JESSICA

Her Strong Dislike of Her Father’s Nature and Temperament

Jessica is the daughter of the Jew, Shylock, but a daughter who is ashamed of having
that man as her father. She finds the atmosphere of her father’s home to be suffocating
and almost intolerable. She is sensitive girl having an artistic temperament; and she is
unable to endure the narrow-mindedness, the miserliness, and the tyrannical nature of
her father. Although her father is a fanatical Jew who is intolerant of Christians, she falls
in love with a Christian and runs away from home with a bag full of her father’s money
and jewels. Her conduct in running away from home and stealing her father’s cash and
jewels is certainly objectionable in the extreme. However, we feel inclined to take a
lenient view of her conduct because we know that her father is really a close-fisted and
suspicious man with a dictatorial nature and that he imposes all kinds of restrictions on
his daughter’s movements.

A Beautiful, Wise, and Faithful Girl

Jessica impresses the Christian Lorenzo as a very beautiful, wise, and faithful girl; and
she strikes us as a charming girl with a strong sense of humour and a poetical nature.
Lorenzo tells his friends that he would “place her in his constant soul”, meaning that he
would always remain loyal to her. For his sake, she does not mind giving up her own
religion and becoming a Christian.

Her Artistic and Poetic Temperament

Jessica’s artistic and poetic temperament manifests itself clearly in the moonlight scene
at Belmont when she is having a conversation with Lorenzo about the beauty of the
night. Here she appears in a favourable light because of her wide knowledge and her
capacity to make use of that knowledge when occasion demands it. She recalls the
ancient, mythological love-stories, competing with Lorenzo in this respect and holding
her own in this amorous dialogue. She refer to the stories of Thisbe and Medea; and
tells Lorenzo that she can “out-night him*” if she is not interrupted in the course of this
conversation. Her artistic nature shows itself also in her responsiveness to music. She
gets into a melancholy mood whenever she hears sweet strains of music; and this effect
is produced on her by music because she is very sensitive to it.

Her Essential Femininity and Modesty

Jessica is basically a modest girl even though she takes the initiative in eloping with
Lorenzo. It is because she is feeling desperate that she decides to quit her father’s
home; and she goes to the extent of arranging for a boy’s clothes so that she can
disguise herself as a boy in order to join Lorenzo when the masked procession is
passing through the street. At this time she tells Lorenzo that she is feeling very
ashamed of her boy’s disguise, and that she is glad that he cannot see her in this
disguise because of the darkness of the night. When Lorenzo asks her to carry a
burning torch to light the way for the maskers, she says that she cannot “hold a candle
to her shames”, meaning that she would not like to be seen by anyone in her boy’s
disguise.

Her Sense of Humour and Her Wit       

Jessica is certainly not devoid of a sense of humour. She likes Launcelot because he
keeps her amused with his light-hearted talk and his jokes; and she feels sorry when he
quits her father’s service. She can herself make a joke too. For instance, when Lorenzo
says that he is a very good husband to her, she replies that he should first ask her what
she thinks of him as a husband, meaning that she may not be holding as high an
opinion about him as he himself has.

Arguments Against, and For, Her Flight from Home

As already indicated, Jessica is certainly guilty of having disgraced her father and
having done a great damage to his reputation even though his reputation is already not
a good one. By running away from home and stealing her father’s money and jewels, a
daughter brings great shame to her father who would then not be able to show his face
to his neighbours and his acquaintances. Such behaviour on the part of a daughter is
never approved by anyone in any society or community. There are certainly extenuating
circumstances in the case of Jessica. But even so, nobody, who believes in the good
name of his family, would justify this conduct. However, there is another side of this
picture. Today we are living in times when women have achieved equality with men,
and when the rights of grown-up daughters are also fully recognized. Even in orthodox
Indian homes, girls have begun to assert their rights. The modem girl is not willing is
concerned. We still do not approve of a girl running away from home to marry the man
of her choice; but we do recognize a girl’s right to choose her husband. Thus Jessica’s
action in running away from home and stealing her father’s ill-gotten money has to be
judged by every reader according to his own views in the matter. Even her conversion
to Christianity is an action which we may denounce or defend according to our own
ideas.

Her Contribution to the Plot and to Its Atmosphere

Jessica contributes to the romantic atmosphere of the play, and adds considerably to
the interest of the plot. She is the heroine of the romantic Lorenzo-Jessica sub-plot. Her
role in the moonlight scene at Belmont is important because it enhances the romantic
and the poetical qualities of the play. Furthermore, by running away from home with a
Christian, who is one of Antonio’s associates, she further inflames Shylock’s hatred for
Christians in general and for Antonio in particular. Her disguise as a boy lends further
interest to the play; and she inspires Lorenzo, by her beauty and her artistic tastes, to
make some of his finest speeches which delight us by their poetical and romantic
qualities. Nor can we ignore the fact that she enhances Portia’s image in our eyes. She
is completely free from jealousy and, when asked by Lorenzo what she thinks of Portia,
she says that there is no earthly woman who can be regarded as Portia’s equal. She
pays a rich tribute to Portia when she says that “the poor rude world hath not her
fellow”. (The word “fellow” here means equal or peer).

Angel in Disguise Summary in English

An Angel in Disguise Summary is the story of a little girl, Maggie. An

unidentified poor woman dies from excess consumption of alcohol. The
village had outcast her due to this addiction. However,  the villagers felt
sympathetic to her death. Hence, they arranged a proper funeral for her.
That woman had three children. A farmer decided to adopt the eldest
son John, aged 12 years, thinking he could assist him in his fieldwork.
Then, Mrs Elli begrudgingly adopts Kate, who’s a few years too young
to work in any factory. She complained of her being undisciplined.

However, the youngest child, Maggie, was left alone due to her poor
health. She fell from a window at a very younger age. That fall
damaged her spine. Thus, she was permanently bed-ridden. Everyone
suggests sending her to the poor house, however, no one makes an
effort to do something about it.

After the funeral, everyone leaves without even a glimpse at Maggie.

However, Joe Thompson lingers. Joe works as a wheelwright in the
village. He makes wooden wheels for wagons and carts. Although he
looks to be a rough man, he is kind and loves children. To his disgrace,
he and his wife are incapable to have kids. Maggie sees all the villagers
retiring and also recognizes Joe still standing outside her hovel. She
calls out for him and requests not to leave her alone.

Joe knows his wife, Jane Thompson very well. He was sure of her not
being very happy to see Maggie. Yet, he carries her to his home. His
thought turned true. His wife was not pleased to see her. Also, she asks
his husband to get rid of her at the earliest.

In answer, he says that he had read many a time in The Bible that
people helping children shan’t be unrewarded. Joe also requests her to
put aside the bitterness of her heart. Furthermore, h asks her to look at
the pity condition of Maggie. She is motherless, homeless and
permanently bed-ridden. Although Mrs Thompson doesn’t say anything
to her husband, her heart melts a little for Maggie.

Joe tells his wife that he will make errands the next day to send Maggie
to the poor house. Then, he leaves for work. However, later, in the
night, he sees  Mrs Thompson sitting by Maggie’s bed and talking or
rather Maggie’s answering Mrs Thompson’s questions. He felt the need
to keep the matter of Maggie aside. Thus, he chooses to remain quiet on
this matter.

He goes to see Maggie and the theme for a bit. While having supper
Mrs Thompson asks her husband as to what he’s going to do with the
child. Joe tells that he would let her go to the poorhouse the next day.
Mrs Thompson doesn’t say a word. However, Joe notices that years of
bitterness has finally begun to fade off. She takes food for Maggie into
her small room and waits for her to finish it.

The innocence, sweetness, unconditional love and gratitude of Maggie

for them fills the gap that had been created in Mrs Thompson’s heart.
She tells Joe about her desire to keep Maggie for a couple of days more.
However, that day never came. They remain together forever, as a
family.

Summary of An Angel in Disguise

The story gives a strong message that love can conquer anything in the
world.  Unconditional Love can soften even a stone-hearted person.

Critical Appreciation of the Poem I Know Why The

Caged Bird Sings
Introduction
The poem ‘IKnow Why the Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou is arguably one of
the most moving and eye opening poems ever wrtitten. Angelou also wrote an
antobiography with this same title. It is clear that this title had great significance
to Angelou, as it was the title to her entire life story. In her autobiography, she
talked about the struggle of being a black author and poet. She often felt that
her words were not heard because of the colour of her skin. .She felt that in some
ways, she was still experiencing slavery. Although African Americans were free
people in Angelou’s time, there were restrictions on them in society, making it so
that many black Americans did not free at all.

The poem gives expression to the feelings of these black Americans, rather of all
the oppressed people in the world. Obviously, it deals explicitly and implicitly
with the problems related to race, gender, slavery and freedom. It refers to two
birds : one trapped in cage and the other free, swaying and flying with the wind.
The encaged bird stands for a black American and the free bird for a white
person. The poem makes it clear that the encaged bird on an enslaved individual
may be physically restricted or restrained but can not be stopped from singing
and dreaming of freedom. A free bird flying with the wind has complete freedom
and chance to fly again at will.

The third stanza has been repeated for emphasis and it imparts a message to the
readers that we should be aware and thankful for the freedom we have.

Thought- Content:
The poem begins by speaking of the free bird and how it has the freedom to go
wherever, whenever, and can claim the sky because there are no other birds to
contest with. The stanza shows us that the free bird is lazy and would rather float
on the wind instead of making its own path.
The second stanza introduces the limitations set upon the caged bird and how
this affects the bird as the bird is still proud and cries out for freedom.

The third stanza emphasises the caged bird and its plight. It tells of how the
caged bird sings for freedom, as if it still has hope for things it does not know of.
The caged bird can be heard on the distant hill. The bird is shown to rebel against
all that holds it back in an attempt to be freed.

The fourth stanza is about the free bird again, and how the bird although free
thinks of another breeze showing that although the bird is free, the bird is not
content and is greedy to have even .more freedom, but again it is shown to be
lazy in that is unsatisfied with the stream of wind that is on but not enough to do
something about it. The stanza then describes how easy things seem to come to
free bird, as there are fat worms waiting for it at dawn on the lawn.

The fifth stanza depicts the bird in its cage, the cage that has now become the
grave of the bird’s dreams and once again the caged bird sings of freedom.

The final stanza is a repetition of stanza three which serves as an emphasis on the
caged bird.

Moral of the Poem :

The poem is ultimately positive because although the caged bird has no freedom,
its hope, cannot be dimmed by its ‘bars of rage’ and ‘clipped wings’. Its song is so
loud that it is heard on a distant hill, perhaps forcing the free bird to take a
notice. This can be compared to slavery in the U.S.A. the caged bird being a slave
and the free bird a white man. Importantly, African American slaves often used to
sing while working. This had the effect of raising their spirits and maintaining
unity, producing a sense of hope. The poem moralises that freedom is birth right
of every creature of the universe and no one can be deprived of it. Then it brings
to us that hope lies eternal.

Form and Structure of the Poem :

Angelou does not allow meter, rhyme and stanza to control her poetry. She
determines her own structure-or lack of it-and uses form and device for her own
means; she searches for the sound, the tempo, the rhythm and the rhyme
appropriate for each line. ‘Caged Bird’ is an example of unstructured verse. The
number of beats per line varies. For example, line first has four beats, line second
has six, line third has four and line four has five. The number of lines in each
stanza fluctuates as well; stanzas first and second have seven lines each, but
stanzas three and four have eight. In addition to her use of the intermittent
stanza, Angelou repeats stanza three as stanza five; this repetition is reminiscent
of the chorus in a song.

The only other structuring device that Angelou employs in the thirty-eight lines is
sporadic rhyme. For instance, only lines nine and eleven in the entire first two
stanzas use rhyming words (‘cage’ and ‘rage’); in the fourth stanza only lines
thirty and thirty one rhyme (‘breeze’ and ‘trees’). The only other rhyming words
that Angelou uses are in the third stanza, which she repeats as stanza five. She
rhymes ‘trill’ and ‘still’ with ‘hill’; she also rhymes ‘heard’ and ‘bird’.

The Choice of the Words :

The vocabulary used in the poem is simple and straightforward which highlights
the poetic style. The adjectives used in the poem such as free or caged for the
birds reflect the social status of the Whites and the African-Americans. The
phrases such as ‘orange sun rays’, ‘dares to claim the sky’, display the freedom,
gaiety and exuberance of the White race. On the other hand, phrases such as
‘narrow cage’, “bars of rage’, ‘fearful trills’ display the African-Americans’ narrow
social space, their anguish and their helplessness.

The Use of Repetition :

Final stanza is the repetition of the stanza three. It emphasises again that though
the encaged bird has never experienced freedom, it still sings of it. Its song is
heard now far and wide and its longing for freedom and equality cannot be
dismissed as a distant voice.

The Use of Imagery and Symbols :

Maya Angelou’s poem ‘Caged Bird’ is certainly full of imagery in every line and
every stanza. The very first image we see is that of a ‘free bird’ leaping on the
“back of the wind’. Since we can literally see a bird in nature leaping and jumping,
or flying against the wind. We can see how this counts as a right image. Other
images we see are that of the bird floating ‘downstream’ and dipping its ‘in the
orange sun rays’.

Since the poetess is now speaking of a bird in relation to a stream, we get the
sense she is speaking of a water-fowl, like a duck. Since we can literally see things
floating downstream we know that the phrase ‘floats downstream’ counts as a
sight image. In addition, though a bird will not literally dip its wings into the rays
of the sun, we know that the sun’s rays reflect on surface of water. Hence, based
on the final couple of lines in the first stanza, we can picture the bird literally
dipping its wings into the image of the sun reflected on the water and then flying
off into the sky. Next auditory imagery is produced when the poet refers to bird’s
singing, its fearful trill, its tune, and the trees sighing. The bird’s ‘shadow shouts
on a nightmare scream’ is also an auditory image.

The poetess has also used some nature related object as symbols. The sun, the
wind and the hills stand for freedom, power and glory respectively. The free bird
can enjoy all these things whereas the caged bird is wholly deprived of all these
things.

The Use of Irony :

Maya Angelou also uses irony to be cleverer and effective but less direct in
conveying her feelings. ‘The caged bird sings with a fearful trill’. This sentence is
ironic as the caged bird is the one singing not the free bird as we expect.
However, the words ‘fearful’ and ‘trill’ make us realise that actually it is not a
happy tune but a desperate cry for freedom. This relief enables us to reach to
more depth and appreciate freedom.

The Use of Allusion :

Maya Angelou’s poem ‘Caged Bird’ is based on an earlier poem by an African
American author by the name of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar, who lived from
1872-1906, was the son of parents who endured the life of slavery. He became an
influential author, not only through his poetry, but through his many literary
works, which included poems, novels and essays.

His poem ‘Sympathy’, written in 1899, provided Ms. Angelou with material for her
famous poem ‘Caged Bird’ and the title for her book I Know Why the Caged Bird
Sings. The third stanza of his poem is thought to have been the most
inspirational. As the son of slaves, Dunbar knew the restrictions racism put on the
lives of oppressed people and this poem expresses the emotions which resided in
his soul.

Personal Elements :
Considering Angelou’s personal history and the themes of her autobiographies,
the caged bird, more explicitly, is a metaphor for African Americans who
experienced racism and discrimination through slavery. Like the caged bird in the
poem, African Americans were physically confined or restricted due to slavery
and segregation, but they vocally demanded their freedom. In many ways the
poem can be considered as the poet’s personal expression.

Maya Angelou can be regarded as the caged bird. The discriminatory forces such
as racism, sexism, insecurity, poverty and abuse continued to make the poetess
feel inferior. She could not achieve what her white counterparts could, with
similar circumstances and opportunities. Like the caged bird she was angry. She
could do little, like the caged bird in its narrow cell but she voiced her resentment
and longed for freedom. The poetess seemed to be optimistic towards her future.
She hoped that the voice of African-Americans would be heard far away.