500 words critical analysis of blue bead
Answers
The Blue Bead by Norah Burke is a story that follows a day in the life of an ‘Indian’ girl who saves a Gujjar woman from being shred to pieces by a crocodile. At the end of her rather adventurous day, what becomes more eventful for the little girl is having come across a blue bead (actually a broken neck of a bottle) rather than having saved the woman from the jaws of the crocodile.
The Blue Bead , a story depicting the hardships of a girl named Sibia in the forests of colonial India is a brilliant portrayal of the forest dwellers during the Raj. The story opens with a skilful use of foreshadowing where a detailed description of a major component of the story is drawn
ts present stage is traced. The masterly use of a sensory language to bring alive the scenes in the story cannot be less emphasized. The senses of the reader – sight, sound smell, touch and taste are instantly captured by words like ‘blackish brown’ , ‘yellow white’ (sight) , ‘putrid‘ (smell), ‘soft underneath‘ (touch), ‘plop off‘ (sound) etc.
The reptile is described as a ferocious creature which overcame various dangers as a young croc, saving himself from falling prey to birds and carnivorous fishes until he grew into a full grown adult: a fearless beast whose armored skin was strong enough to stop rifle bullets. The ferocity of the crocodile is also reflected in the list of his food items which begins with small creatures and is gradually amplified to cover large ones as well. The menu begins with fish, monkeys, ducks, deer and progresses to encompass a ‘parasite-infested pie dog’ and a ‘skeleton of a cow’ before finally being topped off with a half-burned body of an Indian. The reader is made to feel the danger of the predator up-close and personal. After providing a two-page description of the crocodile, the narrator fleetingly mentions the presence of a blue bead which is accomplished in two swift lines.