Anil Setting

Anil Setting

TREE
1. Natural Danger
  1. 'large ghastly tree'
  2. represents the dark underpinning of human psyche.
    1. effort is made to show how the tree is similar to fantasy, evil, darkness and violence.
      1. the tree has been there in the village for ages
        similarly corruption is there for generations and has now become a part of their everyday lives,
    2. could also show that how Anil was afraid of natural gander which seems to possess no threat
      1. but the real threat as he discovers is in the dark underpinning of the human psyche.
        the tree points out that the reall threat is in the humans not nature.
2. personifies the headman
  1. 'the tree with thick vines hanging from it'
    1. might foreshadow and prepare that there might soon be a women hangin
      1. 'vine' represents the widespread power and the ability of the headman to reach and capture anyone in his trap.
  2. like the 'dark' tree the shadow of the headman is dark and evil as well showing the dark underpinnings of human psyche.
3. Widespread myths and fear
  1. " Nagaraj, the madman who sang to himself by the river every day from dawn till dusk, told them he had once seen the tree wrap it vines around little kids who ventured unknowingly near it "
    1. reason for the fear is the myths they are told & made to believe
      1. they have been frightened right form the young age so that they never go 'near it'
        similar to how headman has created the fear from start
        he is shutting up Anil right from the beginning so that he never dares to speak uo again
        he has created this atmosphere right from start that their lives depend on him
4. Comparison of Anil with the headman
  1. Imagery of headman being 'large ghastly tree' and Anil being vulnerable perhaps sapling
    1. Whereas Anil could be a like the woman who was hung on the tree
      1. she has no root or support when hung and so could be easily uprooted
        he is as vulnerable as the woman
  2. As headman he is a huge tree and is likely to have deep roots
    1. symbolically could mean he has strong and stable foundation
      1. no one can uproot him
5. Loss of Innocence
  1. "the tree that ate little children."
    1. only show to east away little children and not adults
      1. children are likely to be vulnerable targets of the evil adult world
        intends to mean that the childhood has been eaten away
        how before and after the death at the tree, Anil has faced loss of innocence as he became aware of evil
        'no one would ever see the kid again'
        not only they will see the kid with the childhood as now he has grown up
        but also means that Anil will go away as he does at the end of the story.
HUT
1. Limit to their dreams
  1. "Villagers kept to themselves in their little huts."
    1. hut is the evidence of their immense poverty
      1. links to their dreams being very basic and everyday issues e.g. milkman - cow, woman - cooking
        as if they are bound to their smaller dreams
        seem as if they have accepted the poverty
        maybe because being poor and powerless means they can't face the rich headman who is stopping them
  2. as if they are trapped in their huts and not allowed to rise over this poverty
2. Poverty
  1. "thatched roof of the hut where there were many holes."
    1. poor conditions show poverty and lower position in the society
      1. 'thatched roof' is easily blown away by strong winds
        shows how poor, powerless they are that they can't even protect themselves from the headman
        an event could completely change their situation
3. Sense of Protection
  1. "He could see only the dark."
    1. the hut stops him from seeing the real dark which he saw only when he peered out of the window
      1. it acts as a barrier for him from the outside world full of corruption
4. Limits Anil
  1. "He was only tall enough to peer out of the window."
    1. outside the hut of poverty lies Anil's dreams and aspirations
      1. but the window is too high for him to see these
        might means that his background and poverty might stop him from achieving his dreams
        he is too small to achieve his 'big dreams'
5. spirituality and cleanliness
  1. "a place as dusty as a hut"
    1. religions associate dust with lives
      1. we start as dust and end with dust as we are burnt to die
        hence dust represents stagnant part of out lives
        where cleaning the dust could symbolise cleaning our own spirituality
        the place is dusty meaning not cleaned
        highlights that it is full of evil and corruption
    2. lack of movement causes dust to accumulate
      1. secretly points that inactivity and silence of villagers brings more silence when they are not quite but forced to be silent
        villages give chance tot he villagers to overrule them
MINOR DETAILS
1. "Mosquitoes were in their reign of terrorism".
  1. Mosquitoes grow in unhygienic place where it is hard to live healthy.
    1. symbolises how village has been polluted and contaminated.
      1. headman is symbolic of mosquito as it contaminating society with evil which makes it hard for the villagers to live.
        use of 'reign' signifies headman is monarch/ rule as a king
        so relation is that villagers have to obey ordors they have no say
        this 'reign' has brought pain terrorism and violence to the village
        moreover mosquitoes suck out useful blood vital to sustain life
        headman play the similar role. He is taking out innocence and humanity which is vital for welfare of community of village
        then he is spreading disease of corruption to others
        e.g. made marimuthu corrupt by forcing to murden wife, make father corrupt bribing him to hide truth for son's education
2. hot sweltering night
  1. excessively hot & humid thats unbearable
  2. extensive heat suggests something unwanted is crossing its limits
    1. feeling of uncomfort and uneasy shows that something wrong is going on
  3. suggest uncomfortable and unpleasant setting
    1. foreshadows a story as a culture thats unfamiliar & may be also alienating to the readers
      1. warns that the story may leave reader in unbelievable & unbearable condition which they never ever imagined.
3. "hot sweltering night in the middle of the march"
  1. Symbolic meaning of March
    1. March is names after the Roman god, Mars who is the god of war
      1. readers could associate was with the themes going on in the story of pain, violence, power or rule
    2. March is also the beginning of the new year as per the original Roman calendar
      1. this perhaps points out towards the start of new stage in the Anil's life after his introduction tot he evil world and loss of innocence
        he moves away from his family and hence to start a living again
4. "The train started to move, its tired wheels pushing away from the station"
  1. train represents th e hourney of his life
    1. 'wail' means to cry in misery or sorrow
      1. train wailing symbolically hints that the boy is crying as he is leaving the father behind
  2. wheels are tired suggests that he is exhausted and sick of finding his way out of the evil and fighting it
    1. takes him lots of courage to push away this station of event and evil from life. hence decided to move away from it.
5. "fields that were left to fallow"
  1. fields ar left to 'fallow' to let them recover and become more fertile
    1. letting him go will make his life more fruitful as he will then leave the 'darkness' and learn to adapt and fight for himself.
  2. fields symbolise life of Anil which has to be cultivated by the parents and grown
    1. but now left 'fallow; which means it is prone to erosion and damage and misused by evil

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	Created by Kajal Patel about 10 years ago