Funny Boy
Chapter 5 The Best School of All
Arjie leaves St. Gabriel's to attend Queen Victoria Academy to "become a man" -In a Sinhalese class because there are more opportunities -Meets Shehan Soyza - Illed and Burdened= the bad kids QVA is modelled after British schools - High discipline, corporal punishment, uniforms, stand in corner on one foot, stand on chair pulling ears, in college too. Appa's plan backfires, Arjie still turns out gay *In the beginning Arjie is outsider but now his parents are because they are not understanding/ accepting* Poems are: Vitai Lampada, The Best School of All
Characters
Arjun Chelvaratnam: Arjie, narrator Amma: Nalini Daryl Uncle: Reporter for Sydney Morning Star Robert Chelvaratnam: Arjie's dad (Appa) Diggy/ Varuna: Arjie's older brother Sonali: Arjie's younger sister Jegan: Buddy's son (Robert's friend) Somarati: Daryl Uncle's servant boy Black Tie/ Mr. Abeysinghe: Principle of Queen Victoria Academy Mr. Lokubandara ("Snake in the Grass"): VP of QVA Radha Aunty: Aunt Rujan: Who Radha is supposed to marry Anil: Guy Radha wants to marry (Sinhalese) Ammachi/ Appachi: Arjie's grandparents Shehan Soyza: Ajie's BF Kanti Aunty: Tunuja's mom who mocks and shows family Arjie as Bride- Bride Tunuja/ Her Fatness: Arjie's cousin who ruins Bride- Bride
Chapter 3 See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
Daryl Uncle lives in Australia and is an international reporter for the Sydney Morning Star Wants to investigate violence in Jaffna Killed by police or army (Sinhalese Army) - Must dies because Sri Lanka does not want violence being talked/ written about in world - Police ransack his room to see how much he knows - Somarati (servant boy) was blamed by police Police man threatens Amma by threatening to expose affair to her husband Title of chapter is based on high threat and ignoring protection (See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil) IPF: Indian Peace keeping Force
Chapter 1 Pigs Can't Fly
Dominated by gender roles -Meena is a tomboy and plays cricket without criticism - Arjie plays bride- bride and gets laughed at -Tunuja is the cousin that disrupts play (Her Fatness) -Daughter of Kanti Aunty - Amma punishes Arjie by making him play cricket and cannot watch her undress After being embarrassed, he lost the sense of belonging and acceptance in his house Parents want him to not be gay because in Sri Lanka it is a punishable crime by up to 12 years in prison
Chapter 4 Small Choices
Jegan comes from Jaffna -p. 157 Transformation of Arjie, now he notices men's bodies. Is not different but now gay - Jegan is part of the Gandhian movement (hints at nonviolence) Robery gives Jegan a job at the hotel - Jegan is fired due to his association with the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and most employees are Sinhalese) Tone is light, hopeful, humorous sometimes and confused - Due to Arjie being a child - Despite being an outsider in his home and country, he does NOT have a sad tone
Chapter 2 Radha Aunty
Repetition of pounding on Mol gaha symbolizes the obstacles separating Arjie and Radha Radha lives in US but comes home to marry Rajun Nejidran - Family likes him because he is an engineer, know the family, and there is no mental illness history in blood line Radha wants to marry Anil but he is Sinhalese - Radha turns into Ammachi after train attack in Jaffna - Seller knows Anil is Sinhalese because of last name The "King and I" has to do with racism interfering with love Aunty Doris' (Burgher) story shows consequences for marrying for love - Husband, Pascarean, was Tamil - After he died, Doris had no where else to go Inter-community relationships: only relationship is not hate, can love other groups because at the end of the day we are all humans
Epilogue
Sense of urgency Structured by times and dates like a journal Government involved in riots - Gave electoral list (#1 reason) - CAN TELL TAMIL BY LAST NAME Find shelter in neighbor's house (Perera's) -Then family seeks shelter in parent's bff house (Uncle Sena+ Chithra Aunty) Move to Canada (Appa has relatives) Arjie physically loses his home, the neighbors steal from the house what is salvageable. -Rejected by people he grew up with (family and country) Immigrant: Leaving voluntarily Exiled: Leaving for fear of life Not everyone has the funs to leave, sometimes leads to conversion (Moti)
Author and Publication Year
Shyam Selvadurai 1994
Setting/ Structure
Takes place in Colombo, Sri Lanka (capital) New characters are introduced in chapters, not built upon Chapters are episodic Chapters published separately then brought together to make the novel Arjie remains narrator the whole time 2 Themes: Gay and personal identity, Arjie's political identity as a minority (Tamil) Takes place 1977- 1983
Shehan and Arjie's Relationship
Tamil and Sinhalese affair breaks stereotypes of relationships between different ethnicities is only hate Leads Arjie to ruining Black Tie's ceremony by messing up poems purposefully to get him fired so that Shehan is no longer an ill and burden Vitai Lampada is about cricket
Tensions in Sri Lanka
The Sinhalese (lighter) are the majority (97% Buddhists) Tamils (darker) are the largest minority (Hindus, Muslims, Christians) -Arjie's family is Christian (bias because of religion) Height of conflict in July 1993 Burghers= People of Dutch and Portuguese decent -Daryl Uncle, Aunty Doris Government involved in riots -Police and Sinhalese Army letting riots happen -Gave out electoral list (#1 Reason) - Lets Sinhalese know which houses are Tamil by last name
