English 106 EPICS: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Reflection Essay
As a class, we read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind for a number of different reasons. First, I wanted
you to use William Kamkwaba’s story as a jumping off point for your topic proposal. He noticed a
problem and worked hard to alleviate that problem with a lot of work and ingenuity. Your proposals
should also address a problem and, like William, you will use the resources available to you and take a
position on that problem for your next paper. But The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind has much more to
offer than a jumping off point and I want you to read, consider and respond to one, some, or all of the
below questions and prompts as you reflect on your experience reading the book.
As I stated above, you can answer as many of the below prompts as you want, but your reflective essay
but be at least two pages long, double-spaced with a 12 point font. I don’t want you to answer the
prompts one by one; rather, I want you to consider each and then respond in an essay format how the
book and William’s experience affected you. Some of the questions will deal with the narrative and how
it was introduced to the reader, while others will deal with more emotional responses to the book. Be
open and be honest.
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-The narrative of the book takes from the lowest low (during the 2002 famine) to the highest of highs
(TED conference, trip to America). How did the authors set up the narrative and did they do a good job
of creating tension and suspense that made you want to read on? How so? What was your emotional
reaction to the book?
- Why do you think that Purdue chose The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind as the Common Reading title
this year? William grew up in a place that couldn’t be different than the United States in the year 2012,
so why is it valuable for incoming students to read about his story? If you don’t think it was an
appropriate choice, explain.
-There are many characters in this book other than William. Did any characters stick out in particular to
you? Why? Why do you think the authors went out of their way to turn many of the people in William’s
life into characters around him?
-What were your original expectations of Malawi and a book about South Africa? Obviously the title and
cover give much away before the first page, but were your expectations (and possible stereotypes) met,
exceeded, or maybe even challenged by the book? Were there any points during the book that you
found that with all the differences between America and Malawi that you and William had something in
common? How was America represented in this book and did it change as William’s story progressed?
What role do you think countries like America have to countries like Malawi?
-The beginning of this book focuses on William’s family and also Malawian traditions and folktales. Did
any of William’s stories and belief in magic surprise you? Why? In the end, what do you think William’s
relationship to magic is? Has his love of science and engineering destroyed his belief in magic, or is more
complicated?
-Many good things happened for William after journalists came to his home to inspect the windmill. He
traveled the world and received a scholarship and helped pay for necessities in his village. What do you
think the true significance is of this book? Think about your own personal narrative: How did the authors
make this theme clear throughout the book, not just at the end? If you had to sum up the significance of
this book with just one single line quoted from the book, what would it be? (I can think of a few off the
top of my head, so don’t feel constrained to just one).
-Did you find this book difficult to read or easy? Were there moments in the book you wished it would
just speed up and get to the point? Looking back, why do you think the authors included those passages
you weren’t initially thrilled about? If you found yourself turning the pages quickly and unable to stop
reading: why do you think that is? How did the authors accomplish that?
-William studied engineering (he might still be) at Dartmouth. You are an engineering student at Purdue.
Did William’s love of science and building things (not to mention taking them apart) resonate with you?
Did you do similar things growing up? With little of the educational tools and material resources we
have at our fingertips, William managed to build something incredibly practical that also feels almost
magical it was so unlikely. How does his story inspire you as an engineer? How does his story inspire you
as a student at Purdue University? How does his story inspire you as a person?