Linda Liu
June 23, 2007
Draft three
The Humorous Tone in the Grass-Eaters
Living in a world rife with vivid and bloody reports of violence and poverty from the media, we have become immune to miseries; the mass-produced stories that intend to jerk our tears can no longer stir our sympathy. To some extent, we are more callous and less credulous readers who are not easily satisfied.
However, the story of “The Grass-Eaters” by Krishnan Varma, which is filled with pathetic scenes, is still compelling to modern readers. In the story, Krishnan depicts the wretched life of the first-person narrator Ajit who lives in the context of the Indian society. The miserable life displayed in the story is perhaps beyond most reader’s imagination, yet the author uses a humorous tone throughout the story. So here an intriguing question might be raised: why does the author use a humorous tone in such a miserable story? In order to explain such a seemingly contrast, the effect of a humorous tone on readers acquires further exploration.
The story begins with a comic scene –a conversation between the narrator, the Indian tutor Ajit and his student’s father, Misrilal. The characters that appear in this scene are almost cartoon-like. The boy that Ajit taught is “spherical”（56）; his mother is “cuboid”（56）while his father Misrilal is “ovoid”（56）--what a funny combination of a well-off family! This humorous and sarcastic description immediately arouses the readers’ interest, and their attention is held from the very beginning. When Ajit answers that he lives in a pipe, the seemingly exaggerating reaction from Misrilal and his wife is even noticeable: the couple was overwhelmingly dismayed and even “near to tears” (56) , they seemed to find the answer unbelievable and unacceptable, for they kept questioning how it came about that Ajit lived in a pipe. It is obvious that this well-off couple, taking a comfortable life for granted, has long been ignorant of the life of the poor. The blindness and ignorance shown here makes this scene both theatrical and sarcastic. However, while the readers are amused by the couple’s seemingly hysterical reaction, the same question might also be circling in their mind: how Ajit comes to live in a pipe? So in this stage, anticipation for Ajit’s further explanation is raised.
This humorous start has well intrigued the readers to proceed. The next scene is on the footpath, which is a ridiculous and dramatic fray vividly depicted by Krishnan in a humorous tone. In this scene, Ajit and his wife Swapna slept on the footpath that is crammed with refugees, and one morning Ajit woke up to find “[he] had one leg over an old woman!”(56). Needless to say, the cost Ajit paid was tremendous. Not only was the enraged woman posing him the threat of losing one eye, but his wife also rushed to him furiously. Through the narration from Ajit himself, the readers might easily visualize a funny picture of a poor and miserable husband running desperately with two furious women after him. Whereas after a carefree laugh, prudent readers might discover that the diction here is a little “dehumanizing”, which arouses their curiosity. The old woman is described as “a bag of bones” (56), her husband is compared to “a hill of man” (56) and Swapna even rushed to Ajit, “fangs bared, claws out” (56). Here words usually used on beast or lifeless things are used to describe human beings, which makes the tone ridiculous. Such a peculiar diction might provoke the readers’ thought: what does the author intend to indicate here? Does such a scene reflect the overall living conditions of the poor Indians? Or does this connote their decreasing in humanity? In raising questions like these consciously, it seems the readers have been prepared to take a further step towards a lager theme lying beneath the humorous tone.
Another type of humor, which is even thought-provoking, lies in the sharp contrast between what the protagonists react in certain situation and what is expected in real life. Reactions from Ajit in several occasions are typical examples. For instance, there is clear “exultation” written on his face when he settled in a freight wagon and commented, “it was heaven, I felt I was God” (57). Who could imagine a school teacher so easily and fully satisfied by a confinement that even ordinary people might find unbearable? And what was his reaction when he finally settled on the roof? Pretty content! In painstakingly listing all the benefit he got from living on a roof, Ajit seems striving to convince the others that he is happy, whereas the readers know clearly in their mind that this explanation is totally absurd and invalid. “We are not insane!” they will perhaps blot out such comments after listening to his explanation. Such a contrast makes the entire situation ridiculous. The readers might be even surprised by how he mentioned the privilege he got from his handicap, “I don’t mind my handicap at all; I need wear only one sandal and thereby save on footwear” (59). It’s hard to imagine someone would willingly sacrifice one leg for the benefit of saving one shoe, and the irony is that Ajit just don’t care it. Unlike those characters that usually show in a comic as humorous and positive, Ajit’s humor stems from his indifference to his own misfortune, from his content of an unbearable situation, which sounds absurd and ridiculous. This kind of humour could give the readers an emotional shock, which compels them to read between the lines, think of the real message hidden beneath and raise a series of questions. Is Ajit still normal? Why he react to his surroundings so abnormally? What is the reality of the society that he lives in?
So Varma invites the readers, finally, to examine the entire picture of the society which is tint with a color of absurdity. He portrays the picture as follows:
Thanks to the great power of the mass-media, most modern readers have already been familiar with such a scene in India—buses and even trains squeezed with people. But it is still unimaginable that a conductor’s due behave could become the trigger of a long list of ever deteriorating turmoil. It sounds absurd—and it certainly is. Beneath the absurdity that is revealed by the long list, the author displays a picture of the India society which is rife with chaos and turmoil. What bears a particular sense of sarcastic is that the last activity in this long and ever upgrading list is “set off crackers” (59), which is both childish and ironic when comparing with the serious protests and the bloody violence.
Though in the last paragraph of the story, the tone sounds more placid rather than humorous, it is still very important for the readers’ further understanding of the humor throughout the story. In the brief sum-up of his eventful life, Ajit commented with a peaceful and content tone, “But does it matter? We have survived them. And now, we have no fears or anxieties” (59). So here the readers might come up with such an understanding that since Ajit has “survived” the vicissitudes of life, he counts his blessings when compared with thousands or even more that fail to maintain their lives. So it seems the humorous tone in Ajit’s narration is reasonable. Perhaps the readers have just felt relieved at this point, and want to have a truce with the endless pursuit of the reason of a humorous tone. However the author does not propose to let the readers merely satisfied in finding such an explanation. So he continues:
Though the author uses a humorous tone throughout the story, the final tone of the story is set as miserable and bleak. This ending is like a melancholy echo, reverberating in the story and pinching each reader’s heart continuously.
To some extent, the intriguing appeal possessed by the story stems from the unconventional tone the author used throughout the story. In the story, Krishnan employs the humorous tone in different scenes, the effect of which enables him to exert certain influence on the readers. Sometimes it attracts them; sometimes it leads them to more serious thinking and sometimes it compels them to raise questions. The humorous tone has intrigued the readers to explore the story and to go through a process of questioning and exploring wider themes, from the characters to the setting of the story. Eventually, what the story successfully leaves behind is not merely a miserable depiction of the Indian society; but sympathy, passion and thoughts, which can be still lingering in each readers’ mind.
Work Cited
Krishnan, Varma. "The Grass-Eaters".1985. Rpt. in The International Story: An Anthology with Guidelines for Reading and Writing about Fiction. Ruth Spack. New York: St Martin's, 1944. 56-59
June 23, 2007
Draft three
The Humorous Tone in the Grass-Eaters
Living in a world rife with vivid and bloody reports of violence and poverty from the media, we have become immune to miseries; the mass-produced stories that intend to jerk our tears can no longer stir our sympathy. To some extent, we are more callous and less credulous readers who are not easily satisfied.
However, the story of “The Grass-Eaters” by Krishnan Varma, which is filled with pathetic scenes, is still compelling to modern readers. In the story, Krishnan depicts the wretched life of the first-person narrator Ajit who lives in the context of the Indian society. The miserable life displayed in the story is perhaps beyond most reader’s imagination, yet the author uses a humorous tone throughout the story. So here an intriguing question might be raised: why does the author use a humorous tone in such a miserable story? In order to explain such a seemingly contrast, the effect of a humorous tone on readers acquires further exploration.
The story begins with a comic scene –a conversation between the narrator, the Indian tutor Ajit and his student’s father, Misrilal. The characters that appear in this scene are almost cartoon-like. The boy that Ajit taught is “spherical”（56）; his mother is “cuboid”（56）while his father Misrilal is “ovoid”（56）--what a funny combination of a well-off family! This humorous and sarcastic description immediately arouses the readers’ interest, and their attention is held from the very beginning. When Ajit answers that he lives in a pipe, the seemingly exaggerating reaction from Misrilal and his wife is even noticeable: the couple was overwhelmingly dismayed and even “near to tears” (56) , they seemed to find the answer unbelievable and unacceptable, for they kept questioning how it came about that Ajit lived in a pipe. It is obvious that this well-off couple, taking a comfortable life for granted, has long been ignorant of the life of the poor. The blindness and ignorance shown here makes this scene both theatrical and sarcastic. However, while the readers are amused by the couple’s seemingly hysterical reaction, the same question might also be circling in their mind: how Ajit comes to live in a pipe? So in this stage, anticipation for Ajit’s further explanation is raised.
This humorous start has well intrigued the readers to proceed. The next scene is on the footpath, which is a ridiculous and dramatic fray vividly depicted by Krishnan in a humorous tone. In this scene, Ajit and his wife Swapna slept on the footpath that is crammed with refugees, and one morning Ajit woke up to find “[he] had one leg over an old woman!”(56). Needless to say, the cost Ajit paid was tremendous. Not only was the enraged woman posing him the threat of losing one eye, but his wife also rushed to him furiously. Through the narration from Ajit himself, the readers might easily visualize a funny picture of a poor and miserable husband running desperately with two furious women after him. Whereas after a carefree laugh, prudent readers might discover that the diction here is a little “dehumanizing”, which arouses their curiosity. The old woman is described as “a bag of bones” (56), her husband is compared to “a hill of man” (56) and Swapna even rushed to Ajit, “fangs bared, claws out” (56). Here words usually used on beast or lifeless things are used to describe human beings, which makes the tone ridiculous. Such a peculiar diction might provoke the readers’ thought: what does the author intend to indicate here? Does such a scene reflect the overall living conditions of the poor Indians? Or does this connote their decreasing in humanity? In raising questions like these consciously, it seems the readers have been prepared to take a further step towards a lager theme lying beneath the humorous tone.
Another type of humor, which is even thought-provoking, lies in the sharp contrast between what the protagonists react in certain situation and what is expected in real life. Reactions from Ajit in several occasions are typical examples. For instance, there is clear “exultation” written on his face when he settled in a freight wagon and commented, “it was heaven, I felt I was God” (57). Who could imagine a school teacher so easily and fully satisfied by a confinement that even ordinary people might find unbearable? And what was his reaction when he finally settled on the roof? Pretty content! In painstakingly listing all the benefit he got from living on a roof, Ajit seems striving to convince the others that he is happy, whereas the readers know clearly in their mind that this explanation is totally absurd and invalid. “We are not insane!” they will perhaps blot out such comments after listening to his explanation. Such a contrast makes the entire situation ridiculous. The readers might be even surprised by how he mentioned the privilege he got from his handicap, “I don’t mind my handicap at all; I need wear only one sandal and thereby save on footwear” (59). It’s hard to imagine someone would willingly sacrifice one leg for the benefit of saving one shoe, and the irony is that Ajit just don’t care it. Unlike those characters that usually show in a comic as humorous and positive, Ajit’s humor stems from his indifference to his own misfortune, from his content of an unbearable situation, which sounds absurd and ridiculous. This kind of humour could give the readers an emotional shock, which compels them to read between the lines, think of the real message hidden beneath and raise a series of questions. Is Ajit still normal? Why he react to his surroundings so abnormally? What is the reality of the society that he lives in?
So Varma invites the readers, finally, to examine the entire picture of the society which is tint with a color of absurdity. He portrays the picture as follows:
In Calcutta the trams are always crowded and if you can’t get into a carriage
you may get up on its roof. The conductor will not stop you. If he tries to, the
passengers beat him up, set fire to the tram and any other vehicles parked in
the vicinity, loot nearby shops, break street lamps, take out a procession, hold
a protest meeting, denounce British imperialism, American neo-colonialism, the
central government, capitalism and socialism, and set off crackers.(59)
Thanks to the great power of the mass-media, most modern readers have already been familiar with such a scene in India—buses and even trains squeezed with people. But it is still unimaginable that a conductor’s due behave could become the trigger of a long list of ever deteriorating turmoil. It sounds absurd—and it certainly is. Beneath the absurdity that is revealed by the long list, the author displays a picture of the India society which is rife with chaos and turmoil. What bears a particular sense of sarcastic is that the last activity in this long and ever upgrading list is “set off crackers” (59), which is both childish and ironic when comparing with the serious protests and the bloody violence.
Though in the last paragraph of the story, the tone sounds more placid rather than humorous, it is still very important for the readers’ further understanding of the humor throughout the story. In the brief sum-up of his eventful life, Ajit commented with a peaceful and content tone, “But does it matter? We have survived them. And now, we have no fears or anxieties” (59). So here the readers might come up with such an understanding that since Ajit has “survived” the vicissitudes of life, he counts his blessings when compared with thousands or even more that fail to maintain their lives. So it seems the humorous tone in Ajit’s narration is reasonable. Perhaps the readers have just felt relieved at this point, and want to have a truce with the endless pursuit of the reason of a humorous tone. However the author does not propose to let the readers merely satisfied in finding such an explanation. So he continues:
We live very quietly, content to look at the passing scene: a tram burning, a
man stabbing another man, a woman dropping her baby in a garbage bin (59).
Though the author uses a humorous tone throughout the story, the final tone of the story is set as miserable and bleak. This ending is like a melancholy echo, reverberating in the story and pinching each reader’s heart continuously.
To some extent, the intriguing appeal possessed by the story stems from the unconventional tone the author used throughout the story. In the story, Krishnan employs the humorous tone in different scenes, the effect of which enables him to exert certain influence on the readers. Sometimes it attracts them; sometimes it leads them to more serious thinking and sometimes it compels them to raise questions. The humorous tone has intrigued the readers to explore the story and to go through a process of questioning and exploring wider themes, from the characters to the setting of the story. Eventually, what the story successfully leaves behind is not merely a miserable depiction of the Indian society; but sympathy, passion and thoughts, which can be still lingering in each readers’ mind.
Work Cited
Krishnan, Varma. "The Grass-Eaters".1985. Rpt. in The International Story: An Anthology with Guidelines for Reading and Writing about Fiction. Ruth Spack. New York: St Martin's, 1944. 56-59
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