Themes and message

Mob mentality

The theme of the mob mentality is explored by Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Narayan in the short story “Another Community”. The term mob mentality describes how people are influenced by others to adopt a particular behavior. Most of the time, mob mentality is based on instinct and emotion rather than reason. This idea is illustrated in the story through the main character’s change of behavior in the light of an impending conflict between two rival communities. 

At the beginning, the tension between the two communities is based on rumors and on actions that take place far away and should not affect them. While the man begins by being sensible and tries to reason with those around him, he realizes how much their mentality could lead to violence: “Now when he hea...