Prabu's wedding was a joyous occasion and Lin was a loving and generous friend by giving his friend the deed to his taxi. Instead of the gift it was supposed to be, it became a death certificate for Prabu. At this point Maurizio was dead, as was Prabu, Rasheed and Abdullah.

One thing that struck me when reading this book was the basic theme of "no good deed goes unpunished."

What do you think this means in regards to Lin's world and then, why do you think Lin returned to drugs?

Well, they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions!
Lin seems to enjoy floating around in the ever-present morass of remorse and regret. His reflections are mostly all about what he should have done, or could have done, or didn't do. As if.

As if any of us can or should know every conceivable outcome for each of our actions. If we stopped to consider all that, we'd end up doing nothing. Lin decided pretty early on that India wasn't going to let him not participate; that he couldn't just be an observer there; that he'd have to get off the pavement and into the crowded street filled with humanity. And so he did, with gusto and heart. He showed up time and time again as a player in the lives of the people there. To look back then and say "Oh, that was wrong," or "I should've known," is what I call 'negative ego' ~ where a person feels they're responsible for all the bad stuff that's happened around them and none of the good. For instance, Lin takes no credit for the happiness he gave Prabu along with his gift of the taxi. That sheer happiness, to Prabu, might have been worth the cost of his life ~ who knows?

In the spiritual, dharma-karma, realm you could say Lin showed up in Prabaker's life to bring joy and happiness there, and, in doing so, to ultimately affect its inevitable end.

To beat yourself up the way Lin does would lead anyone into drug addiction!!

Lin called it the everything and nothing drug, it takes everything but the nothing it gives you is what you really want.
Lin needed to escape the pain he was feeling over Prabaker's death but he also wanted to punish himself for providing the means so the drugs provided him with both. And he knew that coming off the drugs would be even more punishment.

Lin was not a religious man and he didn't seem to think fate or destiny was involved so if something happens, good or bad, it is the result of the circumstances and the people involved to set it in motion. I agree with Parlez here who stated that Lin never dwelled on the good that he did or the difference that he made but he was quick to punish himself for any misery or misfortune he thinks he is solely to blame for.

I guess Lin was trying to escape destiny when he returned to the drugs.
He couldn't cope with it. Each time he helps out, bad things happen.
He needed a break.
He definately is having a hard time, despite his passion to do good.

He does need a break...any ideas why Greg would write Lin in such a situation?

To me, the whole drug relapse sequence seemed very personal ~ as though GDR himself wanted (needed) to tell that part of his story. I think Greg's talent for using decriptive words and language makes it only natural that writing about this experience would be very cathartic for him on a personal level. He makes the point clearly, about the downward spiral of self-loathing that leads a person to do hard drugs, and about the escape from reality said drugs offer. But for Lin's character and for the story overall it felt like a detour; like something GDR had possibly already written ahead of time with the idea of putting it somewhere in the book.
Yes, Lin was grieving for the loss of his friends, and yes, he felt responsible for both deaths somehow, and yes, he probably needed a break. But reverting back to heroin use just didn't seem like something Lin would do at that point. I could see him signing up to go to Afghanistan with Khader's 'army', as a way of punishing himself and also escaping the suffering he felt over the deaths, but I couldn't see him being so lame as to head for the nearest opium den.

I found myself contemplating this question throughout the day yesterday and again walking my 72 lb "puppy" this morning. I think it is a sign of a great discussion, Karen, when the participants can't leave it behind as they go throughout their day. :D

Anyway, I find that this whole section definitely shows the human side of Lin. This particular situation reflects situations I have encountered throughout my life. Nothing quite as horrific, of course, but we have all encountered similar situations.

Lin is a very generous person, with his time, his talents, and his money. The gift of the taxi deed was well within "character" for Lin - it was something he could do to help his friend, so he did it.

Soon after, a terrible accident occurs and Prabaker dies. Lin blames himself for the death. It doesn't matter that in all likelihood Prabaker would have been driving the taxi anyway, he just wouldn't have "owned" the taxi. This is human nature - something that many of us do when something bad happens to someone we love. I remember when my grandfather died. He fell walking up the steps at church and hit his head, which at 94 years old is a major injury. My grandmother blamed herself even though they had gone to church together every Sunday for 63 years! "I should have known that it was a bad idea to go to church today." Another situation - I felt guilty when my son fell down the stairs at school and knocked out three teeth. Somehow, it was my fault, and I wasn't even in the building when it happens. GDR does a fantastic job capturing these very human emotions in Lin.

I think that Lin returning to drugs falls under then same human umbrella. Once again, something we all naturally do. The difference between us and Lin is our drug of choice and the amount of time we are willing to invest in the drug. When my sister-in-law was in the heart of her cancer treatments, I watched POTC:COTBP daily for weeks. A "drug" in the normal definition - no, but it was definitely an escape from reality and as such, it was a drug. When I had to put my cat to sleep recently, I had a couple of extra glasses of wine that night (I like a nice glass of red - many evenings I will have one glass - that night I had three and it was a very definite choice - designed to help me go to sleep and escape the sadness) When Lin wanted to escape the sadness, he turned to his drug of choice - the heroin. And he did it to escape the feelings - but also realizing that he would have to withdraw from the drug - also a punishment for his role in Prabaker's death.

And before you ask, Karen :lol: I think this section is a definite keeper for the movie!

Thanks Irish! I think this needs to stay too! I think Greg really worked hard to build an architectural plan to use to tell his story...and this shows what he wanted to say about Lin, that he had human frailties like any reader.

I wondered about the whole taxi-ownership issue too, irish! I thought it would be likely that Prabu would have to drive less, owning his taxi free and clear, not more!
But that's the funny thing about guilt - it doesn't have to make sense, and it usually doesn't!
In thinking more about Lin's relapse into heroin use, it seemed out of character to me because it was so self-indulgent. I saw Lin's personality up to that point as being basically one of self-denial, in an almost sacrificial way. The way he endured physical pain, for example, or stepped up to the plate to serve the slumdwellers, or put himself in harm's way for Khader. He didn't seem like a man who would all of a sudden decide to do something that was so selfish.
It's true, we all have ways of coping during grim times and temporarily escaping emotional suffering. I'm not sure I'd put heroin on anyone's short list though. (!) On Lin's short list might have been a night of charras smoking, or drinking with Didier, or getting on his motorcycle and driving to the beach in Goa. But he didn't choose those; for some reason he decided that nothing would do but a very intentional, very self-absorbed descent into the hell of heroin. That seemed out of character to me.

I have to wonder if indeed Greg chose this drug addiction to highlight other issues? Mybe personal ones? There's always a reason behind the actions of a character...wonder what this one was for Greg?

Maybe Lin ... well, I finally get what you're asking Karen.

OK. Here's another idea into the pot. I think it's a bit of a stretch, but ...
I've learned that any behavior's roots are one of about 4 or 5 causes:
1) Avoidance
2) Tangible
3) Attention
3) Sensory (seeing stars, poking eyes)
4) Psychotic (drug induced)


Lin wants to be happy. Yes?
So he throws his vote into Prabaker's ring by giving him the papers to own the taxi, assisting in other's happiness.

But what he still doesn't realize, and this is what tears him up inside, causing him to take drugs, is that the happiness must come from within himself.

I still think he's avoiding both the reality of Prabakers accident, and his own real internal issues. Hence the drugs. He's ended up burning the candle at both ends.

You said it all very well, Susan.

Hindsight, ain't it great?

The BIG IF is not a place to dwell. Life is so full of tragic ironies.

This segment was especially hard for me to read, harder even than Arthur Road.

Maybe because it came right after the death of Abdullah and Prabaker.

I think it is an intersting point about GDR possibly writing about herion addiction ahead of the actual novel.

As I go back over these, I somehow missed this! Very good points...burning the candle at both ends...

Yes, you have to wonder when and in what context parts of this book came about.