Wednesday, September 16, 2015

How does Narayan characterize Guru Nayak in "An Astrologer's Day"?

The author characterizes Guru Nayak through his speech and his behavior as a crude peasant who is ignorant, superstitious and pugnacious. He pretends he no longer has faith in astrologers or their science; nevertheless, he keeps consulting them and letting them take his money. Narayan also characterizes him by contrasting him with the astrologer, who is relatively sophisticated. The reader can understand why a bully like Guru Nayak might have gotten into a fight with the young man who became the astrologer. 


The astrologer has become sophisticated through his years of living in a big city and surviving by his wits. The reader can see that Guru Nayak himself has acquired a certain amount of sophistication by his exposure to big-city people and big-city living conditions. He has spent a long time searching for the man who nearly killed him in their village. He is obviously not a gullible peasant but a dangerous adversary. 

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