THE HERITAGE OF WORDS/ GRADE 12 inspiration for him.

When he used to hear her words, it used to flow inside

A Reference for Class Room Purpose his body and revive his lost strength.
He has compared its effect with stirring the ashes of sleeping fire to
regenerate fire. Fire is the source of energy, light and clarity.Similarly,
1. GRANDMOTHER when the poet used to hear her words it used to fill him with new energy,
hope, and erase all his confusions. In other words, her advises were a source
of motivation for him.
“Grandmother” written by American- Indian poet Ray Young Bear is a WHAT IMAGES DO YOU FIND IN THIS POEM WRITTEN BY A
MEMBER OF THE SAUK AND FOX (MESQUAKI) INDIAN TRIBE
recollection of poet’s eternal love for his grandmother.The poet draws the OF NORTH AMERICA? TO WHAT SENSES DO THESE IMAGES
picture of his grandmother – all loving, all inspiring- through the use of APPEAL?
The poet has used the sensuous images as effective tools in this poem. As a
images. As a grandson, the poet’s heart is very close to his grandmother. This result he is successful in creating a clear picture of his grandmother. These
poem presents deep sense of intimacy and closeness to his grandmother even images particularly appeal to our sense of sight (if I were to see …), sense of
touch (if I felt …),sense of smell (with the smell of roots), and sense of sound
after her death. (if I heard …). The poet, through the use of these sensuous images has tried
to express how much he loved and how close was his grandmother to his
He still recalls the time with her. Her images come into his mind as fresh as heart.
before. He could recognize her by all senses except taste. If the poet would
see her from a long distance, he could easily recognize her (sense of 2. ABOUT LOVE
sight/vision). Her warm and damp hands (sense of feeling/touch) with the Showing his perception about mysterious Love, Anton Chekov in his story
smell of roots (sense of smell) on his head would make him guess that those About Love expresses that love is governed by emotions which doesn’t care
were her caressing hands.
Even the voice coming out of her tombstone would flow inside him like a any physical restriction. Describing three love stories, the writer puts
light coming from a sleeping fire at night. Her words would inspire him forward logic that, “Love is different in each situation and love isn’t
and enlighten his spirit (sense of hearing).The poem is written in nostalgic
tone. The love and affection that she showed towards him in his childhood (it confined within marital relationship”. In a rainy day Alyohin narrated love
is obvious she is no more with the poet), is still imprinted on his mind and stories to his friends while having breakfast. Nikanor, a cook was in love
heart.
He shows his intimacy to his grandmother that if he got even a glimpse of her with a beautiful maid servant Pelageya and they were living in the same
from miles away, he would immediately recognize that it was his house although they weren’t married.
grandmother by observing her purple scarf and the plastic shopping bag.
He was so familiar with her that he could also distinguish that the “warm
and damp” hands that were put on his head were of nobody else but of his
grandmother.
He could recognize his grandmother from “the smell of roots” that her hands Characters:
gave off. Most importantly, the words of his grandmother were a source of
1.Alyohin (Protagonist, a university graduate, unmarried man who lives in other. After that whenever Alyohin visited the town he would visit
Sofinyo, falls in love with Anna but couldn’t express it first, before Luganoviches. That also provided Anna and Alyohin pass much time
separation he expressed it to her) and talk in private. They also used to go to theatre together.
2. Anna Alexeyevna (wife of Luganovich, in spiritual love with Alyohin,
f. They both realized that they loved each other but were not able to
later on suffered from nervousness)
3. Luganovich (vice president of the circuit court, married to Anna of almost express it verbally for some reasons.
half age, simple and friendly man) g. Alyohin was very close to Luganovich too. He knew that everybody
4. Nikanor (servant at Alyohin’s house, in physical love with Pelageya, in the family including servants had respectable opinion about him.
alcoholic, uneducated but religious) Besides that he also knew that it would be very difficult for them to
5. Pelageya ( house maid at Alyohin’s house, in physical love with Nikanor, start a new life with Anna.
wanted to have physical relation with Nikanor without getting married) h. He became the prisoner of his own rationality and reason.
TYPE OF LOVE AS PER THE AUTHOR:
Therefore, he never expressed his love and let the things happen in
1. Physical love (sensual, often violent, for physical pleasure,
the way it happened. However, the time for separation also came in
temporary, cares physical attraction)
their life.
2. Spiritual love (unexpressed love, eternal, heart to heart)
i. Luganovich was transferred to a western province. It was decided
Central Idea:
Anna would be first to leave the place and later on other family
a. Anton Chekhov’s “About Love” is narrated from the perspective of
members would join her. At her departure, Alyohin got chance to
Alyohin, the protagonist of the story.It starts with two unmatched
sneak into the compartment just before the train left. At this critical
love stories of Nikanor and Pelageya, the servants at Alyohin’s
moment they could not resist their feelings and expressed their love.
house, and of Alyohin and a Moscow girl.
They hugged and kissed each other passionately for the first time
b. After that it seems that the narrator is curious to know about the
and separated for ever.
mysterious nature of love. However, the significant margin of the
plot is occupied by the platonic love story of Alyohin and Anna WHAT KINDS OF LOVE EXPERIENCES ARE SUGGESTED BY
Alexeyevna, the wife of Luganovich. ALYOHIN IN “ABOUT LOVE”?
c. Alyohin was an educated man, but his father had taken a lot of money In About Love, three kinds of love experiences are suggested by Alyohin.
to teach him. Therefore, he, like a responsible person, decided to stay The first one is the love affair between Nikanor and Pelageya. Their love is
in his village to pay off all the debt. For that he himself worked on the sensual, often violent. Though there is no understanding between them,
sexual passion binds them. Their love is not bound by
farmland though he didn’t enjoy that work.
marital relation.
d. In the mean time, he was elected a judge of the circuit court of The second love affair is between Alyohin and a girl when he was studying
Russia which made him a frequent visitor of town and in that process in the university. Though Alyohin loved her, she thought love as a way to
he made a lot of friends. The best among them was Luganovich, the earn money. This love
vice president of the same court. affair can be seen as the ugliest where sex is exchanged with money.
e. One day Luganovich invited him on dinner and there he met Anna, The third love affair between Alyohin and Anna Alexeyevna can be termed
the wife of Luganovich. At the first sight they got fascinated by each as unexpressed love or spiritual love.
Their heart meet, but being trapped by middle class morality, their love
remains unexpressed. They sacrifice their love for more good. Alyohin
sacrifices his love because he thinks that it would bring disaster in the life of 3. The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner
her children, mother and husband. Similarly, Alexeyevna does not express W.B Yeats (the greatest English poet of 20th century), presents the
her love thinking that she wasn’t young enough to live with him. reminiscences of his eventful young age and contrasts them with his present
SKETCH THE CHARACTER OF ALYOHIN pathetic old life in the poem and he recollects his young and energetic youth
a bachelor and a university graduate, lived in Sofinyo working hard in his
and laments at his neglected state in his old age.
farm to pay the debt that his father had spent on his education, desired a
civilized living of the upper class but could not afford it, while he was a
university student he fell in love with a girl who only loved his money, The title suggests that the poet is a Pensioner. It means he must be very old
elected as honorary justice of the peace, he often visited town to take part in and is living a retired life.
sessions, met Anna Alexeyevna , aged 22 and married to Luganovich, fell in Travelling a long journey of life through ups and downs the poet feels tired,
love with each other but could not express their love went to the theatre upset and heading a neglected life in his old age.  
together, later Anna suffered from nervous prostration and was sent to
Crimea for treatment. During her departure,he had courage to confess his The poet in his old age now is companionless and protecting himself from the
love and kissed her, but had to part with her forever, his vision of love is rain taking shelter under a broken tree. But in his young and colorful days in
shaped by his own love affair, he thinks that when people are in love, they
the past he used to be surrounded by his friends discussing love and politics
ask whether it is honorable or dishonorable , sensible or stupid , and what
their love will lead to but for him, this reasoning is the source of in such raining days.
dissatisfaction and irritation, he thinks that love is a great mystery, he is
like a squirrel in a cage, he is trapped by reason, middle class morality and He was actively involved in politics and the political situation was calm and
poverty, he is a man-of-thought, he fears to express his love to Anna because quiet during his time. He recollects the peaceful political situation of his time
he is too much thoughtful about society’s moral standards, he sacrifices
his love thinking that his marriage to Anna Alexeyevna would ruin the lives When he was young, he used to sit nearest to the fire, which warmed and
of her, her children, her mother and her husband, he fears that he could not comforted him. Today, he misses them as “Time” has taken away all his
make her happy in his country house friends leaving him old and isolated.
He sees some mischievous boys making weapons for some conspiracy. These
SKETCH THE CHARACTER OF ANNA ALEXEYEVNA ‘rascals’ are sure to create chaos in the society through some barbarous
She is the main female character, beautiful, charming, young lady, aged 22, activities. But the poet is not concerned about the possible anarchy in the
married to Luganovich, assistant society.
president of the circuit court and aged over forty, her marriage to an old man He is sad as the time has transfigured him so he laments that the time has
can be seen as the cause of her suffering, she probably, tries to get emotional made him ugly like a broken tree and therefore, no woman shows interest in
fulfillment from Alyohin which later turns into love, she is also trapped in him.
reason, she does not confess her love to Alyohin though she deeply loves him However, the poet consoles himself that “the beauties that he loved” are still
because she fears society’s moral standards, later she becomes the victim of fresh in his memory. He holds the “Time” a culprit, who has taken away his
nervous breakdown because of psychological depression and nervousness. shelter, friends, youth, energy, and charm and wants to spit on its face in
disgust for his metamorphosis.
 4. Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies spent around 15 months in the hills of western Nepal to discover how
the hilly area of this developing country is economically linked to its
- William Shakespeare (The great English poet and dramatist) lower land (Nepaljung).
The poem, Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies is extracted from the famous
 Besides that the essay also explores the lifestyle and horizon of
Shakespearean drama, “The Tempest.” In the poem Ariel, the spirit, on the
instructions of Prospero, is informing Ferdinand, the prince of Naples, that thinking of the people who live here.
his father is drowned in the ocean. Prospero wants to torture Ferdinand  The essay starts with the description of some people who are making
mentally by making him sure of his father’s death. Ariel tells their annual trip to Nepalgunj, a commercial centre in the western
Ferdinand that the body of his father is laying 30 feet down the sea surface. lowlands of Nepal.
But it can be difficult to identify the body now. According to him, the bones  They carry herbs, hashish, hand-knit sweaters and blankets to sell in
of Ferdinand’s father are changed into coral and his eyes have become
Nepalgunj which will help them to buy the conventional household
pearls. Ariel tells no part of the body is finished forever. Rather they are
changed into something of higher value. They look strange, items for the whole year.
mysterious and are hard to recognize because they have undergone a great  On the way they meet a Chhetri woman, who tells them that her
change. To make Ferdinand feel sure about his father’s death, Ariel insists husband has gone to Terai 15 years ago but has not returned yet.
that the sea nymphs ring his death bell every hour and if he tries he will also  She requests them to look for her husband.
be able to listen it.
 This makes the American geographers wonder that how small is the
Significance of Death in the Poem
Death appears to be glorified in the poem. There is a conventional idea that world for a typical woman in these remote regions of Nepal.
though our soul is immortal, our body is perishable and it decays after death.  They also find some persons processing Silajit on the way.
So, the body is useless and is as cheap as coal, dirt, and water. However, in  When they ask why it was not processed at their home, they are told
the “One must begin one’s trip when the propitious day arrives.”
given poem death is significant as it challenges our established notion.  These events suggest that the people of Nepal are not only ignorant
Shakespeare claims after that our body does not perish. Rather it becomes
more valuable as shown in the poem. Ferdinand’s sea sunk father’s bones but are superstitious too.
have changed into corals and his eyes have become pearls. Literally he  They also find some persons chopping leaves and twigs for their
doesn’t mean our bones always change into corals and our eyes become cattle.
pearls after death. Rather it has a literary or implied meaning. Shakespeare  When the researchers ask about its future effect, they are told “what
means that even after our death can we do?
our body continues to exist in different transformed forms in the nature.
 The animals must eat today.” The statement makes clear how these
Therefore, it is also immortal like our soul. Thus, death is a pleasing event,
which immortalizes us thoroughly, i.e. in soul and body both. ignorant Nepalese are running after immediate gain and are
destroying the wild forest rapidly.
5. Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star  They are not thinking about its outcome, which the author thinks will
 “Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star” is a travelogue extracted from the soon turn all the slopes into a bare land.
article, “Karnali, Roadless World of Western Nepal”, prepared by two  When they reach Nepalgunj, most of their fellow travellers buy
American geographers (Lilla and Barry). The two geographers had conventional items needed for the smooth running of house.
  However, Karma spends every rupee on distillery equipments which everything was going right according to the plan. He said he had collected
will help him to make liquor and earn enough money to buy enough money for the charabanc (bus) and twenty cases of pale ale
everything in Jumla. (alcoholic drink). In addition to this, he also declared to give a pound to
 The example of Karma is indicative of the ratio that only a few every member on the first stoppage. But Will Sentry was skeptical of him as
Bob the Fiddle, their ex-treasurer, had arranged money on their last outing.
Nepalese want to solve their problem permanently.
After that it was decided that the new treasurer must show the account
 Most of them are not concerned about how long they will keep
clearly.
making painful annual journey to Terai. Episode 3: On the next Sunday Mr Franklyn came with the list of the
 The travelogue ends with a suggestion that in western Nepal, where members going on the outing. Everybody got
agricultural production is very low, people must work hard and satisfied and the plan was approved. It was decided that they would go on
combine farming with “other pursuits to survive”. the outing on coming Saturday.
Episode 4: When Sarah heard that Mr. Thomas is going on an outing, she
 How is Karnali linked economically with the low land regions to the didn’t like it. She gave him option to choose one between wife and outing.
south? Quite surprisingly uncle chose the latter. But it does not mean that their
relation is broken after that, Mr. Thomas raised her onto a chair and got
Ans. Geographically, Karnali lies to the northern part of our kingdom. As it is punishment from her, which was always several blows from a china dog.
made up of very sloppy hills, there are many problems. People do not have Sarah went to her mother’s house on Saturday leaving the required
transportation and other facilities for their better survival. There is no instructions in a note like every year.
sufficient cultivable land. So, they have to depend on the lowland regions to Episode 5: The final part of the story describes the outing and the peculiar
the south. People of Karnali cannot sell their products in their localities. To habits of its members from a boy’s perspective. Mr. Thomas took his
sell their items like medicinal herbs, silajit, hashish, hand-knit sweaters nephew with him on the outing. The other members did not like that but
and blankets, they have to go to Nepalgunj. Similarly, they cannot buy they soon forgot it as they wanted to start at right time for the Porthcawl.
goods in their places. For this purpose also, they But when they left the village and reached a bit further they found O. Jones
have to depend upon lowland regions. People of Karnali have to depend upon
missing. They had to return back to village to take him which Mr Weazley
lowland region for their jobs also. Being undeveloped part, it does not have
didn’t like. But when they set off again, Mr Weazley remembered that he
factories. To earn livelihood, young people have no better options than
leaving their places and working in the lowland region. had forgotten his teeth at home. He requested them to go back to the
village but this time on one listened to him. In the way they stopped at
6. A Story every pub, assigned the boy to look after the old bus and drank a lot. The
This story is not written chronological in order. To have better whole afternoon passed in drinking and at dusk they reached to a stream.
understanding it can be divided into five episodes. Episode 1: The narrator They swam in it and forgot that they had to reach Porthcawl. Actually, they
describes his uncle, Mr Thomas and aunt, Mrs Sarah. The couple looked could not reach the place they had aimed for and returned home from the
unmatched to the boy, as the former is abnormally huge and noisy in mid-way. While returning home they didn’t find any pub open. Thus, the
comparison to the latter, who very small, gauzy and quiet. thirty drunkards decided to assemble into a field and drank more. By this
Episode 2: In this part the boy heard about the outing for the first time. Mr time the boy was so tired that he fell asleep. This humorous story ends by
Benjamin Franklyn, a friend of the boy’s uncle, came with the news that
showing how in our day to day life we run after glamour, immediate gains, The poem Travelling through the Dark depicts the internal conflict between
and amusement. The thirty men never reached the the mind(a sense of responsibility) and heart (the compassion) of the
destination they had aimed for as they didn’t realize the value of time. It narrator. At the same time, through the symbolic Dark of the title the poet is
also makes us realize that how the grown-ups always dictate the children able to portray that the growing affinity (attraction/attachment) of human
about the right and wrong things but they hardly bother what example they with machine is tempting (luring) them to collide (clash) with the nature, a
themselves set for them. collision which will be threatening for all the living species on the planet, not
Describe the narrator’s uncle and his Aunt. only a doe. On a dark night, the narrator was driving his car on Wilson River
road. At the edge of the river he found a dead deer. His common sense told
The description of uncle Thomas and Aunt Sarah is quite humorous. The
him to roll that deer into the gorge (ravine) because the road was narrow and
narrator, who is a small boy, has used child imagery to describe them. He
a slight carelessness might call for more accidents. He stopped his car and
has used different similes and metaphors and hints that the couple is went near to it. It was a doe and had been recently dead. But when he
unmatched. The Uncle is so huge that the whole room becomes smaller dragged it he found that it was pregnant. When he observed its belly closely,
when he comes in side it. He looks like a buffalo squeezed into an airy he sensed that the fawn (a young deer) inside it must be alive. But he also
cupboard. He is very noisy and his voice is compared with the trumpet of an knew that it could not be born. The tragic fate of the fawn made him
elephant. He doesn’t seem well mannered and when he eats, litters his emotional. It was difficult for him to throw the body into the gorge because it
waistcoat which is as big as a meadow for the boy. But quite opposite to the would kill the baby instantly. His dilemma blocked the street. He listened the
husband Mrs. Sarah, the boy’s aunt, is quite small. She hardly makes her people getting restless as everybody was in hurry to go. They immediately
presence felt wherever she goes. Unlike her husband, she is soft spoken, wanted the road to be opened. The narrator thought very deeply and
which the boy tells is like the squeaking of a mouse. She is also a concluded that it wasn’t practical to leave the dead body of the doe on the
perfectionist and most of her time goes in arranging and dusting the things street. It could make more accidents. Therefore, he threw it into the gorge and
in her house. Above all she is a caring wife too. We see when she leaves for chose to perform his duty.
her mother’s house in anger she doesn’t forget to remind Mr. Thomas about People generally travel in the dark when there is some urgency or when they
food. The description of Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Sarah might appear have some immediate destination to
unmatched from a small boy’s perspective, but the caring attitude of wife reach. So, the speaker of this poem is traveling in the dark with some special
purpose. But when he finds a dead doe on the road, he is in dilemma. He is in
towards the husband and willingness of the husband to get the punishment
confusion either to show deep love and emotion to an unborn but alive fawn
from the wife also suggest that there is a good understanding between
in the belly of the doe or to clear the road by throwing its body into the gorge.
them. After much thoughtful meditation, he pushes the dead doe into the river in
order to reach his destination. The darkness indicates one of nature’s
beautiful creatures has been killed and pitilessly left on the road, unburied.
The driver’s inaction suggests moral darkness. The darkness also
suggests the narrator’s confusion about what to do with the deer. It
symbolizes the spiritual void of humankind in its insensitivity toward
7. Travelling Through the Dark nature.
  In the first three stanzas, the speaker describes how he saw a deer, how he
William Stafford (January 17, 1914 – August 28, 1993, an dragged her to the side and what he felt when he touched her side. But in the
American poet)
fourth stanza he does not say anything about the deer but he describes the car
and its activities. There is a break in the narrative. It is quite significant in the are regarded to be the most important things for the existence of any living
poem because it gives a clear contrast between the animal and the machine. species, are becoming poisonous and many kinds of plants and animals have
The animal with a life inside is dead, but the car looks lifelike. Fume of the already disappeared.
car is warm whereas the doe is cold and stiffened.
Scientists from all over the world express their serious concern about present
The last two lines of the poem complete both types of action: mental and
state of biosphere as human activities cause very serious damage on
physical. As he thinks hard on behalf of the nature lovers, he comes to the
environment and on critical resources.
conclusion that the right place for the doe is the river. Then he throws the
With the introduction of modern medical facilities, nutrition and sanitation,
dead body into the river. The last two lines of the poem try to solve the
the world’s population started growing more than 80 million per year. In
problem of environmental damage. Instead of worrying about the problem,
Nepal only, in less than 50 years the population increases at the rate of 2.5%
one has to accept the things as they are. The poet may be satirizing that the
per year from 9 million to 25 million. If this alarming growth continuous
so-called nature-lovers are responsible for the environmental damage.
unchecked, the population of Nepal will be 46 million by 2026 A.D. which
In this poem Stafford presents a great tension between two realities, two would be very difficult for Nepal to accommodate. In order to feed more
systems of life. On one hand are efficiency and responsibility, unglamorous people, more forest, lands are destroyed in a very large scale.
virtues that we learn to admire when we face danger or loss. On the other
hand, there are emotions warmer than efficiency and deeper than good As a result, soil erosion, desertification, flood, landslide, tropical diseases,
judgment where on the scale of rational decision making is the protagonist to siltation of rivers and dams and mass migration are increasing. High growth
weigh what he feels when he touches the doe’s side: “her fawn lay there of population has already polluted our food, air, water, rivers, soil, drains and
waiting, alive, still, never to be born. Stafford’s poem is strong because he farms.
does full justice to both sides of the conflict. The chances of cancers and emphysema (lungs disease) and asthma are far
higher now and we are suffering from pre-mature hearing loss. Lead and
8. TWO LONG-TERM PROBLEMS: TOO MANY PEOPLE, TOO dioxide are causing serious effect on children’s intelligence and health.
FEW TREES The world has already faced frightening problems such as desertification,
- Nissani, Moti was born on March 27, 1947 in Jerusalem, Palestine (Doctor
acid rain, loss of wild species of plants and animals, ozone layer depletion
of Philosophy in Genetics,  USA interdisciplinarian, educator, geneticist)
and green house effect because of human caused pollution.
In the brief essay, Two Long Term Problems: Too Many People, Too Few
Trees, Moti Nissani discusses two inter-related problems: overpopulation and The population is increasing everywhere except some countries which can be
deforestation. With their impact showing several consequences of the twin counted on finger tips. More people, in turn, use more natural resources,
problems, the writer makes us aware about our duties to solve them and to cause pollution, and bring changes in world climate. Meanwhile, the time for
save the bio-sphere for our future generation. improvement is still within our reach. We can still control the situation
though it is difficult to reverse it.
The essay starts with the world’s scientists concern over the earth’s Education, especially to women, and information about birth control can help
environment. It is becoming much polluted. The air, water, and soil, which to reduce the population growth. The situation could be improved by
controlling population and pollution, many factors such as modernization, in charity but tried to be independent by stealing fish from the boats. There
effective family planning measures equal economic, educational and legal was no one to assist him in his mission but he was a determined person.
opportunities to women will help to control the rapid population growth. When he shouted villagers to come and see the ship in the following March,
they punished him instead.
He was highly interested in his adventure so he stole a boat on the eve
In order to save this world for our future generation, we must save forest by of appearance of the ghost ship. It was night and he was rowing in the stolen
reducing population pressure on it through effective family planning boat to see and capture the ship. The night was so dark as if the stars were
measures and educating people. We may also save the forest by making dead but he didn’t light the latern to be safe from the custom police. When
effective and strict laws with a provision to impose high tax on wood product the ship came close to him, he saw no life 8inside it. There were only some
and provision of incentive for pressuring forest. dead animals floating. It disappeared when the flash of light house fell on it.
There should be a provision in the law to punish severely for destroying The compasses were out of order and it started moving towards the sand
bank. When he lit the latern, everything corrected as normal. When he went
forest. Massive reforestation, another effective step will benefit the world in
near to the ship, it came under his control. Now, it didn’t disappear in the
conserving biodiversity, wildness and to minimize desertification, flood and light of the lighthouse. When the ship followed him towards the village, the
weather extremes. By controlling population and saving forest, we may save whole village was bright with the ship light. The ship was the biggest and the
this planet for our future generation utilizing our knowledge to convert our mysterious one as all of the villagers looked at it very surprisingly. The boy
wisdom, courage and passion into practice to turn this world into a heaven. was very proud of his adventure and showed everyone his complete maturity.
The story consists the features of literature like stream of
9. The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship consciousness and magic realism. The stream of consciousness is the literary
-Garcia Marquez technique in which the character’s thoughts and perceptions are presented
The story presents the transformation of a boy into adulthood. In this randomly as they occur in his/her mind. There is no any logical sequence in
process he encounters the ‘Ghost Ship’ many times. The boy becomes a the expression of thoughts. There is expression of unspoken feelings and
strong matured man and he wants to show how he has changed. He had seen thought of the characters. The magic realism intermixes the ordinary and
a large ship many years ago that had no lights, direction and any sound. miraculous events. The supernatural and concrete ideas are brought together
When he saw it one night passing by his village, it was really long and tall. in the story to make it more detailed and convincing.
When the light of the lighthouse would fall on it, it would disappear and
would appear in the absence of light. There should be some kind of defect in
it since, it moved to the sand bank, ran along the ground and finally broke
into pieces without any sound. But, on the next day, he found that it was his 10. God’s Grandeur
dream because there were no signs of the broken ship. -G.M. Hopkins
He saw the same ship again in the next March moving in the same The English poet G.M. Hopkins raises the social issues and the
direction but it was not his dream this time. When he told about the ship to religious issues in this sonnet (the poem in 14 lines). The poem presents the
his mother, she thought the boy had gone mad. The boy insisted her to see the greatness and the glory of god in the world. The god is omnipotent and
ship and she promised him to see it in the next March. She had bought a chair omnipresent. Our world is filled with glory of god. God’s glory is expressed
from the town and when she sat on it, she died due to over-excitation caused itself in different ways. Sometimes it flames out with brightness when a god
by the memory of her dead husband. The chair was an evil one since many foil is shaken. It may be expressed like oozing trickles of oil while pressing
women died when they sat on it. The boy was now helpless but he didn’t live the oil seeds in a press. As the oil oozes (flows out) in the form of small
trickles from every part of the press and fills a jar, the grandeur (greatness) of freedom and rights of black people were guaranteed by constitution before
god is found everywhere in each and every substance and gathers to form the hundred years are limited in paper.
universal greatness or power. King urges that this protest should not be cooled off. Such injustice will
The poet wonders why people don’t care about god’s rod though they weaken the foundation of America. This demonstration of anger is not
are known about god’s power and possible punishment. Generations of temporary. They don’t get satisfied until they get freedom and justice. King
human beings have been running after monetary or commercial tasks requests his people not to do wrongful deeds that might cause bitterness
avoiding the God’s existence. All of human activities are useless due to the hatred but the struggle should be continued in a disciplined way. They should
lack of divine will. The world has been degraded and made ugly by human not cause any physical violence. Their action should not cause any distrust in
commercial activities. It is covered with mask of man’s dirt and very bad among the white people because the luck of black people is tied up with the
smell of human being is being spreaded everywhere. The beauty of nature is luck of white people.
spoilt by man’s industrial activities and the sweet smell of nature has been King says that the Negro people can’t feel secured until the police will
drowned in the bad smell that comes out from machines. The earth is now torture them. They will be satisfied when they get proper housing and
bare by the loss of its beauty but the human being is insensitive to this feeding. They should be allowed to go where the whites go. They should get
bareness. Because of shoes, he can’t feel earth whether it is hard or soft. the voting right. King says that they should not lose their hope until their
Although human activities have been destroying the natural beauty, it voice of struggle reaches every part of America.
is inexhaustible. There is freshness at the bottom of the world that always King encourages American slaves to keep on fighting until they get
renews the freshness of the world by recovering the damage caused by men. justice and equality. King’s dream isn’t different from the American dream.
Although the sun sets in the West in evening, the next morning brings The dream is of peace and justice. It is the dream of the land where the
brightness with the sunrise in the East. The greatness of God s the earth to content of character is more important than the colour of the skin. The blacks
maintain the worldly freshness as the birds brood their young ones with warm and whites will be brothers and sisters. All the differences will disappear. The
breast. dream is of abolishment of racial discrimination, injustice, dominance and
11. I Have a Dream marginalization. It is the dream of sweet music of liberty resounding all over
-Martin Luther King America. King is in favour of bringing radical change through peaceful
The essay ‘I Have a Dream’ by the clergyman, a leader of civil rights movement. War causes damage and increases the distance between blacks
movement and civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King announces a and whites. Brotherhood can be achieved by winning the heart of others and
dream proposal in favour of American Negro slaves. Martin l. King delivered through spiritual union among the people.
the speech ‘I Have a Dream’ on the occasion of addressing the centennial of
Abraham Lincoln’s ‘Proclamation of Emancipation’ (announcement of
freedom). He delivered this speech on August 28, 1963 at Lincoln Memorial
in Washington D.C. before a crowd of millions of American people. This 12. Women’s Business
proclamation freed large number of American slaves and it had a hope of -Ilene Kantrov
millions of suppressed American slaves. Ilene Kantrov’s essay ‘Women’s Business’ is a strong document in
The blacks have not been able to enjoy the equal rights promised to them favour of women empowerment. Lydia Pinkham was a leading woman
by American Constitution. Only the whites have enjoyed the rights of life, whose kind and beautiful face was printed on the pages of newspapers and
liberty and pursuit of happiness. The Negros is still in the chains of captivity, magazines. It was the advertisement of herbal medicine to cure the diseases
separations and discrimination. They are poor among the rich whites. The of women. The products that she brought in the market were home-made
medicines called Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compounds. She combined
her business with social service. She advertised not only her products but also The essay ‘The Children Who Wait’ by Marsha Traugot suggests
supported women’s right and economic reform. She encouraged females to reasons for a new trend in adoption. Now wider varieties of families can open
consult female doctors because female understands female’s problems better. their homes to children who have been labeled as unadoptable. In the past,
She suggested them on diet, daily exercise and personal hygiene. She only whites and healthy children could be adopted but now black and
published the report that women were able to correct physical problems, handicapped children or unhealthy babies have been legally freed for
infertility, nervousness, hysteria and even moral conflict. adoption.
Pinkham earned name, fame and economy in the history of American
business arena and in female world. She made a special place of herself as a Tammy is a small, 5 years girl from black family whose picture has
model to be followed by other businesswomen in America. Other women too been published in newspaper column. Her social worker is searching for a
followed her in introducing feminine role in the masculine world of family with other siblings. She has a fetal alcoholic syndrome and her mental
commerce. Pinkham’s followers also started to produce different market growth may stop any time. She needs a lot of affection in the new home. Due
goods and sell them. Some of them emphasized glamorous role. Helena and to the legal management of adoption in America, black, over-aged and
Elizabeth started the cosmetics business to earn popularity and get married to handicapped babies have also got a hope of proper support and parental care.
European aristocratic. Grossinger ran a hotel which was famous for food There are several factors behind the change in adoption trend. Some of
entertainment. Women used traditional skills tin their business and fulfilled factors may be as: civil right movement, birth control, change in social
the lacks of women. Rudkin helped her husband by selling additive-free values, harsh economic reality, change due to science and technology, etc.
bread. Arden introduced a line of makeup.she was always ahead in the beauty Due to black civil right movement, black children are started to be treated
market. She not only got popularity in the skin care and cosmetics but also equally to white children. Due to birth control, legalized abortion and
she was the first demand in hair styling, ready-made clothes, yoga and changing attitude towards sexual behaviour and marriage, number of healthy
nutrition. babies reduced. Because of scarcity of healthy babies, people turned their
Some of them combined marketing effort with a campaign for social attention towards black & disabled children.
as well as economic reformation as Lydia had directed them. Some of others The number of homeless children increased in large number between
paid high attention in making profit. Gertrude Muller introduced varieties of 1960 and 1978. The state was unaware on how many children were there in
child care products. She also distributed pamphlets and booklets about child foster homes & how many of them were adoptable. If such children were left
rearing. She took the support of doctors and economists. Turnbo-Malone in foster home for longer period, they would remain there until they get
started hairdressing business and develop a new marketing skill by maturity. If they would remain there for longer time, they would suffer from
establishing a training school. many problems like mental retardation, involving in criminal activities or
Many of businesswomen used their profits in good works like abnormal behaviours.
establishing schools, hospitals and cultural organizations. Occasionally, their The politicians don’t invest money to begin any new program for
advertisements were extravagant and mass-misleading. So, government such homeless children because children don’t vote in election. The child
needed to control them. Social and economic level of women took a new welfare specialists gave the statistical data that cost of keeping an average
turning point and blurred the line of gender and racial inequality. So, the child in foster care home was minimum $3600 & could be as high as $24000.
activation of women through business contributed a lot to national It proved that the foster homes were cruel & expensive too.
development. The social workers now write down the characteristics of the child
&profile of the suitable family &then they try to match both. Same kind of
13. The Children Who Wait family may not be suitable for all kind of children. So, the social activists
-Marsha Traugot should pay good attention in selection of the family for particular kind of
baby. Now the single male or single female working class family or family of very expensive too. In the delivery ward in the hospitals, mothers cry due to
so called inferior social caste can also adopt the child. pain in pool of blood. If we look at the suffering of the mother during the
To find the possible adoptive parents, first the activists look their lists. birth, a live child isn’t much more important. Women will no longer offer up
Then they give the detailed information about the child to regional exchange their bodies to such cruel acts if the child is not welcomed at home and if the
offices. Later on, they held repeated meetings and organize the party for the mother isn’t praised and supported.
children too. Such gatherings make possible parents and children meet and 15. The Tell Tale Heart
know informally. Occasionally, they advertise the children in media too. -Edgar Allan Poe
14. A Child Is Born The story “The Tell Tale Heart” written by E.A Poe describes the
-Germaine Greer minute details of mystery. The narrator has got a mental problem and he
This essay presents a comparison between the parent-child questions why other people call him mad although his senses are working
relationship in the rich and modern west and the traditional east. Child birth well. He tries to prove himself a normal man as other by telling his own
is managed in different ways in traditional societies. Although, there is the story. The narrator used to live with an old man. There was good relationship
possible danger in child birth, the traditional behavior make the pregnant between them but the young man suddenly planned to kill him (old man).
woman forget her worry to some extent. She is supported by her husband, When the old man looked at him, the narrator would get troubled from his
other family members, relatives and community. Even in the western society, eyes and he would be exited due to anger. He decided to destroy the old
such believes are found in some extent. For example, a university graduate man’s eyes. Then he visited the old man’s bedroom almost every night for a
western woman regularly practices prenatal exercises during her pregnancy. week. But the old man would not notice his presence in the room. On the
She is attentive towards superstition. eighth night, accidently he made a little noise in the old man’s room which
In traditional births, infant and mother mortality is higher. The made the old man wake up. Later on, he lit the lamp and observed the old
modern medical support has helped a lot to reduce the deaths. But it has man’s eyes. When he saw his eyes, he excited excessively and jumped onto
stopped people from observing their traditional values. In most of the him. He pulled the old man down on the floor and he pressed his neck to
societies, women go to their mother-in-law’s house after marriage but they finish his breathing.
don’t become the member of that family until they bear a child. But the As the old man was life-less, he chopped him into small pieces. When
western people criticize such practices. In the traditional societies, woman he separated each and every body parts, he hid them under the planks of the
would lose her name after her first child and she is called by the child’s name floor. He reset everything and cleaned the blood spots and removed all the
but western people hate such practice. In many traditional societies, the signs of the incident. It was about to be morning. As he completed his
child’s relationship with extended family is taken more important. The child mission, instantly there was a knock at the door. When he opened the door,
is intentionally separated from the mother. By producing the child, the there were police officials. They said that the narrator’s one of the neighbours
woman satisfies the desires of the family. Family members are very curious reported them as he heard a loud cry from that house at midnight. The
to see the baby and celebrate the birth. The mother is taken good care in narrator fearlessly welcomed them and took them everywhere in the house.
mother’s house and fed nutritious food. After the birth, there are various He convinced them that the old man was out for few days. The sound at
ceremonies. One of the rewards of pregnancy is that the woman can go to her midnight, according to him, was his own unconscious yell in the dream. He
mother. answered all of the questions asked by the policemen confidently. So, they
In Bangladesh, children under the age of five or six are looked after trusted him.
together by the whole family. The older family members tell the fairy tales to Accidently, he heard some strange vibrating sound in his ear. As he
the children. In traditional societies, western medicine has brought a lot of heard the unusual sound, he tried to overcome that by speaking in high
problems. The doctors and their syringes are highly respected. The drug is volume but the sound became louder and clearer for him. He wanted the
policemen to go out but they went on talking about unnecessary subject the boy threatens to kill the old man. When the bridegroom’s figure appears
matters. Now, he was completely restless and guessed that the policemen had at the window, the boy sees it and gets filled with horror. When he hides his
already known about his crime and were pretending so. He got angry and eyes due to fear, the old man stabs him to death. Now, the old man stands
wanted to run away somewhere. He couldn’t control himself and he cried like a purified soul and explains why he killed the boy. As he says, it is
loudly that he killed the old man and he warned them to recover the dead needed to put an end to the chain of consequences, the polluted blood that
body pieces from under the planks. would have passed to the coming generations. As he bends to pick the
The story portraits the confession of crime and incapability of human scattered money up, he again hears the bridegroom’s hoof- beats and he
being to hide the secret. It intends that the crime speaks itself although the realizes in despair that the dream of the dead woman can’t come to an end.
criminal or accused person tries to keep it secret. The play is concluded with the old man’s remorseful prayer to god to release
16. Purgatory the tormented soul from its dream, for mankind is unable to do more than
-William Butler Yeats that.
Purgatory is the tragedy of a family curses which explores the relation
of human life to the supernatural forces. The old man kills his son to finish all 17. The Boarding House
of the consequences caused by his father’s polluted career. -James Joyce
As the old man says to his son in the drama, an aristocratic woman “The Boarding House” is a story by James Joyce that portraits the
fell in love with a groom. Later on, they married and had a son. When their teenager inconsistency and the story has specially focused on the realities of
son was sixteen, he killed his father since his father wasted mother’s property Irish people. Mrs. Mooney was a well to do Butcher’s daughter. She married
by drinking and roaming. The son is now an old man and he has also got a to a foreman who used to work in her own meat shop. After her father’s
son of sixteen. He killed the boy in the name of freeing his mother’s ghost death, Mr. Mooney started the habit of drinking alcohol and wasting money
and believed that the dead soul would find peace. by roaming here and there. They used to quarrel every day in front of the
The scene of the play is a ruined house and a broken bare tree. A customers. He mostly would steal money from the shop and occasionally
wandering old man and his bastered son stand in the moonlight before the would sell the bad meat. It was too much for Mrs. Mooney and she too
ruined house. The old man describes his past to the boy. He says that he was started abandoning him. One night he chased her with a knife and she needed
born in the same house from a drunken groom and an aristocratic lady. When to take shelter in neighbour’s house.
the great lady died due to birth complexity, the groom started roaming here When their conflict was too serious, Mr. Mooney left him and started
and there. So, the boy didn’t have the proper education. He reveals that when a boarding house in the Northern part of Ireland. When she sold the meat
he was sixteen, the groom had burned down the house in drunken mood and shop and took the responsibilities of children herself. Mr. Mooney was alone
made the boy angry. The boy stabbed the old man (groom) to death and in the world and started seeking job around the city. Tourists, musicians,
threw into the burning flame and fled to escape the trial. officers and the workers from the city started living and eating in Mooney’s
It’s the anniversary of the mother’s wedding night. The old man hears boarding house. The guests lived in harmony and used to entertain together.
the hoof- beats of the bridegroom’s horse on the graveled track and the figure Polly Mooney, daughter of Mrs. Mooney, had a job in typist’s house but Mrs.
of the bride appears at a lighted window of the ruined house. The boy (his Mooney made her quit the job when the lads suffered her a lot in the office
son) can see and hear nothing and calls the old man a mad. The old man and on the way. Now, she used to sing the song on Sunday celebration and
describes his mother’s wedding night and instantly cries out in a loud yell entertain the mass.
‘Don’t let him touch you!’ As he meditates on his mother’s marital activities, Polly Mooney was a young and attractive girl of 19. Her mother gave
his son (the boy) seizes his money bag and he gets disturbed. When they both her such a duty that she could meet and talk to the young man in the house.
try to possess the money bag, the coins scattered on the ground. Meanwhile She was in affair with a 35 years old officer Mr. Doran. Mrs. Mooney was
observing it very seriously but she spoke nothing in the beginning. She too normal thing to make a plan to devour the children. On one side there was a
wanted Polly get married to Mr. Doran. When other guests of the boarding famine in the houses of the poor people and they were compelled to abandon
house and villagers started commenting on Polly and Doran’s relationship, their family members but on the other side, feudalists people like witch
Mrs. Mooney took it seriously and planned to study the case. would gather vast property and control poor people by luring them with food.
One summer night, Mrs. Mooney asked Polly about her relationship Gretel proved herself a courageous lady by making a trick to finish
with Doran and she answered all of the questions very openly. After her the witch. It implies that a female is much more capable of making decisions
conversation with mother, Polly ran into the Doran’s room and cried by according to the situation. The writer does not like to blame any female
throwing her hands around his neck. She requested him to think about the figure but the bad deeds of a female are directly or indirectly caused by male
situation. Doran tried to convince her but the situation was really factor. So, the story is in support of feminism.
complicated. On the next morning, Mrs. Mooney called Mr. Doran to talk on 19. Hansel and Gretel: Political Interpretation
the same case. He felt very uncomfortable. He remembered those nights -Jack Zipes
when she used to serve him food at his late arrival as well as he remembered According to Jack Zipes explanation of the story ‘Hansel and
their illegal relationship. He was not sure whether he loved Polly or not. He Gretel’, there is the constant class conflict in any society. The higher class
didn’t want to marry Poly because she was not well educated and her English people who occupy the land and property always dominate and suppress the
was really poor. Polly was the daughter of a drunkard foreman and Mrs. lower class people or poor people. The story shows the victory of dominated
Mooney’s boarding house didn’t have good name in the society. Indeed, he people over the feudalist class.
needed to answer Mrs. Mooney. So, he descended down to talk to her. When The characters of this story are common people. A poor woodcutter
Mrs. Mooney discussed everything with him, she called Polly down to have cannot feed his children and abandoned them in the forest at his wife’s
the discussion. suggestion. They cleverly killed the witch and returned home with a lot of
18. Gretel: Feminist Interpretation jewels and food items. The story implies that there are witches who collect
-Garrison Keillor the riches and make the houses of food and valuable jewels. And, there are
According to the critic Garrison Keillor, the story of ‘Hansel and poor people too who cannot feed their children and are compelled to leave
Gretel’ is mainly focused on feminism. Here in this explanation, Gretel is their children alone in the dangerous forest.
given major responsibilities to precede the journey. She is proved as the The war, at the end of 1800 caused poverty. It brought a conflict
powerful, ideal and trickster girl. Hansel is lazy, powerless, feeble one. He between feudal people and poor people. At the end of that regular tussle,
cannot make any plan to get rid of the difficulties. The old man and Hansel feudalism was weakened and there was rise of capitalism. The witch was
are crazy of luxuries. They like to have delicious food materials. The symbol of feudal class and her death expresses people’s hatred towards the
woodcutter becomes ready to leave the children into the forest. Instead of system. Social forces used to be the enemies of the poor people. The system
doing so, he could be a courageous male and do something to feed the babies of stepmother was very common at that time since women would die young
but he showed his timidness. Gretel guides Hansel and carries him on her due to child bearing complications and other pregnancy difficulties and father
back and convinces him not to worry in difficulties. had to remarry. Stepmothers would not be kind towards the children and they
Stepmother is not cruel by heart but it was her compulsion to leave leave the babies away from home.
the children in the forest since she believed in the myth that god supports The story shows the change from the feudalism to early capitalism.
people in helplessness. There was a normal culture in the ancient time to keep Feudalism used to be cruel and unkind towards poor people. It indirectly
many wives or to remarry when the first wife would die due to female related urges poor people to keep on struggling against the dominant power to meet
difficulties. The witch was enemy on one hand but she fed the children for the summit of success and to bring the new sunrise for their new hopes.
several days and it was her kindness towards them. Being a witch it was a
 20. Hansel and Gretel: Positive Interpretation
-Bruno Bettelheim
According to this transformation, poverty and hardship are the main
enemies of the people. So, sometimes these enemies compel people to do the
evil deeds. There is a great fear in the mind of the children that their parents
want to desert them. The mother is taken as the source of food but she
doesn’t want to give food to children without any greed and she shows her
selfish nature. The mother is all important in the earlier stage of children’s
life but father is less important. The gingerbread house in the story represents
mother’s body. Every child has desire to get a house like gingerbread one.
After his/her mother goes drying, the children feel very happy while they get
to the gingerbread house but when they know the witch’s plan to devour
them, they understand the danger of greed and the life out of the parental
home. To save their life, the children need to make a plan to kill the witch.
They develop themselves intellectually.
They understand two aspects of home, the parental home and the
witch’s home. In the witch’s home, they knew that a child’s demand can’t be
satisfied unless the mother gets something which makes them more mature
and practical. The story conveys the second meaning that if children are
deserted by the parents then they are supported and taught by the nature how
to live. The support of the white bird to get to the witch’s home and a white
duck supports to cross the river are some of the examples of the nature’s
support. When they reach their house, they are no more burdens to the family
because they have earned a lot of funds by going out of the parental home.
They understand the importance of mutual help.
In order to get maturity, one should leave the parental home and
struggle in the new environment. The story tells us that when inner attitude
changes, everything changes. They don’t afraid of force like witch because
they have learned to overcome the challenges by co-operation. The next
message conveyed by the story is that if the children are free to learn in IMPORTANT QUESTION-ANSWERS
nature. They get maturity very quickly.
1. What images do you find in the poem ‘Grandmother’? To what senses
~THE END~ do these images appeal? (Grandmother)
Ans: The poem ‘Grandmother’ is composed by the American-Indian poet
Ray Young Bear. In this poem, the poet tries to show an immense love
between grandmother and grandson. This poem also talks about the identity
crisis or search for identity, culture and tradition. Here, the grandmother of didn’t express through language, they would have conversation through their
the poem represents universal grandmother. eyes. They were pretending just like good friends.
Going thoroughly, we find only the description of poet’s grandmother So, by this we can say that spiritual love is long lasting than attraction
but have got very deep meaning inside the poem. The poet has used various and infatuation. Love is not bound by any marital status. Love is individual
images to draw the lively picture of his grandmother. The different images feeling which is applied to the one who experiences it.
used in this poem are shape of grandmother, purple scarf, plastic
shopping bag, a sleeping fire, the light, smell of roots, words of 3. Define inertia. Short out some examples of inertia from the story.
grandmother, etc. These images appeal to various senses like sense of (About Love)
vision, sense of touch, sense of smell and sense of hearing. Ans: Inertia is that kind of situation in which people find themselves dull and
“Purple scarf”, “a plastic shopping bag” and “light from sleeping fire” passive, lack of development, inaction, unwillingness to do something. There
appeal to our sense of vision. Similarly, “warm and damp hands” appeals to are various examples of inertia in this story:
our sense of touch. “Smell of roots” appeals to our sense of smell and “voice a. Nikanor and Pelageya, whose relationship lacks development and
from rocks” and “words of grandmother” appeal to sense of hearing. they are not willing to get married. (Nikanor wants to marry
So, we see the poem very simple but it contains various symbols Pelageya but Pelageya insists on living together without marrying.)
which imply many senses. Here, the grandmother is symbolically connected b. Grey sky at the starting of the story which makes Alyohin, Ivan and
to the oldest part of the earth through the line ‘a voice coming from a rock’. Burkin stay inside the house and gossip.
A voice is compared with the words spoken by her. c. The relationship between Alyohin and Anna lacks development and
there is passivity among them.
2. How many love experiences are suggested in this story “About Love”? d. Although Alyohin is graduate from a University, he works on the
(About Love) field which makes Alyohin to stay stable because of which his love
Ans: The story ‘About Love’ is written by Anton Chekhov, a Russian relationship, economic status lacks development.
dramatist. ‘About Love’ is all about two types of love. Chekhov has showed
two types of love experiences through the relationship between Nikanor & 4. How did Alyohin define love? (About Love)
Pelageya and Alyohin & Anna. Through Nikanor and Pelageya, expressed, Ans: Alyohin is the main character of this story “About Love”. The story is
violent and sensual love is presented whereas unexpressed, spiritual and all about spiritual and physical love. Alyohin is the narrator of the story. In
platonic love is shown through Alyohin and Anna. the initial when the story had begun, the weather outside was very unpleasant
Nikanor and Pelageya are the servants in Alyohin’s home. The love to go out and travel. There was only one way of passing the time and it was
between Nikanor and Pelageya is expressed love but it is followed by telling and listening to the stories.
violence and sensuality. Nikanor wanted to marry Pelageya but she wanted to The three friends, Alyohin, Ivan and Burkin were having conversation
live with him just so because Nikanor used to drink and swear Pelageya. He when Nikanor came in and the conversation turned to love. Alyohin linked
also used to bit her. So their love was expressed, violent and sensual love his love story to the conversation. Alyohin had a girlfriend when he was in
which had only the physical relation but not spiritual. It was only the Moscow. He explains that the girl with whom he lived was only concerned to
attraction of opposite sexes. money.
On the other hand, Alyohin and Anna’s love was unexpressed but Alyohin says that love is a great mystery. It is only a statement of
spiritual and platonic. Anna is wife of Alyohin’s friend Luganovich and was questions but not a solution. According to him, love is the subject of
mother of a child. They were afraid to express their love because it would individual. Hence, it should be individualized but not generalized. He says
destroy the life of many other people connected to them. Although they that one’s feeling and condition in love may not be applied to the next. He
also says that when you are in love, you care about nothing like whether it is Now the poet has lost all his powers, strength and beauty. He has now
honorable or dishonorable, sensible or stupid, etc. According to him, love is a so pathetic situation that no any woman looks at him or anyone come and
hindrance and source of dissatisfaction and irritation. stay to talk with him. He is all alone and gets no support from anyone.
The definition of love is infinite. It cannot be easily defined by At last, he goes to seek the cause behind his pathetic situation and
anyone. No one has given satisfactory definition of love. All, who tried to loneliness. He finds that time is only the factor of such situation. After then,
define love, forwarded their view about love. Alyohin also did the same. he hates time because time is only his enemy. He is not ready to accept the
changes that occurred upon him naturally. According to him, time is only the
5. Why does the poet compare himself with the broken tree? (The primary cause of his transformation from youth to old age.
Lamentation of the Old Pensioner) Poet remembers his happy past when he was young and refreshes his
Ans: The poem “The Lamentation of the Old Pensioner” written by W.B. memory. He compares his past with his present and finds vast difference
Yeats talks about the state of old pensioner at his old age. The poet shows the between them. He shows his aggressive nature towards time. He hates time
feeble situation of the old pensioner. Here, the poet represents himself as an and wants to spit into the face of time.
old pensioner. He has presented the pathetic situation of himself at his old
age. 7. Summarize the poem in one sentence. (The Lamentation of the Old
Here, the poet has introduced broken tree as his shelter place. A cut Pensioner)
down tree is just a log thrown aside in the ground. The condition of poet is Ans: Poet is in his old age and to avoid his loneliness, he remembers his
just as the cut down or broken tree. Poet feels he is rejected by all and feels happy past and compares it with his present pathetic situation and finds time
alone. As the broken tree can never be green again, the poet also has no as a primary cause of his transfigure from youth to old age and shows his
creativity or possibility of freshness inside him as of his young age. anger towards time which made him old and he spits into the face of time to
We know that everyone sits around lit fire but neglects the ashes show his anger.
without flames. Likewise, the broken tree and the old pensioner are neglected
by the society of young people. The broken tree and old pensioner are similar 8. Summarize the poem. (Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies)
in the various ways: Ans: The poem “Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies” is a part of one of the
a. Both of them are old and rejected Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest”. This is the poem sung by the comic
b. When they were young, everybody was around them but now both character Ariel to the prince of Naples, Ferdinand, who mistakenly thinks
of them are alone. that his father has drowned thirty feet below in the sea bed. The spirit Ariel
c. The broken tree will not have its greenery again. Similarly, the poet says that his father has not died but his body part has changed into many
also will not have his lovely youth age again. valuable things.
The poet therefore, compares himself with broken tree and finds many more The bones of drowned person have changed into coral and eyes have
similarities between him and broken tree. changed into pearls. The death body of Ferdinand’s father has not destroyed
but every body organ is modified into something special and valuable. The
6. Why does the poet want to spit into the face of time? (The sea nymphs ring the bell ‘ding dong’ for the death of prince’s father.
Lamentation of the Old Pensioner) In this poem, the poet thinks that death is not the end of life and
Ans: Poet, here is an old pensioner who was very powerful in his young age. shows (presents) optimistic thinking about death. According to the poet, the
He was loved by everyone and beautiful girls used to hover around him. He body parts after death does not decay but modifies into various strange and
was near to the powers like the powers of politics. valuable things.
9. Is death meaningful in this poem? (Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies) 11. Write the lifestyle and condition of people of Karnali zone. (Hurried
Ans: “Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies”, poem from the play “The Trip to Avoid Bad Star)
Tempest” talks about the modification of the body parts after death. In this Ans: The essay “Hurried Trip to Avoid Bad Star” is a tour/journey of two
poem, the poet is optimistic that death is not end of life. American Geographers Lilla and Berry to Karnali zone, one of the most
This poem is sung by a comic character Ariel to the prince of Naples, difficult and backward zones of Nepal. The two geographers survey upon the
Ferdinand, who becomes pessimistic when he knows that his father is dead. lifestyles and economic conditions of the people of Karnali zone.
According to Ariel, different parts of his father’s body are changed into The people of Karnali zone are economically backward. They are
various gems and valuable things. uneducated, superstitious, dominated, ignorant about the situation, poor,
After we are born, death also comes along with our life. Life and religious, etc. People of Karnali have trade relation with Nepalgunj. Most of
death are just like twins. When life is there, we should be sure that death is the people of Karnali are porters which presents poor economic condition.
also following us. Death is meaningful not only in this poem but also in In Karnali zone, we do not find any infrastructure of development.
reality. After death our life is not finished because death is not the end of life. Government of Nepal has not thought of this region seriously. Nature is also
There is still life left besides the death. No organism is immortal. Every cruel to this zone. The geographical structure of the land is occupied by
living organism dies after it is born. According to this poem, after death we cliffs. The land has no fertility. To sustain the life, people have adopted
do not decay but we change into various most valuable things. For e.g. eyes animal husbandry.
changes into pearls, bones changes into coral, etc. So, death is meaningful. The people of Karnali zone are laborious and honest however they
represent ignorance, superstition, traditional and conservative thinking.
10. How is Karnali zone economically linked with low land Terai? According to the text, the people of Karnali zone travel or come out of their
(Hurried Trip to Avoid Bad Star) home only when there is good star or they try to avoid the bad star or omen.
Ans: Karnali zone is one of the backward least developed zones of Nepal. Here, the women of this region are not conscious about the bad effect
Lilla and Berry are two American Geographers who explores the Karnali of deforestation. They destroy the forest and feed their cattle. So, the lifestyle
zone for fifteen months on foot. They tried to find out life style of people in of people of Karnali zone is very miserable, dominated and dependent.
Karnali zone. People of Karnali zone totally depends upon Terai region as it
is linked with Terai economically. 12. Write down the main theme of the poem “Travelling through the
When the tourists visit Karnali zone to reach Nepalgunj through Dark”. (Travelling through the Dark)
Karnali, males of Karnali carry the load along with their home made Ans: The poem “Travelling Through the Dark” is composed by an American
equipments, herbal plants, blankets, etc. to trade in Nepalgunj. The main English poet William Stafford. In this poem, the poet presents a great tension
occupation of Karnali zone is to carry the loads of foreigners as most of the between two realities of life. On the one hand, there is responsibility and on
people there are porters. People of Karnali are linked economically with the other hand, there is emotions and sympathy.
Terai because they sell their local products in Terai and buy the basic The poet presents himself as a traveler and is travelling by the side of
requirements such as salt, sugar, clothes, utensils, etc. They sell the most the Wilson River at night. While he was travelling he found a deer dead in
valuable products such as medicinal herbs, blankets, silajit, hand knit the road and he stopped his car to see the situation. When he tried to clear the
sweaters, etc. in low price and buy their daily needs. road, he found that the side of the deer’s abdomen was warm. He realized
So, Karnali zone is completely linked with Terai economically. They that the doe was pregnant and the baby inside her was still alive. He hesitates
have to go to Terai to run their daily life in Karnali. to throw the doe in the canyon. Here, he is covered by the emotions and is
full of sympathy. But, to complete his responsibility, he at last throws the doe
into the canyon and goes on.
 So, the main theme of this poem is that every human has problems. Overpopulation itself is a serious problem. Modernization and
responsibility as well as emotions. Responsibility is more important than industrialization happen to be the causes of population growth. Also, lack of
emotions. Responsibility is the reality and one should accept it rather escape awareness to the people causes overpopulation.
from it. The poet has succeeded to show the full justice with both the realities Overpopulation results many problems. Primarily, the problem of
of life. unemployment is the main which occurs in the nation due to overpopulation.
After it, there comes the problem of deforestation. People destroy the forest
to settle down their lives. Also, the rapid population growth has a very bad
effect on environment and carrying capacity of earth.
13. Show how the action develops stanza by stanza. (Travelling through The major consequences of overpopulation can be:
the Dark) a. Deforestation f. Lack of food supply
Ans: The poem “Travelling through the Dark” presents both physical and b. Environmental degradationg. Crowed environment
mental actions. The first stanza begins with physical action and ends with c. Unemployment h. Increase in pollution
mental action. Here, the poet is travelling through the dark which is physical d. Increment in social crime i. Desertification
action. The poet sees a dead deer on the road and thinks of rolling it into the e. Depletion in non-renewable resources.
canyon which is mental action. It is not that we cannot solve the problem of rapid population growth.
The second stanza describes about the physical action. He stumbles If we, as well as concerned people seriously take the problem, obviously it
back of the car and goes up to the doe and drags it. Walking and dragging are can be solved up to some extent. The following can be some preventive
physical actions. measures:
In the third stanza, there is continuation of physical action of second a. Public awareness
stanza. The poet touches the side of doe and knows about the presence of b. Motivate to use family planning measures
offspring inside. This physical action leads to mental action. When the poet c. Equal economic, educational and legal chances for women
knows that the doe is pregnant, he hesitates to throw it. d. Increase living standard of people
In the last stanza, there are both physical and mental actions like in e. Media campaign etc.
first stanza. The poet knowing nothing to do stands in the glare of red light. Not only overpopulation, we do have next problem caused by it i.e.
He thinks of returning but finds it impractical. Here, his mental action ends deforestation. Deforestation is the situation when there are no trees in the
and after he threw the doe into the canyon, the physical action also ends. forest due to human negligence. In other words, deforestation is the cutting
down of forest to have the settlement. It is next very serious problem after
14. What are the causes, consequences and cures of overpopulation and overpopulation. Deforestation is the result of overpopulation. The number of
deforestation? (Two Long Term Problems: Too Many People, Too Few trees in the forest is declining day by day and if it is not controlled, one day,
Trees) we will not have any forest in the world.
Ans: The essay “Two Long Term Problems: Too Many People, Too Few The causes of deforestation can be:
Trees” is written by Moti Nissani. This essay talks about the twin problems: a. Overpopulation f. Lack of public awareness
overpopulation and deforestation. The writer has clearly shown the b. Negligence of people g. Source of earning
relationship of overpopulation and deforestation. c. Place for settlement h. Source of fuel energy
Overpopulation is the state of having high population in a nation than d. Source of fodder for animals i. Source of raw materials etc.
it can hold. The population of the world is increasing so rapidly that the e. Unemployment
world has now very few space free. High increase in population invites many
 Deforestation itself is a serious problem in the world and it happens to
create more problems. Deforestation causes many disasters like natural 16. How does a young boy evaluate grown up people’s world? (A Story)
calamities, depletion of ozone layer, greenhouse effects and many more. The Ans: “A Story” is the description of journey of Uncle Thomas and his
following are some consequences of it: friends. This story is narrated by a small boy or a child. The story
a. Occurrence of natural calamities like flood, landslide, soil erosion, drought humorously presents the adult’s world from a child’s point of view. The boy
etc. lives with his uncle and aunt. His uncle loves drinking but his aunt hates it.
b. Ozone layer depletion and greenhouse effect He finds many differences between his uncle and aunt.
c. Possibility of acid rain or drought One day, the boy’s uncle’s friends came to inform uncle about the
d. Loss of rare animals and plants outing and uncle decided to go but aunt refused. The boy also went outing
e. Lack of fresh air with his uncle for there was no one at home to take care of him. The boy
f. Hamper the ability of biosphere to sustain life found that the outing was alcoholic. The group stopped at every local place to
g. Damage the quality of life on earth etc. get drunk. They had the destination for outing but they didn’t reach there.
Deforestation causes devastating effect on earth. If it is not controlled, The life of drunkards is destination less.
it can make disappear the existence of life on earth. So, remedies should be The boy satires his uncle and his friends in many ways. The life of
taken so that it can be stopped. Following can be some remedy points: them is mission less. They live their life without any planning. He satires at
a. Plantation of new plants d. Gravity of poverty should be their random life, irresponsible life. The drunkards will get no honour in the
alleviated society. They are someway rejected from the society.
b. Control of overpopulation e. Recycling the natural resources So, the young boy satires at the life of grown up but drunkard
c. Public awareness f. Establishment of conservation areas people’s world as mission less, destination less, without plan and
etc. irresponsible life.

15. Describe the relation between Thomas (the boy’s uncle) and his wife? 17. How does the narrator develop himself as mature person from his
(A Story) childhood? (The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship)
Ans: “A Story” is written by Dylan Thomas. It is not an essay nor is it a Ans: The story “The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship” is written by Gabriel
complete story. It has no good beginning or good end. “A Story” is written Garcia Marquez. It is the story of a small boy from his childhood to maturity.
humorously to present the adult’s world from a child’s thought. The narrator The writer wants to prove that one cannot be great in life without courage and
of this story is a boy who lives with his uncle and aunt. His uncle was big, determination.
fat, noisy and red-haired man. He is compared with a buffalo. When he enters The boy (narrator) is an orphan boy who lived alone when his parents
his small house, it would look like a buffalo squeezing into an airing had died. His father had died when he was small but his mother died when he
cupboard. But, the aunt was small, silly and quick and would walk like a cat. was quite young. When his mother was alive, she would allow the boy to go
She would be always busy in doing household works. to seashore. He used to go and stay there for hours and stare at the sea waves.
The relation between uncle and aunt was random. Aunt was not so It was month of March when he saw very giant ship in the sea and saw that it
matching to the uncle. Uncle was big like a giant but aunt was so small like a would disappear when the light of the lighthouse appear in it. At first, he
rabbit. When aunt got angry, she had to stand on the chair and hit uncle. didn’t believe it but he saw the same ship in next March. He then went and
Their likes and thoughts did not match. Uncle likes to attend alcoholic parties told his mother. She also didn’t believe him. He didn’t lose his hope and told
but aunt hates it. Although their thoughts don’t match, they love each other it to the villagers but the villagers severely bit him.
and are adjusted with one another’s life.
 After this, the boy gathered enough courage and determined to show however, god has immense tolerating power. The modern people thinks that
the villagers who he is. He was orphan and was living alone but he didn’t now the god is nowhere but the god has been watching the activities and is
take the help of villagers. He started to live/survive with the stolen fish. He also forgiving us as the poet says, we are the children of god and we all are
used to steal the fish if the boatmen. In the next March, he again saw the his own production.
same ship and planned to capture that ship. He stole a small boat and There is presence of god in nature and the nature is present in
followed the ship. At last, he was able to capture the ship. When he went freshness. Now-a-days, the freshness is all overcome by the industrial
inside the ship, he found that the ship had no captain. He sailed the ship and pollution. But the god is refreshing the nature and his presence day by day
took it under his control. He then brought it at the village and showed it to the through his powers. Also, god is protecting us. The god is spreading his fins
villagers. to cover the nature like the bird scattering its feathers to save its siblings.
So, the boy developed himself as a mature person. Firstly, when he Whether it is modern world or traditional, the presence of god can never be
was a boy, he only shared about the ship with his mother but when he got destroyed. Even if we try to destroy it, the god regenerates it and continues
beaten from the villagers, he as a mature person, gathered courage and the presence of god in the nature. By regenerating the nature, the god is
showed the villagers his success. The determination he had taken in his protecting human although the human neglects the presence of god in the
childhood got success in his matured age. world.

18. What is the central theme of the poem “God’s Grandeur”? (God’s 19. What is the dream of King about the future of America? (I Have a
Grandeur) Dream)
Ans: “God’s Grandeur”, a religious poem composed by G.M. Hopkins, Ans: The dream of King about the future of America is the unity among all
shows the greatness of god in the world. The poem talks about the two the people either blacks or whites; Protestants or Catholics etc. and all
different world i.e. Atheist’s world and Theist’s world. Theists are those who Americans will be bounded in the relationship of brotherhood with freedom
believe in god and the Atheists are the opponents of the Theists. This poem is and independence to all.
all about the glory of god and his greatness in the world. He dreams that one day the nation will rise up with equality, there
The poet says that the god is omnipotent and omnipresent. The god is will be freedom and justice to all, no one will be judged by the colour of skin
very powerful. The presence of god is all around us. The god is present in the but by character and their children will play and sing together with the
small droplets of oil coming out of mine. The god is present in silence and children of whites and whole American will be one family. So they will live
peace. God can never be present in violence and conflicts. in the country with high respect and dignity with each other. The dreams of
The poet satires on the Atheists world as they are destroyer of the Martin Luther King are:
nature where god is present. He says that the god has seen all their sins and - One day the nation will rise up with and live out the true meaning of its
therefore one day surely the god will punish them all. He says that the god creed “We hold this truth to be self evident; that all men are created equal.
can never be challenged by any external force. God has seen all being - One day the sons of former slaves and sons of former slave-owners will be
invisible. According to the poet, god is invisible because being invisible; god able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood on hill of Georgia.
can notice the Atheist’s world and punish them. - One day the Negros will get freedom avoiding injustice and discrimination.
Now the world is changing slowly. The modern people of the modern - One day the children of Negro will live in the country where they will not
world are forgetting the glory of god. The modern people have become blind be judged by colour but by characters.
in the name of money. The people of modern era are running after the money - The little black boys and girls will be able to join hands with the little white
and are forgetting the god’s presence. The people are destroying the presence boys and girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
of god by destroying the nature. Although people are so cruel to god,
- The corners of the places where the Negros live will be developed as other Ans: The women produced the product for self use at first but later they
places. started the business of it as the increase of its demand in the market and they
gradually flourished their business with new techniques of advertisement on
20. What is the historical significance of Martin Luther king’s speech? (I one side and also involving in various social activists work in America which
Have a Dream) could make them successful business women.
Ans: ‘I Have A Dream’ is the real speech delivered by Martin Luther King, a Firstly, the women’s business started from Lydia E. Pinkham who sold
leader of the Black Civil Right Movement on the occasion of 100th year of her own herbal product advertising that it could cure all diseases which
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1963.He opposed the racial before used for herself and neighbours. To flourish her business she started
discrimination by organizing non violent resistance and peaceful mass giving suggestions for her customers about hygiene, diet, exercise, awaring
demonstration to get their freedom and justice in their real life not in the women about their rights. In this way she flourished business in America.
pages of constitution only. Motivating from Pinkham, Helena and Elezabeth also started selling
The Luther King’s speech is very much historical for Americans cosmetics advertising their marriage with European aristocrats. Elezabeth
because this speech could convince all the whites too to join their hand in introduced some medicines for face and advocated yoga, diet, clothes etc. to
hand with them. His speech is very much impressive that it remains in the women and Helena published book about dieting and flourished their
memory of all people which could lead the country into the right track. The business. Then Jannie Grossinger ran a resort hotel in New York and became
speech is not against any of the people, neither blacks nor whites or others. It successful. They contribute a lot in schools, hospital, cultural organizations
is only against the discrimination and injustice. His speech has got the power as social work. Margaret Rudkin started her business with selling of wheat
to impress all. He tells that they revolt against the injustice and bread to nearby shopkeeper during her feeding that bread to her ill son.
discrimination with non violent way and peaceful demonstration. Gerturd Muller also published pamphlets and booklets about philosophy
He believes that Blacks and Whites both are important to each other. about child rearing and which of them are still used by doctors and home
They should include whites in their journey because they cannot walk alone. economic instructor. A black capitalist woman Annie Turbo-Melone started
Similarly, the whites also need them. In the speech he does not address to a hairdresser’s business. She made network of agent and trained them. She
single group but to whole Americans. He has faith to get the support from thought to work for black and women and uplift their economic status.
whites too after observing their presence on that mass. His speech is In these ways, the women started and flourished their business in
appealing all the Americans to be united with hand in hand as brotherhood. American which were started from focusing on women’s issues and
He wants their children playing and singing together with whites, they get the flourished with the new techniques and social activities of advertisement in
right to vote, and enjoy their freedom and justice. This is another great step to the business field.
bring democracy, freedom and justice to blacks in America. So, it has got the
historical importance. 22. What is the central idea of the essay? (Women’s Business)
Thus, the king’s speech has the historical importance as it could draw Ans: The essay ‘Women’s Business’ is written by an American writer Ilene
the attention of whites to join hands with them with the most convincing way Kantrov, who developed career as a teacher, writer and editor. This essay is
without any violence and this speech addresses to all people to go ahead focused on the business of different women in America giving different
together with freedom and justice to all. examples.
The central idea of this essay is to encourage the women to uplift their
21. How did the women start and flourish their business in America? financial condition by showing some examples that the women can also give
(Women’s Business) contribution in business and social issues and become successful financially
and socially as men can do and can create new things and techniques.
 After the collapse of husband’s business Lydia E. Pinkham started there would appear problems in their life. There was the system of
selling her own herbal product which was used for herself {{{{and discrimination and they used to follow the traditional system of child
neighbours for women that can cure women’s diseases. She advertised that adoption.
her product can cure all diseases like falling of womb, hysteria etc. even the For the handicapped children, they need special care, love, affection,
insanity. On the other hand she conducted awareness program for women time as their health is already weak. The adopting family should spend more
about the women social issues and suggested her customer about hygiene, time for their treatment which won’t be possible for all. So the people didn’t
exercise, diets and fiscal reforms and rise in social issues. She became able to want to take such burden with them.
earn $2, 00,000 in 2 years. In the case of over aged children, it is also very hard to adopt as they
Inspired by her, Helena and Elezabeth started their cosmetics would be somehow socialized in the family more or less. It will be difficult
business with the advertisement as their marriage to the European aristocrats. for such children as well as parents to get adapted with the situation. In some
Jannie Grossinger also started a resort hotel in New York and served 150000 cases, the background of the children would be very bad. They may have the
guests in a year. Similarly, Margaret Rudkin sold pure wheat bread and ran stormy history and quarrelsome for which parents must become strict to
her business and became successful. A black woman capitalist Annie Turbo control them. So the over aged children were not adopted.
Melone introduced hair dresser’s business along with the network business In America, before the new constitution was implemented, the Negro
with agent and trained them. Gerturd Muller also published pamphlets and people were treated as slaves and the children from Negro society were hated
booklets about progressive philosophy of child rearing as her business. as well the children having black face were also treated badly due to his skin
In this way, the essay focuses on the encouragement of women colour. There was discrimination among blacks and whites in America. So
towards the business along with the involvement in the new technique of the black children were not adopted only due to the colour of their skin as the
advertisement and different social and women issues. But with the name of parents would be the whites who adopt them.
social services and advertisement, they should not mislead the society. It Thus, due to the problems like racial discrimination, expensiveness,
should be in limit. For e.g. Helena and Elizabeth &Grossinger invested uncontrollable behaviors the handicapped, over aged and black children were
lavishly in school, hospitals etc. and advertisement were misleading due to not adopted.
which FTC and FDA had to ban on them. Similarly, Pinkham was involved
in the temperance but she herself sold alcohol. So, the essay shows that there 24. What are the differences between the adoption scene before 1960 and
should not be any conflicts between profit motive and social services at a after 1960 in America? (The Children Who Wait)
time that could damage their reputation. Ans: The essay “The Children Who Wait” is written by Marsha Traugot, an
American activist in children’s protective services. This essay is focused on
23. Why was it difficult for handicapped, black and over aged children to the trend of child adoption in America before and after 1960. According to
be adopted? (The Children Who Wait){{{{{{ the essay, the adoption system is far better in America at present. The system
Ans: The essay “The Children Who Wait” is written by Marsha Traugot, an of adoption has changed in America since the new constitution is
American activist in children’s protective services. In the essay, she has implemented.
painted the picture new trend of child adoption in America after 1960’s. Before 1960, the unhealthy children were neglected and they were
It was very difficult for handicapped, over aged and black children in kept in foster homes but no one would adopt them. But the situation has
America before 1960’s to be adopted by other because no one is interested to changed after 1960. All sorts of children are being adopted whether they are
adopt such child in the world of healthy and white children. The thinking of unhealthy or handicapped or black or over aged. The concept of people has
the people was so traditional that if they adopt handicapped children or black changed. The people were traditional minded and they used to think that if
children, they would also adopt the sins of those children because of which
the unhealthy children were adopted then they would also adopt the sins of 25. Why does the narrator develop the intense hatred against the old
those children because of which they are having such difficulties in their life. man? Would you call him a mad man? Give reasons. (The Tell –Tale
The major causes that brought changes in the adoption policy were Heart)
women’s movement, Black civil rights movement, arrival of social workers Ans: The story “The Tell –Tale Heart” under the theme of crime and
and activists, Medias, national economy and bad condition of the foster confession is the contribution of an American short story writer, poet and
homes. The bearing of child before marriage or outside marriage was critic Edgar Allan Poe. The main idea of this story is that no one can hide his
considered as a crime but due to the women’s movement, they can also keep mistakes for long period of time. Sooner or later, it will be disclosed. This
children and care as a married woman which brought easiness in adoption. story proves the quotation, “Crime speaks out though it hath no tongue.”
Also, those women who don’t want to marry but is willing to keep child can The narrator and the old man were living together and there were no
easily keep child with them although she is not married. Before only the any conflicts between them. The narrator was loved by the old man and he
married couples could adopt the children but now it is free for all types of also loved the old man. He narrator had no any greed for the old man’s
parents to adopt the children. property. The narrator killed the old man although he bears no any enemity
After the new constitution has been implemented, the racial with the old man. According to the story, the narrator develops intense hatred
discrimination has also vanished which benefited the black children. In against the old man. The old man had the eyes like of vulture and the narrator
America, the blacks were the low class people before but they are also now used to be irritated whenever he saw those eyes. The eyes were pale blue
well behaved by the whites and are given equal rights as of the whites. with a film over it. The narrator decided to kill the old man only to get rid of
Before the black children were neglected and were taken care by the foster the eyes as he gets mentally disturbed and tempered when he saw the eyes of
homes. But, now the black children are also kept in queue to be adopted. the old man. The reason for the narrator to develop intense hatred against the
Before, only the white children were considered as the lucky children and the old man is his (the old man) own eyes.
black children were considered as the bad luck but now such discrimination No, I wouldn’t call the narrator a mad man because the mad man
is vanished and both black and white children are adopted by the parents. wouldn’t have the intelligence and confidence like in the narrator but as he
Before the children were adopted randomly by the parents without confesses that he had some mental problems but every mental problem can’t
evaluating the nature and background of the child and they used to face many be called madness. The narrator wants to prove himself a normal man by
problems with those children. But, now the social workers help the children telling his story that how carefully he killed the old man and cleaned the spot
and parents in the process of adoption. The social workers evaluate the that nobody could doubt him.
background and behavior of the children and search the appropriate family The narrator killed the old man in such a careful manner that no any
for their adoption by publishing the profiles of the children in different mad man could do like that. Before killing the old man he examined the old
newspapers and also by advertising them through the radio and television. man for about a week but no one, not even the old man knew about it. He
So evaluating the adoption scene of now and of before 1960, there is tried to kill the old man in such a manner as if he was not present in the
vast difference among them. The adoption concept of present is more room. After he had killed the old man, he managed to hide the dead body
effective than that of past. Before the limited numbers of children were only under the planks in such as though there happened nothing wrong in the
adopted as there was classification among the children but now every child of house. He made no any mistakes while he committed the crime and to hide
different backgrounds is being adopted by the parents of different fields. The them. This intelligence of the narrator can’t be said madness because no mad
black and handicapped children no longer wait now to be adopted as in the person can commit crime without any mistakes.
past. In the same way, the narrator treated the policemen who came to
investigate if there was anything wrong in the house so confidently t6hat
there was no any doubts on him. He immediately developed a story and told
the policemen that the old man has gone out and the sound might have been
produced by him during his sleep and made them believe in his words. The
policemen had no any doubts on him. This type of confidence can’t be found
in the mad man. So the narrator can’t be called a mad man.

26. Why did the old man kill his own son? (Purgatory)
Ans: The play “Purgatory” is written by a famous and renowned Irish poet
and play writer William Butler Yeats. The word ‘Purgatory’ means the place
where the dead soul waits for purity.