Gora Various Theme / Central Issues:-

Gora Various Theme / Central Issues:-

Q: - Try to prove that ‘Gora’ is pre-eminently novel aiming at social, religious, political and all sorts of constructive reforms. Or Give an estimate of Shri Rabindranath Tagore as a  social, political, religious, and all sorts of constructive reformer. OR Discuss ‘Gora’ as a great novel depicting the Indian Renaissance spirit. Or The concept of nationalism and internationalism of creator.

v Introduction:-

             “Gora is more than a mere novel; it is an epic of India in transition at a crucial period of modern history, when the social conscience and intellectual awareness of the new intelligentsia were in the throes of a great churning.”

-Krishna Kriplani

            ‘Gurudev’ Rabindranath Tagore was a man of versatile genius. He was a poet, playwright, novelist, educator, social reformer, nationalist and composer. He achieved “a perennial success Bengali as well as in English language.” He became Asia’s First noble Laureate, when he won the 1913 Noble Prize in literature for his Gitangali” or “Song Offerings. Two songs from him are now the national anthems of Bangladesh and India; the ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ and the ‘Jana Gana Mana’ respectively. Out of his twelve novels the famous are the novels of conflict like ‘Chokher Bali,’ ‘The Wreck’, ‘Gora’, ‘Ghare Baire’ and ‘Farewell, My Friend’. In these works, Rabindranath examined how the spirit of the age influenced the life of people.

v Tagore as social Reformer:-

            In all his works, Shri Tagore has sounded the echoes of the voice of his heart. Through his novels, drams and short stories, Shri Tagore has impressively suggested the need of eradicating numerous social, religious and political and other evils. For example, in his famous story, ‘The cauliwhallah’, he has impressively point out how in Indian enormous amounts the waste of in honouring negative social customs. ‘In the Hungry Stones’ he warned us against the danger of hollow superstitions etc. ‘Gora’ is essentially a patriotic novel aiming at India’s complete progress on the basis of social and religious reforms. Gora wants to serve India by making India revert to her ancient orthodox culture and glory. His patriotism is rooted in the strength of his intuition only. i.e. He resulted to resort to reasoning as he has blind faith in the India’s ancient culture.

v ‘Gora’ – A socio political novel:-

            ‘Gora’ is the longest and most widely acclaimed novel of Tagore. It deals with theme of nationalism and patriotism. It exemplifies the novelist’s vision of new India rising above the consideration of the cast, community and race. It is really a strong political and patriotic novel voicing the aspirations of the resurgent India. The central theme of the novel has a political undercurrent. The novel reflects the patriotic Zeal of Gora or Indian-Bengali youth. It projects all the important political question, the conflicts of the ideals between the east and the west. Thus ‘Gora’ has been made popular by various factors. In the words of Niranjan Ray in “Three novels of Tagore”,

“It is only novel in Bengal which mirrors faithfully toe social, political and cultural life of the entire educated Bengali middle class.”

v ‘Gora’;a mirror of social life of India Or A Social Evils:-

            In the best novel ‘Gora’ Tagore has raised many contemporary social problems and evils related to Hinduism and its adversary Brahmanism. Some critic have call the novel as a novel of ideas suitable to the spirit of the again. It focuses on the caste-system. The whole society has been divided into four caste-Brahmins, Chhhtriya, vaishy and Shudras. Tagore has dealt with the caste system in the chapter twenty three through a dialogue between sucharita and Binoy. Gora, the protagonist, is quite orthodox in the institution of caste-system. He with Krishna Dayal, discusses the merit of a Brahmin family. He thinks that caste-system is the wisest method of division and labour and intellectual world. A Brahmin is devoted to the highest ideals of spiritual knowledge. According to Gora, ‘The Brahmin class is the class of the superman’. He believed in Hingu culture, tradition, rites, and ritual. There he performs the ceremony of penance after releases form jail on the banks of the holy Ganges.

v A critical note on the controversy between Brahmo Samaj and Hinduism.

            The novel has become a comparative evaluation of the Brahman Samaj and Hinduism. Many educated persons in Bengal had adopted the principle and practices of Brahmo Samaj. Founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. The Brahmo movement had a deep and wide influence in Bengal in 19^th century Its chief aim was the reform of Hinduism from the evil of castesim,  untouchbility and high philosophical conception of God’s existence.. It wants to transform India into western system of education , culture and politic. It wanted to change Hingu religion into a progressive religion. Gora is a perfect follower of Hinduism. He is the chairman of the Hingu Patriot Society. And another group is led by Haran and the family of Paresh Babu strongly believes in the principles of Brahmanism Moreover the economic and social condition of Bengal is also highlighted in the novel. In the countryside, Gora finds that how the people are totally looted and exploited by the English administrator.

v The Environment of Bengali Culture:-

                        At the cultural level also, the novel reflects the old culture of Bengal, its orthodoxy and superstition. The renaissance and reformation carried through Brahmo Samaj established by Raja Ram Mohan Roy on 20 August 1828. The Old culture was being replaced by a new type of culture, which was under western influence. Tagore as a reformist exposes the miserable condition of the unhappy widow and problem of woman of Bengal through the character of Harimohini. The old Bengali culture did not permit the freedom of love-marriages. The novel presents the complication in the matter of marriages of the daughters of Paresh Babu. Except marriage, there was no option for the young girls. In India most of the marriages were arranged-marriages, which give rise to dowry and commercialization. Marriages were not based on freedom of loved. Sucharita was going to be married to Haran but the end of the novel Sucharita willingly marries Gora. So the mood of free will prevails in the novel and the atmosphere of freedom in social life prevails in this great work of Rabindranath Tagore.

v The Atmosphere of Political Freedom and The Tyranny the British Rule

            At political lever, the atmosphere of revolt and preparation of freedom prevails in the entire novel. Gora grows through the slave people of Bengal and watches their sufferings and unjust punishment by a cruel foreign rule. Gora goes to the village Ghoshpara, where the students of Calcutta were put on trials. The students were punished with whippings. The English Magistrate Brownstrate sentences Gora for one month imprisonment for interfering with the police. The hero, Gora sets up the image and an atmosphere of strong freedom and fighter. He becomes a staunch nationalist to fight for the freedom of India.

v The spirit of nationalism:-

            Basically ‘Gora’ is a nationalistic novel. It deals with the spirit of nationalism. ‘Gurudev’ has mirrored the rural people of Bengal and their suffering in it. At that in 1901, Bengal was in the grip of a political conflict on the basic issue of the Partition of Bengal under Lord Curzon. It created a political movement in Bengal. Gora emerges a national leader, who goes of country side of Bengal and worked for the betterment of Indian peasant. He remains a patriot through the novel. Tagore created a picture of freedom struggle and its achievements through the portrayal of their hero Gora. In a true nationalistic spirit, he as already taken a vow to serve Indian as her faithful servant. 

v The elements of Internationalism in ‘Gora’:-

            Although the novel, ‘Gora’, discusses many issues and social, political, cultural problems, yet at the close of the novel flows to the idea of internationalism. At the beginning of the novel, Gora is a staunch nationalist and orthodox. Hindu. But When he comes to know that he is the son of an Irishman, at one the novel flows to the ideas of internationalism. He thinks that he is now free from orthodoxy of Hinduism. He attains true human nature as spirit as well as identity, as he says,

 “Today I have become so pure that I can never the afraid of contamination even in the house of the lowest of castes.”

            Even in the epilogue of novel, we study the proposal of internationalism. At the end of the novel Gore comes to meet Andandmoyi, He laid his head at her a feet and said,

“Mother, you are my mother. The mother for whom is been seaming all day was the item sitting in my room at home. You have not caste; you make no distinctions and have no hatred. It is you who are India.” .

            Thus, Tagore has beautifully interwoven the theme of nationalism and internationalism, Brahmanism versus Hinduism in the novel. Therefore a critic Krishna Kripalni calls it, “

            The epic of novel in transition; it is to Indian fiction what Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peach’ to the Russian”.

v  Conclusion:-

            Indeed, ‘Gora’ is an epic-like work accounts the social, cultural, religious and political life of Bengal in the latter half of the 19^th century Bengal. It accounts the transition of an Indian society which progresses to achiever universal brotherhood. ‘Thus ‘Gora’ is contemporary and yet timeless. It is set in certain social class, yet it reach out towards the universal. It is a realistic novel. It also gives the pictures of the minds of mend and women of the time. It is indeed “a sage of human life” Finally Critic sukumar sen calls the novel Gora,

“A something like a Mahabharata of modern India.”