Summary Of Forgotten Fire By Adam Bagdasarian

Strength is essential in enduring a crisis. For most, true crisis is rare, but for a boy by the name of Vahan Kenderian, crisis has struck and it not will leave. Forgotten Fire, written by Adam Bagdasarian is a story about an adolescent Armenian boy who has everything taken away from him by the Armenian genocide. His family, wealth, and influence evaporates around him as the genocide progresses. He is alone and must fend for himself among people who hate his kind. Through this experience, Vahan becomes mentally and emotionally stronger.

Vahan Kenderian is a boy of only twelve years when his father is taken away by the gendarmes. Soon he and the rest of his family are also taken away. During the twelves years of his life previous to the Armenian

All they could do is get away from the gendarmes and try to find shelter in a neighboring town eight miles away. After four days with little food or water, Vahan and Sisak have minimal energy. They were traveling in the dark of night to avoid being seen by any unwanted eyes. Vahan yearned to rest but he knew this was not an option. He summoned the strength he no longer had by remembering his father’s words, “‘Steel,’ my father said, ‘is made strong by fire.’” (pg. 55) The steel he needed; his father’s. Vahan becomes stronger mentally. He learns that believing he can be strong helps to convince his body that he is strong. Vahan uses his father’s strength and stamina once his strength drained, “I was Sarkis Kenderian and I was stronger than the cold, stronger than my thirst and my hunger.” (pg. 56) Vahan adapts mentally by discovering how to take his mind off the

Vahan finds a place to stay, but is soon thrown out because it is deemed unsafe to be housing an Armenian. He is roaming the streets when he comes upon a body, cadaverous in appearance. It is Sisak, barely holding on to life. He is terribly ill. Vahan uses his strength to bring his big brother to shelter. After the futile attempt to nurse him back to health, Sisak dies in Vahan’s arms. Vahan is grief stricken. The last person he had left is now dead. There is no one left to help him. Vahan is alone. This is the death of one who was close to him, but it is not the first. He has learned to manage his feelings of uncontrollable sadness towards death. He will always keep it in his heart, but he knows he must move on. As much as he wants to lie down next to his dead brother and die with him, he knows that is not an