The Armenian Genocide is the forgotten genocide. Known to be the fourth largest genocide ever, an estimated 1,500,000 Armenians were killed, and yet the average person has never heard of it. Forgotten Fire is a fictional book by Adam Bagdasarian about the Armenian Genocide. In this book Vahan, the main character, is an Armenian. Vahan is a privileged boy and the son of a well known, well respected man. Vahan is used to comfort, wealth, and security, until the start of the genocide. When the genocide starts his father is taken away and his brothers are shot. Vahan and the rest of his family are brought by soldiers to Goryan’s Inn and later on a kind of death march. During this, Vahan’s grandmother and sister, Armenouhi, both die.
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Early in the book after Vahan and Sisak escape they are on their own and in cold and harsh conditions. Vahan is ready to give up, but Sisak keeps pushing him. “Without Sisak I would have only myself, and I was not enough, not nearly enough” (pg. 56). On their way to Sanis, Sisak is always looking out for Vahan and taking care of him. Throughout the book, Vahan is always meeting new people and leaving, and during this process he learns independence. Vahan knows that he can not trust anyone and learns how to survive on his own, by learning to beg, and learning how to act Turkish. He also learns how to problem solve and make his own decisions, one place this is evident is when Vahan is leaving the Tashians and knows he must move on to a safer place. “I stood in a line of would-be wagon drivers, nervously waiting for my turn. In preparation for this moment, I had stolen a Turkish army uniform from one of several boxes outside the army barracks a mile from the town” (pg. 234-235). He makes a plan and is resourceful, things the Vahan at the beginning of the book would not have done. Vahan has learned what it takes to survive and is now able to make decisions on his own and no longer has to rely on other people. This is one of the things Vahan’s father thought was important for Vahan to
Early in the book after Vahan and Sisak escape they are on their own and in cold and harsh conditions. Vahan is ready to give up, but Sisak keeps pushing him. “Without Sisak I would have only myself, and I was not enough, not nearly enough” (pg. 56). On their way to Sanis, Sisak is always looking out for Vahan and taking care of him. Throughout the book, Vahan is always meeting new people and leaving, and during this process he learns independence. Vahan knows that he can not trust anyone and learns how to survive on his own, by learning to beg, and learning how to act Turkish. He also learns how to problem solve and make his own decisions, one place this is evident is when Vahan is leaving the Tashians and knows he must move on to a safer place. “I stood in a line of would-be wagon drivers, nervously waiting for my turn. In preparation for this moment, I had stolen a Turkish army uniform from one of several boxes outside the army barracks a mile from the town” (pg. 234-235). He makes a plan and is resourceful, things the Vahan at the beginning of the book would not have done. Vahan has learned what it takes to survive and is now able to make decisions on his own and no longer has to rely on other people. This is one of the things Vahan’s father thought was important for Vahan to