The whole business with Kiffo and the Pitbull is a humorous book written by the former teacher now Australian author, Barry Jonsberg. This novel is about a misunderstood troublemaker called Jarryd Kiffing (Kiffo), a mean and nasty teacher (potential drug dealer) called Miss Payne, and a journey through mystery, investigation and even death, all written from the perspective of a high school student, Calma Harrison. This essay explores the possible answers to why Kiffo is a victim to his upbringing and why it was not his fault that he did not have good influences; why there is too much expected of him at school; and why Kiffo had to live the life that was given to him.
Kiffo is a victim of his upbringing due to one major reason; it was out of his control that he would be born into that family. It seems as though Kiffo does not have the right influences over all.
His family were never really supportive of him and his “friends” are not the type of people you would want to hang out with. Take Jonno for example, he is a mysterious character that knows Kiffo through family ties. He is known, within the novel, to steal when he wants something or even worse, he gets Kiffo to steal for him. When Calma and Kiffo visit Jonno, they see a large mountain of beer bottles, this indicates that Jonno is a heavy drinker.
“Kiffo flipped his empty, bottle of beer through the window where it exploded on what must have been a small mountain of broken glass. Jonno belched loudly and did the same” (Jonsberg, 2004: 181). Kiffo did not choose this life and is not happy with it, the reason Kiffo has not tried to do anything good in his life is because of the bad influences such as Jonno.
Kiffo is a victim of the education system by reason of him having his own free will to excel which is supported by the opportunities given to him in school. The question states that Kiffo is a victim, all though he can decide, whenever he wants, to change his attitude and…
The Whole Business With Kiffo And The Pitbull. (2019, Nov 27). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/paper-on-the-whole-business-with-kiffo-and-the-pitbull/