Innocence or Insanity: A Study of Saadat Hasan Manto’s Virtuous Characters

Indo-Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto is one among the greatest playwrights and Short story writers in South-Asian history. Gifted with the talent of direct language, his name and his short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Since his works expose the harsh realities of inner and outer world, he has been called outspoken critic. No part of human existence and experience remained untouched throughout his works. Personae in his works are innocent,who sometimes are the prostitutes, poor mothers, fathers and lovers, hence arouses sympathy in our hearts. Most of the times, they are taken from the rejected and fallen sections of society. His characters are depicted as the victims of some psychological illness, but inwardly Mantohas been exploring their innocence. The present paper is an attempt to analyze his virtuous characters and their innocence, which is working behind their mental illness. The first thing to be noticed that few of his short stories have been studied for this purpose