Her er vores hjælp til analyse af novellen “Chokra” (2003) af Numair A. Choudhury, som du finder i lærebogen Wider Contexts (s. 304). Ud over hjælp til analysen finder du også et summary samt inspiration til tekstens temaer og perspektivering.
Metaphors and similes
When the narrator uses the metaphor “my sister was born in a kerosene drum” (p. 304, l. 1), he associates the act of birth – emerging into the world – with Munmun appearing from the kerosene drum: “The man then lifted the lid off the drum and reached inside with one hand. And he pulled out my three-year-old sister” (p. 305, ll. 9-10). The idea is repeated when the narrator tells the woman about his mother informing him that Munmun will be “made new…made again, but different.” (p.306, l.26)
The simile “spoiling meat, like from a week old carcass” (p. 305, l. 1) describes the smell from the kerosene drums. The simile hints that the children kept in kerosene drums are purposefully crippled, and the smell is that of their rotten flesh.
The simile “undercurrent of scraping, moving and crying – as if there were a thousand noises in that hum” (p. 305, ll. 2-3) describes the noises made by the children kept in kerosene drums. Because of their miserable conditions, they cry and try to escape.
The simile “her shrivelled arms jutting out like disturbing branches” (p. 305, l. 25) describes Munmun’s appearance. The story later reveals that Munmun’s arms have been mangled (p. 306, l. 7), which is why they look disturbing.
