Analysis Of Forgotten Fire By Adam Bagdasarian

What causes people to care for those in need? From people that are close and hold strong family bonds to an unemployed war veteran living on the street, something is exhibited from within someone to help those in need. That something is the key to establishing interpersonal relationships, a positive atmosphere, and a happier society. That something is selflessness. A great example of the impact selflessness has is the book Forgotten Fire, written by Adam Bagdasarian, which described the story of a boy trying to survive in the Armenian Holocaust, where he meets many people along the way that help him. The story is based off of Vahridj Kendarian who is Adam’s great uncle. Adam has little information on his background, however, he said he had

The father said, “’That’s the first thing you give up when you decide to have children, or at least I think it’s supposed to be. You give up a part of yourself that says I want things my way. When you have kids, it starts being about them’” (Quayle and Medved 108). Both of these stories involve caring for family. In both books, both authors were selfless because they helped their families before they helped themselves regardless of the situation. In Forgotten Fire, Vahan helped his sick brother before himself even though they were both in a dire situation. Another way people exhibit selflessness by caring for their families is by thinking about them. An example is when Vahan was on his own searching for a new family. During his adventure into solitude, Vahan said, “I tried to sleep, but I could not help thinking about my mother and Oskina. I couldn’t help seeing my mother’s hands in the sunlight… I wanted so much to hold her that my arms closed around me as though I had never left her” (Bagdasarian 76). Vahan used to take his family for granted until he was split apart from them during the Armenian Holocaust. Although he knew his mission was to save

There are many types of people and situations that require selflessness of others, such as the homeless. For example, in Forgotten Fire, without the compassion and selflessness of Ara Sarkisisan, a retired blacksmith, Vahan would have had to live in the street and scavenge for food instead of having a well-suited life handed to him. In fact, in response to Ara Sarkisian’s hospitality, Vahan said, “Although my surroundings were new, they were not strange to me, and I felt very much at home, as though I were sharing a meal with my grandfather and a favorite cousin” (Bagdasarian 183). Because of Ara’s compassion towards Vahan’s situation, Vahan was able to spend a few nights in a warm, safe place. The informational book Poverty and Homelessness many homeless and poor people were in a similar situation in which “The federal government… runs 70 different means-tested welfare programs… that provide assistance to poor… Most of the money goes directly to poor people either as services or as something like a food stamp or medical care” (Merino 58 – 59). Just like the federal government helped homeless individuals, Ara Sarkisian did the same deed. Although the government didn’t have much to lose unlike Ara, who could have lost his home and life, bother situations could not have been done without compassion. Aside from lending homes, there are situations where homeless individuals were given actual built houses,