International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124

REALISM IN R.K NARAYAN’S “THE GUIDE”

K.YAZHINI
II-M.A.ENGLISH, S.T.E.T. WOMEN’S COLLEGE

S. JAYALAKSHMI,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, P.G. DEPT. OF ENGLISH,
S.T.E.T. WOMEN’S COLLEGE, MANNARGUDI

ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to reveal the ‘REALISM’ present in R.K. NARAYAN’S novel ‘THE
GUIDE’. It was Narayan’s much acclaimed novel. The guide is considered by many to be his finest work.
He is very well known for his realistic themes and concepts. His style is Simple, Realistic, and Poignant.
R.K.NARAYAN always manifest the realism in his themes. So, that the readers can also relate them with
the story very easily. The present article examines and analyses the realistic situations, characters, places,
and languages, involved in this novel by the author.

INTRODUCTION
Narayan is a realistic. He presents before us the Malgudi, both the nature Malgudi and the city
Malgudi and the Malgudians with all their characteristics, habits, strengths, weakness, evils, faith, and
superstitions realistically. The realism of Narayan is fantastic. The human attitudes, individually differing in
their environment, have been presented in the most-realistic manner by the artist. The strong point of ‘The
Guide’ is its realistic narrative. But it cannot be said that it is purely realistic. Romance has been grafted on
the stem of the realistic life of Raju. The gullibility of a superstitious mind of the country folks headed by
Velan has also been realistically comprehended. R.K. Narayan depicts the realism which is something more
than reportage. His quality of realism differs from place to place, at places it is intense and at places feeble.

Yet ‘The Guide’ is without Rugged, sordid and brutal realism. It has only the polished pebbles of realism.
The type of realism we find in Somerset Maugham’s Liza of Lambeth or Arthur’s child of Jago is absent
from Narayan. So is absent, sexy realism of Zola and Lawrence. It is the artist’s reality in which Narayan is
interested. The highly selective mind of Narayan, like Virginia Woolf’s rejects the clumsy facts of life. That
is why he seeks to find out a romantic setting for his realistic descriptions. His Malgudi is realism
incarnated; it is a mini India. ‘The Guide’ is alloyed with romance, fantasy, and sentimentality according to
the demands of his characters and situations.

REALISM IN R.K NARAYAN’S ‘THE GUIDE’

Realism in the novel has been defined in various ways. Some scholars call it ‘the fidelity observed
in the transcription of life as it is’. R.K. Narayan is also a realist, but he does not portray the photographic
reality; he rather represents reality which is artistic. An important feature of the realism of ‘The Guide’ is the
selectibility of facts. Realism has been alloyed with romance. The selection has been done on the strength of
the individual situation and character. That is why the novelist devoted a great deal of attention to the
boyhood of Raju, his manners and his life in Malgudi.

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International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124

The novelist has an eye on the manners and activities and dresses of the people moving over the
canvas of the novel. Their individual traits and habits have been depicted with certain relevant details. The
situations and events and locale are as real as the character.
The characters and their behaviours in this novel are very realistic. Marco has been presented very
realistically. He is very particular about the vouchers but is not particular about his wife’s interest and
hobbies. His scholarship and his research in the caves, his behaviour with his wife and his treatment of Raju
are also realistic.
The picture of Raju, both as a lover of Rosie and as an accepted Swami, is realistic. Raju is
somewhat a realistic and practical man. But his over-commercialised instinct makes him a MAN OF LOW
SURFACE REALITY. Raju the shopkeeper, Raju the guide are the real pictures of Raju’s growth. Rosie as
a daughter of a dancing woman, never speaks about her mother. She invariably perks up whenever a
suggestion regarding dancing is made. Dancing is her main humour and her main hobby. So the novelist has
also tried to show the reality of the human attitudes.
Contemporary references to railways, urbanization, opening of postal services in the villages, Raju’s
talk of educating the village children, development of touring spots, villager’s ovation and reception and
hospitality of Raju who is not in reality a Swami or Saint, all are proofs of the realism of the novel. The snap
shots of realistic scenes are there in the novel. Verisimilitude is one of the qualities of R.K.Narayan in the
description of scenes. He convinces us with the reality of the situation and the scene. The novel is full of
various interesting scenes. The childhood of Raju has been described with realistic touch. So has been the
life of Malgudi and Mangala village. The scenes of Rosie-Marco-Raju relationship have been described with
the realistic pen.
The characters in the novel are described realistically. Not only in the events but also in characters
there is a touch of realism. The characters are brought to life with the realistic appurtenances of the man.
Narayan’s strength also lies in his realistic language and narrative. Reality of mood and attitude besides the
reality of character and situation has been preserved. He can create wonderful illusions of reality. Marco-
Rosie-Raju are only a few. The ‘Karishma’ of the fake Swami over the village girl, who gives her consent
for marriage, is one of the high acts of realistic comedy of human life in an Indian village. In his scenes of
village as well as urban life. R.K.Narayan is not only real but also true and faithful.

CONCLUSION
The strength of ‘The Guide’ lies in the realistic narrative which presents the various slices of life.
Reality of mood and attitudes of the individuals have been preserved with perfect realistic aroma in the
novel. It is not the ‘Literal Transcript of Life’, but its stuff is highly plausible as a realistic work of art. His
realism on the whole is a selective. Narayan’s realism is as psychologically convincing as it is accurate in
detail

WORKS CITED

NARAYAN, R.K. THE GUIDE . Chennai: Indian Thought Publications, 2006.

Paranjape, Makarand. “The Reluctant Guru”: R.K. Narayan and The Guide.” South Asian Review. 24.2
(2003): 170-186.

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