My Reminiscences · Chapter
The Normal School explained
The narrator recounts his time at the Normal School, contrasting it with his earlier experience at the Oriental Seminary.
What happens
The narrator recounts his time at the Normal School, contrasting it with his earlier experience at the Oriental Seminary. He describes his childhood game of teaching imaginary pupils on a verandah, his alienation from classmates due to their rough manners, and his silent rebellion against a foul-mouthed teacher. He also recalls a nonsensical English song the students were forced to sing, and his imaginative strategies for defeating enemies. The chapter ends with his academic success in a Bengali exam, which was met with suspicion from his teacher.
Themes in this chapter
Childhood Innocence and Imagination
The narrator's vivid fantasy of training animals for battle and his game of teaching wooden railings highlight the creative, innocent world of a child.
Isolation and Longing for Connection
The narrator feels alienated from his classmates and seeks solace by the window, counting the years he must endure school.
Cultural Clash and Colonial Influence
The meaningless English song forced on students exemplifies the disconnect between colonial pedagogy and the students' reality.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
Reflects on his childhood schoolmaster game, his isolation at Normal School, and his imaginative problem-solving.
- Pandit Vedantavagish
Mentioned as Pandit Madhusudan Vachaspati, the examiner who gave the narrator top marks in Bengali.
Key passages
“While at the Oriental Seminary I had discovered a way out of the degradation of being a mere pupil. I had started a class of my own in a corner of our verandah.”
At the Oriental Seminary, the narrator found an escape from the humiliation of being a student by creating his own school on the verandah.
Highlights the narrator's early creativity and desire for autonomy.
“I would count: one year—two years—three years; wondering how many such would have to be got through like this.”
The narrator would count the years he had to endure at school, feeling trapped and longing for the end.
Illustrates his sense of confinement and impatience with school life.
“If I could properly train up a number of dogs, tigers and other ferocious beasts, and put a few lines of these on the field of battle, that, I thought, would serve very well as an inspiriting prelude.”
The narrator imagined training animals to fight in battle, believing this would lead to easy victory.
Shows his imaginative approach to problem-solving and his tendency to seek shortcuts.
“The teacher complained to the school authorities that there had been favouritism in my case. So I was examined a second time, with the superintendent of the school seated beside the examiner. This time, also, I got a top place.”
After the narrator scored highest in Bengali, the teacher accused the examiner of bias, but a second exam confirmed the narrator's top rank.
Demonstrates the narrator's academic ability and the teacher's unjust suspicion.