Boiadjian !

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Sarkis Boiadjian
Professor Corri Ditch
English 113B
2 April 2015
The Powerful Bond of Friendship
War is an event that affects many people who are part of it. No one is truly certain which
side will come out as the victor. However, many people are affected as the war progresses
because there are not enough resources to meet the needs of the general public. In the novel The
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, the
citizens of the Island of Guernsey are victims of the war. They are brought together by their
friendship while they face hardships. They have close to no resources because the German Nazi
soldiers inhabit the island and consume their live stock, crops, and ingredients that are needed to
maintain a normal life. Although poverty is a major issue in Guernsey island, people find ways
to adapt to the shortages of resources to make the best of their life during the war with a
powerful bond that keeps the islanders close and friendly in order to get through the war.
Poverty affects many people when it comes to resources, but it can be overcome with
help from friends and allies. The islanders of Guernsey are affected by the insufficient numbers
of live stock, food, and other basics that are necessary in order to maintain a simple life. In the
novel, Dawsey, a character states, We were allowed a tiny bit of soap powder for dishes and
clothes, but it was a laughable amount: no bubbles there either (79). The Nazis cut off the
needed resources from the islanders in a way that impacts them. They have to find another
solution so they can grasp a taste of their former living condition before the Nazi invasion during

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the war. The islanders work together to improvise even the simplest things like soap. Dawsey
states, Mr. Scope offered me the carcass. I remembered my mother making soap from fat, so I
thought I could try it (80). The islanders make soap out of pig fat to adjust to their situation.
They help one another by gathering the ingredients needed in order to live a better life. For
example, Mr. Scope provided the pigs leftovers, while Amelia provided the small ingredients like
paprika and cinnamon for scent and color. These people do not have much to work with besides a
few ingredients. Their friendly bond connects them together which makes it possible for them to
achieve even greater things, so that they do not feel the effects of their poverty in their lives as
they would without their friendship
During a time of crisis like war, people usually tend to look for activities or places to
escape to in order to avoid or forget about their situation. In this case, the islanders of Guernsey
attend the Potato Peel Pie Society, where they join together and discuss the books they read.
Amelia, another member of the Potato Peel Pie Society states, We read books, talked books,
argued over books, and became dearer and dearer to one another. Other Islanders asked to join
us, and our evenings together became bright, lively times we could almost forget, now and
then, the darkness outside. We still meet every fortnight (51). Amelia is explaining how the
Potato Peel Pie Society is one of the few activities that the islanders look forward too. This
literary society brings them together and helps them forget about what is happening around them.
The members become closer and rely on each other. Their friendship gives them hope through
the war because they have each other for support through the hardships that they are facing.
People around the world have different experiences with poverty. There are different
ways they take care of their difficulties. In the book, The Second Hand Bookseller, by Marina

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Nemat, Nemat asks Albert, the old man in the used book store, Do you have it? and Albert
responds by saying, Yes, I do. But . . . you don't have to pay for it; you can borrow it of you
promise to take good care of it and return it when you have read it. Twice (45). Albert saw that
Marina had a hard time acquiring the money for the book so he makes the heart warming
decision to let Marina borrow it instead. Albert trusts Marina with the book and somehow knows
that she will bring them back. From that point, Albert creates a friendly bond that means a lot to
Marina. It means so much to her that she states, I thought of my angel. Maybe he was
pretending to be an old man. I looked into the old mans eyes and they seemed almost as dark,
deep, and kind as the angels eyes (45). Nemat thought of Albert as her guardian angel because
she was so touched by his kindness and to her, it almost seemed unbelievable. Since Nemat lives
in poverty in Iran, acquiring money for her is difficult, also she is very young. Nemat then claims
that she went to visit Albert to borrow books from him once a week (45). Their friendship
continued through books. In any situation, a friendly relationship has the power to ease the living
situation of many people. When living in poverty, every open and welcoming hand becomes a
sign of hope and joy for a greater tomorrow. This is evident in the story because Nemat began
growing close with Albert, and their bond became more obvious because of their newly formed
trust in each other.
People have different views of what makes them happy. Some might find their happiness
in shopping and pleasing their appetite with products and merchandise while others feel the
comfort of happiness when they are around their friends and family. In the documentary Happy
by Roko Belec, there are many examples of people that live their lives as happy as possible even
though they are in poverty. Belec interviews a man in Kallata slum, India, with the name of

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Manoj Singh. Singh operates a rickshaw in his village and is believed to be as happy as an
American. He states, In the summer, my feet and head burn in the heat of the sun. It is painful.
In the winter, monsoons do not bother me (Happy). Sometimes he is abused by the people who
he gives rides to in the rickshaw. He lives in a tiny shack that does not have the appropriate
amount of coverage to stop rain from blowing inside. At the end of the day, Manoj Singh puts all
of his hardship behind him and looks forward to the factors that make him happy. Singh states,
... and when he call out to me BABA! I am full of joy. When I see my childs face, I feel that I
am the richest person (Happy). Singh is trying to say that even though he is very poor, he
doesn't feel it because his family, friends and neighbors make him the happiest man. The
documentary Happy relates to the novel, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
because both present the idea of friendship in a powerful way. In both, the people are in a state of
poverty and they use the presence of their friends and family to be happy. These people don't let
their financial status effect their happiness or change their aspects of life, they find things and
ways to make themselves happy so their poverty doesn't really matter because they are living
happily.
Besides family, friendship among students attending school when they are in poverty
contributes to success. It gives them an opportunity to bond together and create a bond that lets
them forget about the situation they are in. In her article, Exploring How Social Capital Works
for Children Who Have Experienced School Turbulence: What is the Role of Friendship and
Trust for Children in Poverty? Ceri Brown explains the factors that contribute to the success of
their education. One significant factor that Brown inserts in her article is the role of friendship.
Brown states, ... children are much broader and richer such that childrens day-to-day lives may

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be motivated (Brown 22). Brown is explaining the positive impact that friendships have on
children in school. Friendship helps students put aside their problems and puts them in a happier
state of mind. This way they focus more on their education rather than worrying about what their
life outside of school is like. The citizens of Guernsey relate by focusing more on their book club
rather than their life outside of it.
Friendship has a larger influence on an individual than it is credited for. In the article, For
the Sake of the Friendship Relationality and Relationship as Grounds of Beneficence, Thaddeus
Metz emphasizes the power of friendship and the effects it has on the group of friends. Metz
states in his article, One shares ones emotional reactions by sympathetically feeling bad when
others flounder and feeling good when they flourish. One shares a sense of self, thinking of
others as members of a common group, a we (Metz 59). He is trying to say that friendly
relations are powerful because friends help each other overcome sadness or any obstacle one is
trying to overcome. Friends help each other or try to help each in any way they can. This creates
a powerful bond and a relationship that gives hope to the people involved in the friendly
relationship. Members of a group also contribute ideas to help each other. For example, one
might have ideas on how to do a certain activity such as labor. Another member can help the
group with fun activities to help forget about their desperate situation. The islanders of Guernsey
are in a situation similar to the explanation that Metz provides. Even though the islanders have
friendship, they still face the struggles and hardships through the time of war. They do not feel
the effects of poverty because of their friendship and kindness towards each other. Friendship is
a significant factor that contributes to their happiness and hopefulness.

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With their powerful friendship, the islanders of Guernsey maneuver through their rough
situation. Their friendship alone gave them hope and assistance, which was enough them get
through the state of poverty that they were in. They helped each other get through the hardships,
such as limited resources, by giving each other ideas and improvising. The islanders coming
together, Nemat and Albert, and friendships in school all symbolize the effectiveness of unity and
how coming together makes life more joyous and pleasing than negatives in life, in this case,
poverty.

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Works Cited
Brown, Ceri. "Educational Binds of Poverty: The Lives of School Children." Routelege Research
in Education Policy and Politics (2014): 21-38. Print.
Happy. Dir. Roko Belec. 2011. Film.
Metz, Thaddeus. "For the Sake of the Friendship Relationality and Relationship as Grounds of
Beneficence." Theoria: A Journal of Social & Political Theory (2010): 54-76. Print.
Nemat, Marina. The SecondHand Bookseller. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Shaffer, Mary Ann, and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society.
Paperback ed. United States: Dial Press, 2009. Print.