Matilda is living on an island that is in the middle of a civil war, she is having to grow up with the Redskins looming over, and causing the islanders fear and worry about what might happen to them. The redskins go over the village in helicopters to see what is going on in their village, and leaving the islanders terrified everytime they do (37.) Since the civil war is happening, the rebels were taking supplies wherever they could find them (10.) Medical supplies, electricity, and food rations had disappeared by this point and the villagers could do nothing about it. Matilda was living in a world where babies were sick and could not be treated, so she watched them die and had to bury them and move on (10.) The villagers were depending on fish …show more content…
Mr. Watts was the only white man left on the island when the redskins came, and this caused him to have to overcome many obstacles. Mr. Watts was standing with everyone when the redskins came, and the chief addressed Mr. Watts asking who Pip was and where they could find him. Mr. Watts tried to explain Pip was just a book character and the chief asked the villagers to retrieve this book, when they could not, he burned everything they had until there was nothing left. No one defended Mr. Watts by agreeing that is was just a book character, they left him to fend for himself even after all that Mr. Watts had done for the kids (100.) Mrs. Watts later dies in the book, and this leaves Mr. Watts completely alone. He does have the other villagers, but being married to Grace gave him that connection to the island, and without her it was like he had lost that connection (136.) Mr. Watts goes on to tell a story to the rebels about his childhood and his life before coming to the island and village. In this story, he tells of a child he had named Sarah and how he lost her (195.) Sarah had Meningitis and this is what caused her to pass. Mr. Watts had a lot of heartache throughout his life, but still tried to be kind to those around him, even with his last