According to the definition given by Johann Karl Simon, “an individual is born into a society that has an

establishment and defined social order. One gets a burden of fitting into a mould that society has put
forward as a social norm. However, during the individual’s growth, he/she realizes his/her full potential
and along with that a desire to achieve true freedom. This is often done through self-actualization.”
Definition given by Simon depicts that, “A Bildungsroman gives the individual a voice, as novels within
the genre focus on the development of the individual and his/her moral growth from youth to
adulthood.” Bildungsroman novels are often written by writers who refuse to go with the social norms,
and therefore they are very often autobiographical and contain elements lifted from the author’s own
experience.

The authorial intension of the author, Shyam Selvadurai was to make the reader feel more sympathetic
to the character and his situations and experiences. We can relate to the situation of Arjie being
alienated when he’s not allowed to play with girls. According to Mikhail Bakhtin, the Bildungsroman
arises in response to new motions of time in modernity; within this genre, the theme of the ages of man
“loses its cyclical nature and begins to prepare for the phenomenon of historical perspective.”

Because nostalgia is first narrated and documented as a romance of a “social power and privilege of
gendered class”. To some extent, Arjie is afforded this privilege. When Kanthi aunty encounters him
wearing a saree, and shows it to everyone in the house.

“That Evening, on the way home, both my parents kept their eyes averted from me. Amma glanced at
my father occasionally, but he refused to meet her gaze...
… “If he turns out funny like that Rankotwera boy, if he turns out to be the laughing-stock of Colombo,
it’ll be your fault”, my father said in a tone of finality. “You always spoil him and encourage all his
nonsense.”.”
These lines predicts that how much concerned his parents were about his sexual identity and were
worried if he turns out to be ‘funny’. His parents and teachers attempt to groom him into a proper,
public subject, and he looks back longingly as he moves from his grandparent’s house to the cricket field
and later to the Victoria Academy.When his mother asks him to play with the boys and when he
disagrees with her, she says “Because the sky is so high and pigs can’t fly, that’s why.” Telling Arjie that
one should do only what they are meant to be doing according to the society.

Wilhelm Dilthey’s understanding of the Bildungsroman emphasizes the idea of masculine maturation
propelled by a chronological progress for a higher stage. “Funny Boy” moves in a chronological manner
but it is not in a heteronormative ideology of the protagonist. The protagonist here, searches for his true
sexual identity. He’s a little bit feminine in approach and that’s what makes this novel a different type of
Bildungsroman. Tanuja, cousin of Arjie describes him as ‘pansy’, ‘faggot’ and ‘sissy’, these words clearly
states Arjie’s self identity as more of a feminine than masculine. The chronology can’t be properly
traced. We don’t know what happened to Arjie after reciting the disorganized and manipulated poem.
The author is writing according to his memory as well as looking situations with his point of view, so the
readers also sees everything according to what the author wants them to see and not anything more.
“Bildungsroman enriches the reader’s perception as it shows the journey of the protagonist from
childhood to their adulthood or the age of maturity. English novelist complicates the protagonist’s battle
to establish an individual identity with conflicts from outside the self”. Selvadurai, concentrates on the
internal struggles and confusion of the protagonist as well as the outside conflicts and chaos too.
According to Dilthey, the typical Bildungsroman traces the progress of a young person towards self-
understanding as well as a sense of social responsibility. In “Funny Boy”, Arjie is still in his youth when
he attains a little bit of responsibility and sense. So, we cannot really say that it is a typical
Bildungsroman where the protagonist attains maturity in his adulthood.

A bildungsroman character often matures from the situations they or their family faces. Social factors
such as socio-political issues, economical issues, cultural issues, religious issues etc. occurring in the
place often contribute to the isolation of the lead character. These lines can be related to Arjie’s
isolation, as he realizes about his sexual identity. We are confused to tell that whether the protagonist is
happy or feel contentment in the end or not. The end of the novel is some diary entries of Arjie and his
family’s struggle in the riots and curfew of Colombo. These points may vary according to the novel.
From all the above points we can conclude that “Funny Boy” can be seen as a new type of
Bildungsroman.