Games at Twilight by Anita Desai is a short story that presents to its readers a group of Indian cousins engrossed in games on a hot summer afternoon. The story is in the form of a third-person narrative that centers around the thoughts and feelings of a younger cousin, Ravi who desires and dreams to win a simple game like hide-and-seek to be praised by his cousins. The story explores themes of dissatisfaction, insignificance, and the emotional ups and downs of childhood.

Games at Twilight | Summary

The story opens with a hot summer afternoon when a group of children is trying to convince their mother to play outside. The children have been indoors all day protected from heat, and now they feel suffocated and confined to a point that they feel they could choke anytime. They beg her to let them go and promise they will play on the verandah and porch. And when the mother opens the bolt, they unleash like “seeds from an unripe pod” with happy yells, too happy to contain their excitement.

The children are finally free from the confinement of four walls, shrieking happily, tumbling pushing each other, ready to play. When they decide to play hide and seek they start fighting roughly over who will be “It”. They are stopped by Mira who suggests they play a game to decide who will become “It”. The game decides the elder boy “Raghu” is “It”. The kids run here and there to find places to hide. Raghu quickly spots a younger boy, Manu who is uncertain of a suitable hiding place. Another younger boy, Ravi hides in a locked garage. He panics when he hears Manu is caught. As he feels Raghu coming closer with his thumping feet, he slips through the small gap and hides in the abandoned shed.

He is proud of his hiding tactic but also afraid of that dark place. The shed is damp, full of junk, and smells like death, infested with rats and insects. Raghu could not find him hiding there which fills his heart with joy and pride. He feels once in a while, a snake might be crawling over him or other infested insects are watching him. This makes him terrified but he is relieved when he hears Raghu’s voice again when Raghu hits the wall with his stick. Raghu walks around calling names and spotting other children. Ravi feels a tickle on his neck and is afraid to look at it, but gathers his courage and squashes the spider crawling on him. Ravi is gradually accustomed to the darkness and can see the discarded pieces of furniture in the shed. His legs grow tired of standing for so long and he decides to sit in a bathtub. He wonders if it would not be good if he is caught by Raghu and gets to join his brothers, sisters, and cousins. He hears screams and sobs from the bushes of his cousins who are caught, which fade eventually.

Ravi starts to imagine his victory, of being the last who isn’t caught, winning over all the other children. He dreams about being the champion he has never been before and imagines his triumph when he gets out of the shed.

The evening brings darkness and Ravi loses track of time dreaming about his victory and later realizing that he has been there for hours. He can hear the voices of his cousins singing, and laughing but is unable to apprehend what happened to the game they were playing. He cannot understand how the game can be over if he isn’t found yet.

Ravi realizes he could have slipped out and run to the verandah and touched the ” den” to claim his victory. But he was so much engrossed with the idea of winning that he forgot it was necessary to touch the “den” to win. He gets out of the shed and runs towards the “den”. He is flooded with tears when he touches it, as he declares his success.

The children stop chanting and stare at him with shock and amazement. Their mother takes hold of Ravi, worriedly asking him if he has hurt himself. He gets out of her grasp gets into the middle of the group and declares his success again. The children had completely forgotten about him and even the game and moved to other games and activities like eating mulberries, helping the driver wash the car when their father returned home, and helping the gardener water the beds.

Now they are playing another game where two children make a tunnel out of their hands and other children duck under it as they sing a song about being remembered when they are dead. The children were so busy with themselves that they forgot his existence which hurts Ravi as he stands there speechless. His cousins tell him not to act like a fool and stop crying and join them. He could not bear their ignorance and didn’t respond to them. He lays his face down on the damp grass, crushing his face into it, no longer crying but silenced by the shock of his negligibility in the group.

Games at Twilight | Analysis

The story shows a group of cousins who are desperate to go outside to play on a hot afternoon. Confined in their own house and suffocated, they try to convince their mother to let them go, making a condition that they will play on the porch. They are allowed to go out because the mother thinks the verandah is the safest place for them and she could keep an eye.

They decide to play hide and seek and soon get into a fight over who will be ” It”. This shows the chaotic and playful experiences of one’s childhood. Mira acts as the “mother” of the group and breaks the fight resolving how to decide who becomes “It”. They all disperse to find places to hide.

The story begins with a third-person narrative but as it moves forward gradually, the narrative shifts to the central character, Ravi. Manu, a younger child, is caught first by Raghu who is the “It”. And the incidents that occur after Manu is caught are presented through Ravi’s point of view. The game now focuses only on Raghu and Ravi. Raghu is the seeker and Ravi is the hider. He hides in an abandoned shed, dreaming of being the champion because he has never been one in the games that he and his cousins play.

He loses track of time rejoicing in his imaginary victory. He later realizes at twilight that he has been hiding for a while and needs to touch the verandah or “den” to be the winner. Ravi first doesn’t understand what happened to the game, if it is over, and how, if he isn’t found yet. Ravi comes out of the shed only to touch the “den” and claim as the winner but he realizes he has won the game at the cost that his cousins have forgotten about him and moved on to various other games and activities.

The story talks about the rollercoaster of emotions a young child goes through. When the mother lets down the bolt of the door the children are filled with excitement and joy because they can finally play. The children are giggling, shrieking with joy with the idea that they are going to start games. Ravi is equally anxious and happy to hide in the shed. He does not like the shed, he feels he is being watched by animals and insects who seek shelter in the shed. It smells of death. But he holds on to the place because he wants to win, and claim his victory over his cousins but ends up being disappointed. His cousins make him feel foolish and trivial. He withdraws himself from his cousins physically and emotionally when he is asked to join them in the funeral game and just lies on the grass. This shows how his cousins do not pay any importance to him because they just forget his existence until he appears out of the shed himself. They did not look for him and just went on playing and indulging in various other activities. This behavior of his cousins made him withdraw from them. The child who was happy to be involved in the hide-and-seek game and took it seriously realized he was never considered a part of his cousins’ group. His presence as well as absence didn’t matter.

It was his mother who was worried about him. But Ravi was just concerned about winning and claiming victory over his brothers and sisters because he expected with his victory he would be praised, admired, and cheered by his cousins.

The story shows the idea of childhood ups and downs and disillusionment through the central character Ravi. Ravi’s principal priority is to be the winner of the game and defeat his cousins, especially Raghu, who is the seeker. His hiding in the garage and shed shows his power of will and urge to win and get the glory because even if he is afraid of the dark place he hides there to win. He becomes confident he will be successful when he is not caught by Raghu for hours. But in the end, his victory is never praised, his existence forgotten and he is treated insignificantly. He wanted to be noticed by his cousins and treated with importance but the ending crushed his innocence partly and left him disheartened and disappointed. A chaotic hide-and-seek game turns into an unforgettable bitter experience for Ravi.

Games at Twilight | Narrative Technique

“Games at Twilight” is narrated by a third-person narrator. The narrator is absent in the story but is aware of the thoughts and feelings of the characters. The narrator introduces the emotional experiences of childhood through the psyche of Ravi. The third-person narrative only limits Ravi and his thoughts as the story develops.

The story begins by describing the children as a group and providing a general idea of their present situation.

“They had had their tea, they had been washed and had their hair brushed..”

Later the narrative is limited to Ravi, “Ravi shook, then shivered with delight, with self-congratulation. Also with fear. “, “Ravi stood frozen inside the shed. Then he shivered all over.”

“Could he hear the children’s voices? It seemed to him that he could. It seemed to him that he could hear them chanting, singing, laughing. But what about the game? What had happened? Could it be over? How could it be when he was still not found? “

Anita Desai uses both aggressive and didactic tones. She uses a didactic tone towards the end of the story when he introduces to the readers the bitter life experience of Ravi. She uses an aggressive tone to make the readers aware of the harsh reality and to help the readers understand the pain of Ravi.

Games at Twilight | Themes 

Childhood

The story is introduced in the scorching heat atmosphere of a summer afternoon. The story, in the beginning, has in its center a group of cousins. The children are begging their mother to let them play outside when they are not allowed because it is too hot outside.

The typical childhood image of summer vacation with cousins is the main idea of the story. Some tend to be bossy like Raghu because they are the elder ones some are motherly like Mira and some lack self-esteem and importance like Manu and Ravi. The ups and downs of childhood are introduced through the story.

All the cousins are happy when freed to play. They discuss, giggle, and shriek with extreme joy and excitement but towards the end, the downs of childhood are shown through the character of Ravi. He wants to be noticed, admired, and praised by his cousins and he thinks when he wins the game he will be adored by them but to his disappointment, the children have forgotten about him and shifted to different activities and games. He does not take it very well, and his sadness and disappointment are quite evident in his actions.

Insignificance 

Ravi wanted to be noticed by his cousins, and admired by them, and he felt by winning the game he could be praised by them. He dreams of celebrating his victory when he wins the game which shows how important a game as simple as hide and seek was for him. Manu is caught in the game first. Ravi escapes Raghu as he hides in an isolated shed and is happy when not caught by Raghu for a while. He is afraid of the dark and is skeptical that he is being watched by insects and animals but stays in hiding because of his fantasies of glory and being considered special by winning. He imagines that he has beaten Raghu in the game which fills his heart with extreme joy. His dreams about winning more and more as he hears Raghu spot other of his cousins. The simple game of hide and seek makes him explain what achievement is for him.

A simple achievement he believes will make others admire him. His dreams shatter when he bursts out of the shed and touches the “den” claiming victory. He realizes the children are not playing hide and seek anymore. Further, they have completely forgotten about him. They have shifted to various other activities and did not care to look for him. He is deeply affected by it. He senses they are playing a game of funeral and claims he wanted victory and praise and not a funeral. The funeral game represents the death of Ravi’s hope and dreams. The actions of his cousins prove his insignificance in the group. His fantasies are crushed by the realization of his irrelevance among his brothers and sisters.

Fear and safety

The central character, Ravi shifts between safety and fear throughout the story. As he hides in the shed he imagines how nice it would be if Raghu spots him and he gets to play with his brothers and sisters at the same time, he is afraid of the place he hides in. The shed is dark, smells of death, and is home to various infested insects like spiders, anthills animals rats, and dogs. He feels once in a while a snake is crawling over him. These two surroundings are completely different for Ravi as his playing with his cousins is familiar to him and he feels safe. The spooky place becomes a fearful place for Ravi because he isn’t familiar with such a dirty place. He talks about his experience when he was once locked in his wardrobe but it smelled of laundry, starch, and something familiar, the wardrobe smelled of his mother.

The spooky place instills fear in him as he isn’t aware of the dirty dark place and what could be living inside. This shows how Ravi is afraid of things that he imagines can exist. He squashes the spider with his hand, and this implies he isn’t afraid of any particular thing but is afraid of being unaware of what could hurt him. It takes him a while to muster the courage to look at what is tickling his neck but retreats immediately when he feels it is a spider. Raghu serves as a safety for Ravi because he feels “protected” when he hears Raghu’s voice in that unknown place. Ravi feels familiarity stands with safety. The idea of safety is presented through the mother’s preference for the Verandah. She associates the place with safety. This shows how fear arises from being unaware of the unknown, while safety is related to anything that is known or familiar.

Games at Twilight | Characters

Ravi

Ravi is the central character of the story. He is one of the younger members of the family who picked his nose panicking that Raghu will find him. Ravi is afraid that he isn’t tall or doesn’t have long legs like Raghu’s and doesn’t stand any chance of escaping Raghu. Ravi wants to be like Raghu. When Ravi finds out how fast he is with switching his place of hiding and quick thinking he self-congratulates. He begins to desire to win over Raghu and everyone else in the group. He is so engrossed in his imagination that he forgets it has been hours he has been hiding and he needs to touch the “den” to claim his triumph. And with his dreaming, he overcomes his fear of the dark and spooky place. When he runs to the verandah to touch the “den”, he bawls, and tears roll down his cheeks because he thinks he has won. But soon realizes his victory has no value because his cousins have shifted to different games and have long forgotten about hide and seek. His dreams are crumpled by the reality of his insignificance.

Raghu

Raghu is introduced to the readers first as the “It” in the hide-and-seek game. He is described as “that hirsute, hoarse-voiced football champion” with “long, hefty, hairy footballer legs”. He seems like a bully because of the way he behaves with a younger child, Manu.

This gives the idea that he is dominant in the group being old and athletic. He chases Manu immediately after counting to 100 and walks around looking for ” prey” whistling spiritedly to intimidate other children. He quickly spots other children who are in hiding and Ravi trembles with fear to the point he swallows a ” small ball of snot in his fear”. Ravi imagines his victory over being the last one who is not caught and fantasizes about the wholesome feeling. at the end of the story even though Ravi wins, he is not given the deserving praise or importance because the cousins have already moved on to other games. Ravi is asked not to be a fool and pushed aside by Raghu who takes the essence of his accomplishment.

Games at Twilight | Literary Devices

Irony

Anita Desai employs irony in the story through Ravi’s situation. The central character, Ravi wins the game of hide and seek but at the cost that he is lost and forgotten from the memory of his cousins. He stays in such a spooky, dark, and terrifying place for hours without realizing it, and remembers he has to touch the den to be announced as the winner. He is skeptical about what happened to the game and how it has ended if it has because he is not caught yet. But finds out the truth only when he goes out and touches the “den”. He realizes his insignificance in the group when he claims his victory. The victory means nothing because the hide-and-seek game ended long ago and the cousins are now playing a different game. They have eaten mulberries’ washed their father’s car, and helped the gardener too which implies the duration of his missing from the group. No one cared enough to look for him and when they see him crying ask him not to act like a “fool” and rejoin them. They disregard his feelings. His triumph is irrelevant. The place he considered to be the reason for his victory becomes the reason for his defeat.

Symbolism is presented in the story by using the Verandah, the shed, and the funeral game as symbols. The verandah symbolizes safety which is the children’s place for playing and their mother allows them to go out only with the condition that they will play on the verandah. The verandah is familiar to the children as well as the mother because it is near their home. The shed instills a sense of fear because of is an unfamiliar spooky and dark place and Ravi is unaware of animals and insects that could be living there. This place inspires a sense of being unsafe and being watched by unknown beings.

The funeral game is seen toward the end of the story. Ravi sees the children playing the game where two children create a tunnel out of their hands and the remaining kids duck under it as they sing a song about being remembered after their death. This funeral game implies the death of Ravi’s dreams and hopes as he lies down on the damp grass with his face on it scorned by the way he is treated.

Imagery is shown by implying sunset through the lines “It grew darker in the shed as the light at the door grew softer, fuzzier, turned to a kind of crumbling yellow pollen that turned to yellow fur, blue fur, gray fur. Evening. Twilight. The sound of water gushing, falling. “

Games at Twilight | Title of the story

The word twilight implies light from the sky denoting both light and darkness. The title reflects the thin line between both light and darkness indicating the thin line between reality and fantasy. Ravi dreams of winning over all of his cousins while hiding in the shed at noon but meets with reality when he touches the verandah in the evening. Ravi is hit with the reality of his insignificance at the end of the day. He falls from his web of fantasies with the realization that his victory means nothing.

About the Author

Three times Booker Prize nominee, Anita Desai is an Indian novelist born to a German immigrant mother and an Indian father. She is popular for her writings such as “Clear Light of Day”, “In Custody”, and “Cry, The Peacock”. She has received awards like Sahitya Akademi Award and Guardian Prize and appreciation for her writing ” Fire On the Mountain”, and ” The Village by the Sea”. Many of her writings are adapted into movies and she is known for using imagery, symbols, and flashbacks the most in her writings.