Character Sketch of Muni in a Horse and Two Goats
Introduction
Muni, an old and desperately poor man, is the protagonist of the story. Once he was prosperous, with a large flock of sheep and goats, but a series of misfortunes had left him with only two scrawny goats. He and his wife had almost no income and no children to help and take care of them. Every day, Muni took the goats out to graze on the scarce grass outside of town, while his wife pulled something together for an evening meal.
His Inclination to Live in the Past
Muni wanted to enjoy his life, but unfortunately, fortune did not favour him and he had lost all his riches. Now he had nothing but to remember his good past with great regret. He recalled the time when he smoked a cigarette, chewed betel leaves, and bhang in a hut in the coconut grove with the famous butcher from the town.
When he encountered the American, he was offered a cigarette but he received it with great surprise. He remembered how badly he had wanted to smoke all those years; only once did he get one from the shopman on credit and he remembered how good it had tasted. He also recalled his theatrical days when he was young and staged at full moon the story of the avatars. But now he was striving hard to live in this world.
A Dreamer and Avid Food Lover
Despite his utter poverty, Muni was a dreamer and an avid food lover. He was really fond of good food and bidis, but in the present situation, found himself lucky to grab a few drumsticks. He craved to chew the drumstick out of sauce but faded obtain the food items to prepare it on credit from the shopkeeper. Away from the prying eyes of villagers, he spent most of his time idling near the rocky highway, where his usual seat was the pedestal of a large clay horse.
His Being the Subject of Shame and Humiliation
Due to losing his riches and being childless, he was humiliated and mocked at in the village. It was difficult for him to manage himself as people cast aspersions on him. As he went to the village shopkeeper to ask for things in debt, the shopkeeper not only mocked him but also returned him empty-handed. He was even tiraded his wife. Being a poor man, he realized that the only way to connect with the larger world was to sit at the pedestal on the highway and see the lorries and buses passing through.
His Being Cautious and Distrusting
Muni is shown to be very cautious paranoid to some extent. This is portrayed in the following passage during Muni and the foreigner’s encounter, ‘Muni shrank away from the card. Perhaps he was trying to present a warrant to arrest him. Beware of Khaki, one part of his mind warned. Take all the cigarettes or bhang or whatever is offered, but don’t get caught. Beware of Khaki.’ The passages use words such as ‘shrank’, warned’, and ‘beware which all associate with fear and dread, emotions which are associated with wariness.
Muni is also portrayed to be extremely distrusting, not only of others but also of himself, to some extent. This is shown in the passage ‘But all these seemed like memoirs of previous birth. Some pestilence afflicted his cattle (he could of course guess who had laid his animals under a course) and even the friendly butcher would not touch one at half the price ……. and now here he was left with two scraggly creatures. He wished someone would rid him of their company too. The shopman had said he was seventy. At seventy, one only waited to be surrounded by God.
When he was dead, what would his wife do? They had lived in each other’s company since they were children. He was told on the day of their wedding that he was ten and she was eight.’ This passage mainly focuses on Muni’s recollections, which at his old age, seem to be faltering him. This is displayed in the usage of the words ‘seemed’ and ‘guess’. Both these words are used in the context of Muni’s memories, suggesting that he was unsure of himself and did not trust his own mind and experiences.
His Having Knowledge in In Indian Scriptures
Though he was uneducated and innocent, he seemed to be a religious person having the knowledge of religious epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. He had firm faith in God. He believed that ‘God will always save us in trouble.’ He talked extensively of Hindu avatars and that he recited lores on Krishna.
His Being Superstitious
Superstitions and prejudices were rampant in those days. Muni believed in what the Pandit discoursed at the temple once-how the oceans were going to cover the earth in a huge wave and shallow all people and how the horse would grow bigger to carry off the good people on its back.
His Being A Materialistic Man but Not Wholly
Muni seemed to be a materialistic man but not totally. He had only the desire to start a small shop with a thatched roof. In his shop, he wanted to sell fried nuts, coloured sweets, and green coconut. When he got a hundred rupee note from the American which he considered the price of his two goats, he felt that his dream was going to be fulfilled.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers