The book was filled with metaphors between India and other aspects. I mentioned some of them in my previous post, but it became even more apparent after I finished the novel. This post explains some of the meta
There was a paragraph at the beginning of chapter 7 which described typical behavior from Imam Din. The opinions of his behavior was dependent on the sex of that individual. Though I might be stretching with this one, I believe there are similarities between their reactions and overall reactions of the Hindus, Muslims of the split of India and also their opinions on the overall independence movement.
Also, there were more examples of Lenny being treated differently than everyone else in the novel. The behaviors of two characters stood out to me. Dr Moody and Slavesister in particular teased Lenny excessively and it annoyed her as well as Godmother at times. An instance of this was in chapter 21, when there was a comment being made about Lenny peeing in her bed. Slavesister referred to the fact that she washed the bedsheets and implied that no one else does and thus is unqualified to speak. Godmother then proceeds to go off on her, stating in her rant that Slavesister needs to grow up(p. 175). This on top of making me happy, also explained a lot about the story as well. Indians overall had been mistreated by the British for many years. After years of the same song and dance, Indians were able to break free from the clutches of England and were able to live freely. Alas, the problems did not end there just like they did not end for Lenny. For instance, on her birthday most of the people surrounding her were less than enthusiastic upon hearing about it. This clearly upset her and this was even more evident in the movie.
The beginning of chapter 17 was filled with metaphors, including a debatable one. The beginning paragraph reiterated a quote that was mentioned in the movie Earth by Mr Singh, "Playing British Gods under the ceiling fans of the Faletti's Hotel-behind Queen Victoria's gardened skirt- the Radcliff Commission deals out India like a pack of cards. Lahore is dealt to Pakistan, Amritsar to India. Sialkot to Pakistan. Pakistan to India(150)." This may not be the most accurate of metaphors. When one deals cards, he or she does so without regards to who is getting what cards. The partitioning of India on the other hand was thought out and acted upon on the basis of religious differences. It was not very humane, but it was a planned course of action, not a game of chance.
Finally, the last metaphor that I would like to mention is a quote that is not an explicit, if at all, a metaphor for India. It comes after the climax of the novel when Ayah is taken away and Lenny feels extremely guilty because it was her words which lead to Ayah's kidnapping, "For three days I stand in front of the bathroom mirror staring at my tongue. I hold the vile, truth infected thing between my fingers and try to wrench it out: but slippery and slick as a fish it slicks from my fingers and mocks me with its sharp raspier tip darting as poisonous as a snake. I punish it with rigorous scouring from my prickling toothbrush until it is sore and bleeding. I'm so conscious of its unwelcome presence at all times that it swells unconfortably in my mouth and gags and chokes me(196)." This is a strange way of explaining her guilt, but it probably has been said by other individuals. Maybe the quote is a metaphor for her growing up. She was the golden child for much of the novel, in the fact that she could not do anything wrong even though other characters in the novel may have thought differently. However, the tone changes when she informs the angry mob about Ayah's location. You can sense that she is accessing emotions which she had never expressed previously. She even poses a somewhat retorical question later in the novel about whether the anger of losing Ayah, caused her to grow up. I say yes. And maybe this speaks to a larger metaphor about India's maturity as it separates from England.
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