English Literature And Theory This blog contains the explanation of various critical theories that provide a new insight to view literature and interpretation of various literary texts.

The novel shares Tom's views of patriarchal gender roles. He comments that women should confirm to the patriarchal gender roles for the stability of patriarchal family. In the novel, Tom seems to be the agent of male in patriarchal society who is quite hypocritical (saying one thing and doing another in nature). He maintains that these days people have forgotten by sneering the institution of family by involving in intermarriage (marriage between blacks and whites) but he keeps an extra-marital affair with Mrs. Wilson in the novel. In fact, he himself has contaminated the sacredness of marriage and the family. Similarly, Gatsby is of the opinion that daisy was his formal lover, and now she has been married to Tom, but today he has accumulated wealth and property so he can get his love back. His thinking shows the fact that in patriarchal society women are regarded as objects to be sold and bought rather than one to be respected.

The novel also shows the true picture of America in 1920s (After War Period. Before the war, women did not have any freedom. They had to remain within the prescribed limit of male ideals but now they are quite free and are seen smoking and drinking like men. The society in the past would see it with doubtful eyes to those women involved in smoking and drinking, as they were regarded as exclusively male habits but in the novel women have openly challenged it. Main female characters in the novel like Daisy, Jordan Baker, and Myrtle Wilson directly challenging their traditional roles as "kitchen creature". They all prefer the excitement of night life than the more traditional enjoyments of home and children. There is only one child among them, Daisy's daughter Pammy. Pammy is well-looked after by a nurse and affectionately treated by her mother. Daisy's life does not revolve exclusively around her maternal roles. All three women Daisy, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson have openly challenged patriarchal sexual taboo: Jordan engages in pre-marital sex, and Daisy and Myrtle are engaged in extra-marital affair. These three women's clothing and hairstyle are pretty modern unlike their mothers and grandmothers in the past and are equally guided by freedom seeking tendency. The patriarchal concept that women should behave modestly in public by avoiding liquor, cigarettes and immodest dancing is openly challenged by them in the novel. Hence this novel is full of the instances of the domination of females by males and the opposition of traditional male idealogy by the women.

Paper is written by famous Singaporean woman Catherin Lim. Catherine explores the greed towards easy money making and how it leads city people to the tragic result.

Tay Soon and Yee Lian are main characters of the story. They belong to middle class family and they have strong ambition to buy a well managed building with all perfection. They dreamt of beautiful house having marble floors, oval shaped sitting rooms and fantastic swimming pool. They both share their plan to all the family members including Yee Yeng, Yee Lian's sister but mother of Tay Soon didn't pay any attention or concern to them. She was engaged in her traditional profession, i.e, vegetable business. She was completely contained and happy. She also suggested them not to keep such dream but for Tay Soon. it was not only dream. He thought it could be fulfilled if he handled the money appropriately because he had saved 40,000 in bank.

In that period, Tay was attracted to share market because share price was rising. So, he invested his 30,000 at risk in share market. Fortunately, he was able to make $100,000 within short period of time. At that time, he proudly told his mother that he was able to buy 50 houses like mother's. He further was excited towards the share and invested more money. But unfortunately, the value of share began to fall rapidly. There was no any device to control the declining. He invested all amount of money. Few remaining money was also invested in last attempt but it was also in despair. His hope of building modern house was broken into pieces. He himself broke physically. He left eating and started beating his wife and children. His condition was worse and worse and he was admitted in hospital. At last, it was mother who ordered a beautiful paper house somewhere in the market to satisfy his son. At last, Tay Soon was dead and paper house was put on his dead body and they both were burnt together and turned into ashes.

This story is giving satire on the ambition of young generation in Singapore who are crazy for material gratification. The structure of story is divided into three parts - opening, climax, and anti-climax. In opening, we can see Tay Soon and his strong aspiration to have modern house. In the climax, we can observe his excessive greed towards money hoarding. The anti-climax is a total ruin of Tay Soon due to the greed for paper in this story. "Paper" stands for many things such as plain paper, money, etc. The growth of the value of paper means their success in matter. In this story, "Paper" denotes bank, cash, share, certificate, prosperity, game, etc. And on the other hand, it also indicates Tay Soon's ambition, effort, sleeplessness, broken and deserted. And lastly "Paper" also stands for material success and failure both. "Generation Gap" between young and old is also shown in the story. The feeling of Tay Soon is taken lightly by his mother and feeling of mother is taken lightly by son.

"An Episode of War" is a story written by Stephen Crane, an American writer. In this story, he presents a very inhuman picture of war in the battle field or in the barracks or at the hospital. Here we find the scene of seriously wounded soldier who makes tremendous effort to live a normal life.

Theme of the text:

The writer wants to convey that war doesn't do good to anyone; it is always inhuman and destructive in nature; it is everywhere in the world.

Summary

The Lieutenant is the main character of the story but his name is not mentioned. Once, he was distributing the coffee powder in the barracks. Corporals and other representatives of each squad (groups) were in queue. The Lieutenant was very busy in his duty. Suddenly, he cried out because he was shot. The other soldiers also cried out after seeing the blood in Lieutenant's sleeves. He fell dangerously on the ground and straightens his body. He looked towards the forest and found puffs of smoke appeared after the fire. The Lieutenant tried to continue his work but he failed because his wounded hand did not support him. At the same time, a sergeant appeared forward and kept the sword in his scabbard. Then, the Lieutenant left the place holding his right wrist and set out for the hospital.

While passing through the line of battle, he could see many new things. He was always there but did not know some people. He noticed a general in black horse come to the field as soon as he reached there., a bodyguard appeared and saluted him. The guard also handed him a piece of paper which indicated a historical painting. Everything around the officer was in motion. He heard the thud of hoofs and the cries of some soldiers. The Lieutenant looked at the troops until they disappeared. The battle was continued. The scene was tragic and devastating. He saw the smoke rolling upward and some people moved to different place. Some soldiers followed the Lieutenant and showed him the way to hospital.

The Lieutenant saw another scene at the road side. A brigade was making coffee for the passers by He also halted different staffs for some time and noticed that several officers came to the brigade and asked about the unknown thing or tricks but he resumed his journey to hospital. After sometime he reached he hospital compound and saw the low tents in the hospital. Two ambulances were covered with deep mud and a crowd of bandaged men were moving around. Others were sitting under trees caring about their wounds. Even at the hospital, he heard continuous cries in wailing.

At the hospital a surgeon greeted him with a friendly smile. Later on his face turned serious after seeing the wound in the Lieutenant's hand. He examined the wound with hatred and brought the Lieutenant to the operation theatre. At this point, the Lieutenant was very much worried about his arm, He doubted that it might be cut off. His doubt came true. Thus, his hand was amputated His family cried after seeing this tragic scene. And the Lieutenant felt ashamed and said that the hand was not as important as anything else - that is duty towards the nation; name and fame in the world.

"The Qualities of the Prince" is an extract from "The Prince (1513)" written by a 16th century political scientist, writer, historian and military expert Nicollo Machiavelli. The extract is a practical guide for ruling. This is equally influential today as it was in Machiavelli's time. Like it's message(advice), the text is brilliant in use of rhetorical strategies. Machiavelli, a powerful writer was three rhetorical strategies which I will contend to discuss in following paragraphs.

The first and the most beautiful strategy of Machiavelli is "Announcement of his primary point". In this writing, he usually refers to the historical account to support his idea; then he explains why his idea is the best one by appealing to both common sense and historical experience. For an instance: Machiavelli claims that a prince or any other men expert at military matters can win the state and the state authority. To support this idea, he refers to Francesco Sforza, who became Duke of Milan for being expert in military affairs. Similarly Machiavelli says that the man who busies himself during peace time in physical training and mental gymnastic is likely to win wars. To support this Machiavelli presents historical evidences that Alexander-The Great, Caesar and Scipio were successful in different wars by mind during peace time. In some cases, in which Machiavelli suspects that reader will not share his views whole-heartedly. He suggests an alternate argument and explains why it is wrong. This is a very forceful way of Machiavelli in presenting his ideas. He gives an a presenting his ideas. He gives an appearance of fairness and thoroughness in his presentation.

Another notable rhetorical device Machiavelli applies in his writing is discussion of opposites including both sides of an issue. From the very beginning, he makes number of oppositions, the art of a war and the art of life, generosity and miserliness, liberty and stinginess, the fox and the lion and so on. This method is very simple in itself but is forceful and important because it employs one of the basic techniques of rhetoric- the topic of comparison.

One of the three rhetorical devices Machiavelli uses in " The Qualities of the Prince " is aphorism. The aphorism is a saying which has been accepted as truth. Machiavelli tells us to be feared is much safer than to be loved; any men who tries to do good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good. Such definite statement has several important qualities. One is that they are pithy- they seem to say a great message in a few words. Another quality is that they appear to contain great deal of wisdom. Machiavelli makes ample use of such statements with certainty and spontaneity that help the audience be convinced in his principles. His statements are so powerful that we accept them readily without being skeptical in his idea.

In a nutshell, Machiavelli's use of language has appearance of truth that is most likely to be accepted by readers because of expert fusion of afore stated three rhetorical devices- Announcement of Primary Point, Discussion of Opposites and The Use of Aphorisms. These rhetorical devices make Machiavelli's expression lucid (clear), plain and spontaneous and convincing as well as reliable and effective.

"The Origin of Civil Society" is an extract from "The Social Contract (1762)". This extract is as significant in rhetorical strategies as in its message. Rousseau, a man of letters uses wide range of rhetorical devices to make his argument influential and persuasive. Of rhetorical devices analogy, analysis, topic of testimony, interrogation and paradox are most significant.

The most impressive technique Rousseau has used in it's master piece "The Origin of Civil Society" is that of "analogy". Analogy is a comparison between two objects and ideas having similar characteristics and nature. His comparison of family with the state is most remarkable in which Rousseau looks for the similarities between two - such as the children as the people and father as the head of the state. Such analogy is enlightening and easily convincing to the readers.

In addition to that, another key rhetorical device Rousseau has used in the essay is "analysis". Rousseau's analysis is forcible and convincing because it is very much logical. He proposes a statement which seems, on the surface to reassemble: then he analyzes part by part until he proves to the reader that either it is to be accepted or rejected. He is meticulous in the application of logic. In his section "Of Slavery" he proves that slavery is not justifiable and legitimate on any ground, including the widely held ground are the prisoners of war legitimately made into slave because they owe their lives to the winner. Use of such analysis makes Rousseau's argument irrefutable.

In the essay, while Rousseau provide analysis he occasionally stops to provide "definition." He defines the terms and circumstances or the concepts in the simplest possible way so that his intention of expression is easy to catch (understand). It is usually during the process of definition that Rousseau clarifies his point so that truth can be easily identified. This technique is not only simple and effective but also significant and powerful to us (readers) to examine his point of argument.

Another effective and powerful rhetorical device Rousseau brings into use in "The Origin of Civil Society" is the reference to other authorities. In the domain of writing the reference to the other is called "the topic of testimony". In order to present his argument convincingly, Rousseau refers to a few authorities specifically Hugo Grotius who was the Dutch legal authority and thomas Hobbes who was English social philosopher. They are most prominent in the selection and they provide basic points that are indispensable for the argument. The rhetorical device is easy for us to use and highly affective for arguing prepositions.

Similarly, Rousseau's writing is masked with clarity due to the use of "interrogation". In the very first paragraph, he first presents a thesis statement and then puts a question. e.g Man s born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Many a men believes himself to be masters of others who is no less than they, a slave. How did this change take place? I do not know what can make it legitimate? This technique of putting services question and then trying to answer them is quite effective because the clarity of question and answer structure is immediately apparent to readers. Rousseau has a very lawful balance of questions and answer which helps us to understand his point without any confusion but with the highest degree of accuracy and clarity.

The next significant rhetorical device that Rousseau has applied in the text is "paradox". paradox is a rhetorical device that is designed to draw the attentions of readers and to promote serious thought. Rousseau's skill n applying paradox is unique in itself and makes his argument strong. It is so strong that we can not help complaining with Rousseau's seriousness in finding out the reasons. Besides application of paradox is most compelling and appealing for attention as well as reason of readers which sustains considerable degree of attention to the author's argument. This technique help Rousseau make his writing not only effective but also appealing.

Wrapping up, Rousseau most thoughtful and thought provoking essay, "The Origin of Civil Society" is probably one of the best written texts regarding the application of variety of rhetorical tools. The tools are easily noticeable in his writing and has been used so carefully that make the text beautiful in expression and strong in argument. Rousseau can be said a master of rhetorical device who is unrivaled, unequaled by writers of his time.

"Dover Beach" is one of the representative poem of Arnold. He tries to show the lack of faith and certitude in a world which is materially expanding wide. It begins with an objective description of the ebb and flow of the wave in the sea. He recalls Sophocles who used to hear same kind of song tuned into human misery. He comes to the present and says that human misery due to lack of faith has not decreased but increased many-fold.

In the past, the sea of faith had encircled the earth and there was no melancholy, no sadness and no misery. But there is no more sea of faith now. Therefore, the world has become more like dream world and their is neither love nor joy, nor light, nor certitude etc. Everywhere there is confusion, struggles and fights among each other. Man is like a soldier fighting with an unknown enemy in the darkness, without any purpose of fighting. The only compensation in such a situation is "love". So he request his lover to be true to one another.

The poem can be divided into two parts. On the first part he talks of the resounding of waves on the pebbled beach. It is just the background which later leads to real consequence. In the later part he expresses his deep feeling about the real situation in the world that is changing rapidly with the growth of science and technology. The world has changed to be strangely unreal. It has many varieties in it, it has become more beautiful and fresher but it lacks all positive virtues like love, faith, peace, certitude etc.

"Lady Clare" is a narrative poem that deals with the theme of love. It embodies a dramatic way of precaution where action unfolds through dialogue and characters are recognized through what they say. The dramatic presentation is concerned with the theme of pure and unselfish love. It shows how lovers can rise above social and economic status and are able to remain faithful and honest to each other.

Lord Ronald love Lady Clare and she also love him equally. They were about to get married. She believed that he loved her true worth rather than her birth or land. In the mean time she was informed by an old nurse named Alice that she was not Lady Clare but her own daughter. After the death of the daughter of an old Earl, she placed her daughter in her place. Lady Clare was now sure that Lord Ronald would not marry her. In spite of nurse's advice, she went to Ronald in a dress of typical village girl and told her everything about her origin that she knew from Alice. After Ronald came to know the reality about his beloved, he declared that he would marry her even if she was not his cousin and she was poor.

This poem thus presents face of real love irrespective of social and economic status. Love is something different which has nothing to do with the birth or origin and social status of either partner. It is holy thing that binds two souls in such a way that it is impossible to unbind them.

It is a ballad written in simple language. the dramatic structure of the poem is appropriate to unfold the truth mostly through the dialogue of the characters and their action.

"She was a Phantom of Delight" is a portrait of William Wordsworth's wife, Mary Hutchinson. He shows how the perception goes on changing from first sight to marriage. It presents a very clear picture of changing perception in different situation and different times. In the first sight he finds her exceptionally beautiful just sent from heaven to delight him. Her presence is monetary but remains in his mind in such a way that he can not help remembering her. In her absence also he is haunted, startled and waylaid by her angelic and delightful image.

The relationship grows stronger and they become nearer to each other and he studies her household motions and every step in family life. She is a perfect woman in family life with the countenance full of sweet promises. She is a moderate woman for the transient sorrows, love, kisses and tears. She is neither too good nor too bad, rather she is practical woman, pleasant companion and a perfect housewife.

Finally she is very intellectual and moral being who is capable of guiding him. She is very conscious in every step of life with the firm reason, temperate will, endurance, foresight. strength and skill. Her quality is like that of the angel of god, all virtuous, to direct and guide him to move forward.

Thus, beginning with a distant view that offers an illusion, he closes up to a more realistic and spiritual view of life. The linear movement from the first sight to her encouraging and inspiring quality shows that he is a perfect woman created by the creator with grand design.

"To The Moon" is very short and interesting poem. It is a one sentenced poem that describes the moon in detail. The moon is the symbol of mother Goddess and it is believed that she imparts the peace and prosperity to the people of the world. But the poet evaluates the moon from different angles. He finds the moon joyless that does not find anything constant on the earth. The moon has her own course and she is always in motion. She is alone in the sky amongst the stars which are not the moons. The moon is changing like the joyless eyes that finds no constant object. Everything in this universe is inconstant and is separate entity. Everyone, though among friends, is alone and wandering here and there and of course is in quest of constancy.

The moon is personified in the poem. He finds that the moon is not energetic but pale due to weariness of climbing up the heaven and looking down the earth continuously. The journey of the moon is endless and it is certain that it is a repetitive journey and there is no progress or forward movement. On the other hand the moon has the pang of being changed continuously. The moon is alone in the sky because the stars are of low origin, nobility and birth. Nothing equals to the moon on the sky. She is noble and elegantly born but she is also not perfect. She is in quest of constancy.

So, presenting the problem of the moon, the poet is telling us that nothing is constant and perfect in itself but is always in process of becoming something different

In the harbour people are busy playing, drinking and selling fruits, etc. A death ship sailed to that place. The boatman anchored that ship with a rope. There was a corpse covered with the colorful silk cloth. No one was interested in that dead body. The boatman showed a great two-storied house on the left of the sea and they took the corpse to the door of that house. A small boy opened the door and they all entered. The door was shut. Flock of doves was delighted to fly around the house as if their food was inside. A woman on the boat gave some grains and the doves ate happily.

A gentleman came to the harbour and looked around gloomily. He knocked at the door. The boys opened the door and they welcomed him warmly. The boatman came there and led him to the first floor. The bearers were setting the candles on the head of the dead body. They lighted the candles but it did not give more light. The corpse looked like a hunter. The gentleman went near the corpse and put his hand on his forehead. he knelt down and started praying. All the bearers were sent out. The dead body opened the eyes suddenly and asked him who he was. The gentleman said that he was Burgomaster of Riva. The dead body said that he was hunter Gracchus. He had fallen down in the Black Forest of Germany long ago when he was hunting there. He had been dead since then. The ship missed the way and they were there. He struggled to climb the steps up to go to the heaven but all in vain. When he reached the door of the other world, he was awakened by the light and found himself on the boat. The wife of the boatman offered him the same wine. He stayed there on the wooden bed covered with a dirty shroud. His beard and hair were tied together. He heard the water hitting his ship.

The terrible fete came after his death. he was brought to a wrong place. He had performed his duty of hunter responsively before his death. It was not a fault, not a sin. No one helped him. The thought of helping him became a kind of illness that had to be cured by taking to bed. Therefore he did not ask for help in the end. Burgomaster asked him how he would stay with them in Riva. He answered that he knew nothing. The ship had last rudder and it was driven by the wind that blew in the undermost region of death.

There was no patient to doctor except Olson, who had asked him to visit his sick daughter to treat her. When he reached the patient's house, the sick child's mother welcomed him to the kitchen where the sick child was on the lap of her father. The father tried to get up to greet the doctor, who let him sit down comfortably. The doctor took of his overcoat and looked around. The parents looked at him distrustfully.

The sick child looked at the doctor with her eyes wide open to show her protest but did not move at all. She was an attractive and strong child. Now she was breathing rapidly. The doctor knew that she had high fever for three days. There were many sick persons around. The doctor asked if she had a sore throat. The parents replied together that she had not. There were many students suffering from diphtheria in her school. He called her to open her mouth to inspect her but she did not obey him. The mother assured that he would not hurt her. The doctor however, did not like the mother's expression. The sick child nearly clawed the doctor's eyes. His glasses dropped to the kitchen floor, Mathilda's parents were ashamed. They spoke the words of apology. The mother shook the sick child by her arm. The doctor now broke in. He said that he was to examine her throat anyway. Therefore, either the child had to open her mouth or he would have to open it for her.

She did not move at all. She began to breathe faster. Then the fight began. The doctor said that if the parents took the responsibility, he would not examine her throat. The father then tried his best to open her mouth but could not do it. The doctor told her to put her in his lap and hold her wrists. Then the child began to scream. She said that they were killing her. The doctor grasped the child's head with his left hand and pressed the instrument between her teeth. He tried his best to examine the throat but he could not. The child broke his instrument instead. The doctor then asked for some kind of spoon to open her mouth, which was already bleeding. Her tongue was cut so she shrieked hysterically. The doctor was also furious. He could have torn the child apart. but he had social duty to perform. He had to protect that child. Therefore, he finally used his force to examine the throat. He discovered that she had a sore throat for three days and struggling hard to keep her secret. Now she was truly furious and began to attack. She had only been defensive before. She tried to get off her father's lap and fly at the doctor while her eyes were full of tears of defeat.

To Bobolink , for Her Spirit presents the real picture of the deeds and dedication of the autograph seekers in American city, New York. In America and abroad also young people especially the fan of movie stars have set a tradition. They spend a lot of time waiting for their favourite movie stars outside the club, restaurant or pub house etc. They gather at the clubs and discuss about the individuals life and career of the movie stars. This play focuses on how some young people spend their time waiting on the movie stars. How do they undergo the extreme hardship watching and waiting at entrances of clubs and restaurants.

The play is about the group of old and young admirer of film stars. Bobolink and Nellie are experienced and senior autograph collectors. Other two boys Renaldo and Frits, and a pairs of girls Gretchen and Annemarie are quite young and inexperienced. They are waiting for Perry Como outside the gate of 21 clubs. The play presents their futile attempt of autograph hunters.

Bobolink and Nellie have collected a good deal of autographs while others are just learning the art. Young group cannot distinguish the film stars from common people and just go asking for their autograph. They have classified the autograph seekers into two categories, stuck up and not stuck up. They have the opinion that the great actors and actresses like Lana Turner, Tyrone Power etc. etc. are not stuck up. Renaldo and Frits approached two couples suspecting them to be the same movie stars but Bobolink and Nellie maintained their dignity. Bobolink declared that she had no time to waste for anybody who might be famous in future. Till the end of the play they are waiting for their celebrity.

Appropriate references to people and places in the dialogue and stage directions serve to create the atmosphere of glamour which fascinates the young people. In spite of the domination of the senior, the junior's hope and enthusiasms are irrepressible. They remind us that we should have devotion and belief in our work. Every person in every society has the object of admiration. An athelete, a guru, a leader, etc may provoke our intense admiration. Identifying ourselves with him enables us to fulfill our wish through a kind of day dream. The only difference is that some people are able to give due importance to our responsibilities despite such vain dreams.

Literature can help learners to develop their understanding of other cultures, awareness of 'difference' and to develop the tolerance and understanding. At the same time literary texts can deal with universal themes such as love, war and loss that are not always covered in the sanitized world of coursebooks.

Exposure to multicultural literature can help all of us to understand that there are many different ways to live and many different views on what is important on our lives. While reading about characters from a culture other than our own, we learn that often cultures have more similarities than differences. They are exposed to human themes such as honesty, justice, and love for family that go beyond culture. Such exposure can contribute to greater understanding of our own culture as well as the cultures of others in our country and around the world. Literature is the mirror of the society. It studies human nature. We see human nature through tragedy and romance, joy and sorrow, in acceptance and denial, and in moments of heroism and in moment of fear.

Next literature from other cultures offers teachers and students a powerful resource for learning. Although it can be difficult to locate foreign literature, the benefits of using these books are significant. Foreign literature can open up the world to native readers, creating new understanding and appreciation for other cultures. This literature is also a natural way to teach across curriculum, connecting good literature to history, geography, politics, or science. Moreover, foreign literature is often demanding to read, appealing to other adolescents for whom much of literature may not be challenging enough. The field of literature is enriched by works from other countries.