Character Analysis: Allusive Word Choices and Personality Traits of Sharma in 'Sharmaji' Ayaleem Tuken Tegi 11th Grade

Sharmaji, written by Anjana Appachana, introduces its main protagonist, Sharma, as a proud, pretentious and petty man through the author's depictions of characters' emotions and reactions within one significant scene. Appachana allows for the conveyance of internal biases such as classism through the dialogue and conflict of Mahesh and Sharma. These explorations of allusive word choices are used to create and build various perceptions of characters and set us up for the tone of the rest of the short story.

Firstly, Sharmaji opens with the line “Sharma is late for work.” This line introduces us to who we will come to know as the story's main protagonist, Sharma. Additionally, it describes how the character of Sharma is late for work, and due to this introduction, we are able to assume his character can be conceived as lazy and unable to manage his own time. Further along in the first paragraph, the clerk in the personnel department, Mahesh, tells Sharma that his tardiness is: “Very bad, very bad, Sharmaji’. The use of repetition of the phrase “very bad” emphasises the seriousness of the situation and disappointment of the clerk. “This is the fourteenth time you're late this month.” Within this line, we can understand that Sharma...