Saturday, February 4, 2017
Irony and Hypocrisy in "Untouchable"
In Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand, there are several instances of irony and hypocrisy. First and foremost, the caste system is hypocritical in itself. Though people are expected to be upstanding citizens to make it into the upper-castes, they treat the people of the lower-castes extremely poorly. Furthermore, despite the untouchables being unable to receive pay for their work, they are often required to pay more for goods than people of the upper-castes. This is seen when Bakha is cheated out of his money when buying candy in the market. Another instance of irony is when the priest molests Bakha's sister, Sohini, then blames her for touching him and defiling the temple. This irony embedded deeply in the caste system raises the question of whether people actually believe the untouchables are ridiculously inferior and unsanitary, or if they simply just try to exercise their "god-given" power and status. Nonetheless, if these people truly believe that good deeds and high morality will grant them a spot in the upper-castes during their next lives, most people would act more charitable and humane towards the untouchables.
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I agree with Stephanie. Cases of prejudice in any culture or country are based off ignorance. There is a video that often pops up on my Facebook feed, entitled "destroy racism in one minute". It is of a school teacher being interviewed by a newscaster, talking about how racism is a learned act, and can be unlearned. She describes that stopping this ignorance is one of the main goal of education. People who are prejudice, like the characters Anand describes, want to feel above others. They need a reason to validate themselves and gain power. That is why their reasons for hating are usually so ridiculous, like what family you were born into or the color of your skin or who you decide to love or if you have a disability. The list of absurd reasons goes on and on. People cannot control these things, and it is preposterous to set them apart for it. However, if people truly believe there is a reason for uncontrollable things the social level you are born in to (like because of your crimes in a past life) it makes it much harder to break the cycle of ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI find your post very interesting steph! I never thought about hypocrisy in the Indian Caste System but once you point it out I wonder how I didn't see it before. I find it sad that the people who are held with the upmost respect for being the best citizens are the same people that put the so-called untouchables. Hopefully, like Julia said, this inhabited bad treatment of Untouchables can be unlearned.
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