We don't learn about many other countries outside of Westmark in this book—after all, this volume is called Westmark—but Las Bombas talks a lot about other places he's been… or he claims he's been to anyway. Importantly, when he portrays something that is foreign, it's often presented as scary or barbaric too. To really dig deep on the role foreignness plays in this book, you might want to think about it in conjunction with power. Just a suggestion…
Questions About Foreignness and 'The Other'
- Why does Las Bombas dress Theo and Mickle up as foreigners? What purpose does that serve?
- How does this theatricality play into Las Bombas's larger self-portrait?
- What might be the unintended consequences of portraying foreigners as barbarians in Westmark's society?
- What other kinds of "others" do we encounter in Westmark? How are they demarcated as "others"?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Portraying Theo as a Trebizonian exploits cultural stereotypes.
Theo sees Mickle as an "other" because she isn't educated and came from a poor background.