The+Headmaster

=What do I need to know about ... The Headmaster?=

Brief Description
The headmaster cares more for inner goodness rather outward appearances: “His coat was frayed and un-pressed” Pg. 119//** His appearance is not important to him as he is more engrossed in what he does and in what he believes. Krishna preferred his wisdom over his **//“scraggy”//** outward appearance. **//“I liked him immensely” “I was seized by a desire to know more of him”//** He therefore serves as a contrast to Krishna, not only in terms of valuing his family, but also the contrast in their views of education and schooling.
 * //“He was a slight man, who looked scraggy; evidently he didn’t care for himself sufficiently.”

The headmaster loves the idea of working with and spending his time with children. He accepts them as true individuals rather than treating them as his inferiors. However, he deserts his own children as he neglects the responsibility of being a good father. **//“ My school is for all the children in the world, except my own” Pg. 138//** The headmaster puts his students as his top priority but does not care for his own family, and he eventually leaves them on the day when he has been told by an unknown person that he was going to die. He shows such great respect for all his students but lacks that same respect for his own children, which is ironic. The students are classified as his main family for him, whereas he doe not pay much attention to his own family. The headmaster hardly spends his time at home with his family. **"Where were you all the time? Do you think I am a paid watchkeeper for this house?"**

The headmaster is highly superstitious and puts great faith into the words of the fortune teller. This faith is strongly interlinked with the Hindu religion. Hindus make predictions based on your time of birth and position of the moons at the relevant time. This is similar to the western astronomers who draw charts to make certain links to predict personalities and events. The fortune teller describes to the Headmaster hiss exact date of death, and being Hindu, takes this very seriously and makes arrangements in preparation.

Is there anything suggested by Narayan as to why this death does not happen?

Key Quotations
“His coat was frayed and un-pressed” Pg. 119//** “I was seized by a desire to know more of him” “ My school is for all the children in the world, except my own” Pg. 138// "Where were you all the time? Do you think I am a paid watchkeeper for this house?"** -He doesn't have an identity other than this- what the children know him by. His apparent frustration/dislike of his family have perhaps instigated him to abandon his name and therefore sever all ties with the 'adult world'. "//**Children are the real Gods on Earth"**-// this explains his devotion to children and his unselfish nature towards them. It also links in with the idea of spirituality as the Headmaster is never actually seen praying to God, but he finds **"//joy- in its purest sense//"** in the presence of children. //**"I am not interested in life after death.....The only reality I recognize is death.**"-// These quotes imply the cynic view the Headmaster has of the world, and is in a way defying his 'religious beliefs' about re-incarnation. This is a contrast to his belief in 'astrology', as he believed that **//'Tomorrow, I may be no more'.//**
 * //“He was a slight man, who looked scraggy; evidently he didn’t care for himself sufficiently.”
 * //“I liked him immensely”
 * //"Just Headmaster will do...” Pg. 116//**
 * //"Somehow he felt that because he had seen all of us as boys, our present stature and age and position were a make believe..”//**

His role in the novel
The headmaster can see directly through Krishna’s flawed personality and treats him very similarly to the children at his school. Whilst Krishna is a teacher, we see that he is still someone with a lot to learn. **//“Just Headmaster will do...” Pg. 116.//** He is far more open with Krishna than he would ordinarily be with another adult as he sees him as more of a child. This is not the first time that Krishna feels as though he does not receive the respect he would normally get as an adult. **//“Somehow he felt that because he had seen all of us as boys, our present stature and age and position were a make believe..”//** Another role the headmaster has in the novel is to teach him how to be a child once again and how teachers should not be **//"feeding children literary garbage"//** like all the other schools **//"copying, copying, copying"//** each other. Furthermore, the headmaster teaches Krishna to treat others as if they were like these children; always open to fresh ideas and willing to learn new things, should they shake the contraints of adulthood and westernisation.

Another way in which the Headmaster can be viewed, is as a medium through which Krishna achieves inner peace. It is as a result of his views and opinions on life and British Colonialism that Krishna resigned from his job as an 'English teacher'. =__**Krishna's Attraction To the Headmaster**__=

__Proof:__
//**He struck me as an extraordinary man I like him immensely I was about to make a profound contact in life.**//

__**Reasons:**__ The headmaster shows several traits which Krishna is attracted to. The headmast almost represents a polar opposite version of Krishna's character and thus supporting the implication that opposites attract (similar to Krishna and Susila):

Teaches English literature with litte passion at a college Schools children with a great passion at a children's school Has only 1 mild mannered child Has 3 wild children No longer has a wife but attempts to contact her spirit on a regular basis Has a pushy wife which he harbors no love for and eventually leaves Krishna's materialistic nature Headmaster's spiritualist nature Careful with his lifestyle (latter part of the book( Scraggly, sleeps 1 hour a night; evident lack of care for lifestyle
 * Krishna Headmaster**

From his contact with the Headmaster Krishna learns much and in two particular ways he models himself after the Headmaster: he adapts to a more spiritualistic lifestyle which mirrors the headmaster's lifestyle and eventually takes the Headmaster's job at the children's school.
 * Krishna's Mentor?**

There are however, several traits which Krishna does not adopt from the Headmaster. He does not harbor such dislike for his wife as the Headmaster does (however upon seeing this he may learn to apprecdiate his wife's contact more), his child (Leela) also does not reflect the nature of the Headmaster's children and finally he does not convert himself to look like the Headmaster (with his frayed and unpressed coat); such an alteration of character may revert him back to his personalityat the beginning of the book.

To conclude, Krishna's attraction to the headmaster can be traced back to 2 simple points. Krishna admires certain aspects of the Headmaster's character and attempts to adopt such characteristics and habits. The headmaster's other characteristics such as his several children and his evident lack of self care reflect Krishna's earlier character (when he said "we will bring forth more children" and his earlier "I should cease to live like a cow). It cannot be said, without debate, that the Headmaster is Krishna's mentor but it may be said that he is indeed somewhat of a role model in certain aspects of his character.
 * Conclusion**