The Circus

The circus is the setting for much of the action of the novel, especially the process by which Raja falls from a position of power to one of subservience. He begins the period in the circus believing he is "Supreme Ruler of the Jungle," but his spirit is quickly broken by the cruel treatment he receives at the hands of Captain, the ringmaster.

The circus is described as being on the edges of the jungle just outside Malgudi. In this sense it is a liminal space — a space between the animal world and human civilization. The circus ape, who walks around freely wearing human clothes and smoking cigarettes, is an embodiment of this kind of betweenness. However, even though animals and humans come together in the circus, it is clearly a space dominated by humans, and by Captain in particular.

Not much of the circus is explored...