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A Devoted Son Summary, Analysis and Question Answers Grade 12.
Introduction
Anita Desai, original name Anita Mazumdar, (b. 1937- ) is an Indian novelist, short story writer and the writer of children’s books. As a biracial child born to a German mother and Indian father, Desai was exposed to German, Hindi and English language from her childhood. After completing her B. A. from University of Delhi, Desai began to publish her stories and novels. Her novels Cry, The Peacock (1963), Where Shall We Go this Summer (1975), Fire on the Mountain (1977), Clear Light of the Day (1980), In Custody (1984) Baumgartner’s Bombay (1988), Journey to Ithaca (1995), Feasting, Feasting (1999) and Zigzag Way (2004) received mixed response from the readers. She received Shahitya Academy Award for her novel Fire on the Mountain. Her novel In Custody was adapted into a film in 1993. She published several volumes of short stories including Games at Twilight and Other Stories (1978), Diamond Dust and Other Stories (2000). Two of her Children’s Books The Village and the Sea (1982) and The Artist of Disappearance (2011) became popular among Indian children. ‘The Devoted Son’ is extracted from her collection of stories, The Complete Short Stories.
‘A Devoted Son’ is a realistic story set in a middle-class Indian family in an Indian village. The story shows how parents cherish their ambition towards their children and how a son should fulfill his duty towards the parents.
Also Check:
Curriculum of Grade 12-XII | Compulsory English | Subject Code:004 | 2076 | DOWNLOAD.
Physics | Exam Question Paper Class 12 of 2080-2023 (New Course) | PDF Download.
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Characters
- Varma: the father works at the kerosene dealer’s depot
- His wife
- Rakesh: Varma’s son who becomes a reputed and prosperous surgeon
- Veena: Rakesh’s wife, a plump and uneducated girl from a village
- Rakesh’s children
Summary of “A Devoted Son” by Anita Desai:
Anita Desai’s story ‘A Devoted Son’ is a realistic story set in a middle-class Indian family in an Indian village. The story shows how parents cherish their ambition towards their children and how a son should fulfill his duty towards the parents. It is all about the hardship of the parents to materialize their dreams of making their children successful in their life and the duty and devotion that is needed on the part of the children to look after their parents in their old age. It draws a picture of the life of a son, named Rakesh. The son is brought up by his father, starts earning his livelihood and then, dutifully looks after his father. However, crisis develops as his father, whimsical due to age, starts misinterpreting his son’s treatment. The question that the story poses is that how long should a son take care of his father? What should be the extent of his dutifulness and obedience? This is a problem of the modern world caused by the busy life. It becomes difficult to attend to the whims of the elderly people after a days’ hard work. But should the duty and the toleration end? Or should a person remain ever dutiful? Should sacrifices be made on our part or should we continue to be self-centered and move and move our own way. The world has both instances but which is more acceptable?
Rakesh was a son born to illiterate parents. He was the first to receive education in his generation and how well he utilized it. He made his parents proud by publishing his name in the first position for his graduation from a medical college. The neighbours too felt proud as Rakesh stood first though the jealousy factor didn’t cease to exist. Again, he won a scholarship for his further education and it took him to the United States of America. Rakesh spent a lot of time in America finishing his degree. He completed it with ease and had job offers at prestigious US hospitals. Awards he won were sent back to his family for them to keep and admire. It’s Rakesh’s way of keeping in touch with them until he can return home. Although Rakesh loved America and was admired by his colleagues for his aptitude, he loved his family more. He always planned on returning home, and this hadn’t changed. As soon as he had enough experience and money behind him, he returned home with the intention of working in his hometown.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, he married an Indian removing all doubts to marry a foreigner. His devotion towards his parents was proved when he married an uneducated girl of their choice. The girl too was good natured and they were soon blessed with a son. Rakesh’s rise continued and he soon went to the top of the administrative organization, bought a car and thus it was the beginning of his fortune. However, he did not forget his parents and he did take them out in his brand new car. Rakesh was not only devoted but was also good natured. He obeyed his parents, humoured his wife, hosted his friends, and in addition, was an excellent doctor. However, Rakesh’s joyride was short-lived. His mother passed away which also ensured his father’s breakdown. Old age caught up with his father and it was difficult to distinguish between his peevish whims and matters of significance. A birthday party for the youngest son had to be broken up at once, when they discovered that the old man was on the verge of death. The old man, however continued to live much longer thereafter.
Rakesh however, accepted his fate and its twist. He brought his father’s morning tea, read the newspapers and visited his father after returning home from the clinic. All these couldn’t make the father happy and the situation worsened when Rakesh as a father began to supervise his diet. The supervision which included the cutting down on oily, fried stuff, sweets and beetle nut was seen as a sort of disrespect and mal-treatment by his father. The matter was so serious that the old man even went to the extent of complaining to his neighbours. Rakesh couldn’t help but be sterner. He as a doctor believed that strictness was better where his father’s health was concerned. The old man even tried to bribe his grandchildren in order to buy sweets for him which were met with strong reproach (rebuke) from Rakesh.
The father-son relationship began to go haywire (become out of control). The old man began to hate his son and his daughter-in-law. The wife of Rakesh stayed out of trouble tactfully and Rakesh, able to feel every pulse, neglected nothing about his father. He made constant and repeated attempts to make improvement in his father’s mental and physical health. His efforts went in vain. Finally, the situation reaches the final straw. One day when Rakesh offered Varma, the father a new bottle of medicine, he snapped. He snatched the medicine and smashed it to the ground. He yelled at his son and asked him to leave him to suffer alone and in peace.
This is the poignant question that we face, that is, to continue or discontinue the service of a son to his father. This is a matter of both culture and tradition. Old age is also called the second childhood. We are always tender to a child in spite of their naughtiness and undue demands. Similarly, we should treat elderly people the same way. We don’t discard children even if they disturb us. Life is hard and difficult and all of us have our own share of problems. However, the ability to rise above limitation and the skills to tackle our household problems make us better human beings. Patience and sacrifice shape our hallmark. We must make sure that our own maturity and wisdom are not lost and this would help us to be kinder to them. Old age is cyclic and all of us would step into its shoes one day. The remembrance of this fact can wake us up to the reality of this life. Rakesh, in spite of everything else, understood this, which made him stand apart and above from the rest.
Themes of “A Devoted Son” by Anita Desai:
- Parents ambition towards their children.
- Duty and responsibility of children towards their parents.
- Clashes and conflicts in a family because of generation gap.
- Hardship, dedication, determination, devotion and discipline-the mantra of success.
- The theme of gratitude, desire, change, longing, choice, freedom, defiance, loyalty, powerlessness and reliance can also be explored in the text.
- The issue of transfer of roles and responsibilities in a family.
Question Answers of the short story “A Devoted Son” by Anita Desai.
A Devoted Son Question Answers.
Exercises
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. How did the morning papers bring ambiance of celebration in the Varma family?
Answer: Rakesh went through the morning paper and found that he stood first in the country just to be graduated from a medical college and it brought ambiance of celebration in the Varma family.
b. How did the community celebrate Rakesh’s success?
Answer: The family screamed and danced. The whole day long visitors streamed into the small yellow house at the end of the road to congratulate the parents, to slap Rakesh on the back and fill the house and garden with the sounds and colours of a festival. There were garlands and halwa, party clothes and gifts and the whole community was in celebration.
c. Why was Rakesh’s success a special matter of discussion in the neighbourhood?
Answer: Rakesh was the first son in the family to receive an education, and so much had been sacrificed by the parents in order to send him to school and then medical college, and at last the fruits of their sacrifice had arrived, golden and glorious and became a special matter of discussion in the neighbourhood.
d. How does the author make fun with the words ‘America’ and ‘the USA’?
Answer: When Rakesh won a scholarship in the USA then only his father learnt to call the country ‘the USA’ and taught the whole family to say the same but not ‘America’, which was what the ignorant neighbours called it. It created humour and fun in the story and shows the simplicity and ignorance of village people.
e. How does the author characterize Rakesh’s wife?
Answer: Rakesh’s wife was the daughter of a childhood friend of his mother. She was a plump and uneducated girl, it was true, but so old-fashioned, so placid, so complaisant that she slipped into the household and settled in like a charm, seemingly too lazy and too good-natured to even try and make Rakesh leave home and set up independently, as any other girl might have done. Besides, she was really pretty, in a plump, pudding way.
f. Describe how Rakesh rises in his career.
Answer: For some years Rakesh worked in the city hospital, quickly rising to the top of the administrative organization, and was made a director before he left to set up his own clinic. He also bought a brand new car and took his parents in his car—a new, sky-blue Ambassador with a rear window full of stickers and charms revolving on strings—to see the clinic when it was built, and the large sign-board over the door on which his name was printed in letters of red, with a row of degrees and qualifications to follow it like so many little black slaves of the regent. Thereafter his fame seemed to grow just a little dimmer or maybe it was only that everyone in town had grown accustomed to it at last. But it was also the beginning of his fortune for he now became known not only as the best but also the richest doctor in town.
g. How does the author describe Rakesh’s family background?
Answer: Rakesh’s grandfather was a vegetable vendor and he had never seen the inside of a school. Varma, his father had worked at the kerosene dealer’s depot for forty years and went through severe hardships and difficulties because of low financial status as they were from village but still they struggled a lot to achieve name and fame and prosperity.
h. What is the impact of Rakesh’s mother’s death on his father?
Answer: After the death of Rakesh’s mother, the family is devastated and his father is despondent. The father started to hate and complain his own son. He even disliked his daughter-in-law for no genuine reason.
i. What did Rakesh do to make his father’s old age more comfortable?
Answer: Rakesh started to get things to normal when his father became old and fell ill too. This made Rakesh really worried about his father and he decided to personally handle his diet and daily routine. He regularly visited his father after the work and read paper for him in the morning. Soon, he eliminated all the sweets, oily and all the savoury but unhealthy food. But, this infuriated his father who just wanted to spend his remaining days enjoying the things he loved. Rakesh’s control started to appear ruthless, tyrannical and obsessively controlling to his father.
j. Why did the old man try to bribe his grandchildren?
Answer: The old man tried to bribe his grandchildren to buy jalebis, a kind of sweet as he was not allowed to have sweets and other food items that are not healthy for him by his son.
k. Are Mr. Varma’s complaints about his diets reasonable? How?
Answer: Mr. Varma’s complaints about his diets are not reasonable because Rakesh was really worried about his father and he decided to personally handle his diet and daily routine in order to make his old age more comfortable. But, Rakesh’s control started to appear ruthless, tyrannical and obsessively controlling to his father.
Reference to the context:
a. How did Varma couple make sacrifices for their son’s higher education?
Answer: Varma couple were very simple and hardworking couple from an economically poor family background. Varma, the father had worked at the kerosene dealer’s depot for forty years and went through severe hardships and difficulties because of low financial status as they were from village but still they struggled a lot to send their son, Rakesh to school and then to medical college to cherish the ambition of their son, who eventually become a very famous and prosperous doctor in his hometown only because of the sacrifices of his parents.
b. Mr. Varma suffers from diseases one after another after his wife’s death. Would he have enjoyed better health if she had not died before him? Give reasons.Answer: I think Mr. Varma would have enjoyed better health if his wife had not died before him. As the wife passed way, Varma was hopeless and started to feel lonely. Now he didn’t have someone who could understand him and his feelings in his old age. He had a devoted son no doubt but still his loyalty and responsibility towards his father did not do any good. He tried to control and supervise his father’s diets just to improve his health but for his father this act appeared to be ruthless, tyrannical and obsessively controlling in nature because of generation gap. It would not happened if his wife had not died before him as he would have been looked after by her.
c. Dr. Rakesh is divided between a doctor and a son. As a son, he loves his father and worries about his weakening health but as a doctor he is strict on his father’s diet and medicine. In your view, what else could Rakesh have done to make his father’s final years more comfortable?
Answer: Undoubtedly, Dr. Rakesh is divided between a doctor and a son. As a son, he loves his father and worries about his weakening health but as a doctor he is strict on his father’s diet and medicine. Rakesh really worried about his father and he decided to personally handle his diet and daily routine. He regularly visited his father after the work and read paper for him in the morning. Soon, he eliminated all the sweets, oily and all the savoury but unhealthy food. But, this infuriated his father who just wanted to spend his remaining days enjoying the things he loved. Rakesh’s control started to appear ruthless, tyrannical and obsessively controlling to his father.
So, I think Rakesh could have motivated his father for meditation and prayer in his old age. It could have helped him to come out of his hopelessness and loneliness and he could have felt comfortable and at peace in his final years.
d. What does the story say about the relationship between grandfather and grand children?
Answer: In eastern world like India and Nepal, we always see a great and special bonding between grandfather and grandchildren. We like to be in a joint family in which grandkids are loved and cared by grandparents. Grandparents are the source of inspiration and the resources to explore culture, folktale, legends, traditions and customs by the grandchildren. Grandchildren also love to have grandparents to protect themselves from their misdeeds in the family and grandparents also feel it easy to ask their grandchildren to do favour for them just like the grandparent in the story in which the old man tried to bribe his grandchildren to buy jalebis, a kind of sweet as he was not allowed to have sweets and other food items that are not healthy for him by his son. So this kind of relationship is full of love and is pure and pious.
e. Do you call Rakesh a devoted son? Give reasons.
Answer: Yes, Rakesh is a devoted son in the story. He was a kind, loving and responsible son. His achievements and prosperity did not hinder him from respecting his parents. He married the girl that was chosen by his mother as soon as he returned home from USA to look after his parents. Rakesh started to get things to normal when his father became old and fell ill too. This made Rakesh really worried about his father and he decided to personally handle his diet and daily routine. He regularly visited his father after the work and read paper for him in the morning. Soon, he eliminated all the sweets, oily and all the savoury but unhealthy food. But, this infuriated his father who just wanted to spend his remaining days enjoying the things he loved. Rakesh’s control started to appear ruthless, tyrannical and obsessively controlling to his father. But, he did all these just for his love and devotion for his parents.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write an essay on ‘The Parents’ Ambition for their Children in Nepali Society’. You must give at least five examples.
Answer:
Essay on “The Parents’ Ambition for their Children in Nepali Society”
Parenting is indeed, no doubt, the hardest job because there are no manuals, or laid down procedures to be followed. It’s every parent’s dream to nurture their children to be the best that they can be in life and it is not an exception in Nepali society. Parents in Nepali society, therefore have ambitions and expectations that they hope their children will live up to. As a child develops so do the expectations and ambitions get higher. Different parents have different standards of what they expect from their children. Some place the bar very high whereas some give their children a free reign. Regardless of the different approaches to this the bottom line is that these parents want the best for their children.
When a child is born a parent is full of all sorts of expectations and ambitions. At first the expectations are more based on the biological development and as they grow older then the expectations are more pegged on the personality and the environment. A parent expects a toddler to learn how to walk at a certain period of time. Some Children may be a bit slow and the parents may put a lot of pressure for the toddler to walk that it may intimidate and discourage the child. This may also apply to a grown person where pressure is exerted from parents for example in education or sports that the child may become discouraged. Therefore as much as parents wants the best of their kids they should not set the bar so high that it de-motivates their children. Ambitions and expectations should be just ahead of the children capabilities so that they so as to not feel pressured or underestimated.
Parents want their children to be independent people who in the future can lead a meaningful life on their own. Therefore the parents start to teach their children to be independent. A child is let to do stuff that previously the parent used to do for them. For example a child is let to feed herself. Independence is earned as one grows and depending on the level of maturity shown by the child. No parent wants to be feeding a 13 year old and so all parents expect that their children will learn to be independent. However some parents have a hard time letting go of their children because they still want to be needed and this may slow down a child’s road to dependency. It’s therefore important for parents to provide a conducive environment for their children to live up to their expectations.Discipline is a matter very close to parents because the society uses that mostly to judge a parent. It’s every parents dream to have a disciplined child who is always on the right side of the law. Discipline entails many things such as respect, obedience and many others. The society judges very harshly the parents of those children or even grownups who are always in trouble with the law because it seem as a failure by the parent to instill discipline or values to the child. Therefore it’s every parent’s ambitions and expectations that their children will grow up to be law abiding citizens.
It’s normally said that if you do not stand for anything, you will fall for anything. Parents want their children to share in their values and principles. Every parent wants a child who can fight for what they believe in and who are not easily influenced by what other people are doing. Most parents want their children to share in their values and sometimes as children gain their independence they tend to drift away from the ideals of their parents. This however should not be cause for acrimony as long as the values the children hold are not harmful to the child or society.
The major expectation that parents have for their children is that they may excel in life. Be it academically, socially or even spiritually, our parents want us to become the best we can be. To achieve this they sacrifice to get us to the best of schools so that we can get quality education and later contribute to the society. Some however in the quest of academic excellence forget that not all children are academically gifted and so they end up frustrating their children. Parents should therefore support their children in whatever field that they excel in and base their expectations on the reality. This should be done keeping in mind if the child is happy and comfortable with what they are doing. Different children are gifted differently and so expectations should be based on individual capabilities.
Parenting is not easy and every parent wants their child to grow up to be happy, independent and a high achiever. Parents should however be careful on how much expectations they place on their children because too much may disorient and too little may deliver little. Therefore parent should be positive and realistic on the expectations of their children bearing in mind that every child is unique. Expectations and ambitions should be there to challenge us to be the best that we can in whatever field or place in the society. I believe every child should try and live up to the parent’s expectations regardless of how high or low they expect from us. If the bar is high it may be that they believe we can perform much better with a bit of more effort, if its low we can always try to exceed their expectations and make them proud.
b. Medicines replace our diets in the old age. What can be done to make old age less dependent on medicine?
Answer: It is a common fact that medicines replace our diets in the old age. Therefore, the following things can be done to make old age less dependent on medicine.
- Meditation
- Prayer
- Yoga
- Jogging
- Regular visit to doctor as precaution is better than cure.
- Healthy and balanced diet
(Elaborate these points for long answer.)
c. Write an essay on “Care of Elderly Citizens” in about 300 words.
Answer:
Essay on “Care of Elderly Citizens”
Introduction
Caring for the elderly citizens involves fulfilling the needs that are special and unique to those that are elderly in the society who are not able to fulfil these needs on their own. Some of the activities that they may be helped with include health care and daily chores. You may decide to take your elder citizens to a care home for the care or you may choose to take care of them in your own home.
Importance of elderly care
- One of the main reasons as to why elderly care is important is that old age is a very sensitive stage. You should hence care for the elderly to ensure that their levels of worry and anxiety are reduced by making sure you care for them and offer comfort.
- The second importance of caring for the elderly is because they have an uncertain future. Since they are aware that their bodies’ functionality is failing, they need to have someone take care of then to help them cope with the future uncertainty.
- It is also important to take care of our elders as they are more prone to abuse. Being around them makes sure that they do not receive any form of abuse.
- Old people are also more prone to diseases. It is hence important to take care of the elderly to ensure that these illnesses do not make them weaker and that they get the medical attention needed.
- You should also take care of the elderly as a sign of gratitude. We should show love, care and affection to them as a way of thanking them for raising us and taking care of us.
- Taking care of the elderly gives you a sense of moral responsibility. This is because it is what is expected of us and hence abandoning them means that we are abandoning our responsibilities.
- It is also important to take care of the elderly as a way of acquiring wisdom from them. Old members of the society have more experiences in life and hence have more wisdom that they can share with us.
How do you care for elderly parents at home?
- The first way in which you can take care of the elderly at home is to use the services of an in-home care giver. These are people who are qualified when it comes to elderly care.
- You should also ensure that you maintain house safety. This includes avoiding slippery floors, naked wires and also installing security systems.
- You should also have a routine schedule for the family members. This is to ensure that everyone in the house takes the responsibility of caring for the elder person.
- You should also ensure that they take part in light exercises every now and then. This is to strengthen their bones and ensure that their health improves.
- You should also ensure that they get prescribed medications and medical care. This is to ensure that their health is maintained.
How can we help the elderly in our community?
- We can help the elderly in our community by being good neighbours. This is where you can help the elderly neighbour in terms of shopping and helping them clean their compounds.
- By forming community organizations for the elderly, you can help the elderly in the community with issues like getting transportation and getting social services.
- Elderly people mostly feel alone and miserable. Visiting the elderly in the community every now and then will ensure that they get a sense of companionship.
- You can also organize fundraising functions in the community to purchase scooters for those who cannot walk and cannot afford them.
Conclusion
Helping the elderly persons in our homes and our communities is a responsibility of each and every individual. We should not see them as a burden to us but instead, we should look after them as a chance to return the love and care they gave us when they were raising us. If you are not available to take care of them at home, you can employ the services of a care giver or take them to care homes.
– ©drg/Indra Bhusal/Jhalak Rana
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