A Multidisciplinary Research Journal - Devanga Arts College

Like Anand, Jayakanthan had lived in his early days as one among the meek and the
poor. Among his close friends were row dies, rickshaw pullers, prostitutes and pickpockets and
scavengers. He happily recollects his cherished experiences with them:
As a champion of the poor and the downtrodden, most of the heroes and heroines of
Anand and Jayakanthan are born to suffer and die. The hero Munoo in Coolie is a patient
Sufferer. Anand here raises a low class boy to the position of a hero and insists on his belief in
the dignity of man, irrespective of his place in the society. True to Anand’s intention to write
about the poor, Munoo is a representative of millions of unfortunate souls like himself. He
depicts in Coolie the evils of class structure an awful consequence of social revolution, which is
a product of the twin forces of industralization and the flow of wealth arising from it.
The lower classes of society and the evils enveloping them are highlighted by Anand in
Coolie. Munoo is treated as an individual in the first three chapters, loses his identity among the
masses of other coolies in the fifth chapter. Munoo is a typical example of the homeless and
moneyless coolies in factories.
The sympathy for the poor and the downtrodden retains its hold on Jayakanthan’s social
novels. His early novel, Unnaippol Oruvan is a class novel and it celebrates the loftiness of
Citti, Thankam, Annamma and Manickam. Like Anand, Jayakanthan raises here a low class
poor boy to the level of hero and insists on his conviction in the dignity of man, no matter what
his position in society is. Citti is a burning symbol of millions of unfortunate souls like himself
lost and bereft, abused downtrodden. He is a creation through whom the misery of the whole
India speaks.
Coolie depicts with compassion the pathetic downward journey of a poor orphan who
suffers for his poverty. Munoo, the protagonist, is presented as living in three classes of society
the low class, the middle class and the upper class. He travels from village to town to find his
livelihood. His journey is that of a pilgrim’s progress only in reverse. His life-journey is a
downward journey into damnation.
In Unnaippol Oruvan the poor people are pictured neglecting the ill-treatment that they
undergo in different classes. Annamma, Thankam, Manickam, Mannaru and Duraikannu are the
admirable characters. For Thankam, Annamma is the sole companion. As in Coolie, we find
that silent and lovable companionship exists only among the low class people. Thankam wants
to marry Manickam for she has developed an emotional relationship with him. She gives him