The Question and Answer section for What is the What is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
The protagonist: Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese child refugee who immigrated to the United States under the Lost Boys of Sudan program.
Antagonist: war, corruption.
The "grinning man" is a Dinka, who sits across from Deng at the gathering of the merchants. Valentino's interactions with the man are worrisome, as the man and his friends demand more and more from the merchants under threat of death.
Valentino is referring to the fact that no matter how miserable he sees his life in the United States, it will always be better than the life he left in Africa. In the United States, he moves about freely, travels, and visits friends. He has...
