The Vendor Of Sweets Analysis

sweetmeats lower, is seen by other businessmen and some critics as an underlying motive for spreading business. Although no other businessman of his line adopted the same idea to increase profits, Jagan has no scruples in keeping double cash book, as to his knowledge, Gita and Gandhi, both have nowhere mentioned sales-tax. Yet, this is to the credit of Narayan’s gift as an artist, that Jagan is neither a hypocrite nor a figure of fun. In spite of his some seemingly incongruities, which naturally are a part of every human personality (‘for man is a bundle of contradictions’), The complexity of Narayan’s The Vendor of Sweets as well as his other novels is now being increasingly recognized. The formerly prevalent impression of Narayan being

The conscious transformation accompanied by the necessary intellectual development creates a patch work of orthodox, unorthodox, idealistic and practical business minded activities. Jagan’s lack of curiosity and consequent ignorance of the fast-changing world become, incidentally, a barrier between him and his son, him and the rest of the world. Jagan’s portrayal is however, not a simple caricature for Narayan’s use of irony is highly ambiguous. William Hayden Moore 's analysis of Narayan’s technique seems limited for he finds Narayan depending “considerably on brilliant caricature” and on the ‘humorous’ men like Mr. Sampath behaving like a character out of Ben Jonson and• Dickens. “The comedy in Narayan,” Moore states, “emerges from the presentation of absurdity that comes from deviation from accepted Indian customs.” (57) With a remarkable truthfulness and compassion Narayan depicts the gap between the pretense and the actual modes of behavior. A strong sense of sympathy; accompanies the narration which is often maintained in an almost bland tone. The irony operates in multiple directions involving both the older and the younger generation in The Vendor of Sweets exposing the shallowness and selfishness of both. When Jagan learns of his son Mali 's desire to go to America to learn the craft of story¬telling, he is baffled and furious as well. It was outrageous and hurt his national pride Jagan’s reaction is undoubtedly parochial and chauvinistic and there is a dig at his sense of national pride closing his mind to new influences. But this is not a simple matter. There is also a feeling of justification in the outrage felt at the neglect of a rich tradition of literature capable of inspiring new forms. Jagan still believes in the old ideal of Divine Inspiration as the cause of literary