Never Bet the Devil Your Head by Edgar Allan Poe | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne were the prominent American authors representing the genre of Dark Romanticism; the literary movement that rose to oppose the increasing impact of Transcendentalism. Transcendentalists too, were romanticists who believed in the good of nature and stressed that men are inherently good. Transcendentalists unequivocally denied the presence of evil in nature. The Transcendentalists were proponents of Poetic Justice and stressed too much demonstrating and discerning the moral ideas from the fiction and often expressed their disbelief in devils.

Poe was often criticized for failing to succeed in writing a short story that embodies a moral tale. In response, Poe wrote a short story that satirically mocks the journals called “Dial” and Down-Easter”, which represents the transcendentalists, for their obsession with unraveling the hidden meanings in novels, specifically, the moral of the fiction. The story was titled “Never Bet the Devil Your Head.” and it was published in the year in 1841. The narrator of the poem acknowledges the complaint that he doesn’t write literature that may offer some moral insight and thus he decides to write “a history about whose obvious moral there can be no question whatever, since he who runs may read it in the large capitals which form the title of the tale.” Poe declares that the moral of the story is in the title itself.

Characters of Never Bet the Devil Your Head:

The narrator of the story is presumably Edgar Allan Poe himself. He is the friend of Toby Dammit who is the protagonist of the story. The narrator satirically targets the school of Transcendentalism and offers a tale of his friend Toby. The character of Toby Dammit symbolically represents the ideas of Transcendentalists. Toby is a reckless man who believes everything is good. Though he is abundant with human vices, he considers himself a good person. The narrator tries to change Toby and make him better but he doesn’t improve. Yet, the narrator maintains his friendship with him. Toby’s mother is a strict left-handed lady. The narrator and Toby once met a mysterious figure while passing over a bridge. This mysterious figure appears to be a little old man wearing black clothes. He symbolizes the devil himself.

Summary of Never Bet the Devil Your Head:

The story begins as the narrator, who is presumably Edgar Allan Poe himself, acknowledges the complaint of the critics that he often writes stories with no moral message. Then he turns around the table and says that it is certainly not true because critics are capable of finding a moral in any work of fiction, whether the author intended it to have that moral or not. However, he concedes that the morals in his stories may have been ambiguous and thus, he decides to write a story now whose moral will have its moral clearly set out in the title itself.

The narrator then introduces Toby Dammit, one of his childhood friends, and claims that they knew each other since they were both babies. He informs that Toby’s mother was a strict lady who tried her best to raise Toby well and will often spank him. Unfortunately, she was a left-handed lady and thus, she always used her left hand while beating Toby. The narrator claims that it is general knowledge that beating with the right hand makes the children behave better. This follows that beating them with their left hand will make them misbehave, and that’s what happened with Tony. As he grew old, he acquired many vices and became lustful, boastful, and addicted to alcohol. Yet, the narrator maintained his friendship with Tony. Though he tried to help Tony get rid of his bad habits, the narrator claims that he fell under the influence of the Transcendentalists and believed that there is nothing bad with him. Gradually, he continued accumulating more vices and became addicted to gambling. However, Tony is very poor and thus, he never bets money. Yet, he is very fond of swearing, cursing, and using phrases that sound like he is laying a bet.

The narrator exclaims that nobody ever took Tony’s bets seriously who made it a habit of using phrases like "I'll bet you what you please", "I'll bet you what you dare", or "I'll bet you a trifle."

One of the recent phrases that Tony acquired and constantly used was “I’ll bet the Devil my head.”

Gradually, Tony stopped using any other phrases and only ever said, "I'll bet the Devil my head".

The narrator claims that he never liked that phrase as he found it vulgar and inappropriate. The narrator tried to convince Tony not to use that phrase but he never listened to the narrator’s pleas. Still, the narrator maintained his friendly relationship with Tony.

One day, the narrator and his friend Tony were going somewhere together. On their way, they found a long covered bridge crossing over a river, They had to go on to the other side and thus entered the bridge. The bridge was gloomy and dark as there were hardly any windows and there were many obstacles on the floor. While the narrator was cautious, Tony felt playful and would often jump over obstacles. As they reached the other exit of the bridge, the narrator saw a high turnstile and decided to carefully go through it. Tony, who was following him, decided to jump over the turnstile. The narrator tried to stop him but Tony claimed that he can easily jump over the turnstile. The narrator warned him and said that he should not boastfully claim that he can do something impossible for him. Tony was adamant, he shouted that he will bet the Devil his head that he can jump over the turnstile.

At the same moment, the narrator suddenly realizes that they were not alone on the bridge. He saw a mysterious figure in the dark of the bridge, standing near the exit. On seeing, carefully, the narrator saw that the mysterious figure was a little old man wearing a black suit and a black silk apron. The old man started encouraging Tony Dammit and said that he is certain that Dammit can easily jump over the turnstile in a flamboyant manner. The old man ignored the narrator and told Tony to move back a little bit and then he can run over before taking a big leap to jump over the turnstile. The old man said that he will say “One, Two, Three,” and that Dammit should start running when he says, "and away". The narrator wonders what business the old man has in getting Toby Dammit to jump. He says to himself that he will not jump if the old man asks him to do so, adding that he does not care who the devil the old man is.

As he thought about it, he got startled and looked towards the old man, his last words echoed in his mind, “Who the devil the old man is.”

By that time, Tony had begun running towards the turnstile. He takes the plunge as the old man says ‘and away.’ He almost jumps over the turnstile but then he falls down on the same side of the turnstile from which he began. The old man then goes to Dammit and bows over him. He takes something from him and then carefully wraps it in the black silk apron and goes away. The narrator is startled, trying to fathom what just happened. He regains his composure and goes to check on Tony Dammit. He observes that Tony Dammit didn’t have his head. He sees that there is an iron bar over the exit to the bridge and decides that Toby Dammit must have struck his head against it.

The narrator notices that Tony isn’t dead yet, and takes him to the homeopathists. The homeopathist tries to revive Tony and his treatment continues for several days. Nevertheless, Dammit eventually dies. After his death, the narrator arranges for his decent funeral. He then sends the bill for Dammit's funeral to the transcendentalists. When they refuse to pay, the narrator has Toby Dammit's body exhumed to be sold for dog food.

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!

Miriam by Truman Capote | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Truman Capote was an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, playwright, and actor who was born on September 30, 1924 and died on August 25, 1984. He is best known for his short novel Breakfast at Tiffany (1958), and his true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966). Another noteworthy novel written by him was Other Voices, Other Rooms which was published in 1948. His first published short story was titled Miriam and it was published in the June 945 issue of the women’s magazine Mademoiselle. The story deals with the issues of isolation, loneliness, insanity, double personality disorder, schizophrenia, and the supernatural.

Characters of Miriam:

Mrs. H.T. Miller is a 61 years old widow woman living alone in her pleasant apartment. She is a lonely introvert woman who hardly speaks to anybody. After her husband’s death, she never spoke to any of her relatives Mr. H. T. Miller had left a reasonable amount of insurance and Mrs. Miller is content with her isolated lifestyle. She had a pet canary and she spent most of her time with the bird. Miriam is the eponymous character of the story. She is 17 year old young girl. She is a mysterious girl who meets Mrs. H.T. Miller at a cinema and develops a rapport with her. The name Miriam is symbolic as in Hebrew, it can be translated as “wished-for child.” A newly wed young couple lives in the same building where Mrs. H.T. Miller lives. Though Mrs. Miller has never spoken with the young couple, she does ask for their help when Miriam barges into her apartment and creates trouble for her.

Summary of Miriam:

Mrs. H.T. Miller is a 61 years old widowed woman who is living alone in her two-room apartment near the east river. She is a very conserved woman who has no friends to speak with. After her husband’s death, she does not keep in touch with any of her relatives. She prefers a planned daily life with little or no spontaneous action. She hardly goes anywhere other than the nearest grocery store. She keeps her two-room apartment immaculate, smokes occasionally, prepares her own meals, and tends to her canary.

One night, after taking her dinner, Mrs. Miller notices an advertisement of a picture playing at a neighborhood theatre in the afternoon newspaper. The title of the movie intrigues her and she decides to go watch the movie. It was lightly snowing that night. The picture was a hit and there was a long queue of ticket buyers in front of the box-office. Mrs. Miller waiter for her turn in the queue while she starts observing the people. Suddenly, her eyes turned toward a beautiful young girl. Mrs. Miller found her very impressive. The girl too turned and looked at her and smiled. Mrs. Miller was happy seeing her smiling at her. The girl approached her and asked if Mrs. Miller would do a favor for her. Mrs. Miller asked what does she want? The girl replies that its no bid deal but she wishes Mrs. Miller to buy a ticket for her because the usher will not let her in without the ticket she cannot buy the ticket as she is underage. The girl offers the money (Two Dimes and a Nickel) for the ticket to Mrs. Miller. Mrs. Miller thinks for a while and then decides to buy the ticket.

After buying the ticket, Mrs. Miller and the girl went over to the theatre where the usher directed them to a lounge to wait for a while as the previous show was still going on. As they sat, Mrs Miller observed the girl closely and found that more than her hair, her eyes are more impressive. Mrs. Miller offered a peppermint to the girl and asked her name to which the girl answered that her name is Miriam. Mrs. Miller was excited as her first name too was Miriam. She exclaimed, what a coincidence, isn’t it funny that my name too is Miriam, though it is not a common name, we both share it. The girl nodded affirmatively, Mrs Miller asked again if she didn’t find it exciting to which Miriam answered it is ‘moderately’ exciting. After some time, the two parted ways as Mrs. Miller had to go to search for her seat. After watching the movie, Mrs. Miller returned to her home.

In the following week, one evening when she had prepared her dinner and was reading a newspaper, she heard the doorbell. Mrs. Miller got startled as hardly anybody visits her apartment ever. She opened the door and found the same young little girl Miriam standing at the door. The girl authoritatively enters her apartment and sits on the sofa. Mrs. Miller asked the girl to go back to her home but Miriam refused and demanded Mrs Miller to make a jelly sandwich for her. Mrs. Miller felt uneasy but she agreed. As she went to the kitchen for preparing the sandwich, Miriam inspected her bedroom where she found a beautiful antique cameo brooch that was given to Mrs. Miller by her late husband. After preparing the sandwich, Mrs. Miler returns to the living room and then follows Miriam into the bedroom. Miriam appreciates the cameo brooch and asks if she can keep it for herself? Mrs. Miller didn’t wish to give it to her as she had some sweet memories attached to the cameo brooch. However, she relents and allows Miriam to keep it if she promises to go straight back to her home after finishing the sandwich. Miriam agrees and goes to the other room and sits on the sofa. After finishing the sandwich, she standsup and proceeds towards the door. But then she stops and asks Mrs. Miller to give her a goodnight kiss. Mrs. Miller was quite irritated by that time and she sternly refuses. This angers Miriam and she goes to the sidewall and picks up a vase and smashes it on the floor. She tramples all the flowers and then goes out. It was difficult for Mrs. Miller to sleep after that incidence.

The next morning, Mrs. Miller decides to go shopping at various shopping malls around New York City. She returns home late in the evening and locks her apartment from inside. After a few moments, the doorbell rings. Mrs. Miriam assumes she must be Miriam and decides not to answer the doorbell. Miriam continues to rin the doorbell again and again but Mrs. Miriam avoids answering back. After some time, the doorbell stops ringing. Mrs. Miller assumes that Miriam went away and goes to check. As she opens up the door, she gets startled. Miriam was standing right on the other side of the door. She rushes inside before Mrs. Miller could close the door back. Mrs. Miller follows her in and sees her sitting on the sofa. Mrs. Miller observes that Miriam is holding a beautiful doll in her left hand. Miriam then asks Mrs. Miller to bring in the large box that Miriam brought with her. Mrs. Miller notices the large box kept just outside the door. Out of curiosity, she brings the box in. Miriam starts rummaging the things that Mrs. Miller bought while she was shopping, she comments on the cherries, almond cakes, and white flowers. Meanwhile, Mrs. Miriam gets curious about the large box and opens it up. She notices that the box is full of clothes of Miriam and there is a second doll just like the one Miriam is holding in her hand. Miriam then announces that she has left her house and now she is going to live with her.

Mrs. Miller gets frightened and decides to run away from there. She goes downstairs to where a young couple lives. Mrs. Miller had seen the young couple many times, but she hardly spoke to them till now. She knocks at their door and as they open the door, she hurridly complains that a young girl keeps on appearing and will not leave her alone. Observing the frightened state of Mrs. Miller, the woman comforts her while her husband decides to go upstairs and check Mrs. Miller’s apartment. After sometime, he returns back and says that there there is nobody upstairs. Mrs. Miller gets startled. She tries to convince again that there was a young girl named Miriam. She asks if there is a large box on the floor to which the man answers that there is none. Mrs. Miller regains her composure and returns to her apartment. She checks both rooms and finds nobody is there. The loneliness of her house scares her. She feels tired and sits on the sofa. She is startled and frightened. She wonders if everything is real or if is it a dream. She wonders where did Miriam go? She convinces herself that there is nobody. She closes her eyes and tries to calm down. However, her mind is restless. She wonders if Miriam was real, did she ever met Miriam in real or if was it just a figment of her imagination. After a while, she convinces herself that it doesn’t matter and that she is Mr. Miller, the strong-willed woman who is used to living alone and doing all her work without depending on others. This thought calms her down and she feels relaxed. After some time, she notices a double sound, a bureau drawer opening, and closing. The double sound continues but gradually, its harshness diminishes and after a few moments, she hears another sound, the delicate sound of furling of a silken dress. The sound continues to reach nearer to her. Mrs. Miller feels the fear again and stiffens herself. As she opens her eyes, Miriam says ‘Hello’ again.

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!

Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. “Jasmine” is the third novel that was written by Bharati Mukherjee and was published in 1980. Bharati Mukherjee always maintained that she is not an expatriate Indian, rather, she is an Immigrant Indian who willfully chose to accept and love the foreign culture and values. In this novel too, she expresses Indian culture and traditions as a bane that is very cruel to widow women. On the other hand, she expresses America as a land of freedom, promise, and fulfillment where one can attain a reward for each of his or her effort and where the relationship between man and woman is based on an equal and equal relationship.

Written from the first person point of view in a non-linear style, the novel tells the story of Jyoti, a young Indian woman who is a widow, and her journey and personal development as she attempts to assimilate into American culture.

Characters of Jasmine:

Jyoti is the main character of the novel who is also known by the name Jasmine, Jazzy, Jase, and Jane in different situations during her journey from a small town in India to big cities in America. She is a simple girl belonging to a middle-class Punjabi Hindu peasant family. Jyoti lives with her Mataji (mother), Pitaji (father), and Dida (grandmother). Masterji is her school teacher who encourages her to higher studies. In her youth, she marries Prakash Vijh, a young hardworking honest Punjabi Hindu man with her family’s consent. Dave Vadhera is an Indian professor who encourages Prakash to pursue higher studies in America. Later on, Professor Vadhera shifts to America with his wife Nirmala and his parents. Half-Face is the captain of the ship that Jyoti takes to Florida. Lilian Gordon is an activist in South Florida who helps Kanjobal refugees and other illegal immigrants in America, Kate is her daughter who is an NYC photographer and artist. Taylor Hayes is a physicist and researcher at Columbia University who employs Jasmine as the caretaker of Duff, the adopted daughter of Taylor Hayes and his wife Wyllie Hayes. Wylie leaves Taylor to live with Stuart, an economist. Bud Ripplemayer is a banker and landowner in Baden, Iowa. Jasmine works as a teller in his family bank. He develops a romantic relationship with Jasmine and they start living together. Jasmine becomes pregnant with their child. Bud persistently proposes to her to marry him but she continues to refuse him. Du Thien is a Vietnamese refugee kid whom Jasmine and Bud adopt as their son. Darrel Lutz is a neighbor of Bud who owns a farm. He needs a loan to save his farm but Bud refuses to help him. Karen Ripplemayer is Bud’s ex-wife who lives in Iowa

Summary of Jasmine:

The novel begins as Jasmine reminisces about her childhood. She used to be known as Jyoti at that time. She was living with her Mataji, Pitaji, and Dida, an elder brother, and a sister. When she was seven years old, she met an astrologer under a Banyan tree in Hasanpur who forecasted her eventual widowhood and exile. Jyoti feels offended and opposes the astrologer’s prophecy. The astrologer gets angry and hits her head and then he goes back to his trance. Jyoti falls down and her head hits a bundle of sticks which causes a scar. Jyoti believes that this scar whose mark may never go throughout her life is like her third eye which will help her in changing the bad future that the astrologer prophecized.

At school, Jyoti was a brilliant child. Her school teacher Masterji started tutoring her in English and encouraged her to pursue higher studies. While Mataji, her mother too supported Jyoti for higher studies, Pitaji and Dida were not in favor of Jyoti spending more time in school. Masterji convinces her father to let Jyoti work hard on her studies as he believes that she can overcome the traditional, conservative, feudal ways of Hasnapur. Her father agrees to her tutoring by Masterji. Just after a couple of days, her father is attacked by a loose mad bull and he dies on the spot. After her father’s death, Jyoti’s family shifts their home. A week later, a gang of Sikh militants attack Jyoti’s school and murdered Masterji in front of his students.

Though she is a brilliant student, Jyoti belongs to a middle-class family and after her father’s premature death, her family faces financial troubles. When Jyoti was just 14, she married Prakash, a friend of her elder brother. Prakash is a liberal young man who believes in equality in relationships. He respects Jyoti and encourages her to continue her studies. To break from the past, Prakash renames her as Jasmine. Prakash himself is a brilliant student. He works two jobs and studies for his diploma exams while Jasmine runs a Ladies' Group raffle and sells detergent to make money. Prakash is known for his liberal views and his opposition to the radical Sikh group the Khalsa Lions. Professor Vadhera of Prakash’s college is planning to shift to America where he has got a job as a professor in Florida. He encourages Prakash to pursue higher education in America. Prakash gets interested in this option and encourages Jasmine to attain fluency in English as he plans to go to America with his wife and settle there.

With the help of Mr. Vadhera’s recommendation, Prakash gets admission to a university in Florida and explains to Jasmine that he may be in the US for many months before he's able to bring her over to him, but that they will write and call each other frequently. To celebrate the occasion, he takes Jasmine to the market to buy a beautiful saree for her. He buys a suit for himself that he wishes to wear at the University of Florida. While Jasmine is trying on beautiful expensive sarees in a showroom, one of the radicals of the terrorist outfit Khalsa Lions attacks with a homemade hand grenade just outside the showroom. Jasmine listens to the deep frightening sound and runs out of the showroom and sees Prakash brutally injured. She takes him in her arms. The radical Sikh whose name is Sukhwinder starts hurling abuses at Jasmine while Prakash dies in her arms.

Jasmine is deeply hurt. After performing the last rites of Prakash, she looks at the suit that Prakash bought and decides to anyhow visit the US and visit the University where Prakash dreamed of studying. She wishes to go there and burn his suit in the same University as she feels it is the only way Prakash’s soul will get some peace. She gets a doctored passport and tickets and travels to Mumbai where she catches an airplane to the U.S. On the last leg of the journey to Florida, she takes a ship whose captain is Half-Face. Half-Face realizes that Jasmine is traveling on doctored papers and hence decides to exploit her. He drives her to an abandoned motel and rapes her. When he falls asleep, Jasmine thinks of killing herself. But as she looks at the face of Half-Face, she feels immense hatred towards him and slashes his throat with a kitchen knife. After killing him, she decides to burn the coat of Prakash along with his papers at the same site. After that, she becomes a paperless refugee in the U.S.

She continues wandering on the roads of Florida while facing infection and starvation and is about to collapse when Lillian Gordon notices her and takes her to her home. Lillian runs an asylum helping refugees. She already has sheltered some Kanjobal girls in her asylum and Jasmine starts living with them. Lillian offers some American clothes to Jasmine and teachers her American mannerism so that she may not get caught by INS. Lillian starts calling her Jazzy. Jazzy is already fluent in English and after learning enough of American mannerisms, she takes Lillian’s help in catching a bus to New York City where she expects to meet Professor Vadhera who has settled there with his parents and young wife Nirmala. Professor Vadhera allows Jazzy to stay at his home. While Professor Vadhera and his wife Nirmala both work at the University, Jazzy takes care of his parents at home. After some time, Jazzy requests Professor Vadhera to help her get a quality fake green card as she is afraid of being caught as an illegal immigrant. Professor Vadhera arranges a fake green card for her. Jazzy isn’t happy while staying with Professor Vadhera as he lives in a society in Flushing where everybody speaks Hindi and follows a lifestyle that resembles more Indian than American. Thus, she decides to explore the other parts of America and leaves Queens for Manhattan where she meets Kate Gordon, the daughter of Lillian Gordon. With the help of Kate, she gets a job as a caretaker at the home of Taylor Hayes and his wife Wyllie Hayes. Taylor is a physicist and professor at Columbia University and Wylie is a publisher and editor.

Jazzy’s job is to take care of Taylor and Wyllie’s adopted daughter Duff. Jazzy makes a close relationship with Duff. She notices that while Taylor feels responsible for Duff as her legal father, Wyllie is not interested in Duff. Taylor starts appreciating Jazzy and she falls in love with him. He starts calling her Jase. Meanwhile, Wylie leaves Taylor Hayes as she develops an extramarital affair with Stuart, an economist on Columbia's faculty. As Wylie leaves Taylor, he proposes to Jase to marry him. However, Jase is hesitant about the prospects of marriage for some reason unknown to Taylor. One day, while in a part with Taylor and Duff, Jase notices a hot dog vendor who appears an Indian Sikh. When she notices him carefully, she gets frightened as she realizes that he is Sukhwinder, the same man who murdered Prakash. She gets too frightened of Sukhwinder and her own fate and remembers the astrologer who professed her widowhood and exile. She gets a panic attack and feels like choking. Taylor brings her back home where she reveals her entire past to Taylor and informs how Sukhwinder, the hot dog vendor murdered her husband. As she wishes no harm to Taylor, she decides to run away from New York and reaches Iowa where Wylie and Taylor adopted Duff.

In Iowa, Jase accidentally meets an old lady Mrs. Ripplemeyer and develops a cordial relationship with her. Mrs. Ripplemeyer starts calling her Jane and introduces her to his son Bud Ripplemeyer who runs a family bank. Bud feels love for Jane at first sight and he offers a job to her as a teller in his bank. Soon he develops a sexual romantic relationship with Jane. While Bud is already married to Karin Ripplemeyer, he decides to divorce her and then Jasmine and Bud start living together at his home. Jane still misses Duff and thus, Bud and Jasmine decide to adopt a child named Du, who is a Vietnamese refugee. Du remains reserved and traumatized by his experiences at the refugee camp. Jane notices that he has an interest in engineering and electronics just like Prakash.

Because of economic turmoil, Bud’s bank faces many applications for loans that Bud cannot afford. He refuses most of the applications and one day, a disgruntled farmer in Iowa shoots Bud at his back for refusing his loan application. After that, the farmer shoots himself and dies. This renders Bud paralyzed below his waist. Meanwhile, Jasmine is pregnant with Bud’s child. She starts taking care of Bud in a wheelchair while maintaining the bank too. Bud requests Jasmine to marry him before she may give birth to their child but Jasmine refuses to marry him. Bud’s neighbor Darrel Lultz manages their family farm and he too is suffering economic problems. He asks for Bud’s help but Bud refuses to offer a loan to him because he feels Darrel is irresponsible. Darrel is a young man in his twenties. He gets infatuated with Jasmine and starts pursuing her. Jasmine too develops a friendly relationship with him. One day, Darrel proposes to her and ridicules her for maintaining a relationship with Bud who is paralyzed and unable as a man. He insists that Jasmine should move with him to New Mexico, where he plans to open a new franchise store. Jasmine feels offended but politely refuses him. She returns to Bud’s home and talks with him about Darrel’s loan application. She convinces Bud to offer a loan to Darrel. When Bud and Jasmine visit Darrel’s house to inform him that Bud has agreed to offer him a loan, they find that he has already succumbed to his frustrations and has hanged himself with the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Du is growing old and he is seventeen now. One day, he leaves Bud’s house abruptly as he finds the address of his sister in Los Angeles. Years have passed since Jasmine left New York. One day, she receives a letter from Taylor in which he informs her that he continued to search for her and now he knows that she is living in Badem, Iowa. The letter informs that Taylor and his daughter Duff are traveling and reaching to visit her in Iowa. Jasmine comes to know that Taylor has been appointed as a professor at the University of UC Berkley and he wishes to marry Jasmine and start a new life with her.

Taylor and Duff reach Iowa and meet Jasmine at Bud’s house. While they are waiting for her in the living room, Jasmine goes inside. Jasmine is torn between her love for Taylor and her duties towards Bud who has impregnated her and is dependent on her. She has to take a firm decision that she cannot change in the future. She decides to call Karren, the ex-wife of Bud who is still in love with Bud. Jasmine informs her that she is leaving Bud as she is going to California. Then she hangs up the phone and goes to the living room. Taylor, Duff, and Jasmine get in the car as Taylor starts their journey to California while Jasmine thinks of the astrologer whom she met at the age of seven, in her imagination, she challenges the astrologer again and says, "Watch me re-position the stars," as she decided to marry Taylor Hayes.

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 Coffer Dams by Kamala Markandaya | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Coffer Dams was the sixth novel by Kamala Markandaya that was published in 1969. Set in the tribal parts of South India, the novel tells the story of the clash of modernism versus traditionalism in post-independence India. It is a novel that tackles issues – among them racism, colonialism, the British class system, indigenous rights, clash of values, environmental issues, and the homogenizing forces of modernity. The story is about the dispossessed tribal people who are forced to leave the land they have been living on for centuries because of the construction of a dam that is supposed to bring prosperity to the nation. The novel discusses the issue of marginality in a brilliant manner.

Characters of The Coffer Dams:

Howard Clinton a British engineer and businessman gets a contract to build a dam on a river at Malad, an Indian village in South India. He is an extremely arrogant person with a racist mentality. Being an engineer, Clinton values technological advancement much more than the environment, nature, and Indians. Helen is the protagonist of the novel. She is the newly-married wife of Clinton who accompanies him to India. Unlike Clinton, Helen is more sympathetic and she starts caring for the tribals and laborers whose life gets dangerously affected by the construction of the dam. Mackendrick is another British engineer and partner of Clinton. Unlike Clinton, he is sympathetic to the tribals. Bob Rowling is the assistant engineer with a good heart who values nature and human beings, Henderson is the turbine specialist, and Lefevre and his team are construction specialists. There are not many women in the British camp because only a few British men brought their wives along with them. Millie Rowling is the wife of Bob Rowling who accompanies him to India. Like Clinton, Minnie hates Indians and especially the tribal Indians. Krishnan is the leader and spokesperson of the Indian laborers working at the dam sight. Bashiam is an Indian young man belonging to the tribal society of Malnad. He is an educated, skilled technician and chief crane operator. Like Clinton, Bashiam loves machines and technology but being a tribal himself, Bashiam doesn’t hate traditional ways. He is sympathetic, humane, and humble. While Clinton ridicules Bashiam as a black ape, Helen starts liking him. Wilkins and Bailey are two British technicians who die due to an accident while working on the construction site. The old village chief is the head of tribals who opposes the construction of the dam.

Summary of The Coffer Dams:

The novel is set in independent India struggling to modernize its ways. The story begins as Helen, recently married to Howard Clinton comes from England to India along with her husband who has to complete the construction of the dam on a south Indian river as per the contract made with the Government of India. The British Engineers and their families are not comfortable with Indian conditions and lack of amenities in that remote tribal area. Thus, Clinton and Mackenderick decide to complete the project within a year, so that they may return to their homeland.

Before the work of dam construction begins at the site, the tribals are ordered to shift to some other place so that the area occupied by them may be used for the construction of grand bungalows for the British technocrats. Tensions arise as tribals are displaced from the site where they have been dwelling for centuries. Along with the colonies, Mackendrick also makes some tin shades where the local laborers and home servants could live.

Employing Indian laborers on a priority basis is one of the conditions of the contract signed by Clinton with the Govt. of India. To fulfill this condition, Mackendrick recruits technicians from among those who live in the surrounding jungles. The old village head of Malnad opposes the construction of the dam but nobody listens to him. While the older generation of Malnad is supportive of the old system of their dependence on forests for their sustenance, the young generation believes in speedy growth and prosperity by way of earning money through jobs in private or state-run firms.

The British technocrats are excessively arrogant and callous towards the Indian technicians and laborers. Krishnan is the leader of the labor union of these tribesmen. Despite holding a dominant position due to being a leader of a labor union Krishnan often feels humiliated. The British Engineers hold him in low esteem on account of his identity as an Indian. His suggestions and warnings about the impact of North East monsoons, cyclones, and labor troubles are not taken seriously by Clinton and Mackendrick.

Meanwhile, Helen finds that Clinton is too obsessed with the building of the dam and he hardly pays any attention to her. He is completely absorbed in the completion of the dams as early as possible. On the other hand, Mrs. Millie Rowlings, like Clinton, treats the Indian laborers as people worth hatred. She organizes the parties to keep the British families united to successfully face the problems and challenges in the Indian tribal area where the local people are living life in total ignorance. Helen tries to amalgamate with these British women but fails to appreciate their sense of superiority over the Indian people. Appalled by her husband’s concern with structures rather than with men, she turns to local Indian tribesmen and finds in them the human values she lacked in the British camp. This creates tension between Clinton and Helen but he ignores her while concentrating on his work on the dam.

Helen approaches Krishnan and asks for his help in learning the language and ways of the tribal people but Krishnan refuses to help her. She starts visiting the tin shades of the local labourers and technicians where she meets Bashiam, a young Indian skilled technician belonging to the tribal society of Malnad. Bashiam gladly accepts to help Helen in learning local ways and takes her to the village. When Clinton comes to know about this, he starts feeling envious of Bashiam whom he considers a lowly uncivilized tribal. Helen enjoys her time with the tribesmen. She played with the children, watched the crops grow, watched women at work, and she talked to them. The presence of an English woman in a tribal village is a matter of great happiness for the entire tribal community. Children, men, and women of the tribal village are extremely happy to think that a representative of the British who ruled over India for a long is among them to boost their importance in the eyes of the people who belong to the civilized world. She meets the old head of the village who tells her that Bashiam and other young people of his tribe are becoming as money-mad as you foreigners are. The old tribal chief apprehends that the consequences of young tribals’ hunger for money will cause them immense loss later or sooner. Helen realizes that the tribal people are not as ignorant as others feel they are. She starts liking them. She develops a gradual awareness of the need for bridging the gaps and developing an understanding between the natives and the Britishers. She understands the tribal connections. For her, they were sensitive people and not black apes. She continues to spend more time with Bashiam and gradually starts liking him. Bashiam teaches her about various species of birds, reptiles, and other animals commonly found in the Jungles near Malnad. Helen starts taking an interest in birds and snakes. Clinton observes these changes in Helen and ridicules her. One day, when Clinton notes that Bashiam had been to the jungle for bird trapping, he gets suspicious that Helen developed an interest in birds because of her intimacy with Bashiam.

Bashiam reveals to her that the tribals were forced to leave their homes so that the British colony could be made. The fact that tribals were forcefully displaced by Mackendrick at the behest of Clinton hurts Helen deeply. She questions Bashiam why he and other tribal people accepted to leave their home without any protest to which Bashiam fails to offer any answer. However, her question encourages Bashiam to change himself. He dismantles the tin shade provided by the company to him and in place of it, he creates a hut by employing the local tribal techniques at the same place.

One night when he comes back to his but after working throughout the day, he is astonished to find Helen in the darkness of the hut. She had come here at such time to taste the coarse flavors of a burly tribesman like Bashiam. As they enter the hut, Helen hugs him and they make love.

As the work continues, Clinton decides to make two coffer dams that could support the main body of the dam to be built on the river. Clinton realizes the urgency of the work that should be completed before the arrival of the monsoon. Krishnan warns him of the possibilities of early monsoon or pre-monsoon cyclonic rains but Clinton humiliates him and ignores those warnings. During all these tensions, an accident further escalates conflicts between the British technocrats and local tribal laborers. The dispute between the two groups arises over an accident. First, two Christians Wilkins and Bailey die and the company decides to suspend the work to give them a proper burial. Then forty-two tribal workers fell into the river because of a premature blast and their bodies got jammed in the boulders. One English engineer Mackendrick discusses the possibilities of recovery but Clinton asserts that the work must go on and the “bodies can be incorporated into the structure.” Having heard about the fatal accident, a large number of tribal people reach the accident site to inspect the extent of the loss. Thirty-eight dead bodies are evacuated with the help of the crane but then the crane malfunctions. Baisham tries to repair the crane but it takes time. Despite all possible efforts, the two dead bodies remain irretrievable. While the tribals are anxious about whether missing the dead bodies will be restored so that they may be cremated with tribal rites and rituals, the British engineers are not serious about locating them. Lefevre says, “In time, the currents will free them.” Handerson says “In time the fish will have them.”

Krishnan protests against this discriminatory attitude and says that While Wilkins & Bailey are cremated by them with Christian rites & rituals, the dead tribal are ordered to be incorporated into the structure. When Helen comes to know about it, she strongly stands with the tribals while opposing the inhuman attitude of her husband. However, Mr. Rowling supports Clinton and says that there is no time to bring up the bodies. The rains are due, and the Dam is at risk. Makendrick is sympathetic towards the tribals and suggests that they must trust their crane operator. He says that the problem can be solved if with the help of Bashiam”s expertise “the boulders were lifted whole.” Although Clinton is very well aware of the fact that the crane has developed a serious fault and that the one who lifts the boulder in this condition is sure to lose his life, he allows Bashiam to lift the boulder. Helen notices Clinton's cunning attitude and tries to stop Bashiam from going to the river bed. But Bashiam takes the challenge. Exuding his self-confidence and showing his sense of belongingness to his community he victoriously utters, “I must do it since they are my people whom I cannot shed.” Bashiam tries his best and succeeds in retrieving the two bodies. Clinton, who always felt that Bashiam is no better than other uneducated, unskilled tribals grows highly appreciative of him and accepts that he is entirely reliable.

After that incident, Clinton with Bashiam, and all workers dedicate themselves to the construction work to complete it before the arrival of monsoon so that he may leave India for his country before the rainfall obstruct the execution of his plans. But pre-monsoon heavy rainfall upsets his plans. It not only disrupts his construction work but also creates a state of flood. The rain continues for many days. The British colony and bungalows get surrounded by water forcing them to get “marooned on top of a ruddy hill.” The engineers warn that if the coffer dams are not broken, the whole landmass will drown in water causing the deaths of hundreds of tribals in the surrounding area.

But Clinton is not willing to allow destruction of the coffer dams which are essential for the completion of his project. Mackendrick tries to convince him but he refuses. Helen then takes Mackendrick to the old tribal chief who is now on the verge of death. Before dying, he says that the rain will stop when "the ridges rise clear." A few moments after his death the ridges rise clear and the rain stops as predicted by him. The water starts receding gradually and after some days, the laborers start working for the completion of the dam. All the members of the tribal village and the British staff are extremely happy for the reason that the tribals are now free from the fear of inundation and the British engineers and technicians may now leave for their country along with their families and assistants.

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 Plays of William Shakespeare: Preface to Shakespeare by Samuel Johnson | Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Samuel Johnson was an English poet, prose writer, journalist, lexicographer, essayist, editor, and literary critic. While working on A Dictionary Of the English Language, Johnson focussed on Shakespearean plays to determine the origins of words. During this time, his fascination for Shakespeare’s plays increased manifold. In his dictionary too, William Shakespeare is the most quoted author. However, while researching Shakespeare’s plays, Johnson noticed some inherent problems with the currently available versions of Shakespeare’s plays. Johnson, thus, proposed to edit the plays of William Shakespeare. According to Johnson, the then available versions of Shakespeare’s plays were suffering too much a) ‘Textual corruption’ and they lacked authoritativeness. Johnson mentioned that the ‘textual corruption’ arouse mainly because of careless printing. Furthermore, these plays were transcribed for the actors by people who may not be able to understand the original text correctly. b) Johnson also noted that Shakespeare wrote his plays at a time when the language was unified and so used words and phrases which are almost obsolete now. c) Shakespeare used colloquial language that isn’t common in current times. d) Johnson also mentioned that Shakespeare used too many allusions and references to topical events and personalities and after more than 100 years it isn’t easy to understand those allusions. e) Shakespeare had a vibrant mind full of ideas. The rapid flow of ideas often hurried Shakespeare to a second thought before the first had been fully explained. Johnson recognized that many of Shakespeare’s obscurities belong either to the age or the necessities of stagecraft and not to the man.

Because of these problems, Johnson got the idea of editing Shakespearean plays. He began his work with Macbeth which he researched and edited as Miscellaneous Observations or Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth which was published on 6 April 1745. With this publication, Johnson also proposed a new edition of all Shakespearean plays with notes, critical and explanatory, in which the text will be corrected. According to Samuel Johnson the duty of an editor was to establish as far as possible what an author had written rather than what, in the opinion of the editor or his contemporaries, he ought to have written. In his proposal, Johnson promised to "correct what is corrupt, and to explain what is obscure".

In 1756, Johnson was contracted for The Plays of William Shakespeare. He was assisted by George Stevens, an English Shakespearean commentator.

Preface to Shakespeare:

Samuel Johnson wrote a preface to the edited version of The Plays of William Shakespeare which became one of the most famous critical essays of the eighteen century. In the Preface, Johnson sets forth his editorial principles and gives an appreciative analysis of the “excellences” and “defects” of the works of Shakespeare. Many of his points have become fundamental tenets of modern criticism; others give greater insight into Johnson’s prejudices than into Shakespeare’s genius. The resonant prose of the preface adds authority to the views of its author. Johnson also discussed the influence of Shakespeare on current poetry. In addition, he also added a brief history of "Shakespearean criticism” till the mid-eighteenth century.

Johnson begins by addressing the issue of antiquity. He says that some people complain that dead artists are praised unreasonably. Such people often claim that the criteria for evaluating a writer should be the excellence of his work and not his antiquity. Johnson then criticizes such people and says that these people have nothing new to offer and thus, they continue to make controversial arguments. Often such writers believe that their works will be appreciated much more after their death but they often fail to realize that their work lacks value. Johnson then accepts that spotlighting the merits of the ancients and the faults of contemporaries is more congenial to many critics. Johnson says that the criteria for judging a work of art cannot be absolute. Unlike science, Jhonson says that in the field of literature, excellence is not absolute, but gradual and comparative. However, Johnson says that there is a certain criterion that can be aptly applied to all literary works and it is the length of esteem that a piece of literature enjoys. He says that it is human nature to compare different old and new works. If people are finding an old literary work enjoyable even now, then the continuation of the esteem of that literary work is proof of the value of that work. Johnson then says that the works of Shakespeare have become classic and they continue to attain enduring fame and respect for more than a century thus the plays of Shakespeare have achieved the prestigious position of antiquity. Johnson says that these plays are so old that the events and topics covered in them are of no interest to the audience. Yet, audiences continue to cherish Shakespeare’s literature because of its literary qualities. Johnson says that it is surprising that Shakespeare’s plays withstood changes of manners and customs, and are read just for the pleasure they offer. Johnson then says that human judgment is not infallible. He says that some works may continue to attain the audience’s interest for a long period because of some prejudice or fashion. Thus, Johnson says that it is necessary o reevaluate and probe into the facts which enable the works of Shakespeare to attain and retain the respect or esteem of his audience.

The Greatness of Shakespeare or His Merits

Johnson introduces Shakespeare as a ‘poet of nature’ and says that It is the “just representation of general nature” that brings immorality and enduring approbation to literary works. Johnson says that Shakespeare is different from other authors because his work reflects life most truthfully as he is the poet of nature. Shakespeare’s characters do not belong to the society of a particular place or time; they are universal, representing every man. They are the genuine progeny of common humanity such as will always remain in this world and whom our eyes will always continue to meet. Johnson says that in the writings of other poets, the character is too often an individual and in those of Shakespeare a character is commonly a species.

It may appear contradictory as if Johnson is saying that Shakespeare’s characters lack individuality. However, Johnson says that Shakespeare relied upon his knowledge of human nature, rather than on bizarre effects, for his success. He says that Shakespeare created his characters so near to reality that “Shakespeare has no heroes, his scenes are occupied only by men, who act and speak as the reader thinks that he should himself has spoken or acted on the same occasion.” Because of the life-like sketching of Shakespeare’s characters, Johnson calls him the ‘poet of nature,” and “his drama is mirror of life.” The characters in Shakespeare’s plays are not limited by time or nationality; they are, rather, “the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply, and observation will always find.”

Johnson mentions that Shakespeare didn’t overemphasize the theme of love in his plays. He compares the works of other writers and says that in a majority of dramas of other writers, love is a universal theme and all goodness and evil revolve around it. Johnson says that love is not the only passion instead it is just one of many. Shakespeare never exaggerated the importance of love in his plays. His characters are influenced and motivated by various other passions. Johnson says that Shakespeare knew that any passion would cause happiness or disaster depending on its being moderated or left uncontrolled and he used this knowledge in his plays.

Johnson then mentions other critics like John Dennis and Thomas Rymer who complained that Shakespeare’s dramas are not as ‘Roman’ as they should be. He also mentions Voltaire who complained that Shakespeare’s kings are not kingly. Johnson says that Shakespeare made sure that his characters remain true to human nature, that one can see in real life. Johnson acknowledges that Shakespeare gave rise to the trend of tragicomedies. His plays are neither comedies nor tragedies but a mixture of the two. While some critics criticize this aspect, Johnson appreciates it and says that life is an ebb and flow of sorrow and happiness, and since Shakespeare maintained his plays so near to real life, that they are both tragic and comic. However, Johnson agrees with Thomas Rymer and says that Shakespeare was more comfortable with comedies. In his tragic scenes, there is always something wanting but his comic scenes often surpass our expectations. His comedy pleases through thoughts and language whereas his tragedy pleases mainly through incidents and action. His tragedy is a testimony of his skill; his comedy is the product of his instinct.

Weaknesses of Shakespeare:

Johnson was a neoclassicist who supported 'poetic justice'. Johnson criticizes that Shakespeare’s plays lack moral purpose. He says that the major flaw of Shakespeare is that he sacrifices virtue for convenience, and is more careful to please than to instruct. Johnson believed that the feat of punishment was a necessary stimulus to virtue and that men would desist from evil only if justice was seen to be operating in the world. He mentions that in Shakespeare’s plays, there is no just distribution of evil and good. His virtuous characters do not always show disapproval of the wicked ones. His characters pass through right and wrong indifferently and in the end, if they serve as examples, they do so by chance and not by the author’s efforts. Johnson says that in each of Shakespeare’s plays, there are ample opportunities where he could have developed the plot in a manner that could offer a moral purpose to the play. However, Shakespeare was careless about it. Johnson also criticizes anachronism or the violation of chronology in Shakespeare’s plays as he often disregarded history and chronology. Johnson says that Shakespeare is indifferent to the distinctions of time and place and gives to one age or nation the manners and opinions which pertain to another. Johnson says that this reduces the quality of the play being near to reality. Johnson also criticized Shakespeare’s dialogues and diction and says that in many instances, Shakespeare’s dialogues appear indecent and coarse in nature. The main characters of Shakespeare too offer similar dialogues as those of jests and clowns and there is much licentiousness and indelicacy even where ladies are present in a scene. Johnson also criticized the unnecessarily flamboyant speeches and inflated vocabulary that Shakespeare often used in his plays.

After mentioning the greatnesses and weaknesses of Shakespeare, Johnson discusses the issue of the three unities in Shakespeare’s plays. Unlike other critics who criticize Shakespeare’s plays for lacking the unity of time. Unity of place, and unity of action, Johnson defends Shakespeare says that in his History plays, Shakespeare stressed more on consistency and spontaneity of characterization. He further says that Shakespeare maintained the unity of action. His plays have a beginning, a middle, and an end as laid down by Aristotle. He acknowledges that there can be some anomaly but it can be easily ignored. He further accepts that Shakespeare didn’t pay attention to the unity of time and unity of place but says that these unities are not necessary for dramatization. He says that Literature is to be appreciated not in the literal sense but by the imagination. The audience’s imagination is kept very active when he watches a play. The audience knows that he is going to watch a fictitious reality. If an audience in a theatre can accept the stage as a locality in the city of Rome, he will also accept the change from Rome to Alexandria. The unity of time may likewise be violated on the same principle.

In his Preface to Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson’s strongest criticism of Shakespeare was regarding the lack of moral purpose in his plays. Overall, Johnson does recognize and praise the great power of Shakespeare’s work

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!

The History of Rasselas: Prince of Abissinia by Samuel Johnson | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Samuel Johnson is known for his contributions to English literature. He was not only an author of prose, but also a poet, literary critic, biographer, and essayist. Johnson was a lexicographer and published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755. Other known works of his include his magazine The Rambler, his poem The Vanity of Human Wishes, Preface to the Plays of William Shakespeare, and Lives of the Poets. His effect on English literature as well as on English society was documented in James Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson. Johnson influenced a great many writers, including Jane Austen.

Another important work of Samuel Johnson was his series of essays titled The Idler which was published in the London weekly the Universal Chronicle between 1758 and 1760. out of 103 total, Johnson wrote 91 essays of the series. The other writers contributing to the essay series The Idler were Thomas Warton, Bennet Langton, and Joshua Reynolds.

In addition, Johnson also wrote an apologue titled The History of Rasselas: Prince of Abissinia which was published in April 1759. Johnson began working on this work with the title “The Choice of Life,” which then was changed to “The Prince of Abissinia: A Tale”, and was finally printed by the title The History of Rasselas: Prince of Abissinia. It is the only novel written by Johnson.

An Apologue or Apolog is a short fable or allegorical story with exaggerated details to offer a moral doctrine pleasantly. An apologue is a tool of rhetorical argument used to convince or persuade. An apologue differs from a fable in that the moral supersedes the narrative in terms of importance. Unlike the parable, the apologue utilizes metaphorical truth. Apologues use allegory to make observations and state truths about real people, places, or events. Another important example of apologue is Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Samuel Johnson translated Jeronimo Lobo's travel work, A Voyage to Abyssinia which chronicled the Roman Catholic Church's attempt to subject Abyssinia to the doctrines of the Church. Johnson knew that the royalty in Abyssinia was often given the title of "ras", or chief and thus he chose the final title. Abissinia is known as Ethiopia in current times.

In his poem, The Vanity of Human Wishes, Johnson suggested that earthly human desires are vane and waste, and the only good wish a human can hold is closeness to God. Similarly, in this novel, Johnson purports that Happiness is elusive. He expresses the impossibility of finding happiness in life on earth and asks the reader to look to God for ultimate satisfaction. It is an allegory and the happy valley resembles The Garden of Eden. Although Eden and Adam unknowingly tasted the apple from the Tree of Knowledge and then were evicted. Rasselas on the other hand, decides to leave the happy valley. In addition, Johnson also engaged the myth of the Fall of Icarus in this novel.

Characters of The History of Rasselas:

Rasselas the main character of the novel is the prince, the only son of the emperor of Abissinia. Rasselas has been confined in a happy valley with all possible amenities and entertainment until he is ready and mature enough to rule. The Emperor remains busy with the royal business while his children remain in Happy Valley. Nekayah is the princess, and sister of Rasselas. The Master is one of the teachers of Rasselas who comes to know that Rasselas wishes to abandon Happy Valley. He tries to dissuade him to do so. The Bassa is a Turkish-appointed viceroy and the highest title of honor in the Ottoman Empire. He is a corrupt and despotic administrator. The Engineer is an artist who knows mechanics well and tries to help Rasselas with his escape from the Valley by plunging out through the air but his machine fails. Imlac is a poet and philosopher who befriends Rasselas and his sister and helps them during their exploration of happiness by maintaining that they remain rational, thoughtful, and perspicacious. Pekuah is Nekayah’s maidservant who accompanies her. The Arab is the chieftain of robbers who abduct Pekuah in the hope of ransom money. The Arab is chivalrous and treats Pekuah with respect. The Astronomer is a learned researcher who enjoys solitude to such an extent that he goes mad.

Summary of The History of Rasselas:

The story begins in the Happy Valley of Abissinia where Rasselas and his sister are kept in seclusion by the decree of the Emperor. The Happy Valley is a beautiful place with all possible amenities and ways of entertainment. However, Rasselas and his sister Nekayah are not allowed to leave Happy Valley until Rasselas gets mature enough to be the ruler. While the emperor expects his children to be happy, they are not happy at all. Rasselas gets bored of the pattern of tedious pampered life of Happy Valley and starts wandering in the jungles, trying to get a way out. Some of the sages of the empire visit the valley to teach Rasselas and Nekayah regularly. One of them, the Master, realizes that Rasselas is disturbed and tries to reason with him and convince him that remaining in Happy Valley is in his best interest. But Rasselas is determined to find a way out as he belies that despite all the physical pleasures and amenities in the Happy Valley, he is not happy and he must explore ways to become happy. Rasselas enlists the help of an artist who is also known as The Engineer to help with his escape from the Valley by plunging out through the air, though they are unsuccessful in this attempt. This failure further saddens Rasselas.

One day, a man named Imlac visits Happy Valley and reads a poem written by him to Rasselas and Nekayah. Rasselas gets impressed by him and befriends him. Imlac informs that he is a poet-philosopher who has roamed around the world. Rasselas expresses his desire to explore the world to find happiness. Imlac suggests that the pursuit of happiness is futile because happiness is nowhere. Yet, Rasselas insists that he will explore the world himself. Imlac promises to help him in his endeavor. Finally, Rasselas and Imlac find a way to leave Happy Valley without being noticed. However, just when they are preparing to leave, Nekayah confronts them and says that she has been following them for long. She insists that they must take her too along with them. Rasselas is overjoyed by this as he loves his sister but Nekayah insists that her maid Pekuah will also accompany them. They leave Happy Valley and after traveling for days, they reach cities that are no more in their empire. They reach Cairo where Rasselas buys a home. They are very rich and all the elites of Cairo befriend them. Rasselas decides to explore ways of happiness so that he may make the proper choice of life that he should lead. He starts experimenting with different lifestyles. First, he befriends a wealthy young man and starts spending time with him. Soon he notices that the excessiveness of the young man is distasteful and leaves him. He then meets a philosopher who suggests that one should get rid of all types of emotions. But Rasselas notices that the philosopher himself is unable to do so. Rasselas also observes the difficulties for those in power and a hermit who does not actually relish his solitude anymore. Nekayah too continues to explore happiness and then they discuss their findings. Rasselas says that rich men are paranoid and caught up in plots and betrayals. Nekayah too says that she observed tensions within families and that parents cannot even trust their children. Nekayah wonders whether marriage is better than celibacy, and why parents and children come into such conflict.

Imlac encourages the siblings to go out and visit the pyramids, the great old monuments, and the ruins. Rasselas objects that look at ancient things are of no use. But Imlac says that the past is crucial to understanding the present, and one can never truly understand men without looking at their works. The next day, Rasselas, Nekayah, Pekuah, and Imlac visit the pyramids. Pekuah is fearful of the ghosts and spirits of the dead and thus, she denies going in. Rasselas, Nekayah, and Imlac enter the pyramid where Imlac informs them why the Pyramids were made. As they come out, they come to notice that Pekuah has been abducted by Arabian marauders Turkish horsemen tried to pursue the Arabian robbers but they couldn’t rescue Pekuah. Nekayah is too disturbed about the loss of Pekuah and wishes her to return at any cost. Rasselas employs private investigators and appeals to the government, but they get no information about Pekuah. Nekayah declares that as she has lost Pekuah, she has no wish to engage with the world anymore and she will now lead a life of celibacy and solitude. Rasselas tries to console her and says that she should wait for at least a year and he will do everything to bring Pekuah back. Nekayah agrees to that.

Seven months after her abduction, Rasselas and Nekayah come to know the whereabouts of Pekuah. They pay the ransom money as demanded and soon Pekuah is returned to them. Pekuah reveals that she was abducted by the chieftain of Arabs who treated her well and never used her ill. She says that the chieftain was only interested in ransom money and released her as soon as he got the money. She informs that the Arab taught her astronomy.

Rasselas too gets interested in exotic learning and decides that he will spend his life learning various arts. Imlac appreciates him but cautions him by telling the story of his friend. He says that one of his friends was very intelligent and decided all his time to study and research in solitude. He became an astronomer and gathered knowledge about the sky. One day, Imlac visited him and got impressed by his work. Imlac felt that after achieving so much knowledge, the astronomer must be the happiest man in the world. However, he was startled when he came to know that the astronomer was too much worried. He asked the reason for the astronomer’s worries. The astronomer said that he is tired of his cumbersome task and wishes someone else to take it. Imlac asked about the task and the astronomer said that he is in charge of the seasons, the rains, the thunders, and the winds. Imlac understood that because of solitude, the astronomer has trapped himself in illusions. He listened to him politely and promised that he will help him with the task. After listening to this, Rasselas becomes serious but Nekayah and Pekuah start giggling at the madness of the astronomer. Imlac gets irritated by their laughs and reprimands them and says that they should not mock mental illness, as it is very common and the result of prolonged withdrawal from the world.

Nekayah and Pekuah accept their mistake and express their desire to meet the astronomer. Imlac agrees to take them to meet the astronomer but he insists that they should not hurt his ego. Pekuah suggests that since he has so much knowledge about the sky, they will join him as his students so that Pekuah may continue her studies of skies that she began while being a captor of the Arab. Imlac agrees to that and takes Nekayah and Pekuah to the secluded place of the astronomer and tells him that these girl students are willing to share his responsibilities if he is ready to teach them as his students. The astronomer agrees.

After some time, the astronomer improves in social relations and soon he confirms that he has got rid of his illusions. After that, Nekayah and Pekuah return to Rasselas at home. On a rainy day, they discuss their future plans. All agree that it is futile to search for happiness. Pekuah declares that she wishes to join a monastery and lead a life of celibacy and seclusion. Nekayah says that she wishes to continue her studies in astronomy and plans to open a college for women. Rasselas declares that he will try to establish a small kingdom of his own. As the rain stops, the three realize that their plans are futile and improbable. Thus, they decide to return to Abissinia and lead their life as nature deems fit.

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!

The Pit and The Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe | Themes, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. "The Pit and the Pendulum" was first published in the annual journal The Gift, Carey and Hart, Philadelphia, 1843. It is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe with elements of torture and horror. Unlike much of Poe's work, the story has no supernatural elements. The writer focuses on the sensations of a prisoner in an airless, dark unlit dungeon where the narrator is subject to thirst and starvation, he is swarmed by rats, the razor-sharp pendulum threatens to slice into him and the closing walls are red-hot.

The story is set in the early 19^th century during the period of the Peninsular War when the Catholic Inquisition was abolished by French Intervention.

Catholic Inquisition, also known as the Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. The legal authority of the Catholic Inquisition operated in Spain and in all Spanish colonies and territories including the Canary Islands, the Kingdom of Naples, and all Spanish possessions in South America and North America. Around 150,000 people were prosecuted for various offenses during the three-century duration of the Catholic Inquisition, of whom between 3,000 and 5,000 were executed. However, the Spanish King strictly ordered that the native Indians of the Americas should not be prosecuted by the Catholic Inquisition. The Inquisition was originally intended primarily to identify heretics among those who converted from Judaism and Islam to Catholicism. The regulation of the faith of newly converted Catholics was intensified following the royal decrees issued in 1492 and 1502 ordering Jews and Muslims to convert to Catholicism or leave Castile, resulting in hundreds of thousands of forced conversions. The Catholic Inquisition was ultimately abolished during the early 19th century at the peak of the French Revolution.

Poe’s story does not critique the ideological basis of the tale’s historical context. Rather, Poe just highlights the torture and horror elements in this tale.

Summary of The Pit and The Pendulum:

The story begins with the shocking statement of the narrator “I was sick—sick unto death with that long agony” which reveals that he is a prisoner. The writer makes it properly clear that the narrator is a prisoner hauled before the Spanish Inquisition. He is too weak and dizzy to understand properly what’s going on around him, however, he knows he is about to be condemned to death, and he has no hopes. The narrator describes the implacable horror of the judges as they announce their decrees, although the narrator himself is too overwhelmed with fear to understand their words. He is hypnotically fascinated by the stark-white lips of his judges and the steady grind of their voices. The narrator tries to distract himself from the impending horror of the death sentence by concentrating on seven white candles standing before him on the table. For a while, he imagines those candles as seven angels who are there to offer solace or even rescue. But soon, he notices that these candles are mere inanimate objects, unfeeling, and uncaring. The narrator falls into a faint while longing for death. Though he is unconscious, the narrator claims that he wasn’t completely unaware as he had some consciousness left and says, “Even in the grave all is not lost. Else there is no immortality for man.” He says that fainting isn’t like sleep or death, rather, fainting is somewhere between those two, putting you closer to the mysterious world of the dead than sleep alone can.

When the narrator gains consciousness back, he finds himself in a completely dark place. He is confused because he knows that the usual fate of Inquisition victims is a public auto-da-fé, or “act of faith”—an execution normally taking the form of hanging. He wonders if he is dead or alive. He tries to remember what happened when he fainted. He dimly recollects being carried down deep into the earth by mysterious figures, the awful slowness of his own heartbeat, a pause accompanied by flatness and dampness, and then a fit of utter madness. He fears that they put him in a tomb, burying him alive. He tries to move a bit d finds that there is space, and is convinced that he is not in a tomb. Though he is aware that he is alive, he continues to feel the immense fear of death as he remembers the rumors of what they do to the prisoners. He thinks that perhaps he is in one of the dungeons at Toledo, an infamous Inquisition prison. Fearful, the narrator again faints, and after he awakes for the second time, he begins to explore the dungeon while wondering what his fate will be. He examines his robe and decides to tear off one of the pieces of the hem of his robe to check how much space is there in that dark dungeon. He decides to explore the dark and places the piece of hem against the wall to count the number of steps he can take across the dungeon cell he is in. He takes some steps and then he trips, falls, and is overtaken by sleep before making a full circuit, and upon waking, he finds that someone has given him a loaf of bread and a pitcher of water. Being too hungry for a long, he eagerly consumes whatever he got and then he resumes his exploration. He estimates that the cell is around 50 yards wide as he can take some 100 paces around. He then decides to walk across the room but when he moves a few steps, the piece of hem of his robe tangles his legs and he trips off. As he falls, he realizes that while his body fell on the wall, his face dangled over an abyss. He realizes that there is a deep pit just a little forward and had he not tripped off, he might have fallen into that pit. He tries to know the depth of the pit by breaking a piece of stone from the wall and throwing it in the pit. He feels that the pit is very deep and it has water at the bottom, like a well. He remembers the rumors he heard about the torturous ways of the Inquisition to kill the prisoners. He mentions the pit as a 'punishment of surprise'. The narrator falls back to sleep and when he wakes up, he finds some more water and bread. He eats it hungrily and after drinking water, he sleeps again. After a while, he suddenly wakes up and notices a dim light in the dungeon that was completely dark a while ago. He notices that the dungeon cell is not as large as he estimated. Perhaps he duplicated his count of steps and made a mistake. He further notices that he is now bound to a wooden log by a long strap wrapped around his body. He finds it difficult to move. He notices that he has been given more food and this time, he has been offered some flavored meat dish, but there is no water. He looks upward and notices the figure of Father Time painted on the ceiling. However, it is not just a painting, rather it is a machine holding a pendulum that is swinging back and forth. The narrator looks around and sees that some rats are coming out of the pit as they smell the meat. He again looks at the figure of Father Time at the ceiling and gets horrified. The figure of Father Time is made in the shape of the scythe and it is moving back and fro. The narrator notices that with each swing, the pendulum is coming down, nearing him while he is bound to the wooden log. He observes that if he doesn’t move, the scythe-like Father Time figure will drop exactly at his chest, above his heart. However, he notices that the scythe is moving downward at a maddeningly slow pace and he has ample time to see his death coming towards him as the trajectory of the figure of Father Time’s swinging motions from his head to toe. The scythe is making a razor-sharp crescent in its downward motion toward him.

The narrator is too much afraid to think right and he hopes for some divine intervention to stop the pendulum from falling over him. But the pendulum continues to come down and when it reaches very near to the narrator’s chest, he suddenly gets an idea of trying to save himself. He picks up the pieces of meat and rubs them over the straps binding him to the wooden log. The rats get mad at the smell of meat and they jump over him to eat and start nibbling over the straps. As the pendulum is just about to drop on his chest, the narrator succeeds in breaking the shackles of the strap and moves away from the pendulum’s swing. As soon as he goes away from the scythe, like a pendulum, the pendulum retracts to the ceiling. The narrator is startled and then he realizes that his captors are observing all his moves.

Suddenly, he starts feeling hot and realizes that the walls of the dungeon cells are heating up and gradually they are turning red. He further notices that the walls are gradually moving toward each other, reducing the space around the narrator. He tries to move away from the nearest wall and realizes that if he tries to save himself from the red burning walls, he will have to go near the pit and ultimately, he will be pushed into the pit that will surely save him from the red burning walls but will push him to another kind of death. He continues to move towards the pit bit by bit and when there remains not even an inch foothold for the narrator, the walls suddenly retract and cool down. However, the narrator is too afraid and he starts losing his consciousness again and feels like he is about to fall into the pit as he is just on the verge of it. Right at that moment, a mysterious person latches onto him and prevents his fall. The French Army has captured the city of Toledo and the Inquisition has fallen into its enemies' hands.

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!