where did the incident take place? photograph story by Ruskin bond
Answers
In The Photograph by Ruskin Bond we have the theme of memories, identity, change, equality, acceptance, independence and freedom. Taken from his Collected Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by a man looking back on an incident when he was ten years old and after reading the story the reader realises that Bond may be exploring the theme of memories. The narrator as he is listening to his grandmother talking about the picture hears her tell of the day the picture was taken and the activities of the young girl in the picture (who is the grandmother as a child). This may be important as Bond may be linking the activities of the grandmother as an old woman and a child. Suggesting perhaps that as life has passed things have gotten slower for the grandmother. Her rebellious or independent streak may have left her with the passing of time. Though she does recall with happiness how she felt as a young girl. Perhaps the grandmother misses her youth and the freedom she felt when she was younger. No longer is she able to do the things that she once was. Which may leave some readers to suspect there is an element of sadness as well as happiness in the grandmother’s tone.