Previous
Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Allusions
Explanation and Analysis—Rice Ceremony:
As Shukumar reflects on what it would have been like had his and Shoba’s baby not been stillborn, he alludes to a Hindu tradition:
Their baby had never cried, Shukumar considered. Their baby would never have a rice ceremony, even though Shoba had already made the guest list, and decided on which of her three brothers she was going to ask to feed the child its first taste of solid food, at six months if it was a boy, seven if it was a girl.
Here Shukumar—via the narrator—ponders what it would have been like to have a “rice ceremony” for his child, describing how Shoba had already “decided on which of her three brothers she was going to ask to feed the child its first taste of solid food.” This is an allusion to annaprashana, a traditional Hindu ceremony performed as a sort of rite-of-passage for children as they transition from only drinking milk to eating solid foods. As Shukumar describes, being chosen to feed the child their first spoonful of rice (in the six to seven months after their birth) is an honor.
This is one of the few moments in the story in which Shukumar reflects directly on the death of his child and all of the losses that have come with it. Though the tone is not overtly mournful here, readers can sense Shukumar’s grief just beneath the surface.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Agrarian Revolts:
In the first few pages of the story, the narrator sprinkles in background information about Shoba and Shukumar. When telling readers about Shukumar’s occupation as a doctoral student, the narrator alludes to the history of agrarian uprisings in India’s history, as seen in the following passage:
[Shukumar] put a glass lid on a pot of lamb, adjusting it so only the slightest bit of steam could escape. Since January he’d been working at home, trying to complete the final chapters of his dissertation on agrarian revolts in India.
The “agrarian revolts in India” that Lahiri alludes to here are likely a reference to a series of uprisings led by Indian peasant farmers against the oppressive British colonial regime. While some of the revolts were successful in shifting policies, many also led to the deaths of members of these movements.
It is notable that Lahiri does not specify which particular agrarian revolts Shukumar is researching here, given that there have been many farmer-led movements in India’s history. This was likely her way of pointing to the fact that the specifics of Shukumar's research are not important—what’s important for readers to understand is that Shukumar is caught between researching this upsetting subject matter for work and facing the upsetting subject matter in his personal life (that he and his wife lost their child six months earlier).
Related Themes:
