Mark Mathabane’s Kaffir Boy Essay

For some, coming of age is a time of obstacles and success in a young youth's life. It involves a number of trials that is needed to overcome to become mature. Although, obstacles are not the only features that a young adolescents will encounter. The journey will happen beginning with successes and triumphs that will come to the shaping of who they are to become. One can simply presume that the occurrence taking place in the world would have a strong impact on how an adolescent comes of age. The tale Old Chief Mshlanga focuses on the main character, the protagonist known as “she” or little Nkosikaas her encounter with an African chieftain that causes her to see the differences between her people and the natives of the land they reside. The author, Doris Lessing, uses the protagonist to show radically changing attitudes towards the Old Chief Mshlanga.

The thesis of this excerpt is how “savage” poverty is; the anecdote is centered on Flavio and his impoverished family and lifestyle. 2.Flavio’s siblings are presumed to be dirty and a bit violent. His parents are both hardworking and manage utilizing what they can to earn money for their family. Flavio is the eldest son therefore has the most responsibility within the household when the parents are working; he cooks, cleans, and keeps the other children out of trouble. 3.Flavio’s home is in Catacumba, which is an impoverished favela.

Mark Mathabane grew up in the bad part of South Africa, his family was dirt poor with no money. He grew up learning that education was stupid and unnecessary. When he was around the age of 7 all the kids his age would steal and roam the streets. One quote from kaffir boy was, “Grown up in an environment where the value of an education was never emphasized,

Within the confines of this paper, derived from an immensely valuable article, describing the impoverished young life of an 11-year-old girl named Dasani. A five-part article written in the New York Times turned out to be a masterpiece for learning, which published in 2013. Four different perspective theories were used to analyze young Dasani's personal life, Dasani's Homeless life, and Dasani's life in general. Furthermore, I will be assessing through, Fowler’s Stages of Faith Development, Control Theories, Behavior Settings Theories, and History, Social Structure, and Human Agency/Cultural Hegemony. Using the four different perspectives of theory afforded an exciting opportunity to attempt to understand her life from multiple angles a rather multifaceted approach. The process proves to be quite rewarding. Assuredly, many fresh perspectives were learned, with the paper this in-depth and broad scope allows the opportunity for a deeper learning experience. I learned, without a sound base in a young life that encompass, safety, food, shelter, and semi-functional parents, a child will have a difficult time getting a strong foothold in life. I learned this lesson from, in my opinion, the only way that will stick with you always, and will influence all decisions as well as thoughts. I lived it! Born into a mixed racial family that was devastated from no education. Abuse towards my brother James eight years old, my sister Felicia five years old and myself age of nine, was common to each day. Me being the

David Goodman eked out a minimal living for his family by working for a tailor in a sweatshop. To help alleviate the family’s poverty, the children were urged to work as soon as they were old enough.

Toni Cade Bambara addresses how knowledge is the means by which one can escape out of poverty in her story The Lesson. In her story she identifies with race, economic inequality, and literary epiphany during the early 1970’s. In this story children of African American progeny come face to face with their own poverty and reality. This realism of society’s social standard was made known to them on a sunny afternoon field trip to a toy store on Fifth Avenue. Through the use of an African American protagonist Miss Moore and antagonist Sylvia who later becomes the sub protagonist and White society the antagonist “the lesson” was ironically taught.

In “Invisible Child,” a New York Times article written by Andrea Elliot, we follow a day in the life of a young African American girl, Dasani, growing up in New York City. However, instead of living in an “Empire State of Mind,” Dasani lives in the slums, growing up homeless with her two drug addicted parents and seven siblings. Dasani often finds herself taking care of her siblings, making sure they have enough to eat, tying shoelaces, changing diapers, getting them to the bus stop in time, and the list goes on. An 11 year old girl, essentially taking care of a whole family, as well as taking care of herself by going to school, receiving an education, and partaking in extra-curricular activities. Elliot captures the life and struggles of a family well under the poverty line, giving us an unprecedented look into what Dasani must do each day not just to grow up in New York City, but to survive.

Poverty makes a huge impact on a growing child’s mental state. The feeling of never being able to have the same things as your counterparts is a difficult feeling. It makes one feel as if they are not good enough and leads to the formation of an inferiority complex. In a land far away, Artur Samarin also has to tackle similar challenges growing up in a post Soviet Ukraine. When talking about his life in Ukraine, he says that is it like the “United kingdom a thousand years ago, when they hadn’t had the industrial revolution… no opportunities, no money, to areas to realize yourself” (Riley 11).

Many children will be born in poor regions and low income areas around the world and may not ever be presented with the opportunity for a decent education. Sherman Alexie brings this fact to the reader’s attention on a personal level in his short story “Superman and Me”. This story follows a young Indian boy into his struggle of illiteracy and acceptance from his peers and friends. Alexie was able to focus the reader’s attention and convey much of his feelings into his written words because the story was about him and his own personal experiences. “Superman and Me” projects a message to the reader, that when faced with adversity, and when all odds are against you, willpower and determination can overcome even the toughest of obstacles.

This particular passage from Kaffir Boy represents Mark gradually coming to understand how the world around him operated. The “nice white people” that the Smiths were described as were stuff of legend to Mark, for he had never viewed white people as anything but the heartless oppressors of Bantus. Meeting the Smiths breaks down Mark’s wall of fear and anger towards all whites just enough to allow him to operate in the white world in order to push himself forward into success. His assumptions of whites led him to this, “I had come to develop a deep-seated fear of white people… I vowed that never would I enter such a world…” (54). Had he continued life based upon his fears, Mark would have never discovered the game of tennis, classic literature,

Studies have proven that adolescents who live in poverty mature faster than those that lead a more stable life. Sonny and his brother are a perfect example of this, the reader can see the two were forced to take on adult responsibilities and tasks around the farm to support the family. For example the quote “No, sir. My brother’s in Whitemud, He’s twelve. He’s got a job.” (page 2) shows that Sonny's twelve year old brother has already taken on extreme adult responsibilities. Having responsibilities due to poverty such as a job, living away from home, and not being able to act as a child rapidly matures adolescents. The added responsibility of having to keep said job to not send the family into deeper poverty adds a heavy load on Sonny's brothers

Toni Cade Bambara addresses how knowledge is the means by which one can escape out of poverty in her story The Lesson. In her story she identifies with race, economic inequality, and literary epiphany during the early 1970’s. In this story children of African American progeny come face to face with their own poverty and reality. This realism of society’s social standard was made known to them on a sunny afternoon field trip to a toy store on Fifth Avenue. Through the use of an African American protagonist Miss Moore and antagonist Sylvia who later becomes the sub protagonist and White society the antagonist “the lesson” was ironically taught. Sylvia belong to a lower economic class, which affects her views of herself within highlights the

The poverty of this family is seen in an early stage where Juniors’ dog had to be killed by his father because they couldn’t afford to take him to the veterinarian after he suffered a stroke. ‘’I wanted to hate my mom and dad for our poverty, I wanted to blame them for my sick dog and for all the other sickness in the world’’. Junior was raging with hatred and anger because of the poverty he was born in. Page 11 Junior has only one friend named Rowdy, Rowdy is physically abused at home and as a result he ends up being a bully at school. He stands up for Junior in every situation though he sometimes don’t understand Juniors decisions and thinks he is an idiot.

No one truly knows what the future holds for them, especially young kids. Society plays a big role in every person’s life by creating expectations and standers for the upper, middle, and lower class. For instance, if you are an individual in the lower or middle class trying to live your dream of becoming a doctor you have to work harder and overcome more obstacles to make that future happen for yourself. Although, some individuals in the lower class, no matter how hard they try to push for their dreams, society snaps them back to reality and lunges them back to the fate they were given at birth. In Maggie A Girl of the Streets, Maggie and her family are great examples of an individuals stripped of their ability to branch out of the Bowery life

The purpose of this novel is to show readers that no matter what hardships one is facing, if he/she really puts in the effort, they can accomplish anything. The author develops this claim by telling the reader information about his father’s history, the famine he endured late 2001 to early 2002, and his family not being able to afford to school him after he completed primary school.