appreciating fiction

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APPRECIATING FICTION (ENG4B05) STUDY MATERIAL CORE COURSE IV SEMESTER B.A. ENGLISH (2019 Admission) UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION CALICUT UNIVERSITY P.O. MALAPPURAM - 673 635, KERALA 19011

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Page 1: APPRECIATING FICTION

APPRECIATING FICTION

(ENG4B05)

STUDY MATERIAL

CORE COURSE

IV SEMESTER

B.A. ENGLISH

(2019 Admission)

UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

CALICUT UNIVERSITY P.O. MALAPPURAM - 673 635, KERALA

19011

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School of Distance Education University of Calicut

STUDY MATERIAL

IV SEMESTER

B.A. ENGLISH (2019 Admission)

Core Course ENG4B05 : APPRECIATING FICTION

Prepared by:

Dr. ARUNLAL K. Assistant Professor Department of English Government College, Mokeri. Scrutinized by:

Dr. SUNITHA SRINIVAS C. Associate Professor Department of English Government College, Mokeri.

DISCLAIMER

"The author(s) shall be solely responsible

for the content and views

expressed in this book".

Printed @ Calicut University Press

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CONTENTS

1 Module: 1 1 - 9

2 Module: 2 10 - 34

3 Module: 3 35 - 41

4 Module: 4 42 - 44

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Introduction

The course aims to instil in the learners, a love of

fiction, to stimulate their imagination and to foster intercultural

dialogue.

Syllabus

Module 1.

What is fiction - Plot - character - Atmosphere - Narrative

Technique - Points of View - Difference between long and

short fiction - Different types of fiction.

Module 2.

O Henry: The Cactus

Maxim Gorky: Her Lover

James Joyce : Eveline

Ray Bradbury: Sound of Thunder

Sally Morgan: The Letter

Arun Joshi: The Homecoming

Ken Liu: The Paper Menagerie

Module 3.

George Orwell: Animal Farm

Module 4.

Film: Moby Dick: dir John Huston

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Module 1

Introduction

This section introduces various aspects of fiction. Reading

fiction usually requires no prior preparation. In fact it is

understood that fiction enjoys its mass-appeal because it serves

the interests of leisure of the literate class of the society. This

module tries to take the reading of fiction beyond the interests

of leisure; fiction being also a way of understanding human

social and spiritual life in comprehensive dimensions.

Appreciating fiction in such a dimension however requires us

to familiarize with a special vocabulary, a toolkit to open up

the concealed pathways.

What is fiction

In very banal terms, fiction is literature in the form of prose,

especially novels, that describes imaginary events and people.

But its matter-of-fact approach subverts the poignant reasons

why readers choose to lose themselves in works of fiction.

Perhaps the question "what is fiction?" means more than what

meets the eye. To answer that question in a fuller manner we

should perhaps also investigate what the need for writing

fiction is. Lady Murasaki, an eleventh century Japanese

novelist has commented so on the contingencies of why people

write fiction--"Again and again something in one's own life or

in that around one will seem so important that one cannot bear

to let it pass into oblivion. There must never come a time, the

writer feels, when people do not know about this." All good

writers draw on the life around them as well as on their own

inner lives, and all good writers develop a distinctive style and

vision of their own. These latter reasons should bring us to the

answer for the primary question: What is fiction? Fiction, more

than its prose, more than its word-skill, more than imagination,

is about vision and its ability to process life for revision and

retrospection.

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Plot

Ever since Grecian antiquity, plot was seen as a major aspect

of a creative work - Aristotle had said plot is the most

important element of a tragedy. Plot is not quite the story of a

work of fiction; it is what the writer makes of a story. A story

can produce a thousand plots. The writer can decide the point

at which the story should begin, the dose and frequency of

flashbacks, the foregrounding or vanishing of certain

characters, the addition or deletion of subplots etc. This

intervention from the part of the writer results in the

conversion of story to plot. It is the plot that really carries the

style and vision of the writer.

In the modern times, especially after the dawning of

modernism, the primacy of plot has been questioned.

Modernist writers like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and

William Faulkner rejected plot and focused on the interiority

of their characters. This revolutionized realism but in effect,

distanced common readers from serious novels. Popular novels

now draw from the modernist experiments, but generally have

reinstated the plot as the primary concern of novels.

Character

In fiction, in general, authors create characters to take the

narrative forward. There are many ways to develop characters.

Generally characters are moulded from the author's

imagination; sometimes people from real life are given slightly

altered habitations, at other times, especially in genres like

popular fiction, characters that represent one particular aspect

or one particular social prejudice are created. This latter

variety is called stereotypes. Stereotypes are cliched characters

used and re-used by writers in their works.

E. M. Forster speaks of two fundamental types of characters in

his Aspects of the Novel: flat characters and round characters.

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Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are relatively

uncomplicated. By contrast, round characters are complex

figures with many different traits; that evolve as the story

proceeds. They lead the reader to the vision of the author. The

distinction between Dynamic characters and static characters is

a similar one. Dynamic characters are those that change over

the course of the story, while static characters remain the same

throughout.

Atmosphere

Atmosphere is the all-pervading mood of a work of fiction. It

is a rather abstract idea, and is not quite as visible as a motif or

symbol in the body of writing. Atmosphere mainly emerges

through description rather than action. It is the climate, time of

day or night, the ensemble of objects and the like that create

atmosphere. This can project the actions of a character in a

certain light.

Atmosphere defines the hope, distress, anxiety, and thrill of the

sequences in fiction. Certain genres are especially dependent

on atmosphere. Horror, for example, is an extremely

atmosphere-dependent genre.

Narrative Technique

Narrative technique is an umbrella term that holds other ideas

such as ―literary device,‖ ―figures of speech,‖ and ―verbal

quip‖. At its core, it is the style which the writers choose to

present their plot to their readers. It includes all the methods

that they use to develop a story.

The individual elements of different narrative techniques can

be broken down into six distinct categories:

Character

Perspective

Plot

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Setting

Style

Theme

Each of these plays an important role in developing a story—

taking the writers‘ message and presenting it to their audience

in a deliberate way.

Points of View

Points of view refer to who is narrating a story. A story can be

told from the first person, second person or third person point

of view. Writers use point of view to express the personal

emotions of either themselves or their characters. The point of

view of a story is how the writer wants to convey the

experience to the reader.

First Person Point of View

With first person point of view, the main character is telling

the story. Readers will see the words "I," "me" or "we" in first

person writing. It is commonly used for narratives and

autobiographies. First person point of view can be singular or

plural. The singular form uses "I" or "me" and the plural form

uses the word "we." Both are used to give the writer's personal

perspective.

Second Person Point of View

When writing from a second person point of view, the writer

has the narrator speaking to the reader. The words "you,"

"your," and "yours" are used from this point of view. Some

common uses for second-person point of view are directions,

business writing, technical writing, song lyrics, speeches, and

advertising.

Third Person Point of View

Third person point of view has an external narrator telling the

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story. This perspective can be singular or plural, as well as

gender specific or gender neutral. Words like "he," "she," "it,"

or "they" are used in this point of view. Third-person point of

view is often used in academic writing and fiction.

Difference between long and short fiction

Short fiction and long fiction are both narrative fiction written

in prose. Long fiction is otherwise called novel. The most

evident difference between a short story and a novel is

definitely in the length; a short story is generally shorter than a

novel as it is intended to be read in a single setting. Short

stories generally range anywhere from 1,500 to 30,000 words

whereas novels generally start from about 50,000 words.

However there is no hard and fast dictum that requires the

genres to keep these limits.

There are some other points of difference that entails out of

this difference in length.

Short fiction usually contains one basic plot whereas novels

can, and usually contain, many subplots and a complex main

plot. Short fiction does not risk comprehensive

characterization. It, as a rule, focuses on one or two characters.

Novels, on the other hand, allow the author to sport a host of

multiple characters. Finally, Short Stories generally cover a

very short time period in their plot, whereas novels can cover

very long periods.

Different types of fiction.

Genre is a term that we generally use to refer to a certain

variety of literature. An idea about genre can control what one

writes and how they write it. It describes the style and focus of

the novel in consideration. Certain acknowledged genres of

fiction are considered below:

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Adventure Novels.

Any story that puts the protagonist in physical danger,

characterized by thrilling encounters, and courageous and

daring feats, belongs to this genre. It is fast paced, the tension

mounting as the novel progresses. There is usually a climax

that offers closure and the reader some relief.

Science Fiction.

This genre incorporates any story set in the future, the past, or

other dimensions. The story features scientific ideas and

advanced technological concepts. Writers build new worlds

and use genre-specific words. The setting defines the plot.

Fantasy.

These stories deal with kingdoms as opposed to science

fiction's universes. Myths, otherworldly magic-based concepts,

and ideas characterize these books. They frequently take cues

from historical settings like The Dark Ages.

Speculative Fiction.

These stories are created in worlds unlike our real world in

certain important ways. This genre usually overlaps one or

more of the following: science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror

fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and

dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and

alternate history.

Romance.

These stories are about a romantic relationship between two

people. They are characterized by sensual tension, desire, and

idealism. The author keeps the two apart for most of the novel,

but they do eventually end up together. There are many sub-

genres, including paranormal, historical, contemporary,

category, fantasy, and Gothic.

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Suspense/Thriller.

A character in jeopardy dominates these stories. This genre

involves pursuit and escape. It is filled with cliffhangers and

there are one or more ‗dark‘ characters that the protagonist

must escape from, fight against, or best in the story. The

threats to the protagonist can be physical or psychological, or

both. The setting is integral to the plot. This is often described

as a gripping read. A Techno Thriller is a sub-genre.

Young Adult.

Young Adult (YA) books are written, published, and marketed

to adolescents and young adults. The Young Adult Library

Services Association (YALSA) defines a young adult as

someone between the ages of 12 and 18, but adults also read

these books. These are generally coming-of-age stories, and

often cross into the fantasy and science fiction genres. YA

novels feature diverse protagonists facing changes and

challenges.

Horror/Paranormal/Ghost.

These are high-pitched scary stories involving pursuit and

escape. The protagonist must overcome supernatural or

demonic beings. Occult is a sub-genre that always uses

satanic-type antagonists.

Mystery/Crime.

These are also known as ‗whodunits‘. The central issue is a

question that must be answered, an identity revealed, a crime

solved. This novel is characterized by clues leading to rising

tension as the answer to the mystery is approached. There are

many sub-genres in this category.

Historical.

These fictional stories take place against factual historical

backdrops. Important historical figures are portrayed as

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fictional characters. Historical Romance is a sub-genre that

involves a conflicted love relationship in a factual historical

setting.

Westerns.

These books are specifically set in the old American West.

Plotlines include survival, romance, and adventures with

characters of the time, for example, cowboys, frontiersmen,

Indians, mountain men, and miners.

Family Saga.

This genre is about on-going stories of two or more

generations of a family. Plots revolve around things like

businesses, acquisition, properties, adventures, and family

curses. By their nature, these are primarily historical, often

bringing the resolution in contemporary settings. There is

usually a timeline involved in these books.

Women‘s Fiction.

These plot lines are characterized by female characters who

face challenges, difficulties, and crises that have a direct

relationship to gender. This is inclusive of woman‘s conflict

with man, though not limited to that. It can include conflict

with things such as the economy, family, society, art, politics,

and religion.

Magic Realism.

Magical events are part of ordinary life in this genre. The

characters do not see them as abnormal or unusual. They are a

natural part of the story. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a

classic in this genre.

Literary Fiction.

This genre focuses on the human condition and it is more

concerned with the inner lives of characters and themes than

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plot. Literary fiction is difficult to sell and continues to decline

in popularity.

Writing For Children

Children's literature is not confined to fiction. Here the

emphasis is on the audience, who obviously are children. The

language tones down in this genre. Also dark themes are

usually avoided. The genres of fantasy and science fiction edge

into this genre in their pleasant overtones.

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Module 2

Short fiction

1. The Cactus

O Henry

Introduction to the author

O. Henry (1862 - 1910) was an American short story writer.

He is today understood as a pioneer in the field. O Henry's real

name was William Sydney Porter.

He started writing stories rather late in his life. He had worked

variously as a shepherd, portrait artist, musician, cook,

babysitter, banker, journalist and translator before that. All

these opened him to an active social life and the experience

contributed to making him a writer of popular acclaim.

His first collection of stories namely Cabbages and Kings was

published in 1904. All the stories in this collection were

collected from conversations with people he knew in person.

His stories are remembered for the surprise-endings he gave

them.

His classic titles include The Last Leaf, The Gift of the Magi,

The Cop and the Anthem, and The Cactus. Henry had an

obvious affection for New York City and its diversity of

people and places, a reverence that marks many of his stories.

O. Henry died in 1910 and is buried in North Carolina.

Plot Summary

The story begins with a man named Trysdale. He is in his

apartment with a friend after a wedding and seems to be

troubled by the events of the day. There is a philosophical

narration about time that seems to be allusive. But, soon

enough, the whole picture becomes clear to the reader through

Trysdale's reflection.

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The serious tone continues as the narrator describes a lone

cactus sitting on a table in a jar. Trysdale's friend, the brother

of the bride, drinks alone annoyed that Trysdale will not drink

with him. Trysdale recalls the scent of flowers and noises from

the church where a marriage had just taken place, one that

seems to have affected him negatively.

The reader learns that Trysdale had "lost" her although we are

never told who "her" is, and he wonders how and why. The

narrator explains Trysdale is now looking at his true self, one

stripped of ego, vanity, and conceit. He recalls watching her

walk to the altar and look at her now husband. He lied to

himself, believing she could not be happy with him. But with

that look, he saw how she used to look at him, and the rest of

his ego came crumbling to the ground. He recalled how she

used to look up to him with rose colored glasses and always

assumed the best of him. It seems she believed him to be

godlike and perfect.

He thinks back to a time when she asked him about speaking

Spanish because she heard it from one of his friends, Captain

Carruthers. Trysdale's ego accepted the skill, knowing full well

it was a lie. He then thinks back to when he proposed to her.

He was sure that she would be too eager to accept him readily.

She showed all kinds of emotional jubilation and her body

language too had been one of eager consent. She said she

would send word the next day. The only thing he received was

the aforementioned cactus with a note stating its kind which he

simply did not care for. Trysdale had taken the cactus as a

mark of refusal or betrayal. She, therefore, was under the

impression that he was a master of Spanish and had, therefore,

very romantically assented to his proposal in the Spanish

language which he had failed to comprehend, thus giving her a

false impression of being rejected by him.

Days passed, and Trysdale's ego was pushing him beyond his

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emotional bounds. He refused to contact her, only later running

into her at a dinner. They shared small talk, but when nothing

of their relationship was mentioned, she became cold and

distant. Trysdale's vanity did not allow him to understand what

was happening between them.

Trysdale's friend began to speak, pulling Trysdale out of his

reminiscent trance of misery. He asked Trysdale what the

matter was and joked about his horrible Brandy. He eventually

asks Trysdale where he got the cacti and says he recognizes the

type. Trysdale said he received it from a friend and that the

name of the plant is on the tag. The friend asks if he knows

Spanish. When Trysdale replies no, the man translates the

meaning: Ventomarme: "Come and take me."

Trysdale now realizes his fault at ignoring the tag and the

cactus sent by his proposed girlfriend and instead expecting

her assent in the way he expected her to give it. In his vanity

Trysdale had ignored the call of bliss in his life and it was now

too late to realize it.

Setting

1. Place: The events in the analyzed story happen in the

apartment of the protagonist Trysdale: "That is what Trysdale

was doing, standing by a table in his bachelor apartments.‖

2. Time: After the marriage ceremony of this girl was over and

the scent of the huge bunches of flowers piled in the church

was still haunting him. His friend and bride's brother is with

him.

3. Social environment: The setting of the events in the given

story is rather realistic, though a bit subjective. The place

where action happens is not depicted in a detailed way, but the

behaviors of main characters are described rather vividly.

4. Atmosphere: The author uses the flashback technique, and

this bachelor apartment shows the big regret Trysdale feels.

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Characters

There are three main characters in the story. They are:

Trysdale, Trysdale's friend or bride's brother and Trysdale's

beloved or the bride herself.

Trysdale

The main character of the story is Trysdale a young man,

noble, wealthy and cultured. The writer reveals Trysdale's

character by indirect characterization, so we get to know about

him through his words, deeds and emotions. He is a young,

unmarried man, who lost his beloved lady in a stupid manner.

He is deeply depressed and seems unhappy. The author

employs hyperbole to depict his mood: ‗It seemed that in his

nostrils was still the scent of the flowers that had been banked

in odorous masses about the church, and in his ears the low

pitched hum of a thousand well-bred voices, the rustle of crisp

garments, and, most insistently recurring, the drawling words

of the minister irrevocably binding her to another.‘ All the

ceremony is too arrogant and pompous for him. It makes him

feel even more miserable than he did before. This idea is

shown through use of various epithets while describing his

thoughts about wedding: 'odorous masses', 'well-bred voices',

'crisp garments', 'drawling words. In a way, it shows his

jealousy and regret about lost love. The poorness of the

situation is also rendered through the use of metaphor and

simile: 'White favors like stars upon their coats shone through

gloom of the apartment.‘

He realizes that his girlfriend is excessively devoted to him,

that ‗She had always insisted on placing him upon a pedestal,

and he had accepted her homage with royal dignity‘. He

realizes how selfish, egoistic and hypocritical he was; ‗the

garbs of pretence and egoism' which separated him from his

beloved. His disappointed and frustration are also conveyed.

When he noticed the glance of the bride during the ceremony,

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he felt a hope, that not everything was lost. But it was just a

hope. That sullen exultation shows how his dreams face rough

reality. Epithets as innermost, unmitigated, arid unbedecked

self; the indulgent, confident victor are used to describe the

personality of the main character.

2. Trysdale's friend, the brother of the bride.

Along with Trysdale is his friend, the brother of the bride. The

South American resident brother of the bride is carefree, light-

hearted, and loved to drink. This character is described both

through direct and indirect characterization. Direct quote states

the way he looked: 'Both men were in evening dress. White

favors like stars upon their coats shone through the gloom of

the apartment. And indirect shows what kind of person he was.

"I say, Trysdale, what the deuce is the matter with you? You

look unhappy as if you yourself had been married instead of

having acted merely as an accomplice. Look at me, another

accessory, come two thousand miles on a garlicky, cockroachy

banana steamer all the way from South America to connive at

the sacrifice--please to observe how lightly my guilt rests upon

my shoulders. Only little sister I had, too, and now she's gone.

Come now! take something to ease your conscience." Henry

uses zeugma, which creates humorous effect, to clear the air.

He knows the pain, Trysdale feels and tries to console him.

The bride‘s brother from South America solves the

misunderstanding between Trysdale and the girl after the

marriage was over. The wrong impression that she was a

woman of sarcastic temperament is brushed aside in the

readers thoughts, and she is vindicated.

3. Trydale's beloved, the bride herself.

The last character is Trysdale's beloved. The lady is portrayed

as modest, childlike, worshipful and sincere. Both direct and

indirect characterization are used to create her character.

Indirect characterization is: 'She had always insisted upon

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placing him upon a pedestal, and he had accepted her homage

with royal grandeur' and with womanly swiftness she took her

cue from his manner, and turned to snow and ice. Besides,

direct characterization is employed: 'How glad, how shy, how

tremulous she was!" Strangely O. Henry does not give her a

name. It seems to indicate that she was taken for granted and

had no identity of her own as a human being in the mind of

Trysdale. To him, she was just his disciple and biggest fan.

She worships and looks up to Trysdale and is always

glorifying his many positive attributes.

Point of View

The story is narrated in an omniscient (the 3rd person) point of

view. The author seems rather close to events, but still, he

doesn't participate much resulting in giving objective opinions

on characters' feelings and emotions.

2. The Lover

Maxim Gorky

Introduction to the author

Maxim Gorky was born in 1868 in Russia as Alexei

Maximovich Peshkov. He is recognized as one of the earliest

and foremost exponents of socialist realism in literature. His

brutal yet romantic portraits of Russian life and his

sympathetic depictions of the working class had an

inspirational effect on the oppressed people of his native land.

From 1910 until his death, Gorky was considered Russia's

greatest living writer. Gorky the tramp, the rebel, is as much a

legend as the strong, individual characters presented in his

stories. His hero was a new type in the history of Russian

literature—a figure drawn from the masses of a growing

industrialized society; his most famous novel, Mother (1907),

was the first in that country to portray the factory worker as a

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force destined to overthrow the existing order. Gorky died in

1936.

Plot Summary

The short story "The Lover" is one of the many famous stories

by Maxim Gorky. In the beginning, the narrator tells the author

about the time when he was a student in Moscow. He had lived

alongside a neighbor, a lady called Teresa. The narrator

describes her as "a tallish, powerfully-built brunette, with

black, bushy eyebrows and a large coarse face as if carved out

by a hatchet." Her reputation is questionable, says the narrator.

He says he always avoided meeting her on the staircase. When

they randomly met in the yard, she would smile which seemed

to the narrator as sly and cynical.

One morning, Teresa asked him for a favor- to write a letter to

her acquaintance who lived in her home country, Poland. "My

dear Boles ... my darling", she started to dictate. She finished

her letter with the phrase "your sorrowing little dove, Teresa".

The narrator nearly burst out laughing, hearing this from the

woman who was more than five feet high. He asked, "Who is

this Boles?". "My young man.", she answered. "Young

man?!". "Why are you so surprised, sir? Cannot I, a girl, have

a young man?".

Next time, Teresa asked the narrator to write a letter again. "To

Boles?‖ he asked. "No, this time it is from him." "Wha-at?",

the narrator exclaimed.

The narrator understood at last that Boles is a fictional

character invented by Teresa herself. Teresa was revealed to

him as "a human creature who had nobody in the world to treat

her kindly, affectionately, and this human being had invented a

friend for herself!" Since that day, the narrator wrote a letter to

Boles twice a week, and an answer from Boles to Teresa.

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Themes:

Human loneliness and lack of communication

- Gorky highlights that the industrialization of Tsarist Russia

and especially how the industrialization of Moscow had

alienated the common people. Human loneliness, lack of

communication, fragmented and lost identity marked modern

industrialized Russian society

- overcoming a prejudice which divides the society leads to a

new level of understanding people. The ―rags of our virtues‖,

together with ―the mist of our self-sufficiency,‖ prevent us,

like the boy in the story, from appreciating the lives of others

as in the case of Teresa.

The early decades of the twentieth century witnessed a radical

shift in the modernist perception of human identity. Human

identity was viewed as being lonely with lack of human

communication, fragmentation and alienation in life and social

relationship. These views play an important role in Gorky‘s

short story ―Her Lover.‖ Gorky presents these views of

identity in the story through the life of his fictional character

Teresa.

Character

Teresa

Gorky represents Teresa as a lonely, outcast, and friendless

woman without a proper contact with anyone else outside;

there is ―nobody in the world to treat her kindly,

affectionately.‖ Other than her make-believe lover called

‗Boles‘ there was no one left for her in her original home to

send and receive letters. She yearns for her family and often

indulges in drinking alcohol to alleviate her condition. She

lives in a much poorer condition and is older than the

acquaintance, but is respectful towards him, mainly because he

is a student. The boy uses severely sexist and offensive

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language to deride Teresa‘s old age, her muscular and large

body. He mocks her calling herself a dove when she was black

as soot or as dark as a dove who had spent some time in the

chimney. Gorky describes her dark eyes as bestial, maybe to

indicate the rakish hunger of a woman of ‗doubtful repute.‘

Her bass voice makes her appear like a cabman or a

fisherwoman to the acquaintance. Teresa does not want much

in life but a kind of life which ―grows easier‖ for her in the

face of difficulties imposed on her in the actual life. It (the

imaginary friend) also enables Teresa psychologically to create

an imaginative space where she holds on tightly to life without

the anxieties of the actual. Through it she also strives to escape

the intolerable harshness and reality of her life.

3. Evelyn

James Joyce

Introduction to the Author

James Joyce (1882-1941) is one of the most important

modernist writers of the early twentieth century. His reputation

largely rests on just four works: a short story collection

Dubliners (1914), and three novels: A Portrait of the Artist as

a Young Man (1916), Ulysses (1922), and Finnegans Wake

(1939). Each of these works represents a development from the

last, with Joyce‘s writing becoming increasingly experimental,

obscure, and challenging.

Like his fellow countryman, the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, Joyce

writes about the country he knew so well: Ireland, the country

of his birth. But unlike Yeats, Joyce had no time for the

romantic vision of Ireland encapsulated by the Celtic Twilight.

Joyce said that he wrote the short stories that make up

Dubliners in order to give Ireland one good look at itself in the

mirror: his vision of Ireland is an unflinchingly realist ‗warts

and all‘ depiction of a country which, especially in the early

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works, seems gripped by a paralysis (a key word for

Dubliners) that is partly a result of the country‘s obsession

with its own past and with Catholicism.

It‘s telling that Joyce spent much of his adult life living outside

of his native Ireland, on the Continent, where he could absorb

French literary influences which would be so important for his

development as a novelist.

Plot Summary

Eveline‘ is one of the shortest stories that make up James

Joyce‘s collection Dubliners (1914), a volume that was not an

initial commercial success (it sold just 379 copies in its first

year of publication, and 120 of those were bought by Joyce

himself). Eveline is a young woman living in Dublin with her

father. Her mother is dead. Dreaming of a better life beyond

the shores of Ireland, Eveline plans to elope with Frank, a

sailor who is her secret lover (Eveline‘s father having forbade

Eveline to see Frank after the two men fell out), and start a

new life in Argentina. With her mother gone, Eveline is

responsible for the day-to-day running of the household: her

father is drunk and only reluctantly tips up his share of the

weekly housekeeping money, and her brother Harry is busy

working and is away on business (another brother, Ernest, is

dead).

Eveline herself keeps down a job working in a shop. On

Saturday nights, when she asks her father for some money, he

tends to unleash a tirade of verbal abuse. When he eventually

hands over his housekeeping money, Eveline has to go to the

shops and buy the food for the Sunday dinner at the last

minute. Eveline is tired of this life, and so she and Frank book

onto a ship leaving for Argentina. But as she is just about to

board the ship, Eveline suffers a failure of resolve, and cannot

go through with it. She wordlessly turns round and goes home,

leaving Frank to board the ship alone.

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Analysis of Evelyn

Like many stories in Dubliners, ‗Eveline‘ explores the

relationship between the past and the future by examining a

single person‘s attitude to their life in Dublin. Joyce was

interested in this relationship, and believed that Ireland –

which often had a habit of nostalgically looking backwards and

holding onto the past – needed to progress and strive to bring

itself up to date. In contrast to those writers and artists such as

W. B. Yeats who embraced the ‗Celtic Twilight‘ – a mythical,

traditional view of Ireland as a land of faery and history –

Joyce wanted to see Ireland bring itself into the modern world.

In many ways, Eveline typifies the difficulties faced by many

Dubliners at the time. Joyce depicts her current existence as

dull, uninspiring, even oppressive, with her abusive father

highlighting the idea that the older generation needs to be cast

off if young Ireland is to forge itself into a new nation. Even

the good aspects of the old Ireland, such as Eveline‘s mother

and her older brother Ernest, are dead and gone. There is also,

though, Eveline‘s (by no means unfounded) fear that history

will end up repeating itself and she will end up becoming her

mother, trapped in a marriage to an abusive alcoholic and

caught in a life of poverty and flattened dreams.

As she mused the pitiful vision of her mother‘s life laid its

spell on the very quick of her being—that life of commonplace

sacrifices closing in final craziness. The promise of a new start

in a new country (in a city that means literally ‗good air‘)

seems like the best way to shake off the musty old air of

Ireland. She was about to explore another life with Frank.

Frank was very kind, manly, open-hearted. She was to go away

with him by the night-boat to be his wife and to live with him

in Buenos Aires where he had a home waiting for her—―She

stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must

escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps

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love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy?

She had a right to happiness. Frank would take her in his arms,

fold her in his arms. He would save her.‖

And yet when it comes to the moment when she must board

the boat, Eveline is unable to do so, and instead clings to the

barrier as though literally clinging to old Ireland and the past

which is dead and gone but which she cannot leave behind:-

―He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He

was shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her

white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes

gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.‖

"Eveline" it has been pointed out unravels a circular journey,

where a character decides to go back to where their journey

began and where the result of their journey is disappointment

and reluctance to travel. The way that final triplet builds out

from love to farewell to recognition (what, she now doesn‘t

even recognize him?) is a masterstroke on Joyce‘s part.

Theme of Past and Memory

Eveline cannot let go of the past, as the early sections of the

story reveal. We see Eveline sit and reminisce about happy

times from her childhood. One wonders if it is the nostalgia

for old Ireland – embodied by her childhood memories – that

prevents her from emigrating with Frank?. The masterstroke

on Joyce‘s part is refraining from telling us precisely what

makes Eveline stay in Dublin at the end of the story. Is it filial

duty to her father and brother that makes her turn back? Or is it

a nostalgic attachment to Ireland, and the happy memories that

it carries for her, even though most of the people who shared

those memories with her have either emigrated (back to

England, revealingly) or have died?

This is consistent with much modernist fiction, which avoids

providing readers specific instructions on how to respond to

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the events recounted in the story. Life is sometimes filled of

half-truths and hidden reasons, and our motivations are

sometimes even partially hidden from ourselves since we live

in a state of ambiguity and doubt.

One of the key words in Joyce‘s Dubliners is ‗paralysis‘:

people feel immobilized, unable to move or progress, trapped

in their own lives. This, Joyce believed, is what Dublin – and,

indeed, much of Ireland – was like as a whole: paralyzed.

‗Eveline‘ offers in a little snapshot an example of how deeply

such paralysis could run, even leading a young woman to forgo

the chance of a new start in favour of remaining in an abusive,

dead-end life.

The irony of Eveline is that the immobility she fears

succumbing to – that life of daily sacrifice that characterized

her mother – also keeps her from departing that world due to

fear or a lack of assurance that abandoning the old world is the

correct thing to do. Her paralyzing reality even paralyses her

while she tries to flee it, dooming her to remain in Dublin and,

quite perhaps, to die.

4. Sound of Thunder

Ray Bradbury

Introduction to the author:

Ray Douglas Bradbury, (born August 22, 1920, Waukegan,

Illinois, U.S.—died June 5, 2012, Los Angeles, California),

was an American author best known for his highly imaginative

short stories and novels that blend a poetic style, nostalgia for

childhood, social criticism, and an awareness of the hazards of

runaway technology. He was a master of Science-fiction

though he himself had said that his only science fiction book

was Fahrenheit 451. Much of his work was however

technology-related fantasy, horror, or mysteries. Bradbury had

gone on record saying, ―I use a scientific idea as a platform to

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leap into the air and never come back.‖ He received many

honours for his work including an Emmy for his animated

adaptation of The Halloween Tree (1994) and the National

Medal of Arts (2004). In 2007 the Pulitzer Prize Board

awarded Bradbury a Special Citation for his distinguished

career.

Plot Summary

In 'A Sound of Thunder,' a science fiction short story set in

2055, time travel allows the common man to experience the

past in ways never before thought possible. Eckels, an avid

hunter, pays $10,000 to travel back to the age of dinosaurs to

hunt a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Time Safari, Inc., the time-travel outfitting agency, wants to

make sure its customers understand the risks involved. They

do not guarantee safety, relating the deaths of six guides and

twelve hunters in the previous year. But they do guarantee

dinosaurs, and Eckels cannot refuse this trip of a lifetime.

While Eckels waits his for his expedition to begin, he and a

company employee discuss the recent election in which the

democratic candidate Keith, the moderate presidential

candidate, was elected over Deutscher, the dictatorial

candidate described as an anti-everything man. The two

suggest that if the election had turned out differently, many

people would be running for the time machine just to escape

Deutscher's rule.

Travis, the tour guide, along with his assistant, Lesperance,

leads Eckels and two other hunters, Billings and Kramer, into

the time machine and they set off to a time 60,002,055 years

before the time they left.

When they arrive, Travis gives the hunters two specific

instructions: shoot only the dinosaurs marked (they were going

to die soon anyway) and stay on the path, which is made of

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antigravity metal that hovers above the ground. When Eckels

asks why, Travis launches into an explanation of how

changing the past could have a negative effect on the future: if

one mouse is killed in the past, the families of that mouse will

also no longer live, along with the animals that would have

preyed on the mouse. This would, in turn, cause the animals

that preyed on those animals to no longer live, compounding

until the effect of the death of that one mouse could mean

generations of people may no longer be alive in the present.

With everyone sufficiently scared, they head out.

As they anxiously wait for the Tyrannosaurus rex, the men

hear 'a sound of thunder' - the footsteps of the dinosaur - and

Eckels is overcome by the beauty and majesty of the beast. He

decides he cannot shoot it. Travis, furious that Eckels has

chickened out, tells him to return to the machine. Eckels, in a

state of shock, moves in the wrong direction, catching the eye

of the dinosaur. As the Tyrannosaurus rex begins to come after

the hunters, they fire and kill it.

Upon returning to the time machine, Travis notices that Eckels'

boots are muddy. He stepped off the path! Furious, Travis

threatens to leave Eckels in the past unless he collects the

bullets from the dinosaur, which they can't leave. He does so,

but Travis still threatens to kill Eckels for disobeying the rules.

Upon arriving back in 2055, Eckels notices that things are a

little off. The air smells weird and the spelling of the company

sign is a little different. Eckels looks down at his shoes and

notices a butterfly stuck to the bottom, dead. In shock, he asks

who won the presidential election and the employee exclaims

that, thankfully, it was Deutscher. Eckels groans. Travis aims

his weapon at Eckels and there is a sound of thunder.

Analysis

As in many of his works, Bradbury highlights worries about

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technology in 'A Sound of Thunder,' this time with a

concentration on time travel. Bradbury suggests that

technology and time travel are dangerous because of the

warning about how little alterations in the past can cause

dramatic changes in the future and the consequence indicating

that Eckels has badly altered the present by modifying the past.

Bradbury suggests that technology and time travel are

dangerous and destructive and are things that shouldn't be

pursued. Small actions can have far-reaching consequences,

and the story, like much of Bradbury's work, condemns the

arrogant use of ever powerful technology in a world that

humans do not completely comprehend. The story shows the

deep connection between the past, present, and future by

emphasizing the dramatic impact of something as seemingly

commonplace as crushing a butterfly aeons ago. It ultimately

argues that every action, no matter how small, has

consequences.

Questions and Answers

1. What company does Eckels visit?

Eckels visits Time Safari, Inc for a time travel to a

distant past to shoot a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

2. Why has Eckels come to the Time Safari , Inc.

office? What does he plan to do?

The protagonist of the story Eckels approaches Time

Safari ,Inc., a company that offers safaris to the past and

pays $10000 to travel back to the age of now extinct

dinosaurs to hunt a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

3. Briefly describe the office of Time Safari ,Inc.

The office of Time Safari ,Inc. was a mass of snaking

and humming wires and steel boxes. A light flickered in

different colours. There was a sound like the gigantic

bonfire burning all of Time.

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4. How much does the Safari cost?

$10000.

5. Why is Eckels pleased when Keith wins the election?

Keith had won the American Presidential election

defeating Deutscher who was an anti- people, anti- Christ,

anti –human, anti- intellectual dictatorial person.

6. Name Eckels‘ fellow travellers.

Travis, the Safari leader, Lasperance , Travis‘ assistant

and two hunters Billings and Kramer were his fellow

travelers.

7. Who is the Safari leader?

Travis

8. According to Travis what is the best way to kill a

dinosaur?

The best way to kill a dinosaur is to put first two shots

into the eyes , blind it and then shoot at the brain.

9. How many years did the hunters travel back?

Sixty million, two thousand and fifty five years

10. Why must the hunters stay on the Metal Path?

The hunters were asked to stay on the Metal path which

was floating six inches above the ground. Its purpose is

to keep them from touching the world of the past in any

way. If they touch the ground and kill any organism,

small or big, it will have a huge repercussion on future

evolution of the world.

11 Why do the hunters wear the Oxygen helmets?

The hunters wear Oxygen helmets so that they cannot

introduce bacteria into the pure atmosphere of the ancient

past.

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12. How does Lesperance select the animals that can be

hunted?

Lesperance tracks the existence of the animals and selects

an animal which is going to die soon under normal

conditions of the jungle. Then he tags the animal with a

paint bomb.

13. Why are the hunters allowed to kill the dinosaurs

that are marked?

The dinosaurs that are marked are going to die anyway

within minutes. So killing them will leave only a minimal

impact on nature.

14. What are the three precautions that Safari ,Inc. has

taken to prevent any altering of future?

All the Safari team members will only be staying on

the metal path so that they will not touch the world of

the past in any way . The hunters will kill only

preselected animals which are going to die within minutes

anyway under natural conditions in the jungle. They had

sterilized the Machine, their clothes and bodies and were

wearing oxygen helmets so that they won‘t introduce

bacteria into the ancient atmosphere.

15. What does Travis refer to as ― His Royal Majesty‖ ?

The Tyrannosaurus Rex.

16. What mistake does Eckels make while his fellow

travelers are hunting?

Eckels had deviated from the Metal Path and had trodden

on the ground, killing a butterfly. This small mishap

would change Time and history.

17. Why can‘t the hunters take the Dinosaur as a trophy?

The dinosaur‘s body has to stay right there where it

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would have died originally. The body was intended for

insects, birds and bacteria to live on it.

18. What does Lesperance offer Billings and Kramer that

they turn down?

Billings and Kramer turn down Lesperance‘s suggestion

of taking a picture with the dead Tyrannosaurus.

19. Why does Travis force Eckels to retrieve the bullets

from the monster‘s body?

The bullets do not belong to the past . The presence of

the bullets might change the course of evolution.

20. How was the sign at the Time Safari different when

the hunters reached back?

The English words were spelt strangely.

21 What does Eckels learn about the elections after his

return?

Eckels discovers that Deutscher has won the election

instead of Keith.

22. What does Eckels find on the bottom of his shoes

after the Safari?

Looking at the mud on his boots, Eckels finds a crushed

butterfly, whose death has apparently set in motion a

series of subtle changes that have affected the nature of

the present to which the safari has returned.

23. What is the sound of thunder at the end of the

story?

Travis raises his gun, and there is a sound of thunder,

implying that Eckels is fatally shot.

24. What happens to Eckels at the end of the story ?

Travis shoots Eckels for disobeying the rules of the Time

Safari and changing the course of evolution of the world.

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5. Letter

Sally Morgan

Introduction to the author

Sally Morgan was born in 1951 in Perth, Western Australia.

Her father was a white man and her mother was part-

Aboriginal. When Sally Morgan was nine years old her father

committed suicide, leaving her and her four sisters and

brothers to be raised by her mother and part-Aboriginal

grandmother. Sally Morgan is a descendant of the Palku

people from the Pilbara region.

She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of

Western Australia in 1974, majoring in Psychology. Today she

is a very successful novelist and artist. Her first book, My

Place, was very popular and it won her the Patricia Weickhardt

Award in 1988.

Plot Summary

The story revolves around two generations of Australian

aborigines. Elaine, the daughter of Nellie, was taken away by

the state authorities. The racist regime thought it was better for

fair-skinned Elaine to grow away from her black-mother

Nellie. Elaine was born of a rape that Nellie had to undergo

from a white man. Afterwards, Nellie spends years searching

for Elaine. She finally locates Elaine and starts sending her

letters. She tells Elaine that she belongs to their race and

family. Elaine is by now adopted into a white family. She

refuses to even consider Nellie's pleas and sends back all for

letters. Nellie has contacts with her sister: she entrusts with the

sister the last letter for Elaine, and a few treasured photographs

from Elaine's childhood and dies. However, by the end of the

story, Elaine calls her aunt, and says thest she wanti to meet

her the next day. This gives the reader a notion that Elaine is

finally returning to the fold.

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Analysis

The story is a poignant presentation of the violence Australian

whites have perpetrated on the indigenous aborigine

population. It takes a first person point of view to narrate the

story. Aunt Bessie is the narratorial person here. The Story is

a criticism of the inhuman policies that prevailed in early

modern Australia.

It showcases the extraordinary industry and bravado on the

part of the dead and deceased character Nellie, who always

believed her daughter would come back and accept her.

6. The Homecoming

Arun Joshi

Introduction to the Author

Arun Joshi was born in Varanasi in 1939. He completed his

studies in the U.S and returned to India to become an industrial

manager. Writing was his passion. He is noted for works such

as The Strange Case of Billy Biswas and The Apprentice. He

won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel The Last

Labyrinth in 1982. One of the few writers from India to have

successfully attempted existentialist novels, Joshi was an early

revolutionary in Indian English fiction. He died in New Delhi

in 1993.

Plot Summary

The story is about a young soldier who returns home from the

war front, only to find the whole place strange and un-natural.

After experiencing the bloody battles of the Eastern front, the

protagonist returns home and is welcomed warmly by his

family and fiancée. He tries to go back to his civilian life- the

life led by his fiancée and his family.

However, he cannot find it within himself to mingle with the

crowd his family hangs out with. His sister takes him to a party

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and he discovers that they are spiritually shallow, the kind of

people who are big on the words and hesitant on the action. He

realizes that these people keep talking about things they have

no experience of, but they do it anyway because it makes them

look and feel intellectual. The story documents in detail the

thought processes of a war-scarred man who finds the people

around him to be hollow. The story is a brilliant depiction of

how popular culture and society often paint pictures that they

want, despite the fact that they often know nothing about it.

‗Homecoming‘ catches the emotional turmoil the young

lieutenant of the army goes through in his attempts to melt in

to civilian social life. The story is noted for tearing away the

fake facades under which modern society tends to lie low,

modern fads which are rather hypocritical. At the end of the

story, the protagonist‘s fiancée tells him that she has put on

weight and therefore is going on a diet. The young man is

taken back to the time just after the end of the war when he

had been in charge of a relief center where he had to dole out

food to the refugees. He says,

―Everyone was hungry, once in a way, but to be always

hungry, he had seen, was different. It made a bit of an animal

of you, he thought, turned you stupid….‖ When they got their

ration they swallowed it in about two minutes. After that they

could see that they were as hungry as before, that in fact they

were waiting for the next meal. The old people had not

bothered to look for food. If it came their way they ate it. If

not they lay down and died. That was the way it had been

where he had come from.‖ The story is a picture of contrasts

such as the one given above. It is meant to inform us of how

mainstream life is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to

the vastness of human experience.

Analysis

The story is a dark and stark portrayal of the hypocrisy and

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ignorance that plagues our society, especially in the self-

proclaimed high-brow, intellectual circles. It is an appeal in a

little more than a couple of thousand words to stop talking if

you do not know what you are talking about. Replete with

stunning images from the battle field, images that are meant to

chill the reader to the very bones, the story goes on to relate

the doings of a self-proclaimed poet, the most intellectual and

well-read person in the party our protagonist goes to. He

indulges in banal discussions that reminds one very much of

the pointless discussions that occur in our mainstream media

with alarming frequency. His rush to define ‗genocide‘ and to

paint a picture of a terrible war from the comfort of his

metaphorical arm chair is despicable and Arun Joshi is bent on

tearing away that facade.

It is about all those pseudo-intellectual campaigners who

pretend to have nothing but the interests of our jawans in their

hearts, about those poets who write poems about a soldier‘s

widow when they are yet to see even a soldier, about those

critics and analysts who dish out trivia on wars and conflicts

but could not operate a slingshot to save their lives. The storey

speaks out against the hypocrisy and deception that has

permeated our society, deception perpetuated by the elite and

intellectuals who have no idea what is going on.

7 The Paper Menagerie

Ken Liu

About the author

Ken Liu (born 1976) is a multiple Hugo Award-winning

American author of science fiction and fantasy. His epic

fantasy series was titled The Dandelion Dynasty. His short

stories have appeared in several international anthologies.

Besides his original work, Liu's translation of Liu Cixin's

Chinese language novel The Three-Body Problem won the

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2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel, making it the first translated

novel to have won the award.

Plot Summary

Paper Menagerie" is a short story about a bi-racial boy named

Jack, who has a white dad and a Chinese mom, who

immigrated to America. When he is a kid, Jack's mom creates

an origami menagerie for him, and when Jack's mom breathes

into the origami, the menagerie comes to life, jumping and

playing with him.

After a fight with schoolmate who teases Jack about his

Chinese heritage, Jack discards the menagerie, and rejects his

mom, who grows increasingly silent. As Jack grows up, he

distances himself from his mom until their relationship is

uncomfortable and strained. But when his mom dies, Jack

discovers that she has been writing letters in the paper of his

menagerie, and she has her own story that she has been

struggling to tell.

Analysis

The story is a powerful allegory about the experience that so

many children of immigrants have. But in addition to

describing an allegory of how we relate to our heritage, the

story is also a heartbreaking look at the ways children relate or

distance themselves from their parents as they grow up. It also

seeks to trace the psychological and spiritual coming of age of

Jack, Paper Menagerie manages to keep its politics right

where it belongs. There is a very relevant social dimension in

which the story operates. Resentment, culture, identity,

discrimination, acceptance, struggle, and love are all themes

explored here. After reading the story, the reader realizes that

Liu may be investigating the issue of resentment, which is told

in the first person by a man named Jack. Despite having had a

pleasant childhood, Jack aspires to be like other American

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males. He is aware that he stands out and that people are

prejudiced towards him just because he has a Chinese mother.

This could be relevant since Liu is seeking to demonstrate how

bigoted America can be against those who look different. This

was very much the situation with Jack when he was younger.

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Module 3

Animal Farm

George Orwell

Introduction to the author

George Orwell's real name was Eric Arthur Blair. He was born

in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, India. Blair's father was a civil

service employee with the British government. He gathered

fame later as an English essayist, journalist and critic. Blair

served in Burma with the Indian Imperial Police for several

years. He had combat experience in Spanish Civil War too. He

was also a journalist for BBC for a considerable while. He died

in 1950.

List of works:

Fiction

1934 – Burmese Days (his experiences in colonial Burma)

1935 – A Clergyman's Daughter

1936 – Keep the Aspidistra Flying

1939 – Coming Up for Air

1945 – Animal Farm

1949 – Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nonfiction

1933 – Down and Out in Paris and London (autobiographical,

poverty in London)

1937 – The Road to Wigan Pier

1938 – Homage to Catalonia

Plot Summary of Animal Farm

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble

in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had

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about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of

their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting,

but the animals — inspired by his philosophy of Animalism —

plot a rebellion against Jones. Two pigs, Snowball and

Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of

this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the

animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are

chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm,

and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on

the barn wall. Initially, the rebellion is a success: The animals

complete the harvest and meet every Sunday to debate farm

policy. The pigs, because of their intelligence, become the

supervisors of the farm. Napoleon, however, proves to be a

power-hungry leader who steals the cows' milk and a number

of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also enlists the

services of Squealer, a pig with the ability to persuade the

other animals that the pigs are always moral and correct in

their decisions.

Jones and his soldiers return to Animal Farm later that fall and

attempt to reclaim it. Snowball's methods help the animals beat

Jones in what becomes known as The Battle of the Cowshed.

Winter arrives, and Mollie, a conceited horse that is only

interested in ribbons and sweets, is enticed away from the farm

by another person. Snowball begins drawing plans for a

windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the

animals more leisure time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes

such a plan on the grounds that building the windmill will

allow them less time for producing food. On the Sunday that

the pigs offer the windmill to the animals for a vote, Napoleon

summons a pack of ferocious dogs, who chase Snowball off

the farm forever. Napoleon announces that there will be no

further debates; he also tells them that the windmill will be

built after all and lies that it was his own idea, stolen by

Snowball. Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat for the rest

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of the tale, blaming all of the animals' misfortunes on him. The

following year is dedicated to the construction of the windmill.

Boxer, a massively powerful horse, proved to be the most

valuable animal in this quest. Meanwhile, Jones abandons the

property and relocates to another section of the county.

Contrary to the principles of Animalism, Napoleon hires a

solicitor and begins trading with neighboring farms. When a

storm topples the half- finished windmill, Napoleon

predictably blames Snowball and orders the animals to begin

rebuilding it.

Napoleon's lust for power increases to the point where he

becomes a totalitarian dictator, forcing "confessions" from

innocent animals and having the dogs kill them in front of the

entire farm. He and the pigs move into Jones' house and begin

sleeping in beds (which Squealer excuses with his brand of

twisted logic). The animals receive less and less food, while

the pigs grow fatter. After the windmill is completed in

August, Napoleon sells a pile of timber to Jones; Frederick,

a neighboring farmer who pays for it with forged banknotes.

Frederick and his men attack the farm and explode the

windmill but are eventually defeated. As more of theSeven

Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs, the

language of the Commandments is revised: For example, after

the pigs become drunk one night, the Commandment, "No

animals shall drink alcohol" is changed to, "No animal shall

drink alcohol to excess."

Boxer again offers his strength to help build a new windmill,

but when he collapses, exhausted, Napoleon sells the devoted

horse to a knacker (a glue-boiler). Squealer tells the indignant

animals that Boxer was actually taken to a veterinarian and

died a peaceful death in a hospital— a tale the animals believe.

Years pass, and Napoleon purchases two fields from a nearby

farmer, Pilkington, to expand Animal Farm's limits. All of the

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animals' (save the pigs') lives are difficult. Eventually, the pigs

learn to walk on their hind legs and adopt many of the

characteristics of their previous human captors. The Seven

Commandments are reduced to a single law: "All Animals Are

Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others." The novel

ends with Pilkington sharing drinks with the pigs in Jones'

house. Napoleon changes the name of the farm back to Manor

Farm and quarrels with Pilkington during a card game in

which both of them try to play the ace of spades. As other

animals watch the scene from outside the window, they cannot

tell the pigs from the humans.

Analysis

Animal Farm is a political allegory.

A political allegory is a narrative where the agents, action and

setting are contrived by the author to make sense literally and

at the same time to signify and correspond to political

personages, events and setting. However, the lofty ideas that

motivated the revolution in the first place give way to

individual and class-based self-interest over time. The

rebellion in Animal Farm, like other popular revolutions,

grows out of a desire for a better future in which farm animals

can enjoy the fruits of their own labour without the oppressive

tyranny of humans. During the revolution, all of the animals on

Mr. Jones' farm, including the pigs, are committed to the

concept of universal equality. Animal Farm exemplifies how a

revolution can be turned into a totalitarian dictatorship by

slow, steady modifications.

Character List

Napoleon

The pig who emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the

Rebellion. Based on Joseph Stalin, Napoleon uses military

force (his nine loyal attack dogs) to intimidate the other

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animals and consolidate his power. In his supreme craftiness,

Napoleon proves more treacherous than his counterpart,

Snowball

Snowball

The pig who challenges Napoleon for control of Animal Farm

after the Rebellion. Based on Leon Trotsky, Snowball is

intelligent, passionate, eloquent, and less subtle and devious

than his counterpart, Napoleon. Snowball seems to win the

loyalty of the other animals and cements his power.

Boxer

The cart-horse whose incredible strength, dedication, and

loyalty play a key role in the early prosperity of Animal Farm

and the later completion of the windmill. Quick to help but

rather slow- witted, Boxer shows much devotion to Animal

Farm‘s ideals but little ability to think about them

independently. He naïvely trusts the pigs to make all his

decisions for him. His two mottoes are ―I will work harder‖

and ―Napoleon is always right‖ Boxer represents the peasantry

Squealer

The pig who spreads Napoleon‘s propaganda among the other

animals. Squealer justifies the pigs‘ monopolization of

resources and spreads false statistics pointing to the farm‘s

success. Orwell uses Squealer to explore the ways in which

those in power often use rhetoric and language to twist the

truth and gain and maintain social and political control.

Squealer stands for Vychaslev Molotov, a staunch supporter

and protégé of Joseph Stalin.

Old Major

The prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia

serves as the inspiration for the Rebellion. Three days after

describing the vision and teaching the animals the song

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―Beasts of England,‖ Major dies, leaving Snowball and

Napoleon to struggle for control of his legacy. Orwell based

Major on both the German political economist Karl Marx and

the Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin.

Clover

A good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer‘s close friend.

Clover often suspects the pigs of violating one or another of

the Seven Commandments, but she repeatedly blames herself

for misremembering the commandments. She represents the

female proletariat

Moses

The tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain,

the paradise to which animals supposedly go when they die.

Moses plays only a small role in Animal Farm, but he

represents the Russian Orthodox Church. Orwell uses him to

explore how communism exploits religion as something with

which to pacify the oppressed.

Mollie

The vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones‘s carriage. Mollie

craves the attention of human beings and loves being groomed

and pampered. She has a difficult time with her new life on

Animal Farm, as she misses wearing ribbons in her mane and

eating sugar cubes. She represents the petit bourgeoisie that

fled from Russia a few years after the Russian Revolution.

Benjamin

The long-lived donkey who refuses to feel inspired by the

Rebellion. Benjamin firmly believes that life will remain

unpleasant no matter who is in charge. Of all of the animals on

the farm, he alone comprehends the changes that take place,

but he seems either unwilling or unable to oppose the pigs.

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Muriel

The white goat who reads the Seven Commandments to Clover

whenever Clover suspects the pigs of violating their

prohibitions.

Mr. Jones

The often drunk farmer who runs the Manor Farm before the

animals stage their Rebellion and establish Animal Farm. Mr.

Jones is an unkind master who indulges himself while his

animals lack food; he thus represents Tsar Nicholas II, whom

the Russian Revolution ousted.Mr. Frederick

The tough, shrewd operator of Pinchfield, a neighboring farm.

Based on Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Nazi Germany in the 1930s

and 1940s, Mr. Frederick proves an untrustworthy neighbor.

Mr. Pilkington

Foxwood, a neighbouring farm, is run by this easygoing

gentleman farmer. Mr. Pilkington, Mr. Frederick's greatest

adversary, represents the capitalist governments of England

and the United States.

Mr. Whymper

Napoleon employs this human solicitor to represent Animal

Farm in human society. Mr. Whymper's arrival in the Animal

Farm community sparks communication between the farm and

human civilization, scaring the ordinary animals.

Jessie and Bluebell

Two dogs, each of whom gives birth early in the novel.

Napoleon takes the puppies in order to ―educate‖ them.

Minimus

The poet pig who writes verse about Napoleon and pens the

banal patriotic song ―Animal Farm, Animal Farm‖ to replace

the earlier idealistic hymn ―Beasts of England,‖ which Old

Major passes on to the others.

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Module 4

Moby Dick

Introduction to the Author

Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819. After his

father's death, Melville attempted to support his family by

working various jobs, from banking to teaching school. It was

his adventures as a seaman in 1845 that inspired Melville to

write. On one voyage, he was captured and held for several

months. When he returned, friends encouraged Melville to

write about his experience. Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

(Wiley and Putnam, 1846) became his first literary success; the

continuation of his adventures appeared in his second book,

Omoo (Harper & Brothers, 1847). Moby Dick (published in

1851) was his most ambitious work. But this failed attract

audience when it was released. Melville retired to obscurity

after this failure.

Melville died of a heart attack on September 28, 1891, at the

age of 72. It wasn't until the 1920s that the literary public

began to recognize Melville as one of America's greatest

writers.

Plot Summary

Moby-Dick recounts the adventures of the narrator Ishmael as

he sails on the whaling ship, Pequod, under the command of

the monomaniacal Captain Ahab. Melville dedicated the book

to fellow Dark Romantic, Nathaniel Hawthorne: "In token of

my admiration for his genius, this book is inscribed to

Nathaniel Hawthorne." Ishmael believes he has signed onto a

routine commission aboard a normal whaling vessel, but he

soon learns that Captain Ahab is not guiding the Pequod in the

simple pursuit of commerce but is seeking one specific whale,

Moby-Dick, a great white whale infamous for his giant size

and his ability to destroy the whalers that seek him. Captain

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Ahab's wooden leg is the result of his first encounter with the

whale, when he lost both leg and ship. After the ship sails it

becomes clear that Captain Ahab is bent on revenge and he

intends to get Moby-Dick.

Ahab demonstrates erratic behavior from the very beginning

and his eccentricities magnify as the voyage progresses. As the

novel draws to a conclusion, the Pequod encounters the

whaling ship Rachel. The Rachel's captain asks Ahab to help

him in a search and rescue effort for his whaling-crew that

went missing the day before -- and the captain's son is among

the missing. But when Ahab learns that the crew disappeared

while tangling with Moby-Dick he refuses the call to aid in the

rescue so that he may hunt Moby-Dick instead.

The encounter with Moby-Dick brings a tragic end to the

affair. Ishmael alone survives, using his friend Queequeg's

coffin as a flotation device until he is ironically rescued by the

Rachel which has continued to search for its missing crew.

Characters

Ishmael The narrator of the novel is a keen observer, a young

man with an open mind who is wary of Ahab but, like most of

the crew, swept away by the captain's charisma.

Ahab The "grand, ungodly, god-like man" is a deeply complex

figure, one of the most controversial in American literature.

His monomaniacal hunt for Moby Dick dominates the novel's

plot.

Moby Dick The giant sperm whale seems to manipulate his

confrontations with mankind in a manner beyond the capacity

of a leviathan. Critics debate the nature of Moby Dick: whether

he is an allegorical representation of some eternal power, a

representation of Ahab's obsession, or nothing more, literally,

than a whale.

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Queequeg The Polynesian harpooner who opens Ishmael's

mind and eventually — and indirectly — saves his life.

Queequeg is important to the theme of friendship and the value

of diversity.

Father Mapple His sermon at the Whaleman's Chapel sets the

tone for the novel. The message, through the story of Jonah, is

that we must disobey our own desires if we are to learn to obey

God.

Starbuck The chief mate aboard the Pequod. He is the only

one who attempts to stand up to Ahab's obsessive direction of

the ship's purpose. Even he eventually acquiesces.

Fedallah The ancient Asian who is Ahab's harpooner and

spiritual guide. His prophecy regarding Ahab's death

ominously foreshadows the end of the novel.

Pip The cabin boy, who nearly drowns when he is abandoned

during a whale hunt. He discovers painful insights that allow

him an unusual view of reality and temporarily endear him to

Ahab.

Elijah The cryptic prophet who helps to set an early tone of

dark mystery in the novel. He alerts Ishmael to possible

problems with Ahab and secrets aboard the Pequod.

Stubb The second mate. He considers himself to be quite the

wit, but his treatment of Fleece, the cook, is more cruel and

racist than it is amusing.

Perth The ship's blacksmith. His story is an unusual departure

for Melville as it is told with the excessive sentimentality and

predictability of melodrama.

Gabriel The raving Shaker prophet aboard the Jeroboam. He

correctly predicts Ahab's final resting-place.

Bildad A hypocritical Quaker. The co-owner's exchange

regarding Ishmael's pay allows Melville an opportunity for a

little caustic satire.