Essay Questions

How is hope as a trait brought out in the novel?

Hope plays a central role in this novel for each of the major women characters. For instance, Rani who gets married off at a considerable young age has to find a way to make ends meet while at the same time managing her family. However, with hope as her only weapon, she manages to put her life together. On the other hand, Rani is unstable and suffers from anorexia, however, she manages to come to terms with her health issues with the hope that it would okay eventually. Hope is thus the only thing that holds most characters in this work, the hope that even when the darkness reigns one day the sun would shine and it would be fine again.

Explore one major character trait of Reshma portrayed in the novel.

In a life dotted with challenges, Reshma, as do the other two women protagonists in this work exhibits a great deal of doggedness and perseverance. Poverty becomes a central reason why she gets married to a man way older than she is. As a woman in a country where the role of a woman has been largely associated with maintaining a home, Reshma exhibits perseverance as she struggles to make everything work out for her. In the end, she manages. The trait (perseverance) thus becomes a dominant one in her life.

What do the three protagonists in the novel have in common?

One thing that stands out among the three protagonists tackled in this work is that they are women faced with challenges in their lives. In a way, the novel becomes the writer’s way of highlighting the problems that women undergo as well as the pursuance that each has to have to manage and pull through life altogether. Reshma is struggling to come to terms with life in marriage whereas Rina is anorexic and needs medical attention whereas Ruth foregoes her other responsibilities to aid Rani in her journey to recovery. Challenges thus become a major commonality between these characters.