HSEB English- Magic of Words: 11

A complete package for 11 english

The Recurring Dream

A story from England

                The story starts with a description of Kimberly Clark, the protagonist of the story, who is twenty five yeas old with all qualities of a normal young woman. She is pretty, she loves to dance, and she has many friends and a good position in the office of a large company. Despite these all, she has a problem. She has been troubled by a strange and mysterious dream that haunts her every night.

                The strange dream always begins on a country road. Kim stands on this road and sees a lane with a white fence and a hedge on each side. At the end of the lane, on the top of a little hill, she sees a small white cottage with green shutters. Then she walks up the lane to the house, goes in and looks around. In one of the rooms, she finds a man asleep in bed. He is a little old man with white hair and a white heard. When she comes near his bed, the man wakes up. Then he sits up and looks at her. When she tries to speak to him, she wakes up. She is very surprised troubled by the dream because she has never known any little old man like that and neither the place.

                Kim’s roommate knows everything. So, one day she proposes Kim to visit her (Janet’s) parents’ farm house to feel peace in mind. As they pass through a country road, Kim sees the similar scene which she sees in her dream. They stop there. Janet does not want Kim to go and see the small cottage but Kim goes.

                The house was exactly the same, except for a sign in front of the house which said ‘FOR SALE’. Unlike her dream, Kim goes to the door of the house and knocks and to her surprise the same old man answers the door who immediately closes the door. After Kim’s request, he opens the door. Kim again asks why the house is for sale. The old man reveals that the house is haunted by a ghost. Kim tries hard to think to say something instead asks who the ghost is. The old man gets surprised and shocks her by replying that she herself is the ghost.

The Lost Doll

A story from Colombia, South America

                The only child of Roberto and Rosa Soto was Maria del Carmen. She was beautiful. She was bright, kind, and loving but she was always sick. By the time she turned four, she was very weak and died a few days later. After Carmen’s death, Rosa gave away Carmen’s things to the local priest of the other village because the doctor had said that they would not have next child. However, Roberto had hope. Rosa thought that it was only a false hope.

                As Roberto was looking out to the backyard where Carmen often played, he remembered a little doll which Carmen used to play with. It was not given to the priest and was in Carmen’s hand when she died. Rosa also did not know about it and neither did Roberto. They looked everywhere and asked friends, the neighboring children, and even the undertaker but nobody knew about the lost doll. So, they forgot it.

                On the first anniversary of the death of Carmen, Rosa gave birth to another baby girl proving that the doctor was wrong. The baby girl was baptized ‘Evangelina’ that meant ‘good news’. She was same as Carmen in appearance, action, and characters. The big difference was that Evangelina was healthy. The priest even thought that God took their sick child, healed her, and gave her back to them.

                One day when Evangelina was four, she said that she had been sick long ago. She even told to her aunt who was from Bogata. They did not give more attention to her thinking because she knew about Carmen by learning from her parents. During their  conversation, Evangelina said that she knew about the doll. She took her mother and her aunt into the backyard and asked her mother to dig up hard, strong ground next to the tree. To their surprise, they found the lost doll under the ground.

                Evangelina said that when she was sick, the priest came and prayed. Then she went to sleep but a real nice man woke her up. He did not let her take her doll with her. She wanted to bury the doll in the yard. So, he helped her put it under the ground without a shovel. Rosa was speechless.

The House Call

 A story from Germany

The story took place on 26th December, 1903 in Berlin, Germany. The famous German surgeon, Dr. Emil Braun, was sitting alone in the dining room of his apartment trying to write notes about the surgery while having his dinner. Soon he dozed off but woke up when he heard the doorbell ring. He heard a child talking about her sick mother to Mrs. Braun. He went to the door and saw in the semidarkness a little girl of perhaps six or seven who was wearing a cotton dress and shabby shoes. Over her head, she had a ragged shawl which she was holding together at the neck. The doctor felt sympathy for the child and her sick mother and became ready to go with her.

                It was raining lightly outside as the doctor walked down the steps to the street but the girl was already almost a block up the street, waiting for him. She walked too fast, however. Stopping only for a moment at each corner to make sure he saw where she was going. The girl led the doctor through the poorest part of Berlin, the section of the city around the hospital where Dr. Braun was head surgeon. Finally they reached an old tenement house where the girl’s mother was living. The doctor climbed up stairs up to the fifth storey. As the doctor entered the room, he heard the door close softly behind him.

                The woman was lying in the bed. The doctor recognized her as a person who at one time worked as the maintenance staff at the hospital.  She was suffering from pneumonia. When the doctor talked about the girl, daughter of the woman, Elda said that her daughter, Adelheid, had died of the flu in September just three days after her seventh birthday.

                The doctor was surprised. The little girl was not there. Elda told that she had kept Heide’s shoes and shawl to remind her of Heide. The doctor got up and looked. He saw the same ragged shawl on a hook and a pair of shabby shoes on the floor. As he looked closely he found them wet. Elda said that she had been thinking about him earlier that night hoping and praying for him. As she was talking she felt asleep. Then, touching her feverish head once more, he took his black bag, stepped out into the dark hallway, and closed the door.

Describe Dr. Braun

= Dr. Braun, in the story “The House Call” was 67 years old. He was a famous surgeon who performed difficult surgical operations or supervised them. Though he was old, he was active. He worked for long hours and even wrote notes about his activity in the evening.

He was kind and performed his duty under any circumstances. When a little girl came to call him to her home for the treatment of her mother, he was ready. Though it was night time and was raining, he followed her to her house.

Fear

A story from Puebla, Mexico.

Though the story Fear is from the unit of the supernatural stories, it is not a supernatural story. In fact, it is a psychological story. It’s a thriller / suspenseful story based on human fear of a nervous man. This story also shows how a man behaves in a state of panic and nervousness.

                The main character of the story is Armando Gonzalez. He was a man who had to look after a big family of nine members. However, he had a dream. It was a common dream to have a house of his own. With this aim, he had saved 50,000 pesos since the last many years (20 years).

On that very day, he went to the bank to withdraw 50,000 pesos because he had seen a house within that limit. The deal was finalized and he had to do the payment. He was very careful from the beginning. The bank was slightly crowded that day and he did not like it. In his turn, the bank accountant started to count the money loudly which Armando did not like. He feared other people would know that he was carrying a heavy amount and anybody could loot him.

                He caught a bus to go home. There he met a man whom he had already seen in the bank. Not only that he had dashed against him and he had given a double look at Armando Gonzalez. Here, he found the same man getting on the same bus. Now, there was no doubt to Armando that man intended to rob him. Everybody in the bus was looking at him only because he was putting his hat backwards. But, what Armando thought was that they were looking at him because they had the knowledge that he was carrying 50,000 pesos. He started to see a thief on each face. This increased his nervousness all the more.

                After some time, he found that the man was talking to three other boys. He thought that they were making secret plans to loot him. This heightened his nervousness and he made a plan to get off the bus at next stop and to take another bus from there and he did accordingly.

                Suddenly, he also saw that the same three boys had got off there. Now, it was sure to Armando that it was a part of the robbery. Now, he was panic stricken. He started to run shouting for help. The three boys also started to run after him only with the intention to help him. But, there was no limit to Armando’s fear and he was running as fast as he could. Suddenly, his feet got entangled with some thing and he fell down. Before he got up, the three boys came up to him. Armando started to implore / beg / plead them not to rob him. They were also surprised at it and they said that they were not intending to loot him. Rather they were students and they were there for a football tournament and that they were running after him because he was shouting for help.

                Now, his fear is gone and he got up and put his cap on and this time he put it rightly. At this time, all the four walked up slowly back to the street.

The Loving Mother

 A Story from the Island of Hokkaido, Japan

Mr Shoji Sakota was a pharmacist in the city of Sappora on Hokkaido Island in northern Japan. He used to have his own drug store in the same building, where he used to live. He used to live alone in the rear part of the building because his wife had died several years earlier.

One stormy winter night in 1964, he was working in his room at about mid night. As it was the end of the fiscal / financial year, he was very busy with the profit, loss and the accounts of the whole year. At that time, there was a knock at his door. At first, he avoided it. But the knocking persisted or repeated. At last, he opened the door thinking that somebody might have come for some very important medicine. It was a woman who wanted an ame (Japanese candy used for pacifying young children) on a stick for her baby. Mr Sakota was quite surprised at it because the lady was buying sweet at that time of night. He was very much moved or surprised by the appearance of the lady. She was so strange that her hair was disheveled / messy / uncombed / untidy and her eyes were quite strange.

In short, she looked a lady from another world. The lady went from there but somehow or other Mr Sakota could not forget her appearance and at last he left working and went to the bed. On the next night, the same woman came and both the times she asked for an ame. Mr Sakota was all the more worried. He had a friend with whom he shared his worries. The friend was a photographer. So, they planned to snap the lady if she came the next time or next night.

The next night also, the lady came at the same time and with the same demand. The photographer friend was hiding in the shop and he snapped the lady from different angles. But, when the photographs came, they were quite surprised to find that all articles were present in the photograph but not the lady. Then the two friends decided to follow her the next time if she came.

The next night also, the lady arrived at the same time and asked for an ame. When she left the shop, the two friends followed her quietly.

Finally, they reached to a room in an old building. In the room, they found a baby sucking or licking an ame and the woman appeared to be sleeping there in the bed. When they tried to wake up the lady, they realized that she was dead and they felt that she had been dead for several days.

The conclusion is that after her death the lady’s soul was worried about the child. She not only wanted to arrange for food for her child but she also wanted someone to come and know that she had been dead and her child was in a helpless situation. She had selected Mr Sakota for this. 

Describe the woman who visited Mr Sakota’s pharmacy at night.

As Mr Sakota was working with his accounts at about midnight, there was a knock at his door. He peeped out and found a lady standing there. Unwillingly, he let her in. She was standing with her head bent down. She was excessively thin and her skin was abnormally light. Her long black hair was disheveled and she was wearing a tattered / ragged Kimono (long Japanese gown). The most mysterious and strange were her eyes. It seemed as if she was not looking at him rather she was looking through him. In short, the mysterious looking woman seemed to be from another world.

My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold

-William Wordsworth

"My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold" is a poem written by a famous nature poet William Wordsworth. In this poem, the poet recollects/remembers an experience of his childhood days and gives his emotion and feelings a meaning. The poet also expresses his love towards nature. He feels great joy when he sees a rainbow in the sky. He used to enjoy a lot when he saw the rainbow in the sky in his childhood. He hopes he will still get pleasure at seeing the rainbow when he becomes old and if such feeling stops in the future he wishes to die.

                According to the poet, child is the father of man because childhood is the beginning of the manhood. In other words, the qualities of the grown up men are all derived from childhood. At last, the poet wishes that his remaining days would be bound by his love to nature.

                A paradox is a statement containing opposite ideas that make it unlikely although it may be true. The above statement is paradoxical in the sense that it contains opposite ideas for normal people. The child cannot be the father; he is the man who can be the father. But, the poet through his statement "The Child is the Father of the Man", wants to say that childhood is the beginning of manhood. The thing we do and feel as children affect the way we feel when we are adults. The poet also wants to say that the present is the result of past.  

Analysis

Written on March 26, 1802 and published in 1807 as an epigraph to "Ode: Intimations of Immortality," this poem addresses the same themes found in "Tintern Abbey" and "Ode; Intimations of Immortality," albeit in a much more concise way. The speaker explains his connection to nature, stating that it has been strong throughout his life. He even goes so far as to say that if he ever loses his connection he would prefer to die.

The seventh line of the poem is the key line: "The Child is father of the Man." This line is often quoted because of its ability to express a complicated idea in so few words. The speaker believes (as explained in more detail in "Tintern Abbey") that children are closer to heaven and God, and through God, nature, because they have recently come from the arms of God. The speaker understands the importance of staying connected to one's own childhood, stating: "I could wish my days to be / Bound each to each by natural piety."

Wordsworth chooses the word "piety" to express the bond he wishes to attain (and maintain) with his childhood self, because it best emphasizes the importance of the bond. His readers would have been accustomed to the idea of piety in the religious sense, and would thus have been able to translate the meaning behind the word to an understanding of the power of the bond Wordsworth hopes to attain.

The format of "My heart leaps up when I behold" gives the poem a somewhat staccato feeling and forces the reader to pause at important points in the poem. For instance, the two short lines of the poem are both quite significant. First, "A rainbow in the sky" harkens back to God's promise to Noah signifying their bond, and foreshadows the speaker's wish to be "Bound...by natural piety." The sixth line, "Or let me die!" shows the strength of the speaker's convictions.

IMPORTANT QUESTION

Explain the paradox in “The child is the father of the man”.

A paradox is a statement that seems to be absurd on contradictory but is or may be true. Generally we think the man is the father of the child because father is the source from which something originates. We know that the role of man is instrumental behind the birth of the child. A child can never produce a man, therefore the statement; “the child is the father of the man” is a paradoxical.

However the poet does not mean that a child can biologically produce a grown up man by the above statement he has expressed his opinion about the natural growth of a human being in which a child always develops into man. A man can never transform into child, child posses a seed like quality a seed develops into an autonomous tree and bears flowers and a fruit according to the seed similarly the man also inherits all the characteristics from its childhood a kind child manifests cruelty in its manhood. Thus, it can be said that “the child is the father of the man”.

 The statement also means present is the outcome of past the statement assured the poet about the continuity of the time and natural beauty. According to which if the rainbow is as beautiful as it was in the past, it will certainly remain equally beautiful in future too.

Speaking of Children

  -Barbara Holland

The essay “Speaking of Children” is an extract from Barbara Holland’s renowned volume Mother’s Day or the View from In Here. In this essay, Holland examines the idea of having more than one child and its effect to the parents. She believes that one child is an appendage but more than one is a way of life. One child is outnumbered and parents can brainwash it, carry it to parties, toss it on the bed with the coats and make it whatever they want. It is usually easy to look after one child. It is a part of their lives. But, plural children are a counter culture in the house. Parents are outnumbered by the children. In other words, parents must accept or do something they do not want but they are compelled to do certain undesired things. They have to buy many toy sets and they can not go to the weekend where they like. They have to move to better schools for their children. They have to be involved in many social converse / talk / discussion. They are pushed backwards. Above all, they have to lose peace and privacy because they are frequently interrupted by their children. Then, there is bitter look in everyone. When there is secrecy, they have to talk in phone from their office. In this way, the children will not let the parents talk peacefully and privately. Even the plural children can become a real danger for a family because many marriages break up in America just due to the children. As a whole, mothers of plural children have no peace in their life. They have to sleep with startling suddenness and finality or determination. So, this essay is against having many children.       

 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

 Does the essay speak in favor or against having many children? Give reasons.

                The writer of this essay is speaking against plural children in family. She suggests that there should be a single child in a family. When there is only one child, it is outnumbered by the parents. In other words, the parents control the child. But if there is more than one child, the children control the parents. It’s not only that. There are many other advantages of a singular child. The parents can brainwash a single child. They can teach the child all sorts of good things including good discipline and good manners. The parents can provide many things to the child. They can buy all types of things that are required to develop the creative faculty of their child.

                With two or more children, there are always problems. The rooms are always dirty with their toys thrown all over. It becomes impossible for the parents to try the telephone or piano. The telephone is always engaged by the children. The keyboards of the telephone or the piano are always dirty. With one child, one may very comfortably attain different parties, make holiday programme and so on. But, with plural children, it is always a counter culture.

                The most important point is that with plural children there remains no privacy between the husband and wife in the house. They do not have enough time to talk to each other. For example, when the writer tries to speak to her husband or when she wants to be alone with him, she can’t do so because they are always interrupted by their children. So, nowadays they telephone each other from their offices. The next important point is that in the families where there are plural children, the guardians almost get no time for the works of their personal development.

                So, when we compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of one child and plural children, certainly there is no doubt that there should be only one child in a family. In the same way, the writer also advocates for one child in a family. 

Look At The Teacup

-Patricia Hampl

“Look At The Teacup” is an essay written by the feminist writer of America, Patricia Hampl. This essay is written in the narrative style which narrates the history of feminism in America. The two major themes of this essay are the relationship between mother and her daughter (the author) and the connection between the past and the present. Both of these themes are represented by the teacup.

In this essay, there are two different stories. The first story is the essayist’s mother’s story. The mother married in 1939 with an American who had been born in Czechoslovakia.  She had bought china cups and plates for her marriage. These cups and plates were made in Czechoslovakia and they are beautiful. In fact, she was very happy in her world of her cups and plates. For her, marriage and the family were the most important things of life. Many years later, she gave these cups to the writer because the writer is her daughter.

The second story in this essay is the story of the Second World War, which also started in 1939. Many things fell that year. Basically, ‘that year’ means the time of war that caused many things to fall, for example, human bodies fell dead in the streets by falling bombs. Countries, cities, industries, and a lot of other things fall. Even Czechoslovakia stopped the production of beautiful teacups. In this period, bombs fell on the innocent women and children. Thus, women in America revolted against the crime and atrocities done on women. They considered the crime as a male oppression and tyranny against women. This is why, women’s liberation movement started. The women of this new generation show their anger by rejecting old traditions. They consider work as the most important thing in a person’s life. So, marriage and family lose their importance because feminists take it as a kind of slavery. Tea cups are no more a symbol of marriage and family life for the writer but they are actually the symbols of the war against women. On the other hand, the essayist’s mother used to emphasize on family. Even the mother wanted her daughter to get married. The essayist thinks past is very important but her mother thinks it is the future that matters.

In this way, ‘the teacup’ in the essay connects the mother, the daughter, the past and the present because it was made in 1939 in Czechoslovakia. We can guess that by giving the teacup, the essayist’s mother intends to give her other things like information about the past, but her mother does not explicitly tell her about the past any more. This means that the only way the daughter can find about her mother is by looking at the teacup.  

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1. Description of the ‘Teacup’:

                The teacup is thin. It is the palest water green. The level of tea in the cup can be measured from outside. It is shinny. There are thin bonds / dividends of gold around the edges of the cup. But, the bands of gold inside the cup have been disappeared by regular use. There is no decoration outside. However, inside the cup, there are flowers. It seems as if someone has scattered / sprinkled / speckled / spotted a bunch / cluster / bouquet. They have fallen all around the inside. Some fell so fast that they have reached the bottom and some were still on the way down. They don’t seem to be pasted but caught while falling. Each is different. Each has different color and each is falling from different heights. 

2. What do you mean by “Many things fell that year”?

Ans: ‘That year’ means the year of 1939, which is the year when Second World War started.  The war caused many things to fall, for example, human bodies fell dead in the streets by falling bombs. The writer has related all the fallings through the design of fallings of flowers of the cup. As the flower seems to fall off the cup, many other things also fell down. “Many things fell that year” also means many things lost their values. For example, in the year 1939, countries, cities, industries, etc. fell. In Europe, many people’s bodies fell after they were killed by bombs and bullets. Bombs and bullets fell on innocent women and children so people’s faith on traditional values has been destroyed. Their belief on marriage has also been fallen. Countries were captured by other enemies. Fallings of bombs and bullets declined the destiny of women. So, with the falling of the different countries, the art, culture, architecture were also destroyed. The morality of the people of that time was also dead.

                The sentence “Many things fell that year” also refers to people falling into marriage and falling onto their marriage beds together. Many people got married in 1939 because they were worried about the war. Men were worried that they could be killed. So, they got married before they were sent away to fight. In this way, many people married that year and after marriage they slept together. That is the falling of bodies in bed and also the falling of virginity of the woman who slept together with their husband for the first time. The writer’s mother also married at that time, so she also lost her virginity. Even the arts of making flowers in the cup fell or came to an end when the country itself destroyed. In this way, many things fell that year.

3. Explain, “The cup is a detail, a small uncharred finger from the mid-century bonfire”.

Ans: The mid-century bonfire indicates the Second World War which lasted from 1939 to 1945. Czechoslovakia where the cup was made was attacked by Germany in 1939. Many things in Czechoslovakia were destroyed, especially by fire. The cup was brought up by the writer’s mother who was married at the time of war. During the war time, a lot of property was destroyed but the cup was not destroyed by a chance so that it was a small uncharred finger. The cup was not burnt and thus it remained uncharred. So, the cup is a detail from that bonfire (war) because it gives us information about Czechoslovakia at the time of its destruction although, many things were destroyed. Now, the cup is the only thing in the hand of the writer to study about her mother, about Czechoslovakia and the past in detail. Many pictures on the cup could show the art and the situation of the country. As many associations are related with this cup, we can get much information through this cup. Thus, the cup is a detailed uncharred finger from the mid-century bonfire.

4. How does Hampl see herself and her mother connected by the teacup?

Ans: Hampl’s mother bought the teacup in 1939. Later, she gave it to her daughter. Hampl reads her mother’s history in the cup. It takes her to her mother’s past and to the country where the cup was made. Because of Second World War, the country and the tradition destroyed. But, this is the cup which reminds Hampl about the country and her mother. By giving the teacup to her daughter, Hampl’s mother also wants to hand over the tradition and culture which her daughter refuses to accept. In this sense, the mother and the daughter both were related with the cup. The mother had brought the teacup in 1939 when she was just married. So, the teacup has sentimental value for mother and so this is important for her. The daughter wants that her mother should give her many other things with some information about the past. In short, we can say that the writer and her mother are connected with the teacup by emotion.

5. What does this essay tell us about marriage? About mother-daughter relationship? About

   the importance of family? About women?

Ans: The mother and daughter disagree in many things. For example, the mother thinks that family is the most important thing but the daughter thinks that the work is the most important thing. The mother gives importance to the society and particularly marriage but the daughter does not believe in marriage. She thinks that a boy and a girl may live together for a long time but marriage is not necessary. She herself had decided not to marry. The writer thinks that past is very important. We can take many lessons of life from the past. But, the mother thinks that future is more important in life and instead of thinking about the past, one should take more care about the future. The daughter likes talking very much because she thinks that it’s by talking that we can share our experiences. But, the mother doesn’t like to talk very much. Anyway, in spite of the differences, the relationship between them is very friendly. They frankly talk and discuss about many things. The mother never tries to force her daughter to accept her views. 

A Worn Path

-Eudora Welty

Subject Matter: This story is about the journey of Phoenix Jackson, who walks many times

                            to a town to bring medicine for her grandson.

Why her name was kept Phoenix?

Ans:       Her name was kept Phoenix because like the Egyptian Phoenix bird whose life time is about 500 years, the lady too was very old and like the bird gets birth in the interval of 500 years, she also goes to town in the particular interval for the medicine.

Character Sketch of Phoenix Jackson:

                i)   African American (Negro)

                ii)  Uneducated

                iii) Speaks wrong English

                iv) She has a grandson who has some defects in the throat so she has to take

                      medicine till his life.

                v)  She knows that her grandson won’t be cured but she hopes he may be and

                      brings medicine.

                vi) Town is very far and she goes with difficult journey.

                vii) She is very poor and on the way she murmurs with herself.

Obstacles on the way of her journey (25th December)

                25th December is Christmas Day; it’s extremely cold day and as she is poor,

          she hasn’t enough warm clothes 

i) On the way to forest, there is big layer of snow so she can’t walk up the hill

   easily but is still walking and reaches on the top of hill.

ii) She also feels difficult to walk down the hill passing from the bushes as

    bushes’ needle caught her gown.

iii) Creek / rivulet with great force of water was a kind of test for her and she

     closed her eyes and crossed the creek walking along the block of wood.

iv) Barbed wire

v) She sees white loose shirt body and gets frightened thinking it as ghost.

vi) Being mentally absent, she fell down into a ditch when she saw a dog

     (unexpected event).

Summary of the story “A Worn Path”

              The story “A Worn Path” is about an old black woman called Phoenix Jackson. She used to live in a village far away from the town. She had no one except a grandson. He was very sick so she had to go to the town at regular intervals to bring medicine for her grandson. The town was very far from her village and the journey was really very difficult.

                This story describes one of her such journeys to the town. On the way, she has to face many obstacles. But, every time she faces the obstacles very boldly and at last, reaches to the town. Her journey starts through the hill. It being December, it was very cold and the path way was covered with snow. She tapped her stick on the snow and continued her journey. She used to talk to herself most of the time and she also talked with all the animals that she met on the way.

                After climbing the hill with a great difficulty, now she had to climb down but by then she got caught by thorny bush with a great labour she freed herself and again continued her journey. After sometimes, she came by a creek. She had to cross it. It was not an easy job. She had to cross it through a log. She took it to be a trial. Very carefully, she crossed the creek. She crossed it through a log even with her eyes closed. She again continued her journey but there was another obstacle waiting her. Now, she had to cross through a barbed wire fence. She crept and crawled through the wire saving herself and her gown. Again, she faced the trouble successfully. Now, she was passing through a corn field. There she saw a scarecrow. At first, she thought it to be a ghost but very boldly, she talked with it. Finally, when she knew that it was scarecrow, she even danced with it. After crossing the corn field as she was going on her way from somewhere, a black dog came before her all of a sudden. She lost her balance and fell down in a ditch there. She raised her hand for help. But, as there was no body around, she silently remained there.

                After sometime, a hunter came there. He took her out from the ditch. While talking, a nickel (five-cent coin) dropped down from the man’s pocket. She stole it with a trick. After sometime, she reached to the town. There she asked a lady to tie her shoe laces. The whole town was decorated with colourful bulbs. But, her eyes were not working properly because it wasn’t a broad day light. But, depending on her senses, she finally reached the medical clinic. There she even forgot why she had been there. She didn’t remember for a short time. However, while talking with the nurse, she remembers her grandson and her purpose of visit. She took the medicine. While she was going from there, she got a nickel as a gift. She said that she would buy a paper toy for her grandson. After that, she left the clinic. 

In Egyptian mythology, the Phoenix was bird of great splendor that every five hundred years consumed itself by five and rose renewed from its own ashes. In what way is Phoenix Jackson like the bird?

Ans: Phoenix is a bird from Egyptian mythology. It’s thought that there is only one Phoenix at a time. It lives up to 500 years and after that it gets itself consumed by fire and rises renewed from its own asses. Here, the main character is Phoenix Jackson. First of all, she is very old. Secondly, she goes to the town at a regular interval to bring medicines for her grandson. This particular interval of time gives her name Phoenix.

How does she feel about stealing the nickel the hunter dropped?

Ans: When Phoenix saw a nickel dropping from the hunter’s pocket, she immediately made a plan to steal it. She sent the man to seek the dog and the moment he turned his face, she picked up the nickel and put it in her apron pocket. While doing so, she didn’t feel comfortable. There was a mixture of regret and wrong doing in her heart. She knew that she committed a crime and she also felt that God was watching her.

How does Phoenix know she is in the doctor’s office?

Ans: As it had become night when she arrived the town, she wasn’t able to see properly. Her weak eyes were unable to find out the proper way. But, she had been to the place several times before, so her legs were quite accustomed to the streets and lanes of the town and depending on her legs she finally came to doctor’s office where there was name plate on the wall and the nurse asked her about the grandson’s situation.   

What happens when Old Phoenix is spoken to by the receptionist and the nurse?

Ans: When Old Phoenix is spoken to by the receptionist, she ignored her and she got senseless and lost her memory. When nurse asked her about her grandson then she became conscious and recollects the purpose of her trip to the town.     

The Three Day Blow 

-Ernest Hemingway

i) Physical Blow: Rain and storm that lasts for three days.

ii) Mental Blow: In Nick’s mind, there was depression or sadness of tragedy between Nick and Marge.

Setting of the story:

                The rain has just stopped. The wind is blowing making the trees bare. There is a village at the top of the hill where the writer locates his main characters drinking and talking. Below the village, the orchard, road, woods and lakes can be seen.

Discuss the “The Three Day Blow” as a dramatic story.

                Characteristics of a Drama

i)     Dialogue            

ii)    No description                

iii)   Setting             

iv)   Balance in the beginning             

v)    Rising action

vi)   Complication    

vii)  Balance in the end         

viii) No description about characters

                Ans: “The Three Day Blow” is a dramatic story. Though it’s a story, we find certain elements of a drama. The story itself is not so grand. It’s simply a story of two friends – Nick and Bill. Once, in a blow, Nick came to Bill’s house to meet him. Bill’s father was not there. He was all alone in the house. So, he became very glad to find Nick with him. The two friends started to drink. While drinking, they started to chat over different topics. They talked about games, books and writers, etc. Thus, from the topic to another, Bill happened to open the topic of Marge, Nick’s former beloved. Nick and Marge had a deep love. But, they had to separate due to Marge’s mother. Nick became very sad at the reference of Marge. But, Bill made him understand and thus Nick’s heart gets lighted.

                In this way, the story ends with the end of ‘Blow’ in outer physical world as well as in the mind of Nick also. The story has been dramatic because of the dramatic elements in it. To begin with, there are two characters Nick and Bill. The whole story is full of dialogues and conversations like a drama. The conversations or dialogues between the main characters Bill and Nick have developed the plot of the story. There’s no description of either the characters or about the events. The readers come to know everything only through the dialogues. Like a drama, there is a setting, that is Bill’s house. Like a drama, we find a balance in the beginning of the story. The two friends are enjoying a drink and chatting. The scene of complication comes when Bill brings the reference of Marge. Nick becomes serious and sentimental. Again, when Bill makes him understand, Nick’s mental blow goes away and again we find a balance in the end of the story. Hence, this style of writing this sort of story makes it to be a dramatic story.

Short Outline of the Story:

                The “The Three Day Blow” is a love story written by Ernest Hemingway. The protagonist of this story is Nick, who has a beloved named Marge. Both are passionately in love but lately, they have quarreled and Nick has sent her away in anger. He feels that it is his mistake so he is very unhappy at present. He is also depressed and dejected because he has lost hope of seeing his beloved again. Thus, a kind of storm is blowing in the psyche of the Nick and he has no sense of peace, silence, and tranquility. In other words, he has become completely restless. For this reason, he goes to meet his friend Bill so as to get relief from his restlessness position.

                Bill lives with his father in a cottage on the hill top. It is autumn season and the weather is wet. Autumn storms have started and at this time, a storm is blowing. It is very cold. When Nick has just reached the cottage, Bill opens the door and comes out. He warmly welcomes Nick inside and they sit down in front of the fire. Luckily, Bill’s father is not at home. They start talking about games and they also start drinking whisky. After that, they talk about the taste of whiskey and drink again and again. Again, they talk about many different things like books, writers, fishing, baseball, drinking, etc. They even talk about their own fathers each time they fill their glasses with whiskey and drink. Ultimately, the drinks heat them and they get quite drunk. To some extent, for a time Nick has forgotten his inner storm of depression and dejection. However, suddenly, Bill speaks about Marge again and praises Nick for breaking the relationship. Quite contrastingly, the storm again starts blowing inside Nick’s mind and he becomes completely impatient and intolerant. On the other hand, Bill does not understand about Nick’s inner thoughts.  He even warns Nick not to go near Marge again because the relationship may start again. This warning and caution becomes a hint for Nick. Now his desperation and hopelessness vanishes and there is again hope for a reunion or reconciliation. In fact, Nick had never thought about this. So, Bill’s warning makes him happy but he does not say anything to Bill. Rather, Nick himself decides to go just to meet Marge after the end of the three-day autumn blow that is considered to be physical blow.       

The Poplar Field

-William Couper

The poem “The Poplar Field” is about natural conservation. Through this poem, he wants to give message that it is not good to chop down trees. But, it’s not only that. It also compares the chopping down of trees to a man’s life and death. From this point of view, this poem is also philosophical.

This poem starts with the description of a forest and the changes that have come after the trees are cut down. With the trees, all the attractions of the place have gone. Neither there is the shade nor there is the sweet music of birds nor is even the wind playing there. Then the poet says that he will die very soon but before his death certainly a new jungle will not take place instead of trees that have cut down. He says that the pleasures of man are not permanent or not long lasting. Rather, they are shorter than the short human life. They finish before a man dies. To sum up, the poet means to say that he used to get maximum amount of pleasure from the poplar trees but his pleasure has been snatched away from him.

Important Question

  1. Consider the poem “The Poplar Field” as a defense of nature conservation.

This poem is a defense of nature conservation. The poet’s message is that trees shouldn’t be cut down recklessly. Trees are very necessary for human beings. They are important natural resources. They shouldn’t be misused. The poet also says that though we can plant trees, but they don’t grow as fast as the trees are being cut down in the present time. So, he says that he can’t see such a jungle being replanted and grown up before his death.

The Nightmare Life Without Fuel

-Isaac Asimov

Nightmare life: traumatic, frightening, terrifying, terrible, dreadful, horrendous, nightmarish life

Suburb: residential area bordering city: a district, especially a residential one, on the edge of a city or large town 

The essay “The Nightmare Life Without Fuel” by Isaac Asimov shows what will life be like when fuel has almost run out. The scene is the United States of America in the future, at a time when fuel has run out. People no longer drive cars, but ride bicycles instead. There are some advantages of not enough fuel like, the air will be cleaner, there will be less crime, mutual protection in crowds, and people will have learnt to live without facilities in a natural way. But, the essay is mainly concerned with the problems caused by the shortage of fuel. The problems are:        i) There will be less light in street and homes.

                                    ii) There will not be even possible luxuries.

                               iii) Because of the difficulty in transportation, it will be hard to go for miles. 

 

1. According to the author, what will be the advantage of the fuel crisis?

Ans: To begin with it should be very clear that there’s no advantage at all of fuel crisis. Still, however, the writer has mentioned some advantages of it. But, they are mentioned ironically.

                The first advantage of fuel crisis is that the air will be cleaner and there will be no air pollution. People will have fewer colds. People will walk freely in the streets and there will be no danger of accidents. The parks will be full. On the top of everything, people will communicate with each other freely and more frequently. There will be fewer crimes and the policemen will be back to their beats.

                On the other hand, there will be peace in the world. Only the United States and the Soviet Union will have some aero planes, ships and tankers. Even these countries will not be able to use such things. People will use things like sweaters, blankets and they will have fresh air in summer. People will complete their daily activities by the evening and will go to beds early at nights.

                There are many disadvantages of fuel crisis. All the scientific progress will come to a stop. The factories will be closed and there will be full unemployment. At the same time, there will be a total lack of different products in the market.

                Due to the lack of transportation, people of one end of the world will die out of hunger whereas there will be food supply in the other part of the world. Similarly, medicines also cannot be sent from one part of the world to another. In those countries where there will be lack of food, thousands of people will suffer from malnutrition and brain damage. All the activities will come to an end. Machines will be replaced by physical labour of human muscles and animals. In short, all the scientific progress will stop and human civilization will go back to the time before the industrial revolution or Stone Age.

2. In Asimov’s essay, what is happening in the rest of the world as America struggles without fuel?

Ans: The writer shows a very dismal picture of the rest of the world as America struggles without fuel. People will be starving in many parts of the world. Perhaps, not more than one in five will have enough to eat. There will be a high rate of infant mortality. Due to the lack of food, there will be many cases of permanent brain damage by under nutrition. So much so, many such people will have to be killed out of mercy.

3. What does the author mean when he says, “the suburbs were born with the auto, live with the auto, and are dying with the auto.”  

Ans: People who live in suburbs have many problems. In one word, we can say that their entire life depends upon autos. For every little thing, may it be food or medicines, books or other commodities, they depend on autos. They carry all these things from the nearby towns by autos. In that case, it will be quite difficult for them to carry the things, particularly food from towns. Otherwise, they will be almost on the verge / threshold / entrance of death.

4. What kinds of serious problems could a fuel shortage cause?

Ans:    i) No normal life      

           ii) No food                                           

          iii) No transportation

          iv) No industries 

           v) No production                

          vi) No employment

         vii) No civilization           

        viii) Malnutrition                 

          ix) Brain damage

           x) No Medicines  

          xi) Difficult to sustain our life

Unchopping a Tree

-W. S. Merwin

Pseudo / False / Fake Directive Essay

Theme: If we cannot unchop the tree then it’s better not to chop the tree.

Short Outline of the essay “Unchopping a Tree”:

 A tree is chopped. Now you have to unchop or join all its parts and place it where it was. To unchop or join the tree, collect leaves, twigs and put them in their own places. If you have not cut down the tree into small pieces, it will not be difficult to join. If the tree is hollow and there are nests, the work will be more difficult. But, you have to put everything in their original order. If this tree has damaged other trees or plants while it was falling, you will have to repair them all. There may be spider’s web in the tree. Try your best to replace it. Can you use the leaf’s living bond to join in order to supply its food? Use fixative like gum to fix parts of the tree and get help of scaffolding / support / framework to stand the tree upright. Mind it you must gather the chips and sawdust. Then, you must return them to their proper places. Oh! How to set the sap flowing? The next day, you remove the scaffolding piece by piece. When you take the last piece out, the tree stand on its own. You can’t believe your eyes. Now you can only wait and watch the tree. 

Central Idea of the essay “Unchopping a Tree”:

In this essay, the writer has shown that it is quite impossible to give a life back to a tree when it is once chopped or cut. One can join the chopped down tree by using different fixatives. He could straighten the broken branches, could erect the trunk. But, he can’t give life to it. Natural unchopping a tree is impossible although it is easy to chop it. Thus, in this essay, the writer suggests the people of the world not to cut down the tree. Most of the lines in the essay are directive. The very first line of the essay goes –“start with the leaves, the small twigs, and the nests that have been shaken, ripped, or broken off by the fall …”.

Is unchopping a tree possible? What does the essay suggest about conservation and against deforestation?

  Ans: To begin with, it should be very clear that unchopping a tree is never possible. Though in the essay “Unchopping a Tree”, the writer has given us instructions or repairing a tree and Unchopping it if a tree is cut down, both the writer and the readers know it very well that this is impossible. So, we can say that this essay has been written in pseudo directive style. As it is clear that unchopping a tree is never possible, the essay has another message. The message is that if we cannot unchop a tree, it is better not to chop down trees. In other words, this essay indirectly suggests us to preserve the environment.

                However, in the surface level, unchopping a tree is possible by using different fixatives. We can fix each and every part of the tree, its leaves, branches, splinters, trunk, and even sawdust, we can stand it upright. But, the thing is that the tree doesn’t become as natural as it was before. We can’t give its life back in any way. So, a deep study of the essay, clarifies that real unchopping a tree is not possible. In this way, by persuading the readers, the writer suggests people not to cut down the trees, but to conserve it.

                In fact, this essay is a strong defense / argument / resistance for nature conservation. We are continuously going on cutting down trees recklessly. The future of this reckless chopping down is very dark. If unchopping was possible, there was no harm in chopping down the trees. But, that is not possible. So, we shouldn’t cut down trees. Thus, this essay is a strong voice against deforestation.

Keeping Things Whole

-Mark Strand

Theme: Being selfish and being unknown that “Unity is Strength’, we all the people divide society into fragments. Fragmentation is against the will of nature because nature is integral form of living organisms.

Outline of the Poem

Mark Strand wants to keep things whole. He does not want any thing to be broken. He thinks when he is in a field; he breaks the wholeness of the field because he takes up space in it. He also thinks himself as a divider of the air but the space is soon refilled when he moves. He argues that we all have reasons for moving. The reason is to keep things whole. So, the poem pleads for wholeness against the usual fragmentation that goes on in life. 

 

Summary of the Poem “Keeping Things Whole”                             

        This poem is composed by Mark Strand who indirectly pleads for wholeness both in personal life and in society. In this regard, the poem is against the fragmentation and alienation in our life.

The poet wants to keep things whole. He does not want anything to be broken or fragmented. He thinks that when he is in a field, he breaks the field because he takes up space in it. The only way to keep the field unbroken and whole is to keep moving. It’s for this reason that he moves always.

This poem has a deeper meaning. He wants to indicate the different fragmentation in our society and in our personal life. He does not want that life should be broken into pieces. It should be taken as a whole. It is only then that the life is successful. For this, our continuous effort is very necessary.

 

Concrete Cat

-Dorthi Charles

The poem “Concrete Cat” is composed by Dorthi Charles merely for the eye but not for the brain and emotions. This unique poem is the physical appearance of cat rather than in words. This poem implies about cat and its catness in action. The ear, eye, mouth, whisker, tail, etc. all have been sketched on the page to denote both abstract and physical meaning. The pun in the cat’s middle stripe is the only place where language aspires towards poetry and becomes figurative. The middle stripe shows stomach part which says much about the human world and human activities. The term ‘mouse’ that is upside down indicates the image of dead mouse.

The poem is very funny and like a puzzle game. A cat can be drawn by connecting lines. Every word is a part or organ of cat. The ears are pointed upward, eyes show sign of wonder and mouth is at the sight of dish. The tail is moving happily. The overall effect of the poem is funny as well as philosophical.

Critical Analysis of the poem “Concrete Cat”:

The poem “Concrete Cat” is an example of concrete poem. It is made for the eye. It is concerned with the physical appearance of the cat but not primarily with ideas or emotions. The capital letters A, Y, U indicate pointed ear, bright eye and tongue of the cat respectively. The space left between the letters in the word tail shows its length. The upside down mouse shows that it is killed. The pun in the cat’s middle stripes or tripes is the only place where language becomes figurative. The poem has reduced language with only ten different words. Thus, it is truly quite an art.  

Oops! How’s That Again?

-Roger Rosenblatt

It’s very natural to commit mistakes.

  Why the examples in essay are given only of great or big persons?

It’s so because the tongue slips are not only done by normal people but also done even by great or big persons of higher status. 

   

        Types of Tongue Slips:

i) Mistranslation: mistake in translation

ii) Spoonerism: The transposition / substitution of sounds to each other: accidental

     verbal error: an accidental transposition of initial consonant sounds or parts of  

     words, especially one that has an amusing result, for example, “half-warmed fish”

     for “half-formed wish”]

iii) Bloopers: Public blunder; spoken wrong in radio, press, etc.

iv) Faux pas: tactless mistake

Why do we laugh?

                i) To discover the hidden motive of the speaker.

                ii) Relief by a change.

Into what groups has Rosenblatt organized his numerous examples of verbal missteps?

                This lesson is concerned with the most natural aspect of human behaviour – the speech mistakes. Such speech mistakes or verbal errors are common features of our daily life. No body can claim that he has not committed any verbal mistake. So, the writer of the present lesson has discussed the topic of verbal errors. The verbal errors are categorized under four headings. They are: mistranslation, spoonerism, bloopers, and faux pas.

                Mistranslation accounts for a great share of verbal errors. Mostly, while trying to translate the things from one language to another such mistakes take place. The writer has given the striking example of the slogan “Come alive with Pepsi”. Some one trying to translate it from English into German language happened to translate as “Come alive out of the grave with Pepsi”. Yet, another person translated it as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”. Similarly, several other examples of mistranslation can be given.

                The next type of verbal error is spoonerism. Spoonerism is the transposition of initial or other sounds of the words by mistake. The writer has given several examples of it. One example is – “You have hissed all my mystery lectures.” “You’ve tested the whole worm and must leave by the first town drain.” In fact, the speaker wanted to say you have missed all my history lectures. In fact, you’ve wasted the whole time and must leave by the first down train”. Another short example is “Our queer old dean (discipline maintaining teacher) instead of saying our dear old queen.

                The next type of verbal mistake is bloopers. “A blooper is a public blunder or an embarrassment mistake. Mostly, such mistakes are made on radio, television or perhaps in public speeches. For example, a radio announcer called “General Foods as General Fools”. Bloopers are the low line of verbal errors. They consist a large number of toilet jokes.

                The last type of verbal error is faux pas. Such mistakes are tactless mistakes. The striking example of such mistake is the welcome of the Indian president by asking who are you? whereas, the man wanted to say how are you?

                This is not the whole about verbal errors. There are lots and lots of them and the more we consider about them, the more we learn about them.

Malini

-Rabindranath Tagore

Characters:

King

Queen

Malini: Hindu Princess

Kemankar: Strict, traditional Brahman who is the leader of Brahmin

Supriya: Very intimate friend of Kemankar

Brahmins

            Subject Matter: Clash between Hinduism and Buddhism

Character Sketch of Supriya:

Ø             Serious role                                                   

Ø             He seems disloyal to his friend Kemankar

Ø             So, he is more betrayer than traitor                

Ø             Doubtful character

Ø             Calm but at the same time bold also              

Ø             Not extremely furious and aggressive

Ø             Meek; humble; modest; gentle                       

Ø             Gullible / trusting / innocent / naïve

Ø             Patience                                                      

Ø             Thoughtful

Ø             Patriotic                                                      

Ø             Kindness

Ø             Sympathetic                                                

Ø             Forgiving Character

Ø             Broad-minded                                              

Ø             World-visioned or cosmopolitan

Ø             Reform-minded                                             

Ø             Uses conscience

Ø             Pragmatic or practical or realistic                  

Ø             Not hot-tempered

Ø             Graceful looks                                            

Ø             Deep-thinking

Ø             Meditative                                              

Ø            Physically: Short built     

                                   Slim

                                   Graceful          

                                   Serious looking   

                                   Sentimental      

                                   Brahmin looks
                                   Moderate clothing  

@ From the very beginning of the novel, Supriya does not intend to banish the innocent girl.

@ He even does not believe that gathering would determine truth and reality.

@ He criticizes those scriptures which fitted their own narrow hearts.

@ He assures Kemankar that his friendship with him is older than the new religion. Anyway,  Supriya deceives his friend Kemankar.

@ Supriya is firm and determined in his action but he only doubts when he begins to debate.

@ As a whole, Supriya performs the role of betrayer because when Kemankar was warning him telling that his heart might be drawn from him by the novelty of the falsehood, at that time, Supriya assured Kemankar that falsehood may be new but their friendship was old.

@ So, Supriya proves himself to be disloyal to his friend Kemankar.

Character Sketch of Kemankar:

Ø     Determined

Ø     Rigid

Ø     Bold

Ø     Self-confident

Ø     Well-built or heavily built

Ø     Dominant voiced

Ø     Stubborn

Ø     Aggressive

Ø     Devoted Hindu

Ø     Commanding : Do or die 

Ø     Devoted to his own religion

Ø     Strong

Ø     Ready to die for his belief

Ø     Active or furious

Ø     Well-versed in holy doctrines        

Ø     Discusses about theology and god with his friend

Ø     Thinks his religion as full proof and doesn’t need any improvement or modification

Ø    Regards that one should not discard the religion of his/her forefathers simply because some new creed or faith or belief or doctrine or dogma seems noble or dignified or righteous

Ø   When Malini becomes able to influence the people of Kashi due to her novelty, he suspects her, and takes it a direct attack on Hinduism. 

Ø     Has a good leading power

Ø    Is not only able to lead the angry crowd for Malini’s banishment but is equally competent to organize army on foreign land

Ø     Thinks that the blood of Kashi is contaminated by the infiltration of new creed

Ø     For this, he is ready to turn from a common man to a commander. Thus, he seems to be a patriot in his own way

Ø    Kemankar is a good friend too but when he finds himself deceived then he takes his friend’s life without any regret as he hurts his belief.

Ø     Kemankar, as a believer, not only takes his friend’s life but is also ready to sacrifice his own life too.

Ø      Like Socrates and Christ, he is also ready to die for his own belief.

Therefore, when the king asks him, what will he do if he excuses him, then he boldly tells that he will complete his incomplete mission, i.e. to uproot the king and the royal family to regain the pure and serene image of Hindus.

Malini was Hindu but she did not like it for the following reasons:

                i) The tradition of sacrificing the animals just in the name of God.

                ii) Traditions being idealistic / impractical / unrealistic

                iii) Brahmins taking Hinduism as wrong way, i.e. Clash about castes, etc.

Supriya’s view: By the muscles, no one can establish religion.  

Analysis of the play Malini:

Malini is a princess of Kashi who follows the path of Buddhism. Brahmins take her acceptance of new religion as a threat to their religion. Infuriated / enraged / furious by it, they protest against her in front of the palace and demanding her banishment. Kemankar, leader of the protester says that woman as a threat is more dangerous than man because she cannot be defeated by arms neither can be overcome through reason because women do not possess it at all. Warning his fellow Protestants not to bow down in front of her beauty, he says:

Friends keep your resolution firm. The woman, as an enemy, is to be dreaded more than all others. For reason is futile against her and forces all ashamed; man’s power gladly surrenders itself to her powerlessness, and she takes shelter in the strongholds of our own hearts.

Supriya, one of the members of their league does not support their demand of banishing a girl. He believes that she is not a threat to their religion. Moreover, to think of saving the religion by banishing an innocent girl is sheer stupidity for him. According to him, hating others in the blindness of religion is not what religion teaches. Therefore, he says:

Of all things the blind certitude /certainty/ assurance of stupidity is hardest to bear. To think of saving your religion by banishing a girl from her home! Let me know what is her offence? Does she not maintain that truth and live are the body and soul of religion? If so, is that not the essence of all creeds / doctrines / faiths?

Amidst their discussion, one Brahmin brings the news that even the king’s army is ready to take their side openly. But, others do not like the idea of using armed force against her but believe that they can defeat her through their faith. Then, they begin their penance and recite sacred verses in order to invoke their goddess in front of the palace. They want to invoke her so that they could destroy Malini through her power. At the same time, the princess appears before them. They mistakenly take her as Goddess herself. They recognize her when she says that she is going to leave the palace. Although people feel annoyed initially, they begin to follow and regard her as Goddess when she expresses her desire to live with them to understand the nature of suffering. Supriya thinks that he has found someone whom he can take as a real God. So, he also decides to follow her. Kemankar is still firm in his decision and tries to persuade Supriya. Kemankar decides to go to foreign land and brings soldiers to fight against her. Supriya also promises to help Kemankar. Ignorant of the changed mind of the villagers, the royal family makes preparation of her banishment. When they come to know the reality, they change their mind. Supriya goes to Malini and holds chat about philosophy and religion. Malini asks help with Supriya saying that she has great responsibility of her followers. So, she needs his guidance in order to lead them to the right path. During the conversation, Supriya discloses the plan of Kemankar. He says :You made me live again in a new world of birth. “Love for all life” was a mere word, waiting from the old time to be made real, - and I saw that truth in you in flesh. My heart cried for my friend, but he was away, out of my reach; then came his letter, in which he wrote that he was coming with a foreign army at his back, to wash away the new faith in blood, and to punish you with death.

King enters into the room at the right moment with the news of Kemankar’s arrest and offers reward to Supriya for his help. It seems that he wants to give the hands of Malini to him. Malini and Supriya want king to forgive Kemankar. Kemankar is brought to their room where he still shows his firm attitude. The conversation between them goes like this:

                King: What punishment do you expect from my hands?

                Kemankar: Death.

                King: But if I pardon you?

                Kemankar: Then I shall [have] time again to complete the work I began.

Kemankar wants to see Supriya as his last wish. He tells him that only God will decide who were right in their act. After saying this, he hits Supriya with his chain and Supriya dies on the spot. Although Kemankar takes life of Supriya with hate, Malini bestows love in return. She reveals the true sense of religion and truth by saying - “Father, forgive Kemankar”.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

What were the Brahmins demanding for?

Ans: Malini was a Hindu Princess but she was much interested in Buddhist religion. She did not like some of the bad aspects of Hindu religion. She particularly did not like the fact that the Brahmins misinterpreted the religion. So, her inclination was towards Buddhist religion. She used to study Buddhist literature and also used to discuss the things with monks. The Brahmins were quite afraid of it. They thought that this would be a great challenge for Hindu religion. So, they wanted Malini to stop taking interest in the Buddhist religion. Otherwise, their demand was to banish her from the country. If the King couldn’t banish his daughter, he should be abdicated. In other words, the Brahmins were demanding the banishment of Malini as she was heretic or revisionist of old religion and if the king wouldn’t banish her then he should leave the throne.

Draw the character sketch of Supriya and show how he is different from Kemankar.

Ans: Kemankar and Supriya were closed friends. They were leading the revolution together. We first meet Supriya with Kemankar when the Brahmins were protesting against Malini. All of a sudden, Malini comes there. The other Brahmins became in her side and Kemankar was left alone. Supriya was with Kemankar. Supriya is a learned man and he is not conservative like his friend. He does not like to prove the supremacy of religion by physical force. He knew that there were many drawbacks of the religion and so we find him in the favour of correcting them. He is very bold because he told all these things to the Brahmins. However, Supriya has certain weakness. His weakness is that he does not have his own standing. Till Kemankar was there, he was influenced by him and when he went in next country, he was influenced by Malini.

                As a whole, Supriya is a nice gentleman. He did not like that there should be bloodshed in the name of religion. So, he showed Kemankar’s letter to the king. He loves his friend so he repeatedly requested the king to forgive Kemankar. He is really genuine because he didn’t become ready to marry Malini.

                Though Kemankar and Supriya are closed friends. There are many differences between the two. First, Kemankar is stricter in determination than Supriya. Kemankar is more conservative. Supriya is liberal. He is ready to accept the drawbacks of his religion and the good things of other’s religion. But, Kemankar is blind to his religion.

Describe the character of Malini.

Ans: Actually, Malini was the image of love. Forgiving was the divine virtue of her. She was mediator and was impressed by Buddhism. She, getting birth in the palace, ignored the gold, dresses and ornaments. She liked serving people rather than living in a palace. She was beautiful and young. Due to her abnormal character, her mother thought her as flame of fire. People thought that she had divine power because when she came in front of the Brahmins they were influenced by her and left their demand except Kemankar. To sum up, Malini was so virtuous that she even asked pardon after Kemankar killed Supriya for his relief.

In the beginning of the play, the king talks about “storm clouds gathering over the king’s house”. What does he refer to?

Ans: The king means that due to the new creed followed by his daughter in his kingdom, the people protested about it and were going to attack the palace by combining with foreign soldiers. The storm clouds mean the danger that was nearly approaching.

What was the revolt against? Against Malini? Against King? Against Buddhism?

Ans: The revolt was against the Buddhism. All the Brahmins were follower of old creed but Malini followed the new creed which was a threat for their religion and demanded her banishment.

Why does Malini ask for her own banishment from the palace?

Ans: Malini thinks that she is born for the people but not for the palace and for king. As people demand for her banishment, she told the king that her banishment must be granted. She opines that she was made for people and for the sake of people; she is even ready to accept her banishment.

The king repeatedly asks Supriya to ask for anything he wished. Why do you think he is so insistent?

Ans: As Supriya had done a great deal of task for his country preventing the bloodshed of armies, Malini in the name of religion by showing the letter of Kemankar. So, king was too much happy having saved his kingdom, his daughter alive and made ready for the attack. Thus, he wanted to give something to Supriya for his deed and he repeatedly asked Supriya to ask something.

The play ends with Malini’s words: “Father, forgive Kemankar”. Do you think the king will forgive Kemankar?

Ans: Kemankar is king’s captive and he’s treason and king asked him what would he do after his relief then he said that he would go forward for the revolt then he wasn’t set free and inside him, there was fire in his heart and he was bold on his revolt. So, king wouldn’t forgive him at first but if Malini would request him repeatedly and if Kemankar would be changed then he might forgive Kemankar.  

The Six Million Dollar Man

-Harold J. Morowitz 

The essayist found:

                i) Human body made up of chemicals

                ii) Chemical’s quantity in our body

                iii) Price of 1 gm of each chemical 

Conclusion of the essayist: He was not cheaper but he was six million trillion man. 

Theme of the essay: Man with emotions, feelings, sensation, love, etc. is the most

                                          expensive  man. Though human body can be talked in terms of

                                          money, human being is priceless. 

Summary of the essay “The Six Million Dollar Man”:

                On his birthday, the writer got a card from his daughter and son in law which stated that the price of human body is only 97 cents. The writer was not satisfied with this definition of human body. So, he himself started to investigate the thing by himself. He consulted a catalogue which contained the names of the different chemicals which make a human body. The prices of the chemicals were written in the catalogue according to per gram. Some chemicals were cheaper whereas some chemicals were really very costly. The writer started his computation. He took his weight and subtracted from 68 % of water portion. He found that his dry weight 24,436 gm and by a further computation, he came to know that he was worth of 6 million dollars.

                He became very glad at this discovery. He had been sad at the information of 97 cents only but by his discovery, he suddenly felt that he was really a rich man. But, again he gave the whole matter a second thought. He thought that the chemicals printed in the card were only crude chemicals. So, they did cost so little. Again, the next difficulty was the price of the refined chemicals. Certainly, human body is not made up of crude chemicals but by the refined chemicals. In that case, his price was certainly not only six million dollar but six billion.

                Again, he was not satisfied and started to think in a new direction. He thought that if at all he bought all the needed chemicals and put them in a bottle and also put the bottle in a fridge and if he shook the bottle he wasn’t going to get a human body from it. Some organism was needed to change the chemicals into bones, flesh, and the other organs of the body. No such method or organism is invented yet. Even if it was invented and even if we could make a human body with the help of chemicals and the machines, the product wouldn’t speak or feel or be angry or love anyone.

                To sum up, though science can make a human body (though it’s not possible yet), science is certainly not going to make a human being. In fact, there is the difference between human body and human being. Human body can be talked in the terms of money but human being is priceless. Indeed, human being is the infinite preciousness. This is the final definition given by the writer.

On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness

-Arthur Guiterman

Message of the poem: We shouldn’t be proud of our achievements because every achievement is temporary. Time is the most valuable wealth and all our earthly greatness /

achievements are useless in comparison with time. Time is the leader which can make a sage the King and the King a sage. So, we shouldn’t be proud of earthly greatness as we have.

Summary of the poem “On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness”:

                The main theme of this poem is that it’s useless to be proud of our earthly greatness and achievements. These things aren’t permanent. The only permanent thing is ‘Time’. Everything else including our earthly greatness and achievements has to bow before time.

                This poem describes what happens to powerful people and animals after they die. It shows how greatness anything is, anyway it continues only for a short time. The poet has presented certain examples, which all prove the same thing. Mastodon tusks are turned to billiard balls, bears are turned into rugs, the sword of great king becomes rusted and the great rulers are turned into statues and busts (half or broken or ruined statue). In the final line, the poet indicates that his own greatness will also be short lived. 

1. Bring out the “vanity” involved in the last couplet.

                Vanity is pride / narcissism / egotism / arrogance in appearance or achievements. The poet is saying that it’s vain or useless to think that we are powerful because we leave nothing behind our death. Similarly, in the last couplet, we find it only to be vanities of the poet because he is putting himself in the same level of great rulers like, Charlemagne and Caesar.

2. What is ironical about the poem?

                Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used to show the opposite of what they appear to mean. In other words, irony is the gap between what the reality is and what it appears to be. This poem is ironical in the sense that it is not about greatness but it is about weakness. Mastodons are not mighty or powerful, bear is not potent but, in fact, their power is short lived. In this way, this poem is ironical.

In Bed

-Joan Didion

Subject Matter: Migraine headache

                                 Personal Example of the writer

                                 About medical information for migraine

Migraine: [extremely bad headache] a recurrent, throbbing, very painful headache,

                   often affecting one side of the head and sometimes accompanied by

                    vomiting or by distinct warning signs including visual disturbances.

Symptoms of Migraine Headache:

                i) Headache is not continuous if it occurs it lasts long.

               ii) Migraine attack occurs almost four to five times in a month.

              iii) Flush (blush or redness) of blood in cerebral / brainy arteries / blood vessels.

              iv) Vision is not clear (temporarily blind)

               v) Mild hallucinations / false sense perceptions / illusion / nightmare

              vi) Gastrointestinal / stomach / digestive / gastric disturbance

             vii) Overpowering fatigue / exhaustion, tiredness, weariness, weakness, lethargy, etc.

            viii) Aphasia / lack of language abilities

              ix) Chilling / sweating

         x) Nausea / sickness of the stomach / the unsettling feeling in the stomach that accompanies the urge to vomit

  

Causes of Migraine Headache Attack:

                i) Stress

                ii) Allergy

                iii) Fatigue

                iv) Abrupt Change in atmosphere

                v) Flashing Light

                vi) Decrease of serotonin (neurotransmitter chemical) in blood

Difference of Headache and Migraine Headache:

                Aura: a distinctive sensation or visual disturbance that may signal the beginning of a migraine headache

   Aura Period: the period in which symptoms are shown.

Common Headache

                                i) It has no symptoms in aura period.

                                ii) It’s not disease and can be cured or treated.

                                iii) It’s not physiological (body’s internal processes)error.

                                iv) It’s not hereditary error.

                                v) Ordinary headache

                                vi) It has no aura period.

                                vii) Pain killer works.

Migraine Headache:

                                i) It has symptoms in aura period of 15 to 20 minutes.

                                ii) It’s disease and can’t be cured.

                                iii) Migraine is a physiological error.

                                iv) Migraine headache is hereditary error.

                                v) Migraine is chemical disturbance in serotonin hormone which is in brain.

                                vi) It has aura period.

                                vii) Pain killer doesn’t work.

The writer has chills, sweating, nausea, debility / weakness in her migraine headache.

Non migraine patients think that the migraine patients are acting in the name of headache. They think that the headache can be cured by taking painkillers but in fact no painkillers act for migraine headache.

Perfectionist: Person who does each work in his or her life perfectly.

Ironically, the writer has said that migraine headache attack gives remedy of stress. 

Summary of the essay “In Bed”:

The essay “In Bed” is an essay about the writer’s experiences with migraine. A migraine is a very painful headache. People who suffer from migraine can have the attacks very often. The writer has migraine attacks three or four times in every month. Sometimes, she even has five times in a month. If she is unable to take drugs in the aura period, she will be able to function perhaps one day in four. She has been a patient of migraine from her childhood. In the beginning, she used to be ashamed of accepting that she was a patient of migraine. She used to think that people would think that she had bad attitudes. But, later on, she came to know that there is nothing to be ashamed of migraine. It’s not a weakness of personality but it’s only a physiological error.

The basic difference between common headache and migraine headache:

Migraines are not like common headaches. There are certain basic differences between the two. In other words, migraine headaches are different from common headache. To begin with migraine headaches are inherited whereas common headaches are not. Thus, common headache is not a disease but migraine is. Migraines have an aura period but common headaches do not have any. Common headache can be cured by taking painkillers but if migraine headache starts, no painkiller can work. But, it can be prevented if drugs are taken in the aura period. Migraines have different symptoms in different people but common headaches don’t have any symptoms. The writer is a patient of migraine because both her grandmothers and both her parents had migraine. Migraine is a physiological error but common headache is not. Migraine is caused by a hormone called serotonin. When the amount of it in the blood falls sharply, migraine headache starts but common headache does not have any such chemistry. Migraines are not cured. They can be prevented by taking drugs in the aura period. But, if once the actual headache starts, it goes on continuously for longer hours. Such headaches are very strong and unpleasant.

What are the misconceptions about migraine by normal people?

The writer complains that people don’t take migraines seriously. There are some misconceptions about migraine, and the writer wants to correct them. Many people think that migraines are imaginary. They think that migraine patients make themselves ill by worrying too much. Some people even think that the migraine patients do not take pain killers and do not try to get relief knowingly. All these are misconceptions. The reality is that migraine is not the result of any wrong thinking. Migraine headaches are severe and intolerable. No pain killer has any effect on the migraine headache. In this reference, she says that it’s good that her husband also is a patient of migraine. This helps them to have a good understanding.

Some doctors talk about migraine personality. This is a type of personality which makes migraines more likely. A migraine patient is likely to be a perfectionist. But, the writer thinks that all the perfectionists are not the migraine patients. The writer herself is not a perfectionist but she’s a migraine patient. It is more important that the cause of migraine is biological. It’s passed from parents to their children.

What intellectual response does she have toward her own migraines?

Joan Didion has learnt to live with migraine because she cannot avoid them. They begin when she is worried about something. She has developed a type of intellectual response towards migraine. When the migraine starts, she goes to bed and lets it happen. She does not fight against it. The migraine is painful but the pain helps her to get rid of all the other anxieties of life. They stop her worrying so much about the other problems of her life. When the migraine has finished, she feels better. She enjoys the beauty of the nature and thinks how lucky she is because she did not die out of the migraine headache. 

..................

This essay has given the example of migraine as an obstacle in human life. As migraine has no cure, obstacles also cannot be prevented. As the writer makes migraine her friend, we should also try to make our every obstacle (that comes in our life) our friend. We should also try to live with obstacles and shouldn't try to avoid it. Then, our obstacles wouldn't be obstacle any more.

The Gardener

-Rudyard Kipling

Characters:

Helen Turrell: Unwed mother; she was quite ashamed of the society as she was pregnant; she lied that she was going France for treatment

Michael Turrell: Son who got birth in France 

Summary of the story “The Gardener”:

When Helen Turrell became pregnant she was ashamed because she was not married. She left her home in England to have the baby in the south of France. When she returned to England, she pretended that the baby was really her brother’s child. The brother, George, lived in India but he had died falling off his horse. This meant that Helen had to look after the child. Helen told other lies. She said that she had to go to the south of France because she was ill. She said the child had been born in India, but had been brought to the south of France by a nurse who had been dismissed when the child became ill, and she also said that she had given the child’s mother some money.

The child was called Michael. Helen didn’t tell him that she was his real mother. She said that she was his aunt, and that he was her nephew. Michael was sent to a private school. At school, he was told that he was born outside mirage /illusion/ vision.

When the First World War began, Michael joined the army. He did not have to do much fighting, but he was killed by an exploding shell that completely buried his body. After the war, Michael was reburied in a huge cemetery in Belgium.

After that, Helen decided to visit the grave of Michael. On her way to cemetery, she met a woman named Mrs Scarsworth, who said that she visited graves for her friends who could not come herself. She took photographs of the graves. Late at night, Mrs Scarsworth came into Helen’s hotel room. She said that she was telling lies. Her real reason for visiting the cemetery was to visit the grave of someone special to her (probably a secret lover).

On the next morning, Helen visited the cemetery. It was huge; there were thousands of black crosses that all looked the same. Helen did not know how she would find her son’s grave. A gardener approached her. Helen said that she was looking for her nephew’s grave. The gardener said he would show her the grave of her son.  

1. What is the real relation between Helen Turrell and Michael?

There is no doubt that the relationship between Helen and Michael is that of mother and son. Helen was the mother of Michael. But, as she was an unwed mother, she was ashamed and so she did not declare it. She only said that Michael was the son of her brother, who had died in India. She also told that she had managed to bring the child from India only to rear him up.

2. What is the truth behind each of the lies Helen tells the village at the beginning of the story? Why does she tell these lies?

Ans: As Helen was an unwed mother, she was ashamed of the fact and she did not tell the truth to her villagers. Rather, she told different lies. Some of the lies told by her are as follows:

            i) She had to go to France for treatment.

           ii) Michael was her nephew and that his father was George Turrell.

          iii) George had died a few days before Michael’s birth.

         iv) Michael was born in India and Helen had given some money to Michael’s mother to get the child.

          v) Michael was brought from India to France by a nurse but as the nurse was careless, Helen had dismissed her.

                The truth behind all these lies was very simple. She herself was Michael’s mother. So, there was no question of either giving any money to Michael’s mother or dismissing any nurse. She had no disease. She hadn’t gone to France for any treatment. She had gone there to give birth to the child.   

 3. How do we know who the gardener really is?

There are many explorations to the question: who the gardener was. Some people say that he was only an employee. Some others say that he was Michael’s father, who was working there only to live by the grave of Michael. He said ‘son’ rather than ‘nephew’ while leading her to the grave.

But, I think that the gardener was Lord Christ himself. I think so only because the write says that there was infinite compassion / endless love in his eyes. No human being can have such an infinite compassion except the God. So, the gardener was Jesus Christ. If it’s so, we can also guess that the Lord had forgiven Helen for her crime.