A NIL
P LOT

Centres around Anil

Witnesses the murder of Marimuthu’s wife

In the morning, the headman announces that the
wife’s death was a suicide

Anil tries to tell everyone what happens

The headman takes Anil’s father and Anil to his house
to ‘talk about Anil’

Anil is sent away to school by the headman, meaning
that no one will bring justice for the wife’s murder
MAIN C HARACTERS

Anil

Ragunathan

Marimuthu

Headman

Amma
B ASIC
LOOK AT
A NIL
Anil is seven years old. He is brought up in a
Malaysian village, where lying on the floor every
night or woman being hit is accepted in society.
Anil is scared of the dark, which is a key part of
the story, not only is it a lead up to a key event
but still shows how young he is.
B ASIC L OOK AT R AGUNATHAN
At first the author makes the reader believe that Raginathan is a
man that is a heartless bully, this is shown when Anil says
“Appa, returning home drunk last night, had hit her”. This
shows a man with no moral standards, and therefore makes
the reader feel resentful which makes the father/son,
mother/son relationship much more interesting and
insightful. Once Ragunthan is in public he is completely
different-he is very servile to the headman. However at the
end of the story the author insights the reader into Appa’s
true feelings towards his son.
B ASIC L OOK AT M ARIMUTHU
Marimuthu is quite a mysterious character, the
reader only gets a small insight into his emtions,
however they could have been faked. Even
though his wife is killed he doesn’t have a major
role in the story which makes the circumstances
seem suspicious, and not the main factor in his
wife's death.
B ASIC L OOK AT THE H EADMAN
The headman is a corrupt man, as he is allows his
brother to get away with the murder, however
everyone looks up to him as he is the richest and
the main man in the village.
B ASIC L OOK
AT
A MMA
Amma is the mother of Anil, and the wife of
Ragunathan. In the story she is shown as a weak
woman this is shown when the author is talking
about dreams “housewives dreamed of
tomorrows cooking” and “ bruise on her
shoulder”. In the story she is also not given a
name unlike the men in the story, this is because
it reflects the hierarchy in their society.
T HEMES - G ROWING

UP
Before Anil witnesses the murder he “believed in
the magical wonders of life” like any other child,
however after witnessing the murder he is forced
to grow up (as he is sent away to school).
T HEMES - P OWER

In the story there is a definite hierarchy in the
village. The headman is at the top of the
hierarchy
with the most power and influence. He is almost
in charge of the village because he makes all of
the decisions such as sending Anil away and
everyone respects these decisions by carrying
out his orders.
T HEMES - FATHER / SON
R ELATIONSHIPS

The relationship between Anil and his father
Ragunathan is very complex as at the start of the
story Ragunathan/Appa is presented as violent
and aggressive by the description of Amma’s
bruises and the fact that Anil is scared to wake
him up. However at the end of the story he is
shown as caring towards Anil when he is leaving.
T HEMES - R ICH /P OOR

Most of the people in the village are presented
as poor with only the basics however at the top
of the hierarchy the characters are shown as
more wealthy such as the headman who can
afford to sent Anil away to school.
T HEMES - M EN /W OMAN

The men in the story are presented as very
violent towards the female characters for
instance Ragunathan give Amma a “walloping”,
this shows how the women in the village are
victims.
T HEMES - J USTICE

There is no justice in society as the headman
controls all of the decisions and is almost a
dictator in this community, so no-one else’s
opinions are heard.
S TRUCTURE

Two sections

Short paragraphs

Mixture of sentence structures

Fairytale style opening
K EY L ITERARY
DEVICES

Foreboding imagery – ‘Anil saw the bruise on her
shoulder’, ‘It was a tree that ate little children’

Colloquial language – ‘Appa’, ‘Amma’, ‘rattan bed’

Repetition – ‘and the next, and the next,’, ‘Because’

Simple sentences to increase tension/shock – ‘The
shuffling of feet.’, ‘Suspended into suspense.’,
‘Marimuthu’s wife.’

Irony – Anil is the only character who knows what has
happened is wrong, but he is benefiting from the
crime