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The War between the Classes - Referat
Table of contents
Obligatory tasks
• The Changes of Amy’s personality p. 3
• The ”vicious circle” p. 4
• Diary entry: One year after the Color Game p. 5
• Changes which the Oranges are experiencing p. 6
(E.g. a test too difficult to complete in good time)
Optional tasks
• Diary entry: Amy’s feelings after p. 7
being demoted to an orange
• Necessity of the beauty contest p. 7
Obligatory tasks
1. The Changes of Amy’s personality
I think around chapter 9 and 10 Amy is getting more and more self-confident at all. From this time on she stands for her own opinion and isn’t even afraid to talk about her thoughts and feelings (p. 76). The best example for this development is her reaction when Adam asks her to bring him some food (p.98). At first, she stands up immediately like a reflex but then she thinks about why she should go and realizes that she doesn’t have to do everything Adam wants her to do. She asks Adam very friendly why he can’t get the food. A bit surprised about Amy’s reaction Adam gets the food for them without saying a word. Before this time, she thinks that Adam will not love a girl that has her own opinion and ideas (p. 33, l.10). This view changes in the course of the book completely. She evolves slowly but surely her own personality and unexpected qualities come to light. For example her qualities as a leader as she conducts the oranges to sabotage the “Color game” in Chapter 12 (p.96 ff) or her courage as she resists the G4’s Brian and Mary, who want to confiscate the four-color bands and the banners the oranges have made (p 100/101).
Also one very good example for the changes of Amy’s personality is that she dares to hang up the “All Colors United”-banners together with Juan (p.68/69) and that she even admits that she has done it, because she doesn’t want the lower classes to have a punishment for a thing that she has done (p.75 ff).
2. The ”vicious circle”
Mr. Otero describes the huge difficulties for colored people to be accepted in the society because it is often hard for them to find a well-paid job only because of their skin color. Without a job, they become poor and sometimes even homeless. To get out of this circle again is very hard. The only way especially for the children is to reach a high education-level so that they might get a good job.
3. Diary entry: One year after the Color Game
Dear diary,
Today I had to realize the bitter fact that most of the people, who played the Color Game with me last year, forgot all the good and, what is even worse, all the bad experiences, they had to made during this experiment. For example Justin: today I heard him talking about some Latinos as if they were just dirt under his fingernail. He was joking about them with another snobbish boy. I was boiling with rage. I went towards them and said very prepared:” Justin, do you think you’re the king of the world? Do you think you have the right to judge over people? Just remember how you suffered during the Color Game last year! I thought you’ve learned something, but is doesn’t seems so!” I turned around and went to my classroom without waiting for an answer. I try as often as I can to remind people of the experiences we have made together. During the first weeks after the Color Game I didn’t had to do that. Everybody was in some way shocked so that they treated each other very carefully. People were no longer discriminated because of their origin or their financial situation. However, today, one year after, things have changed again. Everything goes the usual way again. There are again these invisible barriers between the classes, which nobody can avoid.
4. Changes, which the Oranges are experiencing
I think Mr. Otero wants to show that the most important thing is to have a high education especially for the lower classes. By making the test too difficult to complete Otero wants to say that the requirements, the lower classes have to fulfill, are often much higher than the ones of the upper classes. The people of the lower classes have to have a great knowledge and special abilities to be accepted in the society and to get higher in the class-system. Only like that, they can be successful in their life.
Other differences, which the Oranges are experiencing:
• Oranges have to bow to every other class to show that the Oranges are the lowest and that the others are superior
• They are punished much harder than the superior classes (p. 44/45)
• They are controlled as if they were criminals (p.83/84), even a spy is sent by the G4’s to report everything the Oranges are doing
• The oranges are automatically accused of hanging up the “All Colors United”-banners without any evidences (p. 73, l. 6 ff). One girl was even accused of stealing (play) money (p. 97, l. 27)
• Oranges get the least money (p.31, l. 30)
Optional tasks
3. Diary entry: Amy’s feelings after being demoted to an orange
Dear Diary,
Today I’ve been demoted to an Orange. I can’t decide what I feel about it. On the one hand, I feel relieved and even proud of the things I’ve done, on the other hand I feel like dirtying my family name. My whole life I was told to bring respect and honor to it and to do this without bringing attention to myself. Now I feel like breaking all these unwritten laws. Papa would be so ashamed, but I think I won’t speak with him about it. I don’t need his reproaches. I think I’ve done the right thing. Perhaps I’ll be a kind of example for others. Together with Adam and the other oranges, I’m sure we can start a revolution and reunite the colors. We just have to fight for our aim and I think that is what we’ll try to do.
6. Necessity of the beauty contest
Yes, I think it was necessary to have this beauty contest for the boys to show them what it can sometimes mean for girls and women only to be judged by their look and not by their inner value. So they can feel a bit the feelings women have to feel when they are gaped or molested by men. They often even don’t think about what they say, they just play the macho because they think that women would like it. To turn this whole situation round might be an important experience for the boys, who participated at this experiment. It might help them to treat the women right and to understand them a little bit better.
Dieses Referat wurde eingesandt vom User: greenia
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