Why did RK Narayan kept his story's name Attila?
Answers
In Attila by R.K. Narayan we have the theme of trust, faith, loyalty, persuasion and luck. Taken from his Malgudi Days collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Narayan may be exploring the theme of trust. Attila cannot be trusted as a guard dog. He is too friendly in his manner allowing anybody to enter the property he is supposed to be protecting. If anything Attila is more like a pet than a guard dog. However it is noticeable that one member of the family does always defend Attila while everybody else can only see the negative in Attila. It is the young defenders faith in Attila which ensures that he remains with the family despite the fact that he is in reality not a guard dog at all. It is also interesting that the young defender remains loyal to Attila even after the house has been robbed. He cannot see that Attila may be at fault such is his allegiance to Attila. If anything it would appear that Attila has only one friend in the house and that friend is the young defender. No matter what Attila may do or what mistakes he may make the young defender always defends Attila. Even when it is clear to the reader that Attila is not the dog that the young defender thinks he is.