ipl-logo

Border Crossing Symbolism

982 Words4 Pages

Border Crossing is a novel by Pat Barker which was first published in 2001. It follows Danny Miller and Tom Seymour, a child criminal and child psychologist. The James Bulger case was in 1993, and psychology, especially criminal psychology, was becoming a more prevalent science. Border Crossing explores Danny Miller, who committed murder as a child. It uses symbolism to reveal how he tries to control his life using power and his abnormal outlook on death. A recurring symbol is fire, which is most meaningful to Danny as he uses it to feel like he is in control of his life by exercising his power. In page 180 and 181 he says that he felt “Marvelous”, “Fantastic, “Powerful” and “The opposite of being hung up on a peg”. The last quote refers …show more content…

In the opening chapter of the book when Lauren and Tom are talking about their issues Tom is seen as “striding ahead, eager to escape, hand thrust deep into the pockets of a black coat”. Lauren is described as “wearing a beige coat that faded into gravel…talking, always talking. Though the red lips move, no sound comes out”. Tom is disconnected from the relationship and wishes for it to go away. His body language makes him seem like he doesn’t care about the conversation Lauren is still trying to have – he is ahead of her with his hands in his coat. Lauren is ignored by Tom and seems unimportant at that moment, fading into the gravel as Tom is not listening to her. After Tom saves Danny he intends to “crawl back into his own life” but instead neglects his problems with Lauren and pays more attention to Danny. Symbolism and contrasting characterization are used to show Danny’s morals and how he uses power to feel like he is in control. Rabbits are used as symbols of death to explore ideas that are not immediately obvious. As stated before the book came out after the James Bulger case, and it can give some insight as to what might drive a child to commit murder. It shows that these issues are complex and that the social workers also have their own lives and

Show More
Related
627 Words | 3 Pages

In the book “Mexican Whiteboy¨- by Matt de la Peña some of the biggest symbols that stood out to me were stickball, mental health and a hawk because there was a common occurring symbol that continuously popped up in the book. I chose these symbols because they are all connected with Danny and effect him a different way The first symbol that I would be explaining is stickball because In the book the main character Danny plays and talks about stickball a lot. Danny enjoys playing stickball so much that he hopes to be in a team but to him stickball is not only a sport it's his passion even when danny went to a new place the only way he felt like he was fitting in was when he was playing stickball and that's the reason why I chose stickball as a symbol is because even when he was sad and depressed he was still thinking about stickball and how he didn’t enter the team he wanted to, on page 41 and 42 it says “This had been Danny’s spot since Coach Sullivan pulled him aside after the last day of tryouts-in front of everybody-patted him on the back and tried to let him down easy.

Read More
914 Words | 4 Pages

The only thing he cares about is money and status. The first example is the presence of her greed. The first time that she met Tom on the train as she describes:

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

but she also loves Tom. Tom realises he is beginning to slip away from both of the women in his life. He is losing both of

Read More
1091 Words | 5 Pages

Furthermore, social workers would question the roles played by context and culture in each situation.

Read More
800 Words | 4 Pages

[…] I never knew about any of these things. […] What an image it gives me of myself,'" (Potok 129-130). When he first encounters the derogatory text, Danny does not know how to react. He feels betrayed and offended and cannot process the information. He is “dark and brooding” and limited in what he can take away from his experiences, but after educating himself and growing in confidence, Danny is prepared to take on the world: “His beard and earlocks were gone, and his face looked pale.

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

There is a point in the story where Tom’s insecurity is shown when “His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his

Read More
1083 Words | 5 Pages

Social workers must be able to act on an issue quickly and effectively. Situations can vary depending on the case, the client, and the persons involved in the case. Herman was an elderly World War II veteran. He resided in a poor neighborhood, surrounded by different dangers: attempted break-ins, armed attempted break-ins, and other suspicious activity. There was proof of dangerous activity with what appeared to be bullet holes on his door.

Read More
765 Words | 4 Pages

Symbols are used all throughout the book to add depth to the story. One example of this would be how the children all receive different things as they get older, and how each item has something to represent. A quote that shows this is “females lost their braids at Ten, and males, too, relinquished their long childish hair and took on the more manly short style which exposed their ears” (p. 46) A second symbol in the book is Jonas seeing the color red which is a very “Emotionally intense color” and symbolizes the arrival in conflicting emotions in Jonas. A third and final example

Read More
1652 Words | 7 Pages

The McKinley case study is a story that involves a wide variety of problems that many families will go through at one point in their lives or another. We all know someone who is going through, or has gone through similar circumstances. “Suffering”, I believe is inevitable, how we relate to our problems really define us and the greatest testament of character is how we take control of those circumstances, whether it is taking immediate action, making different choices or seeking for help. Social workers help us understand our problems at different levels and layers, by using theories that help define human behaviors. According to Hutchinson, Human behavior is multidimensional, and there are many perspectives that help us understand people

Read More
790 Words | 4 Pages

The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, tells the story of how the standards of society influence two siblings. Tom and Laura Wingfield are two miserable people who no matter how hard they try, cannot seem to fit in. The play takes place in St. Louis, 1937, in which men and women have specific roles and expectations. Men are expected to have jobs, get married and provide for their family. Women are expected to get married, have babies and stay home to raise their children.

Read More
1353 Words | 6 Pages

Who I identify as, including identifying as a social worker once I graduate, will have some level privilege and power attached to the chosen identities. Gelfand, Sillivan, and Steinhouse (2002) noted that there are may dimensions that influence our personal and professional relationships with others, and these dimensions shape how we see and interact with, include or exclude them, and ways that we oppress or discriminate against them. As a social worker whose clients share my same identity, we may benefit by my having a shared understanding of cultural norms and expectations to reach a common goal. For clients who share commonalities with me, we may benefit by being able to work more collaboratively and possibly a more trusting relationship than one that must be built over time. However, just as similarities can be empowering, I must remember that the client knows best despite our shared identities that may speak otherwise.

Read More
748 Words | 3 Pages

The symbolic item that I think has a deeper meaning from others is fire. Fire can mean so many different meanings but in the book fire symbolizes chaos, fear and destruction. First, of all like I have mentioned in the beginning fire can stand for an infinite amount of reasons. But one of the meanings of fire is fear, which in the story when Jeanette Walls was three years old that

Read More
724 Words | 3 Pages

The video had a way of getting me a way to think, because being a social worker is no joke; your mentality takes a hit with trying to help

Read More
1508 Words | 7 Pages

Modern social workers are frequently tasked with certain objectives by their agencies, which leave little room for any work beyond specific treatments and timeframes (Gitterman & Knight, 2016). Although social workers are bound to the set of ethics put forth by the NASW, practitioners are often limited to focusing on the issues of the individual rather than the larger societal issues that may be behind those concerns. Additionally, many social work students end up working in direct practice, rather than macro work. There is a need for social workers to engage at the macro level in order to facilitate community organization and empowerment. Critics suggest this theory may not take into account the unique experiences of each individual and perhaps key characteristics of the individual or group are not taken into consideration (Sadan, 1997).

Read More
1651 Words | 7 Pages

This is as to how the social worker and the population interact. It involves the people making sense in their interaction. This theory enables the social worker to study the behaviour of the people he or she is involved with. This is demostrated on her role as a consellor and educator.

Read More

More about Border Crossing Symbolism

Related Topics

Open Document