The Illegal, and Some Great Thing by Lawrence Hill both contain several important themes. To explain, The Illegal features the main character’s loss of innocence, and the racism towards people because of their country of origin, and ethnic background. Next, Some Great Thing includes the themes of racism and prejudice towards not only the protagonist, but also to French Canadians because of the colour of their skin, or the language they speak, and the courage of characters to stand up for what they believe is right. The Illegal Loss of Innocence: A major theme in The Illegal is loss of innocence. The first example occurs when the main character, Keita, was only ten years old. He was doing chores at his local church when a group of terrorists …show more content…
On Mahatma Grafton’s first day of work at his new job at The Herald, a Winnipeg newspaper, the employees had placed bets on where they thought he was from. To find out who was right, the editor Don Betts decided to ask where he was from. Mahatma said that he was Canadian, Betts replied, “Yes, but you know. Where were you from? Before that?” (Hill 12) Mahatma then said, “Before that?” (Hill 12). Betts then replied, “You know, your origins” (Hill 13). To which Mahatma replied with tension in his voice, “Origins? I originated in Winnipeg. Misericordia Hospital” (Hill 13). Prejudice by some of the employees as well as the editor are clearly shown in this exchange. Merriam-Webster describes prejudice as, “[A] preconceived judgment or opinion’ (Merriam-Webster 1). Clearly the employees had already made the assumption that Mahatma could not be of Canadian descent because of his name. This is an important quote because it shows ignorance of characters in the book. They may not intend, or see themselves as being prejudiced, however they are nonetheless. Another instance of racism was between the French and English Manitobans. After a fight had broken loose at the local hockey arena Grafton went over to interview some of the players. When he a player why he was in the penalty box the player responded, “I speared a frog. Big deal. Everybody does it” (Hill 100). This quote features two examples of racism. …show more content…
Mahatma Grafton showed courage while covering a story about Winnipeg’s mayor. Many years ago, the mayor had been banned from the United States because they thought that he was a communist. Recently he tried to remove his name from the list, and Mahatma was given that story to write about. However, his editor did not like the way that Grafton had written out the story. Grafton had tried to write the story fully, and truthfully to not impact the reader’s opinion on the mayor. When his editor began fixing his article to try to insinuate that the mayor was still communist, Mahatma said, “If you want to write about the mayor, you do it. But I’m not helping you” (Hill 72). In the face of a man of authority Mahatma stuck up for what he thought was right, and faced difficulty without worrying, or being fearful of the repercussions which is the definition of courage. Mahatma shows that even though he is new to a job, and does not have any power, he will still follow his beliefs which is why this quote is one of the best quotes that could be chosen. Courage was also shown by one of Mahatma’s father’s coworker, The Rabbi. The Rabbi, and Grafton’s father worked as a porter in the railway business. While they stopped after the long trip the black porters were told to sleep in a flophouse without beds, or to find their own place to stay whereas the white porters slept in hotels . Most of the other porters avoided the place,
In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian there are examples of courage throughout the whole book. Junior decides he wants to go to an all white school. ‘“I want to go to Rearden,” said Junior. I couldn’t believe I was saying it. For me, it seemed as real as saying, “I want to fly the moon.” said Junior.’ (Alexie, 46) This quote is important because it shows that Junior isn’t afraid to try new things and he doesn’t
Although I have read this book before, I still enjoy reading the stories of the hardship and challenges the immigrants overcame. Issues such as drugs and discrimination have been addressed in the book and the response the victims of such issues got from the concerned authorities in relation to their complaints. The book is based on narrations of real time events and the stereotypes that put the immigrants on the wrong side of the law almost all the time. Additionally, the need for reform can be seen from this novel where immigrants themselves echo their dissatisfaction with the current state of things in the US.
To begin with, Mahatma Gandhi was a man who stood up for the less fortunate people in the world. In passage one, it states that “ Mahatma Gandhi didn’t have to walk endless miles and go without eating for days.” The text is stating that , He didn’t have to abandon his daily life to declare to the world. He chose to stand up for the populations and tell them what was right. It also states that, he grew up in a rich and wealthy family. This
One of the main themes in Citizen by Claudia Rankine is racism. This theme starts on the very first page with a story about how a white girl cheated off of Rankine’s paper. Throughout the rest of the book miniature stories that contain blatant racism are thrown at the reader. It becomes clear that Rankine’s intent is to convey the feelings of someone experiencing racism through the use of second person storytelling. This becomes a powerful tool because as the reader it makes it easier to feel the same emotions Rankine was feeling in the moment she describes. This theme is important because it is the very thing that carries the book and seems to be Rankie’s reason for writing. There are many instances where this theme occurs throughout the book. Another example is when Rankine is
Disney conveyed many life lessons or themes in the movie Maleficent;this movie teaches us that to not betray other people or they will get their revenge sooner or later. According to the movie King Steph Betrayed Maleficent by cutting off her wings because King Steph wanted to be king because he would rather be king then join her. This supports the theme because When Maleficent woke up and she realized that her wings were off, she wanted to get revenge on king Stephen for cutting off her wings and she didn't know why he would do that to her, she thought that they were really good friends and from that point on she knew she had to get her revenge on him. Another example found in the text show that when Maleficent was mad about when King, Steph cut off her wings. So she went to his castle and said that she was going to put a curse on their newborn daughter;the curse was that on Aurora's sixteenth birthday, she would
By nature, human beings are scared of new things. Whether it be trying something new, or venturing to a place whose culture and way of life is considered foreign, the idea of drifting from our zone of comfort may be frightening. In the world of literature, this theme is recurring and offers readers a sense of what those characters feel as they cross that border or take a risk. The novel All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, displays the protagonists adventuring into the wild and uncivilized Mexico in an attempt to begin a new life. In Shūsaku Endō’s religious novel Silence, the reader journeys with the Jesuit missionaries while on their perilous attempt to lead the abandoned Japanese christians. No matter the reason for their journey,
The novel Nukkin Ya is a compelling book, written in the perspective of the character Gary Black, the author of the text is Phillip Gwynne. The novel is set in rural South Australia for Australian readers. The novel conveys a number of themes and messages including racial difference, love verse hate and the ability and choice to move on. These are depicted by the literally techniques of imagery, literary allusions and intertextuality.
There have been other who have displayed what the quote represents. Martin Luther King Jr. fills this role during his time in the Civil Rights Movement. He orchestrated many nonviolent protests against the government and gave the famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” This shows his display of courage becoming a majority as he was a crucial part of the success of the Civil Rights Movement, due to the many people who believed and followed in him. Mahatma Gandhi has also filled this role in history. Gandhi displayed courage of a majority during his peaceful protests against the British ruling over India. Because of his actions, India is the free-ruling country it is
Racial discrimination is the one thing that is in the novel the most. For example, when the Spaniards first came to Tenochtitlan, the first thing that was taken from the Aztecs was their religion. This would include their customs, traditions, sacrifices, ceremonies, and belief of their gods. Every Aztec was then baptized as a Christian and were then given a Christian name. “Have I upset you?”
Lawrence Hill uses many techniques to effectively bring across the ideas presented in The Illegal. People reading the book today will no doubt associate the refugee crisis presented in the book with the current Syrian refugee crisis. He does this not by explicitly using Syria and Western countries, but through the two fictional countries Zantoroland (Syria), and Freedom State (The West). The plot is set mostly in 2018 and 2019, which also offsets the action from the real, current events it attempts to portray. One major theme in the novel is the idea of running, which always serves to help Keita Ali. He runs from people who want to harm him in both Zantoroland and Freedom State and he runs to make money as well. Running took him from
The movie Get Out, released in 2017, is a very tense film that addresses some of the concerns of modern times. An interracial couple, Chris Washington and Rose Armitage, go to meet Rose’s parents. The Armitages are a well-off family, living in a large, well-maintained lakeside house. They also have two colored servants working for them, allegedly hired to take care of Rose's grandparents in their old age. As the weekend progresses, there is a large party, and Chris begins to suspect that something is going on. Though he tells his friend Rod about it, he does not leave, and is eventually hypnotized, and overcome by the family. He was then prepped for a procedure called Coagula, in which another person's brain would be implanted into his body. An old blind man who wished to have Chris’s sight and photography talents purchased him in an auction. In the end, Chris resists the hypnotism by putting cotton in his ears. He then fights his way out of the house and Rod rescues him from the pursuing family members.
Throughout history there has been people who have tried to change history by heroic action. During the 1900’s, there was individual named Mahatma Gandhi, an Indian Nationalist. He was a leader of the Indian Independence Moment against the British rule in India. Gandhi at times would, “attack Western materialism and individualism (p.436).” The people of India praised him for many of his Hindu traditions, along with him attacking the, “caste system and urged harmony with Muslims (p.436).”
“Black Like Me” written by John Howard Griffin is an excellently written novel, based on factual events experienced by the author himself. It is based in the 1950s, a time when racism was widespread throughout America. The basic outline of the story is the following of one man (Griffin) as he embarks on a journey that takes him to the ‘other side’. Griffin is a middle-aged white man, and decides to personally experience the life of a Negro. He achieves this by literally changing the pigmentation in his skin so that he is no longer white. Griffin moves to the deep southern states of America where he is subject to harsh racist treatment by the whites. By doing so, he experiences first hand the reality of racism and prejudice, almost to the point of disbelief. The story focuses on the lives of Negroes: restricted, brutal and harsh. “My skin was dark. That was sufficient reason for them to deny me those rights and freedoms without whi...
In the story Wonder, there are many themes that could be noticed by a reader. Even though there are many noticeable themes, the theme that stands out to me is beauty is more than what you see on the outside. This story shows many examples of inner beauty being important. A main example of the story’s theme is centered around August being described as deformed. August’s deformities were seen to be unusually bad even to the point that Julian asked August “What about Darth Sidious? Do you like him?” when they were discussing Star Wars. Julian had questioned August about Darth Sidious to implore that he looked like the burnt Sith. Via also explains that people look shocked, sickened, scared, and will stare at August when they first see him. Even
Lots of great leaders who commanded their armies wisely and led them to the glory appeared on the stage of history, but the ones who won the battles and beat the giants without using armies with weapons were very rare. As one of the most inspiring leaders in history, Mahatma Gandhi achieved this by ending the British rule in India by means of non-violence as well as his effective leadership. A better understanding of his extraordinary standard of leadership can be achieved through an analysis of leadership theories and their connection with Gandhi. Vision, as one of the leadership theories that is discussed in the article “What is leadership?” of Fred Manske, is a prerequisite for a leader as it gives purpose and responsibility to both leaders and followers. S.A. Kirkpatrick and E.A. Locke point out the special traits leaders need to have in “Leadership: Do Traits Matter?”: persistence to follow through with the program and integrity to gain the trust of their followers. Moreover, Hughes, Ginnet and Curphy believe that values influence the choices made by leaders significantly, and in “Leadership and Values”, they observe that values of leaders also affect their relationship with their followers. Self-sacrifice is one of the important aspects of leadership, as explained in "Leader Self-Sacrifice And Leadership Effectiveness: The Moderating Role Of Leader Prototypicality." by Barbara and Daan van Knippenberg. Sydney Hook, in “The Eventful Man and the Event-Making Man”, points out that a great leader has the capacity to change history. Gandhi demonstrated all of these attributes. In “Ears and Mouth Open”, Louis Fischer explains that Gandhi’s vision was a new, free India. Nevertheless,...