The Village By The Sea - plot

Desai set up a plot and a sub-plot, she created these with a contrast to show the difference between Bombay and Thul. The main plot is Hari running away and escaping to Bombay. The sub-plot is Lila and her sisters stuck in Thul with their sick mother and intoxicated father. The contrast is created because Thul is depicted as being a place of sickness where everyone wants to get out of whereas Bombay is a richer place where there isn't as much poverty. After Hari leaves for Bombay he becomes the main character and Lila and her sisters back in Thul become minor characters.

The Village By The Sea - theme of poverty

Desai depicts the scene of poverty in several ways. She shows the setting as being a paradise. The way there are 'scarlet hibiscus blooms, sweet-smelling spider lilies and bright butter-yellow allamanda flowers' gives a happy atmosphere which adds to the paradise feeling. Desai shows contrast between this paradise by describing it as being unpleasant and ugly. 'Bridged the swampy creek' shows the contrast netween the paradise and the ugliness and poverty. Desai also shows the loss of hope which is represented through Lila's father being constantly intoxicated with the quote 'stench of drunken-ness' shows that and 'it was a smell she has known and hated since she was a small girl' shows that he has been getting drunk a lot since she was a small child. Lila's younger siblings Bela and Kamal have a lack of education and therefore have no motivation. 'They had not washed or changed for school' this quote shows their lack of motivation. Lila is also forced to take on a parental role because of her ill monther and constantly drunk father

1. Maggie's development as a character begins to change when Frankie finally takes Maggie in. The turning point is when Frankie says that Maggie is his fighter. This shows that Frankie has begun to show love and care and has softened up. Metaphorically Frankie is injured because of his daughter and it is as if Maggie is replacing his daughter.

2. There are two film techniques used to depict these changes. One of these techniques is a montage. It shows the fight and is separated by the ringing of the fight bell. The other technique used is foreshadowing. This technique shows us the bad sportsmanship of boxer Billy who Maggie later on fights. This is shown to us earlier on in the film. It is complimented by Scrap's voice over narration.

 3. Maggie changes because Frankie is the first person that has cared for her in a long time. Her family isn't very encouraging and she believed she was useless because no one has ever believed in her. A symbol is the robe that Frankie gives her before a fight. It is almost as if Maggie is taking her new identity. The robe represents the new experience that Maggie has of boxing and it shows Frankie's love for her. She is almost becoming a daughter to Frankie.