The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant

1. I knew that I was going to move to Korea in the middle of my freshmen year. I just moved to Saratoga and met the sister I've never had. That idea of moving to a foreign country was incomprehensible, I was very ignorant. I didn't care if this country had my "roots." I didn't want to move just yet because I just moved. America is my home and it will forever be my home. It's just because I've lived there my whole life. I've never been exposed to crowded streets and people elbowing me to move out of the way. I know people say you'll soon like it more than America, but they just don't get that it's the same thing if I were to tell them they will like America more than Korea if they moved. I didn't tell anyone, only my best friend. Then later I was talking to another one of my good friends and he was so convinced that he could convince my dad to stay. I honestly didn't think he'd actually have the time to go around and get all my good friends to sit down and write letters to send to my dad. They threw me a party and had me read all the letters. As I read each word my heart dropped, I honestly thought maybe there was a little hope. Just a little, just maybe and only there was hope I wouldn't move. My friend kept badgering me and telling me that it's going to work. He would even get a little bit stubborn when I was doubting it would work. Would my dad really just go ahead and change his mind with a couple of letters written by 15 year olds? I did want the answer to be, "Yes, you can stay here." But no matter what my friend thought, I knew he was wrong. I knew but then again i didn't want to admit that my dad will say no. It was all something that I got my hopes up for, but in the end I was really happy that I got to see what my friends wrote and what they thought of me when they first saw me. I knew that it was an obvious no, but I guess it was worth a shot.


2. Sheila Mant in the protagonist's mind is already up on a pedestal. A pedestal so far up, that it would take a while where she is. He notices every little thing about her to the point if he was a painter, he would take an incredibly long time to paint her. Every little detail about her is described perfectly in the story. He even mentions, "her well-spaced freckles." He takes in every little moment and takes time to learn when it's the right time to approach her on the dock while she's soaking in the sun. She's so high up in her mind, it's like that typical high school movie/ Where the girl is walking the hall and there's a glow around her hair with a fan blowing in her hair. The guy feels invisible even if she sits two seats away from him. He tries everything to be noticed and goes out for popular sports. In those movies, the guy always gets the girl, but in this story sadly he doesn't. At the start of their date, her tone is very blank and blunt. From the reading, I can even smell bad air. She's losing interest, and seemed very bored. It didn't even seem he was very much into it towards the end. The author just explains what happened at the concert with a very non-descriptive summary. If the protagonist was interested in the date, he would explain his every emotion with every happening throughout the night. He only expressed his feelings with fishing.