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Emma
Willem is the eldest son of Elias and Barta and eventually a “brother” to Benjamin. Elias teaches Willem how to cut wood beams. Later, Elias often sends Willem to try to find Nina, who frequently runs away from the jobs in the village that her father arranges for her. Despite his initial obedience, Willem becomes increasingly distant from his domineering father over the course of the story.
Willem Quotes in Fiela’s Child
The Fiela’s Child quotes below are all either spoken by Willem or refer to Willem. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 14 Quotes
‘I’m your pa! That’s who I am! Say it! Say who I am!’ He was as tough as a piece of ironwood. ‘Say who I am!’
‘Pa.’
[…]
For every answer he gave him a lash. ‘And who are you?’
‘Benja— Lukas.’
‘Lukas who?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Lukas van Rooyen. Say it!’
‘Lukas van Rooyen.’
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Explanation and Analysis:
This passage features a pivotal moment in the story, in which Elias van Rooyen tries to use force to get Benjamin to accept his new identity as “Lukas.” As the quote reveals, Benjamin struggles not to say his old name and doesn’t even know what his last name is supposed to be after he becomes “Lukas.” What make Elias such a frightening character is that he himself doesn’t even seem to believe that Benjamin is really Lukas. Like Barta, and perhaps even Fiela, Elias has simply decided to treat Benjamin as Lukas because it’s the most convenient option. But whereas Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas d
Chapter 19 Quotes
The year moved slowly. Christmas came. New Year. And as he grew out of Benjamin Komoetie, he also grew out of his cloths and had to wear Willem’s old trousers and a shirt of his pa’s.
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Explanation and Analysis:
This quote shows how as the story progresses, time begins moving faster and faster, and so in this passage, a whole year comes to a close. On a literal level, this passage describes how as Benjamin grows older, he continues to get bigger and taller, meaning that he can’t wear his own clothes and instead has to wear hand-me-downs from his “brother” Willem and from Elias. On a metaphorical level, this passage shows how, like it or not, Benjamin is becoming more and more a part of the van Rooyen family. At this point, Benjamin’s changes are still superficial—he may Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessit
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Willem Character Timeline in Fiela’s Child
The timeline below shows where the character Willem appears in Fiela’s Child. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...to start shooting elephants, but that would require expensive equipment. Elias and Barta’s oldest son Willem tells Elias that Lukas isn’t anywhere in the house. Elias says to check with Aunt...
(full context)
Chapter 10
...make it with Benjamin back to the house. Elias asks “Lukas” to greet his brother Willem and sister Nina. He gets impatient when Benjamin refuses to say anything.
(full context)
Chapter 18
...to dig a pit. They all dig a pit over the course of days, with Willem and Kristoffel sometimes stopping by to help and Elias often leaving the children alone.
(full context)
Chapter 19
...to become Lukas. By the start of the New Year, Benjamin begins to think of Willem, Nina, and Kristoffel as his siblings, although it’s harder to accept Elias and Barta as...
(full context)
...Bet. Nina says that eventually Benjamin will have to marry Bet, just like Nina and Willem have also already been promised away in marriage to locals.
(full context)
Chapter 20
...from going through the Forest into the village to collect Nina’s wages. Eventually, Elias sends Willem to go fetch Nina, but Willem finds out that she has been fired. Willem gets...
(full context)
Chapter 22
Nina has once again gone missing, and with Willem and Kristoffel away, Elias has no choice but to send Benjamin to find her. Benjamin...
(full context)
