decisions

With this novel, Narayan really seems to have captured the essence of being a young person and being face with decisions. In the beginning of the novel, it feels like Swami is only concerned with instant gratification. One prime example is when he wants the hoop. He is duped into believing that the Coachman can take his small amount of money and magically turn it into a larger sum of money, and Swami will then be able to get the hoop he so desperately desires. Of course, after his money is taken, he realizes that there is no magical ability to multiply money and that he isn’t getting a hoop. This scenario, to me, really exemplifies a child’s desire for instant gratification and an inability to understand being deceived. It also shows that at this point in Swami’s life, he isn’t thinking long term, he is only thinking about the next moment, and what he can do to make that next moment happy for himself, or what he can do to ensure that he enjoys the next moment.

Then we are confronted with the decision to run away from the school when the headmaster is punishing him for skipping class. “A flood of emotion swept him off his fee, a mixture of fear, resentment, and rage. He hardly knew what he was doing. His arm shot out, plucked the cane from the headmaster’s hand, and flung it out of the window. Then he dashed to his desk, snatched his books, and ran out of the room. […] He would not be admitted to any school. So he would have to work and earn…he might get some rupees-and he could go to hotels and buy coffee and tiffin as often as he pleased.” (page 116) Here, we still see this almost knee-jerk reaction way of making decisions, with instant gratification as the reward. As the passage continues, we see him in this childlike state of trying to “plan” something that to him is a logical future.

It isn’t until towards the end that we see him begin to have moments of maturity. As was pointed out in class, when he is scared in the woods, he comes to the realization that he shouldn’t have done what he did. He is beginning to understand that there are consequences to his actions. And he is slowly realizing that not everyone will tell him the truth and at the end, we are seeing the notion of discerning who to trust and who not to trust dawn on him.