William K is a very interesting character in the novel ‘What is the What?’ by Dave Eggars. He is a hopeful voice among a sea of despair and calamity. As the boys walk through the barren lands of the Sudan without adequate food or water, William K is a constant voice of humour and amusement. He is both comedic relief, and a useful tool in the story; telling of despair.
He is, in a way, a type of comedic relief. Though the situation seems desperate and there is seemingly nothing that can be done to help the situation William K provides hope. His outlandish lies provide a piece of like in the darkness that is the journey of the Lost Boys of Sudan. ”
“These are people from very far away. They look very different from us. But they are very powerful, with more and better weapons than any Baggara you could find. Can you imagine this? The most powerful people you can think of.” – Eggars 191
This is an obvious lie.These little snippets; the insights into William K’s thoughts, are often amusing. His obvious hatred for the other William in the village is another amusing but of William Ks dialogue. Whether or not the author/narrator used him as intentional comic relief can be up to interpretation, but the comic relief is certainly a welcome reprise from the drama of the novel.
The opposite view of William K can show that in fact he is the most tragic of all characters. Although he is the most happy and hopeful, he can be seen as the most tragic of the Lost Boys purely by looking at his demise.
“We were simply friends who lived in a village together and expected to always be boys and friends in our village. But in these past months, we had traveled so far from our families, and we had no homes, and we had become so weak and no longer looked as we had before. And now William K’s life had ended and his body lay at my feet” – Eggars 217
The way in which William K was hopeful, coupled with his tragic demise make for an interesting character. He shows that even the most hopeful and upbeat of the Lost Boys can fall victim to the harsh conditions. Even though William K constantly looked forward to the ‘servants’ in Ethiopia and all the things to come, he died on the way to his potential freedom.
William K is one of the more interesting characters in the novel. Each character representing something. The narrator Achack, the wise Dut, the mysterious man in the house in the desert, and William K the hopeful are all different types of characters. Overall, William K makes a large impact on the work itself, and his inclusion was very impactful to the message of Eggar’s life narrative.
.