Assignment on R.

K Narayan’s writing style

Prepared By
Navid Haider Khan
Id: 193-10-2122
Mahedi Hasan Anik
Id: 193-10-2118
Rezaoul Hait Showrov
Id: 193-10-2144
Abdun Nur Aayon
Id: 193-10-2150

Submitting to
Nahid Kaiser
Assistant professor, Department of English
Daffodil International University, Dhaka.

Bio of R.K Narayan (Navid Haider khan 2122)

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami (October 10, 1906 - May 13, 2004),
who wrote under the name R.K. Narayan was an Indian author who wrote in
English. His works include novels and short stories.
Narayan began his writing career with Swami and Friends in 1935. Most of his
work including Swami and friends is set in the fictional town of Malgudi which
captures everything Indian while having a unique identity of its own. R.K.
Narayan's writing style was marked by simplicity and subtle humor. He told
stories of ordinary people trying to live their simple lives in a changing world. His
best known works include The Bachelor of Arts (1937), The Dark Room (1938),
The English Teacher (1945), The Financial Expert (1952), The Guide (1958), The
Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961), The Vendor of Sweets (1967), Malgudi Days (1982),
and The Grandmother's Tale (1993).
R.K. Narayan won numerous awards and honors for his works. These include:
Sahitya Akademi Award for The Guide in 1958; Padma Bhushan in 1964; and the
AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature in 1980; R.K. Narayan was
elected an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and
Letters in 1982. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1989. He was also
conferred honorary doctorates by the University of Mysore, Delhi University and
the University of Leeds.

R.K. Narayan's writing style:

1) NATURAL AND UNPRETENTIOUS- (Mahedi Hasan Anik 2118)

The writing style of R. K. Narayan is full of natural construction of humor and
unpretentious motives. He takes the everyday life of an ordinary individual and
develops it in a way relatable to the common readers. He reminds the audience of
their immediate family relationships, neighbors, and their surroundings.

For example, in “The Financial Expert”, the common theme of love of money and
its consequent evils are depicted. In the trend of rising materialism, yearning for
financial stability was the problem of every household. These common life issues
make Narayan’s works popular and universal among the Eastern and Western
readers.

2) COMPASSIONATE REPRESENTATIONS- (Mahedi Hasan

Anik 2118)

Narayan is often likened to William Faulkner in his construction of stories. They

both have a compassionate humanitarian spirit and represent in humorous style
the vigor of common life. Also, they have the quality of juxtaposing individual
perplexities with the demands of social surroundings. In constructing his
characters, Narayan creates the feeling of empathy between his readers and
characters as they can feel the events happening to the characters. Therefore,
there is a natural sensibility and oneness in his works.

For example, “Swami and Friends” recounts the curious and adventurous nature
of teenage schoolboys that is common to young boys.

3) DEPICTION OF TRUE INDIAN SOCIETY-

(Mahedi Hasan Anik 2118)

R.K. Narayan depicts the staunch Indian society with its realities and intricacies in
his works. He does not modify life according to the demands of a fictional
narrative. In a simplistic tone and style, Narayan portrays the traditions and rituals
of Indian social life and provides an insight into their values. According to the poet
and critic William Walsh, ‘The religious sense of Indian myth is a part of Narayan’s
grip of reality of his particular view of human life, he embodies the pure spirit of
Hinduism’. For example, in “The Guide”, Narayan beautifully embodies the
religious nature of Indian people. The protagonist Rosie, her mother,
grandmother, and other ladies remained dancers at a young age for the local
temple. They would become Devdasis (religious figures) in village prayers.
Likewise, another character, Raju becomes a Sadhu (religious man) by accepting
values of sacrifice, chastity, and lowliness. When he is released from prison,
instead of going home, he goes to a temple and keeps fast for 11 days to please
god.

4) LANGUAGE- (Rezaoul Hait Showrov 2144)

Narayan’s works consist of meaningfully expressive dialogues in prose style with
certain Tamil connotations to predict the nature of his characters.He was
considered by many critics including Graham Greene as Indian Chekov. It is
because of their similar writing styles in which they combine complex ideas of life
in aesthetic simplicity. Also, the tragic events are weaved in a humorous and
lighter tone. Moreover, Anthony West rated Narayan’s realistic style to that of
Nikolai Gogol.

5) SHORT STORIES STYLE- (Rezaoul Hait Showrov 2144)

The short stories of R.K. Narayan are so full of life and captivating that it becomes
difficult for the readers to get over them. His construction of the genre is
compiling huge ideas into a few meaningful and expressive pages of writing.
Sometimes, his story is less than 10 pages but it expresses a complex idea that
many writers fail to clarify in bulky novels. Narayan provides an insight into
human nature and individual lives in his stories. Due to compression of complex
ways of life in small works, Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer Prize winner, places him
within the class of geniuses of short story O’ Henry, Flannery O’Connor, and Guy
de Maupassant. The compilations of short stories of R.K. Narayan include “A
Horse and Two Goats and Other Stories”, “Gods, Demons, and Others”, “Under
the Bunyan Tree and Other Stories”, “The Grandmother’s Tale and Selected
Stories”, “Malgudi Days”, and “The World of Malgudi”.

6) DESCRIPTIVE AND OBJECTIVE STYLE-

(Rezaoul Hait Showrov 2144)
The style of R.K. Narayan’s works tends toward descriptiveness and objectivity. It
is less analytical and subjective. This detached view provides an objective eye for
readers to see the work from an unbiased standpoint. This gives the narrative a
realistic and genuine representation. His work has a unique capability to
intertwine actions and characters through his attitude towards the ways of life.
Narayan raises ordinary events of life in such a way that they get settled in the
minds of the audience providing them with an idea of how to tackle such
circumstances. For example, “Talkative Man” (1986), and “The Guide” (1958)
represent Narayan’s objective view of individual lives.

7) Nonlinear way (Abdun Nur Aayon 2150)

A nonlinear narrative in storytelling can be the key to helping you discover the
past and present of characters as well as having your spec stand out. Narayan
uses this interesting technique of a varied narrative perspective. The story shifts
back and forth between first and third person narrative; at times it is Raju, the
main character speaking, and at other times the story is told from the point of
view of an omniscient narrator. The author also utilizes cinematic elements such
as flashbacks and jump cuts.

8) Character development flaw (Abdun Nur Aayon 2150)

Some critics about R.K Narayan is that his characters has some flaw in
development. Some characters are absurd in that time period of story or in the
setup of that story. Like character Rosie, She was a very sophisticated society but
learn dancing and do M.A in economics in the setting of 60’s and 70’s. it was very
strange that a girl had done so much modern things in that time. She was so
educated but fall in love with poor tour guide Raju. So here her characters is so
much confusing and irrelevant. Also in guide, other characters has so many
shades but there are not stabiles properly. In R.K Narayans others novel, we can
see same problems in so many characters. So this is a fault in his writing style.
Conclusion: (Navid haider khan 2122)
Narayan’s has a gift of sketching pen pictures that bring scenes and characters
vividly to life without taking recourse to ornate or excessive description.
Narayan’s simplicity of language conceals a sophisticated level of art. Narayan
handles language like an immensely flexible tool that effortlessly conveys both
the specific as well as symbolic and the universal. The tone of his all novel is quite
and subdued. This unique writing style make him unique writer from other
writers.