Literary Criticism of Everythings Arranged by Siew Yue Killingley

Everythings Arranged by Siew Yue Killingley is among one of the many literature
texts chosen for this task. As to further understand the text, the reader should first understand
the background of the author. Siew Yue Killingley wrote this story during the 1960s,
whereby traditional customs are still thick in heritage and practiced. The author is very
observant about the happenings in a Ceylonese Tamil family. She brings the reader into the
world of the Indians whereby the readers are absorbed into the pool of various cultures and
traditions brought to life by the characters in the text.
Moving on, one of the literary theories present in this short story is cultural criticism. The
Indian culture is well depicted in this story. To the Indians, sex is a very taboo subject to be
talked about. They hold on to the practice of arranged marriage and any relationship out of
marriage is considered a disgrace to the family. Indian girls are not to be too modern because
this will scar their maidenly modesty and family honour. An instance is such of Rukumani
being despised by her family for talking to her classmate, Johnny Chew. Rukumani felt the
pinch of this strict and sacred tradition when she sees her Chinese friends who are of more
open culture. Chinese couples are free to hold hands even in public but not for the Indians.
From a positive perspective, the stringent tradition of the Indian culture is the element that
makes the culture more aesthetic as it ensures the purity and obedience of the younger
generations. This is the main reason as to why there were lesser social problems as compared
to now.
The next literary theory abstracted from this short story is social criticism. Social
criticism is seen in Rukumanis parents who are old-fashioned in thinking. They strongly
objects relationships and grabs on tightly to the idea of arranged marriage. They believe that
there should not be room for love or feelings in the matrimony of the two souls. Even when
Johnny Chew greets Rukumanis father at the train station, Rukumanis father felt a gush of
shame running down on him when he looks at Rukumani with sorrowful eyes. The thinking
of her parents is just like how it was back in their motherland, Sri Lanka. The Ceylonese,
however educated, still hold to their traditions, beliefs and family values so adamantly.
Education failed to change their thinking. Social life is a big no for their young sons and
daughters. By understanding this aspect of society portrayed, readers will get a clearer picture
of the scenario put forth in this text. The reserved society in which Rukumani lives in
becomes the catalyst for her to break out of it. She is uneasy at the talk of arranged marriage
and keeps on thinking about her boyfriend, Devanayagam. Falling in love with Devanayagam
is a great sin, but to Rukumani, it is how she wants to shape her future. She is badly envious
of her Chinese peers freedom like those enjoyed by Johnny Chew and Amy Wong. The
community she revolves her life on is also of old-fashioned thinking. The community here is
represented by the media. When Rukumani could not find consolation to her feelings, she
decided to write to the newspaper column, Auntie Sally. To her disappointment, Auntie
Sally called Rukumani an ingratitude, deceit and shameless girl for going against her
parents wishes.
Last but not least, gender criticism is also a part of the make up of this literary text. The
female role is depicted as weak and easily controlled. The author has made it a point in the
beginning of the story that gender stratification is applied in the Ceylonese Tamil families.
Devanayagam, as a boy, apparently has more freedom as compared to Rukumani. He has the
opportunity to go out to movies with his friends and he is also able to return to the university
earlier without his parents being all over him. However, for Rukumani, as a girl, she is
supposed and expected to be at home and do what girls are supposed to do. She is not to be a
Modern Girl the type who is given the freedom to choose their life partner. Rukumanis
parents would not allow her to go back to the university earlier as they worry that Rukumani
will be open to dangers and temptations since there would be no classes to attend and
therefore no lecturers to keep an eye on her chastity. Her parents also consider a girl to be of
no more good values the moment a girl talks to a boy. A girl is also shameless whenever she
talks about a boy. All these tell the reader of how tight the control over females is.
In conclusion, this literary text has taught us a lot about the cultures of the Indian society
and how they highly consider arranged marriages. We observe how they regard arranged
marriage as a symbol of family honour. Objecting to one is a sign of ungratefulness of a child
to the parents. By digging deeper into this culture using various literary criticism theories,
one has the advantage of better understanding the actions of the characters and hence the
story.