The Guide
By R.K Narayan
Published in 1958
A review by Abu Talhah b. Syed Mohamed
R.K. Narayan was an
Indian writer best known for his works set in the fictional South Indian town
of Malgudi. His works are focused on ordinary people, which makes them fairly
easy to relate to at a certain level. The
Guide which was published in 1958 is narrated by the main character, Raju.
It tells the story of Raju from the time he works as a tour guide to the time
he finds himself accidentally regarded as a spiritual guide.
Among the characters
found in the novel are Raju’s mother, Ghafur, Velan and Rosie. The
protagonist Raju is a resourceful opportunist, a ‘rescuer’ of Rosie as well as
her exploiter. Raju is also adaptable. At first Raju is quite sympathetic towards Rosie because her husband ignores whatever she
does. Raju then develops some feelings for her and starts to dress up
nicely for her and is willing to bring her to places where her husband
Marco would never bring her. Rosie married Marco because he did not care what
caste she belonged to. Unlike many other Indian women of her time, Rosie is
educated. She has a master’s degree in economics. She thought that by getting
married she would get more freedom, but she ends up getting controlled by her
husband. At first Raju felt sympathetic towards Rosie but he too starts to
control her just like her husband did.
I find Velan to be the most
interesting character in the novel. This is because Velan ends up controlling Raju when he regards Raju as
a saint. Raju is forced to play the role of a saint. There is a part when
Raju is forced to fast endlessly and this makes him worried. Before Velan comes
into Raju’s life and has such a a tight grip on it, Raju controls Rosie when
she becomes a dancer. He becomes jealous when someone else talks to Rosie. After Raju's imprisonment and release, his life is no longer free when he is forced to
become a saint.
R.K Narayan uses a lot of irony in this novel. The title itself is ironic because of the multiple meanings of the word 'guide'. The language of the novel is simple but effective. Although there are certain parts of the novel that are a little hard to understand, most of it can be understood. Irony is the main feature of this novel. The language does not show this explicitly, but the plot shows irony as the story progresses. Among the examples of irony in the story is when Rosie's husband Marco trusts Raju to take him to the caves for a tour, Raju seduces his wife. The second example of irony is when Raju has control over Rosie, it does not last long. Afterwards Raju is sent to prison for forgery and when he gets out, his life is controlled by Velan.
Implied meaning is a feature of the language of this novel. This is found for example in the following excerpt when Raju says: "It seemed so unnecessary, so suicidal. My only technique was to keep her in good humour to the best of my ability from quarter to quarter". What is not said but implied in the words "technique" and "good humour" is his lack of concern for her real happiness. She must be kept in a good mood in order to perform and generate income. Another part that has implied meaning is when Rosie says she feels she is controlled by Raju. Rosie says: "Do you know the bulls yoked to an oil-crusher, they keep going round and round and round, in a circle, without a beginning or an end?". But she does not explicitly liken herself to the bulls.
Since the novel is narrated about the past, simple past tense and continuous tense are used. Examples of simple past tense in the novel is "Our life fell into a routine after this little disturbance during which time I steeped myself in the card game". An example of past continuous tense in the novel is: "I was attending personally to an accumulation of correspondence on my table". Raju is talking about the number of letters he received over time.
Overall this novel is a good and interesting novel that I recommend to others to read.
R.K Narayan uses a lot of irony in this novel. The title itself is ironic because of the multiple meanings of the word 'guide'. The language of the novel is simple but effective. Although there are certain parts of the novel that are a little hard to understand, most of it can be understood. Irony is the main feature of this novel. The language does not show this explicitly, but the plot shows irony as the story progresses. Among the examples of irony in the story is when Rosie's husband Marco trusts Raju to take him to the caves for a tour, Raju seduces his wife. The second example of irony is when Raju has control over Rosie, it does not last long. Afterwards Raju is sent to prison for forgery and when he gets out, his life is controlled by Velan.
Implied meaning is a feature of the language of this novel. This is found for example in the following excerpt when Raju says: "It seemed so unnecessary, so suicidal. My only technique was to keep her in good humour to the best of my ability from quarter to quarter". What is not said but implied in the words "technique" and "good humour" is his lack of concern for her real happiness. She must be kept in a good mood in order to perform and generate income. Another part that has implied meaning is when Rosie says she feels she is controlled by Raju. Rosie says: "Do you know the bulls yoked to an oil-crusher, they keep going round and round and round, in a circle, without a beginning or an end?". But she does not explicitly liken herself to the bulls.
Since the novel is narrated about the past, simple past tense and continuous tense are used. Examples of simple past tense in the novel is "Our life fell into a routine after this little disturbance during which time I steeped myself in the card game". An example of past continuous tense in the novel is: "I was attending personally to an accumulation of correspondence on my table". Raju is talking about the number of letters he received over time.
Overall this novel is a good and interesting novel that I recommend to others to read.
No comments:
Post a Comment