Reading Journal #5 March 19, 2009

Two Quotations:
1.Help is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly (p.81).
2.When I was young, a teacher had forbidden me to say “more perfect” because she said if a thing is perfect it can’t be more so (p.88).
My Reflection:
After Paul and the writer went to their parents’ place from Jessie’s place, they had a great time with their parents. They first had a good dinner and a nice talk. The following day, the brothers went fishing with their father. During the fishing time, the writer mentioned that Paul always can catch every kind of fish he wanted to catch with very limited types of flies. The writer also said that Paul won over him because he never borrowed any flies from him. Well, I think some artists did a great job in their works with very limited tools. But I do not think this is the only criterion to judge their success. It is also based on the quality of the outcomes. Like in the story, Paul did catch good and beautiful fish and only used 4 or 5 types of flies. This is a success. However, I do agree that people who make use of their skill with limited tools and do an excellent job deserve more respect than those who have a lot of tools and materials. I guess it is also a good excuse when one fails catching big fish; just simply say that “I am short of flies.” I find out one of my friend used to apply the excuse every time he fails in doing something by blaming that he is short of the tools.
Questions:
1. If you were Neal, will you come back again and visit his family?
2.Do you agree that “more perfect” is incorrect? Have you ever experience “more perfect?”