Analysis
An analysis of the short story “The Return” by Saadat Hasan Manto reveals that the narrative has a mostly chronological structure. The main events happen in a refugee camp, but the text introduces flashbacks to previous events as well.
The main character is Sirajuddin, a man who regains consciousness in a Muslim refugee camp. He recalls taking the train from Amritsar to Lahore, and losing his wife and daughter after the train was attacked by Hindu rioters. Sirajuddin’s daughter, Sakina, plays an important role in highlighting the cruelty and violence during the Partition of India.
The main setting is the Muslim refugee camp where Sirajuddin regains consciousness after his train is attacked by Hindu rioters. The camp is the place where he looks for his daughter and also where he eventually finds her, although she is in a terrible state.
The text has a third-person narrator and is told mainly from Sirajuddin’s perspective. Some events are described from different points of view, like the that of the volunteers.
The text’s language is straightforward, which allows readers to focus on the consequences of the Partition. Furthermore, Sakina’s character shows how losing one’s innocence also means losing one’s understanding of language, as her trauma makes her give another meaning to the doctor’s words.
You can read a full analysis of the short story on the following pages.
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Structure
The short story “The Return” by Saadat Hasan Manto has a mostly chronological structure, with a few flashbacks interrupting the flow of the main narrative. The text focuses on events that take place over a few days in a refugee camp.
The beginning of the story presents the setting and introduces readers to the political context:
The special train left Amritsar at two in the afternoon, arriving at Mughalpura, Lahore, eight hours later. Many had been killed on the way, a lot more injured and count-less lost. It was at 10 o’clock the next morning that Sirajuddin regained consciousness. He was lying on bare ground, surrounded by screaming men, women and children. It did not make sense.
The reference to t…
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Characterization of Sirajuddin
Sirajuddin is the main character of the short story “The Return” by Saadat Hasan Manto. He has a daughter of “about seventeen” years old named Sakina. After regaining consciousness in the Muslim refugee camp, Sirajuddin recalls the events that have separated his family. Although the narrative does not explicitly say this, Sirajuddin is most likely Muslim, and he has fled with his family from India during the Partition.
At first, Sirajuddin is in shock and finds it impossible to make sense of what happened to him:
He lay very still, gazing at the dusty sky. He appeared not to notice the confusion or the noise. To a stranger, he might have looked like an old man in deep thought, though this was not the case. He was in shock, suspended, as it …
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Setting
The events described in the short story “The Return” by Saadat Hasan Manto take place during the Partition of India, in 1947. The change of political borders between India (the Hindu side) and Pakistan (the Muslim side) came with the displacement of millions of people and a refugee crisis. The Hindu and Muslim populations were exchanged between the two countries, which led to violence and deaths.
“The Return” deals with Sirajuddin’s escape from Amritsar to Lahore after a Hindu attack and a fire, where he lost his wife. He recalls the train being attacked by rioters and losing daughter in the aftermath. When Sirajudd…
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Narrator and point of view
The short story “The Return” by Saadat Hasan Manto has a third-person narrator. The events are mainly told from Sirajuddin’s point of view, which helps readers understand the shocking events he is going through during the Partition of India.
The text begins with Sirajuddin’s perspective as he is starting to regain consciousness during the refugee camp:
He was lying on bare ground, surrounded by screaming men, women and children. It did not make sense. He lay very still, gazing at the dusty sky. He appeared not to notice the confusion or the noise. To a stranger, he might have looked like an old man in deep thought, though this was not the ca…
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Language
Style of writing
The language used by Saadat Hasan Manto in the short story “The Return” is straightforward.
The author does not offer too many details and focuses on the immediate events. However, several clues suggest Manto’s use of the iceberg theory, a type of minimalistic writing initially coined by Ernest Hemingway. A large percentage of what is truly happening in the story is hidden beneath the surface, requiring interpretation from the readers. For example, the author does not explicitly say that Sakina was repeatedly raped and abused by both sides; the events are only …
