LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:9 September 2015
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.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Life in the Prison as a New Kind of Freedom in Goat Days

Dr. V. Rajasekaran, Ph.D.
Jasmine Jose, M.A.


Abstract

The objective of this paper is to portray how being imprisoned has become a kind of opportunity to enjoy a new kind of freedom for Najeeb, the protagonist of the novel Goat Days written by Benyamin, a leading Malayalam novelist. The treatment of some immigrant labourers in the hands of arababs is really harsh and cruel, and the present paper explores how the redemption of Najeeb from the arabab’s custody to prison becomes a journey from the bondage of slavery to freedom. The paper also gives vivid detalis of the mental agony of immigrant labourers.

Keywords: Imprisonment, Harsh cruel treatment, Immigrant labourers, freedom

Introduction

“The closest thing to hell on earth is prison. It's the worst experience I've ever had in my life, besides death.” Duane Chapman.

The word “freedom” by itself can bring an image of prison in the listener’s mind. The general idea of a prison is a place where there is no freedom. Therefore, prison as a source of freedom would be puzzling, ambiguous as well as paradoxical. The present paper is an attempt to study the concept of freedom in the view of Najeeb, the protagonist of Goat Days. The novel describes the pathetic conditions of immigrants in terms of the physical as well as the psychological state of mind and how slavery is still prevalent in different forms.

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


Dr. V. Rajasekaran, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Social Sciences and Languages
VIT University - Chennai Campus
Chennai 632014
Tamilnadu, India
rskaran2003@gmail.com


Jasmine Jose, M.A.
Research Scholar
School of Social Sciences and Languages
VIT University - Chennai Campus
Chennai, 632014
Tamilnadu, India
jasminejose278@gmail.com

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