Refund Fritz Karinthy - Summary

Refund

Fritz Karinthy

Fritz Karinthy is a well know short story writer who wrote the one act play “Refund” in the year 1938. This is the story of a former student Wasserkopf, who demands that his tuition should be refunded because he feels his education was worthless. But he loses his fight when he is tricked by the mathematics master.  The play “Refund” is full of humour which deals with an extraordinarily absurd situation.

Wasserkopf is forty years old. He could not get any job and wherever he goes people tell him that he is fit for nothing. One day he meets Leaderer and asks him about his business. When Leaderer tells him about foreign exchange and Hungarian money, he could not able to understand anything and starts asking questions about foreign exchange. Leaderer says when Wasserkopf does not know the silly thing then what had he studied? He better can go to the school and get his tuition fees back. Wasserkopf who is jobless and does not have any finance, thought this idea as something beneficial. So he went to the school where he studied once.

Wasserkopf wanted the refund of his tuition fees which were paid eighteen years ago because he was taught badly. When he asks for it, the principal is shocked. The principal is in a peculiar situation now and he calls for an urgent meeting with all other staff members. The masters realized that Wasserkopf’s real intention was to fail in the exam and claim the refund. Therefore, they decided to outsmart the old student by proving all his answers right. The Mathematics Master said that they had to be united and ought to help each other in implementing their plan. The exam was an oral one as Wasserkopf’s refusal to write. They decide that whatever answers he gives whether it is right or wrong they will prove him right.

The first question was from the History Master. The Master asked him how many years the ‘Thirty Years’ war lasted. The answer was in the question itself. But Wasserkopf, who was keen on giving wrong answers, said that the ‘Thirty Years war’, lasted seven metres. The History Master did not know how to prove this answer right. Fortunately for him, the Mathematics master aided him by proving that the answer was right on the basis of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The Master argued that time and space are relative terms and therefore years can be represented in terms of meter. The war took place during half of each day, three hours a day to eat, hours given up to noon day, so totally seven years.  The actual time spent in fighting was seven years and it has been by Einstein’s equivalence of seven meters. Wasserkopf called the History Master a numskull.

 The Physics Master asked Wasserkopf whether clocks in church become smaller if one walks away from it or is it because of optical illusion.  He called The Physics master as an ass.  The master says that the answer is correct because ass does not have any illusion of vision. Therefore, Wasserkopf has given a metaphorical explanation. Wasserkopf called him a cannibal.

     The Geography Master asks Wasserkopf for the name of a city which has the same name as the capital of German Providence of Brunswick.  He replied as ‘Same’.  Master said it as the correct answer.  There was a legend that once as the emperor Barbarossa was riding in the city, he met a young peasant (farmer) girl, who was munching a bun mouthful.  He called out her God Bless you and asked her the name of the city, she answered same to you sir for his wishes, and Emperor mistaken the city name as ‘Same’.

One by one each teacher justified his wrong answer to be correct one and they mark him excellent. Though Wasserkopf gives wrong answers and use abusive words to each teacher, they donot show their anger because they have to prove him as an excellent student.

At last the mathematics master asks him a difficult question and an easy question. For the easy question he gives wrong answer and the master gets angry and says that he has failed in his examination so he should be given his tuition fees back. The master says that they have decided to give him his tuition fees back and asks for the exact amount which he has to get. Wasserkopf without knowing that he is going to fall into their trap gives them the list of exact amount. The mathematics master says that was his difficult question and he gave the right answer. Now he is proved excellent in the entire subject and they throw him out without allowing him to say anything further. It shows the ability of the teachers to manage the situation and how they tackle Wasserkopf without spoiling the reputation of their school.

                           

The Boy Comes Home A.A.Milne - summary

The Boy Comes Home

A.A.Milne

“The Boy Comes Home” is a comedy that discusses many serious issues in a light manner. The title refers to a boy who has come back to his home after some years. The first theme is the conflict between generations. Uncle James who thinks highly of discipline is disappointed when Philip does not follow it. Philip, the representative of the young, wishes to enjoy his freedom after four years of strict discipline at the war front.

Philip is a young man of 23. He lives with Uncle James who is his patron. He has returned home after four years of war. Philip gets up late in the morning because he has just come home the previous night. He calls the maid Marry and asks her to bring breakfast for him. Uncle James keeps a strict discipline in the house. According to his orders, breakfast is served at eight. Philip has problem with Mary because of this. Philip handles her very cleverly.

Aunt Emily is very much impressed and tells Uncle James that Philip is mature and responsible. The war has greatly affected Philip’s personality. Before going to the war, Philip was just like an inexperienced boy. Now he is like a grown up man. Before going to the war, he used to do what he was asked to do. Now he makes his own decisions and nobody can dictate him. Army has taught him something. He is different now.

Uncle James comes to see Philip. He wants to ask him to join his jam business. But just before Philip’s entry into the room, he goes to sleep. In his dream, he meets Philip. He orders him to join jam business. However, Philip wants to learn some profession. Uncle James thinks that Philip is just like a schoolboy and he cannot choose a career for himself. To prove that he is mature, Philip relates his experience at Somme during the war.

It happened that Philip’s company was in a trench. The German knew about them. The Germans killed the company commander. After his death, now Philip was the company commander. They had lost about half the company by that time. It was a very difficult situation and he had great responsibility on his shoulders. Lives of many soldiers depended on him. He took a very mature and responsible decision. He moved the company to the other trench. Then he went back to the C.O. and told him that he had moved. That incident and responsible of many lives changed him as a matured man of aged 25 or 35 or even 45.However, Uncle James still insists on his own decision. He threatens to use the power of the purse. At this, Philip takes out a revolver and a bomb out of his pocket and frightens Uncle James to death. He agrees to do what Philip wants.

In the meanwhile, Uncle James wakes up. He is now a changed man. When Philip actually comes to talk to him, he is rather confused and repeats the same things what Philip has said in his dream. He behaves in a very appropriate and considerate way to Philip. He asks him if wants to be an architect but Philip is not interested in it. Later Philip agrees to join the jam business. Uncle James is not sure about his dream.

Summary of A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

John Donne

John Donne is famous for his metaphysical poetry. The poem “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" was written in 1611. When Donne was about to travel to France and Germany, he wrote this poem for his wife Ann as a valediction, or farewell speech. This poem is famously claimed as a metaphysical poem. The term “metaphysical” means preoccupation with philosophy. The metaphysical poetry is famous for its startling images and conceits (an imaginative or fanciful comparison or metaphor).  Metaphysical poets see resemblances in things which are unlike. They often use complex and concrete metaphors to look at complicated metaphysical ideas—such as love, death. For example in “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” Donne brings out the metaphysical elements thus 1) Spiritual love is compared to the death of a holy man. 2) Love is compared to pure gold. 3)  parallel between the relationship of his and his lady’s soul to the coordinated movements of the compasses.

          Throughout the poem the speaker describes the nature of love he and his wife share. He states that real love cannot be defeated by distance and it does not end at the thought of being separated. The poem concludes with the belief that real love is powerful and unbeatable. It proves that love is the central theme of the poem.

The poem is in 9 stanzas using many poetic devises. The first stanza begins with a metaphysical conceit. It is an extended simile that compares the death of virtuous men to the separation of the lovers. The poem begins with describing how virtuous men die. As they lived with good qualities they are not afraid of death. They encourage their souls to leave their bodies and die "mildly". They die so quietly that their friends gathered around the deathbed argue on whether they are still alive or not. The poet tells his lady love that like the wise men they too should accept their separation silently with no tears or sighs. If they weep or sighs, it would be disrespectful to their divine love. True lovers are like high priests of the church (clergy) while ordinary lovers are compared with the members of the congregation (laity). (Hyperbole is a hallmark of metaphysical poetry that means exaggerated statements. Here tear is compared to flood and sigh is to tempests).

Donne contrasts disturbance on earth with those in heaven. The earthquakes destroy buildings; create natural calamities, killing thousands of people. But the movement of the trepidation of the spheres is so great and powerful compared with the earthquake. It is so silent and does not create any destruction. Similarly the spiritual love between the narrator and his ladylove is very strong compared with the earthly love of ordinary people. The ordinary lovers love in their senses and not in their spirit. So they need physical touch for their love. The word ‘absence’ is used as ‘not being present’. It means that ordinary lovers’ do not get sensual pleasures and therefore their life is very dull. Therefore when such lovers get separated, their love decreases and fades like the moon. On the other hand the spiritual lovers do not need the presence of each other. The poet says that their love is not based on sensual satisfaction. As it is a pure love that even they themselves cannot define it. As they feel confident in their love, their physical separation—the absence of eyes, lips, and hands—causes them less worry.

The speaker of the poem tells his lady love that their souls are one in the spirit and inseparable. Their true love is compared to pure gold (simile). When gold is hammered, it does not break but it expands to thin air and becomes invisible. The comparison of true love to pure gold is quite unlike subjects. Similarly their love will not break but expand by keeping them together during their separation.

The lover tells his ladylove that they are physically two and they are compared with a pair of compasses. The one remaining fixed when the other is revolving round. It always bends inward to the centre. It is the firmness of one foot that holds the other in its circle.  Similarly it is the firmness of one’s love for the other makes the circle of life complete and loyal to each other.

Ozymandias by P. B. Shelley. summary

Ozymandias

P. B. Shelley.

P.B Shelly’s “Ozymandias” is a sonnet. Though the poem is written in the style of sonnet, it does not follow the traditional structure of sonnet. Ozymandias was the name by which Ramses II was known to the Greeks. He was famous for the number of architectural structure and his own statue he has created during his ruling period. Shelly by knowing the shattered condition of the statue wrote this poem to convey a moral that powerful people and their power is only temporary. The poem is written in first person narration.

The poet begins the poem in a story like manner about his meeting of a traveller form an antique land. It is understood that the traveller is from Egypt and he narrates his travel experiences to the poet. The traveller tells the speaker a story about an old, fragmented statue in the middle of the desert. He describes seeing two vast legs of a statue without the upper part of the body. Near those legs the face of the statue, half destroyed was lying half sunk in the sand. Though the face is shattered, one could read the expressions of the face. The face looks stern and powerful, like a ruler. The traveller appreciated the sculptor who portrayed the expressions of the king well. He imitated the expressions of the king by absorbing it in his heart. Here the writer indicates the immortality and superiority of art.

          The traveller tells about an inscription at the foot of statue. The inscription reveals it as Ozymandias, king of Kings. He proudly asks the people who pass by to look at his work to know his superiority and to feel sad as no one can create such wonderful monuments like Ozymandias. Contradictory to the proud statement the next line reveals the reality of life. Nothing was remaining in the desert. The vast area was covered with destruction and decay. Bareness and the loneliness of the area indicate the powerless condition of humans.

The Ballad of Father Gilligan by W.B Yeats summary

The Ballad of Father Gilligan

W.B Yeats

W.B Yeats’ “The Ballad of Father Gilligan” is written in the style of ballad with twelve stanzas of four lines. Ballad is a simple narrative poem written in a simple language. The theme of the poem is about the presence of God everywhere and his love for all. The poem is about a miracle happened in the life of Father Gilligan, an old priest.

          The poem begins with the introduction of Peter Gilligan, an old priest.  He helps his people, who are under his church. Half of his people are in death bed or buried under the ground due to sickness. He treats the sick people and conducts funeral for the dead. He treats them day and night and thus becomes very tired. One day due to his tiredness he is about to sleeps on his chair. The presence of insects indicates it as evening.  At that time someone calls for the priest’s help. The priest feels upset about being called. His continuous help to the needy people and his tiredness makes him to get upset. Because of his tiredness he says that he does not have rest, happiness or peace as people under his parish die continuously. Immediately he feels sorry for saying such words. He begs God to forgive him because those words are spoken by his body and not by him.

Father Gilligan kneels down on the floor to get forgiveness from God. He leans on the chair and prays and due to his tiredness he sleeps. Now the insects have gone and the stars begin to appear. As night starts the sky is filled with stars. Due to the flow of wind leaves are falling from the trees. God covers the world with darkness and speaks slowly to mankind.

Chirping of sparrows indicate the early hours of morning time. The insects come once again. At that time Father Gillian wakes up from his sleep. He is shocked to know that he slept for a long time. He blames himself by saying that the person who needed his help might have died. He wakes his horse and rides very fast. He rides rashly over narrow roads and wet lands and reaches the sick man’s house. By seeing the Father, the sick man’s wife wonders that he has come again.

Father Gilligan asks whether the man died and the wife replies that he died an hour ago. In sadness the priest walks to and fro. The woman replies that after the priest leaves he died in a peaceful manner. Hearing such word Father Gilligan kneels on the floor. He says that God has made the stars at night to comfort the souls. God might have sent one of His angels to help him. God is a king in purple colour robes and takes care of all the planets. It shows that god has many big responsibilities. Even with such responsibility God had pity on a simple person like Father Gilligan when he slept. Father Gilligan feels grateful to God for being kind and merciful to him. The poem shows the love and care of God for whom all the lives are equal and important. 

Summary of The Village Schoolmaster by Oliver Goldsmith

                                                            The Village Schoolmaster

Oliver Goldsmith

The poem "The Village Schoolmaster" by Oliver Goldsmith is an extract from his famous poem The Deserted Village. The word "village" in the title clearly suggests that the poem is set in a rural area, probably where the speaker lived. The poem portrays a realistic picture and the speaker's sentiments about a teacher. The Schoolmaster presented in the poem might be the poet’s teacher Thomas Byrne. The poem is about the characteristics of the Schoolmaster who is respected by all the villagers due to his knowledge and interest in reading. It also talks about how things could change in the course of time, a kind of looking back at past.

The village school master runs his little school in a small village. The poem starts with a description of the location of the school. The school is situated next to an irregular fence which is dilapidated and also leaning over. The road leading towards the school is lined with flowers, which are not being admired or appreciated by the people. The school is mentioned as a ‘noisy mansion’ following the rules of the school master. The village teacher is equipped to manage a class and teaches his lessons there. He is a very strict disciplinarian and also a stern person to observe. The speaker says that he and all other truants know him well because they have undergone the master’s rage. The students have learnt to sense the mood of the teacher by observing his face. The day’s trouble is noticed from his forehead.

The school master is a contradiction. Although he is strict, he is kind and good-humoured. He tells many jokes. Whenever he tells some jokes, the children laugh with pretended joy.  If they notice any sign of anger on his face they will spread the news throughout the classroom. But basically the schoolmaster is a kind man. If at all he has any fault, it is because of his intense love for learning.

The schoolmaster is admired and respected by the villagers. Everyone in the village praise him for his great knowledge. He can write, do mathematics, and predict weather patterns and tides. It is also assumed that he can do accurate survey and determine borders easily. He can also debate intelligently and have discussions with the village parson, a person who was greatly respected by his parishioners. The master uses difficult words and emotional language to convince and impress the poorly educated village people. The parson also accepts the master’s skill in debate. Sometimes even after being defeated in arguments, the schoolmaster continue to speak. The village people wonder how his small head could contain so much knowledge.

Though the poem presents the pleasant remembrances of the poet about the schoolmaster, the poem ends in a sad tone. The last two lines tell the present condition. The great fame of the schoolteacher has become a thing of past. At present the school where he faced many successes is forgotten.

My Days by R.K. Narayan- summary

My Days

R.K. Narayan

R.K Narayan is one of the leading writers of Indian English Literature. The prose piece ‘My Days’ is an extract from his autobiography My Days. In this part he talks about his infatuation over several girls and his love for a woman and finally how it has ended up in marriage in a humoristic manner.

The beginning of the prose shows him as an immature one who falls in love with all the girls whom he comes across. He begins in a funny way about his love sickness and his longing for love. In 1920’s the society in which he was brought up was a strict one where boys and girls were segregated.  The books he read prepared his mind to fall in love with someone, whereas his society restricted it. Due to this he suffered with impossible love sickness. He fell in love with many but everything was one sided. Any girl who looked at him immediately became his lady love. Thus he fell in love with a girl in green sari who lived in the next street of the narrator. She was a sister- in –law of an engineer. He followed her everyday and wished to do some engineering business. It might help him to have contact with her brother-in –law and thus he could propose her. But suddenly the girl was not seen anywhere. Before falling in sadness, the narrator found another lady love who used to stand on the terrace to dry her hair. She was not a beautiful girl but he loved her. Later he realised that she was looking at all who pass by the street. This made him to lose interest on her. Soon he found another girl who got his attention. She was going to Maharani College and this too was a one-sided love. Though one-sided, such interest made him to feel with purpose.

Among his friends, they discussed about girls and this created an urge for him to fall in love. This took him to an extent of falling in love with a lady doctor, a British lady, who attended his mother. Later he describes about his infatuation for a pen friend, who lived in England. Every week they wrote letters. She wrote impersonal letters about her hobby and other things. Whereas, he wrote personal letters filled with his emotions towards her. She objected to receive such letters from him but continued to write, which encouraged him to write.

The narrator finally experiences the real love. In July 1933, he went to Coimbatore to drop his sister. As he did not have any urgency to return, he stayed in his sister’s house for some time. There he got glimpse of a girl and attracted towards her. She used to come out of her house only to fetch water from the street pipes and returned home immediately. He loved her and longed to get full vision of her. Her father, a school headmaster, was a friend of his sister’s family. The narrator became friendly with the girl’s father. As they both loved books and literary matters, they became close. Every day he met the girl’s father in the school campus and discussed about worldly affair.

One day when the girl’s father was chatting politics with him, the narrator finally announced his love for the girl. Due to his societal constraints he could not express his love to the girl so he uttered his desire to the girl’s father about marriage. The girl’s father was shocked and did not know to react. In his society, only parents decide about marriages but here the narrator spoke directly to the girl’s father about his interest towards the girl. Diplomatically the father said that this has to be consulted with the family members and then the horoscope should be matched. Another day the girl’s father asked him what he would do for living. This question has made the narrator to understand the headmaster’s interest on him. As his work “How to write Indian Novel” got published recently in a famous magazine ‘Punch’, he confidently boosted up about his promising carrier as a freelance writer. When the girl’s father asked him to get some work in Bangalore with his father’s influence, the narrator rejected this idea by explaining his economical principle. Neither his economic principle nor his expression of interest for the girl in modern ways damaged his marriage proposal. His horoscope played a villain role in his life. As they are from the conservative family, they bothered much about the matching of the horoscope. So the headmaster rejected his proposal for the marriage. The narrator suffered with a feeling of love failure. He could not eat food, stayed alone by rejecting other’s company. He used to go for walk in the evening without looking at others and by avoiding the direction of the street tap. He even self-dramatised the situation which was viewed with sympathy by others. His sister tried to cheer him up in many ways. He wrote a play named “The Home of Thunder” during that time which was a tragedy where all the characters die. That drama reflected his sad mood.

The headmaster was moved by the narrator’s pensive mood. The headmaster discussed the horoscope with his colleagues. Finally he sent the narrator to meet an old man Chellappa-Sir regarding the horoscope match. The old man was shouting with anger that he is not Brahma to change the horoscope. If they want to proceed with the marriage by leaving the matching of horoscope, they could continue with that. But the position of the stars could not be altered by humans. Finally the marriage was conducted grandly in spite of all the difficulties.

Srinivasa Ramanujan by C.P. Snow- summary

Srinivasa Ramanujan

C.P. Snow

C.P.Snow’s “Srinivasa Ramanujan” is an extract of his book Variety of Men. This particular prose on Ramanujan is taken from the biography of the mathematician Hardy, who is known as a person of ‘discovering’ Ramanujan. This prose describes about Hardy’s interest on Ramanujan, his invitation of Ramanujan to London and their contribution to maths. Though it talks about Ramanujan, every detail was given from the perception of Hardy.

          Hardy was a world famous mathematician working as a professor at Cambridge University. As he was a famous mathematician he used to receive manuscripts from people all over the world. Mostly they dealt with the wisdom of pyramid, Revelation of Jews protocols and insertion of Shakespeare’s work in Bacons. In 1913 January he received an untidy envelope from India. The sheets inside were not clean and written mathematical theories in non-English script. He looked at those signs with no interest and soon felt bored by it. Most of the theorems were wild without any proof and some already known. Hardy got irritated by it and left it aside to start his routine work.

          Every day he used to read Times newspaper while having his breakfast. Then from 9a.m. to 1p.m. he might give lecture to the students or work on his own findings in Maths. He used to have a light lunch and then play tennis in the University court. That day he could not concentrate on anything. The wild theorems of the Indian started disturbing him. He doubted the Indian either a fraud or a genius. He could not come to a conclusion so he called for his friend Littlewood. They discussed about the theorems in Hardy’s room. The narrator calls it as an ocean one would like to present about the response and discussion of Hardy and Littlewood about the works of Ramanujan. They understood that those letters were from a genius mathematician. Then Hardy decided to invite Ramanujan to London. Before sending the manuscript to Hardy, Ramanujan has sent it to two more Maths professors in London. But they could not evaluate the knowledge of Ramanujan which was judged correctly by Hardy. Hardy decided to invite Ramanujan to England with the help of Trinity College which funded many geniuses earlier. Though it was easy to bring Ramanujan to London, they actually needed the support of a super human. The super human is Goddess Namakkal. Ramanujan was born in a Brahmin family who considered crossing ocean as forbidden. He was working as clerk in Madras. His mother was a conservative who followed Brahmin tradition strictly. Surprisingly she allowed him to travel for London by describing her dream in which she saw Ramanujan seating in a big hall among the Europeans. She also stated that it was the command of Namakkal.

In 1914 Ramanujan reached London. Though Ramanujan did not believe much in Theological Doctrine, he believed the rituals (like wearing Pyjamas and eating vegetarian cooked by him). They both had a close relationship. Hardy thought that Ramanujan was an untrained genius. Due to his poor knowledge in English, he could not pass his degree in Madras University. So when Hardy talked about general things in English, Ramanujan looked confused. Even in maths Ramanujan was a self-taught. Hardy once thought that if Ramanujan had got education he would be lesser in knowledge. Later he corrected himself by thinking that Ramanujan would be wonderful if had better education. Hardy taught Ramanujan some formal maths. They both produced five papers of the highest knowledge. The Royal society of England elected Ramnujan as a Fellow at the age of thirty and also received a Fellow from Trinity. Ramanujan was the first Indian to receive such honour in England.

The climate of London made him to be ill soon. He was admitted in a hospital in Putney, London. The famous taxi-cab number incident took place in the hospital. Hardy went to meet Ramanujan in the hospital by a taxi. He started the conversation by stating that the taxi number in which he travelled was a dull number 1729, which activated Ramanujan. He replied immediately that was a very interesting number by stating “smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways”. This showed the intelligence and interest of Ramanujan in maths. Ramanujan died of tuberculosis in Madras at the age of thirty three. In his apology Hardy mentions the list of great mathematicians who all died at young ages.

Stanley Finds Livingstone by Lawrence Wilson- Summary

Stanley Finds Livingstone

Lawrence Wilson

David Livingstone is a Scottish medical missionary and explorer. He was interested more in exploring places. For an assignment he traveled to Africa to explore places in 1865. After some time no one knew the where about of Livingstone. New York Herald newspaper assigned Stanley to find Livingstone in Africa. The title of the prose piece tells the situation of the incident. This particular chapter is an extract from the book with same title.

In 1869, October James Gordon Bennett, a son of the owner of the New York Herald, met Stanley in Paris. He was there on a mission to collect information regarding civil war in Spain. Mr. Bennett assigned the task of finding Livingstone to Stanley. For nearly four years there was no communication from Livingstone and no white had reported of seeing him in Africa. Thus no one knew whether he was alive or dead. Mr. Bennett thought that the writing of the search for Livingstone would increase the circulation of his news paper. So he assigned the task to Stanley. He was ready to spent thousands of pounds for the assigned work.

Stanley was born in North Wales, U.K as an illegitimate son. He was seen as an unwanted child and suffered under his sadist employer. Later he escaped from there by sailing to New Orleans. He met an affectionate person named Henry Morton Stanley whose name he had adapted later. He considered himself as an American Citizen and fought for America in civil wars and later worked for New York Herald. As he wanted to prove himself with great achievement he immediately accepted the task to find Livingstone in Africa.

In January 1871 Stanley started his voyage. He decided to reach Ujiji, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika, which was 750 miles from the coast. It was from this place people received information about Livingstone finally. Mr. Bennett did not send money to Stanley as he promised. Yet through his persuasion he borrows money from the American consul. He decided his budget and bought supplies for two years. His luggage contained weapons, bullets, clothing, tent, medicines, utensils for cooking, food and native money. This luggage was around seventy pound.

Stanley employed 200 Zanzibaris as porters. Two white men were appointed to supervise them. They stared their sail from the mainland in the month of March. On the way, he hired some more porters. They joined with their family and cattle and started the journey cheerfully. Though various routes existed to reach Ujiji, out of ignorance Stanley selected a tougher route. The hot climate affected the sailor and due to the insects people suffered with fevers. Stanley started to face many problems. The native porters after getting money for the assigned work escaped from the place and some other stole the things that they were carrying. The next eight months were the tough period for Stanley as he kept the supporters either by force or by affection.

 

They reached a regular route used by the Arab traders. They travelled from one village to another and got food and necessary things from there. Later Stanley too suffered with high fever. Later he joined with the Arab traders for safety. When an African Chief Mirabo blocked his voyage his troop along with the Arabs’ fought with him.

Stanley by deciding to avoid battle, travelled through unknown countries. The sailors suffered with various diseases and when they tried to escape, Stanley chained them and put them under his control. When it was sixty miles for Ujiji, he received information from people that a white man was living there. Stanley was excited to receive such information by considering him as Livingstone. To reach Ujiji they had to cross Waha territory but the head of the Waha tribe was demanding huge amount to cross the area. He had to cross five such villages to reach Ujiji and each place demanded huge amount to cross the border. So he decided to take another route which was obviously a longer one. When they reached the destination, Stanley became nervous regarding Livingstone’s reaction. He dressed himself in a pleasant manner to meet Livingstone.

Ujiji people gathered to welcome Stanley. Livingstone’s servant welcomed him and directed him to the house. Stanley was uncertain about the reception of Livingstone. As Stanley suffered with inferiority complex about his birth and child hood life in U.K, he had doubts about Livingstone’s reaction. But his braveness and talent to cross many troubles in the voyage gave him confidence. Livingstone, a kind person invited him with love. Soon Stanley understood the greatness of Livingstone and started admiring him. This Voyage brought great fame for Stanley.

Albert Schweitzer by Norman Wymer- Summary

Albert Schweitzer

Norman Wymer

The prose piece “Albert Schweitzer” is an extract from the book The hospital in the Forest by Norman Wymer. As the title indicates the prose piece is about the life of Schweitzer. He is a 30 year old French citizen working as a principal of theological college at Strasbourg University. In the autumn of 1905, Schweitzer came across an article in the Journal of a French Missionary Society. It described the miserable condition of Africans in West Africa due to diseases and poverty. The article invited volunteers for the medical missionary to help people in West Africa. Due to poverty people hardly had something to eat; sometimes they stayed without eating for two or three days. Most of them suffered with leprosy and dysentery.  So there was an urgent need to help them.

          Schweitzer was affected by the news and decided to do something for the poor Africans. As he studied in a village school where many poor students studied, he understood the pain of poverty. He already had a desire to do something for the needy people. When he got this opportunity he decided to render his service to the Africans. Thus he decided to join the medical missionary. He shared his decision to Helen Breslau, a nurse, with whom he was in love. He expressed his desire to go to West Africa and to build a hospital with his own expenditure at Lambarene in Congo. Shocked Helen replied that a qualified doctor only could join medical missionary. Though Schweitzer already had three degrees, in Philosophy, theology and music he energetically replied that he was planning to do medicine. Helen explained about the difficulty of studying at that age, but he was ready to face everything. By understanding his interest Helen supported him by stating that she too would accompany him to West Africa.

          Soon Schweitzer started his medical training. Mean while he faced depression and pain but due to his hard work he got his medical degree in six years. Then he planned for expenditure for the construction of the hospital. His friends and relatives after knowing his plan tried to stop him but later understood his desire in it. They too helped him with gifts of money. When everything was ready he married Helen in 1913.

          After marriage, they both sailed to West Africa with medical supplies and gold. They reached Port Gentil after travelling for two months. From there they travelled towards Lambarene in streamer in the dirty yellow river around the tangled forest for two hundred miles. The missionaries welcomed them and arranged them to stay in a broken bungalow. Schweitzer and Helen cleaned the bungalow and converted a part of it as dispensary. They changed the boat house as a sick bay and chicken house as consulting room. Due to space constrain operations were done in the open space. The news about the arrival of the doctor reached the Africans. They called him as Oganga- African name for witch doctor. Many people with hope of getting cured with various diesess visited him.

The problem of place for treatment was sorted out. Later he had problem with the language. As he did not know the African dialect he could not talk to the patients. The ignorant people without understanding the treatment brought complications to him. Often they drank the ointments which were meant to apply and applied the powders which were to swallow. That problem also was sorted out by Joseph, an African who spoke both French and the African dialect. He joined as an interpreter. The doctor used to write the complaints of the patients on a cardboard and hung around the patient’s neck. Joseph explained the instruction to the patients. Joseph’s efficiency enabled him to learn elementary training in first aid and medicine and later worked as a male nurse. Later he acted as an assistant at operations.

 The Africans were ignorant about anesthesia and they thought it as a miracle. Once an African girl amazed about anesthesia and considered Schweitzer as a magician or a god. She explained the process of using anesthesia and operation as first the patients were killed and cured them and later gave life to them. As he became very famous people started coming from faraway places. He used to treat several hundred patients every day. Due to it he worked from early morning till midnight. Meanwhile he was working on the construction of hospital. He did not receive anything as fee from the sick people. Regarding fees he said that when they get cured, they could help him later.

Schweitzer and Joseph toiled hard with treating patients and with the construction of hospital. Later the cured patients helped him with the construction of the hospital. By the end of his first year in Lambarene, the hospital was ready with ward for in-patients, a dispensary, surgery, waiting-room, a room for Joseph and an operation theatre. He trained many Africans and employed them as his assistants. As the hospital space was huge, more number of patients started coming. He continued his service for the poor. After his stay in Africa for three years, he received an order from the French Government to serve in the First World War in 1917. Though he decided to return soon, his stay was prolonged due to various reasons. Finally he reached Africa after five years to find his hospital in a ruined condition. The Africans recognised him and shouted happily about his return. Soon all the sick people came in search of him. Once again he restored the damaged buildings and soon he constructed a larger hospital in a different place. Schweitzer received noble prize for peace for his service to people in 1952. He continued to serve the people till his death that was till 1965. The prose projects the humanitarian concern of a person named Schweitzer, who dedicated his life for the welfare of the people.     

Martin Luther King, by Jr. Coretta S. King- Summary

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Coretta S. King

The prose piece “Martin Luther King, Jr.” is an extract from My Life with Martin Luther King Junior by his wife Coretta S. King. The prose piece presents the segregation the black community experienced in the American society. It also shows the emergence of MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) and the leadership of Martin Luther King as its president.

          The locale of the prose is Montgomery, Alabama and the year is 1955. All over America the blacks were discriminated by the white. Everywhere segregation was followed, that is the blacks and the whites were separated. They had different parks, schools, public place, etc.

          The prose talks about the segregation followed by the Montgomery government in bus services. It is mentioned that segregation followed in bus was the worst.  Most of the blacks that is about 70% of them used the bus services. Even then they were treated worse than cattle. The first seats of the buses were reserved for the whites and the blacks should not occupy those seats even if the seats were free. On the other hand if the white seats were full and some white boarded the bus the blacks had to give their seats for the white. They had to sit from the last that is from backwards. Worst of this was they were ill treated by the drivers. The drivers of those buses humiliated the blacks in front of their children by calling names as black cow, black apes. The passengers paid the fare first and then got on the bus. Sometimes the drivers played a cheap joke that is after collecting ticket fare, they started the bus by leaving the passengers. The poor people after paying the money underwent this trouble. Mostly elderly people and pregnant women faced such discrimination.

          For many years the blacks accepted such ill treatment without reacting to it. But an incident that took place on Dec.1^st 1955 changed the history of the blacks in America especially in Montgomery. 

          Mrs. Rosa Parks, a forty-two-year old black woman was returning home after tiring work on Dec 1, 1955. As she was feeling tired she boarded a bus and sat in a seat at the beginning of the black people’s row. More whites got into the bus and the driver ordered her to get up to give seat for the white. Due to her tiredness she refused to get up and it was considered as an unlawful incident. Due to it she was arrested and produced in the court. Later she was fined ten dollars and her lawyer filled for an appeal. This was the first case filed against a black for disobeying the law.

The news of Mrs. Rosa Parks arrest had spread around the city. Every black thought that they had suffered a lot under white discrimination and that was the time to end segregation. All the black ministers and civil leaders had a meeting regarding this issue at Martin Luther King’s church. In the meeting they have decided to boycott the bus services on 5^th Dec.1955. Leaflets were circulated to convey about the boycott to the black people. On Dec. 5^th Martin Luther was very anxious to know the response for the boycott from his own people.  He along with his wife and friend Ralph Abernathy travelled around the city to check the response of the people for the boycott. Almost all the buses were empty except a few whites and one or two blacks. The blacks by boycotting the bus services travelled by various modes: most of men and women were walking to their work and students were going by walk or many were gathered together and travelled by taxi, some were ridding mules and horses. An old lady said that her heart felt tired due to discrimination but now though her legs are paining she feels happy.

          On the same day Martin Luther King was elected as a president of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). That night Martin was to make a main speech. That evening Martin with his friend Ralph Abernathy went for the meeting. He was overwhelmed with the black people’s response for the meeting. The church where the meeting was organized was crowded and the entire road was blocked with traffic jam. More than five thousand people gathered for the meeting and as there was no space for Martin to enter he was lifted and passed to the stage by the crowd. This shows the people’s trust upon Martin. He addressed the people that they were tired of being discriminated. This segregation had to be stopped somehow. He requested them to continue with the boycott and not to force others to take part in it. They should act by following the Christian faith.

          The blacks had three demands to withdraw the boycott. They were: 1. the bus operators should treat the passengers with respect, 2. Reservation of seats should be removed, who comes first can occupy a seat, 3. Negro route buses should be operated by the negro bus drivers. Regarding the demands, Martin met the Mayor of Montgomery, the city Commissioners and the bus company officers. But no decision was taken in the meeting. The blacks were strong with their demands and they continue to boycott the buses for several months. To maintain unity among the blacks’ mass meetings were arranged weekly twice and the orators motivated the public. Martin was in particular that they should follow the Gandhian technique of non-violence. This silent way of protest against segregation has spread around the country.

          Martin’s leadership quality was seen by his way of thinking and action. Once he said that the protest was not only for the black people’s sake but it was for the white people too. Because the white people are suffering with superiority complex and through the protest they can free the white as well from this. Due to the intensity of the boycott, Martin started receiving threat calls. He was arrested on false charges. On 30^th Jan. 1956, when Martin was addressing the public in the Church, his house was bombed. The white police were nervous by thinking the reaction of the blacks. But Martin said that his family was safe. Violence should not be met with non-violence. He quoted Jesus’ words and followed Gandhian principle. These incidents showed Martin as a potential leader.

Later in the month of Feb. 1956, when Martin went out of the town with his wife, a case was filed against Martin and ninety other leaders of his movement. His lawyer appealed in the Federal court and the court dismissed the case as segregation as unlawful on 6^th May 1956. The whites filled appeal for in the U.S. Supreme Court. For many months the boycott was continuing. The people had a tough life during bad weather. On Nov.13 When Martin was in court for the judgment, the court announced the judgment of the Supreme Court that segregation as an unlawful act. The court order that stated ‘segregation as an unlawful act’ reached them on 20^th Dec. 1956. It was considered as a great Christmas present for the blacks. The next morning a group of members gathered at Martin’s house. They all travelled in the first desegregated bus and the whole day Martin travelled in different buses to check the rights of the black. Thus desegregation in Montgomery was achieved without losing a single life.

Summary of 'Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines' by Pablo Neruda

Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda is a much acclaimed writer from Chile. This poem was written in Spanish in 1924 and later translated into English in 1969. This poem is celebrated for its imagery and symbols to present the pain of jilted lover. It is about memories of a lost love and the pain they can cause. Throughout the poem the speaker recalls the details of his love that is now broken. He continually juxtaposes the past with his ladylove with the loneliness he experiences in the present. It is written in the style of monologue with the repetition of the line “Tonight I can write the saddest lines” three times to emphasise his sorrow.

             The first line of the poem leaves the readers with a curiosity to know the reason for the poet’s sadness. The images like shattered night and shivering of the blue stars in the distance indicate his melancholic mood. He decides to write a poem at night which brings a dark imagery and his sad mood. The shattered night and the shivering stars project the turmoil the poet experiences in his life. The night wind becomes his companion as it revolves in the sky and sings. Moreover the night enables him to write which he could not write till then. He confesses that he loved her and the unnamed woman also loved him for some time. His memory takes him back to a similar night when he held her in his arm. He admits that he was in love with her deeply and says that her great still eyes will make anyone to fall in love with her.

                 The writer feels that he can write the saddest lines that night as he knows that she is no longer with him. Without her the night seems to be immensely lonely. But his writing replenishes his soul like dew drops to the pasture. He feels upset that in spite of everything, his love could not have her and without her his soul is lost. The night is traumatized as she is not with him. He hears someone singing in the distance, which also indicates that he is alone as he could hear it from the distance. Now he mentions his longing to get reunited with his ladylove as; his sight searches for her, to go to her and his heart too looks for her. Again he mentions that night is similar to the other night when they were together. Suddenly he declares that he does not love her but he loved her greatly earlier. He even tried to send the wind to touch her hearing. But she is another’s now and to express his pain of losing her, the poet states it that her voice, body and infinite eyes will be another’s. Again he declares that he no longer loves her but contradicts himself by stating that he may love her. His words, love is short but forgetting is long, reveals his love for her. The night leaves him with the memory of his ladylove and her loss leaves his soul disturbed. He concludes the poem with a determination that this is the last pain she gives him and this is the last poem he writes for her. He hopes that with this painful attempt of writing he wishes to get out of her memory.

How to Escape from the Intellectual Rubbish? by Russell

How to Escape from the Intellectual Rubbish?

Russell

This piece is a part of Russell’s essay “An Outline to Intellectual Rubbish”. It begins with the statement that no superhuman ability is needed to avoid foolish opinions. He asserts that there are simple rules to save one not from all the errors but from silly errors. He cites the example of Aristotle who declared that women had fewer teeth than men. Russell says that if Aristotle had asked Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open until he finished counting, he would have saved himself from making a very serious mistake. He did not do so because he thought he knew. This according to Russell is the greatest mistake. He further illustrates this situation stating his own believes about hedgehogs and believes of the ancient and medieval authors about unicorns and salamanders. Russell says that one’s opinions are to be brought to the test of experience.

There are also many ways by which one can become aware of one’s bias. If an opinion contrary to one’s own makes him/her angry, then they must understand that they themselves are doubtful in the subconscious level. He explains the difference between arithmetic and theology. Arithmetic is about knowledge, but Theology is only about opinions. Knowledge is the result of observations but opinion need not be so. So whenever one gets angry about another person’s opinion, the person should be on his/her guard and make observations to ascertain their idea.

Russell talks about dogmatism and suggests ways to get rid of is as well. They are

1. To become aware of the opinions held in social circles different from one’s own. Travel is a good way of reducing the intensity of insular prejudice. Here Russell sights his personal experiences of travelling. When he was young he lived much outside his own country especially in France, Germany, Italy and U.S.

2. If one cannot afford travel, they can communicate with people who have different opinions. This will help one to think from the others’ perspective.

3. Otherwise one can read a newspaper belonging to the opposite party. If such people and newspapers seem to be mad or mean one have to caution oneself that they will be seen in the same situation by others.

Russell gives another interesting observation that knowing the customs of other countries will not help always. When the Manchus conquered China, it was the custom among the Chinese, the women to have small feet, and for the Manchus, the men to wear pigtails. Instead of these two people dropping their foolish customs, each adopted the custom of the other. The Chinese continued wearing pigtails until the Manchus dominion ended in 1911. One must, however, learn to judge and accept only what is good in other people and cultures. Blind conformity to another faith or practice will not do any good.

Another method to avoid dogmatism is to imagine arguments with a person having a different bias. The one and only advantage of the method is it is not subject to the limitations of time and space. Russell says that he had changed his mind several times as a result of such kind of imaginary dialogues.

Russell asks one to be careful in taking opinions that flatter one’s self-esteem. It is very difficult to handle this problem because everybody is conscious of his/her sense of superiority. According to Russell this should be tempered with a little modesty and reasonableness. Our standard of values should not be absolute because there are other people and other cultures. Their standards and systems of values are equally respectable and valued for in their lives. He further states that it is more difficult to deal with the self esteem of man as man, because we cannot argue out the matter with some non-human mind. The only way to solve this general human superiority is to remind about the episodic human life in a small planet. Moreover humans should know that the other parts of the cosmos may contain lives superior to themselves. 

Fear, Russell says, is another common source of error. Imagination works negatively and harmfully when one invents certain kinds of fear (disastrous war, ghosts) or entertains illusory gains (eternal life, heaven) etc. one must learn to admit, at least to themselves, these fears. When one overcomes fear he/she becomes less superstitious and more rational. Russell gives some examples to show how magic, sorcery and witchcraft only create illusions of freedom. One becomes really free only when they conquer fear rationally.

Russell, citing the example of Socrates on the day of his death, specifies that people speculate about future life (life after death) because they are unhappy with today’s world. Such thoughts are also signs of fear.

Two mark:

Russell suggests five ways of avoiding dogmatism. One is by making oneself aware of opinions that are in opposition to his own. This can be achieved by travelling and also by mingling and conversing with people having different opinions. The second method is avoiding blind imitation or conformity. The third is by indulging in arguments with an imaginary character that holds a different opinion. The fourth way is by dealing with self-esteem or one’s sense of superiority which is the most difficult one. The last one is overcoming fear, rationally. It is fear that leads to disastrous wars and unhappiness. So it has to be overcome consciously.