Homeless Bird

Homeless Bird is narrated from a first-person point of view, and the first paragraph establishes Koly’s imminent arranged marriage as the primary plotline. These narrative choices position Koly’s internal conflicts as central to the story. Throughout the novel, she’s torn between society’s expectations and her dreams and sense of self. She doesn’t consciously reject her society’s customs, like arranged marriages and bridal dowries, and part of her even hopes her family will successfully find a husband for her because she believes it would mean that she’s wanted and valued. Although another part of her hopes they won’t be successful, because she’s only 13 and doesn’t want to leave her family, she accepts the idea that marriage must separate a woman from her family of origin, because that custom is all she knows. She fears this separation, but the social pressures that enforce the status quo are too powerful to fight. She doesn’t beg her parents to take her back home, though she wants to, because she knows that “[t]o refuse to go through with the marriage would bring dishonor on my family” (16). Doing what feels right for her would hurt her family. Similar internal conflicts throughout the text introduce and develop The Impacts of Cultural Traditions on Women’s Rights and Identities as one of the novel’s main themes. In her arranged marriage, Koly’s rights are limited. She’s told she must obey her husband, and her mother-in-law bullies her as a means of control. When she contemplates the possibility of being a widow, she asks, “If Hari died, what would become of me?” (33). Koly recognizes that her society subordinates women’s identities and roles to men’s, valuing women primarily as sources of support to husbands and sons but less as individuals. Thus, Koly’s circumstances challenge her sense of identity and self-worth, a defining aspect of her character arc.

The first two chapters establish several other conflicts as well. Chandra helps Koly understand the conflict that motivates her and Hari’s parents: “My parents needed money for the doctor and money to take Hari to Varanasi. They believe the Ganges is his last hope. A dowry was the only way they could get the money” (33). Their love for their son makes them desperate to save his life. This circumstance evokes sympathy for their choices and adds complexity to their characters. Although Koly’s sass often seems hard-hearted, Koly observes her crying for Hari on multiple occasions and later notes that her grief is what makes her cruel. Hari’s illness introduces a conflict between the human body and disease. He has a form of tuberculosis that doesn’t respond to medication, demonstrating how disease evolves as an adversary to human life. Hari’s parents, through their relationship with his illness, demonstrate a conflict between religion and science: They respect the doctor’s knowledge, but when it opposes their religious beliefs, they choose faith. Sass says of the doctor, “He may be learned about his medicine, but what does he know of the healing power of the Ganges?” (38), because in her Hindu faith, the Ganges River is sacred. Further symbolizing the conflict between science and religion are Hari’s two visitors the day before the trip to Varanasi: After the doctor leaves, the bhagat—the local healer—comes to give Hari strength and healing through ritual practices of chanting and brushing him with neem leaves.

The setting is a central aspect of the story. Homeless Bird takes place in India and conveys a sense of Indian culture through every plot point, character detail, and scene description. Rather than describing life in India through lengthy exposition, the author weaves setting details into Koly’s story and portrays them as they relate to her. The caste system influences what family Koly marries into: “The marriage was considered a good one. Hari’s baap, like mine, was a Brahman, the highest Hindu caste” (9). Like the custom of arranged marriage, Koly doesn’t criticize or reject the caste system because it’s all she knows. Hinduism is the most common religion in India, and the novel frequently touches on Hindu religious beliefs. For example, the Mehtas consider the Ganges River sacred, and Koly mentions that cows are sacred to Hindus. Hindi terms like namaskar and charpoy appear throughout the novel to further emphasize setting and culture. A glossary at the end of the text defines these terms, though they’re often defined directly or through context upon first mention in the story.

The novel uses a simple voice and a succinct style to tell the story, using visual imagery, metaphor, and symbolism to define Koly’s world and depict everyday life in India. Much of this imagery and symbolism appears in the embroidered quilts and saris. Maa embroiders lotus flowers on the border of Koly’s wedding sari because their scattered seeds symbolize “wealth and plenty” (5). These values aren’t what Koly cares about, which further develops her conflict with society’s traditions. She uses embroidery as a form of self-care and expression, “making all [her] worries stitches” (5). She also embroiders “all the things [she] would have to leave behind” in the form of pictures “to take with [her]” (5). In this way, embroidery symbolizes the preservation of her own identity when joining her husband’s family threatens to overshadow it.