FRITZ BY SATYAJIT RAY

Setting
The short story is set in a circuit house (a dak bungalow generally used by senior government officers for
short stays). It is situated in Bundi, a small town in Rajasthan. The story is set in Bundi, Rajasthan. Time
seemed to stand still in the Fort’s vicinity. Everything looked so antiquated, belonging to the bygone era.
Only the electric pole standing by the road declared that the old times had yielded place to new age. In the
old buildings along the roads, there were unmistakable signs of the old Rajputana’s fabled craftsmanship.
The doors and the balconies had intricate designs made on them. The old golden age of master
craftsmanship appeared to come alive.

Plot Summary
• In Fritz by Satyajit Ray Jayanto can remember the time he was a child and he visited Bundi. Throughout
the story he recalls incidents of his time in Bundi telling Shankar not only about the deodar tree but about
Fritz as well.
• For Jayanto the time he spent in Bundi when he was a child is mostly a happy and innocent time. Apart
from when Fritz was torn apart by two dogs.
• It is also noticeable believes that while he was sleeping Fritz had come into his room and walked across
the bed. Throughout the story Jayanto is uncomfortable. It is full of mystery, foreboding and at times
even horror.
• He spends some of his time in the story worrying, when he at first thinks that the deodar tree is gone. The
tree itself is no more than a marker for Jayanto. Letting him know where Fritz is buried.
• The important thing is that Jayanto thinks he might have lost Fritz forever. Which would again suggest
that Jayanto despite the passing of time has difficulty letting Fritz go. Also, the fact that Jayanto agrees to
have Fritz dug up further suggests that Jayanto has not let Fritz go.
• The past also seems to be controlling Jayanto. His memories as a child differ somewhat from what he
sees as an adult. The chair being an example. When Jayanto was a child he sat in the chair with his legs
crossed believing he was sitting on a throne. However, as an adult he is too big to do the same thing and
as such what he remembers and what is reality for Jayanto are two different things.
• The end of the story is also interesting as the reader is left surprised by what Jayanto and Shankar find
when they are looking for Fritz. They find a twelve-inch human skeleton which leaves the reader
questioning whether Fritz was really a toy or a human. The author is popular for the shocking elements
and endings in his stories and he has done an incredible job in this one as well.

Main Themes:
Themes of friendship and childhood memories are clearly portrayed in the story through the relationship
between Shankar and Jayanto and Jayanto’s recollection of a childhood spent in Bundi.
The whole story is suggestive of the presence of the supernatural. Was the trip to Bundi prompted by a
desire to revisit childhood scenes or was it a sub-conscious desire for closure regarding a beloved childhood
toy?
Throughout the story, there’s a constant feel of foreboding, that Jayanto is not his usual self. He is rather
worried and pensive about something. The past seems is controlling him; he has not let go of his horrible yet
sad memory of his toy Fritz being torn apart by street dogs.
From the beginning the story is full of mystery, a sense of foreboding and at times even horror. The ending
leaves the readers wondering and assuming various possibilities. The reader is left surprised by what Jayanto
and Shankar find when they are looking for Fritz. They find a twelve-inch human skeleton which leaves the

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reader questioning whether Fritz was really a toy or was he human. It is a question that is difficult to answer.
It might also be important to remember that Ray’s intention at the end of the story is to shock the reader
unexpectedly. Something he successfully manages to do. What is really interesting at the end of the story is
that the reader is left with more questions than answers, never really knowing what the truth might be, which
may be the point that Ray is attempting to make. He may be suggesting that what is true for one individual
may not be true for another, something that is noticeable already in the story with Jayanto’s memories being
sometimes different from the reality around him in Bundi. The mystery and horror add a unique taste to the
story which culminates without closure. This allows the reader to imagine and creatively engage with the
characters.

Stylistic Features:
• The story ‘Fritz’ is narrated in first person from Shankar’s perspective and that provides a realistic point
of view, unclouded by Jayanto’s irrational fears and beliefs.
• The passages are long and quite descriptive.
• The story includes a lot of flashbacks; half of the whole story is told in those flashbacks.
• The characters are well-portrayed. Jayanto is a light-hearted person in the beginning but gradually
becomes morose and broods all the time. Shankar is a smart, rational man who believes only in what his
eyes see. Hence, he is dismayed by Jayanto’s assumption that Fritz is back as he thinks this is symptom
of mental instability. He is quite fearless as well because even when Jayanto is reluctant to dig the grave,
he is sure about what he wants and how to get it done.

Questions
1. How is Fritz an unusual ghost story? Explain. [20]
2. Structured questions:
(a) Referring closely to the short story Fritz, relate why Jayanto wanted to visit Bundi instead of any
other place. [8]
(b) What does he tell the narrator about Fritz? [6]
(c) What is your reaction to the ending of the story? [6]
3. How does the setting of the story Fritz add to the sense of mystery and foreboding? [20]
4. How does the writer Satyajit Ray incorporate the paranormal into his short story Fritz? [20]
5. Do you think the writer is right to call the story Fritz a horror story? Justify your opinion. [20]

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