The Belly Laugh

Dovaleh's exaggerated and infectious full-bodied belly laugh is a symbol of hiss desire to be laughing with his peers rather than be laughed at. This desire began at Camp Gadna when he willingly became the other boys' target of teasing at Camp Gadna and was enhanced when the driver told Dovaleh an adult joke that helped him temporarily forget about the grief he was enduring with the funeral awaiting him.

Hand-walking

Dovaleh's hand-walking is originally his way of shielding his mother from the judgment of others, but it evolves into a tool he uses to deal with confusing, grievous situations. Trying to distract strangers from his mother's glance, Dovaleh begins hand-walking as a way to divert attention to himself and give his mother peace. Though his father belts him for his conspicuous gait, Dovaleh continues hand-walking in other places like Camp Gadna and at...