Conflict between Self and Society in Romen Basu’s The Tamarind Tree and Aravind Adiga’s Last Man in Tower

Abstract

The desire for security, acceptance and meaningful existence has been an innermost part of human nature. The history of man reflects his journey from cave to luxurious apartments to secure better and comfortable living for himself and his near and dear ones. This quest seems to have originated from man’s fear of death – devoid of any secured place for living, man used to spend the darkness of the night under the looming dangers of getting devoured by the predators. Aligned with this central fear is an array of different fears and apprehensions – the fear of rejection, of loneliness, of joblessness, of old age and helplessness, of diseases, of carrying on bed ridden life, of financial insecurity, of rootlessness, of alienation and so on. To alleviate this fear man has turned to the institution of marriage and family and to a larger extent to one’s caste and community. With a desire to earn a respectable living man trains himself and his wards academically, socially and intellectually and targets his activities toward his self and his personal problems or orients himself to the problems of the society at large. The choice that is made ends in different types of consequences. The self-absorbed dream for betterment mostly proves to be a mirage and pushes the man into a quagmire of degeneration whereas by channelizing one’s efforts to cure the ills of the society, an environment of greater good is established, creating a life of fulfilment and happiness for one and all. This quest offers an interesting study of human character. Literature of any nation or age mirrors man’s quest for betterment in a realistic manner. The present research paper proposes to investigate the lives of characters coming from different age, backgrounds and cultures, their motives and orientations, their idea of happiness, the choices that they make to materialize their idea, their engagements and the fruits that they taste of the seeds that they sow in Romen Basu’s The Tamarind Tree and Aravind Adiga’s Last Man in Tower.