Class: IBDP II English HL – Written Task 2 Azmat Rasool

Outline

Prescribed question: How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?

Title of text analyzed: Red Oleanders by Rabindranath Tagore (1924)

Part of the course referred to: Part 3: Literature – Texts and contexts

My critical response will consist of:

 Paragraph 1 – Introduction

 Paragraph 2 – Examine how Tagore portrays the conflict between machine and human

freedom.

 Paragraph 3 – Examine how the miners are dehumanized by the ruling community.

 Paragraph 4 – Examine why Tagore emphasizes that nature and prosperity can’t prosper

when consumerism, materialism and greed are present.

 Paragraph 5 – Conclusion

1|Page
Class: IBDP II English HL – Written Task 2 Azmat Rasool

In Rabindranath Tagore’s play, Raktakarabi (Red Oleanders, 1924), set in an imaginary

town called Yakshapuri ruled under capitalism, minorities are dehumanized and exploited into

becoming a source of gold digging machines by a brutal King whose ever growing obsession

with wealth had turned him despicable until salvation became apparent in the hands of a woman

named Nandini. Nandini is the protagonist and the King is the antagonist of the play. Yakshapuri

in Hindu mythology is referred to as the abode of the god of its hoard of treasure. In the play, the

King symbolizes the oppressor of both humans and nature by fear and power and Nandini

symbolizes the nature that restores its equilibrium by shaking everything into its righteous place

by beauty, love and strong character. What’s left in between are the oppressed: the miners along

with their families who are undoubtedly and hopelessly stuck in a rollercoaster where their

freedom is nowhere to be apparent. Tagore shows his concern over the materialistic industry-

oriented mentality of men and the lust of controlling the resources of the earth as well as the

inhabitants by exploiting, estranging and circumscribing the underdogs.

In Tagore’s play, the King lives in his castle “behind a wall of netting” 1 as Nandini put it,

never allowing himself to be seen, thus leaving the absolute power in the hands of the Governor

who is just as responsible of what has become of Yakshapuri. The Governor is rightly perceived

as an evil man although he never comes across as one by his soft spoken behavior when

interacting with him rather by his unjust actions over the miners. The miners have no other

alternative but to conform to the harsh conditions of the logic that has been adapted in

Yakshapuri which confines them under the mechanized tyranny to the extent that they have

estranged themselves from the virtues of nature and love. “The living heart of the earth gives

itself up in love and life and beauty, but when you rend its bosom and disturb the dead, you bring

1
Page 243

2|Page
Class: IBDP II English HL – Written Task 2 Azmat Rasool

up with your booty the curse of its dark demon, blind and hard, cruel and envious. Don't you see

everybody here is either angry, or suspicious, or afraid?”2 – Says Nandini to the King. The greed

and ever growing obsession over the gold has created a sense of mistrust, fear and anger over the

society which is shown among the people of Yakshapuri throughout the play which Bishu, a

miner, eloquently puts into perspective as to why they can no longer relate to the beauty of life in

the following quotation: “I know the atmosphere of this place breeds contempt for beauty. There

must be beauty even in hell; but nobody there can understand it, that's their cruelest

punishment.”3

The miners are treated so poorly by the ruling community that they are “not men to them,

but only numbers.”4 Labor in Yakshapuri demands strict discipline which completely invalidates

their rightful human rights. This can be observed between the conversation of Phágulal who is a

miner, also known as No. 47 V, and his wife, Chandrá where she insists to her husband to go

back home to the extent that she can’t help herself from asking the Governor who politely

declined her request but to her dismay he ruthlessly neglects their concern as Chandrá says: “I

cannot tell you how our hearts ache. Don't you see that your men here work all day in the dark,

and in the evening steep themselves in the denser dark of drunkenness? Have you no pity for

them?”5 The miners facing such unkindness in a regular basis only justifies why they doubt

Nandini’s intention throughout the play as they have entirely given up on hope but regardless of

that Nandini takes it upon her to restore that hope. “Now I am swamped in that interior without

hope and without light, and the only difference between you and me is, that the Governor looks

2
Page 247
3
Page 252
4
Page 255
5
Page 257

3|Page
Class: IBDP II English HL – Written Task 2 Azmat Rasool

down upon me even worse than upon you.”6 – Says Bishu to Phágulal and Chandrá about the

Governor. Bishu, also known as 69 Ng is a well-educated man, was initially among the ruling

community until he refused to continue working as a spy and therefore punished for it, is the

perfect example to the consequences that fall upon when not abiding to the rules.

Tagore’s play is a fable as it intends to teach a lesson to the audience about how

materialism and consumerism only lead to greed which can suppress one’s morale towards the

bounties of life. Tagore shows in the play from his utilitarian perspective the barbarism found in

the implementation of capitalism where mechanization is preferred over humanitarianism.

Nandini being among the oppressed, she comes across as the alternative solution in which she

instigates a rebellion against the exploitation of nature and oppression of the miners. Nandini’s

spontaneity and spirit of humanity along with nature made such a strong impact on the people of

Yakshapuri and the King who decides to end the atrocity he had wrought.

In conclusion, Tagore’s representation of the oppressed social group in the play is an on

point manifestation of the condition that the oppressed face. That’s where Nandini’s

representation plays a vital role as she intends to be like a wakeup call for the miners who are

oppressed that rings and rings until one puts a stop to it which she eventually succeeds at even

till her last breath. This shows how Tagore was significantly against oppression and exploitation.

The play suggests that one should stand up for themselves and that with passion because living is

not worth the while if there’s no essence of justice, happiness and beauty.

Word Count: 945

6
Page 254

4|Page
Class: IBDP II English HL – Written Task 2 Azmat Rasool

Bibliography

Tagore, Rabindranath. Rabindranath Tagore Omnibus II. Vol. II. New Delhi: Rupa Publications
India Pvt., 2003. Print.

5|Page