In Clear Light of Day, most if not all of the characters seemed to have experienced hurt in some form at some point within the book.
The Family- The family on a whole was hurt when the cow they had died as a result of it drowning in the well one night. A smaller section of the family, namely the children, were hurt by the fact that their parents were rarely ever around in the house since they were always at the club and playing cards with their friends.
Mr. Das- He seemed to be hurt by the fact that his wife had diabetes and she was in so much pain all the time and had to take injections of insulin all the time. He was also even more hurt when she died.
Aunt Mira- There were quite a few instances when Aunt Mira was found to be hurt. Firstly, she was hurt because her husband died shortly after they got married when she was about 13 years old. This was a very sad time in her life, and her new family, (husband's parents) didn't make it any easier for her since they blamed her for his death. As a result they gave her a lot of work to do and did not appreciate her at all. Aunt Mira was also hurt that she was not that pretty and was unable to have her own children. When Tara left her in the house with Bim and the others it appeared as though she was hurt since her and Tara seemed to share a special bond when she stepped foot into the house and was always there for her when Bim and Raja would exclude her.
Raja- He seemed to be hurt because Hyder Ali left and did not tell him anything about his departure. He was also very hurt when his mother died as well as not being able to go to Jamia Millia and did not care to play games or have fun for a while. When he got sick in bed with tuberculosis, he felt helpless that he could not do much or go anywhere and felt hurt in the end.
Bim- Bim was hurt by the mere fact that all her siblings, except Baba that could not really leave, left her in the house to take care of the house, Baba and Aunt Mira on her own. She was hurt when Tara left because she was now married to Bakul, and she was hurt that Raja left to go to live in Hyderabad. In addition, the letter Raja sent Bim hurt her a lot, since she could not believe that Raja would still let her pay rent for the same house they both lived in and she nursed him in when he was sick. Even though the book does not make this point very evident, one can argue that Bim was also very hurt at the fact that she was the one who stayed in the home and did not move on much with her own life in terms of having a family and new experiences that she could not have while staying at home and taking care of everyone. It seems as though she was hurt and disappointed with the specific path that she chose for herself.
Tara- She felt hurt when Bim and Raja made fun of her for wanting to become a mother when she grew up instead of becoming a heroine like Bim. Tara was also hurt when Bim and Raja did not include her in the games and other activities they would do together. In addition, when Baba was born, Tara felt hurt that she was not getting much attention since she was not the "baby" of the family anymore.
Baba- Baba was feeling very hurt when his records stopped playing on the gramophone and when Bim shouted at him and seemed to threaten him by saying that she will send him to live with Raja. Even though the book did not really mention it, it is posited that Baba was hurt that he had such a disability and was restricted from doing certain things because of his disability.
Dr. Biswas- He was hurt at the fact that he was putting so much effort in trying to get Bim to like him and go out with him and she was not paying much attention to him or trying to see if it could possibly work. She was more concerned with taking care of her family and not having much fun. He felt hurt for Bim as well since she seemed to be burdening herself with her family's problems and not doing what she wants to do but what she thinks she has to do.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Baba's Significance in Clear Light of Day
In Clear Light of Day, all the characters seem to have their own character traits that make them different and significant in the book, whether there part is considered to be small or big. Amongst the Das family siblings, Baba Das is the youngest of the four children and the one who is not the smartest or most active person because of his disability. At first he is not able to do much of anything, but when Aunt Mira comes to take care of him, she teaches him how to do certain things for himself. For example, feed himself pieces of bread and play marbles. This is made eveident on pp.106-07 in the book.
Throughout the book, one notcies that Baba is seemingly an unchanging person in the novel. This none changing aspect of Baba's character is rather significant since Baba himself may be seen as a symbol of the unchaging nature of Old Delhi and the fact that everything in the house seemed to stay the same.
In addition, Baba's use of his gramophone from the time him and Bim took it out of the Hyder Ali's abadoned house, to present,evidently shows that Baba did not change at all, since he continued to listen to his gramophone, playing the same records all the time. The use of the gramophone was also a way of making his presence known within the house, since he did speak much at all. It was a way for the family and others to know that Baba was at home and awake.
Furthermore, along with being a symbol of the unchanging nature of Old Delhi and the hoouse they lived in, Baba, in his earlier years, seemed to be a person unt Mira thought appreciated her and thus made her feel wanted. This is because Baba really needed someone to take care of him and would encourage him and teach him to do certain activities. Aunt Mira was this person, and Baba seemed to appreciate all the things she did for him and taught him how to do. Aunt Mira was the only one who seemed to push Baba to show some of his potential that she was sure he had, and as a result Baba was grateful for everything she did for him and made her feel appreciated.
In conclusion, it may be said that Baba is significant in Clear Light of Day since he may be seen as a symbol of no change as well as making Aunt Mira feel appreciated and wanted.
Throughout the book, one notcies that Baba is seemingly an unchanging person in the novel. This none changing aspect of Baba's character is rather significant since Baba himself may be seen as a symbol of the unchaging nature of Old Delhi and the fact that everything in the house seemed to stay the same.
In addition, Baba's use of his gramophone from the time him and Bim took it out of the Hyder Ali's abadoned house, to present,evidently shows that Baba did not change at all, since he continued to listen to his gramophone, playing the same records all the time. The use of the gramophone was also a way of making his presence known within the house, since he did speak much at all. It was a way for the family and others to know that Baba was at home and awake.
Furthermore, along with being a symbol of the unchanging nature of Old Delhi and the hoouse they lived in, Baba, in his earlier years, seemed to be a person unt Mira thought appreciated her and thus made her feel wanted. This is because Baba really needed someone to take care of him and would encourage him and teach him to do certain activities. Aunt Mira was this person, and Baba seemed to appreciate all the things she did for him and taught him how to do. Aunt Mira was the only one who seemed to push Baba to show some of his potential that she was sure he had, and as a result Baba was grateful for everything she did for him and made her feel appreciated.
In conclusion, it may be said that Baba is significant in Clear Light of Day since he may be seen as a symbol of no change as well as making Aunt Mira feel appreciated and wanted.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Pages 50- 100 !
In this section of the book, Raja wants to go to Jamia Millia for college, but his father disapproves of this decision because of the war at the time. A few days later, their mother quietly fell into a coma and was unconscious for a number of days until she sadly died.
Raja ended up going to a Hindu College to study English Literature, where his want to be a poet was made more evident in the book. It was also found that Raja wanted to be a Hero and Bim a Herioine, but Tara wanted to be a mother.
Raja's friends did not approve of him accepting the idea of Pakistan as feasible, and as a result changed from being his friends to his enemies. Later down, Raja got infected with Tuberculosis and Bim took care of him since Tara was always out and Aunt Mira was getting older.
Their father, Mr. Das, died suddenly on his way back from the club, where the car had bumped slightly against the curb of a traffic roundabout on a deserted street on the Ridge.
After not hearing from his friends, the Hyder Ali's, Raja finally got a letter from them. Bim and Baba went to the deserted Hyder Ali's house and found their dog and servant, along with a gramophone and brought them back to the house.
Aunt Mira began to get sick as a result of her constant drinking of alcohol and soon died
Tara got married to Bakul and left with him to go to Ceylon.
Dr. Biswas, the doctor who would come by to see how Raja and Aunt Mira were doing, started to have feelings for Bim, but she did not entertain hi feelings since she had so many other things on her plate, such as taking care of everyone in the house.
Raja ended up going to a Hindu College to study English Literature, where his want to be a poet was made more evident in the book. It was also found that Raja wanted to be a Hero and Bim a Herioine, but Tara wanted to be a mother.
Raja's friends did not approve of him accepting the idea of Pakistan as feasible, and as a result changed from being his friends to his enemies. Later down, Raja got infected with Tuberculosis and Bim took care of him since Tara was always out and Aunt Mira was getting older.
Their father, Mr. Das, died suddenly on his way back from the club, where the car had bumped slightly against the curb of a traffic roundabout on a deserted street on the Ridge.
After not hearing from his friends, the Hyder Ali's, Raja finally got a letter from them. Bim and Baba went to the deserted Hyder Ali's house and found their dog and servant, along with a gramophone and brought them back to the house.
Aunt Mira began to get sick as a result of her constant drinking of alcohol and soon died
Tara got married to Bakul and left with him to go to Ceylon.
Dr. Biswas, the doctor who would come by to see how Raja and Aunt Mira were doing, started to have feelings for Bim, but she did not entertain hi feelings since she had so many other things on her plate, such as taking care of everyone in the house.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Pages 1-50 !
In these few pages, the first thing that is seemingly established is the setting, which was a bright early morning, and included the first of many mentions of "the rose walk". The characters are also established in these few pages. They include Tara, Bimla, Bakul, Raja, Baba and Aunt Mira along with a few others. Tara was the oldest of the Daw family, followed by Raja, Tara and Baba who was the youngest.
Here is it seen that Tara and her husband, Bakul, who have two daughters, have come to visit Old Delhi, where Tara realises that nothing has changed since she left. For example, the fact that all the rooms and the veranda look the same, as well as the fact that Baba continues to play the same old records every day.
Bim and Tara tried to get Baba to go to the office that he ha not gone to in years. He eventually got dressed and stood by the road and contemplated on if to cross or not. Reminiscing on all the bad times he had tried to cross the road and this present encounter with horses and carts made him run back to the house stumbling a few times looking scared.
It was found that Bim was a history teacher who was firm, rough, aggressive and authoritative, whereas Tara was gentle, weak-willed and quiet.
Further on, Bim remembers the fun times she and Raja had in the dunes playing in the sand and getting ferry rides and now that Raja married Hyder Ali's daughter they barely ever talked at all.
Pages 44-50 show the introduction of the partition as a flashback, where there were fires that lit up the city in flames one summer when Raja was sick. Raja had studied Urdu since Hindi was not considered a language of good pedigree, and the Hyder Ali's would invite him to visit the house regularly to read in the library and spend time with them.
Here is it seen that Tara and her husband, Bakul, who have two daughters, have come to visit Old Delhi, where Tara realises that nothing has changed since she left. For example, the fact that all the rooms and the veranda look the same, as well as the fact that Baba continues to play the same old records every day.
Bim and Tara tried to get Baba to go to the office that he ha not gone to in years. He eventually got dressed and stood by the road and contemplated on if to cross or not. Reminiscing on all the bad times he had tried to cross the road and this present encounter with horses and carts made him run back to the house stumbling a few times looking scared.
It was found that Bim was a history teacher who was firm, rough, aggressive and authoritative, whereas Tara was gentle, weak-willed and quiet.
Further on, Bim remembers the fun times she and Raja had in the dunes playing in the sand and getting ferry rides and now that Raja married Hyder Ali's daughter they barely ever talked at all.
Pages 44-50 show the introduction of the partition as a flashback, where there were fires that lit up the city in flames one summer when Raja was sick. Raja had studied Urdu since Hindi was not considered a language of good pedigree, and the Hyder Ali's would invite him to visit the house regularly to read in the library and spend time with them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)