Narrative Perspective in Sidhwa's Cracking India

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The Narrative Perspective in Sidhwa's Cracking India Lenny Sethi’s short life is molded through the affection of her family, friends and especially her beloved Ayah. As a Parsee with a loving family, Lenny enjoys and has grown accustomed to regular household affairs and conversations in the park with Ayah and friends. Fortunately, Lenny has a positive upbringing where she can grow and thrive in society despite her struggle with polio. Many people in India at this time were not as fortunate. However, it is the Partition, in conjunction with the kidnapping of Ayah, which steals Lenny’s innocence and should be considered the major tragedy of this novel. As narrator, Lenny’s perception of the violence in India is felt by the reader. Lenny is an extremely observant and impressionable young girl growing up in Lahore. Lenny is constantly absorbing the events of the Partition of India and is alternately thrilled and frightened by them. These qualities make her a perfect character for a reader, unfamiliar with the Partition, to relate to. However, the author is using such an innocent character as narrator in an attempt to show exactly how devastating these events were. Through simple conversations in the park, Lenny and the reader hear different perspectives of the separation of India through a variety of characters including Ayah and Ice Candy Man. Lenny’s narration demonstrates how the Partition separated good people from their pleasant, everyday lives. This threatens to destroy the child’s security and trust in her country forever. Her city of Lahore, which was once a safe place where Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs mixed without incident, now is witness to entire families disappearing overnight. The reader views these events through the innocent eyes of Lenny Sethi and realizes just how bad the separation of India became. Many characters are important
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