Five Point Someone
Character analysis of Prof. Cherian. from Five Point Someone
In many ways, Prof. Cherian is the antagonist in the novel Five Point Someone. Though he is just the head of the Mechanical Department and is fairly old, students are extremely scared of him. He does not take any lectures for first and second-year students but all undergraduates dread being seen or called by him. Hari falls in love with Prof. Cherian’s daughter Neha and this adds to his miseries at IIT.
Neha tells Hari that Cherian was a full 10 even when in school. He has always been an extremely meritorious student. He is, undoubtedly, one of the most reputed professors at the college. Prof. Cherian is a no-nonsense, firm teacher and does not allow mischief in his class.
On the other hand, as a father, Cherian has clearly disappointed his children. The novel tells us that it was his behavior that instigated his son, Samir, to commit suicide. Prof Cherian had wanted his son to get into IIT, but that did not happen. Despite his honest efforts, Samir was not able to crack the entrance exams. Disheartened and exhausted, Cherian’s only son took his life. Cherian does not know the truth till the very end in the novel. He breaks down while reading his son’s suicide note which was with Neha all these years.
Cherian is also very protective about his daughter. He wants her to grow up into a good girl. In her letter to her brother, Neha writes about how Cherian had called cops when a man had whistled at her, and also had changed the home phone number when a male classmate had called for notes. Cherian almost bursts at Hari when he find him fooling around with his daughter.
In the latter part of the novel, especially once Cherian is confronted with the truth about his son, we see the character changing profoundly. His last speech on the Convocation Day shows how he has started looking at things differently. He forgives the boys in the end and helps them to fetch extra credits by allowing them to work in the lab with Prof. Veera.
Prof. Cherian is a typical academician who has high regard for discipline, is also a strict father to his daughter, wants his son to qualify in prestigious exams and works round the clock to fulfill the duties of his office. How the plight of his son changes him as a person is convincingly brought about in the novel. His silent “Thank You” to Hari in the novel shows that the old man has started liking the boy and is grateful to him for things that go beyond their college association. Prof. Cherian’s transition in the novel is a pleasant ending to the story.
Authored by VedicaBloggers
Read about Hari and other literary characters on https://vedicabeginners.blogspot.in/
