Sense and SensibilityBy Jane Austen

The novel Sense and Sensibility is a satire on sentimentalism. Elinor represents sense, while sensibility is represented by her sister Marianne. Mrs. Henry Dashwood with her three daughters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, is left in a very straitened situation on the death of her husband. They have to entire to Devonshire where they begin to live in a very humble cottage. Edward Ferrars is the brother of Mr. John Dashwood. John is the step son of Mr. Henry Dashwood. He had been entrusted by the latter to take care of his wife and daughter after his death. But he does not discharge his responsibilities in his respect. Edward and Elinor fall in love with each other. Marianne falls in love with a poor, unscrupulous young man, John Willoughby. Willoughby suddenly leaves for London. Marianne and Elinor go after him, But Willoughby says that he is going to be married to a rich heiress. Elinor also learns that even her lover, Edward, has been untrue to her, as he is already engaged to Lucy Steel who is the niece of Edward. Edward’s mother is not happy with his engagement to Lucy, and settles her property on his younger brother, Robert, who is a fool of the first water. Then Robert and Lucy are married, while Edward stands rejected. Then Edward marries Elinor. Marianne who has been wooed by Colonel Brandon, marries him.

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Digging......... by seamus Haney ...

  Digging” is a relatively short poem (thirty-one lines) in free verse. While it has no set pattern of doing so, it breaks up into stanzas of two to five lines. The presence in the poem of the first person “I” who wields a pen, and the family reminiscences, identify the speaker as Seamus Heaney himself and the poem as autobiographical. The poem is filled with the terminology of Heaney’s native Ireland.

Heaney begins the poem with an image of himself, pen in hand. He hears or is remembering the sound of digging under his window. It is his “father, digging”; however, the reader is told in line 7 that it is an echo from the past. Knowing that, “to ‘look down’ ” can be understood to refer both to the memory of his father’s presence below the window and to looking back through time to it. The image of his father as he “Bends low” can also mean two things: the bending that accompanies digging and the stooping of age.

Because his father is dead, “twenty years away,” the sound can also echo the digging of graves, an image that is further reinforced by the evocations of the smell and feel of the soil. The father who is dead was a laborer, a potato farmer, as his father before him was a digger of “turf,” or peat.

The middle stanzas paint a picture of the activity of digging, as it was part of Heaney’s childhood: The father stoops “in rhythm,” and the spade is held “firmly.

birthday party ..... harold pinter

HERE I AM PRESENTING MY READING AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLAY AND THE MOVIE BIRTHDAY PARTY BY HAROLD PINTER.                       I ALSO WANT TO THANKS BARAD SIR, FOR HE PROVIDE PLATFORM CREATING THIS WORKSHEET WHERE STUDENTS CAN EXPRESS EVEN THOSE THINGS WHICH MISSED OUT DURING MOVIE SCREENING OR DISCUSSING THE PLAY AND MOVIE.                    ‘THE BIRTHDAY PARTY’ IS BASICALLY SHOWING MEANINGLESSNESS AND NOTHINGNESS AS THE THEATER OF THE ABSURD. IT SHOWS NOTHINGNESS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. THE WORD COMEDY OF MENACE IS ALSO USED TO DESCRIBE THE PLAY.                              COMEDY OF MENACE TERM WAS COINED BY IRVING WARDLE. IT DESCRIBED IN THE PLAYS OF DAVID CAMPTON. AS THERE IS PAUSES AND SILENCE SHOWN IN THE PLAY THAT SHOWS PINTERESQUE EFFECT. PINTER ALSO USED MANY NON VERBAL DEVICES TO CREATE THE FEELING OF THREATENING.                                                         TILL THE MOVIE IS CONCERN TO GIVE THE EFFECT, I’VE FELT THE EFFECT OF MENACE DURING THE PLAY. THERE ARE MANY SCENES WHICH CREATED SUCH KIND OF EFFECT LIKE, WHILE LULU COMES AND SHE KNOCKS THE DOOR BUT THAT TIME MEG AND STANLEY GETS FRIGHTENED ABOUT THE ARRIVAL OF STRANGERS. BUT SHE WAS LULU. SO THERE WAS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR. AGAIN THERE WAS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR AND THAT TIME TWO STRANGERS WERE THERE. SO AGAIN THEY FRIGHTENED. THUS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR BECAME MEDIUM TO CREATE MENACE IN THE PLAY. SO THE KNOCKING BECOMES THREATENING AND IT IS USED AS TECHNICAL DEVICE. WHILE READING THE TEXT ALSO IT GIVES VISUAL IMAGINATION THAT IS CREATING MENACING EFFECT.                    THE MOVIE COULD AROUSE COMPARATIVELY GOOD EFFECT OF LURKING DANGER AS THE READING TEXT IT AROUSE. AS THE CHARACTER OF GOLDBERG IS CONFIRMED AND POWERFUL WHILE MCCANN HAS BEEN SHOWN UNDER THE THREATEN OF UNKNOWN THING, SHOWING HIS WEAKNESS ASMCCANN : IS THIS IT ?GOLDBERG : THIS IS IT.                              PINTER ALSO USED THAT READING NEWSPAPER AND OTHER CONNECTIONS WHICH PROVES THAT BASIC ELEMENTS AN ENCLOSED SPACE AND UNPREDICTABLE DIALOGUE, WHERE PEOPLE ARE AT THE MERCY OF ONE ANOTHER AND PRETENSE CRUMBLES AS WE CAN SEE THE REFERENCE FROM THE DIALOGUES OF GOLDBERG ALSO THAT HE REFERS TO HIS PAST AS MCCANN CAN VIEWED AS VICTIM OF    GOLDBERG, GOLDBERG WAS VICTIM O SOCIETY. THE DIALOGUES ARE ALSO UNPREDICTABLE AS IN THE INTERROGATION SCENE IT’S SEEN. HOW THE DIALOGUES ARE SPOKEN LIKE•       WHY DID YOU SEEN THAT MEN TO PLAY CHESS?•       WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH OLD LADY?•       WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH YOUR WIFE?                                VIEWING MOVIE HAS OBVIOUSLY HELPED IN BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PLAY ‘THE BIRTHDAY PARTY’ WITH ITS TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS LIKE PINTERESQUE, PAUSE, SILENCE, MENACE, LURKING DANGER AS ALL THIS ARE INCLUDED VERY WELL BY THE DIRECTOR WILLIAM FRIEDKIN. SO HERE IT’S CONCLUDING THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO IMAGINE A BETTER FILM OF PINTER'S PLAY THAN THIS SENSITIVE, DISTURBING VERSION AS THIS MADE BY WILLIAM FRIEDKIN.I LOOK FORWARD FOR COUNTER ARGUE OR AGREEMENT FROM ALL MY CLASSMATES. FEEL FREE TO DISCUSS VIRTUAL WAY.THANK YOU.

gulliver's travel by johnathan swift

During the eighteenth century there was an incredible upheaval of commercialization in London, England.  As a result, English society underwent significant, “changes in attitude and thought”, in an attempt to obtain the dignity and splendor of royalty and the upper class (McKendrick,2).  As a result, English society held themselves in very high regards, feeling that they were the elite society of mankind.  In his novel, Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift satirizes this English society in many ways.  In the novel, Swift uses metaphors to reveal his disapproval of English society.  Through graphic representations of the body and its functions, Swift reveals to the reader that grandeur is merely an illusion, a facade behind which English society of his time attempted to hide from reality.

On his first voyage, Swift places Gulliver in a land of miniature people where his giant size is meant as a metaphor for his superiority over the Lilliputians, thus representing English society’s belief in superiority over all other cultures.  Yet, despite his belief in superiority, Swift shows that Gulliver is not as great as he imagines when the forces of nature call upon him to relieve himself.  Gulliver comments to the reader that beforehand he, “was under great difficulties between urgency and shame”, and after the deed says that he felt, “guilty of so uncleanly an action” (Norton,2051).  By revealing to the reader Gulliver’s shame in carrying out a basic function of life, Swift comments on the self imposed supremacy of English society.  By humbling their representative, the author implies that despite the belief of the English to be the most civilized and refined society, they are still human beings who are slaves to the same forces as every other human being regardless of culture or race.

On the second voyage, Swift turns the tables on Gulliver and places him among a race of giant people, the Brobdingnagians, where Gulliver is viewed as the inferior.  Due to his miniature size, Gulliver is able to examine the human body in a much more detailed manner.  Upon witnessing the undressing of the Maids of Honor, Gulliver expresses his aversion to their naked bodies. They were, “very far from being a tempting sight”, and gave him, “any other emotions than those of horror and disgust”, because of the acuteness to which he was able to observe their, “course and uneven [skin], so variously colored” (Norton,2104). Gulliver also talks of their moles, “here and there as broad as a trencher, and hairs hanging from (them) thicker than pack-threads” (Norton,2104).  Earlier in the novel, upon witnessing the suckling of a baby, Gulliver tells the reader that upon seeing the woman’s breast he, “[reflected] upon the fair skins of [his] English ladies, who appear so beautiful… only because they are of [his] own size” (Norton,2088). In showing Gulliver’s disgust at the sight of such prestigious and beautiful women of Brobdingnag, Swift again comments on English society through a graphic portrayal of the human body.  Swift uses the Maids of Honor as a  metaphor to comment on the women of England, whom, among eighteenth century English society, were believed to be the most beautiful of all the world.  Showing that despite their apparent beauty, they are not perfect, and suffer the same flaws and imperfections of appearance as any other women.

At one point during Gulliver’s stay in Brobdingnag, Swift comments almost directly on his distaste for the self imposed supremacy of English society over all other cultures. It happens when the King of the land, his Majesty, comments on, “how contemptible a thing was human grandeur, which could be mimicked by such diminutive insects as [Gulliver]”(Norton,2097). Here, Swift bluntly criticizes the attitude of  English society for considering themselves to be so high in rank and eminence, by implying that even the smallest and least civilized creature could assume such a high degree of superiority.

Gulliver’s Travels is a satirical novel of the eighteenth century English society, a society with superficial ideas of grandeur and nobility.  Through clever representations, Jonathan Swift successfully humbles this society’s pride and human vanity. He reveals the flaws it their thinking by reducing them to what they are, human beings, which, like any other group of human beings is able to do, have merely adopted a superficial self righteous attitude. In doing so, Swift makes a broader statement about mankind today. Despite all the self acclaimed advances in civilization and technology, we are still merely human; suffering from the same forces and flaws, impulses and imperfections as everyone else.

ઓરીજીનાલીટી

આ વાક્ય જ્યારે પણ વાંચુ ત્યારે મને વિચારતી કરી દે છે. ઓરીજીનાલીટી એટલે શું? કદાચ “જેવા હોઈએ પ્રભુ તેવા દેખાવા”  એનું જ નામ ઓરીજીનાલીટી હશે. આ શબ્દનો ગુજરાતી અર્થ સર્ચ કર્યો તો આ મળ્યુઃ “મૂળ, અસલનું, પ્રથમનું, આદ્ય, પ્રાથમિક, તદ્દન શરૂઆતનું, પ્રાચીનતમ, અનુકરણાત્મક કે બીજા કશામાંથી નીકળેલું નહિ.”

અરે આપણું હોવુ જ બીજા કશામાંથી નીકળેલું છે. મતલબ કે સમય, સંજોગો  કે અનુભવો કે પછી માણસો જ આપણને ઘડે છે.  આપણે હોઈએ છે એનાથી કંઈક અલગ બનાવે છે અને એ જ રીતે આપણે વર્તીએ છે, તો આમાં આપણું ઓરીજીનલ શું?

જિંદગીના દરેક તબક્કે આપણી ઓરીજીનાલીટી ગુમાવતા જઈએ છે. બાળપણ જ્યાં સુધી  સમજણું ના થાય ત્યાં સુધી જ કદાચ ઓરીજીનલ  રહી શકે છે, જેમ જેમ દુનિયાદારીના ઢોળ ચડતા જાય એમ એ ઓરીજીનાલીટી વહેવાર-વર્તનમાં તો ક્યાંય ડોકાતી નથી પણ માંહ્યલામાં ઝાંકીને જુઓ તો ત્યાં ય મોહરુ પહેરેલો આત્મા દેખાય.

કોઈ પણ કામ કરવુ જોઈએ એટલા માટે નહિં પણ કરવુ પડે એટલા માટે આપણે વધારે કરીયે છે.

આપણાં ઘણાં ખરા વિચારો ફક્ત વિચારવા માટે જ હોય છે. આચરી એટલા માટે નથી શકતા કે કોઈ શુ કહેશે?

જેમા ધર્મ અને સમાજનાં વાડાઓ આપણે રચ્યા છે એમ જ આપણી આદતોના વાડામાથી ય આપણે  ભાગ્યે જ છુટી શકીએ  છે.

ઈવન પ્રકૃતિ સાથે ય પ્રાકૃતિક થઈ શકતા નથી.

આંખોમાં હવે લરઝતુ વિસ્મય નથી, ખોખલી – ખખડતી  હોંશિયારી છે.

બેફામ ભાગતા જમાના સાથે તાલ મિલાવવાનો છે, નોકરીમાં કે બિઝનેસમાં ઝડપથી પ્રગતી કરવાની છે, સમાજમાં સ્ટેટસ જાળવવાનું છે, સગા-સંબંધી ને મિત્રોમાં માન રાખવાનું છે, સંતાનોને ય ઝડપથી મેચ્યોર બનાવી દેવાના છે કે જેથી એ આપણે જ ઉભા કરેલા નકશે-કદમ પર ચાલી શકે.

હજુ તો કેટ-કેટલું કરવાનું છે જિંદગીમાં…….. લિસ્ટ લાંબુ  છે.

હવે બોલો આમાં ઓરીજીનલ ક્યાંથી રહી શકાય?

#np

THE GREAT GATSBY....... F.SCOTT FITZGERALD ....

THE GREAT GATSBY

        Nicholas "Nick" Carraway is a Yale graduate and World War I veteran from the Midwest who takes a job in New York as a bond salesman. He rents a small house on Long Island, in the village of West Egg, next door to the  mansion of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who holds lavish parties. Across the bay, Nick's second cousin Daisy lives with Tom Buchanan, her husband who attended Yale at the same time as Nick. Daisy and Tom ask Nick to dinner at their home, where they introduce him to Jordan Baker, a well-known golfer. The atmosphere of the dinner is spoiled when Tom answers a telephone call that Jordan suggests is from his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle is the wife of George Wilson, who owns an auto repair shop in the "Valley of Ashes" on the outskirts of New York City. One day, Tom takes Nick privately to a flat in Manhattan where they meet up with Myrtle and have a small party but it ends up with Tom breaking Myrtle's nose following an argument regarding whether Myrtle should be allowed to speak Daisy's name. Nick eventually gets an invitation to one of Gatsby's extravagant parties next door, where he soon spots Jordan. Almost all of the guests seem to be uninvited and do not know their host, who keeps himself detached. Nick, however, is coincidentally recognized by Gatsby from their having served in the same division in the war and the two instantly take a liking to each other. For the remainder of the novel, Nick revels in the puzzle of Gatsby's larger-than-life persona, soon accentuated by a lunch in Manhattan shared among Gatsby, Nick, and Meyer Wolfshiem, a close business associate of Gatsby's. Later, Jordan reveals to Nick that in 1917, Gatsby, coming from a poor Midwestern family, had courted Daisy and hoped to marry her, but was sent to Europe to fight during the war, briefly studying at Trinity College, Oxford, during which time Daisy married Tom. Gatsby's goals are now made clear: he has reinvented himself, become rich through self-made efforts, bought a house near Daisy, and thrown his enormous parties in the hope that she would, by chance, find her way there one night so that the two can revive their romance. Jordan asks Nick on Gatsby's behalf to arrange a reunion between Gatsby and Daisy. Nick agrees to have both Gatsby and Daisy to tea. Although this reunion is initially awkward, Daisy and Gatsby soon fall in love again. Daisy soon asks Gatsby, Jordan, and Nick to a lunch date at her house, even though Tom is present. At the lunch, Daisy suggests that they all go into Manhattan, and Tom, who is clearly suspicious of Gatsby, drives Gatsby's yellow car with Jordan and Nick, while Daisy and Gatsby follow them in Tom's car. At George's garage, Tom stops to fill the car and an sad Wilson reveals that he knows Myrtle has been having a secret affair. Although Wilson does not know who the affair is with, he has temporarily locked Myrtle in their home above the garage.

        Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Nick go to the Plaza Hotel, where Tom angrily confronts Gatsby about his relationship with Daisy and his alleged criminal activities. Gatsby and Tom argue in front of the whole group, Gatsby telling Daisy to come with him, her first love, and to deny that she ever loved Tom. She avoids both men's appeals and begs to go home. By the end of the argument, Tom scornfully orders Daisy and Gatsby to shamefully go home in the same car. The two leave, taking Gatsby's yellow car. Nick suddenly remembers that it is his birthday and he is now thirty years old. He, Tom, and Jordan then ride off in Tom's blue coupe. Meanwhile, as Daisy and Gatsby race past George's garage, Myrtle recognizes the yellow car and runs into the road, where the car, which is being driven by Daisy, strikes and kills her. The pair continue to drive without stopping. Tom soon arrives with the other two and discovers Myrtle's corpse. Back home, Tom and Daisy have a reconciliation,and they pack up and hastily leave town. Gatsby later tells Nick that it was Daisy driving the car, but he will take the blame. Nick tells Gatsby to leave town, but Gatsby refuses. He finally tells Nick about his life and how he - born James Gatz - came to have the name Jay Gatsby. The next day, Tom tells George that Gatsby was the driver on the night of the accident, which made George believe it was Gatsby with whom Myrtle was having an affair. George tracks down Gatsby's address and arrives at the mansion to find Gatsby relaxing in his pool; George shoots Gatsby dead and then commits suicide. Upset by Gatsby's sudden death, Nick arranges Gatsby's funeral, which is attended only by Nick, Gatsby's elderly father, and man who used to show up at Gatsby's parties. Nick is disgusted by the small turnout at the funeral, given his repeated attempts to get in touch with any of Gatsby's previous party guests or associates, none of who go to the funeral. Nick runs into Tom on the street and later meets up with Jordan, openly revealing his discontentment with them both. Nick decides to give up his job and his house. He resolves to return to the Midwest.

CHARACTERS

• Nick Carraway — the novel’s narrator; he is a young man from Minnesota who went to Yale, fought in World War 1, and he eventually goes to New York City to learn the bond business. Nick is honest and tolerant and often serves as a confidant for those with secrets. After moving to the West Egg, Nick meets and befriends his next-door neighbor, the mysterious Jay Gatsby. As Daisy Buchanan’s cousin, he helps revive the romance between her and Gatsby.
• Jay Gatsby (James Gatz) — The main character and protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a wealthy young man living in a mansion in West Egg. He is famous for the lavish parties he throws every Saturday night, but no one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. As the novel goes on, Nick finds out that Gatsby was born James Gatz on a farm in North Dakota. He worked for a millionaire and was inspired to become one himself. When he met Daisy while training to be an officer, he fell in love with her. Nick views Gatsby as a dishonest man, whose great optimism to transform his dreams into reality make him “great” nonetheless.
• Daisy Buchanan — Nick’s cousin and the woman Gatsby loves. As a young woman in Louisville before the war, Daisy was pursued by a lot of officers, including Gatsby. She fell in love with Gatsby and promised to wait for him. However, she ended up marrying tom Buchanan while Gatsby was away. Daisy lives with Tom across from Gatsby in the East Egg district of Long Island. She is sarcastic and behaves superficially to cover up her pain at her husband’s infidelity.
• Tom Buchanan — Daisy’s wealthy and arrogant husband, once a member of Nick’s social club at Yale. He is a racist and a sexist. He has no second thoughts about his own extramarital affair with Myrtle, but when he begins to suspect that Daisy and Gatsby are having an affair, he becomes mad and forces a confrontation.
• Jordan Baker — Daisy’s friend; a woman with whom Nick casually dates during the course of the novel. Jordan is a competitive golfer and is self-centered and cynical. 
• George B. Wilson — Myrtle’s husband,exhausted owner of a run-down auto repair shop at the edge of the "Valley of Ashes". George loves Myrtle, and is devastated by her affair with Tom. George is consumed with grief when Myrtle is killed. 
• Myrtle Wilson — The woman who Tom is having an affair with, whose exhausted husband George owns a auto repair shop in the "Valley of Ashes". Tom treats her as a mere object of his desire.

THE 1920'S

The 1920s were an age of dramatic social and political change. For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar consumer society. People all over bought the same goods , listened to the same music, and did the same dances. Many Americans were uncomfortable with this new, urban, sometimes racy culture. However, For a handful of young people in the nation’s big cities, the 1920s were roaring indeed. 

---

COVER ART

The cover of The Great Gatsby shows ghostly eyes and a mouth over a blue skyline. An artist named Francis Cugat illustrated the book cover while Fitzgerald was in the midst of writing it. The cover was completed before the novel; Fitzgerald was so infatuated with it that he told his publisher he had written it into the novel. Fitzgerald's remarks about incorporating the painting into the novel led to the interpretation that the eyes are reminiscent of those of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg which Fitzgerald described as "blue and gigantic — their retinas are one yard high. They look out of no face, but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles which pass over a non-existent nose." Although this passage has some resemblance to the painting, a closer explanation can be found in the description of Daisy Buchanan as the "girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs."

THE GREAT GATSBY: THE MOVIE

I was very surprised by this movie. Usually directors screw the movie up by leaving out details, even the most little of details, which bothers me. However this movie was very similar to the novel. Many of the lines in the movie came from the novel, and there were only two small part that I found they left out in the movie. I am going to go ahead and point out that yes, the movie over exaggerates the 1920's and they didn't have rap/hip hop/pop music back then , but that is just the director's style. I think he did a very good job with converting the book into a movie. But I should still point out that I do still like the book better.

Similarities (things they portrayed well) The green light - Even if you had never read the book and just seen this movie, you would be able to tell that the green light plays a major part in the story line and that it symbolizes something. The green light in the movie played a large part and the  viewer got the sense that the green light showed hope  and Gatsby's dreams for the future, which is exactly what the book portrays. The characters - Leonardo, Carey, Tobey, ect. all did an great job playing their characters. They pretty much got the feel of the relationships, and played their characters almost perfectly.

Differences Narration - The Great Gatsby the movie added in a twist to the narration. In the movie, Nick started of telling this story in rehab for alcoholism. Then, his psychiatrist recommends that he rights down the story. At the end of the movie, Nick turns everything he had written down into a book called The Great Gatsby by Nick Carraway. I am still not really sure if I liked that part or not. Mr. Gatz (Jay Gatsby's dad) - This is a very small part that they left out, but near the end of the novel, when Gatsby dies, his father comes to Gatsby's house. Mr. Gatz is in awe at the lifestyle his son held and is one of the few who attends Gatsby's funeral. Conclusion between Jordan and Nick - Another small part left out in the movie, was an event that took place near the end of the novel. Basically, Nick sees Jordan again and finds out that she is engaged. She tells him that when she first met him, that she thought he was a nice guy, but ended up being a jerk. To put it nicely, things did not end well between the two of them and in the end, they go their separate paths.

^ Myrtle

^ Tom

^                            ^ Daisy                Jay Gatsby

^ Jordan

^ Nick

THE GREAT GATSBY  VS  OF MICE AND MEN

These two novels share a similar element: the American dream being crushed. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby had a dream of being wealthy and getting married to none other than Daisy Buchanan. However that dream comes gets delayed when he finds out that she is already married and he spends almost his whole entire adulthood trying to achieve that dream. He throws lavish parties hoping that Daisy would stop by one day and they would fall back in love. They do find their way back to each other and fall in love again, but when Daisy accidentally hits Myrtle with a car, she goes back to Tom and they take off together. It is Gatsby trying to achieve this dream that gets him killed in the end.

George and Lennie also had an American dream. Their's was of owning their own farm where Lennie would be able to take care of rabbits. They got very close to their dream to. They save up money, made new friends that offered to pitch in some money if they could live/work there, and George even started to go look at places. It was Lennie's love for soft things that crushed that dream. When Lennie accidentally killed Curley's wife, George knew that he had to get ahold of Lennie before Curly did. Before George shot Lennie, he told Lennie once again of their farm so Lennie would die happily. It also shows that George realizes that now the dream was never going to come true.

Malgudi days...... R. K NARAYAN

Within every person lies a small world, populated by all the people one has encountered, lessons taught by one’s circumstances, and small possibilities that open up with a path one chooses. A writer credited with capturing the essence of these small worlds in his words, R.K Narayan has authored many an iconic tales like Malgudi Days that typify the everyday Indian. His works, till today, makes one believe that every person, character, they encounter on the street is fit to be in a story.

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami or R.K Narayan, born at the onset of 20th century in a middle-class Brahmin household in South India, was one of the first Indian writers in English in the country. Growing up under the tutelage of his grandmother, Narayan read copious amounts of world literature as a child, stocking up from his headmaster father’s library. In his year off after school, he devoted time to writing, and well after his bachelor degree, was of the belief that being an author was his true calling. His short stories and novels are now considered classics world over, but his most notable contribution is the fictional world he created — that of Malgudi.

In this small town in Southern India without definite co-ordinates, his stories were imbued with the camaraderie, fallibility, and virtuosity that the microcosm provided. Malgudi Days, which was originally published in 1982, combines selections from two of Narayan’s short story collections: An Astrologer’s Day and Other Stories (1947) and Lawley Road and Other Stories (1956)

Written in simple prose, without grandiose words and deliberate complexity, these may be considered easy reads, but they are made up of measured sentences. The collections bind together inhabitants of the same town, however different their circumstances and station in life would be. Vastly different and equally witty, his stories about a blind beggar who tortures his watch-dog or a pick-pocket hot on a trail of riches, all look at characters with acceptance, as if the author was one of their own. As author Jhumpa Lahiri surmises, ‘there aren’t moral lessons here, just records of the frail human condition’

If objective placement comes in, it is when the town itself becomes a subject. For instance, in Lawley Road, the town’s municipality decides to nationalize all street names and landmarks, but ends up razing the statue of Sir Fredrick Lawley, who it later turns out, championed the cause of the natives!

If you grew up watching Shankar Nag’s adaptation of Malgudi

Days on Doordarshan, which starred actors like Manjunath and Girish Karnad, you will recall how Malgudi drew one closer to the real world, where people were depicted as they are. The cluster of by-lanes, shops, cafes, and the running streams and natural habitats of Malgudi were based on Narayan’s own stays in the town and countryside of Madras and Mysore. In the prefacing author’s note in an edition of Malgudi Days, Narayan says, “If I explain that Malgudi is a small town in South India I shall only be expressing a half-truth, for the characteristics of Malgudi seem to me universal”. It is this universality that garnered his work international acclaim.

Malgudi was a pervasive setting for most of his novels as well. In his first novel, Swami and his friends, Narayan introduced us to a child’s world of innocence and mischief, where his insouciance reduces everything to a cycle of play and wonder. Swami or Swaminathan, the ten year-old titular character observes the town around him with poetic distraction. Sitting in class, “It was the window, not the teacher that fascinated him”. As children often do, Narayan’s characters reduce everything to a world where only they exist. The manuscript was rejected countless times, until it reached the hands of British author Graham Greene, who fell in love with the India Narayan portrayed.

From a story about these golden days to that of undergraduates (and then onto adulthood), Narayan created more works that became part of the Malgudi series – The Bachelor of Arts (1937), The Dark Room (1938), and The English Teacher (1945). The death of his wife and consequent struggles for a steady income led him to turn inwards, and infuse more autobiographical elements in his these works.

One of his most revered works set in Malgudi was also written during this time. The Sahitya Academy award-winning The Guide, the story of a tourist guide who after a loss becomes a spiritual guide, became the hallmark of Indian cinema (although Narayan received a Filmfare award, he wasn’t too happy with the screen version)

In his fourty-year prolific oeuvre, he shied away from fame, but still managed to lecture at international universities, publish essays, and amass national awards in his own country. However, today his legacy lies not in being the harbinger of Indian writing in English and winning acclaim world over, but in remaining simply, according to writer V.S Naipul ‘the man of Malgudi’.

 

Some books by R. K. Narayan........

Malgudi Schooldays:The Adventures of Swami and His Friends  
Malgudi Adventures
Swami and Friends
The Vendor of Sweets
The Painter Of Signs
The Bachelor of Arts
Waiting for the Mahatma
The Guide
Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories

Malgudi days is a collection of 32 short funny and witty stories. Its author as I have mentioned in the title is R K Narayan. 
The stories happen in Malgudi, an imaginary town located somewhere on the banks of Sarayu (a river in South India). Even though it is common to call Malgudi an imaginary town, you will not feel it is imaginary while reading the book. You can trace it to any village in south India. The stories carry the scent and sounds of these villages and you instantly blend into the situations in the stories. You will feel as though you are the character in the story yourself and that is the secret behind the success of this immensely popular book.
Rather than revolving around a particular plot these stories wander off dreamily. Each of the stories describe the relationship between members in a family, the various social taboos prevalent in the mid ninteties. All the stories will seem faintly similar but they are vastly different from each other. The stories deal with the most ordinary men and women and that makes these stories extraordinary. Each story deals with simple people and simple issues they are faced with in real life. The stories instantly establish a connection between the reader and the characters. Some of the stories are humorous while other will shake your soul so wildly that you might cry. Anyway I can dare to say that once you read these stories the memories will last you for your lifetime. You will carry them to the grave!
Indian villages which are often depicted as poverty-ridden, infested with epidemics, occupied by good for nothing illiterate fellows have another side to them. They have a charm, a charm which I cannot explain. This charm is depicted and presented in each of the stories in this book. Each story is so full of humanity and will invoke that part of you which you have forgotten in this deplorable rat chase called life.
And the endings of each stories. They are also special. The author will never reveal what happened at the end and will leave it to your imagination. It will make you go mad thinking what would have happened. The author will tease you by leaving you wondering for ever as those endings will never be written as the author himself is dead.

Well, to come back to our lives. This book is one of those extra extra ordinary book which you MUST read. If you do not, then you are losing something very valuable.

My Last Duchess" A critical analysis '. [Robert Browning]

Browning's poems are studies of the character.  They are studies of the other men.  The poet stands apart and gives his characters a platform and lets them speak to us, and as they speak they unfold their character.  It was for this purpose that Browning invented a new genre of poetry known as dramatic monologue or dramatic lyric.  It has a few well-defined characteristics.  It is a compromise between the drama, the soliloquy and the lyric.  The author keeps himself entirely in the background and so it is essentially dramatic.   As only one character speaks it is a monologue.  The monologue is essentially a lyrical outpouring or a subjective self-examination.

       

     "My Last Duchess" is one of Browning's finest dramatic monologues.  The poem proves that Browning is a matchless master of this kind of poetry.  The poem also reveals the poet's deep understanding of human character and capacity to present it in the most dramatic and impressive manner.  As in the other monologues here also the chief character is the speaker of the monologue.  Here there is only one listener, who does not speak anything at all.  The central character of our poem is an Italian nobleman who intends to marry the daughter of a rich count, whose agent is the silent listener.  As his speech goes on we come to understand the character and outlook of the man.  As he narrates his relationship with his wife point by point our understanding of him gets widened.  Browning is a master of delineating the complex inner life of men.  Here we find the Duke talking about his last Duchess, but in fact he speaks more about himself.

            Usually what Browning does in his dramatic monologue is to bring the speaker before us at a crucial moment when he is most likely to reveal his character.  In 'My Last Duchess' the apt moment is when the Count's agent has come to conclude the negotiations regarding the proposal of a union between the count's daughter and the Duke.  It is quite natural that the Duke would look back into the past and think about his first wife and his relationship with her.  The snobbish Duke must have taken the agent around the house and on reaching the art gallery he must have shown the portrait of his last Duchess.  Explaining to the agent the reason behind the depth of the passion and earnest glance on the face of the portrait, the Duke briefly reveals the character of his former wife, wand in the process lays bare his own egotism, possessiveness and cruelty.

 The dramatic situation and the presence of a listener is very subtly and cleverly suggested by the occasional direct address made by the Duke to the count's agent.  Indirectly we see his curiosity to take a look at the curtained portrait and then his desire to know how such an expression of intense joy happened on the face of the portrait.  This gives occasion to the Duke to describe his former wife's character and the way in which he treated her.   His cruelty, his egotism, his jealousy minus love are all revealed to us.   Finally there is a suggestion that the agent stood back as they began to descend the steps so that the Duke may proceed.  However the Duke invites the agent to walk abreast and as they step down he points to a bronze statue of Neptune, remarking that it is a rare piece.

The poem is thus a very good example of a dramatic monologue.  It is full of action, not merely a long soliloquy delivered by a character.  It is dramatic, however small the compass may be, and it projects before us a vivid picture of all the emotion natural to a character.

Characteristics of Elizabethan Age

Characteristics of Elizabethan Age

Introduction

This period is generally regarded as the greatest in the history of English Literature. Historically, we note in this age, the tremendous impetus received from the Renaissance from the reformation & from the exploration of the new world.

It was marked by a strong national spirit, by patriotism, by religious tolerance, by social content, by intellectual progress & by unbounded enthusiasm.

Such an age of thought, feeling & vigorous action, finds its best expression in the drama; & the wonderful development of the drama, culminating.

Though the age produced some of the excellent prose works, it is essentially an age of poetry; & the poetry is remarkable for its variety, its freshness, its youth & romantic feeling.

Characteristic Features of Elizabethan Age

Revival of Interest in Greek Literature
The ardent revival in the study of Greek literature brought a dazzling light into many dark places of interest. The new classical influences were a great benefit. They tempered & polished the earlier rudeness of English Literature.

Abundance of Output
The Elizabethan age was rich in literary productions of all kinds. Singing is impossible when one’s hearts undeclared & at any moment one may be laid prostrate.

Not till the accession of Queen Elizabeth, did a better state of things began to be. In the Elizabethan age, pamphlets & treatises were freely written.
Sometimes writers indulged in scurrilous abuses which were of personal character.

But on the whole, the output of the literature was very wide, & after the lean years of the preceding epoch, the prodigal issue of the Elizabethan age is almost embarrassing.

The New Romanticism
The romantic quest is, for the remote, the wonderful & the beautiful. All these desires were abundantly fed during the Elizabethan age, which are the first & the greatest romantic epoch (period).

According to Albert, “there was a daring & resolute spirit of adventure in literary as well as the other regions, & most important of these was an un-mistakable buoyancy & freshness in the strong wind of the spirit. It was the ardent youth of English Literature & the achievement was worthy of it.”

Translations in Elizabethan Age
The Elizabethan age witnessed translation into English of several important foreign books. Many translations were as popular as the original works.
Sir Thomas North translated Plutarch’s Lives & John Florio translated Montaigne’s Essais.

No less popular were the translations in poetry. E.g. Metamorphoses by Arthur Golding, Arisoto Orlando Furioso by Sir John Harrington, Tasso’s Terusalom Liberata by Richard Carew.

Spirit of Independence
In spite of borrowings from abroad, the authors of this age showed a spirit of independence & creativeness.

Shakespeare borrowed freely, but by the alembic of his creative imaginations, he transformed the dross into gold.

Spenser introduced the ‘Spenserian Stanza’, & from his works, we got the impression of inventiveness & intrepidity.

On the whole, the outlook of the writers during the age was broad & independent.

Development of Drama
During the Elizabethan Age, drama made a swift & wonderful leap into maturity. The drama reached the splendid perfection in the hands of Shakespeare & Ben Jonson, though in the concluding part of the age, particularly in Jacobean Age, there was a decline of drama standards.

Popularity of Poetry
Poetry enjoyed its hey-day during the Elizabethan age. The whole of the age lived in a state of poetic fervour.

Songs, lyrics & sonnets were produced in plenty, & England became nest of the singing birds. In versification, there was a marked improvement.
Melody & pictorialism were introduced in poetry by Spenser.

Prose and Novel
For the first time, prose rose to the position of first rate importance.

“Even the development of poetical drama between 1579 A.D. -1629 A.D., is hardly more extraordinary than the sudden expansion of English prose & its adaptation to every kind of literary requirement.”

The dead weight of the Latin & English prose acquired a tradition & universal application.

English Novel made its first proper appearance during this age.