ii ba/bsc/bcom part-ii - sem-iii notes

8/3/2019 II BA/BSc/BCom Part-II - Sem-III Notes

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“The Dream ” by Somerset Maugham

Introduction:

One of most common yet feared dreams is the experience of falling in dreams or dreams of falling.The dream can be as simple as falling out of bed or as extreme as falling from top of a building,ladder, rooftop, mountain, cliff or even out of an airplane without a parachute, to name just a few.

Yet, regardless of the height the dreamer is falling from in the dream, the experience is terrifying tothe dreamer. As a result, the dreamer generally wakes up hyperventilated, afraid, filled with anxiety,sweating, struggling for each breath he takes, heart pounding in his chest as if it were about toexplode. Somerset Maugham narrates one such experience of a dream that he heard from a Russiantraveller in trans it at Vladivostok, Russia‘s largest port city.

Maugham meets a Russian at a Restaurant:

In August 1917, Somerset Maugham had to make a work-related trip from New York to Petrograd. Asthe trans-Siberian train started at nine in the evening, Maugham dined at the station restaurant. Heshared table with a Russian man whose appearance seemed to entertain him. Soon, both got intoconversation, and the author felt that the Russian was well-learned and that he was on his way back home after a long stint abroad.

The Russian’s Portrayal of his wife’ s Disposition:

The Russian then proceeded to narrate about his life. Stating that he was a widower, he talked a greatdeal about his wife, a Swiss national. He had been married for ten years and lived on perfectlyfriendly terms, but for the fact that his wife had been extremely possessive of her love towards him.

She was small and thin, and she had a bad complexion. She could not bear him to be attracted to anyone but her. Hence, she was jealous not only of the women he knew, but of his friends, his cat and hisbooks too. On one occasion she had even given off his coat because he had liked it so well. TheRussian said that he was puzzled whether it was passionate love or passionate hate that she had forhim.

The Piercing Scream in the Night:

One night, the Russian continued, he was awakened by a piercing scream from his wife. When heasked her the matter, she said that she had had a fearful nightmare in which she had dreamt that hewas trying to kill her by throwing her over the balusters from the sixth floor to the bottom.

The Effect of the frightening Dream on the Wife:

After the dream, the wife was visibly very shaken. Though the Russian did his best to pacify her, thedream dwelt in her mind. She was made to think that he hated her, and would gladly be rid of her, andat some time or the other it had occurred to her that he was even capable of murdering her. TheRussian confessed that even though he had fancied once in a while that his wife might run away witha lover, or that he would die a painless death, never had the idea come to him that he mightdeliberately rid himself of a burden.

The Consequences of the Dream on the Couple’s Life:



Hence, the dream started to have an extraordinary impression on both of them. But the Russianadmitted that he couldn‘t help looking over the balusters and reflect how easy it would be to do whathis wife had dreamt. The balusters were dangerously low. A few months later, one night, his wifewoke him up trembling. She had had the dream again. She burst into tears and asked him if he hatedher. At last she went to sleep again. Now the Russian lay awake. It seemed to him that she was fallingdown the well of the stairs. He was shivering as this thought passed his mind.

The Russian stopped his story at this point, with beads of sweat on his forehead. Maugham waslistening thus far in rapt attention. He poured himself one more round of vodka.

The author could not contain his curiosity and asked him how his wife eventually died. The Russianreplied that she was found by one of the lodgers late one night at the bottom of the stairs with her neck broken.

When the author asked him where he was at the time of her death, the Russian replied that he wasspending the evening with a friend, and could manage to come to the scene of crime only an hour

later.

Conclusion:

Now, it was getting late for the author to go and catch his train, and the author was still perplexedabout the whole story, as he couldn‘t make out wh ether the Russian had murdered his wife or makingout a sarcastic joke at the author‘s expense. Whatever be the motive of the Russian in narrating hisstory, an interpretation of this short story from a psychoanalytical viewpoint, has a lot of symbolismattached to it. According to Sigmund Freud, considered the father of psychoanalysis, all dreams areforms of "wish fulfillment" — attempts by the unconscious to resolve a conflict of some sort. As such,the dreams of falling may signify insecurity in a marriage, relationship, family dynamic, career,workplace and finances. As in the case with this short story where the wife is possessive about herhusband at all times, due to a physical inferiority that she thought she possessed – namely, ―a badcomplexion . Thus, a mong other causes, falling dreams, according to psychologists can also be theresult of an inferiority or inadequacy or lack of self confidence the dreamer has or feels she has withregard to relationships, marriage that is causing the dreamer to feel he is not going to measure up tothe challenges demanded of her.

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PS: The section on interpretation of dreams is from http://social-psychiatry.com/

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“My Grandmother’s House” – Kamala Das

Introduction:

Kamala Das is one of the three most significant Indian poets writing in English today, the other twobeing Nissim Ezekiel and Ramanujan. Her poetry is all about herself, about her intensely felt desirefor love, for emotional involvement, and her failure to achieve such a relationship. In this poem, ―MyGrandmother‘s House Kamala Da s, recalls her ancestral home and her dead grandmother. This poemtakes the form of a confession comparing her present broken state with that of being unconditionallyloved by her grandmother.

Kamala Das as a Confessional Poet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wish_fulfillment

http://social-psychiatry.com/

http://social-psychiatry.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wish_fulfillment



Kamala Das has been called a poet in the confessional mode. The confessional poets deal withemotional experiences which are generally taboo. There is a ruthless self-analysis and a tone of uttersincerity. As E.V.Ramakrishnan rightly says, ―In her poetry, Kamala has always dealt with privatehumiliations and sufferings which are the stock themes of confessional poetry.

Reminiscent of the Poet’s Ancestral Home:

The poem is a reminiscence of the poetess‘ grandmother and their ancestral home at Malabar in Kerala. Her memory of love she received from her grandmother is associated with the image of herancestral home, where she had passed some of the happiest days of her life, and where her oldgrandmother had showered her love and affection. With the death of her grandmother the housewithdrew into silence. When her grandmother died, even the house seemed to share her grief, which is

poignantly expressed in the phrase ―the House withdrew . The house soon became desolate andsnakes crawled among books. Her blood became cold like the moon because there was none to loveher the way she wanted.

Yearning for the Past: Choked with Grief:

The poet now lives in another city, a long distance away from her grandmother‘s house. But thememories of her ancestral house make her sad. She is almost heart-broken. The intensity of heremotions is shown by the ellipses in the form of a few dots. Now, in another city, living another life,she longs to go back. She understands that she cannot reclaim the past but she wants to go back home,look once again through its windows and bring back a handful of darkness – sad and painfulmemories, which she would have made her constant companion, to keep as a reminder of her pasthappiness. The poet is unable to proceed with her thoughts for sometime as is indicated by the ellipses(dots).

The poet is now choked with the intensity of grief. She yearns for love like a beggar going from one

door to another asking for love in small change. Her need for love and approval is not satisfied inmarriage and she goes after strangers for love at least in small quantity. But she does not get it even insmall change or coins. Her love-hunger remains unsatisfied, and there is a big void, a blank withinher, she seeks to fill up with love but to no avail.

The image of the window is a link between the past and the present. It signifies the desire of the poetfor a nostalgic peep into her past and resurrect her dreams and desires.

Conclusion:

The poem springs from her own disillusionment with her expectation of unconditional love from theone she loves. In the poem, the image of the ancestral home stands for the strong support andunconditional love she received from her grandmother. The imagery is personal and beautifullyarticulates her plight in a loveless marriage. Thus, the old house was for her a place of symbolicretreat to a world of innocence, purity and simplicity, an Edenic world where love and happiness arestill possible.

****Our Acknowledgements to:http://www.shvoong.com/ http://www.thegeminigeek.com/who-was-kamala-das/ Anisur Rehman. Expressive Form in the Poetry of Kamala DasRaghukul Tilak. New Indian English Poets and Poetry

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http://www.shvoong.com/

http://www.shvoong.com/



“The Sporting Spirit ” – George Orwell

Introduction:

In the extremely competitive atmosphere in which sports is administered today, every player backedby every nation, would obviously have a strong temptation to take advantage of the gaps in the rulebook, bending the rules to his favour, and conveniently interpreting the law to his advantage. Againstthis backdrop, George Orwell, pleads for the need to understand the importance of demonstratingsportsmanship and set a good example on the sporting field for the others to emulate.

Sports as an Unfailing Cause of ill-will:

In his remarkable essay ―The Sporting Spirit , Orwell grieves over the fact that sport is an unfailingcause of ill-will, and that the visit of the Russian football team Dynamos, has only worsened theAnglo-Soviet relations instead of strengthening it.

Two of the four matches played led to much bad feeling. At the Arsenal match the referee was booedat. At the match in Glasgow, it was a free-for-all right from the start. According to Orwell, footballwas capable of provoking the vicious passions of patriotism, resulting in fresh animosity on bothsides.

The dictum that sports creates goodwill between the nations was a misnomer because, if the commonpeoples of the world could meet one another at football or cricket, they would not have anyinclination to meet on the battlefield. Such is the ferocity and the fervour that flares up, leading toorgies of hatred, something similar to what happened in the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance.

Sports Played for Exercise and Sports played for Prestige:

On the village green, when you pick up sides, no feeling of local patriotism is involved. The game isplayed simply for the fun and exercise. But, as soon as the question of prestige arises, and the momentyou feel that you will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. At theinternational level, sport is mimic warfare. More than the behaviour of the players, it is the attitude of the spectators that aggravates the situation. And that is because of a false notion that running, jumpingand kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.

Even a leisurely game like cricket, demanding grace rather than strength, has caused a lot of ill-will,as seen in the controversy over body-line bowling in the 1921 match between Australia and England.Football, a game in which everyone gets hurt and every nation has its own style of play, is far worse.

Worst of all is boxing. One of the most horrible sights in the world is a fight between white andcoloured boxers before a mixed audience.

Modern Sport and its Ancient Origin:

Orwell then proceeds to inquire into how this modern cult of sport arose. Most of the games we playnow are of ancient origin, but sport was not taken very seriously between Roman times and thenineteenth century. Even in the English public schools the games did not start till the later part of thetwentieth century. So much that, Dr.Arnold, generally regarded as the founder of the modern publicschool, looked on games as simply a waste of time.

Sports today: Heavily financed Activities:



But later on, chiefly in England and in the United States, games were built up into a heavily-financedactivity, capable of attracting vast crowds and rousing savage passions, and the infection graduallyspread from country to country. It is the most violently combative sports like football and boxing, thathave spread the widest. And the whole thing is bound up with the rise of nationalism. Even in theMiddle Ages games were played with much physical brutality but they were not mixed up withpolitics nor were they a cause of group hatreds.

Organised games like these are most likely to flourish in urban communities where the average humanbeing lives a sedentary or confined life and does not get much opportunity for creative labour. Forthese urbanites, Orwell advocates that, when it is not possible to work off surplus energy by walking,swimming, climbing trees, riding horses, one must indulge in group activities if one wants an outletfor one‘s physical strength or for one‘s sadistic impulses.

Conclusion:

Orwell winds up his essay with a fervent plea for good sportsmanship, which, according to him, is oneof the most desirable qualities in any great player. As the Olympic oath majestically declares, ― in thetrue spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams," every player shouldimbibe these qualities of sportsmanship which would go a long way in promoting the sporting spiritbetween nations.

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“The Unknown Citizen” – W.H.AudenIntroduction:

―The Unknown Citizen is a poem by W. H. Auden. Auden wrote it in 1939, shortly after moving

from England to the United States, and the poem gives evidence of his culture shock when suddenlyconfronted with American-style chaos and consumerism. It is an ironic poem and the poet intends hissatire against a society which kills a person‘s individuality.

Significance of the Sub-title:

The sub- title to the poem ―To JS/07/M/378/ This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State alludesto the concept enforced by the government that every human being must be classified by a alpha-numeric tag to distinguish who they are, rather than being able to have their own personal identity.The poet scoffs at humans being given alpha- numeric names when they‘re already struggli ng for theirown personal identity in a world clustered with the advancing technology.

His Office Life and Social Life – Analysed:

The Bureau of Statistics has found that "no official complaint" has been made against the unknowncitizen. He is also described as a "modern" saint, which means that he always served the "GreaterCommunity." He worked in a factory before the war and he never got fired, as he satisfied hisemployers always.

Now the poem shifts from his employment to his social life. Even in his socialising with his friends,the unknown citizen acts with a lot of moderation and restraint. He likes "a drink," but he doesn‘tdrink too much and isn‘t an alcoholic. Even the news media is convinced about the credentials of this citizen because he bought hisnewspaper every day. Moreover, he also had ‗normal‘ reactions to advertisements in the newspapers.In short, he is a good American consumer.



His Insurance and Consumer Statistics – Analysed:

The government‘s statistical coverage on this citizen now turns to the insurance sector. He was fullyinsured, because he was not a risk-taker. And, even though he had insurance, he only went to thehospital once, which means he wasn‘t too much of a burden on the health system. He left the hospital"cured".

Consumer statisticians like Producers Research and High-Grade Living have done a little research andlearned that the unknown citizen used "instalment plans" to buy expensive things. The phrase "fullysensible to the advantages of the Instalment Plan" is an ironic comment on the average citizen‘s lovefor buying things and paying for them over a period of time.

Auden seems to criticise the modern man‘s concept of living wherein we always think we need morethan we really do. In the opinion of the speaker, the following lines “[He] had everything necessary tothe Modern Man, A phonograph, a radio, a car and a Frigidaire”, we get the impression that theunknown citizen‘s greatest accomplishment was buying things, which defines the modern man‘s

predicament.

The Unknown Citizen – A Conformist:

The "researchers into Public Opinion" find him a conformist, which means that he believed what thepeople around him seemed to believe. He was like a weather vane, going whichever way the windblew.

The fact that ― He was married and added five children to the population,” is a great achievementfrom the perspective of the State because a growing population usually helps a nation‘s economy andalso ensures that there are enough soldiers in case of a War (remembering the fact that this poem waswritten in 1939, just ahead of World War II).

At the home front, the Bureau of Statistics finds him to be a good parent because he never interferedwith the education of his kids which was a State-sponsored education.

Was he Free? Was he Happy?

The poet ends by asking two questions – "Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Hadanything been wrong, we should certainly have heard. This statement shows that even though thegovernment knows each and every statistics and facts going on in one‘s life, they don‘t know theactual feelings or meaning to one‘s life. In other words, from the perspective of the State, it is muchmore important that people are not unhappy, and it does not matter whether they experience personalfulfilment or not.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the world today is constantly progressing to be more technology efficient but on theother side of the spectrum, humans are striving to have their own personal identities and to bedifferent from one another. On the contrary, the ―Unknown Citizen is in fact just following the verytypical, normal, and average life style instead of being different and striving for individualism. Thepoem is thus a satire of standardization at the expense of individualism.

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Our acknowledgements are due to:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Citizen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_Citizen





www.cms.gcg11.org and http://www.usingenglish.com/ for the valuable inputs we got in constructing thislesson summary.

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“She” – Lakshmi Kannan

Introduction:

The ―She of the poem has no name and no distinct identity, and yet she is such a common feature of every household in India that she comes through to us without any difficulty. In a patriarchal milieuwoman is regarded as a nonentity and consequently no attempt is made to give her a distinct identity.Although on the surface she has a look of well-being, she experiences great distress deep within.

In each of the three sections of the poem, Lakshmi Kannan presents elaborate description of theexternal attributes/circumstances of the woman‘s existence against the background of which a peepinto her inner life is provided.

Woman’s Lack of Self -expression in a Patriarchal Society: In the opening section, the poet delineates a woman who is elegantly and tastefully dressed, creating avision of a modern woman who wears tight-fitting clothes that smack of western culture. There isabout her an aura of confidence as she glibly pronounces ―value judgements. But beneath this suaveand self- assured appearance there lurks a person who is tense and insecure (―tight and spring -tense ).Both before and after marriage, in most upper and upper middle class families, girls enjoy the luxuryof expensive clothes and the benefit of liberal education, but their inner, authentic voice remainsunarticulated. Lack of self-expression leads to dissatisfaction and even depression.The ―well-tailored clothes suggest a lifestyle designed for her and into which she is fitted. Theclothes constitute a mask (of what a woman should look like and be) that has obscured the real person.Even the―value judgements are probably not her own. Rather, these are the dictates of a patriarchal

society. So, while the woman appears comfortable, the repressed real self is ―tight and spring-tense.

Emotional and Psychological Sterility of the Woman at Home:

In the second section, the scene shifts to the luxury and comfort in which ―She lives. The house islooked upon as a living creature gleaming ―with clean health and ― breathing an air of unclutteredease. Every room is spick -and-span and with eye- catching decor, enough to make a woman ―house -

proud. However, in this instance, the woman is not genuinely proud but is forced into being so: ―Sheneeds to be. In the absenc e of any other significant or creative achievement, she needs must feel―house- proud. Or, perhaps, it is a stereotype response that a woman in a patriarchal society is obligedto feel. In spite of all the material comforts, the woman experiences emotional sterility at the core of her being and this is suggested by the lines: ―the floor swept clean/as her empty heart. Paradoxically,

while the house enjoys ―clean health and breathes ―an air of uncluttered ease, the woman ispsychologically and emotionally ill at ease with her role (home maker) that denies her opportunities of a fuller and more meaningful realisation of the self.

The Woman’s Inner Chaos – Contrasted with the Orderliness of the Garden:

In the concluding section, the woman‘s life is viewed against the backdrop of life outside the house.Through the open door she has a glimpse of the orderly ―backgarden and the ―lengthening shadowof her person. One gets the impression that life has quietly slipped her by and she is left with longingand loneliness. The oppressive silence of the house rings in her ears. The inner chaos is in sharpcontrast to the orderliness of the life of nature as symbolised by the garden. The mango tree is in full

bloom with the sudden appearance of ―glossy leaves that s hine like copper on the branches. Thenthere is the ―sweet -throated song of the birds. In the midst of so much joy all she can feel is the―pealing stillness and ―the pain of memories of a once pleasant past.



http://www.usingenglish.com/

http://www.usingenglish.com/



Growth in the Context of Woman Vs Nature:

To heighten the woman‘s predicament Lakshmi Kannan suggests that while nature registers a growthand renewal, the woman has remained static – virtually living in a limbo. The only visible growthabout her is the lengthening of her shadow. Apart from suggesting the process of ageing, the―lengthening shadow implies that her real, inner self has been arrested and the false, social imagethat she has acquired has assumed a larger dimension, however insubstantial it may be.

Conclusion:

In the concluding line s of the poem, we see the woman looking at the eagle ―soaring above in circleswith its ―shrill notes tearing the vast expanse of the blue sky. This spectacle of total freedom of movement and expression serves as a painful reminder of her own social confinement. The unfetteredlife of the creatures of nature highlights by contrast the slavery of woman. For example, the eyes of the kite are ―frankly red and angry as it cries out at some injustice or loss, but the woman sufferssilently. Even the note of protest is muted.

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(Notes for “She” by Dr.P.Rajani, Retd Professor of English, MCC)

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ii ba/bsc/bcom part-ii - sem-iii notes

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