'Bachelor of Arts' is a book written by R.K. Narayan in 1937. It covers the story of Chandran, a B.A. graduate and shows the paths which he travells through. This story is written in a third-person perspective and covers through the grievences, happiness and thoughts of Chandran.
The story starts with Chandran's last year at college and later on to cover till 2 years after his college life. It covers from topics like love to marriage. Narayan has drifted away from Malgudi(the famous fictional town created by him) in some parts and went to Madras.
What I like about the story:
- R.K. succeeds in conveying thoughts of a person intimately even in a third-person perspective.
- The story shows the major traditional customs that existed in marriage in those days. For example, a girl was supposed to be married in about 13 or 14 at the time.
- It discusses thoughts on subjects such as love, giving it even a new definition, and making us think about several of those subjects.
- The poet takes a neutral stand in Chandran's perspective and does not condemn all practises as whole.
What I don't like about the story:
- A major defect I found in the story is that I felt it very incomplete. The author has suddenly stopped the book at a point.
- I would have liked a little more about the college life of Chandran. When starting to read the book, the first thing I thought was that this would be a lot of college life.However, the period was very short.
'The Bachelor of Arts' shows the life of a B.A. graduate in the 1930's, his confusions, travels, distractions, love, marriage, friends, etc. It also gives value meanings for various conditions like love and friendship. The book covers up the various customs and traditions during the time. R.K. Narayan travels here with his account at Madras, which is nice.