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Unit One : Love And Reminiscence

Grandmother
–
Ra y Y o u n g B e a r
“Grandmother” written by American
-
Indian poet Ray Young Bear is a recollection of poet’s
unfathomable love for his grandmother. The poet draws the picture of his
grandmother
–
allloving, all inspiring- through the use of images.
As a grandson, the poet’s heart is very close to his grandmother. This
poem presents the poets
deep sense of intimacy and closeness to his grandmother even after her
death. He can notforget her. Her images come into his mind as fresh as
before. He could recognize her by allsenses except taste. If the poet would
see her from a long distance, he could easily recognizeher. Her warm and
damp hands with the smell of roots on his head would make him guess
thatthose were her caressing hands. Even the voice coming out of
her tombstone would flow insidehim like a light coming from a sleeping fire
at night. Her words would inspire him and enlightenhis spirit.
Important Questions :
1. What are the four things that Ray Young Bear remembers about his
grandmother? Ans. The things that Ray Young Bear remembers about
his grandmother are her shape, herpurple scarf, warm and damp hands
and her inspiring voice.2. What images do you find in this poem written by
a member of the Sauk and Fox (Mesquaki)Indian tribe of North America?
To what senses do these images appeal? Ans. The poet has used images
to discover two intertwined themes
–
recollection of hisgrandmot
her at one level and search for identity at another level. The images like ‘purple
scarf’,‘plastic shopping bag’, ‘the light … at night ‘ appeal to our sense of sight. These
images alsohave symbolic link to the Indian culture. ‘Plastic shopping bag’ indi
cates the poverty of Indian
tribe. ‘The light …. at night’ associates that the spirituality of Indian culture guides him
in themodern corrupt American society. The images like ‘smell of root’ appeal to our
sense of smell. It
indicates the work ethic of Indian tribe and his grandmother. They are near
to nature and are
good farmers. ‘Warm and damp hands’ appeal to our sense of touch. It also shows
how hisgrandmother and Indian tribes work in fields with pleasure and sense of duty. ‘
A voice’ and ‘herwords’
appeal to our sense of hearing. This indicates how the teachings and
philosophy ofIndian culture enlightens his spirits. Thus by the use of
images, the poet has symbolically linkedhis grandmother to the lost culture
of Indian tribe.
Question for Practice :
What are the four things that Ray Young Bear remembers about his
grandmother?What is the main idea of the poem?
What impression of grandmother does the speaker give in the poem ‘Grandmother’?

About Love
–
Anton Chekhov
“About Love “presents three dimensional love stories. The first love is of Nikanor and
Palegeya,
second is of Alyohin and a Russian girl, and the third Alyohin and a married
women Anna. The

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Love of Luganovich and Anna is one of the third parts. These three stories
are therepresentatives of the three categories of love.The first story is an
example of violent love story. The main character- Nikanor- was
drunkard,and interestingly religious minded. In due course of his stay
in Alyo
lin’s house, he fell in love
with Palegeya. He instated that Palageya married him. Sometime he used
to beat her in hisintoxicated state to prevent herself from her husband. She
used to hide under the bed of Alyohin. Second love-story is the materialistic
love. The lady is concerned with the money only.Every time Alyohin held
her in his arm, she used to ask for a months allowance. Third story,which is
the main story, is the unexpressed love. It presents a sequence of events in
the life of Alyohin and his attraction towards Anna. According to the story,
Alyohin was a student and his father was a farmer. Therefore, his
fatherspent the amount needed for his study at university. Because of it,
he was in debt. To pay debt Alyohin had no options but to return to his farm
and labored hard. However, his desire to livecivilized life continued and to
fulfill it, he stayed up stairs, read a book, and drank liquor but it didnot last
long. One night a priest came and drank the whole of his liquor. From that
day onwardshe stared living downstairs and slept on the sledge (small
hut).Before he was here, he was appointed as honorary judge in town.
During his period, he came incontact with a Luganovich, who surprisingly
invited Alyohin for dinner in his home. When theywere having dinner, he
got an opportunity to see Anna. From the very first sight, he started tolike
her. He found her beautiful, impressive and elegant. Hence, his first
meeting with the ladyreminded an unforgettable event. It was spring when
he met her. In the summer, he was in hisfarm, but the memory of the lady
remained. He desired very much to meet, but could not meetuntil autumn.
In autumn, he went to the town where he met with Anna. She showed her
worryabout Alyohin and expressed wonder at his condition. After the show
was over, he went to Annahouse, talked with her husband, but returned
back as usual without confessing his love for her.
After it he kept on going to her house in his every visit to his town. At
Anna’s house, he was
welcomed cordially and regarded as noble fellow. When he met her, she
played piano with him,talked for hours, but their mind remained
unexpressed. The Luganoviches sometimes requestedhim not to hesitate
in asking for any kind of help. He also did not hesitate in doing so. In
returnhe brought gifts from the village.Days passed in the same ways;
neither had they expressed love. But he started appearing inthe behavior of
Anna. She behaved in mocking (smiling) way with Alyohin-at his fault
sheappreciated him. At last Anna had to go to another place for her mental
treatment. When it was
the time for Anna’s departure, Alyohin entered into the apartment of Anna. There their
eyes met
which resulted in kissing one another, and expressing their love. However,
their reunion did notresult into their marriage. Alyohin got down in the next
station, and there after they did not meet.This story has a frame. In the
beginning the sky is grey and the trees are drenched. Theenvironment is
gloomy. In the end, when the Alyohin unloads his heart about love, the
shiningsun appears, after the rainfall. Alyohin tells this story in between this
frame to his two guests:Burkin and Ivan.
Important Questions :

1. What kinds of love experiences are suggested by Alyohin in “About Love”?

Ans. In “About Love” , three kinds of love experiences are suggested

by Alyohin. The first one is
the love affair between Nikanor and Pelageya. Their love is sensual, often
violent. Though thereis no understanding between them, sexual passion
binds them. Their love is not bound bymarital relation. The second love
affair is between Alyohin and a girl when he was studying inthe university.
Though Alyohin loved her, she thought love as a way to earn money. This
loveaffair can be seen as the ugliest where sex is exchanged with money.
The third love affairbetween Alyohin and Anna Alexeyevna can be termed
as unexpressed love or spiritual love.Their heart meet, but being trapped
by middle class morality, their love remains unexpressed.They sacrifice
their love for more good. Alyohin sacrifices his love because he thinks that
itwould bring disaster in the life of her children, mother and husband.
Similarly, Alexeyevna does
not express her love thinking that she wasn’t young enough to live with him.

2 . S k e t c h t h e Ch a r a c t e r o f A l yo h i n .
Ans. Alyohin, a bachelor and a university graduate, lived in Sofinyo
working labourously in hisfarm. He had to work in his farm to pay the debt
that his father had spent on his education. Hedesired a civilized living of the
upper class but could not afford it. In the past while he was auniversity
student, he fell in love with a girl who only loved his money. Since he was
electedhonorary justice of the peace, he often visited town to take part
in assizes and sessions. Oncehe was invited to the home of Luganovich to
dine. There he met Anna Alexeyevna , aged 22and married to Luganovich.
They fell in love with each other but could not express their love.They
chatted for hours, went to the theatre together but they parted coldly the
next time. Later Anna suffered from nervous prostration and was sent to
Crimea for treatment. During herdeparture, Alyohin had courage to confess
his love and kissed her, but had to part with herforever.
Alyohin’s vision of love is shaped by his own love affai
r. He thinks that when people are in love,they ask whether it is honorable or
dishonorable , sensible or stupid , and what their love willlead to . For him,
this reasoning is the source of dissatisfaction and irritation. He thinks that
loveis a great mystery. When one is in love, one should start love from
higher, without reasoningwhether their love is sin or virtue, or whether it
brings happiness or unhappiness. According tohim to what extent personal
happiness counts in love is uncertain, it differs from person
toperson. Alyohin is like a squirrel in a cage. He is trapped by reason,
middle class morality and poverty.He is a man-of-thought. He fears
to express his love to Anna because he is too much thoughtful
about society’s moral standards. He sacr
ifices his love thinking that his marriage to Anna Alexeyevna would ruin the
lives of her, her children, her mother and her husband. He fears thathe
could not make her happy in his country house.
3 . S k e t c h t h e Ch a r a c t e r o f A n n a A l e xe ye vn a .
Ans. Anna Alexe
yevna is the main female character in the story “About Love”. She is a beautiful
and charming young lady aged twenty-two. She is married to Luganovich,
assistant president ofthe circuit court and aged over forty. Her marriage to
an old man can be seen as the cause ofher suffering. Her sexual urge
cannot be fulfilled by the man double her age. So, she tries to getemotional
fulfillment from Alyohin which later turns into love. She is also trapped
in reason. Shedoes not confess her love to Alyohin though s
he deeply loves him because she fears society’s
moral standards. She also thought that she was not young and energetic
enough for him to

begin a new married life. Later she becomes the victim of nervous
prostration because ofpsychological depression and nervousness.
Question for Practice :
Why did Alyohin and Anna Alexeyevna conceal their love to each other?
Explain, “Love is different in each situation”.

Explain, “Love isn’t confined by marital relationship”.

U n i t O n e : L o ve A n d Re mi n i s c e n c e T h e L a me n t a t i o n o f T h e
Old Pensioner
–
W.B. YeastT h e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
“The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner” written by W.B. Yeats, presents the
speaker’s
reminiscences of his young life which become more painful when he
contrasts his time of youthwith his present old age. He laments on the
passing of his joyful youth.In the past, the speaker was young and he had a
good job. So his friends and lovers followedhim. He was happy to talk
about love and politics. His past life only gives him agony becauseTime has
turned him into ugly, weak and useless old man. Neither his friends nor any
beautiesfollow him. He is envious to see other young people who challenge
any conspiracy and evils.This old man, who is forced away from politics
and love, is still tormented by the passions of hisyouth for women and
conversation. He thinks that his greater enemy is Time because it madehim
old and stole his physical beauty, power and beautiful lovers. Time stole his
youthful vitality,energy and sexual power. He compares his old stage with
the broken tree. Time robbed all hishappiness from him because it
transfigured him into an ugly, powerless, passionless, deformedand lonely
old man. So, he shows his anger against Time and spits on the face of it.
Questions for Practice :
Why does the poet show his anger against time?
Why does the old man want to ‘spit into the face of time’?
Mention any three things the old man laments about. Why is he sad about
them?Why and how does the old pensioner lament?What is the speaker
lamenting on?
U n i t T w o : E c o l o g y a n d C h a n g e T wo L o n g - Te r m P r o b l e ms :
T o o M a n y P e o p l e , T o o Fe w Tr e e s M o t i N i s s a n i
–
Th e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
In the brief essay, Two Long Term Problems: Too Many People, Too Few
Trees, Moti Nissanidiscusses two inter related problems they
are, overpopulation and deforestation. With theirimpact showing several
consequences of the twin problems, the writer makes us aware aboutour
duties to solve them and to save the bio-sphere for our future
generation.Scientist from all over the world express their serious concern
(worry) about present state of bio-sphere as human activities caused very
serious damage on environment and on critical

resources. With the introduction of modern medical facilities, nutrition and sanitation,
the world’s
population started growing more than 80 million per year. In Nepal only, in
less than 50 yearsthe population increases at the rate of 2.5% per year
from 9 million to 25 million. If this alarminggrowth continuous unchecked,
the population of Nepal will be 46 million by 2026 A.D. whichwould be very
difficult for Nepal to accommodate. In order to feed more people, more
forest,lands are destroyed in a very large scale. As a result, soil
erosion, desertification, flood, landslide, tropical diseases, siltation of rivers
anddams and mass migration are increasing. High growth of population
has already polluted ourfood, air, water, rivers, soil, drains and farms. The
chances of cancers and emphysema (lungsdisease) and asthma are far
higher now and we are suffering from pre-mature hearing loss.
Lead and dioxide are causing serious effect on children’s intelligence and health. The
wo
rld hasalready faced frightening problems such as desertification, acid rain,
loss of wild species ofplants and animals, ozone layer depletion and green
house effect because of human causedpollution.However the situation
could be improved by controlling population and pollution, many
factorssuch as modernization, effective family planning measures
equal economic, educational andlegal opportunities to woman will help to
control the rapid population growth. In order to set thisworld for our future
generation, we must save forest by reducing population pressure on
itthrough effective family planning measures and educating people. We
may also save the forestby making effective and strict laws with a provision
to impose high tax on wood product andprovision of incentive for
pressuring forest. There should be a provision in the law to punishseverely
for destroying forest. Massive reforestation, another effective step will
benefit the worldin conserving biodiversity, pristine wildness and
to minimize desertification, flood and weatherextremes. By controlling
population and saving forest, we may solve this planet for our
futuregeneration utilizing our knowledge to convert our wisdom, courage
and passion into practice toturn this world into a heaven.
Question for Practice :
What prime (main) problems does the writer discuss in his essay?
What is wrong in Nissani’s view with treeless in Nepal?
What leads Nissani to the belief that the world is facing an overpopulation
crisis ?
U n i t T wo : E c o l o g y a n d C h a n g e F u l l Fa t h o m Fi ve Th y Fa t h e r
Lies
–
W i l l i a m S h a k e sp e a r e Th e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
Fathom Five Thy Father Lies” is taken from Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest”. Here
the spirit
Ariel sings this song to Ferdinand, Prince of Naples, who mistakenly thinks
that his father isdrowned.
Ariel says that Ferdinand’s father is dead and is lying thi
rty feet below in the sea bed. ThePrince is very sad to miss his father in a
sea-wind, so Ariel gives sympathy to him by saying thatdeath is a
meaningful change. He says that the bones of his father have turned into
coral andeyes into pearls. Sea-nymphs respect him with death bell every
hour. None of the parts havewasted but changed into more valuable. Ariel
pretends that he is listening the ding dong soundof the bell.

In this poem death is shown as a meaningful change. Death is not an

absolute end but only aprocess of transformation into another natural
object. The main idea of this song is that
–
manwho is part of nature transforms into another natural objects after
death. The body of
Ferdinand’s father has been changed into something more valuable
and strange. His boneshave changed into corals and eyes into pearls.
Even after death, he is warmly welcomed inheaven by nymphs by ringing
the bell.
Important Questions :
1. Define the poetic devices used in the poem
with examples.
The following are the poetic devices used in this poem.a. Alliteration: It is
the repetition of the initial sound of word many times in a sentence.
Example:
Full Fathom Five thy Father lies. Here, the ‘F’ sound is repeated four times in the
sentence
.b. Onomatopoeia: It is a way of expressing on object by imitating its
sound instead of namingthe object. Example: Ding-dong-bell Mew-cat
c. Assonance: It’s the process of making a vowel sound long and nasal to create
special effect
and to maintain the poetic matter. Example: d-i-ng, d-o-ng
2. Write a brief account on ‘Art and Life’ or ‘Life and Art’
.
The skill of creation is called Art. People in possession (having) of this
creative skill are knownas artist. Art may be different by its form, style and
time. Although it is different by its form andstyle, art always influences
human beings. Art always remains as an effective and
importantmotivational factor for human beings. In order to live a happy and
satisfied life, art is aninevitable aspect of life. An art in its supreme form is
able to provide us the deepest innerfreshness which in turn inspires us to
make ourselves happy and amiable. To get rid ofdifficulties of life, it is
immensely important for us to appreciate. By appreciating art, we can
keepourselves happy by forgetting the problems of life.Human life is very
transient (short) and when we die our life is finished. But despite
thisappearance of physical existence, an artist can live an immortal life. Life
is sure to come to anend but art remains forever. Laxmi Prasad Devkota is
remaining immortal among Nepali people
for his fine piece of art in, literature in the form ofMuna Madan. Other great artist’s of
different
artistic fields are still immortal because of their great works of art. When
we enjoy art we findamiability within ourselves thereby inspiring us
to appreciate art. It is indeed true that all worksof art provide us the deepest
experience and higher value of our life.
Question for Practice :
Write a summary of the poem in one paragraph.Is death meaningful in this
poem ?
U n i t T wo : E c o l o g y a n d C h a n g e H u r r i e d T r i p t o A v o i d a
Bad Star
–
M . L i l l a a n d C . B i s h o p B e r r y The Heritage of Words
American geographers M. Lilla and C. Bishop Barry in their essay Hurried
trip to avoid a BadStar present an exploration of Karnali zone of western
Nepal on foot for 15 months. This essaywas published as a visit report in
The National Geographic as Karnali, The road less World ofWestern Nepal
in 1971. The writers in this essay describe the life account of Karnali zone

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people, their daily life, their tradition and culture, their lack of awareness
about environmental
preservation and Karnali zone’s economic dependency with the plain region of south
Nepal
.With a view to study above mentioned aspects, the writers move to plain
of south Nepal with thepeasants (farmers) who were going towards
Nepalgunj for their daily provisions. They werecarrying medicinal herbs,
hand knitted sweaters and blankets etc. to sell in Nepalgunj whileclimbing
step hill near Hari Lekh a Chhetri women of about 30 requested them to
send herhusband back home who left the house 15 years ago in search of
job in the Terai. For thisrequest revealed the concept of Karnali zone
people about parameter of the world. In a Salforest slope the writers
noticed the chopping down trees from several direction which indicatedthe
possibility of rapid deforestation in the region. On enquiry, the people
explained theircompulsion to chop down the trees to feed their animals
which exposed their lack of educationand ignorance about the importance
of preservation of environment. The writers noticed a groupof 8 or 9 men in
a forest processingSilajit in order to sell in Nepalgunj. This superstitious
peoplemade a hurried trip from their home valley to avoid evil influence of
bad star. On arrival inNepalgunj the writers watched the hill people buying
their daily provisions; one of them spent allhis money buying distillery
equipments with a hope to earn money by selling alcohol. Thewriters
concluded their journey at Jumla. They expressed their concern on lack
of awareness onKarnali zone people about protection of nature and about
the need of educating peopleregarding this vital aspect. They expressed
that Karnali zone people were living in very difficultplace with a very low
agricultural production. The writers suggested them to involve themselvesin
trade with the Terai region in order to make their life easy with satisfactory
earning.
Important Question :
1. How is Karnali linked economically with the low
land regions to thes out h?
Ans. Geographically, Karnali lies to the northern part of our kingdom. As it
is made up of verysloppy hills, there are many problems. People do not
have transportation and other facilities fortheir better survival. There is
no sufficient cultivable land. So, they have to depend on thelowland regions
to the south. People of karnali cannot sell their products in their localities.
Tosell their items like medicinal herbs, silajit, hashish, hand-knit sweaters
and blankets, they haveto go to Nepalgunj. Similarly, they cannot buy
goods in their places. For this purpose also, theyhave to depend upon
lowland regions. People of Karnali have to depend upon lowland regionfor
their jobs also. Being undeveloped part, it does not have factories. To earn
livelihood, youngpeople have no better options than leaving their places
and working in the lowland region.
2. What did the two writers learn about the life and
culture of thepeople of the Karnali region during
their journey on foot?

Ans. ‘Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star” is written by American geographers

M. Lilla and C.
Bishop Barry. Their essay presents social, economic and
educational aspects of Karnali region.To present these aspects, they have
brought four events in the text- their meeting with a chhetriwoman and the
people processing silajit, and their encounter cutting down trees and the
peopleof Karnali buying and selling things. The two writers learnt that the
people of Karnali areinnocent, simple, laborious and uneducated. Their
world is narrow and limited. The Chhetriwoman asks the travelers to find
her husband and send him to the village. They live ingeographically difficult
part completely depending on their own or animal strength. They
areignorant about soil erosion and deforestation. Not only that, alcohol
consumption in Karnali

region is high because one of the porters buys distillery equipments in the
bazaar of Nepalgunj.He hopes that he would sell liqueur and earn enough
money to buy goods in Karnali.
Questions for Practice :
Write a paragraph or two to show how Karnali is linked economically with
the lowland regions tothe south.What does the skeletal looking sal trees
indicate about the exploitation of nature ?What does the r
eply “What can we do? The animals must eat today” Signify ?
Give s short account of the life of the people of Karnali.
Unit Two : Ecology and ChangeTraveling Through
the Dark
–
W i l l i a m S t a f f o r d The Heritage of Words
William Stafford’s poem “Traveling Through the Dark” examines the killing of a
pregnant doe by
a hit-and-run driver, and the dilemma faced by the speaker who is also a
driver. Peoplegenerally travel in the dark when there is some urgency or
when they have some immediatedestination to reach. Speaker is traveling
in the dark with some special purpose. So he is in ahurry. On his way he
finds a dead deer on the edge of Wilson River.He stops to drag off the
dead deer into the canyon in order to avoid possible accidents. But
ontouching her side he finds that it is still warm and it contains a fawn
waiting to be born. In deaththe traveler discovers life, but not normal life
that emerges from the womb into the world, for the
fawn is “never to be born.” This unhappy realization causes the traveler to hesitate.
His mind is
filled with mixed-up emotions: pity, anger, frustration, and confusion about
how to act. He evenwonders if the fawn can be saved, but knows all along
that the fawn can not be born when themother is dead. The car is
mechanically alive and its lights are pointing the speaker towards
hisdestination. In the final couplet the traveler thinks hard for all, he knows
that his love and pitytowards the fawn can not save it. He knows that his
delay is only a waste of time, so he pushesthe doe into the river and
marches towards his destination.Important Questions :
1. Explain the title of the poem. Who are all those
driving through thedark?

Ans. The title of the poem “Traveling Through the Dark” is very suitable
one. People generally
travel in the dark when there is some urgency or when they have some
immediate destination toreach. So, the speaker of this poem is traveling in
the dark with some special purpose. Butwhen he finds a dead doe on the
road, he is in dilemma. He is in confusion either to show deeplove and
emotion to an unborn but alive fawn in the belly of the doe or to save the
passengerson his car as a dutiful driver. After much thoughtful meditation,
he pushes the dead doe into the
river in order to reach his destination and save the passengers. The ‘darkness’
indicates One ofnature’s beautiful creatures has been killed and pitilessly left
on the road, unburied and
unmourned to cause future accidents. The driver’s inaction suggests moral darkness.
Thedarkness also suggests the narrator’s confusion about what to do with the deer.
“Traveling

through the dark” also symbolizes the spiritual voi

d of humankind in its insensitivity towardnature.
Question for Practice :
What is the central idea of the poem?Show how the action develops stanza
by stanza in the poem.What does the traveler feel when he touches the
dead doe?Do you agree with what the narrator did ? Why?
U n i t T h r e e : H u m o u r a n d S a t i r e A Story
–
D yl a n T h o ma s T h e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
The boy, with his uncle, was sitting in their room when the boy’s uncle’s friends came
there.
Their coming had the aim of deciding date for outing. They said that they
had collected fund and
liquor for outing. Afterwards the uncle’s friends returned back to their home. The next
day theycame with the list of names for uncle’s acceptance. He read the whole list
and accepted all the
names. Then there was his wife with china dog.She
threatened him that she would go her mother’s house if he did not cancel the
program. In
anger she asked him to choose either her or outing. The uncle said that he
preferred outing. On
Saturday morning the uncle’s wife left house. She had written a note t
o her husband in which
she had asked him to put off shoes before going to bed. At about eight the uncle’s
friend came
to his house with a charabanc. They became ready to go for outing. As
they drove off, thewomen of the village peeped out from windows and boys
bid them good-bye. No sooner hadthey crossed the village then reached to
a public house. The uncle asked the boy to look afterthe charra whereas
they went inside. A little later a man came and asked for the way
to pub.The boy took the man there. Inside the pub he saw his uncle and his
friends drinking, breakingthe glasses and talking nonsense. The boy did not
remain there. He was afraid of the situation. Afterwards the uncle and
his friends came out and got into the charra.Then they reached to a river
where they all got down and played with water. From that timeonwards,
they forget the idea of Porthcrawl. By the evening they reached to
place called
Hermit’s nest. There they decided to rest and enjoy drinking. They drank so much
rum that they
could not control their sense. They later made decision to return back. On
the way home, theyrested in a field and sat in a circle. They continued
drinking there too.
Important Question :
1. The plan was to go to Porthcawl for the outing. Did
they ever reachthere? Why?

Ans. The plan of the narrator’s uncle and his friends was to reach
to Porthcawl for the outing.
But they could not reach to their destination because of their habit of
drinking. But it does notmean that it was the only one cause for it ; there
are many.The first cause was their late
departure. It was only at eight o’clock they started their outing. Another cause of it was
the late
arrival of one of their partners. Because everyone was worried about
himself, they movedwithout counting all heads. But when they knew that
one was missing, they could not continue

their journey. They returned to receive him. The third and the greatest of
the causes as alreadysaid is their nature of drinking a lot. When they
reached the mountain sheep, they drank a lot.They did not think of their
destination. It was only after the owner informed them of the closingtime.
They came out though it was already late to reach to Porthcawl. No one
worried abouteven after they came out. They thought of playing with water
when they reached to river. Hence,they could not reach.Question for
Practice :
How were the boy’s uncle and aunt?
What is the reason for which Will Sentry always followed Mr. Franklyn
?Unit Three : Humour and SatireThe Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship
–
Garica MarquezThe Heritage of WordsThe boy, who is also main
character of the story used to go to sea where he had seen amysterious
ship in his childhood. The ship used to appear when there was darkness
and viceversa. The ship was bigger than the village and taller than the
steeple of the church. But he
could not see the ship in the later years. However the boy didn’t stop going to sea. He
had
determined to show the existence of ship to the villager after he was beaten
on charge of beinga liar. After many years he saw the same ship by the
harbor. He could not believe his eyes.So until next March he waited to see
the same ship. No sooner had he seen the ship than hewent home to tell
about it to his mother. His mother got angry with him; she advised him to
get
involved in romance with some lady instead of going to sea. The boy’s mother
however agreed
to go there next march. But unluckily, his mother expired while she was
sitting on a chair andthinking about her dead husband. This event made the
boy angrier. His determination grewbolder; he wanted to prove the
existence of ship to the villager and went towards that location
with a lantern. He didn’t stop anywhere; he went straight towards his destination. As
he reached
near the place, he saw the ship again. The ship was moving without any
sound. His presencethere made the ship disappear. Nonetheless, it
reappeared after some time. The boy lit thelantern and showed it towards
the ship. As he showed the light, a miracle happened. The shipstarted
following him. The boy guided the ship towards the village. At last he took
the ship there.The ship blasted as it reached there. The villagers came
there running and saw the destruction
of ninety thousand champagne glasses. The boy watched the villagers’ gaping their
mo
uth atthe ship.
Questions for Practice :
What do you think is the meaning of the boy’s newly discovered ability near the end of
the storyto control the ship’s movement ?

What is the protagonist asserting when he brings “the largest ocean liner in this world
and theother” into his village.

U n i t F o u r : G o d a n d Ma n
God’s Grandeur –
G e r a r d Ma n l e y Ho p k i n s Th e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s

In his sonnet “God’s Grandeur” the poet G.M Hopki

ns praises the magnificence and glory ofGod. He describes the majestic
deeds of God. He claims that God is omnipresent andomnipotent. The
good deeds on earth are also the results of these qualities of God.
Thoughhuman beings continuously destroy nature, it is never spent.
The world is full of the greatness of God. Due to His greatness, the world shines like ‘a
shookfoil’. It gathers to greatness, as it is full of resources. Despite this fact, human
beings actadversely. They don’t follow the commands of
God; rather they function to destroy the world.Earlier generations
destroyed the earth and so is the case with the present generation.
Peopleare more interested in materialist gain and possessions than in
celebrating the glory of a loving,merciful, heavenly Father. They act as
if they are not rational creatures. As a result of theirdeed, the earth
has become dry; it has the smell of human beings instead of its
natural smell.Indeed the earth has reached to the verge of destruction.
Nevertheless, the world is notcompletely destroyed. Because of the
freshness that is inside things, nature keeps onregenerating. The sun sets
in the evening only to reappear in the morning. These all
happenings are the results of the god’s protection. He protects the earth
just like a bird broodsover the eggs.Though the world is infused with the
glory of God and Christ offered His body to be crucified,mankind does not
live in awe of God, but imposes darkness on itself by running endlessly.
Even
so, despite humanity’s shor
tcomings, God is most capable of perfect love and embraces theworld
anyway. The poet is of the opinion that human beings acts are always
directed towardsdestruction: knowingly or unknowingly. But God loves all
the creatures of the world, so he worksfor the benefit of the creatures
without any hope of benefit or profit. The poet inspires people togrow faith
in God.
Question for practice
:Give reasons why men are unaware of the greatness of God?What is the
central idea of the poem?
U n i t F i v e : H u m a n R i g h t s I Have a Dream
–
M a r t i n L u t h e r K i n g , J r . Th e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
Martin Luther King, a black civil right campaign
er, delivered an unforgettable speech ” I Have aDream” on August 28, 1963
commemorating the centennial of Lincoln’s Emancipation
Proclamation. In this speech he presses for equal treatment and improved
circumstances forblacks, and stresses on the necessity of eradicating
institutional racial inequalities. Kingexpresses sharp dissatisfaction over
segregation and racial discrimination. He demands a fastend to racial
discrimination, pledging his followers to a fight to the finish to wipe out all
forms ofsegregation and to achieve equality and integration. However, he is
in favour of creative anddisciplined protest without physical violence. In his
speech he even appeals the Whites to joinhands with Blacks in order
to revolt against discriminatory practices against Blacks. He does notshow
hatred against Whites, he is against color discrimination and racial
prejudice.He is a dreamer with the vision of equality and justice. He wants
a new America in its socialmakeup, establish symphony of brotherhood
among blacks and whites, and eradicate the

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discriminatory treatment of black Americans. His dream is deeply rooted in

the American dream
of ‘life, liberty and pursuit of happiness’.
He voices that even after hundred years of passing of Emancipation
Proclamation by Lincoln, America stands as the hell to the blacks. Blacks
are exiled in their own country and live inpoverty in the vast ocean
of material prosperity.He also mentions the words of the Constitution and
Declaration of Independence whichguaranteed the unalienable rights of life,
liberty and pursuit of happiness. But these magnificentwords were not
applied into practice in case of colored citizens. He demands the riches
offreedom, security of justice, and citizenship rights to the blacks. He
argues that the policy ofgradualism in the matter of justice will raise
discontent among blacks.Important Questions :
1. What is the apparent (exact) purpose of the speech
of Martin Luther
King Jr.? Explain King’s analogy of bad check (cheque)
.
Ans. The apparent
purpose of King’s speech is to get the black people their rights of freedom,
equality and justice avoiding racial injustice based on color of skin.
Although the constitution of America promises equal rights to its entire
citizen, the black people have been deprived fromenjoying the rights and
get the victim of social segregation and discrimination. Therefore
MartinLuther King Jr. Delivers this speech demanding justice for the black
people. King makes ananalogy (comparison) between promises of an
American constitution and a bad check. Thoughthe constitution of America
promises equal right rights to the entire citizen irrespective of colourand
creed, America has failed to pay her black citizen the rights promised in the
constitution.They are given bad check i.e. false promises by architects of
American constitution. If there isinsufficient amount in the bank out, the
cheque of higher amount issued against this account isnot enchased and
returned unpaid such cheque is consider as a bad check. Similar
wayalthough the constitution of America guarantees the equality for all, the
black citizens are turneddown from getting justice in America. Therefore,
king compares the promises made by the American constitution with a bad
check.
Questions for Practice :
What is the real dream of Martin Luther King about the future of
America?What is Martin Luther complaining about?What is the dream
Martin Luther King, Jr. has? How is he going to achieve it?
Unit Six : Women and Children
Women’s Business –
Ilene KantrovThe Heritage of Words
Women’s business is an essay written by Ilene Kantrov which is about some women
from the
United States of America who have been successful in business. It tells
about other business
women who followed Lydia’s footsteps. It deals the subject of how women took part in
the
business and what things were produced and sold by them.

In the beginning of this essay the writer describes about the business
method of Lydia EPinkham. In 1879 she appeared in the newspaper
advertisement by advertising a remedy for
“falling of the womb and all female weakness.”The medicine produced by her was
known asLydia E Pinkham’s Vegetable compound. She prepared the pr
oduct by using traditional
methods. She not only advertised for her product but also put forward women’s rights,
temperance and fiscal reforms. She also opened a department of advice
and suggested otherwomen about diet, exercise and hygiene. She also
printed testimonials from women reportingcures. She also advertised in
courageous manner. As a result of such bold marketing, her shebecame
very famous.In the following century some other women also followed her
business pattern. Among them twowere Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth
Arden. They competed not only in selling cosmetics butalso in luring
{attracting) publicity by their marriages to European aristocrats. Elizabeth
Ardenalso produced different facial treatments. She also practiced and
advocated yoga. Her rival AHelena Rubinstein also published a book
explaining the benefits of eating raw foods.Margaret Rudkin and Jennie
Grossinger were other to women entrepreneurs that followed
Lydia.E.Pinkham’s business pattern. Grossinger ran hotel in upstairs
New York renowned for itsfood and entertainment. She had also hired a
public relations man Margatet Rudkin producedadditive free wheat bread
that was very helpful to person suffering from asthma. At first she
hadbaked such bread as diet for her asthmatic son. Next entrepreneur was
Gertrude Muller who
invented the “toidey seat”. With her products .She also enclosed her booklets about
childrearing. One of her booklets was also distributed by doctors.Next black
female capitalist Annie Turnbo Malone also cast herself in the role of social
activist.Her business was on a hair dressing preparation. She developed an
innovative marketingstrategy .She also established a school for training
agents in her porosystem of hairdressing.Like other capitalist she also
started advising other women about hygiene .Thrift and otherhomely
virtues.Important Questions :
1. What is the thesis (theme) of the essay? How did the
businesswomen (female entrepreneur) differ from their
male counterparts? Inw h i c h w a y d i d t h e y r e s e m b l e
the male entrepreneurs of their days?
The thesis of the essay is to focus on the success of American business
women who adoptedinnovative business strategy and establish themselves
in respectable position in the businessfield as well as in the society. The
business women were also involved in social work foruplifting the society.
However, their aim was to promote their own business on the pretext
onsocial service for the sake of their business, they activated the society,
earned money andupgraded their own position in the society. The women
entrepreneurs discussed in this essaywere different many ways from
their counterparts. The women were involved in earning moneyalong with
social service for upgrading their own position. Adopting the
cleverest marketingtechniques by rendering practical advice on various
advices they activated the women of thesociety. They were not only
involved in selling their products but also played an important rolefor the
benefit of the society. They cleverly utilized their image of being women to
upgrade theirbusiness. They were extremely sex consciousness with they
revealed by serving the femaleonly. Lydia advised her customer to bypass
the male physician. Adopting new business skill the
female entrepreneurs were able
to introduce feminine’s role in the male dominated world of
commerce in America. The business women were similar to their male
counterparts in thematters of obeying the law of the state besides their
claim about their produces throughmisleading and lavish advertisement.
Question for Practice
:
Which of Lydia E. Pinkham’s business methods did later women capitalists adopt for
their ownenterprises ? In what ways did they depart from Pinkham’s model ?
How did the business women the writer introduces in her essay differ
from their malecounterparts ? In what ways did they resemble male
entrepreneurs of their day ?
How would you expect a militant feminist to react to this essay ? Are any of the
writer’s general
statements debatable ?
U n i t S i x : W o m e n a n d C h i l d r e n Th e C h i l d r e n W h o W a i t
–
Ma r s h a Tr a u g o t Th e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
Marsha Traugot’s essay “The children Who Wait” discusses the scene of adoption in
American
context. Marsha Traugot begins her essay with the picture of Tammy,
which has been publishedin a magazine with the hope that someone would
be ready to adopt her. She is five and halfyears old with the face of Mona
Lisa. The writer describes her unadaptable child had she beenborn before
1960. During that period only white healthy children were considered
adaptable.
Physically deformed children’s were referred as damaged goods. No one was ready
to adopt
such children. The children who were black, mixed racial group,
handicapped and over fiveyears were not adopted by families. This view,
however, started disappearing after the sixties.
People’s attitude towards them gradually became positive. The change in thoughts
was brought
by various factors. Traugot mentions black civil right movement,
legalization of abortion, changein att
itude of the people, and change in government’s policy as responsible factors. Black
civil
rights movement brought sympathetic attitude towards black people. White
people startedregarding them as humans and treated accordingly. Another
responsible factor
was women’smovement. Because of women’s movement they got right to decide on
the matter of childbirth in
addition to other right. The lady who had to do abortion to maintain her
status could live withdignity with her child. It has the impact in reduction of
unwanted children. The third factor
responsible for change in attitude was government’s policy towards adoption. The
government
used to emphasize on foster care before the seventies. As they became
aware about thedrawbacks of foster care, they made changes in their
policy. Rater than emphasizing on fostercare, they tried to find permanent
home for the homeless children. Another factor responsible isthe role
played by social activists. Their campaign brought changes not only
in attitude of thepeople but also in their behavior. Prior to the 1960,
the social activists considered white, twoparent, and middle or upper class
childless family as an ideal adoptive family. But now thesituation has
changed. The social workers give children for adoption to even single or
twoparents, black or biracial, upper class or working class, childless or
families with older siblings.
The catch phrase of the social worker is ‘matching’. Activists try to get proper family for
destitute
child. Unlike previous activists, th
ey can’t get two
-parent family. Instead of searching for two-parent family, they need
to evaluate the characteristic of a child and match it with the properfamily.
Now adoption agencies collect the lists of parents who want to adopt child.
They match

qualities of children with the need of parents, let both of them meet and
interact. They even holdmeetings and discuss about the children and the
types of families where they can put them.Now adoption agencies collect
the lists of parents who want to adopt child. They match qualitiesof children
with the need of parents, let both of them meet and interact. If this system
does notwork, they publish the profile of homeless children in television or
newspaper to look foradoptive parents.
Questions for Practice :
Whom does Marsha Traugot refer to as the children who wait?Why was it
difficult for the handicapped and the black children to find foster
family? According to Traugot , what changes are transforming the
American adoption scene? Whatfactors are responsible for
the changes?What kinds of parents were considered suitable for adopting
children? What kind of children
were considered ‘Unadoptable’?
How do the adoption agencies find the potential parents?What had
happened to the handicapped children in the past?
U n i t S i x : W o m e n a n d C h i l d r e n A Child is Born
–
G e r ma i n e G r e e r T h e He r i t a g e o f W o r d s
Childbirth management in the Eastern society varies from place to place.
The mother is familiarabout the way of giving birth to child in such society
because they are used to in such customs.
They don’t feel so much physical and mental tension while giving birth. The approach
in Eastern
society is ritualistic. She is covered with taboos and prohibitions which
reduces herpsychological burden. All the relatives including the husbands
remain present during the process of giving birth. Itdecreases the pain of
the mother. Their presence gives a sense of security to her. They
createsuch an environment which make mother feel safe. Nevertheless, the
chance of death of motheris high in Eastern society. In many of the Eastern
societies, a pregnant woman goes to her
mother’s house. For example: the writer presents us an example from society of
India. In Rajputsociety, the woman goes to mother’s house prior to giving birth an
d after the birth to the child.She is taken care properly. The birth of the child
is celebrated with singing and dancing. Thepregnant woman is taken
care not only by family members but also by the members of
thecommunity. It gives her a sense of security and she becomes less
worried about giving birth.There is difference in child rearing also. In the
Eastern society the mother gets respect after shegives birth. She is called
by the name of her first child. The newly born child is taken care by allthe
relatives. The mother has to spend less time in taking care of child. So, the
child-familyrelation is stronger than child-mother relation. Thus, the Eastern
society is better than theWestern society in the matter of childbirth and
childcare. The Eastern society, however is notunaffected by the method of
Western society.Because of modernization, people in the Western societies
are forced to use modernequipments. The modern equipments certainly
have saved the lives of mother and child;nevertheless they are unable to
reduce the anxiety of mother while giving birth. A pregnant
woman in the West has to take care of herself with the guidance of nurses
and doctors. Thenurses and doctors do not give caressing hand to the
pregnant woman. The health of motherand child is safer but mother is
emotionally weaker. Child is born to fulfill the needs of parentsonly. The
child grows up with its parents and dolls. So, child
–
mother relation is stronger. Themother has to bear all the problems during
child birth and child rearing.Important Question :
1. What differences does the writer show us
between a traditionalsociety and modern west in
matters of pregnancy, childbirth and childraring?
Ans. In traditional societies, when a woman becomes pregnant, she has
to observe certainprohibitions and carry out the set rites. All these taboos
and prohibitions help her keepingherself mentally free and to lessen the
pain and fear. The pregnant lady is helped by herhusband and other
members of family and community which enhances her sense of
security.But in the modern west societies, the pregnant lady has to take
care of herself. In suchindividualistic society, no other family member
renders any support that helps the pregnant ladyfeel secure. She has to
undertake all the preparations for newcomer by herself. In
traditionalsocieties, child birth irrespective of its sex is celebrated although
there is a greater risk of thelives of the mother and the baby. The woman,
after the birth of the child is fully accepted by thenew
family and she is allowed to visit her father’s house. The women in such societies are
started calling after the names of their children ignoring their original
identity which the westernpeople criticize calling it a wrong behavior.
However, in the west, although modern andsophisticated hospitals are
there, a child is born in an isolated hospital bed surrounded bymodern
medical equipments. There is no one to welcome the child and to support
the ladyemotionally to help lessen difficulties in western societies. In
traditional society, the children areusually looked after collectively by the
family members. The entire family is involved to batheand to feed the
children collectively. In the evening, children are told fairy tales by
othermembers of the fam
ily. However, these practices aren’t seen in modern western societies. The
respective family mothers have to take care of their children by themselves
as there is no helpform other family members in the matter of child
care.The writer argues that the traditional eastis far better than the modern
west in matters of pregnancy, childbirth and child raring althoughthere is
high risk of mothers and children mortality rate in these societies.
Question for Practice :
What differences does the writer show between a traditional society and a
modern society inmatters of pregnancy, childbirth, and childbearing ?Why
does the writer bring in the examples of the traditional societies to discuss
the problems ofa modern, especially a western society ?
U n i t S e v e n : C r i m e a n d C o n f e s s i o n The Tell-Tale Heart
–
E d g e r A l l a n P o e T h e He r i t a g e o f W o r d s
The narrator claims that he is not mad as he could hear things in the
heaven, earth and hell. To justify himself saint, he confesses dangerous
crime he has committed. The narrator and the oldman used to reside
together; they had very good relationship. The man used to love the old

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man very much. The old man also used to treat him well. The only thing
that irritated thenarrator was the eyes of him which were pale and vulture
like. To end the consequences, he
went to the old man’s room continuously for seven days. But returned, as he could
not see the
eyes of the man.In the morning he spoke politely and behaved as if nothing
had happened. On the eighth nights,he as usual went there with torchlight.
He did every thing stealthy and cautiously. Despite it, hehappened to touch
tin fastening, which dropped and disturbed the sleep of the man.
Indesperation, he asked who it was. The narrator remained speechless and
motionless. A littlelater his sense brought him the reason that the old man
was asleep again, he aimed the beam
towards the old man’s eyes. As he saw them, he grew angry. He then, jumped
towards the man,
dragged the man and pressed his neck with bed. At last, he dismember
ed the old man’s dead
body and put it under the plank. After it, he cleaned the place spotlessly
clean. It was alreadyfour when he finished the task. At four, the three
policemen came because someone had hearda shriek and informed them
to investigate. The narrator lied them that the shriek was his own indream
and the old man was absent for some days. He welcomed them, brought
them to his
room and took to every nook and corner of his house. The policemen didn’t suspect
any wrong
there.The narrator took them to the spot where he had hidden the corpse of
the old man. He cordiallyasked them to sit on the chair, which he had kept
there. He sat there just over the plankwhereas policeman continued talking
with smiling face. The narrator, at the mean time, heardtick-tick sound of a
watch coming from beneath. He mistook it as the heart-beat of the old
man.He desired to reduce the loudness of the sound. For this purpose, he
spoke louder; though it
didn’t do any good. He felt the sound growing; he felt the policemen’s smile as the
smile of
mockery. It became unbearable for him to keep the reality secret. He
thought it better to confessthan to hide. Eventually he confessed the
crime.Important Questions:
1. Justify the title, ‘The Tell
-
Tale Heart’
.
Ans. The narrator is the victim of nervous disease and over sensitive to
hearing. He wants to killthe old man to get rid of the vulture like eyes of the
old man. After entering into the room of theold man with and aim to kill him,
the narrator starts hearing a strange, dull sound as if beingmade by a
watch which he believes to be the heartbeat of the old man. After killing the
old man,he cuts the body into pieces and hides them under the wooden
floor. In the morning, when threepolice officers arrived there, he start
s talking with them sitting in the old man’s room as thepolice officers don’t find
anything unusual. However, while being there, the narrator startshearing strange
sound which he believes to be the heartbeat of the old man. As he couldn’t
stand the sound of the said heart beat, he confesses his crime and reveals
the entire storybefore the police. Since, the supposed heart discloses the
secret of the murder, the title TheTale-Tale Heart is therefore justifiable and
appropriate to the text.
2. Was the narrator mad?
Ans. Though sanity and insanity is a matter of debate, there are various
indications in the storythat suggest his madness. The narrator killed an old
and innocent man with out any concretereason. He did not hesitate to cut
the body of the old man into pieces. Though the man lovedhim, he did
not understand the value of love. Rather he mercilessly killed him. Even
after killing
and dismembering the body of the old man, he suspected that the old man’s heart
was beating.

He had no idea that after a man is killed his heart stops beating. The
narrator has revealed
himself that he is suffering from a disease which causes ‘over
-
acuteness of the senses’. Over
-acuteness of senses is also one sign of madness. He was overcome
by homicidal mania.Madmen never repent their wrong doing. In this story
also instead of repenting for his wrongfulact, the narrator has tried to prove
his sanity. Thus his abnormal behavior suggests that he wastruly mad.
Questions for Practice :
Why does narrator develop intense hatred against the old man? Would you
call the narratormad? Give reasons for your answer.What made the
narrator confess his crime?Describe the scene when the narrator killed the
old man.What made the narrator confess his crime?
Unit Seven : Crime and ConfessionPurgatory
–
W i l l i a m B u t l e r Y e a t s Th e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
The boy and his father walk on the moonlight night; they are near a ruined
house. Pointingtowards the house, the old man describes the past of it. The
house used to be occupied by hismother and her husband. The mother of
the old man had married with the groom of the stableas soon as she met
him. The man later turned out to be a drunkard and gambler. Due
todrinking and gambling, he emptied everything he had. The mother died
while giving birth to him.The father continued his misdeed, which at last
resulted into the complete destruction of house.Because of fear-
the fear of his son becoming greater than him, he didn’t send him to school.
When he was sixteen, his father burnt down the house. This situation
created anger in him. As aresult the old man killed his father with a knife.
The OLD MAN then became a peddler. The old
man tells his bastard son that the night is the anniversary of mother’s wedding. As he
finishes
telling his son about the past, a shadow appears to which the man can only
see. The shadow isof his dead mother. A little later her husband also
appears, and they both proceed towards room. The old manobjects to the
way they go inside. After the incident is over the boy talks about property
he hasacquired. The bastard son demands for his share in property of his
father, which is denied byhim. It arises anger in him. As a result he takes
moneybag from the Old man. A quarrel startsbetween them; the boy gets
killed at last with the knife of the old man. The old man, after it,addresses
his mother and claims that he has ended the consequences. He hopes that
the soulof mother would be purified.Important Questions :
1. In the short drama Purgatory, the writer WB Yeats
expresses thef o l l o w i n g t h i n g s :
Ans :The crime of the father will be repeated by his son to an endless
cycle of violence. Livingbeings can render help to the departed soul which
suffers in purgatory. The living beings haveto suffer the consequences of
the sin committed by the dead while alive.

2. What is the theme of purgatory?

Ans : Purgatory is a story of remorseful of a departed soul that
committed mistakes on itselfwhile being alive. In order to purify itself, it is
undergoing suffering in purgatory. It is alsoconcerned with the living beings
who suffer the consequences of the sin committed by the deadpeople while
alive and the help rendered by the living beings to get the soul released
frompurgatory.
3. What is the motive (aim) in murdering
his son by the old man?
Ans : The old man believes that by murdering his son, he has stopped the
boy to have a son ofhis own who would kill him after attaining 16 years of
age, thereby breaking the endless cycle ofviolence. He also believes
that by killing his
son, he helps his mother’s soul to get released from
purgatory.Questions for Practice :Do you think Yeast believed in life after
death ?Explain how Purgatory explores the relation of human life to
supernatural forces.
What is the Old Man’s motive in mur
dering the Boy ?
U n i t E i g h t : P l a y i n g W i t h T e x t Hansel and Gretel
–
J a c o b a n d W i l h e l m T h e He r i t a g e o f W o r d s
Once there was a famine in a country, which compelled the step mother
to think of leaving thechildren to the forest. The father yielded to the wish of
wife, as she was pigheaded. In themorning, the step mother asked them to
get ready to go to the forest. Hansel had collectedpebbles as he had heard
the conversation of parents the earlier night. As they left their home,the boy
dropped pebbles on the way. After walking for some duration, they reached
to a spotwhere the step mother asked the children to wait till they return
back. But it was only a trick toleave the children in the forest. At midnight,
when they got up, the boy thought of returning to house. He could
returnsuccessfully with the assistance of pebbles he had dropped. At home
they were welcomed bythe father though the mother was indifferent. There
was another famine in the country, whichforced the mother to bring the
previous idea back again. The father accepted despite hisunwillingness.
The boy, unlike previous time, was unable to collect pebbles as the mother
hadlocked the door from outside. Early in the morning, the children were
woken up and given bread.The boy dropped the bread on the way making
it crumbs. Unlike before, the parents took themdeep into the forest. The
children were left there. They wished that their parents would come
which didn’t happen as they had thought. The children couldn’t return back to their
house as the
breads crumbs had been eaten by birds. They, at last reached to a house
made of bread andcakes. As they nibbled from the house, a voice sweetly
spoke them to continue. It was a witch,who used to eat children whoever
came handy. The witch, on the next day imprisoned thebrother and
compelled the sister to do laborious deeds. Everyday the witch went there
andchecked how fat he had become.The boy could deceive her with the
help of a bone. As she realized that the lad would neverbecome sedentary,
she decided to end the consequence. Early in the morning, she ordered

Gretel to fetch water. She had prepared oven to end the brother and sister.
As Gretel arrivedthere, she asked her to be in. Gretel showed ignorance to
the way of entering and asked her todemonstrate. No sooner had the witch
tried to enter her head, she pushed her into oven andclosed it. She then
released her brother. They went inside the house and collected
treasures.On the way back home, they arrived by a river, which was full of
water. The boy asked a duck tohelp him across the river. As they reached
their house after long walk, they saw their father,who welcomed them
happily. Their step mother had already died.Important Questions :
1. Psychological analysis of Hansel and Gretel
Ans. The writer in his adapted story Hansel and Gretel presents the
psychological analysis ofthe story. In this story, he expresses a unique truth
of life that poverty and deprivation makehuman beings selfish and
less sensitive to others sufferings. The writer tells us that when thechildren
grow up, they must learn to live separately from their parents. Hansel and
Gretel haveleft in the forest in order to give them a chance to learn to live
independently. However, theyhave come back as they have not been able
enough to live apart from their parents. Thechildren have again been left in
the forest for the second time
and they’ve tried to solve theproblem by concentrating on fool only. As they’ve acted
like hungry animals rather than human
beings, they have been the captive of witch. The house and the old witch
being the source offood are symbolized as mother. This story gives us
message that greed leads to destruction.Hansel and Gretel manages to get
rid of the witch when they start thinking and behaving likehuman beings.
The white duck that helps Hansel and Gretel get home carrying across the
waterstretch is the symbol of new beginning. The duck can carry only one
child at one time showsthat children must learn to live independently
without any support from their brothers andsisters. The bird which led them
to the gingerbread house is a symbol of peace. When Hanseland Gretel
return home, they have grown up and start helping their father. The help
they renderis symbolized by the jewels. The family is considered rich and
happy not because of the wealthbut because Hansel and Gretel have learnt
to think and act like matured people.
2. Political analysis of Hansel and Gretel
Ans. This story Hansel and Gretel written by Jack Zipes from political
point of view tells us aboutthe struggle between the poor and rich group of
people. The woodcutter and his familyrepresent the poor class people who
are forced to commit deeds because of their poverty. Thewitch represents
the aristocratic class of people and also symbolizes as the entire
feudalsystem. She is also symbolized as the greed brutality of the
aristocracy which is responsible forthe difficult condition of the poorer class
of people. The killing of the witch is symbolicalrealization of the hatred felt
by the poor people because of the oppression and exploitation onthem by
the aristocratic people. The writer depicts the class conflict and exposes
the prejudiceand injustice of feudal ideology. The writer emphasizes that
the poor people must be optimisticand should react appropriately against
the oppressors for the transition of the situation in theirfavor.
U n i t E i g h t : P l a y i n g W i t h T e x t Gretel
–
G a r r i s o n K e i l l o r Th e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
‘Gretel’ by Garrison Keillor is an interpretation of the story “Hansel and Gretel” from
the
perspective of a female. The interpreter is Gretel who denies her cowardice
in the original story.She claims that the depiction is distorted one. Gretel
says that there was an understandingbetween her and her brother to sell
their story to Grimm brothers. They had signed in a contractpaper with an
agreement to share fifty-fifty of the profit. But unexpectedly, Gretel found
the storypublished the other day totally different order.The story depicts her
as coward and her brother as a brave person. She claims the
brother was,in reality, a coward not vice versa. It was her brother who wept
time and again, and she had tocarry him. The portrayal of he father and
mother is also distorted. Father was not so kindhearted; he was a drunkard;
he liked to watch bull fight. Mother was not cruel in any sense ofthe word.
Gretel describes their parents leaving them in the forest as a natural
phenomenon ofthe time. Parents used to leave the children in forest hoping
that they will be better cared inforest by frog, raven or saints. She claims
that she was not worried when she in the forest, asshe had known
the reality. At last, she repents for killing the witch, for the witch was not
afterher; she had wanted to kill Hansel.Gretel supports her stepmother
Gladys and finds her a loving mother. She explains that thewoman who
gave them cake, bread and house was not a witch but a loving woman who
wantedto kill Hansel in order to revolt against male dominance.
Questions for Practice :
Why does Gretel blame her father and brother?Do you think Gretel
represents modern feminist women? Give your opinion briefly.
Unit Eight : Playing With TextThe Little Brother and
T h e L i t t l e S i s t e r J a c o b a n d W i l h e l m G r i m m The Heritage
of Words
‘The Little Brother and the Little Sister’ an English translation of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by
Jacob
and Wilhelm Grimm, deals with the same story of Hansel and Gretel. The
writer sincerelyincluded all the essential points of the original story to
make it complete and harmonious.However, one finds the dialogues
between the character and other being eliminated. Theminute details of the
original story are simply summarized and the conversation between one
character and the other is narrated. The stepmother is described as a ‘woman’ and
shown to
have wicked nature in the original is modified to some extent and described
as the mother. Her
vocatives “you lazybones”, “wicked children”, “You fool” etc. meant for Hansel and
Gretel are
eliminated. Such expressions make her appear no better than a witch.
Removal of theseexpressions helps in modifying her into a less witch and
more unloving mother. In addition to it,the physical attributes of the witch
are ignored in this adaption. In the original, one findsremarkable similarity
between the stepmother and the witch in their way of talking with
andbeating the children. In the adoption, one finds the difference.
Moreover, the last part of theoriginal story includes the rich details such as
ecstasy of the children over the death of thewitch, return journey, crossing
the st
ream with the help of the duck, father’s joy over the reunion
etc. Such details and jubilant feelings are not included in the adoption.

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Unit Eight : Playing with TextThe Boarding House

–
W i l h e l m G r i m n T h e He r i t a g e o f W o r d s
After a difficult marriage with a drunken husband that ends in
separation, Mrs. Mooney opens aboarding house to make a living. Jack,
her son and Polly, her daughter live with her in thehouse, which is occupied
by clerks from the city, as well as occasional tourists and musicians.
Mrs. Mooney runs a strict and tight business and is known by the lodgers as “The
Madam.”Polly, who used to work in an office, now stays at home at her mother’s
request, to
amuse thelodgers and help with the cleaning. Surrounded by so
many young men, Polly ultimatelydevelops a relationship with a rich thirty
five years old Mr. Doran.Mrs. Mooney knows about the relationship, but
instead of sending Polly back to work in the city,
she monitors its developments. Polly becomes increasingly uncomfortable with her
mother’slack of intervention, but Mrs. Mooney waits until “the right moment” to
intercede. First she
speaks awkwardly with Polly, then arranges to speak with Mr. Doran on
a Sunday morning. Mrs.
Mooney looks forward to her argument which she intends to “win” by defending her
daughter’s
honor and convincing Mr. Doran to offer his hand in marriage. Waiting for
the time to pass, Mrs.Mooney figures the odds are in her favor, considering
that Mr. Doran, who has worked for awine merchant for thirteen years
and gained much respect, will choose the option that leastharms his
career.Meanwhile, Mr. Doran is in distress. He knows he will be called
by Mrs. Mooney. He reviews thedifficult confession to his priest that
he made on Saturday evening, in which he was harshlyaccused for his
romantic affair. He knows he can either marry Polly or run away, the latter
anoption that would ruin his sound reputation. Convincing himself that he
has been tricked, Mr.
Doran bemoans Polly’s unimpressive family, her ill manners, and her poor grammar,
and
wonders how he can remain free and unmarried. In this vexed moment
Polly enters the roomand threatens to end her life out of unhappiness. In
her presence, Mr. Doran begins to
remember how he was trapped by Polly’s beauty and kindness, but he still hesitates
about his
decision.Uneasy, Mr. Doran comforts Polly and departs for the meeting,
leaving her to wait in the room.She rests on the bed crying for a while,
neatens her appearance, and then nestles back in thebed, dreaming of
her possible future with Mr. Doran. Finally, Mrs. Mooney interrupts
thedaydream by calling to her daughter. Mr. Doran, according to Mrs.
Mooney, wants to speak withPolly.Important Questions :1. Sketch the
character of Mrs. Mooney.
Ans : Mrs. Mooney, the main character in the James Joyce story “The
Boarding House” isdescribed as “a woman who deals with moral problems as a
cleaver deals with meat”. She wasa butcher’s daughter who married her father’s
foreman. Later she divorced him
because shecould not withstand his drinking and bullying nature. Taking
charge of her daughter Polly andson Jack, she opened a boarding house
in Hardwicke Street. She was strong, strict, determinedand practical. She
knew how to handle matters- when to act and when to remain silent.When
reading further in the story, we find that the boarding house is a trap, where
Mrs. Mooney
is a hunter who’s looking for a decent husband for her daughter Polly within her
guests. She is
using Polly as bait to catch Mr. Doran, the victim in the story. Mrs. Mooney
manipulates Mr.
Doran into her trap by using her daughter’s innocence as the bait and Mr. Doran’s
innocence as
a victim. Mrs. Mooney is a woman of business and Mr. Doran is the perfect
victim for her and forPolly. Mr. Doran has also a decent job and he fits
perfectly to the economical needs of Mrs.Mooney. Mrs. Mooney also uses
their society and religion as a tool to cause Mr. Doran marryingher
daughter. She knows that her victim is a religious man, who lives in the
religious culture ofDublin that obeys to the rules of the church. He is afraid
of the church and he is afraid to losehis job in the Catholic wine merchant
office. Thus Mr. Doran had no other option than marryingPolly. Mrs.
Mooney is like a watchdog that watches that the prey will not run out of the
trap, butwill run into it.
Questions for Practice :
How do you think Mrs Mooney settled with Mr. Doran about Polly? Did
Mr. Moran marry Polly orpay out compensation?Sketch the character of
Mrs. Mooney.
Write an interpretation of ‘The Boarding House’.

Briefly narrate the story of “The Boarding House”.

U n i t E i g h t : P l a y i n g W i t h T e x t T h e G i n g e r b r e a d Ho u s e
–
Ro b e r t Co o ve r T h e H e r i t a g e o f W o r d s
The s
ame fairy tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’ is adopted by Robert Coover with the title
‘TheGingerbread House’. He used the device of exaggeration to parody the form of
the original. In
order to do so, he eliminated the first part of the story that is exposition of
the crisis and the lastpart such as complication and denouement. In other
words, the important events and thesequence between one and the other
event are not included in the story. In place of the events,he furnished the
story with such as the physical attributes of the characters and the
forest.Every detail was exaggerated to such an extent that the action and
the movement of the storybecome slow and sluggish. Besides the addition,
he modified the characters, Hansel and Gretelby describing their frequent
quarrels and reconciliation. Even the old father who was kind in theoriginal
story appears irritant now and then. At one occasion he strikes the boy
without anyreason. Similarly the witch is presented as outrageous lunatic
shredding her own clothes,clawing cruelly at her face and throat, crackling,
screeching and tearing doves. Because of suchmodification, addition and
elimination of different aspects of the story, one finds the eventsbeating
about the bush.