The Boxer Rebellion began in 1898 in the Qing Dynasty of China. During this rebellion there was an ongoing question of which side was fighting for the more “just” outcome because each had a very different opinion of what justice was. The Boxers were fighting against the British invaders and trying to unify China by ridding it of Christian influence. The foreigners were trying to make money by selling opium to the Chinese. Each side thought the other side is evil but they did not try to understand the other side. In the book Boxers, by Gene Luen Yang, Yang tries to portray the struggle for justice that the Boxers encountered after the Opium Wars. Likewise, in the book Saints, Yang shows another side of the story. The story of a young Chinese
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There are inherently good and evil characters, some who were punished or rewarded regardless of whether their actions were selfish or compassionate. Throughout the book, characters that once seemed favorable might, through further action, earn the disdain of the readers. On the other hand, characters that are iniquitous can redeem themselves in the eyes of other characters. Regardless of the situation, injustice usually occurs. There are a few examples in particular that stand out as a colossal injustice. The first injustice is the beating of an innocent man by the foreigners. This happened because the British army had a benefit of extraterritoriality. They could just come into China and do whatever they want because they are not from China. It is unjust that these foreigners could escape the law just because they were foreigners. Bao pieces together the story from rumors around the town. He believes that “About a day’s journey from the magistrate's residence. Father and constable came across a small band of foreign soldiers” (Boxers 27). Lee was very angry about how the foreigners were treating him and he spit on one of the soldiers. Although spitting is impolite, the response to this was not appropriate. Lee was brutally beaten and the soldiers were not punished because of the extraterritoriality. The next injustice happened when Red Lantern was executed for arson. He took food from the Christians because they had more food and he gave it to the starving villagers. It was a very robinhood like situation: stealing from the rich and gifting to the poor. Although he committed a crime, he did it with the best intentions and the death penalty was too drastic. Bao eavesdrops on Big Brother telling the story of Red Lanterns journey. Big Brother finally gets to the part where “they arrested society leaders-- tried them-- and…” and Red Lantern was executed (Boxers 101). The last injustice, in many opinions,
There are inherently good and evil characters, some who were punished or rewarded regardless of whether their actions were selfish or compassionate. Throughout the book, characters that once seemed favorable might, through further action, earn the disdain of the readers. On the other hand, characters that are iniquitous can redeem themselves in the eyes of other characters. Regardless of the situation, injustice usually occurs. There are a few examples in particular that stand out as a colossal injustice. The first injustice is the beating of an innocent man by the foreigners. This happened because the British army had a benefit of extraterritoriality. They could just come into China and do whatever they want because they are not from China. It is unjust that these foreigners could escape the law just because they were foreigners. Bao pieces together the story from rumors around the town. He believes that “About a day’s journey from the magistrate's residence. Father and constable came across a small band of foreign soldiers” (Boxers 27). Lee was very angry about how the foreigners were treating him and he spit on one of the soldiers. Although spitting is impolite, the response to this was not appropriate. Lee was brutally beaten and the soldiers were not punished because of the extraterritoriality. The next injustice happened when Red Lantern was executed for arson. He took food from the Christians because they had more food and he gave it to the starving villagers. It was a very robinhood like situation: stealing from the rich and gifting to the poor. Although he committed a crime, he did it with the best intentions and the death penalty was too drastic. Bao eavesdrops on Big Brother telling the story of Red Lanterns journey. Big Brother finally gets to the part where “they arrested society leaders-- tried them-- and…” and Red Lantern was executed (Boxers 101). The last injustice, in many opinions,