1. Neighbours -Tim Winton
Neighbours is a story about a newly married
couple living in a multicultural and multilingual suburb neighbourhood. It
shows that cultural and linguistic barriers cannot stop people from bestowing
love and compassion.
Tim Winton’s short story “Neighbours” is about
a young couple who have just relocated to a new neighbourhood with several
European immigrants. Both the young couple and their neighbours have prejudices
at first because they only see the strange and sometimes disgusting customs of
their new neighbourhood, but after a while, they quickly adapt to their new
surroundings, and the young couple begins to like their neighbours and notice
that they aren’t all bad.
They discover that they can be friends and
that they can assist one another in their daily lives, resulting in everyone
being content with their neighborhood and their lives.
s
The author does not name the characters he
mentions in the story. Hence, the characters are not defined, and as a result,
they might be viewed as role models for everyone. Before moving, the young
couple resided in the vast outer suburbs.
First, they act as though they are strangers
and refuse to speak to anyone. The so-called “young man” stays at home and
prepares his thesis on the evolution of the book in the twentieth century. The
“young woman” is employed by a hospital.
After that, the entire neighbourhood begins to
engage with them and offers their assistance. As a result, the young couple is
proud of their neighbours. Even though the couple had not planned for a
pregnancy, the young woman becomes pregnant in the spring, and their neighbours
become aware of it after a short time. Everyone is willing to assist and is
courteous.
All of their neighbours are ecstatic and wish
them well after the birth of their child. For the young man, the birth is a
marvel, and he learns at the end that the twentieth-century book had not
prepared him for this.
Hence, The story “Neighbours” by Tim Winston
demonstrates how immigrants may contribute to Australia’s social fabric. Their
strong sense of community aids the couple in seeing that intolerance,
prejudice, and discrimination all comes from a lack of knowledge.
2. A Respectable Woman - Kate Chopin
The short story “A Respectable Woman” is
structured around the character of Mrs Baroda and her inner conflict as she
finds herself attracted to her husband’s friend. The conflict follows the
pattern of classical fiction and moves from exposition to rising action and
then to climax and resolution.
In the beginning, Mrs Baroda is upset to find
that her husband’s friend Gouvernail is intending to spend a week or two at
their plantation, as she had planned a period of rest and talk with her husband
Gaston Baroda after they had been busy all winter. She has never met
Gouvernail, despite being aware that he and her husband were college buddies
and that he is now a journalist.
At first, She has a mental image of him as a
tall, slim, cynical man, which she dislikes, but when she meets Gouvernail, who
is slim but neither tall nor cynical, she discovers that she likes him. Mrs
Baroda is unsure why she likes Gouvernail because she does not see all of
Gouvernail’s positive characteristics. He doesn’t appear intelligent, but in
reaction to her excitement to welcome him and her husband’s hospitality, he
appears quiet and kind. He makes no effort to impress her in any way, and he
enjoys sitting on the portico and listening to Gaston describe sugar
plantation, although he dislikes fishing and hunting.
She finds Gouvernail puzzling, yet charming
and unoffensive. She initially leaves him alone with her husband, but as she
works to overcome his nervousness, she begins to accompany him on walks. Her
husband informs her that he will be staying another week and inquires as to why
she does not want him to. Gaston is delighted when she says that she prefers
him to be more demanding.
Mrs Baroda claims that she expected Gouvernail
to be more interesting. Gaston tells her that he does not expect a commotion
over his visit and that he just wants a break from his busy life. She sits
alone on a bench later that night, puzzled and desiring to leave the
plantation, having told her husband that she might go to the city in the
morning and stay with her aunt.
Gouvernail notices her and sits next to her,
unaware of her discomfort with his presence. Gouvernail, on Gaston’s behalf,
hands her a scarf and speaks about the night, and his quietness fades as he
talks for the first time. He tells her about his childhood and his wish for a
peaceful existence. She is drawn to his voice more than his words, and she
considers drawing him closer, despite her resistance because she is “a
respectable woman.” She eventually leaves, but Gouvernail stays behind to
conclude his talk for the evening. She wants to tell Gaston about her peculiar
foolishness, but she understands that she must deal with this emotion on her
own.
Mrs Baroda goes for the city the next morning
and does not return until Gouvernail has left. Gaston requests that Gouvernail
return the next summer, but she rejects. She subsequently changes her mind,
much to her husband’s surprise, who assures her that Gouvernail did not deserve
her disapproval. She kisses her husband and vows that she has “overcome
everything” and will now treat him with more respect.
3. A Devoted Son -Anita Desai
Anita Desai’s “A Devoted Son” is a story of
complicated familial bonds which highlights the change of dynamics in the
relationship between the father, Varma and his son, Dr Rakesh. It is all about
the duty and devotion that the son, Rakesh has for his parents. The son is
brought up by his father, starts earning his livelihood and then, dutifully
looks after his father. However, a crisis develops as his father, whimsical due
to age, starts misinterpreting his son’s treatment.
Rakesh was a son born to illiterate parents.
His father, Varma, worked as a kerosene vendor and spent many years dreaming of
having an educated son. Rakesh was the first to receive education in his
generation and he managed it very well. Villagers felt proud as Rakesh scored
the highest rank (flying colours) in the country for his Medical Examination.
His father had a party where presents flowed into Varmaji’s house as garlands,
halwa, party clothes and fountain pens, even a watch or two. Having won a
scholarship, Rakesh went to the USA (Varmaji didn’t know the difference between
the USA and America), where he worked in some most prestigious hospitals in the
USA. Although Rakesh loved America, he loves his family more and therefore, he
returned to his village with much money, touched his father’s feet which was a
matter of pride for the kerosene vendor. He married an Indian girl and removed
all the doubts of the villagers to marry a foreigner. But he married an
uneducated girl of their choice. The girl too was good-natured and they were
soon blessed with a son.
Rakesh’s rise continued and he soon went to
the top of the administrative organization, the position of the Director of the
city hospital, bought a car and then, he opened a private clinic as well. It
was the beginning of his fortune. However, he took good care of his parents.
Though he was in top position with his name and fame, he obeyed his parents,
humoured his wife, hosted his friends, and in addition, was an excellent
doctor.
However, Rakesh’s joyride was short-lived as
his mother passed away which led his father physically and mentally weak and
sick. The birthday party of his son was broken when he knew his father was on
the verge of death. Then, he changes his schedule and he brought his father’s
morning tea, read the newspapers and visited his father after returning from
the clinic. Al these couldn’t make the father happy and even the situation
worsened as Rakesh started to supervise his father diet or food by cutting down
on oily fried food and sweets which made his father worried as he took these
all treatment of his son as disrespect, strictness, and mal-treatment. His
father complained to his neighbours that Rakesh was strict regarding his
health. The old man even bribed his grandson and took sweets of him.
The father-son relationship went haywire. The
old man began to hate his son and his daughter-in-law. The wife of Rakesh
stayed out of trouble tactfully and Rakesh also took everything incorrect way.
His several attempts to improve his father’s mental and physical health went
into vain. Determined, Varmaji announced that he didn’t need his son’s
medicines. All that he wished was death.
Above all, old age is cyclic and all of us
would step into its shoes one day. It is also called the second childhood.
Because of this, Rakesh’s father behaved in such a way. The remembrance of this
fact can wake us up to the reality of this life. Rakesh, despite everything
else, understood this, which made him stand apart and above the rest.
q. Justify the title of the story' The Devoted
Son'.
4.The Treasure in the Forest
Characters
- Evans and Hooker: two friends who make an adventurous journey
to a Tropical island for hunting treasures.
- Chang-hi- a Chinese man who has a map of the treasures.
- Two other Chinese men- Chang-hi’s co-workers
Short Summary:
“The Treasure in the Forest” is
an ominous adventure story in which two men search for Spanish treasure,
letting greed get the better of their awareness. As the story moves ahead to
show how power and greed corrupt human beings.
The fundamental message of The
Treasure in the Forest is to not take risks when we are unprepared. The two
Englishmen took risks in an unfamiliar wilderness and were killed
soon. This story was about two Englishmen who heard about gold on an
island and obtained a map from a Chinese. So they paddled a canoe to the
island, having fallen asleep aboard the boat. They drove their boat into a
lagoon and up a river in the forest, following the chart and successfully
arriving at their destination. When they discovered the death of the Chinese
they had spoken with, they were terrified and began to worry about their
safety, but nothing occurred. They were packing the gold when Evans
received a puncture from the gold. Evans tried to forget about it, but the
deadly puncture caused him to die for a short time. Evans urged the other man,
Hooker, to discard the bad gold. Hooker, on the other hand, was afraid and
didn’t even understand what his friend told him, and Hooker accidentally
touched the gold. Finally, both of the men died.
This storsy succeeds in depicting
the dreadful scenario when they confronted the danger, and the outcome of
taking the risk will draw attention to others.
5. My old home
Short Summary:
The story “My Old Home” takes place in China, in the narrator’s
hometown of a little village. He returns to his childhood home. Although his
hometown has not improved, it is not as sad as it once was. The major reason he
is returning to his previous house is to send his home a final farewell and to
shift his family to another location where he works. He has many flashbacks to
his childhood while he is there. He reflects on a great bond he had with Runtu
that did not endure long. He has fond memories of Runtu. Runtu was just
over ten years old when the narrator first met him. That year, it was his
family’s time to oversee a large ancestral sacrifice. The sacrificial vessels
had to be guarded. Runtu was given the task of looking after the sacrificial vessels
after the narrator’s father granted permission. He was thrilled because he had
known Runtu for a long time and knew he was around his own age.
The narrator meets Mrs Yang, who used to spend practically the
entire day in the beancurd shop. Everyone used to refer to her as Beancurd
Beauty. Runtu then arrives to see the narrator. He has grown to twice his
former size. He acts as if the narrator is his master and ranks higher than
him. The narrator and his mother come across Runtu, who is suffering from
poverty. Following his departure, his mother suggests that they should provide
him whatever they are not going to take away, allowing him to chose for
himself. He selects two long tables, four chairs, an incense burner and
candlesticks, and one balance that afternoon. He also requests that all of the
ashes from the stove be removed. The narrator, along with his nephew and
mother, departs from his old home at the end of the storey. He learns that all
of his memories, as well as his former home, are being abandoned.
6.The
Half-closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun
Main Summary:
“The
Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun” by Shankar
Lamichhane is a simple story being told through a discussion between two
characters: a tourist and a guide. It was included in the anthology Himalayan
Voice: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature, which was released in 1991.
The story is set in and around Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city.
In
the story, both of the characters act as narrators. The first is a Nepali
guide, and the second is a foreign tourist. However, the western tourist
pretends to be an expert, saying, “I could take you along your ancient
ways.” “You are my tour guide for today, but I feel I can help guide you
as well,” the Nepali guide replies, indicating that he understands more about
the subject at hand.
The
story begins with a pleasant atmospheric description of the Kathmandu valley,
complete with visual beauty and various colours of homes, blue hills, and so
on. The guest then remarks that the East has contributed so many things, such
as the Purans, ancient tools, ivory ornaments, palm leaf manuscripts, and
copperplate inscriptions. The guide then tells the stories of Manjushri
and how he stroked with his sword at Chobhar, allowing people to settle in
Kathmandu Valley later on, as well as “the samyak gaze” of the shaven-headed
monks and nuns who were receiving alms and spreading Buddhist preaching near
the Kasthamandap, which represented purity.
They
then discuss their passion for wooden figures, Nepalese folk music, various
cultures such as Aryans, no-Aryans, Hindus, and Buddhists, and drinking wine.
The tourist expresses gratitude to the guide for supplying him with Nepali and
Newari cuisine. Following that, they examine the lives and histories of
Princess Bhrikuti and King Amshuvarma, as well as how the King cultivated his
relationships with his neighbouring countries, a storey projected in the
picture and related by an elderly man to his grandson. The tourist is overjoyed
by the welcoming smiles he receives wherever he goes, comparing it to the
farmer’s son returning home from hard work and assuming himself and the
people’s hospitable behaviour. They have one more drink for the Nepalese
people’s beautiful smile.
Then
they explore other types of eyes, such as the eyes in the windows, the eyes on
the door panels, the eyes on the stupas, the eyes of the people, the eyes of
the Himalaya, and the half-closed eyes of the Lord Buddha, referring to the
country as a land of eyes. These eyes reveal a new culture, a diversity of
religions, civilisation, vivid memories, and a long trip.
The
guide tells about the temple of Adinath, the Shiva shrine encircled by several
other pictures of Buddha- a living example of Nepalese tolerance and coexistence-
but the guide takes the guest to a house where he discovers the pulse of
reality. It’s a farmer’s family with a paralysed youngster (polio-affected boy)
whose entire body is worthless and he can’t speak, move his hands, chew his
food, or even spit, except for his eyes, which are just opposite his sister’s.
As the guide introduces the visitor as a doctor, the parents are overjoyed. In
their eyes, there is a depth of faith, connection, kindness, and thankfulness.
At
last, the guide adds that these are mountains’ eyes, and their lashes are rows
of fields where rice ripens in the rains and wheat ripens in the winter. They
are as lovely as the setting sun’s reflection in the Buddha’s eyes.
7.A
Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Main Summary:
A
Very Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez narrates the story
of Pelayo and his wife Elisenda, who discover an old man with wings in their
courtyard after killing crabs in a rainstorm.
Pelayo,
a poor fisherman, discovers a homeless, disoriented old man with incredibly
huge wings in his courtyard. The old man speaks in an unfamiliar language. As a
result, he and his wife speak with him in vain. Pelayo and his wife, Elisenda,
believe after consulting a neighbour woman that the old guy must be an angel
that attempted to come to take their sick child to heaven. The neighbour woman
advises Pelayo to club the angel to death. And they lock the angel in the
chicken coop, and their child’s fever breaks in the middle of the night. As a
result, Pelayo and Elisenda feel sorry for their visitor.
The
local priest, Father Gonzaga, tells the people that the old man is most likely
a fake angel because he is shabby and does not speak Latin. Father Gonzaga decides
to seek advice from his bishop. He promises to obtain the true truth from the
church’s higher authorities. The news of the angel travels like wildfire, and
the courtyard quickly takes on the appearance of a marketplace. Elisenda then
comes up with the brilliant idea of charging a 5 cent entrance fee to visit the
angel; they become rich very quickly. The old man mostly ignores the
crowd, even when they pull his feathers and throw stones at him to get him to
stand. When the visitors sear him with a branding iron to determine if he’s
still alive, he becomes angry. Rome takes its time determining whether or not
the old guy is an angel, and while waiting for their decision, Father Gonzaga
works tirelessly to keep the crowd under control.
When
a travelling freak show featuring a Spider-Girl arrives in the village, the
crowd begins to disperse. Spectators are permitted to question her, and she
tells them how she was transformed into a tarantula one night for disrespecting
her parents. This is more appealing to the general public than an old winged
man who ignores the people around him. As a result, the curious crowds
immediately ignore the angel in favour of the spider, leaving Pelayo’s
courtyard empty. The sad story of the spider woman is so well-known that people
quickly forget about the old guy, who had only performed a few meaningless
semi-miracles for his pilgrims.
Despite
this, Pelayo and Elisenda have become very wealthy as a result of the
admittance fees Elisenda has imposed. Pelayo quits his work and begins
construction on a new, larger home. As the small boy grows older, the elderly
man stays with them for several years, living in the chicken coop.
They
ignore the angel and keep their kid away from the chicken coop. He quickly
becomes a part of their lives, and they begin to accept him. The child pays him
frequent visits. When the chicken coop falls, the old guy goes into the
adjacent shed, but he frequently wanders from room to room inside the home,
which annoys Elisenda.
He
becomes increasingly weak and sick, and they believe he will die. But he
quickly recovers. His feathers regrow, and he starts singing sea chanteys
(sailors’ songs) to himself at night. Elisenda watches as the elderly man
extends his wings and flies off into the air, and to her relief, he disappears
beyond the horizon.
To
conclude, the old man appears as an eponymous (wrongly titled) persona who
appears in a family’s backyard on a stormy night. It also shows the combination
of reality and illusion – a story that appears real yet contains elements of
imagination.
8. A Day by Emily
Dickinson
Main Summary:
Emily Dickinson in her poem “A Day,” describes a
beautiful day that brings the children from innocence to experience using
brilliant imagery and symbols.
Emily describes the sunset and sunrise as a village and the things
in that village in this poem. However, the poem also portrays the difficulty in
recognsising the world and environment around us. In the Poem, the speaker of
the poem clearly describes how the sun rises, what happens after the sun rises,
and how the sun sets. When the Sun first rises, its ribbon-like rays fall over
the steeple of the church, transforming its colour to amethyst. Sunrise’s news
spreads as fast as the Squirrels can run. In the early morning light, the dark
hills are seen, and a small American bird, the bobolink, begins to sing. The
warmth of the Sun makes all living things happy and pleasant. The speaker
speaks to himself to be confirmed about the Sunrise with its lovely and magnificent
beams. The poem is written in four different beautiful stanzas, each of them
describing a beautiful day using various imagery and symbols. We can
divide the poem into two parts: an eight-line segment describing the sunrise
and an eight-line segment describing the speaker’s misunderstanding of the
sunset.
9. Every Morning I Wake by Dylan Thomas
Short Summary:
The
poem “Every Morning I Wake” is an extract from Under the Milk Wood. In this
poem, Thomas pleads with the majestic God to have mercy on the common people
who live under the Milk Wood.
This
poem is a prayer to the magnificent God made by a tiny creature known as a
human being. The speaker of the poem is a representative of human kinds who are
born to die but nothing. The speaker is a devotee of God and he knows the real
power of God, so every morning he wakes up he makes a pray to Him for having
mercy on every creature. The speaker prays not only for his benefit but for the
well-being of entire creatures. They are living on this planet but the remote
control is at the hand of God. God is the creator and destroyer of everything
on this planet. The speaker prays to Him to have mercy because He is immortal
and Almighty.
As
mortal beings, we have to die but the blessings of God make our life beautiful.
The speaker is praying to God before he sleeps at night but is not certain if
they will see him tomorrow morning so he is asking to bless them. We may be
good or bad in the course of living our everyday lives, but it is only God who
knows our best side. The blessings of God every night make us able to see them
tomorrow morning. So, the speaker bows down and pray to God to keep them alive
throughout the night. This time the speaker bides goodbye but not forever
though it is not certain to be able to wake up the following morning.
10. I Was My Own Route by Julia de Burgos
Main Summary:
The
speaker Julia de Burgos, a radical feminist, challenges the masculine concept
of defining a female’s existence and journey via traditional paths in the poem
“I Was My Own Route.” She links male mentality to gender inequality and male
prejudices towards women.
Women’s
own freedom and liberation are portrayed in this poem. She also rejects the
masculine ideology of deciding a woman’s life and journey along traditional
paths as a result of this. She connects masculine thinking to gender inequity
and men’s prejudices against women. She’s looking for a new path to take on her
own journey, one that she can choose. She supports women’s rights and freedom.
This poem demonstrates that a man and a woman are equally important. As a
result, her life should not be influenced by the ideas of others, as the law
guarantees females the same fundamental rights as men.
Above
all, the poem teaches us the moral that men and women are both members of the
same society, and they both require freedom, liberty, independence, and other
aspects of life, and they should be permitted to pursue their own paths rather
than those dictated by patriarchal society.
11. The Awakening Age Ben Okri
In the poem “The Awakening
Age,” the poet Ben Okri depicts the struggles of African people and offers a
demand for unity, peace, and solidarity among human beings from all over the
world. This poem depicts how Nigerians have suffered a long history of
starvation, poverty, unemployment, and conflicts (ethnic, religious, political,
terrorism, militancy, electoral, and so on) that have rendered them a
vulnerable community. Northern Nigeria has been oppressing the Igho group,
which has resulted in ethnoreligious conflict. The poem depicts the narrative
of a people whose optimism binds them together like glue, even though they are
led by invisible powers.
The speaker is trying to
address the new people of Nigeria, who have suffered greatly as a result of
Nigeria’s horrific bloodshed caused by ethnic, religious, geographical, and
economic factors, and encouraging them to share a unified vision of a new,
peaceful, and successful country in the first couplet. In geography, a meridian
line is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into two hemispheres. It
refers to the tensions and divisions that divided Nigerians into two halves in
the poetry. Travelling the Meridian line here signifies the change of Nigerians
from struggle, poverty, and fragmentation during the civil war to a land of
peace and harmony.
12.
Soft Storm Abhi
Subedi
The main summary of the poem entitled "Soft Storm",
Subedi, is the feeling that is developed with a touch of compassion in the
speaker, which contemplates over the absurdities of tumultuous tmes. It's
written in free verse by Abhi Subedi. It's a beautiful mix of natural and
social descriptions, and it's written in rhyme. On the surface, it shows the
speaker's journey through a narrow street and the lights of Kathmandu at night.
In its deeper meaning, it shows people's indifference to the poor conditions
and suffering of people, malspractices, a tumultuous atmosphere, and chaos in
the Nepalese society.
13. On
Libraries Oliver Sacks
Summary of The Essay
The essay 'On Libraries' is written by Oliver Sacks. In this
essay, the essayist remembers his childhood. He grew in an oak-panelled library
inherited from his father where so many books were stacked. Oliver is happy in
this essay because it is his autobiographical writing. He is so delightful. It
is written in praise of intellectual freedom, community work, a high state of
unexpected discovery and so on.
The essayist has the good habit of reading books in libraries.
He has found his natural curiosity unstimulated by the industrial model of
education into which he was pushed. At the library, he was the master of his
own time and mind. He got so many ideas from books. He discovered the living
substance of learning without the ill-fitting structure of schooling. He
apprehended liberation through self-directed learning. He also found a
surprising sense of community, which became a wonderful complement to his
newfound intellectual autonomy. Autonomous learning is very important and good
to achieve success.
The essayist moved to New York City in 1985. He started to live
in a small apartment. It was difficult for him to read and write but he began
to write. He wrote the books on the mind. Then, he was accepted into Albert Einstein
College of Medicine where he felt comfortable reading and writing. He met
another friend there who was also searching for the books of the brain. They
had a close connection because they shared their knowledge with each other. He
continued reading books in the library. At that time students ignored
bookshelves because of their access to the materials on the computers. Some
libraries started to discard old books. He didn't like that. For him, it was
the very bad thing that he took as murder or crime. The library became his
escape from the oppressions and adversity of a young person.
13.
Marriage as a Social Institution Stephen L. Nock
In 'Marriage as a Social Institution' by Stephen L. Nock essay,
the author examines the national marriage debate by reviewing the social and
demographic trends that have changed the role of marriage and the family. He
views that marriage and parenthood are private matters, relevant only to the
individuals directly involved. He points out the various programs that have
strengthened marital relationships, lowered divorce rates, reduced
out-of-wedlock births, and encouraged responsible fatherhood.
Marriage as a social institution is a politically and socially
contentious topic in the essay, and it is examined carefully as a major social
structure that impacts males. Writer asserts that the position of spouse has a
special significance in men's life. The institution of traditional marriage
helps men develop their manhood as they get older. In a marriage, a guy grows,
maintains, and shows his masculine identity.
Marriage is the union of two people who are legally, morally,
and socially linked by various personal and societal connections. Husbands as
the household's leader, fidelity/monogamy, and parenting are all
characteristics of a normal marriage. Couples react to each other, culture,
society, and the rules and values that define them as a unit since they are
life partners. Married males, in particular, had greater physical and mental
health than married women.
In terms of fundamental aspects of accomplishment, involvement
in public social life, well-being, comfort, luxury, and swagger, marriage
transforms men. It's a framework modeled after other institutions like the
family, education, economics, law, and politics, among others.
14.
Knowledge and Wisdom Bertrand
Russell
In this
essay, Russell differentiates between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge and
wisdom are different things. According to him, knowledge is defined as the
acquisition of data and information, while wisdom is defined as the practical
application and use of the knowledge to create value. Wisdom is gained through
learning and practical experience, not just memorization.
In this
article, the author discusses numerous aspects of wisdom. His definition of
wisdom includes:
i) sense
of proportion
ii)
awareness and feeling
iii)
freedom from bias
iv)
objectivity
v)
mental component
Russell
defines wisdom in the first half of this article, and then discusses how to get
it in the second. Wisdom cannot progress without information. He claims that
wisdom and knowledge must both be pursued at the same time. As a result,
Russel's precise explanations are wonderful gifts of knowledge and wisdom. It
demonstrates Russel's mastery of clear style. His brain is razor-sharp, and his
perspective is expansive.
Only
having knowledge or wisdom isn't enough. Both are equally valuable. Wisdom
without knowledge may be dangerous. Even having all of the facts isn't enough.
It is vital to blend information with wisdom. To choose our life's objective,
we need intelligence. We need it in order to be free of personal biases. To
prevent hate for one another, wisdom is required. For understanding each other,
we require wisdom.
15. Humility Yuval
Noah Harari
Yuval Noah Harari, a well-known
essayist from Jerusalem, wrote the essay Humility. In this essay, he displays
humility by debunking humanity’s illusions of superiority and mastery.
Morality, art, spirituality, and creativity, he says, are universal human
talents encoded in our DNA. The author displays the virtue of humility in
this essay, which may be characterised as “a recognition of the real limits of
our techno-social knowledge and ability,” by debunking humanity’s illusions of
superiority and mastery. According to Harari, humility is a trait that most
societies lack. Most individuals feel that they are at the centre of the
universe and that their culture is the foundation of human history.
Greeks think that history
started with Homer, Sophocles, and Plato and that pivotal ideas and innovations
were born in Athens, Sparta, Alexandria, or Constantinople. Some Indians think
that ancient sages in the Indian subcontinent devised aeroplanes and nuclear
bombs long before Confucius or Plato, let alone Einstein and the Wright
brothers.
The Jews feel that monotheism
should be credited to them and that they are a prominent group in the world —
one of the top three faiths. However, there are only 15 million Jews, and there
is no reason to believe that they are more significant than the Hindu faith,
which has considerably more adherents. Each group considers itself to be
the centre of the world, as well as the creator of the most significant
ideologies and accomplishments.
However, no group is genuinely
unique; some version of their ideology and ideas existed before them. The
faiths that survived were the most aggressive — they managed to convert the
greatest amount of people to their beliefs. For example, the Biblical phrase
“love thy neighbour as thyself,” which Jews claim as their own, had previously
occurred in China.
Similarly, monotheism has its
origins in Egypt and was not initially Jewish. Monotheism has led to global
catastrophe, and no one should be happy about having developed it. A few
centuries after its creation, Christianity prohibited all faiths save the
Jewish religion, although many Jews were still persecuted, whereas Islam now
considers all history previous to Mohammed to be meaningless.
Many outstanding concepts,
according to Chinese nationalists, originated in their culture. The Jews
believe that they are God’s chosen people and that gentiles are not on pace
with them in terms of importance. While some sages have advocated for religious
tolerance, the historical trend has always been to persecute those who hold
opposing views. Ironically, this is the very self-centeredness that most faiths
warn against.
15. Human Rights and the Age of Inequality Samuel Moyn
This essay "Human
Rights and the Age of Inequality" has been written by an American writer
Samuel Moyn. Here in this essay, Samuel Moyn deals with the drastic mismatch
between the egalitarian crisis and the human rights remedy that demands not a
substitute but a supplement. He points out that the human rights regime and
movement are simply not equipped to challenge global inequalities.
The writer begins his
essay with a parable where he has presented an example of Croesus (the last
king of Lydia (reigned 560-546). According to the writer, Croesus was a very
wealthy king who considered himself the happiest of mortals. He wanted his
citizens should be happy and free from all kinds of suffering. But he had a
problem; he did not want to invest his money to eradicate the sufferings of his
people. He had collected a lot of wealth for himself but after being defeated,
his whole possession, as well as wealth, was controlled by the Persian king
Cyrus the Great and his army.
Later, the writer
links this situation of Croesus with the modern world where inequality exists
and available means and resources are unequally distributed. The writer says
that every year 10th December is celebrated as Human Rights Day, but no step
has been taken for equal access to rights and property between rich and poor in
the world. There is only one solution to all these kinds of obstacles as
distributive equality but he feels that this is almost impossible in practical
life or reality.
16.A Matter for Husband
Ferenc Molnar
A Matter of Husbands
is a one-act play written by Ferenc Molnar. He is a widely celebrated and
controversial playwright. There are three main characters in the play. They are
Eamest Young Woman (Alfred's wife), Sara (Famous Actress) and Alfred (Lawyer,
husband of Earnest Young Woman). It is a very twisted one-act play that depicts
the story of Eamest Young Woman. She is married to a lawyer who knows Famous
Woman.
A matter of husbands
focuses on the roles of actors on the stage and in real life and how much they
are capable of keeping us in an illusion. At the beginning of the play, the
Earnest Young Woman is shown on the stage impatiently waiting for the famous
actress. The Famous Actress is called 'Sara'. As Sara enters the stage through
the curtain, Earnest Young Woman rushes to her and angrily asks her to return
her husband. The Famous Actress boldly denies that she has stolen her husband.
She says she knows him because once the contract for a case has been given to
him. She asks Earnest Young Woman what makes her believe that Alfred is in love
with her.
Earnest Young Woman
tells her that her husband sends her flowers and writes a love letter. After
hearing this, the actress blushes and continues to deny receiving any flowers
or notes from him. In order to make Earnest Young Woman believe that she and her
husband have a misunderstanding, she now claims that something strange
happened. Famous Woman convinces Eamest Young Woman that her husband is playing
with her in an attempt to make her jealous and gain her attention and love
back. Then, the innocent young lady realizes her mistake and apologizes. Famous
Actress calls Alfred from her personal bedroom after the eager young lady exits
the stage. In this way, the play ends.
17. Facing Death
August Strindberg
Facing Death, a
one-act play by August Strindberg tells the story of Monsieur Durand, a former
railroad worker and widower in financial ruin. Durand has three daughters,
Adèle, Annette, and Thérèse, who have no future prospects. Despite his efforts
to provide for his children, including renting out his home to lodgers, he has
been received with ridicule and derision. Monsieur Durand, on the other hand,
has a strategy to secure his daughters’ financial prospects, even if it means
facing his own death. A classic example of dramatic naturalism in Europe. The
story of Facing Death is about a father’s love for his children, even if it
means sacrificing everything. Strindberg dramatizes a heroic sacrifice
made by a bankrupt father for the sake of his daughters in Facing Death.
18. The Bull
Bhimnidhi Tiwari
The Bull is a one-act play
written by Bhimnidhi Tiwari, a well-known Nepali poet and playwright. The play
criticized society’s feudal system at the time (18th century). The drama
depicts the death of King Rana Bahadur Shah’s bull, Male, and the terror that
three important characters, the bull doctor and two cowherds, Jitman and Gore,
are experiencing.
The play is set in the month of
Ashwin in the year 1854 B.S. At the start of the play, two panicked cowherds
named Gore and Jitman arrive at Laxminarayan’s house. They have come to notify
King Ranabahadur Shah about the death of his bull. Laxminarayan begins to
shiver after hearing their story. All of them get concerned about the king’s
impending punishment. The monarch has the power to put them to death.
Laxminarayan is frightened of being punished by having his head shaved. As a
punishment for speaking loudly in front of the monarch, Laxminarayan’s lips
were once burned. After that, Laxminarayan’s moustache never develops on that
side.
The bull died, according to
both cowherds, since it didn’t eat enough food (grass) and couldn’t digest fine
rice and split gram soup. The cowherds are instructed by Laxminarayan not to
inform the king that the bull has died. They will suffer a dreadful destiny if
they notify the king about the bull’s death. Following his advice to both
cowherds, Laxminarayan proceeds to the Basantpur palace to alert the monarch of
the bull’s bad health. Laxminarayan respectfully bends down in front of the
king and informs him that the bull is sick. He does not inform the king
immediately that the bull has died.
He informs the king about the
sick bull’s condition. The bull sir, he claims, does not get up and have
breakfast. He doesn’t move or speak. He just looks at us with his eyes closed.
Laxminarayan begins by complimenting the bull’s beauty, walking style, and
heroic battle. He proposes that the bull be transported to the hill to help
with climate change and the bull’s health. After hearing Laxminarayan’s
statements, the king decides to personally inspect the bull’s condition and
leads a convoy on the palanquin to the cowshed at Thulo Gauchara.
Jitman and Gore, on the other
hand, are both waiting impatiently at the cowshed for the king’s decision. They
consider fleeing to save their lives, but they believe they will be caught and
killed again. The king is on his way there. At Thulo Gauchar, Laxminarayan runs
ahead of the convoy to advise the cowherds to massage the bull’s back feet and
wave the fan at the bull. They respond in kind. Laxminarayan even assures the
king that they have been caring for the bull since the early hours of the
morning. On the mattress, the bull is truly dead. There is no movement in the
area. It isn’t either breathing or eating. Its ears have drooped and its tail
has loosened. Fear prevents the cowherds and Laxminarayan from declaring
it dead. The bull, according to King Ranabahadur Shah, is dead.
Jitman begins to cry after
listening to the king and claims that he has been an orphan since the bull’s
death. The King gives him a 400-rupee tip and orders him to stay silent. Gore
begins to cry as well. He claims that the bull is more important to him than
his mother, father, wife, and children. He declares that he will either join
the bull or hang himself. The king grants a tip of 500 rupees after hearing his
speech. Finally, Laxminarayan begins to cry and act as if he is in pain. The
king taunts him and tells him to bury the bull, supervise the burial
procedures, and make sacrifices to the priest. Finally, Gore and Jitman express
their joy at being alive.
“The Bull” powerfully depicts
the feudal system of the time, in which ordinary people were oppressed,
dominated, and dehumanised. The animals of feudal lords deserved greater
respect than the animals of commoners. It explores the dehumanisation of common
people by rulers, the enslavement of Lords/Kings’ servants, and the domination
of the higher classes.
