When you understand what literature is and how it is used, you continuously realize new things and also learn new things. Literature is pervasive and has a significant impact on everyone’s lives. There are countless genres that provide the reader with a detailed and possible future, leaving them wondering and ready for what can come next. Literature is not only used to read about what happened before us but it is also used to read about what could happen after us. 

The news is frequently constrained in the amount of information it can disseminate, unlike the author of a book, who is required to confirm the accuracy of the information he is disseminating. There are many novels, writings, and books that discuss the world as it is in greater detail than any news source. Authors like Katherine Boo, Naomi Klein, Linda Sue Park, George Friedman, and many others have written about the real issues facing the world with empathy and care for their readers. This connection develops during reading, which encourages readers to continue reading and then see life differently as a result. Just like every other author who ventured to write about these highly contentious subjects and is not prepared for what can result from it, these authors have received recognition for writing about racism, climate change, and other topics that are very controversial in today’s society.

Since literature is such a potent tool, not everyone is initially interested in it. However, in my opinion, reading a book can broaden your perspective more than watching a movie version of it can. Additionally, doing so puts the book and its characters in your perspective and fosters a stronger emotional bond. Reading about current issues and future issues is also very helpful since it broadens your perspective and helps you see how little things you do now may seem to be, but they add up until you lose control of them. Similar to when we first began the class and we discussed slow violence and the issues of climate change, global warming and all of its effects are a problem now and for many years and are still ongoing but are overlooked because they are seen in our daily lives, such as the Canadian fires that were also spread and the air we breathed for about a week was contaminated in the 200-300s level of air quake.  Floods, among other things, have an influence on people, but as they pass, these problems are forgotten.  

In “The Hungry Tide”, Amitav Ghosh presents a strong relation between humans and nature. There are several references made to the change in natural order. This can be observed in scenes following the journey of the female main character, Piya Roy. Her work enables her to study the impacts environmental issues have on sea life. The male lead character, Kanai Dutt, follows leads let behind by his uncle to uncover the past and tragedy that follows humans around. Combined, the different perspectives present a narrative of the importance of communication and what it means for survival.  

 Kanai Dutt, is a translator and his perspective in the novel is directly focused on human nature. The audience follows Kanai on his conquest to uncover his uncle’s past. We encounter several examples of how lacking means to effectively communicate tear people apart. For example, his aunt Nilima confesses to her relationship with her husband, Nirmal, becoming estranged during the last year of his life. Nimila testifies, “He became a stranger to me that year. He wouldn’t talk to me. He would hide things. It was as if I had become the enemy” (99). In events leading up to the antagonism, Nirmal retired from teaching after 30 years and could not handle the ending of his routine. Instead of communicating with his wife, he ventures off to find a new purpose just to keep sane which ultimately causes his demise (120).  

Moyna Mandol is Nimila’s doctor in training and her husband, Fokir, is an illiterate fisherman. He can neither read nor write and is often described as having the intelligence of a child. This creates a strain on their relationship as they disagree with how to raise their son, Tutul. Monya wants her son to go to school but Fokir misses spending time with his son fishing. Kanai suggests that Monya explain to Fokir that she wants Tutul to have a good education so that he may secure a better future than being a fisherman. Her response is, “I’ve tried so many times. But what does he understand? He’s illiterate- it’s impossible to explain these things to him” (112). Monya’s skeptical mindset stems from her worry that being a fisherman will not be a relevant occupation in the future. As a result, there is a disagreement about what is best for their child that leads to Fokir taking Tutul away.  

On the surface, the skill of being a translator means that he can communicate with a wide range of people. However, on a deeper level it encourages readers to think about what can Kanai accomplish with this skill? What could be accomplished if these characters knew how to effectively communicate?  Piya’s work as a cetologist permits her to observe the changes in the ecosystem during her research to survey the Orcaella species. In her studies she recognizes these dolphins remain in their pods and even continue to reproduce despite their clear displacement due to the environmental issues. Piya’s perspective is that in terms of other’s thoughts and identity, even without the language barriers she has with natives, “… she would never know: not just because they had no language in common but because that was how it was with human beings, who came equipped, as a species, with the means of shutting each other out” (132). People cannot establish their basic needs because they are firmly closed off from each other. Without basic understanding there is growing isolation and no opportunity for support. Piya finds that the Orcaellas are able to migrate and find refuge, but humans cannot work out the simplest aspects of remaining united, let alone how to survive together.  

Over this past weekend, I went to a theater production of “Mahinerator” by Jerry Lieblich and performed by Steve Mellor at The Tank. The play being a minimal production was very intimate and used this intemacy to great effect for captivating the attention of its audience. The room for the very intimate production allowed for the lighting to take an even greater hold of the audience as it felt that the people watching the performance didn’t know where their role as the audience began or ended.

We watched Steve Mellor come into the room and sit with a jumpsuit and his water bottle. He begins by setting down his folder of papers, and his script, and adjusting himself in just the right manner. When he begins it catches you by surprise as if we were supposed to stare at each other. The first thing we notice about the production is the unique form of speech in which the author recites his lines. A pseudo dialect that nearly breaks the rules of its speech every other paragraph but gives the story a unique feel. All of the speech from the actor is accompanied by heavy blue and red lights that shine on the actor and drape over the audience. Then nearly always cut by the blinding light of an interrogation room.

While being very hard to discern at times the narrative of the play is of a bureaucrat going over his career in relation to his invention of that of the titular “Mahnierator”. This machine is the only one of its kind to become vitally important to the company that our main character is a part of. The jumpsuit and the fact that our character openly admits at the beginning of the show that he will be recording his form of events in a “time encapsulator”. We can assume that the main character is locked up for what the Mahnierator did or what he did. As the play continues the audience can discern the function of the mahinerator that leads to the ecocide of the world. The audience learns that the main gripe that the main character has is that the people that he didn’t mame or kill won’t support him. With this, the audience becomes very clear that the main character is possibly insane and that he shouldn’t be trusted. The narrative progressively gets more and more lucid as it goes on to the point that it can not be trusted what is being said.

This play takes a unique approach to describing its narrative that will really captivate any person who enjoys understanding and listening to unique dialects. The story is intriguing with a great premise that gives the audience one of the few possibilities for our future. The director Jerry Lieblich gives the audience much to think about in terms of the fascinating and unique language in the play and the narrative that leaves the audience wanting more.

While reading I’ve seen this expansive world already. Ghosh’s use of descriptive language while at times can be much, is still really useful for not only world building but character building as well. The story seems straightforward so far into the story but there Is one thing that is confusing me. Nirmal’s paper that Nilima sent Kanai which in the beginning was Called a newspaper by Priya but not really mentioned in its fullest until a little later on into the story. My question about it is what was the meaning of the writing. Talking about the way the goddess Ganga was tamed by Lord Shiva by being “trying it into his ash-smeared locks.” This braid is the rivers that make up Bengal saying how each island is made up of “threads of India’s fabric, the ragged fringe of her sari, the ãchol that follows her, half wetted by the sea.” It makes the islands seem more majestic and seems to paint everything in a better light than it actually is. Nilima shows Kanai the boat on the mud and to Kanais surprise, the passengers were still trying to persevere through the mud even though the boat wouldn’t make it through it. He asks himself “How the boat’s passengers make their way across that vast expanse of billowing mud?” Their environment is terrible and while Kanai has spoken about how his uncle wasn’t all up there he still wrote his passages in which he wanted to show Kanai. But this piece was the first to be shown with no explanation behind it.

This story gets brought up maybe once afterwards and it’s when Nilima asks if Kanai if he’s read the paper that she has sent him. There is no expression of feelings the writing nothing. It gets brushed aside even though it’s an intriguing story that’s being told. Showing that the land is the way it is because of the gods and the fact that one stopped another god from “defending from the Heavens [as it would’ve] split the Earth” makes what they are living in seem much more special in a way. I know that Indians are very religious people so painting their damaged terrain as something that is supposed to save the world as we know it. One can question the significance of the story as it was brushed off so quickly. I feel as if the actual significance of the passage isn’t talked about enough in the story and while Nirmals other stories are read throughout the book this one isn’t cared about when it paints the land which seems like its in ruin and is so difficult for people to get around as they sink in the mud or can drown in it as shown with Pryia when she is pushed out of the boat and is rescued by the fisherman. The reality of what is going on around them is vastly different from what Nirmal has written about and I hope that later in the book they explore more into this passage and the lands supposed connection to the Gods.