The Hero's Walk

The sea acts as a symbol of the transitory and annular nature of life. In a way, science says that all life began in the sea, and therefore, it is no coincidence that the family returns both Maya’s and Ammayya’s ashes to the sea, especially when Hindu beliefs prefer a river (259). It is also no coincidence that the novel begins with oceanic scenery and ends with Sripathi writing a letter-to-the-editor discussing the beauty he found in the scene of the sea turtles coming ashore to bury their eggs.

Religious beliefs play a major role in the characters’ ways of mourning and coping with death, specifically Maya’s. Most notable is the fact that the focus isn’t on a singular religion or belief, rather several religions pop up throughout the book, and even non-religious beliefs such as rationalism and empiricism. There is also no prescription of a belief, rather religion is a symbolic tool to illustrate human’s different coping mechanisms in dealing with the world around them, and most importantly, with the ultimate truth that all humans will die. Koti, for example, draws protective rings in the yard to ward off evil; Nirmala prays to her gods and makes sacrifices in the temples, and Sripathi holds to science and empiricism to explain the world around him (until they fail to do that and he turns to superstitions).