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Shehan Soyza
Arjie’s overbearing, opinionated, cruel, racist grandmother, who punishes Arjie excessively for fighting with Her Fatness and tries to break up her daughter Radha Aunty’s budding romance with the Sinhalese Anil by sending her to Jaffna and trying to convince her to quit the play The King and I. During the family’s monthly “spend-the-days” at her and Appachi’s house, Ammachi always insists the kids give her an uncomfortably tight hug and then retires for the rest of the day. After her father was killed by a Sinhalese mob during the 1958 ethnic riots, Ammachi refused to associate with Sinhalese people and staunchly supported the Tamil Tigers’ fight for an independent Tamil state. Alongside Appachi, she is also murdered by such a mob in 1983, just before Arjie’s family leaves for Canada.
Ammachi Quotes in Funny Boy
The Funny Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Ammachi or refer to Ammachi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
2. Radha Aunty
Quotes
"Because he’s an engineer and he doesn’t have insanity in his family."
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“Be careful. We Sinhalese are losing patience with you Tamils and your arrogance.”
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Radha Aunty didn’t answer for a moment. “Until a few days ago I only thought of Rajan, but now I find myself thinking of Anil as well.”
Mala Aunty sighed. “It’ll never work.”
“But other Sinhalese and Tamil people get married.”
“I know,” Mala Aunty replied, “but they have their parents’ consent.
“If two people love each other, the rest is unimportant.”
“No, it isn’t. Ultimately, you have to live in the real world. And without your family you are nothing.”
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Ammachi Quotes in Funny Boy
The Funny Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Ammachi or refer to Ammachi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
2. Radha Aunty
Quotes
"Because he’s an engineer and he doesn’t have insanity in his family."
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Be careful. We Sinhalese are losing patience with you Tamils and your arrogance.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Radha Aunty didn’t answer for a moment. “Until a few days ago I only thought of Rajan, but now I find myself thinking of Anil as well.”
Mala Aunty sighed. “It’ll never work.”
“But other Sinhalese and Tamil people get married.”
“I know,” Mala Aunty replied, “but they have their parents’ consent.
“If two people love each other, the rest is unimportant.”
“No, it isn’t. Ultimately, you have to live in the real world. And without your family you are nothing.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
