Benson And Alepho: The Importance Of Air In America

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They are both excited and nervous. Benson and Benjamin attempt to blend in with their surroundings, however, Alephonsion is very confused when a young adult, his new friend, buys him a drink. He doesn’t understand why the woman behind the counter gave him an empty cup when he asked for soda. Alepho does not comprehend that there is a machine where he can fill up the soda and that he must fill it up himself. Furthermore, the boys are amazed by the toilet on the plane. They do not understand where the waste is going. The Deng brothers watch and ponder what is occurring in the bathroom. Both Benson and Alepho come to the conclusion that it must be going straight into the air and that’s why the air in America is polluted. In conclusion, Benson …show more content…

They have no idea how to do anything in a brand new country and they have never experienced activities Americans go through on a daily basis. Simple tasks to us are brand new to them. Their confusion symbolizes the essence of their travels and how even though many obstacles have faced the boys, the largest obstacle may not be starvation or death, it may be adapting to a new country. This scene really helps emphasize a new beginning for the boys and how they will start a new life. The boys write their memoirs depicting these scenes with humor, since they are reflecting on how comedic their actions seem to them several years later. However, the bigger aspect amongst their entries is how awkwardly nervous they felt on the plane ride to America. They have never even set foot on a plane, let alone travelled on one. They felt like a fish out of water. As a reader, one can vividly see how reflective and excited they were, that they did not even think about their actions. They stopped caring about how they appeared, once they were one the plane. All they knew was, they were heading to America and they were ecstatic. This scene does not only provoke senses and feelings of humor, but also displays how unknowledgable the boys were about American