Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Back to Swami
Swami decisions are based on his obsession with making desirable impressions and fitting in with his peers. However, fitting in for Swami means decisions that involve him choosing between two competing brands of cultural. Swami wants to prove to Raja that he is “British” enough to hang with him. Simultaneously, there are nationalistic figures in his life he would also like to impress or that he doesn’t want to let down. This dilemma of deviating between two constructs of identity leads Swami to compromise his integrity and honesty to fit in--or to flee a scenario where he is not fitting in. It’s never convincing that Swami genuinely feels a personal connection to either culture outside of what it means to him in the moment in where he must, essentially, choose one or the other. Swami’s maturation in all this is that, little by little, he begins to realize his own naiveté and lack of true understanding of the cultural crossroads in which he stands. To hang with Raja he’s got to strive to look like Raja, sound like Raja, and think like Raja. If Raja doesn’t have to serve his own coffee and Tiffin when entertaining his friends than Swami similarly will have his coffee and Tiffin brought to him when Raja is a guest in his house. Conversely, to be cool with the nationalists at the protest against the Arrest of Gauri Sankar, Swami throws his cap into the fire without much deliberation, “Swaminathan quailed with shame. ‘Oh, I didn’t notice,’ he said, and removing his cap flung it into the fire with a feeling that he was saving the country.” This last excerpt is an example of how Narayan at times in the novel jokingly mocks his main character. Swami truly believes at the time he is doing something right, when really he is succumbing to the shame brought on by being called out as too “English” in a scenario where it doesn’t benefit him to appear as such. Part of adolescent life is about figuring out who you are. For Swami, he is not only figuring out who he is, but how the things and people around him make him who he is.
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I agree and I wrote a similar post. Swami's development of identity is blind and led by societal standards, and peer pressure. All he knows of the world is the people around him and when he sees them, he wants to be them. I think this devotion to becoming "elite" consumes Sawmi and blocks out intelligent autonomy. I think this is also what makes the book relatable. AS you mention adolescence is about discovering yourself, and I think its also about that moment when you start to realize the world isn't what it seems: mom and dad aren't perfect, and neither are your friends. I think this moment, for Swami, occurs when Rajim leaves. Yet Swami still seeks Rajim out with desperation by giving him his favorite book. The novel doesn't end with a sense of finality to Swami's character. He's still young, and still has more to learn. I think it's interesting that this book ends when Swami is still and adolescent (unless I missed something).
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