Pigs Can T Fly: The Struggle Of Homosexuality
Conflict in “Pigs Can’t Fly”: The Struggle of Homosexuality
In Shyam Selvadurai’s queer, postcolonial literature Funny Boy, “Pigs Can’t Fly” is one of the coming-of-age chapters, centres on 7-year-old Arjie, the gay protagonist. The setting of the story locates at Sri Lanka, where Arjie stays in his early childhood. On the typical spend-the-day with all his relatives, Arjie puts on wedding sari and conducts the ‘bride-bride’ dressing game in which, gender does not play an important role. In the story, the sari symbolises not only the connection between Arjie and the feminine world but perhaps the homosexual identity. In the exposition of the story, the sari serves to convey the internal thoughts and struggles on Arjie’s perspective and to guide his changes from associating with the girl‘s world to accepting the socially proper sexuality. …show more content…
The narrator first detailedly introduces the process of Arjie wearing the sari, and the existence of the sari is considered as his most prized possession(4). However, the sari is kept in the sling bag, which can comprehend as his sexuality is hidden from others, especially from the adults. When he puts on the sari, he explains that he “[is] able to leave the constraints of [him]self,” (4). The sari represents the escape from the boy's world and with it, he can pretend to be a girl. His desire of wearing the sari indicates that he feels uncomfortable with the boy’s world, a constraint
In Shyam Selvadurai’s queer, postcolonial literature Funny Boy, “Pigs Can’t Fly” is one of the coming-of-age chapters, centres on 7-year-old Arjie, the gay protagonist. The setting of the story locates at Sri Lanka, where Arjie stays in his early childhood. On the typical spend-the-day with all his relatives, Arjie puts on wedding sari and conducts the ‘bride-bride’ dressing game in which, gender does not play an important role. In the story, the sari symbolises not only the connection between Arjie and the feminine world but perhaps the homosexual identity. In the exposition of the story, the sari serves to convey the internal thoughts and struggles on Arjie’s perspective and to guide his changes from associating with the girl‘s world to accepting the socially proper sexuality. …show more content…
The narrator first detailedly introduces the process of Arjie wearing the sari, and the existence of the sari is considered as his most prized possession(4). However, the sari is kept in the sling bag, which can comprehend as his sexuality is hidden from others, especially from the adults. When he puts on the sari, he explains that he “[is] able to leave the constraints of [him]self,” (4). The sari represents the escape from the boy's world and with it, he can pretend to be a girl. His desire of wearing the sari indicates that he feels uncomfortable with the boy’s world, a constraint