William Kamkwamba's The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

566 Words2 Pages

William Kamkwamba, the man who had survived famine, helped a whole country, and most importantly, the boy who captured the wind. In Kamkwamba’s book “The Boy Who Captures the Wind”, he goes into detail about what his life was like living and being an inventor in Malawi, Africa. . When going into detail about the actual building of the first windmill where he lived, you can really see what type of person William Kamkwamba is.Inspiration is not the only thing received after reading this tale, the reader can also see three distinct characteristics that William has, even from early on in the story. William Kamkwamba is a determined, courageous, and resourceful innovator. “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind” is truly an autobiography that truly shows …show more content…

Throughout the book, William shows how he is determined to construct his windmill and bring power to his community. “No matter how enchanted I became in the scrapyard, my wonderful mood never lasted long. The students from across the school yard could easily see me… they would yell out ‘Hey look, it’s William, digging in the garbage again!’” (Kamkwamba, 188). Although he was constantly ridiculed, William still kept building, showing how determined he truly was. “The next day after lunch I began putting everything together.” (Kamkwamba, 194). Another trait Kamkwamba shows in his story is how courageous he was while making all of his inventions. After practicing the use of “electric wind”, dangerous mishaps had occured yet William was courageous enough to continue with building. “‘Oh, no, your father’s radio,’ … The radio blew up… the radio was only meant to handle half that power.” (Kamkwamba, 198). After the radio blew up, William withstood other malfunctions with machines showing how brave he could be, just to benefit other people. Courage and determination fit well together and in Kamkwamba’s situation, they help him achieve his

Open Document