The Sacred Turtles of Kandavu

Crime and Punishment

Summary

R K Narayan’s short story ‘Crime and Punishment’ is about a school master who commits a crime and the punishment he undergoes. The story is set in an Indian background. The teacher, purely out of monetary benefits, takes tuition, to a clever and naughty child, of rich and educated parents.

The parents want the boy to secure a double promotion but at the same time want him to be taught in their line of child psychology. They do not favour corporal punishment. They lecture to the teacher their views on infant psychology every evening.

It seemed to the teacher that the boy was made of thin glass.

According to the parents, the boy was a little angel, all dimples, smiles, and sweetness – only wings lacking. But the teacher was convinced that he was in charge of a little gorilla and what needed to make the youngster a normal citizen was not cajoling but an anna worth cane.

One day the teacher, slaps the boy in a fit of anger when he failed to answer a simple question, even after repeated correction. The teacher thought that the boy was trying to fool him.

When the boy threatened to tell his parents about it, the teacher was horrified. He tries to pacify the boy. The boy takes the opportunity and blackmails the teacher. He makes the teacher close the lessons for the day, makes him the station master, tell him stories and at the end makes him run around the garden thrice.

When the parents appear, the teacher decided to tell the truth and take the punishment. But when the father asks about the preparation for the test, the boy pleads with his eyes not to betray him. The teacher saves the boy by saying that he was doing well for the examination. He also hopes that the boy would not betray him.

R K Narayan mingles humour, sarcasm, irony and a serious undertone in his story. He portrays his characters, in a vivid and realistic manner, and they seem to spring up from the society around us. The hopes and dreams of the parents, the poverty of the school master which makes him take tuition class after six hours of working in the school, the mischievous nature of the boy, the silly mistakes that they commit, the dilemma the teacher faces, the predicament of the boy at the end, all are finely woven together.

The story highlights the truth that over caring and over parenting spoil the child. It proves the old saying, “spare the rod and spoil the child”.

Questions and Answers:

1. Why did the boy try to fool the teacher by repeating his mistake?

The boy tried to fool the teacher by repeating the mistake because he did not want to continue with his studies for the day. It shows his mischievous nature.

2. Why did the parents give the boy intensive coaching in Mathematics?

The parents gave the boy intensive coaching in Mathematics because they wanted him to score 50 in the coming Mathematics test and get a double promotion to the first form.

3. How does the teacher react when the boy repeated the mistake several times?

The teacher reached across the desk and delivered a wholesome slap on the boy’s cheek when he repeated the same mistakes even after several corrections.

4. What is the boy’s response when the teacher slapped him on his cheek?

The boy looked at the teacher for a moment and started crying.

5. Why does the teacher ask the boy not to tell the incident to his parents?

The teacher asks the boy not to tell the incident to his parents because they would get angry and dismiss him from work. The parents wanted the teacher to train the boy according to their view of infant psychology sans corporal punishment.

6. How do the parents consider the boy?

The parents consider the boy a little angel, all dimples, smiles and sweetness. He was their only child and they gave him a lot of love.

7. What facilities do the parents provide to the boy?

They built him a nursery, bought him expensive toys, fitted up miniature furniture sets, gave him a small pedal motor car to move about in the garden. His cupboard was filled with chocolates and biscuits which he could devour at his discretion.

8. Why do the parents give half an hour’s class on child psychology to the teacher every day?

The father had written a thesis on infant psychology for his M.A. The mother had studied a good deal of it for her B.A. It seemed to the teacher that they wanted him to treat the boy as if he was made of thin glass. The parents believed that no repression should affect the boy’s mind. They thought that If they made restrictions, they would damage the child for life.

9. Why does the teacher consider the boy a gorilla?

The teacher considers the boy a gorilla because he is very mischievous. It was a hard task for the teacher to train the youngster along the line of his parents’ wishes.

10. How does the boy compel die teacher to act as a station master? And what duty does he assign to the teacher?

The boy compels the teacher to act as a station master by blackmailing him. He threatens the teacher by saying that he would talk about the slapping incident to his parents. His duty was to blow the whistle when the train reached his station and ask the train driver to stop the train as there are many people who have bought tickets.

11. When is the teacher relieved of the role of the station master?

The teacher is relieved of the role of the station master when the train refused to move. The boy handed it to the teacher and told him to repair it. The teacher turned it around in his hand and said he did not know anything about it.

12. Why does the teacher become desperate?

The teacher becomes desperate because he couldn’t make the train work. He was absolutely non-mechanical and he does not know to repair the train.

13. How does the teacher become tired?

The teacher becomes tired because he had done six hours of teaching at school during the day. He had lost his breath by telling stories one by one as per the wishes of the boy.

14. Why does the teacher decide to reveal the matter to the parents?

The teacher decides to reveal the matter to the parents because he is tired of the blackmailing by the boy. He thought it better to tell the truth to the parents and accept whatever punishment they give, than stand the blackmailing by the boy.

Character Sketch of the Teacher:

The teacher in R K Narayan’s story “Crime and Punishment”, is a symbol of traditional teachers in the Indian States of South India. He does six hours of teaching in the school during the day but his poverty forced him to take tuition to a mischievous boy of rich parents for thirty rupees a month. He had to teach the boy three hours every evening and listen to the child psychological theories of the parents and pretend that he agreed with them. In his heart he knew that he was in charge of a little gorilla and not the little angel in the opinion of the parents. He was prepared to advance the ana for buying the cane which was all that needed to make the boy a normal citizen. The teacher commits a crime of slapping the boy and suffers the punishment of suffering the boy’s blackmailing. The boy takes situation in hand and makes teacher dance to his tune. At first the boy made his stop the lessons for the day and then made him the stationmaster. When the train stopped moving, he had to tell the boy stories. At the end the boy made him run around the garden thrice. However, he saves the boy from the parents and hopes that the boy would not betray him. 

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT -   A SATIRE ON OVER - PARENTING

R. K. Narayan’s Crime and Punishment can be read as a satire on over-parenting. The parents in the story are well versed in the child-psychology theories. They want their child to grow up as a healthy citizen. They built a nursery, bought expensive toys, fitted up miniature furniture sets gave him a small pedal motor car to go about in all over the garden. They filled up his cupboard with all kinds of sweets and biscuits and wanted him to devour them moderately. They believe a great deal in leaving things that way. They insist that the child should not be repressed in any way. He should have the freedom to play. At the same time, the parents want their child to get fifty in the class test and go up by double promotion. The story satirizes the attitude of the parents to train or mould the children according to their whims and fancies. The boy is too playful that he does not want to learn. What he actually needs is a playmate not a teacher.

The teacher is badly in need of the thirty rupees, paid to him on every first day of the month. That is why the teacher is forced to dance to his tune. The boy is pictured as a gorilla and a tyrant. The teacher believes that instead of cajoling, beating with a cane would reform him. Though the story evokes laughter through comic situations, one can feel that author stands on the teacher’s side. We feel sympathy towards the teacher. The reader may think that a cane is the best device to reform the nature of the boy. The story satirizes the disadvantages of over-parenting convincingly.

 

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT – ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ was a dictum prevalent in the past.

Corporal Punishment is a way of punishing the student deliberately (by inflicting bodily pain or discomfort) for his or her misconduct or indiscipline, with a view to bring a desirable change in his or her behaviour. It is a kind of physical torture.

Advantages:

·       It makes the child immediately disciplined and obedient.

·       It helps to excel in academics.

·       It reinforces positive behaviour.

·       It helps the child to realise their mistakes.

·       It reminds the child of his physical discomfort and pain when he wants to break the rule.

·       It helps to avoid undesirable character traits.

 

Disadvantages:

·       It leads to antisocial behaviour.

·       It creates various forms of mental distress and hinders child growth.

·       It is against the concept of self- discipline.

·       It damages the teacher –student relationship.

·       It results in creating ‘drop-outs’ from schools.

·       It is a violation of human rights.

·       It gives the message that violence is the solution for all conflicts and undesirable behaviours.

What can be done instead of corporal punishment in schools?

·       Make the students realise their mistake.

·       Make them understand the importance of values.

·       A proper learning environment could be created.

·       Good teacher – student relationship should be maintained.

·       Appreciation, motivation and positive role models help students to develop good character.

·       Provide life-skill education to improve interpersonal relationships, critical thinking, problem-solving skills etc.

 

These Notes are Prepared by Deepa Mathew,

HSST English, SGHSS Kothamangalam