Examiner's Notes
You assessed this answer as a Very High.
Hover over the highlighted text to read the examiner’s comments.
- refer to the extract and the novel as a whole
- show your understanding of characters and events in the novel
This section starts with Meena overhearing her mum talking to her dad about her. ‘I think she might be jealous.’ She means that Meena is jealous of her little brother Sunil. Meena should not be eavesdropping, but at least it shows that they care about her and want to help her, although Mama is too busy to talk to Meena, handing it over to Papa.
Papa takes Meena for a walk past the Mitre pub and they notice the new motorway being built. After a bit he gets round to talking to her, which seems difficult for him as he has to clear his throat and take a deep breath first, like he is scared of her. She is wearing jeans that her parents did not want to give her (‘grudgingly’) because they are too modern. This shows they want to please her but also don’t like her taste in clothes very much. Mama is also a typical mother embarrassing her daughter by interfering with her clothes.
Meena gets on better with Papa. That is why she is confused. She says ‘wrong-footed and bewildered’ and even wonders if it is the diggers. She believes that she is close to him and that he will always love her no matter what. This is nothing to do with talking. It is quite funny when she talks about him swapping make-up tips and talking about Marc Bolan’s ‘new haircut’. He would not really do this. The point is that Meena thinks her father has his world and she has hers and they should stick to them. Marc Bolan is a pop star of the seventies and a middle-aged Indian man would not be into him.
Meena mostly has a good relationship with her parents. In Chapter 1 she describes Mama as being like a planet, showing how important she is. Also her mum takes her to the Sikh temple, even though she finds driving a big strain, because she wants the best for her daughter. Meena hates lying to her dad and she likes his stories, like the one about him delivering a bomb. One interesting thing is that Meena is interested in her parents’ early romance. She also notices that they are still in love, not like the Aunties and Uncles. I think the Kumars are rather soft on Meena, because they let her run wild with Anita. They also believe her too easily when she blames Pinky and Baby for shoplifting a charity tin.
The relative Meena really relates to is Nanima. She is entertaining and does not mind Meena being a wild child. She even calls her a ‘junglee’, meaning it affectionately. Nanima makes Meena interested in India. She is also against Anita, who is bad for Meena. It is amazing that they get on when Meena speaks hardly any Punjabi and Nanima speaks hardly any English. They seem to get by with grunting. Meena is upset when she has to go home.