To start, both boys have a shared past of being friends. Although they are no longer close acquaintances, this is still something they can both relate to. In a way, both are quite persistent in their goals. Tomi tries again and again no matter what to bring up his father’s boat even when facing brutal discouragement. Keet on the other hand is persistent because he keeps on coming back to pay Tomi a visit during the time he’s trying to repair the boat and disrupting his envisionment. It may not seem like it but the two boys have at least somethings in common.
Although there are some characteristics that Keet shares with Tomi, the two are far from the same. Keet is a rich, haole boy that is in 11th grade. Just because Tomi is japanese, it is the only reason Keet has to hold a grudge against him. He is extremely biased to japanese citizens. Keet also has some serious persuasion skills because he is able to constantly convince the strongest and toughest boys on the island to join his side …show more content…
and cause. He uses these things to his advantage to gang up on Tomi and his friends. Page 280 says, “Wilson said that it was subversive, so we came,”’ the guy said.” Keet Wilson is a bully, a haole, biased, and persuasive.
Lastly, Tomi humungously contradicts Keet’s personality.
Tomi is a so called “shrimpy” japanese boy who lives with his family in a small house on the Wilson’s property. Throughout the book, whenever he gets furious with what Keet does, he calms himself down and reminds himself that his father doesn’t want him to fight. This shows great self discipline. Even when he is unsure whether or not his actions go against the law, he is so focused on raising the Taiyo Maru that he shows tremendous amounts of bravery to possibly be rebelling against the government. He is kind and sympathetic to his friends like when he was deeply concerned for Rico when he slept with the pontoons through the night. Tomi’s personality definitely counters
Keet’s.
Therefore, Keet Wilson and Tomi Nakaji have their similarities and doubtlessly their differences. This just goes to show that everyone is unique in their own way, but can always relate to one another somehow.