the farewell party Flashcards
impression of Bina (lonely)
“bina was a frigid and friendless woman”
- cold person without any friends
- society she belonged to was cruel to her because of her husband’s position and her spastic child who had no chance of doing well and the society would not make any concessions for her
impression of Bina (dedicated and devoted)
“her back almost literally broken by the weight of the totally dependent child and of the three smaller ones who seemed perpetually to clamour for their share of attention”
- tough time in small town managing family and life.
-has 4 children and one of them was spastic and heavily reliant. had to spend a lot of time caring and being devoted to children.
impressions of Bina (meticulous)
“Before the party she made a list, faintheartedly, and marked off the items that were dealt with”
- Bina’s carefulness with minor details of the party and the stress present in her mind to impress the guests with her arrangements.
- she puts in a lot of effort to ensure the party is a success, but shows how utterly self-conscious she was
- keen to impress these people who were part of the upper class because they were the right kind of people.
impression of Bina (stressed)
“crawled through” the days to survive. “almost broken by the weight” of her child. “All her children’s activities have “crushed together” and put an overwhelming amount of stress on her. she is stressed and heavily burdened by societal expectations and demands
impression of Bina (stubborn)
- labelled by society ladies as “queer, proud boring and difficult” for being silent and not participating actively in social activities
- “stiffly refused” to acknowledge the hierarchies of work and society
impression of Raman (eager to please)
“Harassed, perspiring, his feet burning” , “pleased to be saved the strain of having to converse with his motley assembly of guests”
- Raman worked tirelessly to ensure that the party would be a success
- however, as an introvert, he avoided conversation with his guest despite being the host of the celebrations.
- oddly, he sidelines himself at his own party
impression of Raman (queer / odd)
“he was a social pariah”
- although Raman was a part of this elite society, he was awkward by nature
- he tends to withdraw within his own self and go on long walks and indulge in quaint hobbies
impression of commissioner and his wife (commanding)
- commissioner was the highest-ranking government and demanded most space and attention
- presence of them showed Bina and Raman were part of the upper class.
- However, Mrs Ray asks them “Why are you leaving us so soon, Mrs Raman? You’ve only been here — two years, is it?” when in reality, Bina’s family has been there for 5 years.
- this shows that she does not remember how many years Bina and Raman has been here for
- she is also annoyed with Bina for not “help(ing) out at the Red Cross Fair.”
- Mrs Ray’s cold silence is enough to show her displeasure towards Bina
literary device: repetition
“ ‘You used to be my chief inspiration —‘ ‘Inspiration?’ “
- Bose from the museum appear less glamorous and seem a little pathetic as compared to the other business executives and their spouses
- he keeps paying executives and their spouses
- humble Bose keeps showering praises on Bina.
- because he is seen as lower class than her
- Bina visits the museum to groom her children better
- in return he would ask her to judge children’s competition
- gives Bina some social prominence
literary device: irony
“It was so nice knowing you were in town and that i could count on you”
- They were all courteous and polite to each other and expressed how much they would miss Bina and Raman and how lost they would feel because they were leaving
- in reality, it was a gathering of outsiders who were actually alien to each other
“congratulating him on his promotion”
- Even though he was being transferred to Bombay, Raman was ironically being congratulated and celebrated for being promoted.
- highlights the superficiality of the party
- they pretend to be proud, happy and envious for each other
- but only thought of themselves and how they would be able to climb the social ladder
literary device: juxtaposition
“school-scuffed shoes and her tea-party best”
“an honest individuality .. those beautifully dressed and poised babblers lacked”
- From the way Mrs D’ Souza dresses, evident that she does not belong to the same social class as the rest of the attendees at the party.
- Bina compares how true and authentic Mrs D’ Souza was as compared to those who dress well and successful in society
- yet merely faked their affection for each other
literary device : dark setting
“forgotten to provide lights”
“no moon” would be “very dark on the lawn”
- dark setting mirrors the darkness within them
- which is the hypocrisy of what is happening in the society
- where they fake their affection of each other, fake being happy, proud and envious of others achievements and only worry about themselves if they are able to climb up the social ladder
