Roots : Literary devices (Merlin Chacko, BA Sociology, 20USOC3604)

 Roots is a short story  written by Ismat Chughtai. This story is an artful depiction of love and mutual respect between a hindu and a muslim family. It also portraits the impact of India Pakistan partition among the people. Amma, the narrator's mother is the central character of the story who tie both families eachother. She refuses to be uprooted and stubbornly stays back in India during the partition. She is sceptical of setting in an alien land. The story thus throws light on questions of nationality and highlights the triumph love in the face of communal hatred.  

* "India was operated upon the clumsy hands and blunt knives that thousands of arteries were left open." 

          The colonial British power is personified to clumsy hands.This statement shows the intensification of communal riots that happened in India during partition. Thousands of people were killed brutally and was deeply wounded physically and mentally. No one gained the victory from this riot but many lost their lives, livelihood, dreams,roots etc.

*She had nursed the crop with her heart's blood through fifty years.

           Amma's family is personified to crop.Amma take care of her family. She spent her good time of her life for the betterment of family.She built her family over her life and hardwork.  Now she is scared about her children's condition in new land.

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

            The author is presenting amma as a “Banyan tree”. Banayan tree is a tree which have prop roots from branches of stem .its roots goes deep down in soil and it is almost impossible to cut its roots off . just like a banyan tree ammas roots goes deep down in her homeland . she spended her whole life in this 

land and her roots is so deep that nothing in the world could cut it off. She loves her roots and doesn’t

want to get cutoff from her roots .she is not ready to leave her land , country and her neighbours and 

likens this leaving her to dead .no matter what happens she will never let anyone to cutoff her root ,she 

is willing to accept anything . she doesn’t want to leave and she never will. Here the author is using 

Simile.

*"Two pearls of warm tears trickled down”

Here the tears are being personified .when her childrens left her and went to pakistan amma cried a lot 

but that tears of her represent nothing but sadness,it gives off the image of amma who is heart broken 

and alone.but here now her tears represents happiness .everything is back to normal ,her childrens 

came back for her ,and now roopchandji is also there with them. Pearls are something really valuble and beautiful and just like a pearl her tears are so valuble and meaning full, it is the tear of joy.

*"Deadly wound that it would fester for years to come"

            Here partition is personified as a deadly wound that would fester for years. Even though british had left india it left a deep wound on india which is called partition .partition is wound that wiil become worse or 

more intense as time pass on.even in this era we are still suffering the pain of that wound which had left by British