Author's+Devices

__**Author's Devices:**

Irony:__ - "Deep secret life" - mocks Susila's religious means but later, Krishna changes his mindset because he could contact her spiritually. - Despite being a "father figure" at school, he isn't much of a father at home. __Language:__ - It is written in third person singular ("The child" or "That girl"). This shows his distance from his daughter at the opening of the story. - Present tense after Susila's death keeps her memory alive. - Uncomplicated direct style after Susila's death: "Children have taught me to speak plainly" __Contrasts:__ - Academic World vs. Domestic World - Hurried panic at railway station (Frantic use of punctuation and persistent dialogue) vs. Susila's calm and composed actions ("sitting serenly" or "merely smiled"). - Setting: Hostel and College depict a stifled academic world when compared with his rented house, which exudes energy due to Leela and Susila's presence. - East vs. West - To rid the mother/wife of the "evil eye" Krishna does not trust the Eastern Traditions despite the fact that he can spiritually access Susila through the medium. - Traditions - Krishna's mother applies the vermilion dot to Susila's head to protect her, but ironically it doesn't. __Themes:__ Philosophy - Death is the ultimate reality - "nothing else will worry or interest me hereafter". - Krishna tells a student not to be anxious (about academic concerns) since "they are trash, the problem of living and dying is crushing us" - His philosophy shuns "life's illusions" and leave bare the "truths and facts". - Finds comfort in the "law of life" meaning the moment the umbilical cord is cut, we are alone until death. - Narayans philosophical viewpoint underpins two events: 1) Susila's recovery and 2) the headmaster's deathdate.

to be continued....