The book uses humor and drama to elaborate on the need for striking the right balance in life with respect to relationships and between materialism and contentment. The conflicts between Jagan and his son Mali arise because of a clash between tradition and modernity.
The following quotes give the reader a sense of what's going on in the minds of the characters in the novel.
I've taken to eating beef, and I don't think I'm any the worse for it. Steak is something quite tasty and juicy. Now I want to suggest why don't you people start eating beef? It'll solve the problem of useless cattle in our country and we won't have to beg food from America. I sometimes feel ashamed when India asks for American aid. Instead of that, why not slaughter useless cows which wander in the streets and block the traffic?
This quote is from a letter that Mali wrote to Jagan after he had been in the U.S for around three years. It caused great anguish to Jagan. While he enthusiastically shared the contents of other letters with anyone who cared to listen, Jagan could not bring himself to tell his relatives and fellow villagers that his son had started to consume beef—anathema to Hindus.
Conquer taste, and you will have conquered the self.
This is a maxim that Jagan tries to live by. He is a follower of Gandhi and tries his best to abide by the principles of simple living espoused by Gandhi. This quote also highlights the clear dichotomy between Jagan's personal lifestyle and his means of earning a living. He is, after all, a vendor of sweets. While he tries to present himself as morally superior by having given up salt and sugar, he actually sustains himself and his family by selling confectionery.
This is Grace. We are married. Grace, my dad.
With this quote, Mali introduces his live-in partner to his father. It serves to further bewilder and ultimately alienate father from son. Jagan is already finding it difficult to accept his son's changed physical appearance and...
“At fifty-five his appearance was slight and elfish, his brown skin was translucent, his brow receded gently into a walnut shade of baldness, and beyond the fringe his hair fell in a couple of speckled waves on his nape. His chin was covered with whitening bristles...He wore a loose jibba over his dhoti, both made of material spun with his own hand; every day he spun for an hour, retained enough yarn for his sartorial requirements (he never possessed more than two sets of clothes at a time) ...He wore a narrow almond-shaped pair of glasses set in a yellowish frame, and peeped at the world over their pale rims. He draped his shoulders in a khaddar shawl with gaudy yellow patterns on it and shod his feet with thick sandals made out of the leather of an animal which had died of old age” (Narayan 8-9).
Analysis
This quotation shows the behaviors and lifestyle choices Jagan chooses to value and implement in his everyday life. The author is very descriptive when explaining Jagan's routine, mentioning minor details such as the type of glasses he uses, to more significant details such as his ideals and beliefs that make him a noble follower of Gandhi. This allows the reader to have a clear interpretation of the character, enabling profound connections betweenthe reader and the character. With the author's clear writing, readers can easily see that Jagan leads a very modest and simplistic life due to his commitment to Gandhi and his Indian culture, through the laborious work he puts into his clothes and the kindness he shows towards animals.
“When his son was six years old he was a happy supporter of Jagan's tanning activities in the back veranda of the house, but as he grew older he began to complain of the stench whenever his father brought home leather” (Narayan 9).
Analysis
This quote shows how Jagan's son Mali, had no problem with his father's activities such as making shoes out of fresh leather and other various cultural exercises. However, as he grew older, Mali began to grow distant from his father and his practices, even more so after his mother's death. This is because as a child, Mali was still under his father's cultural influence and was more impressionable, but once he grew older and wiser, he was able to form his own opinions beliefs.
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