summary of short story squirrel by Ambai
Answers
Ambai’s ”Squirrel” falls under category of “non-conformists” when speaking of women writing Modern Indian Literature.
Ambai’s “Squirrel” rebels in their way against existing system.
Ambai voices strongly regarding Feminism through completely different style of narrative.
Women who refuses to accept prevalent codes, question injustice, confirm their individuality and demand right to seek fulfillment are grouped under title of “Non-Conformists.
So, Ambai falls into “non conformists”.
Answer:
The short story of Ambai's "Squirrel" is a feminist literature that questions as well as brings emphasis on the neglect of the works of women's literary works.
Explanation:
Ambai wrote her famous short but prominent story "Squirrel" to show how females are regarded as more inferior to their male counterparts. The author successfully and critically points out the very essence of patriarchal society even in the literary world.
The story opens with the narrator walking into a library where she went to the third floor. On the third floor are those books written by women, neglected and in ruin, covered with dust. The only visitor was the squirrel, who came for food. The author symbolizes the squirrel with herself and the female writers, whose works are neglected and deemed inferior to the men writers. This story is a feminist writing, as the author is an ardent supporter of woman's rights. The books on the third floor were not mere books to her, but they symbolize a whole generation of survival. Going through the journals and books, she points out that these private and social lives depicted in the books of these women writers are a product of their suppression of their innermost thoughts, which found their outlet in written words.
Towards the end, she learned from the librarian that restoring and maintaining these old and damaged books take a lot of effort and time. Eventually, the worn-out ones will be thrown out and burned. On hearing this, the author/ narrator left the library with a heavy heart. She realized the hardships and endurance that these women writers must have suffered during their times, let alone write anything for someone else to see and read.