R. K. Narayan’s narrative technique in Swami and Friends.
Q.Make a critical assessment of R. K. Narayan’s narrative technique in Swami and Friends.
Ans: R.K Narayan uses the interesting technique of a varied
narrative perspective .R. K Narayan's first novel Swami and Friends is
tentative and episodic in construction. It cannot be credited with a regular
structural pattern. The early journalistic style of Narayan seems to have been
carried over in a more organized form in Swami and Friends which, of all his
novels, is the only one with separate titles for its chapters. The story
revolves round the central figure, Swaminathan and his mischievous gang with
their zany doings. The 'adult' interest is provided by Swami's teachers, his parents
and, especially, his Granny.
The recurrent cyclical pattern of Narayan's plot-structure
is noticeable in its embryonic form in the first novel. The ripples in the life
of Swami are caused by the external influence' that is Rajam. His departure
from Malgudi indicates the return to 'normalcy.
There is no hiatus
between character and plot; both are inseparably knit together. The qualities
the novelist attributes to these characters determine the action, and the
action in turn progressively changes the characters and thus the story is
carried forward to the end. In other words, as a good story teller, Narayan
sees to it that his story has a beginning, middle and an end."
The structuring of his plots, as other aspects of his craft,
is governed by the particular milieu and back ground of a south Indian
community, rooted in a cultural tradition though not impervious to change and
growth. In fact, it is the onslaught, so to say, of the outside influences and
forces which constitute the motivation in most of Narayan's plots. And it also
accounts for much of the comic as well as catastrophic (perhaps too strong a
word for the delicate fabric of his work) complications in the course of his
plot-progression. The return to the normal, which, in his case, means traditional,
pattern of life, reaffirms his comic vision.
Swami and Friends is told through a third-person
perspective, and focuses mainly on the point of view of Swami, who is the
protagonist and titular character. However, the narrative sometimes shifts for
brief periods of time to other characters, including Swami’s friends, his
father, or other random adults around him. At times when Swami is
incapacitated, such as when he falls ill after being lost, the narrative is
taken over entirely by other characters, like Ranga the coachman or Rajam.
On occasion, the narrator makes a comment or presents
information to indicate it as being a separate entity, but the majority of the
book is Swami’s story, told through his eyes. And as Swami is a child, the
narrative oft excludes information that he would be unable to know or
understand, or discusses it separately from Swami’s point of view.
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