Response to Chapter 1 & 2

Chapter one. Dawn is Dangerous. 

This chapter title made me wonder, what could they have possibly mean? As the chapter progress, the suspense grew. Somewhat. So when Sir Philip and his men appeared around the corner, as expected, I wanted to shout at the boy to run and don't look back. But of course, we all know, without a stupid action there would be no point in this chapter - hence, the boy turns around and throws the rock. And on with the story we go.

This book is a historical fiction. As we have discussed in class, what Sir Philip - a knight because of the 'sir' before his name - did was about the enclosure act. Fencing a common land without an explanation - much like one of preview activities where we were taken away a right with no rational reasons given to us whatsoever.

Chapter two - we continue with the boy's adventure. We now know that his name is Peter Brownrigg, he is the protagonist as we can tell - the story told from his point of view. And he goes to school! The gender roles in the society is still very "separated". Girls stay at home while the boys go to school. During school, his thoughts kept repeating how there was his name on the cap that the bullet went through, how he can't wait to show off to his friends with proper proof.

I question the boy's thinking. If he knows that his name is on the cap, and it's left there on the rocks where anyone can pick it up, doesn't he think of how that evidence he can pick up, the sheriff can as well? And then, you can well predict what's going to happen by the end of the chapter - he is going to "escape", as the chapter title indicates.

Sometimes, I think Peter is kind of dense and slow, when he sees the horsemen riding around the corner - he should be watching out for this kind of thing, not be shocked and watch them for five precious seconds with his mouth hanging open. And he didn't think of how his cap is an obvious evidence of his participation in the taking down of the fence. But I guess he was quick-minded enough to realize that when the sheriff came and ask for him.

Him racing towards home and his parents waiting outside. And their conversation was interesting. The interrogation process seems like torture, and Peter admits that he will blurt out each name of the participants when faced with this kind of questioning. We learn more about the justice and court system back then.

It seems like the geography consists of rolling hills of some sort. And plants include heather, tough grass - the kind of plants that are usually on the moor, which confirms my suspicion of the "rolling hills".