In this text, I
intend to write about how a literary text and a film helped me raised my
awareness about a global challenge. The text about Robert and the Dog by Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995, Nigeria) and the
film Slumdog Millionaire (2008) by director
Danny Boyle are very similar, they both are about two “poor people” who are
trying to survive poverty. However both of the main character are also quite
different.
“Just
imagine, how would you feel if someone fed you dry bread and beans, then
started to feed his garbage disposal with lobster and Caviar?”
Robert and the Dog is about a steward and his master and his mistress,
the main character is the steward: Robert. Robert´s new employer was a young
medical doctor just returned from abroad. He was cheerful, exuberant and
polite. It was obvious to Robert that he had not been in the country for a long
time. Because he did not once lose his temper, he did not shout at Robert, he
called him about his wife, children and other members of his family”. Later in
the story the young doctor
Robert was a man
who lives with his wife and six children in Ajengungle called “The Jungle”. His
new employer was a young medical doctor who just returned from abroad he lived
alone in an apartment. Robert was very happy with his job until the arrival of
the employer´s wife and her dog called Bingo. The lady was cheerful and she
took an interest in Robert´s culture. The problem was her dog because Robert
could see that the dog was treated like a human being and it had a good life in
comparison with his family. When his employers travelled, he had to take care
of it but…on the third day he gathered all the food and the milk, tethered the
dog to the settee and he walked off the house. He abandoned his job and the dog
died.
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“The boy who knows all the answer”
"Slumdog
Millionaire" is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the
slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With
the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a
staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire?" However, when the show breaks for the night, police arrest
him on suspicion of cheating, how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to
prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and
his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious
encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each
chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's
questions. The new day and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the
Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out the true.
The
stories are described and presented in a realistic way, both of them have global challenges. The global Challenges in Robert and
the Dog are poverty and the life between rich and the poor. As for Slumdog Millionaire,
the global Challenges there are overcoming poverty and fighting for what you
want. These two stories are interesting in many ways, both of them have some similarity
but they also have different point of view on things. Robert decided to quit
his job and run of with the Dog food and on the other hand, Jamal Malik wanted to set things straight and still
fight for what him wants in the right way.
This
shows how we human can be in the same exact solutions, it just depends how you
as a person want to handle it. Even how bad of a challenge you are in/about to
face, do it with open heart and be able stand for what you fight for. These two
main characters are a very good example.
Sources; http://www.slumdogmillionairemovie.co.uk/, http://knskx.tumblr.com/post/16409876887/ken-saro-wiwas-robert-and-the-dog-conveys-the http://lets-bring-it-on.blogspot.no/2010/01/slumdog-millionaire-character-analysis.html (09.02.15)
Pictures: http://www.slumdogmillionairemovie.co.uk/ http://access- internationalvg2.cappelendamm.no/c952855/sammendrag/vis.html?tid=982100 (09.02.15)
