Amnesty and the Social Hierarchy

     In the first half of Adiga’s novel Amnesty we are introduced to the novel’s protagonist Danny, who will spend the course of a single day deciding whether or not he will bring justice to a local murder, or save himself from possible deportation. In order to avoid being removed from Australia, Danny has created an image of himself that allows him to blend into Australian society. By changing his birth name to Danny, highlighting his hair, and meticulously learning and using Australian lingo and slang, Danny has attempted to mask the authentic version of himself.

    Through the text’s underlying themes of immigration and xenophobia, the novel touches upon an essential paradox– in order to go on unseen, you must fixatedly observe the society you wish to be invisible in. “East thing in the world, becoming invisible to white people, who don’t see you anyway; but the hardest thing is becoming invisible to brown people, who will see you no matter what,” (Adiga). Danny is stuck in the endless cycle of conforming to a group who will never notice him, while simultaneously never being able to escape the microscope held over him by other immigrants. 

    According to the New York Times’ article, “An Undocumented Immigrant Has Information About a Murder. What to Do?”, the novel alludes to a concept that French sociologists call la cascade du mépris, which translates to the cascade of contempt. “Locals despise immigrants; legal immigrants despise illegal ones; illegal immigrants in a position of relative strength despise those who are weaker and more vulnerable,” (Vásquez). Throughout the second half of the novel, Danny dives further into his relationships with other immigrants from Malaysia, Nepal, and Syria. All of these encounters, and Danny’s observations create the structure of a social hierarchy. 


    Because there is a difference between us, thought Danny, looking at the other            illegals. For them, shame was an atmospheric force, pressing down from the            outside; in him, it bubbled up from within. Even if I were granted citizenship in this     country, I would still be ashamed of myself. Sending a level beam through                 Sydney’s hierarchies, the setting sun sank. Then the cloud of gloom, of                        desperation, that had grown so great and black… (Adiga 134).


Danny as well as Sydney society falls into the cascade of contempt. Still an illegal immigrant, Danny carries a significant amount of shame as his status places him at the lowest pole of the hierarchy. 


    In contrast to Danny, Prakash, who Danny sometimes calls an “icebox” is an Indian man who was born in Australia. Thus, Prakash is completely sure of his existence and right to be in Australia. By focusing on characters such as Australian police officers, Sonja, Prakash, Danny, and other immigrants, Adiga references the cascade of contempt, and how this hierarchy places individuals, as well poses an inevitable power struggle. 



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