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Chapter 24
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Beyond the Sky and the Earth, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Culture Shock and Home
Buddhism and Everyday Life
Ethnic Nationalism and the Outsider Perspective
Women’s Role in Society
Summary
Analysis
The conflict between Nepali culture and north Bhutanese culture is referred to as “the Situation” or “the Problem” on campus. Zeppa is sympathetic to the Nepali students wanting to wear certain clothes for religious situations, but Shakuntala doesn’t think it’s a big deal to make students wear certain things. Zeppa hears from students about students in other schools who are arrested and possibly even tortured. This surprises her in a Buddhist country, but the students seem less surprised.
The vague language like “the Situation” or “the Problem” shows how people on campus don’t want to discuss the conflict directly. This language disguises how deep the feelings are on issues like Nepali clothing and culture, and how this has to potential to lead to violence. Zeppa’s own perspective reflects how, as someone witnessing the events firsthand, it’s difficult to make sense of the different sides and determine who is telling the truth.
Active
Themes
Dil, a student from Zeppa’s class, gets arrested one day for wearing the wrong clothes. He reappears a few days later, then disappears again, and the rumor is that he ran away across the border. Other students don’t want to talk about it. Finally at one point, the heavily pro-government newspaper the Kuensel briefly mentions the Situation, referring to the treasonous actions of students spreading pamphlets.
Active
Themes
