Violence in the Suburbs of Paris Essay -- Comparative, La Haine, Tea i

Despair in Tea in the Harem and â€Å"La Haine† The film "La Haine" and the book Tea in the Harem both take place in the suburbs of Paris, a place where brutality reigns and hope perishes. "La Haine" focuses on the lives of three young men, Vinz, Said, and Hubert, while Tea in the Harem looks closely at two men, Majid and Pat. All these characters are deeply troubled, involved in drugs and worshippers of alcohol. They are rough, prone to violence. Their lives are burdened by despair, and hopelessness guides them and those around them. In fact, both the book and the film heavily explore the theme of despair. Despair is portrayed as a ruiner as it crushes, condemns, and kills. It causes women to sell their bodies and men to turn to drink. There is little escape from this crushing force. Education and friendship present themselves as rescuers, but most characters in "La Haine" and Tea in the Harem choose instead to turn to vices, like drugs and sex. This only adds to the anguish in the suburbs though. In the end, this cycle of sex, drugs, violence, and despair overwhelms the characters and causes them to capitulate to a destructive, depression-filled life. The end of Tea in the Harem, however, isn't entirely devoid of optimism. For Pat and Majid, friendship might just offer them enough buoyancy to survive. For the characters in "La Haine" though, all looks grim. The amount of violence prevalent in the suburbs of Paris is never glossed over in â€Å"La Haine† and Tea in the Harem. In Tea in the Harem, one of the first images presented to the reader is of the older residents of the neighborhood buying dogs and training them to sic any intimidating figures, including youths. â€Å"La Haine† ends and begins with a gunshot. The occupants of t... ...s bored and turns to violence or drink or sex or drugs to relieve the pain. After his short vacation, he wakes up and sees he’s still in the banlieues. He’s still unhappy, he’s still desperate. The cycle repeats itself again and again, and death looks sweeter and sweeter. The despair settles, and happiness becomes an impossible ideal. In â€Å"La Haine,† this despair leads to death and more violence. Tea in the Harem, however, offers one slight redemption: friendship. At the end of the book, Majid gets arrested, and Pat manages to get away. As the cop car with Majid drives up the road, though, Pat emerges and hands himself over to the police. Although these two men are surrounded by heartache, they find some promise in each other, and this just might be their final escape. For the rest of the residents of the suburbs of Paris, though, despair will haunt them and linger.