Thursday, April 15, 2010
Swami's Decision
As in the previous novels, we see children who grow up to make something of themselves whether they are forced or not by circumstances and environment. Swami is similar for he has to make many decisions for himself that can affect his future. Swami chooses to loathe about like a ten year old should and he chooses to do this instead of hitting the books hard and preparing for studies all the time. He chooses the child like tendencies to stay his age but then at certain times when inviting his friend Rajam over he wanted to seem more mature. At certain times, his rebellious ways take over. For example, when throwing objects at the headmasters window he felt bold and like a man but when he knew he was caught he chose to revert back to child like ways and lie. Mostly, what I got from Swami because of a lack of wisdom or immaturity, he tended to flee when things weren't going his way. When he returned the day or around the time of the match, people were coming to see him and made a spectacle of him and so he was excited. I felt as though he should have been punished in a way that made him understand how his family and friends were feeling and even when his father did make a comment, swami didn't like it. But it taught him that he had consequences no matter the severity.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You made some great points. I, too, agree that Swami seems to go into a fight-or-flight response when engaged with something that causes him to be at a feeling of guilt or wrongdoing. I don't think he necessarily thinks about it, though. Swami's rebellious ways is something that naturally occurs in many children. By being rebellious (fleeing from things when they did not go his way), this is the child's way of exerting some form of control over the situation so that he feels he has gained some form of authority. Relative to fight-or-flight, Swami wasn't ever concerned about consequences because innate responses of running away from problems doesn't necessarily have a mind or a rational reaction to things. Nonetheless, I do agree with you about punishment but recognize that everything he did was actually quite normal.
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree that Swami tends to flee from things when they do not go his way. This is the reaction of any child, when faced with a difficult situation. I also agree with the punishment aspect. Swami needed to know that there were consequences to his actions and although I have no been a fan of his father throughout the novel, I do agree that it should not have been all praise when he returned. Learning that there are consequences to your actions is a part of growing up and Swami definitely needed to realize that.
ReplyDelete