Funny Boy

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” This quote, by Nelson Mandela, reflects a recurring theme in “Funny Boy” by Shyam Selvadurai. Throughout the novel characters such as Radha Aunty, Jegan, and Arjie are ostracized, and belittled by society due to the hatred that lies within Sri Lanka at the time. When the characters are antagonized, they are taught to hate themselves, and often feel the need to change, because this is what was taught to them. The characters didn’t hate others or themselves prior to this knowledge,…

unit discussed Funny Boy in the context of the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict in Sri Lanka. The novel has been written from a young boy, Arjie’s perspective. It documents Arjie’s struggle with discovering and accepting his homosexuality. It also documents a parallel struggle to come to terms with the second hand status that is meted out to Tamils in Sri Lanka and the impending migration to start life afresh in a new country. The unit begins with a brief discussion of the history of the Tamil-Sinhalese…

[11:09 PM, 10/31/2017] Funny Boy: The scene demonstrates us figures in a rectangular room with coffers on the roof and woven artworks on either side of the room. The room ends at three windows on end of wall and through the windows we can see the scene setting. the scene out of sight ends in a sort of misty, grayish skyline. This painterly device, in which the color of the horizon of the sky turns out to be more dull and dry, is known as aerial perspective and was utilized by Renaissance…

have parallel connections. By observing the characters’ position in society, the meaning of their relationship with one another, and the killing of their companion, we can conclude that there are similarities between the two partnerships.      Both sets of friends have their designated positions in society. George and Candy act as the supporters in the relationship. Lennie and the dog, however, are dependent upon their supporters to exist in society.…

ridiculous. This essay is all right, but the suspension, is not the right thing to do. There are kids that vandalize school property and skip class, and there punishment is minor. All they have is ISS or a 3/5. Were getting suspended if we don’t write an essay. I admit that it was wrong to laugh at you, I apologize for that. But, the punishment is ridiculous. I’m very sorry for my actions. And I promise that I will never act that way ever again. I am very sorry for disrespecting you and…

Shyam Selvadurai’s 1994 Funny Boy is a coming of age novel that tells the story of Arjie, a young boy like any another, enduring the vicissitudes of life. Throughout his journey of self-discovery, Arjie experiences the trials and joys of love in all its forms. Shyam Selvadurai himself is a homosexual Sri Lankan Canadian novelist born in Colombo, Sri Lanka to a Sinhalese mother and a Tamil father. In 1983, the family emigrated to Canada due to ethnic riots that were severely damaging the country.…

“The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” - Niccolo Machiavelli This quote has a significant meaning towards the question, to what extent is literature like an hourglass. The quote means as time goes by and the sand lessens, the clearer we should start to see things, both literally and metaphorically. This reflects greatly in the two books I read, Funny boy by Shyam Selvadurai and anthem by Ayn Rand. In these two books, I was…

Pedal to the Metal An athlete is someone dedicated to his or her pastime, spending tremendous amounts of time and effort to prefect it. They are always equipping the newest and best equipment to prevail. In addition, there is also an enormous amount of money that goes into a professional athlete. For instance, Matt Hagan was the 2011 and 2014 NHRA Funny Car World Champion. Funny Car is a specific racing class for dragsters. The cars that race in this class have fiberglass bodies and custom…

In “The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, the boy is plagued by a girl named Sheila Mant. The author makes the boy extremely gullible and unwise which allows the readers of the story to understand his thoughts and regrets. The author forces the audience to feel embarrassed with the boy by explaining how he felt for Sheila by showing his interest in Sheila and the fish, and finally, by revealing that he would regret his silly decision. The Boy is plagued by Sheila. He seems…

Ender starts to get get disoriented before the flight. He and nineteen other boys are on the flight to the battle school. All the boys were joking around, messing around, and laughing. Ender however was just sitting there in silence. When boarding the shuttle the officer made a joke and Ender did not know how to react so he kept his silence. To Ender’s surprise Graff was on the shuttle as well. Graff came up a way that was funny to Ender and Ender played a gravity game in his head. Without…