The Shadow Lines is a novel written by Amitav Ghosh. In this novel he talks about the main purpose and meaning of political freedom in modern world and the influence of Nationalism. The Shadow Lines are the borders drawn across the nations dividing its people and places which sometimes lead to violence. Nationalism is an ideology, it is a sentiment that people have regarding their nation, and it is part of a cultures and a movement that focuses on nation. It is formed of a collection of movements that were part of the Nationalism itself. In the novel, The Shadow Lines the author tries to give the idea of Nationalism to its readers and even raise a question regarding the same. The emergence of Nationalism is also seen in the character …show more content…
For Tham’ma nation is one such thing that is directly linked with one’s personal identity. She still lives in her past that is all illusionary, and she still had that feeling of nationhood embedded in her deeply. Being a furious militant nationalist herself, she gets worried about her uncle who was abandoned and left without a thing and was dying in a country which was not his own. This thing made it clear that she do cares about her blood relations and even for the people whom she had a problem with in the beginning. She is even ready to forgive and forget her bitter past and want to accept the life as it is, keeping aside the family feud which started a long back. In order to get her freedom Tham’ma wanted to act like a terrorists, they fascinated her a lot. Her search for freedom is linked with her search for nation and in that she wants to find herself as well and is even ready to on any extent for it. Another character Ila, who is Tridib’s cousin has never really lived in India and has grew up in different parts of the world and so she does not really understands the true meaning of nationhood. Tham’ma is a true nationalist at heart when she gives away her fond necklace given by her husband to raise the war fund in 1965. She herself takes a rescue mission to go to Dhaka and bring back her old uncle, Jethamoshai to India. When she was ready to leave we see how eager she was to see the border between India and East
Initial picture of a man detached from the world that surrounds him-shows immigrant isolation but also Feliks strength of character.
Sociological function is represented through the story as they talk about the principles and purpose in which each nation in the constitution must follow . In the story they talk about the spreading of their nation and how anyone who wishes to join their constitution will be accepted with open arms. We see this with the discussion of the Great White Roots, “Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White
Diaz uses the character of Ysrael to make a comparison with the immigration of lower class individuals. The boys only recognize the familiar and when Ysrael comes along its bizarre for them because they have never seen someone like him. Similarly with lower class people that get ready to face the hardships of getting accustomed to a new language, culture, and environment. It’s tough for immigrants when they first arrive because not only are they faced with learning new traditions but also they have to deal with racism and hatred. Diaz demonstrates the theme of immigration and the hope for the American Dream when the father leaves his family behind and comes to the United States. He promises them that he will send money to them so they can go and be reunited once again. But as soon as he arrives he was forgotten about everything he left in the past. He, like any one, will do anything to be granted citizenship, even if it means cheating on his wife. The father loves his family but he didn’t realize that coming here and
The narrator is caught between his freedom and success in Paris and his past, marred by racism, which he is again about to confront. Using the flashback episode as an example of what he expects on his return, the narrator details the horrible feelings of helplessness and hatred generated by racist behavior. His family in the United States experienced prejudice firsthand and it damaged them forever. His father 's and sister 's lives were destroyed by racism, and the narrator escaped to France to avoid the same fate. Now famous, he must come to terms with his expatriate status, and find a way for his son to live without the same scars of racism.
The major theme of the book is shown through the bonds of friendship and how in the most of unlikely circumstances friendship can survive and exist between people possessing an extensive and most restrictive division. A second theme is the evil and the intolerance which existed around these times of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust, as seen by the Germans having the Jews in the concentration camp. And the third theme is the curiosity and innocence of Bruno, Shmuel and
The British colonization of Burma created a racial boundary that had the Burmese dealing with white European supremacy since day one. It is evident throughout George Orwell’s novel, Burmese Days, that the main theme is the superiority of the white Europeans over the non-white Burmese. The white Europeans are extremely racist, sexist, and self centered. The social class system in this novel seems to be a two-tier system. The top tier being the white European elite, while the bottom tier seems to be the rest. The non-white Burmese people constituted the rest. These non-whites are considered second nature to the Europeans and hold such titles and jobs as peasants and servants. Elizabeth often refers them to as “beastly”. She is an
Nationalism, a political or social philosophy in which the prosperity of a nation-state as an existence is considered supreme or more important than anything else. The primary duty and loyalty should be toward the nation-state. The love for one's country often reflected dominance and power as people were able to unite toward common good. Furthermore, republic governments were reestablished a result of Nationalism.
This is shown in the quote; "Partitioned off at night, by memories of hunger and hate.” which also emphasises the rift between individual identities by the use of alliteration on "hunger" and "hate". The tone used in the quote also represents a feeling of alienation between nationalities coupled with an air of hostility driven by a common will to survive. By doing this, Skrzynecki shows how the comprehension of identity can cause rifts between relationships between individuals of groups.
The Long Shadow is a book written by three research sociologists; Karl Alexander, Doris R. Entwisle, and Linda Olson. Karl Alexander is John Dewey Professor and chair of the Department of Sociology at the John Hopkins University. The late Doris R. Entwisle was a research professor of Sociology at the John Hopkins University. Linda Olson is an associate research scientist with the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC) and the Center for Social Organization of Schools at the John Hopkins University. This book was originally published on April 14, 2014 and in this book, these professors followed the lives of 790 children growing up in various neighborhoods throughout Baltimore, Maryland. I would consider this book a case study because it took over twenty-five years of research, interviews and surveys to finally get it done and then later on published. The three main subjects researched in this book are a family’s background, disadvantaged urban youth, and the transition to adulthood. And in this paper, I will present my central findings of this book.
Currently there is six million Natives living in between the United States and Canada, and only "25,000 Blackfoot Indians between the two countries"(Reddish). In the short story "Borders" by Thomas King, the treatment of natives is shown to light in a common practice. While trying to cross the United States-Canada border to visit her oldest daughter in Salt Lake City, Utah, a woman and her youngest son, of Blackfoot Indian decent, are stopped at the border. She is questioned about her nationality and calmly states "I am Blackfoot, neither American or Canadian"(King, 918). She is not allowed to enter the United States nor Canada and is stuck in a neutral zone. News channels and Newspapers cover this story as the bureaucratic dilemma ensued, many people were shocked with the treatment of Native Americans. They are eventually allowed to pass through to the United States, however this leaves many people wondering about the treatment of Natives Americans, which King displays through conflict.
When she utilises the modes of appeals, they are subtle within the texts, which leads the reader to analyse as they read. She conveys ideas of internalised oppression, involuntarily imposed upon to follow strict social rules, the act of people erasing cultural heritage, as well as the importance of embracing personal heritage.
If anyone in the United States were asked, "What is the best part about living in this country?," most people would answer "equality". The United States is built on and known for the equality among its citizens and is often referred to as the 'melting pot'. After reading Jonathan Kozol's, The Shame of the Nation, equality is nonexistent within the schools he has gone to, and has been employed through. With his travels, expert testimony and personal stories gathered from the people within the community and schools, he shows the exact opposite of equality. Minority schools being his main focus, he discusses the inequalities these students endure and truly opens up your eyes to just how awful these minority schools have it. Jonathan Kozol is successful in his writing of The Shame of the Nation, and makes himself a voice for these minority schools that are denied of their voices.
Nationalism has played a crucial role in world history over the past centuries. It continues to do so today. For many, nationalism is indelibly associated with some of the worst aspects of modern history, such as the destructive confidence of the Napoleon’s army and the murderous pride of Nazi Germany. Large numbers of people, descent in their hearts, have carried out unbelievable atrocities for no better reason than their nation required them to. Authoritarian and totalitarian regime have crushed dissent, eliminated opposition, and trampled on civil liberties in the name of the nation.
The phrase, “We the people”, holds a lot of meaning to American citizens. As the first three words of the United States Constitution, it signifies a core value intended to act as a unifying factor in America’s democratic society: popular sovereignty. This is the idea of a majority rules, or to put more simply, the one with the most votes wins. The U.S. system of government relies upon the fact that the American people are capable of coming together to make informed decisions about matters that will ultimately better the lives of everyone. Despite this, however, there are certain instances in which a minority group will impose on or have more influence than the majority group. This phenomenon occurs all the time in politics, as politicians tend to regard the predilections of small groups of citizens as opposed to the general populace.
The Sadiqa Khan’s “Going Dutch: Reflections on nation, race and privilege.” article scrutinize Khan’s experience of nation, race and white privilege as a Dutch-Kenyan woman, particularly in a world where tagging a person to be Dutch can matter a lot as being Dutch has an image of being white in accordance to racist people. The Khan’s article fed shadow on racial practices that were discriminating the minorities on the basis of their complexion. The question she tried to convey through her article was that what for she has to make a person believe about her nationality and on what basis should she divide herself when it comes to ethnicity. The analysis of Khan’s argument was persuasive, as depicted by her life experience of being