LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:5 May 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Marking Out the Catharsis in The Apprentice

Dr. Rashi Saxena

Abstract

The present article is an attempt to trace those elements which mark catharsis in Arun Joshi’s The Apprentice. Arun Joshi is a perfect scanner of human mind and is able to notice both good and bad aspects of its characters. The Apprentice is the best example of Arun Joshi’s tackling of human psychology.

This novel contains the story of a young man who from his very childhood dangles between the good and the bad paths of life. With the passing of time he decides to choose the path of amoral living by pursuing corruption and its resultant gains in many types of sins. When at last his mistakes force his best friend to commit suicide, his encounter with himself and with another character Brigadier makes him realize his errors. Now he leans towards goodness, and to clean up his soul, he chooses to polish shoes outside a temple. He chooses to smell the shoes as his punishment so that he can remind himself to be good.

In this article this process of purification of the soul is highlighted through some instances in the novel. By applying the speech-act theory, a clear appreciation of the work can be accomplished. The devices defined in the speech-act theory prove to be a major tool in the operation of the above mentioned novel. By zooming out the speech-act in dialogues the catharsis element can be marked in the novel. Ratan’s regaining of the moral code proves the catharsis approach of the author as well as of literature.

On Defining Catharsis

Catharsis means purification, the purification of soul. First, Aristotle has defined this term and later Plato also describes it. Both highlighted the fact that literature works best to purify the human soul. Literature evokes emotions and feelings in the human heart and extends the range of sympathy without any force, compels an individual to justify his goodness or badness. Only a good piece of literature can accomplish this task. Likewise, only a resourceful and creative author may get credit for this job.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Rashi Saxena
Assistant Professor
Raj Kumar Goel Engineering College
Ghaziabad 201001
Uttar Pradesh
India
rashi7saxena@gmail.com
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