I definitely think this book is a book that should be read by every individual because it touches upon a lot of themes that media desensitizes us to these days. Funny boy is a gay young adult novel by shyam selvadurai that recounts the childhood and teenage years of arjie. Leading questions for shyam selvadurai funny boy amy small, leena palamkunnel, alexis goldberg, english 365, northwestern university. In the novel, arjie comes to understand that he is homosexual, and endures bigotry and intolerance regarding his homosexuality. Shyam selvadurais funny boy arise from the cultural shock of return to a place and. In the initial stories of shyam selvadurais funny boy, the narrating character, arjie, is obsessed by ideas of romance, love, and marriage. Funny boy part 1 shyam selvadurai funny boy and cinnamon gardens webcast sponsored by the irving k. Funny boy by shyam selvadurai overdrive rakuten overdrive. Selvadurai, through the title, skillfully propels us to divert our minds from the actual notion of the boy s character.
Shyam selvadurai, the author of funny boy, felt the necessity to write about this issue because it is kept in the dark, especially in sri lanka. Arjie is an oddity, a funny boy who prefers dressing as a girl to playing cricket with his brother. Need help on themes in shyam selvadurais funny boy. It slightly hides away the actual term which should have been associated to the boy. The influences of the west bring additional tension to preexisting problems. This study guide consists of approximately 33 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of funny boy. Its a compelling and enlightening read, although i dont think selvadurai ever. Newcomer shyam selvadurais first novel, funny boy, has established him as a talent deserving a place next to some more wellknown sri lankan expatriates. The shifting nature of power the books central theme that underlies every chapter is about the elusive and yet allencompassing nature of power in an unjust society. Shyam selvadurais novel funny boy presents the coming of age of arjie, a young, gay, tamil boy in sri lanka. It slightly hides away the actual term which should have been associated to. Sep 16, 2012 funny boy is an engaging, insightful and poignant story of a boy whose simple, playful life is torn apart by violence and a more gentle dawning of the realities of life. The theme of nationalism, ethnic conflict, and violence in funny.
Ppt funny boy powerpoint presentation free to download. First published by mcclelland and stewart in september 1994, the novel won the lambda literary award for gay male fiction and the books in canada first novel award. A novel in six stories kindle edition by shyam selvadurai. A quiet masterpiece gay timesin the world of his large family affluent tamils living in colombo, sri lanka arjie is an oddity, a funny boy who prefers dressing as a girl to playing cricket with his brother. Some of the themes in canadian texts such as michael ondaatjes anils ghost and. Shyam selvadurais funny boy uses six loosely connected stories to recount the childhood and adolescence of a sri lankan tamil boy, arjie, who comes of age in colombo during the 1970s and 1980s. Bridebride a game where arjie dressed up as a bride and pretended to get married. He currently lives in toronto with his partner andrew champion. Born in 1965 in colombo, sri lanka, selvadurais mixed tamilsinhalese family emigrated to canada in 1983. The origin of many important themes in funny boy is the increasingly serious tensions.
The portrayal of clashing cultural values in the novel. The theme of masculinity and queerness in funny boy from. Pages in category novels by shyam selvadurai this category contains only the following page. It is not about finding a balance between your identities, or trying to define within a particular one, selvadurai explained. The tamils and singhalese are in constant conflict because of their different moral values. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in funny boy, which you can use to track the themes. Shyam selvadurai has brought back from his sri lankan childhood a glittering and wise novel. While funny boy s most important love story is undeniably about arjie discovering his sexuality and meeting shehan, the vast majority of the book follows other relationships, in all of which people fall in love across, despite, and even because of the social boundaries that separate them. Ey, chelva, cyril uncle cried out jovially to my father.
Doc a chapterbychapter critical summary of funny boy. An epilogue pigs can t fly the best school of all funny boy set against the increasing violence between a between. First published by mcclelland and stewart in september 1994, the novel won the lambda literary award for gay male fiction and the books in canada first novel award set in sri lanka where selvadurai grew up, funny boy is constructed in the form of six poignant stories about a boy coming to age. Funny boy is a comingofage novel by canadian author shyam selvadurai. Download file pdf funny boy by shyam weflex funny boy by shyam weflex. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading funny boy. Set from the late 1960s to the early 1980s in sri lanka, funny boy follows the childhood and adolescence of arjie chelvaratnam as his nation. Arjie says, with our legs trembling slightly, we would go to her, the thought of the big canes. The novels author shyam selvadurai uses the term much more literarily and the turning points in.
Selvadurai was born in colombo, sri lanka to a sinhalese mother and a tamil fathermembers of conflicting ethnic groups whose troubles form a major. After he and shehan face weeks of abuse at the hands of the academys principal, arjie realizes a fundamental truth about power that changes his worldview and transforms. This interest, which governs most of his childhood, leads him to discover and understand more serious aspects of his life. You are not alone, it says to the reader i understand you. And yet selvadurai presents this ethnic conflict from the perspective of a boy who scarcely cares about ethnicity. It follows the protagonist arjies growth from a boy of seven years into his late teens.
In the initial stories of shyam selvadurai s funny boy, the narrating character, arjie, is obsessed by ideas of romance, love, and marriage. Funny boy summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. The portrayal of clashing cultural values in the novel funny. In funny boy, the western world often merges with the sri lankan culture, sometimes to a disastrous effect. Download one of the free kindle apps to start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, and computer. Refreshing, raw, and poignant, funny boy is an exquisitely written, compassionate tale of a boy s comingofage that quietly confounds expectations of love, family, and country as it delivers the powerful message of staying true to ones self no matter the obstacles.
In addition to learning he is different from other boys and eventually recognizing that he is gay, arjie must confront the increasingly tense and violent relations between sri lankas two. The portrayal of clashing cultural values in the novel funny boy by syam selvadurai shyam selvadurai, the author of funny boy, felt the necessity to write about this issue because it is kept in the dark, especially in sri lanka. Selvadurai, through the title, skillfully propels us to divert our minds from the actual notion of the boys character. Selvadurai manages to touch a number of subject in each tale like the curious mind of our teenage protagonist arjie, the plight of the tamils in the communal riots of srilanka, the. Selvadurai manages to touch a number of subject in each tale like the curious mind of our teenage protagonist arjie, the plight of the tamils in the communal riots of srilanka, the tension between the tamils and sinhalese etc. Funny boy by shyam selvadurai, 9780099459217, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in funny boy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. It doesnt focus on one party but it focuses more on the struggle these people went through to live in a sri lanka they all own. Gender is also a key theme as it reflect in the very first episode of the novel which. The title of the book, funny boy, is somewhat ironic to the character of the protagonist. Funny boy study guide contains a biography of s selvadurai, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Shyam selvadurai born 12 february 1965 is a sri lankan canadian novelist who wrote funny boy 1994, which won the books in canada first novel award, and cinnamon gardens 1998. Set from the late 1960s to the early 1980s in sri lanka, funny boy follows the childhood and adolescence of arjie chelvaratnam as his nation hurdles toward civil war. Refreshing, raw, and poignant, funny boy is an exquisitely written, compassionate tale of a boys comingofage that quietly confounds expectations of love, family, and country as it delivers the powerful message of staying true to ones self no matter the obstacles.
Set against the backdrop of sri lankan social and cultural politics of the 1980s, the novel explores the barriers around love, marriage, gender expectations, and cultural tensions, specifically in the sinhala and tamil populations. Shyam selvadurai from the start, arjie didnt like playing with the boys. Need help on themes in shyam selvadurai s funny boy. Canes a cane makes an appearance in the first chapter, when arjie states that the children fear his grandmother, ammachi. Homosexuality involves romantic and sexual attraction between individuals. Marriage as a predominant theme in shyam selvadurai s funny boy amy small, english 365, northwestern university. When selvadurai s funny boy was published in 1994, it was hailed as one of the most powerful renditions of the trauma of the prevailing ethnic tensions in contemporary sri lanka. Homosexuality is an important theme in the novel funny boy by shyam selvadurai. Funny boy is an engaging, insightful and poignant story of a boy whose simple, playful life is torn apart by violence and a more gentle dawning of the realities of life. Bending genre and gender in the best school of all. Funny boy writeup eng 2537 intro to lgbt studies studocu. Funny boy by shyam selvadurai is narrated as six tales arjies life.
Funny boy keeps repeating with quiet conviction that the human condition can, in spite of everything, be joyful. This paper focusing on the fifth of the six stories, the best school of all, that constitute funny boy, explores sexual identity politics on the school campus, by analysing how selvadurai. When selvadurais funny boy was published in 1994, it was hailed as one of the most powerful renditions of the trauma of the prevailing ethnic tensions in contemporary sri lanka. A free powerpoint ppt presentation displayed as a flash slide show on id. Shyam selvadurairs funny boy analysis english literature essay. Selvadurai brings together the struggles of class, ethnicity and sexuality. In shyam selvadurais funny boy, the child narrator draws readers into the characters and problems that we can recognize in any family. Selvadurai uses the theme in several aspects on a number of levels, concerning both ethnicity and sexuality. Funny boy also puts the story of the everyday people of sri lanka in the spotlight.
A chapterbychapter critical summary of funny boy by shyam selvadurai. These themes continue throughout the novel, and importance in arjie. While in canada, selvadurai came to terms with his homosexuality, and studied at. Selvadurai grew up in this type of atmosphere, he was homosexual and was raised in. The fear is largely due to the cane that she uses to beat children when they misbehave. Set in sri lanka, it is a haunting novel, told in six beautifully rendered stories, about a boy growing up within an extended uppermiddleclass tamil family in colombo, during the. Shyam selvadurai is a sri lankancanadian novelist who wrote funny boy 1994, which won the books in canada first novel award, and cinnamon gardens 1998. In addition, sri lanka is faced with many cultural problems.
This article focuses on shyam selvadurais funny boy and cinnamon gardens and his projection of identity. Thus, the origin of many important themes in funny boy. Homosexuality involves romantic and sexual attraction between individuals of the same sex. Doc a chapterbychapter critical summary of funny boy by. Selvadurai shows how society can be divided on the basis of linguistic. Marriage as a predominant theme in shyam selvadurais funny boy amy small, english 365, northwestern university. Its a compelling and enlightening read, although i dont think selvadurai ever really caught arjies voice quite right. Funny boy themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. The funny boy community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis. You are not alone, it says to the reader, i understand you. Funny boy is an exquisitely written, compassionate tale of a boys comingofage that quietly confounds expectations of love, family, and country as it delivers the powerful message of. An analysis of shyam selvadurais funny boy pages 4.
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