English Literature Texts Both Rohinton Mistry\'s Squatter

¶ … English literature texts

Both Rohinton Mistry's "Squatter" and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's "Decolonizing the Mind" utilize literature to challenge the idea of a uniform national and cultural identity, primarily through the means of depicting situations in which there are clashes of culture. Both are cautionary tales that warn against the forsaking of one's initial, primary heritage in exchange for a Westernized adaptation. The primary difference between the two works lies in the perspectives of both the authors and the events which affect the characters in the stories: Mistry's does so from the perspective of assimilation, while Thiong'o's does so from the perspective of suppression.

That Mistry's short story, definitely farcical in nature, is a warning to those who risk abandoning their culture in favor of willfully assimilating to another, is evident from the subject matter: that of a triumphant Parsi young man settling into Canada to become a fully integrated Westerner. Mistry has the principle character Sarosh recite the moral of his tale -- which is told in the third person by an uncle figure to a group of aspiring youths -- to levy a warning about assimilation, as the following quotation denotes. "Tell them,' said Sarosh, 'that the world can be a bewildering place, and dreams and ambitions are often paths to the most pernicious of traps' (p.343)." The fact that the story's main character is offering this insight to posterity (in the forms of the youths who will hear of his story, referred to by the pronoun "them") after his failed attempts to assimilate to Western culture (because of lavatory difficulties) indicates that such insight is the moral or principle thesis of the story.

But while Mistry concocts a farce to poke fun at the dangers of attempting to assimilate foreign culture, Thiong'o's autobiographical essay is blatantly authentic in its portrayal of cultural suppression. The author employs a series of poignant rhetorical questions to illustrate this motif, as the following quotation indicates. "What was the colonial system doing to us Kenyan children? What were the consequences of…this systematic suppression of our languages and the literature they carried, and…the elevation of English and the literature it carried (p. 550)?" The author is referring to the discouraged use of his native tongue and the usage of English as the basis for promotion in his colonial schooling. The unspoken answer to both queries is cultural suppression.

Interestingly enough, both authors make use of the oral tradition of storytelling to impart their specific stances of a dearth of uniform cultural identity. Mistry's chronicle of Sarosh is told by another character to a group of children fully immersed in their South Asia neighborhood -- and culture. The interposing of several native language references and concepts directly juxtaposes Sarosh's tale of assimilation, as the following quote, in which Sarosh's mother makes him promise to return to his native land if he is not fully Canadian in 10 years, demonstrates. "Kassum kha' -- on the Avesta. One last thing for your mother (p.330)." By having Sarosh swear an oath on a sacred Parsi text to return home if his assimilation fails, the author is contrasting his desire for Western ways with those that are distinctly Eastern. The fact that native language and sacred texts are used to reinforce this point to the crowd of Parsi youths merely underscores this fact.

Thinog'o, however, is much more direct in his utilization of storytelling as a direct representation of the culture that is being suppressed of his people. The telling of stories in his native language of Gikuyu was a means of propagating culture, as the following quote indicates. "…we learnt the music of our language on top of the content. The language, through images and symbols, gave us a view of the world…(p.548). This quote is particularly effective since the author goes on to describe how Gikuyu is eventually forbidden upon punishment and humiliation if spoken at colonial schools. Speaking Gikuyu is a means of continuing culture; outlawing its usage suppresses that same culture.

Rohinton wrote "Squatter" as a satire to challenge the notion of a uniform cultural identity. As such, he employs several humorous references to make fun of Sarosh's human folly which is elucidated in his attempts to assimilate as a Westerner. The following quotation, in which the author has a doctor advise Sarosh of a fictional device which would aid in his excrement difficulties, readily indicates the satirical nature of this story. "A small device, Crappus Non-Interruptus, or CNI as we call it, is implanted in the bowel. The device is controlled by an external handheld transmitter similar to the ones used for automatic garage door openers…(p.335)."Although somewhat crass in its terming, the sardonic nature of this quote is readily apparent. The notion that a garage door opener, entitled Crappus Non-Interruptus, no less, can regulate bowel movements is laughable at best, and only used by the author to have Sarosh return to his native land and fail in his attempts to assimilate in Canada.