Student Question
How does the conversation between Muni and the foreigner highlight their contrasting lives?
Quick answer:
The conversation between Muni and the foreigner highlights their contrasting lives by showcasing their different struggles and values. The American tourist faces first-world problems and seeks spiritual fulfillment, while Muni grapples with poverty and survival. Their attitudes toward the goats and the horse statue further emphasize these contrasts, as Muni sees them as integral to his life and culture, whereas the foreigner views them as commodities. Despite their lack of a common language, their interaction results in an unexpected transaction.
Muni and the foreigner are very different, but they manage to strike a bargain that works for both of them.
One point of contrast between Muni and the American tourist is in their attitudes toward the goats. For Muni, now that he is elderly, the goats are companions for whom he feels affection. He spends his days with them and sees them as valuable assets. As the American apparently does not even notice the goats, it is clear that he has no any interest in buying them.
Another place where the two characters differ is in their appreciation of the horse statue. Muni understands the mythological significance of the figure within his Hindu religion. He also associates the myth behind the statue with the oral tradition that his father passed down to him, as he had received it from his father. The statue marks his favored location, where he can...
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rest comfortably with his goats. He consider the statue as something permanent, like his cultural traditions; he does not see it as a portable item that could be removed. To the American tourist, the statue is a valuable object, something for a collection or museum. It is a commodity that has an owner and is for sale. The American also has considerable resources that Muni does not have, and he has enough money to buy the statue and can hire a truck to take it away.
The “conversation” between them does not at first proceed well because they do not share a common language. Muni does know the words “yes” and “no” in English. He continues to converse because he wants to be accommodating to the foreigner. Without understanding what the foreigner wants to buy, Muni accepts the money. Although he had not contemplated making a sale or changing his home life, both things result from their meeting that day.