💡Theme: Violence Flashcards
“The end of the pen is like a little metal knife. It could be dangerous, and it could kill someone.” (Ch. 28)
Pens and knives can both be used to communicate: feelings and thoughts. This vivid imagery highlights the extent of Leon’s feelings and emphasises the effect of his precarious and violent home life on his psychology when he lived with Byron.
“He can’t breathe.” (Ch. 27)
Tufty verbally stands up for Castro but he is not empowered to make any real change. This dialogue is written in a desperate tone: the reader feels disgust and horror for their situation and at the fact that systematic racism, violence and discrimination in the police force still exists today. It is a poignant reminder to the modern audience of the devastating murders of Eric Gardner and George Floyd, who after telling policemen they can’t breathe were suffocated to death. Things haven’t completely changed since the 80s: black people are still oppressed and victims of police brutality.
“And Leon was dead as well and he looked down in his khaki green uniform and his sweaty face from the jungle heat and at the trail of sticky blood that ran out of the corner of his mouth and he steeped over himself and got out of bed.” (Ch. 7)
This violent and graphic visual imagery in Leon’s dreams shows the effect of his erratic and traumatic home life on his unconscious mind. It emphasises the extent of the violence he experiences in his home environment and accentuates Carols lack of responsibility when she doesn’t do anything about it. This dream reflects the poor quality of his upbringing- one that is unreliable and unsuitable for a child.
“They are all posters of black men: one in a suit and tie with a moustache, one who looks like a king and another one with his fist in the air and a medal round his neck. Leon looks at them all one by one. They are all serious, not like Tufty with his wide smile and big teeth. The men look down at Leon and he imagines how they might ta k and what they might say and if any of them would help him find his brother.” (Ch. 18)
Could be and allusion to:
- Martin Luther King, an American civil rights activist and church, famous for his ‘I have a dream’ speech, who fought through non violent means.
- 1968 Olympic Black Power Salute, a peaceful protest where Tommie Smith and John Carlos won medals and when they were on the podium they both raised a black gloved fist in the air for the national anthem. They also wore no shoes, only black socks, to represent black poverty.
- King Tubby, a Jamaican sound engineer who influenced dub in the 60s and 70s, one of the biggest celebrities in Jamaica at the time. Later Tufty listens to his music with Leon
Emblematic of Tufty’s desire for a peaceful change, reveal he is a good role model for Leon when the context of this story (black people discriminated against due to SUS laws and wind rush gen prejudice)
“If that fing beast gets into this yard and bites my kid, I’ll rip its fing heart out, all right Phil?” (Ch. 4)
Byron clearly feels protective but the fact that he uses profanity aggressively in front of Leon shows he does not go about his parental responsibilities in a positive way. Whilst his intentions are good, his methods are flawed resulting in this violence having an effect of Leon’s unconscious mind, demonstrated in the vivid, violent dreams he has in later dreams. His aggression and violence gas clearly influenced Leon, the graphic imagery disturbing the reader and making us worry for Leon
‘The end of the pen is like a little metal knife’ which Leon imagines stabbing through the soft bit of [Earring’s] eye’ and writing 4**ing hate you. Black power. From Leon.’
LEON, VIOLENCE. The violent simile, imagery, and profanity is shocking to the reader, emphasizing Leon’s frustration and anger at the social worker for not listening to him. The reader is reminded of the proverb the pen is mightier than the sword’, but here it’s taken literally as Leon imagines the physical damage a pen could do. The innocent ‘From Leon’ at the end of this is almost funny in its incongruity to the rest of the sentence, and suggests that perhaps Leon doesn’t understand the full implications of what he’s imagining.
‘Spit comes out of his mouth like a wild dog.’ I..]
‘Leave him! Leave him! He can’t breathe!’
VIOLENCE, PROTEST, CASTRO. In Chapter 27, the reader witnesses first hand the brutality of the police. When questioning Tufty and Castro about another man called Rainbow, they claim that Castro is resisting arrest, and drag him away. The language used to describe this is graphic and visual, making the reader feel fear for his safety, and foreshadowing his later death in the cells. The frantic repetition and exclamatory nature of Tufty’s speech is also emotive, and alludes to Eric Garner, who was choked to death by police after repeating I can’t breathe 11 times in 2014. This reminds the reader that systemic racism and unnecessary police brutality still exist.
‘The bottles come hard and fast, smashing on the ground, shards of glass splintering everywhere’
PROTEST, VIOLENCE, SETTING. This vivid description of the protest evokes a sense of danger, building up to the climactic chapter where Leon is caught in the middle of the protesters and police. The onomatopoeic verbs- ‘smashing’ and ‘splintering’ highlight the danger that is around Leon, and make the reader fear for Leon’s safety, as does the use of present tense.
“When people f* with you, you got a choice. You f* back or you swallow down […] swallow down enough times and you start to choke […] or you learn to accept. Let go. Breathe easy.”
Tuftys being an archetypal sage and role model, teaching Leon how to deal with difficult situations, Tufty hinting at violence.
