The Lowland Essay Example

Kumar Mahogany's novel, Com, deals with the conflicts of Penchant, Issuant, Dooryard and Nirvana in Tat- Natal Surrey. The book also provides insight into the background of the Nasality uprising of the sass's, which may be a new experience for non-English readers. In The Lowland, Chumps Lair acknowledges several sources that helped her understand the Nasality movement, including books, a journal, and an interview with Caressed Lesson. Lair admits to years of research and note-taking before feeling comfortable with her understanding of the history. Despite the risks involved with tackling such a complex topic, Lair's novel provides a glimpse into this movement and has sparked lively debates.Although Lair claims that his research was enough to create a lively representation of the youth involved in the Nasality movement, a critical reading of the novel may make one skeptical of these assertions. The political perspective of the story revolves around Subtask and Danna Miter, two brothers, and Gaur, who is Danna's wife first and then becomes Subtask's. While Danna is portrayed as blind to self-constraints, Subtask strives to minimize his existence like other animals that blend in with their surroundings. Lair vividly describes Danna's self-made shortwave radio as a means of accessing news about the world beyond his typical Bengali upbringing of rice, dal, and potatoes. The radio serves as a window into the external world for a typical Bengali youth.The political atmosphere is established by the author in the beginning of the novel, conveying the shattered hopes of young people like I-Jutland who anticipated a government of workers and peasants to eradicate large land holdings. The left wing coalition government, formed after nearly two decades of

Congress leadership, had promised this, but the United Front did not support the rebellion. Instead, home minister Kyoto Bass called in the police when faced with dissent. This led to the West Bengal cabinet authorizing 500 officers and men to raid the region and capture unarmed insurgents who were killed if they refused to surrender. Danna, even comparing golf to bourgeoisie, was deeply shaken by events such as the Cuban Revolution, Vietnam War, and Maxillary uprising. This ultimately led him to get involved in the Nasality movement guided by Charm Major and Kane Sandal. Both brothers were shocked by these events, with Danna personally affected as if struck physically.Mao Sedona led the movement advocating forcible overthrow of the government and upper classes, resulting in violent fissures. The author expresses negative attitudes toward these revolutionaries, detailing their tactics and murky practices, including intimidating voters and firing pipe guns on the streets. They hid bombs in public places, causing fear among people at cinema halls and banks. Their targets were unarmed traffic constables, wealthy businessmen, certain educators, members of the rival party ICP(M), and the killings were gruesome and sadistic. The government renewed an old law created by the British to counter independence to cut off insurgents. Despite political events, Danna married college girl Gaur without familial consent. Subtask serves as a counterfoil to Danna, studying abroad in the United States.According to the author, setting up a contrast between the two brothers adds tension to the story, with one brother involved in politics while the other remains aloof. The author wanted to show how one brother could be seduced by a political movement while leaving the other

indifferent. However, just as readers get prepared to delve into politics, Adman's life takes a tragic turn with the news of Danna's death. The paramilitary had shot and executed him in front of his family members. The author describes the incident with reticence, but it leaves Subtask and readers bewildered until they learn about Danna's role in an unarmed policeman's murder. The description is gruesome and takes away readers' sympathy. It's presented in Lair 105 and 112 Galaxy.The political intrigue in the novel centers around two murders: one carried out by the Insanities and the other by the establishment power. The protagonist, Adman, meets his demise as punishment for his involvement in the killing of an unarmed police officer, which he believed was necessary for the advancement of the revolution. However, with the death of Danna, the political tension subsides. The main characters relocate to the United States and become absorbed in their individual desires, demonstrating a lack of accountability to society. Lair (338) vividly describes one character's act of defacing a wall with the party's initials using fresh blood from his victim.Throughout the majority of the novel, the focus is on the personal lives of Subtask, Gaur, and Bell, with occasional mentions of politics, civil rights, antiwar demonstrations, organic farming, and an Obama sticker. However, in the final section after almost forty years, Gaur shows renewed interest in Danna and West Bengal politics through the use of internet and journals. The readers learn of the death of Nasality leader Kane Sandal and the latest uprising of Nasality in various parts of India and Nepal. Laird notes that "the failure remains an example, the embers

managing to ignite another generation" (Lair 275), making Gaur's character development an intriguing facet of the novel's political plot. While other major characters in the novel appear static, Laird takes care to develop and portray Gaur's growth throughout the book. Initially portrayed as a meek and insignificant girl who gains sympathy after Danna's tragic death, Gaur becomes increasingly opaque as she moves to Rhode Island. She even detaches from her second husband, Subtask, and their daughter Bell, abandoning them for her career.The character development in The Lowland initially creates apathy towards her until it is revealed that she played an unintentional role in the murder of the policeman, Normal Dye. Sari's observations allowed Danna and his comrades to decide the appropriate day and time to attack, making her a partner in the "crime." Although she avoids a similar fate to Danna's, the author punishes her for her actions. In a novel where politics is important, it is expected that events are shown through characters' activities and perspectives. However, in this novel, the author mainly uses an authorial voice to describe political events dispassionately or with covert attitudes, including irony.

After being released from jail, Kane Sandal declared that by the year 2000, the world would be liberated from exploitation and Marxism, Leninism, and Mao Tse-tung's thought would triumph. However, this vision did not become a reality by 2010 when he committed suicide. Throughout the plot, authorial intrusions are present such as when Danna's dedication to a misguided movement caused irreversible damage. The final catastrophe of Danna is portrayed as him feeling the policeman's blood becoming a part of him as he lay dying in the

alley.

The novelist, Lair, showcases sarcasm towards the party's opposition of Sari's second marriage, deeming it "unchaste" to honor Adman's memory. However, after forty years, Gaur cannot find any evidence of Adman's involvement in the movement, nor is there any mention of his actions. Lair also comments on Danna and his comrades, referring to them as "basically kids" and college students. The ideology of the Nasality movement and its political implications are depicted through authorial narration rather than through the characters' thoughts and actions. Critics of the novel frequently note that Nationalism is more accurately summed up by the author rather than the harassers and that characters rarely experience Nationalism. The novel presents the Nasality movement in a haphazard manner, mentioning the political lives of Danna and his comrades without delving into their experiences and activities.The novelist primarily focuses on recounting the political happenings of the time like an unemotional journal, with only a description of events and no sufficient explanations for characters' psychological states. It is mentioned that Danna joined the Nasality movement, but the experiences that led to his transformation from a middle-class individual lacking awareness of the rural peasants' situation are not disclosed. Moreover, his actions and dialogues do not provide clarity on the root cause. Later, when Danna visited the countryside to further his indoctrination, he was instructed to walk fifteen miles each day before sundown and encountered tenant farmers in dire straits.