• GORE SWAPNIL MADHAVRAO

R.K. Narayan’s Father’s Help offers a deceptively simple narrative that opens up complex insights into the intersections of family, education, and discipline in middle-class Indian life. Set in the fictional town of Malgudi, the story dramatizes a schoolboy’s attempt to evade the rigors of classroom authority through fabricated excuses and the unintended consequences of parental intervention. This study examines how the story reflects the values and anxieties of a middle-class Indian household, where obedience to parental authority, respect for teachers, and the fear of disciplinary structures intersect in shaping a child’s moral and emotional world. Drawing on socio-cultural and literary perspectives, the paper explores how Narayan situates the institution of education as an extension of family discipline, reinforcing not only academic responsibility but also ethical conduct. The analysis highlights Narayan’s use of irony and humor to expose the fragile negotiations between childhood imagination and adult authority. At a broader level, the paper argues that Father’s Help encapsulates the tensions inherent in Indian middle-class life—between indulgence and discipline, between personal freedom and societal expectation—making the story an enduring commentary on the pedagogical and familial values of its time.

R.K. Narayan, Father’s Help, family relations, Indian middle class, education, discipline, authority, parent-child conflict, teacher-student relationship, childhood psychology, Malgudi stories, Indian society, school life, humor and irony, cultural values, social context in literature

"Family, Education, and Discipline in Middle-Class Indian Life: A Reading of Father’s Help", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 8, page no.f686-f692, August-2025, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2508596.pdf

"Family, Education, and Discipline in Middle-Class Indian Life: A Reading of Father’s Help", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.12, Issue 8, page no. ppf686-f692, August-2025, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2508596.pdf