Refugee Boy

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses graphic violence, racism, anti-immigrant bias, and the emotional distress of refugees related to familial separation and loss.

Alem is the protagonist of the novel. He is a 14-year-old boy who is half Eritrean and half Ethiopian. Alem is a dynamic and round character. He loves books, learning, and architecture, and he dreams of becoming an architect when he grows up. When he first arrives in London, Alem loves the way “the old and the new [stand] side by side” when he looks at the buildings (16), symbolizing his hope for peaceful coexistence in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He expands his knowledge when he lives at the Fitzgeralds’ house and reads as many books as he can because he does not want to waste the opportunity his father and mother have given him. At first, he has difficulty completing a book because “he want[s] to know everything immediately, he [can’t] learn quickly enough” (88). Alem’s voracious attitude toward learning continues throughout the narrative, culminating in his award of the Positive Pupil Certificate, which he receives because of his dedication to learning, even through great personal

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