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Shyam SelvaduraiA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Appa decides to transfer Arjie to a new school that will toughen him up: Victoria Academy. Diggy—Arjie’s brother—tells Arjie that Appa “doesn’t want you turning out funny or anything like that” (205). Diggy warns Arjie about the principal, who is nicknamed “Black Tie.” Black Tie is a harsh instructor and doles out painful physical punishments to the students for the most minor of infractions, such as wearing long hair. Diggy advises Arjie not to complain to his parents in order to appear tough to the other students. Arjie’s brother also informs him about the dispute between Black Tie and vice-principal Mr. Lokubandara, whom Diggy describes as a “snake in the grass” (208).
At school, a Sinhalese boy named Salgado tells Arjie that he should be in the Tamil class instead of the Sinhalese class, but Arjie does not understand Tamil and says that his parents wanted him to learn Sinhalese. Another boy known as Soyza comes to Arjie’s defense. Arjie is drawn to Soyza’s inexplicable confidence. Soyza goes to use the toilet, and when he returns, Arjie notices that his neatly-ironed clothes have been rumpled.
When Arjie heads to the bathroom, he notices the bully, Salgado, attacking a boy named Cheliah. Soyza informs him that Salgado attacked Cheliah because he is the leader of the Grade 9 Tamil class. Soyza says that the school is divided between supporters of Black Tie and Lokubandara. Lokubandara wants to make the school and all-Buddhist school, which would kick out the Tamil students, since Buddhists are mainly Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. In contrast, Black Tie wants the school to be open for students of all backgrounds. Lokubandara favors Salgado, and so no one stops him from bullying students.
One day, Black Tie comes to class. Soyza normally puts his hair up using clips, but he has misplaced his clips. Black Tie notices Soyza’s long hair—a violation of school dress code—and slaps him. Black Tie forces Soyza to his office, and the other students say that he has joined Black Tie’s list of “the future ill and burdens of Sri Lanka” (218). Black Tie chops off Soyza’s hair. Arjie advises Soyza to tell his parents, and Soyza grows angry. Soyza asks Arjie, ‘What do you know about me?’” (220). Arjie is confused by the question.
One day, the teacher, Mr. Sunderalingam, writes a poem on the board called “The Best School of All” (221). Arjie recites the poem. Black Tie summons Arjie to his office. He demands that Arjie practice the poems and recite them for him tomorrow. Arjie chats with Soyza before going home. Diggy tells Arjie to avoid socializing with Soyza, because Soyza is known to have sex with the head prefect (instructor) at the school. Arjie does not believe him. Arjie practices the poems and thinks that they are not accurate depictions of life at Victoria Academy. He practices reciting the poems to Soyza. Black Tie summons Arjie and Soyza to his office. Black Tie takes a cane and puts it on his desk, instructing Soyza to stop Arjie if he recites the poem incorrectly. Arjie tries to remember the poem, but his mind goes blank out of fear when he sees the cane. Black Tie thinks Arjie lied about practicing the poems. Black Tie beats Arjie with the cane, believing that he will thank him some day.
In a rage, Arjie tears up the poems after he leaves Black Tie’s office. Soyza offers to help him get new copies of the poem at a library. They bond over their shared mockery of Victoria Academy. We learn that Arjie’s full name is Arjun, and that Soyza’s given name is Shehan. Arjie dreams of Shehan and wakes up with a wet patch on his sarong, indicating arousal. Arjie and Shehan return to Black Tie’s office, but Arjie still is unable to recite the poem when he sees the cane. Black Tie beats not only Arjie, but also Shehan this time.
Arjie asks Mr. Sunderalingam for help. The teacher—who is Tamil—tells Arjie that because of the dispute between the principal and vice-principal, they should support Black Tie. Most importantly, the teacher informs Arjie that Black Tie is creating an important speech for some government officials based on Arjie’s recitation of the poems. Although Arjie does not approve of Lokubandara’s policies, Arjie is not sure that he should overlook Black Tie’s harsh punishment methods just because of the Tamil-Sinhalese dispute. After the conversation with Mr. Sunderalingam, Black Tie lets Arjie and Shehan go without beating them this time.
Shehan kisses Arjie, who is stunned. Arjie comes over to Shehan’s house, which is in an upper-class neighborhood. He is greeted by a servant woman who cares for Shehan and takes care of the house after Shehan’s parents got divorced. His mother lives in England. Amma learns about Arjie’s new friend; Arjie invites Shehan to dinner. Diggy implies that Appa will disapprove of Shehan and that he will find out that Arjie is gay, though it seems Arjie himself is not fully aware of his own sexual orientation. While playing hide-and-seek with Shehan and his cousins, Arjie kisses Shehan and they make love. At dinner, Appa silently disapproves of Shehan while Amma tries to make polite conversation. In Arjie’s room after dinner, things are awkward between the two boys. Shehan says that Arjie feels guilty over their actions, and Arjie confronts Shehan about the gossip regarding him and the head prefect. Shehan tacitly admits to the allegations, and says that he’s not ashamed of his sexuality, unlike Arjie. Arjie has a nightmare about being suffocated by Shehan.
At school the following day, Arjie notices that Shehan’s confidence has decreased significantly. Black Tie drags Shehan by the ear into his office. Arjie is worried for Shehan’s safety. Arjie feels regret about how he treated Shehan. He apologizes, but Shehan brushes him off. Arjie goes to Shehan’s house, where the old servant woman tells Arjie that Shehan’s father was never around much to care for him. Arjie apologizes again to Shehan. Shehan says that he cannot bear Black Tie’s punishments any longer. Arjie muses about their lack of power. Shehan concocts a hasty plan to move to England with his mother but realizes the foolishness of such a plan after speaking with Arjie.
Black Tie tells Arjie to remember the values of the school represented in the poem, because these values may soon disappear. Arjie remembers the importance of his poem recital to Black Tie’s speech and decides to purposefully recite the poem incorrectly to get Black Tie removed as principal—and Lokubandara installed in his place—thus sparing Shehan from his cruel punishments. Arjie is no longer afraid of Black Tie and believes he holds the power now. Arjie follows through with his plan, embarrassing Black Tie and causing the principal to botch his speech in front of the amused government officials. Arjie tells Shehan that he did it for him. The pair embrace, and Arjie feels sad that his family will never truly understand this side of him—specifically, his experience as a gay young man.
Manhood as a concept features heavily throughout this book and especially in this chapter. Arjie’s father tells him that Victoria Academy “will force you to become a man” (205). Diggy advises Arjie not to complain to his parents if he is bullied, because his peers will not respect him as a man: “Either you take it like a man or the other boys will look down on you” (207). We see the recurrence of the word “funny” being used to describe Arjie. By this point, we understand that this is not only a way to characterize Arjie as effeminate, but also a coded way of calling someone “gay” in Sri Lanka, where open discussion of homosexuality is taboo.
This chapter also shows how Arjie straddles the line between different worlds. The first pertains to his ethnicity. Although Arjie is a Tamil, which is a persecuted minority in Sri Lanka, Arjie is in a unique position as a Tamil from a somewhat wealthy background who does not speak Tamil. He feels neither deep-seated loyalty to his Tamil heritage nor animosity towards the Sinhalese. His sheltered privilege is being shattered in this chapter as Tamil-Sinhalese tensions in the country seep into his school life through Salgado’s insults and Lokubundara’s efforts to make the Academy an all-Sinhalese school.
Arjie is torn between his personal loyalty to Shehan and his obligation as a Tamil to benefit the greater good. Although Black Tie is cruel to Shehan, he supports students of all backgrounds attending the school. Lokubandara may be more outwardly kind, but his policies are more insidious and ultimately damaging toward the status of Tamils in society. He is like a “snake in the grass” that quietly wreaks havoc (208). Stuck between Black Tie and Lokubandara, Arjie must make a choice between two less-than-desirable options, echoing what Jegan’s father said in the previous chapter about having to choose between the Sinhalese government or the Tamil Tigers. Lokubandara’s seemingly more desirable but quietly insidious manner mirrors how democracy topples: an option that can seem more attractive or benevolent is actually the most dangerous one.
Personally, Arjie is also “torn between my desire for Shehan and disgust at that desire” (260). This chapter comes at a crucial time in Arjie’s sexual evolution. He is undergoing puberty and becoming a man, which troubles him, and he is also compelled by these biological urges—namely, through his attraction to Shehan. He is at first thrilled by this attraction, then later repulsed as he realizes that it means his father’s perception of Arjie is correct. Arjie has internalized the homophobic warnings of his family and society writ-large. Arjie’s disgust hurts Shehan, who truly cares for Arjie and expresses that love through sex. Once Arjie is able to realize Shehan’s feelings, he is able to put aside his shame and embrace his sexuality, even if the rest of the world cannot. His decision to defy Black Tie is a culmination of Arjie’s narrative arc in coming to terms with being a gay young adult.
Moreover, lies are present throughout this chapter and book, from the lies the policemen tell about Uncle Daryl’s death to the lies being propagated about Victoria Academy being the “best school of all” to Arjie’s lies to his family, the world, and himself about his sexual orientation. Lies destroy us all in the end. Some lies we carry with us out of necessity, such as Arjie’s desire to spare his family shame or Amma’s lies about Daryl Uncle out of a desire to preserve her marriage. However, at the very least, Arjie has stopped lying to himself about his sexuality, which is a huge milestone in his character development. As Black Tie says, “Falsehood is the biggest malaise in this country, the cause of all its problems. If most of the politicians had received a good thrashing, we would not be having the problems we currently have” (232).
These lies overlap with the concept of power, which features prominently in this chapter. The power dynamics between Shehan and Arjie, Arjie and Black Tie, and Black Tie and Lokubandara dominate “The Best School of All.” From the very beginning, Arjie is drawn to Shehan’s self-projection of power, which protects him from bullies like Salgado: “[…] there was a confidence about him, an understanding of his own power” (212). But after becoming just another one of Black Tie’s “ills and burdens”—students that function as a symbol of all that Black Tie perceives is wrong with Sri Lanka—and facing rejection from Arjie, Shehan loses that natural confidence in his own position and sexuality. Arjie, who has previously been powerless against both Black Tie and in asserting agency over his sexuality, seizes both when he decides to embarrass Black Tie and free Shehan from Black Tie’s clutches. He restores an equal balance of power to their relationship.
However, it is implied that Black Tie loses his position as principal, thus ceding power to Lokubandara, who will use it for wicked ends like forcing Tamil students out of the school. Arjie’s seizure of power on a small scale comes at a price on a large scale. No power is gained without tremendous sacrifice. When the balance of power is disrupted, chaos emerges, whether in the school or in Sri Lanka as a whole. Black Tie believes that his cruel methods are justified if he can preserve the school’s values of order and honor, which are articulated in the poem. Although, it could be argued—as Arjie does—that the values the poem articulates are a sham. There is nothing honorable in the fear that Black Tie instills through forced discipline and violence.
Nonetheless, Black Tie tells Arjie to remember these values “because the way the school is going, these values may soon disappear,” which foreshadows the dramatic escalation of violence against Tamils in the next chapter (269). Lastly, Black Tie’s cane also functions as a symbol of the recurring violence that occurs in this book, and the fact that people—whether Ammachi, Black Tie, the Tamil Tigers, or the Sinhalese government—feel that violent means are justified if the end result is the preservation of the status quo. And yet, the status quo topples anyway, as we will see in the next chapter.