Heritage of-words-sumary

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SANJAYA CHAUWAL GRADE 12 HERITAGE OF WORDS 1

Grade :12 :English Summary and important questions Answers

Grandmother“Grandmother” is written in nostalgic tone. In the poem, the poet has tried to manifest his

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

Q. 1. What images do you find in this poem written by a member of the Sauk and Fox(Mesquaki) Indian tribe of North America? To what senses do these images appeal? Ans. Thepoet has used the sensuous images as effective tools in this poem. As a result he is successful increating a vivid picture of his grandmother. These images particularly appeal to our sense ofsight (if i were to see …), sense of touch (if i felt …), sense of smell (with the smell of roots.),and sense of sound (if i heard …). The poet, through the use of these sensuous images has triedto express how much he loved and how close was his grandmother to his heart.

2. What images do you find in this poem written by a member of the Sauk and Fox (Mesquaki)Indian tribe of North America? To what senses do these images appeal?Ans. The poet has used images to discover two intertwined themes – recollection of hisgrandmother at one level and search for identity at another level. The images like ‘purple scarf’,‘plastic shopping bag’, ‘the light … at night ‘ appeal to our sense of sight. These images alsohave symbolic link to the Indian culture. ‘Plastic shopping bag’ indicates the poverty of Indiantribe. ‘The light …. at night’ associates that the spirituality of Indian culture guides him in themodern corrupt American society. The images like ‘smell of root’ appeal to our sense of smell.It indicates the work ethic of Indian tribe and his grandmother. They are near to nature and aregood farmers. ‘Warm and damp hands’ appeal to our sense of touch. It also shows how hisgrandmother and Indian tribes work in fields with pleasure and sense of duty. ‘ A voice’ and ‘herwords’ appeal to our sense of hearing. This indicates how the teachings and philosophy ofIndian culture enlightens his spirits. Thus by the use of images, the poet has symbolically linkedhis grandmother to the lost culture of Indian tribe.

About LoveAnton Chekhov’s “About Love” is narrated from the perspective of Paval Konstantinovich aliasAlyohin, the protagonist of the story. It starts with two unmatched love stories of Nikonar andPelageya, the servants at Alyohin’s house, and of Alyohin and a Moscow girl. After that itseems that the narrator is curios to know about the mysterious nature of love. However, thesignificant margin of the plot is occupied by the platonic love story of Alyohin and AnnaAlexeyevna, the wife of Luganovich. Alyohin was an educated man, but his father had taken alot of money to teach him. Therefore, he, like a responsible person, decided to stay in his village



to pay off all the debt. For that he himself worked on the farmland though he didn’t enjoy thatwork. In the mean time, he was elected a judge of the circuit court of Russia. This made him afrequent visitor of town and in that process he made a lot of friends. The best among them wasLuganivich, the vice president of the same court. One day Luganovich invited him on dinnerand there he met Anna, the wife of Luganovich. At the first sight they got fascinated by eachother. After that whenever Alyohin visited the town he would make that a point to visitLuganoviches. That also provided Anna and Alyohin pass much time and talk in private. Theyalso used to go to theatre together. They both realized that they loved each other but were notable to express it verbally for some reasons. Alyohin was very close to Luganovich too. Heknew that everybody in the family including servants had respectable opinion about him.Besides that he also knew that it would be very difficult for them to start a new life with Anna.He became the prisoner of his own rationality and reason. Therefore, he never expressed hislove and let the things happen in the way it happened. However, the time for separation alsocame in their life. Luganovich was transferred to a western province. It was decided Annawould be first to leave the place and later on other family members would join her. At herdeparture, Alyohin got chance to sneak into the compartment just before the train left. At thiscritical moment they could not resist their feelings and expressed their love. They hugged andkissed each other passionately for the first time and separated for ever.

What kinds of love experiences are suggested by Alyohin in “About Love”?Ans. In “About Love” , three kinds of love experiences are suggested by Alyohin. The first oneis the love affair between Nikanor and Pelageya. Their love is sensual, often violent. Thoughthere is no understanding between them, sexual passion binds them. Their love is not bound bymarital relation. The second love affair is between Alyohin and a girl when he was studying inthe university. Though Alyohin loved her, she thought love as a way to earn money. This loveaffair can be seen as the ugliest where sex is exchanged with money. The third love affairbetween Alyohin and Anna Alexeyevna can be termed as unexpressed love or spiritual love.Their heart meet, but being trapped by middle class morality, their love remains unexpressed.They sacrifice their love for more good. Alyohin sacrifices his love because he thinks that itwould bring disaster in the life of her children, mother and husband. Similarly, Alexeyevna doesnot express her love thinking that she wasn’t young enough to live with him.

2. Sketch the Character of Alyohin.Ans. Alyohin, a bachelor and a university graduate, lived in Sofinyo working labourously in hisfarm. He had to work in his farm to pay the debt that his father had spent on his education. Hedesired a civilized living of the upper class but could not afford it. In the past while he was auniversity student, he fell in love with a girl who only loved his money. Since he was electedhonorary justice of the peace, he often visited town to take part in assizes and sessions. Once hewas invited to the home of Luganovich to dine. There he met Anna Alexeyevna , aged 22 andmarried to Luganovich. They fell in love with each other but could not express their love. Theychatted for hours, went to the theatre together but they parted coldly the next time. Later Annasuffered from nervous prostration and was sent to Crimea for treatment. During her departure,Alyohin had courage to confess his love and kissed her, but had to part with her forever.Alyohin’s vision of love is shaped by his own love affair. He thinks that when people are in love,they ask whether it is honorable or dishonorable , sensible or stupid , and what their love willlead to . For him, this reasoning is the source of dissatisfaction and irritation. He thinks that loveis a great mystery. When one is in love, one should start love from higher, without reasoningwhether their love is sin or virtue, or whether it brings happiness or unhappiness. According tohim to what extent personal happiness counts in love is uncertain, it differs from person toperson.Alyohin is like a squirrel in a cage. He is trapped by reason, middle class morality andpoverty. He is a man-of-thought. He fears to express his love to Anna because he is too muchthoughtful about society’s moral standards. He sacrifices his love thinking that his marriage to



Anna Alexeyevna would ruin the lives of her, her children, her mother and her husband. Hefears that he could not make her happy in his country house.

3. Sketch the Character of Anna Alexeyevna.Ans. Anna Alexeyevna is the main female character in the story “About Love”. She is abeautiful and charming young lady aged twenty-two. She is married to Luganovich, assistantpresident of the circuit court and aged over forty. Her marriage to an old man can be seen as thecause of her suffering. Her sexual urge cannot be fulfilled by the man double her age. So, shetries to get emotional fulfillment from Alyohin which later turns into love. She is also trapped inreason. She does not confess her love to Alyohin though she deeply loves him because she fearssociety’s moral standards. She also thought that she was not young and energetic enough forhim to begin a new married life. Later she becomes the victim of nervous prostration because ofpsychological depression and nervousness.

The Lamentation of the Old PensionerW. B. Yeats, the greatest English poet of 20th century, presents the reminiscences of his eventfulyoung age and contrasts them with his present pathetic old life in the poem, “The Lamentationof the Old Pensioner.” The title suggests that the poet is a Pensioner. It means he must be veryold and is living a retired life. He says whenever he is caught in rain he takes shelter under abroken tree. The broken tree can not protect him from the rain. Here, one must note the pointthat in England it rains during winter. It means he is deprived of a reliable shelter, when heneeds it most. But it was not always the case with him. When he was young, he used to sitnearest to the fire, which warmed and comforted him. You can’t light fire in rain outside. Itmeans he had reliable place to live in when he was young. Not only that, the cosy parlour of thepoet always used to be full with the livelier company of his friends who talked about love andpolitics. But today, he misses them as “Time” has taken away all his friends leaving him old andisolated. He sees some mischievous boys making weapons for some conspiracy. These ‘rascals’are sure to create chaos in the society through some barbarous activities. But the poet is notconcerned about the possible anarchy in the society. He is sad as the time has transfigured him.The poet laments that the time has made him ugly like a broken tree and therefore, no womanshows interest in him. However, the poet consoles himself that “the beauties that he loved” arestill fresh in his memory. He holds the “Time” a culprit, who has taken away his shelter, friends,youth, energy, and charm and wants to spit on its face in disgust for his metamorphosis.

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

Two Long-Term Problems: Too Many People, Two Few Trees

The essay, “Two Long-Term Problems: Two Many People, Two Few Trees”, by a noted scholarMoti Nissani, is about two distinct yet inter-related, long-term problems. These two majorproblems, which are overpopulation and deforestation, are likely to destroy all the lives on ourplanet unless timely actions are taken. The essay starts with the world’s scientists concern over



the earth’s environment. It is becoming much polluted. The air, water, and soil, which areregarded to be the most important things for the existence of any living species, are becomingpoisonous and many kinds of plants and animals have already disappeared. Nissani opines themain reason for the degrading situation is overpopulation. It is constantly swinging up becausepeople are living longer than in past and too many children are being born. He cites the exampleof Nepal, where the population has risen to 23 million from 9 million in less than 50 years. Ifthe same trend continues unchecked, the population of Nepal will reach around 368 million after140 years. Nepal is not the only case of this kind. The population is increasing everywhereexcept some countries which can be counted on finger tips. More people, in turn, use morenatural resources, cause pollution, and bring changes in world climate. Meanwhile, the time forimprovement is still within our reach. We can still control the situation though it is difficult toreverse it. We can minimise the problem by controlling our population. Education, especially towomen, and information about how to avoid babies can help to reduce the population growth.As the population grows, forests are cut down for new farmlands and houses. The demand ofrich people in the west for beef is also provoking people to change the forest into pasture-land.Besides, the demand of wood and paper products in developed countries is also adding fuel tothe fire. When the trees are chopped down, the topsoil is destroyed. It leads to disastrouslandslides and sudden flood. Deforestation also causes droughts, weather extremes,desertification, loss of wild species, and depletion of ozone layer. However, deforestation canalso be controlled if the number of people will be controlled. Education, family planning andchanges in the way we use wood are also important to control deforestation. For example, inNepal the use of smokeless stoves can reduce the amount of firewood. The essayists reminds usthat we know what changes we have to make but we are not clever or brave enough to makethose changes. We need to apply what we know to control these two long-term problems.

Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star

“Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star” is a travelogue extracted from the article, “Karnali, RoadlessWorld of Western Nepal”, prepared by two American geographers. The two geographers hadspent around 15 months in the hills of western Nepal to discover how the hilly area of thisdeveloping country is economically linked to its lower land. Besides that the essay also exploresthe lifestyle and horizon of thinking of the people who live here. The essay starts with thedescription of some people who are making their annual trip to Nepalgunj, a commercial centrein the western lowlands of Nepal. They carry herbs, hashish, hand-knit sweater and blankets tosell in Nepalgunj which will help them to buy the conventional household items for the wholeyear. On the way they meet a Chhetri woman, who tells them that her husband has gone to Terai15 years ago but has not returned. She requests them to look for her husband. This makes theAmerican geographer wonder that how small is the world for a typical woman in these remoteregions of Nepal. They also find some persons processing silajit on the way. When they askwhy it was not processed at their home, they are told “One must begins one’s trip when thepropitious day arrives.” These events suggest that the people of Nepal are not only ignorant butare superstitious too. They also find some person chopping leaves and twigs for their cattle.When the researchers ask about its future effect, they are told “what can we do? The animalsmust eat today.” The statement makes clear how these ignorant Nepalese are running afterimmediate gain and are destroying the wild forest rapidly. They are not thinking about itsoutcome, which the author thinks will soon turn all the slopes into a bare land. When they reachNepalgunj, most of their fellow travellers buy conventional items needed for the smoothrunning of house. However, Karma spends every rupee on distillery equipment which will helphim to make liquor and earn enough money to buy everything in Jumla. The example of Karmais indicative of the ratio that only a few Nepalese want to solve their problem permanently.Most of them are not concerned about how long they will keep making painful annual journeyto Terai. The travelogue ends with a suggestion that in western Nepal, where agricultureproduction is very low, people must work hard and combine farming with “other pursuits to



survive”.

How is Karnali linked economically with the low land regions to the south?Ans. Geographically, Karnali lies to the northern part of our kingdom. As it is made up of verysloppy hills, there are many problems. People do not have transportation and other facilities fortheir better survival. There is no sufficient cultivable land. So, they have to depend on thelowland regions to the south. People of karnali cannot sell their products in their localities. Tosell their items like medicinal herbs, silajit, hashish, hand-knit sweaters and blankets, they haveto go to Nepalgunj. Similarly, they cannot buy goods in their places. For this purpose also, theyhave to depend upon lowland regions. People of Karnali have to depend upon lowland regionfor their jobs also. Being undeveloped part, it does not have factories. To earn livelihood, youngpeople have no better options than leaving their places and working in the lowland region.

Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies- William Shakespeare

The poem, “Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies” is extracted from the famous Shakespeareandrama, “The Tempest.” In the poem Ariel, the spirit, on the instructions of Prospero, isinforming Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, that his father is drowned in the ocean. Prosperowants to torture Ferdinand mentally by making him sure of his father’s death. Ariel tellsFerdinand that the body of latter’s father is laying 30 feet down the sea surface. But it can bedifficult to identify the body now. According to him, the bones of Ferdinand’s father arechanged into coral and his eyes have become pearls. Ariel tells no part of latter’s father isfinished for ever. Rather they are changed into something of higher value. They look strange,mysterious and are hard to recognize because they have undergone a great change. To makeFerdinand feel sure about his father’s death, Ariel insists that the sea nymphs ring his death bellevery hour and if he tries he will also be able to listen it. Significance of Death in the Poem:Death appears to be glorified in the Shakespearean verse, “Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies”.There is a conventional idea that though our soul is immortal, our body is perishable. It decaysafter death. So, the body is useless and is as cheap as coal, dirt, and water. However, in thegiven poem death is significant as it challenges our established notion. Shakespeare claims afterthat our body does not perish. Rather it becomes more valuable as shown in the poem.Ferdinand’s sea sunk father’s bones have changed into corals and his eyes have become pearls.Literally he doesn’t mean our bones always change into corals and our eyes become pearls afterdeath. Rather it has a literary or implied meaning. Shakespeare means that even after our deathour body continues to exist in different transformed forms in the nature. Therefore, it is alsoimmortal like our soul. Thus, death is a pleasing event, which immortalizes us thoroughly, i.e. insoul and body both. Assignment – “Shakespeare has glorified death rather than depicting it as aworse transformation.” Do you agree with this statement? Why?

Travelling Through the DarkWilliam StaffordThe poem, “Travelling through the Dark”, depicts the internal conflict between the mind, asense of responsibility, and heart, the compassion, of the narrator. At the same time, through thesymbolic “Dark” of the title the poet is able to portray that the growing affinity of human withmachine is tempting them to collide with the nature, a collision which will be threatening for allthe living species on the planet, not only a doe. On a dark night, the narrator was driving his caron Wilson River road. At the edge of the river he found a dead deer. His common sense toldhim to roll that deer into the gorge because the road was narrow and a slight carelessness mightcall for more accidents. He stopped his car and went near to it. It was a doe and had been dead.But when he dragged it he found that it was pregnant. When he observed its belly closely, hesensed that the fawn inside it must be alive. But he also knew that it could not be born. Thetragic fate of the fawn made him emotional. It was difficult for him to throw the body into thegorge because it would kill the baby instantly. His dilemma and inactness blocked the street. He



listened the people getting restless as everybody was in hurry to go. They immediately wantedthe road to be opened. The narrator thought very deeply and concluded that it wasn’t practical toleave the dead body of the doe on the street. It could make more accidents. Therefore, he threwit into the gorge and chose to perform his duty.

1. Explain the title of the poem. Who are all those driving through the dark?Ans. The title of the poem “Traveling Through the Dark” is very suitable one. People generallytravel in the dark when there is some urgency or when they have some immediate destination toreach. So, the speaker of this poem is traveling in the dark with some special purpose. But whenhe finds a dead doe on the road, he is in dilemma. He is in confusion either to show deep loveand emotion to an unborn but alive fawn in the belly of the doe or to save the passengers on hiscar as a dutiful driver. After much thoughtful meditation, he pushes the dead doe into the river inorder to reach his destination and save the passengers. The ‘darkness’ indicates One of nature’sbeautiful creatures has been killed and pitilessly left on the road, unburied and unmourned tocause future accidents. The driver’s inaction suggests moral darkness. The darkness alsosuggests the narrator’s confusion about what to do with the deer. “Traveling through the dark”also symbolizes the spiritual void of humankind in its insensitivity toward nature.

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



Q. 1. Describe the narrator’s uncle and his Aunt. Ans: The description of Uncle Thomas andAunt Sarah is quite humorous. The narrator, who is a small boy, has used child imagery todescribe them. He has used different similes and metaphors and hints that the couple isunmatched. The Uncle is so huge that the whole room becomes smaller when he comes in sideit. He looks like a buffalo squeezed into an airy cupboard. He is very noisy and his voice iscompared with the trumpet of an elephant. He doesn’t seem well mannered and when he eats,litters his waistcoat which is as big as a meadow for the boy. But quite opposite to the husbandMrs. Sarah, the boy’s aunt, is quite small. She hardly makes her presence felt wherever she goes.Unlike her husband, she is soft spoken, which the boy tells is like the squeaking of a mouse. Sheis also a perfectionist and most of her time goes in arranging and dusting the things in her house.Above all she is a caring wife too. We see when she leaves for her mother’s house in anger shedoesn’t forget to remind Mr. Thomas about food. The description of Mr. Thomas and Mrs.Sarah might appear unmatched from a small boy’s perspective, but the caring attitude of wifetowards the husband and willingness of the husband to get the punishment from the wife alsosuggest that there is a good understanding between them.

1. The plan was to go to Porthcawl for the outing. Did they ever reach there? Why?Ans. The plan of the narrator’s uncle and his friends was to reach to Porthcawl for the outing.But they could not reach to their destination because of their habit of drinking. But it does notmean that it was the only one cause for it ; there are many.The first cause was their latedeparture. It was only at eight o’clock they started their outing. Another cause of it was the latearrival of one of their partners. Because everyone was worried about himself, they movedwithout counting all heads. But when they knew that one was missing, they could not continuetheir journey. They returned to receive him. The third and the greatest of the causes as alreadysaid is their nature of drinking a lot. When they reached the mountain sheep, they drank a lot.They did not think of their destination. It was only after the owner informed them of the closingtime. They came out though it was already late to reach to Porthcawl. No one worried abouteven after they came out. They thought of playing with water when they reached to river. Hence,they could not reach.

The Last Voyage of the Ghost ShipThis story is written by applying stream of consciousness technique. It explains how a boydeepens his observation and grows from an ordinary boy to an assertive young man. When thestory starts we find the boy is already grown into assertive man, when he asserts, “Now they aregoing to see who I am.” But in the very next line we are made familiar about the past eventsthrough retrospective technique. Four years ago in March, the boy saw a huge ship, which lostits way, crushed to a rock and sank. There were no lights on the ship. Neither had it appeared inthe light of the lighthouse. He could only see the ship in extreme darkness. Our common sensetells that we can see an object only if it is luminous or it is illuminated. Thus, it is clear that itwas just an imagination of the boy. He was himself not sure about that vision for the first timeand didn’t tell anybody about that. In the following March, he saw a similar ship again. Thistime he told his mother about it. His mother didn’t believe him. Rather, she thought the boybecame lunatic and lamented for three weeks. However, she assured him that she would go andlook at the ship if it came again. But before the arrival of the ship, she died. When the shipappeared in March again, the boy called the villagers to see that ship. But as there wasn’t anyship and they beat the boy for telling lie. After that the boy decided if the ship came next timehe would show everybody how big the ship was. The ship appeared in the fourth March too.This time the boy led the ship with a stolen lamp in a small boat. The light of the lamp helpedthe ship to correct it way and it followed the boy. The boy brought the ship to the village. Thegigantic ship was 97 times longer than the village and 20 times taller than the church. The boyimagined that its loud siren had woken the whole village and they were looking at the ship indisbelieve. This would help him to prove his worth and who he was. Actually it is the story



about the powerful imagination of the boy. Sometimes a person’s creative power becomes sosharp that he can see his vision in concrete form. A normal mind with limited power ofcreativity hardly sees such picture.

God’s Grandeur“God’s Grandeur” by Gerard Manly Hopkins is a typical religious sonnet written in traditionalrhyme scheme with usual octave (abbaabba) but slight variation in its sestet ( cdcdcd instead ofcdecde). The language of the poem is lofty and sublime. According to the poet, the whole worldis full with the glory of god. Sometimes it appears in front of our eyes momentarily like a flashfrom a fencing sword. Sometimes his greatness gathers to a huge mass like the ooze of oil. But,most of the time, human does not realize the presence of god around him. He does not listen todivine wishes. Generations have passed after generations, but they were so involved in theirown business that they hardly got any time to pay attention to Almighty’s wishes. Their ‘trade’has affected the whole world. The nature bears the scars and foul smell given by human. Theearth has become barren and ugly but human cannot realize it as they live artificial life.However, in spite of its extreme exploitation, the nature hasn’t finished. There is still “dearestfreshness” at its core. It recovers itself every time as there is a sunrise after every sunset becausethe whole world is under the protection of the Holy Ghost. He takes care of the world as a hendoes of its eggs and rear chickens from it. The poem suggests that the world is infinitely safeunder the protection of God.

I Have a DreamHistorical and Cultural BackgroundFrom about the year 1600 white people in North America brought Negroes from Africa asslaves. They had to cultivate land for their master but didn’t have essential human rights. Theycould not leave the farm of their master and must work there whole life without being paid ormaking any complain. They could be sold to other master if their old master didn’t need them. Ifthey ever attempted to run away they were shot dead because the whites had rights to guardthem as their animal. In 1787 the constitution of USA stated that all men are created equal, andthat all men have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But these rules onlyremained restricted in papers. They were never applied for the Negro slaves. They were notallowed to live like whites. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln made the EmancipationDeclaration. This said that all the slaves were free. They could leave the plantation firms and thehouses of the whites. But if they wished to live with their masters, they must be paid. However,Negroes were still not treated equally. In many states of southern USA black children were notallowed to go to the same schools with white children. The blacks were not allowed to go intothe hotels, public parks and public transports. This segregation provoked Martin Luther to fightagainst it to uphold the dignity of blacks in America.

SummaryThe essay is actually a glorious speech given by a great American civil right leader, MartinLuther to an unprecedented throng of 200,000 Americans. The unforgettable speech cameexactly 100 years after the blacks were declared free. King says that the Constitution of TheUSA had promised that all men would be free and equal, but the blacks are still not free. Theydo not have equal rights with the whites. He says the Negroes are asking for freedom and theywant social equality and all human rights. They must be provided these things if America reallywants to be a glorious nation. According to him the time has arrived for the nation to turn thingswritten into the constitution into reality. Citing various examples of unequal behaviours done bythe whites, he says that it is time for all of them to wake up from the deep sleep against thebrutal injustice and torture. He says the police must stop beating blacks, whites must allow themto stay at hotel, and the government must provide them voting rights. Meanwhile, he alsoemphasizes and convinces the audience that the movement must be peaceful and without anyviolence. He also praises some whites for their support and says that it is important not to



distrust all the whites. In quite touching and appealing language he explains that he has a dreamthat one day all the blacks and whites would live together in complete brotherhood. He opinesthat America could only become a great nation if all its citizens enjoy equal opportunity andprivilege. The speech has become unforgettable for its precise word selections and mild appealsfor the entire mankind.

1. What is the apparent (exact) purpose of the speech of Martin Luther King Jr.? ExplainKing’s analogy of bad check (cheque).Ans. The apparent purpose of King’s speech is to get the black people their rights of freedom,equality and justice avoiding racial injustice based on color of skin. Although the constitution ofAmerica promises equal rights to its entire citizen, the black people have been deprived fromenjoying the rights and get the victim of social segregation and discrimination. Therefore MartinLuther King Jr. Delivers this speech demanding justice for the black people. King makes ananalogy (comparison) between promises of an American constitution and a bad check. Thoughthe constitution of America promises equal right rights to the entire citizen irrespective of colourand creed, America has failed to pay her black citizen the rights promised in the constitution.They are given bad check i.e. false promises by architects of American constitution. If there isinsufficient amount in the bank out, the cheque of higher amount issued against this account isnot enchased and returned unpaid such cheque is consider as a bad check. Similar way althoughthe constitution of America guarantees the equality for all, the black citizens are turned downfrom getting justice in America. Therefore, king compares the promises made by the Americanconstitution with a bad check.

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

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

Q. 1. Which of Lydia E. Pinkhams methods did later women capitalist adopt for their ownenterprises? In what ways did they depart from Pinkham’s model? Ans. Lydia E. Pinkham was apioneer businesswoman, who set example for the women worldwide and inspired them to comeout of their homes and compete in male-dominated society. She had introduced a kind of herbalmedicine named Lydia E Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. She claimed it to be the “greatestremedy” in the world, which could cure any disease of women. She used her kind image of



“Grandma” – to sell her products. She indulged in social service and advocated for women’srights, temperance and fiscal reforms. This helped her to proclaim herself a “Saviour of Sex”among Americans. She had established a “Department of Advice” and gave practicalsuggestions about diet, exercise and hygiene. She also exploited the traditional fear of womenand female stereotypes to sell her products. Almost all the women who followed Pinkham’sfootsteps in the next century had applied the same tactics. All of them focused only on womento sell their products. Like Pinkham, they also used their traditional skills. For example Helenaand Elizabeth sold make-ups, which were just a little bit modified form of traditional way ofbeautification. Like Pinkham the later women also exploited there image as a woman. Forexample the mother-like image of Grossinger helped her hotel to get a huge profit. LikePinkham, they all spent a considerable amount of time and money in the social service.However, none of them could maintain a proper balance between their business and socialactivity like Pinkham. They preferred their profit when it collided with the work of altruism.

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

1. What is the thesis (theme) of the essay? How did the business women (femaleentrepreneur) differ from their male counterparts? In which way did they resemble themale entrepreneurs of their days?The thesis of the essay is to focus on the success of American business women who adoptedinnovative business strategy and establish themselves in respectable position in the businessfield as well as in the society. The business women were also involved in social work foruplifting the society. However, their aim was to promote their own business on the pretext onsocial service for the sake of their business, they activated the society, earned money andupgraded their own position in the society. The women entrepreneurs discussed in this essaywere different many ways from their counterparts. The women were involved in earning moneyalong with social service for upgrading their own position. Adopting the cleverest marketingtechniques by rendering practical advice on various advices they activated the women of thesociety. They were not only involved in selling their products but also played an important rolefor the benefit of the society. They cleverly utilized their image of being women to upgrade theirbusiness. They were extremely sex consciousness with they revealed by serving the female only.Lydia advised her customer to bypass the male physician. Adopting new business skill thefemale entrepreneurs were able to introduce feminine’s role in the male dominated world ofcommerce in America. The business women were similar to their male counterparts in thematters of obeying the law of the state besides their claim about their produces throughmisleading and lavish advertisement.

The Children Who Wait



“The Children Who Wait” by Marsha Traugot, points how the trend of adoptation hasundergone a sea-change in only 20 years after 1960. In 1960 only rich white couples used toadopt child from foster houses and the adopted child were mostly used to be white and underfive. Any child older than five, a black or interracial child, and a child with physical and mentallimitations were considered damaged goods. The essayist seems content that now no child oforphanage is considered “unadoptable” and almost all of them are likely to find a goodsupportive family. The essay starts with the reference of an advertisement in which a permanentfamily for Tammy is demanded. There are several drawbacks which go against her; she is black,she is handicapped, and suffers from fatal alcohol syndrome. These things were enough to put atag “unadoptable” on her in 1960 but not now. In the next two decades after 1960, the field ofadaptation has undergone a radical change. There are many factors responsible for that. Thecivil rights movements, birth control, changing moral values and social science researches havetook off the “unadoptable” label from so many children. There is also scarcity of white andhealthy children at orphanage due to legalized abortion and co-operative social behaviourtowards unwed mothers in America. The healthy and infant children are so scarce that coupleswishing to adopt such child are told to wait for five or more years. This scarcity has turned theattention of desperate couple for child towards desperate children waiting for a permanentfamily. With more options, the foster care centres and social workers set limitations to choose abetter family for the orphans. It helps both the parties. Sometimes the prospective parents aresuggested to visit foster cares frequently so that they can get mixed-up with the child. Now itdoesn’t matter who adopts a child; a single and unmarried or married couple, rich or poor, aback or interracial. What matters for the social worker is the parent must be able to rear thechild in a homely atmosphere. For example for a 15-year-old boy, with a stormy history andpoor academic results they are likely to choose a “strong male” parent who can allow himreasonable freedom, set limits and provide a stable home. Similarly, for an 11-year-old boy withDown’s syndrome, a heart defeat, and a hearing disability, they might choose a religious familywith older children in it. If they do so then not only the older children of the family can help,take care and serve as role models, and the parents will also have less ego invested in theadopted child than a childless couple.

A Child is Born

“A Child is Born” by Germaine Greer, a renowned feminist, compares the ways of managingchildbirth in traditional societies of East and rich society of West. In her conclusion, sheappreciates the traditional ways of managing pregnancy, delivery and post delivery cases. Heridea sounds controversial, but we must have to consider that her essay is the result of her widetravelling and research works. Greer insists that the ways of managing child birth in thetraditional societies are different but useful. A pregnant woman gets encouraging support fromthe every member of the house, her relatives and neighbours. She is entertained and asked herwish. She is not allowed to do works and a lot of rituals are performed. This things distract hermind and hardly gives her time to fore-experience the terribly pain she is likely bear to duringdelivery. But on the other hand, a pregnant woman in the rich societies of West hardly gets anycompanion. Being alone and amidst modern scientific equipments and uncooperative hospitalstaffs, she is likely to imagine about the horrible hour, she will have to undergo during delivery.This mental tension is worse than the mother mortality in traditional births. After the child isborn, the occasion is celebrated in an interesting way. Of course it is considered better to have aboy, but the birth of a girl is also celebrated with the same joy. When the child is grown, it isencouraged to get intimate with other members of family. Thus, a child in East doesn’t getlimited to its own father and mother. It gets familiar with other members as well. And for suchchild, its uncle, aunt, and cousin all are equally important and loveable. She has accepted thatnow western techniques backed by machines and medicines are reaching the remote areas ofEast. But she doesn’t like that change and thinks these techniques will crush all the pride anddignity if the child bearing.



1. What differences does the writer show us between a traditional society and modern west

in matters of pregnancy, childbirth and child raring?

Ans. In traditional societies, when a woman becomes pregnant, she has to observe certain

prohibitions and carry out the set rites. All these taboos and prohibitions help her keeping

herself mentally free and to lessen the pain and fear. The pregnant lady is helped by her husband

and other members of family and community which enhances her sense of security. But in the

modern west societies, the pregnant lady has to take care of herself. In such individualistic

society, no other family member renders any support that helps the pregnant lady feel secure.

She has to undertake all the preparations for newcomer by herself. In traditional societies, child

birth irrespective of its sex is celebrated although there is a greater risk of the lives of the

mother and the baby. The woman, after the birth of the child is fully accepted by the new family

and she is allowed to visit her father’s house. The women in such societies are started calling

after the names of their children ignoring their original identity which the western people

criticize calling it a wrong behavior. However, in the west, although modern and sophisticated

hospitals are there, a child is born in an isolated hospital bed surrounded by modern medical

equipments. There is no one to welcome the child and to support the lady emotionally to help

lessen difficulties in western societies. In traditional society, the children are usually looked

after collectively by the family members. The entire family is involved to bathe and to feed the

children collectively. In the evening, children are told fairy tales by other members of the family.

However, these practices aren’t seen in modern western societies. The respective family mothers

have to take care of their children by themselves as there is no help form other family members

in the matter of child care.The writer argues that the traditional east is far better than the modern

west in matters of pregnancy, childbirth and child raring although there is high risk of mothers

and children mortality rate in these societies.

The Tell-Tale Heart

This is a psychological story in which the narrator, the maniac, driven by a compulsive hatred of“evil eyes” kills an old man whom he says he loved. The story starts with a self-contradictorystatement of the narrator, “True! – nervous – very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am:but why will you say that I am mad?” The statement reveals that the narrator is supposed to bemad and must be undergoing treatment in a mental hospital. It is also clear that the whole storyis his attempt to prove that he isn’t a mad person. But his attempt leads him to confess his crimeand proves him lunatic. The old man was good to the narrator but the latter didn’t like theformer’s eyes. According to the narrator, those vulture-like eyes were enough to arouse hatredand anger in his heart. He wanted to get rid of those eyes and eventually decided to kill him. Forseven consecutive nights he entered the old man’s room with the evil purpose at mid-night. Buthe used to find the old man sleeping. As the eyes of the old man were closed he couldn’t killhim, because nothing except his eyes ever bothered the narrator. But on the eighth night the oldman awoke as he opened the door. Those eyes made him furious and he killed the old man.



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

Q. Justify the title, “The Tell-Tale Heart”.Ans: According to “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,” ‘tell-tale’ is a “mechanical devicethat serves as an indicator.” However, it doesn’t show the real object in its concrete form. It isalways symbolic. For example, when we see a black band on somebody’s arm, we understandthat he/she is mourning on someone’s death, although we don’t see any dead body around. Theword “Tell-Tale” is used as an adjective of “Heart”. It means the heart (of the old man) hasserved as an indicator of the narrator’s crime. The imaginary heart beat forces him to confess hissin and plays very important role in the story. So, the title, “The Tell-Tale Heart” seems quiteappropriate for the story.

1. Justify the title, ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’.

Ans. The narrator is the victim of nervous disease and over sensitive to hearing. He wants to kill

the old man to get rid of the vulture like eyes of the old man. After entering into the room of the

old man with and aim to kill him, the narrator starts hearing a strange, dull sound as if being

made by a watch which he believes to be the heartbeat of the old man. After killing the old man,

he cuts the body into pieces and hides them under the wooden floor. In the morning, when three

police officers arrived there, he starts talking with them sitting in the old man’s room as the

police officers don’t find anything unusual. However, while being there, the narrator starts

hearing strange sound which he believes to be the heartbeat of the old man. As he couldn’t stand

the sound of the said heart beat, he confesses his crime and reveals the entire story before the

police. Since, the supposed heart discloses the secret of the murder, the title The Tale-Tale Heart

is therefore justifiable and appropriate to the text.

2. Was the narrator mad?

Ans. Though sanity and insanity is a matter of debate, there are various indications in the story

that suggest his madness. The narrator killed an old and innocent man with out any concrete

reason. He did not hesitate to cut the body of the old man into pieces. Though the man loved

him, he did not understand the value of love. Rather he mercilessly killed him. Even after killing

and dismembering the body of the old man, he suspected that the old man’s heart was beating.

He had no idea that after a man is killed his heart stops beating. The narrator has revealed



himself that he is suffering from a disease which causes ‘over-acuteness of the senses’.

Over-acuteness of senses is also one sign of madness. He was overcome by homicidal mania.

Madmen never repent their wrong doing. In this story also instead of repenting for his wrongful

act, the narrator has tried to prove his sanity. Thus his abnormal behavior suggests that he was

truly mad.

PurgatoryThe word “purgatory” is derived from the noun, “purge” meaning “to make something clean orpure”. According to Catholic belief, purgatory is supposed to be the place where souls of people,who cannot go straight to heaven, must suffer until their sins are forgiven. After somepunishments and suffering the souls are freed and they ascend to the heaven. Summary“Purgatory” is a short one-act poetic play by W.B. Yeats. The main theme of the play is thatwhen you commit sin against other you can be forgiven if that victim’s soul wants but when youcommit sin against yourself even God can’t forgive you. There are only two characters in thisplay – an Old Man and his son, a Boy. Both of them are vendors. The Old Man takes the Boy toan old and ruined house. According to him, he was born in the same house and it belonged tohis mother. His mother’s family was very reputed and a lot of great people like Magistrates,Colonels, Parliament members, Captains, and Governors were born in the family. But hismother fell in love with a horse-trainer and married him. The Old Man was the result of sameunion and his mother died at his birth. According to the Old Man, his father was an immoralperson who spent all the money of his mother on gambling, drinking, and flirting women. Oneday while he was drunk, he burnt the house and the Old Man killed him in the burning house.After that he ran away from that house. The Old Man tells the lineage of his mother waspolluted when she married the horse-trainer. By doing so, she had betrayed her tradition andculture. Therefore, she has to relive the night of her union with the horse-trainer in the purgatory.After that the Boy fights with the Old Man over the share of money and the Old Man kills him.After that he thinks his mother’s soul will be freed from the purgatory as he has corrected hermistake by finishing her polluted lineage. But he finds it doesn’t help her as well, and she stillsuffers in the purgatory.

Hansel & GretelJacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Hansel and Gretel lived with their poor woodcutter- father and stepmother near a forest. Onenight during a famine they heard the stepmother persuading their father to abandon them intodeep forest. This broke the heart of Gretel and she started crying. But Hansel consoled her andarranged some pebbles.In the following morning, they were taken to the forest but Hansel dropped some pebbles on theway so that they could trace their way back home. According to the plan, the children were leftin the forest. However, when the moon shone over the pebbles dropped by Hansel they foundtheir way to home easily. The father became very happy to find them back. After some time asimilar famine hit the area. Like last time, the stepmother forced the woodcutter to leave thechildren in the forest again. Like last time, the children overheard it again but this time Hanselcould not go out to collect pebbles as the stepmother had locked the door from outside. In thefollowing morning, they were taken into deep forest. Hansel had dropped some crumbled piecesof the bread that he got in breakfast on the way. But this trick could not help as those pieces ofbread were eaten by birds. As a result, they lost in the forest. For three days they tried to find theway to home without success. Rather they reached a house, made of bread, cake and sugar.Suffering with unbearable hunger, they could not resist their temptation to eat. The housebelonged to an old witch. She had been using that house to trap children so that she could eat



them. The old witch took them inside with love. She also provided them good food and bed. Butonce they slept, she imprisoned Hansel in a shed and made Gretel work a lot. She wanted tomake Hansel fat and fed him for four weeks. But due to cunningness of Hansel, she couldn’tfind the difference. At last she got tired of waiting and lit the oven to roast him. But Greteloutwitted her and pushed her into the oven. The witch died there and she rescued her brother.They filled their pockets with precious stones that witch had stored in her home and again triedto find their way back to home. In the way they came across a river but they were carried acrossit by a large white duck. After crossing the river they found the way familiar and reached theirhome again. Their stepmother had already died and their father became very happy to find themback.

Gretel Garrison KeillorSummary“Gretel” is the narration of the grievances of Gretel which appears a feminist perspective. Gretelblames Hansel of treachery in selling the copyright to Grimm brothers as she wasn’t given anyshare in the profits. Not only that, he also distorted the actual story and showed himself as a realhero. On the other hand, Gretel is presented as his weak sister. But it was Gretel who was in theleading role from the very beginning. She not only consoled him when needed but also carriedhim on her back on the way to jungle. Now getting all the profit he lives a good life with theirevil father in a big house. According to Gretel, her stepmother, Gladys, shouldn’t be blamed fortheir abandonment. It was their father who plotted to abandon them into forest. The stepmothercould not even send them inside their room against the wish of their father. She also reveals thatthe stepmother didn’t die at the end of the story. Actually she was forced to leave the housewithout any compensation. There was also a third person who suffered in the story. It was theold witch who was killed by Gretel. But Gretel regrets why she killed her. She thinks the witchwas not really after her life. She thinks she was targeting only against male race. Now, shereflects that if she had helped the witch, she would not have been betrayed by her brother. Infact the story (to be precise, the essay) points out how every story highlights its male charactersas heroes while confines women into weaker (Gretel), evil (witch) and jealous (stepmother)roles.

Hansel and GretelJack Zipes

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

1. Psychological analysis of Hansel and GretelAns. The writer in his adapted story Hansel and Gretel presents the psychological analysis of thestory. In this story, he expresses a unique truth of life that poverty and deprivation make human



beings selfish and less sensitive to others sufferings. The writer tells us that when the childrengrow up, they must learn to live separately from their parents. Hansel and Gretel have left in theforest in order to give them a chance to learn to live independently. However, they have comeback as they have not been able enough to live apart from their parents. The children have againbeen left in the forest for the second time and they’ve tried to solve the problem byconcentrating on fool only. As they’ve acted like hungry animals rather than human beings, theyhave been the captive of witch. The house and the old witch being the source of food aresymbolized as mother. This story gives us message that greed leads to destruction. Hansel andGretel manages to get rid of the witch when they start thinking and behaving like human beings.The white duck that helps Hansel and Gretel get home carrying across the water stretch is thesymbol of new beginning. The duck can carry only one child at one time shows that childrenmust learn to live independently without any support from their brothers and sisters. The birdwhich led them to the gingerbread house is a symbol of peace. When Hansel and Gretel returnhome, they have grown up and start helping their father. The help they render is symbolized bythe jewels. The family is considered rich and happy not because of the wealth but becauseHansel and Gretel have learnt to think and act like matured people.

2. Political analysis of Hansel and GretelAns. This story Hansel and Gretel written by Jack Zipes from political point of view tells usabout the struggle between the poor and rich group of people. The woodcutter and his familyrepresent the poor class people who are forced to commit deeds because of their poverty. Thewitch represents the aristocratic class of people and also symbolizes as the entire feudal system.She is also symbolized as the greed brutality of the aristocracy which is responsible for thedifficult condition of the poorer class of people. The killing of the witch is symbolicalrealization of the hatred felt by the poor people because of the oppression and exploitation onthem by the aristocratic people. The writer depicts the class conflict and exposes the prejudiceand injustice of feudal ideology. The writer emphasizes that the poor people must be optimisticand should react appropriately against the oppressors for the transition of the situation in theirfavour.

SummaryThe main plot of “The Boarding House” moves around an intelligent move of Mrs. Mooney,which helped her to find a suitable husband for her daughter. Mrs. Mooney owned a boardinghouse. She had a daughter Miss Polly and a son, Jack. Polly was in love with a tenant, Mr.Doran. The story of their love affair slowly leaked out, and Mrs. Mooney also got informedabout that. But unlike any other normal mother, she didn’t become angry or quarrel with Mr.Doran. Rather she ignored it so that the affair could ripe with time. Mr. Doran was from a goodfamily and had a respectable job. Mrs. Mooney might have thought that her daughter would befortunate if she married Mr. Doran. Otherwise, no boy from such reputed family could wish tomarry the daughter of a boarding house owner. Her personal experience must also have taughther not to take hasty decision when the matter is related with life-long relations like marriage.She herself did a mistake when she married a drunkard and ruined her marital life. She musthave not wanted her daughter to meet the same fate. When she found Mr. Doran was totallyunder her trap and could not escape anymore, she interfered. She had several reasons whichmade her think that he must bow down before her wish. The weight of social opinion was withher. She had the liability to get angry and make demand as she had trusted him when sheallowed him to live under her roof. Besides, Mr. Doran also had a possible threat from an angrybrother like Jack if he refused to marry. After counting these cards, which assured her of hervictory, she called Mr. Doran and talked over the matter. As a reader we don’t know what Mrs.Mooney told Mr. Doran but the imperative way, in which she called her daughter downstairsafter their conversation, leaves no doubt in our mind that she became able to compel Mr. Doranto marry her daughter, who might not have done the same thing if she had not used her mind.

Heritage of-words-sumary

Education

Transcript of Heritage of-words-sumary