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The Shadow Lines

by Amitav Ghosh

The Shadow Lines Summary

Broken into two parts, "Going Away" and "Coming Home," The Shadow Lines follows a young boy as he comes of age
in Calcutta. He begins his story with his memories of his uncle Tridib, whose knowledge of history and geography
enthralls him. He describes Tridib's various habits, including his somewhat distant manner with other people and
frequent visits to a tea stand in Gole Park. The narrator then leaps forward in time and describes his visit with May
Price, an old friend of Tridib's, linked by a familiar relationship between her father, Lionel Tresawsen, and his
grandfather, Datta Chaudhuri. He attends a classical concert she is performing in and they catch up over dinner
afterward. He gathers that she and Tridib were closer than he first assumed.
The narrator then pivots to describing his cousin Ila, comparing their earlier encounters as children to their later ones
as teenagers. She is wealthier than the narrator and treats unfamiliar places and travel casually. She also shows an
inclination to lie, making her life appear more glamorous or flattering than it actually is. In one instance, she tells the
narrator that she is dating a boy in her class but he notices that they are never in a yearbook photo together, and that
he has his arms around two different girls in one particular picture. Later he finds that she has torn this page out of
the book. Ila's mother is called "Queen Victoria" by all the members of the narrator's family, as she is wealthier than
they are and puts on airs. She is shown being rude to her staff. The narrator recounts her run-in with a crocodile.
The narrator also carefully illustrates the class distinctions that subtly divide the family. His mother wants to go on the
trip on which Ila's mother has invited them, but his grandmother tells her not to ask for too much. His grandmother
also comments that Tridib's father, Shaheb, is thoroughly Europeanized in a way that she finds distasteful. He then
describes his uncle Robi, Tridib's younger brother, getting in trouble for fighting a boy at his school, but states that his
grandmother looks upon it favorably, as he was defending a disabled child. She, in turn, launches into a long story
about a student in her class at University who was arrested by the state police. She remembers that he showed no
fear or hesitation and admires his determination. She wishes that she had known and been able to intervene, killing
him before he could be taken. She ends by stating that she would have done anything to support their fight for
freedom.
The narrator recounts another visit Ila made to visit them. Later, they go to Ila's family's vacation home outside of
Calcutta, where they root around in the basement together. At the same time, he interweaves the story of his trip to
London, his initial meeting with Nick Price, and the history of Lionel Tresawsen, Nick's grandfather. He feels jealous

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towards Nick, as Ila is clearly in love with him. The narrator then takes the story significantly back in time, describing a
photograph of Tresawsen and Tridib's mother, Mayadebi, in a group with other people living in the house during the
London Blitz. The narrator returns to a more recent time and says that he and Ila played house in the basement of the
home they were visiting. Ila uses her doll Magda to describe a bullying incident at her school and says that Nick saved
her in the end. May corrects this story and says that Ila fabricated that part of the story. The narrator realizes Nick was
embarrassed to be seen with her.
The narrator flashes forward in time and writes about his grandmother on her deathbed. He says that she goes in and
out of lucidity and says venomously hateful things about Ila and, eventually, him. She says that Ila left their country for
money and calls her various derogatory names. The speaker describes a time when Ila, Robi, and the narrator were all
back in Calcutta from their respective colleges, and Ila came to visit, wearing blue jeans and asking to go out to a
club. Robi is hesitant, but Ila calls him a hypocrite, as he drinks when he is at school. They go to a club with music and
a burlesque show. Robi wants to leave and Ila tries to dance with some businessmen, but Robi violently intervenes.
Upset and angry, Ila screams at the narrator and Robi, saying she is only free when she is not in Calcutta. The narrator
tells his grandmother this and does not speak to her again. The day before she dies, she sends a seething letter to his
school saying that he should be expelled for visiting houses of prostitution. He finds her letter particularly disturbing
as he did in fact go to those places, and had no idea how she knew. Before the section ends, the narrator flashes back
in time and describes how Tresawsen saved Francesca, his nurse and possible lover, during a bombing raid but was
himself killed by a falling beam. Ila flippantly comments that life means very little outside of London and Europe at
large, which angers the narrator. They have dinner at the Prices' home and May reveals that Nick lost his job because
he was accused of embezzlement. The narrator and Ila go upstairs to sleep and he inadvertently reveals his feelings
for her. She expresses sympathy, but abandons him to be with Nick.
The next section begins with a description of the narrator's grandmother's retirement and her subsequent struggle to
find meaning in her life. She offers an account of her childhood in Dhaka, describing her large family and the eventual
infighting that overtook them, as they divided the house into separate halves. She begins to take walks by the lake
and one day meets someone who informs her her uncle is still living. She receives an address, but it is unclear whether
or not he is still living. She visits her cousin in an economically depressed area. The trip makes the narrator's father
nervous and uncomfortable. Upon discovering that her uncle may still be living, she is determined to bring him back
from Dhaka. The narrator then recounts a letter Tridib wrote to May, describing a couple he saw having sex in a home
with a hole in it. She is upset by the letter but also feels overcome with emotion for him.
After this, the narrator remembers when Shaheb was promoted to a post in Dhaka. The narrator's father shares the
news with his grandmother and she decides to return to her birthplace. The narrator jumps ahead in time to Ila's
wedding to Nick. He becomes very inebriated and makes several sexual advances on May in her home, after the
wedding. He apologizes the next morning and she accepts. He recalls a moment when she and Tridib were driving in
the country and saw a dying dog on the side of the road. She demands that he stop, even though he does not want
to. They kill the dog and he admits that it was the right thing to do. He then asks her, very seriously, to do the same
for him should he ever need it.
In the more recent past, the narrator meets Ila at a concert at St Martin's-in-the-Field and notices that she's been
crying. She informs him that Nick cheated on her, with multiple people, but she won't leave him because she loves
him. The narrator depicts the preparations made by his grandmother, Tridib, and Robi to travel to Dhaka, noting that
it was the last time he saw Tridib. It becomes clear that Tridib had died on the trip. In parallel, the narrator recounts a
frightening day at his school, during which many children were absent and gunshots and the roar of a mob were
audible in the distance. Classes are canceled and they endure a harrowing bus ride. Back in Dhaka, the narrator's
grandmother is shocked by how much has changed. They see that their old home has become a bike shop. They are
directed to her uncle and cousin. When they visit his home, they discover he does not remember her and does not
wish to leave. He makes uncomfortable comments to May and insults the narrator's grandmother. Finally, at the
suggestion of their guide, Saifuddin, the mechanic, they are able to get him into their car. They leave his home and
immediately encounter a violent mob standing by a fire.

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The narrator jumps forward to the near-present and says that he once had trouble convincing a colleague that these
riots actually occurred. He spends an afternoon poring over newspapers in the library before he finds it, remembering
that there was a cricket match that day. He connects unrest related to a stolen Muslim relic with the riots in his
hometown and in Dhaka, eventually discovering a brief story about them. He then describes how his father told him
about Tridib's death and wondered why he let him leave. He also describes the tepid response of the two
governments involved, both of which happily swept this violence under the rug. The narrator recounts a scene in
which his grandmother, who loved her jewelry, sold all of it as part of her effort to support the government. He says
that he went up to her room as she listened, with great intensity, to the radio before punching a hole in it. He has a
panic attack, and right before he is subdued his parents accidentally reveal that Tridib was murdered, not killed in an
accident as he had previously been told.
He then remembers the first time in which Robi spoke about the incident. Ila takes them to a faux Indian restaurant in
London and the owner asks them about Dhaka. Robi storms out when the owner starts praising a certain
neighborhood, as it is where his brother Tridib was murdered. Outside the restaurant, he then tells the narrator and Ila
that he has a recurring nightmare about the scene. They embrace. On his final night in London, the narrator has
dinner with May and she finally reveals to him what happened to Tridib. They were stopped by the mob and, at his
grandmother's insistence, were about to abandon her uncle to the mob. She tried to intervene, but Tridib stepped in
to save her and was killed in the process. He spends the night at her apartment, and feels comfort in understanding
his uncle better.

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The Shadow Lines Questions and Answers
The Question and Answer section for The Shadow Lines is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss
the novel.

Why did Tridib drop by the narrator's
house occasionally?
Tridib is the narrator's uncle. He visits the
house occasionally to see his family.
Asked by Devprakash B #1272360
Answered by jill d #170087 2 months ago
5/15/2024 1:00 AM
How did Tridib's and May price's family
connect?
In Part One, the narrator tells the story of
Lionel Tresawsen, Nick and May's
grandfather, who befriended the narrator's
great-grandfather. The families connected
because of their friendship.
Asked by Devprakash B #1272360
Answered by jill d #170087 2 years ago
12/28/2022 11:51 PM
What is Tridib's position in his friend
circle?
Tridib is just that.... a friend. He has no
pretensions, he enjoys conversation and
comaraderie, and people seem to value him
as well.
Asked by Devprakash B #1272360
Answered by jill d #170087 2 years ago
12/28/2022 11:49 PM

Lesson Plan for The Shadow Lines

About the Author
Study Objectives
Common Core Standards
Introduction to The Shadow Lines
Relationship to Other Books
Bringing in Technology
Notes to the Teacher

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Related Links
The Shadow Lines Bibliography

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