HUMAN RELATIONS AND ENTANGLEMENTS: HIGHLIGHTING LIFE’S PREDICAMENTS IN RUSKIN BOND’S “THE GUARDIAN ANGEL”

Abstract

Depiction of inextricable ties between human beings irrespective of age remains a pivotal aspect of literature. There have been a plethora of portrayals considering amiable connections between different young children and elder individual in numerous literary depictions, showcasing tenets involving both categories. What strikes in depiction of two contrasting categories is that inherent values and individual inclinations tend to find a critical resurfacing in the face of a mundane plot which calls for theoretical introspection. “The Guardian Angel,” one of the significant short stories penned down by the master, Ruskin Bond, remains a pivotal testimony to how innocence of children gets nurtured by warmth and care of elders, often paving way for a conducive and holistic development of the central character. The story, in a very playful demeanour, leads readers to contemplate varied dimensions which regulate growth, maturity, and emotional connect of the narrator with his aunt, Mariam. The paper, hinging on the concept of “childhood discovery” propounded by Philippe Ariès argues that there are multiple contrasting characteristics and features in life of the narrator which are place against character of Mariam, denoting glaring points of contradictions between a child and a grown up individual. The paper also espouses ideas related to Bond’s focus on contemplating positions of children in his stories which become representative of otherwise predicaments of human lives which can manifest uninformed. The research follows a qualitative methodological structure, in that, it makes an analytical study of the plot.