Gita Mehta, one of the best-known authors of Indian literature, is the author of the novel “A River Sutra”. One of the main characteristics of Mehta's work is his ability to examine and explore human psychology and its limitations, with the aim of communicating an overall or moral message to the reader. To achieve this, the author introduces a unique and interesting technique based on interconnected framed stories, where each of them has its own personal conflict regarding love, desire and family. Furthermore, this article seeks to study and compare "The Monk's Story" and "The Teacher's Story" by relating them and developing the importance of family in each of them, but more specifically, to demonstrate the balance between personal attachment and detachment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Primarily, regarding the theme of detachment, “The Monk’s Story” presents an internal conflict between family values, duty, and wealth. Being the son of a rich merchant, the monk was always granted luxury and privilege. However, he never felt fulfilled or completely satisfied. It was when the character was finally able to see the hunger and poverty in the world that he realized the impact of money on his life and how it causes fairness between his family and relationships. Everyone around him expects him to follow his father's business and become another rich man who will continue to spend instead of investing in a better world. This unfortunate event clears the monk's mind and makes him understand that wealth has completely taken over and replaced the role and values ​​of a family. Additionally, the monk's personal detachment is visible throughout the chapter, but an excellent explanation of the character's honest thoughts can be seen in this quote: "For the first time... hates the most, violence." » (Mehta, 1993, p. 25-26). Here, the excellent description and diction emphasize the monk's opinion and perspective on the life he lives in, revealing a sense of disappointment and discontent. Similarly, Gita Mehta chooses this protagonist to make the narration reliable, as he is the only one who can communicate the idea and its meaning in depth. Additionally, the theme of detachment in “The Professor's Story” can also be contrasted with the previous tale. . Master Mohan's character finds himself unmotivated and discouraged towards his family, due to the fact that his wife and children only care about wealth, thus eliminating any chance of living in a loving and caring environment. This situation is a product of a past economic event, where Master Mohan's wife did not receive the inheritance from her father's death, thus causing major anger and disagreement in the marriage. Even if the protagonist wanted to, he could no longer earn money using his true talent and passion, music, due to his severe tuberculosis, forcing him to become a teacher and give music lessons. This business could not provide the lifestyle his wife and children wanted, making him a daily victim of verbal abuse from people who were supposed to love him unconditionally. Due to his family's materialism, Master Mohan no longer has the patience and care for them, causing him to enter a desperate state that could lead to total emotional detachment. Unfortunately, he no longer had the love and support of a family; no glimmer of hope that would prevent him from committing suicide and ending hisdays. To illustrate his abhorrent lifestyle, in chapter four: “Prevented by pride…from remaining silent.” » (Mehta, 1993, p. 56-57) the author decides to use the omniscient narrator of Tariq Mia to tell the story, seeing that he is attracted to and understands the verisimilitudes of human life. Also, Mehta decides to use long sentences and rich vocabulary in order to infiltrate the reader's psyche and make him analyze, debate and compare the circumstances between the monk and Master Mohan. On the other hand, after both characters accepted their detachment from their families, they now had this void within them that could only be filled by the true passions that their respective loved ones and the desire for money had kept locked away for years. In the case of "The Monk's Story", the monk did not feel entirely satisfied with his family's beliefs and values, until he finally managed to reveal his true self through the power of belief and religion. He found the connection he was looking for in Jainism, a religion that gave him the chance to be who he truly wanted to be by conserving and caring for everything around him. Furthermore, he sees that life is not an easy path but full of difficulties and sorrows, and instead of rejecting it, he embraces its flaws and accepts it exactly as it is, giving it the opportunity to choose your path in life. A universal phrase that perfectly sums up this entire event is the one that the author gives us at the beginning of the chapter: “I have only loved one thing in my life. » (Mehta, 1993, p. 14). Here we can implicitly infer that whatever the monk received in his life did not matter much, such as the fact that he could finally be with himself throughout Jainism, the only side of himself whom he really never loved. By using simple, concise sentences like this, Mehta allows the reader to have a more personal interpretation of the text, creating a greater connection and impact between the story and its audience. Unlike the kind of alternative attachment that "The Monk's Story" has with religion, "The Professor's Story" offers a new, affectionate connection with the tale's most symbolic element: music. As we mentioned earlier, Master Mohan had a deep love for music, but due to his illness, he had to give up much of it. Remarkably, the teacher reconnects and finds his new family in the young character of Imrat, a blind boy with a difficult life but an astonishing and angelic voice. Likewise, the teacher and the boy quickly develop a legendary bond and quickly acquire fame and money together, bringing Master Mohan the greatest and most rewarding feeling of happiness of his entire life. Just like the monk, Master Mohan becomes the person he always wanted to be and finds himself inside the child, tying up all his buried emotions in his longing and burning dream. To elaborate the deep relationship between the two characters, Gita Mehta uses powerful and descriptive adjectives so that the reader can visualize the scene, for example: "One way or another, Master Mohan...for the world." (Mehta, 1993, pp. 67-68). Furthermore, the author uses a happy and relaxed tone to describe how Master Mohan begins to care for and treat Imrat like family, as well as the joy he feels in finally being completed by the power of music. Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom paper from our expert writers now.Get a custom essayAfter analyzing and comparing two of Gita Mehta's frame stories in depth, we can conclude that the author managed to create a strong relationship between them with the help of.