"Mr. and Mrs. Das bickered about who should take Tina to the toilet. Eventually Mrs. Das relented when Mr. Das pointed out that he had given the girl her bath the night before." (pg. 147)
The literary device that came to mind in this short story was characterization. My overall opinion was that the Das's are a dysfunctional family. First of all, as this quote shows, the parents are arguing over their kids. It's not a good sign when parents don't care enough to take their kid to the bathroom anymore. Then, on page 149, Mr. Das asks Tina, his daughter, "Where's Mina?" Noticed by Mr. Kapasi, the taxi driver/ tour guide, the father speaking to his daughter while addressing his wife by her first name shows a certain lack of respect - that's what I think at least. Then we have Tina fidgeting with buttons in the car. And then we have Ronny getting attacked by a monkey for food. We also have Bobby not following his father's orders and Mr. Kapasi's observation that the parents treat their children like friends, not children. This reminded me of a quote that goes something like: "A great ruler should be feared and loved. If only one is possible, though, it is better to be feared." That i basically what I was taught growing up: parents are not supposed to be friends, they're parents.
I was, however, somewhat relieved at the end when Mrs. Das says, "'Come here a second. Let Mommy fix your hair'" to Bobby as she brushes his hair. This direct characterization showed that deep down, Mrs. Das really did care about her children after all- even after the whole story shows her neglecting them. If that isn't ironic, I don't know what is.
The literary device that came to mind in this short story was characterization. My overall opinion was that the Das's are a dysfunctional family. First of all, as this quote shows, the parents are arguing over their kids. It's not a good sign when parents don't care enough to take their kid to the bathroom anymore. Then, on page 149, Mr. Das asks Tina, his daughter, "Where's Mina?" Noticed by Mr. Kapasi, the taxi driver/ tour guide, the father speaking to his daughter while addressing his wife by her first name shows a certain lack of respect - that's what I think at least. Then we have Tina fidgeting with buttons in the car. And then we have Ronny getting attacked by a monkey for food. We also have Bobby not following his father's orders and Mr. Kapasi's observation that the parents treat their children like friends, not children. This reminded me of a quote that goes something like: "A great ruler should be feared and loved. If only one is possible, though, it is better to be feared." That i basically what I was taught growing up: parents are not supposed to be friends, they're parents.
I was, however, somewhat relieved at the end when Mrs. Das says, "'Come here a second. Let Mommy fix your hair'" to Bobby as she brushes his hair. This direct characterization showed that deep down, Mrs. Das really did care about her children after all- even after the whole story shows her neglecting them. If that isn't ironic, I don't know what is.
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