Essay, mr Pip PDF

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Mr Pip Essay...

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Mr pip What is cultural identity? Cultural identity is the self-perception of someone. This can be affected by religion, culture, social class and generation or any kind of social group that shares the same distinct culture. It is the characteristics of not only that person but the same of each member of the group. In the book Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones, Mr Watts is the only stand out white man in a pool of black people. Lloyd Jones continuously repeats the emphasis on the colours of black and white. He purposely makes Mr Watts seem very weird at the beginning of the book by making him toy Grace around with a red nose. Then he just describes Matilda like the main character of an adventure book. “Mr Watts was as mad as a goose” This tells you that the natives are normal while Mr Watts is different and bizarre. The setting of this book was very well thought out. “Matilda is a young girl in Bougainville, a tropical island where the horror of civil war lurks” In a war torn country, to survive, you must be a very tight knit community that cares and supports each other because if one thing goes wrong, all of you could die. And since they are all the same skin colour, the presence of a new kind of fish like Mr Watts makes them suspicious and unfriendly. In this case, Dolores’s community’s cultural identity is very important to them. It shaped them by war and the strength of a community while this had not as much of an effect on Mr Watts as he was alone, and because of that, he was cast away with fear and suspicion. There is a significance amount of cultural identity in Mr Watts and in the rest of Bougainville. “You cannot be anymore stuck than the only white person living amongst black people” This quote explores how Lloyd Jones uses the word “stuck”. It shows how Mr Watts is stuck on this island and how hard it is for him to cope on this island full of black people while the others are discriminating him because they cannot comprehend where this man came from and he was like the only glass of milk next to 20 glasses of chocolate milk. All he has that is close enough that can have some relationship with him is the book “Great Expectations. Lloyd Jones cleverly uses this book as an imaginary friend for Mr Watts and it gives something for him to relate to.” Mr Dickens (the author of Great Expectations) He holds this book dearly because without it, he would just be more lost in the pool of black people. As the only white man, everyone else is different to him and shares nothing that is similar to him, and this makes Mr Watts culturally different. Although the cultural identity of someone can have an effect on how they see the rest of the world and how they see other races, once they know about each other better, a bonding can form. This is shown in Mr Pip with the children and Mr Watts. In the quote: “She could not see what we kids had come to see: A kind man. She only saw a white man…”Lloyd Johnson tells the story in a certain way that as the main characters grow close together, you can see a connection form between them. Mr Watts, as Matilda and the other children’s teacher, had come to know each other better. At first in the very beginning, all they saw was a weird white man with a red nose toying a cart behind him with Grace in it. They called him Popeye and made fun of him because he was white. But as they grow closer together throughout the novel in class, their cultural perceptions change as they see each other as equals and the significance of cultural identity fade as they realise that Mr Watts is just like them. All he had

in difference was his culture and his skin. They realise that despite the different cultures, the fundamental features of all people are still the same. While those who do not know him as well tended to discriminate and judge him unfairly.

QUOTES: Matilda is a young girl in bougainville, a tropical island where the horror of civil war lurks Mr watts was as mad as a goose She could not see what we kids had come to see, a kind man, all she saw was a white man You cannot be anymore stuck than the only white man living amongst black people

Lloyd Jones heavily emphasises on the colours black and white to show cultural identity. He purposely makes Mr Watts seem very weird by having him put on a red nose and toying grace around it. However, he pictures and describes Matilda as a normal school girl with nothing special. “Mr Watts was as crazy as a goose” It tells you that he is bizarre and abnormal while the others are perfectly fine. While in a crowd of black people, a single white man would be very different, but if the situation was reversed, the black man would be very different. If you are in a group with a bunch of people from the other culture, you would be culturally different. Lloyd Jones thought out the setting really well, “matildas is a young girl in Bougainville, a tropical island where the horror of civil war lurks” To live in a war torn country, your community must be very very tightly knit and you must work together. And this is where cultural identity comes in, when a newfish comes into town, you quickly cast them away with fear and suspiscion because they do not have the same skin colour and they are not like you. MR watts was alone and he never faced these things the black people had, so he was very different and he came from an entirely different background.In this case, dolores’s cultural identity was very important as it was shped by war and strength of religion. But Mr watts dosent share anything similar, that’s why he was cast away.

There is a significance amount of cultural identity in bougainville. “You cannot be anymore stuck than the only white man living amongst black people” Lloyd jones uses the word “stuck” very well. It is talking about how Mr watts is stuck on this island and finding it very hard to cope with the people who are discriminating him because of the difference in cultural identity. It was like a glass of milk next to 20 glasses of chocolate milk. Mr Watts, uses the book “Great Expectations” and the author “Mr Dickens” as a link to his identity. Lloyd Jones uses a book as an imaginary friend of Mr Watts and Mr Dickens is a person that is like him and can understand what he understands. He holds this book very dearly as if it were another person. Without this book, it would be a like a cut link to the world he used to ive in, and that would just result in him being more lost in the pool of blackness around him.

Lloyd Jones heavily emphazises the colours of black and white. Lloyd describes Mr Watts as a very weird person that wears a red nose and toys his wife grace around like an ice queen. However, he describes Matilda as a normal school girl in the average Tv show. He shows how Mr Watts is different to Matilda. “Mr Watts was as mad as a goose” Matilda said this because he was the white man in the community. But if the situation was reversed, Matilda would be the different and mad one in a community of white people. The location of this book is very well thought out. Lloyd Jones chooses a place where it is torn apart by war and grief. “Matilda is a young girl in bougainville, a tropical island where the horror of civil war lurks” In a War torn country, to live, you must group up and form a tight knit community that cares and helps each other. And as time passes through, the war and strength of your community shapes your cultural identity and it makes you very weary. When a person you have never seen before with different skin colour comes along, you get suspicious and you throw them away. Dolores’s community was shaped by war and strength but Mr watts has nothing in common to them, so he was torn and cast away.     

Emphasis on the colours of black and white Mr watts is different while matildas is normal. Toying grace around QUOTE Crowd of black or white is different

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Where they live is well thought out QUOTE War torn country Must be tight knit to survive Mr watts is different Dolores cultural identity very important. War and strength of community shaped cultural identity Mr watts different skin colour, cast away

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Word stuck Book relationship Mr dickens like him

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Severed link to past Something to relate to Lost even more

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Humanitys features are the same Know each other better, and cultural perceptions change Cultural identity fades

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Weird man at first Mad fun of him, called him popeye...