"Picture This"

(Here is a just a little insight on what the heck I'm talking about:) As my choice memoir, I chose to read "The Bite of the Mango", by Mariatu Kamara. Here she explains her life, as living in the poor community of Sierra Leone, which is in Africa, and then being part of the Civil War that is being fought there. During the rebel attacks, Mariatu loses her hands as punishment for being part of her culture. Almost like dominoes, her world falls around her.

After many failing attempts of trying to draw anything, I finally decided on a different bad drawing. As you can see, I provided a comparison for you to notice how awesome my drawing is compared to the computer images. (My drawing is a combination of the two other images) If you would like to see this bad drawing up close, click here. This one is supposedly a tree, with large branches that are being struck and lost by the storm that passes by. However, it may not even look like that. The symbolism in my drawing is relating the tree with many branches and the storm striking those branches to Mariatu's life. The storm is supposed to represent all of the hurdles and obstacles that are being thrown at her. The awful drawing of the tree, is supposed to be her life and the awful drawing of the branches are supposed to be each aspect of her life. As you can see in the image, Mariatu's life is falling at her feet with each passing moment she is coming
closer and closer to completely falling apart.

The passage that I think best showcases the main ideas illustrated in my book is found around the middle of the novel, just at the beginning of where the story actually gets entertaining. On page 134 of the novel, it states how Mariatu has already begun to fall apart, slowly. "After the nurse removed my stitches, I headed straight to the washroom down the hall. In the privacy of the stall, I tried to rip off my bandages with my arms and teeth. My plan was to punch myself in the stomach until I bled to death..." "...I'd endured serious bouts of depression, followed by moments of extreme happiness in which I forgot all about the war." (Kamara, 134) This shows how Mariatu is falling apart, and essentially wanting to die so she can escape the worries and struggles that  are taking over her life. This also supports my drawing because it shows the branches, being the aspects of her life, (family, Abdul, hope, friends and dream) are being destroyed by all of these things, her depression, the loss of her hands, and the Civil War that is being fought around her.