In order to find the tone of the short story, I would pull
from one of Tagore’s poems. Tagore’s poem, “Passing Time in the Rain,” features a
moment where I think some insight into his tone of “The Postmaster” is
relevant:
Small lives, humble distress/ Tales of humdrum
grief and pain/Simple, clear straightforwardness;/ of the thousands of tears streaming
daily/A few saved from oblivion;/No elaborate description,/Plain steady
narration...
This might help
to bring out the tone of the story. The tone, or the attitude of the author, created is
one where Tagore assumes the third person, but does not shy away from bringing out
Ratan’s emotional pain. For Tagore, what Ratan experiences is similar to idea of “small
lives, humble distress.” The tone created in the story is one where the tale of an
orphan is painful, but a part of the natural condition that is expressed in the world.
Tagore’s tone does not steer past one of “humdrum grief.” There is little “elaborate
description,” for even the ending is one where the experience of Ratan is dwarfed by a
condition where “snares of delusion” impact human consciousness. Finally, with the
“plain steady narration,” Tagore’s tone brings light to Ratan’s predicament, but only
does so as an internal light is shone within our own state of being in sensing whether
we are more like the postmaster, who breaks her heart, or Ratan, who must endure the
broken heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment