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“Pigs Can’t Fly”

“Pigs Can’t Fly”. Gender and Nation. Sri Lanka. Background. Funny Boy – set against the increasing violence between a between Sinhalese and Tamil in Sri Lank, culminating in the civil war which lasted for almost a decade( 1983-1991 ).

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“Pigs Can’t Fly”

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  1. “Pigs Can’t Fly” Gender and Nation Sri Lanka

  2. Background • Funny Boy – set against the increasing violence between a between Sinhalese and Tamil in Sri Lank, culminating in the civil war which lasted for almost a decade(1983-1991). • The author Shyam Selvadurai and his family are forced into exile after the 1983 racial riot against the Tamil in Colombo. • The protagonist, "Arjie" Chelvaratnam, is the second-son of a privileged middle-class Tamil family in Colombo.

  3. Tamil vs. Sinhalese • Sinhalese（僧伽羅人）migrated from Northern India to Sri Lanka since 5th-6th century BCE, while Tamil (坦米爾人) came from Southern India around since 2th BCE. • Sinhalese -- Buddhism • Tamil -- Hinduism, more sent to Sri Lanka by the British government and supported by the latter. • Since its independence as Ceylon, the Sinhalese (80% majority) put forth “Sinhala Only Law” in support of their political power, which causes discontent among the Tamil people (20%).

  4. Discussion Questions • Why can’t Arjie play bride-bride? • “Because the sky is so high and pigs can’t fly.” (19) • What does the sky mean? What does being “funny” mean? • Is he “funny” because he is homosexual?

  5. The title • Funny --either humorous or strange (17); disgust • But Meena also crosses gender boundaries in playing the cricket game. • The other girls do, too, in the bride-bride game. • Arjie’s view of being a bride (5) and jewel and sari (15) •  the story is about the ideological system (the sky), and the power struggle within it.

  6. Discussion QuestionsI. Childhood Games and Social System • What does "spend-the-day" mean for both the adults and the kids, maybe excepting the servant cook who cannot have a break? (pp. 1-2) • How are the boys' game and girls' game divided up and located? (p. 3) • What are the rules of the boys' cricket game and the girls' Bride-Bride?   Do these rules make sense?   Do these groups' structure reflect that of adults, or not? 

  7. II. Battle for Power and Gender Boundaries • Why does Her Fatness want to be the bride? • What gender roles do Arjie and Her Fatness take respectively in their power struggle?  • If Arjie is the one to be ordered back to the realm of men, who else also crosses the gender boundaries in this story? 

  8. The Girls’ Game • Arjie as the leader because of “the force of his imagination”(p. 4) • His imagination– allows him to "leave the constraints of [his] self and ascend into another, more brilliant, more beautiful self" (5). • Still conditioned by the goddesses of the Sinhalese and Tamil cinema (breaking the racial boundary). • A world for girls – the groom the most useless (p. 6)

  9. The Boy’s Game—Cricket • Competition -- with winning as the goal; • trading players • less powerful ones: Sanjay • girlie-boy: Arjie • the batting order – p. 26 • Numbers marked in the sand for the players to step on; • The older and better ones play first

  10. The Children’s Struggle for Power • Her Fatness – in need of attention • An outsider • Kanthi Aunt – her anger (p. 8) • Wins attention • by lying (7) • by showing off the dolls (p. 8) –which is less powerful than the bride-bride game; • by playing a loud groom (9) • by appealing to traditional gender boundaries (11) “A girl must be the bride.”

  11. Arjie’s Fight back • Insisting on the rule to be the first one to play  so that he becomes offensive and can run away • the sari in the bag as a weapon • Agrees to play the groom, and then attracts the other girls’ attention. • Sari gone – so is his power.

  12. Images representing the system • Amachi and her cane p. 38 • The seaside and the tall building as a mirage p. 38

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