Nectar In A Sieve Essay

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Analyzing Nectar in a Sieve
Change: can it always be good or is it sometimes negative? In the novel Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, a big change comes to a little Indian village. In Markandaya’s story, the narrator Rukmani reflects on her turbulent life in the village from being married at age twelve to when her husband Nathan passes away. The pair encounters many struggles and survives several natural disasters. Their normal lifestyle is disrupted by a rapid growth that turns the small village into a bustling town. Markandaya explains that characters have differing opinions about what is happening, but the overall outcome is negative for everyone.
Rukmani dislikes the change because she suffers from it. “Change I had known before, and it had been gradual” (Markandaya 25). This idea of change is not new to Rukmani; she experiences it because of her father’s job. The building of a tannery begins to transform the village. Rukmani eventually loses her land and the life of her son Raja to the tannery, a place she had always seen as bad luck. “[The tannery] had invaded our village with clatter and din, had taken from us the maidan where our children played, and made the bazaar prices to high for us” (Markandaya 27). Rukmani does not like the fact that European people marched in, took over their land, and created a dangerous factory. In her opinion, the village should not be changed for any reason. Rukmani believes modernization is not what this village needs, especially after her bad experiences with the tannery.
Ira has conflicting feelings about the modernization of the village, but overall she believes it has a negative affect on the village. At one point she detests it, but later on she wants to stay in the village even ...

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...nthi basically forces Rukmani to give her some rice, she stays at their house until she gets some rice. Kunthi believes that the altercation in the village is am amazing opportunity for her sons, but when they leave she begins to realize how Rukmani was feeling about it.
Rukmani, Ira, and Kunthi all agree that the change had an overall negative affect on the village. Rukmani really dislikes this modification, while Ira and Kunthi are both okay with the it for a period of time but everything eventually turns. Change can really affect a person’s life today, even though the world is always changing. Nectar In a Sieve was Kamala Markandaya’s first published novel, and it was published in 1954. She had several more amazing novels following this one. As said by the Associated press, this unforgettable novel really “brings out your heart.” This novel truly was very moving.

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