Saturday, January 14, 2012

Overview of 'The Guide'


1.     Full name of the author               : Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan
2.     Full title of the text                         : The Guide
3.     Publication Date                             : November 1, 1958
4.     Publisher name and place           : Viking Press(First American Edition)
5.     Name of the Protagonist              : Raju
6.     Who is the major female character      : Rosie
7.     What is she?
She is an M.A. in Economics though she becomes a famous dancer.
8.     Type of work                                   : Novel
9.     Narrative Points of View:
There is a wonderful mingling of first person and omniscient point of view has given a special flavor to the story.
10                                                                                                                  Narrative Tense     : past tense
11.                                                                                                                         Setting:
12.                                                                                                                         Climax:
The climax of the novel can be the forgery of Raju and his going of prison because it changes his entire life and the story turns into a different one out of a mere love story.
13.                                                                                                                         Place : Malgudi
14.                                                                                                                         Major themes:
Human Relationship, Love, Money, Identity Crisis, transformation of Raju.
15.                                                                                                                         Two major conflicts:
The exposition of Raju and Rosie’s illicit relationship to Marco  and Raju’s decision of fasting for the villagers of mangala are two major conflicts of the novel.
16.                                                                                                                         Name and Designation of the major characters:
Raju- railway Raju,Swami, Mahatma. Rosie - dance. Marco - archeologist.
17.                                                                                                                         Where is Malgudi?
There is no existence of this town in this world. It is a fictional town created by R.K. Narayan.
18.                                                                                                                         Difference between Parochial and Regional:
Regional is one type of literary work in which the geographical area of one region is included and in Parochial work both religion and culture of an area is included. The Guide is a Parochial type where Indian culture and religion is focused.
19.                                                                                                                         Who is called a Picaro?
Picaro is a person who plays the role of a rogue or villain, plays many roles, and wears many masks.
20.                                                                                                                         Name some picaro heroes:
Huckleberry Finn, Raju, and Don Juan.
21.                                                                                                                         What do you mean by picaresque novels?
It is one type of novel, which deals with the adventures, and excitement of rogues and villains. The guide deals with Raju’s adventures.
22.                                                                                                                         What do you understand by Bharat Natyam ?
Bharat Natyam is considered to be most faithful style in relation to the rules enunciated in the “Natyashastra” a treatise about drama, dance and music . It was written around 2000 years ago by the sage Bharata Muni, hence it is called Bharat Natyam.It comprises three aspects such as Nritta, Nritya, Natya.
23.                                                                                                                         Who is Nataraja? What does he signify?
 Nataraja is the Lord of Dance. The image of his rhythmic play is the source of all movement of the universe. The purpose of his dance is to release the souls of all men from the snare of illusion.
24.                                                                                                                         What do you mean by the following terms?
Sadhu
 In Hinduism Sadhu is a good holy man who denotes an ascetic, wandering monk. Sadhu is solely dedicated to achieving moksa. In this novel Raju life in the temple is almost like a Sadhu.
Yogi
It is derived from the root Yuj, which means unite. The practice of yogi may lead to the union of the human with the divine- all within the self.
Sanyasi
Sanyasi is a person who lives outside the social fold.There arw places where a sanyasi can live, such as monasteries. He does not have any bond such, though he can raise meal through accepting alms and by attending people’s houses as a guest.
Muni
In Buddhism, one who has progressed far on the way to enlightenment is called Muni. : In Hinduism, a Muni is a man who has magical powers and has renounced worldly pursuits and has chosen an austere life or religious activities.
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. One of the fundamental quality of a Rishi is to speaking truth. The rishi is a ‘seer’ to whom the Vedas were originally revealed through states of higher consciousness.
Swami
 Swami means master; it means striving for the mastery over one’s smaller self and habit patterns so that the eternal self within may come shining through.
Guru
Guru is master like swami or teacher. Guru dispels the darkness of ignorance.

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