Rudyard Kiplings The Law Of The Jungle
In the conventional society, people are obeying the "Law Of Jungle", which depicts the norm that the strongers usually survive by engulfing the weakers (Kipling).In order to survive, the former would never give up sacrificing the latter through moral or immoral ways. Although there is not an absolute trend of this law, the world holds more temptation toward this law. The fact is cruel but sometimes it is not, though. There are exceptions when a group of people is resisting this law.
Some people, who belong to the dominating class, are trying to create an equally-treated community because they are influenced by certain emotional factors. This means that the protagonists are helping the poors and weaks intentionally, as seen in these two novels. As a result, the poors of lower class manages to enjoy the efforts made, but only after a lot of sacrifices are done. In the context of the two novels, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, the protagonists have been massively supporting this idea.The people from upper class have tried to help the oppressed lower class simply because they want to express the instinctive value of sympathy in them.
When people "feel sympathy" and "emotionally resonate (feel in the same way)" on the needed people, they would "become motivated to help them" because the sense of passion has driven them to do so ("What"). In The Kite Runner, Amir suffers an injury after the fights with Assef. The wound reminds him of his Hazara half-blooded brother servant, Hassan.
The fight with Assef has "cut [Amir's] upper lip in two" and it looks "like a harelip", which causes the imperfectness occurs on Amir that Hassan precedes the same in childhood (Hosseini 273). This wound sympathizes Amir's towards Hassan. By adopting Hassan's child, Sohrab, is Amir might hope that he could plead forgiveness from Hassan. This incident informs the readers that a sense of sympathy can disregard the difference of class.
It signifies that some people from higher class are accepting every human should share.The situation happens in The God of Small Things has, however, provided a negative example to implement the idea of sympathy towards the oppressed people. Baby Kochamma, who dislikes the lower class aggressively, has deceived Estha and Rahel to condemn Velutha, a low class Paravan. Velutha has a despicable secret love affair with Baby Kochamma's niece, Ammu.
This selfish condemnation causes Velutha's death after an invalid accusation is made. In years later, Estha and Rahel are remorseful of what they have done and constantly "replay this scene in their heads" (Roy 302). They wonder if they have "been deceived" and "tricked into condemnation". When they grow as adults, they realize that they "had been given a choice" (Roy 302).
The twins know that they never make a right choice; therefore, being remorseful is a way to repent their sinful accusation. The twins have been traumatized with the incident happens in their childhood. They feel uncomfortable simply because they possess the instinctive feeling of passion in their heart. Although they are born to be a dominating class, there is not a right thing to tell a lie that hurt or kill someone indirectly, even an Untouchable Paravan.Besides sympathy, political transformation that the people of higher class experience allows them to help the people from lower class more eagerly.
Political system that advocates humanity and justice could give a chance for this minority from higher class to confront their own class. It is actually a preliminary intention they have been urging to do a long time ago. In other words, they have insisted to assist the lower class to strike the challenges once they experience different political conditions. They are patriots and also supporters of human rights. Thus, a country that treats people equally, is only an ideal Utopia to live in.
Hosseini has depicted this idea well in The Kite Runner. The idea is easily seen from how Amir treats his nephew, Sohrab, after Afghanistan's chaotic happenings. Adopting Sohrab is not a plan after Amir rescues him from Taliban, but his understanding wife Soraya encourages him to adopt Sohrab. Soraya's father works as a General in military ministry before Russian invasion in Afghan.
Although she is a daughter of a General, she does not forbid Amir to adopt a Hazara or a low class ethnic in Afghan. She even pleads Amir to adopt Sohrab through their conversation, when she tells Amir, "But I know this much: You have to bring him home. I want you to" (Hosseini 299). Regardless of what Sohrab's origin is, Soraya agrees to adopt him unconditionally.
This is probably because she loves Amir, but another stronger reason is that she knows there should be no difference among ethnics. America's life might have exposed Soraya and other Afghan migrants understand equality among humans. Thus, the impression gives them a big impact to eradicate the mindset of difference in class.In The God of Small Things, Chacko from upper class does not hesitate to help the lower class too.
He wants to create a harmonious atmosphere with the Paravan people from lower class working in his mother's pickle factory. He tries to provide the workers with lectures on "labour rights and trade union law" and "flirt with them outrageously" (Roy 62). He is also used to "call them[the workers] Comrade" and "and insist that they call him Comrade back", apparently showing his kindness towards the workers (Roy 62). In the novel Chacko "proclaims [himself] as a Marxist" and this would probably why he mandates himself to ignore the Caste system in India (Roy 62).
Being a Marxist, Chacko has no doubt but to be closer to the people from grass root level because that is what Marxism proposes with. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, "after the class struggle has resulted in the victory of the proletariat and the establishment of a socialist society, there will be no further need for such a repressive institution" ("classless society"). The proletariats are not necessary to be the people from lower class only. People from upper class could play a crucial role too as the assistants to lower class in their uprising against oppression.
The class system is debatable, and not repressed for people to challenge it. It is encouraging to see that the change in restrained mindset among the people of upper class although they are just a minority of their class. From Marxist song Internationale, the lines "So comrades, come rally / For this is the time and place! / The international ideal / Unites the human race" has conveyed the message of human equality to everyone (Bragg 13-16). The message sent is clear and ambitious - it is to unite the human race so that the boundaries among classes can be eliminated. Unity of the entire human race would only be achieved if everyone is treated equally.Besides those reasons, one more reason that motivates the dominating side to aid the dominated side is love.
The confinement of love due to the class difference could be very irritating as love should not be restricted by any means. This problem brings love from a personal matter into a big issue that involve the family and societal norms. When the people are finally frustrated over it, they would stand up to protest against the confinement. Usually the dominating upper class will become the protester. Michael Jackson once sang in Black Or White, "But, If / You're Thinkin' / About My Baby / It Don't Matter If You're / Black Or White", which shows that race should not be a element to determine love (8-12).
However, racism has always been an obstacle to inhibit any love relations because the people from higher class have superior feeling of their own race over the others, in other word, ethnocentric. The minorities are opposing the ethnocentrism. So, love of brotherhood in The Kite Runner has been a good example for this kind of love. Amir firstly rejects to save Sohrab out of Taliban because he thinks that is too risky but his mind change when Rahim Khan tells him Hassan's real identity. Since he knows Hassan is his illegitimate half-brother, he decides to safe Sohrab.
Amir is probably relieved from his curiosity in years that, for him, is Hassan his servant, friend or brother. For the first time ever, Amir reckons in his heart when he "looked at the round face in the Polaroid again" that he sees "[his] brother face" (Hosseini 210). This is a declaration that Hassan is his own brother. The words are simple, but it is meaningful enough to terminate Amir's perception of having a Hazara or a low class person as a brother. It is brotherly love that persuades him to think so.Similar situation occurs in The God Of Small Things too as Ammu has a secret love affair with Velutha.
Ammu is a Touchable upper class person whereas Velutha is a Paravan or Untouchable lower class person. There should not be any love feeling sparks off between them because they are just of different classes. Ammu, a daughter of an "Imperial Entomologist", possesses a different status than the Untouchable lower class, but this never obstructs her to engage with a love in Velutha, who works for her family (Roy 47). She is not concerned whether the man he loves is from upper class or lower class.
She loves Velutha because she believes "Where the Love Laws lay down who should be loved. And how. And how much" (Roy 168). Well, the difference in social status has been surpassed by the "Love Law", where everything but love is most prioritized.
Love is only measured quantitatively and qualitatively, not based on ethnicity and social status. Australian writer Jaison Williams has proposed that, the matter of inter-caste marriage is "not impossible" but it will only be successful "if a suitable path is follow" (Williams). According to him, parents' agreement, consensus from the society and the prevention of ignorance between the couple are among the factors that encourage "a success in this type of marriage" (Williams).
Nevertheless, the basis to build up this marriage is love. That could be the reason why people often say that love makes people blind. To pursue a real love, the difference in status or class become so insignificant to be mentioned, although a lot of hardship from family and community is required to achieve it. This would lead to a bigger responsibility demanded from the people of higher class because the challenge to conventional social norm is hard to be pioneered.
They need to explain to the majority that there is not a problem to love people of different classes.In conclusion, either the characters in the novels or the scholars in real world have successfully represented the idea of equally treatment by a minority people from upper class to the people from lower class, influenced by different emotional factors. The actions that the minority of upper class are courageous enough to stand up for the lower class must have a great impact to the conventional society. The impact changes people's perception that suppression of upper class to lower class is always true. Although there are some reasons behind it, the assistances from the minority in high status have certainly been beneficial to the people in low status. Most importantly, their actions are pioneered to trigger the society to strive for a world of justice and equality.
Therefore, the minority should become the majority, that more and more people should demolish the class system in the coming days.
Article name: Rudyard Kiplings The Law Of The Jungle essay, research paper, dissertation