The Buddha of Suburbia EXTRACT 3 

: chapter 3, pp.39-40 CORRIGE

This passage stages the narrator’s encounter with Helen’s father. There are 3 characters present :
Karim, Helen and her father (although we can add the dog…), in other words two lovers and a
disapproving parent.
It takes place outside Helen’s home as Karim has come to visit his lover.
This passage is characterized by its humour.

Karim and Helen The father

How is the meeting presented ? (easy?) When does he appear in the extract ? What
What literary reference is made ? Explain it. portrait is drawn by the narrator ?

From the start, there seems to be some sort of He appears in the middle of the passage.
threat as the place is spooky (sinistre). The
place seems derelict / abandoned and he has to He is portrayed as a big, black and thick man,
« break into » as the door won’t open. This is the which makes him look very unfriendly,
1st obstacle which foretells the next obstacle. unwelcoming, a little scary or impressive.
Then Helen sounds anxious which is a bad
omen / ominous.
Karim nicknames him « Hairy Back » which turns
The situation makes the reader think / reminds him into an animal. He makes fun of him /
the reader of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy ridicules him, thus deflating the 1st impression.
« Romeo and Juliet », or the star-crossed
lovers.
It is evoked with humour « This Juliet business »
though.
Helen, like Juliet, is forbidden to see her lover.
Just like in R and J, Helen is speaking from a
window above and Karim is below after
« breaking into » the place. His presence is
unauthorized.

Meeting Helen’s Dad The dog

Comment upon the way the narrator relates this What impression does the description give ? Who
meeting. / what does the dog echo / embody ?
What does the dialogue reveal ?
How do we learn about his political views ? The dog is terrifying with its mouth like a cave =
he is huge and could « swallow » Karim.
We can feel tension, however this tension is
counterbalanced by humour. There is also a The dog is representative of his owner. He
sentence between brackets which creates a form embodies the man’s aggressivity / meanness.
of complicity with the reader (it is called an aside
= un aparté).

The dialogue reveals that H’s father is narrow-

minded, prejudiced, bad-tempered.
The langage he uses also reaveals his social
class (lower class) with words such as « wogs »
and « coons » (very offensive). He doesn’t
pronounce the ‘h’.
He also says « We’re with Enoch » thus
revealing his racist political views.
 Evolution of the main character
Using a diversity of adjectives, describe the evolution of the character. Use connectives (at first, then
etc...little by little )

At first, Karim is eager to see Helen. However he feels slightly scared by the surroundings (he may
not have expected such a derelict place). Then he becomes irritated as Helen is not ‘accessible’.
Little by little, he gets worried and scared by H’s father.
YET he makes fun of him, which is cheeky.
Finally Karim feels discouraged and saddened.

1. What’s the point of using humour ?

Humour provides a relief of tension when describing a difficult situation. It allows to build a form of
complicity with the reader as humour makes him/her laugh.
It makes the novel /story more attractive. It is a way /a means to tackle the issue of racial
prejudice in a funnier way.

Here, the reader sides with the character / sympathizes with the character.

2. Using elements from the painting, explain why this scene is a reference.

- secret meeting R is only sitting on the wall, not fully inside the house.
- J dressed in white = purity
- passionate kiss
- love each other in spite of obstacles, a topic which is shared worldwide

The tragedy exemplifies the star-crossed lovers. Both families are enemies so any relationship
between R and J is doomed. The two families’ antagonism will lead to both lovers’ death.
This theme has inspired many novels and films. For instance « West Side Story » is a modernized
version of R and J.