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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Mood
Explanation and Analysis:
A Fine Balance is humorous, heartrending, and everything in between. Much of Mistry’s novel comes freighted with tragedy, suffering, and cruelty. But it also finds moments of warmth between the heavy episodes of misfortune. Mistry’s novel offers a touching storyline in which far-flung lives come together and form unlikely bonds: Dina’s flat—part workshop and part hostel—becomes the tattered refuge for her motley band of friends. Brought together by the necessities of the Emergency, the two tailors, lodger, and old widow learn to coexist and fill the gaps in one other’s lives. They roll chapatis for each other, apply Amrutanjan Balm, and step up to protect their collective survival. The novel chronicles a gradual friendship through witty banter and the smallest gestures of care.
These wholesome feelings run alongside a vein of satire. If A Fine Balance cultivates an emotionally poignant friendship, it also comments on the absurdity of Indian social inequality and politics. The novel introduces the reader to all manner of strange characters and circumstances, often to show the cynicism and corruption that taint the country. Lawyer-turned-proofreaders become pompous, screaming propagandists for Indian politicians. Slippery slum-dwellers climb their way to the heights of spiritual enlightenment. Midway through the novel, the Facilitator—a con artist—begins rounding up street beggars to provide free construction labor and earn middlemen fees. As the unsavory characters continue to reappear, the novel finds dark humor in the country’s profit-driven, brutal workings.
Even so, the novel's humor doesn't diminish the unimaginable scale of tragedy. A Fine Balance does not look away from the shocking injustices of its broken world, recounting episodes of pain aplenty. Ishvar and Omprakash return to their village to find their entire family massacred. Dina gets humiliated by her brother, then loses her husband to a car collision. Maneck’s college friend is tortured to death by political loyalists. Even the four characters’ friendship—tenuous and precious—eventually dissolves. One heartbreak follows the next, reminders of the cruel reality surrounding them.
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