East of Eden by John Steinbeck | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. East of Eden is a novel written by John Steinbeck that was published in 1952. Steinbeck himself mentioned it as his magnum opus or ‘the big one.’ The novel is based on the biblical story of Cane and Abel set in California's Salinas Valley. The novel tells the story of two families the Trasks and the Hamiltons, both early inhabitants of California's Salinas Valley. The novel depicts ‘Original Sin’, Sibling Rivalry, and Fatherhood in a fictitious manner to explore the themes of Good and Evil, and the issue of Free Will, the will to choose good or evil. The concept of Timshel is a major thematic concern throughout the novel. A Hebrew verb, Timshel translates into "thou mayest", and expresses the notion that humans can choose good over evil. The title of the novel is also inspired by the Biblical story of the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain is a farmer, and Abel is a shepherd. God prefers Abel's sacrificial offering of a lamb over Cain's offering of grain. In a jealous rage, Cain murders his brother. Cain angrily replies to God's inquiry by saying, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain is exiled to wander in the East of Eden.

Characters of East of Eden:

Cyrus Trask is one of the villainous characters of the novel. He is the father of Adam and Charles Trask. He returns from civil war with syphilis which indicates his debauchery. He lies about his American Civil War record to garner himself an important job in Washington D.C. He is corrupt and leaves his sons an inheritance of $100,000. Adam Trask is a good-hearted, honest man, half-brother of Charles. Mrs. Trask was the first wife of Cyrus and the mother of Adam. She commits suicide after knowing about her husband’s debauchery. Alice Trask is the second wife and mother of Charles. She treats Adam as her own son after his biological mother dies. Charles Trask is the son of Cyrus and Alice. Cyrus favors his son Adam's gift of a puppy over Charles' gift of an expensive knife. In a jealous rage, Charles attempts to kill his brother. Cathy Ames (or Kate) is a teenage daughter of a middle-class family who hates her parents. She is nymphet with no conscience whatsoever. After murdering her parents by setting fire to their home, she becomes a prostitute and the mistress of Mr. Edwards. Adam Trask rescues Cathy when Edwards leaves her for dead, but after giving birth to twin sons, Cal and Aron, she shoots Adam when he attempts to stop her from leaving. Edwards leads a double life: he runs a New England prostitution ring but is married to a religious wife who believes that he runs a reputable business. Faye is the brothel owner whom Kate kills to take over her business. Samuel Hamilton is another patriarch who settles in Salinas along with Cyrus. He is an honest Irish immigrant. He is depicted in contrast to Cyrus Trask. He acts as a guide and model for Adam Trask. Liza Hamilton is Samuel Hamilton's wise wife and an excellent mother to the nine Hamilton children. Will Hamilton is one of Samuel and Liza Hamilton's nine children. Will sells the first automobiles in the Salinas Valley and becomes Cal Trask's business partner during the war. Abra Bacon is an ideal girl, daughter of a crooked Salinas politician who fell in love with Aron Trask during her childhood but she later realizes that he is only in love with a glorified image of her. She develops a relationship with Lee, the philosophical Chinese servant of Trasks whom she considers a father figure.

Summary of East of Eden:

The story of the novel is said to be partly inspired by Steinbeck’s own family history. The narrator of the novel is John Steinbeck, one of Samuel Hamilton’s grandsons. The narrator informs how his grandfather Samuel Hamilton and Lizy Hamilton settled on the Salinas Valley's most barren land, where they worked hard to raise their nine children. Samuel Hamilton is a warmhearted inventor and farmer who immigrated with his wife from Ireland in 1870. Because of Samuel’s good work ethic and Liza’s endearing nature, they become popular among the neighbors and they nurture familial friendship with the Trask family. Adam Trask and Charles Trask are two half-brothers who recently shifted from New England to Salinas Valley. Adam is married to Cathy Ames.

Adam and Charles are the son of Cyrus Trask who was a corrupt on-legged man. His wife, Adam’s mother, was a devout woman who committed suicide upon learning that Cyrus had infected her with syphilis. Cyrus remarried Alice who was a timid woman and took care of Adam and her son Charles equally. Cyrus on the other hand always preferred Adam over Charles because Adam was a good-hearted and soft-spoken boy with calm behavior while Charles was a jealous, angry, and difficult child. Adam presented a puppy to Cyrus on his birthday while Charles presented an expensive hunting knife. Cyrus ignored Charle’s gift and preferred the puppy given by Adam. Enraged, Charles savagely beats Adam. After that, Adam decides to enroll in the army and moves away while Cyrus decides to move to Washington D.C. to take a high-level job in the Office of the Secretary of War. He lied about his wartime record to get the job and continues to take bribes for the position. Charles stays at their farm and one day, he meets a farm accident that renders a dark brown permanent scar on his face. He realizes his mistake and longs for his brother Adam’s return.

On his return, Adam comes to know about the death of Cyrus who left a fortune of $100,000 for the two brothers. However, Charles informs him that their father was a corrupt man who lied about his war records and this money could be ill-gotten.

In a neighboring city, Cathy Ames is a young voluptuous nymphet who likes to see people in trouble because of her. She hates her parents and one day, she murders her parents by setting fire to their home. She pretends to be innocent and attracts the interest of Mr. Edwards, a dubious man who hideously runs a brothel. Cathy becomes his mistress. One day, Mr. Edwards attains enough proof that Cathy murdered her parents. He brutally beats Cathy who runs away. Cathy reaches to Adam and Charles’ farm where she falls unconscious. Adam takes care of her and gets interested in her. As she recuperates, Adam marries her and the new couple moves to Salinas Valley to raise their own family while Charles remains in Connecticut.

In Salinas Valley, Adam and Cathy make friends with the Hamilton family and they also employ a Chinese-American man named Lee as a cook and house helper. Adam is impressed by the work ethic of Samuel Hamilton who becomes his mentor and guide. Cathy gets pregnant though she doesn’t wish to be a mother. She tries to abort her child by using a knitting needle but fails.

Cathy gives birth to two sons whom Adam names Aaron and Caleb or Cal. Cathy begins feeling suffocated in the family as she wishes to lead a free libertine life of debauchery. She decides to leave her kids and husband. When Adam tries to stop her, she shoots him with a gun and runs away. She joins the brothel of Faye and sets her eyes on her brothel. She poisons Faye and murders her and then she takes control of her brothel. Unlike Faye, she is a cruel brothel owner who strictly controls her whores and makes them addicted to drugs. She becomes famous by the name Kate who forces her girls in the brothel to get engaged in sadomasochistic sexual practices and blackmails her customers.

Meanwhile, Adam takes care of his two sons Aaron and Cal. As they grow old, Adam notices that Aaron is a calm and composed boy much like him while Cal is a troubled kid who is a bit jealous of Aaron. Aaron and Cal make friends with Abra Bacon, the daughter of a rich, powerful, but corrupt politician of Salinas. Abra is an honest, devout, and ideal person. She falls in love with both Aaron and Cal. Lee, the philosophically motivated servant of Adam continues to help him raise the kids while he also helps the Hamilton family who are raising their own nine kids. Adam discusses the troubles of raising the kids with Lee who mentions the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible and teaches about the concept of Timshel to Adam. Adam is naturally inclined to favor Aaron more who resembles more like his mother Cathy. Cal realizes this and he continues to harbor ill feelings against Aaron. Adam fails to take notice of Cal succumbing to ill habits who as a teenager, begins to gamble, visits brothels, and drinks alcohol. Cal is also jealous of Aaron because he feels Abra loves him more. Aaron too falls in love with Abra who returns his love but soon learns that Aaron proposed to her only because of her glorified image for being the daughter of a rich politician who can help Aaron enter the ministry. She, thus begins to keep her distance from Aaron while she falls in love with Cal. Cal is happy about this change and he thinks of trying to win the love of his father who is suffering from debt because of failure in business.

Samuel Hamilton dies of old age but before his death, he reveals the whereabouts of Cathy to Adam. Adam decides to visit Cathy and learns that she has turned to Kate. Kate ridicules him and shows him the pictures of the customers who visit her brothel which includes people from the government and the church too. Adam returns empty-handed. The two brothers are facing a difficult time due to their father’s financial situation. Everyone makes fun of Adam’s dwindling fortune while the kids are mocked by their peers. After completing their school, Cal begins farming while Aaron decides to attend to become a priest. Like Charles, Cal is a reticent person who fails to gain the support and love of his father and begins wandering around aimlessly during the night. One night, he visits the brothel of Kate where he recognizes his mother whose photos he has seen at home. Kate is uninterested in recognizing him at first but then spitefully tells him that they are just alike.

Adam’s financial troubles continue to grow and Cal feels that he may win the love of his father if he could help him get out of the financial troubles. He meets Wil Hamilton, the successful businessman and son of Samuel Hamilton who is an automobile dealer. Together, they plan to sell beans grown in the Salinas Valley to nations in Europe for a considerable premium. Cal makes a good fortune in a relatively little time and gifts $15, 000 to his father so that he may pay his debts. Adam is astonished at seeing this huge amount. He asks how Cal got hold of it and Cal tells him about his business. Adam reacts violently when he learns that Cal took advantage of farmers during wartime to make money. However, like his father before him, Adam fails to see the love behind his son's gift. This breaks Cal’s heart who gets enraged by his father’s behavior. He goes to Aaron at his college and decides to take him to meet their mother at the brothel. Aaron believes that their mother was a pious lady who died. When he sees his mother as the madam of the most infamous and debauched brothel, he is shocked. He learns the true nature of his mother and in disgust, he runs away to join the Army during World War I. Kate didn’t feel anything when Cal met her alone but when she sees Aaron and observes how her truth psychologically tormented Aaron, she begins to repent and commits suicide.

Aaron gets killed in the war and when Lee informs Adam about Aaron’s death, he suffers a heart attack. Cal suggests Abra Bacon to run away with him but she insists that they must stay at Salinas and things will change in their favor. She persuades Aaron to return to his home to be with his ill father. Charles visits Adam on his deathbed. Lee requests Adam to forgive Charles, his only remaining son. Adam couldn’t speak much. He raises his hand in a gesture suggesting forgiveness and tells ‘Timshel,’ the Hebrew word for "thou mayest". Cal realizes that he is not predestined to live a life of evil, but has the free will to choose goodness and morality, he has the choice to break the cycle and conquer sin.

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!

I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed- by Emily Dickinson | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed-’ is one of the few poems by Emily Dickinson that was published during her lifetime. The poem was first published in the Springfield Daily Republican on May 4, 1861, under the title The May-Wine. However, the title was chosen by the publisher as Emily never titled the poem and thus, it was reprinted in her posthumous poetry collection ‘Poems by Emily Dickinson,’ with the first line as the title.

It is a nature poem in which Emily appreciates the beauty of nature on a glorious summer day. The poem begins with a paradox as a liquor is tasted that was never brewed. The poet used the imagery of alcohol and drunkenness to express the enchanting powers of nature. Emily Dickinson wrote the poem in 1860 during the period of Temperance in the United States. The first line suggests the gist of the Temperance movement as both completely drunk and completely temperate ("a liquor never brewed").

Structure of ‘I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed’:

Like most of her other poems, Dickinson wrote ‘I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed’ in ballad meter with iambic lines that alternate four and three beats. The poem contains 16 lines composed in four stanzas of four lines each (the poem has four quatrains). A ballad is a kind of verse, sometimes narrative in nature, often set to music. The poetess used slant rhyme, dashes, and idiosyncratic capitalization. The slant rhyme is because of the use of words with similar but not identical sounds. In addition, the poetess constantly used the pronoun “I” to show how she connects to nature. An extended metaphor has been used to compare alcoholic intoxication to her fixation with nature. She compares ‘Air’, ‘Dew’, and ‘Drams’ in lines 5,6, and 11 respectively with liquor. Dram is a metaphor for the nectar that the birds and butterflies feed on. Dickinson used imagery to express her views on nature and time and her religious views.

Summary of ‘I Taste a Liquor Never Brewed’:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“I taste a liquor never brewed –
From Tankards scooped in Pearl –
Not all the Frankfort Berries
Yield such an Alcohol!”

The poetess begins with a paradox and a metaphor. The poet talks about the exhilarating taste and effect of a liquor (that was never brewed), a paradox. It symbolizes that she is talking about something more powerful and intoxicating than actual liquor. She uses imagery in the second line to signify the purity of her liquor that was never brewed and expresses it as “Tankards scooped in Pearl.” She further clarifies that it is not some normal liquor as it cannot be produced by the ‘Frankfort Berries.’ The poet used Capitalization to stress some words and ideas.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“Inebriate of air – am I –
And Debauchee of Dew –
Reeling – thro’ endless summer days –
From inns of molten Blue –“

The poetess clarifies the mystery regarding the ‘liquor’ that was never brewed. She uses imagery again in line 5, and line 6 again. ‘Inebriated of air’ suggests intoxicated by breathing in fresh air and ‘Debauchee of Dew’ suggests, turned on by the dew. In line 8, she mentions ‘inns of molten Blue’ the color of the sky. The poetess begins in first person (‘I’) and suggests her strong connection with the surroundings and nature. She uses strong imagery of nature. She is ‘inebriate’ and ‘debauchee’ of natural elements. A ‘Debauchee’ is someone who is addicted to alcohol, or sensual pleasures; therefore, she is so drunk, so deep in the effect of nature, that she is staggering and losing herself.

The metaphor 'Inebriate of Air' is to be exhilarated, excited, and overwhelmingly delighted by summer skies. The 'Debauchee of Air' is a fantasy, and it is a delightful image. It is, in fact, an image of delight embodied.

The poetess increases the grandeur of the surroundings by suggesting that she feels she is drinking in grand inns of ‘molten Blue’ during the endless summer days. In this stanza, the poetess doesn’t emphasize the drink like she did in the first stanza, rather she highlights the elements of nature.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“When ‘Landlords’ turn the drunken Bee
Out of the Foxglove’s door –
When Butterflies – renounce their ‘drams’ –
I shall but drink the more!”

The poetess continues the imagery she developed in the second stanza and talks about the ‘Landlords’ of the ‘inns of molten Blue.’ In this stanza, the poetess offers equal importance to the drink and the natural elements. She compares herself with a ‘bee’ and ‘butterflies.’ A Foxglove’s door is again imagery suggesting a beautiful purple flower that attracts bees. Another imagery is ‘Drams’ in the 11^th line. Dram means a small drink of liquor and she compares it with the nectar that birds bees and butterflies feed on.

The innkeeper or the 'landlords' force the drunken bee away from the beautiful flower full of pollens. No one can possess the natural things forever. When the butterflies have had their fill of nectar, they will renounce it but the poetess will go on enjoying nature's abundance. It is the power of her creative imagination that will keep the scene alive in her mind even during the dying phase of summer.

Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

“Till Seraphs swing their snowy Hats –
And Saints – to windows run –
To see the little Tippler
Leaning against the – Sun!”

The fourth stanza seems to turn the poetess’ connection with nature to a spiritual level and hence, she uses various mystique figures including ‘Seraphs’, and ‘Saints.’ Dickinson was influenced by Emerson’s transcendentalism and this poem has been compared to Emerson's 'Bacchus'. However, unlike Emerson’s intense pathos in Bacchus, Dickinson applied a lighter, happier note. The poetess says that she will continue to cherish nature (liquor never brewed) until the seraphs (the highest ranks of the angels) and saints notice her, that is, she won’t stop drinking until she dies.

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!

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Tom Jones is a comic novel by Henry Fielding that was first published on 28 February 1749. The full title of the novel was “The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling”. W. Somerset Maugham mentioned Tom Jones as the earliest novel in his 1948 book Great Novelists and Their Novels and mentioned Tom Jones as one of the ten greatest novels of the world. English author and literary critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge mentioned Tom Jones as one of the three “most perfect plots ever planned". The other two mentioned by him were the Athenian Tragedy Oedipus Rex, and Ben Jonson's play The Alchemist. Tome Jones blends

romance, realism, picaresque, and social commentary comically. The story is about an orphan (or foundling) who, after he is cast out by the generous man who raised him, travels throughout the South of England having several adventures in love, friendship, and folly while meeting an array of vivid and memorably flawed characters. Eventually, after he is plotted against and thrown in prison, he learns his parentage and is reconciled with his family and his virtuous beloved.

Characters of Tom Jones:

Tom Jones is the eponymous hero of the novel. He is believed to be an illegitimate child of low birth but is brought up as a gentleman by Squire Allworthy who adopts him. He is handsome, generous, popular, and passionate. Bridget Allworthy is the sister of Squire Allworthy who marries Captain Blifil and gives birth to Master Blifil. After her death, it is revealed that she is the mother of Tom Jones. Mrs. Wilkins is a shrewd servant of Bridget Allworthy. Jenny Jones is a bright but poor young woman who confesses to be the illegitimate mother of Tom Jones though later on, it is revealed that she was paid to confess to being the mother of the child to protect the honor of Miss Bridget Allworthy. Dr. Blifil is a friend of Squire Allworthy who falls in love with Bridget but is already married. He proposes to Captain Blifil, his younger brother to marry Bridget. Captain Blifil is a greedy man who marries Bridget in the hope of acquiring Squire Allworthy’s property. Patridge is a school teacher who is falsely blamed for beating his wife and fathering Jenny Jone’s illegitimate child. Mrs. Patridge is a jealous woman, wife of Patridge, who attacks her husband when she thinks he is the father of Jenny Jones's child. She then accuses him of beating her, which helps to ruin his reputation. Square is a friend of Squire Allworthy and a philosopher. He helps Tom Jones and Master Blifil as an advisor. Thwackum is the appointed teacher of Tom Jones and Master Blifil. Black George of George Seagrim is a gamekeeper and father of Molly Seagrim who helps Tom Jones in sending messages to Sophia, his beloved. Master Blifil is a sneaky and underhanded child who is jealous of Tom Jones because his mother favors Tom more. Squire Western is a neighbor of Squire Allworthy and the father of Sophia. He is a keen hunter and is fond of Tom until he hears of the affection between him and Sophia. Sophia is an intelligent and beautiful young woman who is drawn to Tom's gentlemanly ways, though she believes him low-born. Lord Fellamar is a gentleman who falls for Sophia Western and attempts to rape her to win her hand. Mrs. Bellaston is a relative of Squrie Western with whom Sophia lives in London. Mrs. Miller is a rental homeowner in London where Tom and Patridge stay on rent.

Summary of Tom Jones:

The novel is divided into 18 parts or books. In the Preface, the narrator explains that the purpose of the novel is to explore human nature, and thus the story veers between several extremes, comedy and tragedy, low and high society, moral and base. The story begins as a well-respected and wealthy gentleman Squire Allworthy returns to his Somersetshire estate to find a child abandoned in his bed. He gives him to his unmarried sister Bridget to look after. Bridget takes the help of her servant Mrs. Wilkins to find out about the mother of the foundling, the abandoned child. Tom’s mother is identified as Jenny Jones, a young unmarried servant girl, and his father is presumed to be Partridge, who ran the school that Jenny attended. Jenny is sent away in disgrace, and Allworthy’s sister, Miss Bridget, helps to raise the boy. The poverty-stricken Partridge leaves of his own accord. The parish opposes Squire Allworthy from taking control of the child as a guardian but Allworthy decides to bring up the boy, whom he names Thomas, or Tom in his household. Bridget marries Captain Blifil and gives birth to a child named Master Blifil. Tom is brought up alongside Allworthy’s nephew Blifil, Bridget's son. They are educated by two men of differing outlooks, Thwackum and Square. Blifil is a miserable and jealous boy. Captain Blifil regards Tom Jones with jealousy since he wishes his son to inherit all of the Allworthy possessions. While meditating on money matters, Captain Blifil falls dead of an apoplexy.

After the captain dies, Tom and Blifil grow up together. Their tutors praise young Blifil for being a steady, virtuous boy, while Tom is a wild young rascal.

Tom grows into a vigorous and lusty yet honest and kind-hearted youth. Tom is an impetuous character who supports his friend, the poor gamekeeper Black George Seagrim, even when that support causes him trouble. Tom frequently steals apples and ducks to support the family of Black George. Tom tells all of his secrets to Blifil, who then relates these to Thwackum or Allworthy, thereby getting Tom into trouble.

Tom spends much time with Squire Western, one of the neighbors of Squire Allworthy. Squire Western is fond of Tom’s youthfulness and sportsmanship. Western’s young daughter Sophia falls deeply in love with Tom but he is interested in Black George’s young beautiful girl Molly Seagrim. He starts dating her and soon she becomes pregnant but Tom learns that Molly has other lovers and the child is likely not Tom’s and thus, he breaks up with her. He realizes that Sophia may not be as voluptuous as Molly but she is a virtuous girl and falls in love with her.

Meanwhile, Squire Allworthy falls ill and is convinced that he will die. Thus, he calls all his friends and relatives around his bed and declares his will which states that Blifil will inherit most of his estate, although Tom is also provided for. Thwackum and Square are upset that they are each promised only a thousand pounds.

Tom is not worried about the money but he is too emotionally attached to Allworthy and barely leaves his bedside. A lawyer named Dowling arrives and announces the sudden and unexpected death of Bridget Allworthy. Meanwhile, the doctor declares that Squire Allworthy’s health is improving and he will not die. Tom is exhilarated by this news and he decides to celebrate by drinking too much alcohol. Master Blifill is the legal heir of Allworthy now and he demeans Tom and calls him a ‘bastard.’ Tom gets angry and hits him while he is affected by alcohol. He runs away from the house and meets Molly again and despite breaking up with her, makes love to her.

Meanwhile,. Mrs. Western, the elder sister of Mr. Western arrives to stay at her brother’s house. Mrs. Western and Mr. Western do not like each other much and continue to fight consistently. However, they both love Sophia and wish the best for her. Mrs. Wilkins suggests that Sophia should be married to Master Blifil who is the legal heir of Squire Allworthy. Sophia, however, strongly opposes the proposal, and Squire Western grows violent with her when he realizes that Sophia wishes to marry Tom. Blifil conspires against Tom, and he is unjustly turned out of Allworthy’s house and away from Sophia. Further, because Tom is a bastard child, Squire Western refuses to support Tom's suit for Sophia.

Though Allworthy banishes Tom, he gives a fair amount of money to him to take care of himself but Black George steals all that money. Tom begins to wander about the countryside. In Bristol, he happens to meet up with Partridge, who becomes his loyal servant. Tom also rescues Mrs. Waters from being robbed, and they begin an affair at a local inn. Meanwhile, Sophia runs away from her house to avoid marrying Blifil. She makes a stop at the same inn and sees Tom having an affair with Mrs. Waters. She remains silent and doesn’t let Tom notice her but leaves her muff in Tom’s bed before leaving the inn. When Tom sees the muff, he recognizes it and frantically sets out in pursuit of Sophia.

Squire Western arrives at the inn in search of Sophia and meets one of his relatives Mr Fitzpatrick who came to the inn in search of his wife Harriet who is a cousin of Sophia. However, they find neither Sophia nor Harriet at the inn. Sophia and Harriet ride together in a stagecoach to London. In London, Sophia stays with one of her relatives Lady Bellaston. Tom and Patridge too reach London and start living in the house of Mrs. Miller and her daughters as paying guests. One of Mrs. Miller’s daughters is Nancy who falls in love with Nightingale, another tenant of Mrs. Miller’s house. Tom realizes that Nancy and Nightingale are having an affair and when Nancy gets pregnant, he convinces Nightingale to take up the responsibility and marry Nancy.

Tom finds out the whereabouts of Sophia but he has to deal with Lady Bellastone. Lady Bellastone begins an affair with Tom who pretends to love her while he keeps pursuing Sophia. When Sophia and Tom reconcile, he straightforwardly rejects Lady Bellastone and this angers her. She decides to do everything possible to stop Sophia from marrying Tom. Lord Fellamar, a prudish gentleman from London sees Sophia and falls in love with her. He finds out that Sophia’s father Squire Western is a rich man and thus, he decides to woo her but fails as Sophia already is in love with Tom. Lady Bellaston encourages Lord Fellamar to rape Sophia and thus enforce her to marry him. Lord Fellamar attempts to rape Sophia but Squire Western reaches the right moment and intervenes to rescue Sophia.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fitzpatrick also arrives in London in search of his wife Harriet. He mistakenly believes that Tom is having an affair with his wife and challenges him to a duel. Because Sophia refuses to marry either Fellamar or Blifil, the Squire and Aunt Western lock her in her room. Lady Bellaston plots with Fellamar to have Tom kidnapped and impressed onto a naval ship, but before their plans can succeed, Tom gets in a fight with Mr Fitzpatrick and wounds him. As a result, he is sent to jail. Partridge visits Tom in jail with the ghastly news that Mrs. Waters is Jenny Jones, Tom's mother. Tom is shocked by knowing this. He repents of his life of folly and vice and swears that he will hereafter pursue a path of virtue.

When Allworthy and Blifil learn all about Tom in jail, they visit London and start living in Mrs. Miller’s house to investigate Tom and Mr. Fitzpatrick’s fight. Allworthy is worried that if Mr. Fitzpatrick dies, Tom will be guilty of murder and will spend most of his life in Jail. Blifil, on the other hand, conspires against Tom and when he comes to know about Mrs Waters, he accuses Tom of incest too. In an attempt to get to the bottom of these accusations, Mr. Allworthy interrogates Mrs. Waters, the former Jenny Jones, who reveals that Tom is actually Miss Bridget’s son. Just before her death, Bridget confessed the truth of Tom’s parentage in a letter that Blifil intercepted. Allworthy further learns that Black George stole the money that Allworthy gave Tom for his support, and he also discovers that Blifil’s lawyer has been influencing witnesses to exaggerate the gravity of Tom’s crimes. Mrs. Waters also explains that Fitzpatrick is still alive, and has admitted to initiating the duel. Mr Fitzpatrick takes his charges back and Tom is released from jail. Allworthy now realizes that Blifil was continuously conspiring against Tom and decides never to speak to him again. Tom, however, takes pity on Blifil and provides him with an annuity.

Sophia is still angry at Tom for having an affair with Lady Bellaston. Mrs. Miller explains to Sophia the reasons for Tom's marriage proposal to Lady Bellaston, and Sophia is satisfied. Now that Tom is Allworthy's heir, Squire Western eagerly encourages the marriage between Tom and Sophia. Sophia chastises Tom for his lack of chastity but agrees to marry him. They live happily on Western's estate with two children and shower everyone around them with kindness and generosity.

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!

Roots and Shadows by Shashi Deshpande | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

Roots and Shadows was Shashi Deshpande’s third novel which was published in 1983. The novel is often considered a feminist novel though the main theme of the novel is not feminism. Rather, it is to express the anguish and conflict of the modern educated woman struggling between the patriarchy and tradition on one hand and individuality, self-expression, and independence for the women on the other. The novel tells about the dynamics of an Indian, Brahmin, joint family and all its conflicts, compromises, and peculiarities.

Characters of Roots and Shadows:

Indu is the main character of the novel. She is a married woman who has yet to become a mother. Her mother died during her infancy and her father Govind, a photographer, left her in the care of his old aunt, Akka, and his brother, Anant or Kaka. Akka is the matriarch of the family, an elderly widowed woman with no child of her own. Narmada Atya is the widowed sister of Anant and Govind. Other uncles and aunts of Indu are Madhav Kaka and Sumitra Kaki, Vinay Kaka and Kamala Kaki, Sunanda Atya and Vasant Kaka, and Saroja, her widowed aunt and mother of Naren, one of her cousins. Her other cousins include Hemant, Sumant, Padmini (or Mini), and Sharad, sons and daughters of Anant Kaka. Sunil, Geetha, and Lata are children of Madhav Kaka and Sumitra Kaki. Viththal is an orphan Brahmin boy whom Akka adopted at an early age. Jayant is a young man of a different caste whom Indu meets at college and falls in love with. Later on, she marries him.

Summary of Roots and Shadows:

The novel begins as Govind, Indu’s father leaves her at his aunt Akka’s house after his wife’s death. It is a big joint family. Akka is an elderly widow with no child of her own. She is the matriarch of the family and lives with Indu’s grandfather (Akka’s brother-in-law), and his sons Anant, Madhav, Vinay, and Vasant. The family is controlled and dominated by Akka. It has been drilled into Indu’s mind that, being a female, she has to be obedient and unquestioning, meek and submissive. She is of the view that Akka is an obstacle in her way leading her to achieve her goal, the goal of attaining freedom and completeness. Indu grows up as a rebellious and pugnacious kid who wants to do things according to her fancy and understanding. At home, Indu was comfortable with Naren. He not only appreciates her but also encourages her to achieve her goal, the goal of attaining freedom and completeness. She, therefore,

rebels against Akka, her dominating authority, her conventional world with rigid rules, norms, and values, and the oppressive atmosphere in the family where women have no choice but to submit, surrender, and accept their lot silently and ungrudgingly. She finally succeeds in her endeavor when she leaves the house at the age of 18 and later marries a man of his own choice, Jayant.

Indu believed that he love marriage would bring a sense of freedom to her but gradually she begins accepting the traditional normal life of a typical Indian housewife. Her life and her thoughts begin to move around her husband. She thinks of her husband when she dresses; she thinks of him when she undresses; she thinks of him when she looks in the mirror; she thinks of his wants, his dreams, and his way of life. She forgets her ‘self’ and her ‘identity’. She sheds her ‘I’ into her husband’s. She shapes, molds, and changes herself according to her husband’s needs and desires. She understands that her attachment to Jayant is quite disturbing and her total surrender to him quite frightening. However, she believes that to live without a husband is the greatest calamity in her life. The irony of her life is that though she is not completely happy with her husband, she cannot live without him. She realizes that she, as a human creature, is incomplete, almost nothing without her husband. This sense of incompleteness fills her with sorrow and frustration. To get rid of it, she begins working as a writer in a magazine but wishes to take up a different form of writing that would satiate the novelist inside of her. She is a doting wife and almost as dutiful and self-effacing as the domesticated housewives she always resented.

She hides her dependence on Jayant and the hypocrisy of her emotions and actions builds a stream of angst and guilt inside of her. Jayant allows her to work as a writer but he never appreciates her, not consider it any real work. Indu starts feeling as if she is a caged bird. She gets a chance to set herself free from the cage, her marital home when she is called back to her ancestral home during Akka’s illness. The two had not spoken for 10 years and never really saw eye to eye, Indu is surprised when she learns that Akka wants to bequeath all her property and wealth to her. She hides the information from the rest of the family up until her final rites when the probate lawyer, Shayamarao reads Akka’s will to the entire family. They all are shocked to see that Indu, a familial pariah, was given everything. Even Indu herself is baffled at this. Indu’s cousin Padmini or Mini is supposed to get married and Akka promised to pay for it. So, Indu feels obligated to honor the said promise. However, she doesn’t like the man Annt Kaka chose for Mini as she feels Mini deserves a better match. However, Anant Kaka says that it is difficult to find a better match as he doesn’t have much dowry to pay. Mini is prepared to marry any man as ‘to marry’ seems to be the only purpose of her life. To Indu’s surprise, she is interested in marriage and not in man. Mini says, ‘I’m past twenty-four. I have to get married. What else is there to think about? . . . What choice do I have? . . . Of course I’m marrying him because there’s nothing else I can do. I’m no good at studies . . . There’s only one thing I’m really good at . . . looking after a house”. She knows that she has to get married so that she can get home, her own home. She is ready to marry any man, any man who is ready to marry her.

Indu learns about Viththal and his mother from Old Uncle: “Vithal’s father . . . a sour, grim man who rarely spoke and never smiled, there was a streak of cruelty in him that came out in his relations with his meek, silent wife. Viththal as a child, had been a frequent spectator of scenes in which the father had worked out his sadistic anger on the mother for the merest trifles. And then one day, when the man was out on the job, the mother just disappeared. She had not even bothered to cook a meal for the child. When the man returned after a three-day job, he found the boy starving. The mother never returned and her father was indifferent. Indu was still not a mother and she had a kind of distaste for the female function, the function of feeding a child, the function that gives a feeling of motherhood. She shivered to see Sunanda-atya sitting down with the child on her lap, opening her buttons and pushing a flaccid nipple into his mouth; and the child taking a long shuddering breath and sucking with loud noises. How can Indu perform this female function without a child of her own? Indian married women like Indu are considered incomplete without a child. However, she a motherless and yet never unloved, quail at the thought of becoming a mother for fear of being disillusioned.

Indu further learns about Saroja, Naren’s mother. She was a brilliant singer and wished to learn music but Akka didn’t allow her. How could she allow the female of her family to sit beside a stranger man? Saroja succumbed to Akka’s rule. Indu felt that a woman becomes an obstacle in the way of a woman. It is the woman who decides the destiny of a woman. And that is why Indu does not blame her husband, who, according to her, has not compelled and pressurized her to live her life the way he wants. It is the way that she wants to be. It is the woman who confines herself in the cage willingly. She still felt that Akka was the real villain who ruined almost all the lives of the females of her family. However, one day, Narmada Attya tells her about Akka. “Akka was just twelve when she got married. And he was well past thirty . . . Six months after her marriage, she ‘grew up’ and went to her husband’s home. What she had to endure there, no one knows. She never told anyone . . . But I heard that twice she tried to run away . . . a girl of thirteen. Her mother-in-law, I heard, whipped her for that and locked her up for three days, starved her as well, and then, sent her back to her husband’s room. Akka is one of the victims of child marriage and marital violence. She has been given inhuman and beastlike treatment by her husband and her mother-in-law. She has spent almost every night crying in her marital home. However, being a typical Indian woman, she proves herself a dutiful wife by looking after her bedridden husband when he gets ill. She proves her domineering character by not allowing his mistress to meet him. On hearing this story, Indu realizes that her knowledge of Akka is inadequate and incomplete. She feels guilty for having judged her without knowing anything about her. All this while, Indu is distressed about her relationship with Jayant as he restricts her attachment to her to some placid and dispassionate letters. In her desperation, she even commits adultery with one of her cousins and close friend Naren who is the only grandson of the Old Uncle (cousin of Akka). Naren was a self-indulgent and carefree vagabond who was never accepted by the family. He was orphaned in childhood and only has his grandfather to call his own. In the end, Naren succumbs to his ‘private devils’ and commits suicide. Meanwhile, Indu learns about her profession’s seeming betrayal as she realizes that she is not doing anything meaningful, rather, only perpetuating the self-serving lies of various influential people. She resigns from her job. As she introspects, she starts observing Jayant in a new light. Now she could see his strengths and his weaknesses with a better perception. She realizes that she cannot remain detached from Jayant because if she does so, she may end up like Naren. She realizes that all her infatuation with Naren was not love, it was just a good camaraderie and understanding. She comes with a better understanding of her family. She almost forgives Akka for her cruelties and she now knows what is important for a meaningful domestic life. She realizes that her home, her destination, and her point of final arrival is Jayant and Jayant alone. She needs to shed off her complexes and not let her love for him become a restrictive bond. She also needs to do away with a large part of the façade she has built up around Jayant and inject honesty and authenticity into their relationship.

She decides to fund Mini’s marriage and sell the house (and give everyone their share). She also decides to return to Jayant, her husband, and confess her infidelity with Naren. The meek, docile, and humble Indu of the early days finally emerges as a bold, challenging, conscious, and rebellious woman. She resigns her job, thus defying male authority, hierarchy, and the irony of a woman‟ 's masked existence. Indu weaves the fabric of her own intricate relationship with Jayant, contemplates, and goes back with the positive renewal of life. The whole things in the novel transform one by one. Akka renders her legacy to Indu and with Indu, everything changes. Her life undergoes through a transitional phase, but she buries the memories of Naren and their past. This change though snatches Naren from her but it also makes her present better. Her self-discovery, self-recognition and revived relationship with Jayant give her safety and protection for the future. Indu after this self-discovery goes back to life as its successor.

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 Anniversary by John Donne | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Anniversary is a romantic metaphysical poem written by John Donne that was published in Songs and Sonnets, Donne's poetry collection in 1633. The poem was probably written in 1599 as it recalls the poet's first meeting with his teenage wife-to-be, Ann More, in 1598. It is a metaphysical love poem in which Donne used extended metaphors and paradoxes, however, this poem is much simpler than that of other poems of Donne. There are no difficult allusions and references. He wrote this poem simply and directly.

Theme of The Anniversary:

The Anniversary is a typical metaphysical love poem. The metaphysical treatment of love is different from what is found in conventional romantic Elizabethan lyrics. The approach here is intellectual, not emotional. Love is idealized and intellectually analyzed in this poem. The central theme of the poem is fidelity in love. The poet meditates on the timelessness of the world of love. Time rules and commands the created world, where all things, including the mighty sun, grow older, as it rolls on. Love is also a subject of the world of time, and does not remain beyond its authority. The very idea of the celebration of the anniversary of the lovers’ first meeting implies this. As the inhabitants of the world of time, the lovers, no doubt, grow old, but their love is not haunted by the hurrying chariot wheel of time. This has no ‘to-morrow’, ‘no yesterday’. Love, therefore, lives out of the bound of decay, caused by the continuous march of time. While all other things to their destruction draw, love only has ‘no decay’. It, of course, runs with time, but never runs away from the lovers, but ‘truly keepes his first, last, everlasting day.’ The lovers are, no doubt, also destined to die. But their bodies only perish. Their souls escape from earthly bodies and pass into the blessings of heaven. Yet, love is not a matter of spiritual blessing only. Its unique, distinctive nature is perceived in its absolute monarchy on earth in the true and noble attachment of the lovers to each other. It is not enough consolation for the lovers to know the spiritual union of their souls after their earthly death. What makes love perfect, and unique is the mutual trust and devotion of the lovers. Love is not immortal, but it can be made noble, unique, and great by the lovers’ conduct.

Structure of The Anniversary:

The poem is 30 lines long and composed in three stanzas. Each stanza has ten lines, and the poem is largely in the iambic meter, with the first, second, and seventh lines being tetrameter and the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, and tenth lines being pentameter. Donne uses the timelessness of Love while still remaining in the realm of time as a paradox for this metaphysical poem. The poet says their love has no yesterday, yet, they are celebrating their anniversary, it is a paradox. Another paradox is the uncertainty in fidelity. In the third stanza, the poet asks a rhetorical question ‘Who is as safe as we?’ and the beloved is supposed to answer ‘Nobody.’ But the question itself shows the doubts of the poet. The poet claims that they are both kings to each other and 'each other’s subjects,' introducing not only the troublesome possibility of treason against each other (i.e. infidelity) but also the idea that having more than one ‘king’ is surely a bad idea, at least in the same ‘kingdom’.

There is no distinct rhyming scheme in the poem.

Summary of The Anniversary

Stanza 1 Lines 1-10

All kings, and all their favourites,

All glory of honours, beauties, wits,

The sun itself, which makes times, as they pass,

Is elder by a year, now, than it was

When thou and I first one another saw :

All other things, to their destruction draw,

Only our love hath no decay;

This, no tomorrow hath, nor yesterday,

Running it never runs from us away, But truly keeps his first, last, everlasting day.

The poet says, addressing his beloved: ‘Everything, all kings and their courtesies, all glory, beauties and wits, the sun itself, by which we measure time, are older by one year than when you and I first clapped eyes on each other. Everything else, however, is in decline, moving towards its own death, whereas our love is different from theirs because it knows no decay. Our love has no tomorrow, and no yesterday because it’s timeless; our love runs and runs, but never runs away from us; instead, it remains as strong as the day we first met.’ Their love never changes; it is the same as it was in the beginning and will continue to be the same till the end. Their love is eternal.

Stanza 2 Lines 11-20

Two graves must hide thine and my corse,

If one might, death were no divorce,

Alas, as well as other princes, we,

(Who prince enough in one another be,)

Must leave at last in death, these eyes, and ears,

Oft fed with true oaths, and with sweet salt tears,

But souls where nothing dwells but love,

(All other thoughts being inmates) then shall prove

This, or a love increased there above,

When bodies to their graves, souls from their graves remove.

In the second stanza, Donne continues: ‘When we die, beloved, we’ll be buried in separate graves; if we weren’t, then even in death we would remain together. But if we are to be buried separately, then we must go the same way as other princes (We’re so empowered by the strength of our love that we’re pretty much princes ourselves, of a kind) and leave each other in death. ‘But souls which are full of love and nothing else, as ours are (because all our other thoughts are ‘inmates’ or prisoners of our love for each other: i.e. our love dictates every thought in our heads), will discover that, when bodies are buried in the grave, the souls rise up from the bodies – because our souls will rise from our corpses to find each other again.’ Our love will increase still more in heaven when after death our bodies sink into the grave and the souls ascend to heaven.

Stanza 3 Lines 21-30

And then we shall be throughly blessed,

But we no more, than all the rest.

Here upon earth, we are kings, and none but we

Can be such kings, nor of such subjects be;

Who is so safe as we? where none can do

Treason to us, except one of us two,

True and false fears let us refrain,

Let us love nobly, and live, and add again

Years and years unto years, till we attain

To write threescore, this is the second of our reign.

In the third and final stanza, Donne says, ‘Then, when our souls are united even in death, we will be thoroughly blessed – but then so will everyone. It’s here on Earth, while we live, that you and I are truly special: we are like kings, but we are also like subjects (because I am your subject, but also your king; likewise, you serve me, but I also serve you, so you’re both my king and subject too).

‘Who is as safe as we are? No one else can do treason to us, so we’re safe from harm; because you are my only subject, and I yours, only the other one can commit treason against us (and that’s hardly going to happen, right?).

Let us live without fears – founded or unfounded – then, and let us love as befits kings, for many more years to come, until we die aged seventy (threescore). This is the second year of our reign, for we are kings.’

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!

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Of Mice and Men is a short and straightforwardly written novella by John Steinbeck that was published in 1937. Like his first novel, Canary Row, ‘Of Mice and Men’ is also set during the period of the Great Depression and tells the story of two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job opportunities. Steinbeck himself worked as a "bindlestiff" - or itinerant farmhand - during the 1920s and he used his experiences working alongside migrant farm workers as a teenager that he described in this short novel.

The main theme of the novel is loneliness. It tells about the loneliness of itinerant workers of the Great Depression found it nearly impossible to establish a fixed home or a family. These men were forced to wander from ranch to ranch seeking temporary employment, to live in bunkhouses with strangers, and to suffer the abuses of arbitrary bosses. Those who were left in their fixed home too were lonely.

The novel's title was taken from a line from a Scottish poem by Robert Burns titled To a Mouse.

Characters of Of Mice and Men:

Geroge Milton is the main character of the novel. He is an itinerant worker who travels from farm to farm with his mentally impaired friend Lennie during the Depression. George wishes to earn and save enough money to buy a piece of land for himself. George is an intelligent and responsible man who takes the dominant parent-like role in his relationship with Lennie. Lennie Small is another migrant worker, a friend of George. He is a mentally disabled man with a strong and gigantic body. Lennie is simple and docile but he is capable of great violence especially because he is unable to control his emotions and he is very protective of his friend George. Candy is an old crippled man who lost his hand. He works as a swamper on the farm and owns an aging dog who is very weak. He is lonely and old and thus, he offers to lend money to George and Lennie to buy a small farm so that he may become dependent on them during his older days. Curley is the son of the ranch owner where Lennie and George are working. Curley is a short man but a formidable boxer who is aggressive, boastful, and cocky, with a volatile temper and a tendency to provoke conflict with others. He doesn’t trust his wife whom he thinks is infidel. Curley’s wife is a beautiful woman who dislikes her husband and feels desperately lonely at the ranch, for she is the only woman and feels isolated from the other men. She used to dream of becoming a Hollywood actress but now has little to cheer about. Crooks is a black man working as a stable hand at the ranch who got his name because of his crooked back. He is proud, bitter, and cynical, he is isolated from the other men because of being black. Lennie shows kindness towards him and he becomes fond of Lennie. Carlson is a large, big-stomached man who works at the ranch, Carlson complains about Candy's dog and eventually offers to put the old dog out of its misery. Slim is the jerkline skinner at the ranch. He is a seemingly ageless man who carries himself with great gravity. He gives Lennie one of his new litter of puppies to care for. What is another ranch worker. The Boss is Curley’s father and the owner of the ranch. He acts suspiciously of George and Lennie when they arrive, thinking that there's something odd about the two mismatched companions.

Summary of Of Mice and Men:

The novel begins beside the Salinas River near Soledad, California. It is the period of the Great Depression in the United States and unemployment is a big issue. Two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small are going to a nearby ranch where they hope to get work. George remembers how luckily they escaped a lynching attack from a farm near Weed where Lennie was wrongly accused of rape when he touched a woman to feel her soft dress. Lennie is a friend of George and though they are of similar age, Lennie is mentally disabled and George, being a dominant figure takes care of him as a guardian. However, Lennie is a giant with a strong muscular body.

As they walk along, Lennie sees a dead mouse and finds it cute and soft and thus picks it up. Lennie loves touching soft things, including fabric and fur. George colds him for playing with the dead mouse and tells him to keep quiet when they arrive at their new place of employment. Lennie reminds him that they do not have any ketchup for the beans that they have to eat for dinner. George gets angry at this and tells him that he would be better off if he didn't have to take care of him. Lennie gets sad tries to please George and soon they make up again. Geroge tells Lennie how much he wishes to earn and save enough so that they may become able to buy a small piece of land and make a fixed home. Geroge tells Lennie that he had a dream that they managed to have a small farm with a vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch with so many rabbits having soft white fur. This intrigues Lennie who is too much interested in picking a rabbit in his lap. George tells Lennie that he must try not to get into trouble again but if he gets into trouble as he did in Weed, he should return to the brush near the river and wait for George to find him.

Geroge and Lennie soon reach the farmhouse where they are supposed to work. They knock at the bunkhouse of the farm and an old man named Candy greets them and shows them their bed where they could rest. He informs that the boss of the ranch was angry that they were late as they were supposed to be there the night before. After some time, the boss visits the farm and interviews Geroge and Lennie. He gets suspicious when he comes to know that Lennie is mentally retard and wonders why George accompanies him. George realizes this and tells a lie that Lennie is his cousin and thus he is responsible for him. The boss leaves the bunkhouse and after him, his son Curley visits there. Curley is a short but strong-built man who is jealous of tall strong men. Part of his jealousy is because of his newlywed wife who continues to chide him while everyone believes that she is infidel and a flirt. Curley visited the bunkhouse while looking for his wife. He suspects that his wife has an affair with Slim, a handsome ageless man working in the ranch. When he notices Lennie and George, he tries to start a fight with George but George avoids it.

George and Lennie go to the farm the next day where they make friends with Slim, Carlson, Whit, and other workers. After they return to the bunkhouse, Slim, whose dog has a new litter of puppies, gives Lennie one of them. Lennie is pleased while having the puppy in his hands whose furs are so soft. During the dinner, Geroge admits to Slim that he and Lennie escaped lynching in Weed when Lennie was accused of rape.

Carlson, another worker at the ranch, complains about Candy's old and sick dog, who stinks so bad and continues to howl. He has a handgun and he offers to shoot the dog but Candy loves his dog and is not willing to let him killed. However, Carlson is too disturbed by the dog who doesn’t let him sleep. Candy relents and allows Carlson to kill the dog. Geroge notices that Curley often remains disturbed and suspicious of everyone and soon learns about Curley’s wife. He complains about Tarts like Curley’s wife and why they should be aware of such women. Carlson suggests that the men should visit a nearby whorehouse the next night, George says that he prefers the company of whores, since with them there is no chance of danger.

One day, after a day’s work when Lennie and George are alone in the bunkhouse, Geroge again tells Lennie about his dream to have a small farm and a farmhouse. Candy overhears them and offers to pool his money with theirs if they'd let him work on their farm. Geroge feels that his dream may come true soon. Meanwhile, Curley visits the bunkhouse again while searching for his wife. He suspects that Lennie is laughing at him and thus, he begins a fight with Lennie. Being a boxer, he strongly punches Lennie many times but Lennie doesn’t fight back. At last, George feels that Curley will seriously harm Lennie if Lennie doesn’t defend, so he allows Lennie to fight back. Lennie crushes Curley’s right hand in a moment.

The next day, all the men go to the farm for work but Lennie decides to take a rest. He then goes to see Crooks, the black stable buck. Crooks is rude and unfriendly towards Lennie but soon realizes that Lennie is harmless with no ill intent. He starts treating Lennie well. Candy too visits there and informs Crooks how Lennie, his friend George, and Candy are trying to raise money to buy a small piece of land for themselves. Crooks feels positive about their plans and shows his interest in pooling his money for the new farmhouse if he could join them. At the same time, Curley’s wife visits the Crooks’ room and notices the three men. She is very bored with her current life and seeks company. Crooks tells her that she is not supposed to visit his room to which Curley’s wife shouts at him and threatens him with lynching. Curley’s wife feels attracted towards strong built Lennie.

The next morning, Lennie accidentally kills the puppy gifted to him by Slim when he throws the puppy too hard while playing with it. He is very sad about it. Curley’s wife notices him with the dead puppy in the barn and realizes what might have happened. She pities Lennie and scolds him but then entices him to touch her hair and feel how soft are they. Lennie obviously begins stroking her hair but soon she realizes that he is too strong for her and starts screaming. Lennie gets frightened and tries to stop her scream by putting his hand on her mouth. While doing so, he accidentally breaks her neck and she gets killed. Lennie notices her dying and flees from the ranch.

George and Candy come there while looking for Lennie and discover the dead body of the puppy and Curley’s wife. They infer what might have happened. Candy alerts the other men in the ranch and soon Curley comes to know about the death of his wife. He makes a party of men to search for Lennie. Meanwhile, George steals the handgun of Carlson while he suggests that Lennie might have stolen the gun before he ran away. He directs Curley’s men in the wrong direction to look for Lennie while he goes towards the brush where he had told Lennie to wait for him if he gets trapped in a difficult situation again. Lennie was already waiting for him. The death of the puppy and Curley’s wife had a bad effect on him and he had been hallucinating since then. In his hallucination, he saw a giant rabbit and his Aunt Clara who used to take care of him when he was a child. Aunt Clara warns him that George will be angry at him for killing Curley’s wife and will break his friendship with him and thus, he can never have a rabbit hutch. When George reaches there, Lennie tells him about the dream he just had. Geroge calms and reassures him that they will certainly have the rabbit hutch. Meanwhile, he prepares to shoot Lennie with the handgun he stole from Carlson. As Lennie sees towards the river, Geroge shoots him down. Upon hearing the shot, the other men find George and Lennie. George tells them that Lennie had stolen the gun and that he shot Lennie after the gun got loose in a struggle.

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 Soul Selects Her Own Society by Emily Dickinson | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Soul Selects Her Own Society is a poem by Emily Dickinson that she probably wrote in 1862. Emily Dickinson hardly ever published her massive stock of 1800 poems. Only her sister stumbled upon the prolific collection and took the liberty to publish the massive literary work. The poem was published in 1891 in a collection of her works under the title Poems, which was edited and published by Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd. In this poem, the poetess celebrates the virtues of an independent and mostly solitary life. The poetess envisions her soul as a queenly figure who chooses her company carefully, without regard for worldly status or prestige. And then “shuts the Door,” refusing to admit anyone else—even if “an Emperor be kneeling / Upon her mat—.” Indeed, the soul often chooses no more than a single person from “an ample nation” and then closes “the Valves of her attention” to the rest of the world. The “one” she allows into her soul maybe someone she loves romantically, but more likely, it is the one person who understands her soul as she does theirs.

Structure of The Soul selects her own Society:

The poem is composed of 12 lines arranged in three stanzas of four lines each, or three quatrains. Emily chose irregular meter in this poem yet, kept her favourite meter of iambic trimeter with occasional use of iambic tetrameter. The quatrains seem to follow a simple rhyming scheme of ABAB though Emily used half rhyme in stanzas 2 and 3 by using words “gate” and “mat” also, “one” and “stone” that do not perfectly rhyme but partially.

The poetess used Personification, Imagery, Symbolism, Simile, Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance in the poem.

Themes of The Sol selects her own Society:

The major theme of the poem is self-reliance and Individuality. Dickinson is remembered as a reserved, reclusive woman, with few good friends. Emily justifies her decision to lead a mostly solitary life. The speaker argues that the soul (functioning here as a stand-in for the speaker herself) naturally rejects the outside world in favor of her own inner circle. In doing so, the speaker champions individuality and self-reliance in a society that often values neither of these qualities. The poem suggests it is the best practice to keep one’s inner life reserved for a select “one” or few. It is the best policy to open the door for those people and then shut it again. This means that no one can get in, no matter their status unless they were selected for their pure intentions. The soul connects to a single person or a few people on a deeper level. One that goes beyond wealth or fame.

Summary of The Soul Selects Her Own Society:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

The Soul selects her own Society —
Then — shuts the Door —
To her divine Majority —
Present no more —

Emily often didn’t choose any title for her poems. In this case, too, the very first line of the poem was chosen as the title later on when her poetic collection Poems was posthumously published. The poetess is talking about the soul of an individual, whether her’s or anyone else’s, selects the person, or perhaps people, she wants to grow close to, and then “shuts the Door”.

Emily used the pronoun ‘her’ to denote the feminine for the artful, sensitive, superior soul.

The very first line of the poem is the longest and unbroken, and it is written in iambic pentameter. The poetess used assonance in the first line, repeating the vowel sound of / e / . Once the soul selects her companion or companions, she allows nobody else to enter the close domain of her divine majority.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

Unmoved — she notes the Chariots — pausing —
At her low Gate —
Unmoved — an Emperor be kneeling
Upon her Mat —

The poetess describes the strength and determination of the soul in these lines. The poetess says that it does not matter who comes knocking at the door of her soul. It could be an Emperor “kneeling” on the mat of Chariots “pausing— / At her low Gate”. Neither of these things would convince her to open the metaphorical door to her heart. The soul only opens for those it selects for reasons that she understands.

In line 5, the poetess uses Symbolism, using Chariots to symbolize status, wealth, and grandeur and they pause at her low Gate, that is, at her humble gate. Emily used assonance again with the sound of /o/ in “Unmoved — she notes the Chariots — pausing.” The poetess uses repetition (technical Anaphora) of ‘Unmoved’ to suggest the determination of the soul's position despite royalty appearing ready to kneel on her Mat.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

I’ve known her — from an ample nation —
Choose One —
Then — close the Valves of her attention —
Like Stone —

The poetess further asserts the exclusive selection process of the Soul and says that she has known “her” to choose “one” from the “ample nation” of people who want to gain entry into her innermost self. And once she chooses her companion/s, she then closes the “Valves of her attention— / Like Stone”. The soul is certainly a part of a country's society (ample nation), yet, it can choose One. The poetess employs a Metaphor using ‘Valve’ which implies a one-way flow ... a valve allows flow in one direction only. That is, now the whole attention of the soul is only upon the companion she already chose, and for others, the soul shuts down like a stone. The stone symbolizes something rigid, heavy, and weighty; the stone is hard to move, it's strong, it is unmovable.

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!