Literature

Throughout much of Ganesh’s personal journey, literature is an important mechanism of self-mastery and mastery of one’s surroundings, and Ganesh quickly recognizes this value in both reading and writing. In certain ways, Ganesh’s fidelity to literature is a reaction against the culture he experiences during his brief time as a teacher. The headmaster of the school says to Ganesh, “the purpose of this school is to form, not to inform” (14), meaning that Ganesh should view his role as one of discipline for the students rather than education. Ganesh quickly becomes frustrated with this philosophy, as he wishes for his students tor retain the knowledge of the classroom. Later, when Ganesh begins his own journey of autodidacticism, Ganesh places great personal emphasis on the value of retaining knowledge. He reads and takes assiduous notes, and this hunger for knowledge serves as the basis for...