In Chapter 14 the war had once again started. Two new characters,
Rudi and Karl were introduced at the beginning of the chapter. Rudi was
infatuated with Topthorn. Also Joey noticed that Rudi was a younger solider,
and thought of him maybe as the same age as Albert. At the end of the chapter,
Topthorn had a tragic heart failure and passed away. Then, as Topthorn lay
there, there was an attack and Friedrich didn’t survive. Joey stood there over
Friedrich and Topthorn as chapter 14 ended.
In Chapter 15, Joey stood beside
where Topthorn and Friedrich laid, until he couldn’t any more. Large tanks
chased Joey across the battlefields. Joey ran into a barbed wire and suffered
an injury to his leg. However, battle was all over the place and Joey continued
to run. For the first time he was lost, because he missed his partner Topthorn.
At the end of Chapter 15, Joey walked upon a conversation in the middle of
night. As the sun rose, Joey found himself in “no man’s land.”
In Chapter 16
Joey found himself trying to escape this no man’s land but could not find a
hole in the barbed wire on either side. Finally, one person from each side
noticed Joey, and wanted him. One soldier from the German side, and one
Welshman came to pursuit Joey. They settled the conflict with the flip of a
coin and Joey went with the Welshman back to their side.
In Chapter 17, Joey and Albert meet once again. Two men, David and Albert are cleaning off Joey in the barn and Albert knows its his horse Joey when he calls him with his call, and Joey responds. We have been waiting for this connection between Albert and Joey. Ever since they split, we have been talking about Albert and Joey and their reunion. I thought this was an interesting way to become reunited as it was a bit anti-climatic. It took some time for Albert to recognize Joey. However, I am excited to see what happens as chapter 17 ends with Albert and Joey being reunited!
In Chapter 17, Joey and Albert meet once again. Two men, David and Albert are cleaning off Joey in the barn and Albert knows its his horse Joey when he calls him with his call, and Joey responds. We have been waiting for this connection between Albert and Joey. Ever since they split, we have been talking about Albert and Joey and their reunion. I thought this was an interesting way to become reunited as it was a bit anti-climatic. It took some time for Albert to recognize Joey. However, I am excited to see what happens as chapter 17 ends with Albert and Joey being reunited!
This was probably my favorite reading assignment for the book so far because lots of exciting events occurred. Joey got to reunite with Albert! Now, I wonder what those two will do next... I'm curious to see how Albert is doing throughout the war because we haven't heard his experience yet. Although Topthorn died, Joey was able to get an old friend back so he was not as lonely. I understand why the author wrote the book in the horse's perspective, but I'm interested in knowing viewpoints from the human characters.
ReplyDeleteI loved this part of the reading. Although it started with trauma because Joey's closest friend throughout the whole war has been Topthorn and he died, as Eric mentioned, of heart failure. From there you see a downfall of Joey which has all readers feeling horrible for him but also wanting the underdog (in this case horse) to survive. When Joey finally gets out of no man's land I found that it was interesting they settled the debate so peacefully. Joey gets to go back and be cleaned up and taken care of. The anticipation in waiting for Albert to recognize Joey had me wanting to keep reading quicker and quicker. The overall ending of Chapter 17 left the book with a good feel. I'm only worried with what is to come at this point.
ReplyDeleteI was pretty bummed too about how Joey and Albert were reunited. You would think that as much as Albert has told David and the other men in his company about Joey, and how he would recognize him anywhere, it was pretty frustrating that it was David who had to point out to Albert that the muddy, injured horse standing right in front of him was Joey. Maybe Albert expected some sort of "skies open, rainbows appear, and birds sing" experience when he was reunited with Joey, and perhaps the author is trying to point out that war was ugly and reunions like that only happen in fairy tales. At any rate, I just wanted to shout at my book "Albert, it's Joey!" so I guess Mr. Morpurgo did a good job getting me into the story.
ReplyDeleteFINALLY reunited!!! Though I was surprised that Albert didn't recognize Joey at first I am so happy they are finally together. I wish Topthorn would have been able to survive though, I really wasn't expecting him to die when he did. However, Topthorn dyeing was like the "horse" fallen solider. Topthorn represented all the amazing horses who fought in the war and lost their life without the recognition deserved. I am really excited to see where the book goes from here. I am a little worried something might still happen through because there are still a few chapters left in the book! Good section!
ReplyDeleteI had mixed feelings about these chapters. I was devastated that Topthorn died and it seemed like it happened so fast! Reading about Joey staying by Topthorn even after he died was heartbreaking yet it showed the amazing bond between these two horses. Despite all the sadness in these chapters, I couldn't have been happier to see Albert and Joey reunited!!! I was beginning to think that they would never see each other again but I'm so glad they did! I agree with you all about waiting for Albert to realize it was Joey. It seems odd that the author would create the reunion to be that way but I'm hoping the end will do it justice. I can't help but to wonder what will happen to Albert and Joey now that they are together again.
ReplyDelete