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From The Gifts of Passage

From “Gifts of Passage” by Santha Rama Rau

“But I put it happily away, because it had all happened to a girl called Cynthia, and I never was really particularly interested in her.” (676)

Word count: 315

This quote stood out to me when I was reading this excerpt. Reading about times when other races were very oppressed and people treated them with very little respect makes me upset, but when they can stand up for themselves it is very inspiring. I thought it was interesting that the headmistress made the younger girls pick a new name that was easier for her to pronounce, instead of just trying to learn how to say their names. It was upsetting to read how they felt ashamed to tell the English children their names or eat what their mom packed them for lunch. Santha was very lucky to have her older sister there for her as a role model because when the teacher said the stereotype that Indians cheat and made them sit in the back of the class with a desk in between each of them, she immediately got her sister and walked home so they did not have to be treated like that any longer. I think that this quote is very important to show that she understood all the wrongdoings that had happened to her and her sister, but she did not let it affect her because it happened to the name “Cynthia” which the headmistress gave her. Another critical influence we see later on Santha is Radha, who she talked about as being someone who was extremely easy to arrange a marriage, but she wanted to work instead and did not care what people thought of her. At the time and especially keeping in mind culture, this seems like something that goes against this family’s beliefs, and it might be an eye-opener for Santha. 


Comments

  1. CaseyFebruary 6, 2023 at 6:39 AM

    The fact that her sister walked out immediately after they got called out that Indians "cheat", it really shows their maturity level at that time and their strong, understanding sense of racism and oppression going on. It was very inspiring seeing someone with such little power stand up to one who had power and expressed their opinion. She could have screamed and made it a much bigger deal, but all she did was walk to her sister and exit, which I find very responsible and mature of her.

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