Home of the Brave Critique - Essay Example

Home of the Brave shows the conflicts that Kek faces. He is caught between two worlds, Africa and America. He feels guilty leaving behind his people to live in a distant land, especially his mother, who he left amid an attack.

It is evident from the book that only Kek and his mother managed to survive the strategy, a mother whom he misses so much. Kek is now in his new environment in America, where he experiences snow for the first time in his life and feels its sting. It becomes hard for him to adjust as the snow’s brightness burns his eyes, and the cold is likened to claws in his skin. As life begins tougher, he opts to help his aunt by washing dishes, yet no one ever told him that the washing machine was only meant for cleaning clothes (Applegate, 18).

There are many conflicts in his mind, considering the differences he notices between Africa and America. Seeing the snow, Kek wonders if the people in this new setting will be as unkind and cold as the winter itself. Further, his desire to be like one of the Americans continues, when he meets an old woman by the name of Lou, who lives on a neglected farm and owns a cow. The image of a cow becomes very important to Kek, as it gives him an African identity. In Kek’s home nation, cows were very vital, and he is saddened to see Lou’s cow in a deprived condition because the old woman cannot take good care of it. Quickly, Kek takes over the job of caring for Lou’s cow and even names the cow, Gol, a name that symbolizes “family” in his mother tongue (Applegate, 50).

Even though Kek had found something to console his identity, things get harder and harder as later, Hannah plans to sell the cow. This despondent Kek is filled with wide-eyed amazement and he gets unalloyed enthusiasm. Even worse, he goes through insults due to the stereotype associated with being African. His tribe, language, and culture are never identified; his traits like age and appearance are either omitted or considered vague. He even wonders saying, “This pain is worse, one without pity like an icy night. This pain is a question the one my head will not stop asking; why am I here when so many are not?" (Applegate, 34).

Life is not as desirable as Kek could have thought before. While taking care of the cow, he feels better associating himself with his identity but something bad happens again. Kek finds out that Lou will sell the farm, meaning that the good part of taking care of the cow will be no more once the farm is sold. He is quite devastated and tries to run away but he does not get far. His conscience tells him to stop and see the cow, and it is at this point that his cousin engages in a conversation with him. However, they both share the pain of watching their families die, a factor that brings them much pain. Kek feels guilty about why he survived and he even hates that he survived the tragedy.

 As he waits to hear from his mother, he weathers the tough Minnesota winter by seeking warmth in the friendship he makes, the belief in his new home, and the strength in his memories (Applegate, 34). Even though the above-mentioned factors drove his sense of adapting to life in America, Kek does not hesitate to do anything he can to be American, despite the feeling of identity loss. For instance, he begins to make friends gradually but surely. In the first incidence, he meets Hannah, a teenager who lives in temporary care and finds a way to connect with her, since his father died and no one had an idea of where his mother was (Applegate, 61). Kek is extremely optimistic that she is still alive and has hope that a day will come when she will join him in America. In the long run, Kek and his two friends; Lou and Gol help him adjust to his new American life as well as the joy and pain that he will go through along the way (Applegate, 42). Towards the end, his mother comes to Minnesota and they make it a new home.

The book, “Home of the Brave” reflects Kek’s simple way of learning and adapting to a new language, culture, and experiences. From the content above, it is proven that Kek is lost between his identities and wants to be American at the same time. This is a very sensitive narration that covers most of the issues faced by new migrants from developing countries; from the misinterpretation of appliances to the hardships to learn English, and finally, racism.