Savannah Reynolds

Multicultural LSW
November 30, 2015
While I do think this book portrays a somewhat negative view of India, I do not think it is
a book that shouldnt be taught to children as the negative connotations are not at the heart of the
novel. Also, in some ways these views are accurate and therefore could be used as a teaching
tool when talking about different cultures and societies.
While the author does talk about arranged marriages, like in the case of Hari and Koly or
Chandra and her husband, there are also instances when marriages were not arranged like in the
case of Koly and Raji. In this case, the couple met each other, became friends, fell in love, and
finally got married after much thought, there were no parents or family involved in the marriage
process. The book does a good job of pointing out that arranged marriages do happen, but they
are not always the case and for that reason I think it would be a fine book to allow children to
read. Also, because arranged marriages are somewhat of a cultural phenomenon I think this
would be an educational book as to teach children about the marriage planning of different
cultures and what it means to love someone. While I do believe that arranged marriages still
occur, they are less common than they once were.
Also, when it comes to the book discussing sexism within India, it seems that although
Kolys step-mother works her like a slave, she does have the ability to leave the situation so it is
not as though she is a slave to her surroundings. Because it is her step-mother issuing orders and
not her step-father it would seem that there is no superiority placed upon men, if anything the
men worship the women.
The harshness towards children is also not a problem as children often read stories such
as Cinderella in which the child is also treated harshly. Koly spends much of her time working

Savannah Reynolds
Multicultural LSW
November 30, 2015
for money and when she is treated unfairly it could be seen as the equivalent to Cinderellas
situation. Also, because Koly is a bright and intelligent young woman, it would seem that all
harsh treatment put upon her was solved or could be solved by her clever actions or wise choices.
For the most part, I see this book as more of an educational tool and a book about coming
of age, not one that focuses on the negative views of India. While the author did talk about
unpleasant situations that often occur in India, I believe that none of them were too troublesome
for children to read about. Also, there is poverty, disease, sexism, and harshness in this country
as well which means that the negative views couldnt be placed just on India.