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4. Ananda
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Anil’s Ghost, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Justice, Power, and Truth
Violence, War, and Greed
History and Memory
Work and Meaning
Westernization and Identity
Summary
Analysis
Years ago, when Gamini’s wife, Chrishanti, leaves him, he has long since been consumed by his work at the hospital. It has gotten to the point where he takes speed to stay awake to do the work he deems necessary. In the week after Chrishanti leaves, Sarath’s wife comes to visit Gamini and says that he can come live with her and Sarath. Gamini has been in love with Sarath’s wife since he first met her, and he declines her offer to come live with her and Sarath.
Again, while the novel often points to the way that work can provide a renewed sense of meaning, this passage also underlines the idea that it’s possible to overdo it. That seems to be what happened with Gamini, as he devoted himself so fully to work that he neglected other parts of his life, which led his wife to leave him.
Themes
Instead, Gamini begins spending even more time at the hospital, to the point where he essentially lives there. Not long after, though, he collapses from exhaustion, and the people in charge of the hospital tell Gamini that he must take a vacation. He goes back to his home one night and finds other people living there. He realizes that they are taking better care of the home than he would, so he doesn’t try to kick them out. Instead, he hires a driver to take him to a resort that is deserted due to the activity of guerrilla soldiers in the area.
In a previous scene, Sarath noticed the stillness of Gamini’s hands and asked him if he had “recovered” without specifying what he might have recovered from. This passage suggests that Sarath was referring to Gamini’s use of speed and his exhaustion, which led him to take a mandatory leave of absence from his job at the hospital.
Themes
Gamini is the only visitor at the resort. One night, when he is drunk, he passes out on the beach. He wakes up to find a man pointing a gun at him before he (Gamini) passes out again. The next time he wakes up, he is in a tent with wounded guerrilla soldiers. One of the soldiers tells Gamini to help the wounded. Gamini thinks of Dr. Linus Corea and wonders if he (Gamini) will ever return to Colombo. He then begins to work. As he works, he has to remind himself that the people he administers to are guilty of planting bombs that have killed or maimed countless other people who have been in his care. That night, after Gamini has administered to the wounded soldiers, an armed man escorts him back to the hotel.
Themes
After Gamini is free from the guerrilla fighters, he thinks about his relationship with his brother Sarath. Their rivalry began early on, and Gamini always felt like Sarath was the favored child. As a result, Gamini isolated himself, and people considered him antisocial. Gamini began to feel like he only came alive when he was around strangers. He was happiest when he found demanding work.
Themes
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Gamini found the demanding work he craved during the civil war, when he traveled to the northeast to work as a doctor. He was one of only five doctors in the region. The work was demanding to the point that it became all-consuming, but Gamini and the other doctors found a great sense of purpose in their work, especially because it existed outside of fame, fortune, or any kind of recognition. Gamini initially went to work in the northeast for a three-month appointment, but he stayed more than three years, during which time he developed a robust sense of self-worth.
