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  • Essay / The role of characterization through the short stories of 'Mayadevi's London Yatra' and 'Bishtpur Landing'

    'My Holy Aunts', written by Bulbul Sharma, is an Indian book built on several stories with unique characters, each of them presented with great diction and characterization. Furthermore, the author decides to use and depict the Indian lifestyle of women before modern times, where they were individually judged, treated inferiorly and discriminated against by society. Specifically, one of the biggest arguments and issues seen throughout the stories is child marriage, women being widowed, and everyday categorization, giving the reader an overall insight into their situation. To demonstrate the above, the stories of 'Mayadevi's London Yatra' and 'Bishtpur Landing' show the personality and spirit of the protagonists through implicit and explicit characterization, drawing in the reader and thus making him both curious and attracted by the plot and its lifestyles. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get an original essayIn the case of the first story, 'Mayadevi's London Yatra', Sharma creates a character so singular and particular as Mayadevi herself represents a challenge to India's everyday society and mentality. She is primarily a widow, and instead of being isolated, insecure, and weak, she is portrayed as a strict, firm, and powerful woman. A great example of how she is described and interpreted is found directly in the first paragraph of the book: “The day Mayadevi…reigns terror.” (Sharma, 1992, p.1). Here, the author uses implied characterization exceptionally well, as she decides to let readers know that this fun-loving woman had a profound influence in her home and those around her, as well as incessant mood swings. Additionally, the choice of adjectives and verbs helps the story express itself to everyone who reads it, giving everyone their own interpretation of the character, which in this case it would be about a stubborn old woman and direct. . Nonetheless, the author also decides to show how Mayadevi has a soft side behind her hard outer shell, imagining how such a tough woman can let people in on time. As this quote shows, “At the time… London Yatra. " (Sharma, 1992, p. 17-18), factors such as flowing paragraph length, diction, dialogue, description and imagery help Mayadevi's dark and sarcastic character to be better understood and therefore to conquer the minds and hearts of many readers. On the other hand, “Bishtpur Landing” is yet another story in which Sharma succeeds in attracting the reader and showing him a very unique case in the daily life of India. Unlike Mayadevi's 'London Yatra', the character in this story is Neelima, a wry seven-year-old child who aspires to participate in child marriage and drop out of school, which at that time was one of greatest privileges. This seems ironic given that girls at the time dreamed of going to school, learning and being recognized, instead of being forced to join foreign families and leave their homes due to obligations related to child marriage. With this, Sharma portrays his character through explicit and implicit characterization. To illustrate the two representations, an excellent example is seen at the beginning of the story: “Neelima was a… in the class. » (Sharma, 1992, p. 20), where the author constructs his character by imposing certain explicit details, using direct adjectives such as unhappy and poor, revealing his lack of ability.