Hatak and modernism

So while discussing Hatak in class, ma'am discussed how it was written during the era of modernism and how this is especially apparent in the fractured existence of the character Saughandi. Subscribing to the modernist fascination of form over content, Manto's story begins without any preamble, so that the reader is plunged into the story without any orienting introduction or backstory given. Similarly, the story ends on an ambiguous note, so that the reader isn't given any sense of closure. There is a play with language given how the narrator's voice subsides to Saughandi's own voice later on in the story. Problems of representation and subjectivity also come up with how the female body is treated, the descriptions themselves being very grotesque, but Saughandi's appraisal of her own reflection in the mirror being very favourable. Saughandi's character is in desperate need of stability throughout as well as her indulging in a fantasy life is portrayed as extremely unhealthy and unrealistic.

However, what I found extremely interesting was that, unlike several modern writers of that time, Manto did not portray urbanization or industrialization as having any deadening effects on the character. After being rejected by the Seth sahib in the car, Saughandi's walk on the street where she tries to derive some love and comfort from her surroundings struck me as being very atypical of a modernist writer. Maybe its just a small thing, but its something to think about, that despite writing more or less in the writing style of his age, he did not fully conform or subscribe to it, but came up with a style more uniquely his own.