Meant to Be (49-97)

Summary
The second section of this memoir was quite intense. In the beginning, Walter recalls an event in his childhood when he almost stabbed an outsider from Bronx for survival when a nearby gang came to the rescue and demanded the Bronx boys to leave immediately.
Most of the second section of this novel was on Walter's life in the Marine Corps. A year+ after being in this organization, he was promoted to be a lance corporal. He had not expected at all from his interview to be promoted, but he did. He also attended school while in the Marines and ended up top of the class with a high school GED and one-year college GED (being that he started off with the least educated of the whole class). With this achievement, he told him "I have proved myself." He moved on to Vietnam with his team (this was taken place during the Vietnam War in 1965), and while over there, he wrote an article about Vietnam after seeing a 10yr old dead Vietnam boy soldier at his feet. His article was published in his hometown newspaper Daily Argus. Few months later, while thinking of getting out the Marines, he was promoted Sergeant. He hesitated but accepted it anyway. After his promotion, he was given a 15day leave so he traveled back home. There, he discovered another side of his father. Instead of a usual beating, Walter received a sad history from his father of his unfortunate and abusive childhood. Before Walter left back to the Marine, his father cried and told him he was proud of him. He also said "I love you", which were the last words he heard from his father.
Walter then returned back into the scene in the living room with his mother when he questioned her "Was the man we just buried my father?" That evening, Walter finally got the truth on his real Jewish father named Albert Dorfman. He listened & nodded as his mother told the story of her secret affair but later on was startled with the numerous questions he challenged himself of who he really was. On Chap. 15 (pg93-97), Walter retold his mother's story in third person narrative. Page 97 ends with the flashback on the night Walter was conceived.

Quote
"The street-lamps looked like lonely little islands on the otherwise dark blocks, the glow of each forming a ring of dull yellow light on the pavement below." (Anderson 95)

Reaction
I love this quote. It contains simile: the comparison of street-lamps with islands using like. Not only that, but it sounds great when you say it and it is strong. Just imagine the second part of this sentence. The streetlight's glow forming a ring of dull yellow light on the pavement. It is quite easy to visualize, I believe, and the word choice was really well put together. When I read this I automatically thought of the beginning scene of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix where Harry is in a empty, dark and cold park. There were few lonely street-lamps on the sidewalks that was the only sources of light there. Soon the dementors came and everything went out. The lonely street-lamps in the movie looked like lonely little islands too.