Negative Capability is a person’s ability to live in a state of ambiguity without attempting to change their situation. The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu, Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang, and Dawn by Elie Wiesel are all examples of novels in which characters are able to exist in states of uncertainty. The Hairdresser of Harare follows Dumisani, a gay man in a country that heavily discriminates against homosexuality. Red Scarf Girl is about the Chinese Cultural Revolution, told through the eyes of a young girl named Ji-Li Jiang who faces challenges due to her family’s social class. Dawn focuses on John Dawson, a British soldier imprisoned due to his role in the British occupation of Palestine and sentenced to death. Negative capability allows oppressed people to endure the roles imposed on them by their society or government during times of strife.
Those being oppressed by their government must find a way to keep a sense of themselves and their beliefs despite others’ attempts to change them. In The Hairdresser of Harare, Dumisani is under constant threat of being punished, tortured, or imprisonment due to his sexuality. Despite this fear, he is able to overcome the disdain his society holds in order to …show more content…
In Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li Jiang is a young and gifted student in Communist China when the Cultural Revolution begins.
Through her childhood she learns that the government is the most important aspect of her life. This causes an internal struggle as she must decide if she should heed the words a government official tells her:
You are different from your parents...You are a child of Chairman Mao. You can choose your own destiny: You can make a clean break with your parents and follow Chairman Mao, and have a bright future; or you can follow your parents, and then… you will not come to a good
Those being oppressed by their government must find a way to keep a sense of themselves and their beliefs despite others’ attempts to change them. In The Hairdresser of Harare, Dumisani is under constant threat of being punished, tortured, or imprisonment due to his sexuality. Despite this fear, he is able to overcome the disdain his society holds in order to …show more content…
In Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li Jiang is a young and gifted student in Communist China when the Cultural Revolution begins.
Through her childhood she learns that the government is the most important aspect of her life. This causes an internal struggle as she must decide if she should heed the words a government official tells her:
You are different from your parents...You are a child of Chairman Mao. You can choose your own destiny: You can make a clean break with your parents and follow Chairman Mao, and have a bright future; or you can follow your parents, and then… you will not come to a good