1. Close third point of view is “when an author sticks closely to one character but remains in third person”. With this way of writing I am able to see how Jack and Bout actually think. We are also able to see the thoughts that they think no one else knows.
  2.  I believe this essay is about how not allowing yourself to extend or change your thoughts can lead to you having a miserable life. In Michael Paterniti’s essay “Eating Jack Hooker’s Cow” he shares completely different perspectives on basically the same situation. Jack Hooker, an American who owns a motel says “he will honor his hate and unleash it and understand that his hate will come back on him, understand that he, too, is hated.”(Paterniti). Hooker believes that because he hates other people who aren’t like him, he will also be hated. This might be true in some cases, but it doesn’t have to be this way. The only reason other people may “hate” him is because he isn’t allowing himself to try and understand another person’s experiences and their perspective on life.
  3. I think the author is trying to get us to understand that just because we have differences from other people, we could be going through a very similar situation. They both believe to be “American” but they don’t think of each other as the same. “Jack Hooker went right out and put up his own sign: AMERICAN OWNED. Donna retaliated by buying a bunch of American flags, putting them up everywhere” (Paterniti). You can see in this quote that they are both standing for the same thing but are somehow going against each other. Hooker also believes that there is “No such thing as the American Dream anymore, he says. You used to do business in your honor and good name.” (Paterniti) In this quote you can see how he doesn’t believe in the “American Dream” even though he knows Donna who is trying to live that “American Dream”.
  4. For me, being “American” can mean a lot of different things. There is no correct way of what you think being “American” means. But, there is a wrong way, a lot of people don’t allow people who don’t fit the definition of “American” to be American. For example, Jack Hooker doesn’t believe that people that are different from him are American. Even though they believe they are.
  5. I think this reading can relate to our readings because the theme of understanding other peoples perspectives is kind of forgotten in the case of Jack Hooker. He doesn’t give anyone else a change to be “American” because he won’t allow himself to understand others way of life.