What reflections and connections can you make with this novel?

As I reflect back on Peace Child I begin to see more clearly the themes conveyed amidst the grimness and beauty of the plot. One theme that I found was that men and women are not provided with knowledge, which has been concealed for us to reveal. And it is through this revelation that the understanding of the knowledge occurs so that we may know what is true.

For a person to know something, the concept must only be understood but also believed in, for without belief there is no truth. This belief can only come from the revelation of what is hidden, such as the belief in God that the Sawi had after understanding and knowing the true divine implications of the Peace Child truce formed between two tribes.

It is also through in this Peace Child that I grasped the significance of sacrificing for the

greater good of a community. The Peace Child sacrifice embodies the conflict between our

morals/ethics and our natural instincts. People are naturally inclined to choose what is more

beneficial to us, hence the extreme seriousness of the Peace Child. However, it is only through

the sacrifice of one man that the whole tribe can find peace and tranquility. Similarly, Richardson's

voyage into Sawi territory for the glory of the kingdom of God proves to be another sacrifice for

the greater good of the Sawi people. This good comes not only from the conversion of the Sawi

but also from the healthcare, tools and technology that were brought there. Despite the hostile

conditions that Richardson knew beforehand, an omen for the hardships to come, he sacrificed

his life for the Sawi people.

I currently cannot personally relate to this experience, given that I have never done anything

can come close to such feat. However, it does motivate me to do something similar in the future.

It motivates me to perhaps someday be able to put my needs aside for the good of others.

“To do something, however small, to make others happier and better, is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can inspire a human being” - John Lubbock