In the novel A Fine Balance, author Rohinton Mistry chronicles the lives of four protagonists, underdogs that struggle to rise up the social ladder in the brutal contest of "survival of the fittest" during the turbulent Emergency period of India. The Emergency, one of the most violent and volatile intervals in the history of modern India that lasted from 1975 to 1977, was a time where "fundamental rights were suspended, most of the opposition was under arrest, and union leaders were in jail" all in an effort to keep the Prime Minister Indira Ghandi in power (Mistry 245). But most of all, the Emergency grossly intruded into the lives of the poor and the vulnerable through the destruction of slums, forced sterilizations, and harsh labor camps, all specific programs used as chess pieces by the politicians playing dirty games which ultimately led to the undoing and demise of the bottom-dwellers. In this microcosm full of potent characters that suffer under the horrors and cruelties of corruption and abuse of power, Mistry adds one character, Vasantro Valmik, an orating lawyer and ex-proofreader with experience in the art of political bluster. Though Valmik appears to be only an ephemeral character in the sweeping narration of A Fine Balance, a fleeting tool to illustrate Emergency's impact on the educated, he nevertheless plays a key role in Mistry's thematic universe as an advocate for hope in the face of despair.
Valmik's story illustrates the effect of Emergency on the educated class of the society. Though he does not possess any riches or power, Valmik is educated, and thus is able to survive and make a decent living as a lawyer even after he loses his job in politics due to the Emergency. Unlike the four protagonists, Valmik r...
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...ine, and progress for the nation, only led to corruption in elites and exploitation of the vulnerable. Maneck, utterly defeated and hopeless by the end, jumps into the tracks and is crushed under the train; Dina, almost blind and prematurely aged, returns to work again as a maid in her brother's house. Ishvar and Om, who have lost everything they had, become beggars who depend on charity for survival. In the end, none of them have been granted happy endings, not beause Mistry is heartless, but because realistically, given who they are, attaining more happiness in their lives is simply beyond reach for them. But with the exception of Maneck, whose death balances out the dead body in the tracks at the opening of the novel, the characters continue to live on relentlessly, clinging on to last bits of hope to balance out their despairs until the very end, as Valmik did.
... of this story is the will to survive. The will to survive is strong in all the characters though there are some who seem to expect they will die at any time. Lina is furious with herself when she stooped low enough to accept food thrown at her by the guards, but she does it anyway. Even the youngest children realize the need to endure the torture and survive. Jonas finds a barrel and comprehends that it could be made into a stove. Janina finds a dead owl and realizes that it could be eaten. This will to survive sometimes results in anger and selfishness, as seen in Ulyushka when forced to share her shack with Lina’s family.
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
Every individual has two lives, the life we live, and the life we live after that. Nobody is perfect, but if one works hard enough, he or she can stay away from failure. The Natural is a novel written by Bernard Malamud. It is Malamud’s first novel that initially received mixed reactions but afterwards, it was regarded as an outstanding piece of literature. It is a story about Roy Hobbs who after making mistakes in his life, he returns the bribery money and is left with self-hatred for mistakes he has done. Hobbs was a baseball player who aspired to be famous, but because of his carnal and materialistic desire, his quest for heroism failed, as he was left with nothing. In the modern world, the quest for heroism is a difficult struggle, and this can be seen through the protagonist in The Natural.
In this way the novel ends on the course of despair that it began in
The quote, “Ignorance is bliss,” by Thomas Gray is a seemingly adequate description of the lives of Gene, Finny, and Leper until they are all roughly jolted out of their fantasy world and brought back to reality. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles does an acceptable job of showing how disillusionment can greatly impact and, thus, change the lives of people. The book showcases the cycle of disillusionment and the ramifications it implies. Throughout the book, we see Gene, Leper, and Finny’s views on the world change. This all culminates in Gene being elevated to a higher level of understanding of the world and seeing the truth about Devon and the war. The illusions created by Finny and Leper are also taken on by Gene, and he, in turn, shares in their disillusionment. Overall, disillusionment is a part of life and often serves as a tool to help many people grow and learn from the past.
The struggle to survive theses conflicts are portrayed in the literary works of authors such as Irena Karafilly, who wrote the n...
I will explore how social classes frankly appear and build up the story of the book by comparing and contrast with a modern social hierarchy. Today, we’re living in a society with social classes existing. We can be classified in different classes and so do I. I wish I could designate my social status, but unfortunately, our social classes are usually determined by wealth (income), occupation, education and prestige. Social class can be shown in a pyramid structure and it usually comprises with upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class and lower class.
...ing identity to the point where it no longer exists. This identity can be lost through extreme devotion, new experience, and immense tragedy. Relationships with the most meaningful companions impact both main characters, Elie and Frederic. Due to the events they must encounter alongside loved ones, Elie and Frederic change completely, losing the identity that once existed. The most impactful events of any life are those that involve struggle and tragedy. Any tragic event that one encounters can significantly alter the purpose of life forever. Tragic events such as taking away what one may hold dearest, such as a loved one in the cases of Elie and Frederic. This type of loss can create a saddened, purposeless life in all humans.
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.
In the story, The Natural, certain characters and events are portrayed in a distinctive way that makes this story unique to other books and shows the typical writing style of the narrator. The author uses a repetitive writing technique that is impossible to overlook. The writer of this book is able to catch the reader’s eye with his concept of the importance of beautiful description. The Natural, by Bernard Malamud, uses great imagery that makes the story appealing.
When reflecting and writing on Eiseley’s essay and the “magical element”, I balk. I think to myself, “What magic?”, and then put pen to page. I dubiously choose a kiddie pool to draw inspiration from, and unexpectedly, inspiration flows into me. As I sit here in this little 10x30 foot backyard, the sky is filled with the flowing gaseous form of water, dark patches of moist earth speckle the yard, the plants soak up their scattered watering, and the leaves of bushes and trees imbue the space with a sense of dampness from their foliage. As my senses tune into the moisture that surrounds me, I fill Braedon’s artificial pond with water. I stare at the shimmering surface, contemplating Eiseley’s narrative, and the little bit of life’s wellspring caught in Brae’s pool. I see why Eiseley thought the most abundant compound on the earth’s surface is mystical.
The Perfect Failure: Kennedy, Eisenhower, and the CIA at the Bay of Pigs by Trumbull Higgins is a book that sheds light on the history and surrounding factors of the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba. Having lived in Miami for seven years, I have always been curious about why Cubans seem to feel entitled and believe that the United States owes them something. When I asked about this, I was told that the United States failed them during the Bay of Pigs invasion by leading the Cuban exiles into a battle they could not win. They felt great resentment towards the United States for refusing to assist them once they were in Cuba, leaving them at the mercy of President Fidel Castro. After reading Higgins' book, I now understand the basis for this type of thinking and resentment.
Poverty on social conditions affects everyone in every part of the world, no matter if they are rich or poor. First of all, everyone is divided into some sort of social class. The most known classes are the economic classes- the lower class, the middle class, and the higher class. The lower class goes through arduous labor all day and night to earn decent amounts of money to provide for themselves and their families. Most likely, they are the only source of income for the entire family. The higher class works hard to keep up or raise their high social status. They also work hard so they don’t loss their social rank, which permits them to hold a higher power over the middle and lower classes. Similarities of decisions made by characters in these two literary works will analyzed to understand the meaning behind the actions and influences of the social classes on each other.
The corruption in hospitals, where “doctors can keep their government salary and work in private hospitals”, sees people like Balram’s father die of horrible deaths every day. Dismayed by the lack of respect of the government for its dying citizens, Balram is corrupted by the fact that in the “darkness”, there is no service, not even in death. Balram also claims that “the schoolteacher had stolen our lunch money”, which was for a government funded lunch program. However, Balram doesn’t blame him, which justifies that Balram, from such a young age gives into the idea of corruption saying that “...you can’t expect a man in a dung heap to smell sweet”. In addition to his father and the school teacher, Balram is corrupted by his childhood hero Vijay. Growing up, Balram idolises Vijay for having escaped “the darkness”. However what he is ignorant of is that even though Vijay is in “the light” he is still corrupted by “the darkness”. Balram explains that “Vijay and a policemen beat another men to death”, yet he doesn’t see it as a problem, because he understand that one cannot become successful in such a corrupt system without becoming as corrupt as the system itself. It is here that Adiga asks the question of how are impoverished Indians are expected to refuse to engage in corruption when they live in such poor conditions. Thus, the reader is able to sympathize with Balram’s corruption,
The atmosphere in Bombay during the time of the novel was a cauldron of emotions. Bombayites were cantankerous, impatient with the municipality’s decision to ignore their complaints. The mood was tense as Indians prepared for the Second Indo-Pakistani War. The atmosphere in the Parsi community was insecure and anxious as ever under the political turmoil. “Gustard identified Shiv Sena and Indira Gandhi's authoritarian politics and anti-minority policies as two major threats that his community had to deal with.” (Sadhath, 5). Shiv Sena is a federal political party, previously a supporter of fascism and anti-minority policies. In the novel, they were portrayed as an over-confident party ignoring the verbal onslaught directed at them by minorities. They were openly racist, bribing Tehmul to hand out pamphlet targeting minorities in Bombay. Meanwhile, Indira...