A Literary Analysis of "The Inheritance of Loss"
The Inheritance of Loss Literary Analysis
I. Character
Cook:
1. His wife dies by slipping from a tree while gathering leaves for their goat.
2. Sacrifices a chicken in order to save Biju from being taken by his deceased mother.
3. Tries to send Biju abroad for the first time when a recruiting agent from a cruise ship line comes to Kalimpong.
4. Succeeds in sending Biju to the United States with a tourist visa.
5. Brags all over Kalimpong that Biju is successful in America, even though it isn’t true.
6. Starts sending Biju requests that he helps other immigrants get settled in the United States.
7. Biju calls Cook to make sure everything is OK. The call goes in and out and doesn’t last very long because of a faulty telephone wire which worries Biju, and ultimately brings him back to India.
8. Runs away from the riot and realizes that he may never see Biju again and that his relationship with him has degraded down into a series of letters.
9. Cook goes out to try to find Mutt and realizes that he is meant only to be a cook and comes to terms with that. This is Cook’s climax because now he can stop trying to improve his life, which has only brought him conflict and despair, and focus on his relationship with Biju.
10. Gets beaten by Judge with a slipper for being a “bad man.”
11. Is reunited with Biju. Throughout the novel, Cook is optimistic about improving his lot in life. That changes, however, following the GNLF riot when he loses all hope after he realizes that he may never see Biju again. But his hopeful outlook is restored when Biju appears down at Cho Oyu’s front gate.
Judge:
1. Is the top of his class at the age of 14.
2. Attends Bishop College.
3. Marries Nimi, a woman younger than he, whom he does not yet despise.
4. Leaves for England to attend Cambridge University.
5. Gets inducted into the Indian Civil Service with the lowest possible qualifying marks on his viva voce.
6. Returns to India a changed man. He despises all that is Indian, especially his
I. Character
Cook:
1. His wife dies by slipping from a tree while gathering leaves for their goat.
2. Sacrifices a chicken in order to save Biju from being taken by his deceased mother.
3. Tries to send Biju abroad for the first time when a recruiting agent from a cruise ship line comes to Kalimpong.
4. Succeeds in sending Biju to the United States with a tourist visa.
5. Brags all over Kalimpong that Biju is successful in America, even though it isn’t true.
6. Starts sending Biju requests that he helps other immigrants get settled in the United States.
7. Biju calls Cook to make sure everything is OK. The call goes in and out and doesn’t last very long because of a faulty telephone wire which worries Biju, and ultimately brings him back to India.
8. Runs away from the riot and realizes that he may never see Biju again and that his relationship with him has degraded down into a series of letters.
9. Cook goes out to try to find Mutt and realizes that he is meant only to be a cook and comes to terms with that. This is Cook’s climax because now he can stop trying to improve his life, which has only brought him conflict and despair, and focus on his relationship with Biju.
10. Gets beaten by Judge with a slipper for being a “bad man.”
11. Is reunited with Biju. Throughout the novel, Cook is optimistic about improving his lot in life. That changes, however, following the GNLF riot when he loses all hope after he realizes that he may never see Biju again. But his hopeful outlook is restored when Biju appears down at Cho Oyu’s front gate.
Judge:
1. Is the top of his class at the age of 14.
2. Attends Bishop College.
3. Marries Nimi, a woman younger than he, whom he does not yet despise.
4. Leaves for England to attend Cambridge University.
5. Gets inducted into the Indian Civil Service with the lowest possible qualifying marks on his viva voce.
6. Returns to India a changed man. He despises all that is Indian, especially his