Encapsulating the Nuances of Child Demeanor in the short stories of Ruskin Bond
Pages : 218-221Download PDF
Bond’s meticulous observation of a child’s deep abnormal psychological behaviour finds expression in his short story, A Job Well Done, an eight year old boy is unfazed by the murder of his step-father rather psychologically it delights him to get rid of him. Another fitting example of abnormality is well articulated in Bond’s short story Most Beautiful, the protagonist is a twelve-year old boy, Suresh who is physically deformed having problem with his speech, disposition and action. The apathy of his father aggravates his demeanour which sharply hinders the normal growth of the child. The portrayal of extravagance conceit of the imagination and indulgence in to several nuances of emotions are well diagnosed and illustrated by Ruskin Bond in his short stories. In The Great Train Journey, he invariably depicts the fantasy of little boy, Suresh, who unintentionally enters goods train carrying apples. Bond has candidly expressed dynamics of emotions in his short stories. In Chachi’s Funeral, Madhu replaces the wrath of her cousin Sunil by giving adequate vent through the fake murder of his own Chachi and in The Blue Umbrella, the sympathetic portrayal of the innocent pride and innate generosity of the young girl Binya, consequently brings the inner transformation in Ram Bharosa. Bond’s stories contain the flavour of Mark Twin’s subtleness. Bond’s art of storytelling reminds us of Mark Twin’s great characters Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer.
Keywords: Child Demeanor etc.