Society's Rejects and Barry Hines' "Kestrel for a Knave"
A kestrel for a knave is about a poor troubled Yorkshire lad by the
name of Billy Casper. What he imagines to be out of reach and
unbelievable are things we take for granted. He imagines love from his
parents and just normal, every day things like fish and chips for
supper and someone being nice to him. For Billy, that is a dream that
will never become reality.
Treated as a failure at school and unhappy at home, Billy discovers a
new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy
identifies with her silent strength and she inspires in him the trust
and love that nothing else can. I don’t think that Kes gives Billy the
power to revolutionize and turn around his social life, because she
doesn’t. But Kes is extremely close to Billy’s heart. Kes gives Billy
a sense of satisfaction and achievement. Kes gives Billy the will to
live another day while other is Billy’s position would have given up
on life long ago. Kes is effectively Billy’s best friend and whom he
spends most of his spare time with and would have continues to do so
after he left school if event wouldn’t have gone the way they had
done.
Billy is portrayed as someone who has given up on everything as he
knows he wont get a second chance, and that he’s future is going down
the same road as his older brother Jud. Billy has been made to look
after himself for most of his life as he’s dad has left him and his
mum is too busy worrying about herself. He’s had to learn to find ways
to find food and that is stealing from anyone, anywhere. For example
he takes a bottle of milk from the milkman, he steals sweets from the
little store where he has a job to deliver newspapers. The shop ...
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...assroom. This is also a good example for
his punctuation as he uses short sentences, “the scuffle of a turning
page” etc. the problem with using so much description is that it
leaves the readers having no imagination on the scene or character.
Most of the book is written as Billy’s thoughts on things and he
doesn’t use speech that much to describe things.
This book reflects on many issues that still carry on today but have
got even more serious. It shows how lucky we are to have a family who
care and love us and how important it is not to take it for granted,
as there are many children who don’t know the feeling of being loved.
I think Barry Hines used a very good story to bring the message across
on how people can be made to feel. And that everyone deserves a second
chance and should not be judged on wealth but on the persons morals
and personality.
...takes one for the team and learns not to be so selfish in the process of accomplishing his own dream.
Every so often a film is made that makes a major impact on the culture of cinema. Charles Burnett with his film Killer of Sheep (2007) made that impact. The film was created by Burnett as his masters thesis from the UCLA film school in 1977, but was not formally released until 2007 (Burnett, Milestone Films). Even though it wasn’t released for almost thirty years, the film received international praise. Killer of Sheep brought to life a new image of African American cinema and created a powerful impression of life in the black ghetto. Burnett created a realistic image of African American blue-collar life in a non-traditional structure that changed African American cinema.
Prior to the 1950s, very little research had been done on the history and nature of the United States’ policies toward and relationships with African Americans, particularly in the South. To most historians, white domination and unequal treatment of Negroes were assumed to be constants of the political and social landscapes since the nation’s conception. Prominent Southern historian C. Vann Woodward, however, permanently changed history’s naïve understanding of race in America through his book entitled The Strange Career of Jim Crow. His provocative thesis explored evidence that had previously been overlooked by historians and gave a fresh foundation for more research on the topic of racial policies of the United States.
life, and acting upon his responsibilities in order to follow with his heart, instead of with
himself 90% of the day until he was and adult. He had to work twice as hard as most
Since the beginning of time, mankind began to expand on traditions of life out of which family and societal life surfaced. These traditions of life have been passed down over generations and centuries. Some of these kin and their interdependent ways of life have been upheld among particular people, and are known to contain key pieces of some civilizations.
over him and he talks to each member of the family in the order they
finally realizes that his son loves him and in a way holds him as number one,
late father. He was also not ready to face the fact that his Uncle marries his mother
Although in society humans are ranked based on social statuses, by the end of the day everyone is in the same boat. As human nature, people have a tendency of categorizing others and themselves as a way to distinguish separate classes when in reality there really is no difference. The author uses this idea as a way of showing the differences between social classes and how they are perceived to be. Throughout the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the author shows how completely different people’s lives are, yet they always seem to find that one similarity where the boundary line between them does not exist. This creates the idea that everyone ends up seeing the same sunset no matter who they are and what rank they may have in society. As the
All his life he was raised by his mom, with his sister. He always led a
The collapse of slavery after the Civil War sent social and political shockwaves throughout America. Within four bloody years the cemented concept of slavery was suddenly destroyed, but the ideology of white superiority over blacks remained throughout the country. The minstrel shows were a direct result of this surviving ideology and it reinvigorated the discrimination towards blacks. The shows were comedic acts starring blacks that slandered their demeanor and behavior through satirization. These shows saw the most prominence in America during the mid 19th century and were performed across the nation. The minstrel shows and entertainment industry reflected the widely accepted the social differences of the time between blacks and whites and
... unique dignity of each person, the truth that God is the Lord of Life not us, and the example and teaching of Jesus on mercy and forgiveness.
The concept of what is "individuality" and what is not has plagued and delighted man since the dawn of time. “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy adds 302 more pages to the pile of all the works that have been on the quest to define individualism. In this novel, McCarthy takes us through four faces of the key character’s life, John Grady, to portray the idea of illusory individualism. He contends that John Grady is simply a product of a society in contrast to his (Grady) notion of free will. Simply put: Grady has no alternatives but an obligation to conform to society. McCarthy uses him to create the platform in which to comment on oppression of individuality, expectation of conformity to the values of the society and the fact that the concept of individualism is a myth.
... a patient happy,healed, and healthy patient and the fulfilment that comes along knowing that you make a difference in this persons life, giving them a second chance to live their life to the fullest.