Literary Analysis Essay on Moth Smoke

Introduction

Mohsin Hamid's novel Moth Smoke is an interesting read as it underlies the two social classes in Pakistan. The first group is the masses that are depicted to be large and sweaty as the second group is the elite, albeit smaller, they vastly exercise their authority/control over their environment. Distinguishing characteristics of the two groups, according to the author, are based on the supervision of a valuable resource, the air conditioning.

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Mohsin's effective use of air conditioning in the novel underscores the class differences, especially in the realms of power in modern Pakistan, as depicted in the book. In instance, is where Darashikoh loses his job at the bank following his encounter with Pajero, who is a member of the elite, and the latter is subsequently forced to sell hashish in the quest of making ends meet, albeit he transforms to using heroin himself. At the bank job, he was expected to simulate the servility canine that only benefits the feudal rich. And immediately after his cooling, he partnership in boutique robbing with Murad Badshah, who is depicted to like sweating. Dura later falls in love with Mumtaz, his best friend Ozi's wife, thereby Dura presenting himself as the moth whose wings have gotten signed in love, thus the title of the novel. Similarly, the author uses air condition as a depiction of the element only owned by the elites like in the instance of the Shah Household, which was financed by the corrupt money of Aurangzeb's father has at the air conditioner's hum.

Ozi's wealthy social class is depicted by the presence of an air conditioner in their house is the direct opposite of his friend and peer Daru, who is from the middle class. While Ozi's father is a corrupt politician who had amerced all the necessities life could offer. Daru's father died while he was young, leaving him for Khurram's uncle to take care of him, a place where he feels inferior owing to his status (Hamid 250). Daru feels uncomfortable near Ozi following the massive gap between their situation, coupled with the economic disparities and class distinction between them. Aurangzeb depicts himself as wealthy and well connected, a notion he thinks makes people jealous of him. He feels he understands the element of people's jealousy of him as he believes that just like his father, he would also be a significant person.

Perhaps it is this air-conditioned class that chronicles the novel as it used as a clear distinction between the lower level and the upper class. The high quality has the privileges of enjoying wealth and power as opposed to the lower class who are forced to face the hurdles of life without money. The upper class' luxuries l are exemplified through their use and enjoyment of the air-conditioned rooms, a notion that contradicts the lower class who are subjected to the spells of load shedding. The differences in quality also emblems Daru's deprivation of basic needs, a notion different from his friend Ozi who has more than enough at his disposal. Additionally, the pollution of the environment emanating from the dust and smoke emitted from the vehicles of the upper class, their air conditioner. That is coupled with their polluted psych have made it difficult for the lower class people to breath and to live a better life since the contaminated environment is making them commit slow suicide. That is a vivid depiction of the dirty minds of the upper class who use their wealth and power positions to exploit the lower level, thus forming the inequality in class stratification.

Hamid's class difference concerning the air conditioning is vividly portrayed through the protagonist Daru and his friend Ozi. The latter has all the luxuries, money, and fame life could offer, owing to his corrupt father, who immersed wealth at the expense of the poor. Daru, on the other hand, is badly shattered as he is nowhere near the rich, though aspiring to make high flights with small wings, he is disabled from flying high, thus informing his discontentment and lack of basic needs in life. He hopes that his connection with Ozi and Mumtaz would liberate him from his worries through the worldly materials. However, that is a faulty perception that is shuttered due to the class differences among them, thus presenting his utter gloomy fate, making him take refuge in drugs. The writer uses air conditioning as a luxury enjoyed by the rich during hot summer months on the Lahore weather as a class status proxy, something that the poor cannot enjoy due to its excessive consumption of electric expenses. The air conditioner, therefore, presents an economic divide between the masses and the elite since the former has control of the air conditioner while the latter cannot afford it, thus informing their helplessness, dissatisfaction, and ferocity at the rich.

Works Cited

Hamid, Mohsin."Moth Smoke." Penguin RandomHouse,Dec.2012,www.penguinerandomhouse.com/books/312744.