“Literature is thought provoking; it allows us to raise questions and gives us a deeper understanding of issues and situations." The novel Jasper Jones allows us to raise questions about today 's contemporary society. It mirrors issues in a certain historical context but also issues which are evident today. The novel not only portrays abuse of power as being one of the most important issues in the 1950’s to the 1960’s but also in the 21st century. In the 1900’s, there was a hierarchy in the families as well as the town people were living in. The father was considered as the most powerful figure while the women and children were considered to be inferior and did not have a say in any major decisions. Due to Jasper Jones being set in the 1950’s-60’s, the same hierarchical structure is depicted in the Wishart family and the town, Corrigan. Pete Wishart also happened to be …show more content…
Unfortunately, this issue is still evident even after 60 years. Abbey, a 17 year old Australian committed suicide after years of being sexually abused by her dad, by someone who was supposed to care for her and look after her. “My guts screamed ‘no contact’ but I felt so alone. I was pressured into accepting contact orders or told that the outcome would be even worse.”, said Gill, Abbey’s mother. This clearly shows that Abbey’s dad had more power than her mum. The same hierarchical structure that was shown in JJ is portrayed here as well. This issue of sexual abuse is a major concern for Australian society as girls are significantly more likely to be the subject of sexual abuse (15.8%) compared to boys (8.5%). This has major impacts on the child’s physical, psychological, emotional, behavioural and social development through to adulthood. Moreover, parents should not be allowed to bend the laws which are in place just because they have power over their children. They are expected to abide by the law and protect their
Introduction Domestic violence is a pervasive and complex social problem that has an enormously detrimental impact on individuals, primarily women and children, throughout the entirety of Australia. The Labor Party has focused on this issue in chapter 9 of their national platform (Australian Labor Party, 2015). Recognizing the gross violation of gender equality that domestic violence represents, the Labor Party states that it’s eradication “must be a national priority”. The primary solution recommended by the Labor party is an integrated response that advocates change on a local, state and national level. The party plans to prioritize full implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022, a
This analysis of agency would be useful for a person pushing for more freedom of expression or freedom of speech. All in all, Bast’s successfully supports his perspective of agency through his evaluation of Kindred, and the comparison of the human instinct of expression to Dana’s want to create change with her time traveling powers constructs a powerful parallel between the novel and Bast’s article. The novel Kindred, however, serves to create an important message about society on its own, as well. Octavia Butler’s Kindred is a science-fiction novel that depicts the life experiences of a young black woman named Dana, who is given the task of traveling back in time to the era of slavery to save her ancestors, but is unjustly oppressed and has most, if not all, of her rights stripped away from her simply due to her race and gender. As a result, the most prominent overarching theme of the novel is the inequality of power and social status given to people of varying gender and race, and the struggle that those people must go through to gain as much freedom and equality as possible.
The novel Jasper Jones, written by Craig Silvey, explores several themes and concepts in the novel, such as fear, escape, secrets, discrimination and several others. Through the use of various literary techniques, Silvey expresses all the different themes and concepts. One of the major themes explored throughout the novel is fear. With many other different varieties of themes, fear is frequently presented alongside other themes. The author, Silvey uses many techniques, such as characterization as a way to carry out the theme.
The Black Panther comic book series written by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a powerful example of how fiction can be used to showcase social justice. Throughout the book, Coates explores themes of racial inequality, social injustice, and political corruption. By drawing attention to these issues, he challenges readers to confront the reality of systemic oppression and to envision a better world. In this essay, I will argue that the book Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a powerful example of social justice in action, using specific examples from the book.
The death of Prince Carmen Jones (whose name echoes that of an important movie in the history of film’s portrayal of black characters) never achieved the wide notoriety that the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Jordan Davis did: it is portrayed here, however, as having a more profound personal effect on the author than those deaths, drawing the specter of violence towards young black men even closer to home, and arguably even closer to the life of the author’s son. Meanwhile, the references to Jones foreshadow further contemplation of his death by the author in forthcoming sections, and also the focus of his writing in Section 3, in which the author recounts a sometimes surprising, sometimes affirming, consistently enlightening
In 1870, child abuse was first introduced by the events that happened to an eight year old, named Mary Ellen Wilson, who was experiencing several beatings in the home of her biological father and step-mother, in Great Britain. During the 1870’s Mary experienced extreme beating, and was removed from the home (Walkins, 1990). Mary’s story started in 1874, while living with her biological father’s new wife Mary McCormack Connolly. Mrs. Connolly would beat the child, and would not provide for Mary’s basic welfare. It was not until Etta Wheeler, a Methodist mission who visited the home that Mary’s abuse was first confirmed the abuse of a child.
During 1965 the caste people were viewed only as thieves and worthless people. Similarly immigrants were treated the same way and often were violated against their skin color and ethical background. It was very unusual for a caste person and immigrants to be accepted into the society. Craig Silvey shows this in the novel Jasper Jones as a lot of families were broken down due to violence and their prejudice family members and how a lot of families were treated badly from the society because of their race. In life discrimination and prejudice in the society can lead to violence, and violence can change a person and a family forever.
People are issued out.’ …, The issue isn’t what we want to write about. Everybody knows an injustice was done. How many know what actually went on inside?” (Foreword, Farewell to Manzanar).
Through the perspective of a rural small-town community in 1960’s Australia, Craig Silvey's novel ‘Jasper Jones’ explores culpability and racial divide. The protagonist, Charlie Bucktin, marks innocence’s end when Corrigan’s outcasted scapegoat, Jasper Jones, places him in a dire situation, testing his morality. Consequentially, Charlie uncovers prejudicial parallels built between Jasper and the Lu family, who are targeted due to their ethnicity.
While both texts certainly contain stark and shocking examples of highly racist and sexist incidents, they also demonstrate the everyday, grinding nature of prejudice for the characters. In Jasper Jones, the titular character Jasper has faced a lifetime of prejudice and poor treatment because of his Aboriginal heritage. We are told that Jasper “has a terrible reputation in Corrigan”. Silvey’s choice of the word “reputation” is particularly important in showing how Jasper’s everyday existence is affected by prejudice because a “reputation” is something that grows over time and builds on itself. Silvey’s powerful descriptive language, and particularly the list of Jasper’s supposed crimes, written in short bullet-like phrases with capital letters for each noun, work to show how definite and unbending the opinions of Corrigan’s townsfolk are.
Literature is often credited with the ability to enhance one’s understanding of history by providing a view of a former conflict. In doing so, the reader is able to gain both an emotional and logistical understanding of a historically significant event. Additionally, literature provides context that can help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the political climate of a time period. Within the text of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead’s, the use of literary elements such as imagery, metaphor, and paradox amplifies the reader’s understanding of early 19th century slavery and its role in the South of the United States of America. Throughout the novel, Whitehead utilizes a girl named Cora to navigate the political and personal consequences of escaping slavery, the Underground Railroad, and her transition
Living through the first half of the twentieth century, George Orwell watched the rise of totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Soviet Union. Fighting in Spain, he witnessed the brutalities of the fascists and Stalinists first hand. His experiences awakened him to the evils of a totalitarian government. In his novel 1984, Orwell paints a dark and pessimistic vision of the future where society is completely controlled by a totalitarian government. He uses symbolism and the character’s developments to show the nature of total power in a government and the extremes it will go through to retain that power by repressing individual freedom and the truth.
This deep exploration of the effect that people in powerful positions can have on the rest of society creates the theme of the novel and hooks readers
ii. Family Dysfunction Theory This theory explains that the family’s interactions may lead to abuse and often abuse occurs in broken relationships. Some reasons why children are confined to violence by a parent is because they are considered as a way of ‘getting at’ the other parent or that he/she may be a ‘scapegoat’, the unacceptable in the family and the cause for all the family’s ills. Kempe and Kempe (1978) suggested that sometimes child sexual abuse may help in keeping the families together; a teenage girl who is being sexually abused by his father who himself is in need of emotional and physical pleasure because such relations have been broken with his wife.
On a lazy summer afternoon, my father carefully gathered his belongings, headed for the door, and never returned. My mother and I exulted in our newfound freedom, and we celebrated over ice cream. The previous eight years had been marked with continuous abuse and manipulation, and we struggled with feelings of vulnerability and desperation. Unfortunately, my father’s requisite for malevolence and absolute control was far from over. After his abandonment, a vicious battle ensued within the judicial system.