SHORT STORY

‘DEY RAJU’
BY SARAS M.MANICKAM

WAN SYAFIQAH W ADNAN

NURUL IZZATY MOHD SAID
 SUMMARY
 CRITICAL ANALYSIS
 SUMMARY

﹡ The story tells about Raju, who has

been raised in a Tamil-household.

﹡ Despite of being highly educated,

Raju, not like any other young men, is
still so conservative and he holds to
his Tamil culture, which is the
“arranged marriage”.
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 SUMMARY
﹡ He does not know his future bride and he does
not love her either, but he does not go against
the idea of arranged marriage.

﹡ It is when he actually meets his future bride

that he fall in love with her on the spot
because she is a very beautiful woman, not like
Savithri and Padmini, the Tamil actresses he
used to adore for their beauty, but she is just
beautiful. It is a sweet story of love at the
first sight.
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FEMINIST CRITICISM
Bring the attention of your audience over a key concept
using icons or illustrations

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 FEMINISM ISSUES

1. WOMEN’S TYPICAL CHARACTERSTICS

a) Obsession towards romantic movies
b) Women loves compliment ; men makes use of that fact

2. GENDER STEREOTYPING (ACTIVITY-DOMAIN)

3. WOMEN AS FAITHFUL AND PIETY WIVES

(SERVE THE HUSBAND)

4. WOMEN AS A SYMBOL OF BEAUTY

(MEN ARE ONLY ATTRACTED TO THAT)
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 1. WOMEN’S TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS

a)Obsession towards romantic movies

o As portrayed in the short story, Raju’s mother was so obsessed

with Tamil movies that she brought Raju with her into the
cinemas and would not want to miss any movie, regardless of
her motherly-tasks.

o This characteristic is very common among woman subjects and

it could be a very offensive way of portraying women as a
creature of habit and unable to separate themselves from
obsession. (personal VS works)

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 1. WOMEN’S TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS

T.E. -

“When I was a baby, mum used to smuggle me

into the cinemas….”

“To miss even one Tamil movie was unthinkable.

Mum wasn’t going to have any of that-baby or no
baby.”
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 1. WOMEN’S TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS

b) Women loves compliment ; men makes use of that fact

o Despite of the bride’s beauty, she had a weakness. She was squint-
eyed.

o However, Raju was not bothered by the eyes and thought it was
charming.

o At first, the bride was worried and angry. She thought that Raju would
be bothered by her squint eye.

o However, the bride lost her temper and slowly became more
comfortable when Raju told her that her squint-eye was charming.
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 1. WOMEN’S TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS

T.E. -

“When I was born, I brought my father

tremendous business luck. He didn’t want to
ruin it. Does my…does it revolt you?” (the bride)

“I think it’s charming” (Raju)

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 2. GENDER STEREOTYPING (ACTIVITY-DOMAIN)

o It was portrayed in the story that women were attached to

their own gender-fixed tasks, such as being in the kitchen
and doing all the cooking, cleaning and women-related
tasks.

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 2. GENDER STEREOTYPING (ACTIVITY-DOMAIN)

T.E. -

a) “She was not in the kitchen where women

stirred curries and cleaned…”

b) “Mum wasn’t in the bedroom either, where my

aunts were arranging

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3. WOMEN AS FAITHFUL AND PIETY WIVES (SERVE THE HUSBAND)

o Although the marriage was arranged by the family, greater

power was possessed by his father on that matter.

o The mother just obeyed and do what she was supposed to

do, which was helping with the preparation of the
marriage.

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3. WOMEN AS FAITHFUL AND PIETY WIVES (SERVE THE HUSBAND)

T.E. -

a) “….go ask your father, he arranged

everything.”

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 4. WOMEN AS A SYMBOL OF BEAUTY
(MEN ARE ONLY ATTRACTED TO THAT)

o At first, the bride was mistaken for a fat and ugly woman. Raju
was terrified.

o T.E. – “She was built like a warship…. My insides

shrivelled up. I swear I could feel them curling up to
die.”

o Raju wanted to call-off the wedding.

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 4. WOMEN AS A SYMBOL OF BEAUTY
(MEN ARE ONLY ATTRACTED TO THAT)

o However, he met the actual bride and fell in love with her on
the spot because she was beautiful.

o T.E. – “She was neither Savithri nor Padmini; neither fat

nor skinny. She was just beautiful…. Her eyebrows
were delicate new moons and her nose, her mouth…”

o This implied that men are only attracted to women for their
beauty. Raju refused to marry the “fat girl.”

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 4. WOMEN AS A SYMBOL OF BEAUTY
(MEN ARE ONLY ATTRACTED TO THAT)

o This is the negative effect of gender stereotyping, where Raju

expected or wanted his bride to be as beautiful as Savithri and
Padmini, the actresses he used to adore for their beauties.

o When women were portrayed to men (in mass media, arts..)

as creatures of perfect beauty, men will expect every woman
to be as beautiful as what has been portrayed to them.

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REFERENCES

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 Thanks!
Any questions?

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