Swami and Friends by R. K. Narayan | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Swami and Friends was the first novel by R. K. Narayan that was published in the year 1935. R. K. Narayan along with Mulk Raj Anand, and Raja Rao was a prominent author of early Indian literature in English. Most of his works s set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. Malgudi is a fictional town that is both mythical and mundane and thus it becomes a place that is no place in reality yet it can be any town, any place in India.

Swami and Friends was the first part of a trilogy whose sequels were The Bachelor of Arts, published in 1937, and The English Teacher, published in 1945. The major themes of Swami and Friends include teenage, child psychology, authority, innocence, oppression and escape, colonial domination, friendship, belonging, and competition. Swami and Friends was the first work of R. K. Narayan that got published with the help of his friend Graham Greene who recommended his book to publishers. The initial title of the novel was Swami the Tate, which indicated the excellent skills of Swami as a cricket player, an allrounder batsman, and bowler much like Maurice Tate, the English cricketer. However, the title was changed to Swami and Friend considering the earlier success of Rudyard Kipling’s Stalky & Co.

Characters of Swami and Friends

Swami or Swaminathan is the main character of the novel. He is a 10 years old school-going boy who is a bit lazy and doesn’t like studying much. He is innocent and honest but doesn’t mind telling lies to his father or friends. He is a good friend and a good cricketer. He is popular among his friends which include Mani, Somu, Shankar, and Samuel or Pea. Mani lives with his poor widowed mother. He is strongly built and is also known as ‘Mighty good-for-nothing.’ He often bullies his classmates but he is not good at studies. Somu is the monitor of Swami’s class. He is confident and tries to impose his authority. Swami calls him the ‘uncle of the class.’ Shankar is a very studious and brilliant boy in Swami’s class. Swami admires Shankar’s intellect and often takes his help. However, Shankar leaves Malgudi as his father is transferred to another town. Samuel is the only Christian boy in the class who is short in height and thus, Swami and his friends call him the Pea (Matar). Rajam is the new boy in the class and is the son of the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Malgudi. He is a rich boy who fluently speaks English like a European kid. Being the son of the DSP, he gets more attention at school. He is fearless, witty, and authoritative. Initially, Swami feels threatened by Rajam as he loses his popularity but soon he develops a friendship with Rajam and becomes his fan so much so that his older friends start chiding him as ‘Rajam’s tail.’ Swami develops an inferiority complex. When Rajam visits Swami’s house, Swami lies to Rajam, saying that the room they were seated in was his room and not his father’s when the opposite was true. Rajam sees past Swami’s sham and yet is gracious enough not to ridicule him in his dwelling. Swami and his four old friends do a great job of seeing the positives of their differences but struggle to see the good in Rajam. Mani especially has animosity towards Rajam. However, Rajam manages to bring all of them together and be a close friends. Later on, he gives the idea of making a cricket team. He becomes the captain of the Malgudi Cricket Club (M.C.C) whose other members include Swami, Mani, Somu, and Samuel.

Shrinivasan is Swami’s father. He is a lawyer who is a strict and authoritative father. He adores Swami but wishes to work hard. He wishes Swami to study for long hours but Swami is careless about his studies. When all other students including Mani realize the importance of exam and answering an exam paper with all sincerity or at least as well as possible, Swami is careless and is more interested in non-essentials like clips, pins, nibs, exam cardboard pads, etc to buy which he asks money from his father. He is more interested in the summer vacations that would come after exams. He is so careless about his studies that he gets bored with exams and writes answers haphazardly and leaves the examination hall twenty minutes early. Lakshmi is Swami’s mother who is a housewife. She cares for Swami but remains busy with her kitchen chores and nursing Swami’s newly-born younger brother. Swami’s grandmother is an old religious lady who tells stories to Swami and is fond of him. However, Swami feels that both his father and mother are more concerned for his younger brother. Mr. Ebenezar is Swami’s scripture teacher at the Albert Mission School. He is a Christian fanatic and degrades Swami’s religion, Hinduism, and considers Christianity superior to other religions. Later, he is scolded by the headmaster of the school.

Summary of Swami and Friends

The story is set in the 1930s in British Colonial India. Swami is a 10-year-old boy who lives with his father, mother, and grandmother. His father is an authoritative disciplinarian and doesn’t like his son acting lazy. He may appear irritable to Swami at times but he cares for him and wishes him to succeed in his life. Swami has four close friends Mani, Somu, Shankar, and Samuel who are his classmates at Albert Mission School. Often they call Samuel Pea because of his short height and thin figure while Mani is the tallest and strongest among them and is often called Mighty good-for-nothing. Swami is witty and often leads his friends in games. One day, Mr. Ebenezar, Swami’s scripture teacher criticizes and degrades the Hindu religion in the class. All the students including Samuel, who is a Christian don’t like Mr. Ebenezar. As the teacher continues to chide Hindu deities while praising Christianity, Swami stands against him and asks some witty questions that prove otherwise. Mr. Ebenezar gets angry and punishes Swami. Later on, Swami informs his father about the incident and when his father complains about it to the headmaster, he scolds Mr. Ebenezar. While Swami’s friends appreciate Swami for his wittiness, they stress that it was a school matter and he didn’t need to complain to his father about it. At home, Swami feels that his father isn’t caring enough as his father continues to push him to study for long hours and understand the importance of exams. This creates a distance between the father and the son. Lakshmi, his mother cares for Swami but she is often aloof because of housework and as she gives birth to Swami’s younger brother, she gets busier in nursing the newly born child.

Meanwhile, a new student Rajam joins the Albert Mission School in Swami’s class. He is the son of the new DSP of Malgudi who came from Madras. Rajam is rich, intelligent, and fluent in English. Being the son of DSP he gains the limelight. Swami and his friends don’t like Rajam much. Swami feels an inferiority complex as he cannot match Rajam with his charm, good English, and richness. Yet, Swami finds himself attracted to Rajam and gradually develops a friendship with Rajam. Swami’s old friends start ignoring Swami and calling him Rajam’s Tail. Mani hates Rajam and warns Swami to remain away from Rajam. It isn’t until the three boys confront each other that they realize they have a lot in common, and become fast friends. However, the other three friends remain away from Swami. One day, Rajam invites Swami, Mani, and the other three friends to his home and offers them cakes and new toys if they agree to become friends again. The six boys forget their differences and become a pack of friends.

Swami is intelligent and witty but he is lazy and careless towards his studies and exams. His father warns him that if he won’t study well, he will flunk and will be forced to study with his juniors. Swami convinces his father that he will study well but most of his time is spent on games.

It is a time when Gandhi’s non-cooperative movement is at its peak. A popular leader of Malgudi is arrested in Bombay to oppose which people in Malgudi announce a protest march. Swami hears his father discuss the matter and feels the nationalist fervor. The next day, when he is feeling a bit lazy and wishes to avoid school, his father forces him to go to school. As he goes to school, he sees a crowd shouting slogans against colonial rulers and in support of Gandhi and Gauri Shankar, the leader who was recently arrested. Swami is swept by the crowd and joins them. He feels as if he is giving his bits to the nationalist cause. The DSP decides to quash the protest violently and policemen start beating the protestors with batons. As the crowd responds by throwing stones at police, Swami too picks up a rock and throws it toward his school, and runs back home.

The next day, the school headmaster enquires about the incident and Swami disrespectfully shouts that he doesn’t care for the school and runs away. He is punished for his actions. Not only is Swami forced to switch to a more strict school, but Rajam, being the son of the DSP, is hurt by the actions of his friend, making their friendship unstable.

Swami’s new school The Board High School is an indigenous school and hence, it is not as reputed as Albert Mission School. It is a stricter school with rigorous school studies and extracurricular and co-curricular activities. Attendance is compulsory and the homework and classwork surpass that of Albert Mission School. The Albert Mission School shows the complacency of the Colonial government. Despite being more reputed, that school had little to do with the advancement of students while the teachers openly engaged in trying to proselytize students. The Board High School represents the upcoming wave of Indianized schools with their rigorous school studies and extracurricular and co-curricular activities to mainly prove that even indigenous schools could be run as well as British schools. Swami realizes that his life was much easier at Albert High School but he is forced to learn the rigorous ways and take charge of his life and studies. In a sense, it proves to be better for him though he feels suffocated. His main grumble is that he lost his friends and Rajam is angry with him. Mani softens Rajam’s attitude towards Swami and then Rajam plans to create Malgudi Cricket Club. Swami is a good cricket player and is often called Malgudi’s Tate by his friends. He decides to help Rajam in establishing his cricket club. The two boys are intensely passionate about the team, but tensions rise as Swami’s strict school and intense workload get in the way of his commitment to the club. Rajam threatens to never speak to Swami again if he misses the match of the year against a competing club Young Men’s Union (YMU).

Despite his best efforts, Swami is forbidden by his strict headmaster from leaving early to go to his daily practices. In a rage, Swami throws his headmaster’s cane out of the window. Then, he thinks that his father Srinivasan, would not tolerate his dismissal even from this school in a matter of a few months. Thus, Swami resolutely decides to run away from home. He takes a naive decision, thinking that even though he was running away from home, he would be able to return somehow to the Y.M.U. vs. M.C.C. cricket match happening in one and a half-day. While fleeing, he becomes lost and wanders until he is rescued. Meanwhile, Lakshmi goes berserk, creates a funeral atmosphere in the house, and stops eating until Swami returns. When Swami learns this, he feels elated that his younger infant brother was sidelined in his place of him, at least in this singular instance in his life. While he was missing, Shrinivasan blames himself for being too harsh and aloof to Swami’s concerns. Thus, during the disappearance, the prime thought in his mind is not that Swami has had an accident or been kidnapped but that he must have committed suicide due to harassment.

He has missed the M.C.C. match he swore to go to. Already knowing his best friend may never speak to him again, Swami finds out from his friend Mani that Rajam is leaving the next morning to move to a new city with his family. Swami tries to mend his friendship with Rajam by giving him his favorite book Anderson’s Fairy Tales. This is Swami’s pathetic and simplistic gesture to at least keep his memory fresh in the mind of his friend, who meant so much to him. Swami fails to realize that Rajam would never read Anderson because he is too old and well-read for reading fairy tales.

In a desperate attempt to make amends, Swami rushes to the train station the next morning with a book he intends to give to Rajam as a way to make peace. He nearly misses the train’s departure and looks at his best friend through the window, who still refuses to speak to him. Mani must hand him the book, as he would not take it from Swami. The story ends as the train pulls away. Swami is left wondering if his friend will write and if he is forgiven. The writer leaves the reader with the same question. However, it doesn’t matter. Rajam came like a tornado into the lives of Swami and the rest of his friends and changed them forever, raising their standards about studies, friendship, and good behavior. Swami has a better sense and attitude towards life, friendship, studies, and the importance of exams. He understands his father, mother, and younger brother better now.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

Age of Enlightenment in English Literature | Historical Background, Literary Features, Major Writers

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Age of Enlightenment in English literature corresponds to the period from 1700 to 1800 during which, the belief that science and logic give people more knowledge and understanding than tradition and religion gained traction. The Age of Enlightenment is also known as the Age of Prose and Reason, the Augustan Age, and the Age of Sensibility.

Historical Background

The basis for this common belief was developed long with the works of Francis Bacon who proposed the idea of inductive reasoning. In “The Advancement of Learning” and “The New Organon” Bacon expressed the technique of induction through which we establish truth or knowledge on the ground of real observation of several experiences or occurrences. His works gave impetus to the Scientific Revolution which suffered a jolt because of the political upheaval during the Interregnum but the Restoration period brought the scientific method back on the course. The Royal Society was established in 1660 and it was influenced by the imaginative ‘House of Solomon’ in Bacon’s “New Atlantis”.

The other thinkers of influence included Rene Descartes and Baruch Spinoza. Bacon gave the idea of empiricism and Descartes proposed rationalism. Baruch Spinoza and Leibniz supported Descartes’ Rationalism while empiricists like John Locke, George Berkley, and David Hume opposed it. Nevertheless, both rationalism and empiricism advocated logic. The subtle difference was the final authority to be considered as the foundation of certainty of knowledge. Empiricists favored experience based on human senses, while rationalists supported reason. In religion, you accepted the dictates of the church; in science, you would turn to a recognized authority like Aristotle, Ptolemy, etc. The Wife of Bath trusted experience over authority, but she was wrong to do so. In the Age of Enlightenment, she would be right. Copernicus and Galileo were the Wives of Bath when they trusted their own observations of stars to support their heliocentric view of the world as opposed to the Bible and also opposed to Ptolemy, the then authority of science. Newton further used empiricism to explain gravity, and the laws of motion and developed a whole new mathematics of Calculus. Empiricism gave way to skepticism. Skepticism against dogmas empowered individualism and called for freedom from religious dogmas. The people of the Enlightenment age believed in the universal authority of reason and observation. In his famous work, “Discourse on Method”, Descartes at first doubted the deliverances of his senses, as they frequently mislead us; then he questioned the procedure of reasoning; he reckoned that our universe might be an illusion. But in suspecting everything to be misleading or fake, Descartes speculated: “I think, therefore, I am”

Political and Religious Context of the Age of Enlightenment

Enlightenment wasn’t just about science. Even John Milton met Galileo in his lifetime and admired him, yet, his major work was Paradise Lost surrounding the Biblical Genesis, Original Sin, and Satan. People of the Enlightenment Age were fed up with religious doctrines. they wanted proof; did not want to accept an idea as true just because some person of authority said it. And that gave way to the direct opposition to any idea supporting the Divine Right.

After the death of King Charles II in 1685, King James II became the monarch. But he had to face the opposition of Whigs and proponents of protestants and was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 in favor of his Protestant daughter Mary and her Husband William III. The deposition of King James II settled a century of political and civil strife in England by confirming the primacy of the English Parliament over the Crown through the Bill of Rights passed in 1689 which limited the monarch's power. It was the period when England was striving for individual freedom and rights when John Locke presented his idea of Modern Man. Man, Locke says, is not created with original sin in him and he is not inherently wicked; rather man is born as a blank sheet of paper, you can create whatever sort of man by environmental influences, education, experiences, and what this means is that education became important. So, Man became a creature of indefinite possibility for progress. This reduced the controlling power of the Church and Monarch both on the common man. John Locke presented his idea of the social contract that suggests that the government’s authority lies in the consent of the governed. The Lockean idea of natural rights that stresses that individuals have a right to "Life, Liberty, and Property" became the base of new socio-political arrangements. It turned to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. It was the effect of Humanism and Individualism of the Age of Enlightenment. This new interest in Individuals reduced the importance of theology while giving impetus to humanism. Deism became a common belief.

Enlightenment brought a geographical change too as Scotland and England officially became one and the Parliament of Scotland was abolished through the Act of Union in 1707 and changed England to Great Britain. Act Of Union of 1800 again united Great Britain and Ireland and the unison became The United Kingdom of Great Britain in which, not the king but the English Parliament was the primary force of recognition.

Literary features of the Age of Enlightenment in English Literature

The changing socio-political and religious orders had an influence on the literature of the Age of Enlightenment. Robert Walpole became the first de facto prime minister of Great Britain. He continued as the prime minister for 20 years. Despite his political success, he was accused of corruption and was termed the Great Corruptor and was often compared to Jonathan Wild, the Thief Catcher. John Gay satirized both in his play The Beggar’s Opera. Walpole’s other enemies included Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding, and Samuel Johnson. To avoid any such satirical criticism anymore, Robert Walpole introduced the Licensing Act of 1737 to control and censor what was being said about the British government through theatre. This crippled the English theatre but was an equally strong impetus to other means of literature in novels, pamphlets, essays, and other forms of prose.

Licensing act significantly reduced the number of dramas in the 18th century but it helped in bringing a reading revolution. People began to read "extensively", finding as many books as they could. The lack of active theatres gave way to the development of other public spheres. People gathered at coffee houses and discussed political, social, and scientific developments. That gave rise to the concept of journalism and magazines and the print industry got a new impetus as not only novels and pamphlets and other books were becoming the vogue, but newspapers and magazines were also making their space in public. The increased consumption of reading materials brought about the ‘social Enlightenment.’ Novels, books, pamphlets, newspapers, and journals became the "media of the transmission of ideas and attitudes". It also gave way to the printing and production of new dictionaries. Samuel Johnson published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755. Bishop Robert Lowth published his dictionary titled A Short Introduction to English Grammar in 1762. The first edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica was published in 1771. Lindley Murray published English Grammar Adapted to the Different Classes of Learners in 1794. The authors of the Age of Enlightenment used satire frequently to attack human vices and follies.

We can broadly divide the English Literature of the Age of Enlightenment into three parts. It was a period of intense prose writing. The first part can be considered from 1700 to 1745 which is termed the Augustan period. English writers of this era tried to emulate the golden era of Romans under Emperor Augustus and thus, it is called the Augustan Period of Enlightenment Age. In this period, Writers like Alexander Pope emphasized Classical poetry styles. Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe wrote realistic novels, and Joseph Addison and Richard Steele wrote political pamphlets and essays in this period. Then came the period of Samuel Johnson. From 1745-1760, English authors like Henry Fielding, Samuel Richardson, and Tobias Smollett wrote realistic social novels. The period from 1760-1800 is known for Sentimalism during which Laurence Sterne and Charlotte Lenox wrote novels, while Oliver Goldsmith, William Blake, Thomas Chatterton, Thomas Percy, and others began the revival of poetry. 

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Birches by Robert Frost | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. In 1934, Robert Frost wrote an essay titled The Figure a Poem Makes which was about the experience of writing a poem. Through this essay, Frost talked about how a poem should offer the image of the subject in the mind of the reader. The essay is all about imagery. Robert Frost was famous as a nature poet who described nature, the rural, and the wild endearingly. One such poem was Birches which was published in 1915 in The Atlantic Monthly. 'Birches' was again published in his collection of poems titled Mountain Interval in 1916. Birches are a kind of medium-sized trees or shrubs that are commonly found in North America.

Birches are supple but strong. They easily bent without breaking. As the poet observes these trees bent on a side while standing alongside straight trees, he imagines a boy swinging on them like he used to do during his childhood. However, he knows that the birches are most probably bent because of the snow that has accumulated on them after the ice storm. Despite that, he likes his imagination of a boy playing and swinging on the birches and causing them to bent.

Structure of Birches

Birches is a long poem with 59 lines written in blank verse, in unrhymed iambic pentameter with great stress on the ‘sound of sense.’ The poet considered more the sound of a natural activity while describing it in the poem than the rhyme of it. For example, the poet describes the cracking of ice on leaves and branches of the trees as “Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells / Shattering and avalanching on the snow crust — / Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away…” The poet suggests that swinging on the birches like a young boy, or dreaming about it is like a reprieve for oneself from the harsh realities of the world for a while, to envigorate oneself, and then come back to face the truth. Frost used blank verses for this poem as it is a poem of talk, offering deep and meaningful thoughts and feelings to the reader in a meditative, reflective mode. The poem is written conversationally as the poet is talking to the readers in first person narrative.

Summary of Birches:

Lines 1-5

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy's been swinging them.
But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them

The narrator observes some birch trees bent to the sides while many other taller trees are standing straight. The poet is aware of the suppleness of birch trees as he enjoyed swinging on birch trees during his childhood. However, he notices that when a boy swings along a birch tree, it doesn’t remain bent on one side for long as it swings to the other side. This doesn’t happen when birch trees get bent because of the accumulation of snow on them after a heavy ice storm.

Lines 6-9

Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel

The poet continues explaining the birch trees and how they appear and behave after rain and says that the readers must have seen birch trees loaded with ice on a sunny winter morning after it has stopped raining. The birch trees produce a metallic sound like that of iron under the effect of the wind, by clicking against themselves, and become many-colored because of the cracks in their enamel caused by their movement in the wind.

Lines 10-13

Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust —
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.

The sun’s warmth starts melting the ice and the snow falls from the trees like crystal shells. When these lumps of snow that appear like glass, strike the ground, they shatter into many pieces like broken glass. It appears as if the beauty of heaven has fallen on the earth.

Lines 14-20

They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.

The poet then explains how the top of the birch trees are dragged and bowed down, by a load of ice accumulated on them, kissing the fern growing on the ground. The weight of ice has kept them bent for so long that even when the snow falls and shatters like broken pieces of glass, the trees cannot straighten themselves up and their trunk remains arched. The poet then offers a metaphor, suggesting that the arched trees appear as if girls are sitting on their hands and knees, with their hair spread before them to dry in the sun.

Lines 21-27

But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows —
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.

While the poet is mesmerized by the beauty of birches bent due to a load of snow, he says that he would prefer to believe that the birches are bent because some by, who is living afar from the modern town to play games like baseball, went to fetch his cows and decided to play with the birch trees swinging on them. He enjoys this play irrespective of the season as he plays alone.

Line 28-32

One by one he subdued his father's trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer.

The poet furthers his imagination of the carefree boy who keeps playing with the birches. The boy swings on all the birch trees one by one as all are owned by his father. And one by one, he subdues the stiffness of all the birches until no more straight birch remains on the ground. He conquers all of them making them bent against him.

Lines 32-41

He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.

The poet then explains the proper way of swinging on the birch tree without uprooting or breaking it and without getting harmed. The poet says that the boy he has imagined is smart enough to learn the proper way and he is patient as he doesn’t launch himself too soon and reaches the top branches with the utmost care, balancing himself with the same pain and care that one bestows while filling the cup to the brim, or even above the brim. Then he used to fling himself forward with his feet stretched forward, and passed gently through the air to touch the ground.

The poet says that during his childhood, he too played with the birches in the same careful, yet carefree manner as he was a patient swinger.

Lines 42-49

And so I dream of going back to be.
It's when I'm weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig's having my lashed opened.
I'd like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.

The poet then expresses his wish, his desire to return back to childhood and enjoy the same carefree attitude. Yet the poet clarifies that he is not obsessed with this desire. But uses it as a reprieve, a way to refresh himself. He dreams of going back to childhood when he is too tired of his duties as a grown-up man and when his worries and struggles take a toll on him. Then in such moments, he decides to take a break and forget all his troubles and worries and think like that boy, like he was during his childhood. This momentary recluse offers him a chance to reinvigorate himself and return back to his present self refreshed. He then takes on his life with a better attitude and confidence.

Lines 50-59

May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth's the right place for love:
I don't know where it's likely to go better
I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

The poet then stresses that he is no escapist and prays that nobody, not even his fate should consider him an escapist who is trying to run away from his duties, burdens, and life. He claims that he doesn’t wish to escape from the earthly world and its realities as he believes that the earth is the right place for love, and he does not know of a better place than where he is now. Thus, if the birches can lead him to a better place (to heaven), then he would like to go towards heaven by swinging upon a birch tree that takes him back to the earth, to the ground realities. The poet says that it would be good for him to keep going away from the real world to get some rest and return back to conquer his struggles as one does while swinging. In the last line, the poet says that anyone who doesn’t like to swing on the birch trees to keep a balance between facts and fancy is worse than the swinger of the birches. A person may get tired, puzzled, and defeated by the harsh realities of life. He may choose to make use of fancies like the poet's dreams of returning to his childhood and enjoying swinging on birches, but it cannot be a road to escapism, it is just a way to reinvigorate oneself because there is no place better than his real life as Earth is the right place for love.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Barber’s Trade Union by Mulk Raj Anand | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Mulk Raj Anand was a brave writer who dealt with the political structures and societal problems of the time and offered solutions in his own way. A similar story of the struggle of a growing kid against a prejudiced and discriminatory society is told by Mulk Raj Anand in The Barber’s Trade Union.

Chandu is the protagonist, a teenage boy. Unlike Bakha (Untouchable), and Munno (Coolie) who were submissive and succumbed to the circumstances, Chandu is a dynamic character full of confidence, candor, and ingenuity.

Summary of The Barber’s Trade Union

The narrator introduces Chandu as one of the makers of modern India. Chandu and the narrator used to live in the same village and they attended the same school. Chandu was a good student. Chandu’s father was the barber of the village. The narrator’s mother didn’t like Chandu much because Chandu won a scholarship at school while she had to pay fees for her son to be taught. Furthermore, the narrator belonged to a higher class and caste. His mother always dissuaded him from being a friend of Chandu, a low caste. Chandu’s father died of an illness and he had to stop his studies so that he may work and earn for his family. He already had learned all the skills of a barber and his father had taught him some other skills too like treating pimples, boils, and ulcers on people’s bodies. Chandu started visiting the homes of all the important people of the village, including the landlord Bijay Chand, Lawyer Lalla Hukum Chand, Pandit Paramanand, and the Sahukar of the village to shave their beards and cut their hair promptly. Everyone would offer 2 paise for his services that his mother would collect.

He used to visit Raja Bijay Chand’s house every morning to shave his beard. Often people gave gifts to Chandu for his good behavior and prompt service. The Subedar of the village offered him khaki pants to wear while Lalla Hukum Chand offered his old frayed black velvet waistcoat decorated all over with shell buttons that he no longer use, and a round felt cap to Chandu.

The narrator always felt a bit envious of Chandu as Chandu enjoyed much more freedom. After completing his routine of duties in the village and taking bath, Chandu used to visit the nearby big town while sitting on the footrest of the closed carriage of Lalla Hukum Chand who used to daily visit the district court situated in the town. As he was earning, he often used to buy little gifts for the narrator and would tell him the marvelous rich things he used to see in the big market of the town. Chandu often used to talk about Kalan Khan, a dentist who worked in the town. Chandu often observed him during his visits to the town and was highly impressed by his sense of duty and his clothing. While he was working as a barber, he had this dream of becoming a doctor but he couldn’t as he already had dropped out of school. Chandu would often talk about the nice impressive dressing sense of Kalan Khan who used to wear a starched shirt with an ivory collar and bow tie, a black coat and striped pantaloons, and leather shoes. Doctor Kalan Khan also had a leather bag that he used to keep his instruments to be used in dentistry.

One day, Chandu informed the narrator that he has bought a new set of barber instruments. He asked if it would be a good idea if he buys a leather bag for the new instruments, a new shirt, a coat, striped pants, and a pair of black leather shoes like dentist Kalan Khan? The narrator said that it would help him keep his tools properly and he will look great in the new dress. Chandu said that though he cannot learn as much as doctor Kalan Khan, his father taught him to treat pimples, boils, and ulcers on people’s bodies. Thus, even though he is not a doctor, he knows how to treat people and can wear the same clothes. The narrator agreed with him and encouraged him to buy the leather bag and new clothes.

The next day, when Chandu visited landlord Bijay Chand’s house to shave his beard, Bijay Chand noticed his leather bag and leather shoes and got furious. He stopped him from entering his house and debase the house with the leather shoes and leather bag which he said is made of the skin of a dead cow. Chandu said that this is the dress of a doctor to which the landlord abused him and said that he is the son of a barber and will always remain a barber and he should wear clothes befitting his status of a lowborn barber. He threatened him that if he saw him again in such a dress, he will flog him. Chandu got out of the landlord’s house and proceeded to Sahukar’s shop to shave his beard. Sahukar saw him coming out of the landlord’s house and started abusing him. He said that when Chandu must take care of his old mother and home as his father is no more, he is engaging in nefarious activities and disguising himself as a clown. He told him to get rid of the clothes of hospital folks and then only he will let him touch his hair. Chandu was humiliated and decided to go away from there. The narrator was observing all this and he tried to support him. He said to the Sahukar that he may ask Pandit Parmanand, who was coming out of the house of the landlord as he was summoned by Bijay Chand for cleaning his house because Chandu entered with leather shoes. Pandit Parmanand shouted at the narrator for supporting Chandu. Pandit said that if the narrator works hard and studies well in school, he may become a doctor one day, and then he may wear the dress of hospital folks but Chandu, being a low caste born, has no right to wear such a dress. Chandu was too humiliated and he decided to run away from the village.

In the evening, the narrator saw Chandu again. He informed the narrator that he went to the town where he earned more than a rupee by shaving the beards of people in the market. He said that what happened to him in the morning was good after all as it offered him a way to earn much more. Chandu said that now he has decided to teach a lesson to all those who humiliated him. He said that within three-four days, he will show the narrator something so hilarious that he will have the best laugh of his life.

The next day, Chandu met the narrator and said that he has decided to buy a secondhand cycle from Lala Hukum Chand’s son for rupees five and asked the narrator to help him in learning to ride the bicycle. It will allow him to go to the town early in the morning without waiting for Lala Hukum Chand’s carrier. The narrator agrees to help him learn to ride the bicycle. Chandu’s mother is anxious though as the people of the village told her that they won't let Chandu work in the village unless he atones his sin of using leather shoes and a leather bag. Chandu, being ingenious and intelligent, learns to ride the bicycle pretty soon and starts going to the town and earning much more than he was earning in the village. As his mother sees that her son is making much more money, she decides to support him and oppose the villagers from bullying him. After four-five days, Chandu visit’s the narrator’s house and takes him to show the hilarious thing he promised. He takes him to the farm village potter near the house of the landlord from where they could see the front of Sahukar’s shop. The narrator and Chandu observe a gathering of farmers sitting in front of the shop as they have come to sell their crops to the landlord and Sahukar. Chandu asks the narrator if he has observed something weird, to which the narrator says no. Then Chandu says that the narrator should see carefully and then he will see the landlord sitting among the peasants with his long-jawed face dirtied by the white scum of his unshaven beard. As the narrator notices, he laughs loudly. Then the narrator also sees the Sahukar with an excessive mustache dirtied by the brown tinge of tobacco he is chewing. Chandu asks the narrator to go running fast by the shop while shouting Beavers, Beavers, satirizing the landlord and Sahukar. The narrator readily agrees as he remembered how they abused his friend a few days ago. As the narrator passes by the shop and shouts Beavers, Beavers!, the peasants sitting around them started laughing loudly. This angered the landlord who told his men to catch the boy as he is supporting Chandu, the barber. But they failed to catch the narrator.

The landlord, Sahukar, and other eminent men of the village were deeply troubled as it has been seven days since Chandu stopped taking care of their growing beards and hair. The rumor of Chandu’s strike spread like fire. The Sahukar came up with a solution and told the landlord to call the barber from the nearby village Verka to cut their beard and hair and in return, they may pay him one Anna instead of two paise. However, Chandu had already thought of this situation and he outwitted them by contacting Dhunoo, the barber of village Verka, who was his cousin. Chandu had seen Niranjan Das’s barber shop in the town many times. Together, they opened a shop beside the road from the village to the town. They decided that from that day, they won’t go to anybody’s house to shave their beard or cut their hair. If anybody has to take their services, they must visit their shop and pay the genuine fee. They decided to name their shop Chandu Brothers, Hairdressing and Shaving Saloon.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay | Characters, Summary, Analysis

 

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. John Gay was an English poet, satirist, and dramatist of England who is best known for his ballad opera titled The Beggar’s Opera which he wrote in 1728. Ballad Opera was a genre of English stage entertainment that emerged at the beginning of the 18^th century as a response to the dominance of Italian operas over the English entertainment stage. The Beggar’s Opera proved to be the first successful Ballad Opera and John Gay became the pioneer of this genre. John Gay was a satirist and a prominent figure of the Scriblerus Club whose other members included Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, John Arbuthnot, Henry St. John, and Thomas Parnell. The group often worked in collaboration to create political and societal satire and to avoid any repulsive offense against their writing, they created a fictional figure titled Martinus Scriblerus, through whose writings they accomplished their satirical aims. The Beggar’s Opera satirically lampooned Whigs politician Robert Walpole notoriously known as the Great Corruptor. In addition, the opera also satirizes then-famous criminals including Jonathan Wild, the thief-taker, Claude Duval, the highwayman, Charles Hitchen, and Jack Sheppard, the prison-breaker.

Characters of The Beggar’s Opera

Mr. Peachum is the leader of the biggest syndicate of criminals who betrays or discards his thieves, highwaymen, and prostitutes when they are no longer useful to him. He is based on Jonathan Wild. Polly Peachum is his young, beautiful daughter who falls in love with a highwayman Mr. Macheath and marries him without the consent of her parents. She remains totally devoted to him. Mrs. Peachum is Polly’s mother. She is an aid to her husband and understands his business. Lockit is the jailer of private police or thief-catchers. He is an associate of Mr. Peachum who aspires of becoming an independent crime lord. He also runs a syndicate of lesser strength. Lockit is based on Charles Hitchens. Lucy Lockit is the daughter of Lockit who also loves Macheath. She despises him for marrying Polly instead of her but still has a great passion for him and continues to try to win him back from Polly. Diana Trapes is a former prostitute who is now the head of the female gang criminals who work under Mr. Peachum’s direction. Macheath is a highwayman who worked for Peachum but then broke away and began his gang of criminals. He is liked by common people for his Robin Hood kind of activities. His character is based on Jack Sheppard, the prison-breaker who was also known as the Honest Jack. He is a womanizer who though loves and marries Polly, has many other lovers. Filch is a petty thief working for Mr. Peachum. Jenny Diver and Suky Tawdry are two thieves of Peachum’s gang who conspire with him to catch Macheath. Dolly Trull, Betty Doxy, Mrs. Vixen, and Mrs. Slammekin are other female criminals of Peachum’s gang who worked with Macheath before he left Peachum’s gang. He is a womanizer who had relationships with each of them in the past. Bob Booty is a thief working for Mr. Peachum. Mr. Peachum is not satisfied with him and blacklists him to be caught and punished. Bob Booty was the nickname of Robert Walpole. The Beggar and the Player are two friends who introduce the play. The Beggar is the author of the opera within the play and he reappears at the end of the play to discuss and revise the story's ending.

Summary of The Beggar’s Opera

It is a three-act play. In the beginning, the Beggar appears and introduces the characters to the Player. The Beggar is the author who says that though his opera contains no recitative, prologue, or epilogue, it should be considered as he assures the audience that his play follows all other conventions of the day's fashionable operas. Mr. Peachum appears and justifies his actions as a thief catcher while he is the leader of the biggest syndicate of criminals in London. He is preparing the blacklist of unproductive thieves and criminals who no longer are profitable and thus, will be caught. He in return will get the awards declared on them. As Mrs. Peachum hears that he is adding Bob Booty to that list, she protests and advises him not to do so as Bob Booty is very powerful and may harm them. Mr. Peachum is indifferent. He rather laments over his suspicion that their daughter Polly is romantically involved with a notorious highway robber Macheath. He instructs Mrs. Peachum to anyhow stop Polly as it will harm his business. He stresses that Polly must not marry Macheath, or else her money and potential earnings will default to Macheath. Mrs. Peachum calls Filch to enquire about Polly. Filch is reluctant in revealing secrets of Polly. Mrs. Peachum takes him away to enquire differently.

Polly appears and tells his father not to worry as she is just flirting with Macheath to gain goods and gifts. Mrs. Peachum appears again outraged, as Filch has revealed to her in effect alcohol about the recent marriage of Polly and Macheath. When Peachum comes to know about this, he shouts. Polly confesses that she married Macheath because she was seduced and she needed to safeguard her reputation. Mrs. Peachum asks her how she will support such a husband who is too much involved "in Gaming, Drinking and Whoring." Mr. Peachum says that Macheath is a successful robber who must have made a huge fortune. Mrs. Macheath suggests that the marriage of Polly with him can turn out to be profitable to them if he is caught and killed as then, his fortune will be legally transferred to Mr. Peachum, his father-in-law. Polly protests against this but is ignored by her parents. She immediately goes to her bedroom where Macheath is hidden. He vouches his fidelity for Polly and Polly informs him about her parents’ plan and tells him to go away and meet her again at safer times.

Macheath flees away from Peachum’s house and visits a tavern where there are many women who are prostitutes, pickpockets, thieves, and robbers. Despite their class, all of them are well-mannered and behave like ladies. Yet, the subject matter of their discussion is pickpocketing, shoplifting, or robbing. Macheath is soon surrounded by some beautiful buxom girls. Two of them are Jenny Diver and Suky Tawdry who have been sent by Mrs. Peachum to catch Macheath. Jenny Diver seduces Macheath and brings him to a corner in solitude where she and Suky Tawdry offers him excessive alcohol and he loses consciousness. As he regains, he finds himself in a cell at Newgate Prison. Jailor Lockit is a corrupt man who is an associate of Mr. Peachum. His daughter Lucy Lockit visits Macheath and scolds him for agreeing to marry her and then breaking his promise. She tells him that to see him tortured would give her pleasure. Macheath tries to pacify her but soon Polly also arrives and confronts Lucy, claiming that Maceath has already married her. Lucy gets outraged and makes Polly go away. Macheath tells her that Polly is telling a lie and she is a crazy girl who is trying to force him to marry her. He says he just pretended to marry her to save himself from her father’s wrath. Lucy accepts his lies and helps him escape jail by stealing her father's keys. When Jailor Lockit enquires her, she says that Macheath has promised to marry her. Jailor Lockit then gets worried that if Macheath is recaptured and killed, then Mr. Peachum will claim half of his wealth as legally, he is the father-in-law of Macheath. He meets Peachum and both agree to divide Macheath’s fortune between them after he is recaptured and hanged.

Polly learns about the new accord between Mr. Lockit and her father and decides to meet Lucy to take her help in protecting Macheath. Lucy thinks that if Polly is killed, she will have no hurdle in marrying Macheath and thus, tries to poison her. Polly narrowly escapes the poisoning and convinces Lucy that Macheath’s life is in danger as all of the criminals must be pursuing to catch him for the rewards Mr. Lockit and Mr. Peachum have announced. A guard of the prison informs that Macheath has been recaptured with the help of Mrs. Diana Trapes who got him inebriated. Both girls get worried and approach their fathers to beg mercy for Macheath. Mr. Lockit and Mr. Peachum are too greedy. However, their plan to kill Macheath and divide his fortune among them is open to all. Four female members of criminal gangs Dolly Trull, Betty Doxy, Mrs. Vixen, and Mrs. Slammekin visit Macheath in the prison with claims that they are pregnant with his child (to gain a right in his fortune). Lockit and Peachum realize that it won't be easy to capture Macheath’s fortune and decide to accept their daughters’ request to forgive Macheath. However, Macheath cannot fathom taking responsibility for these women claiming to be pregnant with his child and begs to be hanged.

The Beggar appears again in the penultimate scene and discusses with the Player that though the poetic justice suggests that Macheath and the other villains should be hanged, the audience demands a happy ending. So they inform that Macheath has been forgiven and invite everybody to dance and celebrate the wedding party of Polly and Macheath.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Robert Frost was an American poet whose work was first published in England and then he became popular in America too. He was born on March 26, 1874, and died on January 29, 1963.

The first poem that he sold for publication was My Butterfly, An Elegythat was published on November 8, 1894, in The Independent of New York.

Robert Frost was known for his realistic depictions of rural life. He worked as a farmer for 9 years, after which he returned to teaching and writing.

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson introduced and popularized poetry in free verse and it gained momentum in America. The most common form of poetry in modernist America was free verse. However, Robert Frost liked the traditional, contained, a metrical form of poetry. He often commented that poetry in free verse is like “tennis with the net down.’ Furthermore, most of the other poets of his time were writing about science, solipsism, or the religion of the past century. Robert Frost rejected both trends with his use of idiomatic language and ordinary, everyday subject matter in traditional poetry forms. Robert Frost is the only English poet to win four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry.

“After Apple-Picking” is one of the most celebrated and admired poems by the American poet Robert Frost. It first appeared in his collection ‘North of Boston’ in 1923.

Structure of After Apple-Picking

After Apple-Picking is somewhat surreal in nature. He always disliked free verse but to maintain coherence with the conventional form of American poetry, he wrote this poem in lines of varied length and irregular rhymes that stretch the sense of sound and pattern.

The poem has 42 lines and each line ends with a full rhyme. The rhyme scheme continues to change throughout the poem in a dreamy way to match with the narrator’s tired and dream-like situation. While the poem contains mixed rhymes and varied meter, around 2/3rd of the lines are in iambic pentameter. The opening line of the poem has twelve syllables and is an iambic hexameter. The whole poem is written in first person narrative form in which a tired farmer describes the melancholic exhaustion after the intense and long labor of apple picking. Robert Frost offers metaphoric depth from simple imageries while dealing with the major themes of a) Renewal and death, following a working life fulfilled, b) Psychic disturbance as in the biblical Garden of Eden, c) Routine and reality versus free time, and d) the unconscious, and Time and the creative/poetic act.

Summary of After Apple-Picking

After Apple-Picking explores the relationship between humans and the natural world while depicting the special scenario of the end of the apple harvest and the subsequent physical and psychic consequences of the tiresome ordeal on the farmer near the end of his work. The poem shows the after-effects of repetitive creative work at the last hour when the worker is almost exhausted. The poet metamorphically suggests that the Apples are the all desires, achievements, goals, and victories of the man who is on the verge of his life. He has achieved a lot, but there are still some apples left to be taken. But he is tired and understands the uncertainty of life.

Lines 1-13

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree
Toward heaven still,
And there's a barrel that I didn't fill
Besides it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now.
Essence of winter sleep is on the night,
The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.
I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough
And held against the world of hoary grass.
It melted, and I let it fall and break.

The narrator begins while giving the technical descriptions of apple harvest as he is picking the fruits. The two-pointed ladder which is used to climb upon an apple tree to pick apples is kept alongside a barrel that is yet to be filled. The narrator is too tired With sore feet and aching muscles, as it is the last hour of the work while he diligently kept working throughout the day, picking up ripe apples one by one. The narrator is too exhausted to worry about a few remaining apples not picked yet. He feels exhausted from the repetitive work and declares he is done with apple picking. It is winter and the whole atmosphere is full of the aroma of fresh apples. As he rests while still on the ladder, he thinks perhaps he sits and drinks his homemade cider, or rests on his bed. He is completely tired and as night approaches, he feels sleepy. That reminds him of the pane of glass he found from his drinking trough. When he looked at his image in that glass, he couldn’t recognize himself. He looked so tired and strange. He let the glass break that shattered his image.

Lines 13-29

But I was well
Upon my way to sleep before it fell,
And I could tell
What form my dreaming was about to take.
Magnified apples appear and disappear,
Stem end and blossom end,
And every fleck of russet showing clear.
My instep arch not only keeps the ache,
It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.
I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.
And I keep hearing from the cellar bin
The rumbling sound
Of load on load of apples coming in.
For I have had too much

Of apple-picking: I am overtired
Of the great harvest I myself desired.

The narrator noticed the change and strangeness in the mirror but he is soo tired and sleepy that he doesn’t care much. He is gradually submitting to the sleepiness that is appearing heavier than before. The narrator is liking this embrace of sleepiness and thinks of the dreams he will have. He knows that he has been infatuated and involved with his chase of apples so much that even in his dreams, he will see nothing but more and magnified apples as they will appear and disappear. He will be clearly seeing the stem and fresh blossoms of apples. He then describes the act of picking apples and exclaims that he has had a good harvest as he can clearly listen to the sound of loads of apples coming into the cellar bin. Even now, when some of the apples are yet to be picked, he feels overtired and has already declared, heck with the apples, I am done. He then remembers how much he wished to grow apples as if it was his only desire. But one gets tired of chasing their dearest desires. Often one has to struggle so much to attain their goals that in the end, when they are so near to their goal, one fails to cherish them. The narrator is fed up with the labor which comes with harvesting and he sees in human nature as people get tired of even what they love and desire the most.

The apple itself is strongly associated with the Garden of Eden, Eve, and the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. The narrator is also suggesting that apples are like the desires he had during his life. However, he doesn’t correlate it with evil. His ladder symbolizes another Biblical expression of Jacob’s ladder up to heaven. But he is bound with the ladder by his instep arch, which keeps him feeling the burden of the ladder and the backache it creates. He has to reap what he has sowed to cherish the apples, his desires.

Lines 30-42

There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,
Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.
For all
That struck the earth,
No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,
Went surely to the cider-apple heap
As of no worth.
One can see what will trouble
This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.
Were he not gone,
The woodchuck could say whether it's like his
Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,
Or just some human sleep.

The narrator is overwhelmed by the huge harvest of apples. He exclaims he has touched thousands thousand of apples, the desires that he successfully fulfilled. He carefully lifted each of the apples and did not let it fall while cherishing it in his hands. Each of his desires for which he struggled hard was precious to him. He remained careful because he knew that if the apple falls, it will end up in a heap of bins, ruined and wasted. The narrator is almost asleep and he didn’t need to count sheep as he had apples to count to get to sleep. His ladder appears like the ladder to heaven while he is about to enter the wonderland of his dreams. However, unlike Alice, who had a rabbit in the wonderland, the narrator sees only a woodchuck (a ground squirrel) who is about to hibernate as winter is coming. The narrator wonders if the sleep which is getting heavier and heavier on him with each passing moment will be like a human sleep, a hibernation after which, he will wake up afresh? The narrator knows that the woodchuck’s sleep will be troubleless. He wished the woodchuck might have solved this puzzle to him and cleared if it is just a human sleep or the long immortal sleep that comes at the end of life, but the woodchuck is already in hibernation.

The varying rhyming scheme of the poem creates interest while encouraging the reader to pay more attention to the words and their metaphorical meanings. The iambic pentameter is dominant in the mix with dimeter and trimeter, giving a reflection of the loss of control as a person slips into sleep. The important symbols used in the poem are as follows-

After Apple Picking: After Apple Picking as a whole poem symbolizes life and death.

Apple Picker: The role of the apple picker (speaker/narrator/poet) clearly symbolizes the uncertainty of life as a farmer/worker.

Apple Picking: Apple picking symbolizes worldly affairs in routine daily life.

Apple: Apples are the symbol of desire, deeds, and actions in life.

Apple Tree: Apple tree is a symbol of this world that provides a different way to achieve goals.

Empty Barrel: Empty barrel in After Apple Picking symbolizes the unfulfilled desires, wishes, and goals of a man.

Woodchuck: Woodchuck symbolizes a long sleep that might be a normal sleep or death.

Drowsiness: It symbolizes tiredness due to excessive engagement in worldly affairs.

Evening: Evening and the start of dark/night symbolize the end of life or impending death.

Ladder: The ladder symbolizes the technique and ways to earn goals.

Swaying of Ladder: The swaying ladder symbolizes the difficulties and hurdles that men have to undergo during their time in this world.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English American literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Two Lady Rams | A Short Story by Mulk Raj Anand | Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Mulk Raj Anand was known for his ability to express and depict the problems faced by common Indians under the burden of the colonial system in a tragic and heart-wrenching manner. However, he knew that the same could be done in a humorous, sarcastic manner too. The Two Lady Rams is one such short humorous story in which Anand excellently targeted some of the societal ills along with the oppressive nature of the British government that had nothing to do with the welfare of Indians but their only motive was to exploit the colony by hook or crook.

Summary and Analysis of The Two Lady Rams

The story is about Lala Jhinda Ram, a contractor of British India. Lalla Jhinda Ram practices dishonesty in his profession. He is a master in forgery and thus, is used by the foreign masters for deception, exploitation, and domination over native people as he cooperates with the white masters in corruption. However, the government cannot let Jhinda Ram and other people like him realize that they are being used as a tool to rob their nation and people. The British government achieves this by conferring meaningless titles and awards to the native Indians helping them in their goals. Lala Jhinda Ram has also attained such a meaningless title of knighthood and a celebratory party is arranged for him. The governor sends him an official invitation addressing him as Sir Lala Jhinda Ram and Lady Ram to the party. Sir Lala Jhinda Ram is very excited. He feels a sudden increase in worth as now he is almost equal to the English officers, his masters. However, this invitation creates a familial problem for Lala Jhinda Ram.

Mulk Raj Anand elaborates on this familial problem of Sir Lala Jhinda Ram in his story to explain the fraudulence of the knighthood that Lala Jhinda Ram attains. He becomes a ‘Sir’ not for his bravery, or skills in arts or crafts. He becomes a Sir for his expertise in corruption that helps the British government. Like many other rich Indians, Lala Jhinda Ram is too influenced by the British and tries to mimic their ways in his life while ridiculing his own roots and traditions. These people considered the British as superiors and hence, the desire for freedom never touched their hearts. Lala Jhinda Ram’s house is built in the famous Purdah style and mimics any ordinary British bungalow, with a verandah decorated by palm trees and hanging plants, leading through a narrow hall into a large living room. Like other rich Indians of British India, Jhinda Ram always seeks to copy the language, culture, and society of the colonizer, but in doing so, he often ignores his root and his identity.

The British government recently abolished polygamy for Hindus though maintained the Mitakshara Law according to which anyone who fails to have a child with his first wife, can marry multiple times until the birth of a child. Lala Jhinda Ram’s first wife Sukhi belonged to a rich family. She is beautiful too. She brought a huge dowry of 1 lakh for Lala Jhinda Ram. Obviously, she holds a financial worth in his life and she administers it by trying to control Jhinda Ram as a dominant wife. But Jhinda Ram is an expert trickster. As Sukhi fails to conceive a baby, he declares her infertile. Jhinda Ram then marries Shakuntala, a poor girl, to attain a baby. Shakuntala is very beautiful and young. She marries Jhinda Ram to attain financial stability. She too is dominant and tries to control Jhinda Ram as per her wishes through her beauty and youth. Thus he peacefully manages his both wives by dividing his house into two separate wings, one for each wife to manage. He used to sleep with each of his wives on alternate days and showered both with equal attention. While Lala Jhinda Ram himself treated his both wives justly, the British government that carved the Mitakshara Law doesn’t care if all the wives of a man get equal status and rights or not.

When Jhinda Ram gets the invitation for the celebratory part of his knighthood, he initially thinks to take Shakuntala, with whom he is romantically involved, to the party. However, one of his servants informed Sukhi about the garden party. She confronts Lala Jhinda Ram and declares that being the first wife, she will accompany him to the party. When Jhinda Ram meets Shakuntala, she insists that he should take her to the party instead. This creates a problem for Jhinda Ram. It is a huge confusion because the invitation card clearly states Sir Jhinda Ram and Lady Ram. But which of his two wives has been invited is not clear. He decides to meet the governor or A.D.C. to clarify this. He could think so because now, he is one of the Sirs, he is knighted. When he calls the A.D.C, who is busy preparing for the party and expresses his desire to meet the governor, he thinks that Lala Jhinda Ram has already given the share or commission from the shady negotiations to the governor, also, there is no new deal coming to the fore. Thus, he feels no need for the Governor to offer any time to Lala Jhinda Ram and he ignores his call. Lala Jhinda Ram is desperate to meet the Governor to get a solution to his problem. He tries to talk to A.D.C. again but fails. His newly attained knighthood is meaningless. He knows that he cannot directly meet the Governor as the quota of commission for the year has been submitted and there is no new deal for his business. So he decides to disguise himself as a manager of cutlery and meet the Governor with the fresh proposal for commission. Lala Jhinda Ram knows that the English officers will allow him to meet the Governor if he shows promise of extra commission. However, he fails to meet the Governor as he is taking a nap at that time. Lala Jhinda Ram has no time to wait as he has to attend the party in the evening with one of his wives. In his pensive mood, he gets a solution from his driver. The driver says that the Governor may not meet him, but the Governor cannot stop him from taking both his wives to the party. Sir Lala Jhinda Ram smiles at this. He sends a message to each of his wives separately to get ready for the party, while he goes to his workplace to mend some papers. At his office, he practices his expertise in forgery and cleverly changes the address on his invitation card from “Sir Lala Jhinda Ram and Lady Ram” to Sir Lala Jhinda Ram and Two Lady Rams.” Lala Jhinda Ram is so confident of his forgery skills that even if someone questions him why he brought both his wives to the party, he would show them the card. After all, he has been awarded the knighthood for forgery. He is confident about managing Sukhi and Shakuntala too to his solution as he is an expert in deception.

In the evening, right before the party, he reaches home and as both Sukhi and Shakuntala are ready, he takes them to the party. Sukhi and Shakuntala aren’t happy about this but they do accept it because it hurts the ego of none of them. At the party, Sir Lala Jhinda Ram introduces both his wives as The Two Lady Rams and both are equally acknowledged and praised for their beautiful saris. The title also suggests that despite being dominant women, both Sukhi and Shakuntala are dependent on Sir Lala Jhinda Ram for recognition as they have no individual identity of their own.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected to the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!