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Justified and Ancient Essay

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Justified and Ancient

The text is adapted from a story by Simon Lewis, "Justified and Ancient". The story was published by Penguin Books in Fortune Hotel, 2000. The story takes place in a small village up in the mountains outside Delhi, India. The villagers live in small primitive huts made out of wood, without any sort of electronic devices. The Indians show their religious beliefs throughout holy temples. They respect their monuments and they do not consider people from the outside as being pure. It is a holy place, and people must be polite and show their respect for the great temples. That is a big challenge for the Englishman Lee, who has been hiking in the mountains from Delhi in company with his guide Punjee. Lee is finding it hard to combine his western attitude with the Indian’s customs (L.24-30).
He is unemployed and surely has no clue how he should be acting and showing respect for the Indian mentality, and the Indian people. Lee did not visit the village for tourism purposes; he is there to buy cheap cannabis in an arranged meeting with the president of the village. Lee has a different view of living; he is from a western country, which has got a whole other culture compared to the villager’s. Lee lives in England with his girlfriend, and her child from a previous marriage. Lee is tall, he smokes and has long hair toured up in a ponytail, which seems a little strange to the president. The president is aware of the westerner’s interest in the drug dealing.
Lee is arrogant and superior; he refers the Indian money as “joke money”. He gives the poor children the Lemon Cream biscuits that he himself thought was disgusting, but as soon as they shout for money, Lee gets upset and tries to make them leave. “He gave the boys the Lemon Cream biscuits. His compassion towards these poor waifs touched him deeply, and Lee began to feel warm inside. The first

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