A Modern Fairytale

A) Snow White
1) Snow White's biological mother dies and her father remarries. Her stepmother is beautiful, but very vain.

2) When Snow White was sixteen, her stepmother, possessing a magical mirror, asked it who ws the fairest (most beautiful) in the world. Upon realising that Snow White was the fairest in the world, and not herself, she became jealous and ordered a huntsman to take Snow White into the woods and kill her. The huntsman had to bring back the heart of Snow White as a proof.

3) When the huntsman takes Snow White into the forest, but after raising the knife, he is unable to kill her. Instead, he asks Snow White to flee and hide from the Queen. He brings back the heart of a young deer to the Queen whom fails to realise. Snow White discovers a house of seven dwarfs in the forest and befriends them. They allow her to stay with them. The Queen, upon discovering that Snow White is not dead yet, she attempts to poison Snow White thrice. The dwarfs rescue Snow White twice.

4) When Snow White cannot be revived the third time, she is placed in a coffin. However, a prince discovers her and falls in love with her. Then, when the servants are carrying down the coffin, they stumble and the piece of poisoned apple dislodges from Snow White's throat. She regains consciousness and lives happily with the prince ever after.

The Village By The Sea
1) Hari and Lila, the protagonists in the story, had to take up the roles of a surrogate father and surrogate mother respectively as their family was dysfunctional. Their father was a drunkard and their mother was ill. Lila had to stop schooling and stay at home to do household chores. She also had to take care of her younger siblings, Bela and Kamal, while Hari had to find a job.

2) Hari and Lila's father owed the Khanekar brothers debt and it could not be cleared as Hari could not find a job. They would come to the protagonists' hut and threaten them. Their financial situation was also worsening due to Hari's inability to find a job. Lila could not do anything about it. Hari had to go to Bombay to find a job alone.

3) When Hari arrived in Bombay, he met Hira Lal, the watchman of Seabird when he went to look for Mr de Silva, who had gone for a holiday in Thul. Hira Lal pitied Hari and brought him to Jagu, the proprietor of the Sri Krishna Eating House. He not only allowed Hari to work in his restaurant, but also provided him with shelter and paid him wages. Mr Panwallah, a watchmender acquainted with Hari and taught him watchmending skills which Hari could apply in the future. In Thul, the de Silvas, upon knowing Lila's mother's condition, brought her to the hospital in Alibagh. They also paid for the medicine. Besides that, the de Silvas paid Lila and her sisters wages as they helped to clean the 'Mon Repos'.

4) Hari returned to Thul on the eve of Diwali. Hari and Lila's father had reformed and their mother is in the pink of her health. Their family was not dysfunctional anymore and their financial situation had improved.

B. Comprehension questions

B. The part in The Village By The Sea where Hari went to Bombay to find work is ignored in the fairytale pattern as it does not include a part which the protagonist went on a mission. The part in the fairytale pattern where the protagonist receives unexpected help can only be seen on Lila, not Hari. Lila somehow managed to earn some money from Sayyid Ali Sahib who arrived at Mon Repos to watch baya birds during the monsoon season. There was normally no one staying in the Mon Repos during the monsoon season. This provided Lila with another source of income. Next, the part in the book where Hari learnt things in his stay in Bombay is ignored in the fairytale pattern as it does not include a part where the protagonist learnt things from his/her mission. Hari learnt to accept the inevitability of changes and to adapt to them from Mr Panwallah, the watchmender of Ding Dong Watchworks.

C. I agree that The Village By The Sea is an adventure story to a large extent. The adventure story pattern is that the protagonist first went on a mission. In The Village By The Sea, Hari, the protagonist, lived in Thul. His family was a dysfunctional one as his father was a drunkard and his mother was ill. He was frustrated and angry with his father for drinking and his live in Thul, thus he went to Bombay alone to find a job and earn some money for his family.

Then, the protagonist faced some obstacles. In the story The Village By The Sea, when Hari arrived in Bombay, he was unfamiliar with the traffic and hectic lifestyle of the people in Bombay. He could not settle and adapt in a new environment. He did not have any money and acquaintance in Bombay, except the de Silvas. However, even though Hari had their address in Bombay, they had gone for a holiday in Thul. The fact that he did not have any acquaintance in Bombay meant that he could not seek for help and find a job there.

However, many people helped the protagonist. In the story The Village By The Sea, when Hari visited Mr de Silva's residence called Seabird in Bombay and was informed that the de Silvas had gone to Thul for a holiday, Hira Lal, the watchman of Seabird, took pity on him as he was a young boy and brought Hari to his friend and the proprietor of the Sri Krishna Eating House, Jagu. Despite not knowing Hari, Jagu offered him a job in the eating house, provided him with shelter and paid him a rupee a day. In addition, Hari got his meals free. This helped Hari as he could finally save some money to bring back to his family in Thul. While working at the eating house, Hari acquainted with Mr Panwallah, a watchmender working in the store beside the eating house, which is called 'Ding Dong Watchworks'. Mr Panwallah taught Hari watchmending skills, told him to accept the inevitability of changes and to adapt to them. Hari could mend watches in Thul once the factories were built, which could improve his family's financial situation.

Finally, the protagonist successfully completed the mission. In the story The Village By The Sea, Hari, the protagonist, brought money and confidence back to Thul on the eve of Diwali. Upon arrival, he found that his father had reformed and his mother was back to the pink of her health. He was very happy and relieved to see that. From his adventure in Bombay, Hari had learnt to accept the inevitability of changes and adapt to them. He also had plans for the future, for example, building a poultry farm in Thul to rear chickens and sell their eggs to workers which would arrive in Thul later to work in factories.

D. In The Village By The Sea, Hari, the protagonist succeeded because he was determined and brave. Despite of adversities, he did not give up. He did not wait for his father to reform and his mother to get well to earn money for his family. Instead, he came up with solutions to mitigate the problems he faced. He went to Bombay, a place unfamiliar to him, alone. When he arrived at Bombay, he did not know what to do and had no acquaintances. However, he did not give up and thought of solutions. His hardworking attitude and eagerness to learn made him employable, allowing him to earn money for his dysfunctional family. He was also friendly and humble, which allowed him to befriend people.

Lila, the other protagonist, stayed in Thul while Hari left for Bombay. She had to earn a living for her family, which was another burden on her shoulders. However, she did not give up as well. She was optimistic and knew that she could accomplish that. She took care of her mother, but could not afford to bring her to a hospital. Upon knowing her family's situation, Mr de Silva took her mother to a hospital in Alibagh and paid for the expenses. She persevered and helped the de Silvas and Sayyid Ali Sahib.