The Salvation of Benjamin —— Thoughts on Reading The Fishing Boy

When Ben and Obaby broke up, one wanted to fly away, and the other left his unhappy and loving home. In the tension and struggle, Ben shouted: "No, don't go, be obedient, don't go, don't leave me." Seeing this, I almost want to cry, like crying in my throat, thinking of losing my closest brother's small book again and again. He stayed alone and suffered the consequences.

Chighoshi Obioma's The Fishing Boy is set in a very turbulent Nigeria, which is Chighoshi Obioma's hometown. Everyone in the story uses an animal as a metaphor to tell the brotherhood between several brothers in Africa. It also implies the political and religious background at that time, which is too extensive to be discussed here. There is also the translator Wu Xiaozhen, who translates well and reads fluently.

Benjamin is the kindest of his brothers. He recalled the past from his own point of view. In Akure, Nigeria, the Agwu family lives here. There are five boys at home, namely 15-year-old Ekna, Boya, Aubame, Benjamin, over 2-year-old David and over 0/year-old Enken. His father was transferred to other places because of his work, and his children were like monkeys. It was warm at first, and the two brothers fought because they misunderstood the prophecy of a madman, and finally passed away one after another; In order to avenge his dead brother, the two younger brothers behind him became prisoners and fugitives. A big family full of love and laughter eventually fell apart.

In The Fishing Boy, Chigoshi Obomama hinted everywhere that the children were living in a bad environment at that time, and there would be riots and unrest at any time. Innocent people will die in the street, and children are used to it. They have lived in such a big environment since childhood, but despite the care of their mothers, they have not been cared for by fate. Chigoshi Obioma wants to use this story to imply that the background is chaotic and the flowers in the greenhouse are uncomfortable.

My father is an eagle and my mother is an eagle trainer. My father was laughed at and ignored because he was an only child. He wants many children. His ideal is that children can receive a good education and embark on professional fields: pilots, lawyers, doctors, professors, engineers and so on. But when the eagle left, the children lacked shelter and guidance, and they began to break away from the rules and seek excitement.

Children are no longer satisfied with playing football as an outdoor activity. Big brother Ikena has discovered a wonderful way of entertainment: fishing. Four older children began to secretly go fishing by the river behind their mother's back every day. They are a group of naughty and energetic fishermen. Children like to fish together and endure the whip thrown by their father together.

That's how the boys in the fishing gang are formed. They share joys and sorrows. If they hadn't met crazy Abreu, maybe the eagle's blueprint dream would come true one by one, and crazy Abreu disrupted all the order.

Rumor has it that the prophecy of crazy Abreu is mysterious and most of it will come true. Eckener offended mad Abreu, who predicted that Eckener would die at the hands of fishermen. Eckener was convinced that he had changed from doubting the madman's ability to being suspicious, suspecting that his fraternity had killed him. Fear enveloped the children. As soon as the madman predicted it, Eckener began to deviate from his own way, and the spell just lingered. He was persuaded and began to find fault.

I remember watching horror movies before, and I felt that my psychological endurance was ok. However, if I go to the bathroom alone in the middle of the night or inadvertently hear the noise coming from the corridor, I will unconsciously think of the horror movie I watched during the day, in which the plot attacks the whole brain cell scene by scene, and the more I think about it, the more scared I become, as if I were experiencing a horrible plot scene.

Fear is a slender and delicate nerve hovering in the sky. It always appears when it shouldn't, and it's caught off guard. The gossamer in Eckener's heart haunted him. Finally, he was exhausted, haggard and suspicious. His brothers are treading on thin ice with him. Finally, he and his second brother Bojia had a duel because of a trivial matter, and both of them lost their minds. Bojia killed his own brother by mistake.

Eckener was bound by the fear of death, and the madman became dumbfounded. Boja threw herself into the river, and the kind mother couldn't stand the stimulation and hallucinated and lived in a mental hospital. Love is fragile, and fear and doubt turn the originally close brothers against each other.

Love is also great, and Obabi begins to take revenge.

The eagle wants to save everything. He cured the child's mother first. He wants to leave Nigeria with his family and immigrate to Canada, so that children can stay away from harm and accept a better life. My father thought of everything, but he didn't think that Obaby had planted the seeds of revenge.

Ben is the kindest of the four boys. He is preoccupied with his brothers. He depends on them and loves them. After the two brothers left, Obabi became his guide. He advised the third brother to give up his revenge plan several times, but Mr. Ao always felt that if the madman didn't die, his conscience would be restless all his life, and so would the souls of his two dead brothers. In order to support the third brother, Ben participated in the murder plan, and hatred drowned the fear. The prophetic madman Aber died at the hands of two young fishermen who avenged his brother.

When the truth gradually surfaced and the paper was about to burn, Aubame was dragging Ben out of his hometown. I remember when he applied for an immigrant passport, his father told them. In the future, he will think more about his mother and think about the terrible consequences of doing something that excites his mother. Ben's kindness finally prevented him from running away. He stopped and begged his brother not to go, waiting for the final referee. He persuaded his brother to give up the murder plan again and again, but Austria was stubborn and could not shake his belief. Timid Ben joined a whirlpool he didn't want for love and trust and for his brother.

Only Ben, in the most dangerous time, stood up and fought for his brother; Finally, he stayed and accepted legal sanctions from Austria and his parents. Before Austria decided to go, he cried and shouted "Auburn, don't go, don't leave me"; Before sentencing, he knelt down and begged Mr. Bayo and his father, "Please, take me away now"; When his father asked him how his caregivers treated him when he was imprisoned, he lied and said "nothing, no beating". His father told him to tell the truth, and he cried silently.

Ten-year-old Ben, who could have been carefree at school and lived under the protection of his parents, has embarked on a road of no return. After eight years in prison, his family could not visit him. In a closed and dark space, all he can do is eat, drink, sleep, read, watch, pray, cry and think. It was young and strong Ben who lit his own energy and lit up this broken home. He atoned for his brother. Austria always said Ben was timid, but after the madman died, Austria escaped. Considering the feelings of his parents, he stayed and accepted the punishment he deserved. He is only ten years old. His road to redemption made the fishing boy shine, which made Austria, a fugitive, regret it, and Austria began to reflect on the irreparable consequences of its recklessness.

We all have an evil heart, and we all have evil thoughts for a moment. When fear and doubt overcome justice and kindness, evil thoughts breed, such as a single spark, which can start a prairie fire and set off huge waves. We also have a kind heart. Even the wicked Abreu wantonly spread terrible predictions, but left tears at the memorial service in Ikona. Does he also want to pick up a gourd ladle of holy water to wash away the dust?

This is a faint light in the darkness.

Chigoshi Obioma's Fishing Boy made me addicted to the family and friendship in the story. Time flies. We all had similar experiences. We can bully our younger brother, but others can't. This blood bond leads every brother and sister. He is our next of kin. We grew up together and witnessed each other's edges and corners.