50 pages • 1 hour read
Dave EggersWhat Is The What
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2006A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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BetaBook 1, Chapters 13-14; Book 2, Chapter 15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 1-Book 2
Chapter 13 Summary
Deng continues to kick the floor, trying desperately to get his neighbors to hear him, then finally realizes that he can roll. He rolls to the front door and bangs his feet against it, over 200 times, but still nobody comes to help. He remembers Mary Williams, the woman who founded the Lost Boys Foundation. Achor Achor had introduced them about a week after Deng arrived in Atlanta. He later discovered that much of her funding had come about because she was the adopted daughter of Jane Fonda. Through the work of Williams, many of the Lost Boys found themselves in contact with high-profile people, including basketball player Manute Bol, former president Jimmy Carter, and actress Angelina Jolie. Still, many of the Lost Boys blamed Mary for things that were beyond her control, and got very jealous and spiteful when others of their group seemed to be given advantages:
I do not think that the Sudanese are particularly argumentative people, but those in Atlanta seem, too often, to find reason to feel slighted by whatever is given to any other. It became difficult to accept a job, a referral. Any gift, from church or sponsor, was received with a mixture of gratitude and trepidation (169).
Eventually, Williams cannot handle the stress of being accused of mismanagement and the lack of gratitude for her hard work, and disbands the organization in 2005. Before she does, however, she gives Deng one of his greatest gifts: an introduction to Phil Mays. Mays was a donor to the organization who had then been asked to come down and consider being a sponsor. Once Mays heard Deng’s story, he decided to help, and the two became close friends, with Deng often helping out around Mays’s house, learning basic housekeeping things from him, and sitting with Mays on a weekly basis, talking about Sudan and telling his story. Mays helped Deng by donating both time and money, and helped Deng get into Georgia Perimeter College. After Mays moved to Florida, he could not help as much. Deng also met Bobby Newmyer, who dreamed up a conference for the Lost Boys, and worked with Deng to the point where the two became friends. Deng moved to Los Angeles for a while and helped to take care of Bobby’s children, even going on family trips with them. Newmyer later died of a heart attack. Deng reflects that all these people who helped him are gone, while he remains stuck in Atlanta.
Chapter 14 Summary
The marching boys need cross the Nile River, but there are only two boats, so it takes a very long time. Many of the boys contract malaria, as they’ve had to wait by the bank of the river for days. Deng crosses the river and finds his old friend, William K. William K joins the group and they begin to cross the desert. One night, Dut sits with them and tells them details about the politics and history of the war. On the march, many of the boys become sick, including William K, and some begin to go mad, peeing on other people, forgetting how to speak, and throwing sand at other boys. It’s clear to Deng that death is near for many of them.
Deng is happy to have been reunited with William K, but one night, they hear the sound of an approaching vehicle, and all the boys run, scattering. Deng runs with William K, but loses him in the darkness. When he wakes, Deng meets a man who has hidden and made a home nearby. The man feeds Deng and dresses his wounds, making him promise not to tell anyone about his hiding place. Deng gets to ride the man’s bicycle before being led back to his group.
The boys continue to march and come to some trees filled with birds. They climb up, eating eggs and baby birds. William K is so sick he cannot climb, so Deng goes up to gather eggs for him. Soon, a helicopter comes, frightening the boys into hiding. After this, they decide to walk at night, and are under Dut’s leadership once more. They come to some dying soldiers, and see many more corpses, including those of SPLA rebels. Word spreads that someone has killed a small antelope and there may be meat. Deng tries to convince William K to go, but William K does not have the strength and dies sitting under a tree. Deng buries him as best he can then rejoins the group, choosing to no longer speak and often thinking about just stopping and staying somewhere.
The group comes across more soldiers and refugees, but are turned away from supplies, water, and a place to rest. Deng realizes that there is a hierarchy, even among refugees, and they are at the very bottom. Finally, the boys reach Ethiopia, and are terribly disappointed: “I looked at the land. It looked exactly like the other side of the river, the side that was Sudan, the side we left. There were no homes. There were no medical facilities. No food. No water for drinking” (227).
Chapter 15 Summary
Achor Achor finally comes home and finds Deng on the floor. He unties him and tends to his wounds. They call the police, and after a long wait, a small Asian woman shows up to take their statements. She only writes a few things down in her notes, and only seems interested when she thinks they are from Darfur. Achor Achor drives Deng to the hospital.
Book 1, Chapters 13-14; Book 2, Chapter 15 Analysis
There is a tension that goes alongside all the aid that is provided to the Sudanese, and this tension is personified in the character of Mary Williams. Mary is an American woman who starts the Lost Boys Foundation, and seems to work tirelessly to benefit the Lost Boys. She creates fundraisers, opportunities for jobs and education, and connects their cause with celebrities who might have further resources to aid them. Deng reflects on her position, and shows in his story how difficult the balance is for her to maintain. If she spends too much money on parties and fundraisers, enhancing the media presence of the Sudanese, many of the Lost Boys blame her for wasting money that could be used to help them directly. If money is spent providing goods or opportunities to any specific refugee, the others want to benefit in the same way, even if that is impossible.
Deng portrays Williams as a very kind and friendly individual, with the absolute best intentions; however, he points out that the Sudanese will stretch generosity to the point of breaking and become jealous if they feel they are being treated differently than their peers:
I do not think that the Sudanese are particularly argumentative people, but those in Atlanta seem, too often, to find reason to feel slighted by whatever is given to any other. It became difficult to accept a job, a referral. Any gift, from church or sponsor, was received with a mixture of gratitude and trepidation. In Atlanta, there were one hundred and eighty pairs of eyes upon us all at any point, and there never seemed to be enough of anything to go around, no way to distribute anything equitably. It was safer, after a time, to accept no gifts, no invitations to speak at schools or churches, or to simply drop out of the community altogether. Only then could one live unjudged (169).
This situation creates a great deal of irony. For the Lost Boys of Sudan, they struggle to be grateful to the organization that has aided them. Instead of believing the old adage about how a rising tide raises all ships, they instead believe that success is a zero-sum game, and resent one another for any perceived forward momentum. If they supported one another in these moments where an individual might gain some status or opportunity, the Lost Boys, as a group, might see an overall benefit, but their stubbornness prevents them from doing so. By driving Williams to disband the organization, the Lost Boys have done themselves a great disservice, but at the time, as individuals, Deng and his fellow Sudanese can’t see the larger picture.
Other aspects of the Williams’s foundation raise valid concerns about American involvement in the situation. Williams uses funds to provide celebrities with opportunities to meet with the Lost Boys of Sudan, and learn about their story. They meet Jimmy Carter, Angelina Jolie and many other famous people, but those people are never shown to do anything concrete to help. The few Americans who dig in and help directly are not famous, they are simply hard-working men and women who believe that helping is what they should do.
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