Literary Analysis Essay on Oppression in the Queue and Animal's People

Introduction

The theme of oppression runs through the two novels, Animal's People and The Queue, in a fashion prominent enough to tell a lot about the characters and societies in which the stories are set. Fundamentally, oppression is the exact opposite of justice. The authors use different characters to highlight the extent to which justice and fairness elude some members of the society, affecting how they relate to others for example, in the book Animal's People, the people of the local society have a negative attitude towards westerners, after an American company's accidental gas leak claims tens of thousands of the residents, and nothing is done to bring the people justice. In the book, The Queue, the theme of oppression is discussed from the lack of access to the freedoms, devoid of which one's life feels incomplete and severely constrained. Based on the reality of modern-day Egypt, a highly authoritarian state, the book exposes the reader to the stringent procedures that require the people to acquire a permit or certification to execute even the simplest of life's tasks. This paper is a detailed endeavor to discuss the extent to which the two novels, Animals People, and The Queue, use the theme of oppression and the characters to explain the struggles in the lives of the people of Bhopal, India and modern day Egypt, and how the realities of the two societies have impacted the people's way of life and attitudes towards the government.

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The book Animal's people is based on the Bhopal Gas Leak (December 3, 1984), which claimed the lives of about 15000 people, and left tens of thousands of others maimed for life ((Kurzman 3)). Animal, a boy whose spine was twisted at birth as an effect of the gas, has not recovered, and has no such hopes, as the government and politicians are full of empty promises. The company, which the author refers to as 'Kampani,' and Indianization of the word 'company,' has never come back to compensate the victims of its gas leak. In the novel, the injustices that continue to face the people of Bhopal resonate through the chapters as the author uses different characters to show the people's attitudes towards the 'Kampani.' Baker identifies disability (2) as one of the pieces of evidence of the injustices and oppression that the people of Bhopal, Kaufpur in the book, faced during and after the deadly gas leak.

Corporate inhumanities, for whose consequences nobody is held responsible even when tried in a court of law, culminate in serious oppression, mainly when the corporate crimes cause the deaths and mass suffering in the community. After the gas leak, every reasonable person expected that the company would, as part of the corporate social responsibility, accept responsibility and compensate the people affected. In a weird twist of events, the victims of the gas leak, such as Animal, were never compensated and justice was never served as the directors of Union Carbide pesticide factory, referred to as Kampani in the novel. Based on a true story, the novel offers that Animal is uniquely talented and intelligent (Sinha 23) being able to run spying errands for Zafar (26), but due to the disability, he cannot do much. It further evidences the reality that the people are oppressed because, beside the gas leak affecting their capacities, such as those of Animal, the government appeared adamant to arrest the officials and hold the organization responsible.

The Kaufpur society's state as described by the author, is a reflection of true oppression because the bitter attitude that the locals have toward the Americans in the book, Elli the doctress, and the journalists, is another proof of oppression because the hatred is a retaliation to the reality that the gas accident case was mishandled, and justice never served. The suffering of the Kaupfuris, as seen through the eyes of Animal, was given the cold shoulder by the government, creating an environment of mistrust. The locals consider every foreigner a representative of Kampani and develop a negative attitude towards them. The presence of Zafar in the novel depicts the series of activist demonstrations protesting the judgment of the court and pointing out the injustices involved. Zafar's friendship with Animal, particularly the reality that Zafar trusts Animal to the extent of using him to run errands (Sinha 194), proves the people's willingness to work with whichever party would be willing to assist them to attain justice.

Animal is oppressed by the society because of his disability, which motivates them to call him Animal - a symbol of degradation and low regard for him. The oppression he faces is manifested in his endless search for identity in Kaupfur, and his quest for justice and equality. He represents many Indians that lost their families on the night of 2nd and 3rd of December 1984 (Kurzman 147). While the gas leak was accidental and unforeseen, the government had the moral obligation to serve justice to the people, because as citizens, they expect a duty of care from the government. Omission of such duty results in negligence which can be translated as extreme oppression. Following the gas leak, the people in the area are highly impoverished and, over three decades after the hazardous event, the people of Kaupfur (Bhopal) continue to wallow in the consequences and aftermath.

On the other hand, in her book The Queue, Aziz tries to paint a picture of an oppressed society, where authoritarian rule is accepted as the norm. Born and educated in Egypt, Aziz, commonly referred to as 'the rebel,' uses the misgivings of the severely bureaucratic rule to underscore the theme of oppression in the book. In her book, an authority names 'The Gate' rises to power, imposing a system of austerities that requires the citizens to acquire government permits and certifications for almost everything, including such basic things as eating and acquiring medical attention. The revolutionary movement is referred to as the 'First Storm' (Aziz 9), and the aggressively controlled protests are dubbed 'Disgraceful Events' (6). It is an oppressive society that reveals the levelheadedness of extreme socialism.

Aziz uses the novel to speak to matters whose discussion is not encouraged in the community that is modern day Egypt. The Disgraceful Events are a depiction of the violent protests that characterized the Arab Spring in modern Egypt and the Middle East. Aziz uses 'The Quell' also referred to as the 'Deterrence Force' (Aziz 8, 89) to show the manner in which the government uses unnecessary force on protesters seeking liberation. In the society in which Aziz sets the book, people have different problems, which they cannot address because the queue to procure the permits is endless, and the gate refuses to open. In the queue, we meet different characters who stand as portrayals of the societal issues. Yehia, the protagonist got a bullet stuck in his hip during the violent protests, but cannot have it removed because all the officials he approaches are not willing to help because they fear to risk their jobs if they run the operation without a permit. In this way, the government oppresses its people by curtailing their discretionary decision making.

In the long ever-growing queue, there characters from all walks of life, including a sheik, an impoverished woman seeking medical attention for her ailing child, a man who is described as a brother to a security officer that was killed in the violent protests (Aziz 10). This is a manifestation of the reality that authoritarianism oppresses all people under the rule. Aziz writes

"He wondered what made people so attached to their new lives of spinning in orbit around the queue, unable to venture beyond it. People hadn't been idiots before they came to the Gate with their paperwork. There were women and men, young and old people, professionals and the working class...Everyone was on equal ground. But they all had the same look about them, the same lethargy. Now they were even all starting to think the same way." (90).

The inability of the poor woman to access medical care for her child just because she does not possess a permit to do so reveals the insensitivity of the oppressive authoritarian rule in Egypt and the Middle East, particularly considering that she had already lost her first child. The conversations in the queue are generally about everyday life, indicating that the authoritarian administration of The Gate touches every aspect of ordinary life, denying the people the chance to advance toward true liberation.

Doctor Tarek emerges as the true protagonist because it is him who finally has to make the sensitive decision between operating on Yehya and extracting the bullet, or following the bureaucracies of The Gate and letting Yehya die. The doctor represents change and the willingness to break off the oppressive chains of the systematic inconveniences perpetuated by the authoritarian regime. Tarek's thoughts finally guide him to choose neutrality and objectivity over the rigidity of the system. He represents the voice of liberalism because at last, he seems resolute on breaking the norm and saving life of Yehya, who was turned away by such other officials as the chief nurse by the tough governance.

Ultimately, the two novels use the theme of oppression to explain why the people in the real-life societies in which the stories are set to maintain the attitudes that they do. In Animal's People, the author paints a picture of a society oppressed by both its government and the corporate inhumanities of an American company based in Bhopal. Following the accident of 1984, the people of Bhopal lost faith in the Indian government and developed a distrust for the American people and the west as they associated them with Kampani. The struggles explained in the book are the cradle of the current state of Bhopal, and the true picture of how politics can affect the people economically, socially and culturally. In The Queue, oppression is the fundamental theme, as Aziz tries to speak truth to the injustices of the oppressive authoritarian rule in Egypt. Similarly, the theme of oppression in this novel explains the situation and attitudes of the people of Egypt. The violent uprisings are a mimic of the violent movements and campaigns that defined the Arab Spring. The novel also uses the oppression theme to reveal the struggles for liberation in countries that have been under the oppressiveness of socialist regimes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident from the preceding discussion that oppression resonates throughout the two novels, and explains the people's attitudes and ways of life. Towards the end of the novel Animal's people, Animal says, "Stay four-foot, I'm the one and only Animal" (Sinha 366) indicating that he has accepted his disability and that he must live with it. His resigned attitude is also clear in his comment that there would be more of them tomorrow (366). The failure by the government to pursue justice for its people, and the irresponsibility of the organization, particularly after the incident, largely changed the people's economic and social lives in Bhopal to what they are today. Similarly, in the novel The Queue, Aziz walks the reader through the oppressiveness of authoritarian rule, using different characters to show the people's suffering and inability to make discretionary judgments. The poor woman in the queue is a manifestation of the oppressed populace. The revolutionary ways of such people as Doctor Tarek prove that it is an oppressed society seeking liberation. The novel explains the revolutionary efforts that have rocked the Middle East and Egypt in the recent decades. The revolutionary attitude of the Egyptian people has spurred change which is vaguely described in the novel.

Works Cited

Aziz, Basma A, and Elisabeth Jaquette. The Queue: A Novel. London: Melville House, 2016. P...