Religion and Character Development in Moving Forward Sideways Like A Crab Hannah J. Anain College

According to the Dalai Lama, “all religions try to benefit people, with the same basic message of the need for love and compassion, for justice and honesty, for contentment.” The need for love, compassion, justice, honesty, and most of all contentment is emphasized in Shani Mootoo’s Moving Forward Sideways Like A Crab, and characters with a variety of religious beliefs affirm this. Several different religions are mentioned in this novel including Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, but the significance of the characters’ religious beliefs seems to lie beneath the surface (Mootoo, 36). One scene I found particularly striking is the scene in which Pundit and Anta are discussing Sydney’s funeral arrangements with Johnathan, and Pundit asks Johnathan, “He… didn’t bring you up as Hindu, eh?” (Mootoo, 246). Prior to reading this scene, I had not considered the significance of religious beliefs in character development, but as the novel concluded I found myself thinking more about the manifestation of Sydney’s Hindu upbringing in his character and the visible lack of spiritual development in Johnathan’s character. In this essay, I intend to examine the way religion shapes Sydney’s character and the way the lack thereof shapes...