WHAT is the WHAT #1

As I read the first sentence, Inoticed it was in first person and present tense. It also seemed like it started off with an anecdote, but as I kept reading, it seems like the author is telling his whole life story throughout the entire novel. On page 7, I noticed the repetition of "I have..." to emphasize what the author has been through; to make us feel what he felt. Powder, one of the robbers names, is an oxymoron. Powder the robber is a tough, angry man while powder is clean and soft. On page 8, there is repetition of "we" to show that all of the Africans that came to America are all together facing the same problems and dificulties. On page 10, the autor states, "But everyone disappears, no matter who loves them," foreshadows the time when he is being robbed and says, "..and that is the end, for now, of Valentino Achak Deng." (24)