Page 11 - DENG104_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_I

Elective English–I

Notes 1.5 Symbolism in Tagore’s Play, The Post Office

While using symbolism to express controversial political views was not an invention of Tagore,
his play, The Post Office, uses it effectively. Voltaire uses similar literary devices in his work,
Candide, to express his views on optimism and to critique European governments. Tagore
designed The Post Office to be deceptively simple. He keeps the characters’ list short, and uses
common language style. The main character is a small boy by the name of Amal. The boy has
an intense curiosity of the outside world, and yearns for the type of knowledge that can’t be
learned from a book. Another character is the Doctor, he is the man who diagnoses Amal, and
will not let him leave the house because he is sick. On the other end of the spectrum you have
Madhav, Amal’s guardian. He is a man that believes in learning from Books, and feels more
comfortable in home than outside. The Dairyman is another character, he is a lowly curd
peddler, not learned but experienced. The Watchman is a loyal servant to the king; he is
knowledgeable of the government and King’s systems. Along with this character is the Headman;
he is an Indian who is placed in power by the king but not popular with the local population.
Sudha is a girl, she gathers flowers, she is naïve and happy to do the work of her parents.
Finally there is a group of boys, they encourage Amal to defy the doctor and leave the house.
The understanding of Tagore’s usage of symbolism in this play is central to understanding his
ideology. Tagore was an Indian under British colonial rule. While Brittan had lost many of its
colonies it still held onto India. Many Indians wanted to emancipate themselves from British
rule and regain their sovereignty. However many Indians benefited from British rule and were
content with the status quo. Throughout the play Tagore’s symbols help explain the current
state of India, and help to produce strong imagery of the past, present and future of the
country.
The first scene introduces us to the Doctor and Amal. The doctor symbolizes the British
Empire or British rule. All the characters throughout the book respect him; some characters
encourage Amal to listen to his decisions. These would be the Indians content with British
rule. Others want Amal to rebel, the Indians who want to be rid of British rule. Amal can be
seen as a transition Indian. He is obedient enough of the doctor to stay inside yet he wants
to leave, he knows that he is too young at the moment, but he knows his future lies in leaving.
He can be seen as the youth of India. His attitude is characterized by this quote, “See that far-
away hill from our window-I often long to go beyond those hills and right away” (p.331)
Merely children that are not ready to rise up against the British but know that someday they
will have to.
The next scene is a conversation between Amal and Madhav. Madhav represents the older
generation of Indians. He is content to stay at home and listen to the orders of the doctor. He
regrets not being a more learned man, and wants Amal to stay home and study. He symbolizes
a generation that is too set in their ways and unwilling to stop the British rule. Madhav is
content with his life, and now puts his attention toward the boy’s life. “Formerly, earning was
a passion for me... now I know it is all for this dear boy, earning becomes a joy” (p. 330). This
characterizes Madhav’s willingness to let the younger generation deal with the British rule.
Later in the play Amal meets the Dairyman, followed by the Watchman, followed by the
Headman. All three of these characters symbolize different working class levels of the Indian
population. The Dairyman is the labourer, he is unhappy with his work but would not dare
go against British rule, he encourages Amal to accept his book learning and not venture out
of the house. The Watchman represents an Indian that follows British rule but does now know
why, and more importantly doesn’t care why. He is content with his job and does not question
his orders. In one important exchange Amal talks about when Indians should start freeing
themselves from the British. “Amal. Won’t you sound the gong Watchman? Watchman. The

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