Microblog (NF1)

Reading Reflection:
I noticed that Black Flags The Rise of ISIS by Joby Warrick, is easier and more pleasurable to read when he writes about the life of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. There are many side stories that take place and that is when I feel myself starting to lose interest and my thought starts to drift. As I kept moving through the first half of the book I found that if I think about each side story as a branch off of the main story line that will eventually cross paths again, it helps me keep focus and retain what I read better. Another struggle I had was understanding the timeline of all the events relative to events happening in the United States. I did some research and found that the majority of what I have read takes place in 1999 and 2000. I noticed that there was a sudden increase of US involvement in the book and I found that this was because the attacks of September 11th, 2001 had just taken place. Another metacognitive observations I had was that I was struggling remembering some of the characters names and relationships, but I created the character correlation chart for that. I think it's interesting how when you cannot pronounce what you are reading (some of the foreign names) it is much harder to retain what you are reading and assign the names to certain people. I did some surface level research on why it is so hard to remember foreign names and apparently it is because when a name is unfamiliar to us, we do not associate it with a name and therefor is harder to connect that word with the person's characteristics. Some things to look for in the next half of the book is how Zarqawi leads his group of stragglers from Jordan and a-Qaeda using his gained experience and his new hatred for Americans to help found the monster that becomes ISIS.

Character Correlation Chart (NF1)

Purpose/Explanation:
One struggle I had in the first half of the book was keeping track of all the character names and correlation because sometimes people go by different names and there are so many unfamiliar looking names. I created this character correlation chart to help me keep track of who works with who and who does what. In my paragraphs I try to highlight relationships, predictions and motives based off of relationships. I analyze each character's involvement in the plot and how their actions influence other characters. There are specific characters that I write about who I think are vital to the readers understanding and I touch upon how Joby Warrick is able to weave those characters' quotes and anecdotes into his story in order to reveal aspects about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that otherwise, would go unnoticed.

There is a copy that is submitted on Schoology where you will be able to zoom in and read the text.