In Language Arts we are once again doing D.E.A.R. and I had to choose a novel. My chosen novel 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, written by Jules Verne, tells a story of a Professor who was supposed to hunt down a sea monster that has destroyed several ships and caused chaos. However, he the somehow ends up in an unknown submarine called the Nautilus. He discovers the depths of the ocean, but the he finds that there is no escape from the Nautilus.

So far I really enjoyed the book. I like the use of language the author is using, making the story seem old and mysterious, for example “You and your companions will not, perhaps, have so much to complain of in the chance which has bound you to my fate”. I was really excited to see what the sea monster was and was really surprised when it turned out be a Submarine. I probably also find this book interesting because it is all around water and the ocean. However, sometimes it is hard to understand the text because it is quite complicated language and therefore I always have to look in the context to find the meaning of certain words.

Even though I read that the professor and his servant are onboard the Nautilus, I did not understand how they got there. Hopefully I will find that out soon.

I am really excited to read what animals and things they will discover in 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and what the professor will do to escape his prison. I am wondering what and when something will happen like on the front cover.

Surprisingly they saw the beast. The hunters were going up the hill to the big fire and finally saw a type of ape sitting down. I m not sure if this is the real beast by they described it huge. However in the big moment, when the ape stood up the chapter was done and it rapidly stopped. I did not really like this rapid ending because I wanted to know more about the beast.
Another point is that Jack quit. He left the community and end on his own into the forest. I knew that Jack was either going to be the new chief or is going to run away. However, the children seem to work better without him, but I think this is going to change soon because they need a violent fearless part in the group.

The pervious part I read confused me again. I did not really understand if they finished hunting the beast or not.Therefore, I just kept going because I thought it is going to be clearer at the end. However the author did not explain it so I concluded this part is not important. So right know the only thing they think about is hunting. Not surprisingly they were hunting again in the next chapter. I am not sure if the only things they can hunt are pigs, but they are trying to catch another one. At the end the hunters were jumping around in a circle and I thought they caught one, but they were laughing and saying that a child is the pig. Therefore, I am not sure if they hunted one down.

My wish to know about the beast almost came true. After the meeting they were relaxing and other children suddenly saw the beast. As arrogant Jack sometimes can be he said he should hunt it because he is the best. However Ralph, the leader, was going to search for it. The part when Ralph was searching for the monster did not really make sense to me. First of all I had no idea if he was hunting on land or in the water. Also he was not really scared to go into the water (I figured out that he is in the water through the context). And lastly, Jack suddenly appeared next to him at a cliff and they became friends again.
So the part I read was really confusing and at the end disappointed me because they two boys did not see it.
I just realized something while I was writing this. There are only boys and no girls. Maybe it has some meaning at the end of the book.

Finally I found the information I was looking for. They talked a whole meeting about the beast and little children were telling dreams and incidences according to it. As a wrote in my previous post the older kids do not believe that there is a beast because they searched the whole island. In my opinion the idea that the beast should come out of the water made the whole story even more interesting. Now the beautiful island of fun turns out to have danger. Even if they did not see the beast yet I really belief there is something going on.
Also my theory which I stated at the beginning of the book, that Jack is going to make trouble because he is not chief, becomes true. I did not really understand why they had a fight, but Jack became really angry at Ralph, Piggy and Simon. In the future I think he is going to make his own way out of the island or takes a separate path then the others.

As I already said in the last journal entry, they missed a big chance getting rescued. However, the main character got really angry now because nobody cared about the fire and everybody just went and had fun. I think the reaction of him was not appropriate because he is the leader and should be organizing the children. On the other hand, Jack the supporter of the chef got really angry at that moment too because Peggy was supporting the chef. So he broke Piggy’s glasses. This was also a stupid and violent act. I already knew that something was going too happened like Jack being violent. In the book he was described as a cruel and strict person. Now I am going to start a new chapter and I am really interested if something is going to happen according to the beast mentioned earlier.

In my opinion the children were a bit o relaxed because now they missed an opportunity to get rescued. One day the main character saw smoke at the horizon and I thought it was another island with civilization on it, but it was actually a boat. Already earlier I did not know why they did not make a signal to enlighten the recue fire. Therefore, they missed a big chance of to return home.
Another important point is that they were coloring themselves like Native Americans. I was trying to figure out the reason for this, but I think they just did it for fun.
In one sentence one of the children said “There isn’t no boat” and I thought he saw the boat because it cancel each other out, but he actually did not see the ship. Therefore, I am not sure if this is a type slang or a mistake in the book.

Now my theory got disproven because he actually went back to their camp and all the children were there. However, it is really strange that they already have shelters even if it wasn’t mentioned before Jack, the main character, got unconscious. I think that he passed out for at lets one day, but I don’t understand why the other children did not search for him. Another important point is, that the children are scared of some kind of beast, which gives the story a little push and it is more interesting to read. One boy said when they go hunting they feel like being hunted. So I am really interested in this type of beastie, even if I do not understand who they know that a creepy animals is present if the author has never mentioned it.

I started a new chapter now in the book and it started off really strange. The main character was waking up somewhere on the island, sunburned and unconscious. First I thought he would have dreamed the whole story before and it was just an illusion. It also made sense because it is not logical that the children would be so calm after a plane crash. But after a view pages he still did not mentioned that he had dreamed this so now I am really confused what is going to happen next. Specifically I want to find out if my theory is right.

Now the story is getting a bit clearer and I can understand difficult words through the context which was impossible at the beginning of the book. So the two boys are trying to gather all the children which survived the plane crash. First I thought they were alone, but then a lot of children were coming out of the forest. I almost understood the whole part I read, but at the end this group of drilled children came too as they were the military and because of this I thought they have been longer on this I land. Near the end the big group of children was voting for a chief. Almost everybody was voting for the main character. Also the group leader a military drilled group wanted to be elected, but he wasn’t and I think this is going to make a lot of trouble in the future. Additionally he was really arrogant.