Verses on The Death of Doctor Swift by Jonathan Swift | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Verses on The Death of Doctor Swift is a long satirical poetic eulogy that Swift wrote for himself in 1739. Though he continued to live till late 1745, he wrote about how people will feel at his death. The poem was inspired by a maxim by French moralist and author Francois de la Rochefoucauld. The maxim simply says “In the misfortune of our best friends we always find something that does not displease us.” Jonathan Swift begins his poem with this maxim and then he continues his 500 lines long take on the maxim in this poem. Jonathan Swift seems to agree with the maxim but at the end of the poem, he does offer contradiction. He didn’t write this poem as a confessional statement agreeing with the maxim, rather he wrote this poem to develop better human behavior and morals. Swift uses satire to criticize the follies and weaknesses of himself, his friends, and others as a cynical observer and this creates an irony because it appears as if Swift is enjoying the description of follies and weaknesses of his friends and others, and thus, is proving the maxim.

Structure of Verse on The Death of Doctor Swift:

It is a 500-line long poem that can be divided into seven parts. In the first part, Swift introduces the maxim by La Rochefoucauld and explains it with examples in common life. In the second part, the poet discusses his own life, friends, and acquaintances while relating to the maxim. In the third part, Swift implements the maxim to observe the behavior of onlookers of Swift’s last illness. In the fourth part, Swift imagines his death and discusses the public and political reaction it would entail. In the fifth part, he discusses how his friends and acquaintances will feel at his death; in the sixth part, the poet reflects on the fate of his work one year after his death. In the last part, Swift offers a eulogy for himself as a detached observer.

Summary of Verses on The Death of Doctor Swift:

Section 1 (lines 1-38)

Swift states the English translation of the French maxim by La Rochefoucauld above all and then he begins his poem while describing the essence of the maxim and says,

“In all distresses of our friends / We first consult our private ends,

While Nature, kindly bent to ease us, / Points out some circumstance to please us” Swift simply states that human by nature is selfish and to support this, the poet offers four hard-hitting facts from common life. Firstly, he mentions that no one in a crowded place where people have gathered to see an action wishes to have his view obstructed by another one, even a close friend, standing at a higher position. It fills us with a sense of loss. He then says that the competitiveness between close friends may instigate the friends of a hero to “wish his laurels cropped,” that is, the friends may wish to be a reduction of the hero’s accolades, or they may wish to get bigger accolades to out-compete him. The poet then says that it is always easy patiently bear the pain and illness of another one while it is always difficult to go through the same pain. That is, even though we may feel sympathetic towards the other one in distress, we can never feel the same pain that the other one is going through. In the fourth example, Swift brings up his profession and says that no poet would want to see others “write as well as he.” Swift then proclaims that selfishness and pride are implicit in human nature and says, “The strongest friendship yields to pride, / Unless the odds be on our side.”

Section 2 (Lines 39-72)

In the second section, Swift offers his misanthropic view and says, “Vain humankind! Fantastic race! / Thy various follies who can trace?” After establishing that selfishness and pride are implicit in human nature, Swift satirizes and impugns the honesty of those who claim that they are sympathetic and altruistic. Swift declares that the key characteristics of humankind are “Self-love, ambition, envy, pride.” He then brings focus on himself and his friends which include, Pope, Gay, Arbuthnot, St. John, and Pultney. He praises all of them and mentions the strength of each of them. But then he frankly admits his jealousy and mortification over their success and says, “When you sink, I seem the higher.” He admits that when his friends fail, he feels some sort of pleasure in it. He then admits that his friends are highly skilled and successful but claims that they are playing on his turf with tools of poetry, prose, wit, and irony, of which he was the original master. Thus, he suggests his superiority over his friends. He then offers a strong reference to the initial maxim and says, “To all my foes, dear Fortune, send / Thy gifts, but never to my friend: / I tamely can endure the first, / But this with envy makes me burst”.

Section 3 (Lines 73-143)

After exposing his own jealousy, envy, and selfishness, Swift targets his friends and imagines how his friends would react at the news of his last illness and wonder what profit would they gain by his death and says, “My special friends / Will try to find their private ends: / Though it is hardly understood / Which way my death can do them good.” He then imagines the good and says that after his death, his friends will discuss how his wit and sarcasm were getting weaker and weaker with his growing age and will exclaim that they are better than him as “themselves, and reason[ing] thus: / ‘it is not yet so bad with us’” He then proposes a hypothesis and says if some of his friends prophesy his death at his illness, then he would rather wish that he dies, otherwise, his prophecy would prove a lie that he wouldn’t like.

Section 4 and 5 (Lines 144-204 and Lines 205-242)

In these sections, Swift imagines the reaction of the public and close friends to the news of his death. In the fourth section, he describes the imaginative reaction of public and political offices to the news of his death; in the fifth section, he describes the reaction of his friends. Then he declares that just like strangers public, his close friends too will not be much affected by his death and says that like strangers, his friends too will remain apathetic at the news of his death and claims, “Indifference clad in wisdom’s guise / All fortitude of mind supplies.” He says that his friends will offer reasons not to worry much and remain indifferent because as wisdom suggests all good things must end, and all good people must die. Swift again reflects on the maxim of La Rochefoucauld and says “When we are lashed, they kiss the rod, / Resigning to the will of God.” That is, when we or someone suffers, our friends say that it is the will of God and then they praise God. Swift suggests that his friends will hardly be concerned by his death. While he mentions that he wishes no ill will to his friends, he certainly shows them in a bad light. The self-centeredness of his friends and humanity, in general, can make the reader feel bad for being a human.

Section 6 (Lines 243-298)

In this section, Swift imagines what would happen to his literary work after one year of his death. He then says that his death would be pleasing to the new emerging writers as their works will rise to the status of best-selling literature while the popularity of his work will reduce. He then imagines a squire visiting Lintot the bookseller to enquire about Swift’s work and says that the bookseller will probably answer, “Dean was famous in his time, / And had a kind of knack at rhyme. / His way of writing is now past: / The town has got a better taste.” In a way, he demeans the new writers who take the help of the scribe to take their place on the bookseller’s shelves.

Section 7 (Lines 299-484)

In this section, Swift offers a eulogy to himself and suggests that he lived a calm life “quite indifferent in the cause.” Swift says that when a successful person dies, even their minor acquaintances pretend to be close friends to the diseased and they do so to gain profits from such suggested connections with the person of reputation who just died. He then says that his death too will offer an opportunity to many such mad people and fools who will pretend to be his great friends so that they may gain something from these false connections with the dead man. Thus, even after his death, he will get some mad and fool friends. He further says that though selfishness is innate in human nature, he was different and selfless. He says, “Without regarding private ends / Spent all his Credits for his Friends./” He establishes that though the maxim of La Rochefucauld appears true, he is an exclusion. He then explains the nature of his literary work and says that "malice never was his aim; / He lash'd the vice, but spar'd the name."

The purpose of satire is to reduce the position of others while elevating one’s own position. Swift does the same by declaring that all others, including his friends, are selfish, self-centered, envious, and proud, he is an anomaly, a better and honorable scholar.

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!

A Bend in the Ganges by Manohar Malgaonkar | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Malgaonkar was a historical fiction writer who had a deep knowledge of historical facts that he incorporated into his fictional stories to present a critical unbiased viewpoint of the events during the freedom struggle of India and the aftermath of partition. One such novel written by Manohar Malgaonkar was A Bend in the Ganges which was published in the year 1964. India faced the Sino-India War in 1962 and it raised questions about the policy of non-violence of Nehru. During such a period, Malgaonkar published this novel which depicts the internal conflicts between the proponents of non-violence and the supporters of violence. He recreates one of the most tragic phases of modern Indian history, the period of the 1940s when India attained independence against British rule but at the same time, had to face the gruesome burden of partition that resulted in one of the worst communal riots in the history of mankind. Thus, it is a Partition novel. The author forces the reader to contemplate if non-violence brought freedom, or who actually won? Gandhi or the British? Malgonkar owed the title of his novel to The Ramayan.

Characters of A Bend in the Ganges:

Gian Talwar is a young man from a poor peasant family who becomes a follower of Gandhi’s non-violence call during the Swadeshi Movement. However, he is a pragmatic, cowardly person who adopts his policy to suit every circumstance. Hari is Gian’s elder brother while Vishnudutt is a rich landlord of his village. Debi Dayal is the son of a rich trader from Duriabad. During his teenage, he saw a drunken English officer molesting his mother and he violently revolted against him. Since then he has had a strong hatred for the British and this personal hatred becomes his reason to fight for Independence. Though, he believes that non-violence is for cowards and joins a violent rebellious group called Hanuman Club. Tekchand Kerwad is Debi’s father who is a rich trader and Sundari is Debi’s younger sister. Shafi Usman is another young rebellious man who ridicules Gandhi and believes that only non-violent means can bring freedom. His father was massacred at Jallianwalla Bagh. Shafi believes in Muslim superiority but believes that Hindu-Muslim unity is necessary to uproot the British Raj and thus, he tries to be secular. Shafi is an active terrorist most wanted by the British Police. Mumtaj is a poor Muslim girl whom Shafi keeps as his concubine. Patrick Mulligan is the jailer of British jail in Andaman where Debi and Gian are sentenced to suffer jail terms. Patrick Mulligan easily manipulates Gian who betrays Debi and others. Hafiz Khan is a fanatic who believes in Muslim supremacy. He manipulates Shafi and instigates hatred against Hindus to such an extent that Shafi starts believing that the primary enemy of the Muslim community is Hindus. Basu is another friend of Debi Dayal who is also a revolutionary. Initially, he believes in Hindu-Muslim unity but during a riot, some Muslim hooligans threw acid on his wife’s face and this cruel incident fills him with hatred toward Muslims. He joins Hindu Mahasabha to be aligned, in sheer self-defense of Hindus against Muslims. Dipali is the beautiful wife of Basu who is attacked by a Muslim with an electric bulb filled with acid that disfigures her face.

Summary of A Bend in the Ganges:

The story of the novel covered the period from the 1930s to 1947 when India got its independence and the scar of Partition. The novel begins with the ceremonial burning of Western goods and clothes by Indian villagers during the Swadeshi movement. Gian Talwar is a villager who comes to the city of Duribad for his education where he becomes a friend of Debi Dayal. While Gian belongs to a poor peasant family, Debi is the son of Tekchand Kerwa, the richest and most successful trader of Duribad. Debi is a revolutionary who is engaged in active rebellion against the British government. One day, he invites Gian to a picnic where he meets other revolutionary friends of Debi which include Shafi Usman disguised as a Sikh, Basu, a Bengali student and a revolutionary, Dipali, Basu’s beautiful wife, and Sundari, the younger sister of Debi. Gian feels attracted to Sundari who is very beautiful. During the picnic, Debi reveals that he is a revolutionary and believes that the non-violence of Gandhi cannot bring any good to Indians. Gian opposes him and claims that he has full confidence in Gandhi and he will never join any non-violent group. Shafi criticizes Gandhi and says that non-violence is the philosophy of sheep, a creed for cowards and it is the greatest danger to this country. He further shows discontent with his revolutionary group too and says that everybody is motivated by their personal reasons while none of them think of the nation as an entity. He mentions Debi who hates British rulers because, during his teen years, he witnessed a drunken British police officer trying to molest his mother.

Gian remains friends with Debi as he is enamored by Sundari. One day, he presents an idol of Shiva to Tekchand, Sundari’s father who accepts it and establishes it at the temple of his home. After some days, Gian returns to his village Konshet where he gets involved in a family feud between his family and the family of the landowners over the Piploda land. In this dispute, Hari, his elder brother is murdered by Vishnu Dutt. Gian could not muster the courage to interfere and stop the fight. He tries to be a true follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He pays only lip service to the principle of nonviolence. When faced with reality his entire idealism evaporates and he feels that non-violence is an impractical philosophy that cannot be followed in real life. His heart fills with an extreme vengeance and he kills Vishnudutt.

Meanwhile, Debi Dayal joins a revolutionary group called Ram-Rahim Group on the insistence of Shafi. To increase unity between the Hindu and Muslim members of the club, Shafi introduces some secular ways of behavior. Their common slogan is Jai Ram-Jai Rahim. To renounce vegetarianism and the taboos of religion they partake in the ceremony of eating a meal of beef and pork. This brings the Hindu and Muslim members of the group closer to each other with their only aim to attain freedom for India. They establish the Hanuman Club as a disguise for their anti-establishment activities which include fishplates from the railway tracks, cutting telephone wires, and blowing up Air Force planes with explosives. Shafi is the most ‘wanted’ by the British police and one thousand rupees is announced as a reward to the person who gives information about him. Shafi disguises himself as a Sikh not to be caught by the police while Debi helps him in keeping safe. However, all their unity and harmonious relationships are shallow. While Shafi realizes that he needs Hindu members for the activities of his group, he sternly believes in Muslim superiority. Furthermore, one of his associates Hafiz Khan advocates the two-nation theory and pleads for a separate state. However, Shafi opposes Hafiz and suggests that irrespective of their religion, they are all brothers. Still, he starts feeling jealous of Hindu members and especially Debi who belongs to a rich family. One day, he assigns a task to Debi which includes setting fire to an airplane by using explosives. After performing the task, Debi runs away. Shafi gets information about police trying to capture Debi and instead of warning Debi about impending capture, he offers clues to the police to capture Debi. Debi gets caught because of the betrayal of Shafi and is sent to Andaman where he meets Gian again who is facing jail term for the murder of Vishnudutt. Gian has developed a good rapport with Patrick Mulligan, the jailer. He offers help to Debi and says that if he too behaves well, the jailer will let him have an easy time. However, Debi rejects his help. Debi continues to plan for running away from the jail. He learns that the Japanese are planning to attack Andaman and he wishes to get away with the Japanese and take their help against the Britishers. Gian, on the other hand, hopes for a release with the help of Patrick and he too betrays Debi by telling all his secrets to Mulligan.

Meanwhile, Hafiz convinces Shafi to accept the two-nation theory. He tells Shafi that they should re-orientate their activities. Hafiz asks Shafi that he should concentrate his activities not against the British but against the Hindus since they are their real enemies.

Gian is released much before Debi who continues to hope for the arrival of the Japanese. Andaman is then attacked by the Japanese forces and Debi gets a chance to get rid of Andaman's jail. He stays with the Japanese forces for a while and realizes that the Japanese are no better than the British and gives up the idea of taking Japanese help for his own freedom struggle. He returns to India so that he may continue his struggle against the British forces but by then, the British forces have announced India as a free state along with Pakistan, as a part of it. In Bombay, he meets Basu who takes him to his home. When Debi meets Diplai, he gets shocked by seeing her disfigured face. Basu informs that all the Hindu members of the Ram-Rahim club in Duribad were captured by police because Shafi betrayed them. Basu somehow managed to avoid being captured but failed to safeguard Dipali who was attacked by a Muslim mob with an electric bulb filled with acid that burnt her face. Basu informs that he joined the Hindu Mahasabha “to be aligned, in sheer self-defense of Hindus against Muslims.” Debi learns that Duribad is now a part of Pakistan and his family is caught in extreme Hindu-Muslim violence. He and Basu decide to return to Duribad to safeguard Debi’s family and to take revenge against Shafi.

Meanwhile, Gian had reached Duribad for his affection towards Sundari. Unaware of Debi’s whereabouts, he pretends to be a close friend of his and says that Debi will return soon. He continues to fool Debi’s father while trying to get Sundari’s hand in marriage. But after the independence and Partition, the situation worsens and he runs back to India while Duribad is now a part of Pakistan. After returning back to safer areas he learns about the atrocities done by Muslims on the Hindus of Punjab. For the first time, he feels guilty about being a coward and decides to return to Duribad to help Sundari get out of Duribad.

Debi and Basu reach Duribad and find Shafi in a brothel. He is too drunk to respond to them. Debi and Basu go to his home where they find Mumtaz, a concubine of Shafi. Debi abducts her as a sign of revenge and takes her with him. The whole of Punjab is engulfed in Hindu-Muslim riots. While trying to safeguard Mumtaz from the rioters, Debi realizes that he likes her and to show that Hindus and Muslims can live peacefully, he decides to marry Mumtaz. The extreme violence in the name of religion makes Debi question his own belief in violence and he decides to accept Gandhi’s non-violence.

On the other hand, Shafi is too furious because of the abduction of Mumtaz. He decides to attack Debi’s home in Duribad and abduct his beautiful sister Sundari and take her as his keep. He attacks Debi’s home with a crowd of his followers and kills all the Hindu servants of the house. Debi’s mother also dies while trying to protect Sundari. However, Gian reaches Debi’s home and tries to rescue Tekchand and Sundari. Shafi is too strong against Gian and Sundari but they attack him with the same idol of Shiva that he presented to Tekchand. Sundari kills Shafi by using the idol of Shiva and then Gian takes her and Tekchand to the railway station to go back to India. However, Tekchand has no motive to go. He worked hard throughout his life to establish his big farms and tract of land in Duribad. Now when he is old, and it is time for him to cherish the fruits of his hard work, he is supposed to go away as a poor moneyless refugee. He decides not to leave and vanishes from the railway station alone. Gian and Sundari return back to India. On the other hand, Debi and Mutaz too try to reach India but Debi is caught by a group of Muslim men searching for Hindus and killing them. Debi pretends to be a Muslim but soon he is caught. Debi is a strong man who always preferred violence but now, he has given up violence. He tries to follow Gandhi’s non-violence and tries to reason with the angry Muslim mob but he falls a victim to the violence of a mob on the very day that brings freedom to the two countries. Before dying, he questions himself, Who won? Gandhi or the British?

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!

Moby-Dick; Or; The Whale by Herman Melville | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and sea explorer during the American Renaissance period. He was born in 1819 and died in 1891. American Renaissance also known as American Romanticism gave birth to Transcendentalism. His novel Mody-Dick; Or; The Whale is known for being one of the best examples of Dark Romanticism. Dark Romanticism often questioned the natural perfection of man, believing that man cannot ever be perfect, that man will never have perfection, and that flaws are a part of nature that leads to a man’s fall.

Moby-Dick was published in the year 1851 and though the novel didn’t succeed during the lifetime of Melville, it became a huge success and is considered one of the Great American Novels of the 20th Century. The opening sentence of the novel is “Call me Ishmael” which is among world literature's most famous opening lines. Herman himself was a sea explorer and he had first-hand experience with some whale expeditions. The titled Whale Mobi-Dick is inspired by a notoriously hard-to-catch albino whale Mocha Dick and the book's ending is based on the sinking of the whaleship Essex in 1820.

Characters of Moby-Dick:

Captain Ahab is the captain of the ship Pquod. He is a 60 years old man who has spent most of his life on the sea. Though he is married and has children, he has no connection with his family. He is a strong head-dominant person who is very skilled at his work. He is nicknamed the Old Thunder. He is obsessed with his quest to defeat the legendary Sperm Whale Moby Dick as revenge because this whale took Ahab's leg, causing him to use an ivory leg to walk and stand. Ishmael is the narrator of the story. He is a common sailor who accompanies Ahab on Prequod. Unlike Ahab, Ishmael believes in the immense power of Moby-Dick. He remains the only survivor of the ship after the whale makes the final attack. Starbuck is the chief mate of Prequod. He is a skilled whale hunter who believes in human fallibility but insists that one can control his failings by concentrating more. He is thin but strong. He openly opposes Captain Ahab and says that his quest for Moby-Dick is irrational, impulsive, and suicidal. Queequeg is a harpooner from New Zealand who joins Prequod to assist Captain Ahab. He is the son of a king from New Zealand who renounced the throne for his love to travel around the world. He is a noble, courteous, and brave person. Stubb is the second mate of Prequod who always remains happy and carefree. He is a very skilled and experienced sailor and whale hunter but he is not an ideal person who suggests robbing other ships of their whales to increase their own collection. Flask is the third mate of Prequod. Pippin is a young black man who joins Prequod for his first sea expedition as a crewman. He is young, learning, and a coward. Fedallah is an Asiatic giant man who is very strong and phantom-like. He joins Prequod on a mission to catch Moby-Dick as a specialist hunter. Peleg and Bildad are the co-owners of Prequod who let Captain Ahab use it for Whale hunting. Captain Mayhew is the captain of another whale-hunting ship the Jeroboam. Dereck De Deer is the captain of the German ship Jungfrau (The Virgin). Dr. Bunger is the surgeon of the British ship Samuel Enderby who warns Captain Ahab and tells him not to pursue Moby-Dick but is ignored. Gony (Albatross) and Rosebud are other ships on the same route.

Summary of Moby-Dick:

The novel begins with “Call me Ishmael” as he introduces himself. He lives in Manhattan and has been to sea four times in the merchant service. However, he is looking for a higher adventure, and this time, he arrived in New Bedford to go to Nantucket where he is expecting to join some whale-hunting ship. At New Bedford, he meets Queequeg, a tattooed New Zealander and they become friends. Queequeg is an expert harpooner who just return from a whale expedition and wishes to join another one. Together, they sign up for a voyage on the Pequod, which is just about to start on a three-year expedition to hunt sperm whales. The ship is owned by Peleg and Bildad who inform Ishmael and Queequeg that the current captain is a "grand, ungodly, god-like man." The night before the voyage, they meet Elijah, a ragged stranger who inquires if they have joined Prequod. He warns them and asks if they have sold their souls to the devil by agreeing to undertake a voyage on the Pequod. The voyage is to begin on Christmas morning. Ishmael sees dark figures in the mist above the Prequod just before it takes off. Ishmael hasn’t seen the captain yet when he meets Starbuck, the first mate. He appears a fine leader. The second mate is Stubb, a prankster but an able seaman. The third mate is Flask who appears dull but experienced. One morning, Ishmael sees Captain Ahab for the first time and he feels shivers through his spine as he sees his haunting demeanor. A white scar, reportedly from a thunderbolt, runs down his face and, they say, the length of his body. He has a grim, determined look. One leg is missing and replaced by a prosthesis fashioned from a sperm whale's jaw. He comes to know that Captain Ahab insisted that his spae leg must be made of a whale’s jaws because he lost his leg during an attack by the legendary sperm whale Moby-Dick whom every sailor fears.

While every crewmember believes that they are on a hunting expedition, Captain Ahab informs them that they have to look for Moby-Dick as his mission is to hunt the white-headed whale with a wrinkled brow that took off his leg. Starbucks opposes Ahab and says that he has gone insane in his quest for revenge. But Captain Ahab insists that he will surely hunt Moby-Dick and that will make fortune for all of them. He claims that it is his destiny to kill Moby-Dick. Starbucks gets worried that their ship is not a match for the mighty sperm whale, yet, he has no option but to agree to Captain Ahab’s insistence. Soon the crew members realize that there are a couple more people on the ship whom Ahab specially engaged for hunting Moby-Dick. One of them is Fedallah whom Ishmael compares with Phantom. They see a large sperm whale and try to kill it. Queequeg does strike it, but this is insufficient to kill it.

The Prequod goes through many gams (social meetings of two ships on the open sea). The first ship that Prequod meets is Albatross. But Captain Ahab has no interest in any other conversation and he avoids the gam but he asks if anyone has seen Moby-Dick? However, he fails to listen to the answer of the Captain of Albatross as the ships pass by. The second ship that they encounter is Town Ho with which they engage in a gam. Ishmael learns that the crewmembers of Town Ho suffered a near mutiny on the ship and its eventual conflict with Moby Dick.

Soon they see another sperm whale and this time, second mate Stubb succeeds in killing it with his harpoon. However, as the crew of the Pequod attempts to bring the whale into the ship, sharks attack the carcass. Then Preqod encounters another ship Jeroboam and they have a gam. Stubb informs that Gabriel, one of the crewmembers of Jeroboam managed a mutiny against the captain and now all the crewmembers are suffering from a strange disease. Captain Mayhew of Jeroboam warns Ahab about Moby Dick and tells him not to pursue the whale.

All the crewmembers are worried about Captain Ahab’s obsession with Moby-Dick. Flask says that it appears as if Ahab has sold his soul to Fedallah who is guiding him. Soon they meet a German ship Jungfrau whose Captain Dereck Dee Deer requests Ahab to let him have some oil. Both of them see a large whale and Prequod competes with the Virgin for a large whale. Prequod succeeds in hunting the whale but when they try to pull up the carcass, it starts sinking and they decide to leave it. As the ship moves forward, they encounter a large pod of sperm whales. While they try and injure many of the whales, they succeed in capturing only one of them. Stubb is worried that despite all the efforts they have failed to collect enough whales till now. He plans to rob the whales of another ship Rosebud during the next gam so that they may get enough of ambergris. Stubb notoriously tells the captain of Rosebud that the whales they have collected are sick and of no use and that they may cause the sinking of his ship. The Rosebud leaves those whales behind and then Prequod takes them.

Prequod succeeds in hunting four more whales and the same night Ahab sees a dream of a hearse. He discusses the dream with Fedallah who says that it is a good omen and convinces them that together, they will succeed in killing the white whale. They reach a junction from where they can either choose an easy route back to Nantucket or they may proceed on a difficult route pursuing Moby-Dick. Starbuck insists that they have enough whales and they must return but Captain Ahab decides to proceed in search of the white whale.

Prequod faces a violent typhoon in the Pacific and its compass goes out of alignment. Starbuck goes to inform the Captain but sees that he is sleeping. He thinks of shooting Ahab and rescuing himself and other crewmembers from his insane idea of revenge but he fails to do so.

They meet another ship Rachel whose captain Gardiner is an old friend of Captain Ahab. Gardiner informs that the white whale has been seen in the nearby area. He also informs that his son has been lost in the sea. He asks Ahab’s help in finding his son but Ahab flatly refuses when he learns that Moby Dick is nearby. As Prequod proceeds, they meet another ship Delight which has been badly attacked by Moby-Dick. As he reaches the area where Moby-Dick was seen recently, he thinks of his first hunt of whale and thinks that for the last 40 years, he is pursuing whales more like a demon and once he kills Moby-Dick, he will rest.

Captain Ahab is the first to see Moby-Dick. His struggle against Moby-Dick continues for three days. On the first day, the crew decides to leave the ship in whaling boats to hunt the white whale. Captain Ahab leads them as he spies on Moy-Dick. The whale attacks Ahab’s boat and sinks it but Ahab survives. He reaches Stubb’s boat and then they return to the ship. On the second day, Ahab and Fedallah try to attack Moby-Dick with their iron harpoons but it doesn’t harm the whale. However, Fedallah gets entangled in the string of harpoons and drowns in the sea. As they return to the ship, Starbuck chastises Ahab, telling him that his pursuit is impious and blasphemous. He says that Ahab has gone insane but now when his special hunter Fedallah has also been killed, Ahab must return to sanity and return to Nantucket. However, Captain Ahab is obstinate. He claims that it is his destiny to kill Moby Dick and pursues the hunt for the third day.

Starbuck panics but he has no option but to follow Captain Ahab who seems to realize his mistake and says that "some ships sail from their ports and ever afterward are missing.” Ishmael sees that for the first time, Captain Ahab is not looking convinced in himself. Captain Ahab succeeds in striking Moby Dick with his harpoon on the third day but the whale is too strong to be controlled. Moby Dick easily tips off Ahab’s boat. Ahab swims back to the ship along with others. They spend a few moments of calmness and then the whale rams the Pequod as if it is taking revenge for being targeted by Ahab’s harpoon. The attack causes the ship to begin sinking. Ahab realizes that he has no chance but attempts to kill the whale again by throwing his harpoon at Moby Dick. While the harpoon strikes the whale, Ahab gets entangled in the line of the harpoon and goes down with it. The whole ship sinks down along with every crewmember except Ishmael who still was on the whaling boat. He floats for a day and a night before he is rescued by the Rachel whose captain Gardiner is still searching for his lost son. Gardiner saves Ishmael and thinks that though he lost one son, but found another.

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!

Distant Drum by Manohar Malgaonkar | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Manohar Malgaonkar was an Indian novelist, historian, and short-story writer who took birth in 1913 and died in 2010. He joined the British Indian army during Second World War and became a Lieutenant Colonel. He continued as army personnel till 1952 when he retired at the age of 39. After retiring from army services, he concentrated on writing and his first work was a non-fiction biographical work on Kanhoj Angrey, the chief of the Maratha Navy during the eighteenth century. The title of this historical account was The Sea Hawk: Life and Battles of Kanhoj Angrey. His second work was a semi-autobiographical novel Distant Drum which was published in the year 1960.

The novel is written in the third person narrative. The novel is divided into three parts namely, The Regiment, The Staff, and Active Service. The theme of the novel is the loyalty and code of conduct of an Army personnel in the tumultuous period when his country is going through a drastic change involving a change of regime from the Colonial British system to the Indian democratic system, and the partition of India. The novel is written in continuation of the present and past in flashbacks.

Characters of Distant Drum:

Colonel Kiran Garud is the protagonist who joined British Indian Army during the pre-independence era and then continued to serve as an Indian army officer after the independence. Ropey Booker is a British Indian Army officer who quit the army after the independence of India. He used to be the ideal of Kiran as he was the one who taught Kiran the code of conduct of an army man. Abdul Jamal is another British-Indian soldier who is a good friend of Kiran Garuda as both were trained together as military officers at Dehradoon Military School and they fought together in Burma during the Second World War. Lala Vishnu Saran Dev is a local politician and the chairperson of the District Congress Unit. Gobind Ram Sonal is a high-class bureaucrat and the Defence Secretary of Independent India. Bina Sonal is Gobind Ram’s daughter who falls in love with Kiran Garuda. M. Arvind Mathur is a multi-millionaire businessman and a suitor of Binda Sonal. Major Bob Medley is the senior officer of Kiran Garuda’s regiment whose attractive wife Margot Medley develops an illicit relationship with Kiran.

Summary of Distant Drum:

The novel begins in the Satpura regiment where Colonel Kiran Garuda is posted. He is in the regiment of Major Bob Medley whose wife, Morgot Medley is a voluptuous attractive lady. She has a keen interest in Kiran and often tries to engage him in her chores. Kiran’s friend, Colonel Abdul Jamal warns him about Morgot’s intentions but Kiran doesn’t care much. He joined the army as a lad and now he is at the peak of his youth. Kiran is a very loyal and brave soldier. He and Abdul Jamal both were trained at Dehradoon Military Academy together and then they fought in Burma during the Second World War. When Abdul Jamal was fatally wounded and left unconscious in the Burma war for the Sittang bridge and the retreat upto Thaungdwingyi, Kiran took his watch, photograph, and papers from his wallet to send to his family in the event of Abdul's death. But Abdul survived and later appreciated Kiran as the sole friend who could have conveyed news of his death and his belongings to his family if he died.

Major Medley admires Kiran’s loyalty and bravery and his code of conduct. Morgot develops a physical relationship with Kiran but she fails to keep it a secret. One day, Major Bob Medley sees her with Kiran in a compromising situation and it breaks his heart. Later on, Bob Medley commits suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver. During the inquiry, Abdul Jamal helps Kiran and keeps his name out of the investigation trail. However, this incident fills Kiran with guilt and he feels very sorry for the late Bob Medley. He goes through a course of correction and vows never to get indulge in physical charm. It is a period of change as recently, India has been established as a free republic nation.

This change has caused a major reshuffle in the army ranks too. Most of the British officers have either decided to return to England, or they have decided to retire from army service while engaging in some other business ventures. Shockingly, Ropey Booker is one of them. He is one of the senior soldiers whom Kiran deeply admires and respects for his devotion to duty and code of conduct. Ropey Booker leads the battalion of Kiran and Abdul in Burma during Second World War. Now Ropey has resigned from his army service and has begun his own business venture of box packaging. When Kiran goes to meet him, Ropey offers him a lucrative job offer if he too is willing to retire from the army. Kiran realizes that he can never make such huge money through his army service but he rejects the temptation and says that he is totally committed to the code of conduct of a soldier. He says that he would be failing in our duty to these youngsters and to the future army if he quits.

Kiran realizes that it is difficult to maintain discipline under the new political regime. Recently, his regiment bought a new Shamiana for the training camps of soldiers. However, the local politician Lala Vishnu Saran Dev wants this Shamiana of the military to be used in a political procession where the chief minister is scheduled to visit. Despite his demand, Ckiran Garuda plainly rejects Vishnu Saran Dev’s demand who feels humiliated and warns Kiran of the consequences. During the political meeting, a young journalist Bina Sonal also visits the chief minister. She gets impressed by Kiran’s plain mannerisms and loyalty toward his duty. Both develop a romantic relationship. Meanwhile, Cishnu Saran Dev succeeds in transferring Colonel Kiran Gowda from the Satpura region to Kashmir which is going through unrest. However, before the war between the newly found states of Pakistan and India may begin, the ceasefire is announced. Kiran is then transferred to Delhi in the defense office where he suffers further political encroachment over military matters. However, Kiran meets Bina Sonal again in Delhi who is the daughter of the defense secretary of India. Abdul Jamal has also been transferred to Delhi as Delhi is facing the heat of the Hindu-Muslim riots of 1947. The Hindu-Muslim conflict had surged like a raging fire and Delhi looked like a battlefield with dead and injured bodies scattered in the streets. And fire and smoke hung over the city. Both Kiran and Abdul try to bring the mob under control. They set out for a rescue operation. They save some people from a fire accident and a Hindu woman from being troubled by two Muslim fanatics. Then Kiran takes hold of one of the two Muslims and hands him over to the police. Later when Kiran goes into the mosque where 82 thirty thousand Muslims were taking shelter; one of the two assailants recognizes him and instigates others to kill him. At the same time, Abdul comes there and protects him.

Kiran Garud is appreciated for his exemplary work of peacekeeping during the riots and is given a military award. However, defense secretary Gobind Ram Sonal is not happy about it as he doesn’t want Kiran Garuda to continue his developing relationship with Bina Sonal, his daughter. Gobind Ram wishes his daughter to marry Mr. Arvind Mathur who is a multi-millionaire businessman. He uses his political power to transfer Kiran Garuda again to Kashmir Valley. He meets Kiran and says that though he admires Kiran and knows that he is a great officer whose services are needed in Delhi during such a period, he has managed to transfer him to Kashmir because he doesn’t want him near his daughter. He says that he will bring Kiran back to Delhi again once he fixes Bina’s marriage with Arvind Mathur. Kiran says that he is happy about being transferred to Kashmir and he has no qualms about quitting Bina if he, being her father does not like it because, for him, his service and code of conduct of a soldier is superior to every other relationship.

As Kiran Garuda prepares to take the lead of the Satpura regiment at Raniwada in Kashmir, Bina Sonal visits him and says that she has rejected the offer of marrying Arvind Mathur and she wishes to spend her life with him.

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!

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift | Themes, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Jonathan Swift was known for his brutal satires that he wrote to comment on and criticize the social, political, and economic ills of his time. One such satirical work written by him is A Modest Proposal which was published in 1729. it was a year when Ireland was suffering from religious, political, and social strife as well as famine. The poor were extremely poor, often having to beg for food or money in the streets. The poorest of the lot were the Irish Catholics or Papists. Catholics were already suffering biases and discrimination throughout England. Catholic kids were not allowed to attend any school or University. Even Alexander Pope failed to get any formal education because of that. The famine further created issues for the Irish Catholics because of the irrational economic intervention of the British government in Irish matters. At such a time, many so-called economists and philosophers published papers suggesting various ideas to solve the economic problems of Ireland, most of which were unfeasible and some were ridiculous. Jonathan Swift wrote an acidic Juvenalian satire to criticize and lampoon the British government’s intervention and the various economic ideas offered by others as a solution for Irish problems while highlighting the stressful situations of Irish people. Since it was a scathing satire against the powerful bodies, Jonathan Swift published it anonymously.

The full title of this satire was “A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children of Poor People From Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to the Public.”

Themes of A Modest Proposal: Jonathan Swift uses verbal irony in this satire to express the ills of British society and the way the plight of Poor Irish people was being ignored. He proposes an extremely bizarre and repulsive idea in a cool, rational, and self-righteous manner and this offers a deep sense of humor. The Bizarre idea that he proposes is to raise the infant children of Irish people as livestock that can be slaughtered after breeding and can be used as tasty food delicacies by the rich British people. The idea is so repulsive that irrespective of his political allegiance, the reader will be forced to search for the hidden meaning and message of the proposal. There is a certain irony, the discrepancy between saying and meaning. Catholic Ireland was no better than other English colonies of the past. This essay criticizes and lampoons the colonial wealthy, educated, English, Protestant ruling class. Jonathan Swit himself belonged to the same class, yet he chose to criticize the ill. The author clearly shows how greedy and inhuman the colonialist mindset can be. While Swift criticized the wealthy British rulers, he also satirized the journalists and authors who often used the Irish famine and conundrum to publish their own propaganda for making quick money. In addition, he satirizes the process of social engineering and the inhumanity behind it. Another major theme is prejudice against poor people. Swift also attacked the English cultural arrogance by satirically mentioning, Irish, Americans, and people of other colonies as savages. He satirically suggests that all people who could be classified as “other” are potentially dangerous to the English, and need to be tamed.

The term ‘Modest’ in the title of this essay is to satirize the habit of publishing pamphlets on the topic of various social issues with no meaningful message in them. The author continues to use ‘modest’ and ‘humbly

Summary of A Modest Proposal:

Jonathan Swift begins his satirical essay by giving an account of the impoverished state of the Irish people. He expresses his sympathy and suggests that there is an urgent need to find an immediate solution to this economic problem. He then mentions that because of extreme poverty, many Irish women are forced to abort their unborn children because they cannot afford them and the children are proving to be a burden on their parents. He then says that his proposal will certainly reduce the number of abortions performed by poor mothers.

Like a professional economist, the author then calculates and presents the data of how many infants are birth in Ireland in a period and then asks what should be done with them because they are not useful for society. They cannot be employed, they cannot be used as labor, furthermore, they take time off their parents and render them of their work too. These infants cannot become thieves too. Furthermore, no merchant will buy them because they have no skills. Since these infants are of no value, the author says that it would be a good idea if the Irish people start eating these infants when they reach the age of one, especially because famine has caused an acute shortage of food in Ireland. The writer then offers an account of the probable weight of a year-old infant and what food items and delicacies can be prepared by the flesh of the infant. He proposes various ways of preparing such dishes artistically. And suggests that professional chefs can then invent new ways of preparing much better dishes. The author suggests that at the age of a year, the infant will be plenty of flesh and even the discarded skin of such an infant can be used for making fancy items like a lady’s gloves or a bag. The author then says that one of his friends has already discussed this idea and suggested that children of fourteen years too can be used to produce delicious food. However, the author says that he rejected that suggestion because he says that the flesh of a fourteen-year-old boy is too lean while a fourteen-year-old girl may become a breeder of infants herself, and using her for food will break the supply chain. He then says that his friend saw such practices followed by some savages in Asia. The author then says that although the situations of those adults who are ill, disabled, too old, or starving, are no better he is not concerned about them because he cannot think of any such idea that can make them useful.

The author then supports his idea as a viable solution to the Irish problem and lists six reasons why it should be accepted. Firstly, the author says that it will decrease the population of dangerous abhorrent Catholics, secondly, by selling their infants, the poor will get some property and this will improve their conditions. Thirdly, the writer says that this proposal will increase the overall wealth of the nation as these newly found food delicacies will be a new wealth. The fourth reason is that mothers will not be expected to raise their infants to adulthood. They will be freed after a year as they will sell their infant to the right buyer. Thus, they will have time to do other work or breed again. The fifth reason that the writer offers is that the life of taverns and culinary circles is becoming tedious but these new food delicacies made of the flesh of Irish infants will bring new excitement and enthusiasm and that will increase the business. The sixth and last reason the author gives in support of his proposal is that it will help improve the overall societal structure because that proposal will strengthen the institution of marriage. Women will be more dedicated to the care and upbringing of their infants as they will have potential wealth for them. The men will also be more honest and caring towards their wives so that their wives may create more babies to sell.

The author then counters his own proposal and says that there can be a negative effect because this proposal if accepted will reduce the population of Ireland. But then he says that it will not be an issue for Britain and that not too many infants will be killed by this proposal because it is not easy to preserve the flesh of infants and hence they cannot be exported.

The author then declares that he considers his proposal as the best possible remedy to the Irish problem and he is not ready to listen to any other solutions like thrift, or virtues. In the last section, the author says that he is open to any other suggestions anyone may have on this question. He declares that he has no economical stake in this proposal as he has no infants that he can sell to be eaten, and thus, he cannot make any profit out of this proposal.

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.

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by William Carlos Williams | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus is a modernist imagist poem written by William Carlos Williams that was first published in the year 1960 and then was added to his poetic collection Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems in 1962. The poem is a prime example of “Ekphrasis,” a specific f
orm of a poem in which the poet describes and reflects upon a work of visual art. The poem describes the famous painting ‘Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the Dutch painter of the 16^th century. The title of William’s poem and its first line is a direct allusion to this work of Bruegel.

Themes of Landscape with the Fall of Icarus:

The painting describes the story of Icarus from Ovid’s Metamorphosis and thus, the poem in itself is an allusion to Ovid’s Metamorphosis and the Greek myth of Icarus. Icarus was the son of Daedalus. Icarus and his father were exiled and imprisoned in Crete. Daedalus was a miraculous sculptor. He created artificial wings of wax and gave power of flying to those. He offered those wings to his son so that he may escape and bring help. However, he warned Icarus that though the ability to fly will tempt him to achieve greater heights, he must resist going near the sun as it will melt his wings. He further requested him to remain away from the sea because if his wings get wet, he won’t be able to fly. Icarus promised to keep these requests in mind and flew away. However, as he reached the sky, he was exhilarated by the sudden freedom and the ability to fly. Nonchalantly, he kept going high and high and forgot that he must not go near the sun. As he kept going up, the heat started waning out his wax feathers and they started melting. Icarus was unable to manage those melting wings. Furthermore, he was so high that he didn’t notice that he is flying just above the sea. As a result of the melting of his feathers, he fell down into the sea, and that further worsen the predicament because the wet feathers were useless. Thus, Icarus fell and drowned in the sea for not heading any of his father’s pieces of advice. He drowned because of his attitude of indifference towards his father’s requests and this is the main theme of William’s poem. The poet takes the reference to the mythological character Icarus to talk about the human tendency to indifference. When Icarus fell from the sky, it was spring and a farmer was plowing his field. Similarly, the edge of the sea was concerned with itself. Furthermore, the sun too had no pity upon Icarus. Nobody liked to hear the splash of Icarus drowning. A farmer sees Icarus drowning but he has no interest in that as he keeps continuing his work in the field. The poem establishes a theme of growing selfishness and individualism among mankind. As Icarus falls and dies, it makes no difference.

Structure of the Poem:

It is a short poem with seven stanzas of three lines each. There is no set rhyming scheme and the poem is written in free verse with extensive use of enjambment. Williams has used imagery, allusion, alliteration, consonance, metaphor, symbolism, and Onomatopoeia.

Summary of Landscape with the Fall of Icarus:

1^st Stanza (Lines 1-3)

“According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring”

The poet declares that his poem is an Ekphrasis of Pieter Bruguel’s painting depicting the fall of Icarus. The poet alludes to Brueghel’s painting and says that the picture shows that Icarus fell during Spring. There is end random rhyming in ‘Brueghel’ and ‘fell.’

2^nd Stanza (Lines 4-6)

“a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry”

In the second stanza, the poet confirms that it was certainly the season of spring as shown in the picture. Spring is associated with youth, life, birth, and natural beauty. It is generally the time when farmers prepare their fields for new crops. The poet says that the picture shows a farmer ploughing his field which suggests that it is a depiction of spring. Furthermore, the whole ‘pageantry’ the whole of the beautiful picture suggests it is spring.

3rd Stanza (Lines 7-9)

“of the year was
awake tingling
near”

The poet continues to describe the spring season shown in the picture and says that the picture is holistic and it shows the liveliness of spring. In the 8^th line, the poet used the Juxtaposition of iamb (awake) and torchee (tingling). Furthermore, the end sound (k) of awake, and starting sound (t) of tingling are consonant stops.

4th Stanza (Lines 10-12)

“the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself”

In the fourth stanza, the poet develops the theme of his poem and suggests that while such a major incident was happening, Icarus was falling, the whole landscape up to the sea was unaware and unconcerned, and the whole edge or shore of the sea was concerned by itself. The farmer was busy ploughing, and the shepherd was gazing at the sky indifferent to the fall of Icarus. The fishermen were busy with fish, everybody was concerned with their own jobs, and nobody cared for the falling man.

5th Stanza (Lines 13-15)

“sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax”

While everyone was busy with their jobs, Icarus suffered a jolt as the heat of the sun overpowered his will to fly and his wings of wax melt down. The whole of the actions shown in the picture suggests it was a hot spring day. The farmer was sweating, and so were the fishermen and the shepherd. It was so hot that the wings of wax began to melt.

6^th Stanza (Lines 16-18)

“unsignificantly
off the coast
there was”

No doubt the incidence of the fall of Icarus was an important one but when it happened, as shown in the figure, nobody was concerned. Icarus was insignificant and so was his fall. Everybody was busy with their own business. While the painting is titled the fall of Icarus which it certainly depicts, it depicts a whole range of other actions too, and in the pageantry, the mere fall of Icarus appears insignificant. It appears that Icarus neglected his father’s pieces of advice, and his fall was also ignored by everyone else. Icarus got carried away by his whims and he suffered since nobody cared for his fall, men continue to fall because of their irrational whims.

7^th Stanza (Lines 9-21)

“a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning”

As Icarus fell on the seabed, it must have caused the sound of splash but it disturbed no one, it remained unnoticed, and that was Icarus drowning. And since it remained unnoticed, nobody learned anything from his fall. As if his fall achieved nothing for humankind which continues to fall.

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 Nowhere Man by Kamala Markandaya | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Nowhere Man is a novel written by Kamala Markandaya that was first published in the year 1972. Kamala Markandaya was an Indian expatriate living in London and all of her literary works are marked with a deep sense of Indianness and nostalgia thus, it is considered a prime example of Diasporic literature. The Nowhere Man is the only novel by Kamala Markandaya that is set in London, Britain. Yet, the story of this novel too is deeply connected with her Diasporic Indian roots. The novel tells the tragic story of the alienation, and exploitation of Srinivas, an Indian man who left India for his business in 1948 and made London his base city. However, he was never accepted as a British and had to face racism, marginalism, and alienation. Another major theme of the novel is the clash of Eastern and Western cultures and sensibilities.

Characters of The Nowhere Man:

Srinivas is an elderly Brahmin living in London at Bunglaw No.5. He came to Britain in 1919 for his business of spices. It is 1968 and throughout his life, he kept suffering alienation, ostracization, and racial hatred. Now it is becoming extreme because Srinivas is suffering from Leprosy. His doctor Mr. Radcliff suggests he shall not visit any public places. Marjorie is Dr. Radcliff’s wife. Vasantha was his wife who died of tuberculosis. He had two sons Laxman and Seshu who both fought for Britain during Second World War but only Laxman returned as Seshu died during the German Blitz. Laxman is also living in London but he has his family and he doesn’t keep much contact with Srinivas. Pat is Laxman’s wife. Mrs. Pickering is an impoverished divorcee who makes friends with Srinivas and they start living together at No.5. Fred Fletcher is the son of Sriniva’s neighbor who recently returned from Australia after the failure of his business. He is unemployed and frustrated. Fred starts blaming immigrants for his own failure and thus becomes a racial bigot. He specifically hates Srinivas, who is his neighbor.

Summary of The Nowhere Man:

Srinivas is a young South Indian Brahmin guy who is a brilliant scholar. However, he faces racial discrimination and imperial oppression during his years at University in India. He actively participates in the non-violent protest marches against the atrocities of the British government and hence faces the consequences of that too. Despite that, he continues to outperform all others in his studies and wins a gold medal. Soon his family arranges his marriage with Vasantha, a beautiful and sensitive young Brahmin girl. Because of his academic excellence, Srinivas gets an offer to go to England to pursue higher education. Srinivas is not interested to go but he sees no future in India and thus, he decides to go to England with his wife in 1919. He settles in London and since he is not only a good scholar but also a brilliant entrepreneur, he succeeds in establishing a successful venture of Indian spices in London. His hard work and acumen pay off and he buys a home, Bungalow No. 5 in a posh area of London. Despite all his success, excellent academic skills, benevolent nature, and deeply ingrained principles in non-violence, he and his wife were made to realize again and again by the host society that they are Indian. They faced the situation of in-betweenness and non-belongingness. However, he continues to bear all the racial slurs and discrimination patiently while believing that England is his chosen nation. Time passes by and his wife gives birth to two sons Laxman and Seshu. Both are born Britishers and they join the British army during the Second World War. However, only Laxman returns from the war front and Seshu loses his life during the German Blitz. Seshu’s death breaks Vasantha and she falls ill with tuberculosis and dies. After cremating her, Srinivas decides to release her ashes in the river Thames. However, he was about to be arrested for throwing her ashes into the Thames. “The river’s not the place for rubbish,” a policeman told him. But Srinivas said that it is not rubbish, but his loving wife. Despite being harsh and racist, the policeman feels a moment of compassion and lets Srinivas go and perform the last rites. After his wife’s death, Srinivas suffers acute loneliness. When his son returns from the war, he settles with his wife Pat somewhere else in London. Laxman doesn’t live his father’s typical Indian attitude and still continues to follow traditional Indian ways of living. His wife Pat does try to bridge the gap between her husband and father-in-law but ultimately, they settle away from Srinivas’s house and Laxman keeps minimal contact with him.

His younger son’s and wife’s death makes Srinivas delineate who doesn’t care much for his business, his health, and his physical condition. Srinivas briefly considers returning to India but finally concludes, “He had no notion of where to go to in India, or what to do when he got there.” He knows that the country has changed. He also thinks to himself, “This is my country now.” He has already spent more than 40 years in London. Both his sons were born in London and he let go of Vasantha’s ashes in the river Thames. In some ways, he has become more English than the English around him.

During such time, he meets Mrs. Pickering who is an impoverished divorcee. Both develop a friendly relationship and then Mrs. Pickering decides to live with him at his home No.5. She starts taking care of him and his neighbors too feel good as now his home and the surrounding area appear better managed. While Mrs. Pickering and Srinivas admire and compliment each other, they do face troubles because of the differences between their cultural roots. While Srinivas is totally non-violent and doesn’t even wish to harm ants and feels bad if he mistakenly steps on mice, Mrs. Pickering is a Western woman who considers such things senseless. She would eat non-vegetarian food and won’t care much. Meanwhile, Srinivas continues to suffer racial slurs and as more immigrants from Asia and South Africa arrive in England, these racial abuses start becoming more intense and violent. While Srinivas continues to bear these discriminations calmly and doesn’t react, Mrs. Pickering believes in action and she wishes him to directly confront such hooligans. Srinivas is rather passive and prefers talking reason. When immigrants are accused of being the root of all the British problems of unemployment, too much population, and poverty, Srinivas, referring to the exploitative history of the empire, concludes that the reverse is true: “That this bland country owed debts it had not paid, rather than scores which it had to settle. That the past had seen his countrymen sinned against, rather than sinning.” During such time, Srinivas falls ill and his doctor Mr. Radcliff diagnoses that he is suffering from leprosy. His doctor tells him to avoid going to public places. Mrs. Pickering continues to nurse him and help him while he offers financial stability.

Meanwhile, Fred Fletcher, who is the son of Sriniva’s neighbor, returns from Australia after the failure of his business venture. He tries to find a job in London but remains unemployed. Fred Fletcher is angry and bitter, but instead of taking responsibility for his failure, he blames it on the arrival of “black hordes” and gets a reputation for being a “black basher”. He spends much of his time getting drunk in the pub, ranting about black and brown-skinned people “getting above themselves” and spewing racist jibes. He is particularly vitriolic against Srinivas and would often do mean things against him. He would throw dead mice at his home’s door or would attack him with tar, and other similar disturbing acts. Mrs. Pickering suggests Srinivas confront Fred and complain against him but Srinivas would rather let it go. Mrs. Pickering, being a native herself, also has some sympathy for Fred who is unemployed and facing intense competition.

While Srinivas is 70 years old, and almost bound to his home because of his leprosy, Fred manages to frame him on a false charge of hooliganism, and a warrant is issued against him. Srinivas is flabbergasted. While he manages to get bail, Mrs. Pickering suggests he return to India. How could Srinivas leave? “He found he had no notion of where to go to in India, or what to do when he got there since so much had been destroyed or given up – self-respect, livelihood, family cohesions – during the struggle for independence.” He doesn’t belong to India now and now when he has been ostracized in England too, he belongs to nowhere, he is the nowhere man.

Fred continues his vitriolic attack on Srinivas. One day, when he was alone at home as Mrs. Pickering went out for some buying, Fred arranges a mob march in the area protesting against the immigrants. Srinivas listens to the racist slurs and slogans ‘hang the blacks’ and ‘blacks go home’ and so on. The situation worsens and turns violent. The mob starts picking homes of immigrants and blazing them. Fred attacks Sriniva’s house and Srinivas gets trapped in the burning home. Dr. Radcliff sees it all and tries his best to help Srinivas and rescue him but fails.

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!