Portrayal of Life in India in Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan

In Malgudi Days, although R.K. Narayan seems to present us with a bleak portrayal of India where life is very hard and there is very little human happiness, he means to reflect the triumph of the human spirit over the cruel circumstances of life. In India, poverty and the lack of education are prejudiced against and people are discriminated against because they are poor. In 'A Willing Slave', Ayah is discriminated against and treated …

…insults at work so that his family can swallow food. His love for his daughter is great and it gives rise to his motivation at work. In 'A Shadow', Sambu misses his father immensely as he loves him a lot. However, the very existence of Love is a great triumph for the human spirit. Therefore, though there may be hardship and suffering, in the end we see that the human spirit has the ultimate victory.