A Little Piece Of Ground Themes

Mohamed Salem Ms. Leake January 16th, 2017 ENG1DE The Terror of Reality Revealing an honest and open illustration of a young boy’s dreams and childish concerns disappear under the terror of reality. A Little Piece Of Ground, written by Elizabeth Laird, tells the story of a twelve-year-old Palestinian boy living under the Israeli military occupation. The main character undergoes a significant internal change, a change in personality and mindset. Karim begins the novel as a typical energetic youth; he wants to play soccer, become
Throughout hardships Karim endures, he develops a new perspective on how endurance, in the face of suffering, can lead to personal growth and change of perspective. Laird illustrates these themes through the characterization of Karim's change of attitude and viewpoint, how Hopper's family perseveres given their circumstances and the way Karim’s father remains stable while confronting challenges. Karim hates the enemy and is willing to become a martyr to free his country. At the beginning of the novel, he believed that heroism is determined by bold actions against the enemy. However, towards the end, due to hard life experiences Karim faces, he realizes it's based on endurance. One day, Karim sat on the edge of his bed, grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote “‘The ten best things I want to do (or be) in my life, by Karim Aboudi, 15 Jaffa Apartments, Ramallah, Palestine. 1. Champion footballer... 3. The liberator of Palestine and a national hero... 7. Inventor of an acid formula to dissolve reinforced steel as used in tanks and helicopter gunships (Israeli ones)... 9. Alive. Plus, if I have to get shot, only in places that heal
The life the Hopper has seen, made Karim more eager to become best friends with the forbidden friend. It started when Karim was playing football against the wall, and Abu Ramzi, Karim's next-door-neighbor was telling him to stop kicking the ball. Faraway, Hopper saw Karim and was impressed with his soccer skills. He walked up to say hello and saw Karim frustrated, and he told him he knew a place where they could play football. Karim knew that his mother would not be pleased if she saw him with the thin, tall and poor friend. But, since then they have become friends. Karim was always thinking about his life and family. Until one day, Karim and Joni went to hopper's house to introduce themselves. Hearing Hopper's family stories about how Hopper grew up, made Karim an empathetic person, showing readers that endurance involves discomfort and suffering. Hopper's mother said “ Good. Very good. You, boys, keep out of trouble. One son in prison is enough.’’ (Laird 111). Hopper’s family is separated. As the father went to Kuwait to find work but never returned, they believe that there was an accident at the building site he had been employed at. Hopper's eldest brother, Salim, is in prison al-Muskobiya, in Jerusalem because Hopper and Salim were at a checkpoint; a soldier asked Salim to show his ID. He gives her his card, and she held it out and dropped it in the mud. Then she told him to pick it up. He refused, but Afterward, he