Monday, April 19, 2010
Preaching
Something I wanted to talk about in my presentation but didn't get a chance to is I drew a connection to Joyce from Narayan. This connection was Rajam's attempts to pacify the two groups of friends in Chapter Six. The "lecture on friendship" Rajam gives the two groups seems more like a diatribe, one that stressed "hair-raising accounts of what hell had in store for persons who fostered enmity" (38). This immediately reminded me of the lecture by the priest about hell in Joyce, and the vivid description he provided about the hell that awaited those who were not God-fearing, good Christians. I wonder, then, if the inclusion of Rajam's speech is a parallel to Joyce, or at least to this sect of Christianity. It may be an even greater parallel to colonialism, as we have already discussed other qualities in Rajam that make him a symbol for the British rule.
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I noticed this similarity too as I read this chapter. I thought it was entertaining how Rajim mentions sin and Hell, but what really convinces them to be friends again is the promise of material rewards. So the difference for me then, is that Stephen would have been so motivated by the idea of Hell to do something he didn't really want to do (like stay up in the cold to pray) whereas Swami has a sense of identity that is not yet developed, and shows no true commitment to religion. At the beginning of the book, Swami is not phased by theses threats of Christianity either.
ReplyDeleteConnecting it to colonialism- Rajim offers both religion and material possessions, which I think makes it possible to say that he symbolizes the British Rule, as you say.