Essay on Alienation
‘Alienation’ Final Report
My definition of alienation is when a person feels different from other people in society, usually because of people or events that take place in their life. The four texts I have studied this year which use the theme of alienation are: “The hills” written by Patricia Grace, “Boy” directed by Taika Waititi, “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins, and “Ravens Gate” written by Anthony Horowitz.
My first text, “The Hills” is about a teenage Maori boy who is treated unfairly by the police because he is black. Alienation is presented through the discrimination the boy is subjected to. The police tell him “shut your black face” and slam the car door into the side of his head. They then give them a degrading body cavity search where he thinks he is being raped. The boy has a strange emotional attachment to the hills outside his house, and the boy’s attachment with them is destroyed when he becomes alienated. At the start of the text, when the boy is innocent and childish, he says: “I like it when I get to the top of the road and I look out and see the mist down over the hills. It’s like a wrapped parcel and you always know there’s something good inside”. By the end of the text however, the boy’s attitude towards the hills has completely changed and he realizes the hills have nothing left to give him. “I remember wondering if I would ever look there again”.
My second text, “Boy”, is about an 11 year old Maori boy who becomes alienated by his own father. Alamein (Boy’s father) has been in prison for most of Boy’s life, so it is a shock for Boy when he finally comes home. Taika Waititi presents alienation through Alamein’s constant rejections of his own son. One example of this is when Alamein tells boy that calling him Dad “just sounds weird” and “besides… we are more like Bro’s, you and me!” This suggests that Alamein is trying to deny all responsibility he has for Boy, and make it look like they are not very close. Boy idolizes his
My definition of alienation is when a person feels different from other people in society, usually because of people or events that take place in their life. The four texts I have studied this year which use the theme of alienation are: “The hills” written by Patricia Grace, “Boy” directed by Taika Waititi, “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins, and “Ravens Gate” written by Anthony Horowitz.
My first text, “The Hills” is about a teenage Maori boy who is treated unfairly by the police because he is black. Alienation is presented through the discrimination the boy is subjected to. The police tell him “shut your black face” and slam the car door into the side of his head. They then give them a degrading body cavity search where he thinks he is being raped. The boy has a strange emotional attachment to the hills outside his house, and the boy’s attachment with them is destroyed when he becomes alienated. At the start of the text, when the boy is innocent and childish, he says: “I like it when I get to the top of the road and I look out and see the mist down over the hills. It’s like a wrapped parcel and you always know there’s something good inside”. By the end of the text however, the boy’s attitude towards the hills has completely changed and he realizes the hills have nothing left to give him. “I remember wondering if I would ever look there again”.
My second text, “Boy”, is about an 11 year old Maori boy who becomes alienated by his own father. Alamein (Boy’s father) has been in prison for most of Boy’s life, so it is a shock for Boy when he finally comes home. Taika Waititi presents alienation through Alamein’s constant rejections of his own son. One example of this is when Alamein tells boy that calling him Dad “just sounds weird” and “besides… we are more like Bro’s, you and me!” This suggests that Alamein is trying to deny all responsibility he has for Boy, and make it look like they are not very close. Boy idolizes his