A Kestrel for a Knave tells the story of a day in the life of Billy Casper. The story is written in the third person, but there is little doubt that we are encouraged to look through Billy’s eyes. The setting is South Yorkshire in the 1960s – probably Barnsley – though Hines never names places. In the novel of Kestrel for a knave, it shows the lack of opportunities, lifestyle and just how much the education system fails him. Throughout the essay I will describe and explain each character as they appear and how they affect Billy. The novel is about a boy named Billy Casper and it shows how he lives, his passions and how the schools fails him and his class academically. The novel also highlights and condemns bullying and recognises social issues that affect the character of Billy Casper. However, there is one glimmer of hope in the form of Mr Farthing, he gives skills for life and supports the children. Nearly the whole novel looks upon the education system in a critical way.
Mr Farthing
Mr Farthing is the only character that shows any natural sympathy for Billy. He sees Billy as...
The Adventures of Huck Finn is a very controversial book which brings much debate on whether it should be taught to children in America. The main reason for this debate is because the offensive word ‘nigger’ is used commonly throughout. The book is a classic and is seen to some people as such a great book that we should overlook the offensive word to understand the real lessons Mark Twain wanted to get across. One solution to this ongoing debate is something called the New South Edition, which substitutes ‘nigger’ for a ‘slave’ a word that is less personal and describes the history of America. Dr. Alan Gribben writes about the controversy and how the change effects the new edition. He uses personal anecdote, emotional appeal, historical references.
Jones, Rhett S. "Nigger and Knowledge. White Double-Consciousness in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Satire or Evasion? Black Perspectives on Huckleberry Finn. Ed. James Leonard, et al. Durham: Duke UP, 1992. 173-194.
There are many conflicts in his mind, considering the differences he notices between Africa and America. Seeing the snow, Kek wonders if the people in this new setting will be as unkind and cold as the winter itself. Further, his desire to be like one of the Americans continues, when he meets an old woman by the name Lou, who lives on a neglected farm, and she owns a cow. The image of a cow becomes very important to Kek, as it gives him an African i...
The other main character of this book is a man by the name of Kilgore Trout. Kilgore is an interesting character. “Trout,” as he is referred to in the book, is a lonely person who thinks everyone in the world is against him. Trout lives by himself and sells screening and siding for houses. Trout’s best and only friend is his bird named Billy. Trout is a struggling writer whose work is mainly published in pornog...
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows a rebellious orphan named Huck Finn through adventures that find him fighting against the society that wants to civilize him and the moral obligations imposed by society. Specifically, Huck runs away from society and in doing so embarks on an adventure that leads him to Jim, a slave. Society mandates that Huck turn Jim in but as a friendship is formed Huck struggles with society’s demands and protecting his friend. This novel realistically explores many different emotions that were prevalent in this era and the struggles that citizens were faced with.
In conclusion, the reason I am for the novel, Huckleberry Finn, to be exposed to high school students is so that the conversation on the abrupt word “nigger” can be discussed. It exposes the reader to an author who is unafraid of showing the reality of the language people spoke. This book makes those who read it look deeper into the meaning of the words used hundreds of years ago.
...kleberry Finn who say Jim is presented in a negative manner and as a stereotypical black slave. There is no arguing against the fact that he was presented in the book as a black slave, but these critics are missing Twain’s intent. Twain depicted Jim as a character, that, despite the fact he was considered subhuman, still expressed compassion and displayed the ethics that southerners of the time lacked, as “the moral center of the book, a man of courage and nobility, who risks his freedom -- risks his life -- for the sake of his friend Huck” (5). This “courage and nobility” is what students need when faced with adversity in their lives, even if they are stereotyped as heavily as Jim was. When students grasp this message from Twain, they will then understand the process from oppression to expression, from excluding a novel to appreciating its cultural and moral value.
The Kelvey family’s low income and less fortunate lives made them experience different treatments from many people. For example, “Even the teacher had a special voice for them, and a special smile for the other children when Lil Kelvey came up to her desk with a bunch of dreadfully common-looking flowers.” In their lives, people treated the Kelveys differently from others just because of their financial situation. This helps further make it evident that many different things factor into the experience of being an outsider. For the Kelveys, it was social status and how they were seen because of their lifestyle. As seen from the 3 different texts, the universal feeling of being an outsider stands as something to be learned from. Although everyone may be an outsider in the regards of someone else, it is not hard to treat a fellow human as if they were not an outsider. Anyone can be an outsider, but everyone can be an insider if enough effort is
In Crow Lake, Mary Lawson portrays a family who experience a great tragedy when Mr. and Mrs. Morrison are killed in a car accident. This tragedy changes the lifestyles of the seven years old protagonist Kate Morrison and her siblings Matt, Luke and Bo. The settings are very important in this novel. Though there are limited numbers of settings, the settings used are highly effective. Without effective use of themes in this novel, the reader would not have been able to connect with the characters and be sympathetic. Lawson uses an exceptionally high degree of literary devices to develop each character in this novel.
Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through much criticism and denunciation has become a well-respected novel. Through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, Huckleberry Finn, Twain illustrates the controversy of racism and slavery during the aftermath of the Civil War. Since Huck is an adolescent, he is vulnerable and greatly influenced by the adults he meets during his coming of age. His expedition down the Mississippi steers him into the lives of a diverse group of inhabitants who have conflicting morals. Though he lacks valid morals, Huck demonstrates the potential of humanity as a pensive, sensitive individual rather than conforming to a repressive society. In these modes, the novel places Jim and Huck on pedestals where their views on morality, learning, and society are compared.
Frances W. Kaye suggests that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an essential milestone in American literature. This powerful novel is structured around slavery and racism. Removing those elements from the novel serves to change the story itself thereby eliminating its effect. The novel wouldn’t be the novel that it is (1 of 21). Frances W. Kaye discusses the continuing significance of Huckleberry Finn, it emphasizes that the book marks over racism in the white society. She tells the reader that The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is beautiful, cruel and is indecisive. The novel is the bondage of two people and their fight for someone’s freedom. She points out that readers must read carefully because this was written his Twain’s time and the language was different. She tells us that “nigger” was meant for black people back then so she has quoted us what Huck said in the novel “Good gracious! Anybody hurt?” “No’m. Killed a nigger”. “Well, it’s lucky; because sometimes people do get hurt. (Chapter 32)1 Frances W. Kaye tells us that if Twain opinion of slavery ends up being surprising, she believes that Twain opinion o...
In Native Son, Richard Wright introduces Bigger Thomas, a liar and a thief. Wright evokes sympathy for this man despite the fact that he commits two murders. Through the reactions of others to his actions and through his own reactions to what he has done, the author creates compassion in the reader towards Bigger to help convey the desperate state of Black Americans in the 1930’s.
To Kill A Mockingbird By: Brandon, Thomas Compassion, understanding and forgiveness. "Any ordinary favour we do for someone or any compassionate reaching out may seem to be going nowhere at first, but may be planting a seed we can't see right now. Sometimes we need to just do the best we can and then trust in an unfolding we can't design or ordain. " Sharon Salzberg.
Social groups are sometime represented with different stereotype. This may include their appearance, language, style, or manners that define certain social group. In this case, Fugard represents South Africans creating a stereotype, creating characters like Willie that represents the cultural context of the play. In the play we see difference in language like “hiding” mentioned by Willie and the constant “Boet Sam”. While Hally has had the opportunity to achieve good education we manage to see the difference in education there is between to closely related people, but separate by a racism. We acquire the idea of poor people when we talk about working class, while we think about the rich people on the high class. This thriving thought differed from the dream people had in the apartheid. In addition, this were very difficult time for the South Africans and this could be supported by the book when Sam and Willie have the desire to learn. The contrast to it, is that Hally has already been educated and has the ability to apply his ...
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte is a novel about an orphan girl growing up in a tough condition and how she becomes a mature woman with full of courage. Her life at Gateshead is really difficult, where she feels isolated and lives in fear in her childhood. Her parents are dead when she was little, her dead uncle begged his evil wife, Mrs. Reed, to take care of Jane until she becomes an adult. But Mrs. Reed does not keep her promise, no one treats Jane like their family members even treats her less than a servant. By the end of this essay it will be proven that Jane’s life at Gateshead has shaped her development as a young woman and bildungsroman.