Page 43 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Unit 3: Amitav Ghosh—Shadow Lines: Detailed Study—II (Plot and Criticisms)

a transfer to Dhaka and May price also visits India during this time. All of them fly together to Notes
Dhaka. There were some signs of trouble there and Sahib had forbidden them to move to the old
locality during that period but strong-willed and obstinate as Tha’mma is, she put her foot down
for a particular day and goes there with Tridib and May Price. In the mob frenzy, Tridib is killed
there, so is her old uncle whom she had gone to retrieve.
Self-Assessment

1. Choose the correct options:
(i) A good plot deals with
(a) Events (b) Actions
(c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None of these
(ii) The time and place of action in the novel is called
(a) Plot (b) Theme
(c) Setting (d) None of these
(iii) The Shadow Lines began to be written after the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the
year.
(a) 1988 (b) 1984
(c) 1991 (d) None of these
(iv) May Price, the daughter of Tresavasen, is
(a) Kind and simple (b) Aggressive
(c) Delectable (d) None of these
3.4 Summary

• Any novel, which provides wholesome and stimulant refreshment, is fully justified, but to be
really great it must deal not with sheer trifling, which lie upon the surface of life, but with
passions, and conflicts and problems, which constitute the very quality of life. It must have
greatness of subject and universality of appeal. It does not mean that the subject chosen must
be from high life, as the simplest story of the humblest people may also be as appealing as
the story of kings or princes.
• The novel deals with events and actions and things, which are suffered and done, and this is
what that constitutes the plot. Plot is the basic framework of any piece of writing around
which the story is woven. The plot may also be defined as a systematic organization and
arrangement of incidents. A good plot is skilfully constructed and avoids gaps and
inconsistencies. The events when proceed logically and spontaneously aid the plot to be
good. The novelist’s method of narration often makes a tedious plot also interesting.
• A good plot grips the attention and the interest of the reader while a loose plot wavers the
interest. A compact, symmetrical and a well worked out plot gives aesthetic pleasure.
• A loose plot is the story of detached incidents or episodes having little logical connection
with each other. Some unity that is there is provided by the personality of the hero who
binds the scattered elements together.
• The time and place of action in the novel is called setting. It includes the entire background
of the story—the manners, customs, ways of life the natural background or the environment.
• The Shadow Lines began to be written after the assassination of Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the
year 1984. The riots and the general massacre that began in Delhi and followed in other cities
have an oblique bearing on the novel. The undertones of political vendetta are pervasive in
the novel and can be felt when the efficacy of nationalism is questioned in today’s context.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 37