Department of English, R. L. S. Y.

College (Semester 1) 1

Godan – A Novel by Munshi Premchand

Chapters 1-6

Godan written by Munshi Premchand in 1936 is a very important novel. It is considered one of the
first novels written in Hindi. Premchand wrote in a realistic style. Realistic is a word used to describe
writing style of a writer. Realism is taken from the word – real. It means that the writer wants to
show truthfully and accurately the society around him. He shows the social, political and economic
conditions in the villages in North India in the 1930s. Through his novel we get a clear picture of how
the peasants and farmers lived in that age. We get to know how they were oppressed. We learn
about their sufferings because Premchand wants us to know about their problems and understand
their conditions in the villages. We also get to know about the rich people. Premchand shows
different kinds of characters – rich, poor, educated, religious, people living in cities, people living in
villages, women, children, etc. He shows how the entire society was during the 1930s. Hence,
Premchand is a realistic writer.

Premchand thought literature is a very powerful tool to bring social change. He thought that by
reading about the sufferings of the farmers in the novel, the readers will be encouraged to take
some action for them. The readers will be morally responsible to act on behalf of the farmers and
help them. The farmer, Hori in the novel is very poor, he does not have any land of his own to
cultivate, he has lot of debts (loans) which he cannot pay and he is very worried about taking care of
his family. We are also informed in the novel that Hori belonged to a backward caste. Hence, the
novel shows how farmers from backward castes suffer because they are poor and also because of
the caste system in the society. It is usually people from the backward caste who suffer more. Most
of the people belonging to upper castes (Rai Sahab, Pandit Datadin, Onkarnath, etc) in the novel are
in a better situation than Hori.

Premchand also tells about the superstitions and orthodox thinking (traditional ways of thinking or
old mentality) of the people in the village. When Gobar, Hori’s son, asks Hori why is he paying so
much rent to Rai Sahab, Hori tells him people who are born poor and belong to lower caste should
not raise their voice against people who are rich and from higher castes. He says they are rich
because they did good deeds in their past life, so God has rewarded them for being good by making
them rich and giving them all the comforts in this life. This shows that Hori was superstitious. He
thinks he is poor because God is punishing him and his family for the bad deeds he did in his past
life. He thinks his sufferings are because of karma. It also shows that Gobar is from a different
generation than Hori. Hori believes in the old ways and old customs like caste. Gobar does not
believe in the old customs and practices of caste and superstition.

Godan is a novel about the poor, helpless and oppressed people in the society. Hori is the central
character in the novel. He is a farmer. He grows sugarcane on the land owned by Rai Sahib, the
zamindar of the village. He has to pay rent to the zamindar. He has also taken loans from
moneylenders like Pandit Datadin and . He does not have money to buy food. He wants to marry his
son but he cannot because of his poverty. He wants to own a cow because he thinks a cow will get
him some money. He can sell milk from the cow and get money. He can sell the calf when the cow
gives birth and also get more money. In the village a cow is a symbol of prosperity. People who have
cows were considered rich in the village. A cow is also worshipped by Hindus. Hori thinks God will
bless him if he owns a cow. But he has no money to buy a cow. When Bhola, a cowherd and his
friend offer him a cow for free, he becomes very happy. But he thinks he cannot accept the cow
paying Bhola for the cow. Hori is simple-minded, he does not want to take advantage of Bhola. So,
he promises him to pay later for the cow. He also promises Bhola to find a wife for Bhola. He also
 Department of English, R. L. S. Y. College (Semester 1) 2

gives Bhola some fodder to feed his cows. Hori is very generous. Even when he is poor, he always
offering other people help. He is also very emotional. He feels bad about taking the cow from Bhola
and not paying. When he learns about Bhola’s problems he tries to help him. He does not think
practically. He thinks emotionally. He wants to share his happiness with his brothers when he gets
the cow and goes to his brothers’ house to invite them. His brothers Hira and Shobha don’t like him.
Dhaniya, Hira’s wife complains that Hori is wasting his time by trying to talk to his brothers as they
don’t like him. When he tries to sell the bamboo growing behind their house for twenty rupees and
cheat his brothers by paying them only five rupees each and keeping ten rupees for himself, he feels
bad about cheating them. Hori is forced to cheat his brothers because he has no money. But he does
not like it and later he feels bad about it. Hori is religious and superstitious. He believes that he is
poor because God is punishing him. He cannot see that the zamindar, the moneylenders, the agents
and the rest of the people have been cheating him. He is poor not because of God’s will but because
of the rich cheating the poor. He is very devoted to Rai Sahib. He does whatever Rai Sahib tells him.
He bravely fights with the Afghan trying to kidnap Dr Malti and rob Rai Sahib in the haveli, when Rai
Sahib asks him. He loves his family. He respects his wife, Dhaniya. He shares all his thoughts and
feelings with her. He is also very fond of his daughters, especially his younger daughter Sona. He
wants to get a cow, so that his son Gobar, and his daughters Sona and Rupa can have milk to drink.

We also get to know about Hori’s wife Dhaniya in the novel, in the first four chapters. She is a strong
woman. She takes a stand for herself. She argues with Hori when he tries to defend his brothers. She
tells Hori that his brothers treat him badly, they don’t respect him and that he should not help them
or talk to them. Dhaniya takes care of her family. She cooks for them and cleans for them. And Hori
respects her a lot because of this. She is also very fond of her husband. She is worried about her
husband because he is very weak and thin. She is thirty-six years old but she looks like an old
woman. Her hair is white. And she is also thin and weak. She is young in age but because of having
no food and being poor she looks much older. She is also very wise. She tells Hori not to tie the cow
outside the house, because people will see the cow and be jealous of them. She tells Hori not to
show-off but Hori does not listen.

Gobar, Hori’s son is young and simple. He has a temper and gets angry all the time. He does not have
patience. He does not have much experience. He does not how to talk to girls of his age. When
Jhuniya tries to tell him, that she likes him, he is not able to understand what she is saying to him. He
has never been outside. He is not independent. He is dependent on his family for food and shelter.
He does not like the zamindar or the agents or the moneylenders and thinks that they are cheating
his father. He does not know about the society. He does not know that it is very difficult for people
who are poor to fight with the rich. So, he does not understand when Hori tells him that they should
not complain about the rich people and fight with them. He likes Jhuniya, but he is not confident
enough to approach her. He is shy in front of her.

Jhuniya is Bhola’s daughter. She was married at a young age and now her husband is dead. She is a
widow. She lives with her father Bhola. Her brothers and sisters-in-law don’t like her and they
behave badly with her. She is very unhappy at her home. She likes Gobar. She wants to have her
own house and a husband. She wants someone to love her. She likes Gobar because he is not like
other men, and he treats her well. She is wise and experienced. She tells Gobar that she used to stay
in Bombay with her husband. She has seen how people in the city live. She also tells Gobar keep
flirting with her but they just want to take advantage of her. They don’t care about her. She is used
to attention from other men. Jhuniya is bold. She is also very young, but she is very mature. She
knows she cannot go with Gobar because she is a widow and from different caste. Jhuniya and
Gobar have very different experiences and they are different from each other.
 Department of English, R. L. S. Y. College (Semester 1) 3

Premchand also shows characters who are rich, educated and from the city in the novel. Premchand
shows the difference between the rich and the poor people. He shows how the society in the village
is different from the society in the city. He shows that people from the city, who have a job and
income, who are educated and well-informed, are not honest. These people are greedy. They try to
maintain their public image but on the inside they don’t have any moral values. The rich people
make fun of each other. On the other hand, in the village the poor people are nicer to each other.
Hori and Bhola both try to help each other. Gobar when he is with Jhuniya is very shy and he treats
her with respect. Hori also treats his wife Dhaniya with respect. Hori cares a lot about his brothers.
The rich people are not like that. Except Rai Sahib most of the rich people in the novel don’t have
any courage. They like to enjoy themselves and spend lot of money on entertainment. They know
the situation of the farmers and the rest of the people in the village but they don’t do anything for
them. They talk about the suffering of the poor but don’t want to help them. They show that they
are concerned about the problems in the society, but they don’t want to do anything to change
them. We come across many characters who are rich, educated and from the city in the novel. Rai
Sahib is the zamindar of the village. He owns all the land in the village. Poor farmers work on his field
and pay him rent. He shows that he cares for his tenants (farmers who are renting land from him)
but he does not do anything to help them. He spends money in parties, plays and ceremonies. He is
only worried about himself. He is a member of the Indian National Congress party. He says he wants
to support the farmers and poor in the village but he cannot give away his title of zamindar. He
thinks the zamindar in the village is like a God. He thinks the zamindar in the village has complete
control over others. He thinks himself to be very grand. He thinks the villagers like him very much,
which is not true. He is brave and he tries to fight the Afghan when the Afghan enters his Haveli and
tries to kidnap Ms Malti.

Pandit Onkarnath is the editor of a magazine. He is very proud of his writing skills. He is also very
religious and does not eat meat or drink alcohol. But when the beautiful Ms Malti asks him to have a
drink, he forgets about his religion and becomes very drunk. Ms Malti is a doctor from Lucknow. She
studied in England. She is a modern woman. She does not believe in marriage and old values. She
likes entertainment. She likes arguing with men and talking to them. She talks to men only for fun.
She likes entertainment. Premchand shows that Ms Malti is independent and very modern but she is
also very proud, makes fun of others and selfish. Mr Khanna who is a banker is very greedy, amoral
(with no morals) and money-minded (he does not like giving money to others, he wants to keep all
his money to himself). Tankha is an insurance agent. He was also a lawyer. In his job he helps rich
people to make more money. Mirza is also selfish and greedy. Mr Mehta is a professor of
philosophy. He gives lectures to the rest of the people. He tells them that he does not believe in
equality. He tells others that not all men are born equal. Some men and more intelligent and some
are less intelligent. Nature has not made all men equal, so they can never be equal in the society.
There will always be rich and poor people in the society. Mr Mehta is very learned but his knowledge
is useless because he does not want to do anything for the society. He is also very selfish and thinks
only about himself.