Honors English Deibler 4

1.            Although I do not think suicide is the right way to end one’s life, I can certainly understand why Mark would be having such thoughts. Quite frankly, I am surprised that Mark had not contemplated the idea any sooner. Earlier in his life, Mark and his family went through periods of time where they ate next to nothing for months on end. Mark went through periods of time where he could not even physically stay with it, and would pass out. I could not even imagine feeling like it was a life worth living if I had to watch my siblings become ill due to malnutrition and constantly battle hunger, as Mark did.

In addition to not having basic survival needs met, Mark was constantly being beaten by his father and teachers and, from a young age, was put up against the police who barged into his home. Even worse, Mark witnessed the murder of a man in the streets at the young age of 10. Having no choice but to stay put, he watched a group of men literally rip a man’s insides out. Wrapping your mind around such an event, scarring even to mature adults, is difficult to even fathom. The fear and hatred in his life alone would be enough to put a person over the edge. Although his mother was certainly a major part of his life, I can certainly understand why he would have overlooked her amongst the chaos surrounding him, or even felt less important with the birth of each new child.

2.            “’Look at your sisters over there…. They’ll miss you very much…They’ll have no big brother to help them and to protect them. They’ll have no big brother to look up to. They’ll have no big brother to help them go to school when they grow up…I would miss you more than anyone else…You’re the only hope I have.’”  Page 169

I picked this passage because, at this moment, I think Mark finally realized he was the only hope for the family. He realized how important a role he played in his family not only then, but also the future. He was the reason his mother had been able to make it through all her challenges and he was his sisters’ protector. He was their only chance of ever having a better life.

3.            Does Mark’s father respect him and all his efforts? Is he simply being stubborn and refusing to give him praise for accomplishing things that goes against his tribal beliefs, but inside, knows his son is becoming something great? Or, does Mark’s father truly believe he is going to fail, and is he disappointed in him?

A dystopian society is most effectively presented in a fictional text. In fictional works such as Animal Farm, the depicted society is so far from the reality we know that we as humans are more willing to accept the message. In a story where the “villain” is a pig, rather than ourselves, we are less quick to defend ourselves and more receptive of the message. When pigs can rule with an iron fist and drink themselves into a hangover, as the pigs in Animal Farm do, the scene is fantastic, yet effective. In a lighthearted manner the reader learns the world is not a perfect place- from the gravest of issues, to the inevitable habits of man. Such a setting is open for interpretation and allows each reader to apply the message in a manner meaningful to their own lives. In non-fiction texts, such as Kaffir Boy, seemingly unworldly, yet true, events are described. When struggling parents, living under the apartheid, must hide and leave their children alone in the middle of the night to be beaten by policemen, we would like to deny it has happened. Such an extreme event is not open for debate and leaves little room for interpretation. The reader, left with a pit in their stomach, is more inclined to push the memory out, than to absorb it.

Though both forms of writing can successfully communicate the idea of a dystopian society, fictional texts are best.  Similar to the fables and nursery rhymes we learn as children, simple ideas taught effectively are always remembered. Fictional texts reach a greater audience and are accepted more readily, leaving a lasting effect.

Having read the comments of my classmates, I still defend my stance that fictional texts better communicate the idea of a dystopian society. Those who responded seemed to agree with me when I say that the more fantastic and unreal the scene is, the more likely we are to remember it. As Bekah pointed out, with non-fiction texts we tend to deem the humans as hypocrites.