Commonality of Means and Matters in the Select Novels of R.K. Narayan
Author : Dr. Basavana Gowda OG
Abstract :
This paper examines the artistic coherence underlying select novels of R.K. Narayan—Talkative Man, The Man-Eater of Malgudi, The Vendor of Sweets, The Bachelor of Arts, and The Painter of Signs. This paper explores the means (narrative strategies, characterization, style, and structural patterns) and matters (themes, philosophical concerns, and socio-cultural representations) that make Narayan’s select novels collectively coherent. Further, the study argues that Narayan’s fiction demonstrates sustained structural and philosophical unity. Central to this unity are the fictional town of Malgudi, lucid and restrained prose, episodic narrative design, compassionate irony, and realistic characterization. Thematically, Narayan consistently explores middle-class ethos, individual versus society, tradition and modernity, generational transition, identity formation, and philosophical acceptance. Drawing upon critical insights from K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, M.K. Naik, William Walsh, and postcolonial theoretical frameworks, this paper demonstrates how Narayan harmonizes technique and theme to create a coherent imaginative universe that affirms the dignity of ordinary life. The interrelationship between narrative form and moral vision establishes Narayan’s enduring significance in Indian English literature.
Keywords :
R.K. Narayan, Malgudi, Indian English fiction, narrative unity, realism, middle-class ethos, irony, tradition and modernity, postcolonial transition, identity.
