The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Essay

Malcolm X once said, “From then until I left that prison,in every free moment I had, if I was not reading in the library, I was reading on my bunk.” The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba tells the story of a boy who was born with nothing but later turned his life around and succeeded . William comes from a small country in Africa called Malawi. Where education and success is rare to come by; the average man is a farmer or a trader and barely makes enough money to support a family. However, despite utmost poverty William fought his way to earning an education and making his dream come true. People who come from severe poverty and under privileged families have more determination and perseverance to succeed then the average person. …show more content…
For instance, “I began rigorous course in independent study visiting the library in the mornings, and spending the afternoons reading in the shade.” (Kamkwamba 161) The average teenager wouldn’t read or attempt to teach themselves if they couldn’t afford school. They would be on their phones texting, on social media, and hanging out with their friends. However,William goes above and beyond to try to keep up with the rest of his classmates who can still afford school by teaching the material to himself.
Also, everyone is making fun of William for building a windmill, but he doesn’t care what they think. “At first I’d tried to explain the windmill, but they just laughed.” (Kamkwamba 188) William is determined to construct the windmill, he doesn’t care if everyone thinks he's crazy and laughs at him. Most people would stop doing something if their friends were laughing at them. Teenagers are so concerned about what others think about them that if anyone was making fun of them they would do anything to have their friends stop and try to fit in. Although William gets upset that people are laughing at him he still gets all the parts for his windmill and assembles