Homeless Bird Perseverance Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

I returned to scour them a second time when Sass found a bit of stickiness on one of the bowls. "How were you brought up, girl?" she scolded, not even calling me by my name (2.5)

Mrs. Mehta is never shy about sharing her opinion. She berates Koly for not doing the dishes properly, scolds her for daydreaming, and always keeps a long list of chores for her daughter-in-law to finish. If putting up with her demands isn't suffering, we don't know what is.

Quote #2

As much as I longed to see them, though, I knew that after all the sacrifices they had made for my dowry, I would shame them by returning home. (3.8)

Even though Koly decides she hates her new life with the Mehtas, she doesn't do anything about it because she knows it would shame her family. She cares more about her family and what her departure would mean for them than she does about her own misery, so she just gets on with her life and puts up with Mrs. Mehta.

Quote #3

All day long she sent it screaming through the house and across the courtyard: "Koly, we need water!" "Koly, sweep the courtyard! The geese have soiled it." "Koly, the clothes you washed are still dirty!" "Koly, the spices you ground for the masalas are too coarse!" (4.12)

Yikes. We can see why Koly wants to run away. We also get the sense that Koly has to persevere through more than other characters in the story. While Koly's running here, there, and everywhere, Chandra is sleeping in or doing simple stuff like fluffing cushions.