Aspirations and Frustrations due to Social Hierarchies in 400 Days

Abstract

The present study examines the novel 400 Days from the perspective of Marxism. The class system, social status, and power are highlighted in this novel. Chetan Baghat explores the connection between the power of social status and society. He shows how characters from the elite class and the highest caste use characters from the lower caste for their purposes, like the character of Alia Arora the female protagonist of the story. Her character undergoes a significant transformation in the novel. In the
beginning, she is portrayed as a naive and sheltered individual. However, as the story progresses, she faces various obstacles, challenges, and suppression of society that push her to grow and become stronger. There is a significant transition in her character from lower class to upper class after marrying
Manish Arora. Discrimination and otherization of the society based on her caste and economic
background destroy her children's lives as well. Later she approaches Keshav Rajput, a middle-class boy who works in a detective agency. Alia wants his help to find her kidnapped daughter Siya. He also highlights how Indian society looks down upon people from the lower caste or the middle class and exploits them based on the class system. Like Alia herself has been exploited by society, before her
marriage, she has been insulted by Manish`s family, however as Manish’s wife, her character presents
her power of victim in this story. Since the class system and social status are serious issues in India, the
purpose of this study is to understand social status and its impacts on Indian society. It is also to
investigate the connection between society and literature through the lives of different characters and
their influence on other people.