Analysis of the Nectar in a Sieve Novel - Research Paper Example

Response: The response section is divided into three: description of the benefits gained by Rukmani and her family from their land, discussion on the benefits taken away by land from Rukmani and her family, and explanation on Rukmani’s response to both the benefits and losses tied to the land. A. Description: Similar to the other south Indian villagers, the land is most valuable to Rukmani and her family. To be specific, their prosperity is deeply indebted to their farmland. Their dream about a prosperous life in future is interconnected with their farmland.

Their lifestyle was simple and they used to live in a small house. Besides, they used to cultivate rice and vegetable items in their farm/field. At the same time, their needs were limited because they were conditioned to live in such a circumstance. Within the context of Indian families, especially y in the Hindu families in South India, the domestic circle is under the direct control of women. On the other side, men are responsible to earn money for the whole family. So, Rukmani was aware of the fact that her family’s prosperity is linked to the economic outcome of their land.

Shmoop stated that “Social roles for women were also changing in post-independence India, and what a woman valued, as well as how she herself should be valued within society, are raised as questions in the novel” (1). In the beginning, there were a few members in Rukmani’s family (say, Rukmani, her husband and a few children). During that time, they used to cultivate crops, enough for their basic needs. Besides, they were able to sell their agricultural products and used to store rice.

So, one can see that farmland is the economic backbone of Rukmani and her family. B. Discussion: One can easily identify that the land provided everything to Rukmani and her family. On the other side, dependency on land without considering its after-effects led Rukmani towards more problems in life. For instance, natural disasters like flood led Rukmani and her family towards starvation.