73 pages 2 hours read

Amitav Ghosh

The Glass Palace

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Rajkumar Raja

Rajkumar Raja is the key protagonist in The Glass Palace. Introduced as “an Indian, a boy of eleven [and] not an authority to be relied upon” (4), his growth from spindly young boy into a stiff-limbed old man is perhaps the main through-line of the novel. As an Indian boy who fled to Burma following a plague in his village, he seems at first to be little more than an innocent, orphan bystander, watching the pillage of the country by the British. But as the story progresses, his role in the colonization of Burma becomes more complicated. He indentures Indian workers to harvest Burmese oil and sells teak across the region, making himself a fortune in the process. Eventually, as Burmese attitudes turn against the Indian population in the country, it is Rajkumar’s actions that help explain to the audience why the ire of the local people is turned against their fellow South Asians, rather than the British. Rajkumar becomes emblematic of the infectious nature of colonialism and the manifestation of the subjugation of the Burmese people. That he makes a great deal of money doing so provides a hint as to the incessant nature of colonialism and why it is truly hard to eradicate.

Related Titles

By Amitav Ghosh

Plot Summary

logo

Flood of Fire

Amitav Ghosh

Flood of Fire

Amitav Ghosh

Study Guide

logo

Gun Island

Amitav Ghosh

Gun Island

Amitav Ghosh

Study Guide

logo

In an Antique Land

Amitav Ghosh

In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale

Amitav Ghosh

Plot Summary

logo

River of Smoke

Amitav Ghosh

River of Smoke

Amitav Ghosh

Study Guide

logo

Sea of Poppies

Amitav Ghosh

Sea of Poppies

Amitav Ghosh

Study Guide

logo

The Calcutta Chromosome

Amitav Ghosh

The Calcutta Chromosome

Amitav Ghosh

Study Guide

logo

The Great Derangement

Amitav Ghosh

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable

Amitav Ghosh

Study Guide

logo

The Hungry Tide

Amitav Ghosh

The Hungry Tide

Amitav Ghosh

Study Guide

logo

The Shadow Lines

Amitav Ghosh

The Shadow Lines

Amitav Ghosh