Honors English Deibler 5

Prompt 1

Having gone through all the struggles, I believe Mark’s thoughts can be considered justifiable. At home, Mark had to deal with his father being drunk and abusing his mother, and trying to fight the hunger. At school, he would feel indifferent and be beaten by his teachers constantly. For a boy Mark’s age, this certainly proves why he must have felt the way he did. In addition, Mark said he”felt unwanted, abandoned and betrayed by a world that seemingly denied me an opportunity to find my niche.”

Soon enough, Mark would have a knife in his hand, wondering about the feeling of death. He wondered when he died, who would care? If he died, would he be missed? He would had to confront his mother about his suicide attempt. His mother was the one to change his mind by reminding him that he had a family. If he did indeed die, she would also end her life. His siblings would miss him and would not have an older brother to look up to. He would not be able to have a successful future. Knowing all that, Mark begins to realize his life is more important that he thought it was.

Prompt 2

In chapters 25-28, the protagonist encounters numerous life-altering moments. The most significant was from chapter 27, the scene where Mark witnessed a murder. “Through some superhuman effort, it seemed, the man, now bleeding heavily from gaping wounds, managed to break through the cordon of butchers and make a mad dash for the street. The tsotsis didn’t chase after him immediately, tarrying a while to rummage through the packages he had dropped. The wounded man staggered left and right, clutching his slashed throat, which spewed blood. I was now bathed in perspiration. My breath was coming out in spurts. As the wounded man staggered past me, I detected tubelike things unwinding like a spool of thread through his slashed overalls. His guts were spilling from his belly! Nausea overcame me. I wanted desperately to faint and be away from it all. I thought I would panic any minute. The fatally wounded man turned his bleeding head in the direction of the fortified shacks, as if pleading for them to open and let him in. There was a dreadful glint in his eyes, the flint of death creeping in. I can never forget the look on his face for as long as I live (Mathabane 163-164).”

Following the event, Mark would constantly have nightmares  that replayed the terrifying incident in his mind. This caused him to isolate himself from others. He could not sleep, eat, or concentrate on school work. Most importantly, he remembered his mother had warned him about the tsotsis and the lady with the dead son, whom was also killed by the gang. His was now beginning to reflect on his life and the choices he had made.

Prompt 3

If you were in Mark’s position with all the struggles he has in life, would you attempt suicide? Explain.

How do you think Mark’s perspective on life changed after witnessing the murder? How will the incident affect his character and his future?

Dystopian societies are presented through many non-fiction and fiction texts, each having its own effectiveness. From my perspective, I believe it is presented in a more effective manner through non-fiction texts. Kaffir Boy, an autobiography, was told from the point of view of a boy living in harsh conditions under apartheid. The power of the language used to describe the lives of the people makes the message stand out better, because the events were based on real life experiences and brought a close feeling of reality to the readers. This gives the audience a more serious and deep connection and understanding of the protagonists’ feelings. For example, the fear of the police raid, constant struggle with starvation, and lack of everyday necessities were carefully described in the story. Conversely, in Animal Farm, the message told through talking animals does not prove to be as effective. The concept of dystopia was shown in Animal Farm as well, but the symbolism of the Russian Revolution could not be depicted as clearly and real like Kaffir Boy. Though both texts were of true events, George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, created a more light and humorous feel, giving more of a straightforward message and hard for readers to make the connection. Since there had not been accounts of experiences of the war, there is no way of knowing the thoughts of the real happenings, only through animals representing key individuals in the Revolution. Ultimately, dystopia societies in non-fiction texts are more effective than fiction texts.