The Recurring Dream |
= Kimberly
Clark, a beautiful young woman of 25, is troubled by a mysterious
recurring dream. In the dream, she stands on the village road, walks
along the lane with white fence and hedge on the both sides towards the
top of a small hill where stands a small white-colored house with green
shutters. She walks into the house and finds and old man sleeping in
bed. The man wakes up and when she tries to talk to him, she finds
herself in her bed in London.
She
talks about this recurring dream to her roommate Janet Wilson. One day
Janet Wilson asks her to go to her parents’ farm for few days. On the
way, she sees the same house, lane, fence and hedge but the house has
“FOR SALE” sign on it. She knocks the door and an old man exactly same
as in her dream opens it. The man is afraid, so he immediately closes
the door. On much request he opens the door. He says that his house is
haunted by a ghost. When she asks who the ghost is, the old man replies
that it is Kimberly herself and then closes the door.
® Why do some people have recurring dreams? Give your opinion. ®Do dreams have any connection to our real life? Discuss your personal view. |
=
Dreams are mental picture or vision that we experience when we are
asleep. Psychologists claim that dreams are the means of wish
fulfillment and the outlets of repressed desires. What man can not get
in real life, they try to obtain in dreams. Dreams are directly related
to person’s psychology. A child dreams of sweets, foods and play.
Similarly, adults dream of sex, money etc. A sick man will see himself
dying in dreams because he is afraid of death. Thus, in my view, there
is connection between dreams and real life. People have recurring dreams
when they have great desire for something or fear something. Usually
frustrated or depressed people have recurring dreams.
The Loving Mother |
Mr
Shoji Sakota, a pharmacist, lived alone in his house. In one stormy
winter night, he was busy calculating his fiscal account. At that time
he heard the repeated knock at his door. He opened the door. There stood
a strange untidy woman who asked ame for her child. She was like a lady
from another world. On the next night, the same woman came and asked
for ame. The another day Mr Sakota called his photographer friend who
took photos of the woman from different angles. They were surprised
because the photos contained everything but missed the lady. The next
day when the woman came, they followed her. Finally they reached to a
room in an old building where they found a baby licking the ame. The
woman who had visited them was dead in her bed for several days.
Describe the woman who came to visit Dr. Sakota. |
=
The woman who visited Dr. Sakota was very thin and her skin was
abnormally light. She was wearing a ragged Kimino and her hair was
disheveled. Her eyes were mysterious. It seemed as if she was not
looking at the doctor but looking through him. Moreover, she only asked
ame for her child, not any thing else. She came to visit doctor only at
the midnight. Even the camera could not capture her image.
Fear |
Armando
Gonzalez, a poor man looked after a big family with nine members. He
had a dream to have a house of his own. One day he went to withdraw his
life-long earnings of 50,000 pesos from the bank. He wanted to buy a
house with that money. He was nervous of the crowd in the bank. When the
bank cashier counted his money loudly he was afraid that people might
rob him. While returning home in the bus, he saw a man whom he had seen
in the bank. The man had given him a double look. He was sure that the
man had come to rob him. Since he had put his hat facing backwards,
everyone stared at him. He was more puzzled. When that man started
talking with three other boys, he suspected that they were making plans
to loot him. He got off the bus. The three boys also got off the bus.
So, he started to run shouting for help. The boys also ran after him.
Suddenly he fell down. The boys came to help him. But he pleaded the
boys not to rob him. The boys told him that they were not robbers but
students who were there for football tournament. Hearing them he got
relief from his fear and nervousness. *****************
Unchopping A Tree |
The
essay ‘Unchopping a Tree’ written by W.S. Merwin is against
deforestation. The word unchopping is not found even in the dictionary
because unchopping is not possible. Both the writer and readers know
this is impossible. By telling the reader to do impossible thing the
essayist wants to give a message. He wants to tell us to preserve the
environment. When a man is killed, he cannot be unkilled. Similarly, the
tree can’t be repaired once it is cut down. He suggests us to be
rationale and stop cutting down of trees.
The
essayist has used the technique of giving direction. He asks us to
stick the fallen leaves, twigs, splinters, fruits and every parts of the
chopped down trees into their proper places using appropriate
adhesives. Then he suggests us to repair the webs of spiders, nests of
birds and then use scaffolding to erect the trunk. When the tree is
remade, it can not be as good as the original tree. Even though we may
apply all our scientific inventions, talent and labor; we cannot make it
regrow. A slight motion of cloud will be enough to push the tree over.
There are countless trees to be repaired.
Whatever directions the essayist gives us are impossible. If man can not repair his own work, he should be conscious before doing it. The writer forcefully wants to make us aware that man’s artificial works can not replace the natural structure.
The Poplar Field
|
=
William Cowper in his poem ‘The Poplar Field’ compares the chopping
down of trees to man’s life and death. This poem is a defense of nature
conservation. This poem is remarkable for its celebration of the rural
and its nostalgic tone.
The
poet visits his favorite field after twelve years. He becomes upset
when he sees the changes and ecological ruin. The poplar trees used to
grow by the bank of the river Ouse. The trees not only formed a cool
colonnade but also provided nesting places for birds. This made the
scene very beautiful. The cool breeze and shade of trees provided
comfort to him. Now, the trees have been felled, only stumps remain. The
birds have fled to another place. The place seems really monotonous and
barren. In the last two stanzas, the poet says that he will die soon
before other trees will grow in the place of felled trees. Man’s
pleasure, which are very temporary, finish before a man dies.
The
poet links the felled down trees to the end of human life and
pleasures. People cut down trees for profit and commercial gain. They
only crave for pleasure derived from artificial objects. In fact,
artificial objects do not provide him eternal bliss. Thus the poet
equates cutting down of trees to killing own life and own eternal
pleasure.
Speaking of Children |
=
The essay ‘Speaking of Children’ written by Barbara Holland
delightfully shows the disadvantages of having plural children. She
thinks that one child is like an appendage of parents. It can be
controlled, brainwashed, taught good behaviors and taken to parties or
trekking. It does not disturb the peace and privacy of parents. With one
child parents fully enjoy their married life.
But
plural children control their parents, disturb their peace and privacy,
and create problems in the family. Parents with multiple children will
not have time to talk to each other, make love, or spend long holidays
outside. Children litter bedrooms and household items. Parents having
plural children have to suffer a lot. They have to spend long hours
talking with children’s friends and parents; and have to shift their
accommodation from time to time for their proper education. A private
and peaceful communication between husband and wife after work is
necessary for a healthy married life. It helps to strengthen the bonds
of love and understanding between them. But if there are multiple
children, they disturb them. Thus the essayist is in favor of single
child.
® Summary of “Keeping Things Whole”. |
In
his poem “Keeping Things Whole” Canadian poet Mark Strand pleads for
wholeness against the usual fragmentation that goes in life. The poet
wants to keep things whole. He thinks that when he is in the field, he
breaks the field because he takes up space. But when he moves, the air
fills his space and brings wholeness. Thus nature always tends towards
wholeness. He thinks that we are like actors in the stage who come to
the stage when others have gone. Thus everything in the nature move in
order to maintain order and wholeness.
This
poem is also an attack on modern civilization. Modern people are
fragmented. Their body and soul are fragmented. Thus he says ‘wherever I
am I am what is missing’. Humans look at things by dividing them. So,
he suggests that we must rather look at things as a whole, not as a
part.
Look At a Tea-cup |
= In her essay “Look at a Tea-cup”, Patricia Hampl
discusses about change of role of women, their relationships and the
concept of marriage. The themes are represented by the teacup which was
bought by her mother in 1939 when she got married. The teacup is a
witness of history since it has survived uncharred through the
devastation of Second World War. The teacup has been painted with
falling flowers which suggest the falling of nations, falling of humans
due to bombs, falling of women into marriage and consequently into the
bed of their husband. It also indicates the falling of traditions,
values and material wealth.
The
writer is against marriage and traditional female roles. Her mother
thinks that marriage is needed for women but she thinks that marriage
only destroys the freedom of women. She does not like to live under the
command of men. Her mother thinks that tradition should be followed but
the writer does not like traditional values because it destroys the life
of women. Mother thinks that future is important but the writer thinks
that past is important. For Hampl, work is the most important thing in
the world. But her mother thinks that family is the most important thing
for a woman.
A Nightmare Life without Fuel |
= In
the essay “A Nightmare Life without Fuel”, Isaac Asimov focuses on
problems that may arise due to the fuel crisis in the future. The scene
is the United States, but it applies to all countries. The writer wants to make us aware of the decreasing natural resources.
Due
to decreasing amount of fuel resources, humans will have to live in
discomfort. The means of transportation will vanish, so people will have
to ride on bicycles or walk on foot. The factories and industries will
stop producing goods. Electricity supply will be limited, so people can
not watch TV, operate fans, refrigerators, heaters or any machines.
Scientific progress will stop. One of the main problems will be shortage
of food. People in most countries will suffer from hunger and
starvation. Due to this many people will die. Even the alive people will
suffer from permanent brain-damage. Human civilization will move back
to Pre-industrial age. People should have to work for longer hours.
However,
he also points out some of the advantages of fuel crisis. The air will
be cleaner. As people and police walk on roads, the crime rate will
reduce. The countries will not keep fighter planes and tanks, so less
probability of destructive war. People will feel mutual protection in
the crowd.
Concrete Cat |
The
poem “Concrete Cat” composed by Dorthi Charles is an example of
concrete poem. Concrete poem is made for the eyes not for ear or brain.
Its main concern is with the physical appearance of poetry- not with
ideas or emotions. The poet uses reduced language. The spacing,
capitalization or typography add special meaning to the poem.
In
this poem, the poet places words in an interesting manner to give the
physical appearance of the cat and its catness in action. The capital
letter A in ear,Y in eye and U in mouth indicate pointed ear, bright
eye, and the lolling tongue of the cat respectively. The spacing between
the letters in the word tail suggest the stretched and elongated tail
of the cat. The word mouse is upside down to suggest the dead mouse
recently killed by the cat. The pun in the cat’s middle stripes or tripes is the only place where language becomes figurative.
A Worn Path |
= “A
Worn Path” written by Eudora Weltry, is a story of an old black woman
called Phoenix Jackson and her heroic journey. She regularly goes to the
market to bring medicines for her sick grandson. She has to overcome
many difficulties on her way to the town. She walks up and down the
snowy hill in the cold December. On her way, the needles of the bushes
prick her gown. A single log is laid across a creek. She crosses it with
her eyes closed. She creeps through the barbed wire. She does not find
way through the dead cornfield. She is frightened by the scare-crow.
While beating a dog with her cane, she falls down on the ditch and
becomes unconscious. A hunter lifts her up from the ditch. When she
reaches to the town, she walks to the clinic depending on her senses.
Even in the clinic she loses her sense and forgets her purpose. But when
she hears the voice of one of the nurse, she remembers her purpose. She
takes a bottle of medicine from the nurse and walks towards her home.
Phoenix
is the name of an Egyptian mythical bird that lives for five hundred
years. Then, it burns in the fire and rises anew from its own ashes. The
old woman in this story resembles the mythical bird. She goes to visit
the town at regular intervals. As soon as she visits the clinic, she
regains strength and vitality too. She is too old. Even the hunter can
not guess her age. Despite her old age, she is strong, determined and
bold. She never loses her hope though her path is difficult. She is not
even scared by the hunter’s gun.
She
loves her grandson very much. She even steals a nickel from the hunter.
When an attendant of the clinic gives her a nickel, she buys a paper
windmill for her grandson. So, the readers do not hate her but
sympathize her for her pathetic condition.
What indications are there in the story that the Soto family was poor? |
=
There are various indications in the story that suggest that the Soto
family was poor. First, Soto family could not provide proper medicinal
care to their sick daughter Carmen and thus she died at the age of four.
Second, all of Carmen’s belongings could be kept in a small box which Rosa
gave to a priest. Third, Roberto wanted to save the clothes of Carmen
so that they could be used by their to-be-born child. Forth, it is
mentioned that Roberto was a farmer and had rough hands.
Describe Carmen |
Maria
del Carmen was the only child of Roberto and Rosa Soto. She was
beautiful, kind, bright and lovely child. She was sick from the day of
her birth and died at the age of four. She always carried a doll with
blue eyes and in red dress.
How were Carmen and Evangelina alike? In what ways were they different? |
Carmen
and Evangelina were alike in their appearance, actions and characters.
However, the fundamental difference was in their health. Carmen was sick
from the day of her birth and died at the age of four. Evangelina was
healthy from her birth. In fact, Evangelina was the rebirth of Carmen.
The Lost Doll |
Carmen
was the only child of Roberto and Rosa Soto. She was beautiful, bright
and loving child. However she was sick from the day of her birth and
died at the age of four. A few days after the funeral ceremony, Rosa
gave away Carmen’s playthings and clothes to a priest of another
village. The doctor had told that she couldn’t bear another child.
Roberto was a bit upset when he knew that Rosa had given all the belongings of Carmen. He asked her about the little dolly which Carmen always carried. Rosa
said that she didn’t give it away. Then they searched everywhere in the
house as well asked the villagers too but they couldn’t find it.
They soon forgot about the lost doll because Rosa became pregnant. On the first anniversary of the death of Carmen, Rosa
gave birth to another child. They named her Evangelina, which meant
“good news”. When Evangelina grew she looked very much similar to her
sister Carmen. But she was healthy girl. When she was about four, she
told her mother that she had been sick a long time ago. She also told
her aunt that she had a little, beautiful doll with blue eyes and red
dress. She had buried it under a tree in the yard. She requested her
mother to dig up the doll. When Rosa
dug up the ground, she found the lost doll. She looked surprised and
shocked because it was difficult for her to believe. Evangelina also
said that when she was sick, the nice man came and helped her to bury
that doll under the tree.
The House Call |
Dr.
Braun was a famous German surgeon. One day he was sitting alone in his
dining room at about 9:30 p.m. He was dozing because he was quite tired
of performing difficult surgery on that day. He suddenly woke up when he
heard the doorbell. A young girl had come to call him for the treatment
of her mother. Though it was slightly raining outside, Braun decided to
follow her up to her home and see her mother. He tried to catch her up
on the way so that he could ask many questions related to her mother and
about herself. The girl always walked ahead of him. Anyway the doctor
managed to follow her till he reached at her old apartment where a woman
seemed to be lying on the bed.
The
doctor checked her up and found that she was suffering from pneumonia.
He provided her some medicine that comforted the woman. The woman had
once worked in the same hospital as the maintenance staff. The doctor
knew that she had gone to stay at her brother’s house in the village.
The woman further added that she came back just three months ago after
her only child Adelheid died. Dr. Braun was surprised when the woman
showed her dead daughter’s shawl and shoes to the doctor because they
were the same clothes which the girl who had gone call him had worn.
When he looked at Elda he found her asleep and returned with his black bag on his hand.
Describe Dr. Braun |
=
Dr. Braun, in the story “The House Call” was 67 years old. He was a
famous surgeon who performed difficult surgical operations or supervised
them. Though he was old, he was active. He worked for long hours and
even wrote notes about his activity in the evening.
He
was kind and performed his duty under any circumstances. When a little
girl came to call him to her home for the treatment of her mother, he
was ready. Though it was night time and was raining, he followed her to
her house.
The Gardener |
=
“The Gardener” was written by Rudyard Kipling. The main character of
this story, Helen Turrell, was unmarried but she was pregnant. She went
to France saying that she was suffering from lung disease. She gave birth to a son which she named Michael. When she returned to England
she told lies to the people saying that Michael was her brother’s son
who had died before his birth. She said that Michael was brought from India by a nurse. She also lied that she had dismissed the nurse when she did not care him properly.
Helen
loved Michael very much. Michael called her mother at home at bed-time.
When the First World War began, Michael joined in the army. He was
killed by an exploding shell. He was buried in a large cemetery. Helen
went to visit his grave, but she could not find it. A gardener came near
to her. Helen said that she was searching the grave of her nephew. But
the gardener said that he would show the grave of her “Son”.
I
think that the gardener was Jesus Christ because God knows every truth.
God is like a gardener because He gives life to all creatures- both
plants and animals. The author uses the word ‘infinite’ to describe the
gardener’s compassion indicating that he is not human. The gardener does
not show any hatred towards Helen although he knows her reality. A
human being cannot be impartial when he knows the secret of Helen.
Character sketch of Malini |
=
The poetic play ‘Malini’ was written by great Indian poet and
philosopher Rabindaranath Tagore. Malini, the protagonist of the poetic
play ‘Malini’, can be considered as a symbol of love, light and
divinity. Malini was simple, truthful, loving, kind and forgiving.
Though she was a Hindu princess, she followed Buddhism. She hated the
pleasures of her palace. She wanted to help the poor and the suffering
people. Everyone was impressed by her words and simplicity. When
Kemankar killed Supriya, she even asked her father to forgive Kemankar.
When the Brahmins asked for her banishment, she was heartfully ready to
leave the palace. She did not find any attachment with the worldly
beauty and material world. She thought that wealth does not cling to
those whose destiny was to find riches in poverty. She maintained love
and truth to be the soul and body of a religion. She had love for all
the creatures in the world.
OR
Malini
was the image of love and forgiveness. Though she was born in a
palace, she ignored jewels and ornaments. She was the princess of
Kashi, a Hindu Kingdom
but she was influenced by Buddhism. She wanted to leave the palace
and help the poor and suffering people. The Brahmins were frightened
by her new philosophy, so they wanted her banishment from the country.
But when the Brahmins met her, they were influenced by her words and
simplicity. She was like the lamp in darkness. She wanted to lead the
people towards truth and heaven. She had infinite compassion to
everyone, even to the sinner Kemankar.
|
® Character sketch of Supriya.OR > Would you call Supriya a betrayer? Give reasons for your answer. |
=
Kemankar was a philosopher and true thinker. He was open-minded and not
a conservative. He did not believe in physical force. He did not want
bloodshed in the name of religion. He was not blind to his religion as
his friend Kemankar. He only revealed the truth of Kemankar’s plan when
he saw that his friend wanted bloodshed in the name of religion.
Kemankar’s main guilt was to organize foreign troops to invade his own
country. Thus, Supriya told the king about the plan of Kemankar to save
his motherland. Even Supriya did not hesitate to go near Kemankar though
he knew that his friend would kill him. So, I would not call Supriya a
betrayer.
Make a character sketch of Kemankar. |
=
Kemankar was an aggressive Hindu. He was ready to die for his belief
and religion. He was rigid, conservative and strong. He wanted the
banishment of Malini because she had followed Buddhism. He thought that
we should not discard the religion of our ancestors. His main fault was
he wanted to use force to wipe out new creed from his country. He even
went to the foreign land to organize foreign army and attack his own
kingdom. So, he was the image of hatred. He kills his own childhood
friend Supriya when he deceives him.
On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness |
= The poem “On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness” written by Arthur Guiterman
brings the irony by showing that once powerfuls have become completely
powerless. Irony shows the gap between appearance and reality. This poem
is ironical in the sense that it is not about greatness but about
weakness.
This
poem shows that greatness and reputation on the earth is temporary. It
shows the bitter reality that power of animals or human beings does not
remain same when time and situation change. The tusks of powerful
mastodons have been turned to billiard balls and the fearful bears have
been turned into rugs. The
swords of great kings become rusted and the great rulers are turned into
busts after certain period. In the last couplet, the poet says that
even his life or greatness is short-lived because nothing can escape
time and change.
The
message of this poem is that we should not be proud of earthly
greatness because time turns everything into dusts. Greatness or pride
is only short-lived and temporary.
My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold |
The
poem “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold” written by Romantic poet William
Wordsworth is a worship of nature and childhood. The poet feels joy
when he sees the rainbow in the sky. He felt the same joy in his
childhood days also when he saw rainbow. The colorful rainbow symbolizes
the continuity of the nature and colorful human life. He thinks that
child hood days are better than adult days. He sees god in nature.
The poet presents his main idea through the paradoxical line “The Child is the father of the Man”
to indicate that future depends on past. Though biologically a child is
not the father of the man, but literally it means that future of the
man depends on his past childhood days. He thinks that child is the
great philosopher because of his innocence, simplicity, and his
communion with god and nature. The poet had a great conception to of
childhood. Through this line, he unites past (child), present (man) and
future (father). A man can’t be father without passing the childhood
stage.
“Oops ! How’s That Again”. |
= Roger Rosenblatt has organized different types of verbal errors in his essay “Oops ! How’s That Again”. They are mistranslation, spoonerism, bloopers and faux pas.
Mistranslation is translation done from one language to another superficially with out knowing the sense and situation. Similarly spoonerism is the accidental exchange of sounds in different words. For example, saying ‘You have hissed my mystery lectures’ for ‘ You have missed by history lectures’. Bloopers are public blunders made in radio, TV or public speeches. For example saying ‘General fools’ for ‘General foods’. Likewise, faux pas
is a tactless mistake. The striking example of faux pas is the welcome
of Indian president by German president by asking “Who are you?” instead
of asking “How are you?”
The
writer thinks that all humans do verbal errors. Errors are likely to
happen when we are careless or have less knowledge about words and their
sense. Our verbal errors also expose our id.
People laugh at verbal errors because they discover the hidden motive
of the speaker. Verbal errors make us laugh hysterically because it
breaks the chain of fluidity or monotony of life.
The Six Million Dollar Man # Harold J. Morowitz. |
In
the essay “The Six Million Dollar Man” the writer claims that human
body is priceless. The author received a humorous birthday card from his
daughter and son-in-law which indicated that the price of human body
was only 97 cents. He was
not satisfied. He sat down with a catalogue from a biochemical company
and began to list the ingredients and their prices. He calculated total
chemicals found in human body and the cost of those chemicals in the
market. He found that the cost of one gram dry weight of human body was 245. 45 dollars. He went to the gymnasium and took his weight. His weight was 76,364 grams. Later he subtracted 68% water portion from his weight and found out that his dry weight was 24, 436 grams. Thus, he came to know that he was a six million dollar man.
Later
he thought that the chemicals of human body are not crude but
functional. The scientists up to now have been able to artificially
synthesize only very few compounds like RNA, insulin etc. Synthesizing
all the other cell organelles could cost much more. So, his body was
worth six billion dollar. Again he thought that scientists could not
turn chemicals into bones, flesh and the organs of human body. Later he
came to the conclusion that man is priceless because of his rationality
and consciousness. Man has emotions, soul, can speak, grow and love
other. He concludes his essay with the remarks of Alfred North Whitehead
“ The human body is an instrument for the production of art in the life
of human soul.” Man is not a product but a producer of arts and
rationality.
®What popular misconceptions about migraine headaches does Didion want to correct in her essay “In Bed”? Or ®Summary of “In Bed”. |
= In her essay “In Bed” Joan Didion wants to correct popular misconceptions about migraine headaches. People
think that migraine headaches are imaginary psychological disorder
caused due to people’s wrong thinking, bad attitudes and unpleasant
tempers. They think that people who have migraine headaches only want to
deceive other people in order to leave their responsibility. But Didion
thinks that migraine headaches are hereditary physiological disorder.
It is caused due to less amount of soratonin hormone in brain. It is so
painful that the sufferer even loses consciousness. Even the painkiller
does not work at that moment. It can not be cured, so people have to
live with it and understand it. She is happy that her husband also has
migraine disorder. Because of this they know each other better.
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