Bartimaeus, Jonathan Stroud. Cycle 25 Reading Response, 50-65

Summary:

            I read pages 50-65; the chapter starts off learning about a magician named Arthur Underwood. Arthur Underwood is a middle-ranking magician who works for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Mr. Underwood now has to take in an apprentice from the orphanage, though he doesn’t really want to. Mr. Underwood takes the boy home where they meet Mrs. Underwood. Mrs. Underwood asks the boy to tell her his name, even though he is supposed to never say his name again and forget it. He tells her Nathaniel. Nathaniel and Mrs. Underwood grew a very close connection. Mrs. Underwood was the only person Nathaniel could really talk freely and openly with. Nathaniel has special tutors for all the different subjects he has to learn with each teacher stricter and meaner then the last. Though he is young, he has to learn about advance stuff such as learning everything about the Middle East in only a week or such as learning to play every singly instrument by his teacher Mrs. Sander.

 

Vocabulary:

Cantankerous-adj. Bad tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative 

Diminutive-adj. small; little; tiny

Ministration-n. The act of ministering care, aid, religious service, etc.

Virtue-n. Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.

Anguish-n. Excruciating or acute distress, suffering, or pain: the anguish of grief.

            Verb. To inflict with distress, suffering, or pain.

 

 

Diary Entry #1

            Mrs. Underwood told me that it would help to express my feeling more by writing this so called “Diary”. I believe she just said to write about whatever happened today. Well I guess it was just another normal day living in this house. I woke up at around sunset and brushed my teeth and changed my clothes. I then gathered all of my homework and headed down the stairs. Mrs. Underwood greeted me and laid out a nice breakfast across the table. I believe it was toast and cereal, with a glass of milk. I thought the breakfast was good, sort of the same as usual. I then headed off to meet my teacher, Mr. Pucell. I entered the room and as usual was trying to smooth down his hair, so that people wouldn’t know it was thinning. We did the usual today, mathematics, modern language (French and Czech), geography, chemistry, physics, history, and of course politics, which Mr. Pucell thought was the most important thing in the world. After about 6 hours of class, I descended back down to the kitchen where a sandwich was left under a moist piece of saran wrap. After lunch I headed back up to the music room, where Mr. Sindra practiced my singing and piano. As usual he called me pitchy and horrible. After 2 hours of music lessons I headed out to the garden; the garden was my favorite place in the house. It is where I could have peace away from everything that Mr. Underwood forces down upon me. After an hour of peaceful relaxation in the garden I entered back into the house for dinner. Tonight dinner was turkey and potatoes. I talked to Mrs. Underwood about my day and how mean Mr. Sindra was. That's when she told me to write this thing, and that it would help me feel better. I don’t really feel all the better, so I think I’m just going to stop writing now.