Tiffany James- English 145

Giribala is a young girl given to a man by the name of Aulchand in a part of an arranged marriage.   Aulchand has not been truthful to her father concerning his financial status. He has marriage Giribala and had to immediately leave without her because he claims he must build them a house. Bangshi a prominent doctor and a friend of the family, reveals how disappointed he was in his uncle, Giribala’s father for giving his only daughter in marriage to Aulchand (1150). It is at this point that we learn of the type of man Aulchand is. He is not only broke and deceitful man, but a crook. He has stolen money that was for his nephew’s bride and gave it for Giribala.   He lies and cheats everyone he knows. He also is hooked on ganja (marijuana). He left Giribala for a year before returning.   The author reveals that in her community a girl is only born for two reasons to be married or to die.   We also see that Giribala is very young, 14 to be exact, but...

Saleem is born in the city of Bombay at midnight in a Nursing home on August 15 th , 1947.   The date of his birth was when India and Pakistan became separate nations and the author is stating that he has been handcuffed to history, while his destiny is indissolubly chained to those of his country (1132). He opens with once upon a time… taking us back to the beginning of his tale.   It seems that he feels like his life has been empty and without accomplishment, so he must tell stories to leave a legacy for himself. “Now, however, time (having no further use for me) is running out. He feels absurdity. He recalls a story of his grandfather who gave up his religion (Islam we can assume since the mentioning of the Quran) and traveled to fill the void he felt on the inside only to have filled up hole in his heart with hate. Its funny, and noteworthy to mention, that he vows to not pray because he pumps his nose on the ground and three drops of blood appeared.   I do...