Perspectives
Literary perspective
The short story “A Horse and Two Goats” by R. K. Narayan is a modernist work of fiction. Modernist stories tend to focus on everyday events, like the encounter between a tourist and a local that is described in Narayan’s story. Then, modernist stories tend to rely on symbols. In “A Horse and Two Goats”, the statues that guard the entrance of the village Kiritam are symbols of India’s glorious past, which the American does not understand. The story’s authenticity is created with the help of words connected to the Indian religion and culture. This is yet another modernist feature seen in Narayan’s story.
The short story “A Horse and Two Goats” by R. K. Narayan is also an example of Indian literature written in English.