The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Essay

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In the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, a boy named William and his family struggle through challenges in their small village in Africa. They must face the reality of hunger and illnesses such as malaria and cholera. Although while all this is happening William has a bright mind and takes up an interest in science, but cannot go to school due to the fees. He begins to learn about how to build and re-wire certain electrical devices. With this in mind, William addresses the problem of not having power throughout his village. William is a brave and powerful presence throughout the events of the story. In the book William is selfless, thinking of others before worrying about his own needs and wants. Even when his family was starving, he was constantly trying to think of ways to make their life better. When he struggles, instead of giving up he keeps pushing and doesn’t lose hope. “With that little success, I started planning for an even bigger windmill,” (Kamkwamba, William, page 73). William is curious, and …show more content…

For most of his childhood, he hunts, gathering food for his family instead of playing. Although, he does enjoy a normal childhood until the famine hits. As he is unable to go to school he begins going to the local library, reading up on everything he can. Everyone in his village shamed him for having an idea, but he pursued it anyways. “Even days when I tried sneaking past, someone would spot me through the open window and yell, ‘There goes the madman off to smoke his chamba!’,” (Kamkwamba, William, page 79). And when he did eventually get his invention to work, he immediately began to think of the whole village, starting with getting the local well to pump water so that is saved the women collecting it time and effort. Going forward with his ideas shows William being brave, the learning his curiosity, and the thoughts of the whole village instead of just his family shows his

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