The harmony of the spherer
Understanding
1) Where does the story take place?
- Most of the story takes place in Wales. We do hear about other places such as Portugal Place where Elliot and Lucy lived before they moved to Wales. We also hear about the Juhu beach that is located in India. However, I do believe that most of the story does take place in Wales. When the narrator is using flashbacks to tell about past events it takes place in England.
2) Who is the narrator and where does he come from?
- The narrator is called Khan and is from India. He is a friend of Elliot Crane who is the main character of the story. I believe he is a writer just like Elliot.
3) Who is Elliot Crane?
- Elliot is the main character in the story. He is a 32-year-old brilliant, but very disturbed English writer. Elliot is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. The story starts with his suicide. He is married to Lucy and was very into the occult world. The narrator who is an old school friend tells his story.
4) Who are Lucy and Mala?
- Lucy is the wife of Elliot. She is a precocious daughter of the boss of the famous Bombay Company. She is working as a writer for a local newspaper. She grew up in Bombay “she named it Bougainvillaea in memory of her childhood in Bombay”
Mala is the narrator’s wife. She is from Mauritius, from and Indian family, and she is a doctor.
5) What are their connections to India?
- Lucy’s dad owns a Bombay company, and she grew up there as a child. In the story she takes Khan to the Juhu beach, which is located in India. That is where the two of them met 10 years ago.
Mala is married to Khan who is Indian. She is also the ninth generation child of labourers brought from India. However, she has never been to India.
6) What happens to Elliot?
- Elliot chose to “eat his gun”. It was a gun that his dad left him. His dad committed suicide with the same gun as well. He did not leave a long letter for Lucy to find other than an instruction on how to clean the gun.
7) Why
1) Where does the story take place?
- Most of the story takes place in Wales. We do hear about other places such as Portugal Place where Elliot and Lucy lived before they moved to Wales. We also hear about the Juhu beach that is located in India. However, I do believe that most of the story does take place in Wales. When the narrator is using flashbacks to tell about past events it takes place in England.
2) Who is the narrator and where does he come from?
- The narrator is called Khan and is from India. He is a friend of Elliot Crane who is the main character of the story. I believe he is a writer just like Elliot.
3) Who is Elliot Crane?
- Elliot is the main character in the story. He is a 32-year-old brilliant, but very disturbed English writer. Elliot is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. The story starts with his suicide. He is married to Lucy and was very into the occult world. The narrator who is an old school friend tells his story.
4) Who are Lucy and Mala?
- Lucy is the wife of Elliot. She is a precocious daughter of the boss of the famous Bombay Company. She is working as a writer for a local newspaper. She grew up in Bombay “she named it Bougainvillaea in memory of her childhood in Bombay”
Mala is the narrator’s wife. She is from Mauritius, from and Indian family, and she is a doctor.
5) What are their connections to India?
- Lucy’s dad owns a Bombay company, and she grew up there as a child. In the story she takes Khan to the Juhu beach, which is located in India. That is where the two of them met 10 years ago.
Mala is married to Khan who is Indian. She is also the ninth generation child of labourers brought from India. However, she has never been to India.
6) What happens to Elliot?
- Elliot chose to “eat his gun”. It was a gun that his dad left him. His dad committed suicide with the same gun as well. He did not leave a long letter for Lucy to find other than an instruction on how to clean the gun.
7) Why