How does Zephaniah create sympathy for Alem throughout the novel?

Zepheniah's novel, Refugee Boy is a fictional and fascinating novel based on true events. The story
revolves around a boy called Alem Kelo. In this novel Zephaniah creates a lot of sympathy within the
reader as Alem is exposed to a lot of pain and hardship. The story starts off in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A war
has broken loose. Alem is a product of both countries meaning he will be an enemy in both places. His
father takes him to England to keep Alem away from the war but leaves him there in hope of a brighter
future. Alem is taken in by the government, two social workers, Sheila and Mariam, came to give Alem a
home with caring people. Alem is taken upon a childrens home where he didnt stay for long. Alem was
soon fostered by Mr. and Mrs.Fitzgerald. Alem later went to court to see if he could still seek asylum. He
was disappointed and had to leave the country but as a last resort Alem and his friends had a
demonstration to allow refugees to have freedom. By doing this Alem has got his dad and mum killed.
Throughout this essay I will be focusing on how the author uses dialogue, metaphors and effective word
choice to help the reader sympathise with the main character, Alem.
To begin with, Alems father keeps Alem safe but far away from his family: My Dearest son...your
mother and I think its best for you if you stay in EnglandWe just cannot afford another attack on
you. This quote shows that Alems parents has left him in England. His parents also wants the best for
him. Zephaniah shows this using dialogue. At some points Zephaniah tells the reader the war through the
eyes of Alems father. Zephaniah shows this through letters sent to Alem. This shows that Alem is very
important to his parents. Therefore, Zephaniah uses speech and dialogue to show how other characters
feel for Alem. This creates sympathy because Alem was forced to live a country against his will, without
his parents.
Secondly, Alem has no one to share his feelings with, Alem is a time bomb waiting to go off He is
bottling it all up, one day he may explode emotionally. In this quote, Zephaniah uses metaphors to
portray the emotions stuck within Alem. He is full of rage, sadness and hate and he cant do anything to
stop the people he loves around him dying. He cannot let go of the facts but He cant tell anyone about it
either. Consequently meaning that, Alem is left without a friend that he really trusts. Zephaniah makes
the metaphor sound as if Alem was going to commit suicide if he couldnt handle his emotions thus
creating sympathy for Alem.
Finally, Alem is left to live without his mother and father, Sheila continued, Alem something terrible has
happenedyour father was shot. Alem went numb. Everything and everybody in the room went out
of focus This quote explains that, Alems father was shot leaving Alem without a proper father figure.
Leaving Alem heart broken and seeking for revenge. Zephaniah uses effective description to describe
the emotions that Alem is going through and the pain he is feeling. As a result, Zephaniah creates
sympathy for Alem by creating a tense atmosphere showing how miserable Alem is feeling. The
description expressively explains the feelings inside Alem.

In conclusion, Zephaniah successfully creates sympathy for Alem. He uses effective dialogue,
metaphors and effective word choice. He uses these word techniques to create sympathy, every detail

makes the reader feel guilty for Alem but at the same time making the audience think it will happy
ending.