VISION ENGLISH NOTES

BBS Second Year

2082
NDGURU
nagendradhimal.com.np
 Table of Contents
Unit 1: Culture and Society ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
1. New Nepal/Shiddhicharan Shrestha ........................................................................................................................................ 3
2. Looking for a Rain God/Bessie Head ..................................................................................................................................... 3
3. Dover Beach/Matthew Arnold ................................................................................................................................................. 4
4. Shooting an Elephant/ George Orwell.................................................................................................................................... 5
4. Unknown Citizen/W. H. Auden ............................................................................................................................................... 6
5. Augustus Does His Bit/George Bernard Shaw ........................................................................................................................ 7
6. The Parrot in the Cage/Lekhanath Paudyal ........................................................................................................................... 8
Unit 2: Money & Management ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
Advertise Your Business/Phineas T. Barnun.............................................................................................................................. 9
9. Eveline/James Joyce................................................................................................................................................................. 9
10. The Company Man/Allen Goodman ................................................................................................................................... 11
11. Light My Lucky .................................................................................................................................................................. 11
12. The ideal of Craftsmanship/C. Wright Mills ...................................................................................................................... 12
Unit 3: Science and Environment ................................................................................................................................................ 13
13. Religion and Science/Alfred North Whitehead .................................................................................................................... 13
15. Root Cellar/Theodore Roethke ............................................................................................................................................ 14
16. On Warts/Lewis Thomas ..................................................................................................................................................... 14
17. The Etiquette of Freedom/Gary Snyder ............................................................................................................................ 15
18. Just Like George Bernard Shaw/James Herriot ................................................................................................................ 15
19. The Rights of Animals/Bridig Brophy ................................................................................................................................ 16
Unit 4: Gender and Women ......................................................................................................................................................... 16
20. Profession for Women/Virginia Woolf............................................................................................................................... 16
21. The Use of Force/Willam Carlos Williams ......................................................................................................................... 17
22. The Stronger/August Strindberg.......................................................................................................................................... 17
23. Here I Love You/Pablo Neruda .......................................................................................................................................... 18
24. The Kiss/Kate Chopin .......................................................................................................................................................... 19
25. The Girl/Jamaica Kincaid ................................................................................................................................................... 19
26. Farewell/Federico Garcia Lorca ......................................................................................................................................... 19
27. Popular Mechanics/Raymond Carver ................................................................................................................................. 20
28. The Fly/Willam Blake........................................................................................................................................................... 20
29. Jest and Earnest /Annie Dillard .......................................................................................................................................... 21
30. The Old Man at the Bridge/Earnest Hemingway ............................................................................................................... 21
31. Once more to the Lake/E.B. White ..................................................................................................................................... 22
32. The Hundredth Dove/Jane Yolen ....................................................................................................................................... 22

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 33. The Lunatic/L.P. Devkota .................................................................................................................................................. 23
34. An Essay in Aesthetics/Roger Fry....................................................................................................................................... 23
35. The Clock Tower/ Bhupi Sherchan ..................................................................................................................................... 24
36. Beauty/Susan Sontag ........................................................................................................................................................... 24
What I Think, What I AM" /Edward Hoagland...................................................................................................................... 25
All- Pervading Poetry/BalKrishna Sama .................................................................................................................................. 25
The Allegory of the cave/Plato ................................................................................................................................................. 26
Her First Ball/Katherine Mansfielf ............................................................................................................................................ 27

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 Unit 1: Culture and Society

1. New Nepal/Shiddhicharan Shrestha disease of inequality of wealth; people are living

miserable life with hungry stomach and bare backs.
Theme: freedom, justice, equality, dignity At the end of the poem, the writer calls all the
Summary Nepalese to act out without any desperation and he
also says that we have to destroy all the evil elements
The poem ‘New Nepal’ is written by the Nepalese
of that time, i.e. Rana Regime.
romantic poet Shiddhicharan Shrestha. It is
translated into English by Shreedhar Lohani. This is The mood of the poem is revolutionary. It reflects the
a political poem that voices a strong call to Nepalese revolutionary spirit of Nepalese people against the
to rise above the inequalities of the past and bring autocratic rule of the Ranas. In this poem, the poet
freedom and dignity among Nepalese people. emphasis on the liberty, equality and dignity against
injustice, oppression, and dictatorship. The poem
In the poem, the poet appeals the Nepalese people to
also captures the devotion, dedication and
wake up and speak up the hidden truth and the beauty determination of Nepali people to uproot the Rana
of Nepal. He calls Nepalese people to speak and Regime from the soil of Nepal.
write against Rana regime which suppressed
Nepalese people for about 104 years. The poet also Context: Rana Regime in Nepal
says to climb up the black uphill of suppression and Tone: Optimistic
fight against the persecution with a great courage and
furious anger. Further, he says if Nepalese people Mood Of the poem: Revolutionaty
take a new step of advancing foot with courage, Alletration: Let the clearest current of consciousness
caution, power and union, they can bring forth a
bright day.

Currently in Nepalese society, there are disgusting

rituals, cruel class divisions that divide Nepalese
people in different categories and classes. Against it,
the poet says, we have to open up our heart and
kindle the big hope, courage, and equality.
According to the writer, Nepal is suffering from a

2. Looking for a Rain God/Bessie Head

Characters: Tiro :Ramadi’s wife

Mokgobja : 70 years old labourious farmer Nesta : Tiro’s sister

Ramadi : Mokgobja’s son Neo and Boseyong : Two daughters of Ramadi &
Tiro

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 villagers saw the frightened look on their (family)
faces, they called the police to investigate. When
Tiro broke down and confessed everything,
Mokgobja and Ramadi were sentenced to death for
Theme: human struggle against nature, human hope ritual murder of the two girls.
for survival superstition deeply rooted in human
psyche (mind), Negative impact of superstition, The story has many themes. It presents struggle of an
African family against a drought and hope for human
Summary survival. It gives us idea that nature can be a friends
or enemy. Man cannot control nature but nature can
The story is set in African village where the villagers
control man’s destiny. We must be tough and strong
are mostly farmers. A seven-year drought swept the
land and brought severe hardships to the People who to survive under harsh living conditions. Similarly,
depend on the land for survival. The people became we must have hope in times of despair. Superstitions
desperate (sad) and some committed suicide. Others make us lose rational thought.
became superstitious and turned to witch doctors for
help. The main character Mokgobja does everything to
survive the family. He has hope that he will fight
Towards the end of the seventh year, in early
against natural disaster like drought by hook or
November, the rain came for two weeks and the
villagers rush to plough their lands. Mokgobja and crook. He is ready to sacrifice his son’s daughters to
his family were among the first group to move to make rain. So the story presents the theme of human
their field to start ploughing. The family consists of survival instinct (desire).
Ramadi, his son Tiro, his daughter-in- Law, Neo
and Boseyong, her two daughters, and Nesta, an
unmarried sister of Tiro.
3. Dover Beach/Matthew Arnold
In mid-November, the rain stops suddenly and the Theme: Victorian pessimism is reflected in the
family who had prepared the lands for farming poem, downfall of religious and spiritual values due
became desperate. Only the two girls, Neo and
Boseyong, were happy in their own world playing to development of science, appeals for compromise
house and imitating their mother. The women broke between science and religion for the healthy society
down and became hysterical (panic strike) when they
realized that they could not face another year of Summary
drought and starvation. The men too were beginning
This poem has been written by English Victorian
to lose their self-control.
poet Matthew Arnold. In the poem, he expresses
Then, Mokgobja remembers a rain-making frustration, pessimism (doubt) and confusion over
ceremony he witnessed as a young child where the changes brought about by the development of
children were sacrificed to a Rain God to bring the
science and technology where there is ‘neither joy,
rain and make the crops grow. And Mokgobja tell the
women, and the children were sacrificed to the rain nor love, nor peace, nor help for pain’. This situation
god. But the rain did not fall and they became so has been created by the decline of ‘religious faith’.
terrified.
The poet is at Dover Beach at night. He finds the
The family returns to the village and the people scene very beautiful and pleasant because the sea is
noticed that the children were missing. When calm and the tide is full. The moon lies fair. On the

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French side, the light gleams (flash) and is gone. 4. Shooting an Elephant/ George Orwell
There are glimmering and vast cliffs. The poet tells
his beloved to come to the window to enjoy the The narrator: British Police Officer in Burma. Does
beauty and fresh air of the night. Meanwhile he tells not want to shoot the elephant, but he does to “avoid
her to listen to the roar of pebbles (stones) which are looking a fool”.
drawn forward and backward by the tides. The waves
begin and stop and again begin. The roar of the The Burmese: Brumes jeer (laugh) at the narrator,
pebbles (stones) makes the poet very sad. In this way spite at English women, and enjoy watching him fail.
the poet finds a gap between the appearance and As they are under imperial rule, these actions are
reality. The appearance is beautiful but the reality is rebellion against their oppressors.
sad. The Elephant: The elephant has escaped from its
The poet compares himself to Sophocles who was a owner and killed a man. The narrator feels partially
great Greek dramatist. Sophocles also heard the same justified in shooting the elephant because of damage
kind of note on the Aegean which made him very it has done.
sad. He also saw the rise and fall of human misery in
the sound coming from the sea. Later the Greek
Theme: Colonialism/ Imperialism: Imperialism is a
civilization collapsed. The poet wants to indicate that
policy of a country to increase the territory, power,
modern scientific civilization can also collapse.
influence and control by using different means like
Thus the poem shows the loss of faith and morality military force.
among people in the world as science and technology
Summary
remain dominant. In this poem, the poet suggests for
the compromise between religion and science that The narrator of the essay starts with describing the
creates the healthy society. The tone of the poem is hate he is confronted (faced up) with in a town in
Burma. He says that he is a sub-divisional police
melancholic (sad).
officer and is hated by the locals. He also confesses
Context: Victorian period in England – Era of to being on the wrong side of the history as he
explains the inhuman torture (pain) of the British Raj
downfall of religion and faith
on the local prisoners.
Metaphor: the sea is calm tonight, the dea of faith
After describing his conditions, he starts telling a
Simile: like the fold of a bright girdle furled story of one fine morning. He is told on the phone
about an elephant which has shattered his chains and
Tone: pessimistic in the first stanza , then optimistic gone mad, threatening the localities and causing
tone destructions. The mahout went in the incorrect way
searching for the elephant. The Burmese are unable
to stop the elephant as no one in their whole
population has a gun or any other weapon and seems
to be quite helpless in front of the merciless elephant.

After the phone call, Orwell goes out to search the

elephant. He suddenly hears scream from a little

5
distance away and immediately follows it. Going Symbol: elephant (it doesn’t have freedom to travel,
towards the elephant he finds a dead coolie around shooting an elephant is similar to colonizers
the corner lying in the mud, being a victim of the dominating innocent Burmese
elephant’s brutality. After seeing the dead laborer, he
immediately orders to bring him a gun . In the
meanwhile, Orwell is informed by the local people 4. Unknown Citizen/W. H. Auden
about the location of the elephant that was in the
paddy field. After seeing the gun in Orwell’s hand, a
Theme: oppression, surveillance, indifference,
large number of local people start following him in
freedom, identity crisis state’s control over the
excitement. In the field, Orwell sees the elephant
individual
calmly gazing and decided not to kill it as it would Summary
be wrong to kill such a peaceful creature.
The unknown citizen has no name; he has only a
number, to whom the monument has been built and
However, when he gazes back at the mob behind, it
has been found to be without any fault. He was a saint
has expanded to a thousand and is still expanding,
because he served the government perfectly. He did
supposing him to fire the elephant. By the first
not get dismissed from his job. He was a member of
thought, he realizes that he is unable to resist the
the Union and paid all his dues to the union. A report
crowd’s wish to kill the elephant. He seems to be a
by the Union shows that it was a balance union and
kind of “puppet” that is guaranteed to fulfill their
did not take extreme views on anything. The social
subject’s expectancy.
psychology workers found that he was popular
among his fellow workers and had a drink with them
Consequently, Orwell decides to shoot the elephant
now and then. He also bought a newspaper every day.
or in another case, the crowd will laugh at him, which
He reached to the advertisements normally.
was intolerable to him. As Orwell fires, the elephant
falls on the ground. Orwell fires the second shot, the
He had good health and although he went to the
elephant appears worse but doesn’t die. As he fires
hospital once, he came out quite cured. The citizen
the final gunshot, the elephant shouts it out and falls.
was sensible about buying things on an installment
The elephant is still alive while Orwell shot him more
basis. He had everything a modern man needed at
and more but it seems to him that it has no effect on
home. Moreover, this ideal citizen was found to be
it. The elephant seems to be in great agony and is
sensible in his view. When there was peace, he
“helpless to live. Orwell, being unable to see the
supported it. But when there was war, he was ready
elephant to suffer, goes away from the sight. He later
to fight. He didn’t hold his personal views on
heard that the elephant took almost half an hour to
anything. He had the right number of children and he
pass away.
did not quarrel with the education they got. . The poet
now asks the important questions. Was this man
Orwell’s killing of the elephant remained a huge
free? Was he happy? No government statistics can
controversy. The aged old people agreed with the
ever answer these kinds of questions.
Orwell’s killing of the elephant but for the younger
one, it appears to be unsuitable to murder an elephant
as it killed a coolie– a manual labor. For them, the
Thus, the poem ‘The Unknown Citizen’ deals with
life of an elephant was additional worth than a life of
individuals losing their identity in the fast growing
a coolie. On the one hand, Orwell thinks that he is
modern world. The poem is a bitter attack upon the
fortunate that the monster murdered a coolie as it will
modern society where the state pretends to know its
give his act a lawful clarification while on the other
citizen but in fact it doesn’t’. The poem also shows
hand; he wonders that anyone among his companions
the immense control of the state over individuals. It
would assume that he murdered the elephant just not
is ironic that a man who spends his whole life to
to look a fool
fulfill the expectation of the state remains unknown.
Context: Anglo-Burmese war in 1885

6
Auden dramatizes his theme by showing the clear (proud) foolish character who takes war as a serious
difference between the complete statistical matter to strengthen the nation.
information about the citizen compiled by the State
and the lack of the judgments made about him. The Lord Augustus Highcastle, a 45 years old
poet seems to say, statistics alone cannot sum up an aristocrat, was sitting in the Mayor's parlor (room) in
individual; what an individual actually needs is the town hall of Little Piffington. The entire country
freedom, happiness and the identity. was in the war with Germany and all the soldiers had
gone to the war front. But Augustus was in colonel
Tone: Ironic dress and reading ‘The Morning Post’ sitting at his
parlor (room). Meanwhile, the clerk Beamish came
in. Augustus talks with Beamish, his 57 years old
secretary and tells him that the war is a very serious
matter, especially as he has three German brothers-
in-law in high post. The clerk requested Augustus to
increase his salary because he didn't want to die of
hunger. On the other hand, Augustus ignored it and
5. Augustus Does His Bit/George Bernard Shaw said it was not suitable time to increase salary in the
time of war because many brave armies were dying
Characters: (on stage) in the war. In fact, to save money for war Augustus
didn’t want to invest money to sweep the street and
Lord Augustus Highcastle (Augustus): 45 years, wanted to reduce the allowance of petrol by three
colonel in the English army/aristocrat quarters. He also wanted to replace the gas stove.

Mr. Horatio Floyd Beamish: The Clerk/secretary/ Augustus had delivered recruiting speech. He told
57 yrs the clerk that it was his best speech which was made
for army enrolment for world war first, and his
The Lady spy: woman town’s people needed such speech to wake up.
Setting: Mayor’s parlor in the small town of little However, the clerk showed negative aspects of war.
Pifflington (England) in 1916. As war is always destructive and fruitless, it brings
only pain and misery to human life. It is meaningless.
Off Stage Characters: As the clerk’s views were different than him he
Lord Hungerford Highcastle ( Blueloo) – became furious and sent him out. Then he was
Augustus’ brother in law informed that a female spy is after an important
Honorable Lucy Popham-Augustus’ Fiance document in his possession (control). After a while,
a glamorous (beautiful) lady enters Augustus’
Background: first World War (1914-1918) chamber, praises him and reveals that her sister in
law (spy) is trying to get a secret document about the
Summary gun placement (Augustus is in possession of a list of
"Augustus Does His Bit” is a one act comic play guns that must be kept hidden but he is so foolish
about an idealistic (impractical) aristocrat who is that he lets the lady take it just by flirting with him).
deceived by a spy (detective) woman during the war She told Augustus' brother in law; Blueloo had made
between Britain and Germany (First World War). It a bet that Augustus could be easily tricked, and
is an anti-war play, which shows the false notions of intended to use this woman to prove it. If she became
society about war and its heroes. able to get the document, a list of British gun
emplacements and gave it to "Blueloo", Augustus's
Here the playwright through the clerk's views shows incompetence (stupidity) would be exposed.
the negative side of the war and its effect on common
people. Augustus represents an arrogant

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 In the meantime, the clerk entered holding the The speaker in the poem is a little bird. He has been
document, which Augustus had left on a coffee table confined in an iron cage. He feels sad, restless and
in a hotel. It was the document that the lady wanted oppressed there and simply curses to his fate for the
to steal. The lady very smartly exchanged the
present situation. He has missed the freedom there
document with a fake one and went away from there.
Then she called Blueloo (Augustus’ brother) to tell and has no one to share his agonies and pain of his
that she easily completed her task and outwited (won confinement.
the bet/outsmart) Lord Augustus. Augustus then
realized that she was the spy who made him fool. There is time that he feels mad and almost dead in
the cage. He spends the days recollecting his wild
The play contains several typical themes: women freedom that he would otherwise have enjoyed
outwitting men and the incompetence of the
roaming in the wood and eating wild fruits. His hope
aristocratic ruling class most notably.
for the freedom has simply vanished and what he has
In Augustus Does His Bit, Shaw pokes (push/jab) fun now is only the unrest, frustration and anxiety.
at the British upper classes, which are incompetently
represented by Lord Augusta High castle. High The speaker fells isolated there and the fear of
castle commands military base in a small British enemies all around engulfs him. He finds no one to
town during the World War I where he is determined unburden the pain of his imprisoned condition. He
to do his part to defeat the German.
observes the open sky and imagines the freedom he
The is a funny short play set during World War I. The would have enjoyed roaming around. His attempt to
little character is a British aristocrat who is serving break down the cage and release himself from the
on the home front during the war. He ‘does his bit’ limited bars is beyond his imagination. He has to
for the war most incompetently.
endure heat, cold, thirst and hunger in the cage. He is
The irony of this play makes the reader/audience bound to live a very painful and measurable life. For
think about the absurdity of the war and the him, to assume freedom in his life is just similar to
foolishness of those who believe in it. The clerk cast a thirsty glance upon the pot devoid of water.
represents that part of people that always looses the
wars because they are the victims of the politicians’ There is no way out except getting spiritual solace in
recklessness. his life. The speaker in the poem falls prey (victim)
Another theme that the play deals with is one of the to injustice of human domination and seeks pity with
current themes treated by the contemporary theater: the God for his freedom. At last, he regrets for being
the social class discrimination. Augustus
demonstrates his racism saying “…discipline is given him the sort of life he is living.
absolutely necessary in dealing with the lower
The poem shows the speaker's plight (troubles) and
middle class”.
the bitter experience of being confined in the cage. In
the lack of freedom in the cage, he feels sad, restless
and dejected. Beside this, the poem is also a plea
6. The Parrot in the Cage/Lekhanath Paudyal
(request) for an individual freedom. Freedom is
Theme: Suppression and domination of Nepalese
essential for all and it is to be regarded as an
during Rrana regime, Nepalese
unalienable right of every individuals. It is only in
people seeking freedom
freedom; a person remains happy, regards himself
valuable and enjoys his life to its full extent. On the

8
most literal level, the poem presents an example of bargaining will lose customers. The writer suggests
human- animal relationship and expresses the cruelty us not to insult customer even if he insult you
and injustice of human dominance over animal. If we otherwise he and his friends never come again as a
go to the deeper level, the "bird" in the poem can be customer. He suggests us to be charitable because it
taken as a symbol of the human soul in a material is a duty and a pleasure to help needy people to make
cage, as a symbol of the Nepali citizens' freedom their life better. It is believed that the more you give
trapped in the "cage" of Rana regime. the more you received. Charity should be given to
those who are struggling and willing to help
Setting : Inside the cage
themselves. Otherwise, it will be fruitless. He says
Speaker: caged bird instead of blessing give food to hungry.

Form: Dramatic monologue (the character speaking He advises not to share business secrets because
to onself) nothing is gained by this. Say nothing about your
profits, your hopes, your expectations, your
Tone: Elegiac intentions, or your losses. Otherwise, you will lose
your reputation. Honesty is more precious in
Symbol: business. Your politeness will be of no use if
customers suspect your goods and weight. Therefore,
• Parrot in the cage as a symbol of Nepalese it is said that “honesty is the best policy.”
people’s confinement during Rana period.
To become rich does not always mean being
• It also symbolizes the confinement of human
successful. There are many rich poor men who are
soul in the material cage. poor in heart. The money should not be gathered it
• Human treatment towards fellow creatures must be used for benefit of mankind so that other
people also make their life better. Therefore, he
appeals to earn money honestly and utilize it
properly.

Unit 2: Money & Management

Advertise Your Business/Phineas T. Barnun
“Advertise Your Business” is a lecture written in
1982. In this lecture Barnum sets (puts) the tone
for advertising which is relevant even today. In this 9. Eveline/James Joyce
speech, he assumes that morality and honesty is the Summary

best path to business success.

Eveline is a story taken from Dubliners. It is about a
He advises that businessmen should be polite and young woman’s failure to take action due to her lack
kind to their customers otherwise they will lose of consciousness will and a state of difficult
them. Those who sell qualitative products in lower existence. This is the story of a young girl’s failure
profits will success best in long run. Sharp

9
to manage her life at both the social and economic met. She reflects on their relationship as she
considers this decision. Eveline’s father forbids her
level.
from seeing him, but she continues to see him in
secret and eventually makes secret plans to move to
Eveline, a young Dublin woman, is sitting at the Buenos Ayres with him.
window. She is thinking about her escape plan with
an Irish sailor Frank who has settled in Buenos She looks down at the letters she has been holding in
Ayres. She is 19 years old and works at a local store. her lap: one for Harry, and one for her father. She
While watching out from the window across the starts to think about all of the good memories she has
street, she remembers the field which was there in had with her father.
place of the big houses. She recollects how she used
to play with her brothers and neighbor’s children. Eveline is running out of time before her departure.
Then the field was bought, and houses were built. She hears an organ (musical instrument) playing and
Thus, they lost their playground. is reminded of her mother’s last night before she
died, when there was also organ music out on the
She remembers it was long ago and now everything street. She remembers her promise to her mother that
has changed. It was the time their mother was alive, she would keep the home together, but she also
and their father was kind to them. She was happier remembers the sacrifices her mother made and how
then. Now her mother is dead and all of her siblings they ended in her loss. Eveline begins to panic,
and the neighborhood families have either moved desperately seeking an escape from a fate that looks
away, or died. Eveline is also planning to move away. very similar to her mother’s. She hopes Frank can
“save” her, and reasons that she deserves to be happy.

Eveline is overcome with nostalgia (past feeling) as Eveline resolves to go to the station to meet Frank.
she looks around the room at the familiar objects She is terribly distressed and she keeps praying to
covered in dust. She notices the photograph of her God for direction. At the last minute as Frank catches
father’s friend, the priest, who is now in Melbourne. her hand to lead her onto the boat. Suddenly, she
Now Eveline begins to question whether or not it is
“wise” to leave her home, where she has food, changes her mind when she is about to board the ship
shelter, and familiarity. with frank. She returns back to her home without
telling anything to Frank.
Eveline imagines her new life in a foreign country,
and imagines her marriage will help her earn the
respect she is denied in Dublin. Lately her father has
been threatening her more and more. When she was This story shows the drawbacks of holding onto the
a child he used to spare (leave) her since she was a past when facing the future. It reflects the conflicting
girl, but now that she’s almost nineteen and Ernest pull many women feel between domestic life rooted
is dead and her brother Harry is often away for work,
she has become a target. Money is also an issue of in the past and the possibility of a new married life
conflict for her and her father, who accuses her of abroad. One moment, Eveline feels happy to leave
being wasteful. Eveline works hard to feed her father her hard life, yet at the next moment she worries
and take care of two children who have been left in about fulfilling promises to her dead mother. The
her care. Life is hard, but now that she is planning to
leave. story shows her inability to let go of those family
relationships, despite her present hard life. She clings
Eveline is planning to take the night-boat to Buenos to the older and more pleasant memories. Eveline
Ayres with Frank, an Irish sailor who lives in Buenos finds herself between the call of
Ayres but was visiting Dublin when they

10
home and the past and the call of new experience and embarrassing? His newly married daughter was quite
the future. Although Eveline realizes that she must close her mother than the father. The only son whom
leave with Frank to embark on new life, that Phil loved more is the youngest. He is a high school
realization is short-lived. In the end, we find her as a graduate. At the lost moment, Phil died thinking of
helpless creature, stripped of human will and his youngest son.
emotion”. This is the common fate of all the women At the funeral, the sixty-year –old company president
in the patriarchal society. told the widow (Phil’s wife) that her husband meant
much more to the company and would be missed and
would be hard to replace. However, someone had to
take his space in the company and the company
10. The Company Man/Allen Goodman president declares to have the one among working
“The Company Man” by Goodman describes the life the hardest.
of a corporate (company) worker after his death.
The question is why he is known by the name of
Through this essay, the writer Goodman shows the
the company? The writer uses the name ‘company
daily tasks and family of Phil, a hardworking and
man’ to show how Phil was not just a man, but he
dedicated company employee who eventually
was an extension of his work. By not saying his
worked himself to death.
name, she uses Phil as a symbol for all businessmen
The company man Phil died at 3.00 am Sunday and women who work themselves more for the
morning at the age of fifty one. He died of heart company rather than for their family.
disease. He was a hardworking person who worked
At the end of the essay, Phil’s boss begins to look
himself to death for the company. He was a perfect
for a replacement for him the day of the funeral. This
worker who spent whole time for the progress of the
show how selfish and the materialistic the modern
company. He worked six days a week. He had no
world is where there is no time to think and express
outside extracurricular interest. He always ate egg,
sympathy over someone’s death. Good man, in this
salad, and sandwiches in his work place. He was
essay mocks at modern culture and shows how there
overweight but he did not have time to think about it
are no time to waste, but only time to work. A worker
due to his busy schedule. Almost sixty people were
devotes his whole life for the company. He doesn’t
there to work for him in the company. All of them
even care his health and give less time for the family.
liked him.
What he gets in turn from the company is the
Phil had a wife who was forty years old. Her name ignorance, indifference and anonymity is the theme
was Helen. She worked in an office before marrying of the essay.
and mothering. As a wife, she never got enough time
and love from her husband. Phil had two sons and a
daughter who were just like the stranger for him. His 11. Light My Lucky
eldest son worked in a construction company to the R. Scholes, N.
south. Just a day before his father’s funeral, he R. Comley,
visited his neighbors and asked them about his and G.L.
father. Which is quite Ulmer

11
This essay is about the advertisement, particularly example light weight is good for health and the light
cigarette. Whatever advertisements are there of cigarettes have less nicotine.
different products, they are made for promotional The words used in the advertisement are slightly
purpose. So, these advertisements are highly metaphorical in themselves. The phrase “Light My
exaggerated and misleading (misguiding). Therefore, Fire” is a metaphorical expression which refers to
the writer, in this essay suggests us it is important for sexual appeal as well. The surgeon associates
consumers to learn to make critical scrutiny (study) smoking with pregnancy and ill health. On the other
of ads or any texts made for promotional purposes. hand the ads associates it with sex, good health and
The authors, in the essay describe the advertisement so on. This is an extremely clever and well-made
for Lucky Strike Cigarette which has been very advertisement.
cleverly designed. The advertisement aims to Thus, the writer in the essay suggests the consumer
publicize their products through statement an not to believe on what they say in the advertisements.
inclusive female model to attract attention. The Advertisements actually serve the interests of the
involvement of the young beautiful woman advertisers. They are deceptive and exaggerated.
advertisement is a tactic (policy) to gain audience Advertisements may not function in the way as they
attention of both genders; a happy model is included have been advertised. So, they need to be taken
in Lucky’s advertisement to convince the viewers critically.
that cigarette improved her happiness.
Metonymies: figure of speech in which the name of
The advertisement contains a photo of a young an object or concept is replaced with a word closely
woman in heavy sweater, wearing a scarf, with one related to suggest by the original, as ‘crown’ to mean
hand holding an unlighted cigarette and another hand ‘king’)
in the pocket. A careful study of the advertisement
shows much more thing. The ad makes her the 12. The ideal of Craftsmanship/C. Wright Mills
central figure. This is a healthy, vigorous woman. Craftsmanship is the skill that someone uses where
The background of the ads is blurred just to highlight they create beautiful things with their efforts. It is
the image of the lady. The maker of the ad expects the mode of work perfection and work satisfaction.
some of these positive healthy values to attach The craftsmanship is thus to use and develop the
themselves to the cigarette. The slogan in the ad capacities and skills in its action. It is also a way of
“Light My Lucky” has double meaning. The ads livelihood because it economically support for
associate the cigarette with beauty, health, and erotic living. Craftsmanship involves six major features:
pleasure. These metonymies are deliberate I. The primary motive of craftsmanship is hope of
(intentional). It is worth noticing that the word light pleasure in the work itself. In other word, we create
in the ad works as pun thus bringing two meanings fine art because it is our passion and it provides us
together in a single word. Light is used as a verb ‘to pleasure. Here we are more concerned with the
set on fire’ or ‘to inflame’. The another meaning of quality of the product and the skill of making it. The
’light’ is ‘as oppose to heavy’ which is useful for secondary motive of craftsmanship is –money or
health, for reputation or salvation.

12
II. In craftsmanship, there is confusion between its the changes they go through in their concepts .So,
technical and aesthetic conditions and the legal they should be studied in a reciprocal way.
(propriety) organization of the worker and the Alfred North Whitehead believed that the future
product. The writer says even if the producer does course of world history depends upon people’s
not legally own the product, he must own it decisions to the relation between science and
psychologically because his skills and sweat are religion. In fact, science and religion are the two
powerful forces in history. The writer believes that
visible to his work. Similarly, craftsmanship has an the only solution of the conflicts between science and
image of completed product, and even though he religion is to redefine (modify) them so that an
does not make it all, he sees the place of his part inclusive alternative world-view might be
involved in the whole. But the real joy comes from constructed.
its successful completion. The essay Religion and Science discusses the
controversy that was found during the late 19th and
III. Workman is free to begin his work according to
early 20th century about the existence of religion and
his own plan. He can modify its form and create it evolution of science. The writer is of the opinion that
according to his wish. He is fully responsible for its science and religion are not two poles though they
outcome. are different. Our mind is pre-occupied with the
concept that religion and science are different.
IV. Craftsman’s work is a means of developing his People view that science deals with the physical
skill through continuous practice. Such development universe whereas religion (theology) deals with the
world beyond. But the writer’s view is that there are
is the cumulative result obtained by devotion and some similarities between these two fields. Science
regular practice. The more you practice, the better the presents the gradual evolution of ideas (change). In
skill. the same way religion also shows the same nature.
Religious concepts of the present are different from
V. In the craftsman pattern, there is no split that of the past. In both case there has been
(division) of work and culture. Work and culture are modification/change.
not separate spheres (field). The work is the means
The writer says there exists a kind of connection
and the culture is the end in itself. between the two fields (science and religion). He
says that there was the conflict, there is the conflict,
VI. The Craftsman’s work is the mains spring of the
and there will be the conflict between science and
only life he knows. It means his work is the reflection religion. It is very common and natural for him. Since
of his own experience. Henry James says “we have science deals with physicality and religion with
practically lost the faculty of attention”. This means spirituality, their area of study is different. He further
adds that both science and religion require additions,
a brooding sort of attention required to produce or
modifications, changes etc. Although the ways and
appreciate works of art. areas of knowledge are different but the essence of
study is almost the same in both. The conflict
Unit 3: Science and Environment between science and religion is not destructive for
the writer but it is constructive also.
13. Religion and Science/Alfred North Whitehead
Theme: Although science and religion are two Scientific beliefs are not constant. They keep on
different poles but there exists a relationship changing. In the past, there was geocentric (having
between them, particularly the way they work, and the earth in the centre) concept. However, this
geocentric concept changes into heliocentric (sun at
the centre) concept. Now both of these concepts

13
have been modified. Similarly in the field of religion and fight for survival. Nobody is trained enough to
different concepts have changed. That's why these live for a day in that cellar as it is so suffocating. The
two fields do have similarities. bulbs peep (look) outside of the boxes (germinate) in
search of a small ray of light, ‘hunting for chinks
In the world nothing is certified by solid reasons. (come out of narrow opening) in the dark’. The herbs
There is the existence of conflict. Science is are “lolling (act lazily) obscenely” (vulgarly) thus
concerned with physical phenomena but religion is seeming lifeless. There is an intolerable collection of
concerned with moral and aesthetic value. Science a foul smell, (congress of stinks). Everything in that
studies about what is visible and what can be cellar is on the verge of rotting, suggesting the end
perceived but religion studies the universe and goes of life
beyond it. Conventionally (traditionally) people
believe that science and religion oppose each other However, towards the end of the poem, Roethke says
and they refute (contest/khandan) each other’s the message of the fighting back. He shows the image
assertion (claim). But the essayist says that there is of determination and courage to fight the odds one
not wide gap between science and religion. Scientific faces in his life through the lines, “nothing would
thoughts and religious thoughts are ever changing. give up life/Even the dirt kept breathing a small
The writer views that they have reciprocal earth”.
(mutual/shared) relationship between each other.
In the poem, the poet gives many examples to cite his
Religion and Science discusses a controversy that concept of determination through the image of the
was particularly apparent in society since the plants of the dignity cellar. Similarly, another
publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species in 1859 message of the poem is to keep pushing oneself
which stated that human beings were evolved from forwards, avoiding looking back.
monkeys. But, of course, the conflict between
religion and science has a way of eruption (outbreak) Alliteration: Nothing would sleep in the cellar, dank
age after age; and as Whitehead points out, the as a ditch,
disagreements became serious as early as the Bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chicks in the
seventeenth century. However, Whitehead in this dark, ……….
essay seems to softening the disagreements between Assonance: Even the dirt keep breathing a small
science and religion. breath ........
Metaphor: Bulb broke out of boxes hunting for
chinks in the dark (comparison of bulbs to creature
that hurt)
15. Root Cellar/Theodore Roethke
Theme: Will power, Struggle, determination, never
give up
Summary 16. On Warts/Lewis Thomas
Literally, Root Cellar is a poem about plant. But at a Lewis Thomas in this essay talks about what actually
deeper lever, it is a motivational poem that gives us causes warts and what are its effects on human
the message to live and thrive (flourish) even through health. Warts are an excess amount of hard protein
the worst situation of life. It gives us idea that one developed in the top skin layer caused by skin
should not lose hope and grow along the way, infection. The writer investigates the unsolved
clearing all the obstacles that may come. mystery of this odd growth (warts) on human skin.
Warts can be cured but no one exactly knows how
In the beginning of the poem, the poet describes the the cure works-i.e. is it by science or by magic?
environment of a root cellar, which is too dark,
unpleasant, and incapable of supporting any living Warts are wonderful structures. They can appear
form within. But the cellar plants did not lose hope overnight on any part of the skin. Warts are not only
due to the lack of personal hygiene. Rather they are

14
quite common among the people. Warts are caused instructions for relaxation increase the efficacy of
due to virus that can appear at anywhere on your skin. suggestions to wart regression (decrease).
The cells of warts are the complex reproductive
mechanism of a wart virus. The strange thing about 17. The Etiquette of Freedom/Gary Snyder
them is that they tend to go away after sometimes This essay “The etiquette of freedom” by Gary
without leaving any trace. Snyder talks about freedom. It reminds us of our
moral obligation that we are connected to everything
Many people associate warts with witches and other
else. The writer thinks that whatever
such unpleasant characters. In this essay, the writer
animals and birds are there in this earth, they all are
discuses the fact that these warts can be removed
the creation of the nature. So, human beings should
effectively and efficiently by hypnosis. It is the
behave them in an equal and kind way.
mystification (confusion) of science. Not everyone
believe that warts can be cured by hypnosis (a The writer says both human beings and animals are
unreal/dreamy situation/mesmerism), but the the creation of nature. Therefore, they should be
evidence goes back a long way and is persuasive. considered equal. But human beings do not like to
Even the dermatologist (skin specialist) has been see themselves in the category of animals. They
convinced of the phenomenon. Once a distinguished regard them wiser and more superior than other
old professor of medicine (Sir William Osler) animals. Human beings and animals share some
admitted that even by painting with gentian violet similar biological traits (characters) which make
(antiseptic (anti-bacterial color) over a wart, the humans animal. These traits include the universal
problem would be gone in a week. features of mammals.
Human beings claim that they discover language,
Thomas argument is that the unconscious (hypnotic live in society, and they have language to
state) mind is a powerful thing and may serve useful communicate. So, they are superior to other animals.
in the treatment of warts. Thomas says the But this way of thinking is wrong. Human beings are
unconscious mind is powerful in the sense that you also animals. Nature has given language to all
give yourself thoughts and listen to opinion from animals. They communicate using their own
others on how to treat and get rid of warts. In the language. Therefore, human beings and animals are
treatment of warts, it is not known whether the same. Both of them live in the nature, and enjoy with
healing response to hypnotic suggestions, or it is due nature.
to increased immunity functions, more or less blood Language learning is a natural phenomenon. We first
circulation, some unknown chemical action, or other learn language from home, especially from mother
internal processes. and other family members but not really from school.
Animals also learn language from their mother, from
How the unconscious mind is able to cause warts to their culture and from the place they were born. We
disappear when conventional treatments fail- is still should not try to be unique from other creature. We
not fully known. Thomas notes historic research in should think that we and all animals are one. We
which several patients had warts that were destroyed should not confine ourselves inside home. We should
after the hypnosis session, where the therapist made enjoy our life freely like animals that are free. This is
suggestion to the patient and the warts eventually the etiquette of freedom.
disappeared. It means there is a correlation between
the hypnotic procedure and the medical treatment,
allowing the medical treatment to become more 18. Just Like George Bernard Shaw/James
effective. However, it has been reported that high Herriot
expectancy of successful hypotonic treatment of
warts is not necessarily predictive of positive Characters:
treatment outcome. More specifically, these findings Mr. Casling: farmer
indicate that neither a hypnotic induction
(training) procedure nor

15
Alan & Herold: two sons 19. The Rights of Animals/Bridig Brophy
This essay deals with the responsibility of human
The writer James Herriot is a veterinary surgeon. In beings towards animals. It suggests us that like
this essay he describes one family’s reaction to the human beings, animals too have their right and
news that the playwright George Bernard Shaw has freedom. Therefore, we should behave them in a
suffered a mishap (accident). The story uses the civilized and rational way. She states that our
medical knowledge to clarify an interesting human relationship to animals is always exploitive (cruel &
situation. oppressive). So, she urges that it is our moral
George Bernard Shaw, a famous dramatist broke his obligation to respect for animal’s rights.
leg while pruning (clearing/cutting) apple trees in his In the essay, the writer says that whatever animals
garden. This news of his leg broken became far and and birds are there in this earth, they are the gifts of
wide and the national media made it their headline nature. The nature has given them all the things that
news for a week because people were worried about they require. Human beings are also animals. But
him. human beings don’t like to see themselves in the
Right that time, Caslings’ (farmer) calf broke its leg. category of animals because they think that they have
The writer, as a veterinary surgeon, was called for the knowledge of everything.
cow’s treatment. But the place to go for the treatment
of the cow was far away. In fact, the barn (shed) was
isolated and often difficult to find. Anyway, the Unit 4: Gender and Women
writer went there by car. When he came out of the
car, Mr. Casling, the farmer and his two big sons
came to him. The farmer was almost sixty and his 20. Profession for Women/Virginia Woolf
thirty years old sons resembled his father in almost
every detail. “Profession for women” is a speech delivered by
Virginia wolf to a women’s group in 1930. In this
Then they moved to the field where the cows were speech, she argues that women must overcome
grazing. The calves were running with their mothers special obstacles to become successful in their
in the green field. One of the calves’ hind (back) leg career. The obstacles that hinder woman from being
was injured. So, it ran with the dangling leg. Casling successful are: their tendency to sacrifice their own
and his sons helped to catch the calf and the doctor interest to those of others and their unwillingness to
Herriot applied plaster bandager to the fracture. challenge conservative male attitudes.
During that time, no one spoke. All were silent. Wolf’s main point in this essay is to bring awareness
Herriot wished someone would speak. to the phantom (spirit) and obstacles women face in
their job. She believes that any woman whose
While applying plaster, Herriot remembers George occupation is writing must battle a majorobstacles
Bernard Shaw whose leg was also broken. He that she calls a phantom and this phantom is also
compares this situation of the cow’s leg fracture with termed as “the angel in the house”
the situation of George Bernard Shah’s leg broken.
He finds both the situations somehow same. He She starts her speech by describing how female
makes a remarks saying, “Just like George Bernard writers before her, have made a easier path to her,
Shah” and goes to his work. becoming successful, thus she does not have to go
At that time someone spoke. The sound broke the through as many obstacles as women in her
long silence. After a while, the plaster of the calf is profession do. She then goes on to describe the
completed. Then they let the calf go way and it goes “Angel of the House’” or in other words those
to its mother. Herriot will come to see the cow’s phantoms (spirits) she has to face while working on
plaster after one month. her writing. The angel in the house is a symbol of an
ideal woman which means that this kind of woman is
very devoted to the household, she is subservient to
husband and she is selfless. This

16
angel prevents her from fully writing what she wants, girl attacks his eyes with her nails. The doctor hates
since it continuously tells her what society is the parents when they say that doctor is a nice man
expecting. The phantoms she mentions are what and will not hurt her. Then the doctor decides to use
people expect from women. For example, wolf is force than to leave her die. When the doctor is about
supposed to be sympathetic, respectful, pure, to look into her throat, her father suddenly releases
subservient charming, and unselfish. her. The parents are restless and fearful that the
doctor may harm her child. On next attempt he grasps
But however as a writer, one requires an the child’s head and tries to get the wooden depressor
independent life and also ideas. In order to achieve (spoon) into her mouth. The girl breaks it with her
this independence, she realizes that she must kill the molars (jaws). The child’s mouth starts bleeding.
angel in the house. She constantly kills the phantom, Later he forces the spoon back of her teeth and throat.
but it always manages to find a way back. In addition, He finds that she has a sore throat and is suffering
the narrator also realizes that women writers face from diphtheria.
another major obstacle which is that they cannot
speaks of their bodily experiences very freely. Generally use of force is unjustifiable, but if it is used
with good motives in order to save somebody’s life,
Therefore, she advises other writers to have an it becomes a necessity. Here the basic conflict is
unconscious mind due to the fact that it will help between the doctor and the parents of the patient.
them write what they truly want. Writing consciously Doctor uses force because of social responsibility
leads to what society wants, thus not being able to while the parents do not want the use of force. Their
express one’s true opinion. Woolf wants women to love towards their child was about to cause the death
continue trying to fight these phantoms and of their child. The parents concentrate on the
obstacles. She inspires women to fight to equal rights immediate pain without thinking the consequences
within men and women, and to try and put an end to of the deadly diseases. So the doctor loves the
stereotypes. innocent child but finds her parents contemptible
Images/ Metaphor: The angel in the house, the (shameful).
fisherman in on the verge of a deep lake
22. The Stronger/August Strindberg
21. The Use of Force/Willam Carlos Williams Plot: Mrs x and miss y meet in a corner of a
women’s café on a Christmas eve, Mrs x starts
”The Use of Force”◻ by William Carlos Williams greeting and talking to Miss y, after greeting she
shows the conflict between a doctor and his patient criticizes her for her loneliness, then Mrs x keeps
at one level and doctor and the parents at another talking and revealing memories till we know Miss y
level. The conflict between doctor and the patient is was Mrs x’s husband’s lover, and Mrs x tells Miss y
physical. But the conflict between doctor and parents that she destroyed her life and she changed her but
is psychological. This story tells that use of force for later she says that she is the stronger in all what
good purpose is ethical and justifiable. happened and in the end she says she will leave the
café to go home to make love with her husband.
The narrator is a doctor who visits the house of Olson
family. Their small daughter Mithalda has had a high Climax: The climax of the play is when Mrs x
fever for three days. Since no medicine worked, her expresses the reality and tells Miss y ‘’I hate you! Oh,
parents called the doctor. Being fearful that the girl how I hate you!’’ here she says that she hates her and
may be suffering from diphtheria, the doctor asked she had eaten her from inside and she tells her that
her parents if she had sore (aching) throat. The she cannot keep a man’s love but she can steal it
parents had not taken a look at her throat because they away from others, here we can feel the weakness of
did not want to hurt her. The doctor asks Mithalda to Mrs x and we can see Miss y is the stronger.
open her mouth but suddenly the

17
Conflict: The conflict of the play is between Mrs x’s 23. Here I Love You/Pablo Neruda
will against miss y’s will. Mrs x tries to keep other The poem Here I Love You is a love poem that
women away from her husband and fights whoever expresses the sadness of separation. The speaker is
comes to her way. On the other hand, Miss y is in (here) in this world and his beloved is (there) far
love with Mrs x’s husband and she wants to gain her away in another world. The speaker in this poem
love. And Mrs x keeps talking throughout the play loves her departed beloved. He passionately recalls
and Miss y doesn’t say a word but her silence and her the sweet moments he spent in her company. But his
facial expressions tell so much. At the end, judging companion is there far away in another world. Thus
from appearance, we find Miss Y the weak person “here” contrasts with “there”. “Here” in the poem
while Mrs. X is stronger because she is able to keep refers to the dark pine wood, moonlit waters, snowy
her house, her husband and have children, while Miss evenings and all those places the speaker travels
y is lonely and sitting in the café. alone with the memories of his beloved. As against
this, “there” in this poem signifies the world where
Characters: the speaker’s beloved has already reached and now
Mrs X: She is a round character, and she is wearing dwells (lives). The grief of the separation is immense
a winter coat and hat and she keeps talking to miss y (great) in this poem because the speaker is alone here
throughout the play, she makes fun of miss y’s in this physical world. However, he still loves her
loneliness. Later in the play we know she hates miss faithfully as before but the horizon hides her in vain.
y, but she also admits she changed a lot to be similar He looks at the ships sailing out of sight if he could
to miss y and she pretends to be the stronger. send his kisses to his beloved.
Miss y: she is also a round character of the play. Her
name is Amelia and she keeps silent throughout the He recalls the time he spent with the natural
play. She doesn’t say anything she only listens to surroundings of the moonlit waters, snowy evenings
Mrs x, in the play. Mrs x reveals that she was her in the pine forest and the coastal area. He remembers
husband’s lover and her friend. the black cross of the ship, the symbol of his
Mrs x’s husband (bob): He is a flat character ( two beloved’s funeral. So, the speaker feels that he is
dimensional character who do not change alone in this world. He feels that the days are passing
throughout) who his name is Bob and only monotonously. Sometimes he wakes up early. His
mentioned from what Mrs X tells Miss y. From Mrs whole body is sweating because of some kind of bad
x, we know he is a little man and he works in the dream. His soul is wet and feels as if he had no
theatre and he is womanize, and he likes whatever energy. He feels that he heard the sound of the sea far
Miss y likes and vice versa. away. He loves her although he is here in this world.
Setting: on a Christmas eve’s evening. Place: a Although she is there beyond the horizon in the other
corner of a women’s café, there are two small iron world, he loves her. Sometimes he sends the message
tables and a red sofa and some chairs and there is a of love to her but gets no reply. He feels that he is
half empty beer on miss y‘s table forgotten like the old anchors. In the afternoon he
Theme: Love is something beautiful but the play feels sad. He is hungry and fired. His life has no
shows that it can be a destructive power and it should purpose. He loves her who is not with him. He finds
be limited. Miss y is in love with Mrs x’s husband difficult to pass the evening and hates it. But he likes
and he also love her back. Love itself is an amazing the night because he meets her regularly in his dream.
feeling but in this situation is wrong. It destroys Mrs When the big stars look at him, he feels that his
x’s family. beloved is looking at him. And he feels that the pine
trees are singing her name.

18
 24. The Kiss/Kate Chopin The mother gives out much practical and helpful
Summary advice that will help her daughter keep a house of her
The kiss by Kate Chopin tells us about the story of a own some day. She tells her daughter how to do such
woman and two men. The story portrays (shows) a household chores as laundry, sewing, ironing,
story of a woman who has two lovers. In one cooking, setting the table, sweeping, and washing,
afternoon, when Natalie is talking to a guy who will cleaning. The mother also tells the girl how to do
be her husband, Brantain, another guy Harvy comes other things she’ll need to know about, including
towards them without ringing the bell first then how to make herbal medicines, how to behave with
suddenly kisses Natalie who is still talking to people around and catch a fish. These words of
Brantain. Brantain leaves Natalie and Harvy. Harvy wisdom suggest that the women live in a poor, rural
who doesn’t realize that there is Brantain around setting, where passing on such advice is essential for
them asks an apology to Natalie who feels awkward daily living.
by telling that he doesn’t ring the bell because this is Along with practical advice, the mother also instructs
as he always does with Natalie's brother directly her daughter on how to live a fulfilling life. She
going upstairs while Harvy comes in to find her. instructs her daughter that there is not always good
Natalie doesn’t forgive him as she still feels mistaken relationship between husband and wife after
to Brantain. This leads Natalie to meet Brantain to marriage. She also says that there are many kinds of
tell her reasons to make him believe that there is relationships and some never work out. The mother
nothing happened between Harvy and Her. She tries also tells the girl how to behave in different
to ensure Brantain not to misinterpret thing that situations, including how to talk with people she
happens between Harvy and her by telling him that doesn’t like.
Harvy has been her best friend whom she already There are three central themes to the story: sexual
feels like cousin or even brother with his intimate reputation, domesticity, and mother-daughter
character. And the day comes, the day where Natalie relationships. In this story, the mother goes on and
and Brantain are ready to get married. At the on teaching the daughter how to be the perfect
wedding, Harvy is among the guests. Surprisingly, daughter in society. She is very careful to protect her
he comes towards Natalie who is standing alone and daughter from the sexual activities.
tells her that her husband, Brantain, asks him to kiss
her. Natalie whose lips are eager to catch his kiss
feels a disappointment after he tells that he stops
kissing woman because that is dangerous. From that 26. Farewell/Federico Garcia Lorca
Natalie can learn that people cannot have everything
in this world. Natalie can have the wealth of her The poem “Farewell” by Federico Garcia Lorca is a
husband but she cannot have another love from the romantic lyric, which expresses poet’s intense desire
man she loves, Harvy. to feast on the pleasures of life even after death. The
poet asks someone, perhaps one of his family
25. The Girl/Jamaica Kincaid members, to leave the balcony open if he dies,
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” is a dramatic monologue in because from his balcony he wants to see the little
which a mother gives advice to her daughter. “The boy eating oranges and hear the reaper harvesting the
Girl” consists of a single sentence of advice a mother wheat. The poet conveys a message to the reader that
gives to her daughter. She gives the advice to both this world is a very enjoyable place and the delights
help her daughter and scold her at the same time. of living are really great.
Kincaid uses semicolons to separate the rebuke and
words of wisdom but often repeats herself, especially There are some people who say that this life on the
to warn her daughter against becoming a “slut” earth and the physical world here is an illusion. They
(sexually perverted). think that our senses are not real, only the life after
death is real. They give preference to the spirit or the
soul. And want to forget the physical world.

19
There are others who give preference to the physical baby. He wants to take the baby. She refuses. The
world and condemn the existence of the spiritual baby starts crying.
world. Unlike them, the poem seems to suggest that
this world and the life here is real and we must enjoy
He moves toward her. She retreats (moves back) into
it. Our senses are real. What we do, hear, or feel have
the kitchen, standing in a corner by the stove. He
importance. Life is not illusion. We have to make
grabs hold of the baby. They argue over him. The
things meaningful by enjoying different activities
baby is screaming. They knock down a flowerpot.
here in the Earth. The poet is not fed up with the
worldly activities. So, even after death, he wants to
return back and enjoy the little boy eating oranges He tries to break her grip on the baby. He grips the
and the reaper harvesting the wheat. baby under an arm and tries to pull the woman's
fingers apart. She feels her grip loosening. As the
The poet wants to keep the balance attitude towards baby slips away, she screams and grabs for the baby's
the physical and the spiritual world. He seems to other arm. She has one wrist and leans back. The man
believe in both. The world 'balcony' hare in this poem pulls very hard. The issue gets decided.
stands for a vintage (era) point from where both
inside and outside can be seen. Here inside refers to
the soul and outside refers to the physical world. This The title of the story refers to a long –running
world ‘balcony’ has been repeated four times in the magazine for technology and engineering enthusiasts
poem. This repetition has great significance. He of the same name. The implication is that the way the
seems, thus, to suggest that souls are real, so are man and woman handle their differences is
bodies. Acting the present, enjoy it and make it widespread or popular. The issue that is decided is
meaningful. who will get the baby. The last few lines reveal that
neither of them get the baby because the parents
killed the baby by fighting over it.

Tone: Angry, aggressive and tense

27. Popular Mechanics/Raymond Carver
Theme: lack of communication, separation and
struggle.
Summary 28. The Fly/Willam Blake
Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver describe an The speaker draws a comparison between himself
argument between a man and a woman that rapidly and a fly that he has unkindly killed.
escalate (goes up) into a physical struggle over their
baby. It has the theme of separation, conflict, Blake’s speaker addresses the fly which his hand has
struggle and communication. just killed away, putting an end to the fly’s
‘summer’s play’ by most probably killing it. The
speaker wonders whether he and the fly are, in fact,
the same. Like the fly, the speaker dances and drinks
It's muddy outside and getting dark. Inside, a man is and sings until some ‘blind hand’ will kill him,
in the bedroom, hurriedly packing his suitcase. A snuffing out his existence. The speaker of ‘The Fly’
woman says she is glad that he is leaving. She starts ends by reasoning that if life means thought, or
crying. She takes a picture of the baby from the bed consciousness, and the absence of thought or
and leaves the room. He wants the picture back. consciousness is death, then the speaker is, like the
fly, happy whether he lives or dies.

He finishes packing, puts on his coat, and turns out

the light. He goes to the living room. The woman
stands in the doorway of the kitchen, holding the

20
William Blake, in this poem has very beautifully placed here just to keep the world running. That is
compared human with the fly. Both the speaker and the question Dillard wants us to answer and she tries
fly show some movement i.e. both dance, sing and to do so in this essay.
drink but they differ in terms of consciousness. The
main argument in the poem is that if life means There is juxtaposition in the title of the essay. The
thought, or consciousness, and the absence of word jest has to do with fun, and earnest is a sort of
thought, or consciousness is death, then the speaker conservative seriousness. Dillard tries to convey her
is like the fly. beliefs on creation and how even seemingly complete
opposites have something in common and how they
are essential for the existence.
29. Jest and Earnest /Annie Dillard

“Jest and Earnest” written by Annie Dillard describes 30. The Old Man at the Bridge/Earnest
a shocking event where a frog is being eaten by a Hemingway
giant water bug. This event stirs (prompts/initiates)
Dillard provoking her to ask a series of questions The story consists of just one brief scene – the
about God, nature, beauty, terror, life, and death. The conversation between the narrator and the ‘old man
purpose of this piece is to explore why the maker of at the bridge’ – and one setting: the pontoon
the universe created cruelty and beauty. (floating) bridge across a river in Spain.

This essay starts with an anecdote (story) the writer The narrator, who has been sent on a mission to cross
describes where a frog is being eaten by a "Giant the bridge and explore the land beyond to see how far
water bug". She begins to question the water bug's the enemy has advanced, meets an old man who is
purpose for being created. Then the writer says we seventy-six years old. The old man has left his
are all like the water bug in a sense. We are hometown of San Carlos, where he took care of
constantly looking for food, destroying anything in animals. He tells the narrator that he was the last
our path to survive in life. But Dillard was attracted person to leave the town.
first to the frog and felt more compassion (kind) for
the frog when he died. If the tables were turned you The old man does not look like a shepherd or a
have to think that same frog killed quite a few flies herdsman, but he returns several times to his favorite
few hours before. So what the giant water bug did is topic: the fact that he looked after the animals in the
no worse then what the frog did to innocent flies town. He tells the narrator there were two goats and
hours before. a cat, plus four pairs of pigeons. But he was told he
had to leave the town, and the animals, because of
A question that Dillard asks while observing the the artillery.
scene is whether everything on this earth was made
in jest or in earnest. By that question she means to The narrator warns the man not to hang around but
say that god has created both beautiful and cruel to hitch a ride on one of the trucks heading for
thing in this world. Everything made in this earth has Barcelona. The old man thanks him but it’s not clear
been created purposefully. Nothing is good and bad whether he intends to follow this suggestion. He
in the eyes of the creator. It is only our perception. keeps returning to the question of whether the
Even the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, the animals will be all right without him. He knows the
thing which is ugly for you may be beautiful for cat will be able to survive on its own but he worries
other. When a creature is made it may not be seen as about the others.
beautiful to a stranger’s eye, but it may be the most The story ends with the narrator telling us that the
precious creation to the creator. There are murders, Fascist army was advancing towards the Ebro river
thieves, and robbers placed on this earth, but for and the old man wouldn’t have long to get away. But
what reason. Maybe they are not the old man seems reluctant (unwilling) to move.

21
 The next morning he and his son went fishing. He
The theme of the story is that war not only threatens saw the dragonfly on the tip of the rods as it hovered
to destroy the lives of soldiers on the battle field, but over the water. The arrival of the dragonfly
all living beings who happen to be in its path. This
convinced the father even more that everything was
anti-war story focuses on the devastating effect of
war on the life of old man. The old man is the as it had always been. They both sat there while
reflection of the war who lost everything in his life. fishing and the father looks over to the boy staring
Heming felt sorry for the old man and the people like quietly and sees that it is his hands that is holding the
him who were mentally broken by the Spanish civil
rod and his eyes watching the water. White keeps
war(1936-1939).
comparing himself to his son, seeing himself as his
grandfather.
31. Once more to the Lake/E.B. White Overall, White enjoys this vacation with his son and,
“Once More to the Lake” is a narrative essay although there have been some noticeable changes
written by E.B. White. The essay recounts (tells) around the camp, he is able to maintain the illusion
White’s experience of revisiting his childhood lake that he has assumed the place of his father and
in Maine with his son as an adult that his family returned to his childhood. He ends the piece by
frequently visited when he was a child. describing the onset of a thunderstorm that
appeared over the lake one afternoon. As the storm
White begins by describing his family’s first visit to dissipates, the camp-goers rush out of their cabins to
the lake in 1904, when he was five. He regards it resume their swimming His son decides to join the
the most beautiful place. Although his family’s other campers, and White watches him change into
annual visits to the lake are well in the past, White his swim trunks. As his son finishes changing, White
finds himself longing to go back and plans a vacation abruptly ends the piece with the following line: “As
with his son. he buckled the swollen belt

When he arrives back to the lake, he thinks

32. The Hundredth Dove/Jane Yolen
everything has stayed the same. However, everything
he describes appears to have changed from when he “The Hundredth Dove,” by Jane Yolen, is a story of
was a child. For example, the pathway they walk on the misuse of the power and authority. It gives idea
to get to the farmhouse to take dinner was still there, that sometimes, we are guided by our heart rather
however instead of three tracks on the pathway, there than our mind and love become victorious.
was now only two. At the farmhouse the waitresses A man named Hugh lived in the forest of old
were the same country girls, the only difference was England. One day, the king calls him and tells him to
that they had washed their hair and they had been capture 100 doves in one week for his (king’s)
seen the pretty girls with wedding. This task seems nearly impossible for
almost anybody else, but Hugh is determined to do
clean hair. his best. After all he is the King’s Fowler (hunter)
Similarly, the tracks created for the horse and and has to obey orders.
carriage was no longer in existence. This shows the
change of time that has occurred between the last Hugh has to catch 100 round plump doves in 5 short
days for the King’s royal wedding. So, he takes out
time he was at the lake. Similarly, the motorboats, the net and goes deep in the forest. With a long
which used to be noisy, now were loud and disturbed patience, he catches 20 doves each day but every
the peace that the narrator previously enjoyed. time he catches them, a white dove slips(escape)
away from the net. After 5 tiring days of hunting,

22
he has still not caught the slim white dove that keeps discrimination done upon poor and powerless, he
getting out of his grasp. He is sort of hundred by one. turns to be like volcano. Finally, he asserts that he is
This is when the part gets much worse for Hugh. The insane because he can’t tolerate such injustices
fifth day comes and he still does not catch the bird.
existed in the society.
On the sixth day, before dawn, the hunter checks his Lunatic is an autobiographical poem in which
net and set it for the last time. With great patience, he
Devkota may be trying to satirize the so called sane
waited for the white dove and at the last she comes.
When he traps her, she requests him to release her. people (politicians) and the society of that time.
Then the white dove converts into the queen. The Wearing a mask of insane (mad) persona, he has
hunter becomes nervous and he could not release her freely criticized the cruel leaders and the oppressive
because he was there to serve the king. He closes his
society of Rana regime. In a sense, it is a political
eyes, twists the neck of the dove, and goes back to
home. poem. It shows the political scenario of Nepal when
Next day, the hunter, brings the hundred doves- Nepalese people were ruled by Ranas. Ranas
ninety nine live ones and the one dead –to the king’s suppressed the common people breaking the human
kitchen. But there never was a weeding.
rights. The speaker makes a strong protest against
Then the hunter gives up hunting and lives on berries this.
and fruits rest of his life. He even starts to feed grains
for the birds but he never saw another dove. Critical Thinking: This poem criticizes the cruel
behavior of the so called sane people. They are the
people guided by the mind who fail to know human
33. The Lunatic/L.P. Devkota
feelings. But the insane people like poet are guided
Summary
by heart and are more sentimental, emotional and
The speaker in the poem is a mad person. Wearing a sympathetic towards others feelings. With their sixth
mask of an insane person, he expresses his sense, they are extraordinary.
uncommon activities just opposite to normal people.
He sees the sound, hears the sight and tastes the
smell. He sees the beautiful flowers in the stone. He 34. An Essay in Aesthetics/Roger Fry
touches the things that don’t exist. He says he works This essay by Roger Fry attempts to describe what
with the sixth sense. He also communicates with the art is and why it matters. A work of art has its
aesthetic (artistic) beauty; it has no other moral
birds and animals. He speaks such language that the purpose.
world doesn’t accept. There is one subtracting one
from one in his mathematics. His dream world is full Roger Fry advocated (supported) “art for art’s sake”.
of thorns not rose. He dances with the song of This means that the graphic artists need not represent
anything in the real world and that art has no ethical
Cuckoo sitting in the wintery sun. He calls prostitutes (moral) function in the lives of those who view it.
are dead bodies and rulers and politicians are real So, art is an expression of imaginative life which is
fools. The king is beggar for him. Others heaven is separated from actual life. In art, we have no moral
hell and others good is his worse. Thus the speaker responsibility as such. Art is rather amoral.
tries to prove that he is a lunatic (mad) person. When The job of the artist is to elaborate (explain in detail)
he sees injustices and and interpret that world, the imagination. Because of
imaginative visions, however realistic,

23
don’t demand action as reality does. We can look at retired veteran symbolizes the down fall of Rana
them more carefully, notice the sensations they System in Nepal. As the only remaining souvenir of
arouse, take the time to feel and taste those Rana Regime, the clock tower is no more in value at
sensations.
present. It has been there simply brooding over Rani
Pokhari. It looks like a sad retired veteran and the
Religion also belongs to the imaginative life. poet is sympathetic towards it. The tone of the poem
Religious experience is one which corresponds to is satirical. The use of simile “clock tower like a
certain spiritual capacities of human nature. The
pensioned senior vet” is very apt. The description of
exercise of religion is in itself good apart from their
effect upon actual life. Since the value of religion the clock tower and the characterization of the
isn’t in question, it must be that the exercise of ‘senior vet’ seem to merge into the fabric of the
“certain spiritual capacities of human nature. On the poem.
same grounds, art is good for its own sake. The
pleasure we get from art is different from the pleasure The poem satirizes the existing values and the
we get from sensual pleasure. Pleasure derived from supremacy of Rana regime of the time. His attack is
art is more long lasting.
especially upon the autocratic system of governance
From this, the features of a work of art: it must supply of Ranas who ruled Nepal mercilessly. It is ironic
a frame to detach the viewer, and should have rich that ‘Clock tower’, as a symbol of Rana regime is
enough material to reward heightened perception. helpless and pathetic now. As time passed, Ranas
Art is the chief organ of the imaginative life. It
became powerless and their symbols are also slowly
stimulates us and differentiates us from our actual
life. More importantly, it provides the greater fading away.
freedom of expression.

35. The Clock Tower/ Bhupi Sherchan 36. Beauty/Susan Sontag

All the old military (army) uniforms have gone one
by one. Some of them have been worn off, some have In “Beauty” Susan Sontag shows how a woman's
been nibbled(cut) by the rats and others have been beauty has been degraded (dishonored) while being
distributed among friends and relatives. But only the called beautiful.
two souvenirs (gifts) of the army life in Rana regime In the essay, the writer shows how a separation of
are still in existence. They are: an old – modelled appearance from reality has devaluated the concept
large round pocket watch hanging from the neck and of beauty and, in the process, oppressed women. The
an ancient hat on the head of Ghantaghar. It seems as concept of beauty has changed over the centuries.
The Greeks thought of beauty as the quality of
if Ghantaghar, like a retired senior soldier who feels personal excellence, where as now the westerners
sad and weary(tired)at the old age, is jealously think of it as a surface attractiveness that gives power
guarding these two souvenirs always standing on the to its oppressor.
bank of Ranipokhari looking anxiously into it.

The poem “The Clock Tower” captures the image of Sontag introduces her essay to the audience by
establishing a focal point around the fact that women
a pensioned veteran who passes his days without
viewed today are derived from the religious
worry or anxiety. The clock tower that personifies a perspective of how women were viewed in history.

24
During the ancient times, Greeks and Christians that essays can be sold more easily in the market than
practiced their own methods of examining women short stories. The art of storytelling is predated in the
and their beauty. The Greeks believed that the lack time of cave painting but after movies, novels,
of ‘inner” beauty could be compensated with “outer” biography, and so on stories were sent in the drain.
beauty. They took inner and outer beauties in a way According to the writer, once short stories are written
that were interconnected to one another within an in a specific context, they cannot be overdone. But
individual. The preference and priority was given to essays can be overdone, revised, and added in each
the ‘outer’ beauty, while the ‘inner’ beauty would be edition.
kept at bay (inlet).
The writer thinks that the essay is always hung
Christianity, on the other hand, gave moral between what you think and what you are. It means
significance to beauty. They associated beauty with that it covers the writer's mind, thoughts, and
the inner virtue and the morality of women. feelings. He massively (greatly) supports personal
essays which for him is the expression of the human
Then Sontag introduces the beauty between men and voice. According to the writer, personal essays are
women and says a woman is beautiful where as a the mind's spontaneous (automatic) flow on the
man is handsome. She does this by recapitulating paper. He advocates (supports) that such essays are
(summarizing) how in a Christian religion, a not systematized outlines of the idea. In this regard,
woman’s body was parted into many sections to be it is more informal than an article. Essays don’t
judged and scrutinized, while men are visual.Women condense (reduced, compressed) with a summary as
try to make themselves beautiful to attract the best articles do.
opportunities possible. Susan Sontag not only
emphasizes on their outer beauty, but also tries to An essay is a mind speaking to a mind. Ideas of the
convince her audience that there is more to a woman essay are expressed by an educated and
than just looks; there is another individual right knowledgeable man. In this regard, it is less universal
underneath the ugliness. in their appeal than stories because the essay is
addressed to an educated, and a middle- class reader.
Personal essays also tell a story while keeping a
Over the years, women have been classified as the particular viewpoint.
gentler sex and regarded as the fairer gender. Sontag
uses narrative structure to express the conventional A personal essay frequently is not autobiographical
attitude, which defines beauty as a concept applied but sometimes conveys the quality of the author’s
today only to women and their outward appearance. mind. The personal essay is more different than other
She completes this by using the technique of contrast genres because the personal essay is directly
to distinguish the beauty between men and women concerned with the mind and it is bestowed
and establishing a variation in her essay, by using (presented) with the fascination (attraction) of mind
effective language. is the fascination of essays.

All- Pervading Poetry/BalKrishna Sama

What I Think, What I AM" /Edward Hoagland
The poem All-Pervading Poetry" is composed by
In the essay, the writer, Hoagland gives an efficient Natya Siromani Bal Krishna Sama. In the poem,
(proficient) definition of the personal essay. He is Sama discusses how an individual finds subject
trying to say that there is a fusion (mixture) of logic matter to write poetry. He says that a person should
and reason in the essay. He also says that there is a elevate (lift up, raise) his/her way of perceiving
fascination (attraction) with the mind in the essay. things around him to be capable of composing a
Many people think that essays are outdated at present poem. He adds that to write a poem, a person should
but Hoagland does not think so. He claims

25
mix his feelings, emotions, imagination with the people who mistake sensory knowledge for the truth.
natural surroundings.
In the text, Socrates tells Glaucon (a character) to
Since nature is everywhere, subject matter for poetry imagine the existence of a cave where prisoners have
can be found everywhere. So, poetry is all- pervading lived since childhood. With their hands tied to a wall,
(spread through, present everywhere). It is just the they can see only the shadows that are projected
ability of an individual to discover the idea to write a (reflected) on the wall. Behind the prisoners a fire
poem. Looking at the objects through plain eyes burns, and there is a wall. The prisoners only see the
never helps to generate (create) a poem. An shadow and echoes of the object on the wall. They
empowering (strong) feeling and emotion are are unable to see the real objects behind them. These
required to find poetry in the objects around us. shadows are the only knowledge that the prisoners
have about the world which is not real.
A holy man once wandered around the streams, hills,
pastures (grazing place), forests, bushes, etc to find Then, one of the prisoners is freed. Walking through
poetry. But he couldn't find any poetry. He thought the cave, he realizes that there were people and a fire
that it wasn't the season for poetry. As he was casting the shadows that he believed to be reality.
returning, he met an aesthete (someone who has high When he finds his way out of the cave, he is startled
sensitivity to beauty). The aesthete made him realize (troubled) when faced with the outside world.
how he could find all pervading poetry. Sunlight obscures (disturbs) his vision, and he feels
helpless, uncomfortable, and out of place.
The aesthete said to use his heart (not mind)
sympathetically to search poems in the objects Gradually, his vision gets used to the light. Then he
around him. The aesthete advised the holy man not begins to realize the infinity of the world and nature
to look at things through prosaic eyes (the eyes that that exists outside the cave. He realizes that those
look for fact). Bringing such emotion, feeling help an shadows, which he believed to be reality, are actually
individual see tree melting like resin, green field imperfect, copies of a small portion of reality. The
dissolving into lakes, the sky transforming into the freed prisoner could do two things: return to the cave
Ganga river, flowers changing into honey, and stars and free his companions or depart from the cave to
look like droplet of water. This is the way to find life live freely. A possible consequence of the first
in lifeless objects. And this could be the subject possibility would be the attacks he would suffer from
matter to write great poems. his companions. If he returns after exposure to
sunlight, the dark will obscure (disturb) his vision.
Plato infers (suppose) that the other prisoners would
The Allegory of the cave/Plato think that leaving the cave caused blindness and
would aggressively oppose any attempts to set them
Allegory: An allegory is a story, poem, or a picture, free.
or other piece of art that uses symbols to convey a
hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Thus, Plato, in this essay tells us not to believe on
Pilgrim’s process is an allegory of the spiritual sensory perception. He thinks that most of us are
journey. imprisoned in the wall of five senses which is just
like a cave. He believes Knowledge gained through
The “Allegory of the Cave” written by Plato, deals senses in incomplete. The cave and darkness in
with the theory of human perception (awareness) and Plato’s allegory represent ignorance. It also refers to
the reality. Plato believes on ideas and essence rather men confined in sensory perception. The prisoners of
than on matter. According to him, knowledge gained the cave are ordinary people who trust on sense
through senses is misleading, and it is no more real. perception which does not necessarily holds the truth
For him, knowledge gained through logic and of a fact. The shadows and echoes
reasoning is the real knowledge. In this essay, the
writer distinguishes (differentiates) between

26
are never an accurate depiction of the object that cast time, she doesn’t bother to recognize the old man all.
them. Rather, they are the distortion of reality. Thus,
the shadows in the cave represent superficial truth. The story begins with the thinking of Leila that her
first dance starts with the cab. This shows that the
excitement in the girl is so high. But her excitements
have so many ups and downs in the story. She thinks
that her excitements would be out of control. But her
Her First Ball/Katherine Mansfielf all enjoyments fall down with the meeting of the old
Katherie Mansfield’s stories deal with the theme of man. The old man plays the role to make her
the psychological conflict of specially the female understand that how late; ignorant she is to enjoy the
characters. Here in this story, she juxtaposes life. The old man even indicates that how fast she is
(shows) the youth and age and that results the growing old. But the lady overcomes every negative
confused, innocent, and tragic situation. forces raised by the old man when she meets the next
Laila is going to attend her first ball (dance party) partner. Next partner builds the hope, enjoyment,
with her cousins, Meg, Laurie and Lauria and Jose excitement on her. She feels that she has the whole
Sheridan. Laila is from countryside, and never been world in front of her to dance and enjoy.
to a ball before. When they arrive at the drill hall, all
the participants get engaged with their dance. And Katherie Masfiel’s characters have always the
Meg tells the girls around them to help Leila and conflict of psychology and the victory over the fear
find dance partner. After sometimes, she meets an of youth and loss of innocence. It is a multi layered
old man; who fills out her card despite not having story about a girl Leila who attends her first ball with
much space on his own. The old man pretends that fear and eager.
he had met her before in another ball but that was Leila’s innocence shows that she is quite
quite impossible, since that was her first ball. She inexperience regarding the balls, as she belongs to
remembers her dance class in school time. She the outskirts of the city. She should have been
merely comments that the floor was beautifully matured as her sisters/cousins. But she says it is her
slippery. When Leila’s second partner comments, on first ball only. She is quite innocent about what to do
the floor, she notices the partners only. She is baffled when she approaches her ball party. She is so happy
(puzzled, bewildered) only by the partners. The old at the sight of all the beauty and celebration. She feels
man says that she has been dancing in the ball for nervous in handling the ball. She likes someone else
thirty years. And she says that Laila would never to handle and her and teach her. She meets the old
dance as long as he danced. He points out an old lady man who merely makes her nervous and angry. But
and says that she would be same in no time and make ultimately, she has to handle everything. She handles
comments about youngsters kissing. the old man; she welcomes the young man and she
starts to think she is young and she has a log future
Laila is disturbed by her conservation with the old ahead. The old man has poisoned her thinking that
man, particularly because she hadn’t previously she would be old woman soon. She gets victory over
thought about her age-now, she is worried that this all her fear, unconscious innocence and immaturity.
ball has become her last ball. She is angry at the old
man who she believes spoiled everything by Though it is the first time, she is attending the ball,
observing her into her fate. They stop dancing Laila she has the winning end. The dream like description
chooses to learn against the wall rather than to return of the ball brings happiness to Leila, which is nearly
to the floor. The old man tells her not to take him ruined by the dance partner later in the story. But she
seriously, and Leila scoffs (mocks) but remains bad- is fully successful to bring back that happy in her
tempered, thinking that she she’d like to go home. life. If she had not been mature enough, she
Soon, however, another partner approaches and
starts to dance with the new partner. And this

27
wouldn’t have been able to get victory over such
discomforts.

28