Heroes and Heroism in Anita Desais Clear Light of Day Essay

Heroes and Heroism in Anita Desais slang Light of Day When one asks a child, What do you want to be when you grow up? a general response is a fireman or a ballerina. In Anita Desais Clear Light of Day, however, the young Bim and genus genus Raja are somewhat more compulsive they answer that they want to be a crampfish and heroine. Later, Bim asks somewhat bitterly, The hero and heroine-where are they? Down at the bottom of the well-gone, disappeared (157). Bim has lost track of her heroes however, Raja and Tara have not. The three siblings have very different relationships to heroic ideals. Raja is the most obviously hero-conscious character. First of all, he is extremely artistic and idealistic, so he adores rime, in both slope and Urdu. He precisely reads and quotes English poets, such as Byron and Tennyson however, he goes farther in imitating the style of Urdu poetry in his own verses. As Bim thinks, The poems were really very derivative. On for each one of them she could clearly see the influence of the poets he loved and copied. There was no image, no metaphor, no turn of phrase that was original. Each was a precise imitation of what he had read, memorized and recited . . . . One could see in them only a wish to emulate and to step where his heroes had stepped before him. (168) Raja is not difficult to be an original poet on his own he simply tries to be exactly like his heroes, which he does perfectly. Through the Urdu poetry that he so admires, Raja becomes acquainted with his Muslim landlord and neighbor, Hyder Ali. At first Raja merely has permission to read and borrow the books in Hyder Alis library, but increasingly he becomes involved in that familys household. There he learns to app... ...s Bim, because she strikes a balance amid idealism and reality. Raja is completely out of touch and gets so carried away(predicate) by his glorious plans that he disregards the dangerous political situation which makes his plans impossible. At the other extreme, Tara lacks dreams, so that she has no goals for herself and needs Bakul to force her to be unattackable and execute her will (17). Bim, however, has entertained ideals, had them crushed, and finally come to terms with her disillusionment. Bim is the heroine in Clear Light of Day. Work Cited Desai, Anita. Clear Light of Day. Great Britain Penguin Books, 1980. Professors Comments Although your refinement on Bim-as-heroine could use development--this is a fine and full exploration of the mercantile establishment from your own angle. Good use of supporting illustration, and tecnically perfect.