In the parody “Gandhi 2” Gandhi is shown as a brute, which shoots with guns and hurts people. In addition to that, he personates a womanizer, who likes to party and even eats steak (the cow is a holy symbol in India!).

Gandhi’s real values – for instance his non-violence, passive resistance or his goal to live like an ascetic – are parodied in this movie. In “Gandhi 2” he is no longer the “messiahs”, who he was in the past, but has turned into a killer, a sort of action star we see in today’s movies.

I had a look on “You Tube” and found a clip called “In Search of Gandhi”, but I don’t think that it is the right one, because there is no interviewed person saying that today Gandhi would grab a gun. Here is the link of the clip I found: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=in+search+of+gandhi&search_type=&aq=f

Nevertheless I find this clip quite useful, because it quotes Gandhi and shows once again what his understanding of democracy is – a state where the weakest and the strongest have the same opportunity. Besides Gandhi thinks that not only a few people can achieve a democracy, in his opinion every village has to support it.

To stop the wars and fights in today’s society we need to achieve democracy in every part of the world. If this does not happen there will be always social injustice and insurgence.

2. The next scene takes place in South Africa approximately 55 years earlier. What happens on the train?

Gandhi is thrown off a South African train by British officers, because he travels first class and this is not considered to be accurate for an Indian (or “a coloured person” as they call him). After this happening Gandhi realizes the unfairness and discrimination of British laws.

7. Life in the ashram is a new experience for its members. What do we find out about the relationship between Gandhi and his wife?

The ashram is a community of the whole world. There is neither surpression nor inequality. Gandhi’s wife is a good example for an independent wife, because she doesn’t let herself force to do things she does not want to do. Eeven if she truly loves him and wants to support him, she still has her own mind and does not let herself surpress by her husband or anyone else. I believe that this is why she is so important to Gandhi.

8. Contrast the second meeting that gandhi has about the pass law. Pay special attention to his speech techniques as well as the crowd’s reaction. He also gives his pilosophy of passive resitance. What is it?

Gandhi tries to incorporate his audience and encourages them to support him. His philosophy of passive resistance is about struggling for India’s rights without any sort of violence. Gandhi also outlines the importance of keeping up self-respect and not showing obedience to the British.

20. The end of Part one focuses on one of Gandhi’s fasts. What is the purpose of the fast? What components of spirituality are incorporated into fasting?

All over the country tensions between Hindus and Muslims arised after India’s Independence. Gandhi starts to fast to stop the nation-wide violence.

The spiritual purpose of fasting is the dedication to god. One makes a sacrifice to show one’s spirituality and that one is able to dispense.

Key Scenes:

1. Assassination scene : Gandhy is shot by a fanatic Hindu, afterwards a massive funeral takes place

2. Train Scene : Gandhi gets thrown out of an South African train, because he travelled first class –> British lasw are against Indians

3. Non violent-protest scene: Gandhi protests for the rights of all Indians in South Africa

4. Ashram scene : Gandhi shows a reporter the ashram community, which is build up by people from different nations. (the ashram cummunity shows what Gandhi wants to achieve: Equality of all people and peaceful co-existence of all different religions)

5. Back in India: Gandhi is welcomed by a mass of Indians and and considered as a national saviour. He agrees to campaign for India’s Independence. He travels through India by train.

6. Gandhi visiting a farmer: Gandhi visits a poor and starving farmer, he is curious about getting to know India and its people better.

7. Prison scene: Charlie Andrews, Gandhi’s friend from South Africa, visits him.

8. Massacre scene: British army attacks Indians –> 160 000 casualties.

9. The fast scene: Gandhi fasts to stop the fights between the British and Indians.

10. Salt march scene: The Indians demonstrate at the salt works, it is a non-violent civil resistance

11. Gandhi in England: India’s independence is announced

12. Hindus and Muslims violences: the trouble in India is not over – nation-wide violence because of tensions between Hindus and Muslims

13. Assassination scene: the assassination of Gandhi mirros the opening and shows the viewer once again how tragic Gandhi’s death was and how the Indian people coped with it. The numerous participants at his funeral are a proof of the importance of Gandhi and his struggle for independence and freedom. 

A new culture, a new beginning

Different people, awkward feelings

Adaption or exclusion?

Is this the right place for me?

I am not sure

But what is there that makes me feel like it could be?

Is it only the amity to a certain person?

No, it is not

It is much more than that

A strong affection

Love

On these two pages the narrator has a conversation with Dr. Gopal, an Indian doctor who looks after Chid when he’s at hospital.

Dr. Gopal says Chid’s bad state is due to wrong food and living and explains further on that the climate is not suited to Europeans. With saying “not only Westernerns but even most Indians suffer from amoebic dysentery” (p.146, ll.9/10) the doctor admits that also Indians can be affected by diseases. After a discussion with the narrator, who is not his opinion in some aspects, the doctor seems to even feel superior to the narrator, because he starts laughing while talking to her and ends the discussion up with saying that only Indians are fit to live in a place like India and none of the Europeans. (p.146, ll.20-23). His words “For Indians only! Keep out” (l.25) climax everything the doctor has said before.

Even if the doctor might be right with saying that our European bodies are not made for such a hot country I think that people can adapt to a certain climate after a while. Best examples therefore are the Europeans the narrator mentions on page 147. There are the Englishmen who continued living in India after the Mutiny and also the woman missionary as well as Olivia.

And what about other hot places like Australia, which was also an English colony and full of Europeans nowadays? The people there could adapt to the weather as well so why should it not be possible in India?

To me it seems like the doctor, especially at the end of the discussion does not really talk about the Europeans bodies who suffer from infections, but wants to point at the Europeans, particularly the English, who came to India and took over the Indians’ land. This was not right in his opinion and that is why he becomes so emotionally during the discussion. In my opinion his words “You know in the bad old days you had your Clubs and they were reserved for the British only? Well now it is like this that we have our germs and we have reserved these for ourselves only”.” (p.146, ll. 24/25) show his feelings of injustice the best.

On page 103 the old beggar woman is mentioned for the first time. The narrator sometimes sees her in the Civil Lines area, by the royal tombs or in the bazaar, where she doesn’t ask for alms, but streches her hands out if she is hungry.

On day the narrator finds the beggar woman lying on a refuse dump looking like she was dead.  She can’t believe that it was no one’s business to take her away from that spot, but neither does she bother to see what the condition of the old woman is like. “Later I wondered what had happended to me – that I had not even bothered to go close to see whether she was dead or alive” (p.104, ll.6/7)

In my opinion this is the first change in the narrator’s behaviour because in the beginning of her trip she was always the helpful and caring person, who was constantly concerned about other people like Inder Lal’s wife for example.

After finding the old beggar woman lying at the refuse dump, the narrator talks to Inder Lal about the incident and both go to the alley for a second time. This behaviour shows that the narrator tries to make up for the first time when she didn’t bother to look after the beggar woman. Consequently, in this paragraph there are still traits of the “old narrator” remained.

When Inder Lal warns her not to get close to the old beggar woman, she first can’t understand his behaviour, but afterwards admits that she “for the first time understood the Hindu fear of pollution.” In other words the narrator understands how easily one can get infected in India.

Another change of the narrator is to be found on page 106, where the narrator goes to hospital and asks an Indian doctor to help the beggar woman. She founds out that the only one who really cares for the beggar woman was she. “What I understood best was that the problem of the beggar woman if I wished to undertake it, was now mine. Everyone else had too many problems of their own” (p.106, ll.19-21) And there was another thing she realises – “the old woman was dispensable” (ll.30/31). The narrator admits that she is even surprised with herself while realising that she is changing and becoming like all the other Indians.

All in all, the story of the beggar woman truly shows that the narrator changes during her stay in India and starts to think and behave more and more like the Indians. Though she still tries to help the old beggar woman, she realises after a while that there is no sense in helping her because none of the Indians – except Maji – seems to care for the old woman. The story has shown how different the Indian’s view on poor old people is compared with the European one. Whereas in Europe we try to save everyone’s life, old people in India are dispensable – not worth taking care of any more.

Examine the changes in Olivia’s perception of Douglas.

The change of Olivia’s attitude towards Douglas is shown very clearly on page 110, when Douglas tells Olivia she should have gone to Simla.

Instead of reacting like the understanding wife as usual, Olivia gets really offensive and truly shows her dislike of the English people and their dinner parties. “…one more of those and I’ll lie down and die.” (p.110, ll18-29) She calms herself after that outburst and tries to start another topic, but one can already figure out that the relationship between Douglas and Olivia gets worse. Of course, the two can overact their feelings, but the change especially in Olivia’s perception of Douglas is obvious.

On page 111 Olivia doesn’t look in the direction into which Douglas left for work, but towards Khatm, where the Nawab lives. This behaviour again shows that Olivia starts to get more attracted by the Nawab and diverges from Douglas. The words “But it was true what she had told Douglas: she felt fine – entirely untroubled by the heat or the murky atmosphere. It as if there were a little spring welling up inside her that kept her fresh and gay (in my opinion foreshadowing)” refer to the Nawab and show Olivia’s affection to him.

Analyse what sort of treatment is prescribed for Inder Lal’s wife, and why.

On page 52 we have already found out that Inder Lal’s wife Ritu is not well- physically as well as mentally. That night everyone slept outside the narrator first heard Ritu screaming (“a high-pitched wail piercing through the night.” – p.53, ll. 23, 24)

During the plot Ritu’s condition has become worse and on page 79 the narrator and Chid talk about different methods of treatment. Whereas the narrator has the opinion Ritu needed psychiatric treatment, Chid has a different view on that – to him Ritu might be possessed by an evil spirit which has to be driven out with a red-hot iron.

The views of both show the different adaption to the Indian culture. The narrator still believes in Western methods of healing, Chid however is convinced that Ritu’s malaise can only be treated with an Indian method.

On page 80 the narrator talks to Inder Lal about Ritu’s condition and it is shown that Inder Lal has the same opinion as Chid, he does not belive in psychiatric treatment. “They had tried everything else but had not succeeded in relieving Ritu’s suffering (ll. 5, 6) That again points out that Ritu cannot be healed with Western methods.

Maji advises pilgrimage for Ritu, because in her opinion it is the best way to bring one’s heart at ease. To her part the journey is like “climbing up into heaven” and will bring Ritu back to health.

“Being in favour of a barbaric ritual like the suttee reveals Olivia to be unreasonable, naive and disloyal. Her infatuation with the Indian culture makes her ignore that oppression, barbarism and cruelty are rife in this country.”

In my opinion Olivia doesn’t have an infatuation with the Indian culture. The reason why she speaks positively about the suttee is that she wants to contrast with the other Britsh.

“She had no desire to recommend widow-burning but it was everyone else being so sure – tolerant and smiling but sure – that made her want to take another stand.”

To her it’s not the cruelty she likes about the suttees, it’s moreover showing how much she loves Douglas and not wanting to live without him.

1923: Olivia’s story

pp.56-61

-Compare Beth Crawford’s and Olivia’s reactions to the suttee. Whose attitude do you find most appealing, and why?

The reactions of both women are quite different. Whereas Olivia has the opinion that the English shouldn’t interfere the Indians in their affairs and is even able to understand the wives who want to die after their men’s death, Beth wouldn’t want to be burned with her husband.

After Major Minnies told the story of the voluntary suttee Beth answers: “Too noble for me. Fond as I am of you dear man, I don’t think I could”. Olivia on the other hand says “I just wouldn’t want to go on living.” what shows that she truly loves Douglas and wouldn’t want to live without him. Beth could imagine a life without her husband, what indicates that she is more independent than Olivia and maybe doesn’t set her heart on her husband as much as Olivia does.

I can understand Olivia’s attitude towards the suttee, because living without someone one truly loves is not easy and maybe one sometimes thinks it would have been better to die with him, but on the other hand one can also have quality time after the husband’s death and life still goes on. So all in all I find Beth’s attitude most appealing, because she wants to continue living and shows some kind of power the way she doesn’t want to give up life.

 1970s: The Narrator’s Story

- Write a description of Inder Lal’s wife.

Inder Lal describes his wife Ritu as an unintelligent person, because his mother didn’t want him to marry a very educated woman. Uneducated women don’t make as much trouble as educated ones she says. The narrator thinks that she looks very young, but is so thin and worn with an anxious face. In the beginning of the marriage Ritu was very homesick and her health has been very week since then. She is also a very shy and mentally weak person, because she tries to hide from other persons and has nightmares in the night.