Games At Twilight

Childhood is a phase in life in which people develop at a much faster rate. In Rohinton Mistry’s short story “Of White Hairs and Cricket” and in Anita Desai’s short story “Games at Twilight,” the protagonists both experience childhood differently, but they arrive at the same conclusion about their insignificance. Both narrators talk about how making independent choices can be both harmful and protective, but maintaining strong family relationships is crucial. Though the narrator in “Games at Twilight” is younger than the narrator in “Of White Hairs and Cricket”, they both face similar situations because of their misunderstanding of the consequences that will follow their decisions. Throughout the short stories, the authors convey that children
He narrates in an ecstatic tone when winning the game, and a sorrowful tone when pondering about his insignificance to exhibit his disbelief of his family and friends’ low expectations of him. Ravi strives to be a victor in the game of hide-and-seek to display his competence of being just as triumphant as his matured siblings. He expresses his suppressed pleasure of finally prevailing in the game when he says, “‘I won, I won, I won,’... the big tears flew… ‘Raghu didn’t find me. I won, I won-’” (Desai 125). To indicate his belief that he is the most competent child out of all the children in his family, Ravi displays “the big tears.” He shouts “‘I won, I won, I won’” because he expects to receive praise as a sign of recognition that he wins without his family or friends help. As his rush of emotions continue to occupy his thoughts, Ravi soon realizes that no family member nor friend recognizes his victory because of their ignorance. The narrator shows how quickly the children move onto another game without acknowledging Ravi’s disappearance when he says, “They had begun to play again, sing, and chant. All this time no one had remembered Ravi… He lay down full length on the damp grass…silenced by a terrible sense of his insignificance” (126). Instead of
Initially, the narrator uses a modest tone to show that his decision to stop attending to his father’s needs is correct, but his tone later varies because his selfishness to be like other kids causes him to weaken his relationship with his father. The narrator displays his determination to make his own decisions when he says, “I put down the tweezers and reached for the comics… But I kept walking, it was a matter of pride… Surely they did not spend Sunday mornings doing what I did…” (Mistry 139). In order to make his own decisions, the protagonist ventures out of his typical routine that shows his love towards his father. He feels embarrassed for presenting his love in such a humiliating manner since his friends “did not spend Sunday mornings doing what I did.” He believes that his parents are limiting him, and for him, walking out on his father “was a matter of pride” and an urge to be independent. Due to his young age, the protagonist places his social status above his love for his father, and must face the resulting consequences. As the narrator reminisces about the lasting effects of his decision, he uses a dismal voice to indicate his strong regret about his choice when he says, “I wanted to weep for myself, for not being able to