A Devoted Son by Anita Desai

By King Meera -
Originally I thought this chapter was about food and the dignity of life. I was right, but in a tangentially wrong direction.

In this short sad story Anita Desai covers the generation gap, identity, the conflict between duty as a son and duty as a doctor, as well as the hypocrisy in perception of the same.

Rakesh’s duties as a son were to study well, score well, work hard, earn well, marry well, settle well and then take care of his family well; Rakesh performed his duties in the superlative degree.

Rakesh is seen as a “perfect” son – dutiful, humble and devoted – but perhaps Desai is commenting on the Indian standards of perfection.

The first page and three other sections later in the story got a lot of attention in class. To begin with, “When the results… golden and glorious.”
·         Didn’t even come inside – anxious about results
·         “went up the steps” – not ran; calm and composed. No whooping, no leaping into the air
·         Duty above self – did not sit down to let it sink in – first went and touched father’s feet
·         Father asked, beaming, “A first division, son?” Shows his absolute confidence
·         When Rakesh murmurs, “At the top of the list, papa – first in the country,” he is still in shock
·         Then Desai narrates whooping, colourful, festive celebration
·         After all, with his humble background and glorious results, and all the hard work and sacrifice that went into it, it was a worthy occasion for a grand, extravagant, over-the-top celebration

Hi guys I'm back.
Ok quickly before I forget:
  • generation gap
  • conflict between good doctor and good son: perception, father and son define it differently
  • from Verma's perspective, he has been neglected and wronged as a father and we must sympathize with him
  • we were taught the chapter from Rakesh's perspective - how his duties as a son and as a doctor clashed because of what was expected of him: he was expected to be indulgent towards his father who was also his patient
  • role of the daughter-in-law: Verma had his misgivings about her - "although the daughter-in-law kept tactfully out of the way, the old man could just see her smirk sliding merrily through the air." 
  • different relationship with wife for father and son - father loved his wife and when she died he went to pieces. He especially missed her when he was denied food which his wife, "that generous, indulgent and illiterate cook" readily gave him. Son merely humored his wife. Later we see that upon her discovery of and reporting of his son's dishonesty, he confronts his father, saying things like "I don't allow anyone in my house to.." which leads us to the next point:
  • issue of transfer of role of "man of the house"
  • also, in the end we see that Verma might have died younger, but happier
  • father quite petty
  • society's take: jealous then accepting then sympathizing
  • at one point, forgets that he is the son - not with his usual respectful step but with the contemptuous stride of the famous doctor 

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