Anand Essay
The story of the Untouchables gave a real personal feel to the problems associated with the Caste system. Although, I sympathize with the life and problems faced by the untouchables, I disagree with EM Foster’s quote that the untouchables life was worse than that of a slave. I feel that although, the untouchables and slaves faced many of the same problems, the untouchables had a greater change at freedom or the sense of freedom that a slave could never achieve.
The untouchable’s obligation to the job they were born into is a difficult thing to accept being a free American citizen but, the idea that a slave was better off because his duties or master could change doesn’t mean that they could have the security of what an untouchable had when it came to the jobs they had to do. Knowing that everyone cannot be doctors and politicians, people understand that their profession or job may be something most people don’t want to do. With this in mind, the untouchables had an advantage over slaves knowing that they only had to complete the job given to them and they would manage and survive, and while a slaves option to change jobs or masters was there, they never had the comfort of knowing that as long as they completed their tasks, they were safe from abuse and danger from the people considered to be above them is social status. This is shown when Bakha was late to clean the toilets and wasn’t hurt or abused but only advised that he wasn’t completing his duties and also when he decided to not finish or complete his street sweeping for his father.
Secondly, the untouchables were able to be seen on a different level that what a slave could ever achieve. While slaves may have received pity and gifts from their masters, the untouchable had the ability to be seen more as equal individuals than slaves because of the lack of ownership and feeling of being a possession slaves had. This can be seen in the relationship between Bakha and Charat Singh, and how...