Heat and Dust: Key Scene Analysis

To gain a better understanding of how language and visual techniques work together to create meaning, it is a good idea to analyse a few key scenes from the text.

Activity

Make notes about a key scene in Heat and Dust, taking into account:

• language techniques

• examples of the techniques from the text

• analysis of how these examples relate to belonging.

Then write a full analysis of the scene and its techniques, and their relation to belonging.

An example of a scene has been included in the following modelled response. After you have read the modelled response, choose a different scene to analyse.

Modelled response

Key scene: Part 11 Section 33; Part 12 Section

Techniques and examples:

• · Visual imagery of the narrator and Olivia with midwives and the possibility of having a termination
• · Metaphor of Maji in a state of Samadhi
• · Juxtaposition of the narrator’s and Olivia’s decision regarding having a child
• · Symbolism of burka for Olivia
• · Symbolism of the Italian child marble statue
• · Metaphor of crumbling child gravestone

Analysis:

• · Samadhi is a metaphor for pregnancy and what is usually associated with the joy of having children.
• · The narrator recognizes her pregnancy as the source of joy and does not want it terminated.
• · The burka symbolizes a culture that is different to Olivia’s own and highlights her inability to belong and be accepted.
• · Olivia chooses not to belong in the world as a mother.
• · The crumbling child gravestone represents the implications of termination according to Dr. Saunders.
• · The narrator chooses to see pregnancy as a positive change in her life, unlike Olivia whose life ‘crumbles’ after this decision.

Full analysis of how the techniques and examples represent belonging:

In the section dated August 31^st, the composer creates visual imagery of both the narrator and Olivia’s choices regarding having a child. The narrator is surprised to be followed by another woman as she walks to the bazaar. She stops by Maji's hut, who is in a ‘state of Samadhi’ having reached a ‘higher state of consciousness submerged in its bliss’. This state of consciousness can be perceived as a metaphor for pregnancy and what is usually associated with the joy of having children. A mother and child’s relationship is regarded as a special bond in society, where belonging is established between the mother and child in pregnancy. Maji again reminds her that now would be a good time for a skillful massage which would induce a termination, if that is her choice. When the narrator asks her to stop the message, she does so immediately. The narrator recognises her pregnancy as the source of a completely new feeling and rapture and does not want it terminated. She appreciates the strong sense of belonging between a mother and child and wishes to honour this.

The composer juxtaposes the narrator’s pregnancy with Olivia’s pregnancy in the section from 1923. In this descriptive scene Olivia is instructed to don a burka and follow one of the servants down the dark alleys of slummy Satipur. The burka symbolizes a culture that is different to her own and highlights her inability to belong and be accepted fully in that culture as she needs to pretend to be from a different culture. The midwives instruct Olivia to lie down on a mat and begin massaging her abdomen. Finally though, Olivia closes her eyes to the pain, demonstrating that she chooses not to belong in the world as a mother. The midwives begin as Maji had done. They were relaxed and professional, performing a task that needed to be done.

The performance of terminations by the midwives can be contrasted with the symbolism of the Italian marble angel statue. The Saunders' had had the statue imported to commemorate a child who died in infancy. By the narrator's time the gravestone was beheaded, without arms and otherwise crumbling. The crumbling child gravestone can also be contrasted with Dr. Saunder’s outraged over Olivia's decision, clearly seeing her choice as having long term destructive implications. For Dr. Saunders, Olivia’s decision, while easy to accept in the present, will become like the child gravestone which was once new and whole, but disintegrated over time due to the weather and lack up care and attention. Both the angel statue and Dr. Saunders outrage demonstrate the difficulties of belonging when others in society have different values. The narrator is challenged because she chooses to have a baby out of wedlock with a married man of a different culture from her own and Olivia is judged for choosing to terminate her baby. The narrator , however chooses to see pregnancy as a positive change in her life, unlike Olivia whose life ‘crumbles’ from this point forward to the point where she becomes a recluse in a foreign land.