Questions for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
1. What was your experience reading the book? Did William’s story hold your interest? What particular scenes or quotes stayed with you after reading? Why?
2. Did you find the book interesting, boring, confusing, inspiring? If you had to describe your response to it in one word, what is that word? Why?
3. Mercyhurst describes its core value of being “intellectually creative” as valuing “generous, inquiring, and critical habits of mind, which support the aspirations for excellence manifested within the academic community, [and] encourage us in our lifelong search for what is true, good, and beautiful.” How does this explanation describe William Kamkwamba and his creation of the windmill? In what ways does his story differ from our account of intellectual creativity?
4. William introduces his village in Malawi by proclaiming that “magic ruled the world.” Since the book is really about science, not magic, why do you think that William describes the role of magic in his community so extensively? How does a belief in magic become important later in the story, such as when villagers imagine William as a witch or seek magical cures for AIDS? Is William’s message that Africans must embrace science, not superstition? Why or why not?
5. Although William’s story focuses on his creation of the windmill, he also includes many stories that just describe his life as a normal African child and teenager. How has his life been the same or different from that of typical American youth?
6. After William begins construction of his machine, he dreams of bringing electricity to his village and country. One might reply that only 2% of the Malawi population has had electrical power thus far, and people subsist fine without it. So why does William persist in this dream and his conviction that it provides the key to a better African future?
7. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind includes an extensive account of “the hunger”—the famine that ravaged William’s community. Was this what you imagined a famine to be like? Why or why not? Why do you think that William describes the experience of hunger in such excruciating detail?
8. What would you identify as the most important turning points in the construction of the windmill? In other words, what obstacles does William encounter and how does he overcome them?
9. Since William has successfully created his windmill without formal schooling, why does he still want to attend secondary school so badly? It seems in fact, that most of his friends desperately want to stay in school. Why do many American students, with all the free education at their disposal, lack interest in learning? What explains the difference between many American and African teenagers in this regard?
10. In the closing chapters, William describes his brief talk at the TED conference in Monterey, California. Watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8yKFVPOD6o. This prestigious conference brings together the most innovative scientists and thinkers in the world, most of whom are accomplished speakers and presenters. Why do you think that the organizers invited William, a mere teenager with limited English? Sure, he built a windmill, but many people have built windmills to generate electricity the world over. Why the intense interest in William’s story?
11. What did electricity and the windmill mean for Williams’ family, friends, and community? What might this accomplishment mean for the world? For America?
12. If you were to take one lesson from William’s story, what would it be? How would you describe this message to a friend?