Danny As Immigrant Prototype
As addressed in the first half of the novel, the main character, Danny, is currently illegally residing in Sydney, Australia. While Sydney has provided him with not only opportunities that were not allotted to him elsewhere, it also introduced him to the love of his life - so essentially what could be wrong?
Essentially, Danny's living in Sydney could be best understood by the commonly used phrase, "hiding in plain sight" - simply put, if he looks like he fits in, then who is to question his being there. While there are seemingly no issues at the beginning of the text, the audience soon learns of a crime Danny witnesses, thus making him a key eye-witness in helping solve the mystery. While a typical Sydney resident would take this information to the authorities, the very nature of Danny attempting to bring justice to another citizen, could ultimately cause him to lose his own. Thus leading the audience into the second part of the novel leaving them to question Danny's ultimate fate.
With this being said, this plot line not only addresses Danny's issue, within himself, but also presents the audience with a moral dilemma that causes them to step into his shoes in order to better understand the way in which he or she may act if faced with a similar situation. Simply put, would one's conscience drive them to tell the truth, even if it could ultimately cost them any sense of freedom and liberty they ever had?
In saying this, this issue could thus be better understood by placing it into the realm of American politics, especially in regards to immigrations and acceptance of beings viewed as the 'other'. For instance, towards the beginning of the Trump presidency, Trump, himself, made comments and active plans of building a wall, thus barring all those seeking freedom from any chances of ever gaining such a liberty. Ultimately, politics, such as this, choose to only embody love and respect for those that are similar to oneself, rather than being willing to learning cultures and ways of life other than one's own. With this being said, this text, specifically, Danny, continually caused me to refer back to American politics and step into the shoes of the 'other' to better understand the hardships they face not only in their own country, but in trying to make a better life for themselves, elsewhere.
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