Question

With Raghu in pursuit of the other kids, the innocent game of hide and seek in Anita Desai's "Games at Twilight" almost resembles a hunt. Which parts of this excerpt make the game sound like a hunt?
Only small Manu suddenly reappeared, as if he had dropped out of an invisible cloud or from a bird’s claws, and stood for a moment in the center of the yellow lawn, chewing his finger and near to tears as he heard Raghu shouting, with his head pressed against the veranda wall, "Eighty-three, eighty-five, eighty-nine, ninety . . ." and then made off in a panic, half of him wanting to fly north, the other half counseling south. Raghu turned just in time to see the flash of his white shorts and the uncertain skittering of his red sandals, and charged after him with such a bloodcurdling yell that Manu stumbled over the hosepipe, fell into its rubber coils, and lay there weeping, "I won’t be It—you have to find them all—all—All!"

"I know I have to, idiot," Rag

Answer 1

Answer:

"Stalked off in search of worthier prey, whistling spiritedly so that the hiders should hear and tremble"/ "Where could he burrow?"/ "Ravi had a frightening glimpse of them as Raghu combed the hedge of crotons and hibiscus, trampling delicate ferns underfoot as he did so"/ "Ravi looked about him desperately, swallowing a small ball of snot in his fear."

Explanation:

Anita Desai's story "Games At Twilight" is set in an Indian atmosphere, with the children as the main protagonists. The story deals with the issues of children, their disillusioned fantasies, and the universal theme of children playing games along with their world.

The given excerpt from the story shows the children playing a game of hide-and-seek. And this scene resembles a hunting scene, where the hunter follows and captures his prey. Likewise, the hunter, in this case, is Raghu, with the "long, hefty, hairy footballer legs". And he is searching for the other children who represent the prey.

The description of not only Raghu, but the way Ravi, the protagonist describes the fear in Manu also suggests a hunting imagery. He got frightened and tried "desperately" to hide and stay away from being detected, all the while "swallowing a small ball of snot in his fear".

All these tiny descriptions makes the game sound like a hunt.