Kip demonstrates the B Learner Characteristics of being caring ND a thinker but lacks the ability of being a good communicator due to the effect of his occupation. A natural born Indian man, Kip leaves India and willingly decides to join the British military sapper unit. Kip and his unit's main priority are to diffuse and clear mines and bombs. Periodically enemy nations (to the Allies), the Germans in particular, would add a twist to their bombs every few months to trick the sappers.The quote, "A 250-kilogram bomb erupting as Lord Suffolk attempted to dismantle it. It also killed Mr.
.. Fred Harts and Miss Moored and four sappers Lord Suffolk was raining" describes how the majority of the sapper unit and Lord Suffolk died (190). Promptly after these deaths, Lieutenant Blacker tells Kip of the event and hesitantly brings up the fact that another bomb is in need of being diffused and disposed. Kip knows that "the man would not have come there Just to tell him of the deaths.
..It meant there was a second bomb somewhere in the vicinity, probably the same design (as the bomb that killed had killed Lord Suffolk and other members of his unit), and this was the only chance to find out what had gone wrong" The act that his mentor, Lord Suffolk died by the same bomb design as he luckily diffused proves that a sapper's lifespan is limited. This shows that Kip is caring because he is constantly putting his life at risks to protect people of the nation he services.Another example of Kip being caring is when he is sent to go on a mission to protect the Italians during the Virgin Mary Festival. He goes to the extent of checking the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel for potential bomb locations and even though he does not share the same religion as these people, he goes to the farthest attempt to protect them.
Kip explains to Hanna that before he could become a sapper, he had to pass a test. The test involves reassembling pieces of machinery together without any instructions or prior information within a time frame of two hours.Kip describes how he "finished the exam quickly and spent the rest of the time inventing other objects that could be made from the various components" (188). He reveals that the test was easy for him because "he had come from a country where mathematics and mechanics were natural traits..
. Most people in his village were more likely to carry a spanner or screwdriver than a pencil. A car's irrelevant parts thus entered a grandfather clock or irrigation pulley or the spinning mechanism of an office chair.What he saw in England was a surfeit of parts that would keep the continent of India going for two hundred years," and also basically explaining why he possess the B characteristics of surrounded by a culture that did not believe in "trash", he is able to think critically and creatively when faced with a complex problem while making reasonable decisions and be successful in his career of being a sapper. Being a communicator is Kip's weakest trait.
A communicator is described as one who understands and expresses ideas and information confidently and creatively.Due to his Job, he learns to question everything and trust nothing. Often times when he is diffusing a bomb, he has to shut out emotions and feelings to focus on the task at hand. He develops a form of isolation because his mind is always on the look-out for another bomb. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kip becomes in furious with anything dealing with the English.
After "he moves past the burned pews towards the apse, where under a tarpaulin weighted down with branches is the motorbike" (288). Hanna comes out and says, "Kip, it's me. What did we have to do with it? And Aggravating says to him, "l shall have to learn how to miss you," to which he responded with nothing and abruptly leaves. Another issue that helped to dissipate Kip's ability to become a strong communicator is the fact that he views his own skin color as a reason why he is discriminated. While waiting among the applicants for the exam to become a sapper, he emphasizes the fact that "he was the only Indian among the applicants" and because of that, he felt alone "while the (other) soldiers Joked about the interview and the test.
He knew no one" (187).After the test, Indentation describes how Kip felt with, "he sensed he would be admitted easily if it were not for his race. " Kip isolated himself from others because of how he felt about his race and the effect of his Job on his lifestyle causing himself to lack the traits of a good communicator. Overall, these three characteristics are a result of Kip's Job as a sapper.
Caring and a critical thinker are skills that an B learner and Kip have in common, but like all people, the saying, "no one is perfect" rings true with Carpal "Kip" Sings faltering behind in his communicator skills.
