Funny Boy Essay Questions

How has Appa’s perspective towards Jegan changed from the beginning of "Small Choices"?

At the very beginning of the chapter, Appa is distrustful and almost offended that his friend’s widow has reached out. Appa is skeptical that Jegan might have been involved in the Tamil Tigers and is reluctant to help. However, when Appa meets Jegan he is immediately moved by his resemblance to Jegan’s father (Appa’s friend) and offers him lodging and employment. Appa and Jegan’s relationship grows with Appa dispensing advice and stories to Jegan over drinks. However, when Jegan becomes associated with a Tamil Tiger assassination plot, Appa prioritizes his family’s safety and the success of their business over Jegan and decides to relocate him.

Why is it significant that Arjie defies Black Tie’s wishes at Prize Giving day?

Black Tie and Lokubandara are competing for control over the school. Black Tie wants to keep the school open and accessible to all, including Tamils like Arjie, whereas Lokubandara wants to make the school Buddhist, which would favor the Sinhalese. However, Arjie is disillusioned by the behavior of both men and the violence they’ve condoned. Seeing how Shehan has suffered at the hands of Black Tie, Arjie seeks revenge despite the fact that politically he should want to help Black Tie. Here, the personal relationship between Arjie and Shehan outweighs the political strategy.

Why does Appa relocate/fire Jegan?

Appa clearly loves Jegan, the son of his late best friend, and Jegan is doing a good job at the hotel. Yet Appa can no longer keep him on because the tensions between the Tamils and the Sinhalese are getting too intense. Jegan is a Tamil and a former Tiger at that. Appa is also Tamil but knows as a businessman he cannot be seen to favor Tamils. The hostility towards Jegan on the part of the staff and locals eventually becomes too problematic, and as Appa does not want to risk what he has made, he transfers Jegan (or at least offers to, as Jegan does not accept). This is a hard decision that, to his credit, Appa does not make lightly.

Why does Amma give up her quest for justice for Daryl's death?

Amma initially tries hard to find justice for Daryl's death, but when a reporter seeks her out and inquires if there is anything suspicious about it, she says no. This is because it was made very clear to her that her affair with Daryl was known and that it would be outed were she to pursue her line of questioning. She knew that she was up against forces that she could not triumph over; the police and the government would not only stymie her quest but also pursue her if they felt too threatened.

What is the significance of the burning of the house at the end of the novel?

On the surface, the burning of the house reveals the extent to which tensions had built in the country. Tamils and their property were no longer safe, and war had begun. Yet in the narrative arc of the novel, it also functions as a symbolic end to Arjie's childhood. He had already come to terms with his queerness and found himself emotionally estranged from his family after his mangling of the poems at the ceremony, but the burning of the house is the end of his childhood and his innocence in a broader way. He cannot view the Tamil-Sinhalese conflict abstractly anymore; he has to leave his homeland, loses all of his material possessions, and sees the place and things of his childhood vanish into mere memory.