to Kentigern since he had done nothing to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment