The Disappearance by Chitra Banerjee Divankaruna

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The husband is perplexed in the short story “The Disappearance” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, as he does not see how his past actions would cause his wife to be unhappy in her life with him (there are no names associated to the characters in this story). The husband is the protagonist of the story. The story is not clear on the reasons for the wife leaving not only the husband, but also her son. The reason for this is the author utilizes a third-person narration that focus on the protagonist husbands prospective. However, as the story continues the writing exposes that the wife left the protagonist husband for the reasons that he reveals of being boring, thoughtless, demanding, and all about himself, as the author establishes with the protagonist-focused, third-person narrative. The husband is able to provide for his family with a position in an office, logically his intellect is not in question; his emotional stability has defiantly been affected. Therefore, this brings the author to rely on the husband’s perspective to divulge the fundamental components of the story using a third-person narration. For a year the husband thought that his wife had been kidnapped, yet he never checked her person effects to see if anything was missing. Only because the mother needed additional spices did the husband check for the jewelry that he advised that the wife stash in the top cabinet in case there was an intruder (1995, p. 587). Once the missing jeweler was discovered the husband knew that the wife then abandoned not only him, but also their the young son. The high level of expertise by the author using the third person narrative of the view of the protagonist husband shows that he was oblivious to the fact that his wife was ver... ... middle of paper ... ...on and wife. In conclusion, the author’s choice of utilizing the third person narration is what provided the high level of ignorance, as the voice concentrated on the protagonist husband. It brought the reader to the place of how inadequately the husband treated the wife and how he was oblivious of how his actions affected her. The reader is also able to envision that the protagonist is not cognizant that he is not being truthful to himself. It permits the reader to realize the how boring, prideful, thoughtless, and insensitive the protagonist is overall. Reference Divakaruni, C. B. (1995). "The Disapperance." Compact literature: Reading, reacting, writing. (pp. 584-589). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Kirszner, L. G., & Mandell, S. R. (2012). Compact literature: Reading, reacting, writing. (8 ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

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