CMP 2850 Final Project Blog

Rabindranath Tagore’s Punishment tells a short story of the relationship between two couples, who are in-laws to one another. In Punishment, Dukhiram Rui and Chidam Rui, siblings, reside within the same section of land as well as work within the farms. Their spouses Radha and Chandara fight violently with one another day after day while they're out, and the entire town can overhear them yelling. Life is challenging for them because all of them are from lower castes. Dukhiram and Chidam frequently don't get paid the amount they are entitled together for their own labor. Following morning, Dukhiram is starving as he arrives home. As he requests meals, his wife Radha reprimands him, questioning how she can prepare it if he has not given her any ingredients. Dukhiram, who has had enough of the day's proceedings and is upset by this argument, kills Radha inside the skull out of fury. Radha died immediately after. The couple's son cries out in fear. Ramlochan Chakrabarti, the brothers' landowner, arrives to ask about its unpaid rent and discovers the murder scene and a distraught Dukhiram. Ramlochan is informed by Chidam that his wife Chandara murdered Radha during one of their fights to safeguard his brother. Ramlochan supports Chidam and offers him legal assistance on how to save his wife. Chidam is now imprisoned by his own falsehood. With the promise of saving her from the situation, Chidam eventually pressures Chandara to telling the authorities she committed the crime. Once the authorities arrived, Chandara does affirm to the crime, but she doesn't carry out her plan. She thinks she'd perhaps be crucified than stay with Chidam if her spouse is going to switch on her to have her suffer the consequences for whatever Dukhiram committed. And so, Rabindranath Tagore’s Punishment highlights the toxicity culture dynamic between males and female in a traditional Indian culture within not just a marital relationship but in society as well.

Adding on to this, Jamacia Kincaid’s “Girl” is a theatrical dialogue primarily presented in the second person, "Girl" is about a girl. There is no timeframe or established storyline in the piece, which itself is categorized as a prose poetry. Despite the lack of information about their bond, it is assumed that the narrator is a mother lecturing her daughter. The mother speaks with such a threat in her words as well as in her style of speaking. A succession of directions and orders are joined with a punctuation in a paragraph that serves as the plot. Now that she is sexually mature, the girl is given advice regarding how to act like an adolescent and is instructed what it takes to be a respected woman. On two counts, the mother is interrupted by the daughter's voice in disagreement, but she simply keeps speaking in a cold, frequently accusing tone while using the words "don't," "do," as well as "how." The narrative examines the harmful social norms and obligations that society places on young girls who are transitioning into women.

Both short stories create an interesting dynamic on the way both social and gender roles are perceived. For Tagore’s Punishment, culture comes into play when it comes to martial bond versus the familial bond of both brothers to their wives. As seen from the frustration of Dukhiram that lead him to kill his wife, wives should not push their husband by being rude or sarcastic or make a mockery of them, then it appears to the husband that their wife does not respect them and sees themselves as “above” their husbands, which is something forbidden in a strict hostile culture as Dukhiram was expecting to come home to a meal after working all morning and afternoon at the field. Tagore plays out the character of Radha and uses the moment she gets murdered by her own husband for being fed up with their lower caste status to show her true purpose in marriage with Dukhiram, which is merely these few things make Radha useful—childbirth, sex, food, etc.—and if she is unable to fulfill these needs, she loses her value. Her tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the state of women in general. As the narrative develops, we witness instances of disposable characters when Chandara is not presented with the opportunity to choose her own destiny as her own husband blurts out to their landlord, “…In their quarrel, Chotobau struck at Barobaru’s head with farm knife.’ When immediate danger threatens, it is hard to think of other dangers. Chidam’s only thought was to escape from the terrible truth” (Tagore, I).

As said by her spouse, the woman turned violent and was to be subjected to punishment on accordance with that singled out to animals who turn violent. Her right to be tried fairly was denied because her brother-in-law and spouse conspired to falsify. Chandara as well as women throughout this tale are entities, disposable items. A brother and a man are irreplaceable. This idea that such a particular class of individuals are disposable marks the beginning of the dehumanizing procedure. Women are depicted as disposable, disposable entities in Tagore's "Punishment." Dehumanization's characteristics vary depending upon the disposability. Women have been depicted by Tagore as being disposable in order to illustrate how primitive their culture is. Adding to this, the short narrative gives us a glimpse into the type of marriage that Chidam and Chandara enjoyed at one point. Chandara is brave and doesn't hesitate to dominate Chidam, she acts as she pleases, and so “Chidam glared at his wife and said, ‘If I ever hear that you’ve been to the ghat on your own, I’ll break every bone in your body.’ ‘The bones will mend again,’ said Chandara, starting to leave. Chidam sprang at her, grabbed her by the hair, dragged her back to the room and locked her in” (Tagore, II). Chandara challenges Chidam to take action about her defiance by implying that she isn't concern about what he does since she'll do it again nonetheless, and since Chidam finds it “hard to restrain his wife as to hold a handful of mercury” (Tagore, II), he turns to aggression and imprisonment against his wife in to continue to degrade her to further illustrate to her that she is disposable.

Rabindranath Tagore confronts the issue and gives voice to a group that has been silenced by exposing the brutalization of women. His depiction of women as insignificant and disposable provokes discussion. Chandara's supreme selflessness liberates herself from her spouse and culture. Chandara containing “such fierce, passionate pride,” (Tagore, III) finally proves her value as a woman as well as a contributor to culture. She resists to devalue her dead sister-in-law, rising beyond the self-centeredness and childishness of her initial characterization. Chandara is a call for fairness and just a way to promote the value, respect, and presence of women all around society. And so, in the end, Chandara chooses death over marital relationship and declares her marriage to Chidam to be over in the most dramatic and extreme way imaginable, with her last words being, “To hell with him” (Tagore, III).

In Jamacia Kincaid’s “Girl” there are clear themes of dominating gender roles that the mother tries to push onto her daughter because she is a girl who transition to a young woman of society. The mother gives a girl—the audience is unaware of her name—instruction on crucial life principles. She starts with laundry, instructing her daughter over how and how often to rinse both colorful and white apparels. She teaches her kid how to prepare things like fish as well as pumpkin fritters. She also warns her daughter about going outside in the scorching sun without a hat. She poses a query to her daughter, “is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?” (Kincaid, 1044) Within her question, there is symbolism in why she points out the singing of benna in Sunday school. In the past, local Antiguans used the benna song to covertly disseminate scandalous tales and chitchat underneath the unaware British folks. Furthermore, chanting benna within Sunday school seems to be an example of both defiance and the informed debate of corrupt, prohibited material outside of the context of church. The daughter might not even intentionally associate benna with sexual behavior like her mother has, but her complaints imply that she is fully aware of benna's alluring force, secrecy, and taboo characteristics. The girl's persistent, touching on frantic protestations might also suggest perhaps she truly sang benna in Sunday school alongside her classmates, a symptom of her growing interest in males in addition to a signal of her annoyance at her mother's counsel as well as interference onto her private life. So, when the mother askes this to her daughter, fully blinded by the association of benna with sexual desires, she doesn't sit tight for the response, though, since she is convinced, it is accurate. The mother then shifts the conversation to a less offensive but nevertheless extremely accusing subject, such how the daughter should behave by telling her how to “always eat your food in such a way that it won’t turn someone’s else stomach” (Kincaid, 1044).

These words of wisdom are mixed with instructions on how to perform everyday tasks like cleaning and preparing meals. She additionally warns the young woman about going bareheaded towards the sunlight. But the mother's major concern is to prevent her daughter from developing the reputation of a slut or being viewed as one. The mother's comments shift to even more melancholy topics like decency and manners, instructing daughter to “try to walk like a lady and not the slut you are so bent on becoming” (Kincaid, 1044) and instead become the ideal woman to blend in with the area where they reside. The mother repeating the word “slut” in reference to her daughter appears in the text many times, by saying things like, “this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming” and “this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (Kincaid, 1045). The mother holds the opinion that teaching her daughter how to care for a home not just prevent her against leading a promiscuous but also licentious life but could also give her the confidence to lead her family and contribute to the society. Essentially, she thinks that there are simply two kinds of women: dignified ladies and "sluts." Unquestionably, having a strong sense of domesticity helps numerous Antiguan women be more productive, thus earns them recognition from their families and community. Hence, taking responsibility for the household not only keeps women occupied and free of desire, but also gives women authority and sometimes even status. Due to the substantial potential directions, she provides her daughter, including how to make pumpkin fritters, clean, cultivate okra, purchase bread, as well as rinse clothing, we can see that the mother reveres the strength of womanhood.  For her, being a housewife gives respect; hemming a garment represents more than just a work activity since it protects a woman's standing as a sexual being in society.

The mother also mentions “this is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it becomes a child” (Kincaid, 1045), what the mother is really saying about this abortion-inducing drug is that it also cautions the girl to not even lament surrendering if following her advice concerning how to respect a male doesn't somehow succeed. She issues a warning about how often men but also women “bully” each other. The mother additionally gives the daughter social instruction on “how you smile to someone you don’t like too much; this is how you smile to someone you don’t like completely; this is how you smile to someone you like completely” (Kincaid, 1045) showing her how to beam both at individuals she genuinely loves and at the few she seems not to. She also teaches her how to stay away from harmful entities. For instance, she claims that what looks to be a blackbird may actually be something completely different. The approach the mother gave the command hints at the manner in which parents set an example on their kids. The daughter seemed to be absorbing up knowledge by watching. The mother concerns if the daughter will grow up into “the kind of women who the baker won’t let near the bread” (Kincaid, 1045) because when daughter asks what she must do if the bakery refuses to let her verify the quality of the pastry by pressing it. Counseling from the mother comes out as arrogant, harsh, and chastising. She imparts to her daughter the long list of feminine virtues and responsibilities that have been created and hallowed through the years, perhaps in the exact way that the girl's own mother did. When a woman and her daughter will inevitably grow apart due to upcoming puberty, the mother will act as the historical gender authority to continue the stereotypical gender roles presented upon women.

In all, the girl's protests add to the drama of the tale since the author's condescending tone suggests she has very little faith that her daughter would develop into a respectable woman, however, the mother always holds the ultimate say. Overall, her sentences are highlighted whenever the girl tries to intervene. She explains to her mum that she never sings benna on Sundays or in Sunday school. The mother does not really say anything in response and keeps walking. She demonstrates for her daughter how and when to hem a gown, how to create a buttonhole, as well as how to stich a button upon some clothing. She claims that in order to avoid seeming to be "the slut" the girl is "bent on being," her hem will need to be fixed when it comes down. The daughter doesn't react to this remark, so the mother continues to teach her how to clean, wash, and cultivate. The fact that the girl does not react shows a character similarity to Chandara, when she went along with everything Chidam was telling her to do but ultimately only reacted in such a way to earn her own freedom. This freedom is breaking away from the society of strict gender roles placed upon women which is what both the girl and Chandara choose for themselves in completely different ways, which is the girl still doing and protesting against her mother’s demands and Chandara choosing death. So, while, the poisonous cultural interplay between men and women in traditional Indian culture is highlighted in Rabindranath Tagore's Punishment, the short story "Girl" by Jamacia Kincaid explores the negative societal expectations that society throws on adolescent girls who are changing into women.