The Fluidity of Identity Theme Analysis

Although little more than a year passes over the course of Swami’s story, his identity and those of his friends change and develop many times throughout the novel. By demonstrating how malleable his characters’ essential traits and roles are, Narayan casts doubt on the idea of objectively “true” identity, instead seeming to argue that even core characteristics like goodness and badness can be changed and chosen according to the desires of individuals and groups. This changeability is often a positive force in the characters’ lives, but Narayan also uses it to underscore the inherent instability and ambiguity that Swami and his friends must learn to face.

Swami’s understanding of himself is particularly fluid throughout the novel. He often lies to others about his behavior or motivations and sometimes fools himself in the process, effectively changing himself into a different person to suit different circumstances. When Swami feels insecure about writing too little on his exam, he tells his friends that he wrote half a page and “believed it for the moment,” even though he only wrote one sentence. Swami is not actually a good student, but he takes on the identity of one in order to make himself feel more confident in his group of friends. Compiling the list of supplies he needs for that same exam, Swami finds: “The list was disappointing. He had never known that his wants were so few.” To cope with that disappointment, he creates a more detailed list of things he doesn’t particularly need, in order to fashion himself into a more important person with more substantial wants. When Swami first begins playing cricket, he bowls well once and is immediately nicknamed Tate, after a famous cricket player. Although Swami attends few practices after that point and ultimately misses the crucial match, his friends continue calling him Tate and he brags about the nickname to his family. Again, Swami’s identity shifts in a moment to suit the desires of himself and his friends and make them all feel more confident about their cricket team.

The malleable social roles of Swami and his friends also demonstrate the flexibility of each of their individual identities. Sometimes the friends choose to define each other in positive ways, but sometimes they choose to exclude and belittle each other. Their group dynamics illustrate how readily “good” characters can become “bad” and vice versa, again emphasizing the relative nature of each of their identities, particularly in the way they are shaped by the perceptions of others. When Swami and Mani first meet Rajam, they are convinced that he is evil and plan to fight with him. However, once Mani and Rajam face each other to fight, they quickly set aside their differences: Rajam says, “I won’t mind being your friend,” and Mani replies, “Nor I.” With that simple exchange, the boys effortlessly create a friendship that leaves Swami in a state of “perfect peace.” However, Swami soon loses the respect of his older group of friends, who begin calling him a “tail” because of his attachment to Rajam. Narayan calls this experience “probably Swaminathan’s first shock in life,” and describes how it leaves him wondering whether his friends are the same people they used to be. Although the friends soon reconcile, the shocking rupture shows how quickly esteemed individuals can become untrustworthy, creating danger in social contexts that had previously seemed safe.

Toward the end of the novel, Swami begins to understand the idea of identity, both his own and those of his friends, as less concrete than he has previously thought. Instead of alternating between distinct identities, Swami and his friends begin to take on multiple identities at the same time. This shift into greater ambiguity adds new depth to Narayan’s examination of the changeable nature of personhood. When Swami runs away following his departure from the Board School, he becomes lost and disoriented in an unfamiliar setting. He begins to imagine terrible dangers on the dark roads around him, and he even becomes delusional in his desperation. At the height of this crisis, Swami loses his sense of himself almost completely and perceives around him “a sense of inhumanity.” During this episode, Swami effectively merges with the frightening night, demonstrating that even the basic individual identity itself can vanish at times.

When Rajam moves away, he has not yet reconciled with Swami after their fight over the cricket match. With Mani’s help, Swami gives Rajam a book of fairy tales as a going-away present, but he is not able to hear Rajam’s reply over the noise of the train. The book ends with Swami uncertain of whether Rajam considers him a friend or an enemy. Similarly, the previously straightforward Mani takes on an ambiguous role at the end, refusing to give Swami a clear answer about whether or not Rajam will be in touch. Narayan writes that “for once Mani’s face had become inscrutable,” ending Swami’s story in uncertainty and confusion. This conclusion—or lack thereof—indicates particularly clearly Narayan’s point that it is impossible to define an individual’s identity with any real certainty, even when the individual is a close friend or even oneself.