Character analysis of 'Village by The Sea'

I am going to talk about some characters in the novel 'Village by The Sea'


Hari

1.He is the protagonist of the story and he is the only son of the family.

2.He has to assume the duty of taking care of his parents and his siblings.

3.He lives in a tough world and has to make decisions that adults have to make

Lila

1. She is the eldest daughter of the family and is the elder sister of Hari

2.She has given up school to help mantain the house to take care of her younger siblings, Bela and Kamal

Mother

1. She is the mother of Hari, Lila, Bela and Kamal

2.She fell ill with anemia and is not able to help Lila to mantain the house

3.She is not fit and cannot even get out of bed to help their children

Father

1. He is the father of Hari, Lila, Bela and Kamal

2. He is an irresponsible father who is always drunk and does not work and earn money to support the family

3. He turned over a new leaf and stopped spending money to buy toddy

Pinto

1. The pet dog of Hari's family

2. Faithful to the family especially Lila as she spent the most time with him

Biju

1. He is the richest man in Thul, the village where Hari and his family live

2. He owned the first diesel powered boat in the village

3. He is proud and arrogant and always look down on the other villagers

Ramu

1. He is a friend of Hari and knew that many factories were going to be bult in the village

2. He hoped he would be able to get jobs in the factories that were going to be built

Jagu

1. He is the owner of the Sri Krishna Eating House and gave Hari a job in the restaurant when he was in Bombay

2. He lived in a slum together with his wife and other people

Mr Panwallah

1. He is a watchmender and taught Hari the skill of watchmending

2. He is a very kind person and was popular among his neighbours

The De'Silvas family

1. They are a rich and generous family from Bombay and went to Thul during the holidays

2. He owns a bungalow in Thul and lent Lila's mother a helping hand upon knowing that she was sick

The Watchman

1. He was arrogant and often looked down on the people in Thul

Sayyid Ali

1. Supported the fact that factories should not be built in Thul as he tought that the land was rightfully theirs

2. Spent his leisure time drawing birds as he is fascinated by them

Adarkar

1. He is a member of the Maharashtra State Legislative assembly

2. Lead the villagers in their fishing boats to Bombay to protest against the building of factories in Thul

Hira Bai

1. She is an old woman who is interested in herbs and cures

2. Advised Bela and Kamal to find the Medicine Man to treat their mother

Jagu's wife

1. Cares very much about her family

2. Her family was very poor

3.She was unhappy when her husband brought Hari home as they already had enough mouths to feed and could not spare any food for Hari

Policeman

1.Guarded Hari when he slept in the park

The Khanekar Brothers

1.They were drunkards and were the son of Hira bai

2.They were wastrels

These are the characters in the novel 'Village By The Sea'

Village By The Sea

Recently, i read a novel entitled"Village By The Sea" by Anita Desai. I learnt some themes while i was reading this very interesting novel. Here are some themes in the novel:

Benefactors
Change and Adaptation
Rural and Urban India
Poverty and Wealth
Family

Basically, this novel is about the times when people were very poor and had to find ways of supporting themselves and family. This people stay in a rural part of India, a small fishing village named Thul. One of the characters, Hari, faces a poverty situation as his father is always drunk and Hari has to work to support his family. He had to give up schooling and work as he is the only son in the family and his mother was also sick and could not help out. Hari's sister, Lila, has to take care of their youngest siblings, Bela and Kamal. Hari's father is the sole breadwinner of the family and was once a fisherman but he grew addicted to toddy and had to sell his fishing boat to pay his debts. Hari's father was permanently drunk and Hari's mother had been sick for a very long time therefore Hari had to bear the heavy responsibility for his father. He had to resort to his only last hope, going to Bombay. He went to Bombay in search of a job in order to earn money and was separated from his family members. This shows their poverty and their desperation for money.


This novel has taught me many important values and let me have a glimpse of what Rural India is like and the determination of many who are willing to work their heart out just to support their family. This novel is worth reading and teaches you many life values so just try it out and you will never regret!!