During his time with Baltus, Sam got a job, a very
difficult one, but it paid back when he started to find clues about were the
other coin he needed was. Already knowing that Vlad Tepes, the inspiration
behind the Dracula legends, who Sam and Lily are sure that he is holding Allan
in the fifteenth century Wallachia, Sam searches day and night for something
that could get him closer to his goal, finding his dad...In one of his
adventures in Burges, Sam didn’t stop questioning why does Yser had such
resemblance to Alicia, only to find out later on, that Yser´s lover was Friedrich
Van Todds, making him concluded that he must be a really far relative of the
girl he likes; and that answered Sam´s question. Moreover, as the story
progresses, Sam discovers that he is going to need seven special coins to recue
his father; the effort to collect all of the coins lead Sam to a variety of
historical places/locations and events. One time, he was in a situation of life
and death, but when he finally is able to collect the seven coins he was
looking for to rescue his father, he finds him dying and raving. Sam learns
that his father went through all that effort and situations because he wants to
use the statue to prevent Elisa´s, Sam´s mother, and death three years ago. He
knows that his father wasn’t in the condition to keep on with his objective,
because he knows his father is never going to stop missing his mother. Sam ends
up using the coins for trying to reach her, not knowing were his next trip is
going to be, or how is this going to end...
"And no prize in the contest increases his chance
of marrying me," added Yser. "He knows very well that my father
favors this marriage mainly because he doesn’t want me to lack for anything. If
money were coming into the house again, my father might hesitate. (Prévost
171)" I found this phrase of the book when Sam was still in Burges and was
stuck in one of his deadly adventures. When I read it, at first it just felt
like another part of the book, but then I stopped and realized that only these
few words have a strong and deep meaning. I started to think and re-think what
was the message that the author was trying to send by this quote and they I
thought that maybe is for the children reading this book to know that their
parents will do anything to make their lives comfortable and without a preoccupation.
Many times, teenagers especially think that their parents due, say and act a
certain way because they couldn’t care less about them, but its not true our
parents will die for us if its necessary and many times kids don’t see it.
Yesterday, I had a chat with my parents, but a deep one and I could see that
they cared for me, that they do the things for a reason and its always because
they think is the best thing for us. If it comes to a difficult decision, they
are going to see their options and their solutions are always going to be the
ones that beneficiate the most for us and if there is an easy way that us, as children,
can take, they are going to choose that one. This we can clearly see in this
part of the book due to the fact that Baltus wants Yser to marry a rich man so
she wouldn’t have to worry about doing something and can live without preoccupation,
because money is always a great issue of dispute. Yser knows that his father is
searching for another way for her to go, but given the circumstances there isn’t
and that’s why the most probable solution is for him to win a contest so they
can have enough funds that they wouldn’t be concerned. Parents only want was is
best for their children because they love them unconditionally and their
choices are going to be to take us one step further in life, instead of one
step back (that is mostly what sons and daughters think).
Hans
Baltus was struggling to find the answer to make his painting come alive, just
like this famous artist Van Eyck, Sam knew the answer because he had learn it
in school, but he starter facing a matter of conscience at the begging; "Should he tell Baltus the secret that
made Van Eyck so successful...Moreover, Baltus had been very generous to Sam;
helping him in his research would be a way of thanking him. But he had to do it
skillfully. (Prévost 153)" What
I have learn so far in life, is that emotions and feelings always come in when
you are trying to make a decision because humans nature is to be good to other
people, especially when they feel that person cares about them. Sam faced a
moment of doubt, be his solution was to end up telling him the answer because
he felt it was the right thing to do after everything Baltus has done for him.
Many times while life its on course, people face adversities and they are able
to come out of them because they not only use their head, but also their heart
which allows them to think and feel what is best to do and not using only one
of those; (only the head or only the heart) because one is going to try to be
more dominant and as a result bad consequences are going to happen. When my
eyes touched this part, it made me agree instantly with my conscience, because
I knew that everyone wants to receive something in exchange for what they do,
eventhough they don’t say it because it true, that is better act without thinking
of the payment, and when you do more things you are going to receive.
In conclusion, I believe that this book has been really interesting when
it comes to teach the reader principles and values because indirectly the
author wants kids to understand the real meaning of life and how to respond to
difficult situations that present during we are alive. Prévost thinks twice
before he writes and that notices in his writings; eventhough this book didn't
end up being one of my favorites because it wasn’t my “type” (I don’t know why) it end up leaving
many strong messages in my heart. Especially the one that hit me the most was
the one of being thankful everyday because you don’t know when are you going to
have the chance to see some love ones again or someone that left a mark in our
life. Thank You is something that people should never forget to say, because
eventhough they are two words,, they can put a smile on somebody else´s face
and make their day even brighter; and not only theirs but the one saying it
too, because your conscience is going to be clear and you are going to know that
you did something right. In conclusion, the only things that is left to say is
that this book a huge impact in the form I see my life and how should I react
toward difficult situations.