1. Prepared by:
MAHADI KAMALUDIN
(G1228277)
DELL/KIRKHS
ENGL7008 COMPARATIVE WORLD LITERATURE
PRESENTATION 1: RABINDRANATH TAGORE: SELECTED SHORT
STORIES
Prepared for:
PROFESSOR DR. MOHAMMAD A. QUAYUM
THE POSTMASTER
The Postmaster
Rabindranath Tagore
Translated & Introduced by: Professor Dr. Mohammad A. Quayum

2. PREAMBLE
 Summary
 Theme
 Literary Criticism Theories
 Characters & Characterization
 Issues
 Important Lines

3. Summary
 This story revolves around the life of a
postmaster who is appointed to hold the post in
the small village of Ulapur.
 Originally from the busy city of Calcutta; tries to
adapt his new lonely life in the remote village.
 Managed to get a friendship & companionship
from an orphan girl name Ratan until the girl is
„attached‟ & „„dependent‟ on him.
 Decided to leave Ulapur after he recovered from
his fever.

4. Theme
1. Sense of Belonging & Separation
~The Postmaster: to live in the city/ mother, elder sister &
elder brother
~Ratan: to remember her family/ mother, father & little
brother
2. Companionship
~different caste/socio-economic status
~level of education
~generation gap
3. Reciprocal Relationship
~both lonely-chat, eat & spend time together
~call the Postmaster “Dada Babu” – parental figure
~teach Ratan how to read

5. Literary Criticism Theories
1. Marxist Criticism:
Marxist criticism focuses on how works mirror complex
historical, social & cultural realities and in its
concentration on the plight of the marginalized in
society ( Schmidt & Crockett,2009).
~ “He was assisted in his housework by a destitute
orphan girl, in return for a little food. (p. 1)” – master &
servant
~„Ratan would be sitting on the doorstep and waiting for
that call, but she never came into the house
immediately.‟ (p.2) – loyal & obedient
~ „Dada Babu, will you take me to your home?‟ „How
could I do that!‟, said the
postmaster with a laugh. He never bothered to explain
to the girl why it is not possible. (p.5)‟ –

6. 2. Post Colonial Criticism:
Post colonial criticism focuses its attention in two
directions: at
literary texts currently being produced in former
colonial regions, to discover the ways in which they
respond to the impact of colonialism and its aftermath
on their cultures, and at canonical texts to discover
evidence of colonial themes. ( Schmidt & Crockett,
2009).
~The title of the short story: The Postmaster; no proper
noun is used for the main character except Dada Babu
> social position represents superiority/class/caste.
~The was an Indigo factory nearby and, using his
influence, its English proprietor had managed to get a
post office establish. (p.1) – source of change

7. Characters & Characterization
1. The Postmaster:
~early 20s-not married, the youngest in his family
(like Tagore)
~educated/privileged background/high caste
~lack in social skills: confused or arrogant. (p.1)
~feel alone & exiled-expresses happiness with poetry
2.Ratan:
~around 12-13 years old, the eldest in the family
~orphan/illiterate
~innocent/naïve about different gender relationship &
marriage
customs

8. Issues
1.Reality of Life: “Separation & death are a recurrent
fact of life. What
is the point of going back? Aren‟t we all solitary on
this earth? (p.7)”
BUT the reason the Postmaster wants to leave
the village
because he wants to be closer to his own family
members.
Solitary?
2.Hope: Ratan hopes to be apart of the
Postmaster‟s life;
changed how she addresses the Postmaster “Sir
do you need any

9. 3. India‟s traditional marriage customs: close
interaction
between the Postmaster & Ratan- lead to
misunderstanding to
others-Ratan has reached the appropriate age of
marriage-
child marriage is common in Indian at this period
of time.
„The prospects of her getting married soon looked
faint‟ (p.1)

10. Important Lines
1.„Occasionally he wrote poetry expressing romantic
sentiment of
happiness…sensitive person‟s life would be
revived again‟ (p.1)
Postmaster‟s temporary loneliness.
2. „An odour emitted…complaining repeatedly to the
world‟ (p.3) ~
Symbolizes the Postmaster expressing his
loneliness.
3. The young Ratan was no longer a little girl… „Are
you feeling a little

11. Reading & References
Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin, The Post
Colonial Studies Reader,
Routledge: London and New York, 2006.
Quayum, Mohammad, trans. Rabindranath Tagore: Selected
Short Stories,
New Delhi: Macmillan, 2011.
Schmidt, Jan Zlotnik & Crockett, Lynne, Portable Legacies,
Wadsworth: Cangage Learning, 2009.

12. 
~~ Thank You ~~