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 ASSIGNMENT SOLUTIONS GUIDE (2018-2019)
B.E.G.E.-105
Understanding Prose
Disclaimer/Special Note: These are just the sample of the Answers/Solutions to some of the Questions given in the
Assignments. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by Private Teacher/Tutors/Authors for the help and guidance

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of the student to get an idea of how he/she can answer the Questions given the Assignments. We do not claim 100%
accuracy of these sample answers as these are based on the knowledge and capability of Private Teacher/Tutor. Sample

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answers may be seen as the Guide/Help for the reference to prepare the answers of the Questions given in the assignment.
As these solutions and answers are prepared by the private Teacher/Tutor so the chances of error or mistake cannot be

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denied. Any Omission or Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these Sample

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Answers/Solutions. Please consult your own Teacher/Tutor before you prepare a Particular Answer and for up-to-date

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and exact information, data and solution. Student should must read and refer the official study material provided by the

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university.

Answer All Questions

a i
Q. 1. Comment on the dominant variety of prose (narrative, expository or descriptive) present in

d
each of the following passages. Write a brief critical appreciation of each passage in about 250 words

a
m
each:

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(a) The Sergeant spun round on his heels barked out some sentences in a very strange language

y
to somebody hidden within the building. That person now came out, smartly uniformed.

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The first thing that struck me about him was that he was albino. Then the next moment I

e s
realized that he was not an albino at all but a white man. Also that, unlike the marching

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i k
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policemen, he wore shoes. He was dressed simply in khaki, so I knew that he was also a

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t
policeman. His appearance however bore very little resemblance to that of the band. He

n oo
stood on the steps of his office while the Sergeant called out yet another order which made

s O b
the lines stiffen up. Another was called and they appeared to relax. The Sergeant then

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continued in the same language within which I succeeded in catching a few English words

.e o
and name-places. He appeared to be„reporting? something, the Oba’s palace? was involved

f E
in it, and it all ended with all correct? and „further orders?. The white man spoke a few

b d
words. The Sergeant gave two more barks and the parade broke up and went their different

we u an
ways, all except the Sergeant. He stayed with the white officer and they spoke some more;
it was during this dialogue that the white man looked up and saw me.

H
w Th
Ans. (1) Autobiographical: The narrative is autobiographical. Hence it has only a single point of view.
Even then the same person, the author, has more than one point of view as under:
(a) As a child for example, in the beginning

w
(b) Later on as an adult, when he is in a better position to look back and see things and events in a different
perspective.
(2) Consistency: The episode, is told consistently through the eyes of the protagonist:
(i) There are no knowing winks
(ii) No wise asides from the adult author.
(iii) The authenticity of the narrative is well-preserved.
(iv) Everything is narrated from a simple, consistent point of view. It is quite natural in case of a boy about four
years old.
(v) The humour, the drama and the kindly dramatic irony are genuine and carefully controlled.
(vi) The narrative does not lapse into sentiment or vague generalities.
(vii) The basic innocence of childhood is present in all his thinking, actions and reactions.

3
 Fortunately, the Sergeant remembered the headmaster and his household in Ake. He himself had probably lived
there with his brother, who was a petty trader. Wole recalled how fascinated he was by the leather goods and
brassware that the Hausa traders brought to his house and bartered in exchange for old clothes, refusing to accept
money. This part of the narrative is set further back in time, as a narrative within a narrative.
(8) Humour: The passage contains some humour provided by Wole’s own innocence:
(i) His father was addressed HM or headmaster by practically everyone.
(ii) He was also known by his initials S.A. which Wole interpreted to mean Essay; He thought it to be particularly
appropriate because of his father’s formal manner and fastidious ways and cultivated handwriting.
(iii) Wole claimed that the journal that he saw on the officer’s table was his father’s.
(iv) He was quite dogmatic that ‘dates’ could only mean the dates in a calendar and he believed that his father

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was joking when he called a variety of fruit ‘dates’.
(v) At the conclusion of the adventure, the entire household wondered how Wole had managed to walk the

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entire distance from Ake to Ibara. It was an extraordinary achievement, but Wole saw it in terms of how hungry he
was and was mainly interested in what he was being given to eat.

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(vi) The narrative is full of such instances which are related in a matter of fact way. This makes for the

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delightful humorous effects that we experienced, as we read the passage.

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(b) Just as the heart of England is the middle classes, so the heart of the middle classes is the

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public-school system. This extraordinary institution is local. It does not even exist all over
the British Isles. It is unknown in Ireland, almost unknown in Scotland (countries excluded

a i
from my survey) and though it may inspire other great institutions—Aligarh, for example,

d
and some of the schools in the United States—it remains unique, because it was created by

a
m
the Anglo — Saxon middle classes and can flourish only where they flourish. How perfectly

e
it and spiritual complexities have already entered. With itsboarding-houses, its compulsory

R
y
games, its system of perfects and fagging, its insistence on good form and on esprit de
corps, it produces a type whose weight is out of all proportion to its numbers.

d e
Ans. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which we use a name or a descriptive term or phrase for an object or

in ks
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action to which it is not literally applicable. A metaphor suggests a comparison between two things not usually

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thought of as similar. Forster makes use of metaphors. They cut short the abstractions of learned language and

t n oo
appeal to our experience and senses.

s O b
(i) English character is compared to a sea.

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(ii) The depths and colours visible in a sea are English romanticism and the English sensitivity.

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.e
(iii) The fishes under the tranquil sea water are the emotions that do not easily surface.

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(iv) The flying fish are symbolical of the activity that goes on beneath the surface of the sea.
In this way the explanatory metaphors used by Forster explain the hidden emotional nature of Englishmen.

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Forster uses the first person pronoun to talk in a relaxed, chatty, conversational informal manner. The informal

u a n
style chosen by him is a suitable medium for communicating the whimsical views which Forster holds with regard to

H
w Th
English character. The style becomes conversational with his use of proverbs. Some are as under:
(i) ‘let the cat out of the bag’,
(ii) ‘get fire out of ice’,

w
There are words such as:
(i) ‘back up’
(ii) ‘make a fuss about’
There are striking similes such as:
(i) ‘measuring emotions like potatoes’,
(ii) ‘slopping them about like water from the pail’,
(iii) ‘as various as the sound of the sea’, etc.
He uses words in new connotations such as:
(i) ‘bankrupt of emotions’,
(ii) ‘anxious to meet my liabilities’,
(iii) ‘dizzy’ and
(iv) somehow unfamiliar height.
There is role shifting:

4
 (1) First he says English nervous system is well equipped for meeting a physical emergency. It acts promptly and
feels slowly. Such a combination, he reiterates, is fruitful, and one who possesses it, is brave.
(2) The shift of attitude is evident in the arguments he makes such as ‘if the English nature is cold, how it is that
it has produced a great literature and a literature that is particularly great in poetry’.
We may compare and contrast his attitude in the first half of the passage with that of the latter half.
In the earlier part he accepts the generally held views about English character as under:
(i) Insularity,
(ii) shallowness, and
(iii) smugness.
He even extends reasons for such views–
(i) He accounts for the dominant role played by the middle classes:

m
(ii) He attacks the English public school system for the kind of unrealistic education it gives.
Soon there is shift. He says ‘for it is not that the Englishman can’t feel–it is that he is afraid to feel. The rest of

o
the essay is a discussion on the unfeeling nature of Englishman.

c g
The first anecdote describes Forster’s continental holiday with his Indian friend, at the end of which Forster

.
behaved sensibly. He hoped to meet his friend soon. He told the friend that they could write to each other in the

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interval, if they had anything to say. But the Indian friend became emotional and dejected at the time of parting. The

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later part of the anecdote explicates. Forster’s views on emotions are as under:
(i) Forster believed that emotions should be used sparingly and on appropriate occasions.

a i
(ii) On the contrary to it, his Indian friend thought that what is important is not the occasion for emotion but the

d
sincerity of it.

a
Forster is candid in his statements about his own behaviour. His inability to express his feelings to his friend relates

Re m
to his training at his public school that one should exercise restraint in feeling great joy or sorrow.

y
Comparison and contrast act as tools of exposition. Comparison has the following uses:
(a) The first use is to explain related ideas to illustrate a point.

d e s
(b) The second use is to convince in an argument that one element is superior, more important, or more useful

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than the other.

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ul
It is observed that comparison by aspects could be more effective and more specific than comparison of the

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whole units.

s O b
Forster compares the Western man’s and the Oriental’s attitude towards materials as under:
(1) The middle class Englishmen is wise in spending money whereas the Oriental is generous in doing so.

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(2) The Englishman thinks his resources are limited for him to spend lavishly. The Oriental feels that his resources

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are unlimited so that he can afford to spend lavishly.
(3) The Oriental feels emotions are endless, to be expressed endlessly, the Englishman’s views on emotions are

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conditioned by his prudent middle class outlook.

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Forster relates another anecdote to prove the slowness of the English character.

H
w Th
(c) The Greater Hornbill was another visitor to the farm, and came there to eat the fruits of the
Cape-Chestnut tree. They are very strange birds. It is an adventure or an experience to
meet them, not altogether pleasant, for they look exceedingly knowing. One morning before

w
sunrise I was woken up by a loud jabbering outside the house, and when I walked out on the
terrace I saw forty-one Hornbills sitting in the trees on the lawn. There they looked less
like birds than like some fantastic articles of finery set on the trees here and there by a
child. Black they all were, with the sweet, noble black of Africa, deep darkness absorbed
through an age, like old soot, that makes you feel that for elegance, vigour and vivacity, no
colour rivals black. All the Hornbills were talking together in the merriest mood, but with
choice deportment, like a party of inheritors after a funeral.The morning air was as clear as
crystal, the somber party was bathing in freshness and purity, and, behind, the trees and the
birds, the sun came up, a dull red ball. You wonder what sort of a day you are to get after
such an early morning.
Ans. Metaphors and Similes

5
 (i) The notes of nightingale as if in the solitudes of the dripping woods some one was turning a small cello (a
musical instrument).
(ii) Plovers behave like Sea-birds on a beach.
(iii) The crested cranes jump up and down as if they were held on the ground by magnetism.
(iv) The whole ballet has a sacred look like some ritual dance.
(v) Perhaps the cranes are making an attempt to in Heaven and Earth like the winged angels.
(vi) They look like walking up and down Jacob’s Ladder.
(vii) They have all the air of light spirited frescoes.
(viii) Crane’s clear ringing note as if a group of church bells had taken to the wing and were sailing off……A
chime from the clouds.

m
(ix) A person may be awaken by the land jabbering of Greater Hornbill.
(x) They look like some fantastic articles of finery set on the trees by a child.

o
(xi) Black Greater Hornbill are like old root.
(xii) They talk like a party of inheritors after a funeral.

c g
(xiii) The morning air was as clear as crystal.

.
(xiv) The flamingoes are like a flying twig of an Oleander bush.

t n
(xv) The noble wader of the Nile.

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(xvi) The sister of the Lotus.
(xvii) The flamingoes float over the landscape like a stray cloud of sunset.

a i
(xviii)The dead flamingoes looked a slack cluster of pink and red feathers with a pair of long thin sticks

d
attached to it.

a
The Greater Hornbill eats the fruits of the cape chest nut tree. Their land jabbering may wake any person from

e m
his sleep. They look like some fantastic articles of finery set on the tree. They are black with the noble black of

R
y
Africa. They talk together in the inneriest mood but with choice deportment like a party of inheritors after a funeral.
The flamingoes are pink and red like a flying twig of an Oleander bush. They have long leg and bizarre and strange

d e
curves of their necks and bodies. They make all attitudes and movements in life as difficult as possible.

in ks
Greater Hornbill: They are black and their jabbering may wake up a person. The writer uses the words like

ul
‘strange’, ‘jabbering’, ‘exceedingly knowing’, ‘a party of inheritors after a funeral’, for them.

t n oo
Q. 2. Justify the comment “Be strong before people, only weep before God” with reference to the
story ‘Mother’? by Judah Waten.

s O b
Ans. These words were the words of the mother in the story. It shows the strength to fight for something what

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.e
is yours. It tells that one should not let other people see the weakness that resides in you. She believed that once we

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start showing our weakness to other people they would start taking advantage of it. Once people know that you are

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weak they would not let you live and will try to exploit you as much as possible and therefor if you do not want to be

b d
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exploited you should pretend to be strong when we other people. Therefore, one must not be weak in front of anyone

u a n
except God. These words also show that she is an introvert who would not ask for help from others.
Mother: The Mother in thy story is undoubtedly the protagonist of the story. Her physical description takes the

H
w Th
readers into her state of mind and tells a great deal about her character. The narrator says she has a sad face, dark
brown eyes and black hair. Her physique is thin and she stoops a little. She is soft spoken and gentle but her gestures

w
are measured and there are times when it seems that she functions automatically with her mind far away from the
body. As the plot develops, we are told that her childhood was neglected. The narrator says, “During those early days
Mother rarely looked out into the streets, for since the great pogroms few children were ever to be seen aboard.
From the iron grille of the basement she saw the soles of the shoes of the passers-by and not very much more. She
had never seen a tree, a flower or a bird.” She was orphaned at the age fifteen and then went on to live with her aunt
who would say to her, “If only you dear father of blessed memory had left you just tiny dowry it would have been
such a help”. After learning to read and write she went on to work in hospital, and there by her determination and
zeal to learn and read she acquired a nursing diploma and went on to work medical mission. She enjoyed the early
period of her marriage but after the initial romance is over she realized that her husband is all that she is not. Her life
since then started to revolve around her children. To get better lived life she and her family moved to Australia, but
even in the new land the problems still persisted. She realized that life is difficult for an unprivileged in Australia as it
is everywhere else. The complexity of her life can be seen in the fact that in spite of all the difficulties he is
determined to give her son and her daughter the best.

6
Discussion
The story ‘Mother’ has been critically praised by many for its lucidity, fine sense of comedy and depth of feeling.
The story has been much anthologized. It has been included in ‘Oxford Book of Australian Short Story’ and also in
‘Contemporary Australian Short Story’. The story tells us about an orphan girl, addressed as mother. We have no
idea of her birth and name. The story has been told in first person narration by her son. Throughout her life, she faced
challenges and the way she faced those challenges the changes that these challenges made in her life andher attitude
towards life have been documented in the story. Even in her marriage she finds little comfort as her husband is a
person who lives in moments and does not believe in saving for the future. Therefore, he is not able to provide her
with security and warmth that she longed for her whole life.
The story ‘Mother’ is actually a fictional account of the author own life. It shows how his mother worked hard
or a better life. During middle of 20th century, many of the Jew families left Europe for Australia and America

m
because of persecution of Jews by Nazis. But here the story is bit different. The mother and her family left their
home for Australia for a better economic prospect, with a dream to live a better and richer life. Not to be missed

o
though, anti-Semitism also plays in the story, especially when the narrator tells us about the childhood of the mother.
He says:

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“During those early days Mother rarely looked out into the streets, for since the great pogroms few children

.
were ever to be seen aboard. From the iron grille of the basement she saw the soles of the shoes of the passers-by

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and not very much more. She had never seen a tree, a flower or a bird.”

r
During her childhood she also faceda sense of discrimination, mainly because of she was girl. The narrator says
that her father, “looked with great disapproval on his offspring, who were all girls”, later her widowed aunt says, “If

a i
only you dear father of blessed memory had left you just tiny dowry it would have been such a help”. Obviously the

d
cause of disapproval from the both her father and aunt is dowry, a system which was prevalent in then Russia.

a
m
Through various suggestions the story provides a great insight in to the society of that time. We learn that there was

Re
no emphasis on a girl’s education. The only thing possible which could have been imagined then in Russia for a girl

y
was to marry her. Even at the age of fifteen the mother did not know how read or write. She got education only when
someone tool pity on a lonely girl. But after that education became her passion and she started believing firmly that

d e s
the only escape from the misery of her life is through books. And that is how she continued studying ad acquired a

n
i k
nurse’s diploma.

u l
Not happy in her married life, she centred her life on her children, whom she always wanted to give her best. But

t n oo
soon she realized that even in new land the life is difficult for the unprivileged, and what she hoped did not come true.

s O b
She would often set great aims for her children. She wished that the narrator and his sister should shine in medicine,
literature, and music. But her every attempt to fulfil this very aim is thwarted because of their not very good

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economic position. The story is a vivid portrayal of the anxiety and tensions which a new immigrant has in the

fo E
country he/she has just migrated. Their dreams and aspirations and the obstacles that they face in achieving these is
what the story tries to capture.

b d
we
Looked from the narrator’s perspective it was easier for him and her sister to get acquainted with new land and

u an
call it their new home since they were young. They could adjust to their new surroundings easily but for mother case

H
entirely different.

w Th
Q. 3. What is the plot of the novel The Binding Vine?
Ans. Plot: “The Binding Vine”, deals with the personal tragedy of the protagonist, Urmi. Through Urmi, Deshpande

w
narrates the pathetic lives of other victims, Kalpana and Mira. Mira is Urmi’s mother-in-law, a victim of marital rape.
Mira lives in the solitude of her unhappy marriage. She also narrates the tale of her acquaintance Shakutai, who had
been deserted by her husband for another woman. The worst part of her tale is that her elder daughter Kalpana is
brutally raped by her sister Sulu’s husband, Prabhakar. Urmi takes up cudgels on Kalpana’s behalf and brings the
culprit to book.
The novel begins with Urmi grieving over the death of her baby daughter. She is treated with a tender affection
of her loving mother and her dear sister-in-law Vanna. Despite the efforts of her friends and family members, she
clings on to her grief. In spite of her fight for the loss, she feels that forgetting this grief would tantamount to betrayal.
She is married to an insensitive husband Kishore who is a Merchant Navy. Her husband leaves her alone the
most of the time. She has also got a son Karthik. It is Urmi who narrates the whole story. There are five pairs of
mother-daughter, namely Inni-Urmi, Mira’s mother-Mira, Shakutai-Kalpana, Akka-Vanna, and Vanna-Mandira and
their relationships between themselves is based on some sort of misapprehension or dissention.

7
 Urmi’s displeasure with her mother was deep-rooted in her separation from her parents. Right from her childhood
days’ she was sent to her paternal grandmother, she had no experience of the kind of mothering a daughter. But Urmi
was neither in a position nor in a mood to find out the cause of her displacement or her mother’s predicament. Inni
had an early marriage, leading to an early motherhood, and being too young herself, she was unable to take care of
her child properly. While trying to vindicate herself she explains to her daughter her position. Towards the end, Urmi
becomes empathetic and forgives her.
Urmi’s father was a dominant patriarch and a domineering husband, he was the decision-maker and instrumental
in her displacement, but Inni, Urmi’s mother had to bear the burnt of the consequent blame.
She has to survive the rest of her life to make up for the loss of love for her daughter. She was doting on her
indifferent daughter to a great extent whereas Urmi was on the wrong belief that her mother had deliberately sent

m
her to her mother-in-law for her own convenience. Urmi disillusions the wrong notion only after Inni unveils the truth
----‘A sense of being vulnerable and naked, as if some armour I’ve been wearing all these years-against what?-Has

o
been taken off.’
She feels frightened to think of her father’s unkindness to her mother, who went through the pain of child birth,

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but was deprived of the right to decide what would be best for her baby.

.
In an aggrieved state at the loss of her daughter, Urmi is drawn into the lives of three different women. She

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happens to meet Shakuntala, the mother of a rape-victim, whom she meets at a hospital where Vanna works. Her

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daughter has been admitted to the hospital. Dr. Bhaskar reports that Kalpana has been brutally raped. Shakuntala
refuses to believe that her daughter Kalpana has been raped. Her reaction is that of a typical Indian mother bred in

a i
an oppressive male-dominated society. She cries in agony and fear. Most Indian mothers would react in a similar

d
way as they are concerned about their daughters’ marriage. Shakuntala is in a traumatic state and is sobbing. Urmi

a
escorts her to their home and from there starts her association with her. She pays regular visits to Shakuntala’s place

e m
to inquire about Kalpana’s state.

R
y
It is during these regular visits that Urmi comes to know about Kalpana from Shakuntala. Shakuntala holds two
extreme views on her daughter; sometimes she is all praise for Kalpana. And, many a time, she puts all the blame on

d e
her. She says that Kaplana is secretive in nature as she does not even tell her about her pay. She also expresses her

in ks
surprise at having given birth to a pretty child like Kalpana. She is full of praise when she talks about her daughter’s

u l
physical appearance.

t n oo
Shakuntala is of the view that it is Kalpana’s attitude which is responsible for her fate. Urmi fails to convince
Shakuntala and is enraged at the fact that Shakuntala’s blame game and subjection of will to fate would lead to the

s O b
rapist’s getting away scot-free.

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Shakuntala does not want a report to be lodged with the police, as she knows that if she does, a much greater

o E
injustice awaits her and her daughter. A victim of rape is a loser on two counts: Firstly, she has been raped; secondly

f
the society looks down upon such a victim as a characterless woman, which ushers in a much miserable plight.

b d
we
The police officer registers the case as a mere accident to the great shock of Dr. Bhaskar. Urmi wants justice

u a n
to be done to Kalpana by bringing the culprit to book. She finds herself a lonely crusader in her fight. Despite
opposition from Vanaa and Urmi’s mother, she takes the matter to the press. She gets the case reopened and with

H
w Th
this the identity of the rapist is revealed who is no other than Prabhakar, Shakuntala’s sister’s husband. Sulu gets so
guilty conscience that she immolates herself leaving behind a grief-stricken Shakuntala.

w
Yet another saga of misery, submission and sorrow is that of Urmi’s late mother-law, Mira. Mira has aversion to
physical intimacy with her husband and still she has to put up with his obsession for her. She voices to her inner self
in her poems.Urmi receives an old trunk full of books and a few other things from Mira’s husband’s stepmother,
referred to as Akka. Among these books Urmi finds Mira’s diary which is “not a daily account of her routine life but
a communication with herself”.
Urmi goes through the poems in Mira’s diary and gets a glimpse of her troubled marriage. She comes to know
from Akka how Kishore’s father had pursued and married Mira, a college student. The poems and entries in the
diary are proof enough for Urmi to conceive the forced sexual activity Mira had to undergo in an incompatible
marriage.
Through her photographs and poems, Urmi gets an image of her mother-in-law as a lively and intelligent girl
snuffed off in a forced, incompatible marriage. Mira’s inhibitions about her voicing a desire to become a poet are
clear in the lines of her poems. Thus, Mira symbolizes the miserable and hopeless lot of innumerable Indian women,
who suffer silently and their voice remains smothered.

8
 Q.4. Bacon’s prose style is lucid, terse and epigrammatic. Discuss with reference to his essay “Of
Great Place”.
Ans. Prose Style: The great contribution of Francis Bacon (1561-1626) to the development of English prose
can hardly be overlooked or denied. He was the first scientific philosopher to write English in a clear, lucid and terse
style. Though he borrowed the form of the essay from Montaigne, he adapted it to suit his own purpose and to his
natural ability of writing. His essays are considered a whiff of a fresh air in the heavy and pompous essays written
in Elizabethan age.
Bacon’s Essays enjoy a great charm and appeal for readers thanks to their many merits or qualities such as
wisdom, marvelous diction, captivating style of writing, huge variety of subjects, pragmatic approach, sensuousness,
wealth of metaphor and analogy and the dispersed meditations of Bacon, whose sharp wit, worldly wisdom and
practical approach towards things made his essays unsurpassable and masterpieces of English literature. What

m
makes Bacon’s Essays a unique is compact and epigrammatic style of writing. Bacon was unsurpassable in bringing
his great thoughts in nutshell. He had a great and impressive mastery over the art of saying maximum in minimum

o
words.
An aphorism is a short, pithy and a concise statement of a principle and truth while an epigram is a terse, sage,

. c g
or witty often a paradoxical saying. Bacon has aptly and effectively demonstrated his singular ability to express
himself aphoristically and epigrammatically in his writings. His essays are replete with aphorisms. Many sentences

t n
in his essays are like proverbs, which can be quoted to give weight to the arguments. Almost every sentence in his

r
essays is pregnant with meaning. His utterances are thoughtful, insightful, lively, witty and meaningful to the core.
Only a person of high caliber like Bacon can develop a remarkable style of terseness and condensation. Following

a i
are some of the sentences from his essays, which depict vociferously his wonderful epigrammatic style of writing:

d
“Wives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age and old men’s nurses.” (Of Marriage and

a
m
Single Life).

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“The rising unto place is labourious, and by pains men come to greater pains.”(Of Great Place)

y
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” (Of Studies).

d
“Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability.” (Of Studies)

e s
“Crafty men condemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men use them.” (Of Studies)

n
i k
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“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” (Of Studies)

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“Revenge is a kind of wild justice.” (Of Revenge)

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“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark.” (Of Fear)

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“Virtue is like precious odours, most fragrant when they are incensed or crushed; for prosperity doth best

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discover vice, but adversity doth best discover virtue.” (Of adversity).

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These sentences from his essays are but a few glaring examples of Bacon’s terse, pithy and epigrammatic style

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of writing, which speak volumes of his great talent and wisdom. A reader feels inexpressible delight in reading his

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essays and feels wiser and more enlightened after reading the pearls of wisdom in the essays of Bacon. His essays,

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beyond doubt, are great literary work in English literature.
Q. 5. Bill Aitken’s eye for detail and his understanding of the cultural divide between North and South

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are reflected in his travelogue Travels by a Lesser Line. Elaborate with examples form the text.
Ans. Theme–Understanding The Text: The extracts very well convey the writer’s eye for the detail, his

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understanding the cultural difference between north and south. His fascination for steam engines is apparent from
the text.
The theme of the text is basically the description of things that the writer sees during his journey. He sees that the
railway station has been remodeled like a temple. He says, “tastefully so” which signifies that the architecture used
for the temple has similar aesthetic appeal as the temple. Both temple and the railway station are situated at the
shore and are surrounded by the sea.
There is a giant lance at the top of the tower of the temple which appears like the hour-hand ofa clock. Aitken’s
graphic description of lance and its comparison to the hour-hand of the clock is worth appreciation. It is also a symbol
of the mighty lance of lord Murugan which in turns symbolizes strength and solidity.
While commenting on the cultural differences between North and South India, the writer refers to the verbal
brabbling between north India pilgrims and south Indian bus staff. This proves to be a good example of the cultural
differences between the two groups. The North Indian travellers are not punctual while the South Indian are quite

9
punctual and are always on time. Writer observes that the south Indian have far greater sense of hygiene than those
of the North Indians. Also paining 25 paise to use the toilet appears as an extravagance to North Indians. The flip
side is that the Tamilian driver does not mind spitting throughout the journey much to the consternation of travellers
inside the bus. The travellers inside the bus are worried about their luggage put on the open roof of the bus while the
bus staff take this lightly which further causes bickering between the two.
It is important to keep in mind that the author is not displaying any bias towards any of the group. His description
is objective. What he presents is more of little foibles than serious flaws in the characters.
Another interesting thing in the text is the writer’s fascination about steam engines. While talking about his
fascinationhe says, “To make my day a steam engine lay…” Apart from being happy about the temple and railway
station the author says that the day become happier because of the presence of steam engine in the station. The

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concluding chapter of the book is a tribute to the steam engine by the author for allowing him to travel through
fourteen states in a single metre gauge line. The journey in the metre gauge has also been inexpensive compared to

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the broad gauge trains. For him the travelling through train has been a pleasant journey as he was able to appreciate

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the beauty of the land, listen to the talks by co-passengers, and enjoy the rhythmic motion of slow moving train.

.
Q. 6. Discuss Boswell’s biographical technique as employed in the extracts from Life of Johnson.
Ans. Biographical Techniques: We will now look at some of biographical techniques used by Boswell in the

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three sections we have read.

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Birth and Early Childhood: Boswell’s narration of Johnson’s family background is worth noticing in this
section. Boswell maintains that Johnson’s father did not belong to a well-to-do family. Boswell says that the title of

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gentleman was “taken by those who could not boast of gentility”. On the other hand we are told that Johnson’s

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mother came from a well-known family of small landowners. No matter how full of praise Boswell is of Johnson but

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still he is Johnson biographer who wants the readers to go in to the life of Johnson therefore must stick to the truth,

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after all he is not a panegyrist. And also in this he was also following Johnson’s percept. In Idler No. 84, Johnson

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wrote, “he that narrates the life of another ………….shows his favourite at a distance, decorated and magnified like

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the ancient actors in their tragic dress and endeavours to hide the man that he may produce a hero!”. That is what

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Boswell tried to do. He tried to project the man. The use of word ‘nevr’ refers to fact that Boswell put in lots of

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efforts, he conducted lots of interviews in order to arrive at certain facts of Johnson’s life.

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Lord Chesterfield’s Neglect: Here again we see the pain that Boswell underwent in order to arrive at the

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true account of Johnson’s life. He honestly narrates the story of how he got the copy of letter written by Johnson to

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Chesterfield. He also tells about what William Warburton, one of his eminent contemporaries, thought about Johnson.

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Boswell’s work is interesting not only because it gives true, honest and objective account of story but also

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because it draws inferences from the various events that has been described in the book. Boswell gives us an entire

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letter to read. This letter is so well drafted that it has memorized by many. Many historians hold the view that this

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letter marks the end of the patronage system in England.

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Johnson and Paoli: One interesting aspect of Boswell’s work is the way the reports, of meeting of Johnson
with eminent people of his age or with people not so well know, have been presented. In the very first paragraph of

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the section Boswell gives us Johnson’s view over language, infidelity, fear and courage. And in the very last paragraph
Boswell presents us with Johnson’s view on free will and predetermination.
Q. 7. Gandhi?s An Autobiography is structured by balancing contrasts. Comment upon and explain

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this statement with reference to the three extracts entitled A Month with Gokhale-I, II and III.
Ans. Text: “A Month With Gokhle” Chapter 17: A Month With Gokhale-I: From the very first day of
my stay with Gokhale made me feel completely at home. He treated me as though I were his younger brother; he
acquainted himself with all my requirements and arranged to see that I got all I needed. Fortunately my wants were
few, and as I had cultivated the habit of self-help, I needed very little personal attendance. He was deeply impressed
with my habit of fending for myself, my personal cleanliness, perseverance and regularity, and would often overwhelm
me with praise.
He seemed to keep nothing private from me. He would introduce me to all the important people that called on
him. Of these the one who stands formost in my memory is Dr. (now Sir) P. C. Roy. He lived practically next door
and was a very frequent visitor.
This is how he introduced Dr. Ray: ‘This is Professor Ray, who having a monthly salary of Rs. 800, keeps just
Rs. 40 for himself and devotes the balance to public purposes. He is not, and does not want to get, married.’

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 I see little difference between Dr. Ray as he is today and as he used to be then. His dress used to be nearly as
simple as it is, with this difference of course, that whereas it is Khadi now, it used to be Indian mill-cloth in those
days. I felt I could never hear too much of the talks between Gokhale and Dr. Ray, as they all pertained to public
good or were of educative value. At times they were painful too, containing, as they did, strictures on public men. As
a result, some of those whom I had regarded as stalwart fighters began to look quite puny.
To see Gokhale at work was as much a joy as an education. He never wasted a minute. His private relations and
friendships were all for public good. All his talks had reference only to the good of the country and were absolutely
free from any trace of untruth or insincerity. India’s poverty and subjection were matters of constant and intense
concern to him. Various people sought to interest him in different things. But he gave every one of them the same
reply: ‘You do the thing yourself. Let me do my own work. What I want is freedom for my country. After that is won,
we can think of other things. Today that one thing is enough to engage all my time and energy.’

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His reverence for Ranade could be seen every moment. Ranade’s authority was final in every matter, and he
would cite it at every step. The anniversary of Ranade’s death (or birth, I forget which) occusred during my stay with

o
Gokhale, who observed it regularly. There were with him then, besides myself, his friends Professor Kathavate and
a Sub-Judge. He invited us to take part in the celebration and in his speech he gave us his reminiscences of Ranade.

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He compared incidentally Ranade, Telang and Mandlik. He eulogized Telang’s charming style and Mandlik’s greatness
as a reformer. Citing an instance of Mandlik’s solicitude for his clients, he told us an anecdote as to how once, having

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missed his usual train, he engaged a special train so as to be able to attend the court in the interest of his client. But

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Ranade, he said, towered above them all, as a versatile genius. He was not only a great judge, he was an equally
great historian, economist and reformer. Although he was a judge, he fearlessly attended the Congress, and everyone

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had such confidence in his sagacity that they unquestioningly accepted his decisions. Gokhale's joy knew no bounds,
as he described these qualities of head and heart which were all combined in his master.

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Gokhale used to have a horse-carriage in those days. I did not know the circumstances that had made a horse-

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carriage a necessity for him, and I remonstrated with him ‘Can’t you make use of the tramcar in going about from

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place to place ? Is it derogatory to a leader’s dignity ?’

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Slightly pained he said, ‘So you also have failed to understand me ! I do not use my Council allowances for my

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own personal comforts. I envy your liberty to go about in tramcars, but I am sorry I cannot do likewise. When you

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are the victim of as wide a publicity as I am, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for you to go about in a tramcar.

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There is no reason to suppose that everything that the leaders do is with a view to personal comfort. I love your

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simple habits. I live as simply as I can, but some expense is almost inevitable for a man like myself.’

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He thus satisfactorily disposed of one of my complaints, but there was another which he could not dispose of to

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my satisfaction.

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‘But you do not even go out for walks,’ said I. ‘Is it surprising that you should be always ailing? Should public
work leave no time for physical exercise?’
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‘When do you ever find me free to go out for a walk?’ he replied.

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I had such a great regard for Gokhale that I never strove with him. Though this reply was far from satisfying me,
I remained silent. I believed then and I believe even now, that, no matter what amount of work one has, one should

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always find some time for exercise, just as one does for one’s meals. It is my humble opinion that, far from taking
away from one's capacity for work, it adds to it.
Chapter 18: A Month With Gokhale II: Whilst living under Gokhale’s roof I was far from being a stay-at-

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home. I had told my Christian friends in South Africa that in India I would meet the Christian Indians and acquaint
myself with their condition. I had heard of Babu Kalicharan Banerji and held him in high regard. He took a prominent
part in the Congress, and I had none of the misgivings about him that I had about the average Christian Indian, who
stood aloof from the Congress and isolated himself from Hindus and Musalmans. I told Gokhale that I was thinking
of meeting him. He said: ‘What is good of your seeing him? He is a very good man, but I am afraid he will not satisfy
you. I know him very well. However, you can certainly meet him if you like?.’ I sought an appointment, which he
readly gave me. When I went, I found that his wife was on her death-bed. His house was simple. In the Congress I
had seen him in a coat and trousers, but I was glad to find him now wearing a Bengal dhoti and shirt. I liked his
simple mode of dress, though I myself then wore a Parsi coat and trousers. Without much ado I presented my
difficulties to him. He asked: ‘Do you believe in the doctrine of original sin?’ ‘I do,’ said I. ‘Well then, Hinduism
offers no absolution therefrom, Christianity does, and added: The wages of sin is death, and the Bible says that the

11
only way of deliverance is surrender unto Jesus.’ I put forward Bhakti-marga (the path of devotion) of the
Bhagavadgita, but to no avail. I thanked him for his goodness. He failed to satisfy me, but I benefited by the
interview. During these days I walked up and down the streets of Calcutta. I went to most places on foot. I met
Justice Mitter and Sir Gurdas Banerji, whose help I wanted in my work in South Africa. And about this time I met
Raja Sir Pyarimohan Mukarji. Kalicharan Banerji had spoken to me about the Kali temple, which I was eager to see,
especially as I had read about it in books. So I went there one day, Justice Mitter’s house was in the same locality,
and I therefore went to the temple on the same day that I visited him. On the way I saw a stream of sheep going to
be sacrificed to kali. Rows of beggars lined the lane leading to the temple. There were religious mendicants too, and
even in those days I was sternly opposed to giving alms to sturdy beggars. A crowd of them pursued me. One of such
men was found seated on a verandah. He stopped me and accosted me: ‘Whither are you going, my boy?’ I replied

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to him. He asked my companion and me to sit down, which we did. I asked him: ‘Do you regard this sacrifice as
religion?’ ‘Who would regard killing of animals as religion?’ ‘Then, why don’t you preach against it?’ ‘That’s not my

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business. Our business is to worship God.’ ‘But could you not find any other place in which to worship God?’ ‘All

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places are equally good for us. The people are like a flock of sheep, following where leaders lead them. It is no

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business of us sadhus.’ We did not prolong the discussion but passed on to the temple. We were greeted by rivers of
blood. I could not bear to stand there. I was exasperated and restless. I have never forgotten that sight. That very

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evening I had an invitation to dinner at a party of Bengali friends. There I spoke to a friend about this cruel form of

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worship. He said: ‘The sheep don’t feel anything. The noise and the drum-beating there deaden all sensation of pain.’
I could not swallow this. I told him that, if the sheep had speech, they would tell a different tale. I felt that the cruel

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custom ought to be stopped. I thought of the story of Buddha, but I also saw that the task was beyond my capacity.

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I hold today the opinion as I held then. To my mind the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being.

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I should be unwilling to take the life of a lamb for the sake of the human body. I hold that, the more helpless a

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creature, the more entitled it s to protection by man from the cruelty of man. But he who has not qualified himself for

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such service is unable to afford to it any protection. I must go through more self-purification and sacrifice. before I

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can hope to save these lambs from this unholy sacrifice. Today, I think I must die pining for this self-purifiacation and

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sacrifice. It is my constant prayer that there may be born on earth some great that there may be born on earth some

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great spirit, man or woman, fired with divine pity, who will deliver us from this heinous sin, save the lives of the

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innocent creatures, and purify the temple. How is it that Bengal with all its knowledge, intelligence, sacrifice and
emotion tolerates this slaughter?
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Chapter 19: A MONTH WITH GOKHALE III:

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The terrible sacrifice offered to Kali in the name of religion enhanced my desire to know Bengali life. I had read

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and heard a good deal about the Brahmo Samaj. I knew something about the life of Pratap Chandra Mazumdar. I had

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attended some of the meetings addressed by him. I secured his life of Keshav Chandra Sen, read it with great

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interest, and understood the distinction between Sadharan Brahmo Samaj and Adi Brahmo Samaj. I met Pandit

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Shivanath Shastri, and in company with Professor Kathavate went to see Maharshi Devendranath Tagore; but as no
interviews with him were allowed then, we could not see him. We were, however, invited to a celebration of the

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Brahmo Samaj held at his place, and there we had the privilege of listening to fine Bengali music. Ever since I have
been a lover of Bengali music.
Having seen enough of the Brahmo Samaj, it was impossible to be satisfied without seeing Swami Vivekanand.

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So with great enthusiasm I went to Belur Math, mostly, or maybe all the way, on foot. I loved the sequestered site of
the Math. I was disappointed and sorry to be told that the Swami was at his Calcutta house, lying ill, and could not be
seen.
I then ascertained the place of residence of Sister Nivedita, and met her in a Chowringhee mansion. I was taken
aback by the splendour that surrounded her and even in our conversation there was not much meeting ground. I
spoke to Gokhale about this and he said he did not wonder that there could be no point of contact between me and a
volatile person like her.
I met her again at Mr. Pestonji Padshah’s place. I happened to come in just as she was talking to his old mother,
and so I became an interpreter between the two. In spite of my failure to find any agreement with her, I could not but
notice and admire her overflowing love for Hinduism. I came to know of her books later.
I used to divide my day between seeing the leading people in Calcutta regarding the work in South Africa and
visiting and studying the religious and public institutions of the city. I once addressed a meeting, presided over by Dr.

12
Mullick, on the work of the Indian Ambulance Corps in the Boer War. My acquaintance with the Englishman stood
me in good stead on this occasion too. Mr. Saunders was ill then, but rendered me as much help as in 1896. Gokhale
liked this speech of mine, and he was very glad to hear Dr. Ray praising it.
Thus my stay under the roof of Gokhale made my work in Calcutta very easy, brought me into touch with the
foremost Bengali families, and was the beginning of my intimate contact with Bengal.
I must needs skip over many a reminiscence of this memorable month. Let me simply mention my flying visit to
Burma, and the foongis there. I was pained by their lethargy. I saw the golden pagoda. I did not like the innumerable
little candles burning in the temple, and the rats running about the sanctum brought to my mind thoughts of Swami
Daynand’s experience at Morvi. The freedom and energy of the Burmese women charmed just as the indolence of
the men pained me. I also saw, during my brief sojourn, that just as Bombay was not India, Rangoon was not Burma,
and that just as we in India have become commission agents of English merchants, even so in Burma have we

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combined with the English merchants, in making the Burmese people our commission agents.
On my return from Burma, I took leave of Gokhale. The separation was a wrench, but my work in Bengal, or

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rather Calcutta, was finished and I had no occasion to stay any longer.
Before settling down I had thought of making a tour through India travelling third class, and acquainting myself

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with the hardships of third class passengers. I spoke to Gokhale about this. To begin with he ridiculed the idea, but
when I explained to him what I hoped to see, he cheerfully approved. I planned to go first to Benares to pay my

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respects to Mrs. Besant, who was then ill.

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It was necessary to equip myself a new for the third class tour. Gokhale himself gave me a metal tiffin-box, and
got it filled with sweet-balls and puris. I purchased a canvas bag worth twelve annas and a long coat made of Chhaya

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wool. The bag was to contain this coat, a dhoti, a towel, and a shirt. I had a blanket as well, to cover myself with, and

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a water-jug. Thus equipped, I set forth on my travels. Gokhale and Dr. Ray came to the station to see me off. I had

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asked them both not to trouble to come, but they insisted. ‘I should not have come if you had gone first class, but now

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I had to,’ said Gokhale.

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No one stopped Gokhale from going on to the platform. He was in his silk turban, jacket and dhoti. Dr. Ray was

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in his Bengali dress. He was stopped by the ticket collector, but on Gokhale telling him that he was his friend, he was
admitted.

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Thus with their good wishes I started on my journey.

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Q. 8. Discuss the diary of Anne Frank as a literary piece of work.

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Ans. Anne Frank’s Diary as a Literary Work: Anne Frank’s Diary is not a novel or a tale of the imagination.

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It is the diary kept by a young Jewish girl for the two years she was forced to remain in hiding by the Nazi

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persecution of the Jews of Europe. Between June 1942 and August 1944, from Anne’s thirteenth birthday until

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shortly after her fifteenth birthday, Anne Frank recorded her feelings, her emotions, and her thoughts, as well as the

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events that happened to her, in the diary which her father had given her as a birthday present. Together with her

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parents and her sister, Margot, the Van Daan family (consisting of a husband, a wife, and a son, Peter, two years

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older than Anne) and, later on, an elderly dentist named Mr. Düssel, Anne lived in a set of rooms at the top of an old
warehouse in Amsterdam, Holland, concealed behind a hidden door and a bookcase. During the day, when people

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worked in the office and in the warehouse below, Anne and the others had to keep very quiet, but at night they could
move around more freely, though of course they could not turn on any lights nor show in any way that the house was
inhabited.

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The Diary is many things at one and the same time. It is an amusing, enlightening, and often moving account of
the process of adolescence, as Anne describes her thoughts and feelings about herself and the people around her, the
world at large, and life in general. It is an accurate record of the way a young girl grows up and matures, in the very
special circumstances in which Anne found herself throughout the two years during which she was in hiding. And it
is also a vividly terrifying description of what it was like to be a Jew–and in hiding–at a time when the Nazis sought
to kill all the Jews of Europe.
Above all, Anne was an ordinary girl, growing up and eventually dying, but she was an ordinary girl growing up
in extraordinary times. She loved life and laughter, was interested in history and movie stars, Greek mythology, and
cats, writing, and boys. In the few entries which she wrote before the family went into hiding, we discover something
of the world of a child growing up in Holland in 1942. Anne went to school, had girl friends and boyfriends, went to
parties and to ice-cream parlors, rode her bike and chattered (an understatement) in class. In fact, Anne chattered so

13
much that, as a punishment for her talkativeness, she had to write several essays on the subject of “A Chatterbox.”
Much of this chatty quality of hers, however, spills over onto the pages of her diary, where we often feel as if she is
a good friend who is confiding in us. Although the world of that period is divided from us by more than mere years,
Anne’s voice is very contemporary and many of her thoughts and problems are very much like those of any youngster
growing up both then and now.
Anne Frank did not survive the concentration camps to which she was sent after her little group was discovered.
Of all the eight people who hid in the “Secret Annexe” in Amsterdam, only Anne’s father survived. The pages of
Anne’s diary, which the Nazis left scattered on the floor when they arrested the group in hiding, were kept by the two
young women who had worked in the office and had faithfully supplied the little group with food and other provisions.
When Mr. Frank returned after the war, they gave him the pages of Anne’s diary and he eventually published them.

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And so, although Anne died, as the Nazis had intended, her spirit lives on, through her Diary, stronger and clearer by
far than any brute force or blind hatred.

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