UNIVERSITE DE KISANGANI
BP. 2012
KISANGANI
FACULTE DES LETTRES ET SCIENCES HUMAINES
Département des Lettres et Civilisation
Anglaises.
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN RAVINDER SINGH'S
CAN LOVE HAPPEN TWICE? AND YOUR
DREAMS ARE MINE NOW.
Par
James KIENAGONZWE ASAMBOA
MEMOIRE
Présenté et Deféndu en vue de l'obtention de
Grade de Licencié en Lettres et Civilisation Anglaises.
Directeur: Pr Valentin MONGBOLO
NGALIMA
Encadreur: C.T Sébastien MUAMBA
KASHALA.
Année Academique
2018-2019 Prémière Session.
To all children from poor families around the world who
face difficulties to pay tuition fees for their education,
I dedicate this work.
Acknowledgements
My endless thanks and gratitudes are addressed to Madam
Marie-Jeanne NGELEMA DIGUMEFELE who dispite her occupations and
responsabilities has provided me with everything and paid all tuition fees
during last three years of my university studies. Without her mercifull heart,
I would never graduate from university. Her act of love towards me is the most
important thing that will be kept in my family's heart generation to
generation.
This work is hers, I dedicate it to her, her husband, her
children and her whole family. May the true God JEHOVA I worship bless her.
I owe a debt of gratitude towards Madam Philomène
BONTAMBO NSELOFONA, who is not cited her only like one of my English Literature
lecturers but also like a mother. For all she did in my life, since they are
uncountable, I cannot be able to mention a few, I say thanks a lot, Madam.
I thank both Professor MONGBOLO NGALIMA and Senior Lecturer
MUAMBA KASHALA for respectively directing and supervising this research paper,
without their guidance it would not be accepted and defended.
To all Teachers and Professors of Kisangani University, all my
class mates, all my friends, all my family members: father, mother, brothers,
sisters, oncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, grand-parents, and all others whose
names are not mentioned in this list but have contributed near or far during my
5 years spent at Kisangani University, I say thank you very much.
James KIENAGONZWE ASAMBOA
August 2019.
Education is the passport to the future, for
tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.
Malcolm X
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can
use to change the world.
Nelson Mandela
INTRODUCTION
0.1 Research Statement
Since the publication of novels: «Can Love Hapen
Twice?» in 2011 and, «Your Dreams Are Mine Now» in 2014 by
Ravinder Singh, they have arose the interest of many literary scholars,
students of literature and simple readers who are fun of love stories through
the world. Surely, Ravinder had developed real life problems concerning love
within all his novels among which the two understudy in this dissertation.
As a student of literature, I am going to focus my deep
attention on the narrative techniques of Ravinder's two romantic novels already
mentioned.
0.1 Hypothesis
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines hypothesis as an
idea that has not yet been found true or correct.
Morever, Professor Tshimpaga in the course of Statistics G2
L.C.A, 2009-2010 stantes that hypothesis is a statement that can be accepted or
rejected after experiment.
Literary men all over the world while reading a given work of
art do not only base in the message that is given by the author but they also
deepen the reading in taking into account different elements that make up a
literary work.
As far as the novels: «Can Love Happen Twice?» and
«Your Dreams Are Mine Now» are concerned, the question will be to
know the narrative techniques Ravinder used in novelsCan Love Happen Twice?
and Your Dreams are Mine Now.
6
0.2 Methods
A method is a way of doing something like the quality of being
well organized in our thinking and action or set of ways followed in order to
find solution to a problem. (Oxford English Dictionary, 2012).But an approach
is a way of dealing with something.
In the frame of this work, both New Critism and Formalist
approach are the tools applied to discuss my topic widely. While New Criticism
appears as an attempt to retain the integrity of a work of art by stressing on
the text itself, in the other hand the formalist approach focuses on the form,
mechanics of the literary work, its physical characteristics and reaction
against social and biographical influence on the work.
Therefore, to reach the objective, I used both form and
content. Form refers to how the work is made up of techniques or literary
devices used by Ravinder, and content refers to the message he tries to
communicate to his readers.
0.3 The Choice of the Topic
My choice has been put on «Narrative Techniques in
Ravinder Singh's Can Love Happen Twice? And Your Dreams are Mine
Now» this subject has attracted my interest for some particular
reasons which are going to be reflected in the lines that follow.
My first interest goes to literature as one of the two fields
of research organized in English Department of the Arts Faculty of Kisangani
University. Knowing that literature is a wide domain, I chose to specialize on
Modern Literature where my intention has been fixed on Indian Literature.
By choosing two Indian romantic novels, my motivation on
Ravinder's novels pushed me to focus on his narravive techiques, so, the choice
of this topic is not hazardous.
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0.4 Aims of the Work
Besides the main objective of this work which is to write and
defend a thesis at the end of the second cycle studies in DR Congo in order to
graduate after successful five years at university, this dissertation also aims
at:
- Helping people know more about Indian Literature,
- Developping the momory and practice student's ability in the
analysis of a literary work,
- Helping English Literature students master how to analyse
two novels of the same author within one work,
- Developping readers critical mind as well as their way of
writing,
and
- Providing a scientific document to all researchers who are
enthusiasts on romantic novels and on Ravinder Singh particularly.
0.5 Sources of Data
The present work's main sourses of data derive from a certain
number of English, African, American and Indian Literary books. Another source
of data is numerous works previously done in literature, notes of courses,
dictionaries and internet. The most important of these all well indicated in
the bibliography and webography.
0.6 Limitation of the Work
«Can Love Happen Twice?» and «Your
Dreams are Mine Now» like all other thousands novels in the world can
be studied inso many different aspects, themes or topics that make up
literature.
Consequently, this paper is concentrated on Modern Literature.
i.e the Literature of Commonwealth or countries colonized by Englang(U.K). In
this great ocean of writings, the work specialized in Indian English Literature
where Narrative Techniques in Ravinder Singh's «Can Love Happen
Twice?» and «Your Dreams are Mine Now» are studied.
8
0.7 Division of the Work
This work is dividedinto an introduction, three chapters and
conclusion. In the introduction, I discuss (1) Research Statement, (2)
Hypothesis, (3) The choice of the Topic, (4) Methods, (5) Aims of the Work, (6)
Sources of Data, and (7) Division of the Work.
Chapter one, Literary Survey on Indian Literature. This
Subsection deals with: (1) A Brief History of India, (2) Indian Litterature in
Other Languages that English, and (3) Indian English Literature
Chapter two, Ravinder Sight's Life and Work and A Literary
Analysis of Ravinder Singh's two novels: Can Love Happen Twice? and
Your Dreams are Mine Now. In this level I discuss in first point
author's life and work followed by, (1) The Title, (2) Plot, (3) Characters and
Characterrization, (4) Settings, (5) The Style, (6) The Mood, (7) The Tone, and
(8) The Intention.
Chapter three, Narrative Techiques in Ravinder Sigh's
«Can Love Happen Twice?» and «Your Dreams are Mine Now»: A
first category includes the following techiques: (1) Use of Short, Simple
Sentences, (2) Use of SMS language and spelling, (3) Use of Real Names, (4) Use
of Proverbs, (5) Use of Imotional Terms, (6) Use of Flashback, and (7) Use of
Point of View. A second category consists of (8) the use of figures of
speech.
A general conclusion will put an end to the work.
CHAPTER ONE
LITERARY SURVEY ON INDIAN LITERATURE, I. Literary Survey
on Indian Literature
I.1 A Brief History of India
Indian history includes the prehistoric settlements and
societies in the Indian subcontinent; the advancement of civilisation from the
Indus Valley Civilisation to the eventual blending of the Indo-Aryan culture
to
form the Vedic Civilisation; the rise of Hinduism, Jainism
and Buddhism; the onset of a succession of powerful dynasties and empires for
more than three millennia throughout various geographic areas of the Indian
subcontinent, including the growth of Muslim dominions during the Medieval
period intertwined with Hindu powers; the advent of European traders and
privateers, resulting in the establishment of British India; and the subsequent
independence movement that led to the Partition of India and the creation of
the Republic of India.(Metcalf & Metcalf 2006, p. 6.)
Archaeological evidence of anatomically modern humans in the
Indian subcontinent is estimated to be as old as 73,000-55,000 yearswith some
evidence of early hominids dating back to about 500,000 years ago. Considered a
cradle of civilisation, the Indus Valley Civilisation, which spread and
flourished in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent from 3300 to
1300 BCE, was the first major civilisation in South Asia.
A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture
developed in the Mature Harappanperiod, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. This
civilisation collapsed at the start of the second millennium BCE and was later
followed by the Iron Age Vedic Civilisation. The era saw the composition of the
Vedas, the seminal texts of Hinduism, coalesce into Janapadas (monarchical,
state-level polities), and social stratification based on caste. The Later
Vedic Civilisation extended over the Indo-Gangetic plain and much of the Indian
subcontinent, as well as witnessed the rise of major
10
polities known as the Mahajanapadas. In one of these
kingdoms, Magadha, Gautama Buddha and Mahavira
propagated their OErama?ic philosophies during the fifth and sixth
centuries BCE. (Romila Thapar, A History of India, p. 24.)
Most of the Indian subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya
Empire during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. From the 3rd century BCE onwards
Prakrit and Pali literature in the north and the Tamil Sangam literature in
southern India started to flourish.( Researches Into the History and
Civilization of the Kirâtas by G. P. Singh p. 33)
Wootz steeloriginated in south India in the 3rd century BCE
and was exported to foreign countries. During the Classical period, various
parts of India were ruled by numerous dynasties for the next 1,500 years, among
which the Gupta Empire stands out. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious
and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or "Golden Age of
India".
During this period, aspects of Indian civilisation,
administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread too much
of Asia, while kingdoms in southern India had maritime business links with the
Middle East and the Mediterranean. Indian cultural influence spread over many
parts of Southeast Asia, which led to the establishment of Indianised kingdoms
in Southeast Asia (Greater India). (The Cambridge History of Southeast
Asia: From Early Times to c. 1800, Band 1 by Nicholas Tarling, p. 281).
The most significant event between the 7th and 11th century
was the Tripartite struggle centred on Kannauj that lasted for more than two
centuries between the Pala Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire, and Gurjara-Pratihara
Empire. Southern India saw the rise of multiple imperial powers from the middle
of the fifth century, most notable being
the Chalukya, Chola, Pallava, Chera, Pandyan, and
Western Chalukya Empires. The Chola dynasty conquered southern India and
successfully invaded parts of Southeast Asia, Sri
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Lanka, Maldivesand Bengal in the 11th century. The early
medieval period Indian mathematics influenced the development of mathematics
and astronomy in the Arab world and the Hindu numerals were introduced. (Essays
on Ancient India by Raj Kumar p.199).
Muslim rule started in parts of north India in the 13th century
when
the Delhi Sultanate was founded in 1206 CE by Central Asian
Turks; though earlier Muslim conquests made limited inroads into modern
Afghanistan and Pakistan as early as the 8th century.The Delhi Sultanate ruled
the major part of northern India in the early 14th century, but declined in the
late 14th century. This period also saw the emergence of several powerful Hindu
states, notably Vijayanagara, Gajapati, Ahom, as well as Rajput states, such as
Mewar.
The 15th century saw the advent of Sikhism. The early modern
period began in the 16th century, when the Mughals conquered most of the Indian
subcontinent. The Mughals suffered a gradual decline in the early
18th century, which provided opportunities for the
Marathas, Sikhs and Mysoreans to exercise control over large areas of the
Indian subcontinent.( The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought:
page 340).
From the late 18th century to the mid-19th century, large
areas of India were annexed by the British East India Company of the British
Empire. Dissatisfaction with Company rule led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857,
after which the British provinces of India were directly administered by the
British Crown and witnessed a period of rapid development of infrastructure,
economic decline and major famines.( Metcalf, B.; Metcalf, T. R. (9 October
2006), A Concise History of Modern India (2nd ed.), pp. 94-99.).
During the first half of the 20th century, a nationwide
struggle for independence was launched with the leading party involved being
the Indian National Congress which was later joined by other organisations. The
Indian subcontinent gained independence from the
12
United Kingdom in 1947, after the British provinces were
partitioned into the dominions of India and Pakistan and the princely states
all acceded to one of the new states.( "Economic Impact of the British Rule
in India | Indian History".
historydiscussion.net.
Retrieved 6 January 2017.).
James Mill (1773-1836), in his The History of British India
(1817), distinguished three phases in the history of India, namely Hindu,
Muslim and British civilisations. This periodisation has been influential, but
has also been criticised for the misconceptions it gave rise to. Another
influential periodisation is the division into "ancient, classical, medieval
and modern periods", although this periodisation has also been
criticised.(Thapar 1978, p. 19-20.).
Romila Thapar notes that the division into
Hindu-Muslim-British periods of Indian history gives too much weight to "ruling
dynasties and foreign invasions" neglecting the social-economic history which
often showed a strong continuity. The division into Ancient-Medieval-Modern
periods overlooks the fact that the Muslim conquests occurred gradually during
which time many things came and went off, while the south was never completely
conquered.( Jump up to:a b c Thapar 1978, p. 19.).
According to Thapar, a periodisation could also be based on
"significant social and economic changes", which are not strictly related to
the change of ruling powers. (Thapar 1978, p. 20.).
I.2 Indian literature in Other Languages than
English
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the
Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The
Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages.
The earliest works of Indian literature
were orally transmitted. Sanskrit literature begins with the
oral literature of the Rig Veda a collection of sacred hymns dating to the
period
1500-1200 BCE. The Sanskrit epics Ramayana and
Mahabharata appeared towards the end of the 2nd
13
millennium BCE. Classical Sanskrit literature developed
rapidly during the first few centuries of the first millennium BCE,as did the
Tamil Sangam literature, and the Pâli Canon. In the medieval period,
literature in Kannada and Telugu appeared in the 9th and 11th centuries
respectively.
Later, literature in Marathi, Odia and Bengali appeared.
Thereafter literature in various dialects of Hindi, Persian and Urdu began to
appear as
well. Early in the 20th century, Bengali poet
Rabindranath Tagore became India's first Nobel laureate. In contemporary
Indian literature, there are two major literary awards; these are the Sahitya
Akademi Fellowship and the Jnanpith Award. Eight Jnanpith Awards each have been
awarded in Hindi and Kannada, followed by five
in Bengaliand Malayalam, four in Odia, four in Gujarati,
Marathi, Telugu and Urdu, two each in Assamese and Tamil, and one in
Sanskrit.
Examples of early works written in Vedic Sanskrit include the
holy Hindu texts, such as the core Vedas. Other examples
include the Sulba Sutras, which are some of the earliest texts on geometry.
- Sanskrit literature
- Prakrit literature
- Pali literature
- Assamese literature
- Bengali literature
- Chhattisgarhi literature
- Hindi literature
- Gujarati literature
- Kannada Literature
- Kodava literature
- Konkani literature
- Malayalam literature
14
- Meitei literature
- Marathi literature
- Mizo literature
- Odia literature
- Punjabi literature
- Tamil Literature
- Telugu literature
- Urdu literature.
I.3 Indian Literature in Foreign Languages I.3.1Indian
Persian literature
During the early Muslim period, Persian became the official
language of the northern part of Indian subcontinent, used by most of the
educated and the government. The language had, from its earliest days in the
11th century AD, been imported to the subcontinent by various culturally
Persianised Central Asian Turkic and Afghan dynasties.[12] Several
Indians became major Persian poets later on, the most notable being Amir Khusro
and, in more modern times, Muhammad Iqbal.
Much of the older Sanskrit literature was also translated into
Persian. For a time, it remained the court language of the Mughals, soon to be
replaced by Urdu. Persian still held its status, despite the spread of Urdu,
well into the early years of the British rule in India. Most British officials
had to learn Persian on coming to India and concluded their conversations in
Persian. In 1837, however, the British, in an effort to expand their influence,
made a government ruling to discontinue the use of Persian and commence the use
of English instead.
Thus started the decline of Persian as most of the
subcontinent's official governmental language, a position to be taken up by the
new language of the British Raj, English. Many modern Indian languages still
show signs of relatively heavy Persian influence, most notably Urdu and
Hindi.
15
English Literature from North East India
English literature from North East India refers to the body of
work by English-language writers from North-East India. North-East India is an
under-represented region in many ways. The troubled political climate, the
beautiful landscape and the confluence of various ethnic groups perhaps have
given rise to a body of writing that is completely different from Indian
English Literature.
I.3.2English Literature
In the 20th century, several Indian writers have distinguished
themselves not only in traditional Indian languages but also in English, a
language inherited from the British. As a result of British colonisation, India
has developed its own unique dialect of English known as Indian English. Indian
English typically follows British spelling and pronunciation as opposed to
American, and books published in India reflect this phenomenon. Indian English
literature, however, tends to utilise more internationally recognisable
vocabulary then does colloquial Indian English, in the same way that American
English literature does so as compared to American slang.
India's only Nobel laureate in literature was
the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore, who wrote some of his
work originally in English, and did some of his own English translations from
Bengali. India's best selling English-language novelists of all-time are the
contemporary writers like Chetan Bhagat, Manjiri Prabhu and Ashok Banker. More
recent major writers in English who are either Indian or of Indian origin and
derive much inspiration from Indian themes are R. K. Narayan, Vikram Seth,
Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Raja Rao, Amitav Ghosh, Rohinton Mistry, Vikram
Chandra, Mukul Kesavan, Raj Kamal
Jha, Vikas Swarup, Khushwant Singh, Shashi Tharoor,
Nayantara Sehgal, Anita Desai, Kiran Desai, Ashok Banker, Shashi Deshpande,
Arnab Jan Deka, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kamala Markandaya, Gita Mehta, Manil
16
Suri, Manjiri Prabhu, Ruskin Bond, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
and Bharati Mukherjee.
In category of Indian writing in English is poetry.
Rabindranath Tagore wrote in Bengali and English and was responsible for the
translations of his own work into English. Other early notable poets in English
include Derozio, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Toru Dutt, Romesh Chunder Dutt, Sri
Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu, and her brother Harindranath Chattopadhyay.
In the 1950s, the Writers Workshop collective in Calcutta was
founded by the poet and essayist P. Lal to advocate and publish Indian writing
in English. The press was the first to publish Pritish Nandy, Sasthi Brata, and
others; it continues to this day to provide a forum for English writing in
India. In modern times, Indian poetry in English was typified by two very
different poets. Dom Moraes, winner of the Hawthornden Prize at the age of 19
for his first book of poems A Beginning went on to occupy a
pre-eminent position among Indian poets writing in English. Nissim Ezekiel, who
came from India's tiny Bene Israel Jewish community, created a voice and place
for Indian poets writing in English and championed their work.
Their contemporaries in English poetry in India were
Jayanta
Mahapatra, Gieve Patel, A. K. Ramanujan, Arun Kolatkar,
Dilip Chitre, Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Eunice De Souza, Kersi Katrak, P. Lal
and Kamala Das among several others.
Younger generations of poets writing in English include G. S.
Sharat
Chandra, Hoshang Merchant, Makarand Paranjape, Anuradha
Bhattacharyya, Nandini Sahu, Arundhathi Subramaniam,
Jeet Thayil, Ranjit Hoskote, Sudeep Sen, Abhay K, Jerry Pinto, K Srilata,
Gopi Kottoor, Tapan Kumar Pradhan, Arnab Jan Deka, Anju Makhija, Robin
Ngangom, Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Smita Agarwal, Vihang A. Naik
and Vivekanand Jha among others.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838-1894) wrote Rajmohan's
Wife and published it in 1864; it is the first Indian novel written in
17
A generation of exiles also sprang from the Indian diaspora.
Among
these are names like Agha Shahid Ali, Sujata Bhatt,
Richard Crasta, Yuyutsu Sharma, Shampa Sinha, Tabish Khair and Vikram
Seth.
In recent years, English-language writers of Indian origin are
being published in the West at an increasing rate.
Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai and Arvind Adiga
have won the prestigious Man Booker Prize, with Salman Rushdie going on to win
the Booker of Bookers.
I.3Indian English Literature
Indian English literature (IEL) is the body of work by writers
in India who write in the English language and whose native or co-native
language could be one of the numerous languages of India. Its early history
began with the works of Michael Madhusudan Dutt followed by R. K. Narayan, Mulk
Raj Anand and Raja Rao who contributed to Indian fiction in the 1930s. It is
also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora who are of
Indian descent.(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
It is frequently referred to as Indo-Anglian literature.
(Indo-Anglian is a specific term in the sole context of writing that
should not be confused with Anglo-Indian). As a category, this
production comes in the broader
realm of postcolonial literature--the production
from previously colonised countries such as India.
IEL has a relatively recent history, being only one and a half
centuries old. The first book written by an Indian in English was Travels
of Dean Mahomet, a travel narrative by Sake Dean Mahomet published in
England in 1793. In its early stages, IEL was influenced by the Western novel.
Early Indian writers used English unadulterated by Indian words to convey an
experience which was essentially Indian.
18
English. Raja Rao (1908-2006), Indian philosopher and writer,
authored Kanthapura and The Serpent and the
Rope, which are Indian in terms of their storytelling qualities. Kisari
Mohan Ganguli translated the Mahabharata into English, the only time the epic
has ever been translated in its entirety into a European language.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) wrote in Bengali and English
and was responsible for the translations of his own work into English. Dhan
Gopal Mukerji (1890-1936) was the first Indian author to win a literary award
in the United States. Nirad C. Chaudhuri(1897-1999), a writer of non-fiction,
is best known for his The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian (1951),
in which he relates his life experiences and influences. P. Lal (1929-2010), a
poet, translator, publisher and essayist, founded a press in the 1950s for
Indian Englishwriting, Writers Workshop. Ram Nath
Kak (1917-1993), a Kashmiri veterinarian, wrote
his autobiography Autumn Leaves, which is one of the most vivid
portraits of life in 20th century Kashmir and has become a sort of a classic.
(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).
R. K. Narayan (1906-2001) contributed over many decades and
continued to write till his death. He was discovered by Graham Greene in the
sense that the latter helped him find a publisher in England. Greene and
Narayan remained close friends till the end. Similar to the way Thomas Hardy
used Wessex, Narayan created the fictitious town of Malgudi where he set his
novels. Some criticise Narayan for the parochial, detached and closed world
that he created in the face of the changing conditions in India at the times in
which the stories are set.
Others, such as Greene, however, feel that through Malgudi
they could vividly understand the Indian experience. Narayan's evocation of
small town life and its experiences through the eyes of the endearing child
protagonist Swaminathan in Swami and Friends is a good sample of his
writing style. Simultaneous with Narayan's pastoral idylls, a very different
writer, Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004), was similarly gaining recognition for
19
his writing set in rural India, but his stories were harsher,
and engaged, sometimes brutally, with divisions of caste, class and religion.
According to writer Lakshmi Holmström, "The writers of the 1930s were
fortunate because after many years of use, English had become an Indian
language used widely and at different levels of society, and therefore they
could experiment more boldly and from a more secure position." Kamala
Markandeyais an early writer in IEL who has often grouped with the trinity of
R.K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao. The contributions of Manoj Das and
Manohar Malgoankar to growth of IEL largely remains unacknowledged.
I.3.1 Later History
Among the later writers, the most notable is Salman Rushdie,
born in India, now living in the USA. Rushdie with his famous work
Midnight's Children (Booker Prize 1981, Booker of Bookers 1992, and
Best of the Bookers 2008) ushered in a new trend of writing. He used a hybrid
language - English generously peppered with Indian terms - to convey a theme
that could be seen as representing the vast canvas of India. He is usually
categorised under the magic realism mode of writing most famously associated
with Gabriel García Márquez. Nayantara Sehgal was one of the
first female Indian writers in English to receive wide recognition. Her fiction
deals with India's elite responding to the crises engendered by political
change.
She was awarded the 1986 Sahitya Akademi Award for English,
for her novel, Rich Like Us (1985), by the Sahitya Akademi, India's
National Academy of Letters. Anita Desai, who was shortlisted for the Booker
Prize three times, received a Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for her novel
Fire on the Mountain and a British Guardian Prize for The Village
by the Sea. Her daughter Kiran Desaiwon the 2006 Man Booker Prize for her
second novel, The Inheritance of Loss. Ruskin Bond received Sahitya Akademy
Award for his collection of short stories Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra
in
20
1992. He is also the author of a historical novel A Flight
of Pigeons, which is based on an episode during the Indian Rebellion of
1857.
Vikram Seth, author of The Golden Gate (1986) and
A Suitable Boy (1994) is a writer who uses a purer English and more
realistic themes. Being a self-confessed fan of Jane Austen, his attention is
on the story, its details and its twists and turns.Vikram Seth is notable both
as an accomplished novelist and poet. Vikram Seth is also a prolific poet.
Another writer who has contributed immensely to the Indian
English Literature is Amitav Ghosh who is the author of The Circle of
Reason (his
1986 debut novel), The Shadow Lines (1988), The
Calcutta Chromosome (1995), The Glass Palace (2000), The
Hungry Tide (2004), and Sea of Poppies (2008), the first volume
of The Ibis trilogy, set in the 1830s, just before the Opium War,
which encapsulates the colonial history of the East. Ghosh's latest work of
fiction is River of Smoke (2011), the second volume of The Ibis
trilogy.
Rohinton Mistry is an India born Canadian author who is a
Neustadt International Prize for Literature laureate (2012). His first book
Tales from Firozsha Baag (1987) published by Penguin Books Canada is a
collection of 11 short stories. His novels Such a Long Journey (1991) and A
Fine Balance (1995)earned him great acclaim.
Shashi Tharoor, in his The Great Indian Novel (1989),
follows a storytelling (though in a satirical) mode as in the Mahabharata
drawing his ideas by going back and forth in time. His work as UN official
living outside India has given him a vantage point that helps construct an
objective Indianness. Vikram Chandra is another author who shuffles between
India and the United States and has received critical acclaim for his first
novel Red Earth and Pouring Rain (1995) and collection of short
stories Love and Longing in Bombay (1997). His namesake Vikram A.
Chandrais a renowned journalist and the author of The Srinagar Conspiracy
(2000). Suketu Mehta is another writer currently based in the United
States who authored Maximum City (2004), an autobiographical
21
account of his experiences in the city of Mumbai. In 2008,
Arvind Adiga received the Man Booker Prize for his debut novel The White
Tiger.
Recent writers in India such as Arundhati Roy and David
Davidar show a direction towards contextuality and rootedness in their works.
Arundhati Roy, a trained architect and the 1997 Booker prize winner for her
The God of Small Things, calls herself a "home grown" writer. Her
award winning book is set in the immensely physical landscape of Kerala.
Davidar sets his The House of Blue Mangoes in Southern Tamil Nadu. In
both the books, geography and politics are integral to the narrative. In his
novel Lament of Mohini (2000), Shreekumar
Varma touches upon the unique matriarchal system and the
sammandham system of marriage as he writes about the Namboodiris and
the aristocrats of Kerala.
Similarly, Arnab Jan Deka, a trained engineer and jurist,
writes about both physical and ethereal existentialism on the banks of the
mighty river Brahmaputra, and his co-authored book of poetry with British
poet-novelist Tess Joyce appropriately titled A Stanza of Sunlight on the
Banks of Brahmaputra(1983) published from both India and Britain(2009)
which is set under this backdrop evokes the spirit of flowing nature of life.
His most recent book Brahmaputra and Beyond: Linking Assam to the
World(2015) made a conscious effort to connect to a world divided by
racial, geographic, linguistic, cultural and political prejudices. His highly
aclaimed short story collection The Mexican Sweetheart & other
stories(2002) was another landmark book of this genre. Jahnavi Barua, a
Bangalore based author from Assam has set her critically acclaimed collection
of short stories Next Door on the social scenario in Assam with
insurgency as the background.
The stories and novels of Ratan Lal Basu reflect the
conditions of tribal people and hill people of West Bengal and the adjacent
states of Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal. Many of his short stories reflect the
political turmoil of West Bengal since the Naxalite movement of the 1970s.
Many
22
of his stories like `Blue Are the Far Off Mountains', `The
First Rain' and `the Magic Marble' glorify purity of love. His novel `Oraon and
the Divine Tree' is the story of a tribal and his love for an age old tree. In
Hemingway style language the author takes the reader into the dreamland of
nature and people who are inexorably associated with nature.
I.3.2. Critics on Indian English Literature
One of the key issues raised in this context is the
superiority/inferiority of IWE (Indian Writing in English) as opposed to the
literary production in the various languages of India. Key polar concepts
bandied in this context are superficial/authentic, imitative/creative,
shallow/deep, critical/uncritical, elitist/parochial and so on.
The views of Salman Rushdie and Amit Chaudhuri expressed
through their books The Vintage Book of Indian Writing and The
Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature respectively essentialise this
battle.
Rushdie's statement in his book - "the ironic proposition that
India's best writing since independence may have been done in the language of
the departed imperialists is simply too much for some folks to bear" - created
a lot of resentment among many writers, including writers in English. In his
book, Amit Chaudhuri questions - "Can it be true that Indian writing, that
endlessly rich, complex and problematic entity, is to be represented by a
handful of writers who write in English, who live in England or America and
whom one might have met at a party?"
Chaudhuri feels that after Rushdie, IWE started employing
magical realism, bagginess, non-linear narrative and hybrid language to sustain
themes seen as microcosms of India and supposedly reflecting Indian conditions.
He contrasts this with the works of earlier writers such as Narayan where the
use of English is pure, but the deciphering of meaning needs cultural
familiarity. He also feels that Indianness is a theme constructed only in IWE
and does not articulate itself in the vernacular
Dr Deobrata Prasad has very carefully taken into account all
the nuances of Sarojini Naidu's poetry.The significance of this work towards
23
literatures. He further adds "the post-colonial novel, becomes
a trope for an ideal hybridity by which the West celebrates not so much
Indianness, whatever that infinitely complex thing is, but its own historical
quest, its reinterpretation of itself".
Some of these arguments form an integral part of what is
called postcolonial theory. The very categorisation of IWE - as IWE or under
post-colonial literature - is seen by some as limiting. Amitav Ghosh made his
views on this very clear by refusing to accept the Eurasian Commonwealth
Writers Prize for his book The Glass Palace in 2001 and withdrawing it
from the subsequent stage.
The renowned writer V. S. Naipaul, a third generation Indian
from Trinidad and Tobago and a Nobel Prize laureate, is a person who belongs to
the world and usually not classified under IWE. Naipaul evokes ideas of
homeland, rootlessness and his own personal feelings towards India in many of
his books.
Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize winner from the U.S., is a
writer uncomfortable under the label of IWE.
a. Poetry
An overlooked category of Indian writing in English is poetry.
Rabindranath Tagore wrote in Bengali and English and was responsible for the
translations of his own work into English. Other early notable poets in English
include Derozio, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Toru Dutt, Romesh Chunder Dutt, Sri
Aurobindo, Sarojini Naidu, and her brother Harindranath Chattopadhyay.
"Sarojini Naidu and her art of poetry" is one of the finest efforts made by Dr.
Deobrata Prasad in order to bring forth the real psyche of Sarojini Naidu
through her poetry.This book was published by Delhi-based Capital Publishing
House in 1988 in the field of 'women and Anglo-Indian literature'.
24
Indian English Literature was first brought into perspective
by University of Michigan. Such a systematic work is rare to single out in
today's era. Notable 20th Century authors of English poetry in India include
Dilip Chitre, Kamala Das, Eunice De Souza, Nissim Ezekiel, Kersy Katrak, Shiv
K. Kumar, Arun Kolatkar, P. Lal, Jayanta Mahapatra, Dom Moraes, Gieve Patel,
and A. K. Ramanujan, and Madan Gopal Gandhi,Dr Avdhesh Yadav, among several
others.
The younger generation of poets writing in English include
Abhay K, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Anju Makhija, Arnab Jan Deka, Bibhu
Padhi, Ranjit Hoskote, Sudeep Sen, Smita Agarwal,
Makarand Paranjape, Jeet Thayil, Mani Rao, Jerry Pinto, K. V. Dominic,
Meena
Kandasamy, Nalini Priyadarshni, Gopi Kottoor, Tapan
Kumar Pradhan, Rukmini Bhaya Nair, Robin Ngangom, Vihang A. Naik,Dr Avdhesh
Yadav and K Srilata.
Modern expatriate Indian poets writing in English include Agha
Shahid
Ali, Sujata Bhatt, Richard Crasta, Yuyutsu Sharma,
Tabish Khair and Vikram Seth.
b. Alternative Writings
India's experimental and avant garde counterculture is
symbolized in the Prakalpana Movement. During the last four decades this
bilingual literary movement has included Richard Kostelanetz, John M. Bennett,
Don Webb, Sheila Murphy and many others worldwide and their Indian
counterparts. Vattacharja Chandan is a central figure who contrived the
movement.[5] Prakalpana fiction is a fusion of prose, poetry, play,
essay, and pictures. An example of a Prakalpana work is Chandan's bilingual
Cosmosphere 1 (2011).
Some bilingual writers have also made significant
contributions, such as Paigham Afaqui with his novel Makaan in 1989
1.4 Indian Modern Literature
25
The development of modern Indian literature has been marked by
certain characteristics, some of which it shares with modern literatures over
the world. There has always been in all countries and ages a conflict between
the orthodox and the unorthodox, but in India, because the new impulse was
identified with an alien culture and foreign domination, the clash of loyalties
has been sharper. The very impact of Western thought, with its emphasis on
democracy and self-expression, stimulated a nationalist consciousness which
resented the foreign imposition and searched for the roots of self-respect and
pride in its own heritage.
For instance, Rabindranath Tagore's novel Gora is a masterly
interpretation of this built-in conflict in the very nature of Indian
renaissance, a conflict which still persists and has coloured not only our
literature but almost every aspect of human life. The first outstanding Bengali
poet of the nineteenth century (and the last in the old tradition), Iswar
Chandra Gupta (1812-59), whose remarkable journal, Sambad Prabhakar, was the
training-ground of many distinguished writers.
The new era of modern Indian literatures may be said to begin
in 1800, when Fort William College was established in Kolkata and The Baptist
Mission Press in Serampore, near Kolkata. The college was founded by the East
India Company to provide instruction to British civil servants in the laws,
customs, religions, languages, and literatures of India in order to cope with
the increasing demands of fast-growing administrative machinery. Reading
material, during this time, was translated from the Sanskrit classics as well
as from foreign literature, and dictionaries and grammars were compiled.
William Carey, who was also one of the founders of the Baptist Mission Press,
himself wrote a Bengali grammar and compiled an English-Bengali dictionary as
well as two selections of dialogues and stories.
26
Later in the second half of the sixteenth century, books in
Tamil and other Dravidian languages began to be printed. Many foreign
missionaries learnt the languages of the people. They not only translated the
Bible and wrote Christian Puranas but also rendered considerable service to the
languages by compiling the first modern grammars and dictionaries. Although the
printing-press came to south India much earlier and the foreign missionary
enterprise functioned much longer and more zealously than in Bengal, the impact
of Western learning as such was comparatively slow and the resurgence of
literary activity bore fruit in its modern form much later than in Bengal.
The establishment of Hindu College in 1817 and the replacing
of Persian by English as the language of the law and the increasing use of
Bengali were other landmarks which encouraged the introduction of modern
education and the development of the language of the people. It was, Raja Ram
Mohan Roy (1772-1833) who laid the real foundation of modern Bengali prose. The
form which he gave to Bengali prose revealed its rich potentiality in the hands
of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (18201891) and Akshay Kumar Datta (1820-1886),
both of whom were primarily social reformers and educationists. Because they
were men of serious purpose who had much to say, they had little use for the
flamboyance and rhetoric natural to a language derived from Sanskrit, and they
chiselled a prose that was both chaste and vigorous.
Pathfinders rather than creative artists, they standardized
the medium which their younger contemporary, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
(1838-94), turned with superb gusto and skill into a creative tool for his
novels and stories. He is known as the father of the modern novel in India and
his influence on his contemporaries and successors, in Bengal and other parts
of India, was profound and extensive. Novels, both historical and social, the
two forms in which he excelled, had been written before him in Bengali by
Bhudev Mukherji and Peary Chand Mitra.
27
Mitra's Alaler Gharer Dulal' was the first specimen of
original fiction of social realism with free use of the colloquial idiom, and
anticipated, however crudely, the later development of the novel. But it was
Bankim Chandra who established the novel as a major literary form in India. He
had his limitations, he was too romantic, effusive, and didactic, and was in no
sense a peer of his Great Russian contemporaries, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. There
have been better novelists in India since his day, but they all stand on his
shoulders.
Though the first harvest was reaped in Bengali prose, it was
in the soil of poetry that this cross-fertilization with the West bore its
richest fruit. With the emotional temperament and lyrical genius, the Bengali
language is supple and musical, as though fashioned for poetry. Michael
Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873) was the pioneer who, turning his back on the native
tradition, made the first conscious and successful experiment to naturalize the
European forms into Bengali poetry by his epic in blank verse, 'Meghnadbadh
Kabya', based on a Ramayana episode unorthodoxly interpreted, as well as by a
number of sonnets. He led the way but could not establish a vital tradition,
for his own success was a tour de force of a rare genius.
It was Rabindranath Tagore who naturalized the Western spirit
into Indian literature and thereby made it truly modern in an adult sense. He
did this not by any conscious or forced adaptation of foreign models but by his
creative response to the impulse of the age, with the result that the
Upanishads and Kalidasa, Vaishnava lyricism, and the rustic vigour of the folk
idiom, are so well blended with Western influences in his poetry that
generations of critics will continue to wrangle over his specific debt to each
of them. In him modern Indian literature came of age, not only in poetry but in
prose as well. Novel, short story, drama, essay, and literary criticism, they
all attained maturity in his hands. Though Indian literature in its latest
phase has outgrown his influence, as indeed it should, Tagore
28
was the most vital creative force in the cultural renaissance
of India and represents its finest achievement.
Kolkata being the first cosmopolitan city in India to grow
under the new regime, it was natural that it should witness the birth of the
modern drama. It has still a lively stage tradition. Curiously enough, the
first stage-play in Bengali produced in Kolkata was by a Russian
adventurer-cum-Indologist, Lebedev, in 1795. It was an adaptation of a
little-known English comedy, 'The Disguise' by Richard Paul Jodrell.
Many years passed before a serious attempt was made to build
an authentic stage, mainly under private patronage. The first original play in
Bengali was Kulin Kulasarvasva, a social satire against the practice of
polygamy among Kulin brahmans, written by Pandit Ramnarayana. Ramnarayana's
second play, Ratnavali, based on a Sanskrit classic, provoked Madhusudan Dutt
to try his hand at this medium. His impetuous genius turned out a number of
plays in quick succession, some based on old legends and some social satires.
He may thus be said to have laid the foundation of modern Indian drama, as he
did of poetry, although his achievement in this form did not equal his
performance in poetry and he soon retired from the field.
His place was taken by Dinabandhu Mitra (1829-74), a born
dramatist whose very first play, 'Nil Darpan' (published in 1860), exposing the
atrocities of the British indigo planters, created a sensation, both literary
and political. Dinabandhu wrote many more plays and was followed by a
succession of playwrights among whom were Rabindranath Tagore's elder brother
Jyotirindranath Tagore, Manomohan Basu, and later, the more famous Girish
Chandra Ghosh and Dwijendralal Roy. Girish Chandra was actor, producer, and
playwright, and it is to his indefatigable zeal that the public theatre in
Kolkata is largely indebted. But though both he and Dwijendralal achieved
phenomenal popularity in their day, their popular appeal was due more to the
patriotic and melodramatic elements
29
in their plays than to any abiding literary merit. On the
other hand, Rabindranath Tagore's plays, though they had considerable literary
merit and were marked by originality and depth of thought, were too symbolic or
ethereal to catch the popular imagination.
Of the numerous languages of India perhaps Marathi was, after
Bengali, the most vigorous in its response to the spirit of the new age. This
is because of its robust intellectual tradition, reinforced by memories of the
erstwhile glory of the Maratha Empire, and partly because Mumbai, like Kolkata,
provided a cosmopolitan modern environment. Among the stalwarts who laid the
foundation of its modern literature may be mentioned the poet Keshavsut, the
novelist Hari Narayan Apte, and Agarkar, Tilak, and Chiplunkar as the builders
of prose. Apte's novels stimulated the development of the novel in some other
languages too, particularly in the neighbouring Kannada. Narmad's poetry blazed
the trail in Gujarati
Flourishing under court patronage, Urdu had made phenomenal
progress and was the most important Indian language to prosper in the
eighteenth century. But it luxuriated in its own affluence and remained aloof
from the vital currents that were sweeping the country forward in the
nineteenth century.
The development of modern Assamese and Oriya, the two eastern
neighbours of Bengali, was also late in coming and was preceded by valuable
spade-work done by the Christian missions. Orissa too had recovered its
homogeneous integrity and the intelligentsia in the regions was educated in
Kolkata and carried back with them the impact of the literary resurgence in
Bengal. Lakshmikanta Bezbarua and Padmanath Gohain Barua in Assamese, and
Fakirmohan Senapati and Radhanath Ray in Oriya were the early pioneers in their
respective fields. Kashmiri, Punjabi, and Sindhi had an even more retarded
development, partly on account of the political conditions and partly because
of the cultural
30
glamour of Urdu in regions predominantly Muslim. All the more
credit to the pioneers who held aloft the banner of their mother tongue is
Mahjur and Master Zinda Kaul in Kashmiri, Sardar Puran Singh and Bhal Vir Singh
in Punjabi, and Mirza Kalich Beg and Dewan Kauromal in Sindhi.
What is surprising is the rather late and tardy resurgence in
the four Dravidian languages, which had had a longer and a richer literary past
than the northern languages. The past has weighed more heavily on the south
than on the north in India and nowhere more heavily than on Tamil Nadu.
However, in course of time the creative spirit in these languages too responded
to the impulse of the age, in as rich a flowering as in the other languages of
India, led by Puttanna, 'Sri', and Kailasham in Kannada, by Kerala Varma and
Chandu Menon in Malayalam, by Bharati and Kalki in Tamil, and Viresalingam and
Guruzada Appa Rao in Telugu. It is worth observing that the youngest of the
Dravidian languages, Malayalam, has responded to the new age more dynamically
than the oldest, Tamil, which even now looks too wistfully to the past.
All the great events which have influenced European thought
within the last one hundred years have also told, however feeble their effect
may be, on the formation of the intellect of modern Bengal. The independence of
America, the French Revolution, the war of Italian independence, the teachings
of history, the vigour and freedom of English literature and English thought,
the great effort of the French intellect in the eighteenth century, the results
of German labour in the field of philosophy and ancient history; Positivism,
Utilitarianism, Darwinism, all these have influenced and shaped the intellect
of modern Bengal.
From the beginning of the twentieth century Indian literature
was increasingly coloured by political aspirations, passionately voiced in the
songs and poems of the Tamil poet Bharati and the Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul
Islam. The spiritual note of Indian poetry had attained a poignant and
rapturous pitch in the medieval Vaishnava outpourings.
31
Tagore's Gitanjali is the swan song of this great tradition.
The devotional content of poetry was henceforth increasingly replaced by the
political, the ethical bias by the ideological, the plaintive tone by that of
challenge and mockery, until the dominant note of Indian literature today is
that of protest.
Tagore's main impact was, however, indirect, inasmuch as it
gave confidence to Indian writers that they could achieve in their mother
tongue what had been achieved in Sanskrit or European languages. But Tagore's
influence in literature was soon overshadowed by the impact of Gandhi, Marx,
and Freud, a strange trinity. Though none of these three was a man of letters
proper, they released intellectual and moral passions and introduced new
techniques of thought and behaviour which had a profound effect on young
writers all over India.
The influence of the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo Ghose is also
noticeable among some writers, like the Kannada poets, Bendre and Puttappa, and
the Gujarati poets, Sundaram and Jayant Parekh, but beyond imparting a certain
mystic glow to their verse and confirming their faith in the reality of the
Indian spiritual experience, it has not given any new trend or horizon to
Indian literature in general.
On the whole, the impact on Indian writing of the mixed
interaction has given a much-needed jolt to the smugness of the traditional
attitude, with its age-old tendency to sentimental piety and glorification of
the past. The revolt began in Bengal, yielded a rich harvest, in both poetry
and prose, in the work of Jivanananda Das, Premendra Mitra, Buddhadeva Bose,
Manek Bandyopadhyay, Subhas Mukhopadhyay et al. In Bengal both these forms
attained an early maturity in the hands of Tagore and have since made
phenomenal progress under his younger contemporaries and successors namely
Sarat Chandra Chatterjee achieved a popularity, both in Bengal and outside,
which equalled, if not surpassed, that of Tagore.
32
Moreover, English language had a great impact on the Indians
and apart from its utilitarian value as a language of higher education in the
sciences and as a 'link language', a fair number of Indian writers, including
such eminent thinkers steeped in Indian thought as Vivekananda, Ranade,
Gokhale, Aurobindo Ghose and Radhakrishnan, have voluntarily adopted it as
their literary medium.
There has been, from Derozio in the 1820s to R. K. Narayan
today, an unbroken tradition of some gifted Indians choosing to write in
English. Many of them, like the Dutt sisters, Toru and Aru, their versatile
uncle Romesh Chunder, Manomohan Ghosh, Sarojini Naidu, and, among
contemporaries, Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, Bhabani Bhattacharya, and many
others, have achieved distinction.
Some early pioneers in the Indian languages were also tempted
at the threshold of their career to adopt English for their creative writing,
partly because they owed their inspiration to English literature and partly
because they hoped thereby to reach a wider audience. Madhusudan Dutt's first
narrative poem, "The Captive Ladie", and Bankim Chandra's early novel
"Rajmohan's Wife", are classic examples. Wisely they discovered in time that
they could create best in their own language. Some English novels of R. K.
Narayan, a born story-teller with any eye for observation and the gift of
gentle irony, are superior in intrinsic literary merit to a great deal of
mediocre stuff that passes for literature in some Indian languages. On the
other hand, it cannot be denied that, as far as creative writing is concerned,
no Indian writer in English has reached anywhere near the heights attained by
some of the great writers in the Indian languages. What modern Indian
literature sadly lacks is a well-proportioned and many-sided development.
The modern Indian literature is the representation of each
aspect of modern life. Happily, despite this clamour of sophistry, patriotic
piety, and political bias, good literature continues to be written and, as it
justifies
33
itself, it helps to sharpen the reader's sensibility. Since
the time of Tagore a growing minority of intelligent critics well versed in the
literary traditions of their own country and of the West have bravely
maintained a more wholesome approach that is neither overwhelmed by the burden
of the past nor overawed by the glamour of the latest fashion. This healthy
trend of the modern Indian literature should gain in strength with a growing
realization that, in the republic of letters as in that of men, a sensitive and
well-trained critical apparatus and its judicious and fearless exercise are a
prerequisite of happy results.
34
Conclusion
The present chapter delt with a generality on Indioan
literature and Ravinder Singh's life and work.
In the first section about Literary Survey on Indian
literature, the stressed is made on brief history of India, how literature took
birth in Indian, Literature written in all 22 indian national languages and
Indian literature written in foreigh languages like Persian and the last point
concerned Indian English Literature where we focused our interest on literature
of Indian of course written in colonial language- English.
CHAPTER TWO
A LITERARY ANALYSIS OF RAVINDER SINGH'S CAN LOVE
HAPPEN TWICE AND YOUR DREAMS ARE MINE NOW.
Introduction
Chapter two as intitled here above is based on Life and Work
of the author and Literary Analysis of the two novels by Ravinder Singh:
Can Love Happen Twice and Your Dreams are Mine Now. In this
level the following elements are divelopped: Title, Plot, Characters and
Characterisations, Settings, Style, Mood, Tone and Intention.
II.1 Ravinder Singh's Life and Work
A. His Life
Ravinder Singh was born on 4 February, 1982 in a Sikh family
in Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha, India. He spent his childhood days in Burla
Sambalpur City. He completed his schooling from Guru Nanak Public School,
Sambalpur, Odisha. He received a Bachelor of Engineering in computer science
engineering from Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College in Karnataka. Then he moved
to Bhubaneshwar to work at Infosys Technologies for five years. He did his MBA
from Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He was working as a Sr. Program
Manager at Microsoft when he decided to become a full-time author.
His girlfriend died in 2007 before they got formally engaged.
He adapted his own story into a novel. The book I Too Had a Love Story
was reviewed by N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus of Infosys
Technologies, who called it "Simple, honest and touching".
36
Now married to Khusboo Chauhan who was one of the readers of
his first novel and was so deeply moved that she went to a Gurudwara to pray
for him, without imagining that one day she would get married to him. That
event occurred on September 23, 2012.
Singh's first book is based on a real-life incident of his
meeting a girl and his love life. After a six-month search, an editing team
sent the manuscript to the publisher Shristi, who published the book. The book
was unveiled at a press conference in Chandigarh by Anupam Mittal. He also
launched the audio version of I Too Had a Love Story in mid-2011.
I Too Had a Love Story is also published in Kannada language, entitled
Nannadu Ondu prema kathe.
Ravinder Singh ventured into book publishing in the year 2015
with his publication house Black Ink.
B. His Work
Ravinder Singh is an Indian author. He has written until now
eight novels entitled "I Too Had a Love Story","Can Love Happen
Twice?", "Like it happened Yesterday", "Love Stories That Touched My
Heart", " Tell Me A Story", "Your Dreams are Mine Now" , "This Love That Feels
Right", "Will You Still Love Me".
- I Too Had a Love Story (2007)
- Can love Happen Twice ? (2011)
- Love Stories That Touched My Heart (2012)
- Like it Happened Yesterday (2013)
- Your Dreams Are Mine Now (2014)
- Tell Me a Story (2015)
- This Love that Feels Right (2016)
- Will You Still Love Me (2018).
37
II.2.A Literary Analysis of Ravinder Singh's Two
Novels
A. Can Love Happen Twice? II.1 Title
Ravinder Singh intitled his second novel: «Can Love
Happen Twice?».This novel comes in the second position after publishing
his first one intitled: I Too Had a Love Story in which he brought to
life his dead girlfriend who died just before they exchange their wedding
rings. To undrerstant this, let's consider what is said in the prologue of this
book:
What can you say about a guy who lost his girlfriend the
time the two of them were to exchange their engagement rings?
That he plunged into the deepest ocean trauma? That, for
whatever happened, he lost his faith in God? That he was so madly immersed in
the love of his mortal girlfriend that, after she was gone, forever, he wrote
an immortal love story in her memory?
Or maybe that, after a long interval time, one day, love
knocked at his door once again? (CLHT, prologue).
Ravinder thought that people fall in love just once in the
life. After the death of his beloved girlfriend Khushi, he had no idea of
falling in love once more in his life. This lost made him atheist. In order to
forget things and to change his life style, he was encouraged to leave India
for Belgium where by surprise love knocked for the second time in his life, at
his heart door. It is because of this second love feeling that he was confused
and troubled, yes, for his Khushi was still existing in his heart. His troubles
and confusions sent him to ask this question which is the title of the book:
Can Love Happen Twice?
38
For this book, Ravinder himself wrote:
So this book again is my true story?
I believe that every fiction is inspired by a true story.
Maybe this is my story, maybe not, maybe it is only partly my story, maybe not,
maybe it is an amalgation of several stories that my readers write to me, maybe
not. I don't want to reveal how much fact and how much fiction there is in my
story. Rather, I want you to discover it with your own imagination. But I will
leave you with this one truth, and believe me when I say this: it is our
generation's true story. This is the prime reason I have dedicated this book to
my reasons (CLHT, Before You Read Further...).
II.2 Plot or Story
The plot is the series of events which forms the story of
novel, play, film/movies ect. (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 6th
edition).
In the novel under study, the story starts by the arrival of
Amardeep in Chandigarh airport where he had to meet with his two friends Happy
and Manpreet with whom they have been invited in Valentine's Day's special show
on Superhits 93.5 RED FM, the number-one FM station, at 9 p.m to talk about
their friend Ravin first book in which they are characters too.
Few seconds later, he made a call and very soon his friends
Happy and Manpreet arrived with a car to pick him up. This meeting was very
exciting and nostalgic for them to meet each other after five years back they
met in USA during their first reunion.
The car took the direction of Radio station where they have
been waited for the evening show with their best friend Ravin, but before their
arrival, Happy stopped the car and went to send an email into the internetcafe
near, though he came back in less than five minutes and drove the car to their
destination.
39
Thirty minutes before the show starts, they finally arrived
and parked the vehicle in the radio station's parking. When they met the
security guard, he directed them to the receptionist, who her turn, asked if
they are there for the Raat, Baaki, Baat Baaki show. After a yes from
Happy, she politely tell them to take the corridor on their right and go
straight in room 3 where they were waited by Shambhavi.
It was their first time to be at a radio station, the three
friends were quite observing the environment they were in, characterized by the
formal silence persisting in the radio station. In front of the door 3 they
stopped. Happy pushed the door. His two friends followed him in, they met
Shambhavi, a girl with beautiful voice, the host and RJ for the show waiting
for them. Shambavi noticed the absence of Ravin. She asked `where is Ravin?'
This simple question brought a moment of panicked silence with the three guests
momentarily looking at each other. And before Happy replied, Shantanu rush to
announce Shambhavi that she just has 30 second to start. Without hearing the
reason of Ravin absence or if he will come later, she quickly gathered the
spilled-over papers on the table beside her and walked inside the audio room
with commending Shantanu to take care of the guest and telling them:
«excuse-me-I-have-to-rush-see-you-inside look».
When Shantanu noticed that Ravin will not be with them, he
panicked and went in the audio room quickly to make Shambavi know. Contrary to
what he suggest the annulment of it, Shambhavi decided to handle the show even
without Ravin.
`Now you would need to carry on the show without Ravin.
Isn't it?'
`Aaa... yes' the words came haltingly out of his mouth,
followed by `But...'
And Shantanu's so-called `but' remained incomplete when
Shambavi ignored Shantanu's reasoning and, instead, asked him to send the three
of them in.
`I will handle it. Let the producer know that Ravin is not
in and we are going without him' (CLHT: 6).
40
When the three get in the audio room, Shambhavi gave them
instructions on what to do and what to not do and a list of few question she
will be asking during the show. Soon all of them were seated around the big
circular table before Shambhavi broadcasted the beginning of show in which she
announced to the listeners that she is in the studio with the real-life
characters of the love story and true love tale I Too Had a Love Story.
Then, she introduced Happy, Manpreet and Amardeep to the listeners.
Outside the radio station, Shambhavi's voice was reaching
almost every listener. This 9 o'clock show had been a big hit in the city,
especially among the youngesters. But that night this show turned more special,
for it was dedicated to this city's bestselling author whose debut novel people
had multiple times. For over a week there had been advertisements on this radio
station for this show (CLHT: 9).
Just after asking them the very first question, Shambhavi gave
the phone number so that any listener who wishes to ask them a question may
call through. The first listener to call was Ritika, a BSc. student who was
enjoying dinner with her boyfriend during this Valentine evening. shewanted to
ask her question to Ravin himself however, after commenting on the book she
called her favourite book I Too Had a Love Story which, she had since
then gifted to many people; she just asked Ravin friends: «but then
what happened to Ravin?... I mean, did he ever come out of the tragedy? Where
is he now, what is he doing? , ect.»
Her only question about Ravin came to reveal the secret of his
absence. The sad news was that Ravin was in an unstable state of mind and not
doing well. He was suffering from MDD- Major Depressive Disorder. He has been
admitted into a rehabilitation center. This made people think that he is in
such condition just because of the sad story they knew years ago, then Amardeep
explained that after Ravin succeded to pen down his love story with Khushi,
many years latter, love
41
nocked at his door for the second time. It was a very sad news
for all listeners who didn't stop themselves of speading breaking news all over
India the same minutes through messages and social networks.
When Amardeep said that they have with them the manuscript of
that second story written by Ravin himself, Shambhavi who was already angry and
lost confidence now announces it to listeners and promised to allow the
readingof that after the music. This made that evening show more special and
attractive.
The next time when they went on air Shambhavi updated all
the listeners that the show that night would continue for an indefinite time
and that it was going to be the very first time in their history that a show
would run for unspecified duration.
In the world outside the radio station, Ravinder's fans
were very much willing to listen to Ravin's story irrespective of how the
broadcast would last.
Happy started reading Ravin's second book-Can Love Happen
Twice? (CLHT: 17).
After he lost his Khushi, Ravin passed a long time of pain and
mourning within his life, in the search of change, he wished to even leave
India so that he tries to forget other things that still made him unhappy. It
was a year and half later her death that he had an opportunity to go in Belgium
for a project. This chance made him happy for it is what he much-needed.
He left India for Belgium where he spent his first week in one
of Brussels' best hotels. He enjoyed walking in corridors, feeling the magic of
the weather outside even if the temperature was -2 degrees Celsius. His
collegue who phoned him for the first time in Belgium was Sanchit. He was the
only Indian whom Ravin knew in Belgium. When the both idians met in the train
going at Sanchit's place, this last updated him with various facts about
Belgium.
42
A year and a half had passed since the tragic incident had
taken place. Unable to cope with the misery, I was looking for a big chance.
Fortunately, on-side opportunity for a project in Belgium gave a ray of hope to
that much-needed change. I availed that opportunity (CLHT: 18).
The next day after working, Ravin and Sanchit joined Antony
who is one of various clients' contact for them, for lunch. Antony brought them
to the restaurent by his car. Then, after eating and when they got in the car
for going back to their offices, Ravin's eyes looked back and noticed a girl,
he saw just her back because of her last position in the sandwich shop's entry
queue. While still gazing at her and trying to guess if she could be Indian,
the car started, so he lost his chance.
The weekend of his arrival, Ravin managed to find himself a
house to rent. He succeededto get an apartment building. Nearby that place
there was no even a single Indian. Most of the people who lived in the same
building spoke either French or Dutch. His friend Sanchit was not only living
far but also his wife has already joined him from India. Hence they couldn't
visit eachother all times.
I lived alone, I cooked alone and I ate alone. There
wasn't anyone to talk to because of the language barrier. Yet I did manage to
cope with life's interesting challenges in Belgium (CLHT: 24).
In his second week in Belgium, he went to run on the treadmill
in the gymn. Soon he noticed a face. A girl's face. She was a good looking
Indian girl who also came in hurry to run for she had to pass her term exam the
next day as she was student of second year in MBA.
She had to wait until Ravin finished his turn even though the
minites he himself gave to her was not respected. When he finished, the young
girl quickly filled the vacancy on the treadmill and run with great
enthusiasm.
43
It was the next afternoon after their meeting in gynm that
Ravin met again this lady, called Simar, in minibus-eatery which sold
sandwiches. Because Anthony and Sanchit were busy that day in a long conference
call, Ravin went alone. And when he was on a long queue of people waiting,
Simar cames outside and directed herself trainght to him. They talked, made
acquaintacy and went back together.
Duning Ravin's birthday, after the departure of all invited
Indian friends in his place, Simar came late along with her banchmate Tuna. He
welcomed them in his house. Few seconds later Tuna's phone rung and excused
herself by going outside. Ravin and Simar remained alone. They sat in the
balcony talking each other while gazing at dark night's stars. Later when Tuna
arived after almost an hour, it was already late and they left.
I was enjoying her presence. I don't know why but I felt
different. It all felt nice. Maybe because it had been so long since I had been
with a girl in the privacy of my house at this late hour. Perhaps that's why
the air around us felt so stimulating--as if it was charged with some sort of
mysterious, invigorating vibes. We kept talking, after which we made some
coffee and, along with the leftover cake, shifted to the balcony CLHT:
34).
That whole night, Ravin chatted with Simar throuth messages in
playing the game of Truth and Dare created for them by Tuna's secret message to
Ravin in Simar's phone. This message conversation let them deeply know each
other. When she asked him to tell her about his first lovelife, Ravin promised
to explain everything face to face since it is a long story.
That game of Truth and Dare had given rise to something
beautiful between us--this fact was quite apparent. For the first time in years
I slept with a smile on my face (CLHT: 42).
44
The next day, after their SMS night talk, they met for lunch
late in the afternoon. It was during that time that Ravin discovered within his
heart that he loves Simar. But even though he feels that love, he still was
confused since his first girlfriend was present in his thoughts and could not
let him accept to involve in Love Ocean once again after facing the passed
tragedy.
I accepted that I was no longer the same Ravin I used to
be. Gradually, with the passage of each day, I senced that I was changing. I
accepted that I love Simar's company. I got all excited when I was to see her
at lunch. I would feel low if she wouldn't turn up for some reason. Most of the
time her name would appear on my cellphone's last dialed contact.
But despite whatever was happening to me, I must confess
that there also was something that was stopping me from sailing in the oceans
of my heart (CLHT: 43).
In the weekend, Simar went to Ravin place in order to get all
details on his first girlfriend. In this situation, Ravin gave her the book her
wrote about his love story with Khushi. Simar took the book: I too Had a
Love Story, went back with it after reading some few pages. Early in the
morning when she called him after reading the whole book, Simar was still
crying for the story touched too much her heart.
Just after reading your life's story Ravin, I'm still
crying. Last few pages of the book have been spoiled with patches of my tears
falling on them. Your love for Khushi is so sacred and priceless (CLHT:
46).
After Simar had read Ravin's love story, their love grew up in
the sence that they could meet end see every day, spend whole afternoon
together, walkind and eating together why not passing night together like it
happened one night. Each one enjoyed the company of another
45
one. This made Ravin think of Marring Simar who he found
caring and loving.
Our love story progressed with the Belgian summer. We
would see each other almost every day, mostly in the evenings. If it was a
weekend and Simar didn't have an exam coming up, she would get her study
material and spend two to three hours studying, while I completed the
miscellaneous household tasks for the day (CLHT: 71).
There came on December 25, something which created an unhappy
mood for both RAvin and Simar. It was an afternoon after they enjoy things
together, that, Ravin received an email sent by their account manager in India.
It read:
Dear Sanchit and Ravin,
The Belgium project will now be fully operated from India.
The client has agreed to double the workforce as we wanted and has extended the
project for 2 more years. This is great news for us. The management here wants
both of you to come back, transfer the knowledge to offshore folks and lead
your respective teams from offshore.
Plan your travel back to India before the New Year
(CLHT:72).
The last moment for them to be together was the evening of
December. Ravin and Simar passed whole night together talking and planning
about their future life. In the coming morning, Ravin made his lagguagewhile
Simar stayed quite looking at him. A few moment later, it came the hard time
for them to say goodbye.
Ravin went back in Chandigarh, in India. The distance didn't
separate them. Thanks to the development of technology,both Ravin and Simar
made either video or vocal calls during which their lovely moment could be
recalled as soon as possible.
46
A few months later, Simar was back in Gurgaon her home town in
India and directly planned to make Ravin meet her parents. With the excitement
of seeing his beloved again after so long a time, Ravin didn't hesitate of
leaving Chandigarh for Delhi Shatabdi and then took a metro from Delhi to
Gurgaon. He finally arrived and met her parents. After spending the whole
afternoon with them, Ravin went back in the evening.
Near about noon I reached her place. I had been talking to
her over the phone to find the directions to her house. As I reached my final
destination for the day, I saw her from a distance standing at the main gate of
her house (CLHT: 79).
There came a time that Simar on holiday went to visit
Chandigarh for a day, Ravin strongly persuaded her to go and visit his mother,
but it seems that Simar wasn't in the mood to do that even thought she finally
accepted. After picking her up from railway station, the both drove to where
Ravin and her mother were living in a renting apartment.
After that visit, while making a tour in the town, Simar's
mood looked strange when she has started asking questions that Ravin consired
as already discussed in Belgium. She wanted to know if there are going to stay
in India after their marriage. Simar said that she does want to marry just
after her graduation because she needs one year of work before that,`I thought
we will settle down in Belgium, I dreamt of getting a fabulous job in Belgium
(...)' all these ways of thinking made Ravin curious to know really what was
the true matter.
When Simar returned to Belgium, their love start having a lot
of misundersting. They could discuss each time just about the matter concerning
their settling down in Belgium. Raving called Simar's father to make him
understand what was going between them. It is thanks to that call that Ravin
has been clarified in the intentions of his beloved. Her father told him that
Simar wisheshim-Ravin-to join her family in Belgium, left his job for Simar
father's company that would move soon from India
47
to Belgium. She loved only Ravin and wanted to live only with
him in the house of her father and motherfor she was the only child of this
very rich family, sorry for she didn't love Ravin's family then, Ravin had to
leave his parents, family and country for Simar.
With this clarification on the matter Ravin asked himself
many
questions.
The entire conversation I had that evening with Simar's
father left me wondering. In the first go, I wantedto call Simar, but then
later I decided against doing so. I thought it was better to prepare myself
before I go to hear from Simar whether all that I had heard was right (CLHT:
91).
Their talk on the phone was not good as usual. Simar insisted
that Ravin accepted to live in Belgium and join her father's business. Seing
that Ravin didn't like to lost Simar remembering what he faced with Khushi, he
finally agreed to plan for staying in Belgium and will do all is best to
convice his parents to go because he is the only one who could take care of
them since his young brother had applied for American Green Card. Simar in her
turn didn't want him plan to travel with his family. Ravin aceepted that, but
could plan visits to his parents each time. Simar then showed her bright point
of view that she wants to pass all her times with Ravin.
That is to say, she could never accept her husband going to
visite his parents. She then added if how she could live with a non-vegetarian,
an atheist (...) when after her graduation she goes in Canada for a contract of
three months which lasted two five months, Simar wrote to Ravin that her main
purpose was to be know all over the world as the second love of this guy the
same way he made Khushi known through his first novel I Too Had a Love
Story, she wished to be alike in the second broken heart love story of
Ravin. She ended by saying how busy she became for her PhD studies came in her
mind as priority.
Ravin could not become slave of this love even though he did
all his best to make it true. Since a boy could not give up his parents for a
wife,
48
since Simar loved herself, her dreams and thought no even to
change a simple comma on her embution's long list; Ravin's patience arrived at
the end.
The problem with being in love is that you find it
difficult to survive without the other person. No matter how many times you
decide not to succumb to it, you eventually land up trying one more time.
Things would have been simpler for humans if we were born with only a brain.
The addition of heart has brought in all the complexities in my case (CLHT:
98).
With these words, Amardeep finished to read the manuscript of
the book on the microphone that evening show which made listeners understand
what happened to Ravin for the second time and why his condition was not going
well since then.
Those final words of Amardeep brought everyone back to the
present. He went numb. No one said anything for some time. After five and half
hours of live reading, a dead silence took over everyone (CLHT: 100).
49
a) Plot Diagramme.
Climax
Ravin falls in love with Simar
Simar visits Ravin on his birthday.
Ravin and Simar met again in sandich shop
Ravin met Simar in gymn
Ravin went to Belgium
Ravin struggled to forget the rememberance of his first
girlfried, Khushi
Ravin goes back in India
Simar went in India during vacation and things changed
between her and Ravin
Ravin did all his best to convice Simar but she refused to
change.
Ravin and Simar break up.
Simar wants Ravin to join her family and abandon her parents
after they marry.
DENOUEMENT
EXPOSITION
50
II.3 Characters and Characterization 3.1
Characters
A character is a person or an animal who takes part in the
action of a story, play or other literary works. Most often a character is an
ordinary human being. (Wiston:682).
Character can be classified as follows:
Main Vs. Minor
Main characters in a Novel, play or film are the most
important characters around whom, the whole story turns. Minor characters are
those that help the heros of the story from the resolution, rising action of
the story, to reach climax and accompagn them in falling action until they
reach denouement.
- Round Vs. Flat
In his bookAspects of the Novel, E.M Forster defined
two basic types of characters, their qualities, functions and importance for
the development of the novel: flat characters and round characters.
Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are
relatively uncomplicated. By contrast, round characters are
complex figures with many different characteristics that undergo development,
sometimes sufficiently to surprise the reader.
- Dynamic Vs. static
Dynamic characters are those that change over the course of
the story. While staticcharacters remain the same throughout.
51
- Protagonist, Antagonist and Tritagonist
A protagonist is the hero of the story, whereas antagonist is
the opponent of the protagonist. But tritagonist is character who sympathizes
with the hero.
- Regular, recurring and Guest Characters
In television, a regular, main or ongoing character is a
character who appears in all a majority of episodes, or in a significant chain
of episodes of the series. Regular character may be both core and secondary.
Reculing characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes
being the main focus.
A guest character is one which acts only in a few episodes or
scenes.
3.2 Characterization
By characterization we mean, the process of revealing the
personality of a character in a story (Winston: 682). It is also a way in which
somebodyor something is described or defined in a work of art by taking into
account the place and the event (Bolemba, L2 LCA: 201120012).
A writer can reveal a character in the ways which follow:
- By letting the reader hear the character's inner thoughts
and feelings;
- By letting the readere listen the character speak;
- By describing how the character looks and dresses;
- By revealing what other people in the story think or say
about the characters;
- By showing the reader what the character does, how he or she
acts;
- By telling the reader directly what the character's
personality is like (Cruel, kind, sneak, brave and so forth) (Winston: 682).
52
3.1.1 Main Characters
In the novel Can Love Happen Twice?main characters
are:
1. Ravin (Ptotagonist or the hero of
story).
An Indian business guy who had lost his beloved girlfriend
just few days before they marry. To cope with this situation was still tough,
though he wished to leave India for abroad in order to forget some memories.
His luck was that he got an opportunity to go in Belgium for a work
contract.
In Belgium he met Simar who was a young Indian girl studying
her MBA-Master in Business Administration with whom they fall in a crazy
love.
His Characterization
? Loving and Caring
From his first book until this second under study, Ravin is
discribed like someone who seriously love and care about his love. His purpose
in this matter is not to play with girl's feelings or pleasure, he loves with
whole his heart and plan in all occasion to marry Simar.
After Simar readsI Too Had a Love Story, which, he
penned out in the memory of his first girlfriend whose death separated them,
she wrote:
...I'm happy that with this tribute to Khushi, you brought
her back in this world and defeated God. Every girl would yearn for a soulmate
like you (CLHT: 46).
? Serious
Ravin is a serious guy. His seriosity is seen through the text
in all his way of behaving as responsible, the way of speaking, the way of
reacting to a given situation and the way of treating others wether his friends
or his girlfriend and her friends.
53
`Having known you personally and then through your book, I
wish I could have a guy like you in my life' (CLHT: 46).
? Brave
Ravin's courage is seen in the whole book when he acts.
Firstly he preferred to leave his home country for going abroad, something
which is not easy to decide; next he didn't hesitate of visiting Simar's
parents when she planned so and when things became complicated he didn't stop
himself of calling Simar's father to know what was the real matter with
Simar.
`I found you to be a nice guy, Ravin,' her
father said
I looked up to his face as he continued
(CLHT: 80).
? Solitary
When he arrived in Belgium before meeting with Simar, Ravin
had no one to talk with since the only Indian he knew there was living far and
also because around him no one could speak English for Belgian do only speak
either French or Dutch.
I lived alone, I cooked alone and I ate alone. There was not
anyone to talk to because of the language barrier (CLHT: 24).
? Disappointed
Even though Ravin did all his best for not losting Simar as it
happened to him with Khushi his first girlfriend, finally he was disappointed
when Simar created many things that could not allow him to marry her.
By the time Simar actually came back to India after her
consulting assignment, things has boiled down to a yes or no decision (CLHT,
98).
54
> Sad
Disappointment gave birth to sadness in Ravin's heart.
The problem with being in love is that you find it difficult
to survive without the other person (CLHT: 98).
> Atheist
After Ravin lost his beloved girlfriend Khushi who he
described in his first novel, he lost also his faith in God. He became atheist
for accounding to him, God is either the responsible of this death or if not
him, why didn't he stop that before this arives since he is the one who knows
all things.
`How could God be so cruel to take away an angel like Khushi
from you?' (CLHT, 46).
`You are an atheis whereas I wanted my life patner to believe
in God (CLHT, 97).
2. Simar (Antagonist)
An Indian beautiful young girl of about 24 years old from a
very rich family. Her father was a businessman who was running some telecom
business in Indian and her mother a lawyer. She was the only daughter of this
prosperious family. She left Gurgaon and went to Belgium for purshueing her
Master studies in Business Administration where she met with Ravin who had just
arrived in Belgium, it was her second year of studies.
Her characterization
> Beautiful
Like all other Indian girls in the world, Simar was so cute,
attractive, gorgeous, lovely and beautiful. The first time Ravin saw her just
on the back, I was troubled.
55
She looked beautiful; more beautiful than the pretty Belgian
girls in the queue (CLHT, 27).
? Loving and caring
After readin Ravin's love story book, Simar loved him with
whole her heart and cares about that love days and night from the day they
loved until their last moment together in airport before Ravin returned in
India.
`You are my sweetest heart, Ravin. I want to hug you' (CLHT,
47).
? Rich
Because her father was a well known business man in India and
her mother a lawyer, Simar grew up without lacking anything sshe desired. Since
there are many Universities where she could deal with Master level, she
preferred only to go in Europe far from her parents and in expensive life style
without mentioning cost of living in European countries.
She took me inside her house and it was something to be
admired. It was luxurious, spacious and well d!esigned with nice interiors
(CLHT, 79).
? Embitious
Unlike what Ravin was waiting to her (to graduate) for they
marry, getting a Master degree was not all Simar wished. She was always
dreaming of great things like staying abroad whole her life, having a big house
with luxurious, getting a fabulous job in Belgium, travelling around the world
and dealing with PhD studies. So, her list was very long and in her plans she
wanted none of her dreams to fail or to be changed.
`She doesn't want to live with your family, but just you'
(CLHT, 91).
56
3.2 Minor characters
1. Happy, Amardeep and Manpreet
(Tritagonists).
They are Ravin's three best friends with who he passed
University life together. They were Characters in his first novel I Too Had
a Love Story which he wrote without letting them know anything. In the
novel under study, they were invited in a night show of Valentine day to speak
about the book they are characters.
As the three of them looked inside the audio room the giant
glass window, Shambhavi waved for them to enter (CLHT: 7).
2. Shambhabi
Shambhavi is a girl with beautiful voice, the host and RJ for
that Valentine evening show at Superhits 93.5 FM.
3. Shantuna
He was working with Shambhavi in the radio station. He was
scared to notice that the show is going to be handled wiothout Ravin
4. Ritika
An India lady student in BSc from Punjab University. She is
the one who called to know how was Ravin doing since he lost his girlfriend,
Khushi.
5. Sanchit
The only Indian guy know by Ravin in Belgium. He was not only
his job collegue but also a friend to Ravin.
6. Simar's Father
A very rich businessman well known in India. He is the one
who made Ravin know the secret of his daughter's behavior and decisions.
7. Simar's Mother
She was a lawyer. The mother of only one child or daughter,
Simar.
8. Ravin's Mother
57
A modest women full of love and respect. She had two sons:
Ravin and his brother. She welcomed Ravin's girlfriend at home where they (Her
and Ravin) were renting.
(a) Diagram of Character's Relationship
SENDER (Ravin)
Object : (Marriage)
PROTAGONIST
e
(Ravin)
d
ADDRESSEE (Simar)
Antagonist (Simar)
TRITAGONIST Assisted
(Simar'sFather)
II.4 Se ttings
Opposed
There is no true detail about the year in which this story
happened dispites 2007 which is the date this novel was published. It is
noticed
We speak of setting to mean the time and the place in which
the events of the work of literature take place (Winston: 689).
II.4.1 Spatial Setting
This novel has been written in India. The scene started in
Indian after Ravin lost his first girlfriend, went to Belgium where he loved
Simar, an Indian girl student in MBA program. Later Ravin's company called him
back in India where the story reached the falling action until the both broke
up.
II.4.2 Temporal Setting
58
while reading that the whole story is not a less than one year
matter, for Ravin loved Simar when she was in the second year of her Master
studies maybe at the end of the first semester; next when she finished her
degree Simar went in Canada for five months more.
II.5 Style
Style is a way that something is done, built etc. (Oxford
Advanced Learner's Dictionary). It is also how the author says something, the
choice of words and the use of language, sentence, construction, imagery, tone,
figures of speech, point of view and appropriation or borrowings. These facts
add significance and impact to the author's writing (
www.shoop.com/wring/style).
Some author's point of view about Style
1. Mathiew Arnold
«The secret of style is to have something to say and say it
clearly».
2. Shopenhawer
«The style is the phisionomy of the mind».
3. Jonathan Swift
«Proper words in proper places make the true definition of
style».
4. Edward Gibbon
«The style of an author should be the image of his mind,
but the choice and command of language is the fruit of exercise».
5. George Louis Leclerc Buffon
«The style is man himself». i.e: man portrays
himself through his style.For the purpose of this dissertation, this part will
be clearly developed in the last chapter of the work with is only focused on
yhe narrative techniques.
II.5.1 Subject Matters Vs. Theme
59
II.5.1.1 Subject Matters
Those are ideas or information contained in a book, speech or
painting (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary).
Mongbolo, N. in Analysis of a Literary Genre defines
subject matters as key motifs or recurring ideas around which the story is
woven. This one is expressed by means of single words rather than a sentence as
the case of theme.
Examples: Poverty, Love, Corruption, War, Deception, Courage,
etc.
In Can Love Happen Twice?, the following subject
matters are found: Voyage, determination, courage, isolation, suffering,
relationship, friendship, love, separation,
misunderstanding, disappointement, breaking up, sadness, sorrow, trouble to
cite just these.
II.5.1.2 Theme
A theme is an idea about life revealed in a work of
literature. A theme is not the same as a subject, a subject can be a single
word or two words while a theme is always expressed by the mean of sentence.
To sustain the ideas above the following examples deserve to
be given of course referring to the novel under study:
In the subject «Love» we have the following themes:
It is better to spend time with people you love, Love is blind, Love can make
someone crazy, Someone you truly love will not love you truly, Once you love
next they avoid you and One you avoid then they Love you, etc.
A story can have several themes but one will often stand out
from the others.
Note that two readers of the same book cannot state in a
subject two identical themes (Winston: 688).
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A theme can be paraphrased as a central topic of a text or a
book in order to bring the autho's moral lesson or message to the society.
II.6 Tone
Tone is the attitude that a writer takes towards the audience,
a subject or a character. Tone is conveyed through the writer's choice of words
and details. Tone can be serious, humorous, satirical passionate,
sensitive, zealous, indifferent, ect. (Elements of Literature;
p 690).
In Can Love Happen Twice, Ravinder uses emotional and
serious tones. Emotional tone is seen in the way he ends the story. Most of
readers including myself let tears run down after reading for the first time
this novel. Whereas in seious tone, Ravin expresses his seriosity in love which
he didn't like to end with tears.
II.7 Mood
This novel is characterized by three different moods relative
to each main part of the plot. In the resolution or the beginning of the story,
the author is in solitude, his own mind asked him to stay speechless for he
tries to forget some touching rememberance of Khushi his dead first girlfriend.
When the story reaches the turning point or the climax, Ravinder describes
Protagonist in a very happy mood created by the company of Simar in a very
serious love relation. Whereas, in the denouement, the novel ends in
mylancholic mood that is made possible by the breack up of Ravin and Simar.
II.8 Intention
While speaking of intention we deepen our thoughts to know why
the author wrote this book. Contrairy to most 21stcentury writters
who focuse on denouncing corruption, political games and so foth, Ravinver, in
his two first novels, speaks only about love matters.
To write Can Love Happen Twice, Ravinder wished to
share his own life story about love in order to help reader understand that
there exist people who truly love but life realities don't permit them to reach
their
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goals. In the very first pages of the book, the author
expresses himself this way:
The ever-incresing numbers of such emails made me
comprehend that, these days, `Heartbreak' is a far more rampant disease than
`Heart Attack'. And, unfortunately, insurance covers just the latter. This is
the very reason behind writing this book
(CLHT, Before You Read Further...).
B. Your Dreams Are Mine Now II.1 Title
The title of the second novel analysed in this dissertation
is: Your Dreams are Mine Now. This title had been
taken inside the text when the two main characters were talking about their
future dreams. Rupali fell in love with a guy that she was hating too much
since the very face time see saw him. The both involved in a matter which
linked them together, then Rupali discovered that Arjun was not as worst as she
used to think. She then appreciates his friendship and caring attitude which
sent them to fall in love.
When in one evening the both were sitting in isolate place to
talk about their future dreams, Arjun said he doesn't have dreams since it may
happen that things change with the time, in her side, Rupali expressed her
dreams which was to marry and stay with Arjun alldays of her life. When he
-Arjun- heared that, he respondes: your dreams are mine now.
This sentence is which the title appeared in the first page of the novel called
title.
My dreams are quite simple, Arjun...' she paused for a
moment and then continued, `I want to do well in academics, secure a good
future for myself and fulfil responsibilities that I have towards my family. I
want to continue to stand up for things I believe in. I wish to see happiness
around me, and while all this happens, I want to...' she stopped
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again, but only to resume after a second or two, `...I
want to see you by my side. Arjun, I want to live the rest of my life with you'
(...) `that's what my dream is'. (...) Can my dreams become a part of yours?'
(...) He swallowed the lump in the back of his throat and when he felt he could
talk he said, `Your dreams are mine now!' (YDAMN,
67-68).
II.2 Plot or Story
The story starts with the arrival of a new batch of students
in Delhi University from all over the India sub-continent, among them, a young
18 years old lady named Rupali Sinha from Patna. Shehad been a bright student
throughout her school life. Since her younth, Rupali was dreaming of walking
one day down the corridors of this institution-DU.
Seing that her dream becomes true, she was very happy and
joyfull when she received an admission call from this top-ranked institute to
persure commerce. Her parents were very pround of their only one daughter who
was about to leave them for the first time for her studies purposes. With tears
on eyes Rupali left the family house.
Her first day in DU hostel was characterized by the happiness
since her life dream of walking in DU hostel corridors became true, she could
smile with every girl she meets and greets them without shame. Her 107 room was
so sweet for her. She passed night the first day late because of deep
thoughts.
The next day she waked up fresh for her first day at college.
Early in the morning her roommate-Saloni, who had become later her closest and
best friend arrived in the room with her lagguage too.
After the first day at college which focused on welcoming new
students celebration, Saloni conviced Rupali to have a facebook account which
was considered by her like not to be important. When one day she was on
college, Rupali was happy to see a post in which a music club of college was
looking for new members; she loved music, though
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didn't hesitate to join the band. During her music test, a
group of student entered the room where music intruments were installed, they
destroy and left them room. In that group was Arjun. This guy has met Rupali
days before and made her afraid with his interrogatoire. Rupali started to
dislike him for seeing him always in negative things.
It was one hot afternoon that Rapuli left hostel for going to
meet at college Professor Mahajan, teacher of account for clearing a doubt she
had regarding his paper. Professor who was one of the more well-known and
respected faculty members had planned her visit two days ago for the 2 p.m that
day. But when she reached professor's cabin, she found the door locked. She
went to look at the other faculty member's cabins in the department to check
if, by chance, Prof. Mahajan was there but, the whole floor was desolate!
Rupali decided to go back for not meeting with the one she
went to search, while walking in a dark corridor, she saw a open window which
caught her attention. Inside the window was very black likewise outside where
she was. Inside the room, she saw the back of someone, it was a lady, in front
of that lady was a man trying to touch her everywhere by force.
The apparence of that lady showed that she was a peon and she
quickly noticed that man was the same professor she was looking for. Rupali was
choked seeing that a respectful professor of the great university of India was
violating a peon lady in the office. She decided to run with fear but, her
heart requested her to do something.
In the room, the cenario continues, Professor succeeded to lay
the lady on the table, she was trying to pull herself out of the man's grip,
but Professor was stonger than her. She repeatedly tried to pull the man's hand
out of her blouse, but the man persisted, clearly pushing himself against her
will. When the peon managed to step away, Rupali was able to take her phone and
record the scene just for about a couple of minutes. When she noticed professor
putting of his trousers, Rupali was not able to see such things either in her
phone or her own eyes,
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then she decided to stop recording and find a quick solution
to save the poor peon.
After remembering the speech of her father: She created a fake
phone call in which she spoke loudly and walking by making noise with her feet,
loud enough to be heard by the people inside the faculty room. In sthe same
time, the lady peon run outside the room speedly looking her and there to check
if someone can notice her. Rupali wished to follow her but hesitated in
thinking that Prof may come out to see what happened. She then decided to
disappear without being noticed.
It took Rupali a whole week searching that lady peon before
meeting her one day in the garden area of the campus, cleaning. Rupali took a
minute to verify if that lady was the real peon she saw that day for there were
many of them working in campus, her heart made her confident that she was. She
then approached her to invite her working in her hostel room that evening. The
peon introduiced hersef too. Her name was Raheema.
In the evening, Raheema arrived in Rupali's room. She then
succeeded to make her speak about what happened to her that day in the office.
Rupali was choked hearing that that lady of about thirties was a widow and
mother of a fifteen-years-old daughter who used to work as domestic help in few
houses. But when, three years back, her husband who was working as a gardener
in the same college died of cancer, she had no other option than to look for a
better job in order to take care of herself and her daughter's education. Like
her, she didn't want her daughter, too, to clean utensils. She had dreamt of
good life for her daughter.
Someone in her community asked Raheema to see if she could get
some work in the college in the replacement of her husband. She agreed with the
idea. This was not also easy for her, since, someone else had already filled
the vacancy that her husband's absence had created. Raheema moved in several
offices witout answer.
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The only man who noticed her presence during three days
sitting down in front of an office was Prof Mahajan. When he heard her speak,
the same day just by a simple call talk, he ordered to hire her. Raheema was
surprised to see such power and authority Mahajan had at University. She
considered him like an angel of her life. Unfortunately, it took only two weeks
for her angel to turn to devil.
He was her angel and she would remember him in her prayers
(...)
Unfortunately, it only took two more weeks for Raheema's
angel to transform into a devil. The unexpected had unfolded when Mahajan had
specifically asked Raheema to clean his cabin on a holiday, when there was no
other faculty member or student in the college block (YDAMN, 24).
This story mad Rupali very angry, she then decided to take the
cause on her hands and fight to defende the poor Raheema. A week later when the
elections had passed, all activities started as usual at college, Rupali went
in the Professor's cabin to meet him and discuss about Raheema's matter. She
get in the office even if the profeesor didn't allow her. She then witnessed
all thing Professor did with that poor peon then she asked him to stop doing
all these things for if not she will go to revealhim to higher authorities.
Professor's face became red with anger.
He promiced to show rupali what his power was for none had
tried to speak to him like that. Things became complicated for Prof when Rupali
called Raheema to get in the office, for Mahajan didn't know that she was
stainding outside listening to all thhings they were discussing inside. With
shame that turned to anger, Professor Mahajan, with all his force slapped
Rupali, she fell down. Raheema got fear that sent her to plead mercy of
professor. When Rupali stands up, she stopped Raheema of pleading him (YDAMN:
28).
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They left before Rupali tells the professor to stay far from
Raheema. When they arrived outside, they asked themselves what to do in order
to put an end to such illtreatment from the professor. The brave lady planned
to find a solution about that situation as soon as possible. They separated and
promised to meet the next morning.
When Rupali arrived nervous in her room, her room-mate
discovered her unusual appearance, she then approached her and make her speak.
Rupali told the whole scene and her friend became very angry to Professor for
slapping her best friend, Rupali. Then she asked what must be done in order to
end that matter. Rupali still conviced in her heart to fight that evil
professor. Her mate adviced her to stop fighting for an unknown but Rupali
didn't like to hear that.
The next morning, Rupali and Raheeme met again. She, Raheema,
announced her that she has found someone who is going to help them in that
matter. She then proposed her to meet with that man during their class-pause.
Rupali didn't feel very good to see that someone else is informed about the
matter she liked to be their own secret, but she had no choice since that one
is going to help her in the fight she is involved in.
The meeting time arrived, Rupali went quickly to meet with
them in a restaurant. She get in slowly found Raheema and that guy inside.
While intering the hall the guy's back was visible in her eyes. Raheema smiled
to her and said that they were just waiting for her. Surprising, the guy
waiting for Rupali is the leader of guys who made her scared the day she was
planting her tree in the hostel garden, her first day in Delhi. The same guy
was among those who came to vandalize the music club the day she had audition.
She was shoked to have in front of her the guy she secretetly hate because of
seeing him twice always in the bad situations.
Arjun, the guy greeted her and started talking. They decided
to speak in English and explain all their plans to Raheema later. She was not
happy inside her until Arjun explained that he was not bad as she
67
was thinking. He then explain why he was present the day of
her audition trouble, he came late because they informed him that his friends
went to vandalize students in music club, he followed them in order to stop
them, unfortunately, he found them already in action, that is why he stayed
only outside the auditorium.
He made her understand some realities of university they are
students in, he explains what their claims and fights are about and made her
conviced that he is not a bad guy. Rupali was conviced. She now trust in him.
The both planed what to do for fighting Prof's evil deeds. Arjun claims that it
will not be possible since they have no proof of what professor did because he
will not accept the witnessing of either Rupali or Raheema herself.
Arjun met his friends in order to plan what can be done for
Rupali's desire to fight the evil professor. They all are blocked because they
have no proof of what happened. Suddenly, Rupali, said she has the proof. She
agreed that she had something that can be considered as the proof. She then
explain while taking her phone outside her bag that she had recorded a part of
scene that happened in the room were Professor was violating the poor Raheema.
She presentes them the video. They were all shoked seeing the fact of the
story.
One of Arjun's friend decide to cut the last part of the video
where the face of Raheema was visible. They decide to creat a new facebook
account and post the video in Delhi University's group.
The next day, all was done. Professor's sexual arrassements,
his evil deed and whole his face is seen in the video published through an
unknown facebook account in the group of university.
Early in the morning, the video was published and viewed by
the most of students of Delhi University. This was a great proof which caused
demonstrations on University roads against the deeds of Professor. Later the
same day, He was arrested and jailed.
A short time later, Professor was released from prison and
came out with only one objective, killing the young lady.
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Rupali and her new friend who became her love, Arjun had a
love rendez-vous. The young lady got ready for their metting and went where
Arjun was supposed to come to pick her up. The time she was waiting for her
beloved, a car arrived near her and kidnaped her. Four men sent by the
professor Mahajan abused the lady, violated her, broken even bottles inside her
genital part, they have vionlatly betten her, removed her cloths... Rupali's
whole body was bleeding. She later lost conscience and fell down. The four guys
check to see if she is really dead as their mission was.
After they left, early in the morning her body was found in
the same place. It was brought to the hospital, her parents arrived the same
day, her best friend was at the hospital together with Arjun and all his
friends, Reheema also did not make exception. After a very long struggle with
life, the young innocent beautiful lady Rupali died. Her parents brought the
corps in the province where she came from. Arjun in his sorrow went towards the
hostel where his belove was living, he unrooted the plant that Rupali planted
her first day at University and went back with it to plant in their home so
that he sees it all days of his life.
II.3 Characters and Characterization A. Main
Characters:
- Rupali Sinha
The young confident, merit-list student from Patna lady of
about 18 years old who left her province after graduating from high-school and
received admission call from top-ranked Delhi University, which was just the
concretization of her life dream. Once arrived in DU, her courage sent her to
take cause of a poor widow lady-Raheema- who was secretly fighting against Prof
Mahajan's sexual arresment.
Her fight succeed in the first semester, but later this costs
her the life. She died after being violated by four men sent by Prof
Mahajan.
- Arjun
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A brave boy whose life was based on fighting negativity on DU.
After being informed about Prof Mahajan's immoral acts towards one of his
relatives, together with Rupali, he fought. But after falling in love with her,
his beloved Rupali was killed by his most known enemy.
- Professor Mahajan
Professor of Accounting in DU. A very bad professor but more
respected at University. He wanted to have sexual intercourse by force with
Reheema, the pon lady who was sweeping his office. When he knew that one of
Universty students was informed about his wiked deeds. He decided to put end to
the life of Rupali. He sent four persons to execute the poor young lady.
B. Minor Characters
- Raheema
A peon worker on DU campus. Asingle mom whose husband died
with cancer. After being taken at University to work in the place of her
husband in order to pay tuition fees of her 15 years old daughter, she was
victim of Prof Mahajan's sexual abuses.
- Solani
A young beautiful modern lady from a very rich family. She was
the room-mate of the hero of the novel-Rupali. A very kind and friendly girl.
- Music Club Members: Shafi, Tenzing, Sheetal, Raghu, Mirza
and Harpreet.
- Rupali's Family: Her father, her mother and
her young brother
- Arjun's Friend.
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II.4 Settings
A. Spacial Setting
Your Dreams Are Mine Now is a Indian novel written by
Ravinder Singht. It discibes life in the top-ranked Indian University, Delhi
University. The whole scenes written in the book took place in the
University.
B. Temporal Setting
This novel was wriiten in 21st century like all
other RAvinder's books, this one was published in 2014. Both days and night
scenes are present in the book.
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Conclusion
The second chapter was about literary analysis of the two
novels studied in this dissertation. The first part of the chapter delt with
the Life and Work of Ravinder Sight and the last part concerned the
Analysis.
First point concerned the life and work of the author who
wrote the two works we analysed in our dissertation: «Can Love Happen
Twice?» and «Your Dreams Are Mine Now». In this part, it have
been clarified that Ravinder Singh who studied Business Administration, after
working for a short time he decided to deel with master studies till he got his
MBA (Master in Business Administration) degree became what he called himself
an author by chance, for he dicided to write the story of is own
lovelife about his girlfriend who died few days before they marry. This story
find in his first novel I Too Had a Love Story touched and still touch
until nowdays the millions of hearts. Thanks to this successful first book,
Ravinder continued writing from that time until he gave up Business matters to
become a full time author.
In December 2018, the time we finished writing this
dissertation, Ravinder has since then publish eight novels and he has open his
own publishing house called Black Ink.
Seeing that I delt with two novels, I separated them so that
readers understand the analysis of each of them. The first novel, Can Love
Happen Twice? is studied in 8 different literary analysis elements which
are: Title, Plot, Characters and Characterization, Settings, Style, Tone, Mood
and Intention. Whereas the second novel is studied in four major points: Title,
Plot, Characters and Characterization and Settings.
CHAPTER THREE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN RAVINDER
SINGH'S CAN LOVE HAPPEN TWICE? AND YOUR DREAMS ARE MINE
NOW.
Introduction
In this chapter three, I point out some Narrative Techniques
used by Ravinder in his two romantic novels understudy, analyse them, and
examine how they help the author to underscope his message. After a very deep
investigation and reading,techniques of narration find here below have been
remarqued in the novels. But before that, let's undersdand what the meaning of
narrative, and a technique.
a) A narrative is a story, a succession of happening
involving a plot and a setting. Narrative as adjective is which is related to a
story, a narration.
b) A technique with a message and a style are the three
important factors in any creative writing.
- A message is something to say, thing the writer wants to
write about, the content of the narrative;
- A style is a manner of using words in the final expression
of the story;
- A technique is the ways and means of organizing and
manipulating the materials.
It is commonly called the structure of the story.
Etymologically, the word technique comes from Greek and it means, «crafts
manship». The classical philosopher Platoexplained it clearly «Ta
pragmatic technica» or «the affairs of craftsmanship».
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Nobody can give a writer a style; nobody can give a writer a
technique. Mental equipment forces the spirit to achive its purposes. A
technique is mastered and forgotten, and it becomes an unconscious part of
one's equipment, the writer has subject it during his formative years.
The Relevance of the Study of a Narrative
Technique
At this sense, the study of a narrative technique urges upon
each writer, critic and researcher. In other words, the success of a work of
art depends to a great extent upon its employment.
A writer has some materials: facts about life, with these, he
wants to do something, this is, his purpose. Therefore, to achieve his purpose,
he needs how to do it. To ignore a technique is to miss part of the substance
of a literary work.
Moreover, one way, probably the most important way in which
the study of literature can help us to read more perceptively and hence
increase our understanding and enjoyment of what we read is to acquaint us with
the literary techniques.
Narrative Techniques Used by Ravinder Singh 1. Use of
Short, Simple Sentences
Eckersley, C.E and Ackersley, J.M. in their book A
comprehensive
English Grammar for Foreign Students define a simple
sentence as «the
one that contains a finite verb. It does one of four things:
- makes a statement,
- asks a question,
- gives a commend or makes a request,
- makes an exclamation.
Here are some examples:
- Mr Kambasu studies Ph.D in Philippines (statement)
- Did you succeed? (Question)
- Please help me (Request)
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- Wow, too hot again! (Exclamation).
The two novels analysed in this dissertation like all other
Ravin novels are written in short sentences easy to read, simple in structure,
without complicated clauses and understandable.
`All right, guys
Pull your socks up.
We are going live in thirty seconds'
(CLHT, 8)
`So when did you join the club?' Arjun asked.
`Hmm?' Rupali was lost in her thoughts.
`Club. The music club,' he clarified.
`Oh! I joined last month only,' she replied.
`You sing?'
`Yes,' she said (YDAMN, 37).
Compared to The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Miller
Hemingway, Can Love Happen Twice and Your Dreams are Mine Now
are written in the form of dialogue. That is what makes a novel sweet and
easy to be read even by people who have not yet mastered theenglish
language.
`Who gave this to you?'
`Martin. The owner.'
`I must thank him.'
`I thanked him already,' the boy said. `You
don't need to thank him.'
`I'll give him the belly meat of a big fish,' the
old man said.
`Has he done this more than once?'
`I think so.'
`I must give him something more than the
belly meat then.
He is very thoughtful for us.'
`He sent two beers.'
`I like the beer in cans best.'
`I know. But this is in bottles,
Hatuey beer, and I take back the bottles.'
`Tha's very kind of you' the old man said.
(OMS, 13).
`Hello,' she wished the caller.
No response came from the other side. `Hello-o-o-o. Who is
this?' she asked
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This time a sweet voice replied,
`Hi Shambhavi, I am Ritika.'
`Hi Ritika, how are you doing tonight? (...)'
`I am doing very good, Shambhavi
I am so excited that my call got connected
(...)'
(CLHT,11)
`Don't worry we have the script with us' `What do you mean
you have the script?' `Allow us to speak to listeners and you will find
out.'
(CLHT, 14).
`All right,
Who is going to read it?'
`Hmm... Anyone among us,'
`Be specific. Who is going to start it?'
`I will,' asserted Happy. (CLHT, 16).
`You cook?' `Yes.'
`You know how to cook?'
(CLHT, 35).
The effect, better the literary effect of the use of short,
simple sentences is to be demonstrated here. It is commonly stated that simple
sentences express complete and full ideas at a time. The style is simple, but
very pure. The reader has not to think much to tackle the idea expressed by the
writer, and it helps both the writer and the reader to progress step by step
either in writing or in reading. Many writers such as Ernest Miller Hemingway
have devoted much of their time in writing fiction on short, simple
sentences.
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2. Use of Complex Sentences
Other group of sentences in the novels seems to appear longer
but even thought that, they are easy to understand. Let's consider these:
With the start of the second semester, campus politics
became the priority again. There had been a case of violence reported in which
a few students from student's union in power had clashed with another group of
students. The fight had erupted due to the alleged harassment of a girl outside
the campus by someone who was an active member of student's union. Two of the
boys from the other group were reportedly admitted to the ICU. When the police
had booked a few members of the students' union, the rest union had called a
trike in a few colleges asking the vice-chancellor to intervene and get them
out. Even though majority of students were not in favour of it, they all were
silenced. Rumours also alleged that a nexus of drug traffickers was flourishing
in the university and that they had the backing of members of the students'
union. This brought to light questions about how the union was spending its
funds. A demand was also raised to bring in more transparency in this (YDAMN:
75).
3. Use of SMS Language and Spelling
New generation, with the development of technology is
characterized by the fast usage of electronic materials. Among all, the
telephone is the most used in the world. People use telephone nowdays not only
to make a call, but it can be also to connect on internet, to take pictures to
record a video, to use radio, calculator... and besides all these, a phone is
mostly used by youngers to send and receive messages. Seeing that message chat
is very quick than a call, it is noticed that SMS has got its own language and
way of spelling words
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different from the usual usage. This change is understandable
in the way that some words in all human languages are very long. This length
can make the chat last while some one is spelling ideas from his thoughts.
In the two novelsI have analysed in this thesis, Ravinder
presents SMS language and spelling in a great part of each novel. Let's just
focus on whole night conversation Ravin had with Simar the night of his
birthday in Can Love Happen Twice?
`U appear angry. M nt sure if u actually
meant it 2 b ok. I only hope u forgive me'
`Cn forgive u only one 1 condition.'
`Wat condition?'
`Whose turn first?'
`U actually wanna play kya?'
`But I ws about 2 sleep.'
`Oh u need nt play it dear.
Jst simplify accept dat u lost n I
wil forgive u n thn we both cn sleep.'
`Yaar u knowI m scared of playin it.
I nvr played dis game wid a guy.'
`Same pinch! Even m scared. I nvr +
played this wid ny gal.
U still hv Tuna 2 help u. M all alone
n wer gonna play half d game,
jst d truth part n nt d dare s we can't
play it over the phone.'
`Go ahead.'
Hmmm... wer u actually annoyed by d
1st msg sent by Tuna?'
`No. In fact pass on my thanks
2 her if she is awake'
`LOL!! Ur turn.'
`Wer u nt afraid of sitting with
me in my dark balcony?'
`Y? do u bite? Well honestly,
I was, bt thn u made me confortable.'
`M glad u said tht. Ur turn.'
`Wat ws d best moment of ur bday 2 day?'
`Hmmm... best moment... wen u showed up.'
`Really?'
`Hey. U cn't ask 2 questions in one go.
It's my turn now.'
`Do u hv a gf either in Belgium or
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back in India?'
`No'
`It's diff 2 accept though, yet I wil assuming
dat we r playin this game honestly. Ur turn.'
`I m playin it with utmost honesty.
Do u hv a bf?'
`I knew u wud ask this. I had one long back.
We broke up. So the answer is no.'
`How many euros do u earn a mnth?'
`'oh so u are jumping on to questions
with numbers.
Ur makin it diff 4 urself!'
`So shall I understand that u lost?'
`4000 C a mnth'
`Wow! Ur rich! Ur turn!'
`Now dat u hv started let's cont with
numbers.
Wat r ur figure stats?'
`This is cheating'
'36-24-36'
`very honestly I appreciate your spirit of
playing!'
Thanks; hd u not made me conf,
I wudn't hv answered this one. My turn now'
`If dere is a gal walking in front of u,
l who has a gorgeous figure, wch part
of her body wud u most like to stare at?'
`Gorgeous figure... hmm... depends if she
is walkin towards me or away frm me.
Either way I wud hv sumthing to stare at.'
`That was hell of a smart answer Ravin.'
`If I ask u 2 cum to my place rite wow in
whatever u r wearing at this moment, so
dat we sit n spend the entire night playing
truth or dare in my balcony... wud u hv
wanted 2 come?'
`I am shy!'
`That's not the answer to my question...'
`Yes I wud hv wanted to come bt nt wearin
wt I am wearin rite now.'
`Btn wat r u wearin at this moment?'
`Haha. U cn't ask 2 questions in one go.
It's my turn now.'
`Hv u ever had ny naughty fantasies
for any fem who was far older then you?'
79
`Yes. My computer me'am in college.
My turn now... U can answer my previous
ques!'
`A long white shirt till knees.'
`That's it?'
`I'm honest. Btn u r again askin 2 ques in one
go'
`You want to stop the game with a draw?'
`No! I don't mind winning or losing s
bt don't want 2 stop. If u wan 2 stop
lemme know.'
`Now dat for the last question u have
answered u r a virgin lemme gt back 2
basics. Hv u evr kissed a girl?'
`I wud love 2 tell u about dat girl, but it
is a long story and don't want to narrate
it over d phone.' (CLHT, 39-41).
Meaning of some SMS abbreviations:
- U: you - nt: not - hv: have
- Y: why - gal: girl - r: are
- Cum: come - wud: would - M: am
- gf: girlfriend - bfr: before - cn: can
- bf: boyfriend - btw: between - jst: just
- 4: for - diff: difficult - n: and
- 2: to, two, too - ur: your - thn: then
- bt: but - bday: birthday - nvr: never
- wid: with - ny: any - d: the
- wer: were - tht: that - ws: was.
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4. Use of Real Names
The use of real names charactereizes Ravinder's writings. In
both novels studied in this work, I noticed several time the usuage of real
place names, town names, country names, airports, streets,
etc. here below are some examples:
There was still enough time left for dusk. But the sky
over the city of Delhi was getting darker with every passing
minute. It was the end of May. Summere was at its peak. After breaking the
previous year's record, yet again, the maximum temperature in the city was at
an all-time high. To escape the hottest part of the day, in the afternoons,
people preferred to stay confined to the shelter of their offices and homes.
The air was dry (YDAMN, Prologue).
That day marked the arrival of new batch of students in
Delhi University (DU). Just like the thousands of students in
DU about to step into a brand new life was ready to welcome Rupali. And she was
ready to embrace this life (YDAMN, 1).
Dusk had fallen when Amardeep walked out of the gate of
the busy Chandigarh airport. A chilly winter welcomed him for
the very first time to `The City Beautiful'. The evening was even more
beautiful for it was Valentine's Day. Love was in the air and red was the
colour everywhere. The temperature must have been close to 4 degrees. Adding to
the winter chill was the cool brezee which was blowing that evening,
complelling the
By the time Simar actually came back to India
after her consulting assignment, things
81
just-arrived passengers to pull out their jackets (CLHT,
1).
`I am doing very good, Shambhavi. I am so excited that my
call got connected. I had been trying every second, since the time you said
your lines are opening.' She giggled excitedly, indicating how unbelievable
this experience was far her. `So, Ritika, tell us what you do?'
`Shambhavi, I am pursuing BSc from Punjab
University' (CLHT, 11).
A year and half had passed since the tragic incident had
taken place. Unable to cope with the misery, I was looking for a big change.
Fortunately, an on-side opportunity for a project in Belgium
gave a ray of hope to that much-needed change. I availed that
opportunity.
It was the month of January and Brussels,
the capital of Belgium, was witnessing the last few weeks of
winter (CLHT, 18).
The next morning I was at my clients' office. It was on
Zandvoorstraata in Mechelen. Mechelen is
another city in Belgium and, unlikeussels, this part of the
country has a Dutch-speaking population (CLHT, 21).
Simar was bach in Gurgaon and she had
planned to make me meet her parents.
I boarded the Chandigarh-Delhi
Shatabdi and then took a metro which had recently started plying in
the city (CLHT, 79).
82
had boiled down to a yes or no decision
(CLHT, 98).
It is important for a writer to use real names in his
bookbecause a work of art is composed of two great parts which are ficton and
non fiction.
Since the author imagines things and events to be written in
the work, his/her imagination is always impired by the facts which
characterizes the place where he/she is or where the scene took place.
5. Use of Flashback
It is not possible to understand the `raison d'etre' of some
events witount finding explaination in other events, which previously took
place in the past. The author therefore gives flashback in order to illuminate
the reader's mind and to restore the link in events.
Then, a flashback is a device that allows the writer to
present events that happened before the time of current narrative or the
current events in the fiction. The flashback techniques include memories,
dreams, and stories of the past told by characters to fill in the reader about
a character, a place or a background to a conflict. It may be a part of a film
that goes back in time to show what happened earlier in the story. It has the
purpose of enlightening the part of the story, to understand the next episode
of the story.
You're mad!, Rupali loughed and futher asked, `But isn't
Imran from science section?' seeing her roomie's level of interest increase,
Saloni replied, `Yes, he is! But how did you know?'
`I just know. But yoy first tell me, how did you guys
meet?' Rupali inquired... saloni loved telling stories. She also knew how to
make them spicy and extra gossipy. She derived a lot of pleasure in narrating
the whole episode of how she met Imran, for the very first time, at the
basketball court. It had happened in the first week of the semester. It wasn't
love at first sight for her. But she had definitely found Imran to be one of
the most handsome guys in the first year batch.
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While she was an amateur in the game of basketball, Imran
was a champion. Besides his good looks, Imran's sporty personality was like
icing on the cake. Saloni herself was a head-turner on campus. They'd met quite
by coincidence.
There weren't many girls who played basketball in the
first year. One evening, Saloni had jogged to the basketball court. But finding
no one there she decided to jog back to the hostel. Suddenly, she heard someone
shout, asking her to stop.
Saloni turned around to see Imran. He stood on the other
side of the court in the dark, holding the ball in his hands. It took Saloni a
few seconds to spot him in the darkness. Imran swichrd on the floodlights from
the corner of the court. The lights took their time to come on, only gradually
lighting up the court.
`You came here to play?' Imran asked (...) `Yes, but the
other girls haven't come today. I am not sure why,' Saloni said.
`That's strange, not many boys turned up today as well and,
those who did, left early. That's why I had just switched off the lights,
`Imran explained...
`I... I don't know. I am not very good at the game... And
we don't even have the team,' she blurted out. Of course she wanted to play
with Imran when no one was there. Then why had she given this silly excuse?
(...) Imran came to her rescue and offered a quick reason for Saloni to
play.
`Oh: we can just play a half words court three-poiner. And
don't worry, I'll help you,' he said and smile. Saloni nodded. She was looking
forward to Imran's company. They played for about half an hour, enjoying each
other's company (YDMN, p 17-18).
84
6. Use of Indian words
To make readers feel at home while reading such novels,
especially in the case of English literature, writers of modern literature or
developing countries are nowdays characterized by the use of local language
words in their books.
This observation is not only noticed to this group of writers but
even to some most important American writers such as Ernest Miller Hemingway
whoseThe Old Man and the Sea contains also local words.
While reading an African writer from Kenyan for example, it is
very easy to be in contact with some Swahili words. The same for Ugandan and
Tanzania novels.
This fact is also observer in Indian Literature. Knowing that
this big country has itself more than twenty notional languages, the one which
is known and used by all Indians and classed among ten most spoken languages in
the world is Hirdu. That is the reason why Ravinder Singh has used Indian
words, more especially Hindi sentences, phrases or expression in his books.
Let's have a look at some of them:
- Muh mein chewing gum hai, agli baar kha loongi.
(YDAMN, 2). (I am chewing gum. I'll take it next time).
- Yeh gaddha kyun khod rahin hain aap?
(Why are you digging this hole?) (YDAMN, 7).
- Jab Hindi bhasha mein sawaal kiya hai Maine, to kya aap
Hindi mein uska uttar nahi de saktin? (YDAMN, 7).(When I have asked a
question in Hindi, can you not respond in Hindi?).
- Kahaan ki rahne wali hain aap? (YDAMN, 7).
(Which place are you from?).
- Ji hum Patna, Bihar ke rahne waley hain. (YDAMN,
7).
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(I am from Patna, Bihar).
- Lo bhai, to ab Patna, Bihar waley, Delhi mein harit-kranti
le ke aayenge! (YDAMN, 8).
(So, now the people from Parnan Bihar, will bring the green
revolution to Delhi!).
- Teri itni phatt ti kyun hai yaar? (YDAMN, 17).
(Why do you get so scared?).
- Udhar ho, phir sunaati hun saari kahaani (YDAMN, 17).
(Make some space, and I will tell you the whole story).
7. Use of Point of View
Narrative point of view or narrative perspective describes the
position of the narrator, that is, the character of the storyteller, in
relation to the story being told. It can be thought of as a camera mounted on
the narrator's shoulder that can also look back inside the narrator's mind.
First-Person Point of View
With the first-person point of view, a story is
revealed through a narrator who is also explicitly a character within his or
her own story. In a first person narrative, the narrator can create a close
relationship between the reader and the writer. Therefore, the narrator reveals
the plot by referring to this viewpoint character with forms of "I" (that is,
the narrator is a person who openly acknowledges his or her own existence) or,
when part of a larger group, "we". Frequently, the narrator is the protagonist,
whose inner thoughts are expressed to the audience, even if not to any of the
other characters.
A conscious narrator, as a human participant of past events,
is an incomplete witness by definition, unable to fully see and comprehend
events in their entirety as they unfurl, not necessarily objective in their
Traditionally, third-person narration is the most commonly
used narrative mode in literature. It does not require that the narrator's
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inner thoughts or sharing them fully, and furthermore may be
pursuing some hidden agenda. Forms include temporary first-person narration as
a story within a story, wherein a narrator or character observing the telling
of a story by another is reproduced in full, temporarily and without
interruption shifting narration to the speaker. The first-person narrator can
also be the focal character.
Second-Person Point of View
The second-person point of view is a point of view
where the audience is made a character. This is done with the use of the
pronouns "you", "your", and "yours." The narrator is trying to address the
audience, not necessarily directly, but rather to administer more of a
connection. Stories and novels in second person are comparatively rare.
Examples include the short fiction of Lorrie Moore and Junot Díaz. An
example in contemporary literature is Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big
City, in which the second-person narrator is observing his life from a
distance as a way to cope with a trauma he keeps hidden from readers for most
of the book.
"You are not the kind of guy who would be at a place like this
at this time of the morning. But here you are, and you cannot say that the
terrain is entirely unfamiliar, although the details are fuzzy."--Opening lines
of Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City (1984).
Third-Person Point of View
In the third-person narrative mode, characters are
referred to by the narrator as "he", "she", or "they", but never as "I" or "we"
(first-person), or "you" (second-person). This makes it clear that the narrator
is an unspecified entity or uninvolved person who conveys the story and is not
a character of any kind within the story, or at least is not referred to as
such.
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existence be explained or developed as a particular character,
as with a first-person narrator. It thus allows a story to be told without
detailing any information about the teller (narrator) of the story. Instead, a
third-person narrator is often simply some disembodied "commentary" or "voice",
rather than a fully developed character. Sometimes, third-person narration is
called the "he/she" perspective.
The third-person modes are usually categorized along two axes.
The
first is the subjectivity/objectivity axis, with third
person subjective narration describing one or more character's personal
feelings and thoughts, and third person objective narration not
describing the feelings or thoughts of any characters but, rather, just the
exact facts of the story. The second axis is the omniscient/limited axis, a
distinction that refers to the knowledge held by the narrator. A third
person omniscient narrator has, or seems to have, access to knowledge of
all characters, places, and events of the story, including any given
characters' thoughts; however, a third person limited narrator, in
contrast, knows information about, and within the minds of, only a limited
number of characters (often just one character). A limited narrator cannot
describe anything outside of a focal character's particular knowledge and
experiences.
Alternating person
While the tendency for novels (or other narrative works) is to
adopt a single point of view throughout the entire novel, some authors have
experimented with other points of view that, for example, alternate between
different narrators who are all first-person, or alternate between a first- and
a third-person narrative perspective. The ten books of the Pendragon
adventure series, by D. J. MacHale, switch back and forth between a
first-person perspective (handwritten journal entries) of the main character
along his journey as well as a disembodied third-person perspective focused of
his friends back home. Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace provides one
character's viewpoint from first-person as well as
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another character's from third-person limited. Often, a
narrator using the first person will try to be more objective by also employing
the third person for important action scenes, especially those in which they
are not directly involved or in scenes where they are not present to have
viewed the events in firsthand. This mode is found in Barbara Kingsolver's
The Poisonwood Bible.
Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife is a
love story, told in alternating first person. This novel alternates between an
art student named Clare, and a librarian named Henry. Henry's disorder called
Chronic-Displacement causes him to be put in the wrong time. He is then put in
emotional parts from his past and future, going back and forth in
time. John Green & David Levithan's novel Will
Grayson, Will Grayson rotates between two boys both named Will Grayson.
It alternates between both boys telling their part of the story, how they meet
and how their lives then come together. Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down
has four narrators, who also are its main characters. These four
characters meet at the top of a tall building known as «the suicide
spot» and begin to talk instead of jumping.
Character Voice
One of the most common narrative voices, used especially with
first-and third-person viewpoints, is the character voice, in which a
conscious "person" (in most cases, a living human being) is presented as the
narrator; this character is called a viewpoint character. In this
situation, the narrator is no longer an unspecified entity; rather, the
narrator is a more relatable, realistic character who may or may not be
involved in the actions of the story and who may or may not take a biased
approach in the storytelling. If the character is directly involved in the
plot, this narrator is also called the viewpoint character. The viewpoint
character is not necessarily the focal character: examples of supporting
viewpoint characters include Doctor Watson, Scout in To Kill a
Mockingbird, and Nick Carraway of The Great Gatsby.
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Epistolary Voice
The epistolary narrative voice uses a (usually
fictional) series of letters and other documents to convey the plot of the
story. Although epistolary works can be considered multiple-person narratives,
they also can be classified separately, as they arguably have no narrator at
all-- just an author who has gathered the documents together in one place. One
example is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which is a story written in a
sequence of letters. Another is Bram Stoker's Dracula, which tells the
story in a series of diary entries, letters and newspaper clippings. Les
Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons), by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos,
is again made up of the correspondence between the main characters, most
notably the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont. Langston Hughes
does the same thing in a shorter form in his story "Passing", which consists of
a young man's letter to his mother.
Third-Person Voices
The third-person narrative voices are narrative-voice
techniques employed solely under the category of the third-person view.
Third-Person, Omniscient
Historically, the third-person omniscient (or simply
omniscient) perspective has been the most commonly used in narrative
writing; it is seen in countless classic novels, including works by Charles
Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, and George Eliot. A story in this narrative mode is
presented by a narrator with an overarching point of view, seeing and knowing
everything that happens within the world of the story, including what each of
the characters is thinking and feeling.[9] It sometimes even takes a
subjective approach. One advantage of omniscience is that this mode enhances
the sense of objective reliability (that is, truthfulness) of the plot. The
third-person omniscient narrator is the least capable of being unreliable -
although the character of omniscient narrator can have its
90
own personality, offering judgments and opinions on the
behavior of the story characters.
In addition to reinforcing the sense of the narrator as
reliable (and thus of the story as true), the main advantage of this mode is
that it is eminently suited to telling huge, sweeping, epic stories, and/or
complicated stories involving numerous characters. The disadvantage of this
mode is the increased distance between the audience and the story, and the fact
that - when used in conjunction with a sweeping, epic "cast-of-thousands" story
- characterization tends to be limited, thus reducing the reader's ability to
identify with or sympathize with the characters. A classic example of both the
advantages and disadvantages of this mode is J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of
the Rings.
Third-Person, Subjective
The third-person subjective is when the narrator
conveys the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of one or more characters. If
there is just one character, it can be termed third-person limited, in
which the reader is "limited" to the thoughts of some particular character
(often the protagonist) as in the first-person mode, except still giving
personal descriptions using "he", "she", "it", and "they", but not "I". This is
almost always the main character (for example, Gabriel in James Joyce's The
Dead, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown, or Santiago in
Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea).
Certain third-person omniscient modes are also classifiable as
"third person, subjective" modes that switch between the thoughts and feelings
of all the characters.
This style, in both its limited and omniscient variants,
became the most popular narrative perspective during the 20th century. In
contrast to the broad, sweeping perspectives seen in many 19th-century novels,
third-person subjective is sometimes called the "over the shoulder"
perspective; the narrator only describes events perceived and information known
by a character. At its narrowest and most subjective
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scope, the story reads as though the viewpoint character were
narrating it; dramatically this is very similar to the first person, in that it
allows in-depth revelation of the protagonist's personality, but it uses
third-person grammar. Some writers will shift perspective from one viewpoint
character to another, such as in Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time, or
George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.
The focal character, protagonist, antagonist, or some other
character's thoughts are revealed through the narrator. The reader learns the
events of the narrative through the perceptions of the chosen character.
Third-Person, Objective
The third-person objective employs a narrator who
tells a story without describing any character's thoughts, opinions, or
feelings; instead, it gives an objective, unbiased point of view. Often the
narrator is self-dehumanized in order to make the narrative more neutral. This
type of narrative mode, outside of fiction, is often employed by newspaper
articles, biographical documents, and scientific journals. This narrative mode
can be described as a "fly-on-the-wall" or "camera lens" approach that can only
record the observable actions but does not interpret these actions or relay
what thoughts are going through the minds of the characters. Works of fiction
that use this style emphasize characters acting out their feelings observably.
Internal thoughts, if expressed, are given voice through an aside or soliloquy.
While this approach does not allow the author to reveal the unexpressed
thoughts and feelings of the characters, it does allow the author to reveal
information that not all or any of the characters may be aware of. A typical
example of this so-called camera-eye perspective is Hills Like
White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway.
This narrative mode is also called the third-person
dramatic because the narrator, like the audience of a drama, is neutral
and ineffective toward the progression of the plot--merely an uninvolved
onlooker. It
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was also used around the mid-20th century by French novelists
writing in the nouveau roman tradition.
Third-Person, Alternating
Many stories, especially in literature, alternate between the
third person limited and third person omniscient. In this case, an author will
move back and forth between a more omniscient third-person narrator to a more
personal third-person limited narrator. Typically, like the A Song of Ice
and Fire series and the books by George R. R. Martin, a switch of
third-person limited viewpoint on some character is done only at chapter
boundaries. The Home and the World, written in 1916 by Rabindranath
Tagore, is another example of a book switching among just three characters at
chapter boundaries. In The Heroes of Olympus series the point of view
changes between characters at intervals.
The Harry Potter series is told in "third-person
limited" (in which the reader is "limited" to the thoughts of some particular
character) for much of the seven novels. However, it deviates to omniscient on
occasions, particularly during the opening chapters of later novels in the
series, which switch from the limited view of the eponymous Harry to other
characters (for example, the Muggle mayor in the Half-Blood Prince).
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Point of View in the Novels understudy.
In the two novels analysed in this dissertation, Ravinder
tells the story by using first person point of view in the first novel: Can
Love Happen Twice?and Third person point of view in the second novel:
Your Dreams are Mine Now. Whereas dramatic point view is used in both
books.
1. First person point of view:
It was a tender moment which had come after so long a
time. I was finally seeing my Simar. She too was impatiently
waiting for me. I ran towards her with the
flowers in my hand that I've brought for her. Simar was
visibly delighted to see me right in front of her eyes. After a run about
fifty-odd yards. I was breathing fast. It was a moment of
celebration for both of us- and a very emotional one too.
I satisfied the thirst in my eyes and looked at her front head
to toe. It was incredible to see her, to touch her and to hear herd next to me
once again. She was as beautiful as I had left her in Belgium.
She first looked here and there to check if anyone was staring in the
neighbourhood, then gave me a quick hug. I enjoyed that brief
unexpected surprise and last myself in the warmth of her touch which I had
missed so much in the past few months. I wanted it to last
longer. It was so unlike that of Belgium; and special because we
got together again after a long interval (CLHT, 79).
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2. Third person point of view:
Rupali loved singing. In Patna,
she had been an active member of her school's
music club. Having won a couple of prizes and lots of accolades in her
school, she had always dreamt of participating in one
of the music reality shows. Had it not been for the memory of her
mobile phone, she wouldn't have had to delete old
songs to accommodate new ones. Downloading songs to her phone
and managing the limited memory of her mobile had become her
biweekly routine. She had planned that the day she would earn
her own money she would buy a good multi-gig song storage
device for herself. Not just that, she had
plans to buy and install a Dolby surround sound system in her
house that she would switch on every morning while she
got ready for work. Music kept her going. Even when
she was alone in her room or busy doing something on
her own, she would keep humming her
favorite songs. A habit which her friends and family
found annoying at times because she completely lost
herself in the songs and refused to even hear them. So when
she saw the notice for the music club, she
didn't need to think twice about appearing for the auditions. On
her way back to her thinking of the song
she would sing (YDAMN, 10).
3. The Dramatic Point of view
We speak of dramatic point of view when the author uses
dialogues to tell the story.
`So when did you join the club? Arjun asked. `Hmm? Rupali was
lost in her thoughts. `Club. The music club,' he clarified.
`Oh! I joined last month only,' she replied. `You
sing?'
`Yes,' she said (YDMN, p 37).
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8. Use of Figures of Speech.
A figure of speech is a word or phrase that possesses a
separate meaning from its literal definition. It can be a metaphor or a simile
to provide a dramatic effect. There are several figures of speech I found in
the two novels analysed in this research paper, among them we have:
- Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sond of
neighbouring
words.
In one hand he
had his favourite Economic
Times and half-filled water bottle while in the
other he held the
handle of his whelled bag
which he rolled in tandem with
his wakl
(CLHT, 1).
I knew I wanted a
change and I left India
dor the same... (CLHT, 32).
...She had chosen for
herself when her father
had taken her... (YDAMN, 3).
Fresh for her first day at college (YDAMN, 1).
- Anaphora
Anaphora is a technique where several phrases or verses begin
with the same word or words.
I was yet to have my share of
alcohol. I was yet to speak from my heart (CLHT, 32).
I lived alone,
I cooked alone and I ate
alone (CLHT, 24).
I missed Simar. I missed
Belgium. I missed the combination of them the most
(CLHT, 76).
96
I thought of the Belgian driver
driving all the Indians back to their respective homes. I thought of
the taste of the kip sate sandwich that I had eaten for the first time
in that day. I thought of that girl in front of the sandwich
shop whom I had failed to see that afternoon. I thought of the
weird anxiety I had while trying to see her face. I thought of
how I seemed to have snow I had witnessed on my first day in Belgium
and I looked up to the sky wondering when it would snow next. I thought
of my mom back in India. I thought of my
past. I thought of Khushi...
(CLHT, 22-23).
A moment of silence passed. People took their time to
digest the logic behind what had happened. It still appeared illogical that
anyone could come and damage things just like that. Some of
them sipped the tea slowly, thinking about it all. Some of
them hing their heads in disappointment. Some played with the
empty tea glasses betxeen their hands on the table and kept staring in
disappointment. (YDAMN, 14).
- Hyperbole
An extravagant statement; the use of exaggerated terms for the
purpose of emphasis or heightned effect.
She looked beautiful; more beautiful than pretty Belgian
girls in the queue (CLHT, 27).
- Enumaration
My house was fully furnished with a TV, sofa, dining table
and bed (CLHT, 24).
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- Interrogation
It is a question asked without need to be answered.
Can Love Happen Twice? (CLHT, 17).
For me love was just meant to happen once and it was
forever. How do I fill the same heart with love for someone else? (CLHT,
32).
Why was it so important to have a facebook account?
(YDAMN, 9).
- Inversion
When Amardeep walked out the exit gate of the busy
Chandigarh airport. A chilly winter welcomed him for the very first time to
`The City Beautiful' (CLHT, 1).
As per the track record of my previous conversations with
the local people, the subject this time was again Indian (CLHT, 27).
With a bag hanging across her right shoulder, she walked
down the paved path in between the green laws outside her hostel (YDAMN,
4).
- Personification
A figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction
in endowed with human qualities or abilities.
It never got this dark so early in the day in the capital.
But that day, Mother Nature too had chosen to wear black
before time-perhaps as an act of solidarity; perhaps as a mark of
protest.
98
In no time, the sky appeared visibly
angry. Sudden intermittent bright flashed of lighning tore out from
behind the dark clouds. A wild sky roared in anger-loud and
clear
(YDAMN, Prologue).
A broadsmile took birth on her lips
as the sun streamed through the window, flooding her room in
abundant light (YDAMN, 2).
- Simile
A stated comparison (usually formed with «like» or
«as») between two fundamentally dissimilar things that have certain
qualities in common.
As per the track record of my
previous conversations with the local people, the subject this time was again
Indian (CLHT, 27).
A broad smile took birth on her
lipsas the sun streamed through the window,
flooding her room in abundant light (YDAMN, 2).
When sleep had still not come to her, she served
as a travelling ticket inspector (TTI) in the North Eastern Railways
(YDAMN, 2).
She looks like
a pampered child (YDAMN, 4).
99
Conclusion
This third chapter closes the dissertation. It was the
question of discussing some narrative techniques used by Ravinder Singh in the
two novels analysed in details in the second chapter.
Through the investigations and after deeply reading the two
novels cover-to-cover, eight narrative techniques have been stressed on, to
mention: the use of short, simple sentences, the use of long,
complex sentences, the use of Point of View, the use of Real Place Names, the
use of Figures of Speech, the use of Indian words and the use of
Flashback.
These eight techniques mentioned above have been very helpful
for a good understanding of Ravin's narrative skills.
It is important for me to notice here that besides these
eight, there are so many other narrative techniques in the two novels analysed.
Thus, I encourage the coming researchers and literature students interested in
love story telling and reading to analyse books written by Ravinder Singh, to
study other topics on one or both novels I analysed, or to study other
narrative techniques in some of the same author's novels in order to compare
result with what I found in my research.
General Conclusion
To write a research paper in literature, to present and defend
it in front of Jury composed of at least two PhD professors and one other
lecturer as a member of jury was one of my obligations in order to graduat at
university for a Bachelor of Arts in English (BA English) degree.
For this reason, I have been allowed by the director of my
dissertation to hold my research on Narrative Techniques in Ravinder
Singh't Can Love Happen Twice? and Your Dreams are Mine
Now.
The writing of this dissertation has been the search of
answers to the main question asked in the introduction of the work (What are
narrative techniques used by Ravinder singh in Can Love Happan Twice?
and Your Dreams are Mine now?).
Before studying techniques in these two books, I first wanted
to know which kind of books are they, i.e theycome from which literature. This
aspect of consideration sent me study Indian literature, though, the
dissertation went firstly to deepen Indian literature. That is the reason why
the first chapter of the work is intitled `Literary Survey on Indian
Literature'. In it - the chapter- I based on brief history of India,
Indian literature written in Indian languages, Indian literature written in
foreign lansguages, Indian English literature and Modern Indian literature.
This study has helped to situate Ravinder's novels in time and
space.
After anderstanding the origin of books, I could not directly
study techniques without understang the book. Thus, I was obliged to study
different elements of a literary genre, here, a novel. This is where the
appereance of the second chapter of this thesis intitled A Literary
Analysis of Ravinder Singh's Can Love Happen Twice? and Your
Dreams are Mine Now,comes from.
In the very first lines of the chapter, Life and Works of
Ravinder Singh are discussed before jumping to the analysis of the two novels.
In
101
the first novel, Can Love Happen Twice?, eight
literary elements are discussed, namely: Title, Plot, Characters and
Characterisation, Settings, Style, Mood, Tone and Intention; whereas only four
elements are studied in the second novel, Your Dreams Are Mine Now, to
mention: Title, Plot, Characters and Characterisation and Settings.
The analysis of the two novels has equipped me with knowledge
that made ready to discuss the main problem of the dissertation which is the
study of Narrative techniques.
Therefore, the last chapter, answers to the main question rose
by pointing out, explaining and quoting evidences from novels, eight narrative
techniques used by Ravinder.
- The Use of Short, Simple Sentences
- The Use of Long, Complex Sentences
- The Use of Flashback
- The Use of Point of View
- The Use of Real Place Names
- The Use of Sms Language
- The Use of Indian Words, and
- The Use of Figures of speech.
Seeing that this dissertation is just a simple thesis of
Bachelor degree, I could not write as much as I though or add more other
elements as if it was a Master or PhD thesis. If in coming years I will still
be interested in Ravinder Singh's romantic novels, I will do my best to deepen
this topic. For this, I aslo encourage other English literature students to
specialize in Indian literature where they can deal with new literary works
such these ones.
This Love that Feels Right. Gurgaon : Penguin Books
India Pvt, 2016.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. Main Works
Singh, R. Your Dreams are Mine Now. Gurgaon : Penguin
Books India Pvt, 2014.
Can Love Happen Twice ?. Gurgaon Books India Pvt,
2011.
II. Literary Works
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London : Longman,
1958.
A Man of the People. London : Longman, 1966.
Aluko, T, M. One Man, One Matchet. London : Heineman
Educational Books, 1976.
One Man, One Wife. London : Heineman Educational
Books, 1976.
Bhangat C. One Night at the Call Center.
One Indian Girl
Singh, R. I Too Had a Love Story. Gurgaon : Penguin
Books India Pvt, 2007.
Love Stories That Touched My Heart. Gurgaon :
Penguin Books India Pvt, 2012.
Like it Happened Yesterday. Gurgaon : Penguin
Books India Pvt, 2013.
Tell Me a Story. Gurgaon : Penguin Books India Pvt,
2015.
103
Will You Still Love Me. Gurgaon : Penguin Books
India Pvt, 2018.
Hemingway, E. The Old Man and the Sea. New-york :
Charles Scibner's sons, 1952.
III. Literature Books
Abrahams, M.H. A Glossary of Literaty Terms. Ney York :
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1957.
Baker, Sheridan. The Complete Stylist. New York :
Thomas Y., Crowell Company, 1968.
Barnet, Sylvain, Berman, Morton and Burto, William. A
Dictionary of Literary Terms. London : Constable, 1969.
Batson, F.W. The Scholar-Critic : An Introduction of
Literary Research. London : Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972.
Cocklreas, Janne and Logann Dorothy. Writing Essays about
Literature : A Literary Rhetoric. New York : Holt Renehart and
Winston, 1976.
Dickinson, Léon T., A Guide to Literary Study.
New York : Holt Renehart and Winston, 1959.
IV. Dictionaries
Dicos Dictionary. Hachette, Paris, 2009.
Le Robert Happer Collins, 2002.
Longman English La Rousse : Longman group, UK, 1968.
Oxford Advanced Learner's 7th edition, London, 2010.
Oxford Advanced Learner's 6th edition, London, Special
Press. Robert et Collins Bilingual French English Dictionary. Paris :
bnj
104
V. Thesis
Atelo, Y. Obstination in Ernest Miller Hemingway's The Old
Man and the Sea, Mémoire Unikis, 2012-2013.
Mongbolo, N. Narrative Techniques in Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's
Petals of the Blood and Devil on the Cross, Mémoire de DES UNIKIS,
FLSH, 2007-2008.
Protest and Baby `'D» : The Post Colonial
Africa's
Image in Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's Matigari and Wizard of the
Crow. Mémoire de Thèse de Doctorat, UNIKIS, FLSH,
20092010.
VI. Courses
Ilunga, N. Guided Research and Text Treatment G2 L.C.
Anglaises. Kisangani :Unikis, 2015.
Tsimpanga, B. Statistics, Unikis 2010.
Mongbolo, N. Analysis of a Literary Genre I, Unikis, 2018.
Literary Theory and Criticism I, Unikis, 2018 Muamba, K.
English Literature, Unikis 2018.
Bontambo, P. Modern Literature, Unikis 2018.
VII. Webography
www.google.com
CONTENTS
EPIGRAPH
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
0.1 Research Statement 5
0.1 Hypothesis 5
0.2 Methods 6
0.3 The Choice of the Topic 6
0.4 Aims of the Work 7
0.5 Sources of Data 7
0.6 Limitation of the Work 7
0.7 Division of the Work 8
CHAPTER ONE 9
LITERARY SURVEY ON INDIAN LITERATURE,
9
I. Literary Survey on Indian Literature 9
I.1 A Brief History of India 9
I.2 Indian literature in Other Languages than English
12
I.3 Indian Literature in Foreign Languages 14
I.3.1 Indian Persian literature 14
English Literature from North East India 15
I.3.2 English Literature 15
I.3 Indian English Literature 17
I.3.1 Later History 19
I.3.2. Critics on Indian English Literature
22
a. Poetry 23
b. Alternative Writings 24
Conclusion 34
CHAPTER TWO 35
A LITERARY ANALYSIS OF RAVINDER SINGH'S
35
CAN LOVE HAPPEN TWICE AND YOUR DREAMS
35
ARE MINE NOW. 35
Introduction 35
II.1 Ravinder Singh's Life and Work 35
A. His Life 35
B. His Work 36
A. Can Love Happen Twice? 37
II.1 Title 37
II.2 Plot or Story 38
a) Plot Diagramme. 49
II.3 Characters and Characterization 50
3.1 Characters 50
Main Vs. Minor 50
- Round Vs. Flat 50
- Dynamic Vs. static 50
- Protagonist, Antagonist and Tritagonist
51
- Regular, recurring and Guest Characters
51
3.2 Characterization 51
3.1.1 Main Characters 52
1. Ravin (Ptotagonist or the hero of story).
52
His Characterization 52
> Loving and Caring 52
> Serious 52
> Brave 53
> Solitary 53
> Disappointed 53
> Sad 54
> Atheist 54
2. Simar (Antagonist) 54
Her characterization 54
> Beautiful 54
> Loving and caring 55
> Rich 55
> Embitious 55
3.2 Minor characters 56
1. Happy, Amardeep and Manpreet (Tritagonists).
56
3. Shantuna 56
4. Ritika 56
5. Sanchit 56
6. Simar's Father 56
7. Simar's Mother 56
8. Ravin's Mother 56
(a) Diagram of Character's Relationship 57
II.4 Settings 57
II.4.1 Spatial Setting 57
II.4.2 Temporal Setting 57
II.5 Style 58
Some author's point of view about Style 58
1. Mathiew Arnold 58
2. Shopenhawer 58
3. Jonathan Swift 58
4. Edward Gibbon 58
5. George Louis Leclerc Buffon 58
II.5.1 Subject Matters Vs. Theme 58
II.5.1.1 Subject Matters 59
II.5.1.2 Theme 59
II.6 Tone 60
II.7 Mood 60
II.8 Intention 60
B. Your Dreams Are Mine Now 61
II.1 Title 61
II.2 Plot or Story 62
II.3 Characters and Characterization 68
A. Main Characters: 68
B. Minor Characters 69
II.4 Settings 70
A. Spacial Setting 70
B. Temporal Setting 70
Conclusion 71
CHAPTER THREE 72
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN RAVINDER SINGH'S
72
CAN LOVE HAPPEN TWICE? AND YOUR DREAMS
72
ARE MINE NOW. 72
Introduction 72
The Relevance of the Study of a Narrative Technique
73
Narrative Techniques Used by Ravinder Singh
73
1. Use of Short, Simple Sentences 73
2. Use of Complex Sentences 76
3. Use of SMS Language and Spelling
76
4. Use of Real Names 80
5. Use of Flashback 82
6. Use of Indian words 84
7. Use of Point of View 85
First-Person Point of View 85
Second-Person Point of View 86
Third-Person Point of View 86
Alternating person 87
Character Voice 88
Epistolary Voice 89
Third-Person Voices 89
Third-Person, Subjective 90
Third-Person, Objective 91
Third-Person, Alternating 92
1. First person point of view: 93
2. Third person point of view: 94
3. The Dramatic Point of view 94
8. Use of Figures of Speech 95
- Alliteration 95
- Anaphora 95
- Hyperbole 96
- Enumaration 96
- Interrogation 97
- Inversion 97
- Personification 97
- Simile 98
Conclusion 99
General Conclusion 100
BIBLIOGRAPHY 102
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