Analysis
The story “Karma” by Khushwant Singh has simple structure, with two parallel plotlines following Sir Mohan and Lachmi as they prepare for their train journey. Flashbacks give us a hint of Sir Mohan's backstory, while foreshadowing gives us a clue that Sir Mohan's part of the story will not have a happy ending.
The characters include Sir Mohan Lal and Lachmi, his wife, as main characters, and the two English soldiers, the bearer, and the coolie who speaks to Lachmi as secondary characters.
The events take place in a train station in India. The social setting explores topics such as the class system in British India, social status, and racial and gender discrimination.
The events are described by a third-person narrator, who also has access to the characters’ feelings and thoughts. The narrator is generally not explicit about what happens in the story. While he describes the characters and the events in detail, he does not comment further on the implications of the characters’ behaviour or the meaning of the events.
The language of the story mixes different styles in the dialogue, which helps show the differences between the characters. The story also contains important symbols which help illustrate its main contrasts and themes.
You can read the full analysis in the following pages.