The Illegal

Content Warning: Both the novel and this guide contain discussion of slavery, imperialism, anti-immigrant bias, human trafficking, racism (including outdated racial terminology, which this guide reproduces only in quoted material), anti-gay bias (including slurs, which this guide reproduces only in quoted material), and suicide.

In the fictional country of Freedom State, the story begins mid-race at the Buttersby Marathon. Keita, the protagonist, is struggling to overcome the white racers who are throwing physical and verbal insults his way. As the runners near the finish, the racist white marathoners try to throw Keita off. One of them punches Keita in his abdomen, injuring his already painful umbilical hernia; another shouts, “Go home.” Keita is determined to win this race to earn enough money to treat his hernia. He is currently living in hiding in Freedom State, where he is considered an “illegal.” He traveled from Zantoroland to Freedom State to win marathons and earn prize money that isn’t available where he was born. He fears being caught by the police every day. He hopes to win a race and garner celebrity power that will protect him from deportation. Just as the top three racers are gaining on him, he begins to sing, recalling the advice he learned while training in his homeland: “Want to shatter your opponent’s confidence? Just when he starts to hurt, you sing” (4).