A Horse and Two Goats By R.K. Narayan - Important Notes for Board Exam of Icse

A Horse and Two Goats

 

Important for Icse Board Exams And Summary From Evergreen Workbook

About The Author

R.K. Narayan was born in a working class South Indian family in Chennai 1906. Since his father, was a school headmaster, used to be frequently transferred from one place to another, R.K. Narayan spent most of his childhood under the loving care of his grandmother, Parvati. It was his grandmother who taught him arithmetic, mythology and Sanskrit. He also attended many different school in Chennai like Lutheran Mission School, Christian College High School, etc. He was interested in English literature since he was very young. His reading habit further developed when he moved to Mysore with his family and there his father's school library offered him gems of writing from others like Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Wodehouse, etc.

After getting married in 1933, Narayan become a reporter for a newspaper called 'The Justice' and in the meantime, he sent the manuscript of 'Swami and Friends' to his friend at Oxford who in turn showed it to Graham Greene. Green Card the book published. His second novel 'The Bachelor of Arts' was published in 1937. It was based on his experiences at college. This book was again published by Graham Greene who by now started counselling Narayan on how to write and what to write about to target the English speaking audience. In 1938, Narayan Road his third novel called 'The Dark Room' which dealt with the subject of emotional abuse within a marriage and it was warmly received, both by readers and critics. During the 1980s Narayan wrote prolifically. He is best known for his novels such as 'Mr Sampath (1949)', 'The Financial Expert (1952)', 'The Guide (1958)', for which he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961, and 'The Man-eater of Malgudi (1961)', and the stories, 'Malgudi Days' (1982).

About The Story

The story 'A Horse and Two Goats' deals with the misunderstanding that takes place between an Indian named Muni and an American businessman. Muni, an old man, lives with his wife in poverty. The couple lives in a small south Indian village. Muni, an old man, lives with his wife in poverty. Muni has taken his goats to the usual spot which is few miles away. He is sitting around a statue of a horse made of weather- beaten clay. As Muni watches the trucks and buses, a yellow station wagon comes and stop there. A red-faced American man dressed in khaki clothing comes out and Muni about the nearest gas station in English.