Bashir
The English Learning book “Coast to Coast”,written by
the author David Fermer was published in the year
2016.
The book tells the story of Cooper Jackson, a teenager
who found an illegal immigrant of his his age on the
beach, who he first keeps secret but later shelters the
immigrant with his family.
In the following, I will characterize this immigrant
whose name is Bashir.
Bashir is a boy from Afghanistan, he speaks a few
words in English (p. 14 l. 12). He is 17 and a couple of
his front teeth are missing (p. 14 l. 23). Bashir travels to
Australia by boat, which sinks in the storm. He holds
onto the life jacket and preserves his life that way. (p.
14 l. 14). He looks like “a little kid or a homeless guy”
(p.14 l. 24). Bashir often expresses his friendliness
through his smiles (p.25 l. 22). Despite his limited
vocabulary, the 17 year old is talkative (p. 25 l. 28).This
refugee is a muslim which can be seen through his
praying (p.53 l.24). He wants to become an engineer
(p.56 l.29). He is first discovered by Cooper Jackson
on Casuarina beach. After the discovery, Cooper brings
him to the restaurant. There he eats his first meal after
days. (p.15 l.10). Cooper lets Bashir stays in his dad’s
hut and brings him food, clothing daily. Bashir
possesses incredible fine motor skills by preparing a
dish without the right tools (p. 27 l. 8). Bashir and his
family are Hazara who lives in Bamyan. His family
moves to Pakistan because Bashir is a boy and “The
Taliban, they don’t like Hazara”. His father was killed by
the Taliban and died in his arms (p.33 l. 1) Even though
he has a sad past, Bashir is surprisingly optimistic
(p.25 l. 30). Bashir yearns for freedom, peace and
democracy which he hopes to find in Australia (p.28 l.
24). Through Bashir’s telling of his journey (p.29 l.1),
readers can conclude that Bashir is extremely durable.
He is also caring, which becomes apparent through his
interaction with Saba as he talks to her and takes her
to the medical facility (p. 29 l. 20). Furthermore, Bashir
has a strong sense of justice, which can be seen
through his negative statements about the inhuman
treatment of fellow immigrants (p.30 l.15). Due to him
building LEGOs, the reader concludes that Bashir is a
creative and imaginative person. Through the course of
the story, the bond between Cooper and Bashir grows
stronger. He also makes friends with Kate who was
introduced by Cooper. The bond is underlined by
Cooper and Kate’s risky operations to help Bashir (p.35
l.9). At the beginning of Bashir’s stay at the Jacksons,
he does not pay a lot of attention to his manners (p.52
l.26) and so does not give off a good impression to
3
The English Learning book “Coast to Coast”,written by
the author David Fermer was published in the year
2016.
The book tells the story of Cooper Jackson, a teenager
who found an illegal immigrant of his his age on the
beach, who he first keeps secret but later shelters the
immigrant with his family.
In the following, I will characterize this immigrant
whose name is Bashir.
Bashir is a boy from Afghanistan, he speaks a few
words in English (p. 14 l. 12). He is 17 and a couple of
his front teeth are missing (p. 14 l. 23). Bashir travels to
Australia by boat, which sinks in the storm. He holds
onto the life jacket and preserves his life that way. (p.
14 l. 14). He looks like “a little kid or a homeless guy”
(p.14 l. 24). Bashir often expresses his friendliness
through his smiles (p.25 l. 22). Despite his limited
vocabulary, the 17 year old is talkative (p. 25 l. 28).This
refugee is a muslim which can be seen through his
praying (p.53 l.24). He wants to become an engineer
(p.56 l.29). He is first discovered by Cooper Jackson
on Casuarina beach. After the discovery, Cooper brings
him to the restaurant. There he eats his first meal after
days. (p.15 l.10). Cooper lets Bashir stays in his dad’s
hut and brings him food, clothing daily. Bashir
possesses incredible fine motor skills by preparing a
dish without the right tools (p. 27 l. 8). Bashir and his
family are Hazara who lives in Bamyan. His family
moves to Pakistan because Bashir is a boy and “The
Taliban, they don’t like Hazara”. His father was killed by
the Taliban and died in his arms (p.33 l. 1) Even though
he has a sad past, Bashir is surprisingly optimistic
(p.25 l. 30). Bashir yearns for freedom, peace and
democracy which he hopes to find in Australia (p.28 l.
24). Through Bashir’s telling of his journey (p.29 l.1),
readers can conclude that Bashir is extremely durable.
He is also caring, which becomes apparent through his
interaction with Saba as he talks to her and takes her
to the medical facility (p. 29 l. 20). Furthermore, Bashir
has a strong sense of justice, which can be seen
through his negative statements about the inhuman
treatment of fellow immigrants (p.30 l.15). Due to him
building LEGOs, the reader concludes that Bashir is a
creative and imaginative person. Through the course of
the story, the bond between Cooper and Bashir grows
stronger. He also makes friends with Kate who was
introduced by Cooper. The bond is underlined by
Cooper and Kate’s risky operations to help Bashir (p.35
l.9). At the beginning of Bashir’s stay at the Jacksons,
he does not pay a lot of attention to his manners (p.52
l.26) and so does not give off a good impression to
3
