Journal #7: IMBY Response to Chapters 55-66
Before reading this novel, I didn’t know much about the historical background of
Romania. I also never heard about Nicolae Ceaușescu. I found it very interesting how
Romania was under communist rule from 1948 until 1989, when the regime of
Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu was overthrown. I also found it very interesting on
how life was in Bucharest during the regime of Ceaușescu. I did enjoy reading this
fiction novel because it has sparked an interest in me to learn more about Romania's
history.
I believe that Cristian is a very brave and fearless teenager. Throughout the
novel, Cristian’s character evolves as he becomes more eager to make a change in
Romania. Crisiti’s mindset changes as he adapts to several tactics while being an
informer such as finding clues and hints from his peers such as when Cristi found out
that Cici was working with paddle hands by searching through her safe box in which he
found the loop rings that paddle hands was fidgeting with while in the meeting with
Crisiti. I can relate to Cristi in a way because I at one point was interested in writing
poetry or writing my thoughts down as a way to express my feelings.
I believe that the act of informing is wrong and can tear families apart just like the
Florescu family. I believe that this novel does a good job in portraying the act of
informing and the act of betraying. This act plays a major role in the cruel regime as
many Romanian citizens are often blackmailed to work for the Securitate inorder to
obtain information on a specific target. Many Romanians felt like prisoners as they were
