Hemant Thakur 1

UNIT-I
Grandmother
Ray young Bear
Summary
“Grandmother” is written in nostalgic tone. In the poem, the poet has tried to manifest his intimate relation with
his grandmother. The love and affection that she showed towards him in his childhood (it is obvious she is no more with
the poet), is still imprinted on his mind and heart. To depict the closeness of their relation the poet has successfully
utilized two new tools in the poem - a) conditional sentences, and b) sensuous images.
The poet boasts that he was so intimate to his grandmother that if he got even a glimpse of her from miles away,
his sense of sight would immediately recognize that it was his grandmother by observing her purple scarf and the plastic
shopping bag. He was so familiar with her that he could also distinguish that the “warm and damp” hands that were put on
his head were of nobody else but of his grandmother. It was not that he could only use his sense of sight or sense of touch
to identify his grandmother. His sense of smell and sense of hearing were also equally capable of recognizing her. He
could recognize his grandmother from “the smell of roots” that her hands gave off.
Most importantly, the words of his grandmother were a source of inspiration for him. When he used to hear her
words, it used to flow inside his body and revive his lost strength and vigour. He has compared its effect with stirring the
ashes of sleeping fire to regenerate fire. Fire is the source of energy, light and clarity. Similarly, when the poet used to
hear her words it used to fill him with new energy, hope, and erase all his confusions. In other words, her advises were a
source of motivation for him.

Q. 1. 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 the sensuous images as effective tools in this poem. As a result he is successful in creating a
vivid picture of his grandmother. These images particularly appeal to our sense of sight (if i were to see …), sense of
touch (if i felt …), sense of smell (with the smell of roots.), and sense of sound (if i heard …). The poet, through the use of
these sensuous images has tried to express how much he loved and how close was his grandmother to his heart.
Q. 2. How does the speaker feel toward his grandmother? In what words or lines does he make his feelings clear?
Ans. Use summary.
Symbols
“stirring ashes/from a sleeping fire”:
Ray Young Bear, using a metaphor, has compared the super-effect of his grandmother’s word with stirring of
ashes. The comparison carries a two-fold meaning. It is a fact that fire inside ashes is of no use. It can’t give warmth,
light, or energy. Therefore, ashes over sleeping fire must be stirred to catch flames. The poet, on surface level, implies his
grandmother’s inspirational words ignite him mentally and spiritually in similar fashion. Her words have comforted him,
her vision has guided him, and her motivation has reenergized him.
At symbolic level, his grandmother’s words are representative of Mesquaki folklores and myth. It is noticeable
that the Mesquaki tribe hasn’t got its truthful representation in American history. American history gives full information
about the settlers from Europe and Africa, who came and were brought as masters and slaves, on the continent. But it
doesn’t talk about the Red Indian aborigines like Mesquaki. Thus, they suffer from identity crisis. The poet has compared
the gloomy situation with night. He suggests listing to oral folklores and myth as a remedy as they would help them
reaffirm their position and place in America.
Roots:
The poet says his grandmother’s hands smelt “roots”. The choice of words seems intentional as it leads to an immediate
shift, which follows with the longest line in the poem. The readers are made realized that now the poet is no more dealing
with his specific grandmother but grandmother in general, where we all trace our origin. For Native Americans
Grandmother or Spider Grandmother is synonymous to Mother Earth or The Goddess Earth.

About Love
Anton Chekhov
Summary
Anton Chekhov’s “About Love” is narrated from the perspective of Paval Konstantinovich alias Alyohin, the
protagonist of the story. It starts with two unmatched love stories of Nikonar and Pelageya, the servants at Alyohin’s
 Hemant Thakur 2

house, and of Alyohin and a Moscow girl. After that it seems that the narrator is curios to know about the mysterious
nature of love. However, the significant margin of the plot is occupied by the platonic love story of Alyohin and Anna
Alexeyevna, the wife of Luganovich.
Alyohin was an educated man, but his father had taken a lot of money to teach him. Therefore, he, like a
responsible person, decided to stay in his village to pay off all the debt. For that he himself worked on the farmland
though he didn’t enjoy that work. In the mean time, he was elected a judge of the circuit court of Russia. This made him a
frequent visitor of town and in that process he made a lot of friends. The best among them was Luganivich, the vice
president of the same court.
One day Luganovich invited him on dinner and there he met Anna, the wife of Luganovich. At the first sight they
got fascinated by each other. After that whenever Alyohin visited the town he would make that a point to visit
Luganoviches. That also provided Anna and Alyohin pass much time and talk in private. They also used to go to theatre
together. They both realized that they loved each other but were not able to express it verbally for some reasons.
Alyohin was very close to Luganovich too. He knew that everybody in the family including servants had
respectable opinion about him. Besides that he also knew that it would be very difficult for them to start a new life with
Anna. He became the prisoner of his own rationality and reason. Therefore, he never expressed his love and let the things
happen in the way it happened.
However, the time for separation also came in their life. Luganovich was transferred to a western province. It was
decided Anna would be first to leave the place and later on other family members would join her. At her departure,
Alyohin got chance to sneak into the compartment just before the train left. At this critical moment they could not resist
their feelings and expressed their love. They hugged and kissed each other passionately for the first time and separated for
ever.

Q. How did Alyohin define love?

Ans. Alyohin, a Moscow scholar and the protagonist of Anton Chekov’s “About Love”, states love “is a great
mystery”. He doesn’t think there can be any hard and fast definition of it. Love is dynamic and every love story is
different. Each couple finds themselves placed in different circumstance in which they come across different persons and
different challenges. Therefore, it is useless to generalize it. According to him each love story is an individual case.
Alyohin believes love is vague and uncertain. One can argue about it as long as he/she pleases but everything that
has been written or said about love is not a solution. They are pleasantly wonderful puzzles that have remained
unanswered.
He is also discontent by the way Russians or civilized world have poeticized love and have compared it with rose
and nightingales. The function of heart can’t be predicted by science. Neither, there can be any theory. Thus, when a
person falls in love he should only try to enjoy it, rather than try to understand the precious gift of the god. According to
him, it equally non sense ask whether is honourable or dishonourable, sensible or stupid, or what/where this love will lead
to a person after a person has already fallen in love.
3. How did the weather and situation help to understand about Alyohin?
Ans. The weather and situation help us understand Alyohin to a great deal. It not only provides Alyohin an
opportunity to entertain his guests, Ivan and Burkin, but there is also a symbolic co-relation between them. The
weather is overcast. And the situation is unfavourable for going out. It is important that it rains so that sky will get
clear and sun will come out, which will normalize the situation again. The overcast gray sky represents Alyohin's
situation. As he lives a lonely life he has got plenty things to share. It is important that he outlets emotions and
painful experience to feel better. Fortunately, both occur in "About Love" with the mastery of Anton Chekov's craft.
With the rain outside, Chekov makes Alyohin narrate his love story and everyone gets relaxed at the end of the story.

The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner

W. B. Yeats
W. B. Yeats, the greatest English poet of 20th century, presents the reminiscences of his eventful young age and
contrasts them with his present pathetic old life in the poem, “The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner.”
The title suggests that the poet is a Pensioner. It means he must be very old and is living a retired life. He says
whenever he is caught in rain he takes shelter under a broken tree. The broken tree can not protect him from the rain.
Here, one must note the point that in England it rains during winter. It means he is deprived of a reliable shelter, when he
 Hemant Thakur 3

needs it most. But it was not always the case with him. When he was young, he used to sit nearest to the fire, which
warmed and comforted him. You can’t light fire in rain outside. It means he had reliable place to live in when he was
young. Not only that, the cosy parlour of the poet always used to be full with the livelier company of his friends who
talked about love and politics. But today, he misses them as “Time” has taken away all his friends leaving him old and
isolated.
He sees some mischievous boys making weapons for some conspiracy. These ‘rascals’ are sure to create chaos in the
society through some barbarous activities. But the poet is not concerned about the possible anarchy in the society. He is
sad as the time has transfigured him.
The poet laments that the time has made him ugly like a broken tree and therefore, no woman shows interest in him.
However, the poet consoles himself that “the beauties that he loved” are still fresh in his memory. He holds the “Time” a
culprit, who has taken away his shelter, friends, youth, energy, and charm and wants to spit on its face in disgust for his
metamorphosis.

Assignment – Q. 1, and 3 (Understanding And Interpretation)

Significance of the Title: The title of the poem, “The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner”, consists three content words,
two nouns (“lamentation” and “Pensioner”), and an adjective, “old” that qualifies the second noun.
“Lamentation” means mourning or wailing over the loss of some precious things, a privilege position or an
advantage. The second noun used by the poet is “pensioner”. The poet could have used ‘man’ instead. But he didn’t. It is
remarkable. A pensioner is a senior citizen, who is provided with some (monetary) benifits for the services s/he has
provided in her/his youth. It helps him/her to live in old age.
The poet has become old as the ‘Time’ has cast its spell (effect) and transfigured him into an ugly being. It has
taken away all his physical charms, energy, and friends. Therefore, he is lamenting. However, at the same time, he boasts
that Time was not able to take away the memories of his heroic deeds done during the Irish cultural revolutions and Irish
republican movements of early 1920s. It gives him heroic feeling and helps, like pension, to live in old age.

Q. Mention three things the old man laments about? Why is he sad about them?
Ans. The old man or the narrator of poem, “The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner” by W. B. Yeats, is sad as he misses
reliable ‘shelter’, pleasant ‘company’, and ‘the beauties’ that he loved and entertained in youth.
W. B. Yeats lived a very eventful life. He was able to establish himself as the most influential writer of the
twentieth century and was widely regarded for his Irish sentiments. It provided him a privilege position in the country. But
he thinks he has lost influence in old age and compares himself with someone who tries to protect himself by sheltering
under a broken tree from rain.
In his youth Yeats entertained a lively company. As he was a poet-cum-senator, his friends were literati and
powerful politicians. They vigorously talked about ‘love (literature) and politics’. But now is old and most of his friends
are dead. Now, when he reflects over those lovely days he finds it more agonizing.
As Yeats was a popular celebrity in his youth, beautiful women were crazy about him. He used to be centre of
attention wherever he went. But now as he has lost his physical charm and energy, no woman looks at him.
The poet is sad because he knows the wheel of time never runs backwards and thus, whatever pleasant things he
had in his life will never return.

UNIT-2
Two Long-Term Problems: Too Many People, Too Few Trees
- Moti Nissani
The essay, “Two Long-Term Problems: Two Many People, Two Few Trees”, by a noted scholar Moti Nissani, is
about two distinct yet inter-related, long-term problems. These two major problems, which are overpopulation and
deforestation, are likely to destroy all the lives on our planet unless timely actions are taken.
The essay starts with the world’s scientists concern over the earth’s environment. It is becoming much polluted. The
air, water, and soil, which are regarded to be the most important things for the existence of any living species, are
becoming poisonous and many kinds of plants and animals have already disappeared.
 Hemant Thakur 4

Nissani opines the main reason for the degrading situation is overpopulation. It is constantly swinging up because
people are living longer than in past and too many children are being born. He cites the example of Nepal, where the
population has risen to 23 million from 9 million in less than 50 years. If the same trend continues unchecked, the
population of Nepal will reach around 368 million after 140 years. Nepal is not the only case of this kind. The population
is increasing everywhere except some countries which can be counted on finger tips. More people, in turn, use more
natural resources, cause pollution, and bring changes in world climate.
Meanwhile, the time for improvement is still within our reach. We can still control the situation though it is difficult
to reverse it. We can minimise the problem by controlling our population. Education, especially to women, and
information about how to avoid babies can help to reduce the population growth.
As the population grows, forests are cut down for new farmlands and houses. The demand of rich people in the west
for beef is also provoking people to change the forest into pasture-land. Besides, the demand of wood and paper products
in developed countries is also adding fuel to the fire.
When the trees are chopped down, the topsoil is destroyed. It leads to disastrous landslides and sudden flood.
Deforestation also causes droughts, weather extremes, desertification, loss of wild species, and depletion of ozone layer.
However, deforestation can also be controlled if the number of people will be controlled. Education, family planning
and changes in the way we use wood are also important to control deforestation. For example, in Nepal the use of
smokeless stoves can reduce the amount of firewood. The essayists reminds us that we know what changes we have to
make but we are not clever or brave enough to make those changes. We need to apply what we know to control these two
long-term problems.

Assignment – Q 1, and 2 (U&I)

Q. Are Scientists optimist about the future of the world and environment?
Ans. Yes, scientists and Nobel Prize winners, in their The World Scientists Warning to Humanity, are optimistic
about the future of world, environment, and mankind. Every warning has got an implication that the warned person
or people will bring correction. He will not only avoid repeating same mistakes but also improvise himself. The
world scientist community is also hopeful that human will help to ameliorate the situation by correcting their way of
living.  
It obvious that they are aware that human activities has "inflicted harsh and often irreversible damage" to
nature. They also know the fact that a number of species of plants and animals have been put to extinct. But yet,
most importantly, human beings survive. They made it clear that their main concern is to safeguard human existence
and they urge for "fundamental changes" in our way of life to avoid such tragedy.  

Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star

M. Lilla and C. B. Barry
“Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star” is a travelogue extracted from the article, “Karnali, Roadless World of Western
Nepal”, prepared by two American geographers. The two geographers had spent around 15 months in the hills of western
Nepal to discover how the hilly area of this developing country is economically linked to its lower land. Besides that the
essay also explores the lifestyle and horizon of thinking of the people who live here.
The essay starts with the description of some people who are making their annual trip to Nepalgunj, a commercial
centre in the western lowlands of Nepal. They carry herbs, hashish, hand-knit sweater and blankets to sell in Nepalgunj
which will help them to buy the conventional household items for the whole year.
On the way they meet a Chhetri woman, who tells them that her husband has gone to Terai 15 years ago but has not
returned. She requests them to look for her husband. This makes the American geographer wonder that how small is the
world for a typical woman in these remote regions of Nepal. They also find some persons processing silajit on the way.
When they ask why it was not processed at their home, they are told “One must begins one’s trip when the propitious day
arrives.” These events suggest that the people of Nepal are not only ignorant but are superstitious too.
They also find some person chopping leaves and twigs for their cattle. When the researchers ask about its future
effect, they are told “what can we do? The animals must eat today.” The statement makes clear how these ignorant
Nepalese are running after immediate gain and are destroying the wild forest rapidly. They are not thinking about its
outcome, which the author thinks will soon turn all the slopes into a bare land.
When they reach Nepalgunj, most of their fellow travellers buy conventional items needed for the smooth running of
house. However, Karma spends every rupee on distillery equipment which will help him to make liquor and earn enough
money to buy everything in Jumla. The example of Karma is indicative of the ratio that only a few Nepalese want to solve
 Hemant Thakur 5

their problem permanently. Most of them are not concerned about how long they will keep making painful annual journey
to Terai.
The travelogue ends with a suggestion that in western Nepal, where agriculture production is very low, people must
work hard and combine farming with “other pursuits to survive”.

Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies

- William Shakespeare
Summary
The poem, “Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies” is extracted from the famous Shakespearean drama, “The Tempest.”
In the poem Ariel, the spirit, on the instructions of Prospero, is informing Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, that his father
is drowned in the ocean. Prospero wants to torture Ferdinand mentally by making him sure of his father’s death.
Ariel tells Ferdinand that the body of latter’s father is laying 30 feet down the sea surface. But it can be difficult to
identify the body now. According to him, the bones of Ferdinand’s father are changed into coral and his eyes have
become pearls. Ariel tells no part of latter’s father is finished for ever. Rather they are changed into something of higher
value. They look strange, mysterious and are hard to recognize because they have undergone a great change. To make
Ferdinand feel sure about his father’s death, Ariel insists that the sea nymphs ring his death bell every hour and if he tries
he will also be able to listen it.

Significance of Death in the Poem: Death appears to be glorified in the Shakespearean verse, “Full Fathom Five Thy
Father Lies”. There is a conventional idea that though our soul is immortal, our body is perishable. It decays after death.
So, the body is useless and is as cheap as coal, dirt, and water.
However, in the given poem death is significant as it challenges our established notion. Shakespeare claims after that
our body does not perish. Rather it becomes more valuable as shown in the poem. Ferdinand’s sea sunk father’s bones
have changed into corals and his eyes have become pearls. Literally he doesn’t mean our bones always change into corals
and our eyes become pearls after death.
Rather it has a literary or implied meaning. Shakespeare means that even after our death our body continues to exist in
different transformed forms in the nature. Therefore, it is also immortal like our soul. Thus, death is a pleasing event,
which immortalizes us thoroughly, i.e. in soul and body both.
Assignment – “Shakespeare has glorified death rather than depicting it as a worse transformation.” Do you agree with
this statement? Why?

Travelling Through the Dark

William Stafford
Summary
The poem, “Travelling through the Dark”, depicts the internal conflict between the mind, a sense of
responsibility, and heart, the compassion, of the narrator. At the same time, through the symbolic “Dark” of the title the
poet is able to portray that the growing affinity of human with machine is tempting them to collide with the nature, a
collision which will be threatening for all the living species on the planet, not only a doe.
On a dark night, the narrator was driving his car on Wilson River road. At the edge of the river he found a dead
deer. His common sense told him to roll that deer into the gorge because the road was narrow and a slight carelessness
might call for more accidents. He stopped his car and went near to it. It was a doe and had been dead. But when he
dragged it he found that it was pregnant.
When he observed its belly closely, he sensed that the fawn inside it must be alive. But he also knew that it could
not be born. The tragic fate of the fawn made him emotional. It was difficult for him to throw the body into the gorge
because it would kill the baby instantly.
His dilemma and inactness blocked the street. He listened the people getting restless as everybody was in hurry to
go. They immediately wanted the road to be opened. The narrator thought very deeply and concluded that it wasn’t
practical to leave the dead body of the doe on the street. It could make more accidents. Therefore, he threw it into the
gorge and chose to perform his duty.
Q. What is the central idea of the poem, “Travelling through the Dark”?
Ans. The poem, “Travelling through the Dark”, depicts the internal conflict between the mind, a sense of
responsibility, and heart, the compassion, of the narrator. At the same time, through the symbolic “Dark” of the title the
 Hemant Thakur 6

poet is able to portray that the growing affinity of human with machine is tempting them to collide with the nature, a
collision which will be threatening for all the living species on the planet, not only a doe.
On a dark night, the narrator was driving his car on Wilson River road. At the edge of the river he found a dead
deer. His common sense told him to roll that deer into the gorge because the road was narrow and a slight carelessness
might call for more accidents. He stopped his car and went near to it. It was a doe and had been dead. But when he
dragged it he found that it was pregnant.
When he observed its belly closely, he sensed that the fawn inside it must be alive. But he also knew that it could
not be born. The tragic fate of the fawn made him emotional. It was difficult for him to throw the body into the gorge
because it would kill the baby instantly.
His dilemma and inactness blocked the street. He listened the people getting restless as everybody was in hurry to
go. They immediately wanted the road to be opened. The narrator thought very deeply and concluded that it wasn’t
practical to leave the dead body of the doe on the street. It could make more accidents. Therefore, he threw it into the
gorge and chose to perform his duty. (it’s the summary)

UNIT-3
A Story
Dylan Thomas
This story is not written chronological in order. To have better understanding it can be divided into five episodes.
Episode 1: The narrator describes his uncle, Mr. Thomas and aunt, Mrs. Sarah. The couple looked unmatched to the boy,
as the former is abnormally huge and noisy in comparison to the latter, who very small, gauzy and quiet.
Episode 2: In this part the boy heard about the outing for the first time. Mr. Benjamin Franklyn, a friend of the boy’s
uncle, came with the news that everything was going right according to the plan. He said he had collected enough money
for the charabanc and twenty cases of pale ale. In addition to this, he also declared to give a pound to every member on
the first stoppage. But Will Sentry was sceptical of him as Bob the Fiddle, their ex-treasurer, had swindled money on their
last outing. After that it was decided that the new treasurer must show the account clearly.
Episode 3: On the next Sunday Mr. Franklyn came with the list of the members going on the outing. Everybody got
satisfied and the plan was approved. It was decided that they would go on the outing on coming Saturday.
Episode 4: When Sarah heard that Mr. Thomas is going on an outing, she didn’t like it. She gave him option to choose one
between wife and outing. Quite surprisingly uncle chose the latter. But it does not mean that their relation is broken after
that, Mr. Thomas raised her onto a chair and got punishment from her, which was always several blows from a china dog.
Sarah went to her mother’s house on Saturday leaving the required instructions in a note like every year.
Episode 5: The final part of the story describes the outing and the peculiar habits of its members from a boy’s perspective.
Mr. Thomas took his nephew with him on the outing. The other members did not like that but they soon forgot it as they
wanted to start at right time for the Porthcawl. But when they left the village and reached a bit further they found O. Jones
missing. They had to return back to village to take him which Mr. Weazley didn’t like. But when they set off again, Mr.
Weazley remembered that he had forgotten his teeth at home. He requested them to go back to the village but this time on
one listened to him.
In the way they stopped at every pub, assigned the boy to look after the old bus and drank a lot. The whole
afternoon passed in drinking and at dusk they reached to a stream. They swam in it and forgot that they had to reach
Porthcawl. Actually, they could not reach the place they had aimed for and returned home from the mid-way. While
returning home they didn’t find any pub open. Thus, the thirty drunkards decided to assemble into a field and drank more.
By this time the boy was so tired that he fell asleep.
This humorous story ends by showing how in our day to day life we run after glamour, immediate gains, and
amusement. The thirty men never reached the destination they had aimed for as they didn’t realize the value of time. It
also makes us realize that how the grown-ups always dictate the children about the right and wrong things but they hardly
bother what example they themselves set for them.

Q. How does the boy, the narrator, look at his uncle and aunt?
Ans. The description provided by the narrator, who is a small boy, of Uncle Thomas and Aunt Sarah is quite humorous.
He has used child imagery to describe them. He has used different similes and metaphors and hints that the couple is
unmatched. The Uncle is so huge that the whole room becomes smaller when he comes in side it. He looks like a buffalo
 Hemant Thakur 7

squeezed into an airy cupboard. He is very noisy and his voice is compared with the trumpet of an elephant. He doesn’t
seem well mannered and when he eats, litters his waistcoat which is as big as a meadow for the boy.
But opposite to the husband, Mrs. Sarah, the boy’s aunt, is quite small. She hardly makes her presence felt
wherever she goes. Unlike her husband, she is soft spoken, which the boy tells is like the squeaking of a mouse. She is
also a perfectionist and most of her time goes in arranging and dusting the things in her house. Above all she is a caring
wife too. We see when she leaves for her mother’s house in anger she doesn’t forget to remind Mr. Thomas about food.
The description of Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Sarah might appear unmatched from a small boy’s perspective, but the
caring attitude of wife towards the husband and willingness of the husband to get the punishment from the wife also
suggest that there is a good understanding between them.
Q. The plan was to go Porthcawl for outing. Did they ever reach there? Why?
Ans. The thirty men, in spite of their day-long journey in a private charabanc, did not reach Porthcawl, which was the
final destination of outing trip. The humorous narrator boy, of Dylan Thomas’ “A Story”, has implied that the party of
drunkards were themselves to be blamed for their failure as they were not organised and focused about their aim.
To achieve any goal, there are two simple but sure success mantras; a) to be organised, and b) to be focused. None
of the 30 men has planned their trip. They should have decided how much time to pass on way and for refreshment.
Similarly, though they knew that they have to reach Porthcawl, none of them was focused about the fact that their primary
goal was to reach there. Rather than being focused, they were happy amusing themselves. They stopped whenever they
passed by any pub and drank the way they would never get another chance to drink in their life. Thus, their whole time
passed in pubs and drink and they were denied of any adventures.
The failure of the group bring forth a lesson that for success one must need to plan in advance, one must know
how to execute those plans, and more importantly one should never set his/her eyes off the primary goal.

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship

G. G. Marquez
Stream of Consciousness: ‘Stream of Consciousness’ is a borrowed term from psychology in literature. William James, a
famous psychologist, was the first person to use the term in his book, The Principles of Psychology (1890). In literature,
the term is also synonymous with ‘magic realism’, ‘ghost realism’, and ‘dream realism’. As a literary technique, it is
inclined to follow the diverse aspects or dynamics of human mind. As the phrase itself indicates, it shows the free flowing
of unrefined sense perception, raw thoughts, vague feelings, and untainted but blurred memories. The technique is not
abide by spatial and temporal chronology. Neither is it punctuated by grammatical rules. Such manifestation is mostly
brought forth by narration through interior monologue and dramatic monologue.
Summary
This story is written by applying stream of consciousness technique. It explains how a boy deepens his
observation and grows from an ordinary boy to an assertive young man.
When the story starts we find the boy is already grown into assertive man, when he asserts, “Now they are going
to see who I am.” But in the very next line we are made familiar about the past events through retrospective technique.
Four years ago in March, the boy saw a huge ship, which lost its way, crushed to a rock and sank. There were no
lights on the ship. Neither had it appeared in the light of the lighthouse. He could only see the ship in extreme darkness.
Our common sense tells that we can see an object only if it is luminous or it is illuminated. Thus, it is clear that it was just
an imagination of the boy. He was himself not sure about that vision for the first time and didn’t tell anybody about that.
In the following March, he saw a similar ship again. This time he told his mother about it. His mother didn’t
believe him. Rather, she thought the boy became lunatic and lamented for three weeks. However, she assured him that she
would go and look at the ship if it came again. But before the arrival of the ship, she died.
When the ship appeared in March again, the boy called the villagers to see that ship. But as there wasn’t any ship
and they beat the boy for telling lie. After that the boy decided if the ship came next time he would show everybody how
big the ship was.
The ship appeared in the fourth March too. This time the boy led the ship with a stolen lamp in a small boat. The
light of the lamp helped the ship to correct it way and it followed the boy. The boy brought the ship to the village. The
gigantic ship was 97 times longer than the village and 20 times taller than the church. The boy imagined that its loud siren
had woken the whole village and they were looking at the ship in disbelieve. This would help him to prove his worth and
who he was.
 Hemant Thakur 8

Actually it is the story about the powerful imagination of the boy. Sometimes a person’s creative power becomes
so sharp that he can see his vision in concrete form. A normal mind with limited power of creativity hardly sees such
picture.

UNIT-4
God’s Grandeur
G.M. Hopkins
Interpretation of the poem
“God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manly Hopkins is a typical religious sonnet written in traditional rhyme scheme
with usual octave (abbaabba) but slight variation in its sestet ( cdcdcd instead of cdecde). The language of the poem is
lofty and sublime.
According to the poet, the whole world is full with the glory of god. Sometimes it appears in front of our eyes
momentarily like a flash from a fencing sword. Sometimes his greatness gathers to a huge mass like the ooze of oil. But,
most of the time, human does not realize the presence of god around him. He does not listen to divine wishes. Generations
have passed after generations, but they were so involved in their own business that they hardly got any time to pay
attention to Almighty’s wishes. Their ‘trade’ has affected the whole world. The nature bears the scars and is emitting foul
smell given by human. The earth has become barren and ugly but human cannot realize it as they live artificial life.
However, in spite of its extreme exploitation, the nature hasn’t finished. There is still “dearest freshness” at its
core. It recovers itself every time as there is a sunrise after every sunset because the whole world is under the protection of
the Holy Ghost. He takes care of the world as a hen does of its eggs and rear chickens from it. The poem suggests that the
world is infinitely safe under the protection of God.
Q. What do the words, seared, bleared, and smeared suggest?
Ans. The three past tense verbs, ‘seared’, ‘bleared’, and ‘smeared’, which mean to dry, to blur, and to rub respectively, are
the negative connotations indicating destructive human activity. It is also noticeable that there is an assonance played the
abovementioned words. The repetition of /ie/ thrice, in fact, seems to suggest the uniformity in destructive human actions.
The underlying assonance, in the three action verbs, has also drawn a parallel to the previous line, “Generations have trod,
have trod, have trod”, highlighting the long disobedience of human. The given words, in short, suggest the serious
consequences of greed lewd human business has started tolling over the world now.

UNIT-5
I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King Jr.
Historical and Cultural Background
From about the year 1600 white people in North America brought Negroes from Africa as slaves. They had to
cultivate land for their master but didn’t have essential human rights. They could not leave the farm of their master and
must work there whole life without being paid or making any complain. They could be sold to other master if their old
master didn’t need them. If they ever attempted to run away they were shot dead because the whites had rights to guard
them as their animal.
In 1787 the constitution of USA stated that all men are created equal, and that all men have the right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But these rules only remained restricted in papers. They were never applied for the
Negro slaves. They were not allowed to live like whites.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln made the Emancipation Declaration. This said that all the slaves were free.
They could leave the plantation firms and the houses of the whites. But if they wished to live with their masters, they must
be paid.
However, Negroes were still not treated equally. In many states of southern USA black children were not allowed
to go to the same schools with white children. The blacks were not allowed to go into the hotels, public parks and public
transports. This segregation provoked Martin Luther to fight against it to uphold the dignity of blacks in America.
Summary
The essay is actually a glorious speech given by a great American civil right leader, Martin Luther to an
unprecedented throng of 200,000 Americans. The unforgettable speech came exactly 100 years after the blacks were
declared free. King says that the Constitution of The USA had promised that all men would be free and equal, but the
blacks are still not free. They do not have equal rights with the whites. He says the Negroes are asking for freedom and
 Hemant Thakur 9

they want social equality and all human rights. They must be provided these things if America really wants to be a
glorious nation. According to him the time has arrived for the nation to turn the things written into the constitution into
reality. Citing various examples of unequal behaviours done by the whites, he says that it is time for all of them to wake
up from the deep sleep against the brutal injustice and torture. He says the police must stop beating blacks, whites must
allow them to stay at hotels, and the government must provide them voting rights.
Meanwhile, he also emphasizes and convinces the audience that the movement must be peaceful and without any
violence. He also praises some whites for their support and says that it is important not to distrust all the whites. In quite
touching and appealing language he explains that he has a dream that one day all the blacks and whites would live
together in complete brotherhood. He opines that America could only become a great nation if all its citizens enjoy equal
opportunity and privilege. The speech has become unforgettable for its precise word selections and mild appeals for the
entire mankind.
Q. What is the apparent purpose of this speech?
Ans. The rhetoric of Martin Luther King’s unforgettable speech, “I Have a Dream”, is designed to meet his sole
purpose to liberate the Black American from the ‘sweltering heat of injustice’. He finds the blacks victim of racial
discrimination in their own country and wants to win the essential civil rights for them through this speech. He is sad at
apathy of American government. He says America has remained ineffective to keep its promise of providing equal rights
to its citizen of coloured skin. His purpose is to make America bow to their rightful demands through non-violent
movement.
His purpose is to work for integration ending segregation. It is impossible unless the whites and blacks are treated
alike by the state. He makes it clear that Negros can’t be deceived anymore. They are determinant to get their rights of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness at every cost. It doesn’t mean that they will turn violent. He makes it apparent
that they will face the ‘physical force with soul force’. He warns America to wake up from its long sleep and keep its
promise.

Q. To What extent does King’s personal authority lend power to his words?
Ans. Martin Luther King junior’s personal authority as a clergyman and as the leader of the Black Civil Rights Movement
cast great power to his words. He is known for his oratory skills and with this he was able to draw significant number of
people in each gathering. His words in “I Have of Dream” are hued with the biblical reference. Being a clergyman is able
to say the words of the god with greater confidence.
Similarly, the policy on which he relies is of non-violent passive resistance. His religious background has also
supported his policy. The listeners are confident that King might do everything but will never give up his faith. A faith
that god has created every human equal and “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…” Like an expert orator he links it to
the crux of “Declaration of Independence” that insists right to “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" are inalienable to
every human being. With this faith he is able take his audience into confidence.

UNIT-6
Women’s Business
Ilene Kantrov
The women entrepreneurs mentioned in the essay:
1. Lydia E. Pinkham: A role model for businesswomen worldwide. She prepared a kind of herbal medicine for
women’s in 1879 and claimed it to be the “greatest remedy” ever made for women. She reckoned it could cure
any disease related to women. It helped her to earn $ 200,000 in 1881. She also worked for women’s welfare as a
social activist and advocated for women’s rights, temperance and fiscal reforms. These things helped her to get an
image of “Saviour of Sex” among American women.
2. Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden: They were beauticians. They sold make-ups.
3. Margaret Rudkin: She sold a health food. It was bread made out of whole wheat. She first made it for her
asthmatic son.
4. Jennie Grossinger: she owned a hotel that provided better food and entertainment. At its peak it served 150,000
customers each year due to her motherly figure. It helped her earn name and fame both.
5. Gertrude Muller: She sold things to help people to look after their babies. She also enclosed small books
explaining her ideas with the packages she sold. Her booklets were also recommended by some doctors.
6. Annie Turnbo-Malone: She was a black woman. She sold a chemical that made hair nice and fair. She also
established a school which trained her agents in her “poro” system of hairdressing.
 Hemant Thakur 10

The main idea of the essay is the American business used their traditional knowledge, and stereotyped images to earn
fame and fortune. They also gave a considerable amount of profit and time in social service. However, they chose profit
when it collided with altruism.

Q. 1. Which of Lydia E. Pinkhams methods did later women capitalist adopt for their own enterprises? In what ways did
they depart from Pinkham’s model?
Ans. Lydia E. Pinkham was a pioneer businesswoman, who set example for the women worldwide and inspired them
to come out of their homes and compete in male-dominated society. She had introduced a kind of herbal medicine named
Lydia E Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. She claimed it to be the “greatest remedy” in the world, which could cure any
disease of women. She used her kind image of “Grandma” – to sell her products. She indulged in social service and
advocated for women’s rights, temperance and fiscal reforms. This helped her to proclaim herself a “Saviour of Sex”
among Americans. She had established a “Department of Advice” and gave practical suggestions about diet, exercise and
hygiene. She also exploited the traditional fear of women and female stereotypes to sell her products.
Almost all the women who followed Pinkham’s footsteps in the next century had applied the same tactics. All of
them focused only on women to sell their products. Like Pinkham, they also used their traditional skills. For example
Helena and Elizabeth sold make-ups, which were just a little bit modified form of traditional way of beautification. Like
Pinkham the later women also exploited there image as a woman. For example the mother-like image of Grossinger
helped her hotel to get a huge profit.
Like Pinkham, they all spent a considerable amount of time and money in the social service. However, none of
them could maintain a proper balance between their business and social activity like Pinkham. They preferred their profit
when it collided with the work of altruism.

Q. 2. How did the businesswoman the writer introduces in her essay differ from their male counterparts? In what
way they resemble male entrepreneurs of their day?
Ans. Unlike the businessmen, almost all the businesswomen of 19 th century had used their traditional skills and
concentrated on women to sell their products. For example, Lydia E. Pinkham sold a medicine, which she had already
used on her family members. It was also exclusively made for women. Helena and Elizabeth had also used their
traditional knowledge to beautify women and introduced it in the market with several modifications to make their stories
successful. Margaret Rudkin sold a health diet, a special bread, which was made of whole wheat. She had experienced its
effect when she fed it to her asthmatic son. Unlike the males, the women entrepreneurs were able to exploit their female
images. It helped them to win women’s confidence. Most of them indulged in social service, which wasn’t preferred by
their male counterparts.
But like males, for female entrepreneurs also, making profit was the most important thing. And to get profit they
never hesitated to exaggerate things. For example Lydia E. Pinkham claimed that her vegetable compound had a
miraculous (magical) effect but it was simply an unproven home remedy. Similarly, like males she also misled customers
when she sold booze though she advocated temperance.

The Children Who Wait

Marsha Traugot
Summary
“The Children Who Wait” by Marsha Traugot, points how the trend of adoptation has undergone a sea-change in
only 20 years after 1960. Till 1960 only rich white couples used to adopt children from foster houses and the adopted
children were mostly used to be white and under five. Any child older than five, a black or interracial child, and a child
with physical and mental limitations were considered damaged goods. The essayist seems content that now no child of
orphanage is considered “unadoptable” and almost all of them are likely to find a good supportive family.
The essay starts with the reference of an advertisement in which a permanent family for Tammy is demanded.
There are several drawbacks which go against her; she is black, she is handicapped, and suffers from fatal alcohol
syndrome. These things were enough to put a tag “unadoptable” on her in 1960 but not now.
In the next two decades after 1960, the field of adoptation has undergone a radical change. There are many factors
responsible for that. The civil rights movements, birth control, changing moral values and social science researches have
taken off the “unadoptable” label from so many children. There is also scarcity of white and healthy children at orphanage
due to legalized abortion and co-operative social behaviour towards unwed mothers in America. The healthy and infant
 Hemant Thakur 11

children are so scarce that couples wishing to adopt such child are told to wait for five or more years. This scarcity has
turned the attention of desperate couple for child towards desperate children waiting for a permanent family.
With more options, the foster care centres and social workers set limitations to choose a better family for the
orphans. It helps both the parties. Sometimes the prospective parents are suggested to visit foster cares frequently so that
they can get mixed-up with the child. Now it doesn’t matter who adopts a child; a single and unmarried or married couple,
rich or poor, a back or interracial. What matters for the social worker is the parent must be able to rear the child in a
homely atmosphere. For example for a 15-year-old boy, with a stormy history and poor academic results they are likely to
choose a “strong male” parent who can allow him reasonable freedom, set limits and provide a stable home. Similarly, for
an 11-year-old boy with Down’s syndrome, a heart defeat, and a hearing disability, they might choose a religious family
with older children in it. If they do so then not only the older children of the family can help, take care and serve as role
models, and the parents will also have less ego invested in the adopted child than a childless couple.

A Child is Born
Germaine Greer
Summary
“A Child is Born” by Germaine Greer, a renowned feminist, compares the ways of managing childbirth in
traditional societies of East and rich society of West. In her conclusion, she appreciates the traditional ways of managing
pregnancy, delivery and post delivery cases. Her idea sounds controversial, but we must have to consider that her essay is
the result of her wide travelling and research works.
Greer insists that the ways of managing child birth in the traditional societies are different and multiple but, more
importantly, are useful. A pregnant woman gets encouraging support from the every member of the house, her relatives
and neighbours. She is entertained and asked her wish. She is not allowed to do works and a lot of rituals are performed.
This things distract her mind and hardly gives her time to fore-experience the terribly pain she is likely bear to during
delivery.
But on the other hand, a pregnant woman in the rich societies of West hardly gets any companion. Being alone
and amidst modern scientific equipments and uncooperative hospital staffs, she is likely to imagine about the horrible
hour, she will have to undergo during delivery. This mental tension is worse than the mother mortality in traditional
births.
After the child is born, the occasion is celebrated in an interesting way. Of course it is considered better to have a
boy, but the birth of a girl is also celebrated with the same joy. When the child is grown, it is encouraged to get intimate
with other members of family. Thus, a child in East doesn’t get limited to its own father and mother. It gets familiar with
other members as well. And for such child, its uncle, aunt, and cousin all are equally important and loveable.
She has accepted that now western techniques backed by machines and medicines are reaching the remote areas
of East. But she doesn’t like that change and thinks these techniques will crush all the pride and dignity of the child
bearing.

[Note: dear students you must understand that she is only speaking out her mind in the text, not necessarily an absolute
idea.]
UNIT-7
The Tell-Tale Heart
Edgar Allan Poe
Summary
This is a psychological story in which the narrator, the maniac, driven by a compulsive hatred of “evil eyes” kills
an old man whom he says he loved.
The story starts with a self-contradictory statement of the narrator, “True! – nervous – very, very dreadfully
nervous I had been and am: but why will you say that I am mad?” The statement reveals that the narrator is supposed to be
mad and must be undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. It is also clear that the whole story is his attempt to prove that
he isn’t a mad person. But his attempt leads him to confess his crime and proves him lunatic.
The old man was good to the narrator but the latter didn’t like the former’s eyes. According to the narrator, those
vulture-like eyes were enough to arouse hatred and anger in his heart. He wanted to get rid of those eyes and eventually
decided to kill him.
For seven consecutive nights he entered the old man’s room with the evil purpose at mid-night. But he used to
find the old man sleeping. As the eyes of the old man were closed he couldn’t kill him, because nothing except his eyes
 Hemant Thakur 12

ever bothered the narrator. But on the eighth night the old man awoke as he opened the door. Those eyes made him
furious and he killed the old man. After that he cut the old man’s body into pieces and buried it into the ground of his own
room.
In the mean time the neighbours heard the shriek sound of the old man and they informed the police. At 4 o’clock
of the morning three policemen came to the narrator’s house but they didn’t find anything wrong. The narrator had
removed all the evidences and showed them every thing in the room confidently.
However, some time later he started hearing the heart beat of the old man. The sound grew louder and louder and
after some time it became so loud that the narrator found himself unable to stand it. The thought the policemen must have
listened that sound too, but perhaps they were playing with him. He thought he would die if he didn’t confess his crime
and he confessed his crime unasked.
It is the story of a criminal psyche, which doesn’t have the power to compromise and leads a person to do wrong
things. But once, a crime is committed, the guilt conscience of the criminal always haunts him and he can hardly get peace
until he confess the sin.

Q. Justify the title, “The Tell-Tale Heart”.

Ans: According to “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,” ‘tell-tale’ is a “mechanical device that serves as an
indicator.” However, it doesn’t show the real object in its concrete form. It is always symbolic. For example, when we see
a black band on somebody’s arm, we understand that he/she is mourning on someone’s death, although we don’t see any
dead body around.
The word “Tell-Tale” is used as an adjective of “Heart”. It means the heart (of the old man) has served as an
indicator of the narrator’s crime. The imaginary heart beat forces him to confess his sin and plays very important role in
the story. So, the title, “The Tell-Tale Heart” seems quite appropriate for the story.
Q. What made the narrator confess his crime?
Ans. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a psychological thriller by Edgar Allan Poe, in which the narrator, the maniac, driven by
a compulsive hatred of “evil eyes” kills an old man whom he says he loved. It is surprising. However, what seems more
surprising is the fact that the murderer himself confesses the crime as the story culminates.
As it is psychological story, the reason for the narrator’s confession is not stated in clear terms. The story says he
listens the heart beat of the dead old man, which would be too foolish to believe. The readers are forced to make wild
guesses then. It is clear that the narrator has the hallucination. It might be due to his guilt conscience. He himself knows
that he has committed a crime and is liable for punishment. The anxiety to remain safe makes him think that he can be
caught at any time and thinks his ears are ringing with the heart beat of the person. The over anxiety makes him confess
his crime to the police, who hardly have any doubt on him.
Thus, I think it would be safe to say that it was the guilt conscience and worry to get caught that made the narrator
confess his crime.

Purgatory
W.B. Yeats
Purgatory: The word “purgatory” is derived from the noun, “purge” meaning “to make something clean or pure”.
According to Catholic belief, purgatory is supposed to be the place where souls of people, who cannot go straight to
heaven, must suffer until their sins are forgiven. After some punishments and suffering the souls are freed and they ascend
to the heaven.
Summary
“Purgatory” is a short one-act poetic play by W.B. Yeats. The main theme of the play is that when you commit sin
against other you can be forgiven if that victim’s soul wants but when you commit sin against yourself even God can’t
forgive you.
There are only two characters in this play – an Old Man and his son, a Boy. Both of them are vendors. The Old
Man takes the Boy to an old and ruined house. According to him, he was born in the same house and it belonged to his
mother. His mother’s family was very reputed and a lot of great people like Magistrates, Colonels, Parliament members,
Captains, and Governors were born in the family. But his mother fell in love with a horse-trainer and married him. The
Old Man was the result of same union and his mother died at his birth.
According to the Old Man, his father was an immoral person who spent all the money of his mother on gambling,
drinking, and flirting women. One day while he was drunk, he burnt the house and the Old Man killed him in the burning
house. After that he ran away from that house.
 Hemant Thakur 13

The Old Man tells the lineage of his mother was polluted when she married the horse-trainer. By doing so, she
had betrayed her tradition and culture. Therefore, she has to relive the night of her union with the horse-trainer in the
purgatory.
After that the Boy fights with the Old Man over the share of money and the Old Man kills him. After that he
thinks his mother’s soul will be freed from the purgatory as he has corrected her mistake by finishing her polluted lineage.
But he finds it doesn’t help her as well, and she still suffers in the purgatory.

UNIT-8
Hansel & Gretel
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Summary
Hansel and Gretel lived with their poor woodcutter- father and stepmother near a forest. One night during a
famine they heard the stepmother persuading their father to abandon them into deep forest. This broke the heart of Gretel
and she started crying. But Hansel consoled her and arranged some pebbles.
In the following morning, they were taken to the forest but Hansel dropped some pebbles on the way so that they
could trace their way back home. According to the plan, the children were left in the forest. However, when the moon
shone over the pebbles dropped by Hansel they found their way to home easily. The father became very happy to find
them back.
After some time a similar famine hit the area. Like last time, the stepmother forced the woodcutter to leave the
children in the forest again. Like last time, the children overheard it again but this time Hansel could not go out to collect
pebbles as the stepmother had locked the door from outside.
In the following morning, they were taken into deep forest. Hansel had dropped some crumbled pieces of the
bread that he got in breakfast on the way. But this trick could not help as those pieces of bread were eaten by birds. As a
result, they lost in the forest.
For three days they tried to find the way to home without success. Rather they reached a house, made of bread,
cake and sugar. Suffering with unbearable hunger, they could not resist their temptation to eat. The house belonged to an
old witch. She had been using that house to trap children so that she could eat them.
The old witch took them inside with love. She also provided them good food and bed. But once they slept, she
imprisoned Hansel in a shed and made Gretel work a lot. She wanted to make Hansel fat and fed him for four weeks. But
due to cunningness of Hansel, she couldn’t find the difference. At last she got tired of waiting and lit the oven to roast
him. But Gretel outwitted her and pushed her into the oven. The witch died there and she rescued her brother.
They filled their pockets with precious stones that witch had stored in her home and again tried to find their way
back to home. In the way they came across a river but they were carried across it by a large white duck.
After crossing the river they found the way familiar and reached their home again. Their stepmother had already
died and their father became very happy to find them back.

Gretel
Garrison Keillor
Feminist Interpretation
“Gretel” is the narration of the grievances of Gretel which appears a feminist perspective.
Gretel blames Hansel of treachery in selling the copyright to Grimm brothers as she wasn’t given any share in the
profits. Not only that, he also distorted the actual story and showed himself as a real hero. On the other hand, Gretel is
presented as his weak sister. But it was Gretel who was in the leading role from the very beginning. She not only consoled
him when needed but also carried him on her back on the way to jungle. Now getting all the profit he lives a good life
with their evil father in a big house.
According to Gretel, her stepmother, Gladys, shouldn’t be blamed for their abandonment. It was their father who
plotted to abandon them into forest. The stepmother could not even send them inside their room against the wish of their
father. She also reveals that the stepmother didn’t die at the end of the story. Actually she was forced to leave the house
without any compensation.
 Hemant Thakur 14

There was also a third person who suffered in the story. It was the old witch who was killed by Gretel. But Gretel
regrets why she killed her. She thinks the witch was not really after her life. She thinks she was targeting only against
male race. Now, she reflects that if she had helped the witch, she would not have been betrayed by her brother.
In fact the story (to be precise, the essay) points out how every story highlights its male characters as heroes while
confines women into weaker (Gretel), evil (witch) and jealous (stepmother) roles.

Hansel and Gretel

Jack Zipes
Marxist/Plebeian/Political Interpretation
“Hansel and Gretel” by Jack Zipes is a Marxist interpretation of the original story on the same name. Marxist
believes that a human is not good or bad in itself, it is made so by the society. According to Karl Marx, “It is not the
consciousness of men that determines their being, on the contrary, it’s social being that determines their consciousness.”
Keeping the above traditional Marxist belief in mind, Zipes argues that the parents of Hansel and Gretel don’t
abandon them happily in the forest. Rather they are forced to do so by their poverty. According to him, every plebeian
child is aware about these kinds of obligations of their parents. Hansel and Gretel also know the economic limitation of
their parents. They know that if their poverty ends, it will take every problem away with it. Therefore, when they find
precious stones and gems, they return to their parents instead of turning away from them.
The second principle of Marxism tells that poor people must attack the bourgeois or filthy rich for survival. They
have acquired a great sum of property by exploiting poor people. Therefore, it is justifiable that the latter attack the former
to take their shares back. The witch in the story is the representative of those filthy rich. She has made a house of bread,
cake, and sugar whereas common people are dying of hunger. For common people, the survival is only possible if they
kill such witches. The little hero and little heroine do the same in the story and become successful to end their crisis.

Hansel and Gretel

Bruno Bettelheim
Psychological Interpretation
“The fairy tale (of Hansel and Gretel)”, Bruno Bettelheim thinks, “expresses in words and action the things which
go on in children’s mind”. He explores how children consciousness is shaped through a distinct process as they attain
maturity. Initially, human consciousness is heavily reliant on ‘oral’ satisfaction. As it is honed into practical lessons of life
it reacts with ‘regression and denial’. It also falls for ‘temptation’ occasionally. But slowly a child learns to make
intelligent plans and applies wise lessons to life, which makes “a higher level of existence” possible.
At the earliest stage of an infant, when its consciousness is just being formed, all its demands are met by oral
satisfaction. Whenever it cries, irrespective of reasons (hunger, cold, fall or pain), it is fed milk or given food. As food
mostly comes from mother, a child perceives food and mother synonymously. At this stage, it starts thinking food/ mother
as an all cure element of life and becomes heavily dependent on it. But it is impossible to live with such mentality.
Therefore, when the mother does not want to meet all its oral demands and sends them to school for lessons it feels
mother has become selfish, unloving, and rejecting. Hansel and Gretel’s experience in the forest is identical to the reaction
of children when they are sent to school for the first time.
The second stage in the evolution of maturity is ‘regression and denial’. Hansel and Gretel want to return home.
They deny staying or learning there. But they are resent in the forest with greater precautions, similar to early school goer.
The implied message is they must stay at school to get lessons of life. When children are not able return home they deny
taking new lessons. Bruno Bettelheim has called it regression. Hansel and Gretel use bread crumbs (food) to keep track of
the way to home and fails in their attempt. The third stage is ‘temptation’. An unmatured person mostly gives in to
temptation to survive. But he/she can’t be given such freedom. It is regarded both illegal and immoral in a civilized
society and is subjected to be punished. Hansel and Gretel are also punished when they are overtaken by greed. They are
imprisoned by witch after they try eating her house.
Only after some jolts and failures, a human mind becomes ready to take lesson. It becomes intelligent and
understands that there can’t be same tool to shoot every trouble. Hansel uses his intelligence when he shows a bone
instead of his finger to the witch. Gretel outwits her by asking the witch to crawl into oven instead. As a result both the
children rescue themselves. Once they understand there should different solutions to different problems, they are free
 Hemant Thakur 15

from gingerbread house and get a lot of treasures horded in the gingerbread house. The situation is again similar to the
completion of schooling (coming out of gingerbread house) and getting degree (gems).
However, even after one’s study is over, he must need to apply them to life. This is again symbolically presented
in the story as these children deal with a bird and a river in the story. Birds can be taken as wild and adverse force of
nature. If they are not controlled, they might cause a lot of trouble and damage. They were the birds that eat their bread
crumbs. It was again a bird that misleads them to witch. But after these children develop intelligence, they are able to
yoke bird as per their wish. The message is one must be intelligent enough to tame and utilise the resources available.
Similarly, the river can be taken as a symbol of journey in one’s life. A person needs to cross it alone. Having to cross the
river symbolizes a transition, and a new beginning on a higher level of existence. The children do the same and reach
home (their destination) at last.
The Boarding House
James Joyce
Summary
The main plot of “The Boarding House” moves around an intelligent move of Mrs. Mooney, which helped her to
find a suitable husband for her daughter.
Mrs. Mooney owned a boarding house. She had a daughter Miss Polly and a son, Jack. Polly was in love with a
tenant, Mr. Doran. The story of their love affair slowly leaked out, and Mrs. Mooney also got informed about that. But
unlike any other normal mother, she didn’t become angry or quarrel with Mr. Doran. Rather she ignored it so that the
affair could ripe with time.
Mr. Doran was from a good family and had a respectable job. Mrs. Mooney might have thought that her daughter
would be fortunate if she married Mr. Doran. Otherwise, no boy from such reputed family could wish to marry the
daughter of a boarding house owner.
Her personal experience must also have taught her not to take hasty decision when the matter is related with life-
long relations like marriage. She herself did a mistake when she married a drunkard and ruined her marital life. She must
have not wanted her daughter to meet the same fate.
When she found Mr. Doran was totally under her trap and could not escape anymore, she interfered. She had
several reasons which made her think that he must bow down before her wish. The weight of social opinion was with her.
She had the liability to get angry and make demand as she had trusted him when she allowed him to live under her roof.
Besides, Mr. Doran also had a possible threat from an angry brother like Jack if he refused to marry. After counting these
cards, which assured her of her victory, she called Mr. Doran and talked over the matter.
As a reader we don’t know what Mrs. Mooney told Mr. Doran but the imperative way, in which she called her
daughter downstairs after their conversation, leaves no doubt in our mind that she became able to compel Mr. Doran to
marry her daughter, who might not have done the same thing if she had not used her mind.