Response to Kelsey’s questions about religion:
In the story “Untouchable” by Mulk Raj Anand, religion is used to convey the themes. Religion is the reason for much of the conflict in the story as the caste system is a creation of the Hindu religion. Within the Hindu’s there are the different castes, but the people within the caste don't want anything to do with the out castes or the untouchables. They are not supposed to touch them and this creates a visible divide within the same religion. There are two other religions referred to in the story, Christianity and Islam. The clothes of the people of the different religions are different in the story suggesting that they are even more divided. The Christian missionary is sympathetic to Bakha as he suggests that the people who think he is untouchable are wrong. The Muslim is also kinder to Bakha than the priests and people from his own religion. Overall, religion connects the characters throughout the story and is a way for the author to show the divided nature of the country of India. Because people of different religions are kind to Bakha, the author shows that different religions do not have to be as dividing as they seem.
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