The Return

Rigid Class System - Menon

The class system is based on wealth. The poor are
not allow to mix with the rich. The rich tries to keep
the poor in place and set up rules to keep them in
poverty.
Menon tries to convince Ravis parent to disallow
Ravi from going to secondary school. He fears that
Ravi would be better than his family.
Menon also tries to convince that Ravin is only
good for washing other peoples clothes. For
example, Menon threatens to fire Kannan when
Kannan open a new dhobi shop. Then he treats
them rudely when he send his clothes.
 Love is Evedent - Kannan
Kannan shows deep love toward his family. He occasionally
punished his wife and son when he felt that they are in
wrong.
He looked after his family well. He wants to provide a
better future for his family dhobi shop
When Periathai died, Kannan incurred high expenses to
give his mother a grand funeral
He was not overt his feelings but showed it through
actions. Eg: Kannan brought food for Ravi when Ravi fell ill.
Kannan doesnt show his affection expressively because he
is a traditionalist.
He doesnt approve of Ravi going overseas to study but yet
gave his blessing to Ravi.
 Sense of history- Ravi
Ravi, the main character, acknowledges the political events that
take place in the country, such as the Japanese occupation, the
Emergency, and the Independence, but for him they lack social
and economic significance.
As we read the novel we understand that as time passes by,
modernization is inevitable. The appearance of the cinema, the
radio, the bicycle and the car are some of the changes that will
eventually influence the social life and prosperity of the
characters.
Most significant of all, for both Ravi and society in general, is
the implementation and extension of colonial education. Some
examples are: the addition of new buildings to the school, the
movement upwards from one level of schooling to another, the
increase in the number of teachers and students, and the social
stability that education offers.
 Sense of Community-
Ravi
It is a community of immigrants who depend on the system of colonial
patronage. At first they are doomed to live in poor conditions on the
rubber plantation, from which they draw their livelihood. This
community is characterized by anger, violence, conflict and shrewdness.
Ravi is a part of that way of life, but gradually, with the growth of his
wisdom through education, he finds a way of getting out of it. Even
within the Indian community there are divisions and separation, while
class and status are demarcated by territorial and social boundaries.
The moment Ravi decides to stay on at school is the first sign he gives
to the community that he intends to escape the social status to which
he has been associated by birth. As soon as he joins secondary school,
he befriends his English-speaking classmates, who are of different
ethnic and social backgrounds.
Gandesh the Indian boy from next door, sense his superiority both at
school and at home, and eventually reject him. As soon as Ravi realizes
that he can spend his free time reading comics and other books instead
of running and playing in the mud, the rejection becomes reciprocal.
 Sense of Belonging -
Kannan
Kannan is a complex character, neurotic but at the
same time capable and hardworking. He is highly
influenced by Periathais vision of life and tradition.
Their shared desire to own land and build on it
comes from the fact that their roots are still in the
farming community Periathai was part of before
immigrating to Malaysia. But their wishes and
dreams are doomed to failure.
Kannan spends the last remaining years of his life
in vain, obsessively trying to gain ownership of the
land on which he has lived and built his house.
 Voice of Colonialism- Miss
Nancy
She functions within the hierarchy established by
colonialism and imposes her authority through controlling
access to English. The passages in the novel that deal with
Miss Nancy are characterized by both confession and satire.
The humiliation of the young Ravi at the hands of his
teacher is avenged by the satire of the narrator. The
traditional English fairy tales with which Miss Nancy fills the
class are re-told by the narrator as myths of colonial power
and the teachers sexual frustrations.
Although Miss Nancy represents the image of the
authoritarian colonial rule, we cannot dismiss her role in
shaping Ravis interests and intellect which will eventually
transform him into a successful, highly educated teacher of
English.