Perspectives

To give you a broader perspective on the short story, we will add some points which will help you connect “Day Trippers” by Raman Mundair to current issues, literary period, and similar works.

Current issues

Published in 2015, “Day Trippers” is a contemporary story. The story explores the influence of culture and cultural ties in the increasingly global world we live in. The protagonists come from India but live in the UK. Their story might resonate with many Indians who live in the UK and who might have had similar attitudes towards their culture.

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Literary period

The story falls within the literary movement called Postmodernism. This movement developed post-World War II and is still dominant today. It is characterised as a response to Modernism. Postmodernist writers prefer common characters, and common or obviously surreal situations (such as dystopian societies). The generic quality of the characters in “Day Trippers” is also obvious. There could be numerous people in the UK like Parminder and Gurpreet.

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Works with the same theme

For the theme of culture, you might find it useful to also read short stories like “Just below the Surface” by Kate Nivison, “Flotsam and Jetsam” by Alan Bissett, or “A Marriage Made in Hounslow” by Rajinder Kaur.

“Just below the Surface” (A New Entrance, pp. 128) explores cultural prejudice as an Indian family living in London begins to have problems with a rats’ nest below their house.

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