Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fire on the Mountain, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Nature of Freedom
Honesty and Self-Reflection
Trauma and Suffering
Class and Privilege
Female Oppression
Summary
Analysis
When Raka finally hears Ram Lal making tea, she slips into the kitchen to ask about the factory. It is the Pasteur Institute, he says, and it makes the serum used to prevent rabies infections in those bitten by wild dogs. Ram Lal himself had to have the shots—14 in all—once. He warns her to stay away from the gorge because the factory’s refuse attracts jackals and often infects them with rabies, too.
Raka goes out of her way to avoid Nanda Kaul and to talk to Ram Lal instead. The Pasteur Institute’s role in the community reflects a country at a turning point in the second half of the 20th century: diseases like rabies are still endemic but there are modern treatments available for those interested in taking them.
Themes
Ram Lal serves Raka and Nanda Kaul tea on the verandah. Raka refuses to meet her great-grandmother’s eyes. Nanda Kaul wonders what the girl will do to entertain herself. She is determined to leave Raka to her own devices, refusing to be drawn into her great-granddaughter’s world. She asks what Raka plans to do, but Raka does not reply.
To Nanda Kaul, Raka is an enigma. The little girl refuses not only to answer questions but also to look into her great-grandmother’s eyes or do anything else that might give Nanda Kaul a glimpse of who she is or what makes her tick. She is as self-sufficient as Nanda Kaul wishes to be—but isn’t. Despite her so-called refusal to be drawn into Raka’s world, Nanda Kaul cannot suppress her curiosity.
Themes
