The Single Shard

Recently I have finished the book A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. This book made me feel like I barely did anything in my life because Tree-ear had such a great journey to honor his potter so he could be a potter and made me realize that I am very lucky because I'm not a orphan or having to make a journey that may mean costing my life just to get honor from a potter. This made me think up a connection to life today. People work for other people that work for other people so the boss can push them around. This connects to this story because people have to go to great lengths just to get respect from somebody. This is a just right for me because the vocabulary was not complicated and not easy because only a couple of the words were unknown to me.

I think the two main characters in this story are Tree-ear and the potter Min. Tree-ear has changed all over the story but has had the same goal all the through the story. Tree-ear has changed by working for Min because he realizes the process and difficulty of making pots. At first he thought that every pot of Min's was perfect but as the story goes along Tree-ear understand more about pots and it's long and difficult process that needs perfection. Tree- thinks that Min is treating him like a 5 year-old and like a slave so he gets very annoyed but he didn't how annoyed when Min didn't make a perfect vase. Actually Tree-ear benefited of the hard work because all the spading for clay and cutting of wood made him a more burly man. All he wanted to learn was how to make a pot but he was learning all along. How to drain clay was to make it perfect so it would made into a pot. The wood needed to kiln the pots and how to kiln them. He also started to examine the clay when draining because he figured out the importance of perfect clay so he would drain more times and more carefully with passion. Because if your passion in the things you make then the better it'll be. But thoughts confused him also changed him through the story. First was when he got the job for working for Min with no pay but with good food. Then when the Min's wife made a deal with Tree-ear that she'll give more food if he'd call her 'Ajima' which mean Auntie(which is a great honor) instead of 'Honorable potters wife'. Tree-ear always helped 'Ajima' with weed pulling. And on his journey he thought about many things before and after the pots were broken and if Min would call him dishonorable. After the journey his best friend/step dad had died but Min and 'Ajima' would adopt him and call him son of their own. This was the best thing that had happened to him but his step dad had just died so he didn't know what to think. Min changed because of Tree-ear, he made Min get softer and softer towards Tree-ear through the story but he also thought of Tree-ear as his son who didn't want to be a potter but now he has a son that does.

I think the problem is Tree-ear completing his journey and the problem was resolved by Tree-ear finding the one piece of the pots that showed Emissionary Kim all the special and skillful workings of the pot. This resolution made me feel happy because Tree-ear was overjoyed and I felt happy and he was so lucky because he could still tell Min that his pots earned him a commission. The thing I would change is at the end instead of it ending in his thoughts I would end it with Tree-ear being waken by his knew father and mother by calling him son and after breakfast Min would teach how to make a pot. But also giving Crane-man a funeral and a burial ground under the bridge so they'd remember him always. I would do this because then it could be a happy ending istead of a confusing one. I think the author's message is if you have a desire to do something that will give you great honor in return you'll try your hardest to achieve it.