1. Prepared by: MAHADI KAMALUDIN (G1228277) DELL/KIRKHS
ENGL7008 COMPARATIVE WORLD LITERATURE PRESENTATION 1: RABINDRANATH
TAGORE: SELECTED SHORT STORIES Prepared for: PROFESSOR DR. MOHAMMAD
A. QUAYUM THE POSTMASTER The Postmaster Rabindranath Tagore
Translated & Introduced by: Professor Dr. Mohammad A.
Quayum
3. Summary This story revolves around the life of a postmaster
who is appointed to hold the post in the small village of Ulapur.
Originally from the busy city of Calcutta; tries to adapt his new
lonely life in the remote village. Managed to get a friendship
& companionship from an orphan girl name Ratan until the girl
is attached & dependent on him. Decided to leave Ulapur after
he recovered from his fever.
4. Theme 1. Sense of Belonging & Separation ~The
Postmaster: to live in the city/ mother, elder sister & elder
brother ~Ratan: to remember her family/ mother, father & little
brother 2. Companionship ~different caste/socio-economic status
~level of education ~generation gap 3. Reciprocal Relationship
~both lonely-chat, eat & spend time together ~call the
Postmaster Dada Babu parental figure ~teach Ratan how to read
5. Literary Criticism Theories 1. Marxist Criticism: Marxist
criticism focuses on how works mirror complex historical, social
& cultural realities and in its concentration on the plight of
the marginalized in society ( Schmidt & Crockett,2009). ~ He
was assisted in his housework by a destitute orphan girl, in return
for a little food. (p. 1) master & servant ~Ratan would be
sitting on the doorstep and waiting for that call, but she never
came into the house immediately. (p.2) loyal & obedient ~ Dada
Babu, will you take me to your home? How could I do that!, said the
postmaster with a laugh. He never bothered to explain to the girl
why it is not possible. (p.5)
6. 2. Post Colonial Criticism: Post colonial criticism focuses
its attention in two directions: at literary texts currently being
produced in former colonial regions, to discover the ways in which
they respond to the impact of colonialism and its aftermath on
their cultures, and at canonical texts to discover evidence of
colonial themes. ( Schmidt & Crockett, 2009). ~The title of the
short story: The Postmaster; no proper noun is used for the main
character except Dada Babu > social position represents
superiority/class/caste. ~The was an Indigo factory nearby and,
using his influence, its English proprietor had managed to get a
post office establish. (p.1) source of change
7. Characters & Characterization 1. The Postmaster: ~early
20s-not married, the youngest in his family (like Tagore)
~educated/privileged background/high caste ~lack in social skills:
confused or arrogant. (p.1) ~feel alone & exiled-expresses
happiness with poetry 2.Ratan: ~around 12-13 years old, the eldest
in the family ~orphan/illiterate ~innocent/nave about different
gender relationship & marriage customs
8. Issues 1.Reality of Life: Separation & death are a
recurrent fact of life. What is the point of going back? Arent we
all solitary on this earth? (p.7) BUT the reason the Postmaster
wants to leave the village because he wants to be closer to his own
family members. Solitary? 2.Hope: Ratan hopes to be apart of the
Postmasters life; changed how she addresses the Postmaster Sir do
you need any
9. 3. Indias traditional marriage customs: close interaction
between the Postmaster & Ratan- lead to misunderstanding to
others-Ratan has reached the appropriate age of marriage- child
marriage is common in Indian at this period of time. The prospects
of her getting married soon looked faint (p.1)
10. Important Lines 1.Occasionally he wrote poetry expressing
romantic sentiment of happinesssensitive persons life would be
revived again (p.1) Postmasters temporary loneliness. 2. An odour
emittedcomplaining repeatedly to the world (p.3) ~ Symbolizes the
Postmaster expressing his loneliness. 3. The young Ratan was no
longer a little girl Are you feeling a little
11. Reading & References Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths
and Helen Tiffin, The Post Colonial Studies Reader, Routledge:
London and New York, 2006. Quayum, Mohammad, trans. Rabindranath
Tagore: Selected Short Stories, New Delhi: Macmillan, 2011.
Schmidt, Jan Zlotnik & Crockett, Lynne, Portable Legacies,
Wadsworth: Cangage Learning, 2009.
