This narrative takes topographic point in a little fishing small town called Thul which is only 14 kilometers off from Bombay? one of the biggest metropoliss on the western seashore of India. on the Arabian Sea. Although the writer does non stipulate the twelvemonth in which the narrative is set. we can infer it takes topographic point in the early 20th century. We reach to this decision through the description of Bombay here there was everything at one time rhythms. jinrikisha. hand-carts. Tonga. coachs. autos. taxis and lorries? There are some more elements that help to put the narrative in clip. for illustration. the fact that new mills are traveling to be built in the small town.
We can province that the scene in this novel is round. due to many grounds. First of all. the conditions in this topographic point makes the alteration of seasons really clear. This helps the Indian villagers to cognize when the twelvemonth starts and when it finishes. and to accommodate their lives to it. So they take full advantage of the first portion of the twelvemonth when it is terribly dry ( fall and winter ) and stock nutrient for the monsoon. when they stay indoors most of the clip because of the heavy rains.
Another thing which tells us about the round scene is Mr Panwallah?s words: ?The wheel bends and bends and turns? Throughout the narrative. Hari is told many times that he will hold to accommodate to alterations in his life. In the terminal. he understands what that means: giving up the traditional manner of life to follow a new 1. harmonizing to the new environment. This version happened along the past times and will go on everlastingly. As we cited: The wheel turns.
The opening scene of the novel shows Lila. the eldest of the four kids. offering some flowers to the sacred stones in the border of the sea. This was non merely her wont. but besides one of the first things most adult females did in the forenoon to state their supplications. The fresh coatings with the same scene. but. alternatively of being Lila the one portrayed. there is a group of adult females wading into the sea. the childrens female parent amongst them. This gap and stoping is another component used by the author to do the secret plan and puting handbill.
The narrative is told in 3rd individual by an all-knowing storyteller. Through him we get to cognize the supporter: Hari. a immature male child from this fishing small town who has to gain the money needed to take attention of his sisters and ill female parent. In despair. he runs off to Bombay. where he learns everlasting values.
All the chief characters are developing as they grow up and we can see them larning and traveling through different state of affairss which are portion of their personal lives. This is why this novel can be referred to as a bildungsroman. It describes the procedures by which adulthood is achieved through the assorted ups and downs of life. Hari realizes he hasn?t got many possibilities in his little small town and decides to run off to the metropolis where he thinks life is much easier and comfy.
However. he finds out it is non and ends up working in a eating house and assisting a watchmender to gain a life and salvage some money to take back place. During the months he stays in the metropolis. he learns how to pull off on his ain and he realizes he is turning into a adult male. Hari stood gazing at the note: he all of a sudden felt he was non a kid any longer. that he was a man? ( Chapter 11 ) . But. meanwhile. he suffers hunger. illness. yearning for his household and place. solitariness.
We see a great development in the three sisters every bit good. At the beginning of the narrative. Lila. is introduced as the 1 in charge of the house. as her female parent is sick and her male parent is ever rummy. She is the 1 who cleans the topographic point. prepares repasts. takes attention of the female parent and other jobs. Her younger sisters. on the other manus. still go to school and depend wholly on Hari and Lila. although they besides help to look for nutrient or travel to the market when needed. However. when things get worse and their brother dissappears. they give up school in order to collaborate with their sister. Lila is left to get by entirely and. finally. she manages to cover with her household demands.
The technique of word picture used by the author is dramatic because we get to cognize the different personalities of the chief characters through the narrative and the events. We are non given a specific description of them but we are told what their ideas or their reactions are.
As refers to the secret plan. the author does non follow the usual stairss ; alternatively. he develops two parallel narratives: Hari?s and Lila?s. By this technique. we are told the events taking topographic point at Thul at the same clip that we learn about Hari. At the terminal both narratives meet when Hari comes back to the small town and the household gets together once more.
As the novel takes topographic point in India. the author makes usage of different elements to give it local coloring material. Some of them are: the descriptions of the topographic points. the mention to the traditional ceremonials and imposts. and the most important. the use of many Indian words. mentioning to nutrient. people. money. apparels. festivals or topographic points.
Some of the chief subjects in this novel are:
- alterations
- endurance
- individuality
- advancement
- brotherhood.
To demo the instabilities in life and its alterations. the author uses as an imagination the nature rhythm: the seasons. the sea that sometimes is at high tide and others. at low tide. Another symbol used is the birds. at the terminal of the narrative. They represent the mans ideals of autonomy and independency.
