Analysis Of You Only Can Make A Bridge Where There Is A River

In Home of The Brave, by Katherine Applegate, part 2’s proverb “you only can make a bridge where there is a river” relates to the main character, Kek, needing to build a bridge to get over the river of struggle and alienation in this new world.

In Kek’s river, there are many things that make his river flow with white caps. One of them is the language barrier. He does not get idioms, something we may take for granted. When his cousin says that the kids at this new school will “eat him alive”, Kek thinks that it is literal, and he is going to be eaten. Dave says that he will soon need to get his feet wet, he immediately looks at his shoes. When he starts his brand new school, he does not understand most of the kids, and what they are talking about. He then gets put into an ESL class, where he connects to the other kids by drawing a cow, something he knows well. Once he has drawn the bull, someone in his class says “moo”, and soon more say it. Kek calls them “a class of cattle”, and he

As soon as Kek realizes that he messed up, he feels a huge surge of guilt wash over him, and the first thing he thinks is that he needs to pay for new dishes. He immediately thinks of getting a job helping Lou’s cow to pay for them. This then turns out to be something very good, as he meets Lou, the cow owner.

Lou is very understanding, and actually listens to Kek. Kek comes from a life where elders are very respected, thought as beautiful and wise. Kek calls Lou very wise, and calls the wrinkles “little moons”. Lou respects that respect, and plays it back at him. She listens intently to him, answers all of his questions, and takes all of his information on his cow, and eventually ends up giving Kek the job. Lou is a very important part of Kek’s bridge, as well as Hannah and the cows. She is one of the only adults that listens to Kek and feels for him. That trait is very important in helping Kek cross his