Q - Examine how the writer makes the narrator’s situation striking?

~The narrator’s struggle in understanding the grandmother’s condition

~Reaction of people around her

~The awkwardness of the narrator’s position during this unusual phase

The extract from  ‘Gone  Case’ starts with a short and impactful sentence highlighting the
most shocking happening in a young child’s life; ‘Passing away’ of a loved one. The extract
is set in a hospital and focuses on the observation of the narrator in rst person. The tone is
sombre throughout, giving a clear understanding of the confusion of a very new situation the
narrator was facing and how he was searching for answers but had to reconcile with it by
following the elders, as, they too seemed to have been disturbed; unwilling to throw light on
what had been happening. The reader feels sympathetic towards the narrator and gets
a vivid description of his awkwardness in this new situation of  grandmother’s illness 
where he is coming to term with the concept of death and the reaction of the family.

The narrator starts by writing about the demise of his grandmother throwing light on the
slow understanding of the concept of death that he witnessed as a 12-year-old boy. He
describes it with the phrase ‘faded away’ a powerful verb creating an image which shows
the creeping in of old age and the eventual passing away of his dear grandmother; a once
lively and active person not moving anymore and vanishing into nothingness.Furthermore,
He also uses phrases such as, ‘disease pouring out from inside her’; a powerful visual
imagery, as if trying to nd a reason for her miserable condition, as something mysterious,
which had slowly  devoured her from within and had been overwhelming. He further
reminiscences grandmother’s unwillingness to share her thoughts about her pain using
‘dare’ a powerful verb. This usage evokes a certain sense of fear in the reader as it
describes the excruciating torture his grandmother might have faced, and he could only
sense the enormity of it as he presumed, she was shielding him from the hurtful truth about
the torture leading to her inevitable death.Thus, the narrator powerfully describes the painful
realisation of death and the anguish experienced by the narrator.

The narrator’s predicament in this situation is further ampli ed by the reactions of the
people he saw around him while grandmother was in the hospital. It starts with  the
narrator comparing the reaction of patients in the ward to the reaction of grandmother
towards things provided for her. His slow realisation about her condition is brought out in the
line, ‘others sat up in bed to eat porridge’. He observes the way patients although sick, could
move about and eat normally by sitting up in bed. However, the line, ‘not moving except
when she coughed,’ uses visual imagery showing how the young boy realise that she was
very weak. Only a ravaging cough could bring some movement to her sick body while other
people in the hospital seemed to be actively moving about and doing tasks that the
grandmother couldn’t execute. Additionally the family’s reaction seems strange when they
were gathering in her room, ‘chatting with their backs to her’, and passing peanuts, ‘eaten
slower by the minute’ even when they had no appetite. This image brings forth the confusion
that they were either apathetic or maybe they were putting an effort to create a warm
atmosphere where she could hear the normal discussions of the family and feel included.
Parents did their best to help entertain her by  placing a television in her ward. Here the
narrator plays with dramatic irony. This acts as an unnecessary gesture, as we, the
audience, know that she is in no shape to please herself with the mind-numbing effects of a
television. He realises that she could not care enough to even take note of the television
being there; further suggesting such things no longer seemed to appeal to her, as,
something serious had come over her. Even the family seemed very different as they ‘no
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longer’ had things ‘back in order’ at home. Their thoughts and actions revolved around
grandmother, implying that her situation was grave; as is evident from, ‘they were getting lost
or misplaced.’ The visitor ‘apologising again and again’ is a repetition employed
highlighting the feelings and reactions of strangers. Hence.The narrator uses visual
imagery to show how the family was unable to focus on their normal life or keep it order.

The narrator describes the grandmother to vividly elucidate the awkwardness he faced.
He mentions how in    the  hospital bed she is seen ‘with tubes radiating out of her like and
air-conditioner’. The use of  simile not just  shows him looking  at  her as a strange sight,
looking almost inanimate, but also  brings out  his embarrassment as he had seemingly
visited the hospital hoping to cheer her up with her favourite biscuits when he should
probably have known that she was not in her normal state. The phrase ‘embarrassed and
almost guilty’ shows the slow but shocking realisation that all was not  well with grandmother.
He is grappling  with  the uncomfortable revelation  of the awareness that  he  may have
come across  as foolish as he had assumed his grandmother was the same as before. To
add  to his predicament, the line, ‘nodding even though I couldn’t understand’  tells  us  how
he is in a new scenario not knowing how to respond yet desirous of helping her. Another
instance of powerful visual imagery is when she, ‘grabbed the back of the chair and turned
it’; a point where the young boy is left clueless about the reason for such a reaction from her.
As a result, he randomly reads a book aloud. In lines 29 & 30  we see another exchange of
dialogue between the grandmother and the narrator as she once again tries to communicate
with the movement of her hands, ‘made a circling motion at me’ a vivid imagery showing
her inability to convey her thoughts in words. “What do you want Ah Por?” and  the 
repetition of a second “What do you want?”, though a little harsh from the narrator’s side,
we realise he wasn’t able to do much for her and was desperate to try and help. This way
the sense of awkwardness builds and is solidi ed when the narrator confronts the audience
by saying, “I was growing afraid and confused”. Therefore the writer has vividly portrayed the
miserable condition of the grandmother thereby evoking pathos in the reader.

The narrator has successfully used powerful imagery and recreated the young boy’s
situation vividly. Clearly elaborating his awkwardness in an unfamiliar scenario of the events
and description leading up to the demise of his grandmother.
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