Major English Notes:
The Great Gatsby
full title · The Great Gatsby
author · F.
Scott Fitzgerald
type of
work · Novel
genre · Modernist
novel, Jazz Age novel, novel of manners
time and place
written · 1923–1924, America and
France
date of first
publication · 1925
publisher · Charles
Scribner's Sons
narrator · Nick
Carraway; Carraway not only narrates the story but implies that
he is
the book's author.
point of
view · Nick Carraway narrates
in both first and third person, presenting
only what
he himself observes. Nick alternates sections where he
presents events
objectively, as they appeared to him at the time, with
sections where
he gives his own interpretations of the story's meaning and of the motivations
of the other characters.
tone · Nick's
attitudes toward Gatsby and Gatsby's story are ambivalent and contradictory.
At times he seems to disapprove of Gatsby's excesses
and breaches
of manners and ethics, but he also romanticizes and
admires Gatsby,
describing the events of the novel in a nostalgic and elegiac tone.
tense · Past
setting
(time) · Summer 1922
settings
(place) · Long Island and New York City
protagonist · Gatsby
and/or Nick
major
conflict · Gatsby has amassed a vast fortune in order to
win the affections of
the upper-class
Daisy Buchanan, but his mysterious past stands in the way
of his
being accepted by her.
rising
action · Gatsby's lavish
parties, Gatsby's arrangement of a meeting with Daisy at Nick's
climax · There
are two possible climaxes: Gatsby's reunion with Daisy
in Chapters
V–VI; the confrontation between Gatsby and Tom in the Plaza Hotel
in Chapter VII.
falling
action · Daisy's rejection of
Gatsby, Myrtle's death, Gatsby's murder
themes · The
decline of the American dream; the hollowness of the upper
class; the
spirit of the 1920s, the difference between social classes, the role
of symbols
in the human conception of meaning, the role of the past
in dreams
of the future
motifs · The
connection between events and weather, the connection
between geographical
location and social values, images of time,
extravagant parties,
the quest for wealth
symbols · The
green light on Daisy's dock, the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg,
the valley
of ashes, Gatsby's parties, East Egg, West Egg
foreshadowing · The
car wreck after Gatsby's party in Chapter III, Owl Eyes's
comments about
the theatricality of Gatsby's life, the mysterious telephone
calls Gatsby
receives from Chicago and Philadelphia.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
☺The
Great Gatsby is a satire on the American society. Discuss.
[2064-5] OR,
☺Coment
on 'The Great Gatsby' as a comment on American
dream.[2064-5] OR,
☺Decline
of the American Dream in the
1920's. OR,
@
Role of money and wealth in The Great Gatsby. OR,
@
Main theme of The Great Gatsby. OR,
@
How does The Great Gatsby represent it's
age? OR,
@
Discuss the novel "The Great Gatsby" as an American
Dream. [2065-10] OR,
@
How is 'The Great Gatsby' a story on American Dream? Comment.
[2063-10 OR,
@
Comment on the elements of satire in the novel "The Great
Gatsby"[2062-10]
@
"The Great Gatsby" is a comment on the American Dream. Explain
briefly. [2059-10]
@
"The Great Gatsby assumes that the idea of American dream
rooted in the concept of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is far from
reality." Discuss [2058-10]
@
What is Fitzgerald's view of the American dream? [2058-5]
@
Discuss "The Great Gatsby" as a tragedy of American dream. [2057-10]
@
Discuss Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" as the projection of the
American Dream. [Model-10]
☺[
V. V. I ]Discuss the novel "The Great Gatsby" as an American Dream.
[2065-10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= American
dream is the false lesson taught by the American society that money can buy
happiness, satisfaction and everything a man desires. It is the belief that it
is possible for anyone in America , however poor, to win success and wealth by
their own effort. The American dream was
originally about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s
written in the American Constitution that every individual has the right to “Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. This right soon took a twisted turn in
the early 1920’s which is clearly shown in The Great Gatsby. The
pursuit of happiness soon turned into the pursuit of wealth and ultimately to
greed. Corruption of values decreased the spirituality of life. Meaningful
goals of life were deleted by material achievements. Liberty advanced collapse
of family and social bonds and introduced sexual freedom. Money brought social
rifts and hatred between the different classes.
Throughout The
Great Gatsby it is shown how social rift came between the love of two
individuals, Daisy and Gatsby. This led to the eventual corruption of Gatsby
himself, the pursuit of wealth, greed, and illegal deeds. Settlers first came
to America with one ambition, a better life-- a life in pursuit of opportunity,
freedom, love, equality, and wealth. These dreams soon diminished as
materialistic values seemed to be above all else. The family values collapsed.
Tom is not faithful to his wife Daisy. Similarly, Daisy keeps extramarital
relationship with Gatsby. Myrtle Wilson makes illicit love affair with Tom.
Gatsby does not show sympathy towards his poor father. These materialistic
values consequently led the decay of the American Dream. The new American Dream
described in this novel portrays a world where greed, the pursuit of money and
pleasure are above all else. In the 1920s depicted in the novel, easy
money and relaxed social values have corrupted the American dream, especially
on the East Egg. Gatsby's dream of loving Daisy is ruined by the difference in
their respective social statuses, so he leads a life of crime and earns enough
money to impress her. But even billions of money can not provide him true love.
The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation
on 1920s America as a whole, an era of unparallel prosperity and material
excess. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920s as an era of decayed social and
moral values, shown in its distrust, greed, and empty pursuit of pleasure.
Gatsby gives magnificent parties every Saturday night in order to win Daisy's
love, not for noble cause. This shows the irresponsibility of youths. The lofty
rise of the stock market in the aftermath of the war led to a sudden, sustained
increase in the national wealth and a newfound materialism, but at the same
time created hollow, selfish, irresponsible youths. Additionally, the passage
of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, which banned the sale of alcohol,
created a thriving underworld designed to satisfy the massive demand for
bootleg liquor among rich and poor alike.
The various social climbers and ambitious opportunists who
attend Gatsby's parties show the greedy rush for wealth. In The
Great Gatsby, its characters are representatives of people in the Jazz
Age in which there is the expansion of business enterprise and the rapid growth
of material interests. The collapse of social values can be seen as the outcome
of corrupt American Dream. The relationship between money and sex (pleasure) is
seen through Daisy and Tom’s married life, Daisy’s relationship with Gatsby and
Myrtle’s relationship with Tom. Marriage contract serves to Daisy as a different form of the
exchange of her body for financial support from Tom Buchanan. She gives Tom her
body and Tom gives her the comfortable upper class life. Tom is a
representative of the established rich class. He entertains his guests by
showing off his possessions, including his mistress. Daisy has to be silent
when she knows about his affair with Mrytle.
The connection between
money and sex is obviously seen in Tom and Myrtle’s affair, as well. Myrtle
enjoys material comfort that Tom can offer to her and like other men; Tom
exploits this desire in Myrtle to use his money to buy her. Trying to grasp
youth, beauty and love by means of riches is a corruption of the once
idealistic promise of the newly discovered America.
Gatsby
thinks that if he has money he can recreate his past, can buy happiness, can
achieve prestige in his society and can win Daisy. But he is unable to achieve
all of these though he is enormously rich. Gatsby believed that once he
achieved his financial goal, he would live a better life. Even Gatsby dresses
in white flannel suit, silver shirt and gold coloured tie. Silver and gold are
the colours of wealth. Gatsby's every items are lavish with smell of wealth. In
the end, this wealth can not rescue and save his life. Thus this novel can be
seen as the tragedy of the American dream.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GATSBY
@ Discuss the
relationship between Tom Buchanan and Gatsby. [2065-10]
@Describe Gatsby's
parties that become the topic of the area. [2065-5]
@ Describe the first
Gatsby's parties which Nick attends. [2064-10]
@ Nick Caraway's first
meeting with Gatsby in the Gatsby mansion. [2057-5]
@ What does Gatsby's
car indicate? [2063-5]
@ What rumours does
Nick hear about Gatsby? [2063-5]
@ What was the past of
Gatsby like? [2062-5]
@ Sketch briefly the
character of Gatsby. [2061-10]
@ What kind of
personality has Gatsby built of himself? [2061-5]
@ Discuss Gatsby's
death in brief. [2060-5]
@ Write down the
separation of Daisy and Gatsby. [2059-5]
@ Write a character
sketch of Jay Gatsby. [2058-5]
@ Daisy once had
coldly rejected Gatsby's love for her. But Gatsby cherished passionate feeling
to her. Explain the possible reasons why Gatsby tries so hard to win back Daisy
to his love? [2057-10]
@ Gatsby's war experience
in Europe. [2057-5]
@ Describe the extreme
ways of love shown by Gatsby for Daisy. [2059-5]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gatsby
is the main character in the novel. In fact, this novel is about the story of
Gatsby's dream. He is a mysterious figure, extremely rich but no one knows the
source of his wealth. Now at his early thirties, he has a great desire to win
the love of Daisy. Gatsby has made Daisy a symbol of everything he values, and
made the green light on her dock a symbol of his destiny with her. Gatsby is
destroyed by the illusion that he had lived with - illusion is that he can
recreate past and win the love of Daisy by accumulating wealth.
v His past:
His
real name was Jay Gatz, the son of unsuccessful farmer. He left home at the age
of 17 to make his fortune. One day he rescued a millionaire named Dan Cody and
went with him. From that day he changed his name and the image of himself. From
his early days Gatsby hated poverty and longed for wealth. When he was young
military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917,
he immediately fell in love with Daisy. Daisy promised to wait for
him when he left for the war, but married Tom Buchanan in1919, while Gatsby was
studying at Oxford after the war in an attempt to gain an education. So Gatsby
engages in criminal activities like bootlegging, trading in stolen securities
in order to win back Daisy and recreate his past.
v His lavish parties
v rumours about Gatsby:
v role of social gathering:
Gatsby
is the symbol of American dream. He is almost alone in most of his life. He
gives lavish parties and invites everyone he knows. He gives parties in order
to relieve from loneliness; but he remains more lonelier in the crowd. More
than invited, the uninvited guests attend the party. Most of the people who
come to the party even do not know Gatsby. They return from the party even
without meeting him. Gatsby's main aim of giving parties in his large mansion
is to impress Daisy with his wealth. He thinks that one day Daisy would come to
his parties and meet him. Most of the people who come to the party do not know
each other. He gives parties because he has a mistaken notion that from it he
can buy identity and fame. He gives parties every Friday. There is music in the
night and men and girls rush there like moths. Parties run whole night.
Servants bring food, juice, fruits and drinks from the town. Tents are set in
the garden. Orchestra plays music. Hams, salads, pastry pigs and turkeys, and
drinks are served. As the night progresses, there is noise of the bottle
smashing and people falling and dancing in wild ecstasy.
Gatsby
remains as a mystery in the novel. He remains mysterious for Nick too. In the
party, the guests talk about him as 'an oxford man', 'German spy', 'murderer',
'fraud' etc. Some said 'he killed a man'; while others said, 'he earned money
by bootlegging'.
v Personality of Gatsby:
To
understand Gatsby one has to look at not only his true life, but the life that
he tried to create for himself. He is a showy person. He has a formal style
of talking to fit his social position. He is a self-invented man. Gatsby thinks that if he has money he can
recreate his past, can buy happiness, can achieve prestige in his society and
can win Daisy. But he is unable to achieve all of these though he is enormously
rich. Gatsby believed that once he achieved his financial goal, he would live a
better life. Even Gatsby dresses in white flannel suit, silver shirt and gold
coloured tie. Silver and gold are the colours of wealth. Gatsby's every items
are lavish with smell of wealth. He has his own library with unread books. He
wants to show the people that he is an 'oxford man.'
v His illusion:
Gatsby
has an illusion that he can recreate his past and gain the love of Daisy. For
him, illusion is more real than reality itself. He believes that he can win
Daisy by wealth and prosperity. So, he accumulates wealth by criminal and
illegal means. He also has illusion that Daisy is equally faithful to him. But
at the end, he dies before he knows that illusions are destructive.
v His meeting with Daisy and his deep love for
her:
v Separation of Gatsby and Daisy:
v His death :
Gatsby
has a sincere and deep love for Daisy. When he was young military officer in
Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917, he immediately fell
in love with Daisy. Daisy promised to wait for him when he left for
the war, but married Tom Buchanan in1919, while Gatsby was studying at Oxford
after the war in an attempt to gain an education. After his return, he
purchased the huge mansion in West Egg in order to be close to her. Gatsby asks
Nick to arrange a tea party and invite both Daisy and him. Gatsby meets Daisy
in the tea party given by Nick. Again, they resume their love. They both start
meeting in privates. Later during the quarrel between Tom and Gatsby, Gatsby
asks Daisy in front of Tom to declare that she never loved Tom. But
Daisy is unable to declare that she never loved Tom.
When
Daisy denies that she did not love Tom, Tom incites both Gatsby and Daisy to
drive home on the same car. On the way Gatsby's car kills Myrtle Wilson. Daisy
was driving the car. She does nothing to own the accident. George Wilson, the
husband of Myrtle Wilson, goes to Tom to inquire about the car. Tom shows him
the way to Gatsby's mansion explaining that it was Gatsby's car and Gatsby was
driving.
Wilson goes to
Gatsby's mansion and meets him at the pool, and then shoots him. Thus Gatsby
dies for love. Gatsby's death is caused by his illusion.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOM
@ Sketch the character
of Tom Buchanan. [2064-5]
@ Why does Tom wish
Nick to meet his mistress? [2063-5]
@
Why did Tom break Myrtle Wilson's nose? [2062-5]
@
Discuss Tom's attitude towards Gatsby. [2060-5]
@
Write what type of character is Tom Buchanan. [MOdel-5]
@
Tom Buchanan's attitude to the fame of Gatsby. [2057-5]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Being born into a wealthy family has made Tom
a spoiled man. He hasn't really worked his entire life and instead spends his
days in indulgence and ease. He only searches self-gratification. He has a
shameless affair with Myrtle because it satisfies his needs. He flaunts their
relationship in public because he does not concern himself with the
consequences of his actions. This is also why he and Daisy escape in the end of
the book. There was a situation they would have to face and they didn't want
to. So they ran to their money and fled the situation, leaving it to be dealt
with by others. He is a careless man who won't be bothered by the suffering he
causes to others. He represents upper class manner and morality. He thinks that
his race is responsible for all the civilized, decent things in life while he
is involved in an adulterous relationship.
v His physical appearance:
He is a sturdy, straw
haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious (proudy)
manner He has a huge and cruel body. He wears conservative clothes and patent
leather shoes.
v His vision of women:
v His wish to show Myrtle Wilson to Nick:
v His breaking the nose of Myrtle Wilson:
Tom's
most fatal weakness is his vision of women. He views women only as the
possessions of man. He sees women as an inanimate doll that has a value marked
by money. His relationship with Daisy is superficial, lacking mutual love and
understanding. He is a selfish, self-centered, and hypocritical character. His
only means of entertaining his guests is to show them his belongings. Daisy is
only a piece of property for him. He wants Nick to meet Myrtle only to show him
that he possesses not only a beautiful wife but also an energetic mistress.
When Tom and Myrtle are enjoying party, Myrtle insists that she has the right
to call Daisy's name whenever she desires. But all of sudden, Tom breaks her
nose. He breaks Myrtle's nose in the same way he had earlier bruised Daisy's finger
simply from a sense of brutal power
v His attitude to the fame of Gatsby:
Tom and Gatsby belong
to different social order. Tom represents Old Money while Gatsby presents New
Money. Tom remarks Gatsby as 'devil' and in one of Gatsby's parties he says
"who is this Gatsby anyhow? ........ Some big bootlegger?" He did not
like Daisy being near to Gatsby. During the drive, Tom spoke all the time in
disgust, "An Oxford man ! Like hell he is !"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DAISY
@
Sketch the character of Daisy. [2064-5]
@
Why does Gatsby say Daisy's voice is full of money? [2063-5]
@
Sketch briefly the character of Daisy Buchanan. [2062-10]
@
Discuss the role of Daisy Fray in the novel in brief. [2060-5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daisy,
the main character of the book, is a typical representative of women of the
upper class of the 1920s, the type of woman that has two values in life, acquiring
a rich partner and maintaining a wealthy lifestyle. Gatsby remarks that 'her
voice is full of money. She marries Tom because she is attracted towards his
wealth and sophistication. Gatsby knows that if he will accumulate enormous
wealth, he can buy Daisy.
She
is emotionally passive. She plays at love with Gatsby as she plays with
everything else in life. She likes life without difficulties and always tries
to stay in her comfort zone. All she cares about is her. She is careless and
emotionless. She runs away after she kills Myrtle with her careless driving.
Her love towards Gatsby is fake. She does not attend the Gatsby's funeral. She
loses her nerve at the critical moment when she has to decide whether she loves
Gatsby or Tom. The word careless also describes Daisy well. Many of
the things that Daisy does, the accident with Myrtle in particular, show a
woman who is just careless. Part of this is due to the fact that she
had been spoiled all her life. She was born into money and had an endless group
of men who would continue to spoil her. So she has learned to think only of
herself without regard for other
people.
|
Daisy is a trapped woman. She's trapped in a marriage that
she is unhappy in and trapped in a world where she has no chance to be free
or independent. She is at the mercy of her husband, a man who takes her for
granted. Daisy is also terribly clever, delivering some of the funnier lines
of the book. When a reader looks at the foolishness and shallowness of Daisy
they must realize that Daisy may be doing out of necessity. As she said when
she delivered her daughter, "- that's the best thing a girl can be in
this world, a beautiful little fool". Daisy is smart enough to
understand the limits imposed on her and has become jaded and indulgent
because of them.
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NICK
@ Discuss the role of Nick Carraway in 'The Great Gatsby'
[2064-10]
@ Sketch briefly the character of Nick Caraway , and say why you
like or dislike him. [2063-10]
@ Why is thirteenth birthday peculiar to
Nick? [2063-5]
@ How was Nick's attitude towards woman's dishonesty? [2062-5]
@ Comment on the presentation of Nick Caraway. [2058-5]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick is a
thoughtful young man of thirty from Minnesota, who travels to New York
in 1922 to learn the bond business. He lives in the West Egg district
of Long Island, next door to Gatsby. Nick is also Daisy's cousin, which enables
him to observe and assist the resurgent love affair between Daisy and
Gatsby. Nick is both the character and a first person narrator in the novel.
He is the readers' access to Gatsby. This method lends compactness and unity to
the novel. He easily makes friends. Nick is keen observer of men and events
around him. He is a spectator-narrator. He is half-inside and half-outside of
the action.
Nick
is also well suited to narrating The Great Gatsby because of his
temperament. As he tells the reader in Chapter I, he is tolerant, open-minded,
quiet, and a good listener, and, as a result, others tend to talk to him and
tell him their secrets. Nick states earlier on that one of his flaws is that he
never lies. Gatsby, in particular, comes to trust him and treat him as a
confidant. Nick generally assumes a secondary role throughout the novel,
preferring to describe and comment on events rather than dominate the action.
Often, however, he functions as Fitzgerald's voice, as in his extended
meditation on time and the American dream at the end of Chapter IX.
He
is in mental dilemma; on the one hand, Nick is attracted to the fast-paced,
fun-driven lifestyle of New York. On the other hand, he finds that lifestyle
ugly and damaging. This inner conflict is symbolized throughout the book by
Nick's romantic affair with Jordan Baker. He is attracted to her energy and her
sophistication just as he is repelled by her dishonesty and her lack of concern
for other people. In the end, he leaves New York to live a peaceful life in his
own village.
He
arranges the reunion of Daisy and Gatsby. However, many critics find Nick as an
unreliable narrator in the sense that he doesn't do justice to female
characters. The female characters are described as hollow, emotionless,
adulterous and unreliable. In the end of chapter III, he remarks "Dishonesty
in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply....". His attitude
towards woman is stereotypical. He thinks that dishonesty is in the blood of
women.
His role in Gatsby's love affair:
His vision about women's dishonesty:
Nick’s fascination with Gatsby helps to shape Nick as the rescuer
of the story., yet when he discovers Gatsby and Daisy are responsible for
Myrtle’s death, he does nothing to about it. In fact, he comes to Gatsby’s aid.
He tries to convince Gatsby to go away for a few weeks to Atlantic City or
Montreal. Gatsby refuses Nicks attempts to rescue him from the situation.
Gatsby winds up dead. Nick feels a sense of responsibility to organize Gatsby’s
funeral. He attempts to recruit mourners for Gatsby’s funeral.
Prior to his departure from West Egg, Nick feels it is necessary
to tie up all the loose ends that he has left. He attempts to patch things up
with Jordan. He does not want to leave without having closure. For a brief
moment, Nick is reluctant to leave, but comes to the realization that the
city life is no place for a Westerner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MYRTLE
@Sketch the character of Wilson. [2065-5]
@ How does Myrtle Wilson's manner of dress contradict with her
grammar? [2062-5]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Myrtle
Wilson is the wife of George Wilson, who lives in Valley of Ashes. She is in
mid thirites, and faintly stout but sensuous woman. She deceives her husband
and keeps extramarital love affair with Tom Buchanan. She tells her husband
that she is going to meet her sister, but she spends time with Tom. Myrtle
Wilson is the victim of poverty. She represents the lower class society. She
does not know that Tom is playing with her. She hates her husband because
during their marriage ceremony he had worn the borrowed suit. She is crazy for
Tom because he buys her everything she wishes for. She has a deep desire to fit
in the social position of upper class society. She is a typical fashionable
woman of artificial life and taste of American Jazz Age. So, her manner of
dress contradict with her grammar.
Her
husband locks her inside the room when he finds that she is unfaithful to him.
When she sees the yellow car of Gatsby, she jumps towards it thinking that it
is the car of Tom. She is instantly killed. Though Daisy was driving the car,
the blame goes to Gatsby. Later Gatsby is killed by George Wilson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GEORGE WILSON
@ What part does George Wilson play in Gatsby's story? [2061-5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
George
Wilson owned a garage in the desolate Valley of Ashes. George
was married to Myrtle who kept extra-marital affair with Tom. He was
spiritless, blond and sick. He was gullible. He represents the
innocence of lower class that becomes the victim of cruel upper class. When he
knew that his wife had some sort of adulterous relationship, he became quite
disturbed. He even locked her inside the room to prevent her from running with
the other man. When his wife was killed by Daisy in a car accident, he was
easily persuaded by Tom that Gatsby was the murderer of his wife. Like a mad
person, he determined to kill Gatsby and shot him with the pistol. Later he
killed himself with the same pistol. George loves and idealizes Myrtle, and is
devastated by her affair with Tom. George is consumed with grief when Myrtle is
killed. George is comparable to Gatsby in that both are dreamers and both are
ruined by their unrequited love for women who love Tom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ψ SYMBOLISM
@ Discuss the use of symbols in the novel 'The Great
Gatsby' [2065 -5] [2064-5]
@ Discuss "The Great Gatsby" as a symbolic
novel. [2061-10]
@ Explain the symbols of green and white colours in "The
Great Gatsby". [2059-5]
@ Describe the symbols applied in 'The Great Gatsby'. [2058-10]
@ What is the Valley of Ashes applied for? [2058-5]
@ Explore the symbols as used in "The Great
Gatsby"[Model-10]
@ What is the implication of the "Valley of Ashes" ,
as used in The Great Gatsby? [Model-5]
@ What does Gatsby's car indicate? (2063-5)
@ What does Gatsby's car symbolize? How is it proved to be the
cause of his downfall? [2061-5]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Great Gatsby is rich in symbolism, which is portrayed on
several different levels in a variety of ways. The colours, the geography and
even the characters act as symbols in this novel. Gatsby's dream of love and
money is identified with the American dream.
East and West Egg
One
of the most important themes in the novel is class and social standing. It is a
barrier for almost every character. East and West Egg acts as a symbol of this
in it's physical makeup. Tom and Daisy live on the East Egg which is far more
refined and well bred. East Egg represents Old money. Nick and Gatsby are on
the West Egg which is for people who don't have any real standing, even if they
have money. West Egg represents New money. The green light shines from the East
Egg attracting Gatsby towards what he has always wanted. And Daisy, the woman
that Gatsby has always wanted but never gets, lives on East Egg. The barrier
that the water creates between these worlds in symbolic of the barrier that
keeps these people apart from one another and from much of what they want.
The Green Light
Located at the end of the Buchanans' dock, is a green light
which represents Gatsby's ultimate aspiration: to win Daisy's love. When Nick
first sees Gatsby he was looking at the green light from Buchanan's dock and
stretching his arms. Green is the colour of promise, hope and renewal. But here
hope and promise gets lost for the crave of money and love. It represents
illusory and ideal world that Gatsby has dreamt of. It also represents lure of
money.
The eyes of T.J. Eckleburg
In the faded and old advertising billboard in the Valley of
Ashes is a pair of spectacled eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. These eyes
are facing towards George Wilson's garage. George associates these eyes to the
God's watchful eyes over mankind. These eyes provide solace to Wilson. They are
placed near Wilson's because that is where some of the most selfish acts take
place: Myrtle's death, Tom's affair. All of these crimes go unpunished. It
represents God who has been created by modern society to make money. It
represents a God who no longer sees nor cares. So the eyes look on and remind
the characters of the guilt that they forget to have for what they have done.
Following the central theme of modernism, this new God watches over his
paradise which has been reduced to ash-heaps by modern man.
Valley of Ashes
Located between West Egg and New York is a gloomy land Valley of
Ashes created by the dumping of “industrial ashes,” this valley acquires a
sense of decay. It seems as if the rich, men like Tom Buchanan and Gatsby dump
their “ashes” in the valley, with nothing but concern for themselves. It
represents the modern world, which is like ugly hell created by modern
industry. It is a physical desert that symbolizes the spiritual desolation that
a society based on money creates. The negative outlook of the Valley of
Ashes also connects to the people that live their. George and Myrtle
Wilson own a house in the valley of ashes. It is in the valley of the ashes
where Tom has his affair with Myrtle, where Daisy kills Myrtle with Gatsby's
car, and where George Wilson decides to murder Gatsby. So, it seems as if the
valley of ashes does in fact represent a place of decadence; a place where the
rich dump their “ashes”. This valley recalls the moral wilderness of T.S.
Eliot's poem, "The Waste Land."
Gatsby's house:
This image serves as a key symbol of aspiration, reflecting both
Gatsby's success as an American self-made man and the mirage of an identity he
has created to win Daisy's love. Gatsby follows his American Dream as he buys
the house to be across the bay from Daisy, and has parties to gain wide-spread
recognition in order to impress her. Yet, Owl Eyes compares
Gatsby's mansion to a house of cards, muttering "that if one brick was
removed the whole library was liable to collapse". Ultimately, the
inevitable collapse occurs, as Gatsby loses Daisy and dies absolutely
friendless, prompting Nick to refer to Gatsby's mansion as "that huge
incoherent failure of a house"
Gatsby's car:
Gatsby's car is the biggest, magnificent, grandest and the most
luxurious automobile of the time. The car becomes the symbol of all material
wealth. The car becomes the instrument of destruction and murder. Both Myrtle's
death and, indirectly, Gatsby's are caused by this car. Thus it signals that
wealth, as an absolute ideal, is ultimately destructive.
White colour:
Throughout the novel, Daisy is strongly associated with white
colour. When she first appears she is dressed in white. She speaks about her
own 'white girlhood'. Since white means absence of colour also, it symbolizes
the vacancy and emptiness within Daisy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------@
Discuss the significance of the title "The Great Gatsby" [2064- 5]
@ Comment on the suitability of the title of "The Great
Gatsby". [2061-10]
@ What is great about the Great Gatsby? [Model-5]
@ Do you agree with Fitzgerald's verdict on "The Great Gatsby"
as a title? [2060-5]
@ Justify the title "The Great Gatsby". [2059-10]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Though Fitzgerald
had thought of several other titles for this novel such as Trimalchio, The
High-Bouncing Lover, On the Road to West Egg , Gold-Hatted
Gatsby etc, the present title "The Great Gatsby" is the
most suitable because it gives the total impression of Gatsby's personality.
This title was formulated with the intention of heightening characterization
through the use of irony.
Gatsby
can more or less be identified with Tamburlaine , the main character of
"Tamburlaine, the Great" by Christopher Marlowe. Gatsby is great in
the sense that he is not defeated by circumstances. He has high passion and
lust for love. Everything is correct in love and war. So he does everything to
win the heart of his beloved. He earns wealth for the sole purpose of love. He
is untroubled by doubt. Allegorically considered, all the other characters are
reason, while Gatsby is imagination, innocence and dream. Besides all his
illusion and bootlegging, he has a great positive quality - his faith in life's
possibility and loyalty to Daisy. He is self-made and self-invented man who
desires for the Earthly Paradise in West Egg.
He
is like the Romantic poets desiring the unattainable. His extraordinary quality
of hope, idealistic dream and yearning for the future make him a truly romantic
figure. He is Saint of Love because he dies for love. While all the other
characters exchange love for sex, he seeks love for love's sake. We find him
great if we look at him by contrasting him with other shallow characters like
Tom, Myrtle Wilson, Jordan, George and Daisy, in the backdrop of corrupt
American world of 1920s.
In
spite of all Gatsby's weakness and errors, he is still the only sympathetic
character apart from Nick. He died with devotion for his idealism. Other characters
believe in nothing and care about nothing other than their own pleasures.
Obviously, Jay Gatsby, with the gift of hope, placed in comparison to the
aimlessness of Tom and Daisy, reaches heroic nobility.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JORDAN
@ Explain the role of Jordan Baker in the
novel. [2065-5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jordan
Baker is Daisy's friend. She is a woman with whom Nick becomes romantically
involved during the course of the novel. She represents one of the 'new women'
of the 1920s - cynical, boyish, and self-centred. She is a competitive golfer.
Jordan is beautiful, but also dishonest: she cheated in order to win her first
golf tournament and continually bends the truth. She is the person who first
introduces Nick with Gatsby.
Jordan
Baker is a feminist who represents the new movements and attitudes of women of
the Jazz Age. Jordan faces the same problems that Tom and Daisy do. She has
been born with money and has lived in a culture full of money and has been
spoiled by it. She is surrounded by people like the Buchanans who continue
their pleasure-seeking behavior. She is also careless like Daisy and Tom.
=================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@ Discuss 'The Great Gatsby' as a love story. [2064-5]
@ Describe the extreme ways of love shown by Gatsby for
Daisy. [2059-5]
@ Write briefly the plot line of "The Great Gatsby".
[Model-5]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In
every novel we find some sort of love story. In this novel too, it is the love
story of Gatsby and Daisy that moves the plot forward. All the actions and
inspirations of the central character Gatsby are linked with his love affair.
This story is a love tragedy.
When
Gatsby was young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in
World War I in 1917, he immediately fell in love with Daisy. Daisy
promised to wait for him when he left for the war, but married Tom Buchanan
in1919, while Gatsby was studying at Oxford after the war in an attempt to gain
an education. So Gatsby engages in criminal activities like bootlegging,
trading in stolen securities in order to win back Daisy and recreate his past.
Gatsby tries to show his worth by means of his wealth and his lavish parties.
He buys a large house just in front of Daisy's large mansion. Gatsby meets
Daisy with the help of Nick and their love affair resumes again. Tom becomes
aware of the developing relationship between his wife and Gatsby, so he Half
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@ What is the role of the money in the life of the Long Island
dwellers?
@ Discuss the role of social gathering in "The Great
Gatsby". [2061-5]
@ Discuss Fitzgerald's motives for writing "The Great
Gatsby".[2060-10]
@ What type of text is "The Great Gatsby". Write in
brief. [2060-5]
@ Show your acquaintance with the historical and literary
influences on "The Great Gatsby". [2059-5]
@ What attraction does The Great Gatsby have for a film-maker?
[2058-5]
@ Life of rich fashionable young women in the American Jazz Age
as shown in "The Great Gatsby". [2057-5]
@ The wit, humour and tenderness of feeling in "The Great
Gatsby". [2057-5]
@ Describe Nick's tea party. / Reunion of Daisy and Gatsby.
{2059-5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
===== Lord Byron's Love Letter( Tenneessee
Williams) 1946 ========
@ Narrate the story of young woman’s meeting with Lord Byron.
[2065/2064/2061-10]
@ Describe briefly the young woman’s meeting with Byron.
[2064-5]
@How did the American girl go alone to the Acropolis? [2063-5]
@ How did the glove provide an opportunity for romance?
[2058/2059-5]
Like many American girls of those days,
the Spinster’s grandmother visited Europe when she was just sixteen. Near the
end of her tour, she went to Greece with her aunt to see the ruins of Athens.
One beautiful April morning, she with her aunt went to see the Acropolis. Her
aunt was not feeling well, so she stayed with the driver. She started climbing
the steps of Acropolis alone. She saw a young and handsome man, walking with a
slight limp, before her. The man who was Lord Byron turned again and again
round to watch the scene, but actually he was watching the girl. At the top of
the steps, he stopped and spread his hands wide like Apollo. She tried not to
see him, but the steps were narrow at the top, so she had to pass him. Just at
that time, she accidentally dropped her glove, and he picked it up to return.
As he returned her the glove, his fingers touched her palm and their eyes met.
They fell in love and had a summer filled
with romance. After Byron died in Greece, the grandmother retired from the
world and remained in complete seclusion as an honor to his memory.
@What are the spinster and the old woman feeling upset in the
end? [2062-5]
@ What is the role of Winston Tutwiler? [2060-5]
@ Summary
================================================================================= Tennessee
Williams’ play Lord Byron's Love Letter has four
characters: The Spinster, The Old Woman, The Matron, and The Husband.
The Old Woman and the Spinster live in an old and faded house in
New Orleans. They advertise that they have a love letter from Lord Byron,
written to The Spinster's grandmother. They charge money to anyone who wants to
see it, and hear them tell the tale of how this meeting took place.
A Matron visits them to see the letter. She is in town with her
husband for Mardi Gras. Her husband Wiston Tutwiler is drunken and uninterested
in the letter. As the spinster reads from her
grandmother's diary, it becomes clear that the grandmother and the old woman
are one and the same. According to the two women, the grandmother met Lord Byron
in Greece, shortly before his death. The Spinster reads aloud the meeting
of Lord Byron and her grandmother from the journal. They only allow The Matron and her Husband to look at the letter from a
distance. When Wiston Tutwiler hears the band of Mardi Gras festival, he raises
from his unconscious state and rushes out of the house. He is a man who wants
to forget ugly reality and live in illusory unconscious state. The Matron also
follows him. Then the spinster quickly asks for some money. The Matron does not
pay any attention to them and rushes out without paying. This upset them
because they had created a fake letter in order to earn money and survive.
=============The Romancers============================
@ Narrate the events that cause anxiety to the lovers. [2058-5]
@ Describe the character traits of young romancers as seen in
Sylvette and Percinet. [2064/2059-10]
@ Summary
= In his play “The Romancers” Edmond Rostand satirizes the
sentimentalism and escapism of Romantic literature of his times.
Percinet is the only son of Bergamin
and Sylvette is the only daughter of Pasquinot. Their fathers who are widowers
and neighbours make a plan to marry their children with each other. In order to
accomplish this, the fathers separate their children so that they may love each
other the more, and desire to be re-united. As a part of their plan, Bergamin
warns his son to stay away from Pasquinot and his daughter. Similarly,
Pasquinot also warns his daughter that she should not be near to his mortal
enemy Bergamin and his son. Inspite of their fathers’ warnings, Percinet and
Sylvette fall in love. They think themselves as the counterparts of Romeo and
Juliet. They are worried that their love will also end in tragedy like that of
Romeo and Juliet. They are emotional, daydreaming teenagers who have recently
finished their school studies. They are deeply influenced by romantic
literature of their times- especially by the romantic play “Romeo and Juliet”
of William Shakespeare. They are so in love with each other that they desire to
die rather than separate with each other. Bergamin then hires Straforel and his
company for a fake kidnapping. At midnight hours, when Percinet and Sylvette
are about to meet, Straforel with his company kidnap Sylvette and put her into
the sedan chair. Percinet hears the cry of Sylvette, jumps over the wall and
fights with his sword. At the same time, as planned, Pasquinot enters and calls
Percinet a hero. He suggests Bergamin to put an end to their enmity and arrange
the marriage of their children. Thus in the end the two children seem like
puppets in the hands of their fathers.
=================================================================================
@ Comment on the role of Straforel and his men. [2065-5]
= Straforel is a performer who is hired by Bergamin to do a fake
and grand kidnapping. He is not a villain but a comedian who is expert in his
profession and make-believe acting. He makes a combination of the different
elements so that the kidnapping will be memorable. He brings his swordsmen,
musicians and torch-bearers during the kidnapping and places them in their
positions. In the end his expert acting during kidnapping unites the lovers.
=================================================================@How does Percinet
justify his presence in the garden? [2063/2060-5]
Percinet justifies to his father that he is present in the
garden to enjoy the natural beauty of the garden, especially the flowers,
creepers and the mosses that have decorated the wall. He tells him that the
wall with its cracks and vines has made the bench next to it as a royal throne.
=================================================================
@ What is Parquinot’s reaction on finding his daughter strolling
about? [2061-5]
= When Pasquinot finds his daughter strolling alone in the garden,
he scolds her. He reminds her that she should remain away from his mortal enemy
Bergamin and his son. He is afraid that they may attack and insult her when
they find her alone. So he wants to put a row of spikes on the top of the wall
to harm the attacker.
================Waterloo==============================
@Attempt a character sketch of Corporal Brewster. [2065-5]
@ How did Brewester show his bravery in the battlefield?
[2063-5]
@ Why does Norah come to visit Corporal Brewster? [2062-5]
@What part of the Bible does the Corporal find interesting and
why? [2060-5]
= In
Arthur Conan Doyle’s play “Waterloo” the main character is Corporal Gregory
Brewster. He is 96 years old, looked after by a housekeeper. It was rumoured
that he was not being looked after properly. So his grand-niece Norah is sent
by her parents from Essex to look after him. Even McDonald of Royal Artillery and
Colonel Midwinter of Scots Guards come to see him. In the play Brewster is
doddering, thin, with white hair and wrinkled face. He is hard of hearing,
worried about the cold weather and impatient for food and rum. Due to his old
age he has become childish and remembers giving a bull pup to his brother. He
is surprised when Norah says that she has come by train and can read the Bible.
Even in the Bible, he wants to listen about war. He likes to hear about the
Israelites and their wars in the Old Testament of the Bible. He gets angry with
Norah when she says that everything is peaceful in heaven. He requests the
Colonel to give him a military funeral when he dies. He does not
appreciate the new developments. He cries like a baby when his pipe breaks and
smiles immediately when given a new pipe by McDonald. He loves to see the
soldiers marching, the band playing and loves to feel a gun. When someone says
that they are proud of him, he remembers the Regent and his words.
Brewester is a war hero who showed
his bravery during the battle of Waterloo, between Britain and France. On the
18th of June, four companies of the Third Guards held the
important farmhouse of Hougoumont. At a critical point of the fight, there was
short of powder. So Brewester was sent to bring the reserve ammunition. He
returned with two carts filled with powder. But the French forces had set fire
in the hedge around the farm. One of the cart exploded killing the driver. The
other driver was frightened and tried to turn away his cart. Seeing this,
Brewester jumped into the seat, threw the driver down and drove the cart
through the fire to his friends. Thus the British forces were able to win the
battle because of Brewester’s heroic act.
=======================Riders to the Sea============================
@ Describe the circumstances of Bartley’s death. [2065/2062-10]
@ Do you see difference between the attitude of men and women
towards the sea? [2064-5]
@ Sketch the character of Mauriya. [2064\2061-10]
@ Discuss “Riders to the Sea” as a unique modern tragedy in one
act. [2060-10]
=================================================================================
"Riders to the Sea" written
by J.M Synge portrays the hardships and sufferings of Maurya who lives in the
Aryan Island. Often critics identify Maurya with mother Ireland who has been
losing her sons due to war, famine, poverty and diseases.
Maurya is a poor old lady, who once
had a full family -a husband, father-in-law, six sons and two daughters. When
the play opens, she has lost all male members of the family except Bartley.
Recently her beloved son Michael has died in the sea but his body has not been
found. Her daughters Catheleen and Nora know the fact that Michael has been
given a clean burial in Donegal. Maurya now fears losing Bartley,
her only remaining son. Bartley comes and says that he wants to sell his horses
at a good price in Galway fair. There is only one boat going on that day and
there will be no boat for the next 15 days, so he insists that he will cross to
the mainland, in spite of winds and high seas. He is a responsible man. He
makes a halter out of the rope and hurries to catch the boat. Due to anger
Maurya does not bless her son while leaving to the fair. The girls ask her to
give him the lunch they had prepared and then bless him on the way.
At this point Maurya returns
terrified with a vision she had had of Michael riding on the grey pony behind
Bartley. Now she is sure Bartley will also die. She is so upset that she keeps
on talking about her sufferings. Women and men follow bringing the dead body of
Bartley who was knocked off a cliff by the grey pony. He fell into the sea and
strong waves dashed him on the white rocks.
Maurya is a truly a tragic figure,
not suffering from tribal curse or from her own weakness. She is defeated by
circumstances. Even in her defeat she does not curse God. She has great
endurance and she consoles herself by saying "No man at all can be living
forever, and we must be satisfied".
=================A Marriage Proposal===============================
@ Narrate the series of changes in the attitudes of Natalia
towards Lomov. [2065-10]
@What is Lomov’s idea of marriage? [2064-5]
@ Sketch the character of Lomov. [2063-10]
@ Why does Choobookov have to shout for champagne at the end? [2063-5]
@ How does the topic of dogs bring about exchange of heated
words? [2062-5]
@ Why is Choobookov surprised at the appearance of his visitor?
[2061/2058-5]
@ Make a comparison of the characters of Choobookov and Lomov.
[2060-10]
@ Write about the purpose of Lomov’s visit to Choobookov’s
house. [2059-5]
====================================================== = In
the short play "A Marriage Proposal," Anton Chekhov describes the odd
courtship of Lomov, who seeks a marriage with his neighbor's daughter.
Lomov, aged 35,
is a long time neighbor of Choobookov. He is a landowner who has
inherited property from his aunt. Though he is well fed and healthy, he is
hypochondriac. He suffers from palpitations and sleeplessness due to his
nervousness. He has passed a critical stage of marriage. He now knows that if
he will search for an ideal woman or true love, he will never marry. So he is
now desperate to marry Natalia. He thinks that she is not bad-looking and has
some education. He wants to lead a steady and regular life. So, he visits the
house of his neighbour Choobookov early morning dressed in formal suit.
Choobookov is surprised at the unexpected arrival of Lomov in his formal dress.
Lomov asks him Natalia's hand in marriage. Choobookov is also desperately
looking for a suitable man for his 25-year-old daughter, Natalia. As a father
of a grown-up daughter, he immediately gives joyful permission to marry
Natalia.
She
is invited into the room. Lomov becomes nervous and instead of putting his
proposal, he begins to beat about the bush. When he says that his Ox
Meadows touch her birch woods, she begins to argue with him about the ownership
of that piece of land. After her father notices they are arguing, he joins in,
and then sends Lomov out of the house. Choobookov then tells his daughter that
Lomov was there to propose her. Natalia repents and asks her father to call him
back. Lomov comes and she asks him about his hunting program. He says that he
will start hunting after harvest because his best dog has gone
lame. At this point, Natalia contradicts him again and claims that
her dog Leap is better than his dog Guess. Thus
the quarrel begins again till over-excitement makes Lomov faint in a chair.
Seeing him quiet and unmoving, Natalia thinks that he is dead and becomes
hysterical. At last Lomov comes into senses and Choobookov forces them to kiss
each other and accept the marriage proposal. Immediately following the kiss,
Natalia and Lomov start quarrelling. Choobookov shouts for Champagne because he
wants to celebrate their marriage and at the same time he feels free by the
burden of his grown-up daughter.
|
Lomov
|
Choobookov
|
Natalia
|
|
He is healthy, well fed but
hypochondriac. He suffers from palpitations and sleeplessness because of his nervousness.
|
He feels an unbearable burden of a
grown up daughter. He does what his shrewd daughter tells him. When Natalia
and Lomov accept marriage proposal, he celebrates with Champagne.
|
She is shrewd and always begins
the quarrel. She lacks feminine qualities.
|
|
He is quarrelsome and always beats
about the bush.
|
He is quarrelsome. He always sides
with his daughter in her argument with Lomov.
|
She is quarrelsome. She is never
polite with Lomov though she loves to marry him.
|
|
Wealthy landowner
|
Wealthy landowner
|
|
He acts childishly and
impractically.
|
His behaviour is childish but is a
practical man.
|
She also acts childishly and
impractically.
|
|
He is aged 35 and has passed the
critical age of marriage. He wants to lead a regular and stable life. So, he
is desperate for a wife.
|
As a father of a grown up
daughter, he is desperate to find a husband for his daughter.
|
She is 25 and is desperate for a
husband.
|
==========================The Happy Journey=======================
@ Give an account of the people and places the Kirby family see
during their happy journey. [2065/2058-10]
@ Describe the Kirby family and it’s relationship with
neighbours. [2063-10]
@ Why do Arthur and Caroline cry before they eat the hot dogs?
[2062-5]
@ Why does Caroline complain about Arthur? [2061-5]
@ What traits of the character of older woman is reflected when
Ma Kirby asks Beulah to lie down and shut her eyes for ten minutes? [2059-5]
=================================================================
= "The
Happy Journey" written by Thornton Wilder, describes a simple journey
of the Kirby family from their home to Camden, to visit the family's
married daughter Beulah. Beulah was sick while giving birth to a dead child and
had to undergo operation.
Before they begin the journey, Ma
Kate Kirby advises her 13 year old son Arthur to put on hat, and warns Caroline
not to use any cosmetics. Kirby family has kept good relationship with their
neighbours. They help each other in need. Ma Kirby asks about the health of the
baby of her neighbour Mrs. Schwartz, and also asks her to feed her cat during
her absence. She tells her to use anything she needs by opening the door. Mr
Schwartz readily accepts it. When another neighbour Mrs. Hobmeyer comes Ma
Kirby asks Caroline to greet her. Mrs. Hobmeyer does not beat the rug because
she does not want to choke the Kirby family. Before they leave the neighbours
greet them best wishes.
Arthur requests his father not to
drive by the school because he is afraid that his teacher may scold him. But
mother Kirby thinks that she has right to take her children anywhere she likes.
On the way they see a funeral procession, and father Elmer takes off his hat.
Ma Kirby asks Arthur to take his hat off as sympathy to the dead ones. She even
becomes philosophical and says that everyone has to die one day.
They see various advertisement
billboards-- for suits, suspenders, spaghetti and cigarettes. Arthur asks
permission for taking a paper route with the Newark Daily Post but Ma Kirby
does not like it because for her family and health is more important than
money. Arthur speaks disrespectfully about God, this makes her very angry.
Around New Brunswick, they see a collie dog and Ma Kirby pities the rather weak
dog. On the gas station, Ma Kirby talks with the young garage man and
sympathies with him. They stop again to have hot dogs. At this time Arthur
repents that he was wrong for making fun of God. Ma pardons him asks to him to
be good in words and deed. So, Arthur and Caroline start crying. They reach the
house of Beulah and all are happy. Beulah eyes are filled with tears. She
kisses her father and embraces him. She presents gifts to her brother and
sister. Later Ma Kirby asks her daughter Beulah to lie down on the bed and take
rest. Being a responsible mother, she goes to the kitchen and starts preparing
food.
Ma Kirby is the main and strong
character in this play. She is a loving mother, active, strict about dress and
manners. She is happy and satisfied with her family. She thinks that the place
where her family live is the best place in the world for her. She wants her
children be honest in deeds and manners. She is thoughtful, determined and kind
person.
=======================To Bobolink, For Her
Spirit===============================
@ Sketch the character of Bobolink [2064\2062-10]
@ Explain the reason why some of the celebrities are considered
to be not at all stuck up. [2061-5]
@Discuss what happened outside the “St. Regis”. [2060-5]
@ Describe Bobolink’s inability to get Elizabeth Taylor’s
autograph. [2059-5]
@ What is the attitude of autograph seekers to Lana Turner?
[2058-5]
= In
William Inge's play "To Bobolink, For Her Spirti", Bobolink is the
ringleader of the group of autograph seekers who are outside the 21 Club in New
York waiting for Perry Como. She is in her early thirties, with a very fat body
that looks like a circle from sides. She looks self-satisfied and happy. She
smiles showing her teeth. Her hair is short and curly. She wears powerful
glasses that make her eyes look like buttonholes. Her clothes are simple. She
is the most experienced autograph hunter and has collected the autographs of
most movie stars and celebrities. She is very confident and proves her claims
by showing her autograph book. She is a quasi-adolescent.
Bobolink
once waited patiently for three hours one snowy night to get the autograph
of Elizabeth Taylor outside the Stork Club because someone
told her that there was Elizabeth Taylor. There was no Elizabeth Taylor at all
but she was some college girl trying to pretend she was Elizabeth Taylor.
Bobolink
and Nellie once waited outside the St. Regis for Ronald
Colman. They waited for whole night and when they were about to give up, she
saw movie stars Van Johnson and Peter Lawford get out of taxi. They went
towards them and asked for autographs in which Peter Lawford wrote 'All my love
to Bobolink'.
Bobolink
has the autograph of Lana Turner which she shows to the other autograph seeker
kids. Gretchen's girlfriend saw Lana last summer on the beach and she reacted
friendly. Bobolink thinks that some celebrities who are really famous are not
stuck up ( proud). Bobolink's favourite is Tyrone Power. She is the president
of the Tyrone Power Fan Club. She met Tyrone at the train when he was coming in
from Hollywood. She had to fight the man at the gate to let her pass. She found
him in a carriage packing his things hurriedly. She introduced herself as the
president of the club and told him that the club had 43 members who met once a
week to discuss his career. He was not proud at all and gave her and other
members lots of his autographs. In the autograph of Bobolink he wrote "To
Bobolink for her faithful enthusiasm and spirit".
-------------------------------------------------Use of
Force---------------------------------------------
@ What does the story tell us about the use of force? How is the
doctor affected by resorting to the use of force? @ How is the child affected
by being forced to open her mouth against her will? [2065-10 ]
@ Why does the doctor respect the child but find the parents
contemptible? [2064-5]
@ Describe the relationship of the parents with the child?
[2063-5]
@ Comment on the nature of conflict in the story 'The Use of
Force'. [2062/59-10]
@ Justify the use of force on a patient as shown in the 'Use of
Force'. [2059-5]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= "The
Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams shows the conflict between a
doctor and his patient at one level and doctor and the parents at another
level. The conflict between doctor and the patient is physical. But the
conflict between doctor and parents is psychological. This story tells that use
of force for benevolent purpose is ethical and justifiable.
The narrator is a doctor who visits
the house of Olson family. Their small daughter Mithalda has had a high fever
for three days. Since no medicine worked, her parents called the doctor. Being
fearful that the girl may be suffering from diphtheria, the doctor asked her
parents if she had sore throat. The parents had not taken a look at her throat because
they did not want to hurt her. The doctor asks Mithalda to open her mouth but
suddenly the girl attacks his eyes with her nails. The doctor hates the parents
when they say that doctor is a nice man and will not hurt her. Then the doctor
decides to use force than to leave her die. When the doctor is about to look
into her throat, her father suddenly releases her. The parents are restless and
fearful that the doctor may harm her child. On next attempt he grasps the
child's head and tries to get the wooden depressor into her mouth. The girl
breaks it with her molars. The child's mouth starts bleeding. Later he forces
the spoon back of her teeth and throat. He finds that she has a sore throat and
is suffering from diphtheria.
Generally force is unjustifiable, but
if it is used with good motives in order to save somebody's life, it becomes a
necessity. Here the basic conflict is between the doctor and the parents of the
patient. Doctor uses force because of social responsibility while the parents
do not want the use of force. Their love towards their child was about to cause
the death of their child. The parents concentrate on the immediate pain without
thinking the consequences of the deadly diseases. So the doctor loves the
innocent child but finds her parents contemptible.
---------------------------------------------The Penalty of
Death---------------------------------
@ Identify Mencken's three reasons for his support of capital
punishment. Do all three seem to you equally strong? [2065-5]
@ What are Mencken's three reasons for death punishment? Explain
if you are for or against him. [2063/62/60/58-10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H.L. Mencken's essay "The
Penalty of Death" advocates in favor of the death penalty. Mencken thinks
that capital punishment is a very beneficial component of any justice system.
Mencken thinks that death penalty should be given to those who take the lives
of other people challenging all civilized order. He presents three reasons for
his support of capital punishment. They are pleasantness of the ancient art,
deterrence and katharsis.
Mencken attacks the abolitionists
idea that hangman's job is unpleasant. He claims that there are many jobs which
are unpleasant like that the job of soldier, sweeper, plumber etc. but which
are needed for the society. He thinks that hangman is satisfied to practice his
ancient craft and also is needed for the society.
Mencken mentions that capital
punishment saves lives. It saves lives because it stops those who
murder from ever murdering again. It also deters potential murderers
from ever committing the crime.
The last reason that Mencken gives is
the strongest of all. He claims that the main reason of death punishment is to
provide Katharsis to the victims, relatives and society at large. Katharsis is
the healthy release of emotions, grief, hatred or anger. It provides sudden
emotional and mental satisfaction. It also brings sense of security and mental
peace to the public at large.
-----------------------------------------------Enemies----------------------------------------------------
@ Chekhov says unhappy men are selfish. How does it apply to Dr
Kirilov? To Aboguin? Discuss. [2065/064/61-10]
@ Why do we sympathize with Dr. Kirilov? [2063/62-5]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= "Enemies"
is a story written by Anton Checkov. The story suggests that grief
and misery do not bring people together to share, but force them apart. Pain is
egoistic.
Kirilov is a district doctor. His
six-year old son has just died of diphtheria. He stands watching his
unconscious wife near the dead body. The doorbell rings and a wealthy stranger
Aboguin enters begging the Doctor to come to treat his wife who is in great
pain. Kirilov says that he cannot possibly leave his wife at this time. Abogin
requests to treat his wife in the name of humanity. Kirilov forgets his social
responsibility as a doctor and is observed in his own pain and grief. In the
other hand, Aboguin thinks that his grief is worse than the doctor's. However,
after much request Kirilov unwillingly goes with Aboguin in his carriage. But
when they arrive at Aboguin’s house, his wife is not at home. She pretended to
be ill in order to run away with her lover. Aboguin is sad and begins to
complain to Kirilov. Kirilov is angry and he does not like to hear the grief of
Aboguin. He thinks that Abguin played a joke with him. They scream at one
another and the doctor returns home cursing the rich people like Aboguin and
forming a deep-rooted enmity towards them.
In unhappiness, both became selfish, wicked, unjust and unable
to understand each other. Pain and anxiety made them egoistic and selfish.
However, we sympathize with Dr. Kirilov because his loss is greater that
Aboguin's.
----------------------------------Zeroing in on Science
Fiction-----------------------------------
@ How does Ghoshgarin draw distinction between hard science and
soft science fiction? [2064-5]
@ How does Goshgarin distinguish science fiction from other
kinds of fiction? [2060-5]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= In
his essay "Zeroing in on Science Fiction" Gary Goshgarin
defines science fiction as the branch of literature that imaginatively
speculates the human life in scientific or technological world. Science
fiction differs from other kinds of fiction in the sense that science fiction
always gives a scientific logic for any imagination. It does not present any event
without scientific rationale. In other kinds of fiction the consequences are
caused by magic or supernatural powers. Science fiction always predicts
possibility while other kinds of fiction may present any event that is
impossible. Goshgarin thinks that Frankenstein is a science
fiction while Dracula is a fantasy fiction.
Goshgarin
also distinguishes between Hard SF and Soft SF. Hard SF takes help of known
principles and inventions to fill their stories with scientific jargon. The
heroes are usually scientists or engineers. The readers with good knowledge of
science can only enjoy this type of fiction. Caves of Steel by
Asimov is a Hard SF. Soft SF takes help of sociology, anthropology, psychology,
philosophy and other branches of knowledge to show the moral and social results
of scientific advancement. It deals with how the scientific developments will
influence morality, evolution and environment. A Clockwork Orange by
Anthony Burgess is Soft SF.
-------------------------------------------The Time Factor---------------------------------------------
@ How do you interpret Steinem's thesis that your sense of time
is partly a function of power, or the lack of it?" [2065-5]
@ How does Steinem differentiate the future planning, which is
'culturally masculine habit of planning', to women's plans for future in the
essay? [2059-10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= `The main thesis of
Gloria Steinem's essay "The Time Factor" is that our sense of time is
partly a function of power or lack of it.
Time-sense is always governed by
power- either monetary power or social power. Planning ahead depends on class,
sex and caste. The rich and the middle class plan for the future generations
while the poor plan for a week or a few days. Women also can not plan ahead as
they are dominated by men. Even well-to-do women have to adjust their life
according to the life of their husband and children. Females are powerless in
the society so they also only plan for few days. They live in flux, present and
uncertainty. Even some feminists only look at their painful past and do not
focus on future. Women are limited to day to day existence. While men always
live in dreamy future without living in the day to day present. The Blacks who
are socially and culturally powerless also can not plan for the future. A
black, successful journalist and critic also could not plan beyond one
assignment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@ How do you explain the difference between the terms 'class'
and 'caste'? Discuss with examples. [2061-5]
= Class is social group whose members have the same economic
status. Since they have same economic status they also have same social and
political status. Generally class can be distinguished into three - upper
class, middle class and lower class. The people of upper and middle class have
monetary power so they plan for future while the people of lower group only
plan for day to day existence.
Caste is an unchangeable marks of sex and race. Whites belong to
upper caste while blacks belong to lower caste. In our hindu culture, there are
four castes- Brahamin, Kshetriya, Vaisya and Sudra. Brahmin and Kshetriya
belong to upper caste and are powerful in society while Vaisya and Sudra belong
to lower caste with no power.
-----------------------------------------------------Duchoux---------------------------------------------
@ What is the reason behind the Baron's rejection of his son,
whom he had longed to see so much? [2065-5]
@ What is a son according to the story? [2063-5]
@ Does the story imply that the modern civilization has
alienated man from his true self or nature? Give reasons for your answer.
[2061/58-10]
@ What is the theme of this story? [2057-5]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= Maupassant's story
"Duchoux" is about a self-centered old man named Barone Mardiane who
values position more than family. This story implies that modern civilization
has separated man from his true self or nature. Modern men only crave for comfort,
money and sex. They have forgotten the values of family bonds and love.
Barone Mardiane, an aristocratic old
bachelor is fed up of with his monotonous life. He feels lonely and sad because
he is bored with the same friends, gambling and same activities. In loneliness,
he is haunted by the memory of his illegitimate son. He wishes to spend rest of
his life with him and his grandchildren. In his young age, he had a short
romantic relationship with the wife of governor of a colony. A son was born
secretly. The mother died of tuberculosis after three years. Baron had secretly
arranged for the boy's education and marriage. Barone goes to meet his son's
house. When he reaches there, he meets a boy, lifts him and tries to kiss him.
But the smell of garlic coming out from his mouth prevents him. Barone notices
that everything the son has does not suit his standard. The servants are dirty,
the room is dark and dirty, his son Duchoux is bald headed, shabbily dressed
and even daughter-in-law is dirty and shabbily dressed. The room is filled with
the odour of garlic. Though Duchoux resembled in many ways with his mother,
Barone dislikes him. When the boy comes and calls Duchoux 'father' in a
Southern tone, Barone is struck by the word. He hates the rural and uncultured
environment of his son's house and returns to Paris.
-----------------------------------------What is Poverty?
----------------------------------------------
@ How does Parker create a real and graphic account of what
being poor actually means on a daily basis? Do you have anything more to add to
her definition of poverty? [2064-10]
@ Is "What is Poverty" a realistic essay? Discuss with
reasons for your answer. [2062-10]
@ Why did Parker quit her job? [2061-5]
@ What is Parker's purpose in defining poverty as she does?
[2058-10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= Jo Goodwin Parker
in her realistic essay "What is Poverty" gives a real and graphic account
of what being poor actually means on a daily basis. Parker stresses that
poverty is more ugly, cruel and devastating than it is shown in newspapers.
She
defines poverty as a lack - that is living without hope, better foods,
medicinal care, proper sanitation and proper education. It is like an acid that
destroys pride, honour, health and future. Parker's main purpose is to show how
shameful, humiliating and disgusting it is to be a poor. She wants to draw the
readers' attention to the pathetic state of poor people.
Poor people have to live a restless
life looking at the dark future of their children. Poverty breaks
relationships. Parker had three children. She divorced with her husband because
he had lost his job and they couldn't buy contraceptives to prevent unwanted
birth. She had a job. Once she left the children under the care of their
grandmother. She found her children under pitiable condition when she returned
home. Her youngest son was covered with fly specks and his diaper had not been
changed since morning. Her another child was playing with broken glasses and
the oldest one was playing alone at the edge of a lake. She did not have enough
income to admit them at a nursery school. She made 20 dollars a week and a
nursery school cost 20 dollars a week for three children. Therefore she quitted
her job.
----------------------------- An Episode of War -----------------------------------------------------
@ How is war a sad scene in respect of the war front, barracks
or hospital. Comment. [2063-10]
@ Describe the grim, inhuman picture of war presented in
"An Episode of War". [2060-10]
@ Is there any reason for Crane's refusal to give the
lieutenant's name? [2058-5]
@ How did the lieutenant lose his arm in the story 'An Episode
of War'? How does the wound set the lieutenant apart form his fellow soldiers?
[2057-10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= 'An Episode of War'
written by Stephen Crane presents the bitter experience of a
wounded lieutenant at the war front, barracks and hospital. Crane hasn't given
name to the lieutenant but used generic name in order to show that war is
bitter experience not for an individual only but for all soldiers of any
nationality, place and time.
While
dividing the coffee powder, the Lieutenant was mysteriously shot on his right
arm by a bullet. The fellowmen gazed at him with awe and some offered him help.
But lieutenant did not accept their help. Soon all his fellowmen had to take
their position in the battle field, so he started walking alone towards the
military hospital. On the way he met some stragglers who did not care about his
wound. In the barrack, several officers came out to see him and started asking
several questions. One of them noticed his wound, but without any right
treatment or sympathy he tied his wound with a handkerchief. He even scolded
him. Lieutenant reached hospital. He found that the hospital was mismanaged-
the ambulances were stuck up in the mud and no one cared the wounded soldiers.
He met a busy surgeon who behaved him in an indifferent manner. He talked to
the lieutenant as if he was talking to a criminal, not to a brave soldier.
Though the surgeon told that he would not amputate his hand, he found himself
losing his arm. When he went to his home the family members started crying
because they did not realize his bravery. Though he was a war hero, he felt
himself ashamed.
Thus
this story shows the gap between appearance and reality. War is glorified but
soldiers are treated indifferently. A brave war hero is misbehaved wherever he
goes. The wound sets the lieutenant apart from his fellow soldiers. He becomes
disillusioned by the war while his fellow soldiers glorify war.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
@ What are the implications of Crane's comparison of the actual
battle to 'an historical painting'?[061-10]
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
= In the story the lieutenant sees that a general is presented a
paper by an assistant. He compares this event to the historical painting.
Crane's comparison of the actual battle field to 'an historical painting'
suggests the existence and glorification of war even in the past. The painting
shows the beautiful picture of war but in reality it hides the brutality of
war. This also suggests that from ancient times the medals are awarded to
generals not to the soldiers who win war.
---------------------------------- A Day in the Life of a
Salaryman-----------------------------------
@ What is the significance of the time 'Salaryman' spends
outside his job improving work skills and attending training program? [2064-5]
@ Describe "Salaryman's" job in brief. [2060-5]
@ How does 'salaryman' represent Japanese white-collar workers?
[2059-5]
@ Describe the events that normally take place in the working
day of a "Salary man " in Japan. How do you view that the
"Salary man" is representative of Japanese white-collar workers?
[2057-10]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
= The
'Salaryman' described in "A Day in the Life of a Salaryman " is the
representative of average male Japanese white-collar worker who devotes his
soul and body to his company. He is a university graduate, lives in mortgaged
house, always wears formal dress and is equipped with every essential items. He
is the industrial warrior and a driving force behind Japan's economic success.
He gives more preference to the office than his own family.
He
wakes up late. After a quick wash, shave and dressing, he takes his breakfast.
His wife drives him to the train station for a 70 minute ride. He then catches
a train and starts reading book on computers in order to improve his skills. He
reaches his office at 9:10 where he is a section manager. At 10:30 he assembles
data and attends a meeting about a contract. He works consciously in order to
gain promotion. At 4:00 he attends another meeting and by 7:00 he finishes his
compiling work. Yet he does not go home. At 7:30 he attends a dinner with the
client company. Around 11 pm, his friends rush towards bath house for
entertainment, but he rushes towards his house. At home, he takes the late
supper left on the table, gives a sentimental gaze at his sleeping children and
goes to bed.
Thus,
for the Salaryman the office is a real home.
------------------------------ The Day of the
Dead-----------------------------------------------------
@ What are the Mexican attitudes towards the celebrations of
life and death? [2062-5]
@ What are the factors which make fiestas so popular in Mexico
and what are the psychological and cultural motivations behind them? [2059-5]
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
= Octavio
Paz in the essay "The Day of the Dead" presents the psychological and
cultural motivations behind the popularity of fiestas in Mexico. The Mexican
people celebrate fiestas with all the colors, strange costumes, dancing,
fireworks, drinking, shouting and gathering together. By means of fiestas Mexican
people free themselves from the monotony of life, solitude, order, rigidity,
poverty and harsh reality. During fiestas, society frees itself from the laws,
traditions, order and come out purified with new energy.
In
certain fiestas, the very idea of order disappears, chaos comes back and sexual
freedom rules. All the social, sex, caste and trade differences disappear.
Fiestas are like revolution because individual dissolves in mass and forms a
unity. The people reveal their hidden secrets and desires and free themselves
from mental burden.
GENERATIONS
The
Tiger
William Blake
The Tiger is the Masterpiece of God’s
creation on earth. Through the thick cover of darkness of the deep forest, the
Tiger, with his bright burning eyes, moves in majesty and his presence is felt
by other animals of the woods. With a perfect eye and a mighty hand God-The
Creator planned the perfect ‘Symmetry’ of this creature that is capable of
striking fear in the hearts of every animal or creature on the face of this
earth, including man.
To what depths of the mighty waters of
the earth and to what heights towards the skies did the Almighty took all the
pains to gather the immortal fire and breathe life into this unique creature
called ‘The Tiger’. On wings much larger than his Arch Angels, as one may
imagine, God would fly to aspire His earnest desire to fulfill His perfect
intention to create this extremely ferocious animal. With His powerful immortal
hand, He would have carried this Heavenly Fire in His palm and return to finish
the work of creating the fearful tiger.
God created a magnificent piece of art
when He formed the broad shape of the Tiger’s shoulders. He then went to twist
the ‘sinews’ and created the perfect shape of the tiger’s heart. When God
touched the lifeline of the heart, it immediately started to beat. The Tiger’s
hands and feet stretched as he is waking up to a brand new life. They all
looked equally dreadful like the rest of his body.
The manner in which the brain was
formed and the understanding that dwelled within this Creature is extremely
lethal. The ferocity of ‘The Tiger’ is closely embraced with his heart, mind,
body and soul. That is why it is believed that the tiger can strike with deadly
force.
Even the stars are believed to throw
down their spears in fear or rebellion or allegiance. Would God take a few
moments of his precious time to look at His masterpiece and admire it from His
Throne? Perhaps, but who knows the mind of God? Could the same God who made the
gentle lamb made the fearful tiger too? The same ‘Tiger’ who roams the thick
forest in deep cover of darkness with his glimmering eyes creates the extreme
fear to all creatures around it. Only God’s powerful hands and magnificent eyes
of immortality would dare to create the ‘fearful symmetry’ of the tiger.
TO
THE MOON
P.B. Shelley
The poet, P. B. Shelley, reflects on
the timeless journey of the moon. The poet feels that the moon has grown tired
of climbing the heaven and looking upon the earth continuously. It looks pale
because of its endless journey – its ascent in the heaven, which it keeps
steady and looking below on the earth with a similar constancy.
The moon is all alone in the company of
the stars. It is outlandish (strange) in the company of stars which have a
different birth and origin. The moon goes on in its endless journey waxing and
waning alternately. It changes its face from time to time to express its
disgust form the world. The moon is not getting the companion of its heart’s desire.
It is in search of a companion suited to its noble birth, and like a joyless
eye that does not find an object worth its graces; the moon too keeps steadily
changing. The poem is a short lyric. The entire poem does not contain more than
six lines.
But within a network of six
lines only, the entire Shelley has been contained. It is short, lyrical,
elegant and graceful. The theme is a conventional one. The poet speaks of the
moon. The moon is personified. Seen through the colored glass of the poet’s
imaginative sensibility, the moon assumes not only glow and beauty, but even a
majestic charm, a personality. The moon is stately, noble, and elegantly born.
It becomes enriched with an individuality which far excels the graces of the
stars that only twinkle round her. The poet offers the moon with feelings of
his own mind. The moon feels strange among the stars of a different birth in
the same way as the poet Shelley felt odd among the people that crowded round
him- people of a distinctly low origin, nobility and birth. The poem is
intensely subjective, and the charm of the moon is the charm of the poet’s
personality. He stood alone and companionless in the multitude of men, who were
so indifferent to his passion for a millennium on this earth. He sung, he
cried, he thundered and even wept, but the world went on unheeding. The moon
becomes the symbol of revolution, which carries on the message of peace all
alone and single-handed.
Each of the stars
is a flaming sun, and the moon is supposed to be a fragment detached from the
earth. But Shelley holds a different opinion. He thinks that the moon has no
companion. It is all alone and solitary. It is lonely in the company of stars.
The stars do not belong to the same kind. The moon is nobly born. The stars have
an inferior birth and have a different origin.
The moon is
seeking constancy, but the moon itself is not constant. He is constantly
changing in shape and size. The moon is never the same even on two consecutive
nights. This change is due to the fact that the moon cannot find anyone whom he
can love faithfully. Actually, nothing in the world remains constant. They keep
on changing.
The poem is rich
with images but the images lack clarity. In the last two lines, the image does
not exactly fit in and lacks expressiveness. The poet compares the waxing and
the waning of the moon with the joyless eyes of one who finds no object worth
its constancy. But the waxing and waning of the moon is not happily expressed
in the image. The poet here means to say that the waxing and waning of the moon
may be likened to the unsteady eyes of a man who is in search of an object
pleasing to his sight. Like the eyes of a man who is in search of beauty as
responsive as the steadiness of his eyes, the moon seems to be changing its
face form time to time. The change expresses a joyless feeling as the eyes of a
man not finding a suitable object for his eyes were as a joyless expression.
The other image of the moon – or a wanderer wandering companionless- among the
stars of a low birth has both clarity and expressiveness. The first image of
the moon being considered as a wanderer, pale with climbing the heaven is very
suggestive and contains a rich note of pathos sublimated by rich and personal
feelings. The lines are musical. The single image has been varied and seen
through different angles. This one-sentence poem describes the joyless moon
that does not find anything constant in this world. It is itself inconstant.
That is why it seems to be in quest of constancy
Shall
I Compare Thee To a Summer’s Day
William Shakespeare
The poem starts with a flattering question to the
beloved—”Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The beloved is both “more
lovely and more temperate” than a summer’s day. The speaker lists some negative
things about summer: it is short, rough winds in summer disturb the buds,
sometimes the sunshine makes the temperature too hot and other times sun often
hides behind clouds.
Then the speaker makes a generalization
that everything in nature including the seasons and even people degenerate.
However, the beloved has beauty that will last forever, unlike the fleeting
beauty of a summer’s day. By putting his love’s beauty into the form of poetry,
the poet is preserving it forever. The lover’s beauty will live on, through the
poem which will last as long as it can be read.Shall I compare you to a
summer’s day? You are lovelier and more moderate: Harsh winds disturb the
delicate buds of May, and summer doesn’t last long enough. Sometimes the sun is
too hot, and its golden face is often dimmed by clouds. All beautiful things
eventually become less beautiful, either by the experiences of life or by the
passing of time. But your eternal beauty won’t fade, nor lose any of its
quality. And you will never die, as you will live on in my enduring poetry. As
long as there are people still alive to read poems this sonnet will live, and
you will live in it.
She
was a Phantom of Delight
William Wordsworth
Wordsworth writes about his changing
perspective on his wife, Mary Hutchinson, who he describes as the “Phantom of
delight.” At first he sees her as he did as a youth, as a spirit “to haunt, to
startle, to way-lay,” but by the third stanza, he sees her with mature eyes.
She has become a real woman with “reason firm, the temperate will,/Endurance,
foresight, strength, and skill.Wordsworth compares his wife to a “Phantom of
delight” to show how smitten he was with her in his youth. He calls her an
“Apparition” as well and givers her stars for eyes. He continues using metaphors
to describe her change, comparing her to a machine that can travel between life
and death. She has morphed from a phantom to an angel by the end of the poem as
Wordsworth illustrates her change from mystery to reality. The poem reflects
Wordsworth’s emotions tempered by the tranquility of wisdom through his use of
figurative language.
Application of Poetry Terms:
1. Simile: Wordsworth utilizes similes and metaphors
throughout the poem. For example, he compares his wife to twilight, writing
“Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;/Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair.”
Wordsworth uses similes throughout the poem to show first the unreachable
qualities of his wife and later her real qualities as well.
2. Rhyme Scheme: Wordsworth utilizes a consistent rhyme
scheme throughout the poem. The scheme is AABBCCDDEE in each ten-line stanza.
The rhyme scheme unifies the poem and emphasizes the beauty of the woman
through the natural beauty of the rhyme. The use of rhyming couplets may reveal
a simplicity of purpose as well.
3. Alliteration: Wordsworth uses alliteration for aural
effect in the poem. For example, he repeats the soft “s” consonant writing “For
transient sorrows, simple wiles,” possibly to slow down the speaker and affect
the speed at which the poem is read aloud for emphasis of his wife’s real
qualities. Also, the soft “s” sound likely reflects the softness of the woman,
a quality Wordsworth is trying to demonstrate in the poem.
Poem Lines
Lady
Clare
Alfred Lord Tennyson
In spring lilies grow, and there are
clouds in the sky. At that time Lord Ronald brought a lily-white doe to give it
to his cousin, Lady Clare. They had promised to marry each other for a long
time and they were going to marry the following morning. Lady Clare was sure
that Lord Ronald loved her for her own real value, not for her family origin
and for her land.
When Ronald went out, Alice, her nurse,
asked her who he was, and then she replied that he was her cousin and that they
were going to marry the following morning. The nurse thanked God because he was
going to be the heir of Clare’s property. But Alice told her a secret that she
was not the Lady Calare. She insisted that it was the truth and that she was
not mad as Clare has supposed her to be so.Then the nurse told her a story. She
would take care of the old Earl’s daughter. But when the Earl’s daughter died,
Alice buried her as her own daughter and put her child in her place. So Clare
was Alice’s daughter.
Clare was unhappy with her mother because she had done so
unfaithfully. Clare was also sorry because she had deceived Ronald for so many
years. But the mother told her to keep it secret all her life. Clare did not
like to tell a lie. She planned to go to him and tell him everything. She
pulled off the gold ornament and threw the diamond necklace. Alice repeatedly
asked her not to tell the secret. But Clare added that she would know if there
was any faith in the man. When her mother kissed her and said that she had
sinned for her. Clare found it so strange. She kissed her mother and asked her
to bless her by laying her hand on her head before she went.
Then she dressed like an ordinary girl
and did not look like a lady. She had only a single rose in her hair. The
lily-white doe that Ronald had given her also followed her. They passed by
valley and by hill. When they reached Ronald’s tower, he came down and asked
why she had disgraced her value by dressing like a village girl. Then she
replied that she was born in the poor family and that it was her fate. Ronald
did not understand her puzzle and asked her not to play him any tricks. Then
she boldly looked into his eyes and told him the nurse’s tale. When he heard
all this, he laughed happily and scornfully. He turned and kissed her. Then he
said that they would marry the following morning even if she were not an
heiress and his cousin.
‘Lady Clare’ is a narrative poem that
tells of how lovers can rise above social and economic status and are able to
remain faithful to each other. Ronald and Clare loved each other, and were
about to marry. Clare was sure that he loved her, not her birth or property.
Then Alice, the nurse, told her that she was not a lady, but her own daughter.
After the old Earl’s daughter died, she buried her and put her daughter in her
place. She asked Clare not to tell it to Ronald. But Clare went to Ronald
wearing like a village girl. After Ronald heard the story, he declared that he
would marry her even if she was not his cousin and she might be poor.
It is a ballad and it has twenty-two
stanzas. In nine stanzas the first line rhymes with the third line and the
second line with the fourth line. In the remaining stanzas the poet uses the
ballad stanza rhyming abcb. This comic ballad unfolds mostly through dialogue
and action. We find refrain and repetition here. It begins suddenly with
Ronald’s gift to Clare. The phrase ‘lily-white’ means ‘pure-white’. A person of
lily-white character is described as a person of very pure and honest
character. The gift suggests that both the lover and the beloved are pure and
honest to each other. The language is simple. Like most ballads, it does not
use a tragic theme. The episode is single. Events lead quickly to crisis.
Setting is minimized and dramatic element is strong.
When
I Am Deed My Dearest
Christina Rossetti
The first stanza of the poem describes
the world of the living people. The poet addresses her dearest one and asks him
not to sing sad sons for her when she is dead. She does not want others to
plant roses or shady cypress tree at her tomb. She likes her tomb with green grass
associated with showers and dewdrops.
Normally, we find that after the death
people express their grief by singing sad songs and by planting roses and
cypress tree. But the poet thinks that they are just showing off. She does not
like showy behavior. She rather thinks that if people are really sorry at the
death of their loving person they should be humble like grass and only few
drops of tears will be sufficient. As the showers and dewdrops make the grass
green for ever, so the tears will make their love eternal. Afterwards she does
not force him to remember. If he likes he will remember and if he does not like
he will forget.
After her death she will be buried in
the grave, and she will go into the world of the dead. She will not see the
shadows of the cypress planted by her dearest one. She will not feel the rain
or tears. However, sadly one may sing, but she will not hear it. The sweet and
sad song of the nightingale will not touch her. She will pass the rest of her
time dreaming through the never-ending evening when the sun neither rises nor
sets. Perhaps she will remember it. Perhaps she will forget it.
The entire poem consists of two stanzas
and of two varying significance. The first stanza deals with the world of
living and the second with the poets experience in the grave. The poet may be
trying to be realistic regarding her death. She is against any short of
mourning that sings like of showing off. When she is dead, she won’t be able to
hear any songs, see any roses, or feel the Cypress shade. Therefore, the better
way to mourn someone’s death is by expressing the love as immortal as the green
grass through the drops of tears as pure as the dew drops. It is also equally
meaningless to insist someone to remember him/her after his/her death. Therefore,
she gives her dearest one the freedom to remember of forgets as he/she wishes.
The poem also suggests us that no one can escape from the torturous grip of the
death. If reflects a quite melancholic and inflicted heart of the speaker.
By questioning the mourning ritual a
poet had criticized the showing of behavior and suggested some more sincere
ways to express one’s sadness. Similarly, she also seems to be giving more
importance to life than after death rituals. Many people neglect their loved
one when they are alive, but try to show their grief by spending lot of time
and money, when they are dead. The poet seems to be against such attitude and
conduct. Rather people should be humble in expressing their love and their
sadness for the departed ones.
The poem is published under the title
‘song’ elsewhere. It can be sung to the accompaniment of some musical
instrument. It has expressed the feelings and thoughts of the poet in a very
personal and subjective way. The rhymes, me and tree, and rain and pain please
us. Similarly, the rhymes wet and forget, and set and forget have the harsh
sound‘t’ which reminds us the harsh reality in life. The repetition of ‘s’, ‘w’
and ‘sh’ sound makes this song perfect. The music of the stanzas of this poem
rises like a gesture of the hand.
Musee
des Beaux Arts
W.H. Auden
The basic premise of the poem is
response to tragedy, or as the song goes “Obla Di, Obla Da, Life Goes On.” The
title refers to the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. Auden visited the museum
in 1938 and viewed the painting by Brueghel, which the poem is basically about.
Generalizing at first, and then going into specifics the poem theme is the
apathy with which humans view individual suffering.
Auden wrote that “In so far as poetry,
or any of the arts, can be said to have an ulterior purpose, it is, by telling
the truth, to disenchant and dis intoxicate.”
The poem juxtaposes ordinary events and
extraordinary ones, although extraordinary events seem to deflate to everyday
ones with his descriptions. Life goes on while a “miraculous birth occurs”, but
also while “the disaster” of Icarus’s death happens.
For those cultural barbarians who don’t
know the story of Icarus, here it is, in condensed form. Icarus was a Greek
mythological figure, also known as the son of Daedalus (famous for the
Labyrinth of Crete). Now Icarus and his dad were stuck in Crete, because the
King of Crete wouldn’t let them leave.
Daedalus made some wings for the both
of them and gave his son instruction on how to fly (not too close to the sea, the
water will soak the wings, and not too close to the sky, the sun will melt
them). Icarus, however, appeared to be obstinate and did fly to close to the
sun. This caused the wax that held his wings to his body to melt. Icarus
crashed into the sea and died.
Some have even claimed to find hints of
Auden’s eventual re-conversion to Christianity in the poem. Richard Johnson,
author of “Man’s Place: An Essay on Auden”, believes there is a touch of
Christian awareness in the poem, especially the timeline. The reader of the
poem is placed in front of the Breughel painting in a museum, and at the same
time is expected to project those images and truths to the world outside. There
is also a sort of continuity through the poem as you read it and are allowed to
see what the poet means. This allows a reader to become aware of his human
position.
The poem first discusses a “miraculous
birth”, and at the end “the tragedy” of a death. The theme in the poem is human
suffering. If you add these things together, and stir really well you might
even get some hints at religion, mainly at Christianity.
Also, the poem suggest a religious
acceptance of suffering (example: eating your morning breakfast while watching
coverage of a serious train-wreck on CNN). Religious acceptance basically means
coming to terms with the ways of the world.
The
Song of Wandering Aengus
W.B. Yeats
In the poem Song of Wandering Aengus,
Yeats tells a variant of the myth of Angus god.
In Yeats’ version, Angus while fishing
catches a small trout which magically transforms into a girl. The girl runs
away and Angus vows to spend the rest of his life trying to find her. He then
does so.
Yeats probably intends us to think
about people who devote their lives to following a dream. In one sense, this is
a good thing: it gives a life purpose. But of course, if the dream never
materialises (it does not in this poem) some will consider the life a waste.
Yeats’ own life was devoted to two
dreams: Irish independence and Maud Gonne. Both were partly successful, part
failures.
In this poem, Yeats wants us to think
about the quest, not the final destination.
It’s all about the quest, isn’t it?
About seeking after a particular idea/ideal/idol. The man heads out because “a
fire was in [his] head”, and he finds things to occupy himself, resulting in
the catching of a silver fish. As he prepares to cook the fish, it transforms
into a faery girl, who then vanishes into thin air. He is so entranced by the
girl, who represents for him his heart’s dearest wish, that he spends years and
years looking for that girl, hoping to meet her again, ending the poem as an
old man. Not a defeated old man, but one who still holds hope that he will
encounter the woman again.
If you wish to conclude that he is
quixotic, chasing after a dream, then you may do so. If you wish to observe,
perhaps, that holding onto dreams is tricky, because they are slippery things
(like fish) that can wriggle away or otherwise vanish, then I think you’re
probably onto something. There is something both hopeful and sad about the old
man who has devoted his life to the pursuit of that girl, though. And there is
something lovely and true about it as well, which is how this poem comes to be
both hopeful and melancholy, an unusual pairing.
Afro-American
Fragment
Langston Hughes
The poem Afro American Fragment by
Langston Hughes is an expression of longing of home, which is in the community
of the blacks. The poet’s forefathers were brought into America form their
homeland, Africa, hundreds of years age. Only history books and their songs
remind him of their past. He can’t speak even their language. He has to speak
the un-Negro tongue, that is, English. The rhythm of their music has lost its
strength in course of time. But this song has been inspired by collective
unconscious of his race. He longs for his ancestral home, which he thinks is
impossible to live in. And he is not properly respected in the lands of the
whites. That is why he feels that he has been dislocated.
In the 17th century Africans were sold
as slaves in America. The poet’s forefathers may have been brought to America
more than three hundred years age. So he finds Africa very far in time and in
place. Black Americans do not remember anything about their past. They know
what history books have told them and what their ancestral songs have evoked in
their minds. Unfortunately, the songs are not sung in African language. They
are sung in a strange un-Negro tongue that is in American English. The rhythm
of the songs has been weakened in the course of time.
However, this song is inspired by the
folksiness of American Negroes. This song is the expression of the collective
unconscious of the race. This song brings back the memory of Africa, which is a
mere dream for the American Negroes. They have not been properly treated in the
land of the whites and they can’t now go back to Africa. So they feel that they
have been dislocated. Africa is the unknown place for them.
“Some vast mist of race” is an example
of metaphor. The black race has been compared with the mist which has covered a
large area and which is difficult to understand. More than that it means,
millions of African people living in America formerly as slaves and later as
free citizens and they have tried to preserve their ancestral heritage in the
form of folksongs. They have forgotten the African language, but the tradition
has been retained in the un-Negro tongue. To use Carl Jung’s phrase, it is the
collective unconscious of the black Americans. “So long / So far away / Is
Africa” is a refrain. It has added to the intensity of feeling. In the
concluding lines, the refrain has been modified to express his attitude to
Africa, which is now dark and obscure. The poet feels dislocated in white
America because the blacks are not properly respected. They are treated as
non-human. Negros in America can’t go to their ancestral home Africa. It makes
the poet’s feeling clear that Africa is not only far away, but also very
difficult to understand because of its dark face. So poet feels that he has been
lost without a place.
The poem is a fragment, that is, a part
which is broken off, detached or incomplete. It represents his feelings of
dislocation. His forefathers were brought into America form Africa as slaves
and in America he is not properly treated. He feels that he is neither an
American nor an African. He is only a part detached from both Africa and
America. “This song of atavistic land,” in the poem means that the song was
originated in Africa. It had been unseen for many generations, but it has
reappeared in the poet’s mind. This song sings the glorious past of the
Afro-American people in their native land Africa. When the black people sing
this song they remember their spirituals and they feel very proud of their
happy past and their free life.
The theme of the poem is that the
speaker misses Africa, time has caused his memories to fade, which arouse great
emotions to him, and the speaker puts the reader in his place.
The
Inner Part
Louis Simpson
When Americans won the war for the
first time in history, they assumed that they were the most important people.
Their behaviors changed. The leaders and the most important persons began to
wear formal clothes. They stopped wearing shirts only. Their wives thought that
it was a mark of rude behavior to scratch their bodies in public. Similarly,
they started using formal language. They supposed that informal language would
make them like common people. In order to express their surprise, they stopped
saying the informal world “Gosh”. Their daughter seemed as sensitive as the tip
of a fly rod. Their sons looked as smooth as a V-8 engine. They had lost their
human qualities. They had become like inanimate objects. When the priests
examined the inner parts of birds, they found that the heart has been misplaced
and the small eggs inside them were as black as death and they were sending out
bad smell.
‘The Inner Part’ is a poem in which we
can see the superficial change of the Americans and spiritual emptiness in the
name of being civilized after winning the battle of the Second World War. They
have become so proud that they began to think superior than others. They
pretend to be civilized by wearing coat, tie and shirt. Their wives stopped
scratching in public and even they stopped saying “Gosh”. It shows that they
forgot their god also. They became materialistic that they began to compare
their daughter as sensitive as the tip of a fly rod and son as smooth as v-8
engine. They have forgotten the difference between object and human being
‘The Inner Part’ by Louis Simpson
describes a superficially improved condition of American civilization after the
Second World War in the first three stanzas, and then goes on to show how the
country is spiritually vile and corrupt. Humanity is a mere world in a country
that is spiritually dead. People pretend that they are superior and their
behavior is affected. They want to show off. People are no longer humane. They
are like machines. They misunderstand the language of hove and kindness.
Whatever they say is a mere expression of hatred and death. There is no room
for sweet things in the world.
In the third stanza sons are compared
to V-8 engines because the boys want to roam here and there and they want to
show their smoothness like the body of the car. Daughters are compared to the
tip of a fly rod, which are sensitive enough when the fish is hooked. The boys
and girls do not care for human qualities, because they are spiritually vile
and corrupt.
In the last stanza instead of surgeon a
priest; a spiritual leader is to examine the body physically because the priest
examines the body and finds spiritual absence in the heart of Americans. The
heart is misplaced, so there is neither love, nor kindness in it. It is as
black as death and it only sends out bad smell of decaying body. The poet here
tries to disclose the inner part or the reality of the Americans who are
spiritually vile, corrupt and without any sense of humanity.
The poem is trying to show the
superficial changes in the behavior of Americans in the second half of the twentieth
century. Though they had tried to show themselves very decent outwardly, there
is a very different story inside. They have turned into hypocrites, and their
children also have become devoid of humanity. They have turned into objects.
The lack of humanitarian feelings in Americans is made clear through the
description of birds whose heart have been replaced by reeking (smelling bad)
black seeds. This bird devoid of heart stands for Americans who have forgotten
the meaning of being a human. The black seeds stand for the negativities like,
selfishness, great snobbery, and hypocrisy. Outwardly they are well mannered
but the inner reality is really miserable. The country had become spiritually
vile and corrupt. Humanity is dead and spirituality is merely a word for them.
The heart from where positive feelings like love, compassion, sincerity and
spirituality flow is shown to be missing. That is why the poet appears
pessimistic to the fact that the American way of life and thinking might change
for better. Such a possibility is shown to be almost impossible as the place of
heart is taken by the black seeds emitting unpleasant smell.
As Louis Simpson believes, this poem
rises from the inner life of the poet and is expressed in original images and
rhythms. Also, the language of this poem is closely related to the language in
which men actually think and speak. He has written this poem in irregular,
unrhymed lines. There is a dramatic and narrative element in the poem. The
action, feeling and idea have come through with no interference in this poem.
Dover
Beach
Matthew Arnold
This is a poem about a sea and a beach
that is truly beautiful, but holds much deeper meaning than what meets the eye.
The poem is written in free verse with no particular meter or rhyme scheme,
although some of the words do rhyme. Arnold is the speaker speaking to someone
he loves. As the poem progress, the reader sees why Arnold poses the question
stated above, and why life seems to be the way it is. During the first part of
the poem Arnold states, “The Sea is calm tonight” and in line 7, “Only, from
the long line of spray”. In this way, Arnold is setting the mood or scene so
the reader can understand the point he is trying to portray. In lines 1-6 he is
talking about a very peaceful night on the ever so calm sea, with the moonlight
shining so intensely on the land. Then he states how the moonlight “gleams and
is gone” because the “cliffs of England” are standing at their highest peaks,
which are blocking the light of the moon. Next, the waves come roaring into the
picture, as they “draw back and fling the pebbles” onto the shore and back out
to sea again. Arnold also mentions that the shore brings “the eternal note of
sadness in”, maybe representing the cycles of life and repetition. Arnold then
starts describing the history of Sophocle’s idea of the “Aegean’s turbid ebb
and flow”.
The sea is starting to become rougher
and all agitated. Also the mention of “human misery” implies that life begins
and ends, but it can still be full of happiness, and unfortunately, at the same
time, sadness. “The Sea of Faith was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s
shore.” The key word in that stanza is once, because it implies that he
(Arnold) used to look at the sea in a different way than he does now. Throughout
the whole poem, Arnold uses a metaphor to describe his views and opinions. Now
he only hears its “melancholy, long, withdrawing roar.” It seems as though
Arnold is questioning his own faith. The whole poem is based on a metaphor –
Sea to Faith. When the sea retreats, so does faith, and leaves us with nothing.
In the last nine lines, Arnold wants his love and himself to be true to one
another. The land, which he thought was so beautiful and new, is actually
nothing – “neither joy, nor love, nor light”. In reality, Arnold is expressing
that nothing is certain, because where there is light there is dark and where
there is happiness there is sadness. “We are here though as on a darling plain,
swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash
at night”. Arnold uses much alliteration in the poem. For example, in line 31,
“To lie before us like a land of dreams”, repeating the letter L at the
beginning of three words. Also, in line 4, “Gleams and is gone…”, repeating the
letter G. The usage of assonance and consonance is not widespread in “Dover
Beach”. In line 3 – “…on the French coast the light” – the repetition of the
letter T is shown, as an example of consonance. Other literary techniques, such
as onomatopoeia and hyperbole, are not used in the poem, besides the metaphor
for “Faith” being the Sea.
The diction Arnold uses creates a sense
of peacefulness and calmness. It is fairly easily understood vocabulary, with
the exception of a few words, such as cadence and darkling. From reading
Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach”, one realizes that there is no certainty in
life. When everything is going perfectly, something unfortunate may happen at
any given time, with no forewarning.
The
Mad Gardener’s Song
Lewis Carroll
The poem ‘The Mad Gardener’s Song’ by
Lewis Carroll contains the several disjointed stanzas which have a stupid mad
logic as a common factor. The first line of each stanza begins with “He though
he saw….” And the third line of each stanza with “He looked again, and found it
was”. This revised vision leads the personal to a conclusion in the last two
lines of each stanza. However, the conclusion does not match the premise from
which it is drawn.
The poem starts in a common way that the speaker thinks that
he saw an elephant practicing a flute but suddenly the stanza encounters with
something very uncommon that the elephant practicing the flute comes to be the
letter from his wife which is the bitterness of life, for him. Similarly the
poem begins and ends with nonsense rhyme. The speaker says in the second stanza
he thinks he saw a buffalo on the chimney but when he looks it again he finds
the buffalo was his sister’s husband’s niece whom he doesn’t like because he
was burden for him that’s why he wanted to send him to Police Station.
Similarly, the speaker thinks that he
saw a rattle snake which questioned him in Greek but latter on next look it was
the middle of next week and he has regret for it that it cannot speak. Again,
he thinks that he saw a Banker’s clerk descending from the bus but he finds it
was a hippopotamus and if he stay for the dinner, there won’t be enough food
left for them. Similarly, he thinks he saw a Kangaroo working at a coffee-mill
but in real it was a Vegetable- Pill which can make him ill if he eats it. Next
he imagines a coach driven by four horses standing beside his bed but it turns
out to be a bear without head. He pities upon it thinking that it is waiting to
be fed.
Similarly, the poem moves ahead with
disjoint stanzas and mad logic. The speaker thinks that he saw an Albatross
fluttering round the lamp but it was a Penny-Postage-Stamp in real and he
advised it to go home because the nights are very damp. The garden door opening
with a key turns out to be double role of three and he thinks that all its
misery is clear to him. Finally the argument that proved he was the Pope turns
out to be a bar of soap and he thinks that it takes away all the hope.
The Mad Gardener’s Song is composed in nine disjointed
stanzas. These stanzas are similar and related only in that they follow the
rhyme scheme ab abdb and all of them have a mad logic. The first line of each
stanza begins with “He thought he saw….” And the third line of each stanza is
“He looked again and found it was….” The last two lines carry the conclusion of
the stanza but the conclusion does not match the premise from which it is
drawn.
In conclusion, the whole poem is nonsense. It is simply a
humorous poem written for the purpose of laughing and entertaining. If we see
it deeply, it somehow turns as a satire for those people whom the poet doesn’t
like and wants to show his anger to them. Whatever is the reason, but in common
this is a nonsense poem written with mad logic. The poem associates disparate
elements without any intention of making sense. Although the cause and effects
don’t match some stanza seems to be meaningful. Hence, the use of the uncommon
style and nonsense logic as a common factor, this poem has become the example
of a nonsense rhyme.
For
Prodigal Read Generous
e.e. cummings
Famous American poet Edward Estlin
Cummings is known as e.ecummings in literature who had written a lot of poems
in unique style. His writings seem to be asymmetric and full of mistakes but
the poet intentionally created them to convey special meaning. His major
contributions to American literature are: Tulips and Chimneys, a collection of
poetry and The Enormous Room, a novel but he had written a lot of poems on
humanity, traditional virtues and against the cold rationality and science and
technology.
In the poem For Prodigal Read Generous
poet asks the reader to be generous if she or he wants to understand what is
prodigal. Only an unselfish person can give large amounts freely. Similarly,
‘age’ will tell him the value of youth. The old person reminds the reader that
he too was young and his youth had already passed and that youth is so short.
If the reader knows what mere surprise is, he will understand what a pure
miracle is. Miracle is the intense form of surprise. After this, the reader is
asked to study other aspects of life.
If the reader knows what satisfaction
is, he will experience what pure joy is. A satisfied person is very happy. The
monotony of prose will show how lively a poem is. If the reader is careful and
attentive enough to avoid danger he or she should be curious. Otherwise his
curiosity will lead to destruction. After this he is asked not to pay attention
to something. Cummings asks the reader to read one set of words and to
understand something else for each word. Finally, the reader is asked to close
the eyes, probably with satisfaction that is obviously false.
To close the eyes is also not to pay
attention to something, not to take notice of it, to ignore it. Thus concepts
change from generation to generation. There is the absence of capital letters
in this poem. The poet may mean to say that nothing is more important than
anything else. In other words, he wants to say that all are equal. The literary
devices he developed were intended to show how the outer appearance reinforces
the inner vision. His disordered syntax (sentence construction) and
typographical disarrangements were intended, not to bewilder, but to heighten
the understanding. The poet has dropped the conventional punctuation. We don’t
get a period at the end of the sentence in this poem.
The first line of the poem reads “for
prodigal read generous” and the third line reads “read for sheer wonder mere
surprise”. In the third line the verb ‘read’ is placed first and its object
‘mere surprise’ has been placed at the end. In fifth line the order is
completely different: first there is the object ‘contentment’ and after the
object is the verb ‘read’ and then is the adjunct of ecstasy. Seventh line also
follows the order of fifth line except the fact that there is no verb. The poet
has reversed the usual or natural order of words for emphasis. The emphatic
words are placed either in the beginning or at an end. The end position is more
important than the first. Therefore ‘generous’, ‘surprise’ ‘ecstasy’ and
curiosity’ have been especially highlighted in lines 1, 3, 5 and 7
respectively.
In all the eight lines of this poem, the poet has used the
imperative form of the verbs read, turn and close. He is asking his reader to
read different things, to turn the page and to close the eyes and thus to
experience different aspects of life by himself. The poet uses the phrase ‘to
close your eyes’ to mean ‘not to pay attention to something’ ‘not to take
notice of it’ ‘to ignore it’ and ‘to show satisfaction.’
Literary term:
Poetic License- A poetic license is a certain amount of liberty given to a poet
in terms of syntax, rhythm or punctuation. So, this poet e.e. cummings has
poetic license to write his name in small letters and he has written many of
his poems without word-order, syntax or punctuation marks.
Questions:
1) What type of a “book” does the poet ask us to turn the page
of? (2057)
Ans: The poet asks us to turn the page of the book of life
that has different aspects. The poet says that the book has the meanings of our
life and works we do. The poet prefers one thing to be another thing better
than early such to be a prodigal person one should know about the generous. One
cannot be prodigal or lavish without knowing the meaning of generous but this
concepts can change from generation to generation.
2) What is the theme of the poem “for prodigal read generous?”
(2068)
Ans: The theme of this poem is understand your life because
the life has different aspects and duties to perform. This poem urges us to
understand the prior knowledge of the things which we want to know in detail.
We should know the meanings of aspects and concepts of our life. We should know
ourselves before knowing others. We should perform those tasks that can lead us
to be a better human in this world.
On
His Blindness
John Milton
The greatest poet after Shakespeare was John Milton who had
crowned as poet laureate of Great Britain. He was a support of Cromwell’s
movement in England and wrote a lot of pamphlets and posters for Cromwell. He
was a pure devotee of Puritan and had a strong opinion about the theology so he
was also known as one of the great religious poets of his time. When Cromwell’s
reign ended, Milton was avoided and marginalized by the British rulers. He
became totally blind in the mid of the seventeenth century so he wrote his
masterpiece ‘The Paradise Lost’ after losing his eyesight. This poem is also
about his blindness.
The poet reflects on his blindness. He
has become blind in the middle of his life. He therefore cannot make proper use
of his poetic talent which is spiritual death for him to hide. His soul is
earnestly desirous of serving God with his own talent that God have given him.
He wishes to render a true account of his powers to God. He is afraid that god
will rebuke him for not using his power. He anxiously asks-Does God require of
a blind man’s service? Patient thinking make the poet conclude that God needs
neither the service of man nor an account of the gifts bestowed by Him on man.
Those who resign themselves to the will of God serve Him best. God is invested
with royal power. Thousands of angels fly swiftly over land and sea to do His
bidding. Those who have faith in God and calmly submit to God’s powers also
render him services.
The word “talent” has been used in more
senses than one. In the Bible concept it means a coin or more generally
speaking money. When the master gives some money, it is his duty to make use of
it and increase it. Figuratively talent is a quality and therefore wealth. In
this sense even vision may be recorded as a talent. It is by using one’s vision
that one can do a lot of things. Milton was a pious Christian. His devotion and
dedication to God are evident in the poem.
Literary Term: Allegory- An allegory is a special abstract
form of personification where general concepts such as sin, virtue, patience,
love, wisdom etc. are represented as persons. Here, in this poem patience
speaks like a human being.
Parable:
A parable is a very short and simple story that conveys a moral lesion.
Miltonic
Sonnet: A Miltonic sonnet is different form of the poem that is different from
the Italian sonnets and Shakespearian sonnets having the rhyme patterns of:
abbaabbacdecde.
Questions:
1) Explain the line:
“They also serve who only stand and wait” (2057)
Ans: This
line is taken from Milton’s famous poem ‘On His Blindness.’ This poem is
written about his own blindness by John Milton. Milton had supported Cromwell’s
movement but it was abolished before the mid of 17th century. Milton
was marginalized and avoided by the British government. His eyesight began to
fall and became totally blinded in the late 1650s. He wrote his masterpiece
after becoming totally blind. This poem also written when became blind. He was
a religious poet so he expressed his sufferings and troubles that were caused
by his blindness to the almighty god. He opines that the person who stand and
wait also serves the god. He says he is a blind but respects and serves the god
as other ordinary people do. He praises the god for giving him the talent of
poetry that can be written and told even after being a blind or the person who
doesn’t have eyesight can devote his life to the god. So, he believes that the
god has the special grateful to him and he always follows the god’s commands.
2) How does Milton associate his life with light? (2060,061..)
Ans: Milton associates his life with
light by writing the great poems as the service of the god after getting
blinded. When he was an ordinary person with having eyesight, he did what he
liked. He didn’t write the great poem. He didn’t care about the great talent
that was given him by the god but when he became blind, he remembered the god
and found that he had a talent to write poetry. He wrote the great masterpiece
and other poems when he was blind and old that he didn’t do when he was a young
and had eyesight. His works after becoming blind are the gifts of god who had
given the true light in his life and he has done the thing that an ordinary
person having eyes couldn’t do. So, he thinks that the god has given him the
light at heart that cannot be faded out and he could see from his heart and
mind.
3)
What does the
poet say about patience in the poem “On His Blindness”? (2061..)
Ans: Milton gives the answers of his own question by using
patience in the poem. The persona of the patience is the poet himself and he
himself answering his own question to the god. The patience says that the god
is almighty and he doesn’t care about the man’s physical fit for serving him.
He has already given the different types of talents to everyone in this world
which the person should recognize and utilize to the service of almighty god.
Milton also has the talent of writing poetry and he can do it besides being a
blind. So, his patience and determination work and he creates his masterpiece.
Much Madness is Divinest Sense
Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson is a very talent and
sensitive poet who has written mainly about love, death, nature, beauty and
immortality. She has written many good lyrics. Her poems are full of
idiosyncratic spellings and structures. This poem expresses a different view
about the aspects of human society from the traditional aspects.
What the world considers to be
senseless is the excellent knowledge to a wise man. And what the world accepts
as sensible is absolutely foolish to a critical person. The majority of the
people find wisdom in foolish things, and this idea is popular. If you agree
with the majority, you are sane, and if you disagree then you are considered to
be the mad and they will imprison you immediately.
The poem says that what the work (a
piece of art) considered to be madness is the supreme wisdom to a man of
careful judgment and what is the wisdom to many people is completely nonsense
to a wise man. The poet persona, expects that it is all a game of majority. If
you agree with what the mass, society or the majority says, then you are
considering being sane. But if you don’t agree with what the majority says,
then you are declared abnormal and dangerous. The result is you will be tied
with chains and put into an asylum or prison.
The poem Much Madness is Divinest Sense by Emily Dickinson
can be interpreted as a strong voice of protest against the system that follows
the rules of majority even it is wrong and disregards the minority even if it
is right. But for Dickinson it is the truth that is more important than the
number of people for or against it. The poem is a strong voice of individuality
and personal freedom. Dickinson despises (dislikes) the life of the frogs that
croak in the same tone without understanding what the sound really means. The
poet expresses her anger towards the society for curtailing (limiting) the
right and freedom of an individual. She is clearly unhappy with the system in
which you have to except even something fundamentally illogical simply because
that is accepted by the majority.
In one sense, the poetess is defending her own position and
her isolated way of life. “Much Madness . . .” is sophisticated and wittily
ironic, as well as scornful towards the society and its systems of conformity.
There is no room for individuality. The poem expresses a strong feeling of
personal suffering. The discerning eye represents the person who sees that
choosing what the world calls sense may produce emptiness, or waste, or
pretension, all of which are madness to a sensitive person. The poet expresses
an increasingly mocking anger. The first three lines are illustrating the
daring of independent souls. The last three lies showing how they are
restricted. The middle two lines provide the transition from the personal to
the social level. The last three lines imply the brutal forces that the
majority uses to hold people in line.
This poem by Emily Dickinson can be
compared to the poem “The Lunatic” by the great Nepali poet Laxmi Prasad
Devkota. In that poem Devkota prefers to be called a lunatic (mad) rather than
accepts the fake (believe) notion of the majority. Dickinson also speaks in the
same line. The majority of average intelligence cannot even differentiate the
mentally retarded and the genius. Therefore, the poem is a bitter satire
against the society that considered people Dickinson and Devkota as mad. It
wipes out as mad. If wipes out the traditionally drawn line that differentiates
Literary term: Paradox- A paradox is an absurd and
self-contradictory statement that reveals the deep truth upon a closer
analysis. The title of this poem is also a paradox that totally disagrees with
the traditional and ordinary understanding about the madness.
Questions:
1)
How does the
poet define madness? Do you agree with her definition? Give reasons.
Ans: The poet defines the madness as the divinest sense. She
opines that the term ‘madness’ is for the majority of people, is the divinest
sense for intelligent and witty person. The intellectual persons can find the
most powerful and important message in madness. I agree with the poet because
there might be a talent or genius mind within a mad person. In democracy, the majority
rules so if there is the most intelligent person among them could be taken as
mad because they don’t agree with his/her argument. S/he might place the
different opinion than the majority and they ignore it by saying that
intellectual as mad. Most of the highly educated people, scholars,
intellectuals, and elites are somehow behaved or marginalized as the mad once
or more instants in their life so Dickinson’s opinion, towards the
intellectuals, is a positive one and find the majority as the group of fools.
She emphasizes to individuality rather that majority.
2)
What has the
majority to do with madness?
Ans: The majority of people or common people find an
intellectual as a mad or their intellectuality is considered as madness and
they avoid the wise person’s opinion and they try to establish their own rules
against him/her. The majority of people put pressure on the wise or intellect
to accept their rules otherwise they can put him/her into the jail or in a
lunatic asylum. The majority doesn’t accept the right opinions of a wise but
that opinions can be taken as senseless things and ignores them.
The
Little Girl Saw Her First Troop Parade
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandberg was a versatile personality who worked as a
milkman, porter, house painter, carpenter, newspaper reporter and so on. He has
written the biography of Lincoln and got Pulitzer Prize in 1940. He has written
many poems, ballads etc. on the wisdom and virtue of ordinary man. This poem
expresses the bitter reality of wars that destroy everything from the
perspective of an innocent young girl.
When the little girl saw the troop marching, she asked the
speaker what they were. He replied that they were soldiers. Then she asked what
soldiers are for. He replied that they are for war and that they fight and try
to kill as many of the other side as they can. Then the girl remained silent
and thought seriously. After a while she said that she knew something. She
thought that one day when the soldiers fought nobody would come back. ‘The
Little Girl Saw Her First Troop Parade’ is a short prose poem shows the bitter
reality of war through the innocent perspective of a young girl.
A little girl sees a group of soldiers
in a parade, for the first time in her life. She asks the speaker who they are.
She gets the reply that they are soldiers. Her next question is who soldiers
are. The speaker again replies that the soldiers are meant for war. They fight
and try to kill as many soldiers as possible of the other side. When the little
girl gets this reply she is silent and thinks for a while. Then she says that
she has come to know something. When she is asked what it is, then she replies
that “Sometime they will give a war and nobody will come.”
The history of the world is full of war
in which millions of people have lost their lives. War is always evil and
destructive. It affects not only those who are fighting but also numerous
innocent people who have nothing to gain from the war. In spite of all these
bitter realities, people are still fighting and killing each other. The present
poem begins as a casual conversation between a little girl and a grown up man,
but in the last line the girl presents such an insight (wisdom) that even the
grownups rarely thinks about. The little girl says that there will (might) be a
day when people will give a war but no one will come to fight. This line may be
signaling towards that terrible war which will lead to the ultimate
annihilation of the human race form the earth. Therefore, when there will be a
war nobody will comes because those who have gone to war will never return, and
there will be no one left anymore.
The poem may be taken as a bitter
satire for the nations that are competing to accumulate (collect) as many
nuclear weapons as possible. This context in the preparation of war, when a
large mass of people are living in hunger seems to be futile even for an
innocent girl but this is something that the so called intellectual and leaders
have failed to understand. When Sandburg presents this insight (wisdom) for the
perspective of a little the message becomes even more poignant.
‘The Little Girl Saw Her First Troop
Parade’ is a prose poem which unfolds (open) dramatically in the form of a
dialogue. But there are certain special characteristics that distinguish it
from ordinary poem. The poetic elements like alliteration and assonance can be
found in abundance and each line of the poem has a rhythmic quality. The
success of the poem also lies in its capacity of giving each a starting
(shocking) message with the use of very few words in the form of a causal talk.
Like William Wordsworth Sandburg in this poem has used the language of everyday
speech.
Literary term: A Prose Poem- A prose poem is a poem written in prose but containing the elements of poetry such as rhyme, figures of speech, alliteration, powerful images etc.
Questions:
1)
What is war?
Do you agree with the way it is defined in the poem?
Ans: According the poem, the war is a fight where each side
tries to kill as many as of other side. They try to eliminate the other. The
soldiers or the warriors who fight in the war are human beings and one day
nobody would come to the war if they do wars and kill each other. This is the
bitter reality of war because from the human histories the people from
different regions, religions, castes, races etc. have been fighting each other
to establish their own supremacy in this world. The people have been fighting
in terms of poor and rich, black and white, muslims and Christian, upper and
lower class, tyrannical government and so on. So, I agree with the definition
of war as defined in the poem.
2)
What effects
of war do the poet Carl Sandberg show through the innocent perspective of a
young girl ?
Ans: Sandberg uses a perspective of a young girl to show the
innocent and real effect of the war on human beings because in the war people
try to kill or eliminate the enemies but unfortunately they both are the human
beings. The use of innocent perspective of a young girl makes the poem more
effective than the older people because the older could define the war
differently. The older or a matured person is taught about their history,
religion, caste, race, superiority that are different from other and s/he can
believe what their government or rulers have taught them. If the poet has used
the different perspective rather than the little girl, he may find the
different understanding about the war. So, he uses the innocent perspective of
a young girl to show the bitter reality of wars or the effects of the war on
the children to his audience or reader.
The
Sound of Silence
Paul Simon
The great artist of the 1960s, Paul Simon, has worked as a
singer, song writer, guitarist and pop lyricist. He has released many albums of
which Paul Simon (1972), Graceland(1986) are very popular and got success. This
poem expresses the spiritual shallowness of modern people who worship neon god
and mislead other.
The speaker woke up in the dark night
and wanted to tell somebody about his dream. He addressed the darkness as his
old friend and started to describe it as he had done before. He said that when
he was sleeping a vision left its seeds and it was deeply rooted in his brain.
He could still realize the vision, but had no words to express it.
In his restless dreams he walked alone
in the narrow stresses under the light of a street lamp. When he turned his
collar, a flash of neon light would dazzle him. The light would make the scene
as if it had been in the daylight and explain the meaning of silence. In the
light he would see more than ten thousand people. They were not using the
voice, but they were expressing thoughts as if by words. They were not giving
attention in hearing, but they were receiving sounds with the ears. They were
writing songs although nobody was singing them. And no one had the courage to
break the silence.
The speaker in his dream told the
people fools and said that silence grows like a cancer. He asked them to hear
his advice and to hold their arms, but his words were like silent raindrops and
had no effect on them. Instead of listening to the speaker, the people were
worshipping the neon God they made. The neon light said that they had to follow
the commands of the producers, who had advertised their products by painting on
the walls of the subway and large buildings. The light showed these things
without using a voice.
The poem ‘The Sound of Silence’
consists of five irregular stanzas where the poet presents the conflict between
spiritual and material value in the modern world. The poet persona is a
visionary who warns against the lack of spiritual seriousness in modern people.
The poem begins with an address by the poet persona to the darkness. He says
that he has come to talk with the darkness, because a certain vision planted
its seeds in his brain while he was sleeping. The vision still remains there as
the sound of silence.
The poet wakes in his restless dream
and walks alone. He arrives at a place where more than ten thousand people are
talking without speaking and hearing without listening. They are writing songs
that voices never shares and no one dares to break the silence. The poet
persona tells them that silence grows like cancer. He asks them to hear his
words and to hold his hand. But his words do not touch them at all. Instead,
the people pray and worship the neon signs. The neon sign flashes which say
that “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement
hall.”
The poem can be interpreted as a bitter
satire towards the materialistic tendency of the people in the modern world.
People have forgotten the real meaning and value of life. They are running
after material prosperity and physical luxury. They work hard and earn a lot.
They accumulate a lot of wealth and things but this does not make them happy.
Rather they are moving further and further away from true happiness because
they have ignored the true goal of life. They debate and quarrel about
worthless things. They listen to or watch meaningless things. This is what the
poet probably means by talking without speaking and hearing without listening.
According to Simon, the multinational
companies’ and the capitalist have taken the position of God. They guide
people’s choices, necessities and goals through their commercial advertisement.
The Neon signs or hoarding boards have taken the place of the Holy Scriptures.
People listen to or see what these advertisements say and work accordingly.
They have neither their own voice nor their own choice. They are obliged to
choose among a few goal put forward by the industrialists. When such
materialistic waves are dominant, the voice trying to remind people what their
goal should be is always subdued (defeated). People are not willing to listen
to such things, at first. Even if they listen to it they will never follow it
as they are so busy in running after the material prosperity. The poem presents
a frightening picture of the modern world doomed by the lack of spirituality
and true meaning of life. It is the voice of a visionary asking such people to
be serious towards the true meaning and goal of life.
Literary term: Allusion- An allusion is a reference to an
older literary text or the scriptures.
Questions:
1)
Explain the
paradox: ‘the sound of silence’. Is silence is good or bad?
Ans: The term ‘the sound of silence’ is a paradox because
the words sound and silence are opposite words. If there is silence there won’t
sound and if there is sound there won’t silence so these two words express the
exactly opposite to each other. By using this paradoxical term, the poet Paul
Simon tries to show the shallowness or the spiritually corrupted modern
societies that worship the neon god. The neon god is a god that isn’t seen but
the people worship and blindly follow it. The modern people are also as blind
as those who once worshipped the neon god as Bible describes. The topic of this
poem is paradoxical itself and the poet tries to show the reality of religions
that may lead the majority of the people as blinds. The poet also expresses his
opinion towards the religions that the modern people of twentieth century are
also following without any question.
The
End
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