English Literature GCE A/L Made easy-novel - R.K. Narayan's The English Teacher

Author

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayanaswami; popular by the name R.K. Narayan was born during the British Colonial days in India. "He created a town in South India and called it Malgudi".

He employed characters harmless though sometimes refractory, fastidious, deceiving, yet they could be accepted as true.

In his thirty four novels and the series of short stories he often made mention of Malgudi Days, portraying "India's rural and industrial aspects that prevailed then and the persons or his concepts in his creative faculty of the mind and the persons capricious in behaviour or appearance.

All these characters existed in his imaginary world". Narayan (October 1, 1906 - May 13, 2001) seems to be the most popular Indian Novelist writing in English (His first novel "Swami and Friends" (1935). Sometimes compared to the United States writer William Falkner. Narayan wrote about fifteen novels, five volumes of short stories, a number of Travelogues, and a collection of nonfiction, English Translation of Indian Epics and the memoirs "My days".

Narayan's novels:

In most of Narayan's novels colonial rule takes a prominent role. 'In the English Teacher'. The title of the book itself "Signifies the influence of the unwelcome British ruler" and how certain elements of life are subject to the influence of British rule and how they influenced Krishna's life. Thus the plot in the story is undeniably different.

Writing style:

Narayan's novels seem to be influenced by "Chekhovian simplicity and gentle humour". Most of his characters are ordinary folk following a simple lifestyle. "Swami and friends" paved way for his writing career. Green, an admirer of his books helped him in his publication. Most of his novels seem to be set in Malgudi a fictional place.

Being "a sensitive and prolific writer" his works invite the reader's attention. His books dealing with mythology "Gods, Demons and others" (1965) The Ramayan (1972) and The Maha Bharatha (1972) attract much attention of the reader. Mr. Narayan could be compared with Chekhov.

He is gifted with the ability "extra ordinary ordinariness of human happiness". Jane Austen and Chekhov bring out Elizebeth Bowen's remarks "an idyll as delicious as anything I have met in modern Literature for a long time. The atmosphere and texture of happiness and above all its elusiveness have seldom been so perfectly transcribe".

This novel is rather autobiographical and dedicated to his wife Rajan who died after contracting typhoid; having had spent a very short period of five years before she parted for ever. Narayan loved his wife dearly and experienced a period of darkness which inspired him to communicate with her quite different from the "Love that is ascertained in real life or through the media".

Mrs. C. Ekanayake, Retd. Specialist Teacher Eng. Lit., St. Anne's College, Kurunegala.