Kalmuks and the boy

Throughout the book the boy compares himself with the people in his surroundings. His main comparison that he continues to assess is the color of his skin and hair. There are events in were he is shameful of having black hair and darker skin. He explains how he thinks German soldiers are decedents of God. He recognize fair skin and blonde hair as respectable traits; in the towns that he is found in. Then, when he first sees the Kalmuks he compared them to his own skin and hair color. "For a moment, as I looked at them, I felt great pride and satisfaction. After all, these proud horsemen were black-haired, black-eyed, and dark-skinned. They differed from the people of the village as night from day" (Kosinski, 185). For the first time the boy had seen a group of people that were similar to him, but that view changed quickly. Kulmuks are a group of Mongols that lived in Russia during WWII, and had aided the Soviet Union during WWII. The Kalmuks were part of the Soviet regime, until the Cold War when Stalin thought otherwise and were exiled back to Mongolia. Soon the boy started to despise the acts of the Kalmuks. "Now I understood everything. I was black. My hair and eyes were as black as these Kalmuks'. Evidently I belonged with them in another world" (Kosinski, 185). I have a feeling that through the end of the book the boy will compare his color to of those in his surroundings. He has the notion that dark color is bad. The racial mentally that was set in Eastern Europe during WWII was strong. This goes to show how discrimination of groups have been always present, they are the source of conflict and differentiation.

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