Essay on Themes in Nectar in a Sieve - 692 Words

In the novel, Nectar in a Sieve, the author, Kamala Markandaya creates various themes. One theme from the book is that tensions can be caused by modernization and industrial progress. This theme is highly prevalent throughout the story and broadens the reader’s outlook on modernization. Markandaya writes of a primitive village that is going through a severe change. Her ability to form a plethora of characters with different opinions, yet to share one main culture, helps highlight the tensions in the village. The story takes place in the country of India, which in the book was still primordial. At this point in time, the majority of citizens are believers in Hinduism. One common belief is that the cow is sacred and holy. This†¦show more content†¦With all of the ethical cultural issues, tensions are seen in Nectar in a Sieve. When the tannery is first built, Rukmani, also known as Ruku, describes the moment by stating, â€Å"There was a silence. In the unwo nted quiet we all wondered apprehensively what would happen next† (Markandaya 27). The intrusion of the tannery builders opens the citizens’ innocent and restricted eyes to the outside modern world. Once they figure out what occurs in a tannery Ruku is disgusted and yet Nathan tells her, â€Å"There is no going back. Bend like the grass, that you do not break† (28). In essence he is telling her simply to be flexible and not to pay the tannery any mind. Nathan finds this effortless to say at the moment; however, later on in the story when two of his sons inform him that instead of farming with him that they are going to work at the tannery, he does not take too well to this idea. Working for the tannery is a direct contradiction to their beliefs and Ruku is extremely opposed. With this being said, the family is in desperate need for money and food. With Arjun and Thambi working for the tannery, they make sufficient enough money to give some to their parent s to supply for the family. Ruku responds by admitting, â€Å"Yet they were good sons, considerate for us, patient with others, always giving us a fair share of their earnings† (52). Hereto, Rukmani is playing an emotional tug-of-war due to her religious beliefs and herShow MoreRelatedNectar : A Sieve By Kamala Purnaiya1532 Words   |  7 PagesNectar in a sieve is a narrative story about a young Indian woman struggling to survive in the midst of an intense urban development in her rural Indian village. The novel focuses on the factors that dramatically affect her marriage and livelihood. Markandaya’s novel greatly extenuates and reflects the real and relevant themes that correlate with today’s problems in society. Problems that include, poverty, family life and tradition v. change. 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In the novels Nectar in a Sieve and Born on the Fourth of July, I was introduced to the idea of misrepresentation, which correlates with the theme of injustice, through the construction of the tannery and the glamorization of the Vietnam war. The lives of both of the main characters from each novel were drastically altered because of false entities that were disguised as supposed opportunities. In Nectar in a Sieve, the idea of the tannery was first introduce in