The Trap of Overshadowing Righteousness: An Analysis of Human Struggles in Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve

Abstract

The word ‘righteousness’ may be unfamiliar to this modern era. The people’s so-called smartness provokes them to ask these questions: Why should I follow righteousness? What is the benefit of that? This tendency reflects the expectation of advantages from doing everything, even their duties. The prevailing misconception among humans is that righteousness is an illusion and man-made. Owing to this, righteousness is one of the least concerns in the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. If this condition prevails, all unethical actions become ethical in the name of self-righteousness. The paper aims to check the relevance of moral concepts developed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant to the contemporary world. In addition to that, the researcher will analyze the situations or determinism (fate) that made the characters of Kamala Markandaya act against the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The paper adopts a qualitative approach to understand the struggles of people who are trapped under the veil of ignorance and choose self-righteousness over righteousness.