Characters from What Is the What

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Valentino Achak Deng - He describes his village and Sudan as a few hundred years behind the western world. Despite this, his early life is relatively comfortable. He goes to school to learn English and every Sunday, he worships at a Christian church. His family is big because his father, like most Southern men in Sudan, has many wives.

Achor Achor - Valentino has great respect for him and presents him as a strong individual, who never gives up on life. In fact, it is significant that unlike the others, he never seems...
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