onship between the story and Indian culture is very significant and evident in the writer’s story. One significant aspect of the story was the relationship between men and women. Indian culture generally discriminates on women. India’s main website said that young girls have it much harder than boys, having to do much more chores and tasks, and the “discrimination doesn’t end with adulthood” (www.Asianinfo.org). This aspect of Indian culture was evident in this story through a few examples. First, the wives both stayed home and cleaned the house, Radha looked after her son, and they cooked the food. They were also treated inferior by their husbands. An example of this is when Dukiram comes home demanding and expecting food from his wife. He treated her like he was the boss or as if he was more important than her. Lastly, Chandara willingly accepts her husband’s request to confess the crime. This indicates that women back then viewed theirselves as being inferior to men because of the way Indian culture taught them. The other culturally significant part of the story had to do with family customs. “Family is important in India, and it is what their lives are centered around” (www.Asianinfo.org). An example from the story is when Chidam becomes very worried and scared when he realizes his brother will die for his crime. He says to Ramlochan,” If I lose my wife I can get another, but if my brother is hanged, how can I replace him?” (Punishment, pg1453) This statement implies that immediate family is more important. Siblings were more important and more valued than wives were in Indian culture, for Chidam was willing to lose his wife in order to keep his brother alive. In conclusion, it is interesting to observe the cultural significance this story has. Tagore wrote this story based on his cultural experience in India. Little pieces of the story point to the way o...
