Amitav Ghosh: The Hungry Tide (260-273)
The main journey revolving around finding the rare species of river dolphins seems minuscule compared with the other discoveries revealed throughout the course of the journey. The human relationships during the second half of the novel are becoming more established and a conversation strikes up between Fokir and Kanai. Fokir is one of the characters not willing to open up or try and connect with anybody else on the journey until the second half of the book. The relationship between the humans and animals is not as prevalent within the second half as in the first. Within the Novel, The Hungry Tide, many characters try to form relationships not only with the animals but with each other as well.
Fokir is one of the characters that is not very willing to open up and connect with anyone. During one of the outings off the coast of the island Garjontola to spot the river dolphins, Fokir reveals information to Kanai that explained a lot about his true character. Kanai asks, “And your mother? Do you remember her?” (263) Fokir responds to Kanai, “How could I forget her? Her face is everywhere.” (263) Kanai is definitely puzzled by Fokir’s response but after he asks Fokir to elaborate on what everywhere means and Fokir points to many different places on his body, Kanai understands why Fokir’s wife Moyna feels so deeply connected with him. According to Kanai, “There was something about him that was utterly unformed, and it was this very quality that drew her to him: she craved it in the same way that a potter’s hands might crave the resistance of unshaped clay.” (263) Kanai suspects that Moyna feels a desire to shape him and mold him in the way she wants him to be. A potter likes to create a new design and watch it take form and the same goes for Moyna as Fokir takes on a new shape and form. Kanai views the way Fokir speaks to be childlike and that can also be associated with the concept of a new piece of clay being molded because it is a baby and not yet able to form very much.
Kanai and Fokir’s relationship becomes even more intimate when Fokir, “Leaning over, took hold of Kanai’s hand and placed it on the back of his neck. The unexpected intimacy of this contact sent a shock through Kanai’s arm and he snatched his hand back . . .” (265). Kanai was definitely surprised at the intimate contact coming from the person who was the least likely to touch anybody. I think this symbolizes Fokir finally deciding to trust somebody and to take the next step from being a child to forming a connection. Like the example of the clay, Fokir is becoming molded into a human being who can find more to life than just being attached to the clay or in his case nature.
Global Environmental Literature 