Nectar in a Sieve
Danise Bachman “Nature is like a wild animal that you have trained to work for you. So long as you are vigilant and walk warily with thought and care… but look away for an instant…and it has you by the throat.” (pg. 39) Rukmani’s description of nature in an accurate one, especially for this story. Her relationship with the land is closely tied with her fate. In a way, the land was one of the antagonists in Nectar in a Sieve. When crops did poorly, her family starved. Then, when the land was taken from them, they lost everything. Nathan, Rukmani’s husband, rented a decent piece of farming land and when they were first married, the new bride did not fully appreciate the land and their little hut. After learning that Nathan …show more content…
“…in the town there were crowds, and streets battened own upon the earth…filth that men had put upon it… in this preoccupation forgot to look at the sun and stars.” (pg. 113) Kunti and other villagers liked the growing town and tannery for the reason that it brought extra income and frivolous lifestyle. Rukmani, on the other hand, thought it hurt the land and that the tannery was only to bring trouble. In a way she was right. Due to other tannery’s growing size and profits, people from the tannery bought the farm land Nathan had rented for the past thirty years. They were given two weeks to move out. Without the land, the aging couple had no home and no income. Additionally, the harvests had been so unfruitful in recent years they had no money to start somewhere else. Consequently, Nathan died a few weeks later from a high …show more content…
Though she had a loving husband and numerous intelligent children, she faced many adversities. Many these hardships stemmed from the land. On the occasions when harvests were decent, she was smart. The dutiful wife stored extra rations away safely and wasn’t frivolous. She saw the land as though it was at the whims of divine beings and when times plentiful, she was grateful. This also meant that when times were beyond harsh, she was accepting. “To those who live by the land there must always come times of hardship, of fear and hunger, even as there are years of plenty” (pg. 132) She took each misfortune in stride. The goal was to
Danise Bachman “Nature is like a wild animal that you have trained to work for you. So long as you are vigilant and walk warily with thought and care… but look away for an instant…and it has you by the throat.” (pg. 39) Rukmani’s description of nature in an accurate one, especially for this story. Her relationship with the land is closely tied with her fate. In a way, the land was one of the antagonists in Nectar in a Sieve. When crops did poorly, her family starved. Then, when the land was taken from them, they lost everything. Nathan, Rukmani’s husband, rented a decent piece of farming land and when they were first married, the new bride did not fully appreciate the land and their little hut. After learning that Nathan …show more content…
“…in the town there were crowds, and streets battened own upon the earth…filth that men had put upon it… in this preoccupation forgot to look at the sun and stars.” (pg. 113) Kunti and other villagers liked the growing town and tannery for the reason that it brought extra income and frivolous lifestyle. Rukmani, on the other hand, thought it hurt the land and that the tannery was only to bring trouble. In a way she was right. Due to other tannery’s growing size and profits, people from the tannery bought the farm land Nathan had rented for the past thirty years. They were given two weeks to move out. Without the land, the aging couple had no home and no income. Additionally, the harvests had been so unfruitful in recent years they had no money to start somewhere else. Consequently, Nathan died a few weeks later from a high …show more content…
Though she had a loving husband and numerous intelligent children, she faced many adversities. Many these hardships stemmed from the land. On the occasions when harvests were decent, she was smart. The dutiful wife stored extra rations away safely and wasn’t frivolous. She saw the land as though it was at the whims of divine beings and when times plentiful, she was grateful. This also meant that when times were beyond harsh, she was accepting. “To those who live by the land there must always come times of hardship, of fear and hunger, even as there are years of plenty” (pg. 132) She took each misfortune in stride. The goal was to