Novels Like Trash

To what extent does 'Trash' and similar novels inform and educate us on global issues?

Novels like 'Trash' by Andy Mulligan can notify us about global issues like poverty and global injustice to a great degree. It gives us insight into the daily lives of different people living in developing countries. It also engages the reader, notifies us on social injustice and can create different emotions by putting you into the eyes of children living in a slum in Behala, a place based loosely on Manila, Philippines.

People of different worth and status have their perspective displayed so that every detail of a situation is covered. Even if these characters seem fictional they are actually based on real and living people that Andy Mulligan has encountered

on his travels. They go through backbreaking labour and hardship every day, an example of several global issues is highlighted by a young boy named Raphael. "If it wasn't for the mission school Rat would be dead." This emphasises that some of the unfortunate people living in slums have very limited access to education, money, food and water so they have no choice but to live off mission schools which give us pity and awareness. An example of several perspectives is portrayed by Olivia Weston, a character in the book who plays a Temporary House Mother in Behala’s Mission school, she seems like she has already made judgements of all the children living there. Gardo, a 14-year-old boy who lives in the slum comes up to her along with his friends to ask something. Olivia assumes that Gardo is asking for money because of the nervous look on his face and that’s what happens in the mission school. “I was jumping to the conclusion, of course, that he was about to ask for money and I was bracing myself to refuse.” Thought Olivia. We would’ve agreed with her and thought that this would happen if the novel didn’t show Gardo’s perspective who only wanted to visit his grandfather. Giving individual outlooks on issues will extend our understanding, create detail and give us information about global issues.

Empathy will also be created for these characters because we are put in their shoes and going through their rituals and everyday conundrums. Andy Mulligan, the author explains his input on writing children books in an interview, “I think children enjoy books that lift them out of their own worlds.” He creates an escape from our reality and portrays a whole new place that we would never have to experience. Children are educated on global issues like poverty and starvation without knowing but are also engaged. This is good because children tend to stray away from factual books. Andy Mulligan wants to shape the minds of young readers and introduce them to, as Mulligan described, “A window into a horrible and horrific world- one that really exists.” This explains that what they are reading is definitely not make believe and will encourage people to learn about and read more novels like ‘Trash’. The author combines facts and fictional language to envelope the readers and they will be allowed to experience everything the characters are feeling, this is a very effective way to notify us about global issues while entertaining and creating emotions to the audience.

The novel also highlights the way that people in slums act, how they were raised and how they are mistreated. It seems that these children have been taught to do anything and everything to earn money, even if it is to give up a necessity. “The mission school had a big push on getting us boots, but most of the kids sold them on.”