“Struggle_for_Survival,_Class_Consciousness_and_Identity_Crisis_in_Jayanti_Gohil’S_“Chhakaddo”

ABSTRACT: This research paper is an attempt to construe “Chhakaddo”, taken from the novelette ‘Jeev’. It encompasses the three major points like Struggle for survival; Class consciousness and Identity crisis are the most relevant stand-points in the Digital Era. The researcher wants to look this story from Marxist’s approach and psycho-analysis of Freud. Glorification, desire for becoming socially accepted and respected, pride of being different, false show-off, hasty judgment, rat-race behind urbanization, jealousy, mind-set of countryside people, etc strongly support to the three major points. The presenters’ aim is to interpret these points through explanation with relevant instances. Jayanti Gohil profoundly picturises the spirit of youth in materialistic world who gets nothing out of his life except restlessness and nothingness. How Marxist approach digs out inequality among inhabitants of one particular society. What exactly Jayanti Gohil represents in “Chhakaddo” is how the character’s suppressed desires play an essential role in designing his destiny. Charles Darwin’s phrase ‘Survival for the fittest’ is effectively associated with “Chhakaddo” that a living being has to run fast to sustain its position on which it is standing. Jayanti Gohil has innovative ideas that are manifested in this story “Chhakaddo”. Mahesh Dholiya (8905298752) Amita Jani (9824817374), Department of English, Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar. “Struggle for survival, Class consciousness and Identity crisis in Jayanti Gohil’s “Chhakaddo” Struggle for survival, class consciousness and identity crisis are the three major stand-points in the story Chhakaddo. Marx’s equality concept, Freud’s Psychoanalysis and Darwin’s Theoryof Evolution strongly support to bring these three major points.My Dear Jayu (Jayanti Gohil) has profoundly depicts how people make a shadow line between them by admiring himself and criticizing others, how they struggle and how it brings identity crisis. Those whorun fast can survive their lives otherwise they will be thrown out like a peel of banana in a dust bin. Such circumstances carry out the tragedy of life as it happens in the life of the character Gilo. His life emerges the questions of repetitiveness, nothingness, futility of life. Each and every person tries to build his existence by the struggle in one or another way. Gilo makes so many meritorious efforts in surviving his self for the fittest in the society. He possesses what he wants. But doing this, he indirectly wants to be different from other social members by materialistic goods and self-glorification. Tendency of being unequal and superior-inferior can be read with the perspectives of Marxism and Freudian Criticism. Everyone has anErosand a spirit of youth to become something that is found in Chhakaddo. This psychological term reminds of Erich Heller’s statement from A New Handbook Of Literary Terms by David Mikics, …what else is it that poets and writer talk about'-How can he remain untouched by Freudian thoughts even if he has never read a line by Freud ' The writer profoundly remains in touch with psychology that is discovered in this story of Chhakaddo. To fulfill his desires of becoming something different, socially accepted and respected, judicious Gilo seems frenzied that he forgets his perception and sagacity so that dies in a predestined accident. Gilo’s commuting from his village to Bhavnagar city represent the vicissitude of life for the whole mankind. Gilo’s wife and father are to be considered as driving force for Gilo to struggle for self-glorification. Gilo’s sufferance is like an opium which pleases him at various levels. Gilo works day and night though streets and road are at sleep at night. But how this opium brings pain and grief for his father by watching news about his son’s accident is dreadful. This can be look with Jung’s idea of ‘collective consciousnesses that this recurring image comes in each and every person’s life in one or another way. Purchasing Chhakaddo, repairing his home, buying color T.V., are his innate impulsive instincts, come from Id (pleasure principle) that directly linked with his social reputation. Gilo travels from his village to city of Bhavnagar, passing the villages like Jambala, Khopala, Tagadi and Bhadi in between. These can be rendered as his natural desires which he was fulfilling slowly and steadily. One passenger raises his hand in order to sit in his auto-rickshaw, symbolizes his in-depth not to be so hasty and rapid in possessing the goods. Symbolically his vehicle is so fast that he overlooks that person. In short, these villages, passengers, material goods are the symbols of My Dear Jayu, representing Freudian ideology with three psychic apparatus Id, Ego and Superego. He encapsulates this whole idea succinctly with eighteenth times repeated line like, જાંબાળા... ખોપાળા... તગડી... ને ભડી... ને ભાવનગર. એમાં હવે ભડી તો ગણાય એમ જ ક્યાં રહી છે ! Because Bhadi is mingled with city of Bhavnagar that denotes that villagey people are becoming urbanized (e.g. Gilo). For that, they have to strive for day and night. They may create a clash between them by criticizing each other. This idea of urbanization and capitalism can be looked from Marxist’s eyes. Becoming urbanized is a new emerging images of inequality among the people that ‘you are a villagey person and I am urbanized person’ that is represented through Gilo. His desire is to make homeland as an urbanized so that he can show his self as a particular from other people. What Carl Marx wanted lower class at the apex and upper class as a pillar but it is reverse case in present timethat lower class people are trying to be different from each other not by resisting them but working hard. Gilo’s father always looks his distant brother as with jealousy and tries to overpower him. If Kanabhai has well-constructed abode, he must have like him. People want to remove the label of high born and low born from their identities. The constant and continuous struggle of Gilo, perchance, shows his exuberance and ebullience but may lose his identity. Perhaps his Chhakaddo, a soul, may give him an identity as Gilo but he dies very soon then what, if body does not exist' This is a prominent and dominant image of the current time. The author writes at the end of the story, છકડા ચાલકે છકડા હેંડલ છોડી દીધુ હોત તો એ પણ બચી ગયો હોત. પણ કહે છે, છકડો એનો જીવ હતો. એ છકડા તરીકે જ ઓળખાતો..... This struggle for survival creates another diversion of class consciousness or self-consciousness that one should be equal to other people as a moral standard.Gilo’ssuper-ego tends to stand in opposition to the desires of the id because of their conflicting objectiveslike changing an image of his home with color T.V., chairs, chhakaddo, etc and its aggressiveness towards the ego. He thinks that his conflicting primitive desires may content his external desires of being something different, popular and known by everybody. Efforts to seem superior itself raises the doubt of inequality with viewpoints of Marx and Freud. In The Roughtledge Dictionary Of Literary Terms, Herbert Marcus states, Different ‘instinctive shapes emerge in response to different social condition. According to social conditions, man has to behave as superior or inferior. Gilo reciprocates the social conditions what his Id forces him to do. He suffers from inferiority complex by doing job in Kanabhai’s carrier. Hence, he does the same thing what capitalistsused to do. Simultaneously in the present time no one likes to be inferior if we consider in Freudian terminology. His inability to acknowledge the right of something to exist becomes a cause of an inevitable accident. That’s why this whole phenomenon leads popular Gilo to the lowest pedestal (Death). Apart from this, what “Chhakaddo” brings out is Identity crisis in people of the village. In this story, Gilo is known as Chhakaddo as his identity by above Gujarati instance, હવે ગામ તો ગિલાને ગિલા તરિકે ઓળખતું જ નહિ; છકડો જ કહે. છકડો કહે એટલે ગિલો સમજાય. That suggests that person’s identity is defined by another identity. That means that a subject is defined by an object. That is true that people are known by their Karmas rather than their names. Gilo’s real identity remains unknown. He lives with a new entitled name, Chhakaddo that emerges the question of existentialism. He makes a grave mistake of adjusting a buffalo in his Chhakaddo in which he used to sit his travelers. Naturally, it requires a pint of salt to realize that the buffalo cannot be accommodated comfortably in it. But in order to possess a social credit from Mukhi, he does not hesitate to do so.In this fashion, he wants to be superior to other. This is a bit satirical one in terms of Marxist theory. Baroness Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, says in his research ‘Facebook, Twitter Leading To Identity Crisis’ that using Facebook and Twitter, people want admiration and compliments so that they are valued. This ignites a spark to become superior to his friends. If someone is not praised by one or another way, hebecomes uncomfortable and nervous. He feels that he is less valued and inferior. Facebook depression leaves a person with an identity crisis. Gilo does the same thing for his brand imagein society. Moreover, he does as he likes with the speed of bits and bytes. The author depicts the modern human being who runs with the time and has experience of life but forgets to use it at the right moment. He makes an error of judgment at the critical time that brings tragic flow in his life. His hubris boomerangs upon him in a way that brings pain and panic to his father. Gilo’s madness is clearly felt by the following paragon, કોણ જાણે કેમ. ગિલાના દેવ માની ગયા. એણે મનોમન વિચાર્યુ, ભેંશનું પાંસરું પડી જાય તોમુખી રાજી કર્યા વગર રહે નહી. Freud rightly mentions in his New Introductory Lecture On Psychology about Ego which negotiate the conflict between the insatiable demands of the Id and impossibly stringent requirements of the Superego. Here Gilo’s desire of buying T.V. stand comes from his Id and to fetch an animal to Bhavnagar veterinary hospital and becoming socially modelmember is coming from Superego. Here, his morality principle seems unsuccessful in making these principles very calm. In concluding side of the write up, one prominent point to support Marxist idea is that in the story, Gilo’s father has an attitude of praising himself and criticizing other that directly insinuates that he is superior and Kanabhai is inferior. Even if belonging to the same caste, two people are feeling indifferent from each other. Not only that but few symbols like well-constructed house, T.V. stand, Chhakaddo, chairs,painted entrance of the abode, etc can be analyzed in terms of Marxism. In nutshell, Darwin’s popular phrase ‘survival for the fittest’ can be deliberated as a cause to class consciousness and identity crisis because to survive, one has to do something good or evil. Hence, one has to gain superiority over another in any case. In doing this, it may bring the problem of disparity and ultimately identity crisis. My Dear Jayu draws the picture of modern man who works persistently, attains nothing, and yet keeps working. Work cited 1. My Dear Jayu, Jeev, Ahmadabad: Parshva Publication, 1999 2. M.H.Abram, A Handbook Of Literary Terms,India Private Limited,2009 3. Peter Childs and Roger Fowler, The Routledge Dictionary of Literary Terms, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 2006. 4. David Mikics, A New Handbook Of Literary Terms, Yale University Press, 2007. 5. Chris Baldick, Oxford Concise Dictionary Of Literary Terms,Oxford University Press, 2001. 6. J.A. Cuddon, The Penguin Dictionary Of Literary Terms And Literary Theory, Penguin Group LTD, 1998. 7. Edward Quinn, A Dictionary Of Literary And Thematic Terms, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 2006