The Symbols in the story Sparrows by K.A Abbas - Anirudh S Bhaskaran

The story Sparrows by K.A Abbas (1914-1987) , is one that requires much more than just surface-level reading. It is a story, which thoroughly makes use of its setting, events and characters to convey a touching and intimate side to a misunderstood farmer, Rahim Khan, who is despised and cast out from society due to his insolent and savage exterior. There are many instances in this story which can be considered as a symbol and these are a few noteworthy ones.

1, The Setting Sun

"The sun was setting behind the mango grove which fringed the western extremity of the village when Rahim Khan returned from the fields"

- The story begins with a seemingly simple line which when read at a glance, conveys nothing more than the environment in which the story takes place. However, just as a Rising Sun is metaphorically seen as victory and hope (Just like the what the flag of Japan symbolises), the Setting Sun gives the reader a rather small idea that the story deals with the decline and impending death of the character, that is, Rahim Khan.

2, The Plough

"Broad and strong despite his fifty odd years, with his plough on his shoulders, and driving his two oxen, he walked through the village with a haughty and unfriendly air"

- All his frustrations, unfulfilled dreams and hatred of certain people in his life, have all pent up into this massive burden that he carries throughout his life. His dream of travelling with the Circus was shut down by his parents as they felt it was "too lowly" and "immoral" for a "respectable peasant". This along with his desire to marry a girl of his choice, Radha, was quashed as she was a Hindu and to do so would be "irreligious"

3, The Hut

"The subject of their conversation, meanwhile, had reached his hut which, almost symbolically, stood gaunt and aloof, at a distance from the neighbouring cluster of houses" 

"Seething with inward wrath he entered the dark hut and sat down on the charpoy"

- The hut symbolises Rahim Khan himself. It shows how he has been excluded and alienated from society and how people avoid him at all costs. It points to how he has been deserted by his wife and two sons and there is almost nothing but darkness inside. All the pain he inflicted upon his family in that very hut, is the same he suffers within. He finally dies inside the very same hut, consumed by all the bitterness and darkness with a sliver of virtue. 

4, The Cobwebs

"In a corner they revealed some cobwebs and, having already decided to absent himself from his fields, he thought he would tidy his hut"

- The cobwebs refer to the past that has enwrapped him and made him the person he is today, concealing the true man his deep below. The sun streaming in through the open window as mentioned in the line prior to this, showcases that a ray of positivity has found its way into the "dark" hut. His decision to clean up the cobwebs is a symbol that he is ready to move on and turn over a new leaf and not let his bitter and disappointing past define who he is as a person today.

5, His Wife and Children

- He sees his family as objects to vent out his anger and to carry out his vengeance. His wife is referred to as "a necessary piece of furniture" and is described to have been waiting for him on their wedding day as "a sheep awaits the butcher". It highlights a patriarchal society that women live in and the abuse they sustain. his children also fall victim to his rage and run away, eventually followed by their mother. Rahim Khan's family was the only part of his life that added any sort of sustenance to his life and once that had escaped his clenches, he began introspecting. But by then, he was thirty years too late.   

5, The Sparrows 

- The very title of the story. Sparrows signify a sense of community and happiness. Rahim Khan observes the family of sparrows and learns the true meaning of family. He is drawn to the birds and even goes on to the name the young ones after his very own children, Nuru and Bundu. He views the family as his own and the nest as what his house could have been, a home. The manner in which the sparrows takes care of their young ones teaches Rahim Khan the essence of being a parent and husband. His act of saving the nest from the rain is proof of this as he is now no longer the man that he was.