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Language, Culture, and Norms
Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Pigeon English, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Harri lives in the midst of a highly multicultural community. Alongside people with English heritage, Harri encounters other Ghanaian immigrants, Somalis, Pakistanis, Latvians, and others. In some ways, his community represents the ideal of multicultural pluralism, meaning a state in which multiple different groups of people with different backgrounds and belief systems live harmoniously alongside one another. Although Harri is occasionally made to feel different as a recent immigrant—for example, when X-Fire insists on nicknaming him “Ghana”—his community features a significant proportion of immigrants, and his recent arrival to England is mostly treated as unexceptional. On the other hand, the novel also suggests that just because a multicultural community appears to be coexisting harmoniously, in reality, this community might still be plagued by prejudice. Just because a community is multiethnic, doesn’t mean that its residents are open-minded and tolerant. Indeed, the novel indicates that it is necessary to possess an open-minded, loving attitude like Harri’s in order to avoid prejudice and live in harmony.
Racial and cultural prejudice informs the social world at Harri’s school. For example, Harri is bullied by a Latvian boy called Vilis, who tells him that in Latvia, “they burn black people into tar and make roads out of them.” Elsewhere in the novel, Harri explains that “you’re not supposed to talk to Somalis because they’re pirates.” These interactions show that prejudice is not unidirectional in the novel—it is not a simple case of people with racial privilege bullying those who are deemed inferior. Instead, it seems as if everyone in the novel holds prejudiced opinions about everyone else. The fact that Harri holds prejudiced opinions even though he is mainly a kind, loving, and open-minded person suggests that the power of prejudice often overcomes people’s (and especially children’s) innocent tolerance.
At the same time, Harri stands out as being more willing than others to overlook prejudice and accept people despite their differences. For example, he ends up dismissing the stereotype about Somalis being pirates and befriends a Somali boy named Altaf. Ironically, Harri and Altaf meet because both their mothers reject religious pluralism and request that their sons skip their religious education class so they don’t have to learn about other religions. Harri and Altaf’s friendship is thus an example of children being able to overcome the prejudiced instilled by both society at large and their own parents. Likewise, Harri’s friend Dean and girlfriend, Poppy, are both white, and Harri also remains friends with Jordan despite Mamma insisting that Jordan is a “waste of time.” Harri’s open-mindedness toward other people adds an element of optimism to the book, suggesting that it is possible for younger generations to refuse to inherit their parents’ prejudice.
The novel paints Harri’s multicultural community as being plagued by prejudice, and while there is hope in Harri’s kindhearted, innocent willingness to accept those who are different from him, the cycle of prejudice is difficult to break. Experiencing prejudice can make people more likely to espouse similarly biased views as a defense mechanism—for example, when Harri attempts to deflect Vilis’ bullying by calling him “potato house.” However, in order for prejudice to truly give way to harmonious pluralism, it is necessary for all people to adopt Harri’s childlike, loving attitude toward others.
Related Themes from Other Texts
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Pluralism vs. Prejudice ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Pluralism vs. Prejudice appears in each chapter of Pigeon English. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Pluralism vs. Prejudice Quotes in Pigeon English
Below you will find the important quotes in Pigeon English related to the theme of Pluralism vs. Prejudice.
April Quotes
Altaf is very quiet. Nobody really knows him. You're not supposed to talk to Somalis because they're pirates. Everybody agrees. If you talk to them you might give away a clue to where you keep your treasure and the next
thing you know, your wife has been strangled alive and they're throwing you to the sharks. Me and Altaf don't have to go to RE. Mamma doesn't want me to hear about the false gods, she says it's a waste of time, and Altaf's mamma thinks the same thing.
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In this passage, Harri discusses school, and particularly a shy Somali boy named Altaf. Harri claims that “nobody really knows” Altaf, and then adds that “you are not supposed to talk to Somalis,” illustrating a vicious circle of prejudice and ignorance. The kids at Harri’s school do not talk to Somalis because of prejudice against them, but this means that the prejudice is never disproven. There is a parallel here between the children’s treatment of Altaf and Mamma and Altaf’s mom’s attitude toward other religions. Mamma claims it is a “waste of time” to learn about other religions, but this Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae volup
Some rules I have learned from my new school:
No running on the stairs.
No singing in class.
Always put your hand up before you ask a question.
Don't swallow the gum or it will get stuck in your guts and you'll die.
Jumping in the puddle means you're a retard (I don't even agree with this one).
Going around the puddle means you're a girl.
The last one in close the door.
The first one to answer the question loves the teacher.
If a girl looks at you three times in a row it means she loves you.
If you look at her back you love her.
He who smelt it dealt it.
He who denied it supplied it.
He who sensed it dispensed it.
He who knew it blew it.
He who noted it floated it.
He who declared it aired it.
He who spoke it broke it.
He who exposed it composed it.
He who blamed it flamed it.
(All these are just for farts.)
If you look at the back of a mirror you'll see the devil.
Don't eat the soup. The dinner ladies pissed in it.
Don't lend Ross Kelly your pen. He picks his arse klinkers with it.
Keep to the left (everywhere). The right is out of bounds.
The library stairs are safe.
If he wears a pinky ring he's a gay (a pinky ring is a ring on your little finger).
If she wears a bracelet on her ankle she's a lesbian (shags it up with other ladies).
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In this passage Harri lists “rules” that he has learned in his new school. The list demonstrates the large amount of new information Harri learns not only as a Year 7 student—note that in the UK, students start high school (secondary school) in Year 7—but also as a recent immigrant to London. Of course, as the list shows, much of this information is silly, useless, or nonsensical, such as the many points related to farts. Other parts of the list reveal the extent to which prejudice is infused within the social world of Harri’s school. Harri seems to accept much Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem
In football nobody used to pass to me. I thought it meant they hated me. Then I found out it's because I used the wrong command. Instead of saying pass to me you have to say man on. Apart from that the rules are the same as where I used to live. Vilis still doesn't pass to me but I don't care. Where he comes from (Latvia) they burn black people into tar and make roads out of them. Everybody agrees.
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Harri has explained that the best brands for running shoes are Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, and K-Swiss, in that order. The other kids tease Harri for not having brand-name running shoes, but Harri thinks his classmates are just jealous because his running shoes are the fastest. In this passage, Harri gives another example of the difficulty of “reading” and assimilating into a different culture. It took him a while to understand that people weren’t passing to him in football simply because he was not giving the signal used in England. Of course, the challenges Harri faces in adjusting to life Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus q
Auntie Sonia burned her fingers to get the fingerprints off. Now she has no fingerprints at all. It's so if the police catch her they can't send her away. Your fingerprints tell them who you are. If you have no fingerprints, you can't be
anybody. Then they don't know where you belong so they can't send you back. Then they have to let you stay.
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Harri and his family have gone on the tube to visit Auntie Sonia at her apartment. Despite Mamma’s resistance, Auntie Sonia has decided to tell Harri and Lydia about how she burns her fingerprints off by pressing her fingers on the stove. In this passage, Harri’s reflects on Auntie Sonia’s reasoning for burning off her fingerprints. He concludes that because fingerprints give people a unique identity, without fingerprints “you can’t be anybody” and don’t belong anywhere. While this may sound like a rather terrible mode of existence, for undocumented immigrants like Sonia, it actually is a preferable state. Due to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati
Auntie Sonia hasn't even done anything bad. She's never killed anybody or stolen anything. She just likes to go to different places. She likes to see the different things there. Some of the countries won't let you in if you're black. You have to sneak in. When you're in you just act like everybody else. Auntie Sonia only does the same things as them. She goes to work and shopping. She eats her dinner and goes to the park.
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Auntie Sonia has explained to Harri and Lydia how she burns off her fingerprints in order to avoid being caught illegally crossing borders. In this passage, Harri explains that Sonia isn’t a criminal, even though she is treated like one because of immigration laws. His thoughts reflect the absurdity and injustice of such laws. Not only do these immigration laws have a strong element of racism (“some of the countries won’t let you in if you’re black”), they also target people who are completely ordinary and harmless. As Harri points out, Auntie Sonia is a normal person who works, contributes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occa
May Quotes
In England nobody helps you if you fall over. They can't tell if you're serious or if it's just a trick. It's too hard to know what's real.
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Instead of singing in church like he usually does, Mr. Frimpong instead laments over the fact that strangers don’t help one another in England—just as no one came to Mr. Frimpong’s aid while he was being robbed by the Dell Farm Crew. Listening to Mr. Frimpong’s words, Harri makes a remarkably sophisticated observation about English culture. In this passage, Harri suggests that British people’s famous aversion to sincerity results in an inability to distinguish between what’s “serious” and “what’s a trick.” As a result, people are reluctant to help one another and may ignore someone who is truly in distress.
Wars
Kids vs Teachers
Northwell Manor High vs Leabridge High
Dell Farm Crew vs Lewsey Hill Crew
Emos vs Sunshine
Turkey vs Russia
Arsenal vs Chelsea
Black vs White
Police vs Kids
God vs Allah
Chicken Joe's vs KFC
Cats vs Dogs
Aliens vs Predators
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Harri has just stated that there is a war going on, but that he hasn’t seen it. In this passage, he lists the “wars” that he knows are happening around him. As with Harri’s list of “rules” that he learned in school, some of these wars are more serious than others, while others are entirely silly and trivial. This contrast highlights the way in which children sometimes find it difficult to distinguish between what is serious and what is silly. Of course, this has serious repercussions, becomes it means that children such as Harri do not take the violence seriously Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. A
June Quotes
Signs of guilt include:
Ants in your pant
Talking too fast
Always looking around you like you've lost something
Smoking too much
Crying too much
Scratching
Biting your fingers
Spitting
Sudden bouts of violence
Uncontrolled gas (farting a lot)
Religious hysteria
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Harri and Dean are on a “stake out,” watching everyone around Harri’s tower block for signs of suspicious behavior. They have drawn up a list of “signs of guilt,” which ranges from “ants in your pant” to “crying too much.” Once again, Harri’s serious and valid insight into the world is intermingled with silly thoughts and illogical reasoning. While some of the behaviors he lists here could genuinely help identify a criminal, others are far too vague to be useful. For example, while a criminal might be “smoking too much” out of guilt, there are plenty of other reasons why Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea s
I love it when you get a good surprise. Like the cement being there just waiting for us to write in it or like when you think somebody will be rubbish at something and then you find out they're actually brilliant at it. It was the same with Manik: nobody suspected him to be such a good goalie because he's so fat, but actually Manik's a brilliant goalie. It's impossible to score against him. Nothing ever gets past him […] I didn't think Dean would be such a good climber because he has orange hair. I just didn't suspect it. But actually he's a brilliant climber.
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On Lydia’s birthday, Harri takes her to some wet cement as a surprise. They leave footprints and write their names in the wet cement so everyone will know that they were there. The “surprise” of the cement leads Harri to think about other forms of “surprise,” and, in doing so, reflect on the nature of prejudice. Harri indicates that prejudice is often a matter of underestimating or having negative biases toward someone, but these opinions are usually disproven when you actually get to know the person. He presents overcoming prejudice as a kind of joyful surprise, like a treat for Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor no
