Fear is often a determining factor when we make decisions. This is what happens multiple times in the book Child of Dandelions, by Shenaaz Nanji. This is especially true, with fear sometimes being lifesaving for many characters. The main protagonist, Sabine, is leading a privileged life, until Uganda’s new dictator, Idi Amin, imposes a new rule forcing all Indians to leave Uganda within 90 days. Sabine’s family is legally Ugandan, although they are of Indian heritage because her grandparents immigrated from India. But Sabine's mom is afraid and knows that they must leave anyway because she senses danger. During the 90-day countdown, Sabine’s family faces real danger and makes the decision to leave the country. This is the better decision because …show more content…
She is angered when her mom says that she thinks he is dead and responds, “Uncle is alive - I know he is“ (106). A few chapters later when Sabine learns about a detective agency that can find any missing person, she decides to hire them. This shows that Sabine is now more determined to find her uncle after her mom seeded the fear that he was dead. However, Sabine’s uncle was not the only person that went missing. When Sabine and her best friend Zena, who is African, get into a fight, Sabine is angry at first, and locks herself in her room thinking, “Zena, broken hearts can be glued back, but cracks will always be there” (102). However, later when Sabine does not see Zena for a week at school, she fears that she will never see her again and regrets being angry at her as she says, “She missed Zena with every fiber of her being. Didn’t Zena miss her at all?”(103). So she repeatedly tried to call Zena. This shows how Sabine’s fear of Zena not missing her and not being in her life anymore drove Sabine to try to contact her. This is shown in particular in the last chapter when Sabine reunites with Zena on her way to leave the country, Zena tells Sabine that she will be marrying Idi Amin, and Sabine is at first angry that she is marrying the very person who caused her to …show more content…
Mama is worried right from the start of the 90-day countdown and never thinks that staying in Uganda is a good idea. At the beginning of the book, Sabine remembers her mom telling her that “One night a gang of Hindu thugs brandishing knives had broken into her family’s flat in Gujarat. They stripped Mama’s father and three brothers to check if they were circumcised, a sign that they were Muslims and then stabbed them to death”(21-22). This is clearly why Mama is always so scared that something will happen to her family and always wants to leave Uganda. Another example of Mama’s fear dictating her decisions is when while talking with Sabine she admits that she thinks Uncle is dead, saying that “It’s kismet, dear. We can’t fight fate” (106). The main reason why Mama immediately decides to accept her uncle’s death is once again, the fear of what happened when she was small, mainly because her parents died in the incident. The decision to accept fate also turns out to be the better one since later it is discovered that Uncle did die, and Mama is not too surprised about this. These are three pieces of evidence on how fear drives mamas to make decisions that ultimately affect her and her family for the better. As shown, fear is the driving force that leads Sabine’’s family to make the best overall decision for their safety. This theme throughout the book is so important that I wonder what would have happened
In Under a Cruel Star, Heda Margolious Kovaly details the attractiveness and terror of Communism brought to Czechoslovakia following WWII. Kovaly’s accounts of how communism impacted Czechoslovakia are fascinating because they are accounts of a woman who was skeptical, but also seemed hopeful for communism’s success. Kovaly was not entirely pro-communism, nor was she entirely anti-communism during the Party’s takeover. By telling her accounts of being trapped in the Lodz Ghetto and the torture she faced in Auschwitz, Kovaly displays her terror experienced with a fascist regime and her need for change. Kovaly said that the people of Czechoslovakia welcomed communism because it provided them with the chance to make up for the passivity they had let occur during the German occupation. Communism’s appeal to
The book is narrated by a little girl named Jook-Liang (or just Liang). You are introduced to her and her family who live in Vancouver B.C. during the Great Depression. She lives in a rundown house with her father; her real mom (who she's made to call Stepmother); the "old one", the children's grandmother-- Poh-Poh; and 3 brothers. The oldest Kiam; second oldest-- an orphan the family adopted Jung-Sum; and then would be Liang; and then the youngest child Sek-Lung (or Sekky).
The story begins when the military dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin, declares to the people that he has had a dream where God told him that all “Foreign Indians” to be forced out of the country. He plans to carry out this mass expulsion by implementing a 90 day countdown during which all Indians who are not Ugandan citizens will be forced to leave. Initially Sabine is not worried about the countdown as her and her family are
In the book “There Are No Children Here” by Alex Kotlowitz, the author followed the lives of two young brothers (Lafayette and Pharoah) while they grew up in the harsh streets of Chicago in the late 1980’s. The author uses the story of the two boys’ lives to discuss the social divide in our very own society and to persuade readers that there is a major problem in “the projects” of the United States.
"Children of the Forest" is a narrative written by Kevin Duffy. This book is a written testament of an anthropologist's everyday dealings with an African tribe by the name of the Mbuti Pygmies. My purpose in this paper is to inform the reader of Kevin Duffy's findings while in the Ituri rainforest. Kevin Duffy is one of the first and only scientists to have ever been in close contact with the Mbuti. If an Mbuti tribesman does not want to be found, they simply won't be. The forest in which the Mbuti reside in are simply too dense and dangerous for humans not familiar with the area to enter.
Naeem Murr's novel, The Boy, is a story about a boy that is put into foster homes all of his life. This boy is exposed to all different kinds of influences that affects his life in a negative way. These are the things that cause the argument in the story; is the boy evil or not?
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews Have you ever imagined living locked up in an attic for 3 years and 5 months? Have you ever imagined not growing up with your mother's care and love at the time you were 5? Flowers in the Attic is one of the more original series written by V.C. Andrews of the Dollanganger series. It is one of the best books I've read because it's depressing and dark yet heart-touching. In this book report, the setting, plot and the characters of the book will be included. Flowers in the Attic is one tragic yet a hopeful story of four children.
From the beginning of the 20th century to the turbulent aftermath of the Second World War, America underwent a profound cultural shift marked by the resurgence of conservatism and traditional values alongside the struggle with corruption. San Francisco, a distinct city known for its vice and crime, embodied this cultural shift as depicted in Lisa Riggin’s narrative, “San Francisco’s Queen of Vice: The Strange Career of Abortionist Inez Brown Burns.” Inez Burns was a woman well-known for her illegal abortion network in San Francisco conducted through her Filmore Street clinic, overseeing thousands of abortions for women all along the West Coast. As a result of abortions prohibited by state and federal law, women had no choice but to receive
Vaishaal Rajathurai Ms. Fennel NBE3U1-70 May 29, 2024 Isu Literary Essay Books can play a major part in helping people understand a person or group of people’s struggles, just as newspapers and films can. Non-indigenous Canadians should read Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson in order to gain a greater understanding of Indigenous Peoples. Struggles that Indigenous Peoples face in a modern society can include substance abuse in many ways, family issues, and depression. By reading Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson, non-indigenous people can understand their struggles and even possibly see how they can help them. Throughout the book, countless characters commit substance abuse, such as Jared, which relates to a struggle Indigenous Peoples have
Chinese Cinderella is a compelling autobiography by Adeline Yen Mah, a struggling child, yearning for acceptance and love in her dysfunctional family. In this novel of “a ‘secret story of an unwanted daughter”, Adeline presents her stepmother Niang, as a violent, impatient, biased, domineering and manipulative demon. Analysing the language used by the author, we can discover how effectively she does this.
The Flowers By Alice Walker Written in the 1970's The Flowers is set in the deep south of America and is about Myop, a small 10-year old African American girl who explores the grounds in which she lives. Walker explores how Myop reacts in different situations. She writes from a third person perspective of Myop's exploration. In the first two paragraph Walker clearly emphasises Myop's purity and young innocence.
In the poem 'To the Snake'; the author Denise Levertov use several writing techniques to portray money and gambling. She uses syntax, sound imagery, color imagery, figurative language, and symbolism to represent money and gambling. Symbolism is used cleverly throughout the poem to depict a number of things that would take numerous readings to see.
There is perhaps no greater joy in life than finding one’s soul mate. Once found, there is possibly no greater torment than being forced to live without them. This is the conflict that Paul faces from the moment he falls in love with Agnes. His devotion to the church and ultimately God are thrown into the cross hairs with the only possible outcome being one of agonizing humiliation. Grazia Deledda’s The Mother presents the classic dilemma of having to choose between what is morally right and being true to one’s own heart. Paul’s inability to choose one over the other consumes his life and everyone in it.
"A laotong relationship is made by choice for the purpose of emotional companionship and eternal fidelity" (See 56). A friendship comes with many challenges, but with a strong bond between one another, friends can overcome the obstacles they are faced with together. In the book Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, Lily and Snow Flower are laotongs who face obstacles throughout their lives. Throughout the novel, the two girls have to follow the strict cultural practices to please Chinese Society. They are faced with the pain of foot binding, and the everyday chores women have to do. Together, the girls face big and small obstacles that make the theme of the novel about the bond between women.
Parents tell their children to think first and act second. Most people forget this as illustrated in Yann Martel’s satire “We ate the Children Last,” written in 2004. It starts out with an operation and humans are given a pigs digestive tract to cure cancer. Because the operation made people eat garbage, they gave it to the poor At this point everybody wants to have this operation. When people started going cannibalistic, the government puts them together to eat each other. This started out as a good thing by curing cancer. After that everybody from the poor to the people administering the operation didn’t pause long enough to consider the consequences. Real world examples of people not pausing to consider the consequences are seen frequently, whether, it be on a small or big scale. Yann Martel is saying that