Hmmmm....
That's interesting. It strikes me as being a bit off, not quite getting the intentions of the book, but it may fit the parameters of the assignment. You use examples well.
I just finished the book and let me thank you wholeheartedly for goosing me into reading it. I was hugely impressed. Mistry has shown promise throughout, but this is his masterwork (thus far, anyway).
This leapt out at me, if I were writing an essay it might be the starting point:
Quote:"In a culture where destiny is embraced as the paramount force, we are all puppets." p.287
Random-ish thoughts, not sure if I'll have time to get all of the quotes I dog-eared down here, and also not sure if it would be of any use to you at this point -- I know your assignment is due very soon (Tuesday?). If it's too late to be of use, maybe it can just turn into a discussion of the book (open to anyone else who has read it, too...)
I think that Yezad's embrace of spirituality at the end is not actually supposed to be seen as a good thing. I think it's seen as a sign of weakness, surrender. He tried to take matters into his own hands and it backfired horribly; he then decides that it is better to just trust in god, and when he starts to do so, things work out, and that seals the deal for him. He is trying to be a good man like his father (recipient of the clock for his integrity) but he doesn't have the outlet of work to allow him to do this good, and so tries to emulate his father by going back to his religious roots. But his core is already compromised, a core that was genuinely good though flawed, and he becomes a worse and worse person; which he tries to compensate for by becoming more and more pious.
I think Mistry is saying something about religious zealots of all types, there, and especially mirroring how Yezad develops with the Shiv Sena people who murdered his boss.
I loved the character of Mr. Kapur (Yezad's boss), loved his love of Bombay. Very interesting to read a more modern version of Bombay, very convincing, very sad. Shiv Sena has been the boogeyman in several Rushdie books, interesting to see them from another angle.
I just read a book to my daughter that contained the phrase, "And they were happy, though they didn't know it." That resonated for me with this book as well. Of course it was awful and cramped and upsetting at Pleasant Villa, but at the same time there was the wonderful bonding between Jehangir and Nariman, Murad's joy at being out in his tent, Roxana's fulfillment at being such a help to her father. Yezad's persistent tetchiness and the extreme lack of money were the only things that really were awful about it, and when everything is "solved" by moving to Chateau Felicity, there are just new problems and everyone is unhappier than ever.
The only hope is that Nariman has sufficiently gotten through to Murad that Murad will stand up for himself, no matter who he falls in love with. In that way the cycle may finally be broken -- though Mistry leaves this question open by ending the book when he does.
I loved the character of Mr. Kapur (Yezad's boss), loved his love of Bombay. Very interesting to read a more modern version of Bombay, very convincing, very sad. Shiv Sena has been the boogeyman in several Rushdie books, interesting to see them from another angle.