Funny Boy

A cane makes an appearance in the first chapter, when Arjie states that the children fear his grandmother, Ammachi. The fear is largely due to the cane that she uses to beat children when they misbehave. Arjie says, “With our legs trembling slightly, we would go to her, the thought of the big canes she kept behind her tall clothes almariah strongly imprinted on our minds” (2). Ammachi later beats Arjie with the cane because she believes he is a bad child. A different cane emerges after Arjie enrolls in the Victoria Academy. The principal, Black Tie beats Arjie and his classmate/lover Shehan mercilessly with a cane whenever Arjie incorrectly recites the school poem. Ironically, it is the presence of the cane in Black Tie’s office that makes Arjie nervous and causes him to slip up in the first place.

Therefore, canes serve as a specter of violence and brutal discipline that hangs over the entire book. Both Ammachi and Black Tie feel that violent means—beating a child—justify the ends—stability and good behavior—and the cane serves as a testament to that ideology.