Rejection and denial of one's situation often hinder improvement. In contrast, acceptance allows for improvement; this is demonstrated by Rukmani, the protagonist of Kamala Markandaya's novel, Nectar in a Sieve, who survives a river of misfortunes by accepting, rather than denying, her situation. When he accepts misfortune as if it had happened, he is able to seek improvement. Through Rukmani's plight and struggles, it is shown that to survive through periods of struggle and difficulty, one must accept one's situation in order to improve from it. When Arjun and Thambi decide to work in the tannery, conflicting with their parents' lives by planning to help cultivate the land, Rukmani quickly accepts their decision, rather than needlessly resist for a prolonged period of time, providing another source of income to help support the family. The positive effects are evident from the subsequent description of the changes resulting directly from the new source of income: “I [Rukmani] was particularly happy not to have been forced to sell all the chillies, for those ar...