Michael Hagerup English essay 08/12/21

Simon Lewis’ Justified and Ancient

He laughs best who laughs last: That is one of the statements made in Simon Lewis’ short
story from the year two thousand. Another one may be a statement of justice.
Justice may be a term of the type which value is diminished because of the word put on it.
Reading the short story provokes us to reconsider our normal interpretation of the word
since the word acts paradoxical in it.
When are you justified to do certain actions and who is justified against who?

Lee has travelled half the way across the globe to India. He is exhausted as he reaches the
summit of the mountains near the city of Delhi. The story is set here – far from civilization.
For most it would be a great experience to witness the small village-society living on the
edge of human development, but Lee does not seem to be interested at all, in fact he seems
impatient.
In the village the children are playing together with a small, wooden cart, it does not seem
as if they have access to actual toys. The buildings of the village are described as “quaint
little houses” (p. 4 l. 46): The shop of the town is a hut painted blue with empty cigarette
packs strung above the door as an indication of trading, and the temple is a large wood and
stone construction. In the hut where Lee makes his deal with the president, no chairs are
found – they need to squat down by an earthen stove (p. 2 l. 53).
All these are signs that the village is quite poor and rather uncivilized. The
chieftain/president of the village does seem to be proud of his home though, and it is
described towards the ending of the story how the village has prospered - The fact that a
little boy is in possession of a Discman confirms this. It is also by the little boy in the shop
we are introduced to the title of the short story – but more about the title later.

It seems quite clear from the start that Lee is a shallow person with a very materialistic and
superficial way of looking at his life. For one thing he is absolutely indifferent with the

1
Michael Hagerup English essay 08/12/21

ancient grounds he is threading on, and he does not seem to understand that it would be
considered very inappropriate to touch anything in the village:

”Many things in the village are sacred, you understand? It is a holy place. A very old place.”
”What would happen if i did touch something? By accident?”
”You would make people very upset.”
”Why?”
”You are an outsider, you understand? You are not pure.”(p. 1 . 17)

Lee could not care less of anything Pungee has to say – all he thinks of is whether or not he
is able to buy cookies in the shop he spots on page 1 line 27. He does not care about the
nature or the culture, and he shows no respect towards the people or their traditions.
Also remarkable is Lee’s clinging to his zippo lighter:

“…it seemed invested with significance, and its smooth operation was reassuring.” (p. 1 l. 9)

He can only last a little while without western technology, which is reassuring to him and
which probably also makes him feel confidant and safe. A materialist is what Lee seems to
be. Lee states at p. 4 l. 121 that the solemn presentation of the token means much to him –
which is probably a lie as the only thoughts in his mind are those of getting back to Delhi,
talking to other white people and watching MTV (p. 4 l. 142)– ironic, yes?
At this point it is still not clear why Lee has travelled halfway across the globe. Is he on a
vacation backpacking across the globe spending his rich father’s money or is the only
reason for his tourism the drug deal? Is he going back to Delhi or all the way back to
England? Since he has both a girlfriend with potential wife-status and a child to take care of
at home my guess is the last possibility – he is simply a drug dealer buying incredibly low-
prized cannabis in India for re-selling in his home country. His statement at p. 2 l. 70 is
obviously pointing in that direction:
“My job? Er, I don’t really have one as such.”

2
Michael Hagerup English essay 08/12/21

Ironically enough, Lee is filled with self-congratulation as he leaves the village.

Overwhelmed with compassion he has given the children the gooey biscuits he himself
described as revolting and unpalatable. Maybe he does not consider the fact that he refuses
to give the children something that would actually help them: rupees. Money, he earlier
referred to as “joke money”. Instead he uncompromisingly shoes the child away with a
“No! Don’t touch me, you shouldn’t touch!” Lee seems to be an egoistic, ignorant and
unpleasant figure from what we are described – and is possibly supposed to symbolize the
typical western tourist.
Though we are not given a lot of information about the village people, they seem shy and
reserved. Lee makes no two-way communication with any other than the president and one
of the kids for a brief moment. It might be that Lee considers the village people naive and
ignorant, but as the story surprisingly twists in the end, all is turned upside down, and it is
obvious that Lee has underestimated the president. He has not fooled the president – it is he
himself who have been deceived.
An ancient, proud chieftain is not the obvious one to suspect for depraved actions. As he
may seem proud and honourable on the outside, the president is the exact opposite on the
inside. At the end of the story we are suddenly having another perspective – that of the
woman leading her donkey to the village. She entrusts us with the president’s secret:
”Sometimes the president and his slimy friend Punjee got drunk and talked more than they
should in the presence of the women. The president was a shrewd man, and under him the
village had prospered, but he was a man without honour.” (p. 4-5 l. 158-163)
The president has actually prostituted himself and given up all his pride and honour for
money. The president cooperates with Ram, the police commissioner, who gives him money
in return for information about tourists like Lee. In this way the president can profit from his
unfortunate customers buying cannabis and receive money from the police at the same time
– and he does not at all seem to care about the people he may harm in the progress.
Suddenly the gesture of trust on page 4 l. 123 seems more as a scorn than anything else.
Lee is nothing more but a brick in the president’s game, and it quickly becomes uncertain
who to sympathize with. At first it was the president: The proud chieftain of an ancient

3
Michael Hagerup English essay 08/12/21

village thinking he made a good deal with another tourist, but at last it is the poor Lee that is
the victim: And he will suffer his deeds.
“She knew that Ram and the bullies he used as deputies would be getting drunk now, and when
the foreigner came down they would greet him, smiling, and Ram would laugh taping his tick
wooden cane against his leg” (p. 5 l. 165)
It is here that the title becomes paradoxical. Lee may have been greedy and disrespectful but
does he deserve to get beat up? Lee is a man with a girlfriend and, to a certain extinct, a
child at home both depending on his financial success – is it a justified laugh that bursts
from the president’s mouth and follows Lee down to the foot of the mountain? I do not think
it is.
The chieftain has become just as grasping and greedy as any western president. And from
where has those influences emerged?
The boy with the Walkman bobbing his head up and down (in what seems as a prayer but
very remarkably is not) “karaokes” the phrase: “We are justified and ancient. And we drive
an ice cream va-an” from KLF’s single “justified and ancient”. This is a very good clue for
interpreting the title. Given that the phrase “justified and ancient” does not only refer to the
president but to all of the people living in the village, a more general view is set on the
story. The village may be justified due to the western influences that have had negative
influence on their society and their culture.

To combine the word justified with the more concrete word ancient does not normally seem
irrational. After reading this short story it does though – because the ancient village with the
old president represents something honourable, sacred and proud: Values that have been
destroyed by western society – it is now all about materialism and money. The president
does seem proud to have flourished the old culture, surviving the civilization below them
from the mountain summit - but he wants more than just doctor visits and he has broken the
traditional way of behaving in the village.
Whether or not the village people are (the president is) justified or not is a discussable topic
– a topic that provokes us to think the term justification over.