English
Nectar in a Sieve Novel Analysis
K(What I know about the novel) | W(What I want to know about the novel) | L(What I learn from the novel) | Nectar in a Sieve is an Indian novel written by Kamala Markandaya. It is about a girl who was married at a young age to a farmer. And faced a lot of challenges throughout her life. | I want to know how the protagonist of the story will live her life as a wife. Also the struggles she will face and the things she would do and sacrifice in order to overcome her hardships in life. | Life is naturally hard and disastrous. We just have to learn how to face these disasters in order to succeed and survive. Giving up is not the solution to everything. Hope and perseverance will always stand against the odds in our lives.Rukmani shows the need to hold onto hope and the nectar of life despite all the overflowing tragedies. |
The KWL Chart
The novel started with the protagonist, Rukamani, narrating her own story in a first person point of view. Having a flashback of all the happenings in her life, Rukmani was able to analyze all the different events in her life.
Rukmani is an educated woman who is married to a farmer named Nathan at the age of twelve. Her marriage is one of the greatest times in her life and she is thankful that her husband is kind to her. Rukmani wishes to raise a happy and healthy family while Nathan wishes to buy their own land. They had their first child Ira, and then followed by five sons; Arjun, Thambi, Murugan, Raja and Selvam. In Rukmani’s later years she gave birth to Kuti.
The major conflict in the novel was the fight between life and death for the poor people of the small village. But when you go beneath the surface, you will see that it is not just a matter of life and death, but also a fight between the evil and the good that was challenged by the constant struggles that happened.
The arrival of the tannery was a turning point in Rukmani’s life. Her restriction to