ENGLISH I

SUPPLEMENTARY STUDY MATERIAL : ENGLISH I

Marriage Is a Private Affair

Introduction:

     Chinua Achebe in this short story ‘Marriage is a Private Affair’ talks about the life style of the Ibo community who oppose love marriage.  He also attacks the outdated customs and beliefs of the Ibo tribal community.

Ibo tribe’s:

     Nnaemeka, who belongs to the Ibo community, falls in love with Nene of Lagos.  On one fine afternoon, Nene sits with Nnaemeka in her room at 16 Kasanga Street, Lagos asking him whether he had written  to his father regarding their marriage.  He defends himself that it would be better to talk in person while he goes home. 

     Nnaemeka’s father may not like Nene becoming his daughter-in-law. He feels that his Ibo tribes are bound to customs and traditions. They insist on arranged marriages within the tribe.  Nene thinks in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the city it is a joke that a person’s tribe should decide marriage.  Nene remarks that she believed the Ibo tribes were kind people.  To which Nnaemeka replies that marriage was a different matter.   He further adds, if Nene’s father lived in the heart of Ibibo land he too would be exactly as his father.

Letter from Nnaemeka’s father:

     Later he receives a letter from his father stating that he had found a suitable girl named Ugoye Nwede, the eldest daughter of Jacob Nweke.  She is not totally illiterate and she has a proper Christian upbringing.  Her Sunday school teacher said she reads bible very fluently. Nnaemeka thought of showing the letter to Nene, but later decided not to on second thought.

    Upon reaching his home during his vacation, he sat with his father and began to speak about his love with Nene Atang from Calabar.  He said she is working as a teacher.  His father said that a Christian should not teach and he asked his son for more details, and he left the room angrily.

Against Nnaemeka’s will:

     The next day his father called him and asked to cancel his engagement with Nene.  But Nnaemeka was firm and tried to convince his father saying that she is a good Christian who has all the good qualities of Ugoye.  Later the old man said he would never see the girl and stopped speaking to his son.  Nnaemeka thought that his anger would pass away.  That night, his father did not eat.  He feels that it was a duty of the father to show what is right and wrong. He said to his father that he will change his mind after seeing Nene

Role of Villagers against their marriage:

     The news of Nnameka’s marriage proposal with Nene spread among the villagers.  An old man of the village said that he had never heard of a man marrying a girl speaking a different language and the other man quoted the bible ‘Sons shall rise against their Fathers’, which said the sons would disobey their parents.  Another said, the world was going to end.  The discussions assumed a religious tone.

     Madubogwu suggested that a native doctor should be consulted.  An herbalist could cure his sickness.  The medicine Amalile could be tried on him. It would help women to get back to their husbands.  But Okeke refused to call in the native doctor. But, Nnameka and Nene got married against his father’s wish after a few days.

Few months later:

    After six months Nnameka received letters from his father who cut off his son’s wife from the marriage photo and returned it back to his son stating that he has nothing to do with Nene.  She looks into the letter and begins to cry.  Later Nnameka consoles his wife saying that his father is an essentially good-natured man and he will understand them one day.  They both lived in a little village in the heart of the Ibo country most happily but Okeke displayed much temper whenever his son’s name was mentioned by the villagers.  Though he had a pain of missing his son, he never expressed it but controlled his feelings.

Letter from Daughter-in-law:

     One day Okeke received a letter from Nene.  He could not control himself from reading the letter.  Nene said that their two sons were eager to meet their grandfather.  She requested her father-in-law to permit them to visit him.  Her husband would take the children during his leave and she would stay back in Lagos.

Conclusion:

     The old man’s determination became weakened.  He tried to steel his heart and control his emotions. He leaned against a window and looked out.  The sky was overcast with heavy black cloud and high wind began to blow.  Okeke was trying hard not to think of his two grandsons, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle.  He imagined his grandsons standing outside, shut from home.  He later felt sorry for his action and he could not sleep that night because of a deep regret for wrong doing a fear that he might die without seeing his grandsons.

The Doll’s House

 Introduction:

     Katherine Mansfield in this story ‘The Doll’s House’ talks about three elements - they are child psychology, class distinction and making fun of the society.

Burnell’s family:

     This story begins with the Burnell’s family where Mrs. Hay had stayed with them and went back to town and had sent the children a doll’s house.  It was a beautiful doll house.  The children are Isabel (eldest), Lottie (middle), and Kezia (younger).  They were happy to receive this gift from Mrs. Hay which was carried into the courtyard by Pat who is the servant working in Burnell’s family.  The doll’s house was advised to be kept in the courtyard because of the paint’s smell that came from the doll’s house. 

Description of the Doll’s house:

     The doll’s house was painted with a dark, oily, spinach-green, picked out with bright yellow.  Its two solid little chimneys, glued on to the roof, were painted red and white, and the door, gleaming with yellow varnish, was little slab of toffee.  Four windows, real windows were divided into panes by a broad streak of green.  It also contains a drawing room, a dining room, a kitchen and two bedrooms.  All the rooms were papered and the pictures on the walls were painted with gold frames, whereas the red carpet covered all the floors except the kitchen, the beds were covered with real bedclothes, a cradle, a stove, a dresser with tiny plates and a big jug.

     But what amazed Kezia was the lamp.  It stood in the middle of the dining room table, a little lamp with a white globe, and it was even filled all ready for lightning, though, of course we couldn’t light it. It looked some kind of oil was inside the lamp when we shook it.  The Burnell children were so elated and they wanted to tell the news to everyone.  Isabel was bossy and she said that only she has got the right to choose the friends whom she would like to invite to look at the Doll’s house.

Kelvey’s family:

     Through the Kelvey’s family, the author highlights the class distinction.  The Kelvey’s were left out because they were the daughters of a washer woman and a jail bird.  They were shunned by everybody.  Even teachers had a special voice for them and a special smile for the other children.  They were the daughters of a hard-working little washerwoman. The children are Lil (elder) and Else (younger).  Lil was stout plain child and she came to school in a dress made out of table cloth, whereas Else was dressed up in white rather like a night gown and a pair of little boy’s boots. Both of them looked very strange. Else a very silent girl and when she wanted something she use to give Lil a little tug to her skirt. They never failed to understand each other.

Same school:

     As there are no other school for miles the rich Burnells had to send their children to the same school where the poor Kelvey’s children studies.  It was a mixed school where the Judges little girls and the milkman’s children were forced to study together.  But the children still looked down upon children from the poor families like the Kelvey’s and kept them at a distance.

     Later that evening, Isabel chose Emmie Cole and Legan Logan to see the Doll’s house first.  The other girls would also have their chance.  Only the little Kelvey’s were not invited as they belonged to a poor family.

Kezia, the kind-hearted:

     The Burnell girl’s mother never allows her daughters to mix along with the Kelveys.  As days passed more children saw the doll’s house and the fame of it spread.  All the other girls use to make fun of the Kelveys girls since her mother was a washerwoman and her father was a jail bird.  But, Kezia was the only one who took pity on the Kelvey’s and invited them to have a look at the Doll’s house. 

     Kezia saw the Kelvey’s children near her and she invited them and showed the Doll’s house. When they were looking at the doll’s house, Aunt Beryl who saw it, scolded Kezia for allowing the Kelvey’s.  She shooed the Kelvey’s out as if they were chickens.

Conclusion:

     Later Kelvey’s sat on the big red drainpipe by the side of the road looking at the thick fences and Logan’s cows.  Else came up close to her sister and said ‘I seen the Little Lamp”, and the silence prevailed once more.

Upper Division Love

Introduction:

     Manohar Malgonkar in the short story ‘Upper Division Love’ talks about the lower division clerk who falls in love with the film star Sunderbala, which later turns into agony, anger and revenge.

Meeting with the film star:

     This is the story about the lower division clerk who held the photos of the film star Sunderbala, three in his room and one in his wallet and he had seen every movie in which she had acted.  He had a great admiration for the film star.  The first time he meet her in real life was in a stationery counter of Buchumjee’s Store wherein she was accompanied by two body guards.  She had come there to buy gold-plated fountain-pens with encrusted tops.  Before the clerk could speak, the shop assistant stepped forward to answer her.

     But luck was in his way, on the counter she had left behind her glasses and the clerk took it as an opportunity to speak with her.  Later the film star smiled at him and said thank you. After that incident he knew that he had no business to fall in love with the film star Sunderbala.

Clerk’s role in the movie:

     Every day, before going to office he waited near the Super Gajraj Film Company entrance with lots of hope of catching a glimpse of Sunderbala.  He saw her a dozen times, but she did not care to look at him. There were no more smiles from her.  One fine morning he stood near the entrance of the studio feeling cheated because the film star had not arrived for the shooting and suddenly an unshaved man waved his hands towards the waiting group near the gate.  The clerk got an opportunity to play a role of a bandit.  He was to move towards the heroine and to give a tug to her necklace.  It didn’t snap and come off, so he pulled with his full strength and the actress shouted in pain. 

Next take:

     In the next take Ramakanth, the hero of the movie jumped into the scene and he was to give the clerk who acts as a bandit a light tap on his chin. Then he would fall down.  But Ramakanth hit him very hard.  Then the narrator realized that the hero of the movie had deliberately hit him.  Sunderbala was laughing, looking at all these things.

The Revenge:

     What was given life by a smile was burnt out by the laughter. The narrator did a make-over as a policemen for the next scene, and the work assigned for him is to drive up in the police van and put the handcuffs on Ramakanth, motion him into the back of the van, lock the door and drive off with the cameras taking shots of his handsome face through the grill wire.  The narrator went through the scene quiet as a lamb and when at the end he just raced the engine of the van and turned for the road and crew had no idea what was happening.

Charity Show:

     The narrator drove the vehicle for an hour without any idea where he was going.  He later bought a cardboard and a bottle of red ink and he dipped his finger in the ink and wrote out the sign in bold letter DANGEROUS LUNATIC KEEP AWAY.  He hung the board at the back of the van and drove through the busy streets until reaching the Bolero theatre where they were having the charity show.  Since Ramakanth failed to take Sunderbala to the charity show the place beside the Minister was occupied by the actress Shilamati who looked like a thousand dreams.

Conclusion:

     The narrator was enchanted by the new actress Shilamati and decided to pursue her.  The story reveals the common man’s attraction for the film world, and film stars, the realities of the film world, and the disappointment we get when we come closer to it.

The Ransom of Red Chief

Introduction:

     O. Henry  in his short story ‘The Ransom of the Red Chief’ talks of the kidnappers who were tortured by a ten year old kid from Summit named Johnny and at the end the boy is handed over to his father along with cash. 

Bill and Sam:

     Sam is the narrator of the story. He along with Bill (his companion) had a joint capital of six hundred dollars.  They needed just two thousand dollars more to pull off a fraudulent town-lot scheme in Western Illinois.  So, they decided to kidnap someone and demand the needed (two thousand dollars) amount as ransom.  They both selected the victim – who has only one child, a prominent citizen and a wealthy man named Ebenezer Dorset.  Two miles from Summit there was a cave, which they used to store provisions.

     One evening, after sunset they drove in a cart and went near Dorset’s house.  The boy put up a fight with Bill and Sam like a huge bear, but finally they managed to overcome his stubborn resistance and got him in the bottom of the cart and took him to the cave.

Johnny as ‘Red Chief’:

     The cave was surrounded with thick cedar tree. Later he wore feathers in his hair and called himself a ‘Red Chief’ and he also nick-named Sam as the Snake-eye, the Spy.  He called Bill, Old Hank, the Trapper. The Red chief’s captive and was going to be killed at the day break.  The little boy seemed to be having the time of his life.  Later they had dinner, the little boy Johnny filled his mouth with bacon, bread and gravy, and began to talk.

     Why are oranges round? I don’t like girls, a parrot can talk, but a monkey or fish can’t. The little boy started to threaten Bill and Sam.  Later, they went to sleep.  Johnny often got up and yelled.  In the early morning he sat on Bill’s chest and tried to cut off his hair and skin with knife. The whole night, both Sam and Bill lost their sleep. 

Ransom Note from Bill and Sam:

     Next morning, Sam went to the top of the mountain to examine the situation in Summit. But quite opposite to their expectations the village was very quiet and the people of Summit were yet to discover the kidnap.  Meanwhile the kid started to torture Bill in the cave. Sam rescued Bill after he returned to the cave from the top of the mountain.  He suggested his companion that they should send a letter to Dorset demanding the ransom and instructing him how to pay it. 

     Bill pleaded with Sam to reduce the amount to fifteen hundred dollars as he suspected that his father wouldn’t be willing to pay a bigger amount for a troublesome boy.  They wrote a letter demanding fifteen hundred dollars as ransom for returning his son.

Johnny’s torture continued:

     Sam went out to send a letter to Mr. Dorset demanding the amount.  Now, the little kid asked Bill to play along with him and asked him to get down on four legs.  He rode on Bill’s back to the village stockade, as a game.  After posting the letter, Sam returned back to the cave, but he found none.  He waited for Bill in the cave for a long time and about half an hour later he heard the bushes rustle.  He saw Bill who looked tired and shabby.  He said that the boy is gone and he had sent him home.  Bill tried to get rid of the boy but he followed him back to the cave.

      Later that night, Bill and Sam got a letter from Mr. Dorset stating that, instead of paying the ransom, he had demanded money from Bill and Sam. They had to pay in cash(two hundred and fifty dollars) to take his son off their hands. They should come with the boy in the night time because the neighbors might object to his returning home and might attack the kidnappers.

Conclusion:

     Bill and Sam wanted to get rid of the boy somehow and they decided to pay the amount demanded by Mr. Dorset.  They both paid the amount (two hundred and fifty dollars) as demanded by the little boy’s father and ran away from that town as fast as they could, thinking that the boy could catch up with them again. 

The Man Who Knew Too Much

Private Quelch:

     The story opens up with the description of the character named Private Quelch, who works as the soldier, the lowest rank in the army.  He was lean and tall, wearing horn-rimmed glasses and had a permanent frown on his face.  He was given the nickname the ‘Professor’.  At the first chance, he began to lecture to anyone on anything much like a Professor.  Hence he was aptly called the ‘Professor’.  He looked like a professor both in his appearance and conduct.

Perfect Show off:

     At first he was respected for his knowledge in all fields.  He worked hard and gathered knowledge from various sources, but he grabbed every opportunity to show off his knowledge.  The narrator points out Private Quelch’s first incident of interruption during the class handled by the sergeant on Musketry (use of rifle). When he started with his lecture on the mechanism of a Service Rifle and the velocity or speed at which the bullet leaves the rifle like over two thousand feet per second, a voice interrupted saying two thousand four hundred and forty feet per second.  The Sergeant without any enthusiasm went on lecturing. 

     When the sergeant asked “You had any training before?” the professor answered “No sergeant, it’s all a matter of intelligent reading.”   Others in the army camp started to learn about him and his ambition to earn a Commission, which is the highest rank in the army.  He borrowed training manuals and stayed up late at nights reading them.

Relationship with his Colleagues:

     He often pointed out other’s mistakes and corrected them in the public.  Whenever one of colleagues shone the “Professor”, he outshone them with his lectures.  This was not liked by all.  The colleagues tried to hit him back with clumsy sarcasms and practical jokes but he was never affected by them.  One day, they heard the drone of a plan flying high overhead.  None of them could even see it in the glare of the sun.  Without even a glance upward the Professor announced it is a North American Harvard Trainer.  With utmost pride the Professor wanted to show off his talent and knowledge to his colleagues.

Corporal Turnbull:

     He was a young man who came back from Dunkirk with all his equipment correct.  One day he was giving lecture on the hand grenade.  He lectured that the outside of a grenade we can see large number of fragment to assist segmentation and by that time a voice interrupted his lecture.  The Professor as usual interrupted him saying Forty four segments.  Corporal did not like this.  He gave the hand grenade to the professor and asked him to give the lecture.  The Professor happily came forward and gave a good lecture on the hand grenade.  The squad listened to him with a horrified kind of silence.  Corporal stood and watched his lecture.

A Kind Revenge:

     Corporal Turnbull announced that he was asked by the ‘Platoon officer (lieutenant) to nominate one from the squad for ---‘.  He paused and looked at the squad and most of them started to throw their glances at Private Quelch who stood rigid.  Everyone thought that the Professor would be given a Commission.  “—for permanent cookhouse duties and Corporal have decided that Private Quelch is just the man for the job and everyone enjoyed this joke.  He was not at all put out by this. 

Conclusion:

     Through the open doors of the canteen the squad, the other ranks of army and his colleagues saw three cooks standing against the wall, and from within came a familiar voice.  Later they recognized that the voice belonged to the Professor who started his lecture about unscientific and unhygienic method of peeling potatoes and vitamin values.  Though he had lot of knowledge, he lacked humility.

Lines Written in Early Spring

Wordsworth rejoices and laments at the same time, dwelling on the connection between man and nature.

Listening to the sounds of nature on a pleasant day in spring, he is full of sadness on account of what man has made of himself. He notes, observing the blooming flowers, chirping birds and the fresh new foliage, that all of Nature, seems happy, in accordance with the divine plan. Humans, however, much to the poet’s regret are the exception to the all pervading principle of pleasure found in nature.

The speaker describes the natural scenery around. To him, the life in the forest seems so beautiful and satisfying compared to life in civilization. He goes on to describe what he sees as “pleasure” as “every flower/Enjoys the air it breathes” and the birds that hopped and played around him and that every least motion which they made “seemed a thrill of pleasure”. Next, he proceeds to describe pleasure in the “budding twigs” that which spreads their leaves to catch the “breezy air”. It is this lifestyle that the speaker is jealous and wishes that mankind could somehow return to nature. It is for this reason he pities humankind for their empty pursuits and their meaningless life.

To Wordsworth, “Natures holy plan” (22) is for mankind to live as an intricate (involving) part of nature, surrendering to quiet cottages and subsistence farming, away from the bleak and pointless miseries of city life.  Man, in “Lines Written in Early Spring”, has successfully perverted his nature and is so condemned to the incomplete and aimless existence of civilization. 

                                                                                                     Ulysses

Ulysses declares that there is little point in his staying home “by this still hearth” with his old wife, giving out rewards and punishments for the people who live in his kingdom. Still speaking to himself he declares that he “cannot rest from travel” but feels compelled to live to the fullest and swallow every last drop of life. He has enjoyed all his experiences as a sailor who travels the seas, and he considers himself a symbol for everyone who wanders and roams the earth. His travels have exposed him to many different types of people and ways of living. They have also exposed him to the “delight of battle” while fighting the Trojan War with his men. Ulysses declares that his travels and encounters have shaped who he is: “I am a part of all that I have met,” he asserts. Ulysses declares that it is boring to stay in one place, and that to remain stationary is to rust rather than to shine; to stay in one place is to pretend that all there is to life is the simple act of breathing.  His spirit yearns constantly for new experiences that will broaden his horizons; he wishes “to follow knowledge like a sinking star” and forever grow in wisdom and in learning.

Ulysses now speaks to an unidentified audience concerning his son Telemachus, who will act as his successor while the great hero resumes his travels: he says, “This is my son, mine own Telemachus, to whom I leave the scepter (authority) and the isle (island).” He speaks highly but also supports his son’s capabilities as a ruler, praising his careful management, dedication, and devotion to the gods. Telemachus will do his work of governing the island while Ulysses will do his work of traveling the seas: “He works his work, I mine.”

In the final stanza, Ulysses addresses the mariners with whom he has worked, traveled, and weathered life’s storms over many years. He declares that although he and they are old, they still have the potential to do something noble and honorable before “the long day wanes.” He encourages them to make use of their old age because “’tis not too late to seek a newer world.” He declares that his goal is to sail onward “beyond the sunset” until his death. Perhaps, he suggests, they may even reach the “Happy Isles,” or the paradise of never ending summer described in Greek mythology where great heroes like the warrior Achilles were believed to have been taken after their deaths. Although Ulysses and his mariners are not as strong as they were in youth, they are “strong in will” and are sustained by their resolve to push onward relentlessly: “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

WHEN I HAVE FEARS

Introduction:

Keats is reflecting on his imminent death in this poem. He talks about his fears of leaving the world before realizing his dreams and literary ambitions. He is afraid that he might be dead before penning down all his ideas into books, fulfilling his destiny and falling in love. It is when such thoughts occur to him that he feels he is all alone in the world and his ideas of love and fame amount to nothing. The escapist tendency has only served to heighten the sense of reality. Keats understands that his desire for fame and love has to withstand the test of time but which is just futile.

His Fears: The poem has two major thought groups culminating into one at the end. The first being Keats fear of dying young without becoming a successful literary writer – his long term ambition and the second the fear of losing his beloved. Keats emphasizes the richness of his imagination through the imagery of harvest. With his imagination he can perceive the beauty of nature and the larger meanings beneath the appearance of nature. Next he turns to his beloved – ‘the fair creature of an hour’ but his beloved is not a eternal being.

 His conception of Love: Keats resolves his fear by asserting the unimportance of love and fame as both are transient in nature. Keats attributes two qualities to love: (1) it has the ability to transform the world for the lovers ("faery power"), but of course fairies are not real, and their enchantments are an illusion and (2) love involves us with emotion rather than thought ("I feel" and "unreflecting love").

   His Solitariness:  Reflecting upon his feelings, which the act of writing this sonnet has involved, Keats achieves some distancing from his own feelings and ordinary life; this distancing enables him to reach a resolution. He thinks about the human solitariness ("I stand alone") and human insignificance (the implicit contrast between his lone self and "the wide world"). The shore is a point of contact, the threshold between two worlds or conditions, land and sea; so Keats is crossing a threshold, from his desire for fame and love to accepting their unimportance and ceasing to fear and sadness.

OBITUARY

Ramanujan uses the occasion of his father’s death to pay him a tribute. While doing so, he portrays the milieu to which his father belonged in graphic detail. The poet’s father belongs to an orthodox middle-class Brahmin community. His passing away is a significant event for his family and his contribution to the society merits an obituary in a Chennai Newspaper. His death, however, means little in a community that upholds the traditions and rituals of the past, rather than an individual and his achievements. He is cremated and his ashes scattered as per the Hindu rites, but no tombstone is engraved in his name. it is the same modesty that prompts the writer to seek unobstructively for the lines published in honour of his father amongst the newspaper cones given by the shopkeepers.

The poem is rich in references to the small town life of the poet’s father and his family, undistinguished, except for the predictable practices such as naming a child after his grandfather, the ritual of cremating the dead, an old house in a state of disrepair, groceries sold in recycled newspaper and the image of a widowed woman.

The Unknown Citizen

Introduction:                                                                                                                                                                                     W. H. Auden’s poem ‘The Unknown Citizen’ is a  satire on the societal order in which the State is all-powerful and has total control over the individual. In “The Unknown Citizen” the government has manipulated human intelligence to the point that they have control over everyone’s lives and minds. The motive behind the portrayal of an equal society is that it will eliminate hatred, envy and war. While this proves true, the numerous side effects such as loss of identity, lack of originality, and loss of personal feelings develop.

The unknown citizen is someone who pays the taxes, satisfies the employers, reads the newspaper daily, has the correct number of children, fights for the peace and supports the war and so on. In spite of all these facts, the citizen remains "unknown" we do not see any strong traits in this unknown citizen. He is merely like any other ordinary man we can find around us. We could not see how special he appears or anything that could distinguish him from others.  The stress for individuals to conform in this system makes one loses his or her individualism.

Reports by Researchers on the Unknown Citizen:                                                                                                     The poem consists of several people and organizations weighing our dear "Citizen."  First, the not-so-friendly-sounding "Bureau of Statistics" says that "no official complaint" was ever made against him. More than that, the guy was a veritable saint, whose good deeds included serving in the army and not getting fired. He belonged to a union and paid his dues, and he liked to have a drink from time to time.   " He served in war, never got fired from his job, popular with his mates, and "normal in every way."    

This man was an ordinary man who did what a normal man would do, and what an ordinary would have. The "researchers in Public Opinion are content that he held the proper opinions for the time of the year: “ when there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went." 

         His list of stirring accomplishments goes on: he bought a newspaper and had normal reactions to advertisements. He went to the hospital once – we don’t know what for – and bought a few expensive appliances like a record player, a radio, and the refrigerator. He had five kids, and they added to it by telling that he did not interfere in their education. In fact, the only thing the government doesn’t know about the guy is whether he was "free" and "happy," two utterly insignificant, trivial little details. They themselves came to a conclusion that he couldn’t have been unhappy, though, because otherwise the government would have heard.

                                                                              For Elkana

Introduction:                                                                                                                                                                                 Ezekiel describes a typical domestic situation in this autobiographical poem through which he poignantly brings out the joys of the familial bonds. The poet uses the situation to portray with gentle irony his wife’s personality and to comment on the everyday dilemmas of raising young children. Elkana is the name of Ezekiel’s son.

The parents of a strong-willed seven year old are relaxing in their lawn one early summer evening, when their tete-a-tete is interrupted by their son, who demands that he be given dinner immediately. The mother persuade him to wait for a few minutes, as the father looks on. The boy has his way however, as he presents strong logic, much to the amusement of his parents.

Domestic Situation:                                                                                                                                                           The author and his family, tempted by the warm April evening, decide to drag their chairs outside and plant them on the uneven stone steps. There, they sit sprawled in their chairs, in silence till the wife breaks this silence by commenting on a broken window pane. She suggests a thing or two to her husband, assuming that he doesn't know what he is supposed to do. She might even be aware of the fact that he knows, but it’s just the comfort of replaying a familiar conversation they have had many times over the years, which prompts her to tell him these things.

The Dilemma’s of Married Life:                                                                                                                                        The husband doesn't want to contradict her and understands the futility of arguing. He decides to maintain peace by humorously accepting that she is always right! They both accept each other’s faults and put up with each other because the bond they share is much deeper than what’s seen on the surface. Even though she might nag him and he might ignore her at times and though they disagree on many accounts, they both love each other immensely. 

  The Joy within the Family:                                                                                                                                                The son, who was playing in the garden, hears his mother's voice travelling up and down the lawn and for some reason this reminds him that he needs his dinner. He goes up to his parents, and demands his dinner with "masterly determination". At this point, both the author and his wife, in unusual rapport, state one unspoken thought- their son must be disciplined. The wife expects her husband to discipline the boy but he looks away. Before her boy could repeat himself, she raises her finger and tells him firmly that he will have to wait for five minutes. When he doesn't listen, she tries pacifying him but to no avail. The young boy's logic is that he won't be hungry in five minutes. This argument appeals to the father and reminds him of himself. The father feels that such a logician deserves his dinner straightaway. Even the mother is amused by her son and laughs in delight! Both parents end up indulging their son. Her wonderful laughter holds the family together and all three of them rise to go back into the house.

                                                              A Little Bit of What You Fancy

  Introduction:

  Desmond Morris in his ‘A Little Bit of What You Fancy’ talks about his own mother and the people who lived during the 18^th century who were least bothered about the health foods and diet regimes.

Morris’ mother in tune with 18^th century:

     Desmond Morris talks about his own mother who was born during the reign of Queen Victoria, and she enjoyed the robust food pleasures (less importance to healthy foods, table manners), she ate with lots of gusto piling her plate with greasy, fatty, fried up grill foods without any anxiety about their possible bad effects.  It is advisable to chew each mouthful of food thirty-two times before swallowing.  Watching his mother in action, Morris wanted to match her appetite and he also remarked that if she ignores the words of health gurus and diet experts, she would die young.

Simple truth behind her mother:

     She lived the whole of twentieth century (99 years of age) without even giving a moment’s thought to know what was correct to eat.   If it tasted good it was all right for her.  Her lack of anxiety (worry) about the diet kept her fit.  For a good digestion you need to be perfectly relaxed in what we are eating.  Only then, the parasympathetic nervous system will help us in good digestion.  We should never worry about our diet system when we start to eat.  On the other hand if we eat in fear and tension our body refuses to co-operate and would suffer from cancer which induces effects from the nervous system.

Modern Pontificators:

     Now a day the modern pontificators (one who gives their opinion) feels that, it is their duty to tell the rest of us about what we should and should not eat, as though they have discovered the secrets of the eternal life.  The author feels that there are two flaws in their argument.  First, they keep on changing their views.  Secondly, they  had overlooked the fact that the human species evolved as an omnivore and hence require a wide range of food stuffs for the body to pick out what it needs and discards the rest.  It’s the food, that differentiates us from our animal rivals.

Problems faced by human beings:

     Many people suffer from obesity, indigestion and dietary deficiencies.  The answer lies in their lifestyle.  They don’t realize that man needs a variety of food for good health. For an instance take the stress ridden urban population suffering from digestion related inconveniences. Food should be savoured, relished, enjoyed and digested at leisure.

Food taboos and totems:

     According to the author, there are two reasons for the existence of so many food taboos, namely totems (special respect to religious emblem) and poisons.  People from ancient times chose a particular animal as a mascot a god-figure and tried to protect it.  For example: cows are considered to be sacred for the Hindus.  This protection included not eating it.  Another reason was the deep-seated human fear of being poisoned.  This irrational fear makes people avoid certain foods and causes anxiety when we eat anything for enjoyment. 

     Conclusion:

     The Author feels that we should never consider the words of food experts or diet gurus. He also thought that he would die ten year ago and in mean time he would like to try out the food stuffs prepared by various cooks. Later he managed to live for another ten years since he managed to disrespect the words of diet fascists .  So, we should enjoy all kinds of foods and without bothering too much the advice of diet experts.

Headache

Introduction:

     R.K. Narayan in his essay ‘Headache’ explains the advantages of headache.

A blessing for Mankind:

     R.K. Narayan explains how headache conferred on mankind as a blessing by a benign providence and also talks about the usefulness of headache to avoid difficult situations.  He later narrates an incident in his school life about the letter writing exercise, where his teacher used headache as a cause in the specimen letter.  He always wondered what made his teacher to select for headache as a cause even in a specimen letter. Later he talks about the drill class during his school days and how students usually mentioned ‘headache’ as an excuse for avoiding the drill class after the school hours.  One day the instructor asked all the students suffering from headache to hold their arms. For many students it raised large hope.  The instructor also added that he was going to give them some special exercise to cure their splitting headache.  Not even a boy raised his arms. Thus the instructor put an end to that problem.

Touch of Importance:

     Headache gives the sufferer a touch of importance because it can be mentioned in any social gathering and is well taken.  No other pain can be so openly mentioned with freedom from punishment.  Other aches sound crude and bad which cannot be mentioned in public and thus headache helps us to avoid many embarrassing situation.

What is indisposition?

     Indisposition is a superior expression; it can be used only by eminent people.  R. K. Narayan was really concerned about finding the real meaning of the word indisposition since it is very vague and confusing.  He feels that he was not able to understand the meaning of the word indisposition except that it sounds very well in press notes or health bulletins or in messages from eminent men to gatherings to which they have been invited.  It cannot be written directly and it will sound better in the third person.  A gentlemen is an eminent one, has a secretary or a deputy who can speak for him.  For example a gentleman regrets his inability to attend the meeting today owing to indisposition (sickness or unwillingness).  People will understand and accept the statement and will not question the concerned person.

     R.K. Narayan wants to know the perfect meaning of indisposition.  Is the concerned person down with flu or malaria or cold or rheumatism (pain in joints and muscles)?  He feels that the word indisposition could be used only at a particular level, not by all and if a school boy says “As I am indisposed, I want to be let off”, he will have his ears twisted for his intelligence beyond his age.

Headache as an excuse:

     If we openly say that we want to avoid the situation or an important meeting, people will get angry.  No one has really got courage to tell that he/she is not willing to attend a meeting or a social gathering. The world is not yet ripe for such outspokenness and frankness.  So we safely use headache as an excuse.

     At home, headache is used as an excuse to avoid many uncomfortable situations.  The mother-in-law, who is angry with the daughter-in-law, uses it to avoid food.  The son, who does not want to take his wife out, gives headache as an excuse.  The boy, who has skipped his homework, claims headache in order to avoid his tutor and to send him back away.  The cultured existence is not to interfere too deeply, but to accept the face value as expressed by the speaker.

Conclusion:

     Headache has become a confirmed habit. Lots of medicines have been produced to cure headache, which people always carry with them and feels uneasy without them.  Opticians give glasses to cure and relieve headache.  All these things prove that mankind easily begins to believe in myths.

My Early Days

Kalam’s Childhood:

 Kalam was born in Rameswaram and his father Jainulabdeen was a middle class Muslim.  His father had neither much of formal education nor much wealth yet he had generosity of spirit and wisdom.  His mother Ashiamma was quite generous in providing food for outsiders and Kalam recollects his memory as to how he sat with the outsiders and ate every day. His parents were widely regarded as an ideal couple.  He was one among the several children in his family with distinguished looks born to tall and handsome parents.

Location of his house:

     He lived in his ancestral house which was build in the middle of 19^th century and it was a fairly large pucca house built up of limestone and brick on the Mosque Street in Rameswaram.  His parents took care of his needs.  He ate with his mother on the floor of the kitchen, on which she served rice with aromatic sambhar and with a variety of sharp pickle and a dollop of coconut chutney.

Jainulabdeen, a pious Muslim:

  Kalam describes an old mosque in his locality where his father used to take him every evening.  He never had any idea of the Arabic prayers chanted but he was convinced that they reached God.  When his father came out of the mosque after the prayers, people of different religions would be sitting outside waiting for him.  He used to dip his finger inside the bowl of water and say prayers to cure diseases.  Many came home to thank his father after they got cured.  He always smiled and asked them to thank Allah.

    His father’s close friend named Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry would always discuss about spiritual matters with him.  Kalam, asked his father about the relevance of prayers and he replied that there is nothing so mysterious about prayers.  It is a communion of the spirit and the people.  He is capable of explaining difficult religious concepts in a simple manner.

Kalam’s inspiration:

  Abdul Kalam tried to follow his father as an example in his life.  When he was six years old his father was working on a project to build a wooden sailboat. He sat beside him and admired his work.  Ahmed Jallaluddin who married Kalam’s sister Zohara, helped his father.  Later he narrates about a disastrous wind which collapsed a train full of passengers in Pamban Bridge.  Ahmed turned to be his friend though there is a difference in their age.  They walked along the sea shore discussing on spiritual matters.  Their first halt would be near Lord Shiva temple, and they talked about God and relationship with him.

      Though Ahmed’s education was limited, he was the only person in the island who can speak and write English.  He always speaks about scientific discoveries, contemporary literature and achievements of medical sciences and widened his knowledge.  He encouraged Kalam to read and borrow books from the library of S.T.R Manickam, a former militant nationalist.

His Second Inspiration:

      Samsuddin, cousin of Kalam was the next person to inspire him greatly.  He was the sole distributor for newspapers in Rameswaram.  The newspapers would arrive from Pamban.  These newspapers were mainly bought by the reading demands of 1000 strong literate people who lived in Rameswaram and few readers would discuss Hilter, Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah. Kalam collected the bundles of newspapers thrown from train and earned his first wage.  The Second World War broke out in 1939 when he was eight years old.  He used to collect tamarind seeds and sell it to a provision shop. Jallaludin would tell him stories about war and he talks about the solitariness of his locality after war.

Kalam’s Close friends:

     He had three close childhood friends-  Ramanadha Sastry, Aravindan and Sivaprakasan.  All these children were from orthodox Hindu Brahmin families.  Ramanadha Sastry was the son of Pakshi Lakshaman Sastry, and later he took priesthood of Rameswaram temple; Aravindan went into business of arranging transport for visiting pilgrims; Sivaprakasan became a catering contractor for Southern Railways. 

Science Teacher:

     One day when he was in his fifth standard at Elementary School a new teacher came to his class.  He never could digest a Hindu and a Muslim student sitting together.  He asked Kalam to sit in the last row and later he went home and told his parents about the incident.  Lakshmana Sastry summoned the teacher and asked not to poison the minds of children with social inequality.  Later his science teacher Siva Subramania Iyer an orthodox Brahmin who tried to break the social barriers helped Kalam in studies and later he joined in high-school for his higher education.  Kalam was invited to his home for a meal but his wife refused to serve him. Later his teacher served him the dinner.

Higher education:

     After the Second World War, India’s freedom was eminent.  He asked his father’s permission to leave Rameswaram and study at the district headquarters in Ramanathapuram.  Later his father took him along with his three brothers to the mosque and recited prayers from the Holy Quran, and wished ‘May God Bless You, my child’.  Samsuddin and Ahmed Jallaluddin travelled with him till high-school.

Conclusion:

     Due to his homesickness, he found hard to fit in with the new environment.  He used to recollect the words of Jallaluddin who always spoke about the power of positive thinking whenever he felt homesick or dejected.  He strived hard to control his thoughts and his mind was filled up with the memories of his home town.  He used positive thinking and overcame his home-sickness.  

How to Escape From Intellectual Rubbish

Rules to avoid foolish opinions:

     According to Russell many issues can be settled by personal observation.  To avoid any foolish opinion which makes mankind look inclined, no superhuman genius is required to rectify our mistakes.  Personal observation can keep us from silly error.  Russell supports his view by pointing out the mistake committed by the great philosopher Aristotle.  He could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple method of asking his wife to keep her mouth open while he counted.  He did not do so because he thought that he knew.  Russell says that many writers who knew less about unicorns and salamander spoke about them in their works but none of the writers had ever seen them. 

Contrary opinions:

     If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, it shows that your views are not based on strong evidence.  If someone says that two and two are five or that Iceland is on the equator, you feel pity on them rather than getting angry, unless you know little of mathematics or geography, otherwise his opinion will make you feel contrary and makes you angry.  The most heated arguments rise up in theology, since there is no evidence either way.  Whenever we find ourselves getting angry about a difference of opinion, we should always re-examine our views.

Insular prejudice:

     According to Bertrand Russell, a good way of overcoming dogmatism (one is right and other is wrong) is to become aware of different opinions by travelling to different countries.  He travelled through many countries and observed their cultures and traditions which made him to diminish his intensity of insular prejudice (dislike of particular group).  In some cases, the effect may not be beneficial.  When the Manchus invaded the Chinese, it was custom of Chinese for the women to have small feet and among Manchus for the men to wear pigtails.  Instead of dropping their customs, the two countries adopted each other’s custom.  Chinese continued to wear pigtails until the revolution of 1911.

Imaginary arguments:

     The author feels that, we can have imaginary arguments with a person with different views about the technology like Gandhiji.  Mahatma Gandhi disapproved railways and steamboats and machinery.  He wanted to undo the Industrial Revolution, but for the Westerners most people take the advantage of modern technology.  Such imaginary arguments helped Russell to overcome his dogmatism. 

Self-esteem:

     He warns us against the views that flatter our self-respect.  It is a general human opinion which makes them think that their own sex or country is superior to others.  Men think that all the poets, inventors and scientists are male, but women feel most of them are criminals.  We hide the demerits of our country in order to show off the merits possessed by our nations.  There may be beings superior to us in other parts of the universe which may think us very inferior by the same way how we feel superior to jelly fish.

Steps to avoid fear:

     Fear according to Russell is the root cause of all errors. Fear sometimes operates directly by inventing rumours of disaster in war time or by imagining objects such as ghosts, sometimes it operates indirectly by creating belief in something such as heaven for ourselves and hell for our enemies.  Fear has many forms, fear of death, fear of the dark, fear of the unknown, fear of herd.  There are two ways of avoiding fear.  One is by convincing ourselves that we are safe from disaster. The other is by the practice of pure courage which is difficult for many people.  So people prefer the former method and try to secure safety with the help of talismans, spells, witchcraft and incantations. 

Conclusion:

     During the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, witches and sorcerers (witchcraft) were used to overcome fear.  Socrates on the day of his death expressed his belief that, in the next world (heaven) he/she would be accompanied by Gods and heroes but Plato in his work ‘Republic’ argued his views about next world.  He argued that the information given by Socrates weren’t true, but to make soldiers more willing to die in battle.  He feels that the traditional myth about Hades (river of Death) represents the spirits of the dead as unhappy.  Belief in future life proves to be more effective way of overcoming fear. 

The Key to Courage

Introduction:

  I.A.R Wylie in his ‘The Key to Courage’ argues that fear can be useful to kindle our courage and to bring out our best.

Significance of Fear:

     According to I.A.R Wylie fear plays a vital role in bringing out our hidden capabilities.  She posed a question to herself: “When was I (author) happiest?” She was struck with an unexpected answer. She enjoyed herself the most when she had been badly scared.  Fear makes it possible to trust in one’s own self to face difficulty or danger.  As a young child she was fearless and she had an unusual upbringing.  She was isolated from children and she used to travel all alone.  When she first went to school at the age of fourteen, she caught fear from the other children brought up by orthodox methods.  She turned very nervous and shy.  But, whenever she met with danger, her fear aroused in her with unsuspected powers.

Her personal Experience:

     When she first went to United States her publishers expected her to give a speech in a public dinner. She was almost sick with fear.  Her tongue was tied up with shyness. Later she gave speech like a seasoned speaker.  She realized that she needed fear to spur her talents.  Even the actors, singers and public performers agree that unless they fear they are not likely to give a good performance.

Soldier’s Fear:

      Bravest soldiers are not ‘fearless’.  It is found that soldiers are those who go to battle sweating with fear.  Army doctors observed that it is not the tough guy who endure the stress of war, but those who imagine fearful consequences to themselves and to others for whom they are responsible.  “Fear when rightly used is the father of courage”.

      In 1942, she was invited by British government with several other writers to observe how Britain stood during various difficult situations.  She was afraid to travel by flight to Great Britain during the war time.  But, after her journey she felt refreshing and vigorous.  Without fear there is no real courage.  It is the power to face any kind of challenge in life.  Fear stimulates our energy and mind.

Noel’s experience:

     An English writer, Noel Streatfield once told her that she was on her way to Singapore by ship and the passengers became very unfriendly through her journey.  The captain met Noel on the deck and asked her to give a hint to the passengers that the ship might suffer from the teeth of a hurricane.  After hearing it the passengers developed high spirits and good temper with her through her journey.

Fear of losing Job:

 The author’s friend was nervous and shy.  One day when he was called to the office of his vice-president, his worry turned into fear.  Worry isn’t same as the fear.  A change came over him and he faced his superiors in a light- headed mood.  The interview ended in a handshake and her friend was promoted afterwards.

Conclusion:

     Fear has spurred him to do his best.  Fear when rightly used can do miracles in life.  Fear can make humans develop superhuman qualities.  Thus ‘Fear is the Father of Courage’.