Struggle for Existence in Kamala Markandaya’s A Handful of Rice
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Department of English
Abstract
The present research basically focuses on the issue of existential crisis of the
protagonist of Markandaya’s A Handful of Rice, Ravi. The central character Ravi, a
representative of universal adolescent, under adverse circumstances faces so many
difficulties and struggles much to find his identity from the very beginning of the
novel. Coincidentally, he enters into the house ofApu while trying to escape the
arrest. He had joined the exodus from arid village to an over-populated, proverty-
ridden city with a great hope to improve his pitiable plight. But unfortunately, he goes
to the underworld to petty criminals. He starts working as an Apu's apprentice and
falls in love with Apu's daughter Nalini and decides to leave all the criminal activities
and live prestigious life. But the circumstances--the scarcity of everything and mainly
the death of his son, Raju--make him impatient and violent and he is inexorably
drawn towards dangerous climax again. So, he has ‘angst’; in order to assert his
individuality, he leaves his society, rejoins the criminal gang by using his freedom of
choice. In short, he does not listen to others but the voice of his own heart. While
doing so, he does not feel any regret.