Insights into "The Vendor of Sweets" by R.K. Narayan and the Significance of Malgudi
Explore the themes of father-son conflict, identity, and self-renewal in R.K. Narayan's novel "The Vendor of Sweets" set in the fictional town of Malgudi. Delve into the protagonist Jagan's journey as a sweet vendor and his quest for self-realization amidst family dynamics, Gandhian principles, and societal expectations.
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The Vedor of Sweets by R K Narayan MA IV SEM PAPER XV DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH GOVT COLLEGE PAONTA SAHIB
R.K. Narayan has written around 15 novels, mostly revolving around the fictional town of Malgudi. Most revolve with a middle class Brahmin as the protagonist. About the origin of Malgudi and his first novel, he says Malgudi with it little railway station swam into me all ready-made, with a character called Swaminathan running down the platform peering into the faces of passengers and grimacing at a bearded face.
MALGUDIDuring his life, Narayan wrote fourteen novels, numerous essays and many short stories. Most of the fiction he wrote revolved around the Indian town of Malgudione created in the authors mind. It is this town that put modern Indian writing on the map (Mason, 1).
There are two main themes in Vendor of Sweets: One is the father-son conflict which can be generalized as a conflict between the east and west or between good and evil. The other theme is man s quest for identity and self-renewal. The protagonist Jagan is a sweet-vendor by profession, follower of the Gita in thinking and talker of Gandian principles but he indulges in double dealing in matters of money, and also cheats sales-tax authorities. He comes to realize that money is evil when his son, Mali, comes back to India with a Korean girl, Grace and asks for money for his business. Jagan finds new life or a new birth in his retirement, when he surrenders his business to his cousin
His fragile Gandhian self-regard collapses before his much- loved son s strange actions; and after Mali ends up disastrously in prison as a result of driving drunk around Malgudi, Jagan has no option but a Hindu-style renunciation of the world, bewilderment and retreat to a simpler life. But even here his ideal of Sanyasa is not serious as he still holds the purse string.
Mulgudi, Narayans famous Indian township provides the backdrop for this novel with its interesting mixture of the traditional and colonial heritage.Thelove and marriage, their devotion to God .and their celebration of the festivals make the Malgudians come alive. The simplicity of the vendor and the naivety of his customers is touching when they spend half an hour discussing politics., before asking for sweet meats and their price.
Characters Jagan and his son Mali are the main characters and two other minor characters are Jagan s cousin and the KoreanAmerican girl, Grace. Jagan looks a typical travesty of Mahatma Gandhi dressed in khadi clothes but crazy over money, he cheats the salestax authorities with no scruples and spoils Mali by giving money
Point of view In The Vendor of Sweets , Narayan adopts the selective third person point of view. It is the father son relationship or the conflict of two generations which plays the dominant role in developing the action and shaping the narrative. The experiences and events in the life of both the father and the son, therefore, occupy equal importance in the novel, Narayan, however, focalises the story from the point of view of the father. All the events and happenings in the novel are described as seen through the eyes and mind of Jagan . To provide the full view of Jagan s life and character, Narayan uses flash on and flash back techniques.
Socio-cultural Context The Western Influence As western modernity enters Malgudi , its own indigenous values are corroded. Presence of an Insurance company in The Dark Room, , the studio on the bank of river Sarayu in Mr.Sampath, and story writing machine brought by Mali in The Vendor of Sweets indicate that Malgudi is already growing as a civilized commercial centre. Change is not only spatial and temporal but also cultural and social . Mali lives with Grace, an American-Korean even when they are not married. The orthodox Hindu society of Mulgudi, ostracises Jagan for being a Gandhian and punishes Mali for anti-social behavior in the end.
