I will start this blog post with honesty: This is after reading the novel “The Hungry Tide” by Amitov Ghosh, and I just want to say that after a certain point, I started to read with my eyes and not my brain; I soon couldn’t focus and had drowned in this confusing sea of words that is this novel. However, if there was anything that (slightly) caught my attention, it would be the “love-triangle” that was pointed out in class. So, for this blog post (that had accidentally slipped past me… whoops…) I want to write about this “love-triangle” and the relationships between certain characters in the novel. Specifically– Piya, Fokir, and Kanai.

My impressions of the characters (based on the entirety of what we’ve read and what I personally remember) are as follows: Kanai’s a narcissistic playboy type who loves the fact that he knows 5 languages (not including dialects) and who thinks he’s superior to everyone; Piya is a beautiful, hardworking woman who really loves her job studying marine life, and in the instance of this novel that would be dolphins, who also values animal lives a lot; and Fokir being a large, quiet man who keeps to himself and does his job well, knowing the area and not hesitating to end the life of an animal if it oversteps its boundaries.

The “love-triangle” consists of, in a nutshell, Kanai (a “woman connoisseur”) and Fokir (a married man) going against each other to win Piya’s heart. And I don’t mean this literally, by the way, as in they actually plot to go against each other to specifically win her heart (well, maybe except Kanai but I know Fokir doesn’t). Both Kanai and Fokir demonstrate their qualities throughout the novel, with Kanai not really gaining favorable impressions in my eyes, personally, and Fokir just being this sweet and respectful guy who helps Piya find her dolphins. 

After traveling to Lusibari, things start to get a bit intense: Before this, Piya and Fokir have already interacted quite closely to where they might be perceived as having an “intimate” or at least very close relationship. The pair travel to Lusibari to try to find more dolphins, and Kanai (as a translator) and a local dude named Horen goes along with them. Taking note of their relationship, Kanai, out of a fit of jealousy, points out to Piya that she will never understand Fokir, to which then she gets hurt (I unfortunately cannot find the evidence as of right now, however it does exist). But as more time progresses within the story, we can clearly see Piya’s feeling about Fokir, especially in this passage, which is a conversation between Kanai and Piya:

“And if you stayed, you’d be working with Fokir?” 

She nodded. “I’d like to — but I guess it depends on him.” 

“Is there anyone else you could work with?” 

“It wouldn’t be the same, Kanai,” Piya said. “Fokir’s abilities as an observer are really extraordinary. I wish I could tell you what it was like to be with him these last few days — it was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.” 

A sudden stab of envy provoked Kanai to make a mocking aside. “And all that while you couldn’t understand a word he was saying, could you?” “No,” she said with a nod of acknowledgment. “But you know what? There was so much in common between us it didn’t matter.” (219-220)

Piya believes that her feelings go beyond words, and that certainly is the case in terms of Piya and Fokir’s relationship–although they can’t communicate through words, their actions and how they treat each other is enough for us readers to understand that there definitely was some sort of flame between them. Even Moyna, Fokir’s wife, was concerned about their relationship because she notices how close they are, even bringing up her concerns with Kanai, stating, “…Who knows what he’s begun to expect — especially when she’s giving him so much money? Maybe you could speak with her too — just to explain she would do him harm if she made him forget himself.” (212) as well as, “‘She’s a woman, Kanai-babu.’ Moyna’s voice sank to a whisper. ‘And he’s a man.’” (212)

With Kanai on the other hand, Piya and Kanai have definitely had their moments together, like when they were exchanging conversation about their past relationships:

“That’s interesting,” he said. “I once knew a woman who used to say that — about the sea.” 

“A girlfriend?” said Piya. 

“Yes.” 

“Have you had many?” 

He nodded, and then, as if to change the subject, said, “And what about you? Do cetologists have private lives?” 

“Now that you ask,” said Piya, “I have to say that there aren’t many who do, especially not among us women. Relationships aren’t easy, you know, given the kinds of lives we lead.” 

“Why not?” 

“We travel so much,” Piya said. “We never stay long in one place. It doesn’t make things easy.” (253-254)

This was good development for their relationship because even small, mundane conversations like this could help them become closer to one another, as well as help them to learn more about each other. It’s also good for Kanai’s character in general, in which he isn’t just trying to use Piya as a “mate”, but is actually trying to get to know her as an individual, and I personally feel like Piya could really appreciate that. 

Now, for the finale: I would say that theoretically, Fokir would be the best match for Piya instead of Kanai mainly because of the connection they share, as well as their commonalities and how well Fokir treats Piya. However, Kanai could also be a good fit because he has the ability to understand Piya, whereas Fokir and Piya lack the ability to communicate with one another. Unfortunately though, near the end of the novel, Fokir ends up dying after getting caught in a storm with Piya, and even that was romantic in the fact that Fokir shielded Piya with his body from the storm, protecting her even after death. At the end of the novel, though, Piya ends up with no one and ends up focusing solely on her research.

In the novel “The Hungry Tide” by Amitav Ghosh, we are introduced to the two main characters of the novel Kanai and Piya through not only the writer’s point of view, but also through each other’s perspectives. We initially meet Kanai, who goes about describing Piya through his eyes. Then we meet Piya, who describes Kanai through her eyes. Even though both characters share the “main character” spot in this novel, neither one of them are similar to the other at all– minus the fact that the two of them could be seen as “outsiders” in their respective environment. Between their personalities, how they interact with others, and how they carry themselves, the contrast between the two protagonists gives the reader the ability to read this novel through, legitimately, two completely different points of views– set with their own problems, their own interests, side characters, etc.

One way we can surely compare Kanai and Piya is through the fact that they could be seen as “outsiders”, or at least distant from their culture. We learn almost immediately about Kanai, as the text actually does call him an outsider, stating that, “Kanai was the one other “outsider” on the platform and he quickly attracted his own share of attention… as in the width of his stance, there was a quiet certainty, an indication of a well-grounded belief in his ability to prevail in most circumstances…” (Ghosh, 8) From this, we can already somewhat guess his circumstances to be described like this, also based on earlier parts of the novel such as when the chapter began. Kanai seems to be quite conceited, holding himself high above everyone else. It’s because of this mindset and his upbringing that sets him far, far apart from anyone else in India– he’s so distant from the real-life culture of his home that it’s like he was raised somewhere completely different. However, for our other protagonist, Piya, this is actually the case. Piya was not originally from India, she was born there but moved when she was too little to begin learning the language. It’s mentioned previously earlier in her opening part of the novel that she didn’t enjoy Chai in Seattle, but she confirms her identity when she has a run-in with Kanai on the train and accidentally spills her tea on his papers. She states, “‘About my being American? You’re very observant.’” (Ghosh, 13) We learn this tidbit of information, and then receive more about how she only speaks English and that she isn’t very good at it, that she isn’t very good at learning languages, and that she doesn’t find it too important as long as it doesn’t affect her work, which it doesn’t. (Ghosh, 13) Though one was born in India and the other was not, they are still both quite distant from the culture, no matter what their situations were beforehand.

To contrast Kanai and Piya is as simple as contrasting apples and oranges– mainly because they are two completely different characters with completely different personalities, appearances, and attributes that individually defines them as characters, especially main characters. We immediately start the novel with Kanai lost in his own self-absorption, giving himself the right to “appraise women” as if they were objects, already making him unlikeable right off the bat. “Kanai liked to think that he had the true connoisseur’s ability to both praise and appraise women…” (Ghosh, 7) When you appraise something, you determine it’s value– and that’s what Kanai does when he sees women according to this line, treating them as replaceable items that could either be worth something or worth nothing. Just only from that, and from even the fact that that was how he though of himself, he is definitely narcissistic. This is further evident in the fact that when he was on the train, out of all the other seats he could’ve picked, he actually went over to someone and asked them to move out of their seat so he could have it. “The newspaper reader goggled in astonishment and for a moment it seemed he might even protest or resist. But on taking in Kanai’s clothes and all the other details of his appearance, he underwent a change of mind…He gave in gracefully and made way for Kanai to sit beside the window.” (Ghosh, 9) Kanai happened to be dressed in a more western style, and according to the novel, people viewed those wearing western styled clothing to have some sort of connections with the law or be people of important status, which was what the newspaper gentleman thought when he looked at Kanai. Kanai can be viewed as a self-absorbed narcissist who abuses his status and appearance to have his way. Whereas Piya, on the other hand, is more kept to herself in that she is aloof and hardworking, and that she also prefers to avoid conflict. Even when Kanai asks about how she thinks she’s going to be able to communicate with others and get around, she plays it off well and is honest with him, “‘I’ll do what I usually do,’ she said with a laugh. ‘I’ll try to wing it. Anyway, in my line of work there’s not much talk needed.’” (Ghosh, 13) In terms of conflict avoidance, when she begins the process of being approved for a survey (I think..?) for work, it’s pointed out that she much prefers to do her work alone, and most likely hates the escorts/guards that are to go with her during the surveys. “Her face fell in dismay for she knew from previous experience that official escorts were always a hindrance…she would have far preferred to travel on her own…She dropped the matter without further demur.” But because she wanted to be able to start her survey as quickly as possibly, and not wanting to cause unnecessary problems, she sucked in her gut and decided to not say anything about the guard, showing us that she would much rather avoid problems.

In Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, we start off with the year 2024 printed in big bold letters before we actually move into the first chapter on the next page, where we see that this story is being told in a diary-format, as it keeps full and specific dates every few bunches of paragraphs. As the reader, before fully reading into it, I wouldn’t have thought that this was a story of what it actually was. After reading about 4 chapters, I can safely say that I was pulled into this cruel and awful world that Butler created, hoping for the main character, Lauren, to be able to survive. Then again, since this book is 25 chapters long I assume she does.

Remembering what year this book came out in (1993), and the fact that it takes place in 2024-2025 (as far as I was able to read) frightened me a little, especially considering the downward slope our society is spiraling through. The topics and situations in this book are relatable. Too much to where I feel slightly uncomfortable and start thinking things such as “Could this happen to us someday?” And the answer is probably yes. Humans are built to destroy themselves, and we’re pretty good at it— destroying ourselves and everything around us. So a future like the one Lauren lives in doesn’t seem unrealistic, except the only difference is that I don’t think our government or whatever group of people would be so kind enough to put up walls around our neighborhoods… at least without being shown some real bank, first.

In Parable of the Sower, there was once actually a normal life for people. However, due to some factors like new drugs and the government’s space exploration program, many budgets have been cut and the people have been left out to dry. There are some who are lucky to live in homes within their safe, walled communities, while others are not so lucky— they may live in houses but they’ll be randomly burned down, or they will be on the street. Even with all of this chaos going on, people must still pay bills. They have their utility bills and other house bills, and even if they wanted to call someone like the fire department, they would have to pay a service fee. “Of course, no one called the fire department. No one would take on fire service fees just to save an unoccupied garage. Most of our households couldn’t afford another big bill, anyway. The water wasted on putting out the fire was going to be hard enough to pay for.” (Butler, 30) I feel like service fees are the expected future, as we can even see it now with a lot of things. Like when cashiers at Starbucks turn the tablet to you asking for a tip, as if they didn’t just charge you $5 for a cup of coffee. Or when I was enrolling for this semester, and they had the nerve to change a $100 service fee on top of an almost $4,000 tuition. Yay. Anyways, on top of the utility bills and other fees, they need to buy food, clothes, water (which is now just as expensive as GAS in this story), and other necessities to survive, and if they can’t they go out on the street. In desperation and survival, people will do anything, and we can really see that in this story. People trying to live have to be caged behind walls equipped with barbed and Lazor wire so bad people don’t get in to rob them, hurt them, or even kill them, for example. And even going outside of the walls, those things will absolutely happen if you don’t travel armed and with a large group. You couldn’t even go outside the walls with clean clothes, because you become a target. “You’re supposed to be dirty now. If you’re clean, you make a target of yourself. People think you’re showing off, trying to be better than they are.” (Butler, 20) People within the walls even keep at least two guns at home, just in case. Personally, I would be too weak to survive in a society like this.

One (amongst four) interesting thing that stood out to me in this story is how many children people have. I’ve seen cases in this story where there would be 12 kids to a family, or 18 people living in one house. It makes me think back to Haraway’s article “Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Plantationocene, Chthulucene: Making Kin”, specifically this one line that says “so, make kin, not babies!” And I feel like people in this story needed advice like that. In a society where money and supplies are scarce, why would someone ever want to have more than even one child? Some men in this story have multiple wives, so of course the abundance of little kiddos comes with it. Do they do it to show off? Yes, basically, the richer and middle class men do it to show they are real men. Like Peter Moss’s father, Richard Moss, who “claims that God wants men to be patriarchs, rulers and protectors of women, and fathers of as many children as possible.” (Butler, 33) More mouths to feed and backs to clothe means more resources used up. It’s no wonder this world is falling apart in this story… In a world like this, it would definitely be a smarter decision to form “kin” with the community, rather than make more kin. From what I said before about why this world is like this in this story, overpopulation could definitely and absolutely be a factor into this. Too many new and developing people and not enough resources; not enough space for them, and at that point for the people who are already here. And in our time, we’re facing an overpopulation problem as well. We’re apparently bound for 11 billion people at around 2100, which is crazy to think about. So if inflation, rise in crime, addictions, random money-draining programs, and stubborn governments somehow won’t be the end of our society, overpopulation probably will.

Another thing that I found interesting has to do with Lauren’s father and the people in her wall community. They are very religious. I mean, to the point where they would be willing to risk themselves, their families, and their wallets to be able to go to church, and to become baptized. I don’t mean anything bad by this, in fact, I mean good things besides the fact I find this utterly fascinating. It’s admirable that people in this story still have God to look to and a faith to keep. 

The third thing I found interesting was space. Well, how in this story the government and the rich people wanted to move to Mars because there is no hope for Earth. Obviously, the regular, common people wouldn’t be allowed to board that ship, only the people who could afford it— the same people who turned the Earth into the nightmare it is. They’ll move to a new place to use and drain before they have nowhere else to go. 

The fourth and final thing is Lauren’s hyperempathy. I think that’s a really interesting trait to give to a character that lives in a dog-eat-dog, kill or be killed world. She feels the pain of others literally and, although she acquired this through upsetting means, it’s a very powerful thing in her life, but not in a positive way. Her hyperempathy is difficult to control, and she is strongly affected by it to where she thought she would die if she had to kill something or someone. However, when she put the beautiful dog out of it’s misery, she proved her theory wrong. “I had felt it die, and yet I had not died. I had felt its pain as though it were a human being. I had felt its life flare and go out, and I was still alive.” (Butler, 40)

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