Suffering and Agony in Malgudi: Is There Any?
Uploaded by amanrana.hp on Nov 19, 2006
Suffering and Agony in Malgudi: Is There Any?
Suffering is the feeling of physical or mental pain or a state of acute pain. Agony is the intense feeling of suffering. Suffering and pain are, generally, used in the same sense; however, there is a difference between these two experiences. Suffering stands for mental experience, whereas pain is a physical experience which when acute can result in suffering. The word suffering may be related to the desires. Every man has certain desires. When he fails to fulfil these desires, the result is suffering and agony. This experience can be on various levels - physical, mental, psychological and spiritual. It is as integral to life as death is.
The suffering has always been an important theme in the literature of all languages and all ages. Even in the two great Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharta, there is the suffering of many characters. The English novel, ever since its inception, has mostly been written on realistic life, dealing with the manners, modes, rituals, beliefs, and customs of a particular age. Most of the English fiction presents the sufferings and misfortunes of the people of contemporary age. The theme of suffering and agony also runs through the novels of Indo-Anglian writers. Almost all Indo-Anglian writers have shown in their literary activities a keen awareness of the suffering of human beings, however, the degree of suffering varies from writer to writer and so also the ways of presentation. Some novelists have succeeded in creating pathos by depicting human suffering, whereas some others have used satirical mode to expose the realities of life. In many novels of Anglo-Indian writers, the theme of suffering generally arises from poverty and caste-system. The characters in these novels suffer because either they belong to the lower castes or they are poor people. In some novels, the suffering of the characters also arises from the exploitation of individuals by the industrialists or by those who belong to the high strata of life.
In the case of the novels of R. K. Narayan, not only these few causes can be attributed to the suffering of his characters. Apart from poverty, cast-system and exploitation in the industries, there are several other causes that become...