Literature from Another Culture

Well, recently in class we have been delving into the novel The Guide by R. K. Narayan, an Indian novel that so far, with my interest in Buddhism, I have found extremely interesting.  I have been flipping the leaves over constantly, continuing to read past what is required because of its insnaring plot.  I have been able to relate this book to another that I read in high school, and one that I can almost assuredly state, is required reading of American high school students, To Kill a Mockingbird.  That novel, when I was first introduced to it, seemed to be of little interest to me, and one that I would read, but would most likely only be reading it because it's required.

But that was not so with that novel, or with this one. Once I got past the first few pages, I have become enraptured with the simplicity of the novel, yet how simple and direct the writing style is.  I have nearly finished the novel, and we have not been slated to finish it until another week.  This was the same way with To Kill a Mockingbird, I started and finished the novel in a little under two days.

So far I have learned how simplistic an Indian community is, and how devoted they can be to a person or ritual, belief is something deeply rooted in their society. As is a diligence in ones duties. This novel, and the authors style shows how there is little need for details in ones life, and in a novel.  He shows the simplicity that is India's somewhat laid-back living.  It really shows to me how here in America we have become obsessed with the minute details and descriptions, needing everything to be complex and difficult, even when it need not be.  It puts the difference in religion and social norms in perspective and shows just how different two nations can be.