Closing+Passage+-+End+of+Anne's+and+Olivia's+story+Jerry+Robert+Valerie+Janita

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Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s novel //Heat and Dust// tells the story of a young British woman Anne tracing the footsteps of her step grandmother Olivia in India. In this closing passage, Anne reflects upon their similar lives in India, inspiring the continuation of her journey in India. By drawing parallels between Anne and Olivia, inducing a change in setting, portraying the fading of time and environment and depicting Anne’s wish for ascension, Jhabvala emphasizes the importance of continuation of life.======

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Jhabvala closes the novel with the narrator standing where Olivia had lived her final quarter century. The parallel journeys between the narrator and Olivia further emphasizes the two character’s growth in relationship whilst suggesting the narrator’s continuing journey following the novel’s conclusion. Once arriving upon the town of X, the narrator, “looking around her house above X”, could not help but think that Olivia “did not live so very differently from the way she had done in Satipur.” The narrator’s instinctive assumptions of Olivia living similarly to her displays Anne’s familiarity of Olivia in which she has obtained through her growing realisation of their parallel lifestyles. The narrator “learned from the remains of [Olivia’s] house” that “the rooms were arranged in her style” and “[Olivia] still played the same pieces of piano music”. Anne’s knowledge towards Olivia’s lifestyle and the comparisons she builds between her and Olivia further accentuates the narrator’s mental closeness with Olivia. The progressing parallel relationship between the two characters additionally hints the reader towards the following continuation of the narrator’s journey. **(Janita Zhang)**======

The concept of passing and decaying of time and environment around Anne suggests that her journey continues even without Olivia's past. Anne explores town X and notices how the “houses are ramshackle”, the entire town is on a mountain which is also “ crumbling off in chunks.” The broken-down image of dilapidated houses on this severely crumbling mountain foreshadows the soon disappearance of Olivia’s past. The town represents Olivia’s past, as the town turns into “ramshackle” Olivia’s past will also rot away from Anne’s mind. Furthermore, Anne mentions “the whole town [seems like it] might slide down the mountain any minute.” Olivia’s past to Anne is fragile, it could slide away from her mind “any minute.” As time passes by, the town seems to shift into the oblivion as it “crumbles in chunks”; Olivia’s past falls into the state of being forgotten by Anne as the mountains wear away and slides into void. Anne also mentions how “bits of [the mountain] slide down from time to time, especially during the rains.” While Anne travels through the rain, the mountain seems to be sinking into the mist; this imagery of mountains fading away also signifies the past is gradually being forgotten. As "chunks" of the town and mountain descend into the sightless mist, Olivia's past will also disappear from Anne's eyes and journey. She wants to quickly walk out of this barrier of rain and Olivia’s past that seems to block her way towards the mountaintop or her future. Moreover, Anne’s description of town X is also incorporated with cacophonous diction, which includes “ramshackle”, “crumble” and “chunk.” Her slightly grating tone used to describe the town insinuates the annoyance Anne holds towards the town. The word “crumble” is a word choice, which conjures the meaning of decaying past, “ramshackle” and “chunk” also signifies breaking-apart as bits of Olivia’s past slide down the mountain. In brief, Anne’s visit to town X separates her present from Olivia’s past, which ultimately leads her journey to a continuation in her own footsteps.
 * (Robert Lee)**

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Upon reaching the mountains Anne leaves a hot and dusty climate and arrives at a cool and moist one. This change in climate parallels the change and continuation of Anne's journey. She arrives at a new beginning, leaving behind the irritation and tension of life in Satipur and continuing onwards to the mountains. The swamis who live in the cool climate of the mountains are "cheerful men" who "joke in booming voices" as opposed to the citizens of Satipur who were constantly irritated by the sweltering heat and intrusive dust. Furthermore, back in Satipur, the unbearable heat and dust storms are the causes of tension and irritation between British officials and the Nawab, their timing coinciding with that of the Nawab's involvement in deep intrigues with the dacoits. Now however, the "rain" has washes away the dust. The rainwater imagery produces a sense of cleansing, emphasizing the renewal and continuation of Anne's journey. Anne writes in her journal that the "mist...swirls about" in the valley. The nature imagery and the of swirling of the mist illustrate the idea that Anne's journey is continuous like the constant cycle of nature and the revolving, never ending mist. Moreover, in the past, the dust in Satipur used to block her sight. Now, on the mountains, it is the mist that blocks the view of the mountain peaks, her future destination. Anne further hyperbolizes that the mist is so thick that "birds seem to swim" in it. As birds are symbolic of freedom and swimming is considered a leisurely activity, a sense of a newfound, carefree freedom is constructed. Anne also writes that the "trees wave like seaweed". This simile creates the image that the entire valley is submerged and is in an environment completely different from that of Satipur, representing the change and continuation of Anne's life.======

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The visit to where Olivia used to live, Town X, helps Anne reach to a sudden realization - that is, she no longers wants to follow after Olivia's footstep but instead start a new route for herself. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala shows this through the act of ascension. In the passage, Anne gets "impatient". She mentions that she wants " it to stop raining because [she] wants move on [to] go higher up" the mountain. The mountain is a symbol for Anne's life in India, where as the mountain peaks she "imagines" and is trying to reach symbolizes her new approach to life. Anne can't see what is beyond the mountain, "everything remains hidden" even though "she keeps looking up" demonstrates how much she wants to walk away from Olivia's past. Anne imagines that her future life is going to be better off without Olivia's influence on her choices, as she describes the snow on the mountain peaks to be "whiter than all other snows". She also describes the snow as "luminous" giving it a "divine" kind of feeling, as if implying she's making the correct choice. Anne also contrasts the white snow to "a sky which is of a deeper blue than any yet known to [her]". The text here sounds euphonious which emphasizes on the importance of the continuation of her journey.======

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In conclusion, Jhabvala has identified the importance of continuation of life. They appear in this scene in terms of parallelism between Anne and Olivia, Anne's shift in setting, progression of time and decay of environment and lastly her wish of ascension. Anne's journey to town X is arguably the most inspiring scene in the whole novel, the visit concludes Anne's journey of reliving her step grandmother Olivia's past, yet leaves her to be prepared to continue her journey in India through her own footsteps.======