The Mark of Vishnu

Study guide med hjælp til analyse af novellen “The Mark of Vishnu” (1950) af Khushwant Singh. Novellen kan du læse i lærebogen Indien - den nye stormagt (Tekst 19). I denne study guide giver vi dig overblik over de væsentligste analytiske elementer, som er værd at lægge mærke til og som du bør tage med i din egen analyse.

Khushwant Singh (1915-2014) var en indisk forfatter, journalist og politiker. Han har skrevet mange bøger og novellesamlinger. Hans sidste værk, The Good, The Bad and The Ridiculous, udkom i 2013, året før hans død.

Uddrag

Symbols

The snake, “Kala Nag”, symbolizes the natural world, whose most important instinct is survival. The snake only obeys the laws of nature and does not care about human beliefs. It is worth noting that the snake did not attack any of the people in the house until the schoolboys provoked it. However, this is not because Gunga Ram left milk for it to drink. It is because snakes do not attack unless someone threatens their territory. At the end, the snake attacks Gunga Ram because he places himself in its way, blocking its escape route.

The V-mark on Gunga Ram’s forehead is a symbol of his religious beliefs, as well as of his superstitions. At the end, it gets pierced by the snake’s fangs, which suggests that religious beliefs and superstitions cannot protect against dangers.