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Anil Symbolism

Dead Body
1. "They were hanging a woman."
  1. "the force of impending death."
    1. as if she was being forces to death; she has no rights on her own life.
      1. illuminated the poor conditions of the women in the society
        the fact that the two men hung her shows the power of the men in patriarchy
2. 'final struggle of her life"
  1. creates an assumption that she has bared this pain many times and this is not the first 'struggle;
    1. and this is the 'final' one as her life has been taken away
      1. makes it appear that lives of women are full of struggle and pain
3. "black hair synonymous with the darkness and strewn across her face. "
  1. imagery that she has mixed into the darkness
    1. intends to say she is no more visible because she is dead
  2. maybe lost in the dark world of evil and corruption
    1. this darkness has 'strewn across her face'
      1. she has lost her personal identity due to the unjust society and unequal rights they have created
4. " She had been unconscious"
  1. as if she had not been aware of the corruption due to innocence and kindness
    1. that is why they took the advantage and killed her
  2. could represent the innocence of Anil
    1. Anil ahs been 'unconscious' of the dark underpinnings of the human psyche just like the women
      1. foreshadows that he may become an innocent victim as well
5. "the body of the woman lay limp"
  1. limp means not firm and lack strenght
    1. shows that woman don't have the firm position in the society
      1. unstable and easily broken or uprooted
      2. stereotypical image of woman being weak
  2. the tree seems to be fantasised to have the dark underpinnings of human psyche. hence perhaps regarded to symbolically represent the headman
    1. headman is the old tree with deep and strong roots meaning he is stable and cannot be harmed and uprooted by others
      1. whereas the woman's hanging body had no support, no contact with the ground so no roots to give it stability and the power to resist the cruelty of man
Mosquitoes
1. Invading Monarch
  1. 'reign of terrorism"
    1. word 'reign' leads to the picture as if the villagers are under rule
      1. hints that headman is the ruler or monarch
        gives idea about the type of relation he has with the villagers
        like a ruler where they have to accept his decision
        proved later when they unquestioningly agreed to 'bury the dead body.'
2. Loss of innocence
  1. 'when the mosquitoes were in their reign of terrorism'
    1. mosquitoes suck blood and useful substances out of your body
      1. blood is important for survival
    2. similarly he is sucking out the innocence and humanity out of the village
      1. infecting them with the germs of corruption which always spreads
        taking away useful qualities that are needed for humans to go on.
3. Violence
  1. 'reign of terrorism"
    1. general picture of terrorism associated with pain, death, brutality, pain and power.
      1. touches through several themes
    2. terrorism is to gain power like how the headman want the power
      1. violence refers to the domestic violence against the women like the 'bruise on her hsoulder'
        there are several pain in the story - pain of separation, pain of mom, pain of women
4. Pain
  1. "mosquitoes had embedded their pain upon him"
    1. foreshadows that the bites of headman and his decisions have left Anil in pain
      1. suffering pain of separation from his parents
        this pain in 'embedded' in his memories and he 'will never forget it', creates a sense of hope that eh will return to get them out of the darkness
5. Reason for the Plight of villagers
  1. 'when the mosquitoes were in the reign of terrorism. he villager skep to themselves sin their little huts."
    1. mosquitoes are found in unhygienic and polluted places due to presence of dirt and contaminants
      1. similarly the presence of mosquitoes in the village shows that the village is full of dirt and impurities
Star
1. childish imagination
  1. "for now he found the star fascinating".
    1. writer links to fantasy and fascination children have.
      1. their belief that they can rise high and get those star
        symbolically means Anil thinks it is very easy to grab success & dream like other kids
        childish unawareness that world has magical wonders and is much better than what it is
2. good future without poverty.
  1. "but tonight he could only make out one hole."
    1. Anil believes these dreams & hopes will lead to better future.
      1. there is hope that bright future will drive them out of these poverty.
        that's he can 'only see one hole.
        because he is optimistic about future and has dreams & hope for better.
3. contract with adults
  1. "his parents would not even stop for a second to gape at a star."
    1. they are all lost in dark of evil and corruption & no hope.
    2. they don't have 'star' meaning no aspirations
      1. they don't want to rise high and get big dreams.
        they had accepted darkness and follow hierarchy.
4. dreams and inspiration
  1. "a small star shown down on him."
    1. distinguishes that when villagers 'kept to themselves' and 'sleeping', Anil was wide awake and different
      1. the others are in darkness but Anil has ray of hope.
        as if 'star' is like his torch that'll guide him how to reach his destination
        depicts that stars will enlighten his life and show way out of it and achieve success and dreams.
        he is the only one aspired to have big dreams.
        the only one who notices stars and world of opportunity.
5. Loss of Innocence
  1. "There were no more stars in the morning."
    1. there are no more hopes, dreams, belief, fascination in the magical wonders of the life
      1. The murder at night made him aware that the world was not as good as he thought
        he might now realise that it is hard to fight the evil and its power to achieve his dreams
        lost all his dreams and guide and hopes and no positive attitude towards the life

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Anil Symbolism

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	Created by Kajal Patel over 10 years ago