Funny Boy

From the first chapter, we understand that Arjie spurns hobbies traditionally associated with boys and prefers activities traditionally associated with girls, such as watching his mother dress in beautiful saris or playing bride-bride. He relishes reading books focusing on girls, like Little Women, and feels most beautiful when he wears a bride’s sari.

Arjie is just doing what comes naturally to him, but when Tanuja calls him cruel and homophobic names like “faggot” and “pansy” (11) based on his interests in traditionally feminine activities, Arjie gets the sense that he is different. He feels more comfortable being with the girls than playing cricket with the boys, and now he is being shamed not only by Tanuja, but by the adults as well. For example, Kanthi Aunty brings Arjie to the rest of the adults while he is dressed in a sari for the bride-bride game. Here, Arjie gets his first real exposure to the rigid world of gender norms and societal expectations for boys. Arjie can tell that his parents, Amma and Appa are upset, particularly Appa. Kanthi Aunty’s husband, Cyril Uncle, says regarding Arjie, “[L]ooks like you have a funny one here” (14).

There is no room for a boy bride in this world, as we understand when Amma orders Arjie to stop playing bride-bride. As Amma says, “Because the sky is so high and pigs can’t fly, that’s why” (19). The rules of society are set in stone, and we must abide by them. However, Amma does not seem entirely sure of her own words. Moreover, we can see from the fact that Meena leads a team of boys during the cricket matches that perhaps gender norms are not always so rigid for girls, who are occasionally allowed to do traditionally masculine activities like play cricket. Gender-appropriate activities and behaviors therefore seem to be even more rigidly dictated for boys than girls, out of a fear that doing feminine things makes a boy “funny” or weak. This speaks to a larger fear about sexuality and sexual orientation in this society.

From Tanuja’s insults, Appa’s worries and the way Amma forbids Arjie from watching her dress up lest he become “funny,” we understand that to be “funny” does not just mean being unusual or liking feminine activities. It also is a coded way of calling someone “gay” in a society where discussing one’s sexual orientation–and sex more broadly–is taboo. As a child, Arjie understands that he is different, but he does not understand why his parents are upset with him merely for doing the things that make him feel truly alive, such as dressing up in a sari.

Nonetheless, since Appa holds the power in the household, he tries to make Arjie to conform to masculine ideals by enrolling him in the harsh atmosphere of the Victoria Academy because “the Academy will force you to become a man” (205). Appa’s actions and the homophobia Arjie encounters from Diggy and others forces him to keep his sexuality and love for Shehan a secret, severely damaging his bond with his family and making him unable to reveal his true identity to the world.

Fortunately, Arjie does have some role models who challenge these rigid gender norms. Radha Aunty accepts Arjie’s personality and applies makeup to his face. Daryl Uncle encourages Arjie’s interest in Little Women. And Jegan—who is implied to be gay—defends Arjie as normal to Appa, who expresses his concerns about Arjie to Jegan. And, of course, Shehan spurns all gender norms with exuberant confidence; he ultimately teaches Arjie to learn to embrace his sexuality and be comfortable as a gay boy.

Injustice is prevalent throughout the book on both a grand scale—the oppression of Tamils by the Sinhalese government—and on a smaller scale—the oppression of Arjie and Shehan by Black Tie. Each of the main characters takes a different approach to dealing with the daily injustice that they face.

For example, Amma is at first opposed to the Tamil Tigers and supports the Sinhalese government. This stance puts her at odds with Daryl Uncle, who believes that the Sinhalese government is torturing innocent people; he feels that it is his duty to expose injustice as a reporter. Once Daryl Uncle is killed and Amma experiences the loss that Tamils in many other parts of the country have faced, she becomes dead-set against the Sinhalese government’s corrupt abuses: “People can’t get away with these things. This is a democracy, for God’s sake” (133).

Amma believes that Daryl Uncle has been killed by Sri Lankan police, who covered up his death as an accidental drowning. She is aghast that such an abuse of power and illegal killing can happen in a democratic state, which serves as a warning that even seemingly democratic governments can take the law into their own hands when there is no one to check their power. This is a turning point, transforming Amma from a believer in the Sri Lankan state and opponent of the Tamil Tigers to someone who understands what the Tigers are fighting against: injustice. But she is at a loss as to how she can make an impact because the people she would normally turn to for help are the ones creating injustice: She asks, “But where does one turn when the police and government are offenders?” (“See No Evil, Hear No Evil,” 134). However, despite her initial attempts to investigate Daryl Uncle’s death, she ultimately follows Q.C. Uncle’s advice and turns a blind eye to the abuses of the government in order to protect her family from harm: “These days, one must be like the three wise monkeys. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” (137).

More than anyone, however, it is Appa who turns a blind eye to corruption and moral decay in order to protect his business interests and his family. He tries to stay on the good side of the Sinhalese authorities and hopes that if he does not create any trouble, they will leave him and his family alone. For example, Arjie chides Jegan for confronting the man pasting posters when he says, “One must be careful not to antagonize the wrong people” (165). He looks down upon the Tigers for creating violence rather than obeying the Sinhalese state—a view that clashes with Amma’s attitudes. She believes the Tigers’ violence might be worth it if they can achieve peace for Tamils. Appa believes in working within the current system, and that anyone—even a Tamil in Sri Lanka—can achieve anything if he works hard. However, this viewpoint requires ignoring injustice at all costs. 

Appa is trying to protect his family in the only way he knows how, but what he does not realize is that trying to be complacent within the current system is not enough to protect one’s family during a civil war. Appa thinks that his respectability will save him from the abuses facing other Tamils, but he will ultimately be wrong. His complacency plays a role in upholding not only the undemocratic system of government, but also condoning corrupt and illegal practices like the practice of tourists raping local village boys.

Appa’s style of turning a blind eye sharply contrasts with Jegan’s methods of confronting injustice head-on, which becomes clear not only in Jegan’s stern disapproval at Appa’s attitude, but also later in this chapter as Jegan’s former affiliations with the Tamil Tigers are revealed. Jegan is torn between two, rotten “small choices” (172). He is torn between supporting the Tigers’ cause for a separate state while condoning their hostile violence or between allowing the Sinhalese government to run roughshod over democracy and the rights of the Tamil people. It is ironic that Jegan left the Tigers because they were too cruel, because the harsh treatment that he receives at the hands of the police and the Sinhalese people force him into the “small choice” of deciding to join the Tigers once more out of necessity.

Arjie takes the most definitive stance against injustice by deciding to topple the authoritarian Black Tie. However, Arjie may be inadvertently creating a new system of terror, as Lokubandara –Black Tie’s replacement–wants to rid the school of Tamils. There is no easy way to challenge injustice; all paths require some form of sacrifice, which most ordinary Tamils–who have families to protect–are not willing to make.