Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Followers
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(104)
-
▼
December
(31)
- A Horse and Two Goats #4
- A Horse and Two Goats #3
- A Horse and Two Goats #2
- A Horse and Two Goats #1
- The Farewell Party #4
- The Farewell Party #3
- The Farewell Party #2
- The Farewell Party #1
- Class #5
- Class #4
- Class #3
- Class #2
- Class #1
- To the White Fiends #5
- To the White Fiends #4
- To the White Fiends #3
- To the White Fiends #2
- To the White Fiends #1
- The Negro Speaks of Rivers #4
- The Negro Speaks of Rivers #3
- The Negro Speaks of Rivers #2
- The Negro Speaks of Rivers #1
- Song of Ocol #3
- Song of Ocol #2
- Song of Ocol #1
- Black Woman #6
- Black Woman #5
- Black Woman #4
- Black Woman #3
- Black Woman #2
- Black Woman #1
-
▼
December
(31)
About Me
- Daniel Freeman
- trying to figure out most of what there is to know about most things.
Muni in this story represents a typical poor Indian. He never sees the money over fives and tens, is dreaming to open a small shop and sell foods to the travelers, and also we know Muni is a religious person because he explains the religious of the horse statue to the American. For a man who even could not achieve a small dream, the horse statue for him is not satisfy anything on the materially, so for him it only a spiritual substance.
ReplyDeleteMuni was rich and had a flock of sheep before. However, he and his wife have no income and no children, but two scrawny goats. Every day, Muni takes the goats out to graze on the scarce grass outside of town, while his wife pulls something together for an evening meal. As he watches the goats from the shade of a large horse and rider statue, he remembers his younger days when the work was hard but there was enough to eat, when he could not attend school because he was not of the right caste, and when he imagined that he would one day have children. Like many poor and struggling people, he fears authority figures, and so he fears the American who steps out of a strange car wearing khaki clothes. While the man tries to talk with him about the statue, Muni babbles on about a recent murder and the end of the world. At the end he seems to have temporarily escaped his money troubles, but his bad luck continues when his wife suspects him of thievery and threatens to leave.
ReplyDeleteTo Muni the significance of the horse and rider statue is a legacy from his ancestors. The story about the horse and rider has been passed generation after generation in the village. The people believe in its spiritual powers that money can’t buy. But for the white man it was just a decoration for his house.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Muni remembered his father and grandfather telling about the statue and the ancient story it depicted and tried to explain to the American how old it was; when Muni talked with the American, he interpreted the statue: “This is our guardian. . . . At the end of Kali Yuga, this world and all other worlds will be destroyed, and the Redeemer will come in the shape of a horse.” Clearly, this statue has some cultural or traditional significance in Muni's mind. It passes generation by generation. The statue seems like a "God", which is some spiritual supports to the village and villagers. Maybe Muni believed that the statue of horse existed and would lead him a better life sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteFrom what Muni has explained to the American tourist, the statue of the horse with a rider is the protector of the village, in which, when one day the world will be destroyed, the redeemer will come in the form of the horse. It is a belief which is common in southern India, where there are so many statues, in which is believed that they will come in the that specific shape, whether it is a sheep or another animal, to save the human being and the village.
ReplyDeleteThe significance of the horse and the rider statue to Muni was that it reflected his own life. Once a marvelous and grand art piece it was now reduced to nothing. Before it was at the heart of the town and everyone acknowledged it. Muni shares the same story as the statue. He was once a wealthy and prosperous man, but the times have not been too kind to him. He too had been reduced to nearly nothing.
ReplyDeleteChaperones honestly could not have put it any better. The statue symbolized the eternal, spiritual nirvana for Muni’s faith resided in. To Muni, its significance was tantamount to an omnipotent deity. The statue itself gave Muni a sense of hope or reassurance that things would be better in the future. Essentially, it was a symbol of Muni’s faith in optimism. However, the American clearly misinterpreted its abstract value and saw it as a mere object of superficial beauty, something that would only accumulate dust in his living room.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Muni was a poor Indian villager. The writer portrayed that no body in Muni's village had noticed the existence of the horse statue which is on the edge of the village. For Muni, he also never examine the statue carefully, probably not even look at the statue itself. He just often have a rest or sit there for shade under the pedestal of the statue, because the pedestal was large enough.
ReplyDeleteThe statue of the horse is important to Muni because it marks the beginning of his culture. Even though he never really noticed it, he knows it has been there since the upbringing of his city. It represents his culture. When the white man bought it and towed it away it signifies that his culture was toppling.
ReplyDelete