Education: Indian and American - Anurag Mathur

The essay, “Education:Indian and American” is an extract from ‘The Inscrutable American’. It essays the journey of a small town boy Gopal to the United States in persuading of further studies.
In India, Gopal had been subjected to the traditional method of education where everything had been drilled into his mind by the rote system of learning and where questioning was considered heresy by the teachers. Gopal felt that in America, he had blossomed out and had learnt the art of logical thinking, deductive reasoning and most important of all, an all-encompassing thirst for knowledge. At the same time, he appreciated the strong foundation of the basics laid down during the formative years, which helped him in his quest for knowledge. In retrospect, teachers whom he had held in high esteem now seemed old bigoted people.
Through the character of Gopal, the author forays into the Indian psyche of malice and jealousy; two qualities he did not notice in his American counter parts. Thus, he finds the reasons as to why Indians felt more at home in America than in their homeland.
The author reminiscences, through the character of Gopal, his first encounter with snow. It is a brand new experience for the small town boy. In an alien culture, Gopal could easily give vent to his emotions; something he would not have dared to do back home.
The essay critically analyses the difference in the ethos between the two cultures and the easy adaptability to better working conditions by the expatriates.

The Night Train at Deoli - Rukin Bond (Additional English)

In this short story, Ruskin Bond narrates his experience during one of his train journeys to Dehra as an eighteen-year-old. He tells us that he used to spend his vacation every summer in his grandmother’s place in Dehra and had to pass a small lonely station, Deoli amidst the jungle on the way. This station appears strange to him as no one got on or off the train there & nothing seemed to happen there. He wonders why the train stopped there for ten minutes regularly without reason and feels sorry for the lonely little platform.
On one such journey, the author happens to see a pale-looking girl selling baskets. She appears to be poor, but with grace and dignity. Her shiny black hair and dark, troubled eyes attracts the author. The girl offers to sell baskets to him. He initially refuses to buy and later when she insists, happens to buy one with a little hesitation, daring not to touch her fingers in the melee. Both of them just look at each other for quite some time, just as it strikes a chord of affection between them. He longs to see her, her searching and eloquent eyes, again on his return journey. The meeting helps to break the monotony of his journey & brings in a sense of attachment & responsibility towards the girl.
The second time he sees her, both of them feel pleased to see each other, a smile on their faces reinforcing it, it seems like a meeting of old friends. Silence reigns and speaks more than words. He feels like taking her with him but does not do so. He tells her that he needs to go to Delhi and she replies saying she need not go anywhere, perhaps expressing her helplessness. Both of them separate unwillingly as the train leaves the station, with the hope of meeting again. The author spends the remainder of the journey and a long time later thinking about her.
The next summer, soon after his college term finishes, he rushes to go to Dehra, eager to meet the girl, his grandmother being an excuse. This time she is not to be seen at the Deoli station though he waits for a long time. This deeply disappoints him and a sense of foreboding overcomes him. On his way back to Delhi, he again waits anxiously to see her, but it ends in vain. On enquiry, he comes to know that the girl has stopped coming, & nobody knows about her whereabouts. Once again, he has to run for the train and invariably leave the station. He decides that once he would break the journey there, spend a day in the town, make enquiries and find the girl who had stolen his heart.
The following year in summer, he again walks up & down the platform hoping to see the girl, but somehow, cannot bring himself to break the journey to look for her. He seems to be afraid of discovering about her, dreading about anything unfortunate that could have befallen her and wants to retain his sweet memories of her & not allow it to be spoilt with unfortunate events. All the same, the author also suggests to his readers that he did not want to project himself like a hero of a movie where the hero would meet his sweetheart going through all hardships and win her over. He prefers to keep hoping and dreaming, waiting for the girl.
The author brings the readers to a realistic world rather than a fictitious, imaginary, unreal world, driving home the fact that life is not like a fiction novel or a movie; losing and gaining becomes part of life’s journey that needs to be taken in our stride. Life is a constant process, which cannot be stopped. We can only carry memories forward while life goes on.

Insensibility - Wilfred Owen (Additional English)

With bitter irony Owen presents in this poem the dehumanizing influence of war on man. Ironically the poet observes that if there are people who could become insensible before they are killed, then they are to be considered really lucky. Very often in war people i.e. soldiers allow their felling to be deadened. War has actually blunted the sense of pity of the soldiers for their dead comrades. So they march in the battlefield, trampling in the dead bodies of their comrades quite unconcerned.
When soldiers in the front line are mowed down by the enemy artillery, their comrades have no compassion for them. Though most of them are the youth of the country, its finest flowers, the callous soldiers think that it is sentimental nonsense for the poets to lament their death. The hardened soldiers feel that there is no need to mourn the death of their comrades. The gaps in the ranks caused by their death will be filled by a fresh batch of soldiers. No one is bothered about the loss of so much human material.
Some soldiers have stopped feeling for themselves. Owen thinks that in one sense it is a blessing to be bereft of feeling; insensibility is the best defense against the horrors and uncertainties of the war. The incalculable element in war is less puzzling to the soldiers than the figures in their pay bills. Happy are the soldiers deprived of imagination as that would only add to burden of ammunition they have to carry.
The soldiers do not shrink with disgust from the sight of blood because it is too common in the battlefield. Their senses are burnt by the cautery (hot iron): here, it is the gun. Their sense feeling is so much seared that they can laugh at the sight of their comrades’ death. Happy is the soldier who comes home without any nation that every morning some men attack and many lives are lost. The war-worn veterans’ march silently knowing fully that death will seize them as certainly as night follows day.
Let us not be moved by the bloodshed in the battle fled. We shell learn to kook at through the eyes of the callous soldiers. A soldier is never known for finer feelings which make a man’s life rich. Hence when a soldier dies, nothing of any value departs from him. The soldier dies not know the difference between the tranquil end of a well-lived life and towards the hysterical end of his own contemptible life. The poet towards the end of the poem openly condemns the brutalized soldier who is not shocked even by the boom of the cannon.
The civilians are immune to pity. They are cursed who cannot feel. Their lack of feeling was deliberate. By choice the soldiers made themselves immune to pity, immune to death and immune to misfortune. It is but natural that man feels for others suffering. The quality of pity should always spring in the human bosom. It is regrettable that this spring is dried up in us.

For You - M.T.Vasudevan Nair

‘For you’ speaks about a child’s feelings with regard to the happenings at home, the whole story with a child’s perspective. Vasu remembers his step sister, Leela who gifted him with a toy owl that he beheld with pride among his classmates and felt himself becoming important.
The narrator (Vasu himself) tells about his parents who wanted to have a girl child after having three sons. They were disappointed on the birth of another son instead. This disappointment of the parents was vented out on Vasu in the form of negligence and resentment. This affects the child who is filled with fear about the mother and brothers since they always silenced him and beat him.
He misses having a sister when his friends express experiences with their sisters fondly- wrapping their books, their beautiful handwriting, the brother-in-law to boast of, the wedding, etc.
He always waits to see and longs to be with his father who is away in Ceylon, doing business. Once when he comes home, he brings a little girl with him who happens to be Leela, herself. There is a quarrel about her coming home as Vasu’s mother does not agree to the illicit relationship of her husband bringing forth this girl. Vasu is disturbed by this, as well as by the fact that the girl is closer to his father than himself. But at the same time, Vasu is pleased to have a sister. The toy-owl with Leela attracts him and he gently asks her for it, though he cannot directly communicate it to her as their mother tongues differ. She exhibits her affection and greatness by gifting the owl to Vasu while she leaves his house - A small girl parts with her favorite toy, when she herself could have retained it.
Vasu gets to have only a short association with Leela, and even though it is short, it leaves a treasure of memories with him to linger on although his life. The narration moves back and forth, taking the reader to what happened in the past and that of the present. All that he mentions is totally from a child’s point of view.

Tree - Joyce Kilmer (Additional English)

This poem is dedicated to Mrs. Henry Mill Alden, the poet’s mother-in-law, and a poet in her own rig. In the poem, the poet expresses his concern over the diminishing forest canopy and the disappearance of trees in our immediate neighborhood. He compares the ‘lively’ tree to a poem which is apparently a human creation. He feels that a tree is a better creation than a poem, more so because it has ‘life’. He personifies the tree, comparing it to a human being, endowing human qualities to it. Ex: ‘Hungry mouth is prest’, ’her leafy arms to pray’. Since it is easy for human beings to understand nature when compared to themselves, he uses this metaphor. Just as human beings decorate themselves with things like flowers, the tree seeks to decorate itself with a nest of robins. The tree lives intimately with other elements of nature like rain, snow, earth, etc. This speaks about the co-existence and co-operation existing in nature.
He calls himself a fool, due to the fact that though he happens to pen a few verses as a poet, he cannot compete with the creative ability of God who has created fantastic objects like trees and nature. When compared to God’s creation, his vain attempt at writing a poem seems to be foolish.
He also uses the figure of speech ‘enjambment’ to enhance the effect of his poem, in which an idea continues from one stanza to the other without a break or pause, thus bringing the poem to complete coherence
He expresses his fear of complete obliteration of trees on earth and indirectly provides us with the message of conservation of trees.

Bosom Friend - Hira Bansode (Additional English)

The poem “Bosom Friend” is a critical and a sarcastic remark against the hypocritical caste-ridden society. The poet here articulates the pain she has suffered at the hands of the upper class. The experience of constant subjugation, separation and marginalization are expressed in a tone which is both vehement and sarcastic.
The title of the poem has an ironic under tone since her guests do not in anyway live up to her expectations. The narrator in the poem plays the role of hostess to some upper-caste guests. Her treatment of the guests is unconditional and unpretentious. She appreciates her guests for their gesture of magnanimity since they have shed their feeling of cast superiority. She finds it surprising as the gap between low class and upper class was too large to be bridged. But the age old problem has been effortlessly remedied by her guests with the mind as large as the sky.
The devotion showed by the hostess has been compared to that of Shabari of the Ramayana. But unfortunately her devotion was short lived, when she started to serve. The feeling of caste- superiority suddenly found expression in her guests’ insolent remarks on the table etiquette of the hostess. One of them even says, “You folk will newer improve”.
The hostess is terribly offended and breaks in to a sense of nostalgia. She recalls her days of poverty and painfully expresses her impoverished circumstances when she had no access to milk or yoghurt. The expectations of the guests can not be fulfilled since the hostess has been brought up in utter poverty. Her only source of luxury was chutney on coarse bread. The hostess also says that shrikhand was not part of their language. The hostess who was so happy at the arrival of the guests now sounds like a liberated women and defends her ignorance of table etiquette since it was the society which made her.

Of Hidden Taxes - Marge Piercy (Additional English)

The poem ‘Of Hidden Taxes’ can be considered as a critique of American Globalization from the perspective of an insider. Marge Piercy highlights the adverse effects of urbanization, industrialization and privatization. Secondly it also highlights the hegemonic military control exercised by America over developing countries.
The poet focuses on the helplessness of the people and in the process also highlights the indifference of the government towards the suffering of the people. The whole poem is said in a satiric tone.

I Stanza

Marge Piercy in the first stanza emphasizes the manner in which the corporate world representing the sociological institutions of the government functions. The lines ‘Suppose those corporation spooks had to speak frankly:’ highlights the world of hypocrisy. The corporate executive claim that they pay a handsome to the labourers and also claim that they give them incentives, they boast that they provide them with better amenities. Little do they pay attention to the occupational hazards which could cripple them for life. The executives seem to be insensitive to the sufferings of common folk. She also brings out how the people are going to be rendered jobless in future by a process of further automation, which would further perpetuate unemployment, poverty and also widen the gap between the rich and the poor, concentration of wealth in a few hands and the exploitation of the common people.

II Stanza

This stanza focuses on the adverse effects of urbanization and also industrialization, which is explicit in the line ‘we’ll dump arsenic in your water’. She says that the industries are being established in towns and thereby leading to industrialization and urbanization. The industries would channel their waste into streams and rivers indicating ecological degradation. Secondly, she enunciates that agricultural land will become fallow rendering the farmers jobless. The farmlands are converted into tract houses as the farmers would be forced to take up jobs in the industries and nobody would be left for farming. Thirdly, she also talks about the burden meted out to the common folks in the form of tax, in order to fulfill the demands of the executives and their expensive life style. Finally it also highlights the manner in which the global market functions. The goods that would be produced in America would be shipped out to (rather dumped into) Taiwan and other countries.

III Stanza

The third stanza highlights the destructive nature of industries and industrialization. She talks about the unfavorable situation caused by industries -perpetuating unemployment and environmental degradation. It seems that the ‘corporation spooks’ are insensitive towards the harm caused by them as a result of over exploitation. Although these people are aware of the damage (spills) caused to the nature they are least bothered. The pollution caused as a result of oil drilling does not affect just the aquatic life; it goes beyond that, it also affects vegetation and human life.

IV Stanza
The poet satirizes the functioning of the Government, the President(the head of the state) and also militarization. She says that the head of the state claims that in order to strengthen the military force, they conduct trial wars over various frontiers which results in expenditure. In the process of strengthening the military force the President claims that they are creating employment opportunities. But where does the government get this money from? It’s quite obvious that the common man would be taxed, he’s burdened with it to which the government seems to be quite insensitive. The stanza end’s with a rhetorical question ‘Who do you think was buying all those bombers?’ which hints towards common man buys all those arms and ammunition. Ironically the common man has ‘no say’ in the proceedings of the government and also not aware of he being taxed to pay off the debt resultant of war. Secondly it also highlights about illegal means of hoarding money (‘cocaine to the economy’)

V Stanza
Here the poet talks about inhuman militarization. The lines ‘we grow you to fit uniform’ and ‘get no depreciation value’ highlight the inhuman nature of the statesmen. The statesmen force all the youngsters into military. Any harm caused to these youngsters due to war which would cripple them for life is not considered. Instead of sympathizing with such individuals who sacrifice their life and dedicate their life for the state, the statesmen feel that they incur loss for they feel that they would have invested a lot of money in the training of these individuals and in the course of war if these individuals loose their limbs or any vital part of their body they would no longer be fit to perform. This clearly indicates inhuman commodification of human beings in the name of strengthening the military force.

It also highlights the hegemonic control of America over other countries. The state, inorder to prove its hegemony and power would wage war on other countries and in the name of war demolishes them. She also talks about indiscriminate killing of people which they camouflage by saying ‘population control’.
Towards the end of the poem the poet says ‘back home baby farming’ sums up the whole poem. In the previous stanzas she highlights overexploitation of nature and human beings, which affects and has affected the whole generation and the consequence of it is borne by the contemporaries and it does not stop with them, it further affects the forthcoming generations for several centuries. The forthcoming generations would have to strive hard to thrive with nothing left to survive upon.

Refugee - Tenzin Tsundue

The poem ‘Refugee’ is allusory to the historical moment of China occupying
Tibet. The Tibetans became completely homeless and had to immigrate to
the neighboring country India. Due to the massive immigration, many
suffered problems like identity crisis and rootlessness.
The speaker in the poem voices the pain of his countrymen who struggled
for establishment. The narrator here is a school going boy. He painfully
recounts the fact that his mother told him that he was a refugee. In addition,
the road side tent in which they are living metaphorically symbolizes
aimless life of the refugees.
The trauma of the boy continues even in his school. His teacher teasingly
remarks at him that the letter ‘R’ has been engraved on his forehead. The
letter ‘R’ in this context refers to the painful state of being a refugee. The
struggle of the boy to break out of the crisis is emphasized when he says
he tried to scratch his forehead. But all his efforts go in vain with a result of
‘red brash’.
The problem of the boy’s crisis is heightened when he recounts the
languages he has known namely: his mother tongue to sing in joy, English
and Hindi for survival. Even the boy’s language suffers crisis as it is
sandwiched between two foreign languages Hindi and English.
The sole consolation for the boy in the midst of all the adverse
circumstances is that his name RAMZEN retains the Tibetan flavor.
Excepting the name, the boy’s identity seems to have been completely
engulfed by events over which he has no control.

Twist – E R Braithwaite

The poem 'twist' is a powerful expression of black consciousness, a
movement that marks the battle of the blacks for upliftment of the socially
downtrodden. The poet, E. R. Braithwaite uses no conventional poetic
features to emphatically propangadise the black culture. The poem serves as
a reminder of the vast cultural heritage of the blacks. The use of certain
adjectives implies the social status of the blacks. Hence, despite its brevity,
the poem is effective enough in capturing the spirit of the black
consciousness movement.
The poet refers to a town which is described as 'shanty', to indicate the
poverty of the blacks as opposed to their cultural affluence, which is
mentioned in the subsequent lines. The place appears to be an inn where
there is an assemblage of young girls. There is a deliberate reference to their
colour as black, brown and a mixture of black and brown. Thus the reference
to skin colour is reminiscent of the apartheid movement of South Africa.
The cultural significance of the poem surfaces through the description of the
dance 'twist'. The poet is all appreciation for the performer who arouses a
sensual thirst in her audience. The poet draws our attention to the graceful
movement of the hips of the performer to the tunes of the jukebox, which
brings in a thunder of hunger in the bellies of the audience. Thus the poem
serves as a celebration of black heritage.

Night Herons – Judith Wright

The poem 'Night Herons' is a subtle expression of the loss of the primitive life
which once was part of Australia. Judith Wright brilliantly articulates the mixed
feelings of excitement and pain caused by the unexpected appearence of the
night herons. The night herons metaphorically represent the primitive
australianness. The poem brilliantly encapsulates a brief moment of the
appearence of the night herons. Despite the brevity of their stay, the birds
trigger powerful nostalgia in the people.
The time referred to is a day after the rain which has brought in a sense of
tranquility. The street mentioned has a bearing of the after-effects of rain. It is
illuminated with the gleam of yellow light. The birds suddenly appear and
march magestically down the road. The beauty of the description surfaces
when the poet personifies the windows being flowered with the eyes of the
excited children looking at the birds.
The news of the birds reaches people at the speed of light. Despite the
assemblage of the curious people, the atmosphere is quiet. The people are
insistent on quietness and 'everyone says “hush”'. When the herons are
marching ahead, the expression of the people grows wilder than the birds.
The birds open up a repertoire of mixed feelings in the women. They go back
to their youth life. This feeling of nostalgia subtly refers the past of the nation.
Conclusively, the herons go away and the poem ends witha note of lights
fading away.

To a Skylark - Percy Bysshe Shelley

P. B. Shelly was a rebel and a reformer. He protested against tyranny and oppression. He wanted to eradicate evils in society, reform and rebuild it. The spirit of rebellion and reform are reflected in his writings. In his poetry, imaginative artistic realization of a high ideal is presented. In ‘To A Skylark’, the skylark and its song serves a symbol for his ideal and vision.

The poem begins with an ecstatic joyous greeting to the skylark. It is addressed as ‘blithe spirit’. The lines bird… emphasizes the spiritual mystical, joyous nature of the bird and its song. According to the poet, the bird is not an ordinary bird, but a celestial divine spirit. The bird must belong to heaven or a higher region close to heaven, it belongs to a world that transcends human experience and thus is a divine creature dwelling in the Higher Realms of Truth. The skylark pours forth its heart in abundant intense notes and songs of ‘unpremeditated art’. This emphasizes the ecstasy, the instinctive, spontaneous natural skill of the bird which can be a greater source of divine inspiration than an acquired human art.

As the bird soars higher and higher the song seems to soar higher. As he listens to the song the poet soars and elevates with the song of the bird. It fills him with ecstasy, the bird seems to spring from earth like a cloud of fire. This emphasizes the radiant brightness of the song. The reddish glow of sunset infuses the bird and its flight. The light and energy of the bird represents the visionary insight and revolutionary fire necessary for poetic composition. The bird in its flight flies across the deep blue sea, the deep blue sea reflects the blue sky above. Therefore the bird and the song cannot be separated. The song and the singer become one in the ecstasy of the song.

Shelley speaks of the setting sun enclosing the bird in a golden aura and glow, and above the bird the clouds brighten. The entire picture presents a sensuous, visual and auditary image of beauty and lyricism. The bird in its ethereal brightness seems to be floating across the sky like an ‘unbodied joy’ whose race and journey has just begun.

The poet continues to present the flight and the nature of the bird. As the bird flies the purple seem to melt and dissolve around the course of its flight. The purple colour emphasizes the grandeur and the splendor of the evening scene. With the setting sun and the bird like the ‘star of heaven’ in broad daylight, which despite its presence in the sky can’t be seen. He then uses the image of the moon which is like the star of heaven remains invisible in the light of the sun. The ‘Silver Sphere’ is used as a metaphor to describe the moon. When the clear dawn approaches the light of the moon intensifies and narrows though the moon cannot be seen.

When the night sky is cloudless, except for one lonely cloud from which the moon rains out her light and the entire sky and heaven overflow with the light of the moon. The song of the bird fills the entire earth and heaven as the moon rains out its beams.

The poet clearly states that with his limited knowledge he cannot understand the nature of the bird. In this pursuit, he tries to understand the meaning of the song of the bird through familiar human experiences. The images he uses are that of the beautiful cloud, a glow and lit by the rainbow and describes the bright radiant drops of rain that flow out from the magnificent rainbow clouds, but the rain of melody that flows out from the presence of the skylark is far brighter than the raindrops.

He uses the image of the inspired poet during poetic composition, full of the light of inspiration to describe the song of the bird. The skylark is compared to the poet singing his hymns spontaneously, instinctively under the force of the divine inspiration unbidden by sympathy, hopes and fear. The divine spiritual ecstasy of the poet thus matches the divine ecstasy of the Skylark’s song. The world listening to the inspired divine songs of the poet are influenced and moved to sympathy and understanding.
He uses the image of a high born lady, sitting in seclusion and solitude in a palace tower, Soothes and comforts her soul with music as delightful as the love that fills her heart. The ecstasy of the song can evoke ecstasy in the heart of the listener. He compares the maiden’s song to the song of the skylark.
He compares the skylark to a glow worm in a valley of dew, scattering and spreading its aerial divine light, though the glow worm remains invisible. The light is spread among the flowers, the grasses which are illuminated by the glow worm, which at the same time screens it. The skylark like the glow worm remains invisible.
The image of a blossomed rose deflowered spreading its fragrance is perhaps the most sensuous and lyrical of those used in the poem. The image of the bower reappears. The green bower formed by green leaves in whose midst the beautiful rose can be seen nestling. The fragrance of the rose is poetically described as being stolen by heavy winged thieves, intoxicated with heavy fragrance of the rose almost feel faint. The thieves could be bees sucking nectar from the rose. The thieves could also be the warm winds which as they deflower the rose steal its fragrance and waft it in the atmosphere and air.
He then uses the image of ‘Vernal Showers’, i.e. showers of spring. The gentle pattering sound of the rain drops coming down on the grass is compared to the song of skylark. The grass is adorned with the twinkling drops of rain. The spirit of the spring with its freshness, vitality, beauty, color, light and joy represents the joy of the skylark’s song. In fact, he says that the song of the bird surpasses and excels the joy, freshness and beauty of all that is known for beauty and joy in human life.
The poet makes a fervalent appeal to the bird to teach him and the mankind, the sweet thoughts that must be behind its ecstatic song. Again he addresses the bird as a spirit. The poet reflects upon feelings and emotions of love or the intoxication of wine which inspire man to a passionate out pouring, These human songs can’t match the flood of rapture, panted forth by the bird.
The poet then mentions other songs of human joy and celebration like ‘triumphal chant’ or ‘chorus hymeanal’, but any such human song matched with the skylark’s song of joy and ecstasy would just be an empty, superficial song. The human songs, however joyous they may be, we can feel some ‘hidden want’, while the bird’s song is one of the perfect joy which is known only to the bird.
The objects he mentions with power to provide inspiration, we find different forms of manifestations of the beauty of nature like fields, waves, mountains, sky or plain. In the human world its only nature in her diverse forms who can provide such divine inspiration. But for the bird, he wonders whether the same forms of nature are the fountains of its happy song..
Further reflecting the perfect joy of the bird Shelley says that ‘with its keen joyance, Languor cannot be’, ‘Shadow of annoyance’, anger or anxiety never came near the bird. While describing the world of the skylark with its state of perfection Shelley also presents an implicitly contrasting picture of the human world and human existence. In human experience joy is always tainted by languor, lack of vitality and life.
Further the poet says that the bird possesses whether in a state of sleep or awakening, a deeper knowledge into the nature of death and the Truth of death that mortal human beings with their limited knowledge fail to understand.
The contrasting picture of human world with that of the birds is presented. Shelley speaks of how human beings constantly look before to the past longing for something, look ahead to the future in anticipation of joy . Mortal human beings in their weakness pine for what is not, in the present moment. He then speaks of the impossibility of pure unalloyed joy. Man’s sincerest laughter is fraught with pain and suffering scorn contempt for others human pride apprehensions which haunt the spirit of man make the human world an imperfect one. If we were things born not to shed a tear man can never come anywhere near perfect joy of the bird.
The last stanza is the emphatic declaration of his faith in the power of the poet and poetry to transform the world. .Harmonious madness refers to poetic frenzy full of harmony without which no poetic composition is possible this is no ordinary madness but the creative frenzy of the poet under divine inspiration ‘The world should listen then ,as I am listening now’. The poet is seen as visionary a prophet and a revolutionary.

As the night the day - Abioseh Nicol

The story centers on the relationships and attitudes of boys towards one another and towards their masters. Educational institution is called a temple of learning for it inculcates moral and ethical values but the story shows how it is doing just the opposite. The double standards are adopted according to one’s nationality. Discrimination is based not just on color, creed but it is also based on nationality.
Basu the Syrian is victimized because of his Syrian background. This bias is passed on from the teachers to the students. The breaking of the thermometer is crucial in the story for it unveils the teachers and the boys.
Kojo and Bandele’s curiosity to test the temperature results in the mishap. Kojo is subdued by Bandele not to own up the mistake. Vernier punishes the students for not admitting their mistake. The bible and key game is ironical. A sacred book is misused, but is perceived by Abu as the right method to find out the culprit. The game does not help them to find out the culprit. Kojo, the main culprit is asked to carry on the ceremony. Bandele’s devious mind prompts the class to blame Basu as he was the first to arrive in the school that day. Basu welcomes the wrath of the class. Verniesr’s consolation comforts him but fails to give him the support he needs, for vernier is capable of sententious speech. But in reality he fails to practice it. Basu out of the fear that he would be separated from the rest of the class confesses that he might have broken the thermometer by mistake. Basu is forced to admit the mistake in spite of his innocence and Kojo is suppressed by Abu. Thus, by upholding what is untrue, he believes that it is natural for a Syrian boy to deceive.
The title is ironical because truth does not follow you as the Night follows the Day.

Just Lather That's All - Hernando Tellez

The story explores the conflict between general ideology and professional ethics. The problem of choosing between the two is beautifully handled. The barber’s dilemma pervades through the story and eventually he succeeds in making the right choice. The story focuses on the ethics of the barber and the ideology of a true rebel. The barber is proud of the precision and perfection he maintains while dealing with his customers. He is a skilled barber who does his job perfectly without allowing even a tiny pore to open and issue forth its pearl of blood.
The captain comes to test the barber for he knows he is a conscientious barber and that he would find it hard to kill. The captain is true to his profession. He enters the shop as a customer and not as an authoritative officer. He presents himself as a defenseless customer. The barber debates with his conscience. His conscience gives him both versions of the result of the killing of the captain. Some may hail him as the true rebel and some may call him a coward for having killed an unarmed captain. He ultimately overcomes the temptation to kill the captain. The barber thinks in terms of violence and bloodshed but decides not to sacrifice his principles and ideals to fulfill the cause of the rebels.
The true ideology of a rebel is to fight for a cause. He would kill an enemy in the battlefield and not in his shop. The barber ultimately understands that his job is to prepare the lather and nothing more than that. The barber at the end has just lather in his hand and not blood or stain.
The title “Just Lather That’s All” refers to his profession that it is just lather nothing more matters to him.

What is Beauty - Will Durant

The essay is a contemplative perspective about the concept of beauty. The author W.J.Durant is not definitive about the meaning of the concept, instead he believes that the meaning is subjective and can be apparently understood as anything that please a man. The aura of beauty may appeal the beholds at physical, emotional and spiritual levels.
Durant likens the pleasure of beauty to the sublime a couple may desire for each other. In addition, beauty may also lie in the art of love making, the color coordination, dance, music, pottery etc.
The essay in the subsequent paragraphs does a survey of the development of the concept of beauty through age. In the primitive era, in the Australian continent, men had monopolized the art of adorning themselves with ornaments. The men would also point the entire body as some festive occasions. It could be to attract a women or for personal gratification. In some tribes the sailors would paint their nails and teeth too. Some tribal women even carried their dressing cases with them.
The Greeks took the art of adorning the body to a greater extent. They preferred permanence of beautification of the bodies through tattooing. They almost embroidered their skin. Earrings and nose-ring were considered not just as beauty maskers but cultural too.
In fact, the ravage in the part has no concept of nudity. When Darwin gave some tribal’s a piece of cloth to cover their nudity, they tore it into pieces and used it as ornaments. Durant feels that from the beginning both sexes have preferred ornaments to clothing. The obsession for ornaments was such that, at times the weight of the ornaments would tire the Congo women. They hired attendants to far them during such time.
Apart from self-love, the impulse to beauty is reflected in certain other ways like beautifying things. Pottery was the major source for the tribes of South Africa. If some painted pots some painted their huts. They often painted the pictures of animals which they wish to chase down. The Eskimos would carve ivory into figure of animals some paintings would indicate on object of worship or the dead.
The author also touches upon the history of architecture. In fact architecture is nothing but beautifying the house/building. In the part the building would be sublimated in reverence of the dead or gods gradually the concept of beauty got reflected in other cultural factors like song, dance and music. Most festival was celebrated with chanting and dancing. Instrumental music seems to have been triggered by dance. The primitive man eventually developed advanced musical instruments like trumpets and flutes. This lead to the creation of drama and the opera. The dances reflected both sexual expression as well as more serious expressions like mourning.
Thus D wants to say that we own our modern culture to the savages who created the base of it. All nodes of economic life have their origin in the primitive life of man. The primitive man developed language, culture, medicine and literature.
Hence it has been a long journey from the stage of savagery to refinement.