Tradition- A manifesto of Progressive Writers Movement

 

The first conference under the presidency of Prem Chand took place in Lucknow because the progressive writers were against the feudal system in India and they raised their voice against an oppressive government. They followed the theory of carl Marx and talked about how laborers and females are oppressed in Indian society. Prem Chand in this movement said, “It is the duty of Indian writers to give full expression to the changes taking place in Indian life and promote scientific and radical outlook and set such critical standards that could adequately combat outdated ideas and beliefs about family, religion, sex, war, and society. It is incumbent upon them to check the growth of such ideas and trends, which advocate communalism, racial prejudice and human exploitation." (Javed Akhtar, 2006)

Apart from focusing on literature to spread strong messages, Prem Chand knew that Indians have a unique attraction towards their past. The movement of Indian writers was to create conventional patterns in fiction so that they can secure their tradition, and this is a natural response to their worldview promoted by their cultural heritage. All the efforts made through this movement were for the wish to return to the past which they felt very pleasant for themselves. In other words, we can say that Indian’s special attachment to their past makes them escape from the bitter realities of life. In the literature, there are repeated themes such as the woman sacrificing, and suffering and rituals of purification are adopted. Moreover, Prem Chand shaped the characters of his literary works from the Hindu past keeping in view of protection of the past times. (Prem Kumar, 2014)

This story ‘Kafan’ describes the pathetic situation in India during the colonial regime. Munshi Prem Chand has talked about the exploitation of the middle class and poor by the elite class.  As in the story, both father and the son were humiliated by the landlord and they forced the master class to shell out money that they would not have in ordinary circumstances. As both belonged to a low caste ‘Chamars’, lacked basic rights, and looked upon in the society. Prem Chand raised his voice and wrote about this reality of how the basic rights of people were ignored.

Furthermore, Hunger occupies the leading role in the story kafan. In the twentieth century, many people in India were experiencing famine which led to the death of many people. Prem Chand focused on this idea that how under feudal system rich is becoming rich and poor people lack basic necessities like food, cloth etc.

The lady in the story lays the foundation of civilization. There was tradition to cover the dead body with shroud and burn them later on, but that tradition was not followed as Ghishu and Madhav get drunk instead of buying a shroud for the dead Budhiya. But Prem Chand has focused on the idea that how difficult it is for a layman to buy a piece of cloth to cover the dead body and how they are oppressed by the elite class. Similarly, Prem Chand focused on the opposition of male Vs females and Budhiya depicts the helplessness of females in male dominant society. Prem Chand has focused that female is suppressed by the males after marriage and has no role in the society and they are meant to satisfy the physical desires of a man in Indian society.

 

REFERENCES

Rasheed Sheikh & Farrukh Nadeem, “The Narrative in Munshi Premchand’s Short Story, The Shroud (Kafan): A Poststructuralist Analysis Faisal

Donatella Dolcini, “ The theme of hunger in Kafan, a short story by Prem Chand”

 Javed Akhtar and Humayun Zafar Zaidi (2006), “ Progressive Writers' Movement in Urdu Literature”

Prem Kumar (2014), “ARCHETYPAL PATTERNS IN PREMCHAND'S EARLY NOVELS”

Analysis of theme of death and maturity in the short story ‘The Dead’ through lens of stream of consciousness.

The short story “The dead” by James Joyce depicts the stream of consciousness, a symbol of death and self-realization. According to Merriam Webster, the stream of consciousness is “the continuous unedited chronological flow of conscious experience through the mind.” The story reflects the fundamental image of a dying city, real parochialism, and the hospitality of Dublin City. (Mohammad, 2011)

This story revolves around a round character who undergoes psychological changes. Gabriel Coronal is the protagonist in the story who attends an annual party with his wife at his aunt’s place. Throughout this celebration, a sequence of insignificant happenings makes him change his feelings of self-confidence and supremacy. The criticism of the maid, Lily, and his colleague Molly Ivors challenged his dignity. While on other hand, his aunt’s dependence on him and his speech reinforced his self-esteem. The Christmas festival and the possibility of an unusual stay at the hotel triggered his romantic feelings, for his wife, that have been hidden for so long. But later on, when he approached his wife, he discovered that his wife was in remembrance of her past love, Michael Furey, now dead. This incident gave him the vision of his own self and his encounter with his deceased adversary, made him evaluate himself. Moreover, he realized that his physical existence was nothing in front of the love of a dead. (Walzl, 1966)

The title of the story not only creates a feeling of death and burial ground all over but also shows the dead relationship of Gabriel with his spouse. Few critics say that this story revolves around the theme of ‘living dead’ as Bernard Benstock says that this story is related to "those who remain alive, but fail to live: the disillusioned, the self-destructive, the blighted and wasted lives". The theme of death in this short story is illustrated by the themes of ‘corruption’ and ‘moral paralysis’ which lead to spiritual and physical death, respectively. In the story, the death of Michael Furrey and other residents of the graveyard where he lays underground shows Joyce’s motherland and its natives and Joyce blames England and the church for this loss rather than Irish themselves. (Mohammad, 2011)

In the start of the story, the writer has tried to create a dark and gloomy situation by using “dark, gaunt house on Usher's Island" and "Julia, though she was quite grey”. Moreover, the name of the daughter of the caretaker, Lily, is linked to a flower that is used at funerals that also points towards death. When Gabriel enters the party with his spouse, Lily welcomes them and asks for a reason to come late, he replies “but they forget that my wife here takes three mortal hours to dress herself” which symbolizes the theme of death in itself. Most important, the snow embodies frostiness, loneliness, heartlessness, paralysis, and death. For instance, in the sentence "He stood on the mat, scraping the snow from his galoshes”, the snow and the galoshes both represent death. The latter was also used by other critics to signify death as they were trendy in Europe and not in Ireland. Furthermore, the west of Ireland is related to the past of Gabriel’s wife, Gretta, so the death is connected to his expedition to west Ireland. His clash with Miss Ivors revealed his personality that he pulls out himself from the blunt argument. After Gabriel’s speech, it was obvious that the past and death overshadowed the happiness of the annual party. (Mohammad, 2011)

When the party ends, everyone leaves for their homes and Gabriel waits for his wife to come downstairs who was listening to the voice of some man singing. Gabriel never heard that music but Gretta was nostalgic to that music. This music brought her back to the time she spent with her past love, who died loving her passionately.  This scene made Gabriel realized that he was separated from the secret life of Gretta. The lyrics of that song were related to the stillness of Gretta and the profound pain of her previous emotional condition and the death of her past lover. While on other hand, these lyrics generated a sexual desire in Gabriel for his spouse, but he was unaware of the fact that his imagination will betray and embarrass him. When both reach the hotel after taking a cab, Gabriel tried to approach his wife, and she burst into tears. After some time, she told her husband that the song reminded her of Michael Furey whom she found at her stay at Galway. Moreover, she informed him of the sudden death of his former love at the age of seventeen who worked at a gas station. All this information took Gabriel aback and hurt his self-esteem. His confidence was destroyed, and he was mortified for not being equal to such an ordinary teenager. He started realizing his importance and considered himself inferior to Michael. James Joyce is story says, “He saw himself as a ludicrous figure, acting as a penny boy for his aunts, a nervous, well-meaning sentimentalist, orating to vulgarians and idealizing his own clownish lusts, the pitiable fatuous fellow he had caught a glimpse of in the mirror. Instinctively he turned his back more to the light lest she might see the shame that burned upon his forehead.” (Mohammad, 2011)

After telling her husband the whole story, Gretta went to sleep, and Gabriel felt insignificant as if he never lived with his wife before. His eyes were filled with tears, his dominancy disappeared, and his lust changed into love. This was his first step towards maturity, giving up his pride and ego for his wife. In last, Gabriel looks at the snow and thinks that its time to move towards the west Ireland. Although the west was symbolized as a death place, it was a place of love for Gretta, and for Gabriel, it was related to the past which was now different. Moreover, the falling snow signifies the combined mindfulness of living and deceased. Gabriel started musing through an epiphany about snow that falls all over Ireland, on the living and the dead. He thinks that snow is unifying both east and west Ireland and it emerges the sense of love in him for his wife and her dead lover. Some critics portray Gabriel as living dead, but he recognizes his individuality in the living world. Moreover, this was a point of self-realization for him that is not different from others. (Mohammad, 2011)

The theme of death in “The Dead” is related to the theme of mortality in “The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe”. The short story, Tell-tale heart is based on the literary device of stream of consciousness. This story is a killing mystery in which a man killed an old man with a vulture eye. After the murder, he could hear the heartbeat of the old man and he realized that a dead heart could not beat. This was actually the realization of the crime he had committed, and he was guilty of it. (Amir, 2018) Similarly, another story, Hills like white elephant by Earnest Hemmingway is also related to the theme of death. This story is about an American man who represents the lost generation and White Elephant symbolizes the unborn child. The man asks his girl to abort their child which represents the idea of death.

 References:

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Stream of consciousness. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved December 27, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stream%20of%20consciousness

Mohammad, K. K. (2011, September). Self-discovery in the James Joyce's The Dead. 1-24. Retrieved December 27, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331791607

Walzl, F. L. ( 1966). Gabriel and Michael: The Conclusion of "The Dead". James Joyce Quarterly, 4, 17-31. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/2548660

Amir, S. (2018). Analysis of short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe. The creative launcher, 2. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328162362_Analysis_of_the_Short_Story_The_Tell-Tale_Heart_by_Edgar_Allan_Poe?enrichId=rgreq-7573af98195f89a62c8e53262297d059-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzMyODE2MjM2MjtBUzo2Nzk3MTc4NDE2NzgzMzdAMTUzOTA2ODc3MDQ2MA%3

Human errors of insanity and lack of responsibility in literature

According to Merriam webster ‘to err is human’ means, "it is normal for people to make mistakes."Man is a social animal. When he interacts with society and its environment, he makes mistakes and learns from them. Similarly, when God created this world, Adam and Eve made mistakes when they ate the ‘forbidden fruit’. So, we can say that making mistakes is natural. Moreover, making mistakes is part of a human beings and their nature. It is also said that ‘to forgive is divine’ which means that God forgives his creation for their timely made mistakes when a person seeks forgiveness. Because it is better to admit mistakes and excuse them because God has the trait to forgive His people.

From ancient times, literature has put light on the theme of madness. In the classical period of literature, insanity was associated with divine power. It was considered that the people who are insane, are lost in the thoughts and love of their creator. i.e. God. Moreover, the people had a divine vision of everything, and their insanity was associated with spirituality. The concept of insanity was changed in the renaissance period. In the renaissance period, a mad person was the one who was embarrassed by deliberate pride. The concept of madness was continued from the renaissance to the neo-classical period.  In the neo-classical period of English Literature, a mad person was considered accountable for his own madness because of his incapability to let his reason control his emotions. The romantic period held a different perception of insanity. In the romantic period, a mad person is suppressed and has been a victim of overpowering circumstances. Such situations made him act differently and think differently.

An African writer, Chinua Achebe has presented the theme of insanity in his story ‘The madman’. In this story, he has discussed the different notions Ibos had of insanity. The story shows the psychic difference between two persons i.e., madman and Nwibe. When the madman takes Nwibe’s clothes, and Nwibe started running behind him to show his madness and later he tries to convince other people. “’Stop the madman,’ he shouted hoarsely, ’he’s got my cloth!’ Everyone looked at him first in surprise and then less surprised because strange sights are common in a great market. Some of them even laughed. ’They’ve got his cloth he says.’ That’s a new one I’m sure. He hardly looks mad yet. Doesn’t he have people I wonder?” (Achube,  Madman). With those statements, Newbie was denounced as Mad who is absolved of his misbehavior and his family is blamed for letting him out of freehand. Nwibe’s two relatives were ready to give their basket of Yams and calabash of palm wine in order to prevent Nwibe. “Setting foot irrevocably within the occult territory of the powers of the market”. His relatives were unable to stop him but a woman gave her top cloth to cover Nwibe’s nakedness. But the people did not listen to the story that madman took his clothes.

Albert Camus famous shorty-story ‘The Guest’ focuses on the lack of responsibility in human nature. When a person came into this world, he has to perform his responsibilities in society. However, it is also in human nature that he runs from his duties. In the story, ‘The guest’ Daru explores man's moral responsibilities. Despite knowing the troubles, he believes that it is wrong to hand over the prisoner to the higher authorities. He was given the responsibility to have an eye on the prisoner but he treats him as a guest and offers him food. Moreover, he gives him the chance to escape which shows his irresponsibility. However, Daru was accountable to the higher authority even he delivered them the prisoner or not. “you handed over our brother.  You will pay for this.’’ (p. 192)

Communicative Approach of Language Teaching

 The communicative approach of Language teaching (CLT) was firstly started in Britain and used all over the world for teaching English as a second language (ESL). Communicative Language teaching was considered as the need of the hour after the discontentment of linguists with the Grammar-Translation method and Audio-lingual method of language teaching. Moreover, students were unable to learn language through Audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods. So, it was thought that language should be taught to students based on communicative competence rather than command on the structure of sentences. (Thamarana, 2015)

Communicative language teaching is “An approach to foreign or second language teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence” (Richards, 1992).

Why CLT approach is best than other methods?

Linguists have devised different methods for language teaching and learning but I believe that the Communicative approach is one of the best. The grammar-translation method is based on memorization of grammar-translation and the Audio-lingual method is a kind of drill of repetition of sentences. However, CLT focuses on both the structure and the function of language i.e., communication. Moreover, it emphasized developing communicative competence in the learners rather than teaching them mere grammatical rules. (Thamarana, 2015) Here are some points for CLT as the best method

i)               Fluency and Accuracy

The communicative method is considered the best because it focuses on fluency and accuracy of language.  It also encourages learners to enhance their capability of using the English language. Moreover, it builds their confidence when they communicate fluently. (Thamarana, 2015). However, at some points, fluency is considered more important than accuracy because it keeps students engaged in communication. (Brown) n.d.

 

ii)             Not limited to oral skills

The communicative method of teaching language is not confined to oral skills, but it also helps students in improving their reading and listening skills. Some people have a misconception that the communicative approach is limited to verbal skills, but students’ interpretation and expression of meaning are also involved in it. It gives chance to students so they can improve their ideas and the way of their expression. (Thamarana, 2015)

 

iii)           Student-centered

The communicative approach is the best method of learning and teaching language because it student-centered. Asimova says, “A typical communicative language teaching lesson follows a PPP model. The teacher may present some part of the lesson, and students complete some exercises, but then students produce the language in freer activities that help them to communicate. As a result, the student talk is increased, whereas the teacher talk is decreased. The teacher establishes situations that promote communication, and he facilitates students’ communication. During the activities, he does not interrupt them, but he monitors their performance. Error correction is not immediate. If he notes a mistake and he realizes that he has to work on it, he does it later during a more accuracy-based activity. However, the role of students is to communicate by negotiating to mean. Even if their knowledge of the target language is not complete, they still have to try and make themselves understood, but also understand their classmates’ intentions of communication” (Azimova, 2019)

 

iv)            Communicative Competence

As communication has great significance in CLT, it empowers learners to use English in a talkative position. (Thamarana, 2015) . Moreover, Azimova, S (2019) says that communicative competence helps in “Knowing how to use language for a range of different purposes and functions, how to vary our use of language according to the setting and the participants, how to produce and understand different types of texts, how to maintain communication despite having limitations in one’s language knowledge.” (Azimova, 2019)

 

v)             Focus on meaning

The communicative approach is the best method of learning and teaching language because it makes learners focus on the meaning of purpose and expression of speaking and writing. (Azimova, 2019)

 

vi)            Social Interaction

The communicative approach is the best method of learning and teaching language because it believes in social interaction among learners. Communication is the greater obstacle in learning a language that can be removed by interacting with others rather than just memorizing the sentences. (Azimova, 2019)

 

References

Azimova, S. (2019). THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.33619/2414-2948/41/70

Brown, H. D. (n.d.). PRINCIPLES of LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING (Fifth ed.). doi:ISBN: 0-13-199128-0

Thamarana, S. (2015, July). A Critical Overview of Communicative Language Teaching. International joournal of English Language, Literature and Humanities , 3(5). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282877159

·        Richards, J., et. al. (1992). Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics. London: Longman

 

Analysis of the poem ‘Promises like Pie-Crust’ by Christiania Georgina Rossetti

Poem link:  https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/poem/promises-like-pie-crust/

Analysis:

This is a captivating poem that represents a woman who believes in freedom more than promises. The woman prefers her liberty and wants to be independent. After reading the poem it is obvious that she does not fear saying ‘No’ to the man she is not interested in anymore. Similarly, the girl is challenging the norms by not being dependent on the partner and prioritizing her liberty.

The title of the poem “Promises like Pie-Crust” depicts that the promises are like the crust of a pie, sensitive and tender. The crust of the pie is a metaphor here that shows the delicacy of promises and they can be broken easily as if they are made to be broken. I have observed themes of fear, disloyalty, and freedom in the poem. Moreover, the narrator of the poem seems to be a girl who is sharing her feelings with one of her beloved. The tone of the poem indicates that girl does not want to be in a relationship anymore and she wants her freedom back.

The first stanza of the poem shows the theme of fear. The line “Promise me no promises” reveals her demanding tone of no promises of being together with her friend in a relationship. This stanza also shows double meaning. On one side, the girl has a negative perception of promises and she fears being bound in any commitment because she believes that promises are so delicate to handle and can be broken easily. Because once any promise is broken or not completed it haunts us for our whole life. But on other side, despite not believing in promises, she asks for one promise of ‘No Promises’. Another theme that can be seen in the first stanza is the theme of freedom. The girl believes in freedom and liberty and thinks that promise might limit them. She prefers liberty to be engaged in the relationship. I do not know exactly at what times this poem was written but maybe the female author tries to challenge norms at that time by not submitting to her partner easily. She does not want to depend on her lover. She also poses a question to her friend by saying that if she could not know about his past how he can know about hers. Again, this question emphasizes her wants for freedom. She does not want her lover to even question her past. She does not want to reveal her past identity because sometimes some people hurt you by mocking your past.

The second stanza of the poem illustrates the theme of disloyalty and jealousy. “You so warm may once have been...warmer towards another one” discloses that her friend was more loyal with past partners. At once, his friend’s feelings were warm towards her but now it has become cold. The girl is not sure what fortune holds for their relationship because no one can predict the future. But at the moment she does not want to marry her friend.

In the last stanza, the girl says to her friend that pledge of being together will lead him to great sorrow and their freedom will be lost. Moreover, she might end up breaking the bond between them. The poet has used the phrase ‘break the chain’ that is a metaphor for breaking the bond or relationship.  Moreover, the girl wants to be friends. The poet has used personification ‘frugal fare’ for relationship. The girl believes in flourishing with frugal love as she does not want to die of excess love. 

Interpretative Essay on ‘The Blue Nightgown by Charles Grosel”

 The original short story link is: https://harpurpalate.binghamton.edu/issue-19-2-20-1/the-blue-nightgown/

INTERPRETATION:

The story 'The Blue Nightgown' by Charles Grosel signifies the emotional conflict of the child with his father and former’s desire to know more about his deceased mother. It also shows the agony and helplessness of the child in the remembrance of a departed soul. This story revolves around the leading character, Tommy, who misses his mother, who died in an accident while sending a mail. On the one side, the writer shows the heartlessness of the father, who tries to keep his son away from every memory about his mother so that these memories do not haunt him. He pretends to be strong and hard-natured in front of his son, but later, Tommy discovers that his father misses his mom as well. The boy's father seems to be obsessed with the nightgown that brings back the memories of his wife. While, on the other hand, his aunt Rita talks to Tommy about his mother to keep her memories alive in her son's heart. And this love-filled conversation between them inspires the protagonist to develop an emotional relationship with his aunt. The separation of the son from his mother at a very young age and his father imposing restrictions on him shows that the boy has maternal deprivation and daddy issues which cover the whole story as a theme. This situation made him not develop socially and mentally. As a result, he could not deal with the situation when his age fellows abused him. Moreover, his father's duplicity in desires made him control his son, and the son was bound to follow his instructions. The distressing relationship with father does not allow him to develop abilities to respond the psychological and social misbehaves. Then innocent, inexperienced, and immature Tommy starts finding peace in mother’s belongings, books, picture, and the blue nightgown.

This story has a chronological plot that starts from a conflict and ends at a resolution. At the start of the story, the narrator talks about the characters (a dead mother, Aunt Rita, Toni, Tommy, and his father) and their relationship with each other. Besides, he has given basic information about the death of Tommy’s mother. As this is a first-person narrative, the narrator has used the persona ‘I’ to express his thoughts about the death of his mother. The story is set in a two-story old house with a wooden floor, where the child is the main domain. The narrator is the first-person immature, sensitive, and naive protagonist who misses his mother silently but never spoke about this in front of his father. However, Tommy’s father seems to be the antagonist because of his heartlessness and coldish behavior. He never did a heart talk with his son, even if, he asks him about his mother, his father never responds.

The protagonist does not have a strong relationship with his father as he has some daddy issues. Daddy issue is the term that is used to describe a person who has ‘unconscious impulses and association’ due to the damaged relationship with his father. (Brido) . Tommy was neither closed to his father nor had a conversation with him. At sometimes, his father gave him the command to do a few things. Whenever Tommy is in any physical pain i.e., earache, he does not tell his father but spends his night rolling over the bed. One day when he got severe pain, he went downstairs, and his father started scolding him since he disturbed his privacy.

At the start of the story, the narrator has shown a more extraordinary protagonist's love for his mother's books. A book is a symbol for communication and expression of one's desire. This symbol in the story might point towards the mother's desire for his son to express his feelings and emotions in front of loved ones. But his father never allowed him to do so, as his mother died. Another character in the story is Aunt Rita, an affectionate lady who takes care of Tommy after his mother's death. Moreover, she was the only one who would listen to him and talk about his mother by saying, "then you and Aunt Rita can talk. Would you like that?". After his mother's death, Tommy moves to his aunt's house, and his father, who does not talks about his mother anymore, demonstrates the inciting action in the story. Tommy was unable to get love from his father, so he inclined to his aunt Rita and found a home in her because, according to attachment theory, a child needs to have a close bond with at least one caregiver. (Simpson)

Tommy's father had many restrictions over him, and instead of making him understand things with love and care, he used to give him instructions. Tommy was even not allowed to leave his room once he went to sleep. This also shows the strictness of his father over him. One night, Tommy came outside of his room because of severe earache, sneaked in his father's room, and saw his mother's jewelry on the bed. Moreover, a wardrobe was open, which used to be locked every time. Then he saw his father with 'a scarf to his face and a blue nightgown which he hugged, later. The blue color in literature stands for peace, so the blue nightgown represents a peaceful memory and a faraway person. Tommy's father seems obsessed with that blue nightgown which makes him recall the beautiful moments with his wife. When he is alone and wants some privacy, he takes the blue nightgown out of the wardrobe. In this story, the wardrobe signifies the father's secrecy, which was disturbed by his son. Afterward, the boy was caught for disturbing his father's privacy, and the next day, his father dropped him at Aunt Rita's place.

There came a rising action when the narrator says, "I figured he just didn't think about her, that he was able to forget her in a way that I, who never really knew her, could not," (Grosel, 2) but then seeing his father with his mother's items made him surprised. This also shows the duplicity of the character's desire, the father, who misses his wife but does not allow his son to miss his mother? Moreover, this story seems to be a 'Psychological fiction’ which is defined as, "work of fiction in which the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of the characters are of equal or greater interest than is the external action of the narrative". (Augustyn) In the same manner, when Tommy says, "I soon learned that asking about my mother got me nowhere", his expression of thoughts light up the story.

The theme of 'Maternal deprivation' has also been observed in this story: the partial or complete separation of a child from the female parent, which leads the child's mental, social, emotional development to be always retarded (Bums,148). Tommy was separated from his mother at a very young age and had no one to take care of him. He felt insecure, and he was unable to socialize with anyone, even with his friends. When children from the neighborhood came to play, they made fun of Tommy because he had a finger in his mouth that shows his confusion. Furthermore, the children called him retard and taunt him that he cannot read. This shows the results of maternal deprivation and Tommy's incapability to cope with the situation. Later on, his Aunt Rita came up to protect him from the abuse and showed him pictures of his mother. She gave him an album of photos that symbolize the memories.

Gradually, the rising action reaches the turning point when Aunt Rita showed him the picture of his mother and asked him, "You've never seen a picture?" (Grosel, 10) and then his father showed up and when he saw his son with his mother's picture, he became upset and said, "That's enough…. Give it here…You had no right."(13). This shows that the father was not happy that his son has discovered about his mother. It shows that the father's unfulfilled desire not to let his son know about his mother lead to egoistic control over him. Thus, he took the picture from him, dragged him home and does not permit him to revisit Aunt Rita.

That day he called Mrs. McIntire, an old lady, for babysitting. Even if she used to give him cookies upon his wait for the bus, she was not liked by the narrator. Tommy was not ready to spend his time with her, but for the whole week, he helped her taking her footbath and watched her sleeping. He used to read her newspaper and talk about his mother. When Mrs. McIntire went asleep, the boy tries to open the wardrobe and feel his mother's presence in her clothes, especially in the blue nightgown. This nightgown appeared to be the source of peace and contentment for both father and son. Suddenly, he heard someone coming towards the room and then his father caught him again, went furious, and asked him "What were you thinking" and the boy replied, "About my mother"(20). This also points towards the anti-climax. Subsequently, the falling action came when the father told his son about his mother's blue nightgown and made him realize how happy his mother was at his birth. Here, the blue nightgown also points towards the mother's pleasure and satisfaction, which she got to wear on the birth of her child, and says, "I'm just so happy".

In the last of the story, the conflict was resolved, and the father gave his son 'the picture of his mother'. He says, "Grab what's on top there." It was a picture frame, face down, the one from Aunt Rita's," (20) pointing towards the denouement. This picture was the physical representation of his mother, but it symbolizes the permanence of things that are gone. It also shows the permanence of people who are not with us in this world. Thus, Tommy's mother's picture became the source to make him emotionally and mentally stable. It also made him feel attached to his mother. The end of the story tells us how difficult it is to keep a child away from the things that belong to his mother. However, the picture of his mother and her blue nightgown becomes the reason for his peace and happiness

References

• Simpson, Jeffery A. “Attachment Theory.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/science/attachment-theory
• Brido, Janet. “Yes, ‘Daddy Issues’ Are a Real Thing – Here’s How to Deal.” Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/what-are-daddy-issues#origin
• Augustyn, Adam. “Psychological Novel.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/psychological-novel
• Bums, R.B. “Maternal deprivation,” Essential Psychology. 1991. Pg. (148-149).
• Grosel, Charles, “The Blue Nightgown”, Harpurpalate. 2020. https://harpurpalate.binghamton.edu/issue-19-2-20-1/the-blue-nightgown/

Change In Trend Of Literature From Late 19th Century To Late 20th Century

 

Credit: Elena Poiata
Picture Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-04-approach-humanists-scientists-evolution-literature.html

According to Merriam Webster (n.d) literature is the, “writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest”. Literature has been evolved in different periods and movements. This change in trend of literature has been observed from medieval and early modern period to the post-modern literature. As far as the literature of late 19th century is concerned, it starts after High-Victorian period. In the late 19th century, the perceived culture and ‘dominant values’ of Victoria era underwent development, and this was the head start of modernism. This era is also discussed as ‘Aestheticism’. (Rainsford, 2014)

American civil war ended with many social changes and ‘post-war literature’ was distinct from that of Renaissance literature. The contents and writing style of English literature was also altered from ‘extravagant and fantastical’ to factual and routine life. This late nineteenth-century is also known as Realistic Period. For instance, a famous American novelist and short-story writer, Kate Chopin, portrayed ‘female oppression and sexuality’ in her writings. (Rainsford, 2014). The characters in Kate Chopin’s short stories were of mixed-race Americans and Creoles. Some of elements that are found in Chopin’s novels and short stories include ‘Woman’s self-realization’, ‘woman revolt against conformity’, ‘Attitude towards race’ and ‘Poverty’, ‘Lesbian elements’. (Koloski, (n.d)) .

From 1900 to 1914, naturalist period started which has a clear distinction from realism. This was the start of 20th century literature. Rainsford, D (2014) says that naturalism is the phenomenon in which human beings are considered only the part of living world. In Particular, it refers to a trend which signifies a globe from which divinity has vanished and substituted by ‘secular building of thinkers’ who opposed to religion. The early twentieth’ short-story writers were loyal to particular time and places. They brought our attention to ‘human psychology’ and by the elements of symbolism and mannerism. (Rainsford, 2014)

From 1910, modernist period started in America. The world war I (1914-1918) resulted in the massacre and fall of cultural and political tradition which later on altered the ‘form and content’ of literature. People started realizing how hard the war was and how small the world was. Eventually the development of war technology, automobiles and telephone took place in late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Moreover, after the death of many writers in the war, English Literature encountered a major movement. This movement was led by the group of intellectuals known as ‘Bloomsbury group’ including Virginia Woolf. They focused on new standards for sex and gender and promoted feminism. Similarly, another movement, ‘The Harlem Renaissance’ was lead in America whose main focus were the black people who were considered as slaves and inferior to white people. These movements brought a great change in the history of literature and the critics focused on the most neglected ideas. (Rainsford, 2014)

In High modernism (from world war I to world war II) ‘Provocation’ had been the major trait of literature. There was a great race of experimentation in this era. In this period, new ideas were immerged from ‘psychoanalysis and ethnography’, ‘narrative’ and ‘imagist’ mode.  In addition, Modernism is an urban phenomenon that is connected to exile. The ‘lost generation’ of writers in America who favored Europe and rejected US.  For example, James Joyce, wrote about his exile from Dublin. Similarly, Ulysses by James Joyce is based on the realist elements, also follows ‘stream of consciousness’. (Rainsford, 2014)

After the world war I, there was a need of relocating the broken pieces of the world. So, the text that was written at that time included the social as well as political issues. For instance, John Steinbeck portrayed the condition of poor people after the Great Depression. However, the second world war did not expose the great writers except for the Churchill whose speeches had great impact on the people and George Orwell whose writings covered all social and political aspects. (Rainsford, 2014)

Colonial English literature existed in the Asia and Africa i.e., Nigeria, Kenya, and India. The famous Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore also contributed to English literature which was later on taught in schools during colonial era. In post-colonial period, there was relocation of political power and ambiguity in nature of ‘cultural and linguistic power’. The writers found themselves in a dilemma to use their native language or the language used by their colonial rulers. (Rainsford, 2014) After the partition of India and Pakistan, many writers wrote about the conditions of people after partition. Moreover, the themes of partition literature revolve around the exploitation of woman, rape, fear, abduction, violence, brutality, and murder. (Aijaz Ahmad Ganie, 2017)

Afterwards, a famous writer Chinua Achebe made his mark in the Britain of having an ‘International impact’. His writings made many post-colonial writers to put light on the cultural and ethnic diversity. (Rainsford, 2014). Achebe wrote many short stories which were based on the themes of independence, liberty, disobedience, fear, and madness. (McManus, n.d.). The comparatively contradictory era of post-modernism also focused on the structural design of buildings and intermixing of culture and tradition. Moreover, the modernist literature put emphasis on the individualism, experimentation, and absurdity. An example of theater of Absurd is “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett. (Rainsford, 2014)

If we consider the writings of Virginia Woolf, she was mindful of the reality of society, nature, and inner consciousness. She tried to connect her inner and outer worlds. In her writings she starts from a connecting point and then express her ideas in different ways. Virginia Woolf, at her time was the main subject of feminist criticism (Chaudhary, 2018). She mostly wrote about equality, women’ destruction, equal rights, feminism, woman’s inferiority, women’s independence. Her novels To The Light House, Orlando shows all the modernist elements that were needed to be addressed for women. (UKEssays, 2018). The techniques that are used in Virginia Woolf’ writings include symbolism, stream of consciousness, narrative technique, and poetic style. One of the most famous techniques, she used in her writing is the ‘Stream of Consciousness’. For example, her novel Mrs. Dalloway is based on this literary device in which Woolf talked about privacy, communication, and loneliness. (Chaudhary, 2018).

If we specifically discuss Virginia Woolf short story The Mark on the Wall, it does not have any live characters, fascinating plot, and detailed setting. This story put emphasis on first person point of view and follows the stream of consciousness. In this story, Woolf consider a mark and see it under reality, society, art, history, and life. The first persona ‘I’ does not tell us about the identity of the character. The story depicts the flashes of thoughts that came into her mind while looking at the mark. (Hai-ying, 2018) The main themes of this story include gender role, change uncertainty, faith, and trust. While looking at the wall, many issues strike her mind and she thinks of the inequality between man and woman. She ponders why there is a man dominated society out there and she still cannot have faith on the religion because church is also man controlled. (McManus, n.d.). However, she was certain about the uselessness of the newspaper when she says "Though it's no good buying newspapers… Nothing ever happens” (Woolf, 1917). She believes that nothing can help woman in changing their position or status. Moreover, the woman only has the duty to serve as a wife. In addition, she also talks about the gender roles that are specified for males and females by the society. The narrator is also certain about the war, that war is man-made, and woman are submissive to man and they cannot help in war as well. The mark can be a symbol of the imperfection of society. The narrator of the story seems to be aware of the norms of society at the time when this story was written. At that time women had no right to cast vote or play any role in politics. The narrator also focuses on the nature and shows her desire for freedom. She also talks about the growth and survival of a person “tree; and trees grow, and we don't know how they grow……. I like to think of the tree itself” (Woolf, 1917). The narrator symbolizes tree to herself because believes that the wood of trees remain after they are cut off.  She showed her desire to be alive in the society even after her own death. In the whole story, the narrator is actually trying to figure out where she stands in a male dominated society. However, the ‘snail’ in the story is a symbol of sensitivity and patience. The writer might point to the patience of woman in the cruel patriarchal society. (McManus, n.d.)

In late 19th century, nationalist enthusiasm throughout the subcontinent aroused the concern in indigenous language. Thus, Rabindranath Tagore contributed in English literature to make us aware of Bengali culture and creed. He had done many experiments with the form and content of literature and he used colloquial style in his writings. He perfectly describe the setting, characters, and plot in his writings. (Kellman, n.d.). He has discussed the real life of woman who are imprisoned and exploited in the male-controlled society. In his short story Postmaster, he has represented the village life, social conducts, and unfortunate ends. The theme in this story is the exploitation of lower-class people by powerful. (Kellman, n.d.) This story also depicts the loneliness, compassion, and wisdom. There are two main characters in the story, one is innocent and responsible and voiceless girl while other is cold man(postmaster) who is more connected to materialistic world.  The story, Postmaster, represents the condition of the woman in 19th century in Bengal when woman were not given rights of education and they were considered inferior. Tagore knew the importance of education for girls as well that is why he put emphasis on it in his story. (Das, 2018) "I was thinking," said the postmaster, "of teaching you to read." And then for the rest of the afternoon he taught her the alphabet” (Tagore, 1891) has shown that postmaster spend his free time to teach the girl, but this was also his excuse to end loneliness. Moreover, this story discuss the philosophy of life that no body stays forever, and one has to live without other “The postmaster heaved a sigh…... he slowly made for the boat.” (Tagore, 1891). Moreover, it has represented an oppressed girl whose emotions were neglected for all the time and she was supposed to live her life in poverty. However, the postmaster’s behavior depicts the society behavior towards the woman. The poor girl, Ratan, still expected and hoped that one day the postmaster will return which is a great example of the phrase, “Expectations always hurt”. (Das, 2018)

The above discussion concluded that the literature has been evolved and shaped from 19th to 20th century due to socio-political aspects. New writing techniques were developed and adopted by the writer. The political wars and society behavior brought writer’s attention to the daily lives’ issues. These socio-political factors made 19th and 20th century writers to focus on equality, feminism, social class difference, poverty, slavery, female oppression, patriarchal society, self-realization, fear, rape, and abduction. Virginia Woolf and Rabindranath Tagore spotlight the reality of life through their short stories The mark on the wall and The postmaster respectively.

 

 

 

References

UKEssays. (November 2018). Virginia Woolf's Literary Themes Of Feminism. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-literature/virginia-woolfs-literary-themes-of-feminism-english-literature-essay.php?vref=1

Aijaz Ahmad Ganie, M. R. (2017). THE PLIGHT OF COMMON PEOPLE IN THE PARTITION LITERATURE OF INDIAN SUBCONTINENT. Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies,, 4, 7049-7059. doi:https://doi.org/10.21922/srjis.v4i36.10080

Chaudhary, S. (2018). Style and Technique of Virginia Woolf: A Critical Study. 311-318.

Das, B. (2018). Rabindranath Tagore’s The Postmaster: A story of a silent sufferer. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 6(1).

Hai-ying, W. (2018). A Picture of “Subjective Reality”: A Narrative Analysis of Virginia Woolf’s “The Mark on the Wall”. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 8(3), 344-388. doi: 10.17265/2159-5836/2018.03.006

Kellman, S. G. (n.d.). Retrieved from e-notes: https://www.enotes.com/topics/rabindranath-tagore/critical-essays/analysis-2

Koloski, B. ((n.d)). Retrieved from KateChopin.org: https://www.katechopin.org/themes/

McManus, D. (n.d.). Retrieved from The sitting bee: http://sittingbee.com/short-stories-chinua-achebe/

Rainsford, D. (2014). STUDYING LITERATURE IN ENGLISH: AN INTRODUCTION. New York: Routledge.

Tagore, R. (1891). Postmaster.

Woolf, V. (1917). The Mark on the Wall.

 McManus, D. (n.d) "The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf." The Sitting Bee. The Sitting Bee, 22 Sep. 2017. Web