Balram uses his skills as an entrepreneur to always speak fondly of his master, even in the presence of other servants. He bides his time and trust with his Mr. Ashok, even when he believes they are to replace him. (When offered various vices for his master, Balram responds) “No my master does not need these, he is a good man” (106). Balram also begins to change his appearance to better himself in the eyes of his master’s, as well. One night after drinking, Balram is in a disheveled state, and even scratches himself in front of Pinky Madam. She is mortified, and demands that he take better care of himself, mocking both his appearance and behavior (123). Pinky Madam’s cruelty shows how clueless she is to his life, but it also allows Balram to learn how to better handle himself in front of his master’s. He takes this opportunity to brush his teeth, change his looks and habits, and turn into someone who would be from the light, even if he is just pretending. We can especially see this when Balram successfully enters the shopping malls where servants are prohibited. He has learned to copy his master by wearing white colored clothing and dark shoes; something that one of fortune would dress in. He is able to gain access, even just to wander for a few moments, and proves himself capable of what no one from his background could imagine (128). We also see Balram’s ascension of status through a complete mistake. One night when driving the couple into town, Balram is required to wait in the car as he has done on many occasions. Bored, he wanders away from the servants who burn plastic to keep warm, an example of poverty in the globalized world with plastic everywhere, re appropriated by the poor to stay warm, and runs into a gentlemen... ... middle of paper ... ...f the hook when he accidentally killed someone. Balram’s skills in life that he used to escape the corrupt world, turned himself into a corrupt individual, yet through these tactics, came out on top. Balram’s life started in the slums of Laxmangarh, where he was supposed to do nothing more than work, raise a family, and die. The world of India sets its people in the dark up for failure; in a world ruled by the wealthy, a corrupt government, and no chance for escape. The wealthy never notice what the poor desire, but the opposite is not true. Balram must even reject his own tradition, as he attempts to escape through his new entrepreneurial skills he has learned from those around him. The poor are held down by a social system of a prevalent caste system, the vicious rooster coop system, one can do nothing less than risk everything for even a chance too escape.
Boo’s story begins in Annawadi, a trash-strewn slum located by the Mumbai International Airport. This “sumpy plug of slum” had a population of three thousand people living within 335 huts (Boo, 2011, xi). The land owned by the Airport Authority of India and was surrounded by five hotels that Abdul’s younger brother described as “roses” versus their slum, “the shit in between” (Boo, 2011, xi). Abdul is a Muslim teenage who buys garbage of the rich and sells it to recyclers to support his family. Abdul’s family, Muslim, is a religious minority in the slum of Hindus; in fact a major element of tension within the book can be distilled to these Hindu-Muslim tensions. This difference in religion makes Abdul fearful of his neighbors for two reasons: (1) they would attempt to steal the family’s wealth, and (2) if Abdul were caught, he would not be able to support his family. The other major character was Fatima, a woman who burned herself by attempting suicide through self-immolation. She accused Abdul, his father, and sister of beating and threatening her; in India, it is against the law to convince someone else to kill him or herself. With a corruption-ridden legal sys...
William Apes, in his essay "An Indian's Looking-Glass for the White Man," argues that to profess Christianity and still distinguish between races is a hypocrisy not supported by the Bible. In the first part of his essay Apes asks several questions such as why, if God loves white people so much, did he create fifteen colored people for every white one; and of all the races, who has committed the most heinous crimes? He goes on to emphasize that neither Jesus nor his disciples were white skinned. He also questions the white person's right to control Native Americans. Apes asks his predominately white, Christian audience to reexamine their own prejudices and concludes his essay pleading "pray you not stop till this tree of distinction shall be leveled to the earth, and the mantle of prejudice torn from every American heart--then peace shall pervade the Union."
Deloria, with his analytical survey, Indians in Unexpected Places, recounts the synthesis of western white expectations, and American Indians. The book takes its title from the general thesis, which explores not only the relationship between Indians and their introduction into an alien culture, but also the expectations that we have of Indians and how they “should” interact with our white western culture. According to Deloria, the common notion is that, “Indian people, corralled on isolated and impoverished reservations, missed out on modernity- indeed, almost missed out of history itself.” (Deloria p. 6) This falsified expectation that we have of the Native American peoples causes us to balk at the anomalies of an Indian when combined with Western culture.
Baba teaches Amir the ways to become a virtuous man, however Amir is not as courageous as his father and it is difficult for Amir to demonstrate his teachings. Baba teaches Amir how to be a strong good man, but Amir does not seem to grasp these values as much as he may want to. Thusly, Amir constantly seeks his father’s approval, yet he does not follow the one thing his father has taught him, being a decent man. This does not just include knowing the difference between right and wrong, it is being strong enough to stand up for what is just. Courage and bravery are two characteristics Amir needs to gain acceptance not only from his father but also from himself. Amir overhears his father talking to Rahim Khan about him and Hassan. He hears his father say, “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up for anything,” (Hosseini 22). This saddens Amir, because he re...
“My father grew up in a small village alongside a river in Kashmir, Pakistan. He was a son, brother, husband and father. My father was the oldest so according to customs and traditions, it was assumed that he would take responsibility for his siblings, children and parents. He wasn’t as fortunate as most people so he had to work twice as hard to ensure all our basic needs were met. Waking up in the morning with frost frozen on the window and the only source of heat being the small fire that burnt from the night before, it was difficult to do anything. He started off with small jobs and worked his way up. ” Most of us are like my father, we sacrifice ourselves to take responsibility of those we love. We were held back from achieving our dreams and goals. In The Scarlet Ibis, written by James Hurst, realizing pure intentions of good deeds is important because actions itself won’t help you. This bestseller has conveyed lessons that we can all learn from. Likewise, Doodle was held back because he was an abnormal child. Taking responsibility of others is good to a certain extent but do we do it for the right reasons? “What are the words that can solder cracker pride?” Nothing should stop you from accomplishing what you want. Owning up and creating solutions is your responsibility,
Donald Grinde is the author of The Iroquois and the Founding of the American Nation, one of the earliest books to argue for an Indian influence on the formation of the American democracy. Since Grinde’s publication and Bruce Johansen’s a year later, there has been a great deal of debate over this issue. Many of the most prominent opponents of the influence thesis have failed to distinguish between the arguments of more extreme authors, such as Gregory Schaaf, who claim that the Iroquois Gayanashagowa was copied by the U.S. Constitution, and those with a more moderate stance, like Johansen and Grinde, who simply point to a clear influence (Johansen, 1998). This paper intends to argue along the lines of these latter authors. Our founding fathers did not copy the Gayanashagowa or Great Law of Peace, but our Constitution was written with reflection upon the Iroquoian government with the goal of synthesizing this model into a form that could satisfy the needs of the American people. Given the evidence presented by Grinde and Johansen, it is clear that Native Americans influenced early U. S. political minds—if not directly, then at least indirectly.
Imperialism in India lasted 190 years, from 1757 to 1947. India was taken over by the British for their interests in the potential for power and goods that were available there. However, the British were pressured to take India by some of Europe, including the French and Dutch, because they all wanted to share the resources that could be removed. The overall effects on the British imperializing India were negative.
In Philip J. Deloria’s Athletic chapter from his book “Indians in unexpected places” he talks about his grandfather’s connection to sports. He goes into further detail about how his grandfather’s place in sports is similar to other Native Americans. Native Americans used sports as a way to find their place in a new society. Sports was also used to strengthen the community. “Many Indian communities responded by drawing webs of kingship and unity ever tighter, trying to keep sport stars humble” (113). Athletics was now being used to bring all of the community, especially in times when it seemed divided. Sports also disproved the “Vanishing Indian” idea because society saw Native Americans playing in these sports and saw that they still existed.
Nevertheless, inequality continues to be a major problem within cities and between rural and urban areas. Encompassing this situation is Katherine Boo’s novel Behind the Beautiful Forevers, which attempts to shine some light on the conditions of Mumbai’s informal settlements. Following the life of two rural migrant families residing in the Annawadi settlement, Boo highlights the everyday challenges individuals must fact to survive. As such, one of the major topics of the novel is inequality as a consequences of a lack of investment in basic needs, a matter of poor planning based on interest differences as well as corruption. Therefore, it can be argued that through her novel, Boo was able to successfully depict the how inequality has impacted the lives of those residing in informal settlements, with the fact that housing and land rights alone is an issue not being properly dealt
Imperialism in India British imperialism in India had many positive and negative effects on both the mother country, Britain and the colony, India. Many people would argue which effects were more prominent in these countries, and some would agree that they were equal. But in both cases, there were actually both. In India, the British colonization had more positive effects than negative. For instance, when the British colonized India they built 40,000 miles of railroad and 70,000 miles of paved roadway.
The story Q & A, written by Vikas Swarup, illustrates the lives of those in the slums of India and how those living there experience life. The novel recites the unimaginable journey of a slum dog who becomes a billionaire. Throughout the rags to riches story of Ram Mohammed Thomas, he is presented with several catalysts which change his life.
In the film, “Slumdog Millionaire” showed the world how India is a society that is filled with violence and abuse. Slumdog Millionaire exposes the tragic effects of poverty in many different cities of India. The film talks about a Mumbai boy, Jamal, who grew up in the slums that became a contestant on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” During the contest, Jamal were arrested under suspicion of cheating. Jamal was being interrogated by the police, and revealed events from his life history to explain why he knew the answers on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
Even though discrimination against lower castes is illegal in India under its constitution, it does still happen. There is a wide abundance of bribing present in both governmental and non-governmental situations. For example, a person high on the caste system can bribe police officers with money to cover up murders, and rich people have privileges in shopping malls. Balram experiences his first signs of corruption at a young age, when the Great Socialist bribed all votes from the workers of his tea shop. He also becomes the victim of corruption after his master’s girlfriend kills a child in a car accident due to drunk driving. His own master then turns on him to blame him for the murder. After Balram moves to Bangalore, he bribes a police officer in order to help start his own taxi
The mind and heart are common terms personifying intellectual and spiritual characteristics. The mind illustrates the current state of what it describes and the heart describes the undying features of which is portrayed. The mind may change depending on influence but the heart is fixed. These regards, the Indian mind and heart may take on many forms.
Premchand points out some of the problems in the social structure of India in “The Road to Salvation”. The story tells of two working men who ruin each other financially and morally. Premchand is not only talking about the turmoil between members of the same caste, he’s also saying that as long as people continue ruin each other, nothing good can come from it. Jhingur and Buddhu materialistic desires blinded them, and they may never see the true value of life. They are trapped in a cycle of revenge that brought their own destruction.