Drew Newstedt

The event in the first part of the book that has had an impact on me is Arthur being forced to leave his family. When Arthur left he and his family had no idea what was going to happen to him. I can't imagine what it would be like if one of my family members had to leave. It would be difficult not to know what was happening to my family member. This qoute shows the anxiety of the family while they wait to hear news from Arthur "What could we do for Mama? She was constantly calling for Arthur. I had terrible visions of what might have happened to him.(32)" Later the family receives a letter from Arthur telling them he is alright. Knowing that Arthur was ok made me happy. It must have been hard for Gerdas' family to not know anything about Arthur.