effort is made to
show how the tree is
similar to fantasy,
evil, darkness and
violence.
the tree has been
there in the village for
ages
similarly corruption
is there for
generations and has
now become a part
of their everyday
lives,
could also show that
how Anil was afraid of
natural gander which
seems to possess no
threat
but the real threat as
he discovers is in the
dark underpinning of
the human psyche.
the tree points out
that the reall threat is
in the humans not
nature.
personifies the headman
'the tree with thick
vines hanging from it'
might foreshadow and
prepare that there might
soon be a women hangin
'vine' represents the
widespread power and
the ability of the
headman to reach and
capture anyone in his
trap.
like the 'dark' tree the shadow of the headman is dark and evil as
well showing the dark underpinnings of human psyche.
Widespread myths and fear
" Nagaraj, the madman who sang to himself by the river every
day from dawn till dusk, told them he had once seen the tree wrap
it vines around little kids who ventured unknowingly near it "
reason for the fear is the myths they are told & made to believe
they have been frightened right form the young age
so that they never go 'near it'
similar to how headman has created the fear from start
he is shutting up Anil right from the beginning so that he
never dares to speak uo again
he has created this atmosphere right from start
that their lives depend on him
Comparison of Anil with the headman
Imagery of
headman being
'large ghastly tree'
and Anil being
vulnerable
perhaps sapling
Whereas Anil
could be a like the
woman who was
hung on the tree
she has no root or
support when hung
and so could be
easily uprooted
he is as vulnerable
as the woman
As headman he is
a huge tree and is
likely to have deep
roots
symbolically
could mean he
has strong and
stable foundation
no one can
uproot him
Loss of Innocence
"the tree that ate little children."
only show to east away little
children and not adults
children are likely to be vulnerable
targets of the evil adult world
intends to mean that the
childhood has been eaten away
how before and after the death at the
tree, Anil has faced loss of innocence
as he became aware of evil
'no one would ever see the kid again'
not only they will see the kid with the
childhood as now he has grown up
but also
means that
Anil will go
away as he
does at the
end of the
story.
HUT
Limit to their dreams
"Villagers kept to
themselves in
their little huts."
hut is the
evidence of their
immense poverty
links to their dreams being very
basic and everyday issues e.g.
milkman - cow, woman - cooking
as if they are
bound to their
smaller dreams
seem as if they have
accepted the poverty
maybe because being poor and powerless means they can't face the
rich headman who is stopping them
as if they are trapped in their huts and
not allowed to rise over this poverty
Poverty
"thatched roof of the hut where
there were many holes."
poor conditions show poverty
and lower position in the
society
'thatched roof' is easily
blown away by strong winds
shows how poor, powerless
they are that they can't even
protect themselves from the
headman
an event could completely
change their situation
Sense of Protection
"He could see only the dark."
the hut stops him from
seeing the real dark
which he saw only when
he peered out of the
window
it acts as a barrier for
him from the outside
world full of corruption
Limits Anil
"He was only tall enough
to peer out of the window."
outside the hut of poverty
lies Anil's dreams and
aspirations
but the window is too high
for him to see these
might means that his
background and poverty
might stop him from
achieving his dreams
he is too small to achieve his 'big dreams'
spirituality and cleanliness
"a place as
dusty as a
hut"
religions associate dust with lives
we start as dust and end with
dust as we are burnt to die
hence dust represents stagnant
part of out lives
where cleaning the dust could
symbolise cleaning our own spirituality
the place is dusty meaning not cleaned
highlights that it is full of evil and corruption
lack of movement
causes dust to
accumulate
secretly points
that inactivity
and silence of
villagers brings
more silence
when they are
not quite but
forced to be
silent
villages give chance tot he villagers to overrule them
MINOR DETAILS
"Mosquitoes were in their
reign of terrorism".
Mosquitoes grow in unhygienic
place where it is hard to live healthy.
symbolises how village has been
polluted and contaminated.
headman is symbolic of mosquito as it
contaminating society with evil which
makes it hard for the villagers to live.
use of 'reign' signifies headman is
monarch/ rule as a king
so relation is that villagers have to
obey ordors they have no say
this 'reign' has brought pain
terrorism and violence to the village
moreover mosquitoes suck out
useful blood vital to sustain life
headman play the similar role. He is taking out innocence and
humanity which is vital for welfare of community of village
then he is spreading disease of corruption to others
e.g. made marimuthu corrupt by forcing to murden wife, make
father corrupt bribing him to hide truth for son's education
hot sweltering night
excessively hot
& humid thats
unbearable
extensive heat suggests something
unwanted is crossing its limits
feeling of uncomfort and uneasy shows
that something wrong is going on
suggest
uncomfortable and
unpleasant setting
foreshadows a story as a
culture thats unfamiliar &
may be also alienating to
the readers
warns that the story may
leave reader in
unbelievable & unbearable
condition which they never
ever imagined.
"hot sweltering
night in the middle
of the march"
Symbolic meaning of March
March is
names
after the
Roman
god, Mars
who is the
god of war
readers could
associate was
with the themes
going on in the
story of pain,
violence, power
or rule
March is also
the beginning
of the new
year as per
the original
Roman
calendar
this perhaps points
out towards the start
of new stage in the
Anil's life after his
introduction tot he
evil world and loss of
innocence
he moves
away from
his family
and hence
to start a
living
again
"The train started to move,
its tired wheels pushing
away from the station"
train represents th e hourney of his life
'wail' means to cry in misery or sorrow
train wailing symbolically hints that the boy
is crying as he is leaving the father behind
wheels are tired
suggests that he is
exhausted and sick of
finding his way out of
the evil and fighting it
takes him lots of courage to push
away this station of event and evil
from life. hence decided to move
away from it.
"fields that were left to fallow"
fields ar left to 'fallow' to let them
recover and become more fertile
letting him go will make his life more fruitful as he will then leave the 'darkness' and learn to adapt and fight for himself.
fields symbolise life of Anil which has to be cultivated
by the parents and grown
but now left 'fallow; which means it is prone to erosion
and damage and misused by evil