Karrupan is a young boy who is bullied by Rajam, Mani, and Swami while out driving his cart. The three friends harass Karrupan and pretend to be government agents, frightening the boy before sending him on his way. The behavior of Swami and his friends toward Karrupan demonstrates their internalization of the colonized state’s brutal power structures.
Karrupan Quotes in Swami and Friends
The Swami and Friends quotes below are all either spoken by Karrupan or refer to Karrupan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the University of Chicago Press edition of Swami and Friends published in 1980.
Chapter 11
Quotes
‘Whom do you address as “boys”?’ asked Rajam menacingly. ‘Don’t you know who we are?’
‘We are the Government Police out to catch humbugs like you,’ added Swaminathan.
‘I shall shoot you if you say a word,’ said Rajam to the young driver. Though the driver was incredulous, he felt that there must be something in what they said.
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Karrupan Character Timeline in Swami and Friends
The timeline below shows where the character Karrupan appears in Swami and Friends. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 11
...Police and threatening to arrest him. The continue to harass the boy, whose name is Karuppan, before finally writing him a fake pass and allowing him to pass.
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