Heritage of words

 Summaries for Heritage of Words

Summaries (XII English – compulsory and major) Prepared by Mahesh Paudyal

A Child is Born

This essay basically contrasts the western and eastern ways of looking at child birth. In the traditional eastern societies, childbirth is a social and familiar occasion. The mother, who conducts the pregnancy is given psychological and moral support. She is supported from every angle. In many societies women are formally accepted in the mother-in-law's house only after she bears a child. The Western people criticize this tradition. Even in conferences the westerners dominate the minorities, and they impose their views. In the traditional eastern families a child's relationship with the extended family is considered more important. Children are therefore born not merely at the will of the parents, but under the pressure of the group and the relatives. By bearing a child, a woman uphold a family desire. A pregnant mother is taken great care. The baby and the mother are given new clothes and great feasts are organized. Women are even sent to their mother's houses as a reward. In Bangladesh, children under the age of five or six are looked after by the whole family. They are given collective baths. They play outside with natural objects and in the afternoon, they are told fairy tales. But at night, they sleep with their mothers. The western medical science has generated a lot of problems in the traditional east. The patients are given strong dozes of medicines, which cost a lot. In some delivery wards in developing Africa women can be seen growing with pain in pools of blood during delivery. The doctors and the nurses watch them but they keep them busy with machines and ignore the actual struggle of the women. This is devastating. If it continues, women will not offer their bodies and minds to such cruel acts. They need moral support and love; medicine is not enough. They need to be praised for their courage. The author is of the opinion that occasional natural deaths in tradition society control birth, and has positive ramification. The traditional eastern ways of looking at births and treating mothers is far better than the mundane, mechanical western methods, where birth is reduced to a mere physical, clinical privacy of an individual woman.                                           

Anton Chekhov's "About Love"

'About Love' by Anton Chekhov gives a realistic treatment to the idealistic theme: LOVE. Love is a great mystery and this is the only truth about love. A statement other than this about love cannot have a universal validity. Love is not always what we tend to explain it to be. It develops even in the oddest and the most unexpected places without any justifiable reason. Nikanor, an old and ugly cook, falls in love with young and beautiful Pelageya, who wants to live 'just so' without getting married. Alyohin's one-time girl friends puts questions related to her monthly wages and the price of beef, when in the ecstasy of love, he wants to discuss celestial things that idealize love. The legally married life of Anna and Luganovich lacks trust and confidence even though they have children and have been living together for many years. Alyohin, a confidant of the Luganovich family, falls in intense love with Anna and the latter too acknowledges the same, though both of them know that their love is erupting in an unusual situation. This new relations fosters the breaking of the Luganovich family, and culminates in their mere confession of love for each other inside the railway compartment, and not in marriage, or any other sort of conjugate life. Everywhere contrasts, ironies and paradoxes surround love. It is not everytime as pure and ideal as the world tends to define it. Many times it is surrounded by ugly realties, which are not very often exposed.

The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship

 The story is the description of a boy's imagination that begins with a child's faint fantasy and ends with a matured man's strong and confident assertion. Many years ago, the boy sees a huge ship in the bay, sailing in the opposite direction. It appears in darkness, and disappears when the light of the lighthouse falls on it. It strikes the sand bars, breaks into pieces and sinks without a sound. This puzzles the boy, but doesn't tell anyone. He thinks that but a dream. The next March, he again sees the ship. This time, he told his mother and implored that she should watch with him. The mother says he had gone mad, but ultimately agrees to watch. But she has to go the market to get a new chair and so, she asks a boatman to go with her and see what he sees. He doesn't see the ghost ship, but sees the fish and hairs of dead people and animals floating in the sea. The mother dies of excitation, and she could never see it. The boy as an orphan hates to live on charity. She opts to steal fish and live. So he often goes to the sea. Another March night, he sees a big whale and shouts at the bystanders to watch. They beat him instead and twist him. He resolves that he would prove them he is. On the eve of the appearance of the ship next March, he rows his stolen boat in the bay. There was the ship, huge and fearful, moving again in the wrong direction. He sees a lot of drowned animals floating. Suddenly it occurs to him that he should lit his lantern, and this time, the ship corrects its motion, and doesn't disappear. The animals corpses go the bottom, and everything appears normal. He rows his boat in front of the ship, as though he were guiding the pilot. All of a sudden, a whistle burst forth, and a dazzling light brightened the village, and the ship broke. The boy was satisfied to see the disbelievers looking at the ghost ship, the largest of the ships they had ever seen in their life; a ship ninety seven times bigger and the village, and taller than the church. The boy proves his strength and manliness.

Ray Young Bear's Grandmother

 Some terms Diaspora: A person, living in a foreign land Nostalgia: A feeling of remembering the past, a tendency to go back to one's own past Image: A picture (visual picture, taste, temperature, smell, sensation) produced in the mind by words. Idiosyncrasy: A writer's own personalized style of using language unconventionally. Simile: Comparing two things for one similar quality. It is identified by the use of works like as, like, similar to, same as, just like, etc. SUMMARY The poet, who lives in a foreign land far away from his original homeland, remembers many minute details of his dead grandmother. He can tell that it is she, if he sees from a mile away the purple scarf on her head and the plastic shopping bag she used to carry. He can remember the touch of the damp hands that bore the smell of the roots. Those hands had the warmth of love that he misses today. If he hears a voice coming from the stones in the jungle, he is reminded of his grandmother's words, and the words enter his ear like the light from a dying fire that enters the observer's eye when it is stirred at night. Meaning Purple scarf: A cultural element. By this symbols he wants to remind us of a culture he is missing. Plastic Shopping Bag: The loving and caring nature of the grandmother. She used to go the market and bring things for the family. Roots: Beet roots, tapioca, yam or the like. It reminds of the agricultural background of the poets family in his land. Warm and Damp: Hard-working personality of the poet's grandmother. Her hands are damp because she works, and are warm because she bears the warmth of love. Rock: It is symbolic of death. The grandmother is dead, and the poet remembers her posthumously. Images: Visual (seeing): Purple scarf, plastic shopping bag, and fire coming from the stirred ambers. Tactile (touch): Touch of her hand, warm and damp Olfactory (Smell): Smell of the root Audio (hearing): Her words, coming from the rock.

I Have a Dream

The present text is a speech delivered by Martin Luther King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. His is addressing a mass of American Negros who had been assured emancipation by Lincoln a century back, and has been denied till today. The Negroes feel that they are neglected and discriminated, and forced to live as exiles in their won land. Only the whites have enjoyed all rights and privileges. King appeals for a peaceful struggle. Racial injustice, he believes will make America a weaker nation. The Negro community, he appeals, should not take rest until they are given their due. He dreams of an America where the police does not torture the blacks. When they are tired, they must be allowed rooms in the hotels and motels. They should get the right to vote. King encourages the mass to keep fighting till justice and freedom are guaranteed. They should not lose hopes, because one day or rather, they are sure to get what they are seeking today. His dream is the rooted in the dreams of all Americans, and they cannot walk alone. The whites and blacks should walk hand in hand. Man's merit should be judged, not the color of the skin. A sweet music of liberty should be heard coming from all parts of America, and freedom should come to everyone.

The Boarding House

 Mooney, a butcher's daughter marries one of her father's servants. After her father dies, they take up the business. But the husband turns out to be a drunkard, and the family relation weakens. One day, he chases Mooney with a knife. She takes shelter in a neighbor's house and saves her life. Soon, their family breaks and Mooney moves out with her children and some money. With ii, she starts a boarding house. Tourists and visitors came and stayed there. Polly, the daughter of Mrs. Mooney is a young girl of nineteen. She is beautiful with soft hair and a small mouth. Her eyes are grey and green and they look up at the ceiling when she spoke with everyone. Mrs. Mooney engages her in household works so that she could meet young and handsome men and get a nice husband. Soon, Polly starts having affairs with Mr. Doran, a young businessman who lodged in the boarding house. Late one night, Polly comes to his room in night clothes. He smells her skin and they are engaged in sex. This continues for many nights. Even on those days when Doran comes late, Polly give served him fresh dinner. People in the house begin to talk about them, but Mrs. Mooney keeps quiet. But Mr. Doran feels uneasy about the whispers. One morning, Mary a waiter comes and tells Mr. Doran that Mrs. Mooney wants to see him. He feels bitter, as he knows that he is trapped. Down, they talk and probably, Mr. Doran is made to marry Polly. But, he wants to clear certain things with Polly.

The Children Who Wait

 In this essay, the author advocates for changing norms in questions related to the adoption of children. All kinds of children are adoptable at present. There was a time when only white healthy children could be adopted. But now Timmy, a five and a half year old child suffering from alcoholic syndrome had been legally considered adoptable. He social worker is seeking for a host family to adopt her, preferably black or biracial family with other children. Tammy may show the stoppage of mental growth at any time, the family should overlook this. There are many factors that have contributed to this changed outlook about adoption. Various civil right movements, birth control, changing social values, social sciences research are some of them. Healthy babies are not available for adoption, and so, interested parents are even going for unhealthy children for adoption. This had increased the frequency of adopted children. Between 1960 and 1978, the number of children in the foster home reached half a million. It was quite expensive to confine them in foster home, and this could also lead them to cruelty and criminal tendencies. So the social workers are trying hard to find homes for them. The social workers should find families according to the nature of the children to be adopted. For example, for a fifteen year old boy who is bad at school and who keeps on fighting, a strong male who allows him reasonable freedom and who sets some control could be fine. For an eleven year old boy with Down's syndrome, a heart defect and a hearing disability, a religious family of working class would be suitable. The social workers should also change their attitudes. They must advocate that handicapped children too are adoptable. They should hold regular meetings, and make advertisements. It can then be hoped that all sort of children will find families to adopt them, one day or the other.

W.B Yeats' "Lamentation of the Old Pensioner"

Like in many of his other poems, WB Yeats has taken up TIME as the subject of this poem. Time to him is a very powerful force, and it imposes on man certain unwanted and unwelcome changes. He is an old man taking rest under a broken tree when it is raining. The rain curtails his motion anywhere, and the broken tree, weak and destined to perish like himself, is not likely to shelter him. He remembers his youthful time, when he used to be an active participant in discussions about love and poetry. Boys around him are still busy making pikes and hatching conspiracies against their adversaries, as he used to in his youthful days. That used to be time, when beautiful girls in love would surround him. But today, as he takes shelter under the tree, no woman turns her face towards him. A mere memory the past inhabits his mind. He is angry at the cruel time, and spits in its ugly face to show his anger. Theme: Time is very powerful. You welcome it or not, it will impose on you certain imminent changes. Accept it. You cannot win a battle against time.

Two Long Term Problems

 As many as fifteen hundred Nobel laureates in 1992 issued a warning that the human activities are inflicting harsh damages on the environment and soon many species may die out. The Royal Society of London and the US National Academy in the same year suggested that the future of the earth lies in a balance between the human activities and the environment. Yes, the world is already overpopulated. Environment is deteriorating and many animal species like the great auk, passenger pigeon,, the moa and the cetaceans are extinct. Because of indiscriminate deterioration of forest, and pollution, the environment is no longer safe for living freely. Every year more than 80 million people are added to the world's population. In Nepal alone, a mere population of 9 million in 1951 is more than 2.5 million now, which in 2028 may cross the watermark of 46 million. The maximum

pressure in seen on the forest. Less than 20% of the world area is under forest now. Deforestation has multiplied the risk of respiratory diseases. In the US more than 60,000 people die of respiratory diseases every year. Desertification, depletion of renewable resources, ozone layer depletion are some other alarming effects of deforestation. To deliver ourselves from this havoc, we should control population. Germany and Sweden have already set examples by controlling their population. Modernization, literacy, media campaign, and easily available means of family planning and contraceptives can be instrumental. Forestation and recycling should be encouraged. Alternative technologies should be developed; smokeless chulhas should be used. More than anything, we should bring change in our attitude and our action, if we want to secure a world for our future generations to come. Women's Business Lydia Pinkham became famous for her product that healed feminine a problem. She combined her business with women's rights, temperance and economic reform and hence quickly rose to esteem. She also encouraged women to approach female doctors. She claimed that her product could solve other female related problems like hysteria, nervousness and even marital conflicts. Following Lydia, other women too tried their hands in business, but they earned more than what they served. Elizabeth and Helena emphasized on their glamorous role, and they married European aristocrats. Grossinger ran a hotel for food and entertainment. Margaret Rudkin marketed the additive free bread that she had developed of her asthmatic son. Elizabeth Arden introduced her own cosmetics, and also gave other health care advices. Helena Rubinstein sold books on the advantage of eating raw food. Gertrude Muller invented child care products and preached about child rearing, and got support from many angles. Annie Turbo Malone ran a hair dressing business. She ran schools and training centers too. Because many of them earned more than their service, government had to interfere and crack down their business. Few women like Lydia survived because they could connect their business with true social service. They too are not purely innocent, because Lydia herself sold liquor even as she supported temperance.

Purgatory

 Purgatory is a play that carries the typical Yeatsian themes of Life-Time Correlation. It shoots beyond the ethereal experience of living and projects of life and experiences after death. Bring presents a cyclical view of experiences from life to death and back to life. An old man grows up in a culture of violence and acquires such traits. His father had had a very rough upbringing. He never was in good terms with his mother. He would undertake adultery and drinks, and the axe of his intoxication would fall on his mother, who faithfully served her husband as a newly married bride. The man takes is as a server crime upon a poor soul, and stabs his father to death. Later, he finds in himself the vestiges of his father's crime. There is an unconscious communication with the culture his father established. He also has an uneven marriage, and an uneven life. Crimes come prodigally in his life too and he strongly feels that he inherited from his father. He has a son, who often questions the authenticity of his fatherhood as he has failed to nourish the son with right culture and right education. One day, when the man comes to his father's house to see how it stands, the son puts a question on his integrity as a father and asks if he could murder him as he had murdered his father for going wrong. This puts the man on the altar of spiritual crisis rising out of sense of guilt and self-pity and in a fit of rage kills his son. He validates this crime by saying that the death of his son deletes all possibility of inheriting the crime in that family line, because his father was dead, and killing of his son deletes the chance of getting any other children with the same crime-infected blood. But, this doesn’t solve the problem. The phantom of his dead mother and the sounds of hoof the horses

continue coming. It means that the earthly explanation of dead souls is not valid. Their needs and nature do not conform to our ordinary explanation, and it is meaningless to draw their cases down to earth and view them from our petty human perspective. Moreover, one crime can not be a reason to clean the blot of other crimes. We can not always escape the charges of our crimes by directing them towards others. A groom working in the house of a well-to-do family marries the landlord's daughter. He receives of property. They get a son too. The man is a drunkard, and spends the entire property of his wife in drinks, gambling and prostitution. When the son reaches sixteen years old, the father burns the house in a fit of intoxication. He can no longer tolerate the extravagant and cruel nature of his father, and stabs him to death. To escape the trial, he runs away and becomes a trader. Today is the anniversary of the marriage of his parents, and he has come to have a look at the house. He has his son with him. They are standing in front of the ruined house with a bare tree at its back. It is a moonlit night, but the house is eclipsed by a black shadow of the cloud. This is the hose where the peddler had been born. His father had not sent him to school, but he had learnt something from his neighbors and others. The old man is occupied by the sad memory of the past. He sees the image of his mother, young and freshly married, standing by the window; waiting for his father. He also hears the trot-trot of the hoofs of his father's horse, and imagines that his father is returning home from a pub, to his mother. He shouts at his mother not to allow the drunker man to touch her, because that touch will impregnate her and a child, who carries the bad blood, will be born. Even as the man tells his story, the boy remarks that he was a mad man. In the mean time, he grabs the man's money bag and claims his share as a son. He complains that as a father he had done nothing for him. He had not even given him any education, and so, it was right for him to kill him as he had killed his own father. At the climax of this struggle, the boy too sees the phantom of his grandmother in the window. But this doesn't last long because the old man stabs the child to death. He is happy that he has put the possible continuity of the polluted blood to an end. He hopes that the mother's image will now disappear and the sounds of the hoofs will be silent. But they continue. He concludes that the unfulfilled desires of his dead mother will always remain unfulfilled. Hopelessly he prays to God to have mercy on the tormented souls.