ROOTS - LITERARY APPRECIATION(Leya Reginald - 20UMAT3738

                                 ROOTS

Roots(Jadien) is a short story written by Ismat Chugtai. It is a fictional take on the impact of the Partition of India on interpersonal relationships between a hindu family and a muslim family, as well as the idea of 'community' and 'home'. The readers are kept on a curious loop while the events unfold slowly and beautifully to the main part of the story. There are plenty of literary devices ,some which are sewn wonderfully into the story. Here are a few below...

1)" India was operated upon by such clumsy hands and blunt knives that thousands of arteries were left open. Rivers of blood flowed, and no one had the strength left to stitch the wounds."

India has been personified as a patient and the doctor who operated India is the British who colonized India for many years and then, before leaving and giving Indians their freedom left a deep wound which is the Partition. The English had operated Indians with such 'clumsy hands and blunt knives', which tells us about how carelessly they left India by triggering communal riots between Hindus and Muslims which still continue even after the Partition of India and Pakistan. And no one was brave enough to stitch this grave wound.

2)"But he left me behind, I who lie here today like an enshrouded corpse, uncared for."

Amma (who is the protagonist) tells about how lucky her husband is for passing away sooner and being lamented by the family. She's the one who's been left behind by him. The author uses a simile to depict how the family treats her like a corpse even though she's alive. She isnt being cared for and is called senile by her family for staying back in Marwar instead of traveling to Pakistan with them.

3) "But there was no oil in the lamp that day, and the wick had been burnt out."

Amma is symbolised as a dying lamp with no oil as she is old and might die very soon. The wick symbolises her happiness and her hopes which had died out when the family left her behind.

4)"Who knows whether this old skeleton of mine will be a witness to the return of spring?"

Here, Amma is thinking to herself about whether she'll be able to witness another spring in her body.  The metaphor where she calls her body a skeleton gives us an imagery of how old she is and how she has no flesh in her bones.

5)" Time passed on, but Amma stayed steadfast in here position like a banyan tree that stands upright through storms and blizzards."

This line speaks about how strong Amma's determination is to stay in her house which has all her life's memories and their neighbours who are so close to Amma , so close like its her own family itself. A simile is used to show how strong her roots are . A Banyan tree's has deep roots that when there are storms or blizzards , the tree stands upright. This shows us how deep-rooted her connection is with the place and the people surrounding that place and that she is not willing to leave for any cause.