R. K. Narayan: The Bricoleur

Abstract

In the light of the evident schismaticalness and truncatedness of the extant rhetorical studies or R. K. Narayan's fiction, the principal aim of this rhetorical study is to prove that R K Narayan is principally a bricoleur having immaculate command over narratology, narrative grammar and narrative as rhetoric. It is hypothesized that R K Narayan who has characterized himself as “an inattentive quick writer who has little sense of style” (Meheta, 57) is an "instinctive unstudied writer" (Naipaul, 41) having a robust "sense of audience" (Ahluwalia, 59), much like that of the Indian traditional fabulators, storytellers, and Bhagavatam. Illustrative material in defense of the thesis of this paper is to be drawn from “Old and New.” This paper adopts the methodology of excursive library studies involving Narratology, rhetoric, R K Narayan's polyvalent works, essays, short stories. Diary, and autobiography.