Nectar Essay

7/27/2019 Nectar Essay

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Diane Torres

Period 7

Nectar Essay

Many people get to face opportunities and obstacles in their life, and, without realizing push the

opportunities away and let the obstacles wear them off. The book, Nectar in a Sieve by Markandaya,

shows how the course of life takes rocks and turns for the people in India. In this, Rukmani, Nathan, and

others face obstacles that block their way and opportunities that they dont take advantage of.

One character who faced various opportunities and obstacles was Rukmani, also known as Ruku.

For example, it is for them that I practice writing and reading, so that I can teach them when the time is

ripe. (Markandaya 13) In the first pages we already see Ruku taking advantage of her ability to read and

write by teaching her children how. In a society where you live in poverty, illiteracy doesnt help to get

out of such situation, and in addition, can be easily tricked. Another example is: Nature is like a wild

animal that you have trained to work for you. So long as you are vigilant and walk warily with thought

and care, so long will it give you its aid; but look away for an instant, be heedless or forgetful, and it has

you by the throat.(Markandaya 39) This fact proved to be a great obstacle in Rukmanis life. They

depended on nature eat and sell and buy other things like milk and spices, but sometimes, nature came

in with droughts or monsoons to send down the drain all their hard work, and then send them through

starvation. A last example is when Arjun says "Would you have us wasting our youth chafing against

things we cannot change?"(Markandaya 67) Not only was poverty an obstacle but the culture, which

told them to resign in peace to their situation, and when they wanted to change things, the things that

they wanted to change couldnt be changed and therefore a waste of time. This admitted Arjun, how it


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is indeed a mistake to waste time in such a cruel way. Rukmani faced more obstacles than opportunities,

but she managed to overcome the challenges.

Another character who faced various opportunities and obstacles was Nathan, Rukus husband.

The first of many obstacles was that Nathan could not even write his name. (Markandaya 13) Nathan,

like many poor people, was illiterate. Being so, this didnt let him to be able to get another job better

paid than farming. Another example of an obstacle was when The paddy had taken all out labour and

lay now before us in faded, useless heaps. (Markandaya 71) Nathans second obstacle was nature. If

the paddy did not give its expected fruit, Nathan and his family were to starve. His dependence of this

was a great inconvenient. But at the very beginning of the story Ruku says: and married me to a tenant

farmer who was poor in everything but in love and care for me his wife. (Markandaya 4) To start off

with the right path, Nathan got married to who was daughter of a once greatly recognized headman of a

village. Although Ruku as the youngest had a low dowry, Nathan took her in. This opportunity defimitely

didnt go to waste. In conclusion, Nathan, although some of these obstacles led him later to his death,

he never gave up.

Finally, characters like the Irawaddy, Selvam and Puli encountered opportunities and obstacles

also along their path through life. For example, She cannot bear; she is as I was. (Markandaya 59) Ira

couldnt have children, the same way her mother could not have children after her either. This obstacle

led her husband to give her back to her family and summoning Ira into a severe depression. An example

of an opportunity: When it is ready, he will need an assistant, and he has offered me the job. It is the

best way (Markandaya 109, 110) Selvam did not let this opportunity go to waste, he made sure to take

up the job without thinking twice, even though his parent could possibly disagree for such decision. By

taking up the job, he now got paid and there was less possibility that they would starve or not have their

needs met. Lastly, and out of my affliction I called Puli . We adopted him, your father and I

(Markandaya 186) Puli took the risk of leaving the land he already knew to take another one as his own.


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By following this hidden opportunity, he eventually got cured from the illness that ate away his fingers.

In conclusion, many characters took the opportunities and other let the obstacles drag them down in

their lives instead of overcoming them.

All in all, society encounters opportunities and obstacles, some hidden and some too obvious.

Each person chooses if they will use the opportunities presented to them or let them go away. And with

obstacles, they will also decide to let these obstacle to drag them down or to become a valyuable lesson.

In the book Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, various characters encounter various obstacle and

opportunities, leaving lessons behind that are for everyone.

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Nectar Essay