–How does justice work in the world of “Punishment”? What happens when one tells the truth? What happens when one lies?
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
–Explain the significance of the details Tagore offers about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam. How do they help us understand the events of the story?
–How do you understand the title of the story?
–As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband. How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?
–Explain the significance of the details Tagore offers about the marriage between Chandara and Chidam. How do they help us understand the events of the story?
It outlines and gives insight to the relationship between Chidam and Chandara at the same time changing the way we thought of Chandara accepting to be thrown under the bus. It helps understand the story better after questioning that a husband would throw his own wife under the bus to save his brother. It gives insight into the tensions between the two and the type of personality the two possessed. Chandara with an independent and authoritative personality clashed with Chidam’s authoritative personality and it shows that Chidam was simply fed up with Chandara not following his orders and sort of fed into the opportunity of locking her away or having her receive a death sentence. Tagore points out that Chidam would rather have Chandara than deal with her day to day not listening to him.
As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband. How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?
When put in front of the British judgement by the sides of her husband and her brother in law, Chandara states that she loves her husband. This prompts her husband to confess to the lies and her brother in law to confess to the crime. However, it is too late and Chandara will be hung. Her last words was wishing her husband eternal damnation in Hell. The continuity of these two statements can be explained to that no matter what she says, she did not love Chandara and this whole taking on the lies was just a plot to escape a loveless marriage. At this point of her death, she had no reason to lie anymore and Chandara revealed her true feelings to the world and readers.
How do you understand the title of the story?
I think this title is very interesting in terms of how Tagore use characterization to implies different characters’ ending. “Punishment” in my opinion is an action to penalize people who have done something wrong. However, “punishment” in this story is different because it seems not just the guilty people were punished, innocent person was also punished. I believe this title implies the theme of the whole story which Tagore depicted. The author use “Punishment” to show his readers that due to some values of society, minority are sometimes being sacrificed despite they are innocent. In the story, Chandara is a minority in this conservative and patriarchal society where she does have a free will even though she is eager to obtain her free will. Throughout the story, every main characters are punished at the end : Chidam loses his wife as well as the love of his wife, while Chandara loses her life despite she does not commit the crime. I also believe Chandara chooses to punish herself as her last and only free will. Chandara, like Du Tenth is, chooses to die as a way to control their own destinies. By punishing herself, Chandara also gains her control over other people, which is the pride that she desires to have in her life. Chidam, on the other hand, is also punished by his choice. He would never able to regain Chandara’s love and his control of his wife.
Chandara took the responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law because she wanted to remain in control of her own destiny. Chandara’s husband struggles to maintain the power in his marriage, and Chandara has had enough. They have been going through marital issues for quite sometime, and the argument boils down to Chandara’s husband attempt to lock her in a room to keep her to himself. I believe Chandara is a hero, because she chooses to die, knowing it is her decision rather than stay in the controlling marriage she was suffocating within.
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
When Chandara took the responsibility for the crime she did not commit the initial thought i had was “that will teach them”. I felt as if she was taking responsibility out of spite. So that her husband could feel responsible and guilty for her death. Being treated without respect all those years drove her bestow upon him the ultimate punishment. She put her blood on his hands, and with that on his mind his life would be miserable.
–As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband. How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?
Chandara loved and hated her husband at the same time, even though they always have fought with each other. They once loved, She still loved him in the deep of her heart, but she couldn’t accept the truth that her lover sacrifices her for his brother. That’s why she hates him, at this moment the love is destroyed. Her last hope on him is destroyed by him. She says ” to hell with him,” is because she hates him and she is disappointed at his love to her. she wants to escape from this marriage and die rather than continues this unmeaning marriage.
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
Chandara chose to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law for her own sake, not in order to save her brother-in-law. After realizing the extremity to which Chidam will go for his brother, and realizing the insignificance that women are associated with in society, Chandara decides to die on her own terms. Depite Chidam’s efforts to save her, she takes the fall in the end. I think this makes her both a victim and a hero, being victimized by the one she thought loved her most as well as societal standards, but also serving as her own hero.
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
In doing so, Chandara’s telling her husband that she won’t be controled by him. she chooses her destiny. She’s rather die than to compel to submit to her husband. I think she’s a hero. She’s brave and she’s got her own special personalities. When her husband has affair with other woman. Instead of being silent, she goes out looking for men. She’s telling her husband. she is not repuired to be submissive to him and they are eaqual. She won’t pretend nothing has happened. Her behaviors is bold and brave. She could die to deffend her belief.
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
After Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister in-law, I believe that her husband and brother in-law see her as a hero, but I see her as a victim. Her husband and brother in-law see’s her as a hero because she’s sacrificing her life to save her brother in-law’s life. Her husband was the one that asked her to take the blame and even though she didn’t really want to, she did it anyway because she loved her husband and she knew that her husband loved his brother. I see Chandara as the victim because she lost her life for a crime that she didn’t commit. Even when her husband and her brother in-law was telling the truth to try and save her, the judge didn’t believe them and Chandara was put to death.
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law is very childish. It doesn’t even make sense for her to take responsibility for it, but she does it anyways. In my opinion, she did it to smite her husband. He sold out on her, and she decided to get revenge against him by disobeying him and doing the exact opposite of what he wanted. She basically killed herself just so she could stick it to her husband for betraying her. I see her as a victim of her stubbornness. Killing herself is such an extreme way of getting revenge.
How do you understand the title of the story?
For me, I think the title of this short story deals with women and their role in society. In “Punishment” we see that women are not very superior like the men are. It’s as if they were non-existent because their opinions were not needed and were only made to be a housewife. When Chandara’s sister-in-law opens her mouth to answer back her husband about not making food, he kills her. This is a prime example of how women are “punished” when they try to open up and speak their mind. Also, when Chandara takes the blame for the death of her sister-in-law, yes it was her choice and to also kill herself; but it seems as if she were to stay alive, it would just be a constant punishment living with her husband and not having a say in anything at all.
As she approaches death, Chandara both says, “to hell with him,” and maintains that she loves her husband. How do you reconcile these two apparently contradictory statements?
Chandara’s love for her husband is menial. She chose to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law when her husband asked her to do so because she loves him unconditionally. In the meanwhile, her love fell into despair. Therefore, she refused to see him before she dies, and she says “to hell with him”. She is disappointed. If she could not make her husband loves her as much as she loves him, she rather takes the responsibility as he wished and makes him remember her with regret forever.
In this story, an innocent bystander was punished and the guilty party was let free. This displays how a modern courtroom can go by every standard that is used today and still convict a party that did not commit the crime. This also shows how caste or social class was important to criminal proceedings. The first man Chandara’s lies to is a man of high caste. His words carried more weight than any of the other lower caste witnesses.
I also believe that Chandara’s husband was still punished for his lie. He was obviously ravaged with guilt for framing his wife and in a way that guilt has created its own punishment. It was like Chandara was punishing him in her own way.
An innocent bystander was punished and the guilty party was let free. This displays how a modern courtroom can go by every standard that is used today and still convict a party that did not commit the crime. This also shows how caste or social class was important to criminal proceedings. The first man Chandara’s lies to is a man of high caste. His words carried more weight than any of the other lower caste witnesses.
I also believe that Chandara’s husband was still punished for his lie. He was obviously ravaged with guilt for framing his wife and in a way that guilt has created its own punishment. It was like Chandara was punishing him in her own way.
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
I personally see her as a hero. She loved her husband and she chose to die because she couldn’t handle her marriage situation. Killing herself may seem like she is doing it to get back at him but the truth is that after she’s gone, there’s nothing left. So I think she is a hero.
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
Chandara’s decision to take the blame for the death of her sister-in-law is not well thought of, and somewhat foolish, but it is her decision, not her husband’s. She does it to prove a point, that she is in control of her life despite that leading to her own death. She would rather die in control rather that being submissive to her husband’s rules and desires. That shows a lot of her personality. Both choices were bad but she would have ended up being a victim either way. She was a victim to her husband but her determination to let go makes her a hero.
What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
I personally see her as a heroic character . She loved her husband so much and chose death because she was unable to cope with the situation. It is unfair to the husband but for something that drastic to happen the situation at home was clearly not worth living for her.
Chandara is a hero in a way because she shows she is a strong woman. She is not a hero because she saved her husband’s brother but a hero because she stands up to him. She says screw him that shows that she loves and hates him. That was her revenge to him to attack him mentally.
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
The reason why Chandara takes responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law is that she loves her husband, Chidam, and brother-in-law,Dukhiram. Even though Chidam and Dukhiram see Chandara as a hero, but I see her as a victim. Firstly, the person who tells to landlord about murder is Chandara is Chandara’s husband. I think this is really poor situation for her. She loves her husband so much but her husband makes her murder for saving his brother. Even it is her choice to become a murder instead her brother-in-law, it is victim because she died.
–What do we make of Chandara’s choice to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law? Do you see her as a hero or as a victim?
The desperation and hopelessness makes Chandara chooses to take responsibility for the death of her sister-in-law. As a woman exists inside of social structure, Chandara has no power in the society and her own marriage. When she finds out that Chidam sacrifices her to save brother, she experiences betrayed by her lover and despairs within her marriage. Chandara is a hero to control her own fate, which she rather die than suffering in her life. She is a victim as well. In the caste system, Chandara represnts those women who have limit ability to improve situation. In temporary society, justice system is not complete enough to save a innocent woman.
–How does justice work in the world of “Punishment”? What happens when one tells the truth? What happens when one lies?
In this story one sees how the justice system is the opposite of ideal. When Chidam lies about his wife being responsible for the murder of his sister-in-law, everyone believes him. It is easy to believe because the two women were fighting constantly, so much that the neighbors ignored them anytime the women were yelling at each other. However, when Chidam tells the truth because he seems to have a change of heart and begins to feel guilty about blaming his wife, no one believes him. Dukhiram even confesses to having murdered his wife but to the judge, this is a pure act. The judge believes that the men are lying in order to save Chandara, when in reality they are speaking truthfully.