Games At Twilight

Childhood is a phase in life in which people develop at a much faster rate. In Rohinton Mistry’s short story “Of White Hairs and Cricket” and in Anita Desai’s short story “Games at Twilight,” the protagonists both experience childhood differently, but they arrive at the same conclusion about their insignificance. Both narrators talk about how making independent choices can be both harmful and protective, but maintaining strong family relationships is crucial. Though the narrator in “Games at Twilight” is younger than the narrator in “Of White Hairs and Cricket”, they both face similar situations because of their misunderstanding of the consequences that will follow their decisions. Throughout the short stories, the authors convey that children
have false expectations of the future by using the change in tone in the narrative voice as they confront hardships. By learning from their misunderstandings about the world, children mature and make morally right decisions.
In the short story “Games at Twilight,” Ravi, the protagonist, learns about his insignificance by confronting his false expectation that he has power because he believes his family and friends will support his victory.
He narrates in an ecstatic tone when winning the game, and a sorrowful tone when pondering about his insignificance to exhibit his disbelief of his family and friends’ low expectations of him. Ravi strives to be a victor in the game of hide-and-seek to display his competence of being just as triumphant as his matured siblings. He expresses his suppressed pleasure of finally prevailing in the game when he says, “‘I won, I won, I won,’... the big tears flew… ‘Raghu didn’t find me. I won, I won-’” (Desai 125). To indicate his belief that he is the most competent child out of all the children in his family, Ravi displays “the big tears.” He shouts “‘I won, I won, I won’” because he expects to receive praise as a sign of recognition that he wins without his family or friends help. As his rush of emotions continue to occupy his thoughts, Ravi soon realizes that no family member nor friend recognizes his victory because of their ignorance. The narrator shows how quickly the children move onto another game without acknowledging Ravi’s disappearance when he says, “They had begun to play again, sing, and chant. All this time no one had remembered Ravi… He lay down full length on the damp grass…silenced by a terrible sense of his insignificance” (126). Instead of
receiving encouragement, he realizes that “all this time no had remembered Ravi.” Ravi is “silenced by a terrible sense of his insignificance” to display the skepticism he endures throughout his childhood. He remains “full length on the damp grass” to signify that he will reflect on this experience as he matures. In this moment, Ravi matures because his painful experience makes him realize for the first time that his family and friends overlook his presence and role as a child. While Ravi is forgotten by his family, the protagonist in “Of White Hairs and Cricket” matures when he realizes that he has forgotten his family trying to prioritize his friends.
In the short story “Of White Hairs and Cricket,” the young narrator matures when he realizes that when he seeks independence from his family, he falsely assumes that they will support him as he faces the social and moral difficulties in life.
Initially, the narrator uses a modest tone to show that his decision to stop attending to his father’s needs is correct, but his tone later varies because his selfishness to be like other kids causes him to weaken his relationship with his father. The narrator displays his determination to make his own decisions when he says, “I put down the tweezers and reached for the comics… But I kept walking, it was a matter of pride… Surely they did not spend Sunday mornings doing what I did…” (Mistry 139). In order to make his own decisions, the protagonist ventures out of his typical routine that shows his love towards his father. He feels embarrassed for presenting his love in such a humiliating manner since his friends “did not spend Sunday mornings doing what I did.” He believes that his parents are limiting him, and for him, walking out on his father “was a matter of pride” and an urge to be independent. Due to his young age, the protagonist places his social status above his love for his father, and must face the resulting consequences. As the narrator reminisces about the lasting effects of his decision, he uses a dismal voice to indicate his strong regret about his choice when he says, “I wanted to weep for myself, for not being able to
hug Daddy when I wanted to… and for all the white hair I was powerless to stop” (146). Though he must live with the pain of making a wrong decision, he “wanted to weep” for placing his selfishness before his father. The separation between his father and himself keeps on growing because of “all the white hair I was powerless to stop.” The difference in tone throughout the protagonist’s childhood demonstrates how “hug[ging] Daddy” is less stressful since he makes the decisions for him. However, the depressed tone implies that towards the end of childhood, each decision the child makes puts more weight on them than their parents.
The authors utilize the change in the narrator’s voice to show the impacts of having inaccurate assumptions as the protagonist’s make decisions, by themselves, to attain a serene transition into adolescence. The protagonist’s talk in an array of tones to present the difficulty and resilience in transitioning from a period in life where they rely on their parents for support, to another period where they must handle challenges alone. In The Book Thief, Rosa Hubermann adopts Liesel Meminger, but treats her very poorly at first by implementing many restrictions and talking to her as if she does not consider her family. Liesel therefore establishes a negative impression upon her stepmother, and does not expect to change her perspective on Rosa’s demeaning personality. Though it took time, Liesel finally discovers the love Rosa is trying to show her through her whippings and scolding’s. Instead of sticking to her plan and encouraging a separation with her stepmother, Liesel connects with Rosa on a personal level to achieve the love and satisfaction she never expects to receive. Not only does she satisfy herself, she assures Rosa of her growth as she matures and overcomes the hardships of living in a war zone during World War II. The three protagonists constitute expectations that turn out to be false due to their innocence and inability to understand society at a young age.