|
My Essay for Sharing :D : Anita Desai - The Village by The Sea, Literary Critism
Wednesday, 22 May 2013 @ 09:14 | 0 Comment [s]
Literary Critism
The village by the sea
is a masterpiece written by an Indian Novelist, the
Emeritus John E. Burchard Professor of Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Anita Desai. Anita
desai was born on 24 june 1935 by a Germany mother and a Bengali father. Able
to speak in Bengali, Urdhu, English and hindi, she grew up surrounded by
western literature and music until she was older that this was an anomaly in
her world where she also learned the Eastern culture and customs. The village
by the sea: an Indian family story is a novel for young people that was first
published in London in 1982 is a story telling the reality life that happen in
India. The story is based on the poverty, hardship and sorrow faced by a small
rural community in India. Through this novel, Desai has won the annual Guardian
Children’s Fiction; a once – in – a-lifetime book award was judge by the panel
of British children’s writers.
The
village by the sea is a story taking place in a small fishing village, Thul
where the main resources for food supply and money of the villagers comes from
the . The story is about a survival of an Indian family that consist of a very
sick mother and a drunkard father that is unable to work due to his bad
drinking habit, three sisters and a brother. The two younger sisters who are
studying in school and an elder sister, who has stopped going to school due to
economical problems, are now looking after their family. The younger brother
feel responsible to be the head of family as he is the only man that is reliable
in the family also stopped going to school due to the same reason and to look
after their family. These two elder sister and brother becomes the sole food provider to the
family. They did everything it takes to survive and meet their family needs.
The only things they have are a small hut and a small piece of land which is
not enough for them to make a living on. Their difficulties and struggles in
surviving their life in such a young age make their life full with sorrows and
obscurity.
Throughout my reading on
this book, there are a few literary critism that are highlighted all through
the plot development in this novel. One of them is economy.
As can be seen in the
novel, the background of the novel is taking place in a fisherman village.
Their financial and food supply resources of the villagers is definitely depending
much on the sea compare to any other alternatives. The earnings from fishing
activities have becoming the core income for their living. When this opportunity
is taken away from them, they lost they way. They can’t think of any other way
to earn for living. When Biju’s big boat was nearly ready to go out to the sea,
a strange man’s news that it is useless since factories will be built by the
government near the sea really breaks their heart as fishing will be very hard.
Add to the depression, there will be no work opportunities offered open for
them in the factories. The other
economical literary can be seen in the novel is the economy condition of the
main character’s family. Their main financial resources are through fishing and
farming. When their drunkard father sold away their fishing boat, cow and paddy
field to pay his toddy debts, they lost they sources of financial. They
couldn’t afford money for their books and school uniform as well as their basic
needs. As the other two siblings need to
be educated, the other two elder siblings stopped going to school as to do
their best to afford their younger sibling’s school needs. Lila is practically become the mum and taking
care of all the family while Hari digs holes in the back yard, sometimes goes
fishing and works in the fields to earn for living. They hardly have any money even to buy small
cheap thing demands by their little siblings. He feels very responsible as the
head of the family. This can be seen in the paragraph quoted below.
‘But how?’ Cried Lila.
“We don't go to school any more, you and I. Only Bela and Kamal go - and next
year we won't be able to buy them any new books. We hardly eat anything but
this dry bread or dry rice, every day. There's hardly ever any money to buy
anything with in the bazaar - only when we sell our coconuts to the Malabaris -
The only time we eat fish is when you go fishing. Father never does and then
mother: how will mother get well if she never gets any medicine? (Page 15, line
15 until 26)
The other literary
critism is social.
In the society in the
village is consisting of a community of people with low standard and uneducated
environment. Their living condition of the villagers is having way lower standard
to be compared to the city people. They have very less job opportunities for
them to improve their life. There is no clean water, very poor health
facilities and also having a low standard of schooling and many more. The
difficulties in their life since a very young age and being surrounded by that
un-developing life since their parents and ancestors causes them don’t have big
dreams. They have got a small piece of land, a fishing boat a hut and nothing
else. And at the same time they are having a very calm and relaxed type of
life. The people are so simple. They have to work only season wise and have
their daily rest very joyfully. They also tend to feel satisfied with what they
have in hand. They don’t have much
motivation to get and changed to a better life.
It is also the society
where the voice of people of lower standard rank is being ignored by the people
at higher rank or authorities/ government. when the government plans to built a
few factories in the village, the villagers gets angry and oppose strongly the
plan as it will badly affect their economy and they will lost the source of
financial. But no one is listening to their yelling. The government is
implementing their master plan with force. This resulting to the owner of small
farms and lands has to become laborer and worker in their own land while some
other does other works. Ever since, their life take 360 degrees turn from calm
and relax life to a hardworking and restless life. In this society also, people
in city is seen as high standard and educated people besides having a
distinguished feature. A city man claims as those who suppose to be smart an
intelligent. Any categories out of this is considered as their opposite. This
rank of people also likes to ridicule and pull the wool over the second rank
category of people’s eyes.
In this story also, the
society still believe in superstitious. When Lila’s mother’s illness getting
worse, the younger sisters ran to the house next door to seek for help. But
instead of looking for a doctor, she sent them the magic man to help on getting
away the evil spirit. He always gives treatment for their boils, aches and
fevers. He is also known to perform special puja
for those who are too ill to benefits from his powders- the mad, the unhappy
and the dying. This society belief can be seen in page 74 lines 9 until 15.
‘‘I’ll tell you what. I heard the old
man who came to the village with his cow blowing his horn and banging his drum
early this morning. He can’t have gone far. I’ll send him to you. He has good
herbs, powders and barks. Go and tell Lila.”.
Labels: My Essay for Sharing :D |
The Disclaimer
Navigations!  me & wuri shillang KIM HYUN JOONG:> Let's Talk!
The Credits! |
