Packrat – Naomi Long Madgett

Definition of packrat - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pack_rat

Definition of packrat in context to the poem - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pack+rat

The following poem, Packrat, written by Naomi Long Madgett is a seemingly simple poem. At a second glance, a certain technical complexity that pervades through the poem can be noticed. Considering how each of the stanzas can just be written as a sentence, but the idea of removing punctuations all together to isolate certain words or pieces is interesting. This kind of increases the speed of reading as the brain does not have to process these punctuations. As Cormac McCarthy employs the same technique in his writing where he completely ditches apostrophes and writes the conversations without them.

(For more on his writing style http://www.openculture.com/2013/08/cormac-mccarthys-punctuation-rules.html)

Following is a stanza by stanza explication of the poem:

My trouble is

I always try to save

everything

Similar to the packrat, which builds nests and saves everything there. The writer also does the same. Instead of letting go and moving on she holds on to everything close to her heart and never let’s go. By saying ‘I’ she has introduced herself into this piece and is rather also giving us an insight into her mind. Through this we can also conclude that she has come to terms with her own feelings and weaknesses as she is accepting what she is subconsciously doing.

Old clocks and calendars

expired words buried

in open graves

Using metaphors to create images and to simplify the explanation is a really good concept and a very good tactic of efficient writing. Analogies are prevalent in this poem and are spread-out throughout this piece. Old clocks and calendars represent memoirs in the writer’s mind; those of old times and dates that she had spent and should have been forgotten, as they are dead memories (‘in open graves’) which aren’t meant to be revisited.

But hoarding grains of sand

keep shifting as rivers

redefine boundaries and seasons

In contrast, as everything moves on naturally, it is just the human mind that lingers on to past. These natural metaphors have been introduced to dictate the difference between man and nature and how degrading to one’s life it is to not follow the most crucial path of nature i.e. to move on.

Lengths of old string

rolled into neat balls

neither measure nor bind

Love as a whole is not measured when it is obtained. No unit can measure it but faith and feelings.

Nor do shelves laden with rancid sweets preserve

what ants continually nibble away

Love again is compared to sweets here. Something sweet that rots but is too hard to leave as it is one of the most precious things in the world and even ants tend to nibble away on it.

Love should be eaten

while it is ripe

and then the pits discarded

Here love has been objectified and quantified in contrast to the previous stanzas. Here we can sense a hopelessness that circles the writers mind as she drastically changes her opinion from how love cannot be measured to how love should be experienced when at peak and throwing away its remains.

Lord give meat last

one cracked bowl holding

absolutely nothing

Asking for an illusion that would give peace to her mind is what she prays for. The bowl describes a certainty that she asks for but then she wants it to be cracked as she wants to experience the feeling of achievement every time she gets something. Considering the bowl is cracked, anything that she gets would fall or drop out of it. So she would want to get more of it and as she keeps getting it, the feeling of continual achievement would keep her happy. But that is just an illusion again.

Prevalent themes: Hopelessness, Lost love, Unforgettable memories, Illusions

Graduation Day - Maya Angelou

Graduation Day by Maya Angelou is an excerpt from her Auto biography. This excerpt narrates her 8^th Grade Graduation Ceremony. As a pattern following 3 main sections, flowing into Graduation from Pre-Graduation and concluding to a very satisfying end.

Considering the time constraint, I am going to link the summary here. Please do refer to the same before moving forward. http://entertainmentguide.local.com/summary-the-graduation-maya-angelou-3385.html

The distinction that is naturally created between the blacks and whites in this excerpt shows us that what has been written in history and the torment the slave south has endured is no joke. As this is just a reflection of the same in a post-traumatic era. Prevalent themes and motifs of lingering hope and racism exist. Racism is a very important theme as it is important to understand the difference in lifestyle and standards followed by the whites compared to the blacks.

Important extracts

1. 1.       Unlike the white high school, Lafayette County Training School distinguished itself by having neither lawn, nor hedges, nor tennis court, nor climbing ivy.
2. 2.       …bats and balls could be borrowed from the P.E. teacher if the borrower was qualified and if the diamond wasn’t occupied.
3. 3.       …our usual assembly pattern: The American National Anthem, the pledge of allegiance, then the song every black person I knew called the Negro National Anthem.
4. 4.       (Enter white people)The shorter one walked to the speaker’s platform, and the tall one moved to the centre seat and sat down. But that was our Principal’s seat and already occupied.
5. 5.       The Central School (naturally, the white school was central) had already been granted improvements that would be in use in the fall. A well-known artist was coming from Little Rock to teach art to them.
6. 6.       The white kids were going to have a chance to become Galileos, Madame Curies and Edisons and Gauguins, and our boys (the girls weren’t even considered) would try to be Jesse Owens and Joe Louises.
7. 7.       Graduation, the hush-hush magic time of frills……had exposed us.
8. 8.       Donleavy was running for election … part of Arkansas
9. 9.       He finished, and since there was no need to give any… at the door
10. 10.   The ugliness they left was palpable… captain of my soul.
11. 11.   I thought about colours I hated : ecru, puce, lavender, beige and black

Line 1 and 2 show how well off the Central School was compared to the grammar school Maya Angelou was studying in. They weren’t even given proper facilities compared to the other school, considering they were in the same County.

Line 4 shows the arrogance of the shorter white person as he approached the seat of the Principal and his nonchalance dictated the importance they gave to the blacks.

Line 5 elucidates the fact that the white people in general are being provided with a lot compared to the blacks.

Line 6 employs racism to the job prospects the blacks have compared to the whites. Where whites excel in the academic areas and blacks in the athletic areas.

Para 7 After working so hard for the entire year and studying so much, it all seems to have gone to waste. Even after graduating as the topper of her class all this seemed very ambiguous as there is nothing for her to achieve as she knows that in the end she would be judged based on her colour and not her work. ‘We were maids and farmers, handymen and washerwomen, and anything higher that we aspired to was a farcical and presumptuous.’

Line 9 narrates how Donleavy left without greeting but merely nodding to the people as he left with his unintroduced companion.

Para 10 Here, after the departure of the white gentlemen, recitations were in procession. Elouise, the daughter of the Baptist Minister recited the fabled poem, Invictus by William Ernest Henley. Beautiful poem (http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/invictus/). The last line of the poem ‘I am the master of the fate, I am the captain of my soul’, contrasts the statement made by Angelou in Para 7. Thus, creating a sense of hopelessness that lingers throughout.

Line 11 is the skin colours of the black people. This is important as it shows us the blame she puts on her being black and cursing the very fact that her achievement did not depend on her hard work but her colour.

Towards the last two pages of the short story, as the Negro National Anthem(as mentioned in the text) is being sung, each and every word of the same, which Angelou had never put any effort in listening to before, made it all clear to her now. Liberation, hard work, sacrifices, and acceptance has now captured her senses. Accepting not that she is from the graduating class of 1940 but also that she is a part of the beautiful Negro Race.

The excerpt ends with the acceptance to the community that she embraces and also that she is a part of a family of poets, preachers, musicians and romanticists.

Monkeys – Punyakante Wijenaike

More on the writer of this short story, Punyakante Wijenaike. 

(http://www.loc.gov/acq/ovop/delhi/salrp/punyakantewijenaike.html)

This short story narrates the life of a young Samanera (Buddhist monk in training) and his love towards the monkeys in the forest nearby which he visits every afternoon. The boy carries a bit of food with him every time he visits the forest. He feeds the monkeys and plays with them. Love, is what he experiences every time he spends time with the monkeys. At the time of departure he hates leaving the monkeys as he has to go back and complete the chores at the hermitage. Waking up early at 4 every morning to meditate and then complete the chores only to leave later on to beg for food and in the end come back to the monkeys. This was the monotonous life he led every day. The thought of being a monkey seemed to please him as the love the moneys shared between themselves is what he longed for.

One night, as he was bating he saw his own reflection in the water to be that of a monkey, only to realize after distorting the still water that it was just a trick of the mind. Later, when the boy was sweeping the compound with a broom, he noticed that the same monkeys had followed him there and were sitting on the treetops.

The same monkeys, in hordes, had followed him to the hermitage and this time they boldly started jumping and running in the hermitage disturbing the priests out of their morning meditation. The monkeys created a havoc by throwing the fruits grown by the chief priest around and ringing the temple bells.

After this incident, the Chief Priest led the young Samanera to an inner room. He made him understand the difference between men and animals. And how the life of a Samanera differed from those of animals and other human beings. At the end of the story he looks back at the rock and the trees for the last time and turns away, as now he must remember that after all he is a man.

The prevalent themes in the poem are that of love and humanity. Throughout the poem love acts as a constant as the young boy craves it but never shows it. The life of a Samanera and the sacrifices involved in leading such a life are ones to be thought of very carefully. Abandoning the essence of human life i.e love, to break the cycle of rebirth seems to be the effective conclusion of the life of a Samanera.

As the boy longed for love, he had to be told in the end that it is not the kind of life he could lead. Having peace within oneself is what is necessary as compared to love and other petty functions of life.

Arraignment Of The Men - Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

As we are introduced to the poem, and particularly its name, it is made very clear, as to what is going to be imparted to us in the five minutes of this beautiful piece of poetry.

This piece is written by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz during the latter half of the 17^th century. 

Considering the context and the background of the poetess is very important in this case, as there is a brief lapse that distorts the ideas of the 21^st century from the ideas of the 17^th century.

From being a self-taught scholar and poet, she was also a Hyronymite Nun of New Spain. Considered to be a well-known Mexican writer and also a writer of the Spanish golden age, she has carried two literary emblems to her deathbed. Being a woman and realising the potential of women as human beings (with lost hope); through her work, she has made it a point for everyone to realise that women are no less than men.

In this piece a very particular trend can be noticed; that of degrading men and accusing them of the women’s societal problems (which of course make sense). Right from the name of the poem to the last stanza, words such as, ’perverse’, ’witless’, ’levity’, ’crass’, ’creatures’ etc. are either used to describe men or what they do to the women or even the reaction to the thought of woman. 

Considering the context the argument seems feasible. It can be said that the social concept of gender equality didn’t really exist. Women never got a chance to explore or show their talents unless they were asked or allowed to do so.

Men and their dominating nature was narrated in this piece as well. Almost in every stanza the will of men is discussed and the fact that everything that the man wants to happen will happen and has to happen. ‘Witless Laws’ made by men with ‘logic crass’ isn’t exactly the best thing to have in this world. How these laws restrict women from achieving anything and the minimal freedom that is parted to them is reflected after a good reading of this poem.

Women being just objects of use and the hypocrisy that men employ when it comes to women is also a prevalent motif among the piece. The last stanza rightly proves so.

In this very biased piece of verses, she has brought about a certain disruption in the thought of equality and contrasts the point of the poem as she makes the user think of distinguishing man and woman instead of equality. Considering the time period this poem was written in shows us the inhumane gender inequality that existed. With the extreme gender partition that this poem creates, enchants one into thinking of man and woman as two different entities opposed to just human beings. That seems to be the only downside to the poem’s conclusion.

The Boarded Window - Ambrose Bierce

The Boarded Window is a short horror story written by Ambrose Bierce and is set in the early 1800’s. Rather than typing a full summary, I’ll provide a link to a page with an accurate and simple one:

http://murdertodissect.blogspot.in/2013/11/the-boarded-window-paragraph-by.html

The above page summarises the story paragraph by paragraph and explains practically everything required for direct questions. Strangely however, the page doesn’t make a single reference to magic realism.

Magic realism is, in simplest terms, any form of art that, while encompassing a range of subtly different concepts, share in common an acceptance of magic in the rational world. An accurate example of a magic realism painting is included below.

http://amazingezone.com/img/2012/August/Setowski/Magic-Realism-Tomek-Setowski-Poland-05.jpg

The story, ‘The Boarded Window’, makes extensive use of the magic realism in its closing paragraphs – in which the man’s wife’s corpse is attacked by the panther. The all too elements of human fear and panic are expertly conveyed through the flashes of lightning-illuminated vision that the man gets. This comprehendible fear is contrasted in the final lines by the discovery of a piece of the animal’s ear between the wife's teeth. This contrast may give rise to magic realism. This is most certainly not the only way that magic realism can be found in the piece; it is however, the most easily noticeable.

The story is an open-ended one in the fact that the mystery of his wife is never resolved (Was she dead before? Is she a zombie? Was she possessed? Is she dead now?). This uncertainty, the intentional failure of the author to clear up such questions, is a crucial component of an open ended story. 

Passion in the Desert - Honore De Balzac

The story Passion in the Desert by Honore De Balzac is a short piece on a friendship shared between a man and a panther in the Egyptian desert. Its primary theme is that of the beauty and simultaneous callousness of nature, and also explores the emotions generated when love and distrust mingle.

The story begins with a man talking to a woman who has just seen a man (M. Martin) working with a hyena. While she is convinced that M. Martin must have used some vile means to domesticate the creature to such an extent, the man insists that animals too, can be swayed by the same vices as men. In justification, the man begins to recount his first encounter with M. Martin. The first time they met, they went out to lunch where M. Martin recounted the story of when he was lost in the desert.

During the Nile war, a French soldier had been captured by an Arab regiment and made their prisoner. When provided with a suitable opportunity, the man escaped, only to find himself hopelessly lost in the scorching desert. He camps out near a well, where he finds a small cave in which to rest and shelter him from the sun’s rays. At night however, he wakes up to find that a giant Black Panther is sleeping beside him. Too afraid to move, the man sits, paralyzed in fear, waiting for the morning. In the morning, the panther wakes up, yet strangely makes no move to attack him, its appetite already sated by its meal from the other night.

For a while (the duration of time is not explicitly mentioned in the story) the man and panther live at peace together. They provide each other with a source of companionship. Despite the panther now allowing him to pet her, the soldier still acts warily around the panther. She eventually responds to his call, and he becomes passionately fond of her.

Eventually however, the distrust reaches a climax when, in a moment of fear, the man stabs the panther, owing to the latter biting his leg. He is found by soldiers of his regiment weeping over the lifeless panther.

The beauty of nature is dwelled on extensively in the piece as can be noted through the extremely descriptive language used by the author when speaking on the desert. He compares it to “An endless sea of black grains” and in the very end of the story, “God without mankind.”

The intensely clashing emotions of inexplicable love and logical mistrust are used to draw out the complex emotions that humans can feel only when love and distrust mingle. While such a concept could be likened to many surrealistic and interpretive notions (life, death, relationships, morality, etc.) it is wiser not to introduce any such comparisons as the story seems to be written to exist in a very realistic scope. The author was well known for being one of the first to introduce realism to the European literature scene. In his stories, the human characteristics of his characters serve to convey much more to the reader than a metaphorical analysis of their actions would.

The story is titled aptly as the passion of the relationship between the man and the panther is described accurately and in depth through the thoughts of the man and the actions of the panther. The idea of human insecurity is dealt with extensively in the story as the man continually suspects the panther of wanting to eat him, despite having only experienced love and warmth from the creature. The endless fear of what could happen and what logically should happen, eventually overpower the flickering beacon of optimism in the relationship of the man and the beast. This could be a means of the author implying that we should be less cynical in life, that we should enjoy things as they are, simple and beautiful, and not be overly suspicious, insecure, and distrustful of others.

By the Lake - Tu Fu

By the Lake is a poem, originally written in Chinese in the early 8^th century. The piece, though seemingly very complex, actually has very simple and prominent themes. There is a pronounced historical tone in which the poem progresses. Themes of upheaval and exile are equally present. The contrast between nature and man is explored extensively in the piece.

                While reading the piece we must consider the historical events which were occurring at that time. The poem is set during the An Lushan Rebellion that took place in China. During this time many people were forced to leave the country owing to the violence. The poet Tu Fu, had to leave the country too; thus the themes of upheaval come into the picture.

                The contrast between man and nature is shown by the irony in the question, “For whom have the willows and the rushes put on their fresh greenery?” The fact that the plants remain beautiful as ever despite the turbulent times is a comment on how whimsical man’s fate is, unable to remain constant and peaceful like the plants. The turbulence of the times is emphasized by the contrast of how good things were (implied as being prior to the usurper) and how things are now.

Though the above themes are not really open to interpretation, countless other themes and meanings can be taken from the text owing to the surreal sense in which the historical events are described. One could interpret the poem as being representative of memory or death; this is primarily possible from reading into the lines at the ending:

“It is human to have feelings and to shed tears for such things … my way is towards the south city but my gaze turns northwards”

The vagueness of the above line is a suitable habitat for sundry strange and seemingly unnecessary interpretations. However, fret not! If you can read into the poem and suitably justify your take on the poem, nobody can say you’re wrong. 

The Cactus - Hasan Manzar

The Cactus is a short story by Hasan Manzar set in Hyderabad, Pakistan. In it the author speaks on the after-effects of the youth’s departure to other countries to work and eventually live. Such migration often leaves the parents feeling incredibly lonely and alienated.

                The story comprises of a man (the narrator) and his wife visiting a house that is for sale as prospective buyers. At the house, the couple is greeted by an elderly man and his wife, the owners of the house. They show the buyers around but the latter decide that it is too large, both for their needs and their budget. The elderly couple then sit down for coffee with the narrator and his wife during which the house owners begin to talk about their children. They have 3 daughters and 2 sons, all of which are abroad, in Kuwait, Dubai or America.

                The story is not all that hard to interpret, the primary theme being, as mentioned earlier, the ramifications of migration. A sense of loneliness and emptiness pervades the piece, primarily manifested through the fact that the parents seem almost abandoned by their children and thrown aside. This sense is amplified by the seemingly commonplace nature of the story; many children, especially those from upper middle class families, leave the country for a better education and job. The fact that the rooms of the children remain neat and well maintained long after they have left generates pity for the parents in the contrast in the mindsets of the elderly and the young. While one has carelessly abandoned the other, one still cherishes the other.

                If you look closely at the piece, you may notice that no character’s name has been mentioned. This is not an unintentional doing, rather it is literary device frequently employed by writers. The fact that no names are mentioned increases the chances of the reader empathizing more with the characters. In addition to this, the withholding of names can also be indicative of just how widespread the problem of migration is; it is not limited to one or two families but many.

                At the end of the story, the author associates the story with a nest. This is owing to the fact that when birds grow old enough to fly, they tend to leave the nest and their parents and set out on their own life.

                Finally the image of the cactus seen by the buyers when they first enter the house bears a lot of significance. The cactus had grown so tall that it encountered the wooden shelf above. But rather than pruning the cactus, the family cut a hole in the overhanging shelf, allowing the cactus to grow freely. The cactus can be seen as a manifestation of the undying love that the parents hold for their children; they refuse to cut it even when it becomes a burden to do so. The properties of a cactus also come into play here, allowing us to link the title to even more. While cactuses are visually appealing with their bright green colours, they are enveloped in sharp vicious thorns that sting, embedding themselves in the flesh of the victim if touched. This could be compared to the love held by the parents for their children; painful to hold on to, yet too beautiful to let go of.

The Deer at Providencia - Annie Dillard

The Deer at Providencia is a short story by Annie Dillard which deals primarily with our response to suffering.

The story goes as follows. The author along with 3 of her friends from North America, are on vacation in the Amazon jungle, eating lunch with a tribe. While they are eating, the narrator notices a wounded deer tied to a pole. Upon asking the villagers about it, she discovers that it was caught in the morning and will probably be prepared for the evening meal. After the meal, she overhears some of the other tourists talking about her and her apparent lack of sympathy for the wounded creature. They are certain that if any of their wives were in her stead, they would have cried or at least attempted to help the deer. From this point, the story takes an abrupt turn.

The author immediately, with a switchover of barely a line or two, begins to talk about a man she had read about in the newspaper who had been burned severely for the second time. She describes the torment and agony that such victims must go through day after day and the high suicide rates of burn survivors. The story concludes with her giving a pitying glance and a kind word to the deer, followed by the line, “I knew at the time it was a ridiculous thing to say.”

The primary theme throughout the piece is that of the mystery of suffering, of pain and sorrow, and of its universality. People from all walks of life must endure it, money has no weight in its hands.

The vivid contrast between a bunch of well off people pitying an injured deer and a hideously burned man in pain and with no reason to live on, provides rooting for the aforementioned concept of sorrow’s universality. The tone in which the first half is written is quite descriptive and realistic, on a relatively upbeat note. The second part of the story is written with vivid details of the man suffering, and by doing so, renders the seemingly insignificant suffering of the deer obsolete.

The only thing in common between these two almost entirely clashing themes is the concept of suffering and our inability to do anything about it. The narrator couldn’t help the deer with her kind words at the end, and neither could she help the burn victim with a consoling letter. The implied conclusion is to accept that suffering is present in the world, but also accept the fact that the vast majority of the time, there is little to nothing that we can do about it.

Communalism and Politics in India - Ashis Nandy

The essay starts off with the reallocation and correlation of communalism to the right examples of the related violence and affirmation that the problem is not impossible to solve.

Example 1: No. of people killed in Communal violence < No. of people killed in street crimes of the last 50 years in Detroit alone (Detroit being one of the most crime affected cities in the world).

Example 2: 2 million people killed in Partition Violence (Communal) < 5 million people killed during separatist movements in the country (non-communal)

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With an example of a family which tried to save their friend from communal violence gets to know that the son in the family was one of the soldiers working towards the main perpetration of the plan. The setting of this story is the communal riot(s) of 1992 caused because of demolition of the Babri masjid.

The main point of the essay comes out during this reading. Internal contradiction occurs which leads to a number of different facets telling us that communalism is a complex phenomenon and not so easy to deal with.

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Up until now we understand that Communalism can be extinguished but because of its complexity, each and every element has to be smartly distinguished and analysed to come up with a proper plan to exterminate communalism.

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Propositions of Communalism:-

1.       Communalism is from its roots is an urban phenomenon. Compared to the villagers there are more communal riots in cities and village city borders than in actual villages. This is something the city dwellers should learn from their “rustic, illiterate” counterparts of development.

2.       Secular issues are usually the issues due to which communal riots are caused. Due to this the non-secularism also seeps in (indirectly) giving rise to Religious issues giving rise to communal religious riots.

3.       Political parties, secretly also encourage communalism as it helps in the promotion of the individual parties and helps gain more individualised power to themselves.

4.       Some communal riots are fuelled by the fanaticism of political parties. As followers of a party get into an argument into followers of other party leading to discrimination and loose parallels.

5.       The Indian social system is traditionally community based and not individualised. So people are discriminated according to the community they are from and not their individuality.

6.       Self-hatred among Hindus is dominant and many of us might have seen such examples. Inclination to Islam or Christianity is commonly seen amongst many Hindus.

7.       Communalism fuels material based politics as the society doesn’t clearly understand (vs.) ideology based politics anymore. One must try and understand the ideas and the ideology which is trying to be established by the political party rather than just checking the growth in GDP that could be caused by them coming into power.

8.       The NRIs fuel this material based politics. This is the same situation as the Tamilians in India funding LTTE and American Jews donating Israelis if looked at properly.

9.       Communal politics seems like a way of secularizing politics.

10.   This gives rise to a new kind of political culture of flesh and not of the mind.

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Important Issues:-

·         Change in the hierarchy of castes in terms of wealth caused due to communal riots includes elevation of castes such as Kurmis, Jats, and Reddys.

·         Laws and legal matter are the only ones that can suppress communal riots.

·         Secularisation creates its own insecurities due to internal conflicts.

·         Secularisation gives rise to increased individualisation giving rise to gradual increase in absence of faith in individual communities.

·         Coalition politics or Allied politics is on the rise to secularise the country, but will it turn out to be conservationism? That is the end question.

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Riders to the Sea - John Millington Synge

‘Riders to the Sea’ is a one act tragedy, first performed in Dublin (Ireland) in 1904. The play is written by the Irish playwright John Millington Synge. The play focuses primarily on the plight of the poor rural folks in Ireland. Before I continue, I wish to state that this is far from an all-encompassing analysis of the play, but focuses more on the relatively prevalent themes throughout the piece. If you have not read the play yet, or do not have a copy, check out the following link:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/994/994-h/994-h.htm

In the play, there are very few characters playing an important role; Maurya (The mother of the household), Michael (Her missing son), Cathleen and Nora (two of her daughters), and Bartley (Her only remaining son). The play opens with Maurya grieving over the loss of her son Michael, presumed dead at sea. Upon Maurya falling asleep, a young priest arrives at the cottage and gives Nora a parcel of clothes, recovered from a young man, washed up on the northern shore of the island for identification purposes (to see if they belong to Michael, thus confirming his death). Not wanting to further upset the already grieving mother, the daughters keep the parcel hidden, deciding to inspect the contents when the mother is not around. The remaining son Bartley is intent on going to the fair on the neighboring island to sell a horse, despite the pleading of his mother. Eventually, despite her beseeching, Bartley leaves, without taking her blessing.

Almost instantly feeling remorseful for not giving her son her blessing, Maurya, following the suggestion of her daughters, is persuaded to intercept him before he leaves to give her blessing, and a lunch prepared by the sisters. Upon Maurya’s departure, the girls open the parcel and confirm that the clothes are indeed Michael’s. Their only comfort lies in the knowledge that, owing to his being washed up in the north; he will be given a respectable Christian burial.

At this point the mother returns frightened, a result of a terrifying vision she had of Bartley’s soon coming death. The vision was of Michael (The deceased older son), riding a horse behind Bartley. This, combined with the fact that she had been unable to give Bartley her blessing, results in her certainty about Bartley’s death. Upon being told that Michael’s body has been found in the North, her only response is that at least the boards that the family had bought for Michael’s funeral could be employed for Bartley’s burial. At this point, men walk in the door of the hut, carrying the body of Bartley who had been knocked off the cliff onto the beach below by the horse he was riding. The play closes with the following chilling words of Maurya:

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“Michael has a clean burial in the far north, by the grace of the Almighty God. Bartley will have a fine coffin out of the white boards, and a deep grave surely. What more can we want than that? No man at all can be living for ever, and we must be satisfied.”

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The usage of the word “must”, in the final line is indicative of not only her, but all humans’ helplessness in the face of calamities and accidents brought on by Mother Nature. Further reading into this line of thought gives rise to the Stoic philosophy present throughout the course of the play, a theme that will be dealt with later on in the analysis.

First and foremost, before attempting to analyze the script, we must take a closer look at the history of the Irish, a recurring presence throughout the piece.

From prehistoric times up until the 11^th century, Ireland consisted of a patchwork of numerous territories, each controlled by Kings or Chieftains. Occasionally, rare as it was, a powerful ruler was acknowledged as High King of Ireland. Thus, owing to the incredulously long time in which Ireland had little to no exposure to the outside world, Ireland developed an unbelievably rich history and culture. However in the early 1100’s, French warlords (Refered to here on as Normans), invaded England, overthrowing the local British warlords (Saxons), and establishing their own command. Under the Normans, large chunks of Ireland were distributed to warlords and governors. The king of England claimed sovereignty over this entire island, labeling the island as, “The Lordship of Ireland”. (Lordship, in this context, refers to a form of colony). Under the rule of Henry the Eighth in 1541 however, Ireland was changed from a Lordship to a full Kingdom, an extension of the British kingdom. However, due to the British’s attitude of haughty sovereignty and the way that they never treated the Irish as fellow beings resulted in loathing from the Irish and disdain, towards the Celts, from the British. 

As this play sympathizes extensively with the plight of the Irish, rather than merely mock them (as was the case with most British made plays at that time), it made a mark, gaining popularity with the lower class as well as the upper class Irish. Another important aspect of the play is the way that it portrays that, even in the face of overwhelming odds and seemingly unavoidable defeat, the Irish family in the script, manages to carry on with a sense of dignity; refuting the idea of Irish being sub-human and savage (as was the colonial view held by most British at that point of time).

Another important theme of the play is the ruthlessness of the sea in the dispatching of Maurya’s family members, primarily her husband and sons. As we can see by reading the play, the roles of Genders are rigid in the family depicted. Women tend to cooking and household chores, whereas men tend to fishing, trading and farming. The death of her last remaining son Bartley, ends the play on an incredulously depressing note, not just because of the bond of family and the grief of the survivors, but because there is little to no hope for the remaining family members: owing to the clear-cut gender roles in society, a family consisting fully of women would find it exceptionally hard to make a living.

The aspect of the language difference is an important one throughout the play. In stark contrast to the other contemporary plays, ‘Riders to the Sea’, is written (and intended to be enacted in) the Gaelic English style. Gaelic (or Irish), the traditional language of Ireland is entirely different from English and is spoken even today in much of Non-UK Ireland. (Clip of an Irish TV reporter):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR5YS7k9eL8

Thus, many of the so called ‘Irish Slangs’, are no more than colloquial Irish phrases having lost a substantial amount of their essence in translation. As can be seen by even a quick glance at the play, the difference in the English used is prominent. By styling the characters’ language after the traditional Gaelic tongue, the writer seeks to comment on the richness and beauty of, not only the Irish tongue, but also the people; a beauty callously ignored by the British for much of their rule.

The aspect of the supernatural in the play could be interpreted in a number of ways. One argument is that it is merely a ploy through which the author comments on the complex blend of pagan, catholic, and protestant cultures and religions in colonized Ireland. The British attempted, without much success, to convert Ireland to Protestantism, while under the rule of Henry the Eighth who converted the Country’s official faith to such. Later on attempts were made to catholicize the island, leading to the formation of the Angelican (Irish Catholic) church. The blend, of Christianity with the pagan religions and accompanying superstitions of the Irish, is visible throughout the play: emphasized by the contrast between the family’s relief for their son’s (Michael’s) Christian burial, and the visions of a pagan nature seen, and quickly believed, by the mother.

Another means of interpreting the supernatural element is by interpreting them as naturalistic concurrences. Men fishing on the open sea in small boats lead dangerous lives, and many often died. In the case of Maurya, and the sheer number of loved one’s that she has seen die in her lifetime, the inescapable helplessness and unavoidability, could be the cause for religion and superstition in her life, giving reason and logic to the incomprehensible forces of nature.

Further interpretations of the supernatural aspect in the play are given on the following sites:

http://wenku.baidu.com/view/aa44002bbd64783e09122bed.html

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/relationship-natural-supernatural-eliments-j-m-291892

Finally, as mentioned in the beginning, Maurya’s acceptance of fate, without unnecessary mourning, is indicative of a Stoic philosophy. In brief, a Stoic philosophy is an acceptance of fate made possible by the logic that, “What must happen will happen”. The unimaginable suffering Maurya’s endured throughout her life, has not numbed her to the pain of losing a loved one, as one might think by shallowly reading the text. Rather, the pain is still there, its cry stronger than before; but muffled by the pervasive blanket of helplessness and inability to change the past, a wall through which no tears can seep.

               

Message in a Bottle - Amrita Baviskar

Message in a Bottle is an essay by Amita Baviskar; an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. Her research focuses on the cultural politics of environment and development. Her first book In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley (Oxford University Press) discussed the struggle for survival by adivasis (Adivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups considered the aboriginal population of India.) in central India against a large dam. Her subsequent work further explores the themes of resource rights, subaltern resistance and cultural identity. Such themes are present throughout the course of this short story.

                
            The story is set on a remote island on the Great Nicobar Island. Throughout the course of the story, the author speaks on the countless bounties provided by nature (demonstrated by the abundant lobsters, coconuts, and fish on the island) and simultaneously, the bounties from the sea swept up onto the shores of the island. Ravi, the protagonist’s guide, gives several examples of such in the following extract:

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He [Ravi] pointed to a large clothes basket. That came from the beach too. Ravi asked, would you like to have a bath? Rustam said why not. Ravi brought a bottle of shampoo, a foreign brand. And said that came from the beach. Then some aftershave. Also from the beach.

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The explanation for the above phenomenon, as provided by the story, is the frequency of travel occurring on the Great Nicobar Sea. Unbelievable amounts, as expertly shown in the story, of objects are swept overboard from freight ships, eventually deposited on the shores of the island by the unchanging tide.

The rest of the essay proceeds to give more and more examples of floating ‘junk’ deposited on the island’s shores. The blurred contrast between the poignantly described beauty of the island and the impact of humanity on it serves to provide a permeatin­g theme of environmental awareness and the need for such.

The final paragraph of the essay emphasizes the magnitude of humanity’s impact on nature by pollution and general apathy. The author speaks on how for hundreds of years, the members of tribes, indigenous to the island, have thrived on materials deposited by the sea, washed overboard from trade vessels. While on the surface this may seem like a positive occurrence, when we dig deeper, the severity of the situation occurs to us by means of the amount of time for which this ‘pollution’ has been occurring.  

Transports of Delight - Manjula Padmanabhan

                  Transports of Delight by Manjula Padmanabhan is a satirical essay which discusses the Rickshaw culture in India. She narrates funny incidences which involve her travelling from place to place in an auto rickshaw. She also describes the different types of auto rickshaws. Almost all of these are over exaggerated in their descriptions and seem very unrealistic and obviously are.

          Instead of ‘Auto rickshaw’, ‘TSR (Three Wheeled Scooter Rickshaw)’ has been used in the whole essay. This essay has a lot of dry humour which might make the reader bored after a bit of reading. She differentiates TSRs in different areas and different cities and also talks about the decorations on them. These decorations usually have symbolic meaning pertaining to religion or fictional characters or simply exist for cosmetic reasons.

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The following extracts would help you the grasp the main idea and help you get a clear understanding over this essay:-

(It would be helpful if you have the text side by side as you read these points)

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“In the jungle of urban traffic, it is the bumble bee.”

The Bumble Bee here refers to the TSR because of the similar black and yellow colour scheme. In the chaos that is the urban traffic the TSR moves with nonchalance like a bumblebee which would move past all obstacles to reach the destination.

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“Indian city streets is an example of the Survival of the Unfittest.”

Indian streets as we all know are not exactly commanded by the best drivers. On an average 14 traffic accidents happen in India per hour. Here, ‘Survival of the Unfittest’ crudely refers to the way Indian people drive. ‘Unfittest’ here, also refers to rickshaws considering they are the only ones who do not seem to get in many accidents compared to the other vehicles. And ironically they might as well be the least protected vehicles on the road.

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“A gas trap for poisonous fumes, unstable and flimsy…..as hammer blows to the passenger’s fragile sinews.”

This is a description of the TSR. It tells how dangerous TSRs are and how rashly the drivers drive the vehicle.

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“His chariot took a corner at Grand Prix Speeds.”

It’s called a chariot because of the regressive design and technology that goes into making a TSR. With all that it still manages to take sharp turns at high speeds.

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“In part, the secret of their success…….yet are fastidious enough to disdain the sweaty intimacies offered by a bus…….what they lack in volume.”

This excerpt says that, A TSR is an intermediate between a bus and a taxi. Money wise it is not as expensive as a taxi and not as cheap and crowded as a bus considering public transport.

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“Though we have reports from Outlook Magazine that women auto rickshaw drivers are flourishing in Kerala here in the wilds of the north it is hard to imagine such a development.”

Here we can see the clear distinction in culture and how the society in different places thinks about each gender and their line of work. In the south where gender discrimination is decreasing and the job diversity of women is slowly increasing, North India doesn’t seem to be progressing much in this sense.

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“Perhaps the reason they are generally very young is that…..warily, as if tensed for attack.”

This excerpt, in its satirical sense the writer tells us that many TSR drivers start their jobs at a young age which would be like 19 or 20 and don’t live long enough because of the danger to lives in their job.

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“The likelihood of finding a driver willing to travel….and desperation of one’s need.”

TSR drivers are very stubborn considering their cause many a times. Instead if the passenger being the boss, they act as the boss. This helps them extract more money out of the passengers and they are willing to pay more to get to their destination due to their yearning for shade and rest.

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“In Madras, TSR drivers consider it their privilege…..I’m a rascal I know it.”

Here the drivers have been shown in a bad light as it is told here that they always try and extort more money out of the passengers, relative to the meter. For this extra profit they charge unreasonable prices and then gradually come down to a not really reasonable but ok price point.

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“Some drivers swaddle the front and rear wheel guards with webs of metal tubes……of the latest film hits on request.”

The TSR drivers love decorating their rickshaws in the most unique way possible. But this differs from place to place as not all TSR drivers have enough money for decorations. Thus, the economic diversity can be seen from state to state delving into the cosmetic differences between these TSRs.

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“Delhi rickshaw owners seem to prefer verbal messages....…….’Love for Sale – 100% Discount.’”

The influence and the culture can be seen if one notices the different messages written on auto rickshaws around town. The traditionally influenced drivers with the Gazals quoted on the side skirts or the cheesy messages quoted on the influenced on the younger rickshaw walas all in relative from place to place.

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“There are standard ornaments in the form of 3D reliefs…….Mahavirs or Zoroasters, however!”

The different religious following can be seen through the hangings and the ornaments. The usual religious symbols of the Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Muslims are seen. But for the others like Mahavir and Buddha are not seen. This tells us that the population following these religions are in a very tight minority which cannot be seen publicly like this.

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 “Tweeters have peevishly squawking electric horns…….voiced adolescent boys.”

This line and the paragraph it lies in talks about the differences and that all of them cannot be related to each other considering the amount of decorations and the different canopies being black or yellow or any other colour. Many of them also have cheap audio systems and overtly decorated insides.

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“With so much invention and creativity on view………..adventurous auto designer”

This is the ending to the description and the viewpoint embraced by the author of the TSR. This also prompts the start to the description of autos encountered by the author which were adventurous in design.

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Different types of auto rickshaws:-

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Bikaneri Phut Phut:-

These are the usual Rajasthani kind of autos that have been described here and which have been over exaggerated in terms of description.

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Autorustic

The over exaggerated satirical outlook on the village autos which aren’t taken care of properly have been described by this auto.

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God’s Rocket

The well-kept auto with a really good engine and usually looks good and is seen as a new auto is the auto discussed over here. There are a lot of ornaments pertaining to the faith of the driver in this auto.

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Baroque-on-wheels

This auto is literally art on wheels. These autos in reality are literally decorated a lot. But the description given in the textbook is far too exaggerated (again).

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Hell’s trishaw

Only a fool would believe that these autos would ply even if there was an artist who would work on this auto, autos like these would be banned and wouldn’t be allowed to ply.

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Auto-Ethnotic

Some autos used for competitions which make you drive an auto with your team across India have such exotic designs. These do not ply on a usual basis as they are only available during such circumstances of stake.

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Strato-Darter

This auto is definitely a fake but might portray those autos which travel to the destinations really fast.

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Road Rani

Similar to the Strato-Darter this example portray the autos which command the business and are customer satisfactory.

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The Pianist (2002 movie)

The Pianist is a historically based film highlighting the plight of the polish Jews during the Second World War. The director of the film, Roman Polanski, is himself a holocaust survivor, who had witnessed the execution of several women at a young age; being a Polish-French director, he had personal ties to the topic of the film.

The film begins with the beginning of the war, the 1939 invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany. The suffering of the people in the Warsaw Ghetto is also highlighted extensively throughout the film. The concept of State sponsored genocide, and the mass murder of Jews, is shown for the ridiculous xenophobic ideal that it is in the movie.

The protagonist of the film, Wladylaw Szpilman, was a Polish musician of Jewish decent; the film is based on his memoirs. The gradual mental deterioration of his character is shown extensively in the film. Owing to the general style in which the film is made, Wladylaw Szpilman is the only sustained character, and the only one who’s developed throughout the course of the movie.

Hosenfeld, a sympathetic Nazi who spares Szpilman’s life and gives him clothing and food, is a perfect example of how not all Nazis are anti-Semitic. Also, by showing the Jewish ghetto police beating other Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, along with a scene of a Jewish man stealing from an old lady in the ghetto, the film further attempts to undo polarization; showing not all Nazis were evil, and not all Jews were victims. 

The degradation and dehumanization of the Jews is an important theme of the movie. They are stripped of all humanity and are treated as contaminated objects by their German superiors.

Strangely, the film is less about the holocaust as it is about the protagonist’s never ending fight for survival. The power of music is highlighted in the film by a scene in which beautiful music, played by the protagonist, changes the mind of a Nazi officer who proceeds to spare his life.

The color and lighting of the film play an important role in symbolizing the gradual erosion of the protagonist’s hope, as all begins to look bleak. The film begins in a bright summer, and concludes in a bleak cold winter.

The aspects of luck and chance are incredulously present throughout the film. Despite being from a relatively wealthy family, Szpilman has no say over the events  that unfold, as he too, ends up in the ghetto.

The protagonist of the film is portrayed as being detached, and indifferent to some extent. Rather than standing up strong, he accepts German injustice in order to survive. When his friends organize the famous Warsaw uprising, he does nothing more than watch, resulting in the aforementioned event being shown from a third person perspective in the film.

The subplot of Szpilman’s love for music underplays the magnitude of the situation. The climax occurs when the Nazi officer finds the protagonist. There is a resurgence of hope in the viewer once the music is played.

Finally, the futility of the Jewish plight is expertly portrayed in the film by the dining room discussion in the beginning of the movie. The family discusses the newly passed law, ordering Jews to wear armbands, allowing them to be identified as such, when in public. The family, the older brother in particular, vehemently disagrees with the proposition, and, as a result of this, the family secedes and agrees to not wear the armbands. From this, the scene abruptly cuts to a shot of one of the family members walking down a road with the armband on. Such a contrast symbolizes the futility, and lack of ability to change anything, that the Jews were forced to endure.

Tow Path - Imtiaz Dharker

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1.

Every step we take

Could have been a step

In another direction.

This time we choose

To go to the canal.

By the time we reach it

The day decides to stop

Following us around.

·         First Line. Here, we refers to women in general. Women of the Indian tradition and culture to be specific.

·         Second, Third Lines. These lines clearly suggest the lack of independence given to women considering the path they are allowed to follow. Even these paths they are allowed to choose from are laid down by the society.

·         Fourth, Fifth Lines. The women finally have to make a choice similar to the other choices given unto them by the society. Generalizing the kind of choices that are given to them, it becomes very clear that most of these are based on serving the men of the world and carrying out the traditional household duties. In this line the woman chooses the path to the canal to fetch water for the household.

·         Sixth, Seventh, Eighth Lines. It takes long for the women to bring back water from the canal. By the time they arrive its sundown already. And usually in villages women leave their homes in the morning and they have to travel by foot to reach the canal which is the closest source of drinkable water. By the time they reach there its afternoon and by the time they come back, its sunset. Much of the water either evaporates or spills as they carry it back to their homes.

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2.

While we are picking

Our way down, watching our feet

The parks pack up, the city

Moves a few miles away.

Children’s voices are balloons

Released to open sky.

Behind us footsteps fade,

Streets turn into water.

·         First, Second Lines. As the women are going back to their villages through the cities which they have to pass as they go back home, the look down in shame to the ground as they are looked down upon by the society. There is a fear which has evolved within the females as they have been brought up in a certain congested way giving rise to narrow-mindedness, discouragement to move forward in life.

·         Third- Eighth Lines. In these lines one can see as how everything is moving away from women. As they continue travelling on their pre-laden path, they experience a gradual increase in loneliness. Here, the city moves away from them as they don’t serve any purpose there. Children abandon them as they get married and move on with their lives. Footsteps here symbolise the history of the women which isn’t preserved in any form. Like footsteps on the beach their impressions in the sand are ignored and these impressions fade away.  The line ‘Streets turn to water’ suggests that all the roads they have travelled throughout their lives are as plain as water. They cannot be distinguished anymore like the Atlantic which sunk to the sea and no one can tell if such a feat was really accomplished or was it just a story.

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3.

Leaf by leaf, the day grows smaller.

Whoever we are now,

This has been bequeathed to us.

Every other claimant has stepped aside.

Our steps the only steps.

The last finger of light points out

Landmarks we do not recognise.

·         First Line. This line tells us that it is autumn and winter is close suggesting death and how is moving near to them.

·         Second, Third Lines. The will of women is not given to women by themselves. It’s a will of society forged by men under selfish circumstances. This will has become so common that women also feel that they should follow the tradition which has been bequeathed to them by the society without and prejudice or reasoning of any kind.

·         Fourth, Fifth Lines. Here claimant refers to man who accepts women for an arranged marriage. Widows here haven’t been accepted by any man for marriages. Unmarried women in India and women who cannot bear children are deemed as cursed women by the society. The line ‘Our steps the only steps’, tells us that these widows move along this beach of life alone without anyone beside them. When death strikes their existence seems much useless as they have no material existence nor are they remembered by anyone rendering their lives almost non-existent.

·         Sixth, Seventh Lines. In the end when women get hope and direction it is hard for them to understand how exactly they get on with their lives after living in such a monotonous and suppressive society. Here, ‘Finger of light’ symbolises direction which gives the women hope and ‘landmarks’ here show the destination of arrival where women might find a new life to start. But what is the use when one does not know how to use the boat when he/she has to travel by the river even if they have the boat of the best kind.

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4.

Still, between the cobbled banks,

Cradled by bare branches.

We know we will be safe.

Now, even the unknown path

Will tow us home.

·         In this stanza, ‘home’ refers to the old life that they followed. This stanza tells us that, whatever path these women take, in the end, they would always end up going home. Change is something that is very uncommon and they do not expect it to happen anytime soon suggesting that they have lost hope in hope itself.

·         The word ‘Tow’ over here has been used very intelligently. This can be taken in a very aggressive sense as ‘tow’ is a strong word. The poetess is trying to tell us that whatever happens in the lives of these women, in the end they are dragged back to their normal lives of service and solidarity.

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Core themes:-

.Freedom

.Gender politics

.Communal Conflict

.Violence, Oppression

.Injustice

.Feminism

.Journeys