Topic

Background of Author

The Story Line

Leading Characters

Personal Opinion

Outline

Author

Full Name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami

Born 10 October 1906

Died 13 May 2001

Notable award Padma Vibhushan, Sahitya Akademi AwardAC Benson Medal

Raju is a railway guide who becomes fall love with Rosie, a neglected wife of Marco. Rosie has a passion for dancing which Marco doesn't approve of. Rosie, encouraged by Raju, decides to follow her dreams and walks out on her husband. Raju becomes her stage manager and soon with the help of Raju's marketing tactics, Rosie becomes a successful dancer. The relationship between Raju and Rosie is strained.

The Story Line

Raju inadvertently gets involved in a case of forgery and gets a two year sentence.

On his release from prison, Raju stops to rest near an abandoned temple, where a villager named Velan mistakes him for a holy man. Raju is content with the arrangement, until a drought occurs, and, to save face, he has to take up a 12-day fast. He continues to fast until he collapses. His legs sag down as he feels that the rain is falling in the hills. The ending of the novel leaves unanswered the question of whether he dies, or whether the drought has really ended.

Raju, the central character.

Raju is in a sense a double character.

As a tour guide and lover, he is impulsive, unprincipled, and self-indulgent.

After his imprisonment, and after his transformation as a holy man, he is careful, thoughtful, and self-disciplined.

Leading Character

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Rosie is the another central character. Rosie is an attractive young wife of 'Marco'. Her husband is like God to her. She is very passionate about dancing. She is religious by nature as she believes in Goddess Saraswati Passionate Nature. She is a true lover.

A central theme of the novel is the transformation of Raju from his role as a tour guide to that of a spiritual guide. The title of the novel, The Guide, has a double meaning, and Raju is in a sense a double character. The novel also tells two stories, that of Raju’s relationship with Rosie as tour guide and that of Raju’s relationship with the villagers as a holy man. Raju is a sympathetic character throughout the novel.

Personal Opinion

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