M.S. Vassanji’s novel, The Assassins Song is set in the 1960’s, a time which I had difficulty relating too. The cultural differences and magical realism further pushes the text from becoming relatable to me. What enhances the relatability to the main character is his similarity to the author. When comparing emotions of hybridity and timeline with Vassanji’s own, as a reader I begin to connect with the protagonist. The novel begins with Karsan acknowledging himself as the future pir bawa of Pirbaag. As he develops into adulthood his identity dramatically shifts, ultimately leaving his roots to pursue an education at Harvard. The context of the novel is difficult to grasp as I cannot compare myself to such a character, however after linking the authors promising familiarities with Karsan’s, the reader starts to focalize through both writer and character. Suddenly, the magical surrealism and timeline is …show more content…
What sets Pirbaag apart from other communities is its acceptance of both creeds, although deeper into the novel we are made aware of the rioting that claims the life of the village. During class discussion’s Vassanji’s background has been mentioned. He was born and raised in Tanzania in the early 1960’s, interestingly following Karsan’s timeline in the novel. Also, Tanzania formally called Tanganyika dates back to 1964, its national day of independence. The same year, riots took place killing anywhere from 5,000-15,000 Indians. After acknowledging these facts, the text of the story seems easier to follow, as now we do not follow it through the magical realism of Pirbaag and Karsan but follow the possible experiences that Vassanji himself may have been exposed too. (insert quote about the riot in pirbaag killing everyone) The very possibility of Vassanji writing though his own familiarity of this topic enhances my ability to enter Karsans
In his novel The Chosen, Chaim Potok writes about a boy, Reuven Malter, from Brooklyn who is going through his coming-of-age period and experiences as a Jewish student. Throughout The Chosen, themes of friendships, reaching maturity, and understanding unravel and seep into Reuven Malter’s life. In this period of maturing, some pivotal moments occur, changing Reuven’s view of others and understanding of relationships.
History can seem like a boring barrier of facts. On the contrary, the book called Assassination Vacation, by Sarah Vowel, reveals the background about past president assassinations and tells her stories from past journeys. The author ignites her dry sense of humor, to engage readers and in order to achieve a purpose, which is to make history fascinating to everyday audiences.
...ll he can do is suppress his urge to cry. The protagonist?s realization of his own maturity is ironic. Once so eager to appear ?bad,? but lacking the true essence of this word, the narrator has achieved this status at the price of his naivete, and wishes that he could return.
Christopher McCandless’ stubborn personality causes him to leave a loving home in order to start a new beginning as “ Alexander Supertramp, master of his own destiny”(Krakauer 23). He refuses to further educate himself with a law degree, instead taking a journey into the wild, leaving behind his mother, father and caring sister. Chris grew up as an intelligent individual excelling in almost everything he did. His parents supported him and often encouraged him in his endeavors. Unfortunately, and for clear reasons, Chris did not reciprocate his parents’ love, instead he creates an illusion of normality, causing his parents to believe that everything was fine, while he slowly drifted away from them both physically and emotionally. Chris “let them think they were right”, so they would begin to think that he was beginning to see “their side of things”, when in truth, he was merely waiting for the right time to completely “ knock them out of [h...
The novel is organized in an unusual manner that can make it seem unclear to the reader. Krakauer does not introduce the work as a whole, yet he pieces together the story through different chapters. McCandless’s journey is described out of chronological order, requiring the audience to pay careful attention in order to understand the events that unfold.
In Night, by Elie Wiesel, a rather prevalent theme of the novel is the idea of silence in place of justice. This is exhibited numerous times throughout the book, usually following a tragic incident where, in a modern society would be answered by punishment of the wrongdoer, but is instead answered by nothing.
The story is concerned with the conflict between his conception of himself and the reality.
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
The sentencing of underage criminals has remained a logistical and moral issue in the world for a very long time. The issue is brought to our perspective in the documentary Making a Murderer and the audio podcast Serial. When trying to overcome this issue, we ask ourselves, “When should juveniles receive life sentences?” or “Should young inmates be housed with adults?” or “Was the Supreme Court right to make it illegal to sentence a minor to death?”. There are multiple answers to these questions, and it’s necessary to either take a moral or logical approach to the problem.
The story “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde demonstrates that she comes across a realization that she had to speak up for her rights and independence when she visited the capital city of the United States, Washington, D.C. Lorde explains how she was frustrated with the situation that occurred in Washington, D.C., which shows that she had learned the reality of the society. She writes about many things that she came across during the trip to Washington D.C. in the summer vacation. In the essay, the meanings of independence for Lorde are to fight for it and to speak up for the rights that they deserve. Lorde and her family visit many places in the capital city where they were told to leave the place because black people were not allowed there.
The narrator's life is filled with constant eruptions of mental traumas. The biggest psychological burden he has is his identity, or rather his misidentity. He feels "wearing on the nerves" (Ellison 3) for people to see him as what they like to believe he is and not see him as what he really is. Throughout his life, he takes on several different identities and none, he thinks, adequately represents his true self, until his final one, as an invisible man.
...nd place in the world. He receives an anonymous letter stating “don’t go too fast” (Ellison 9) which was a quaint reminder that he was merely a black man living in a white man’s world. The narrator struggles throughout the majority of the novel with his image and the very image inside of his head of who he was supposed to be, the image planted for him by his peers and oppressors. “Who are you? No one of consequence must know. Get used to disappointment.”(William Goldman, the Princess Bride) this quote seemingly to be the very essence of the entire novel, and the exact problem that the narrator struggles with. He did not realize that he had to stand on his on and fight off the notions that he couldn’t be his own person no matter what other people thought and especially no matter the color of his skin. He stated “When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.” (Ellison 6)
... nothing more than a typical Jewish New Yorker. His desire to be someone more exotic is prevalent when compared to Kugelmass’ desires. He may feel as if he doesn’t possess enough passion and class to be considered one of the great authors. He often plays off the comedic aspects of life to conceal his shortcomings. The reason for failed attempts in relationships is because he will always be missing something. Through his repeated attempts to fill that void with someone new until something better came along continued until he received backlash from people concerned about his relationship with his adopted daughter. She is his tener which caused him to lose the respect of many including his other children. Although he is not trapped in their current relationship---the stigma will always be there and the consequences will forever be present in how others view him.
Subtle hints are laid down, such as his views about politics, work, his family and intellectuals. It is a very clever and concise as well as in depth character construction illustrated here by Lodge.
Arbab Khatoon, 16, was stalked and raped by three men. Seven hours after Arbab reported this to the police her father stabbed her over and over again until she died. His reasoning? “My daughter lost her virginity before marriage. Rape does not justify that at all. Arbab brought dishonor to our family and needed to pay for it” (Chesler). The “category” this murder falls under is an Honor Killing. Honor Killings have been seen worldwide and continue to grow in the amount of victims. Occurring mostly in Middle-Eastern countries, more than any other, this type of killing is based solely on values and beliefs. How does one value their reputation over their own wives and daughters? Honor Killings are unjust and should be tried as a hate crime towards women.