Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sonia bibi
Sonia bibi
By:
SONIA BIBI
BS (4-Year) English
Supervised By:
Mr. Kalim Ullah
Lecturer in English
Govt Degree College Wari (Dir Upper)
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
GOVERNMENT DEGREE COLLAGE WARI DIR UPPER
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN
2023
Approval Sheet
Principal ________________________
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
2019-2023
iii
DEDICATION
―Every challenging work needs self-efforts as well as guidance of elders especially those who
were very close to our hearts‖.
Whose affections, love, encouragement, and prayers of day and night make me able to get such
success and honor,
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, praises be to Allah the almighty for granting me endless
I am heavily obliged to my honorable teacher as well as supervisor Mr. Kalim Ullah who
helped me significantly throughout my research and providing me invaluable guidance until final
completion. His vision, sincerity and motivation have deeply inspired me.
v
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... v
REFERENCE ........................................................................................................................... 16
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Abstract
This research study is carried out to evaluate the life journey of an electrician man Nawabdin.
The life of this smart working man named Nawabdin is followed in Daniyal Mueenuddin's short
novel "Nawabdin Electrician". Nawabdin is a well-known electrician and handyman. He gained
the respect of his neighbours and K.K. Harouni, his boss, for his ability to trick electric meters
and give customers lower prices. Nawabdin has always worked extremely hard, frequently taking
on additional jobs in addition to taking care of Harouni's farm's upkeep. The current study
explores the socioeconomic realities and symbolism in the story of a handyman Nawabdin
electrician.
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CHAPTER: 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Symbolism
When an item, person, or location conveys an abstract notion in addition to its literal
meaning, this is known as symbolism (SIM-buh-liz-uhm). Literary symbolism can be overt, like
a storm symbolizing a character's emotional conflict, or subtle, like a character's yellow shirt
When romanticism overcame realism in French poetry in the 19th century, symbolism emerged
as an aesthetic trend. Its root word, symbolus, is Latin and signifies "a sign of recognition."
Writing typically expresses symbolism in one of three ways: through the characters, objects, or
events.
Objects
Objects are the most typical way that symbolism appears in literature, and they can aid the reader
in comprehending a plot's complex theme. For instance, Katniss' mockingjay pin in The Hunger
Games began as a representation of her family and then came to represent the districts' resistance
Characters
Aslan, a character in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is a representation of Jesus because
he kills himself to save Edmund and then comes back to life, much as Jesus died on the cross and
rose from the dead three days later. Characters from The Pilgrim's Progress, including the
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Interpreter, who clarifies Biblical texts, represent various temptations the main character
Events
An event in the plot may occasionally be used by the author to serve as symbolism. For instance,
the trousers in the Sisterhood of the Travelling trousers books symbolise the childhood
friendship between the girls. In the fourth and last book, when the trousers are misplaced, it
represents the end of their childhood and the beginning of adulthood. Separate from the trousers
Symbolism in literature can be overt or understated. For instance, if a mother buys toys for the
baby and then miscarries, she might discover rattle months later and mourn. The reader would
understand immediately that the rattle represents the death of her kid.
If she bought a black onesie, that would be a subtle illustration of the same idea. Although it's
possible that the author did not intend for the miscarriage to be foreshadowed by the color, not
Daniyal Mueenuddin is the author of the short story Nawabdin Electrician. Nawabdin, an
electrician who supports a powerful man by working for him, serves as the protagonist of the
introduced as an electrician who slows down the meters to defraud the electric providers,
specifically for his client K.K. Harouni. He used to assist K.K. Harouni, a powerful man with a
diverse background. It assists Nawab in slowing down the meter's rotations so that his farms can
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He sometimes employs heating, other times wire connections, other times getting around
switches, etc. to take care of the water pipes. He had been blessed with twelve girls and a boy
after marrying the love of his youth in his early years. His family would have starved to death if
not for the pay he received from Harouni. Every time Harouni arrived from Lahore, he was
accustomed to accompanying him. He requests a bike from Harouni one day, and in exchange
for his unlawful assistance, he is given a Honda 70. After acquiring the motorbike, Nawab's
standing rises. Additionally, he has access to his wife, who was staying in Firoza with her family,
every evening. After purchasing the motorbike, he continued to be madly in love with his wife
and would frequently see her. Also stated in detail is the state of the home where the Nawab's
family was residing. Although the property was in bad shape, there was still a cosy feeling about
it.
The house was furnished with knitted garments and had a black and white television, running
water, and a dark roof. Nawab shows up at Firoza one day and brings his wife five kilos of
brown sugar that he received as payment for fixing the sugarcane press. The following morning,
Nawab and his family had a delicious breakfast. The Nawab, the kids, and they all gladly ate
bread dipped in brown sugar syrup. Nawab meets a man who asks for a ride as he returns to
work. After asking the man where he is, Nawab offers to give him a ride, but as fate would have
it, the man Nawab picks up is actually a thief. After some time, the burglar yells at the motorbike
to stop. He commands the Nawab to dismount the motorcycle. Insisting that he has thirteen
children, Nawab begs him not to steal his source of income. In an attempt to defend his bike,
Nawab fought the robber off, but he was ultimately shot. After observing Nawab in a critical
state, the thief flees. When two villagers arrive on the scene, they immediately see Nawab's
wounds since he is writhing in anguish. They aid him in travelling to the hospital. Additionally,
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they seize the thief's gun and shoot it into the tree where they believe he was hiding. The doctor
at the hospital where the thief and Nawab are both admitted said that the thief is in critical
condition while Nawab is in good health. The thief attempts to defend himself by outlining his
living circumstances. He admits to the Nawab that he was physically abused growing up and that
his elderly, blind mother is waiting for him in the shantytowns outside of Multan without any
resources (money, land, or a home). The thief attempts to convince Nawab to accept his
apologies, but Nawab and the pharmacist do nothing but watching the man die. Nawab was
Nawabdin has always worked extremely hard, frequently taking on additional jobs in addition to
taking care of Harouni's farm's upkeep. The current study explores the socioeconomic realities
Based on the background of the research, the researcher formulates the problems as follows:
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CHAPTER: 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Symbolism
materializations that hold the wisdom to represent a bigger meaning. Symbolism is the art or
expressing the invisible or nonmaterial (Mühlenbeck & Jacobsen, 2020). Symbols hold the
significance to bring people into reality, structure, and the content that a symbolism tries to
convey (Mühlenbeck & Jacobsen, 2020). Symbolism has the potential to be found in anything
and everywhere if someone allows themself to explore this idea. Following the idea that
symbolism can potentially be found anywhere, the earliest forms of material symbolism were
found in cave markings that represented structures and the environment (Mühlenbeck &
Jacobsen, 2020).
In a study about the personal meaning of symbols by Hermans and Van Loon (1991), the
researchers divided symbols into two categories of personal and universal symbols. A universal
symbol can represent an object or subject to a larger audience (e.g., religious motifs, product
individual level (Hermans & Van Loon, 1991). This categorization led to the realization that
symbols hold the power to transform their meaning differently at varying times and stages in life
(Hermans & Van Loon, 1991). Hermans and Van Loon (1991) stated that the question of how
much importance a symbol can carry was unable to be defined due to such variances in a
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According to DeLoache (1995), the most individualizing factor between humans and
other creatures is how humans find evolving ways to use symbols. This level of understanding
can provide the base knowledge for how humans interpret the world around them.
Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist and the founder of analytic or Jungian theory
advanced the understanding of the role and impact of symbolism and symbolic thinking in the
psyche (Meymandi, 2010). Jung’s work helped to define two types of imagination: engaged
(applied and focused) and active (voluntary and at will) (Meymandi, 2010). He layered his
understanding of imagination with existing theories of the conscious and unconscious mind to
gain a deeper understanding of the psyche. In the typical model of the layers of the mind,
according to Jung and his theory, shows that the further ―up‖ someone goes from the collective
unconscious and travels through the personal conscious, the farther ―away‖ someone strays from
the symbolic side towards the top levels of the ego of conscious awareness (Mayes, 2016). The
collective unconscious is defined as the lived experience of all humans; specifically universal
experiences that someone is not consciously aware of (Hermans & Van Loon, 1991).
Jung did his own self-explorations and expanded his theories beyond the Western
approach (Schaverien, 2005). Symbols can come from a place of awareness or unconsciousness
but can still hold important meaning for people. Carl Jung was able to bring about the idea of
artwork holding symbolic meaning and that we are symbolic people due to his own personal self
It was reported that Carl Jung would feel stuck in analytic theory and would create
models, take time to paint pictures, or make mandalas to explore his own ideas of personal
reflection and insight (Schaverien, 2005). This approach of using the creative process to illicit
new pathways or understandings is foundational in art therapy. Art therapists facilitate directives
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and create a space that aid clients in exploration and insights to themselves (AATA, 2020). The
actual experience of the client immersing in the making art is much more important than that of
the final product. Schaverien (2005) states that active imagination pertains to the experience of
the person instead of the medium being used. Although, aesthetics of the final product is an
important part of the analysis because it can give insight to the active imagination (Schaverien,
2005). The purpose of that imagination is to connect and bring forth the uncomfortable,
unknown, and symbols, which can be processed within a therapeutic setting (Filiault et al, 2019).
Socio-economic status and performance many modern societies suffer from rising
inequality and low social mobility (OECD, 2018). Income inequality in OECD countries today is
at its highest level since the 1980s (OECD, 2015), and the economic recovery observed since
2010 has not reversed this trend. Rising inequality and low social mobility not only threaten
long-term growth (Cingano, 2014) but more fundamentally endanger democratic societies.
Young people may lack confidence in political institutions if they feel that they have to limit
their expectations for their future because of their family’s or their own financial situation. Long-
standing research finds that the most reliable predictor of a child’s future success at school – and,
in many cases, of access to well-paid and high-status occupations – is his or her family. Children
from low-income and low-educated families usually face many barriers to learning. Less
household wealth often translates into fewer educational resources, such as books, games and
interactive learning materials in the home. From the beginning, parents of higher socio-economic
status are more likely to provide their children with the financial support and home resources for
individual learning. As they are likely to have higher levels of education, they are also more
likely to provide a more stimulating home environment to promote cognitive development (Sirin,
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2005; Thomson, 2018). These parents may be more at ease teaching their child the specific
behaviors and cultural references that are the most valued at school. Advantaged parents may
also provide greater psychological support for their child in environments that encourage the
development of the skills necessary for success at school (Evans et al., 2010). However, results
from previous rounds of PISA suggest that school systems may be able to help mitigate the
impact of families’ socio-economic status on their child’s life outcomes. Schools can serve to
channel resources towards disadvantaged children and thus help create a more equitable
between students’ socio-economic status and their performance (OECD, 2016). More
specifically, the slope of the gradient summarizes the differences in performance observed across
socio-economic groups, while the strength of the gradient refers to how well socio-economic
status predicts performance. For a detailed discussion, see (OECD, 2016; OECD, 2018; OECD,
2013). The slope of the socio-economic gradient indicates the degree of the disparity in average
performance between two students whose socio-economic status differs by one unit in the PISA
index of economic, social and cultural status. A positive value for the slope of the socio-
economic gradient signals that advantaged students generally performed better than
disadvantaged students in PISA 2018. On average across OECD countries in 2018, a one-unit
increase in the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status was associated with an
increase of 37 score points in the reading assessment. The performance gap related to students’
socio-economic status was widest in Belarus, where a one-unit increase in the index was
associated with a difference of as much as 51 score points in reading. In Belgium, the Czech
Republic, France, Hungary, Israel, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine, the increase in the index
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was associated with a difference of between 45 and 50 score points. By contrast, in 15 countries
and economies, the associated change in performance amounted to less than 25 score points
However, the slope of the socio-economic gradient does not describe the magnitude of the gap in
performance related to socio-economic status that may be observed between the most and the
least advantaged students within a country/economy. On average across OECD countries, the
(defined as those in the bottom quarter of the distribution in the PISA index of economic, social
and cultural status within their countries/economies; see Box II.2.3) and advantaged students
(those in the top quarter of the distribution) corresponded to 2.36 standard deviations in the
index. But in 9 countries, namely Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland Japan, Korea,
Russia and Ukraine, this difference is less than 2 standard deviations in the index, while in 11
Panama, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, it is greater than 3 standard deviations.
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CHAPTER: 3
METHODOLOGY
3.3 Methodology
A qualitative research method is adopted in this research work, because the researchers analyzed
the story ―Nawabdin Electrician.‖ The researchers aim to identify symbolism and socioeconomic
realities in the story. Researchers intend to go through thematic analysis of the tale ―Nawabdin
The research topic is ―Exploring socio-economic realities and symbolism in the tale of Nawabdin
electrician‖. The researchers intend to identify symbolism and socioeconomic realities in the
story of Nawabdin electrician. The story is about a local Pakistani boy so people of the country
will get to know how a common person can challenge the system of the country which leads to a
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CHAPTER: 04
DATA ANALYSIS
Nawabdin the Electrician" by Daniyal Mueenuddin is a captivating and insightful short story that
delves into the complexities of Pakistani society, particularly through the experiences of its
titular character, Nawabdin. In this analysis, we will explore the various facets of the story,
including its themes, characters, symbolism, and the socio-economic realities it portrays.
At the heart of the story is Nawabdin, an electrician by trade, who resides in Lahore, Pakistan.
Nawabdin is not just a character; he embodies the aspirations, struggles, and resilience of the
From the very beginning, the story vividly depicts the economic disparities within Pakistani
society. Nawabdin's clients, the Pirzada family, live in a lavish home with air conditioning – a
stark contrast to Nawabdin's own modest abode. This stark difference highlights the gaping
chasm between the privileged upper class and the struggling lower class.
The stark inequality between the rich and the poor in Pakistan is one of the story's main topics.
The affluent lifestyle of the Pirzada family stands in stark contrast to Nawabdin's existence and
troubles. The general socio-economic inequalities that exist in many societies are reflected in this
theme. The novel examines how luck and fate can influence a person's life. The unexpected
meeting between Nawabdin and Sultan and the subsequent events show how chance encounters
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may have a significant impact on a person's life. This motif emphasises the unpredictability and
Nawabdin's choice to throw his daughter an opulent wedding highlights the cultural and societal
expectations that are placed on people. As many people are pressured to comply with traditional
The core of the narrative is the persona of Nawabdin. He is a multifaceted character that
personifies tenacity and grit. He is a realistic and sympathetic character due to his unwavering
dedication to his career and family in spite of his low resources. His choice to incur debt in order
to pay for his daughter's wedding demonstrates his readiness to give up comforts in order to
forced to face danger and uncertainty as a result of his encounter with Sultan, which elevates him
from a common electrician to a type of hero. This change demonstrates how bravery and inner
Irony and humour are two of the story characteristic writing styles. Nawabdin has humorous
exchanges with a variety of characters, such as Sultan and Mr. Pirzada. Situational irony abounds
in the narrative, whereby fortuitous events and coincidences provide both humorous and moving
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moments. This humour draws attention to the absurdity of living in a society where there are
The novel accurately depicts the many social and cultural aspects of Lahore, Pakistan. It offers
readers a look of the customs, principles, and difficulties that Pakistanis confront on a daily
basis. The plot is more deep and complex because of great observation and accurate portrayal of
cultural practices.
"Nawabdin the Electrician" is a hilarious and engaging comedy that also offers a critique of
Pakistan's socioeconomic conditions. It calls into question the unfair distribution of resources
and opportunities as well as the effects of unforeseen circumstances on people's lives. The
4.8 Conclusion
In "Nawabdin the Electrician," Daniyal Mueenuddin crafts a compelling narrative that delves
into the socioeconomic realities of Pakistan through the experiences of Nawabdin. Through
symbolism, character development, themes, and humor, the story offers a thought-provoking
exploration of class distinctions, cultural expectations, and the role of luck and fate in shaping
individual destinies. Nawabdin's journey from an ordinary electrician to a hero underscores the
resilience and strength that can be found within individuals facing economic challenges. This
story, while humorous and entertaining, provides a deeper understanding of the complexities of
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CHAPTER: 5
driven story, it also uses symbolism to shed light on Pakistan's socioeconomic conditions. Here
are some examples of symbolism from the narrative and how they relate to these truths:
Symbolism: The fan that Nawabdin repairs for the wealthy Pirzada family symbolizes the basic
needs of the working-class people in Pakistan. It represents the modest aspirations of individuals
like Nawabdin, who strive to provide essential comforts for their families.
Significance: The story contrasts the fan with the air-conditioner owned by the Pirzada family.
The air-conditioner symbolizes luxury, excess, and the stark contrast between the lifestyles of the
wealthy and the working class. It serves as a reminder of the vast disparities in living conditions.
dreams and aspirations for mobility and advancement. It represents the desire for upward
socioeconomic status. The loss of this symbol of mobility and progress is a setback that impacts
his family's financial stability and underscores the unpredictability of life for the working class.
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5.3 The Looter (Dacoit)
Symbolism: The encounter with the looter, who turns out to be a legendary dacoit, symbolizes
the element of chance and unpredictability in the lives of working-class individuals. Nawabdin's
interaction with the dacoit becomes a turning point in the story, illustrating how a single chance
Significance: The dacoit represents the darker, more dangerous side of society, where crime and
violence are sometimes seen as the only means of survival for marginalized individuals. His
presence highlights the harsh realities faced by many in the lower socioeconomic strata.
Symbolism: Nawabdin's decision to go into debt to finance his daughter's wedding symbolizes
the societal pressures and cultural expectations placed on working-class families in Pakistan. It
reflects the sacrifices made by individuals like Nawabdin to maintain social appearances and
Significance: The wedding and the associated debt underscore the cycle of poverty and
indebtedness that can trap working-class families. This symbolizes the struggle to break free
from socioeconomic constraints and the challenge of balancing tradition with financial reality.
5.5 Conclusion
In "Nawabdin the Electrician," the use of symbolism gives the narrative depth by highlighting
the aspirations, difficulties, and inequalities within Pakistani society. These symbols work as
narrative aids that deepen the reader's comprehension of the characters' social circumstances and
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