Courage In Kek's Home Of The Brave

When wandering physically or mentally, courage will lead you back to the path. In “Home of the Brave” a heart touching memoir by Katherine Applegate, Kek experiences his new life in America with the assistance of his caring friends and family. He struggles along the way but never loses hope to find his mother. The most important theme in “Home of the Brave” is courage. Courage is when you have hope to better the future for you and others. This theme is shown when Kek continuously strives to find his mother even though his friends are indirectly saying that she is gone.

Courage helped Kek throughout the book while he was trying to adjust to the new life in America. He had one main task to do and that was to find his mother, but along the way he was acting more like he is in Sudan and not in America. The author acknowledges this by saying, “I reach out and touch a pice of bright green food I’ve never seen before. And then I begin to cry” (pg. 156). This shows that Kek did not have much experience with shopping in America. His Sudanese part of him was explicitly shown when he weeped in the isle of the store.

Losing the determination is something Ganwar has been accustomed to do since he moved to America.

On the other hand, Kek’s optimistic attitude is not defeated once in the story. Ganwar’s negative approach doesn’t discourage him. For example, in the text, Kek says, “I try again. Ganwar shakes his head. ‘The kids will eat you alive,’ he says” (pg. 60). Although Ganwar did not literally mean that his classmates would devour him, if I were in Kek’s situation, I would have felt extremely embarrassed and cry a river. However, Kek held his head up high and decided to let Ganwar pick out an acceptable outfit for him to wear at school. Despite the fact that Ganwar discourages Kek, he must have still cared for him because he cared enough to help Kek with his

wardrobe.
In my opinion, Kek’s courage and determination partially comes from his life being adjusted drastically. Have a fresh start at a new school was difficult for both Kek and myself. Exactly like Kek, I was determined to meet new people and fit in. Nevertheless, Kek had an easier time of ignoring not caring about being judged. For instance, he says, “I think maybe some of the students are laughing at me. But I don’t mind so much” (pg. 75). Back in Sudan, everyone was very close and did not have the technology we have here in America. People communicated with each other and did not have to worry about who was judging them. I wish it were like that in America too!
Having the determination to help others is what builds up courage. Finding Kek’s mother was Kek’s main priority, but it seemed nearly impossible to do in everyone else’s perspective. Being the happy, warm hearted person Kek is, he learned to not follow with Ganwar’s negativity. Although Kek had a rough start in America, he did not care about what others were thinking of him. He continued to work hard at learning english, and the basics of American culture. Kek is very inspiring to many people because of his determination and courage.