Blog Post #9: Creative Assignment Explaination

Endya Brandon

Mrs. Nichole Wilson

AP Literature and Composition

October 5th, 2013

Prompt:

1982 Bulletin #2. “In many [books] a character has a misconception of himself or his world. Destroying or perpetuating this

illusion contributes to a central theme of the [book].” Choose a [book] with a major character to whom this statement applies, and

write an essay in which you consider the following:

(1) What the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the[book].

(2) How the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the [book].

Do not merely retell the story.

Thesis:

In Narcopolis written by Jeet Thayil the four main characters of the book are at a first glance portrayed as the filth of Bombay, but as the narrator delves deeper into each of their stories, to illustrate that all of them are much more capable than they seem. In many ways, these characters symbolize Thayil himself because he was an opium addict for over twenty years. This ties in with the overarching theme of the book, that everything is not alway what they seem, there are several sides to everything which must be considered before passing judgement.

Summary:

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil takes place in Bombay India from the late 1970’s to present day 2004. The book showcases a narrator, and four main characters, all from different walks of life, but all related to one another by one thing; their addiction to opium. There are also other forms of addiction such as sex, other drugs, violence, and adultery. Over the course of the book Bombay goes through big changes and when the narrator of the story returns, although he finds all those he used to know gone, the spirit of the city has not changed. Poverty, drugs, and sex still rule the city, so the narrator conclude this is the way it will always be.

Explanation:

The essence of Narcopolis basically encompases the idea that Jeet Thayil based the entire book off of his past experiences and [he wants to show that hard times are not only meant for the poor]. He was an opium addict for over twenty years of his life and is now a successful published author, poet, and singer/songwriter. In order to portray that fact and his deeper understanding of the topic he threads a tiny part of himself within each character in the book. Even the way Thayil goes about writing the plot and narrating the story has a specific purpose, there was a great deal of attention to detail which is one of the main reasons why Narcopolis, Thayil’s first book, was such a success worldwide.

The four main characters -- not including the narrator -- are Dimple, Newton Xavier, Rashid, and Mr. Lee. They all come from different backgrounds and bring different things to the book’s dynamic. Dimple is is woman, who used to be a boy, but was sold by her mother and castrated in order to become a eunuch, and now she is only valued for her appearance and her ability to pleasure men. beneath her stunning beauty, Dimple also has a very capable mind and teaches herself to read english which is why I chose to represent her with the eyes. Newton is a famous poet who visited the opium den when he was in town for a conference, he looks down on the others and it seemed entirely appropriate to have him be the nose. Rashid is the owner of the popular opium den, he runs a very successful business and has several wives, he is often guilty of gluttony, greed, and lust which the mouth is an allusion to. Mr. Lee is dimples “surrogate father” meaning he adopted her, took care of her, and introduced her to opium to soothe her pain. He is very wise, not only hearing, but listening to answer Dimples questions, giving excellent advice, I felt the ears personify those qualities best. The main characters do have their opium addiction in common, but there are also a number of addictions that they also suffer from, listed in the book as “the hunger addicts, the rage addicts, the poverty addicts , and power addicts, and the pure addicts who are addicted not to substances but to the oblivion and the tenderness the substances engender” (143). These addictions make up the spirit of Bombay, even after the narrator returns to the city and everything has physically changed, the addictions never leave.

In the beginning of the book, the narrator describes the setting as “the city of opium and the drug of Bombay” (37). Here in this city is where all the characters intertwined and came together, where Thayil’s personality traits come together as well to make up the bigger picture. It may not have been directly stated, but by bringing characters of such opposite backgrounds together, the author was emphasizing the fact that one factor of someones life does not define their whole person, for example, he says “My religion is no way of knowing me.” (87) That goes for all the characters, they cannot be solely defined by their pasts.

By comparing the four main characters to aspects of Thayil’s face, I created a sort of paradox. Throughout the story Thayil emphasizes the differences, but I compared them to parts of the same whole, which highlights even more so the ability to find similarities among people who seem so hopelessly different. Thayil does the same in a way in the book by comparing two polar opposites, “Then there are the addicts,. An addict, if you don't mind me saying so, is like a saint. What is a saint but someone who has cut himself off, voluntarily, from the world's traffic and currency.” (269)

Finally, I broke the face into pieces and cut out the extra to “a great and broken city” (300) of Bombay, constructed of many different parts, that cannot stand alone, but together they add up to a greater whole.