While Baudelaire, on the other hand, describes the flaneur as a "gentleman stroller of city streets”. He saw the flaneur as having a key role in understanding, participating in, and portraying the city. Mishra through the character of Samar portrays a completely new picture of not only the holy city of Benaras but also the other parts of India like Pondicherry, etc. He paints the character of Samar as a flaneur to make it convenient for the readers to understand the basic facts about the different places, as the main protagonist of the plot was taken from the common Indian middle-class throng. A flaneur thus played a double role in city life and in theory, which is, while remaining a detached observer. With the character of Samar who possesses the feature of a flaneur and the settings of the story, readers are manipulated to draw their attention towards the facts like transitions and difference in the culture and beliefs of east and west. …show more content…
While there are oases of splendor in rural regions, his settings typically function squalor: grotty housing, open and unorganized drains, mold and filth, and pungent overloaded trains. Anarchy reigns at the University, and there are so few opportunities for Samar’s era that it’s smooth for them to descend into crime. Despite the rhetoric about admire for women, there's lecherous goosing of women on the road. Poverty is everywhere, and whilst the modern financial system arises overdue in the novel, its manifestations are incongruous in Benares, the holiest Hindu metropolis in India. It is tawdry and shallow, with gaudy buildings and tasteless advertising and
Cultural diversity is an important element. Often times we acknowledge cultural diversity but we don’t quite understand it simply because we do not live it. With this novel, readers can understand cultural
The cultural studies approach is only one way of analyzing an open text such as the story "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong", but it is one of the best ways to determine the social actions of a society and the reasons for their cultural beliefs. Having knowledge of tools such as gender construction, levels of power, and the theme of isolation, the reader becomes personally involved with the characters and the ways in which they are coerced to live their lives.
While it may be easier to persuade yourself that Boo’s published stories are works of fiction, her writings of the slums that surround the luxury hotels of Mumbai’s airport are very, very real. Katherine Boo’s book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers – Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity” does not attempt to solve problems or be an expert on social policy; instead, Boo provides the reader with an objective window into the battles between extremities of wealth and poverty. “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” then, exposes the paucity and corruption prevalent within India.
The most basic premise of this chapter is that works that are categorized within the adaptation and/or appropriation genre are inherently political, simply by the nature of their production. In other words, it might be simpler to say that original works of literature, in the case of this discussion particularly those from the literary canon, are often products of the culture they are written within. The author cannot help but to exert their own ideological agenda upon the text, though it is a job left to the reader to locate and interpret the clues to the agenda that are left in between the lines. The development of an adaptation is an extension of that process. By reinterpreting a text, for the sake of making significant alteration to the
A main factor in the storyline is the way the writer portrays society's attitude to poverty in the 18th century. The poor people were treated tremendously different to higher classed people. A lot of people were even living on the streets. For example, "He picked his way through the hordes of homeless children who congregated at evening, like the starlings, to look for the most sheltered niche into which they could huddle for the night." The writer uses immense detail to help the reader visualise the scene. She also uses a simile to help the reader compare the circumstances in which the children are in. This shows that the poor children had to live on the streets and fend for themselves during the 18th century. Another example involves a brief description of the city in which the poor people lived in. This is "nor when he smelt the stench of open sewers and foraging pigs, and the manure of horses and mules" This gives a clear example of the state of the city. It is unclean and rancid and the writer includes this whilst keeping to her fictional storyline.
Being a culture under pressure from both sides of the contact zone, there needs to be passion and emotion or else the culture might disappear into history. Anzaldua’s text makes great use of passion and emotion while merging the ideas of multiple cultures together through the tough experiences in her life. Autoethnographic texts give perspective to outsiders on how a culture functions from the inside point of view. Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” excellently portrays her culture’s plight and creates a fiery passionate entrance for her culture in their uprising through the contact zone.
In the novel, The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga the main character, is Balram, one of the children in the “darkness” of India. Adiga sheds a new light on the poor of India, by writing from the point of view of a man who was at one time in the “darkness” or the slums of India and came into the “light” or rich point of view in India. Balram’s job as a driver allows him to see both sides of the poverty line in India. He sees that the poor are used and thrown away, while the rich are well off and have no understanding of the problems the poor people must face. The servants are kept in a mental “Rooster Coop” by their masters. The government in India supposedly tries to help the poor, but if there is one thing Adiga proves in The White Tiger, it is that India’s government is corrupted. Despite the government promises in India designed to satisfy the poor, the extreme differences between the rich and the poor and the idea of the Rooster Coop cause the poor of India to remain in the slums.
... of language and education is the most important in this story and society. The make use of two different languages in a narrative, provides a reader a perplexing yet fascinating image of characterization and customs. Multilingual story telling pushes the reader to decelerate and acquire supplemental focus on the expressions which are in the small fragments, however as soon as the reader has figured out the foreign words, he or she acquires a priceless picture of the theme of this story. The panorama of native words and phrases, cultural perceptions, and class dispute taken from the incorporation of two different languages are helpful for the reader to obtain significance that he or she couldn't gain if exclusively one language was employed in the story. Just as the power of language is applied to unveil a society, a better comprehension is provided to the reader.
...uses the reader to be more invested in the story and therefore truly strive to understand the world portrayed instead of just shallowly absorbing the setting. This is a strength because it gave the reader unique outlook on the Asian cultures because the audience feels personally involved in these situations. There are a few weaknesses in the book. I think perhaps, by putting the audience in these men’s shoes you cause them develop a bias. The reader will possibly have and emotional tie to the characters and because of this not see straight facts of history. The book is highly recommended to readers interested in pre-modern history, the book is a good look into the eastern world especially if one lacks research experience with that part of the world and its history.
Through the story Jumpha shows the audience how they can relate with her through their own experiences. This really gets the readers attention and puts them in her situation.They are able to relate, as well as understand the complex language in which she is able to write her paper with.The story hardly goes into detail about how she grew up with problem coming from two cultures and how someone should act in a new culture. Along with the lacking background information from subject t...
Toer’s use of allegorical and symbolic language in this novel weaves a picture of the growth of the Javan/Indonesian independence movement that led to the birth of a nation. The metaphor of Minke’s changing perspective upon his self-identity and principles of the Enlightenment reflect the turmoil Toer witnessed with his own eyes. Rather than settle for the corrupt nature of Javan society through Dutch rule, Toer asserts, through the writing of this novel, that a society that holds the ideals of modern and Enlightened thinking will rise to be successful.
Stylistically, the book is arranged in rotating chapters. Every fourth chapter is devoted to each individual character and their continuation alo...
In order to raise awareness of the staggering injustices, oppression and mass poverty that plague many Indian informal settlements (referred to as slum), Katherine Boo’s novel, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, unveils stories of typical life in a Mumbai slum. Discussing topics surrounding gender relations, environmental issues, and corruption, religion and class hierarchies as well as demonstrating India’s level of socioeconomic development. Encompassing this, the following paper will argue that Boo’s novel successfully depicts the mass social inequality within India. With cities amongst the fastest growing economies in South Eastern Asia, it is difficult to see advances in the individual well-being of the vast majority of the nation. With high
...a woman trying to find an identity through her heritage. All of these stories give us examples and show us what life in this period would be like for the characters. They give details that show the readers the world around them.
These issues are also raised in "Death and the King's Horseman", but more with showing how important and determinant our culture is for our personal identity. Thus, living in an era where this one is changing, because of the rough imposition of a new one, can torn one's personality, making them doubt all of their beliefs.