lördag 17 oktober 2009

Final Blog

The wedding is approaching and the pressure is getting worse, not because Manny is getting a wife, his cheat. The perfect plan, revenge on his family after all those years Manny had to put up with them. As you may remember from my last blog Manny was visiting his relatives in India, having a good time and also with his family, which is quite unusual. At first he did not know that the trip would turn out to his worse nightmare. His family left him in the little village with his uncle, talking about sorting things out before returning home. Manny was not wasting time on sorting himself out, actually leaving him there made it all worse, Manny got even more determined to get his revenge.

Manny’s family moved to England when he was very little. His parents raised him as a Punjabi although the influence form school was affecting him even more. His father is strict with rules and is the man with all power in their family. Respecting elders and arranged marriage are two of the most important things when it comes to Punjabi culture which also are the most mentioned things in the book. The thought behind the whole journey was to leave Manny in India to let him sort his life out and become a good Punjbai because his father thought the influence Manny got at home was leading him in the wrong way of life.

By being betrayed and let down by his family made Manny even more determined to get his revenge. He wants to show his is different and that is when he comes up with the cheat. It is his ticket to freedom and also the ticket which will destroy his relationship with his family.

‘They weren’t interested in me, the person that I was, not if it didn’t match their idea of right and wrong. The more they were nice to me, the more I saw just how two faced they really were.’ that was why his family was treating him nicely, giving him treats and bribing with money. After he ran away from his wedding, from his family he did not feel guilty. He realized he disrespected the girl’s family, the temlpe and the Sikh religion. The only thing Manny regrets today was the date of his cheat. Although his has not spoken with his family for three months he do not regret any thing, everything he has done is worthwhile.

After reading this book I seen different cultures from a new perspective, especially arranged marriages. It is not always the girls who do not want to get married away to a stranger, Manny showed me that even the boys can have a hard time accepting arranged marriage. Manny also made me realize standing up against his own family had to be the worst thing ever, having to choose between being accepted as his is or live under their expectations, he needed a lot of courage and I think he got it from all his anger even though deep inside he loves his family. By standing up for your self you do not necessary have to let your family down but in this case his family could not accept him, mostly because of the traditions impact over the family. I still ask my self the question how could Manny’s family put traditions before their own son and brother? Well, I will never understand because I will never put traditions over my own family, who I love.