American Man at Age 10 Extra Questions 2/21

I think the main point of this essay was to show what really goes through a 10 year old mind. To show how they view the world and their own place in it. I think the main idea the author was trying to convey was that even though they're little and seem sort of insignificant, the way a 10 year old thinks and how they view the world can be something we all can learn from.

I think one of the main artifacts she used was the pizza place, Danny's. She says it's the perfect place for boys, as there's "...pizza, candy, Nintendo, and very few girls...it's the most beautiful place in the world". I think this shows just how simple boys can think. There's usually two food groups, pizza or some other unhealthy meal, and candy; video games or some other thing to occupy their hands and brain; and no girls, which are nothing but distractions from the first two things. The Nintendo was also a good artifact that was used, and detailing Colin's knowledge and the history of the Nintendo was a good addition. It's incredibly similar to today's youth, although not many children spend as much time at arcades playing games as they used to. It's usually more fun and cheaper to stay home and play your own video game console.

Some of the places she went and observed Colin was at school, Danny's pizza, and his house. I couldn't really get a feeling of how long she spent with Colin, but it doesn't seem like it could have more than just a couple of days. I do wonder how she found Colin, and how willing his parents were to let the author follow him around. Was she a family friend, or someone they knew from before. It was written a long time ago, and there weren't as many worries back then, so I suppose it's possible that she could have just been some random person doing an essay for a college class or something. She interviewed Colin, his parents, teachers, and friends.

I think her focusing question was to find out how a 10 year old views the world. I think she makes this clear throughout the essay, by asking Colin questions about different things, such as sports, who his favorite person is, what he wants to do when he grows up, etc. Overall it was a very entertaining essay and has provided me a sort of outline to follow when doing my own research.