Professor Ferdik, Ph.D.
LIT-2000
28 July 2016
Final Paper
Untouchable
In the novel Untouchable, Mulk Raj Anand portrays the life of an impoverished young boy who is the teenage son of a street sweeper. The primary root of the entire novel is social alienation. Social alienation is of extremely crucial significance in this story, as it truly construes Bakha’s entire life. Frankly, this alienation is the precise outcome of Bakha being from the lower caste and his mere existence is what permits the social alienation to linger on. This story provides us an in depth look into the lifestyle of the poverty stricken citizens in the outcaste of India. The general character in this novel, Bakha, along with those living around him, …show more content…
Even though fate may cast us certain lots, human beings have the power within them to change this fate. This writing is about the lives of the outcaste, or untouchables, who are the obvious scapegoats of civil injustice and social wrongdoing. It not only demonstrates to us the peculiar hardship of a single person, Bakha, but also an enormous issue that was present in the entire Hindu culture. Through this reading, we are able to experience the desecration and defilement of one large part of the Hindu society by another part of the Hindu society who just happen to have lucked into being born into a so called higher caste. Even though this social injustice seems to be caused by the caste system in all reality it is created by human beings. It is equivalent to the racial discrimination seen in our country, however this discrimination is bred through the caste system that they are a part of. Humans are capable of expunging the suffering and misfortune through the simple act of friendship and affection for the impoverished and disadvantaged. This young man is kept from the decency of having even the simple right to live his life like a normal individual of society in freedom and with respect. The caste system society created has destined him to a life of poverty and separation. Even though he knows this is his destiny, he has a zest for hope that cannot be broken. Despite the fact that the caste system has existed for centuries before him, he holds steadfast to the dream of a better existence down the road for all human beings. A small portion of the cruelty that Bakha experienced was demonstrated when he sat on the lady’s doorstep to rest. Bakha had been calling out for food, but no one was responding to his calls. He found himself tired and sat down to rest on the woman’s wooden steps. However, when the Sadhu