The different relationships we form have an impact on our identity. Vikas Swarup, in the novel Q&A, tells the story of how Ram, the protagonist, answers quiz show questions by recounting episodes in his life. Through use of motif, characterisation and narrative point of view, Swarup provides a commentary about the human need for relationships and the effect their absence has on identity. The reader is challenged to reflect on their own relationships or lack thereof and how it has affected them. Swarup uses the motif of the woman in the white sari to show the impact familial relationships can have on one's identity. After being abandoned by his mother as a baby, Ram dreams of a “young woman, wearing a white sari … with a baby in her arms. The wind is howling. Her long, black hair blows across her face, obscuring her features.”(49) The woman is a representation of Ram’s mother, the obscured features symbolic of how Ram has never known his mother. Even though he was abandoned, Ram’s imaginings are positive for the woman evident in the way “she smothers the baby’s face with kisses” (49) and “[arranges] the old clothes to make him comfortable.” (49) Ram’s interpretation of events plays on our sympathies and suggests that while Ram has been abandoned, he does not resent his …show more content…
Ramakrishna, Ram's landlord whilst he lived in the chawl, believes that "… Indians have the sublime ability to see … misery around [them] and yet remain unaffected by it.” (89) Ramakrisha delivers this in such a casual manner that it stuns both Ram and the reader, highlighting the disjointed community. This makes the reader compare the similarities and differences between Ram’s world and their own. In Australia the communities are just as behind closed doors as the chawl except in the
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri Living in America, the Ganguli’s have the difficult choice of choosing between two dramatically different cultures. As a second generation Indian American, Gogol Ganguli is expected to preserve the ideals of his traditionally Indian parents while still successfully assimilating into mainstream American culture. In “The Namesake,” Jhumpa Lahiri reveals the stark contrasts between the perceptions of Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol in relation to their Indian and American views of relationships.
Whenever Sira, Aminata’s mother went to help women deliver their babies, Aminata would go along too. She would watch and help her mother, eventually le...
The novel closes with Rosa of Sharon offering her dead baby’s breast milk to a stranger, the father of a boy the Joads found leaning over him. While committing the gesture. A “mysterious” smile crosses her lips.
Stories have the ability to provide new information. Finding meaning within the literary works is not necessarily easily. Authors John Updike, J.E. Wideman, and T.C. Boyle use their stories, “A&P”, “Doc’s Story”, and “Rara Avis”, respectively, to communicate important ideas. These short, but meaningful stories can empower readers to have a greater apprehension of real life situations. After taking an in depth look at these three pieces of literature, each contains themes of detachment, idolization, and handling losses. The situations that the characters are put into give clarity to some of life’s most important lessons.
Against the backdrop of a brand-new liberalized world, Kapur sketches out Shagun’s boredom, Raman’s hurt and the confusion of their children, Roohi and Arjun, who are batted back and forth between parents and across chapters. The two new partners in the equation, boss man Ashok and divorcee Ishita, struggle to woo their step kids while supporting
Bandi seems to have mastered relating with the audience in this story, which helps put an emphasis on the appeals of pathos. Bandi uses relatable conversations and events in this story to help readers connect better with the family at hand. One example is when Bandi describes the train station and how hectic it was.
Identity is what defines a person and what makes them unique. In the novels, Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the reader is introduced to two female protagonists, Nyasha and Marji,who struggle to find their identity and achieve self discovery due to their socially constructed rules that tell them how to dress, act and what to believe in. However, both Nyasha and Marji have their own way of finding their sense of identity and individuality by challenging the societies they live in. Nonetheless, they must also find the perfect balance between what is expected of them and what they desire as individuals. Nyasha struggles to find a unified identity and often challenges the patriarchal society she lives in.
Chan (2015) notes that Tamar knew Judah’s travels north for sheep-shearing disguise a desire for sexual escapade in the recent event of his wife’s death. The combination of this knowledge and her pursuit as a prostitute, again, shows Tamar’s activeness and self-motivation for her future (Chan, 2015). Tamar tricks Judah and bears his children. Tamar’s goal is a private mission of motherhood, security in Judah’s home, and survival as a childless widow (Chan, 2015 & Kam, 1995). Encompassing all of this knowledge and scheming a plan accordingly is telling of Tamar’s intellect, courage, and initiative.
By developing a relationship between two people who come from completely distinct worlds, Chaim Potok was able to instigate and investigate a profound and deeply moving story of true friendship and the importance of father-son interconnection through self-realization in the work of The Chosen by explicitly introducing a series of challenges that question the morality and judgment of each protagonist. Through his masterpiece and by inserting complex situations, Chaim Potok took to his benefit to display the comparison between his characters and normal people their similarities and differences.
It shows that the lives of the characters of two opposing social circles are destined to obey the existing socially imposed roles. In this case the role of the master, played by Amir, and the role of the servant, played by Hassan lead to severe childhood, personality, and lifespan inequalities, which altogether shaped the overall course of their lives. Hosseini does an outstanding job in reflecting the strength of the social tags given to people at their birth. Notwithstanding the fact that they can be actually related by blood, similar to Amir and Hassan. The story of betrayal and redemption shared by Hosseini and told within the concept of social inequality provides a ground-base for further in-depth analysis of the influences that have shaped the lives of the main character Amir and his brother
...n and fertile part of the country was a symbol of the productive part of the woman and the barren part is the symbol of the man who did not want the baby. And the other readers stated that these two different parts of the land were a reflection of the inner part of the woman. The reason for the man not to want a baby was considered as an obstacle for him to travel. It was observed that the woman readers were supporting the woman in the story and the man readers were supporting the man’s part of the argument...
Sharifa, an empathetic woman, is first met in an area where “the air which entered [Firdaus’] lungs was pure and free of dust” (54), representing her apparent purity. The green of her shawl, eyes, and makeup symbolize the movement of Firdaus into a new stage, and the peace, hope, and growth accompanying it. The setting of a spotless apartment on the tree-lined bank of the Nile River further sets the atmosphere of safety and comfort, a substantial change from her confinement in Bayoumi’s flat. Vivid imagery and concrete diction also establish the empathy of Sharifa: Firdaus describes how Sharifa’s “fingers too were soft” (56), her clothes as being “soft . . . with a lovely smell of perfume” (56), and how “everything around [Firdaus] had this smooth, soft quality about it” (56). Firdaus embraces Sharifa’s attitude, feeling “born again with a new body, smooth and tender as a rose petal” (57). The association of Sharifa with softness and Firdaus’ transfer into a smooth body shows Firdaus’ rapid alignment with Sharifa’s purported character. However, Firdaus eventually realizes that Sharifa is exploiting her when she expresses her desire to feel pleasure, but is shut down by Sharifa, who invokes that Firdaus is being greedy, when it is the definite opposite. Firdaus observes that Sharifa would “count the pound notes, and stack them quickly in some secret recess the
In Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, women possess power within the sphere of their home and family, otherwise known as the domestic sphere (the private realm of domestic life, child-rearing, house-keeping, and religious education). Throughout the course of their lives, the possession of power changes as women’s role shift from childhood and adolescence to being a wife and mother. This possession of power manifests as their ability to control their decisions in life and the lives of those around them once they enter this domestic sphere. The process of change that turns Naseem Ghani into the Reverend Mother and Mumtaz into Amina demonstrate how women gain or lose power in the Indian society that Rushdie depicts. Before her marriage to Aadam Aziz, Naseem Ghani was a young woman who is owned by her father and has little or no power in her childhood home due to being viewed as object to be traded as a wife in exchange for a dowry. Naseem is seen one part at a time through a hole in a sheet held by three female bodyguards. This objectification of Naseem by Aadam Aziz reveals that she is viewed by the sum of her parts instead of as a complete person. Aziz’s perception of Naseem is “a badly-fitting collage of her severally-inspected parts" which he glues together with his "imagination" (Rushdie 22). By introducing her under the patriarchal male gaze, Rushdie reveals how little power she has as an unwed woman in her father’s household.
The Das parents’ negligent relationship with their children in Clear Light of Day mirrors India’s independence from Britain. Before their deaths, Mr. and Mrs. Das were preoccupied and inattentive to their four children, Raja, Tara, Bim, and Baba. They spent most of their time at the club, playing “their daily game of bridge” (Desai 50). This pastime is so important to them that they neglect to take care of their kids. For example, Mrs. Das tires of “washing and powdering” Baba, her mentally disabled baby, and she complains, “My bridge is suffering” (103). Mr. Das also does not focus on his children and “he [goes] through the day without addressing a word to them” (53). Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Das are unable to ever form a loving relationship with their children because they both pass away. After Mrs. Das falls into a...
Garg in ‘Hari Bindi’ discusses the story of a common woman and made it extraordinary by the active force she was experiencing in herself to live her life. The husband of the protagonist symbolises the power and control of patriarchy that had restricted her life in such a way that she was far from experiencing her freedom at the least level. Big things are no doubt powerful and able to control small things, yet small things are no less important. The overall personality of a person is the result of various small things being joined together.