Task 2: Opening Worlds

As people behave differently in a variety of places and conditions, children in the Games at Twilight fear the darkness and are prone to be active during good weather as they 'burst' out the door like 'seeds from a crackling, over-ripe pod.' For the Young Couple the love between them is disrupted in public but in their flat, together they can afford to be seen 'uncovered' and were always 'completely happy.'

The 'confinement in the house' causes the children to 'wail horrendously' because theres no light as everything was 'curtained' and 'shuttered' which made the children strained to escape. After a while the mother would 'let down the bolt' and the children would run out with 'maniacal yells' because they bothered her in her bath. This shows that the children feels liberated bathing in the light and breathing the air otherwise they would 'choke' in compacted space and protected from sunlight.

However, the weather did not affect the bond between the couple. Instead, the place they're in changes the way they treat each other. Naraian and Cathy lived in a flat with a great view of a 'decadent eighteenth century mausoleum.' They wouldn't mind being 'stark naked' and usually they would spend 'a lot of time in bed' together. In public Naraian would try to stay a 'few inches' away from Cathy to show that it's awkward to be very close to her and shy to touch her.

Similarly, as the environment change it brings fear to people that is not familiar with it. Ravi experience horror as he enter a shed to hide himself from Raghu and the darkness inside makes the surrounding 'less definable' and 'less recognizable'. This causes Ravi to imagine snakes living inside the shed and succumbs to the fear, hoping to get caught so that he could 'be in the sun.' As a result, darkness fear children because Ravi is young and light comforts them.

On the other hand, there is no privacy in public as Cathy tries to feel close to Naraian. He would quite often 'forget' that Cathy is around and that their hands never touched'. Also Naraian becomes 'very aware' of what Cathy is up to like if her 'dress crept up over her knee' or one of her 'button is undone.' This shows that Naraian is not comfortable and feels more formal at his home country instead of in England where he and Cathy enjoyed 'kissing' and 'holding hands.'

In conclusion, people react differently in different places but they learn to adapt to it after a long time or become sick of it. Ravi becomes more courageous and remains in the darkness to hide from Raghu causing him to imagine his triumph over the 'football champion.' But Cathy feels more claustrophobic in the flat towards the end as everyone 'joined forces' and causing Naraian to feel more 'dissatisfied' and 'complain' about it.