His life in America

The lost boys of Sudan is a movie showing the refugee boys and their lives in America. Especially, it is more focused on two Dinka boys named Santino and Peter. The two ran from their houses, which were originally in Sudan and attacked by soldiers from the north. They arrived at a refugge camp in Kenya.

In 'The lost boys of Sudan', two boys Peter and Santino are facing a great cultural shock and racial discriminations as they assimilate into America. I'd say that Peter has adapted into it more successfully than Santino. When they first came, Santino already got a job and Peter wasn't really doing much. So, he thought that he was becoming a burden to his friends and leaves Houston for Kansas. He goes into a high school. It seems really hard for Peter to fit in at first.
I think that the biggest reason was the language barrier. Peter couldn't even speak English properly at first which lead to the discrimination of the counselor towards Peter. When Peter wanted enroll for a 4-year university, the couselor says that you need a biography and in a way that he doesn't expect it from Peter. This also links with racism of the principal that Peter faces. In a way, Peter seems to be disappointed but soon shows how much work he has done Not only that, he didn't get along well with other students at the school because he couldn't speak English well. However, he comes over it by studying really hard and even participating in ESL classes at high school senior.

Another problem Peter faced was racism. Many different racists are shown in this video and at other sites, too. As an example, the counselor of the school Peter attends in would be a good example of racism in the movie. Just because Peter was from Africa and wasn’t educated well, he considers that Peter won’t get a good degree at his school and doesn’t expect much from him. This was because the streotype of African Americans were dumb and stupid. So, when Peter goes to him to have a conversation about taking the SATs, his counselor says that those tests are only needed if you are registering for a 4-year university. From this, it’s shown that Peter's counselor has a preconception that Peter won’t be able to go to such a university. However, Peter overcomes this by showing his letter from National Honor Society and biography and shocks him. Also, at work place Peter faces racism. Peter’s boss, who is a white woman, tells him and his colleagues to work at the outside in the hot sun. The reason was because they were brought up in Africa and are used to the hot sun. This also shows the conflict that Peter faces. No one likes to work in the hot sun sweating and tired. However, the woman doesn’t care about this and just determines that they should work in the sun because they are used to it. Peter, in order to come over this conflict couldn’t do really much because he would’ve been fired if he were to disobey his boss. Also, he would have heard even more swearing words considering his race. So, he just works hard to get the work done.

The last conflict he faces would be his social class and religion along with the choice between Africa and America. Peter attends a church and believes in Christianity unlike Santino.However, he feels left alone and pushed aside as he gets along in his life. This can be seen from him staying at the back side and not speaking when having a meeting with his church members. Also, when he plays basketball and tries to enjoy it, he keeps failing due to pressure. He feels that all his other friends know skills and stuff but he doesn't. So, he feels pressure and in a way feels left behind as he can't follow the steps as exactly as his peers do.Lastly, compared to Santino, Peter tries to fit into the American culture. Santino attends whrer the Sudanese people in America come around and pray to their god. Also, they support the SPLM which is an act demanding the independence of southern Sudan. However, Peter attends a Christian church and tries to fit into the American culture.

It is always a tough challenge to assimilate new culture into oneself. However, Peter successfully fulfils that dream of his and earn a scholarship for the Green mountain university in Vermont.