In the novel Clear light of day the author Anita Desai uses her some of her characters to show that that freedom and entrapment are some of the novels major themes. I believe that Bim and Baba were trapped. Bim was trapped in the sense that she had to stay home and take care of her sick brother and her Aunt. She took this responsibility upon herself which caused her to remain in old delhi and not enjoy her life. Baba was trapped both mentally and physically. He was retarded and he could not escape from old delhi. I believe that Tara was trapped emotionally in the guilt she felt for leaving Bim and her brother to fight off the bees, but yet she is one to obtain her freedom. She gets to marry Bakul and start a family. Raja was trapped when he was a youth because when he fell ill he was unable to do the things he wanted. He also felt trapped in his home and sought freedom by escaping to Hyder Ali Sshib's home. Raja also received the oppurtunity to escape old delhi and start a family unlike his sister Bim.
Within the novel “Clear light of day” it would seem like Tara and Raja are free from their former life style, whereas Bimla and Baba are traped in a never changing life style. Bimla became an acting mother to her mentally chanllenged brother after her parents died and her aunt became a alcohol abuser. She also became a twentyfour hour nurse to her brother Raja after he became ill with Tuberculosis. In taking on these role Bimla dropped out of college and gave up her dream of ever becoming anything in life. Even after Raja was well again, he moved away to pursue his dreams, get married and start his own life leaving all the responsibility on Bimla. More over, Tara also moved away, got married and left Bimla alone, but it would apear that Tara was always emotionally traped since she could never stop remembering an incident that occurred during their childhood when Bimla was attacked by bees. Tara lived with that guilt all her life which signifies her emotional attachment to her the old life she once had. Not forgetting Baba who is a clear representation of entrapment to all his siblings because he acts as a constant reminder of the life they once had and disabling then from moving on. The things he does such as playing with his gramaphone, loud music,his pebbles (which he got from aunt Misra as a child) and the same old records ( even after Raja brought him new ones) symbolises no change. Therefore, although Raja and Tara moved away and started a new life (this represents some sort of freedom) they are both traped mentally and emotionally whereas Bimla is traped physically.
In the novel, "Clear Light of Day" Raja and Tara were the ones who obtained freedom while Baba and Bimla were entraped. Tara was the youngest of the family and always clinged to Aunt Misra for comfort. Tara left Dehli and got married also started a family of her own. Tara returned to Dehli and found that nothing has changed and when she referred this to Bimla, she got a bit upset and asked Tara if she wished for it to change. Bim told Tara that Baba and herself don't go anywhere, also that the Old Dehli does not change, it only decays. Bimla is entraped because she took on the responsibility of taking care of the family when Tara and raja left, she was entraped physically in Old Dehli and stayed there all her life. Baba is also entraped because of his 'slow' condition, he plays his gramophone loudly and also he plays with his pebbles that were given to him by Aunt Misra when he was younger. Raja left Old Dehli and started his own family just like Tara did. Therefore because Baba and Bimla didn't leave Dehli shows that they were entraped to their lifestyle and didn't want to change, whilst Tatra and Raja left Dehli and started a new life of their own which symbolizes freedom for them.
From the book it can be seen that there is entrapment of two kinds, emotional and physical. Bimla we know feels physical entrapment because of the fact that everyone moves away to have a life of their own but she feels obligated to remain at the family house and take care of Baba who is mentally challenged, the fact is there to see that Bim had a chance to be married to the doctor but she turned him down why I think it is because she felt neglected and trapped.. Then there is entrapment of an emotional nature this is shown through Tara who feels guilty for leaving Bimla when she was being stung by bees as a child.
Within the novel, "Clear Light of Day" freedom is represented through the characters of Tara and Raja. These two characters are seen as the ones who chose to proceed on with their lives and break free from their childhood house in Old Delhi, which also represents the past. Tara has gotten married to a handsome young man named Bakul and had moved out of the house. She now enjoys her new life in New Deli with her husband and two beautiful daughters. However, although it has appeared that Tara has moved on with her life, she still holds some childhood memories within her. For example, when she found a snail while walking along the rose walk and when she use to kick up the fallen guavas from off of the ground. These are some of the memories the Tara old very close to her heart and still recalls whenever she visited her brother and sister in Old Delhi. Tara has fooled her husband, Bakul into believing that she has conformed to his ways, even though some of her old ways still lingers within her. Raja has left in order to explore the outside world, beyond Old Delhi. In the process he has also gotten married and has settled down. On the other hand, Bim and Baba are seen as the characters that are still entrapped within their old childhood house and have made no form of change to their lives. Bim had remained refined to her old ways and so has Baba, who still listens to his old gramophone and plays with the stones that Aunt Mira had given to him to such an extent that they gradually became smooth from overuse. Bim is, without a doubt imprisoned within herself and Old Delhi. She refuses to change anything about herself and continues to use Baba’s need for attention as her justification for not moving on or even attempting to make minor changes to her life like finding a companion for example or even changing and rearranging the house. These two characters; Baba and Bim, remain consistently unchangeable and this is clearly evident within the novel.
Freedom and Entrapment--both are quite the opposite of each other and they are cleary seen in the novel. If not I think it is very possible, to deem either of them themes-for the story. Bim- Her form of entrapment is basically her whole life. She's always left herself out and dealt with the issues of others. She's squashed her dreams to create dreams for her brother Baba. Though everyone had moved out of Old Delhi and moved to New Delhi, she still remains. I think it is safe to say, that freedom for Bim is possible, because freedom is not always of a physical nature, but what about emotionally? It is definitely possible to experience freedom of emotions. When she teaches- This can be considered freedom, because it takes her mind off of all that went wrong in life. How about the morning-she bought ice cream for her history class and was basically a child again( a happy one at that).
Baba- Mentally, Baba's is trapped. Trapped in a world that he created, with things to comfort him. He doesn't have thoughts of excelling, nor does he have thoughts of taking over father's business one day--but what he does think about are his pebbles, his records and his gramophone. Freedom for Baba can be found in his pebbles and his gramophone. When he uses either, he is physically and emotionally happy.
Raja- Education created the mode for freedom in Baba's mind. Education was his way of exploring and viewing the world like he so desperately wanted to. Hyder Ali also created a pathway of freedom for Baba...and I think that from the beginning, because Hyder Ali realized Raja looked up to him, he manipulated the situation--leading the boy to want to become a part of his family. Entrapment is found where he falls ill and it is also found when his father specifically tells him that he cannot attend the muslim college because he is obviously hindu and at the time both religions were at war. This leads me to the next point of Religion being an entrapment for Raja, he was hindu but had strong beliefs in the muslim religon and this was a definite problem. He would not have been able to express his views freely because his father would not have stood for that. Raja finally moves away from New Delhi, leaving everything behind. He married Hyder Ali's daughter and was seemingly living out his dreams. This represents phyisical freedom.
Tara- Yes she married the handsome Bakul and had two beautiful children, but Bakul was a control freak and only wanted Tara as a porcelain doll on his arms. He was stuck up and found Old Delhi people beneath him. Remember when Tara stated that she wanted to stay at home, how he made it so difficult for her. He was not in favour of granting her that which-"granting"-simply means that he was her master. She was not allowed to express her views on anything because she was a woman, and only men were allowed to have some say. All that has been aforementioned are forms of entrapment. She experienced freedom because she travelled and had money at her disposal, but no matter how much money a person has, it cannot and never will buy you full time happiness. She was also trapped emtionally. Everything she experienced during childhood remained fresh in her memory. so even though she moved out of Old Delhi and was living a totally different life, we are forced to ask ourselves..If Tara is really free or if she is Really Trapped....
Finally I got on.... :) ALthough I agree with most of the comments on freedom and entrapment in the case of Bim my opnion differs. In my opinio Bim was not compelled to stay in Old Dehli and take care of Baba by a sense of duty she was compelled by fear. It was out of the fear of change that prevented him from marrying the doctor. And it was out of fear that prevented her from attending the family even in New Dehli. Bim was not phyically entraped only mentally. She forced herself to stay the same, in the same old house, in the same old neighborhood, where she would not have to try to change or to be diffrent. I do agree with Phylicia on the issue of Tara. Tara did move on with her life physically. She moved out of Inida, married had children but was still mentally trapped. Of course this state of mental entrapment was only fueled further by her control (and in my opinon very aggrivating) husband. He kept her in this state, his tactics of seperating her from her old life only created a mental state that allowed Tara the opnion that all must change as well. For example... Tara felt compelled to convince Baba to go to work. In hopes of forcing him to change just as she had. This as we know sadly failed miserably. Baba seems to be the only one in the book that had an adequate reason for his not changing. He was handicapped. His phyical and mental entrapment was not his fault. In fact we can see that he did indeed try to change. Whether it was on his own accord or guilt from Tara's cries he did try to go to work like she asked. Unfortunately his attempt was thwarted by his fears. On the other hand I see Baba's toys... his records and stones as his freedom. His one place that did not change and did not require him to change. In that world Baba was free... well until they broke anyway. In "Clear Light of Day" Raja appeared to be the only one that was free. Both phyically and mentally. From his days of a youth he searched for knowledge in poetry. Then as soon as he was able he left Old Dehli. He married had children and moved on. Yet it can be said that he was not fully out of his "mental cage"... (I mean who asks their sister to pay rent?)
I beleive that the concept of freedom and also entrapment are the key and most vital ideas of the novel.without these the novel would just be another null and boring family drama. Bim feels trapped in the house and seemingly trapped in time as Baba is her 'responsibility' as the others have moved on and found or made new lives for themselves. have had families etc. It would appear that these feelings of entrapment and the want of freedom lurking in the minds of those entrapped are the cornerstone in the foundation of this novel
In "Clear Light of Day" Bim and Baba were trapped. Bim stayed home to take care of Baba (who was trapped mentally and physically)and also her aunt. Since no one forced Bim to stayed home(putting her dreams on hold), I strongly believe that she entrapped herself by staying home while Raja and Tara left home. However, the only freedom Tara got was that she was able to leave Old Dehli when she married "the rich" Bakul. But, evidently she was entrapped in her new life as he husband was very controlling and treated her like a slave. On the other hand, Raja was entrapped when he was much younger because he was sick and had to stay home most of the time. But since he had a "craving" for education, he managed to free himself when he left Old Dehli to start his new life and follow his dreams. Therefore, in this novel, "Freedomand Entrapment" are the novel's major themes because the book resolves around the main characters (Bim, Baba, Raja, Tara and others) who undergo freedom and entrapment from their childhood years into adulthood.
I agree with the other comments of freedom and entrapment, especially Grace-Ann I can see that Bimla is not only trapped physically but mentally because she is afraid of change. Baba on the other hand is not so easy to analyse it is plain to see that he is trapped mentally because he is mentally challenged.And I guess it could be agreed that because of his mental limitation it gives rise to his physical liminations.But I also think that he too is afraid of change. Its part of the reason that he still plays with his pebbles well into adulthood.What this does is that it provides a separation for Baba away from his other siblings, creating a world of his own that he becomes entrapped in and refuses to change.
I would like to know if conflict and differences is a recurring theme within the book? For example the New vs Old theme, the differences between Tara and Bim during their school life and also the conflict between the two religions in the book. Speaking of Tara and Bim is Anita Desai using these two as examples to show the reader how we can set aside our differences and come together?
In the novel Clear Light of Day both entrapment and freedom can be seen as major themems in the novel. Bim and Baba are both trapped. I think that Bim allows herself to remain in her unchangeable state by using Baba as an excuse. However, unlike Baba, Bim is in no way mentally or physicallt challenged. She is therefore qiute capable of experiencing freedom. Baba, on the other hand, is trapped both mentally and physically. Therefore we can sympathise with him. It is not his fault he is in his present situation. Unlike Bim, he wants to be free but is trapped in this present state. His music is a way for him to experience freedom but he keeps listening to the same old records because his freedeom is limited. Tara and Raja has embraced the change and the opportunity to be free by leaving Old Delhi and moving forward to New Delhi. They did not allow their circumstances to keep them entrapped. Tara and Raja are both free, they have both moved on and have settled down with their new families. Further, it can be said that Bim is emotionally attached to Baba, in the sense that she is fearful of leaving him. I think that it is the love she has for him that allow her to remain entrapped.
The theme of freedom and entrapment within the novel 'Clear Light of Day' is of great significance, for many of the characters within this book seem to represent either freedom, entrapment or both. Bimla(Bim) is one character who seems to represent being entrapped. She has never married and remains in their chilhood home for years. She is somewhat emotionally tied to her past and believes that she is obligated to care for Baba. It could be said that Bim uses Baba as an excuse to remain in the home, she has failed to recognise that she is still emotionally scarred by many things which occured in her past, which is the reason why she can't move on, this is why she is entrapped. Baba is mentally challenged and is not capable of caring for himself so as Keshane mentioned above he is both mentally and physically trapped. Raja, now represents being free he attained his dreams despite the troubles which he may have had in the beginning, especially with his father.He had a goal, which was "EDUCATION", and was able to achieve it. Tara attains full freedom as Raja in terms of leaving Old Delhi and settling down with her family in New Delhi, however she is still trapped in some ways. Take for example it seems as though as soon as she is back in Old Delhi, she reflects on things which occured in her childhood, and which still obviously seems to affect her. For example the horrible memory of the bees attacking Bim. So it can be said that though she might have escaped from Old Delhi, physically she has attained freedom however mentally, she is trapped. Just as Bim uses Baba as an escape for her unchangeable condition, Tara has used her family, as an escape from the horrible memories of her childhood which still haunts her as an adult. So she therefore might be thought of a character within the novel who represents both freedom and entrapment. The main characters within the novel centers around all four children,( Raja, Bim, Baba and Tara). Each of these characters either represent freedom, entrapment or both. Raja is the only character who has attained full freedom. Bim has chosen to remain entrapped, for she had the capacity to attain full freedom especially with the degree of wisdom which she held, however she felt that she 'had to' be there for Baba, and used him as an excuse to remain in her unchanged state.Baba represents entrapment. His condition of being trapped obviously was not something which he chose nor was it something he had control over, for he was unable to care for his own self. Tara is a complex character within this novel, for she represents both reedom and entrapment. Yes she has escaped from Old Delhi, and from her childhood physically, however mentally she is still trapped, for many of her chidhood memories still haunt her as an adult.
From the book all the main characters are trapped in their own way. Only a few are freed from their cage such as Tara which is only to a certain extent. Bim stayed trapped for the reason because she believed that she was obligated to her siblings especially Baba who was mentally and physically trapped because that is the way he was and this trapped him to only be helpless without others. While Tara was trapped because she believed that her sister Bim is the way she is because of her, when the bee attacked her Bimla, Tara was trapped by that until she was forgiven even though she moved on she was not free of that guilt. However Raja was trapped because he was sick and craved education and he was never free until he left to pursue it! So then it can be clearly seen that the books main theme is based on entrapment and freedom. Conica
I agree with the comments made so far about the entrapment of both Bim and Baba. Baba's been there the whole time entrapped in his own world with his pebbles and records afraid of the outside and to experience freedom. Baba stays home all the time playing his records so people can actually know he's there. It’s so significant because evidently it shows that he is entirely trapped in his home. Bim is the other one that represents entrapment in this novel where she have no kids, not married and also resides at her childhood home where she lives in the memories of her childhood days and fail to leave them behind. Thus making her became trapped to her past. On the other hand Tara and Raja both flew the nest, meaning they went out to find their own destiny and moved away from the past. However Raja was trapped in the sense when he had to depend on Bim to take care of him and he was entirely upset due to the fact that he wanted to pursue an education at the time, and couldn't get it, also with Tara she carried the guilt of bee stinging Bim and she watched in horror as she couldn't do anything to help. So i guess it all came down to Freedom and Entrapment where characters of the novel were exposed to.
Freedom and Entrapment are both represented in Anita Desi's novel Clear Light of Day. Probably the most vivid representation of entrapment is that of the cow in the well. When the children were younger the family had purchased a cow which later falls into the well from which it could not be rescued. This may stand as a symbol for a few of the characters lives. A few such examples may include: 1. The fact that Baba was born with a mental handicap which confines him to a few menial tasks which he can competently complete. 2. Aunt Mira was enslaved by her in-laws after the premature death of her husband. 3. A type of self-imposed psycological entrapment is evident as it relates to Bim, Tara and Raja. This may have been nurtured in childhood as their relationship to their parents is somewhat strained and in their adulthood each of them have formed a sort of mental block which limits them in one way or another. Tara finds herself intimidated by her sister Bim, Bim shuts out any prospect of change as she is 'content' with her present existence and Raja fails to appreciate Bim's contentment. As it relates to freedom, it is my thought that it is one of the most fundamental desires of the human existence and this fact is also made manifest in the book: 1. As Tara returns home she no onger wishes to act as 'civilised' as she would in her usual home. She wishes to pick-up a guava from underneath the tree and eat it, to lick ice-cream from a cone and endulge in many other activities which glorify the simplier things in life. 2. Bim, though never really admitting it, would have relished the opportunity to be free of the constraints placed upon her as Baba's self appointed care taker. It is safe to assume that many other examples of such quests for feedom exist; also that just as the well is a symbol of entrapment, the koeals which wake Tara and that are mentioned periodically thereafter are symbols of freedom unrestrained, as birds usually are.
In Clear Light Of Day Bim and Baba can be seen as the ones who were traped. Bim was traped in her own lifestyle. She lived in the Das house until it became old. She was not willingly to accept change and that helped alot with her entrapment. Also the fact that she had to care for her Aunt and brothers made her traped. She took the responsibility of looking after them. She could not move on and leave them (although in the end they did except Baba). However i do believe that Bim wanted to be free and be much happier but the chances of her doing so were quite slim in her mind. She had to much on her shoulders. Baba was also traped, he was traped by his mental state. He to was afriad of change. He still played with his gramophone and the pebbles that he had ever since he was young. He was not as keen to his surroundings as others so he did not grasp what it was to be different and to change. He just accepted things as they were. Tara and Raja were the two that were free from the Old delhi life and the house. They lived in the New Delhi, Both were married and had children of their own and had a good standrad of living. However Tara still can be seen as one who was traped for she was traped in her mind. She wasn't exactly like how she presented herself to Bakul. She had this inna child that she wanted to release but kept it inside her for it was traped for she would not dare let it out for her daughters and her husband especially would be disapointed with her actions. She was also intimidated by Bim. Raja at first felt traped in Old Delhi and his bord lifestyle. However after he moved to live with Hyder Ali Sahib and became a man of wealth, i don't believe he felt traped anymore and was quite content with his life, although probably he would like a better relationship between him and Bim.
Freedom and Entrapment is one of the themes in Clear Light of day. This theme can be demonstrated through the characters mainly Bim, Tara, Raja and Baba. Bim: We see here that BIm's entrapment is willful. She has the choice whether or not to move out of Old Delhi but she chooses to stay hiding behind the excuse of Baba and her pupils. Baba is clearly not a baby and does not have to be babied but one sometimes wonders what he thinks about on his mind as he remains quiet throughout the novel. She clearly has a chance at freedom but choses to remain entrapped. Tara: Tara is a perfect example of these two terms. She has acheived freedom to an extent from Old Delhi, using Bakul as a means of escape. She thinks she has gotten away from her past but when she travels back to Old Delhi to visit Bim we see that her past comes back to haunt her and see that she is still mentally entrapped. Evidence of this is when she cannot let go of Bim being attacked by the bees. She is still apologizing for things that have gone so long ago and we see that although physically she has been freed into the realms of New Delhi she is still entrapped emotionally and mentally to Old Delhi. Raja:We see here that Raja is the only one who has attained complete freedom. He has left Old Delhi behind alon with his siblings, and has moved on to his own dreams and aspirations. He never even bothers to visit and prefers to commmunicate by letters to his family. He gets married, has kids and basically has his own life leaving all good and bad memories of his past behind. Baba: He like Bim has a chance at freedom, but fear takes the best of him. He was too afraid of Hydr Ali's horse and everytime he goes out he runs right back in. He too choses this entrapment and we are not clear if he can really talk at all as all he does is stay out of the lime light and listens to his same old records on his gramophone, playing his same old games. He has no intentions of tryong to take over the family business, which is basically going to ruins, and he has no intentions at mking any attempts at freedom. Through these characters we are able to grasp the concept of the importance of this theme to the novel, and we are able to get an insight into the character's personalities through their actions.
freedom an entrapment, each character in "Clear light of day" in some way or another have experience one of these two major themes. Baba: We all can see that baba is physically entrapped.His condition whatever it may be prevents him from changing,he maintain in the same cycle everyday of his life. Listening to the same old record, playing the same old games. i believe that he tries to change, by making an attempt to go to the office when Tara asked him to.THat show that he wants to change, to be the man that he ought to but is trapped by his natural state. Tara: To me represents a pseudo freedom, on the outskirts one would think that she is freed from old Delhi, her home and family.But that is completely the opposite physically she is still trapped, she is controlled by her husband just as she was with BiM. As a little girl Tara use to comply to whatever Bim demand of her. Tara in a sense still represent that little girl because she is still being controlled by another person. Mentally she is still trapped because of her guilt. the guilt of not helping her when she was attacked by bees which also represent the guilt of not staying and help with Baba. Bim: represent forced entrapment., she has the ability to escape from this world but chooses not. Through her loyalty to her family she suffocates her dreams and ambition.She willfully keeps up this look of shabbiness, not only with herself but with the house.eg(the gardening and the painting) to suppresses herself further in a trap.She hates to waste food but spends more on history books.i think she did this to further the guilt of her siblings for not staying an help with Baba.
In the novel Clear light of day the author Anita Desai uses her some of her characters to show that that freedom and entrapment are some of the novels major themes. I believe that Bim and Baba were trapped. Bim was trapped in the sense that she had to stay home and take care of her sick brother and her Aunt. She took this responsibility upon herself which caused her to remain in old delhi and not enjoy her life. Baba was trapped both mentally and physically. He was retarded and he could not escape from old delhi. I believe that Tara was trapped emotionally in the guilt she felt for leaving Bim and her brother to fight off the bees, but yet she is one to obtain her freedom. She gets to marry Bakul and start a family. Raja was trapped when he was a youth because when he fell ill he was unable to do the things he wanted. He also felt trapped in his home and sought freedom by escaping to Hyder Ali Sshib's home. Raja also received the oppurtunity to escape old delhi and start a family unlike his sister Bim.
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ReplyDeleteWithin the novel “Clear light of day” it would seem like Tara and Raja are free from their former life style, whereas Bimla and Baba are traped in a never changing life style. Bimla became an acting mother to her mentally chanllenged brother after her parents died and her aunt became a alcohol abuser. She also became a twentyfour hour nurse to her brother Raja after he became ill with Tuberculosis. In taking on these role Bimla dropped out of college and gave up her dream of ever becoming anything in life. Even after Raja was well again, he moved away to pursue his dreams, get married and start his own life leaving all the responsibility on Bimla. More over, Tara also moved away, got married and left Bimla alone, but it would apear that Tara was always emotionally traped since she could never stop remembering an incident that occurred during their childhood when Bimla was attacked by bees. Tara lived with that guilt all her life which signifies her emotional attachment to her the old life she once had. Not forgetting Baba who is a clear representation of entrapment to all his siblings because he acts as a constant reminder of the life they once had and disabling then from moving on. The things he does such as playing with his gramaphone, loud music,his pebbles (which he got from aunt Misra as a child) and the same old records ( even after Raja brought him new ones) symbolises no change. Therefore, although Raja and Tara moved away and started a new life (this represents some sort of freedom) they are both traped mentally and emotionally whereas Bimla is traped physically.
ReplyDeleteMarlia Laurent
In the novel, "Clear Light of Day" Raja and Tara were the ones who obtained freedom while Baba and Bimla were entraped. Tara was the youngest of the family and always clinged to Aunt Misra for comfort. Tara left Dehli and got married also started a family of her own. Tara returned to Dehli and found that nothing has changed and when she referred this to Bimla, she got a bit upset and asked Tara if she wished for it to change. Bim told Tara that Baba and herself don't go anywhere, also that the Old Dehli does not change, it only decays. Bimla is entraped because she took on the responsibility of taking care of the family when Tara and raja left, she was entraped physically in Old Dehli and stayed there all her life. Baba is also entraped because of his 'slow' condition, he plays his gramophone loudly and also he plays with his pebbles that were given to him by Aunt Misra when he was younger. Raja left Old Dehli and started his own family just like Tara did.
ReplyDeleteTherefore because Baba and Bimla didn't leave Dehli shows that they were entraped to their lifestyle and didn't want to change, whilst Tatra and Raja left Dehli and started a new life of their own which symbolizes freedom for them.
Jahmeel Jones
why were these things removed by the author--is it the real author...
ReplyDeleteoh snap now i seee...lol sorry...will be commenting soon but quite tired at this point
ReplyDeleteFrom the book it can be seen that there is entrapment of two kinds, emotional and physical. Bimla we know feels physical entrapment because of the fact that everyone moves away to have a life of their own but she feels obligated to remain at the family house and take care of Baba who is mentally challenged, the fact is there to see that Bim had a chance to be married to the doctor but she turned him down why I think it is because she felt neglected and trapped..
ReplyDeleteThen there is entrapment of an emotional nature this is shown through Tara who feels guilty for leaving Bimla when she was being stung by bees as a child.
Within the novel, "Clear Light of Day" freedom is represented through the characters of Tara and Raja. These two characters are seen as the ones who chose to proceed on with their lives and break free from their childhood house in Old Delhi, which also represents the past. Tara has gotten married to a handsome young man named Bakul and had moved out of the house. She now enjoys her new life in New Deli with her husband and two beautiful daughters. However, although it has appeared that Tara has moved on with her life, she still holds some childhood memories within her. For example, when she found a snail while walking along the rose walk and when she use to kick up the fallen guavas from off of the ground. These are some of the memories the Tara old very close to her heart and still recalls whenever she visited her brother and sister in Old Delhi. Tara has fooled her husband, Bakul into believing that she has conformed to his ways, even though some of her old ways still lingers within her. Raja has left in order to explore the outside world, beyond Old Delhi. In the process he has also gotten married and has settled down.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Bim and Baba are seen as the characters that are still entrapped within their old childhood house and have made no form of change to their lives. Bim had remained refined to her old ways and so has Baba, who still listens to his old gramophone and plays with the stones that Aunt Mira had given to him to such an extent that they gradually became smooth from overuse. Bim is, without a doubt imprisoned within herself and Old Delhi. She refuses to change anything about herself and continues to use Baba’s need for attention as her justification for not moving on or even attempting to make minor changes to her life like finding a companion for example or even changing and rearranging the house. These two characters; Baba and Bim, remain consistently unchangeable and this is clearly evident within the novel.
Freedom and Entrapment--both are quite the opposite of each other and they are cleary seen in the novel. If not I think it is very possible, to deem either of them themes-for the story.
ReplyDeleteBim- Her form of entrapment is basically her whole life. She's always left herself out and dealt with the issues of others. She's squashed her dreams to create dreams for her brother Baba. Though everyone had moved out of Old Delhi and moved to New Delhi, she still remains. I think it is safe to say, that freedom for Bim is possible, because freedom is not always of a physical nature, but what about emotionally? It is definitely possible to experience freedom of emotions. When she teaches- This can be considered freedom, because it takes her mind off of all that went wrong in life. How about the morning-she bought ice cream for her history class and was basically a child again( a happy one at that).
Baba- Mentally, Baba's is trapped. Trapped in a world that he created, with things to comfort him. He doesn't have thoughts of excelling, nor does he have thoughts of taking over father's business one day--but what he does think about are his pebbles, his records and his gramophone. Freedom for Baba can be found in his pebbles and his gramophone. When he uses either, he is physically and emotionally happy.
Raja- Education created the mode for freedom in Baba's mind. Education was his way of exploring and viewing the world like he so desperately wanted to. Hyder Ali also created a pathway of freedom for Baba...and I think that from the beginning, because Hyder Ali realized Raja looked up to him, he manipulated the situation--leading the boy to want to become a part of his family. Entrapment is found where he falls ill and it is also found when his father specifically tells him that he cannot attend the muslim college because he is obviously hindu and at the time both religions were at war. This leads me to the next point of Religion being an entrapment for Raja, he was hindu but had strong beliefs in the muslim religon and this was a definite problem. He would not have been able to express his views freely because his father would not have stood for that.
Raja finally moves away from New Delhi, leaving everything behind. He married Hyder Ali's daughter and was seemingly living out his dreams. This represents phyisical freedom.
Tara- Yes she married the handsome Bakul and had two beautiful children, but Bakul was a control freak and only wanted Tara as a porcelain doll on his arms. He was stuck up and found Old Delhi people beneath him. Remember when Tara stated that she wanted to stay at home, how he made it so difficult for her. He was not in favour of granting her that which-"granting"-simply means that he was her master. She was not allowed to express her views on anything because she was a woman, and only men were allowed to have some say. All that has been aforementioned are forms of entrapment.
She experienced freedom because she travelled and had money at her disposal, but no matter how much money a person has, it cannot and never will buy you full time happiness.
She was also trapped emtionally. Everything she experienced during childhood remained fresh in her memory. so even though she moved out of Old Delhi and was living a totally different life, we are forced to ask ourselves..If Tara is really free or if she is Really Trapped....
Finally I got on.... :)
ReplyDeleteALthough I agree with most of the comments on freedom and entrapment in the case of Bim my opnion differs.
In my opinio Bim was not compelled to stay in Old Dehli and take care of Baba by a sense of duty she was compelled by fear. It was out of the fear of change that prevented him from marrying the doctor. And it was out of fear that prevented her from attending the family even in New Dehli. Bim was not phyically entraped only mentally. She forced herself to stay the same, in the same old house, in the same old neighborhood, where she would not have to try to change or to be diffrent.
I do agree with Phylicia on the issue of Tara. Tara did move on with her life physically. She moved out of Inida, married had children but was still mentally trapped. Of course this state of mental entrapment was only fueled further by her control (and in my opinon very aggrivating) husband. He kept her in this state, his tactics of seperating her from her old life only created a mental state that allowed Tara the opnion that all must change as well. For example... Tara felt compelled to convince Baba to go to work. In hopes of forcing him to change just as she had. This as we know sadly failed miserably.
Baba seems to be the only one in the book that had an adequate reason for his not changing. He was handicapped. His phyical and mental entrapment was not his fault. In fact we can see that he did indeed try to change. Whether it was on his own accord or guilt from Tara's cries he did try to go to work like she asked. Unfortunately his attempt was thwarted by his fears. On the other hand I see Baba's toys... his records and stones as his freedom. His one place that did not change and did not require him to change. In that world Baba was free... well until they broke anyway.
In "Clear Light of Day" Raja appeared to be the only one that was free. Both phyically and mentally. From his days of a youth he searched for knowledge in poetry. Then as soon as he was able he left Old Dehli. He married had children and moved on. Yet it can be said that he was not fully out of his "mental cage"... (I mean who asks their sister to pay rent?)
:)
those are my views.... finally
I beleive that the concept of freedom and also entrapment are the key and most vital ideas of the novel.without these the novel would just be another null and boring family drama. Bim feels trapped in the house and seemingly trapped in time as Baba is her 'responsibility' as the others have moved on and found or made new lives for themselves. have had families etc.
ReplyDeleteIt would appear that these feelings of entrapment and the want of freedom lurking in the minds of those entrapped are the cornerstone in the foundation of this novel
In "Clear Light of Day" Bim and Baba were trapped. Bim stayed home to take care of Baba (who was trapped mentally and physically)and also her aunt. Since no one forced Bim to stayed home(putting her dreams on hold), I strongly believe that she entrapped herself by staying home while Raja and Tara left home.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the only freedom Tara got was that she was able to leave Old Dehli when she married "the rich" Bakul. But, evidently she was entrapped in her new life as he husband was very controlling and treated her like a slave.
On the other hand, Raja was entrapped when he was much younger because he was sick and had to stay home most of the time. But since he had a "craving" for education, he managed to free himself when he left Old Dehli to start his new life and follow his dreams.
Therefore, in this novel, "Freedomand Entrapment" are the novel's major themes because the book resolves around the main characters (Bim, Baba, Raja, Tara and others) who undergo freedom and entrapment from their childhood years into adulthood.
I agree with the other comments of freedom and entrapment, especially Grace-Ann I can see that Bimla is not only trapped physically but mentally because she is afraid of change.
ReplyDeleteBaba on the other hand is not so easy to analyse it is plain to see that he is trapped mentally because he is mentally challenged.And I guess it could be agreed that because of his mental limitation it gives rise to his physical liminations.But I also think that he too is afraid of change. Its part of the reason that he still plays with his pebbles well into adulthood.What this does is that it provides a separation for Baba away from his other siblings, creating a world of his own that he becomes entrapped in and refuses to change.
I would like to know if conflict and differences is a recurring theme within the book? For example the New vs Old theme, the differences between Tara and Bim during their school life and also the conflict between the two religions in the book. Speaking of Tara and Bim is Anita Desai using these two as examples to show the reader how we can set aside our differences and come together?
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Clear Light of Day both entrapment and freedom can be seen as major themems in the novel. Bim and Baba are both trapped. I think that Bim allows herself to remain in her unchangeable state by using Baba as an excuse. However, unlike Baba, Bim is in no way mentally or physicallt challenged. She is therefore qiute capable of experiencing freedom.
ReplyDeleteBaba, on the other hand, is trapped both mentally and physically. Therefore we can sympathise with him. It is not his fault he is in his present situation. Unlike Bim, he wants to be free but is trapped in this present state. His music is a way for him to experience freedom but he keeps listening to the same old records because his freedeom is limited.
Tara and Raja has embraced the change and the opportunity to be free by leaving Old Delhi and moving forward to New Delhi. They did not allow their circumstances to keep them entrapped. Tara and Raja are both free, they have both moved on and have settled down with their new families.
Further, it can be said that Bim is emotionally attached to Baba, in the sense that she is fearful of leaving him. I think that it is the love she has for him that allow her to remain entrapped.
The above comment with the title: Shanikegrant is actually Keshane Grant. Thank you. Oh, I'll be using that name to post my comments.
ReplyDeleteThe theme of freedom and entrapment within the novel 'Clear Light of Day' is of great significance, for many of the characters within this book seem to represent either freedom, entrapment or both. Bimla(Bim) is one character who seems to represent being entrapped. She has never married and remains in their chilhood home for years. She is somewhat emotionally tied to her past and believes that she is obligated to care for Baba. It could be said that Bim uses Baba as an excuse to remain in the home, she has failed to recognise that she is still emotionally scarred by many things which occured in her past, which is the reason why she can't move on, this is why she is entrapped.
ReplyDeleteBaba is mentally challenged and is not capable of caring for himself so as Keshane mentioned above he is both mentally and physically trapped. Raja, now represents being free he attained his dreams despite the troubles which he may have had in the beginning, especially with his father.He had a goal, which was "EDUCATION", and was able to achieve it.
Tara attains full freedom as Raja in terms of leaving Old Delhi and settling down with her family in New Delhi, however she is still trapped in some ways. Take for example it seems as though as soon as she is back in Old Delhi, she reflects on things which occured in her childhood, and which still obviously seems to affect her. For example the horrible memory of the bees attacking Bim. So it can be said that though she might have escaped from Old Delhi, physically she has attained freedom however mentally, she is trapped. Just as Bim uses Baba as an escape for her unchangeable condition, Tara has used her family, as an escape from the horrible memories of her childhood which still haunts her as an adult. So she therefore might be thought of a character within the novel who represents both freedom and entrapment.
The main characters within the novel centers around all four children,( Raja, Bim, Baba and Tara). Each of these characters either represent freedom, entrapment or both. Raja is the only character who has attained full freedom. Bim has chosen to remain entrapped, for she had the capacity to attain full freedom especially with the degree of wisdom which she held, however she felt that she 'had to' be there for Baba, and used him as an excuse to remain in her unchanged state.Baba represents entrapment. His condition of being trapped obviously was not something which he chose nor was it something he had control over, for he was unable to care for his own self. Tara is a complex character within this novel, for she represents both reedom and entrapment. Yes she has escaped from Old Delhi, and from her childhood physically, however mentally she is still trapped, for many of her chidhood memories still haunt her as an adult.
From the book all the main characters are trapped in their own way. Only a few are freed from their cage such as Tara which is only to a certain extent. Bim stayed trapped for the reason because she believed that she was obligated to her siblings especially Baba who was mentally and physically trapped because that is the way he was and this trapped him to only be helpless without others. While Tara was trapped because she believed that her sister Bim is the way she is because of her, when the bee attacked her Bimla, Tara was trapped by that until she was forgiven even though she moved on she was not free of that guilt. However Raja was trapped because he was sick and craved education and he was never free until he left to pursue it!
ReplyDeleteSo then it can be clearly seen that the books main theme is based on entrapment and freedom.
Conica
Very interesting post guys. Keep it up! Watch spelling. Don't forget to ask questions, and answer the questions that was asked as well.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the comments made so far about the entrapment of both Bim and Baba. Baba's been there the whole time entrapped in his own world with his pebbles and records afraid of the outside and to experience freedom. Baba stays home all the time playing his records so people can actually know he's there. It’s so significant because evidently it shows that he is entirely trapped in his home.
ReplyDeleteBim is the other one that represents entrapment in this novel where she have no kids, not married and also resides at her childhood home where she lives in the memories of her childhood days and fail to leave them behind. Thus making her became trapped to her past.
On the other hand Tara and Raja both flew the nest, meaning they went out to find their own destiny and moved away from the past. However Raja was trapped in the sense when he had to depend on Bim to take care of him and he was entirely upset due to the fact that he wanted to pursue an education at the time, and couldn't get it, also with Tara she carried the guilt of bee stinging Bim and she watched in horror as she couldn't do anything to help.
So i guess it all came down to Freedom and Entrapment where characters of the novel were exposed to.
Freedom and Entrapment are both represented in Anita Desi's novel Clear Light of Day.
ReplyDeleteProbably the most vivid representation of entrapment is that of the cow in the well. When the children were younger the family had purchased a cow which later falls into the well from which it could not be rescued. This may stand as a symbol for a few of the characters lives.
A few such examples may include:
1. The fact that Baba was born with a mental handicap which confines him to a few menial tasks which he can competently complete.
2. Aunt Mira was enslaved by her in-laws after the premature death of her husband.
3. A type of self-imposed psycological entrapment is evident as it relates to Bim, Tara and Raja. This may have been nurtured in childhood as their relationship to their parents is somewhat strained and in their adulthood each of them have formed a sort of mental block which limits them in one way or another. Tara finds herself intimidated by her sister Bim, Bim shuts out any prospect of change as she is 'content' with her present existence and Raja fails to appreciate Bim's contentment.
As it relates to freedom, it is my thought that it is one of the most fundamental desires of the human existence and this fact is also made manifest in the book:
1. As Tara returns home she no onger wishes to act as 'civilised' as she would in her usual home. She wishes to pick-up a guava from underneath the tree and eat it, to lick ice-cream from a cone and endulge in many other activities which glorify the simplier things in life.
2. Bim, though never really admitting it, would have relished the opportunity to be free of the constraints placed upon her as Baba's self appointed care taker.
It is safe to assume that many other examples of such quests for feedom exist; also that just as the well is a symbol of entrapment, the koeals which wake Tara and that are mentioned periodically thereafter are symbols of freedom unrestrained, as birds usually are.
Roland Moore
In Clear Light Of Day Bim and Baba can be seen as the ones who were traped. Bim was traped in her own lifestyle. She lived in the Das house until it became old. She was not willingly to accept change and that helped alot with her entrapment. Also the fact that she had to care for her Aunt and brothers made her traped. She took the responsibility of looking after them. She could not move on and leave them (although in the end they did except Baba). However i do believe that Bim wanted to be free and be much happier but the chances of her doing so were quite slim in her mind. She had to much on her shoulders. Baba was also traped, he was traped by his mental state. He to was afriad of change. He still played with his gramophone and the pebbles that he had ever since he was young. He was not as keen to his surroundings as others so he did not grasp what it was to be different and to change. He just accepted things as they were. Tara and Raja were the two that were free from the Old delhi life and the house. They lived in the New Delhi, Both were married and had children of their own and had a good standrad of living. However Tara still can be seen as one who was traped for she was traped in her mind. She wasn't exactly like how she presented herself to Bakul. She had this inna child that she wanted to release but kept it inside her for it was traped for she would not dare let it out for her daughters and her husband especially would be disapointed with her actions. She was also intimidated by Bim. Raja at first felt traped in Old Delhi and his bord lifestyle. However after he moved to live with Hyder Ali Sahib and became a man of wealth, i don't believe he felt traped anymore and was quite content with his life, although probably he would like a better relationship between him and Bim.
ReplyDeleteShemez
Freedom and Entrapment is one of the themes in Clear Light of day. This theme can be demonstrated through the characters mainly Bim, Tara, Raja and Baba.
ReplyDeleteBim:
We see here that BIm's entrapment is willful. She has the choice whether or not to move out of Old Delhi but she chooses to stay hiding behind the excuse of Baba and her pupils. Baba is clearly not a baby and does not have to be babied but one sometimes wonders what he thinks about on his mind as he remains quiet throughout the novel. She clearly has a chance at freedom but choses to remain entrapped.
Tara:
Tara is a perfect example of these two terms. She has acheived freedom to an extent from Old Delhi, using Bakul as a means of escape. She thinks she has gotten away from her past but when she travels back to Old Delhi to visit Bim we see that her past comes back to haunt her and see that she is still mentally entrapped. Evidence of this is when she cannot let go of Bim being attacked by the bees. She is still apologizing for things that have gone so long ago and we see that although physically she has been freed into the realms of New Delhi she is still entrapped emotionally and mentally to Old Delhi.
Raja:We see here that Raja is the only one who has attained complete freedom. He has left Old Delhi behind alon with his siblings, and has moved on to his own dreams and aspirations. He never even bothers to visit and prefers to commmunicate by letters to his family. He gets married, has kids and basically has his own life leaving all good and bad memories of his past behind.
Baba:
He like Bim has a chance at freedom, but fear takes the best of him. He was too afraid of Hydr Ali's horse and everytime he goes out he runs right back in. He too choses this entrapment and we are not clear if he can really talk at all as all he does is stay out of the lime light and listens to his same old records on his gramophone, playing his same old games. He has no intentions of tryong to take over the family business, which is basically going to ruins, and he has no intentions at mking any attempts at freedom.
Through these characters we are able to grasp the concept of the importance of this theme to the novel, and we are able to get an insight into the character's personalities through their actions.
freedom an entrapment, each character in "Clear light of day" in some way or another have experience one of these two major themes.
ReplyDeleteBaba:
We all can see that baba is physically entrapped.His condition whatever it may be prevents him from changing,he maintain in the same cycle everyday of his life. Listening to the same old record, playing the same old games. i believe that he tries to change, by making an attempt to go to the office when Tara asked him to.THat show that he wants to change, to be the man that he ought to but is trapped by his natural state.
Tara: To me represents a pseudo freedom, on the outskirts one would think that she is freed from old Delhi, her home and family.But that is completely the opposite physically she is still trapped, she is controlled by her husband just as she was with BiM. As a little girl Tara use to comply to whatever Bim demand of her. Tara in a sense still represent that little girl because she is still being controlled by another person.
Mentally she is still trapped because of her guilt. the guilt of not helping her when she was attacked by bees which also represent the guilt of not staying and help with Baba.
Bim: represent forced entrapment., she has the ability to escape from this world but chooses not. Through her loyalty to her family she suffocates her dreams and ambition.She willfully keeps up this look of shabbiness, not only with herself but with the house.eg(the gardening and the painting) to suppresses herself further in a trap.She hates to waste food but spends more on history books.i think she did this to further the guilt of her siblings for not staying an help with Baba.
i am going to do my pg project on Anita desai's clear light of day.
ReplyDeletei need sum titles for my project. pls help me