Rabindranath Tagore “Punishment” – Abdulla

“Punishment,” by Rabindranath Tagore, and “Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass” both have the foundational sense of imprisonment in common. They both showcase a class that is disadvantaged and considered insignificant by the rest of the society. In “Punishment,” the two brothers Dukhiram and Chidam Rui are both part of a lower cast which is why they’re treated poorly compared to others. “…They were not paid normal labourers’ wages; indeed, they were paid mainly in insults and sneers.” Due to the fact that they were born into a specific group, they weren’t considered significant enough to be paid at all. The work that they did was considered worthless and the choice of payment was given to the people that are higher up in the system. This correlates immensely with the experiences of Frederick Douglass during the slavery era in America. During this time certain white Americans place themselves on a pedestal and imprisoned African Americans and black Americans for simply being who they are. It had nothing to do with what they did or for any other reason but it was simply because they were born into a system that was disadvantageous for them. Frederick Douglass stated that “were the slaveholders at once to abandon this practice, I have not the slightest doubt they would lead to an immediate insurrection among the slaves.” And in this, he is talking about the slave holders allowing the slaves to have fun and let loose during the Christmas holiday. The idea was that if you give them something good then they would not be as poorly affected by all the bad. For them it was a party, for the individuals in “Punishment,” it was the potential to earn some money. Both of these were heavily disadvantaged because society told them it was going to be that way at birth. And internally they knew that it was going to be like this until the day that they died.