Literature Form 2 - The Potato People

1. Lesson that can be learnt

There are many lesson that can be learned from the novel, Potato People. Perhaps
the most important is that we should never give up hope.
Patrick Flynne was a young orphan in Ireland during the time of great famine. He had
to fend for himself. All around him were people suffering from the effects of the
famine. Some of this people were nasty and took advantage of weaker people, but
others were good. Patrick, like many other people, ate whatever he could find. Once
he had to eat the rotten meat of a dead dog. Patrick saw his home in his village
destroyed and burn down. He saw his best friend, Sean, being arrested. He dream of
escaping to Amerika. We should never give up hope and must strive for a better life.

2. Enjoyed reading the novel?

Yes, I have enjoyed reading the novel, ‘Potato People’. The story is interesting, and it
has an important message. The story tells about the food famines during the Irish
potato blight in 1840s. Its message is that we must control our destiny and work hard
towards achieving a better life, like Patrick and Marie. They persevered and never
gave up hope for a better life. In the end they settle down in California and became
cattle ranchers. I am inspired by the story of their success.

3. Enjoyed reading the novel ‘Potato People’

The story is interesting and tells about the food famines during the Irish potato blight
in 1840s. Many Irish wanted to migrate to the new world. Its message for it readers is
that we must work hard towards achieving a better life, like Patrick and Marie. In the
end, they settled down in California and became cattle ranchers. I am inspired by the
story of their determination and success.

4. Message of Love
Potato People highlights the message of love. Sean showed his love for Patrick by
turning up with the money for the ship tickets after having gone to great lengths to
obtain the money. Patrick and Marie struggle together in a new country. Love
blossomed between them for they shared difficult as well as happy times. Patrick
showed his love for the poor and hungry when he welcomed them at his home in
California. These characters portray the value of selfless love.

5. Brave Character
The character in ‘Potato People’ who is brave is Patrick. He showed a great courage
by leaving Ireland for a new life in Amerika. Life was full of hardship. He endured the
struggle and even joined the Union Army to fight against slavery. His courage paid off
when he was promoted to the rank of Captain and had the respect of the people.
After the war, he travelled a lot, experiences many dangers and finally, settled down
in California.

6. Theme of Perseverance and determination

Patrick and Marie show perseverance and determination to achieve a better life in
America. Life in the new country was tough. Often, they had to go hungry. However,
they persevered for they never gave up hope for a better future. After so much
hardship, they settled down in California. Patrick married Marie and became a
wealthy cattle rancher.

7. Lesson that I have learnt

I have learnt an important lesson from ‘Potato People’. It is the effort taken in
working towards a better future. During their early years in America, Patrick and
Marie had to endure many years of hardship. However, the hope or a better life in a
new country made them persevere. Their perseverance paid off for life become much
better many years later. I have learnt that if one is determined to struggle, one can
achieve one’s dreams for a better future.

8. The character I like most

The character I like most in ‘Potato People’ is Marie. She is intelligent, cheerful and
determined. She remained cheerful despite the widespread hunger an uncertainty.
Her intelligence save her and Patrick when she stopped him from revealing their
identity to the soldiers. In New York, she was determined to make a better life for
herself. Her struggle finally paid off when she married Patrick and they both settled
down in California.
9. The character that u like
I like the character Sean. I think that he was very loyal to his village and he love the
people very much. Although he stole from Mr Greystone, he did it because he felt that
Mr Greystone was greedy and unfair by burning the village down. The money that he
stole, he gave to Patrick and Marie so that they could go to America to lead a better
life, a live that he could not live. He was punished for stealing the money, but he did
it because he could not bear injustice.

10. Message of loyalty for it readers

The novel ‘Potato People’ has the message of loyalty for its readers. Sean and Patrick
were loyal in their friendship with one another. Sean did not reveal the identity of
Patrick and Marie to the soldiers. This was to save their lives. When Patrick saw Sean
being led away in chains, he wanted to approach Sean, showing his loyalty.
Fortunately, Marie saved his life by stopping him from doing so. Like them, we too,
must be loyal to our friends.

11. Brings attention to the value of love

The novel ‘Potato People’ brings attention to the value of love. Sean showed his love
for Patrick by turning up with the money for the ship fare. Patrick and Marie struggled
in the new country, sharing the hope for a better future. Love blossomed between
them as they shared their hardships with one another. Patrick showed his love for the
poor and hungry when he welcomed them at his ranch in California.

12. The title ‘Potato People’ is relevant to the novel

The title ‘Potato People’ is relevant to the novel. The story is about the ‘potato
blight’ in Ireland in the 1840’s. the people who were victims of this famine were
called the ‘Potato People’. They fed on whatever they could find, even decayed meat
of dead animals. These people, like Patrick and Marie, saw emigration to the New
World as an escape from the starvation and national chaos.

13. Interesting incident

In the novel ‘Potato People’ I especially find the incident in the chapter ‘The Feast’
somewhat intriguing. When Patrick following Marie into the house full of food on the
table, it seemed like they had wandered into a dream. This experience was somewhat
exciting, yet was dangerous. Had they been caught, the story would have surely
ended differently. Strangely, they found humour in narrowly escaping danger. This
was both exciting and thrilling to me. It has taught me to strive hard to achieve my
dreams

14 . An event that you interesting

I chosen novel Potato People . An event that I found interesting is when Patrick flynne
meets a gipsy girl named marie . Marie , who was suffered as nuch as the others, is full
of life, often laughing and dancing . she become the constant companion of
Patrick,cautioning himbefore he takes an actionshe tells Patrick that she is a gipsy
princess from epythis future . she also tells him that he will become a soldier and
eventually .