Question- Comment on the narrative technique in "The Guide'.

Answer - 

Narayan uses the interesting technique of a varied narrative perspective. The story shifts back and forth between first and third person narrative, at times it is Raju, the main character speaking and at other times the story is told from the point of view of an omniscient narrator. The author also utilizes cinematic elements such as flashbacks and jumpcuts.

When we first encounter Raju, he is about to meet Velan and he is seen at this point from the perspective of an omniscient narrator. Then Raju takes over the narrative chores and relates his progress from sweetmeat seller to jailbird to Velan. In between, the omniscient narrator punctuates Raju's narrative by showing him dealing with the villagers as a holy man.

The guide divided into two parts, narrates Raju's childhood, love affair, imprisonment (first part) and growth into a swami (second part). Though the streams move simultaneously, the first part is set in Malgudi. Raju's part and the second part is set in Mangal, Raju's present. While Rajus's past in Malgudi is narrated by the protagonist (Raju) himself, his present in Mangal is narrated by the author.

R.K. Narayan is a novelist of common people and common situations. His plot of the novel is built of material and incidents that are neither extraordinary nor heroic. The Guide' is a story of Raju's romance his greed for money, his sin and repentance. It is also the story of every man's growth from the ordinary to the extra-ordinary, from railway guide to a spiritual guide.

Raju begins his professional life as the owner of a sweetmeat stall at the railway station in a region of India that has become a popular tourist attraction. He soon discovers that he has a knack for telling people what they would like to hear and become a full time guide. This profession leads him into an affair with one of his clients Rosie, the neglected wife of an anthropologist, Marco. Rosie has a passion for dancing which Marco doesn't approve of. There is a sudden shift of events when Rosie is abandoned by her husband on his discovering the illicit affair of the two. Rosie in the narration later turns out to be a successful dancer. Raju, however, develops an inflated sense of self- importance and tries to control Rosie. Gradually their relationship becomes strained. Marco reappears and Raju inadvertently gets involved in a case of forgery and gets a two year sentences. After completing the sentence, Raju is seen passing through a village when he is mistaken for a sadhu. Reluctant not having to return in disgrace to Malgudi, he stays in an abandoned temple. Raju satisfies the demand of the villagers of Mangal. Slowly and gradually, he becomes a spiritual guide and ultimately when the village is afflicted by a major drought, one of the villagers mistakes Raju's comments to be a vow to keep a fast for 12 days in order to please the rain Gods.

The novel ends with a question still unanswered whether he dies or the rain actually comes.

In Narayan's plot, there is a mixture of the comic and serious, the real and the fantastic so is the case with this novel, Raju, the poor becomes the rich, the convict gets the reputation and regard of the saints the holy man and the swami. There is squalor, misery, and poverty in the life of Raju and on the other side there is relief, which is beautiful and charming Rosie.

Another technique Narayan uses is imagery and symbolism which is rooted in Indian culture but has universal appeal. At the end of the story, when Raju is drowning, his eyes engrossed towards the mountains as a brilliant sun rises and villagers look on. By juxtaposing the simple background of the Indian village at sunrise with the suicide scene, Narayan effectively communicates Raju's death as an image of hope, consistent with the Indian belief in death and rebirth.

Narayan has a gift of sketching pen pictures that brings scenes and characters vividly to life without taking recourse to ornate or excessive description. Narayan's simplicity of language conceals a sophisticated level of act. Narayan handles language likes an immensely flexible tool that effortlessly conveys both the specific as well as symbolic and the universal.

Thus, the rise of flashback, common life style, comedy, language and the double perspective, Raju's and the novelist's makes the novel fresh, stimulating, provocative and interesting.

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