To some Agastya's job would appear quite envious. He did not have to work hard to get it. I know many recent college graduates who are struggling to find anything more than a minimum wage job. He also has plenty of free time to smoke weed, exercise, and get drunk with friends. Yet, like millions of other people, his day-to-day life is unfulfilling. He appears to want to do something instead of wasting time but lacks the motivation to even try at his current job. In many ways I think he does not want to learn the ways of the government job because that would be accepting that life, the life of his father. I am curious to see whether or not he goes along with his training or refuses to conform.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Quarter-Life Crisis
In English, August Agastya's character supports the belief that there is such a thing as a quarter-life crisis. As a 24-year-old, Agastya appears to be lost in the world. Sure, he has a government job his peers envy, but he is isn't happy. When we see him in Delhi with Dhrubo and Madan, we see 3 unhappy, mid-twenties men. They covet each other's positions because they are different. What is this happiness they are all searching for? Does it really exist?
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Do you feel like Agastya finds himself at the a crossroads, what you refer to as a quarter-life crisis, or rather he is just incapable of finding any satisfaction in a world that he finds to be completely absurd? I find it to be the latter case. Although I have yet to finish the book (I am still about 50 pages from finishing), there seems to be no sign of Agastya coming into any realization about his own road to happiness. I think Agastya represents the people in this world who find the only way to enjoy themselves is to wring out a bit of pleasure from the misery that they will inevitably remain in.
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