The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Grapes of Wrath is one of the three Dust Bowl novels written by John Steinbeck that was published in 1939. The other two Dust Bowl novels by John Steinbeck include Of Mice and Men, published in 1937, and In Dubious Battle published in 1936.

Dust Bowl literature is a genre of American literature that illustrated drought, dusters, and economic depression through powerful stories and contributed to aesthetic movements for social realism and cultural regionalism during the 1930s. These novels are all set in the period of the Great Depression in the 1930s during which severe drought and dust storms greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies. Dust Bowl literature thus illuminates the human fight against extreme temperatures, soil erosion, agricultural maladjustment, and swirling winds, during a period when the whole of the United States was also suffering the effect of economic turmoil.

The Grapes of Wrath won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. John Steinbeck won the Nobel prize for literature in 1962 and The Grapes of Wrath was mentioned as a prominent novel by him in the Presentation Speech.

The novel tells the story of the Joad family and depicts the hardships and oppression suffered by the Joad family representing the migrant laborers during the Great Depression.

Characters of The Grapes of Wrath:

Tom Joad is the central character of the novel. Tom is a young man recently released from jail on parole who returns to his family and finds out that they have lost their land and have been evicted from their home. He and his family then decide to go west to California to find some work. Ma Joad is the mother of Tom. She is a kindhearted yet determined woman with a tenacity to fight hard against odds and deprivation. She continues to fight for the unity of her family. Pa Joad is the father of Tom, he has lost the way to earn and provide for his family and thus he takes a lesser role in deciding the fate of his family. Muley Graves is an old man from the village whose family has already moved away but he remains back. He informs Tom about the eviction of his family. Uncle John is a sad, alcoholic, and depressed man who believes he is responsible for his family’s misfortune. He allows the Joad family to stay at his house when they get evicted. Rose of Sharon is Tom’s younger sister who is recently married to Connie Rivers. She is pregnant and an optimistic person. She dreams of a happy settled middle-class life with her husband but fails to maintain herself when her husband abandons her. When Connie reaches California and does not find work, he immediately becomes disillusioned and abandons his pregnant wife. Noah Joad is Tom’s elder brother who has been mentally disabled since childhood. He abandons his family and leads a life of vagabond. Al Joad is the younger sixteen years old brother of Tom who has a keen interest in cars and dreams of becoming a mechanic. Winfield Joad is another younger brother of Tom who is still a kid and Ruthie Joad is the youngest child of the family, a sister of Tom. Granpa Joad is an energetic and passionate man who doesn’t wish to leave his homeland but is forced by his family. After her husband’s death, Granma Joad falls ill and dies soon. Reverend Jim Casy is an agnostic man who left the ministry because he believes that all that is holy comes from collective society and discards the absolute idea of sin. Sairy Wilson is the head of another poor family moving west of California. She helps the Joad family when Granpa Joad dies. The Mayor is a half-crazed migrant worker who leads a colony of workers in government-protected quarters. Floyd Knowles befriends Al Joad and informs him about the government camp at Weedpatch.

Summary of The Grapes of Wrath:

The novel is set during the Great Depression. Tom Joad appears at a diner in a formal spotless dress and asks for a ride to Oklahoma. A truck driver offers him a ride but questions his about his identity. Tom Joad reluctantly reveals that he is a resident of Oklahoma returning home as he recently was released from McAlester prison on parole. He was imprisoned because he killed a man during a fight. Meanwhile, Tom notices a turtle trying to cross the busy road and thinks about the struggles of the common man of the working class during these hard times.

On his way back home, Tom meets Reverend Jim Casey, the Preacher Tom has known since his childhood. Caset reveals that he has resigned from the Ministry and is no longer a preacher. He says that he does believe in the Holy Spirit but does not believe in Organized religion. Casey says that he believes the love for fellow human beings and humanity is the Holy Spirit. Casey believes that all people are holy, everyone being part of the whole soul of humankind. Tom requests him to come with him on his way home.

During their walk back home, Tom and Casey observe the ruined farmlands because of the Dust Bowl storms. When they reach a farm previously owned by the Joad family, Tom comes to know that his family has been evicted. Muley Graves, an old neighbor of Joad Family notices Tom and informs him that his family has been evicted by the bank for not paying back the loan and now they are living at the farm of old Uncle John. Muley Graves also informs that Tom’s family has planned to move to California to find work. Tom and Casey spend the night at the abandoned farm and decide to visit Old John’s farm early in the morning.

The next morning, Tom and Casey visit Uncle John’s farm and come to know that the Joad family is preparing to leave for California. Casey proposes that he may accompany them to California and help them around and the Joad family agrees to take him along. Tom is happy after meeting his elder brother Noah who has been mentally challenged since his birth and his three younger brothers Al, Ruthie, and Winfield. He comes to know about the pregnancy of his sister Rose of Sharon who is married to Connie Rivers. All of them are eager to move to California. Al knows a lot about cars and aspires to become a mechanic on reaching California while Connie Rivers wishes to study Radios and become a technician. The Joad family planned to go to California on account of flyers advertising work in the California fields.

They sell off all their belongings and then pack their bags. However, Granpa Joad is not happy about leaving his old land and wishes to stay back alone. Joad’s family tries to convince him but fails. At last, they drug him to get him in the truck. The Joad family, Casey, and Uncle John roll on the highway in their truck. The family dog also accompanies them but a truck is run over by the dog on their first stop.

The next day when Granpa Joad comes back to his consciousness, he feels heartbroken and soon he suffers a stroke. The Joad family stops in the evening to take care of Granpa Joad but fails to save him. Another traveling family of Saira Wilson helps the Joads while they perform the last rites of Granpa Joad. Wilson's family’s car fails but Tom and Al fix their car and then the two families decide to travel together towards California. On their way, they notice the vacant homes and colonies deserted by the homeowners.

When they reach New Mexico, Wilson’s car fails again. Tom and Al suggest that they will look for a part required for the car while the rest of the two families should continue the travel on the truck. But Ma Joad opposes this idea and insists that the whole family must remain together. Meanwhile, Granma Joad is severely ill as she is depressed by the death of Granpa Joad. Somehow, Tom and Al find out the required part, and the two families decide to travel again. Before they can begin, they meet a man returning from California who informs them that there is no work there and that the promises of work in the flyers are all fraudulent. The man tells Pa Joad that 20,000 people show up for every 800 jobs and that his own children have starved to death. The families decide to test their luck.

As they reach the desert bordering California, they suffer intense scrutiny and intimidation by police officers who derisively call them, and other migrant laborers, "Okies." Sairy Wilson becomes so ill that she is unable to continue. The Joads leave the Wilsons and continue across the California desert on their own. Soon Granma Joad passes away and when the police stop them again to inspect, Ma Joad sternly opposes them to conceal the death of Granma Joad.

The Joads stop at the first camp they come to, a dirty Hooverville of tents and makeshift shelters. The men are talking to Floyd Knowles, a young man in the camp when a businessman accompanied by a cop offers them work. When Floyd asks for a wage offer in writing, he is accused of being a "red," and the cop attempts to arrest him. Tom trips an officer and Casy knocks him unconscious. Since Tom is on parole, Casey takes the whole blame on himself and gets arrested. Uncle John leaves them to get drunk while Pa Joad is too sad about the demise of his parents and blames himself for not being able to provide for his family. Noah decides to leave society altogether and live alone in the woodlands. Connie too realizes that he is chasing false dreams and there is no better future in California and thus, he abandons his pregnant wife and runs away. Floyd Knowles informs Al about Weedpatch, a government camp where the residents are spared harassment by police officers and have access to amenities such as baths and toilets. The remaining Joads decide to continue their travel and before they leave, Tom succeeds in picking Uncle John back.

When they arrive at the Weedpatch government camp, the Joads are shocked to find how well the other residents treat them and how efficiently this society (which even features democratic elections) functions. Tom also finds work quickly. The Joads are comfortable but, after a month, are still unable to find any stable work and realize they must move on.

They are offered work picking peaches at Hooper Ranch in Tulare. The camp gate is surrounded by a large group of men shouting and waving. The Joads, escorted through the gate by state police, begin work immediately. They are paid five cents a box, not sufficient to feed the family a day's meal. After the first day of picking, Tom wanders outside the ranch. He meets up with Jim Casy, who is leading a strike against the peach orchard owners who want to pay two-and-a-half cents a box. Tom learns his family is being paid five cents because they are working as strikebreakers. As the men talk, authorities sneak up, looking for Casy, the presumed leader of the strike. Unprovoked, one of the men strikes Casy on the head, killing him. Without thinking, Tom begins beating Casy's killer. The other men intervene, and Tom's nose is broken. He escapes, hiding in the peach orchard until he can reach his house.

Tom wishes to leave the family to save them from taking responsibility for his actions, but Ma Joad insists that they will remain together. They leave Hooper Ranch for a location where Tom can be safe. They reach cotton fields up north, where Tom hides in the woods while the family stays in a boxcar. Although the family attempts to keep Tom's identity and location a secret, young Ruthie Winfield reveals it during a fight with another child. When Ma tells Tom about this, he decides to leave the family and go off alone, determined to fight for the cause for which Casy died. He vows to return to his family one day.

As soon as Tom leaves the family, heavy rains begin which causes massive flooding. The Joads are caught in a dangerous situation: they cannot escape the flooding because Rose of Sharon suddenly goes into labor. While other families evacuate the camp near the rapidly rising creek, the Joads remain and attempt to stop the flood waters. Without the aid of others, the Joads are unsuccessful, and they must seek refuge on the top of their car. Rose of Sharon delivers a stillborn child that Uncle John sends in a box down the creek.

After a few days, the rain subsides. Leaving Al and the Wainwrights, the remaining Joads abandon the boxcar for higher ground. They find shelter in an old barn already occupied by a boy and his starving father. The child tells the Joads that his father has not eaten in six days and is unable to keep down solid food. Rose of Sharon, barely recovered from the delivery, breastfeeding the dying man to nurse him back to health. The others leave the barn as she cradles the dying man to her breast.

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 felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Emily Dickinson is one of the most famous American Poets of the 19th century. Dickinson's poems have a distinct use of structure and dashes that has caused her work to be recognizable. During the period from 1860 to 1880, many of her close friends and relations would die of tuberculosis. These deaths greatly affected Emily, and the presence of the Theme of death was increasingly seen in her poetry. Her most creative years are considered to be from 1861-1865 during which she wrote most of her poetry. She wrote I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain in 1861 and was published posthumously in 1890.

Structure of I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain:

The poem consists of 20 lines written in five stanzas or quatrains. The rhyming scheme is ABCB. However, some of these are slant rhymes (similar words that do not rhyme identically). For example, ‘fro’ in the second line and ‘through’ in the fourth line are slant rhymes. The poem is written in Ballad form. The poet used iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter alternatively.

Enjambment has been profusely along with dashes and caesuras, and irregular Capitalization of words that offers an irregular structure to the poem. The poetess also employed imagery and symbolism. The funeral can be considered as an allegory while the imagery of mourners as faceless beings that seem to torment the speaker offers an eerie experience. The poetess used the imagery of the coffin by the term ‘Box’ to indicate the deteriorating mental state of the speaker. The funeral is a metaphor for the speaker’s loss of self and sanity. In line 11, the speaker mentions ‘Boots of Lead’ which is a symbol of how much the “treading” of the mourners weighs on the speaker’s “mind”, and how torturous it is for the speaker.

Themes of I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain:

The poem begins with a seemingly paradoxical statement, ‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,’ which suggests that the speaker isn’t talking about her death or her funeral, rather, she is talking about the death or depreciation of her rational faculties. The poem traces the speaker's descent into madness. The speaker depicts the terror and helplessness of a person who is gradually losing her grip on reality. The speaker appears passive and confused and the steps of ‘Mourners’ seem to wear down whatever is holding “Sense” back. The speaker depicts her mind as a two-floor structure. The speaker only has partial access to this structure, listening from below to the funeral on the second floor. The mourners are a metaphor to express her pain. Their treading (note the repetition of the word, which gives emphasis and suggests the action) indicates a pressure that is pushing her down. The speaker has a momentary impression that reason ("sense") is escaping or being lost. The pressure of the treading is reasserted with the repetition, "beating, beating." This time her mind, the source of reasoning, goes "numb," a further deterioration in her condition.

Another theme of the poem is Death and the poem can be interpreted as the speaker is describing her own demise and funeral that she cannot see, but can feel because though she is dead, her soul is still not far away from her body, which is in the Box.

Summary of I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“I felt a Funeral in my Brain,
And Mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading, treading, till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through.”

The speaker is conscious of her surroundings. She hears all that is going on around her, and she feels it, but she cannot see it. The opening line is striking because while most of us have seen a funeral process some time, we hardly know how to feel a funeral. One may compare with the sense of grief and sorrow, but the poem proceeds in other territory and the reader realizes that it is not some common funeral. The speaker could feel the movement of mourners and she describes the treading of the mourners. The poet capitalized ‘mourners’ because it is a metaphor to express the pain that is overwhelming her, torturing her to the extent that she is losing her sense, her rational faculty. ‘Sense’ is again capitalized.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“And when they all were seated,
A Service like a Drum
Kept beating, beating, till I thought
My Mind was going Numb.”

The mourners finally settled in her mind. They were all seated and hence, the torturous treading sound stopped. However, it was not the end of her torture. The mourners, representing her pains, her suffering, and her ill memories are deep-seated in her consciousness now. She hears the drum roll in her mind. ‘Drum’ is capitalized as the poet personified as a harbinger of a bad omen, the one bringing the bad news. The treading stopped but the painful Mourners were deep-seated in her mind and that created the painful sounds of a Drum that kept beating until the speaker felt as if she would lose her consciousness, her mind would go Numb.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“And then I heard them lift a box,
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again
Then Space- began to toll”

The speaker's mind is like a two-story building and she is on the lower floor. Her sense of hearing and ability to feel is still strong and though she cannot see what’s happening in the upper floor, she can hear it and feel it. She hears the sound of the box being lifted. Box is capitalized again because it is used as a metaphor for a coffin. A part of the speaker’s mind is dead and it is in that box. She can’t see it, but she can feel its demise, its loss, its funeral. As she hears it, she feels a creek in her Soul, something has broken down and lost forever.

One may also interpret here that the speaker is talking about her own funeral and that is why she cannot see it, but she can feel it. As the mourners, whom she cannot ‘see’, lift the Box and take it to the burying ground, she begins to hear the torturous sound of “Boots of Lead.” It is a metaphor for the pain and sense of loss of the speaker. The space begins to toll, and the speaker feels as if moving through the space. She hears the sound of the boots of the mourners who are lifting and moving her away.

Stanza 4 Lines 13-16

“As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being but an Ear,
And I and Silence some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here.”

The speaker is now more aware of her situation. She mentions the Heavens and feels as if the heavens were ringing bells for her. She feels she is no longer a being but just an ear (Ear is capitalized). She could hear and feel, but she couldn’t make any sound, she and silence are some strange race (Race is capitalized) suggesting that she is no more a human being, but some strange being. Either she has lost her rational faculties to express herself and has gone mad, thus it is the death of her sanity, or the poet means her own death, and now when she is dead, she is no more a human but some strange race. Either way, she knows she is destroyed and lonely here.

Stanza 5 Lines 17-20

“And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down and down--
And hit a World at every plunge,
And Finished knowing--then--”

In the last stanza, the speaker is pretty clear about what happened to her. She realizes that either she is dead, or she has lost her sanity and it is the death of her rational faculty, and she has drowned into the madness where she cannot say what is real and what is not. The death that the speaker is experiencing is physical but also mental. The speaker is witnessing the death of her sanity, stating that am‘Plank in Reason, broke-’. The “Plank,” or piece of wood broke as her coffin was lowered into the earth. The word “Reason” is capitalized because it is personified as the one who finally broke through to the speaker, causing her to become fully aware of what was happening to her. As she lowers down, she hits ‘a World at every plunge.’ World is capitalized as it represents her various feelings and experiences, she felt confusion, panic, wonder, and maybe even acceptance. One by one, she kept losing all her feelings and sensibilities and then she finished knowing anything, she was dead, or totally mad. The poem ends with a dash (-), showing that this new existence will not end, it is the solitary afterlife.

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 Intrusion by Shashi Deshpande | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Intrusion and Other Stories was a short story collection by Shashi Deshpande, published in 1993. Her stories portray the Indian way of life; in a language of “our emotional make-up” and successfully infused “the tempo of Indian life in her English expression.”

The Intrusion is the title story of the book. The story revolves around the consent of a woman. Her parents do not give importance to her consent before her marriage. Later, her husband also ignores her consent. Consequently, her husband intrudes into her ‘privacy’, and she cannot protect herself from 'the intrusion' into her body. The Intrusion, as the title suggests, is the unwanted entry of someone or something. In this case, this title refers to the intrusion of the man in the “private” space of the woman without her consent. At another level, the intrusion is also of societal expectations into the way of living of a newly married woman. George Bernard Shaw once said, “Marriage is legalized prostitution.” The story suggests that it can be forced prostitution too as it discusses the issue of marital sexual violence.

Characters of The Intrusion:

The story revolves around a newly married woman who is the narrator. She is an Indian girl who just got married to a man chosen by her family. She knows nothing about her husband and he is a total stranger. The girl hopes to develop a friendly relationship with that stranger who is already her husband but the husband has other plans. The narrator is unnamed and it appears that the author left her unnamed deliberately. It lets the story offer a sense of deja vu, as the reader to their own life and the story appears relevant. Her husband is the other character whom she calls the man, the stranger to whom she has already been married. He is a young Indian man who acknowledges his privileges for being a member of the patriarchial society and practices his authority with utmost ruthlessness. Thus, intruding on the privacy of his wife without acknowledging or caring for her consent. The story is about the marital rape he attempts on his wife.

Summary of The Intrusion:

The narrator is a newly married girl who belongs to a middle-class Indian family. She is a modern educated woman who expects that husband and wife should know each other pretty well and be good friends before they start a normal married life. She is not “a frigid woman incapable of love”. She is only “shy and frightened about exposing the mysteries of her body to him.” She has her own dreams of how husband and wife should be. She got married to a man of her family’s choice whom she never knew nor ever met before their marriage. She had no choice nor any say in that marriage because she also had younger sisters and her revolt could have ruined their prospects. After her marriage, she reaches her husband’s home which is crowded. She hardly gets any time alone with her husband and he remains a stranger to her. However, the man is eager to consummate their marriage. So he decided to take the narrator on a trip which is supposed to be their honeymoon.

The narrator, along with her husband, crosses a fishing village. She is aware of her physical surroundings as much as she is aware of her inner chaos and the unreasonable twinge of irritation against her husband. They walked out of the seaboard and were back in the village, hiking up a steep rocky path and finally reaching the top with the square stalk building.

The newly married couple hardly know each other. Therefore, the narrator feels uneasy about her partner. The unease that the narrator experiences continues to grow when they are finally boarded indoors. In the room, the man attending to them opened the window to let the wind in. The narrator was aware of the man smirking and revealing an awareness of what they had come here for and the gaze that the man was giving made her feel uneasy and embarrassed. The man left the room, having left alone to themselves, she felt a painful silence as if they were strangers left to themselves.

Soon, silence predominates in the room between them. Therefore, to break the silence, her husband suddenly starts talking. He tells her he feels fortunate to come to the place as their honeymoon destination. He is happy because they have “complete privacy”. On the other hand, she feels nervous at the thought of being alone with a strange man in a strange land. She is skeptical about the room too. She describes the room as ‘non-homely’ and says, “…the sheets looked grubby and the pillow covers disgustingly greasy…it didn’t look like seem like a place where children have ever shouted.” She doubts that the room was frequently visited by prostitutes.

Because of the tedious journey, the narrator feels tired. Therefore, she relaxes in the chair, and she is lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, he breaks the silence and asks why she is so silent. She says that she is a little tired. He comes closer and puts his arm around her firmly, which causes her uncomfortable. However, she pretends to act normal and gets up. She suggests to him they should go out to the veranda since she wants to see the sea.

On the veranda, she also suggests to him they should go down to the sea. But her husband tells her they should go in the morning as it is already dark. The man approaches her again. He puts his arm around her waist and pulls her inside. Upon seeing the bed, she remembers her narrow bed at home. She feels homesick. She remembers how she was not ready for the marriage. She was hurt when the alliance was fixed up without her willingness. “No one had asked me if I had agreed; it had been taken for granted.” When her father asks her the reason for her rejection of her marriage and what she is going to do after that she has no answer. And so she agrees finding no fault with the groom. Suddenly a few days before the wedding, I had gone to my father stricken by doubts. “Why?” he had asked me, again and again. And, “What will you do then?” In a panic, I asked myself, “What will I do?” And I thought of a thousand answers, but not to the question, “What’s wrong with him?” She realizes that if she revolts against her family’s will, she will become the black sheep of the family. No one would marry her sisters. For her, her parents would feel disgraced.

The man is unaware of her feelings, and her hesitation. He excitingly changes his dress. On the other hand, the narrator feels low and lonely. She sits quietly for a while, then dashes to the veranda. She wishes to be anywhere in the world except in a strange place. When he does not find her in the room. He calls her to change her clothes. She follows his words unwillingly. She changes feeling glad that her night-dress was simple. However, escaping his sexual overtures seemed difficult now.

She again opens the door to the veranda. But he forbids her to go out. She reluctantly goes to him. He puts his arms around her tightly. The sudden and tight grip of his embrace makes her too uncomfortable. She struggles to get rid of his approaching rough chin. He tries to kiss her, but she averts her face and, in the struggle, his glasses fall. His touch reminds her of the instances of molestation that the character experienced from “faceless, nameless men in crowds”

Her defiance makes him furious, and he demands to know why she is avoiding him. Finally, she breaks the unbearable silence and says that they don’t know each other. He is astonished to hear that. She wants to express her feelings that she wants to know all about him. She wishes to develop a friendship, a cordial relationship, and a level of comfortability. However, his view of marriage is limited to only satisfying the physical needs of the husband. The other’s state of mind and emotion are marginal things to be avoided. He thinks marriage gives the man the license to invade his wife’s privacy. The man thinks that he can come to know his wife through physical intimacy. Her consent has no value in the relationship. She can’t say a word anymore because his fierce look frightens her and she knows it is futile to express her feelings to him.

Discontent fills his face and he lies still in the bed uttering nothing. After him, she also tries to sleep. She remembers the days when she was not married. She is very practical and before her marriage, she wanted to know more before getting involved with her married life. Hence before her wedding, she reads a book on sex. Unlike the other girls who have their own dreams of their husbands, she thinks of the realities of her would-be husband. And there were all those fears crouching in him – would his breath smell, and were his feet huge and dirty with uncut toenails, and did he chew his food noisily and belch after meals?

However, the man to whom she is married is uninterested in her as a person. He considers her a property that he has a right to exploit. Somehow, she falls asleep. At midnight, she finds herself in a dreamy state. She is lying on the beach; she feels the waves hitting her hard. When she comes into consciousness, she realizes that the sound of the sea is real, but it is not the wave, rather her husband is hitting her body. She attempts to push his chest away from her body, but she fails. He has intruded into her private space. She wished her husband to become her friend and understand her before they undergo any of the experiences a husband and a wife undergo. But finding him keyed for a different experience, she was unable to communicate none of these things to him and as a result feels humiliated when her husband forces himself on her. On the whole, she finally becomes submissive and compromises with life as any other Indian wife does.

The story raises the issue of troubles in an arranged marriage and suggests that proper coordination, and a reasonable mutual understanding between husband and wife is essential for a happy married life. 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 Pearl by John Steinbeck | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Pearl is a short novel by John Steinbeck, published in 1947. It is divided into 6 chapters. The story is based upon a folktale from La Paz, Baza California Sur, Mexico which Steinbeck visited in 1940. The novella is more like a parable, a succinct, didactic story that illustrates some instructive lessons and principles of life.

The major theme of the novel is the contrast between Good and Evil, greed, compassion, family values, racial and societal discrimination, and an individual’s will to improve their life.

Characters of The Pearl:

Kino is the protagonist of the novella. He is a Mexican-Indian who works as a pearl diver, searching for pearls while diving into the Gulf of the area. He is a devoted family man, father, and husband to Coyotito and Juana, respectively. Kino represents an 'everyman' who finds himself in a circle of vicious situations that turn him increasingly violent, frustrated, defiant, and paranoid. Juana is the mother of Coyotito and the wife of Kino. She is a nice woman, a devoted wife, and a caring mother. She dutifully supports her husband despite his rash behavior but continues to warn him about the impending dangers that his greed may bring upon him. She is a strong individual who even disobeys Kino when he suggests that they take separate paths to avoid the trackers. Coyotito is the infant son of Juana and Kino. He gets stung by a scorpion and suffers a lethal fever. Kino and Juana try every possible way to save their child. The Doctor is a fat, complacent, greedy, corrupt man who is a Racist and refuses to treat Kino’s child just because he doesn’t wish to help a poor man of another race. However, when he comes to know that Kino found a rare precious huge pearl, he insists on treating Coyotito just in the hope of stealing the pearl. Juan Tomas is a brother of Kino. He is a helpful benevolent man who helps Kino and hides Kino and Juana in his house after Kino murders a man in self-defense. Juan warns Kino against the disastrous consequences that he faces from finding the pearl. Apolonia is the wife of Juan who allows Kino and Juana to hide in her house after Kino murders a man in self-defense.

Summary of The Pearl:

Kino is a young Mexican-Indian man who works as a pearl diver. He is married to Juana and the couple have an infant child named Coyotito. The family lives in a brush house in the suburb of the city of La Paz. One day, when Kino wakes up, he sees a scorpion nearby that stings his child Coyotito. Coyotito instantly develops a fever and Juana gets worried. Juana tells Kino to go to town and get the doctor, but Kino and their neighbors tell Juana that the doctor will never come to where they live. Juana couldn’t let fate take control so she sets off with Coyotito to the doctor. Kino accompanies her and many other villagers follow them out of curiosity. The doctor is a known racist who never helps poor native Indians. When Juana and Kino reach there and knock at the door of the Doctor, a servant of the doctor comes out and says that the doctor is not at home. In fact, the doctor doesn’t wish to treat the child because he is a racist and knows that Kino is too poor to pay him well.

Disheartened, the couple returns and takes their son to the sea. Juana continues to find a cure for her child while Kino decides to go to work and find some oysters in the Gulf. Juana tends to Coyotito and applies a brown seaweed poultice on the shoulder of Coyotito which is swollen now because of the scorpion sting. As Kino decides to dive into the Gulf to find some osters, Juana prays he would get a large pearl that may help them pay for the doctor’s fee.

Kino searches the sea bottom and it appears as if Juana’s prayers for a large pearl are answered when Kino surfaces with the largest oyster that he has ever seen. He comes back to the canoe. Kino does not want to open the oyster immediately, but Juana insists he opens the oyster; when he does, he finds a huge pearl none of them had ever seen. Juana gets mesmerized by the pearl but soon remembers her son and goes to check him out. Juana finds that Coyotito is better now, his shoulder is no longer swollen. Kino is already excited by seeing the huge pearl and when Juana tells him that Coyotito is fine now, he becomes ecstatic. He puts back his head and howls, causing the other pearl divers to look up and race toward Kino's canoe.

The news that Kino has found an immense pearl travels fast through La Paz. The doctor who refused to treat Coyotito decides to visit Kino. Kino's neighbors begin to feel bitter toward him for his good fortune, but neither Kino nor Juana realize this feeling they have engendered. For safety, Kino hides the huge pearl and buries it in the corner of his hut. Kino’s brother Juan asks him what he will do with his money, and he envisions getting married to Juana in a church and dressing Coyotito in a yachting cap and sailor suit. He claims that he will send Coyotito to school and buy a rifle for himself. The local priest visits and tells Kino to remember to give thanks and to pray for guidance. The doctor also visits, and although Coyotito seems to be healing, the doctor insists that Coyotito still faces danger and treats him. Kino tells the doctor that he will pay him once he sells his pearl, and the doctor attempts to discern where the pearl is located. He offers to keep the pearl for Kino, and Kino refuses the request, but the doctor tricks Kino into revealing where Kino has hidden the pearl. That night, a thief attempts to break into Kino's hut, but Kino drives him away. Juana tells Kino that the pearl will destroy them, but Kino insists that the pearl is their one chance and that tomorrow they will sell it.

The next day, when Kino goes to sell the pearl, all the men of the village accompany him. They discuss what they would do if they had found the pearl, and suggest giving it as a present to the Pope, buying Masses for the souls of his family, and distributing it among the poor of La Paz. Kino discusses the prize for the pearl with a pearl dealer and he offers a thousand pesos when Kino believes that he deserves fifty thousand. Although other dealers inspect the pearl and give similar prices, Kino refuses their offer and decides to go to the capital to sell it there.

That night, after another attack on Kino, Juana begs him to get rid of the pearl; he refuses. When Kino falls asleep, Juana takes the pearl, intending to throw it back into the ocean, but Kino catches up to her at the beach and violently seizes the pearl, injuring Juana. As Kino returns home, unknown assailants again attack him; he kills one of them and the pearl rolls away. Juana recovers the pearl, which she now decides to keep, realizing that their old life is gone forever. She also manages to save Coyotito when other attackers burn their house down. Kino, Juana, and Coyotito take cover in the house belonging to Kino’s older brother Juan and his wife Apolonia. Juan and Apolonia try to convince Kino to get rid of the pearl as it is proving to be a bad omen for him but he refuses.

That night, Kino, Juana, and Coyotito leave their village and head toward Loreto. Kino is suspicious that they will be followed and thieves will try to snatch the pearl, so he tries to leave no tracks behind. They decide to travel at night and rest during the day. Juana and Coyotito fall asleep, and soon Kino does too. He is suddenly awakened by noises, creeps out from where they are hiding, and sees trackers who are following them. Once the trackers pass by the hiding place, Kino and his family head toward the high mountains. When they reach the first rise of the mountains, Kino tries to convince Juana to hide with Coyotito while he leads the trackers away, but she refuses so they head higher up the mountains to where Kino finds a stream. There, Kino hides Juana and Coyotito in a small cave and makes false tracks up the side of the mountain, hoping to mislead the trackers; he then hides in the cave with his family. Kino takes his white clothes off so that no one will notice his white clothing. Kino, realizing that the trackers will discover them in the morning, vows to attack the trackers before the trackers attack him and his family. He goes towards the campfire. One of the trackers was taking guard while two others were sleeping.

Coyotito feels a mosquito sting and he begins to cry. The tracker hears the sound and thinks that it must be a coyote pup. But the cries continue so the guarding tracker shoots in the direction of the cries. Kino attacks the tracker at the same time and kills all three of them. Kino can hear nothing but silence. He comes back and sees Coyotito dead from that shot of the tracker who was taking a guard. Juana and Kino, united and beleaguered, walk back to the village side-by-side with Coyotito’s dead body in Juana’s shawl. Kino carries a rifle stolen from one of the trackers he killed. The two approach the gulf, and Kino, who now sees the image of Coyotito with his head blown off in the pearl, throws it into the ocean.

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!

Thomas Gray Biography and Works | Summary of Ode On the Spring

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Thomas Gray was an English poet who was born on 26 December 1716 and died on 30h July 1770. He was educated at Eton College. In 1734, He joined Peterhouse, Cambridge for higher education but chose to shift to Pembroke College in the same year. He spent most of his life as a scholar in Cambridge. In 1742, he began writing poems and publishing them. His first published work was An Ode on the Spring which was published in 1742. His other poem "Sonnet on the Death of Richard West" was also published in 1742 which he wrote after the death of his close friend Richard West.

Thomas Gray is majorly known for his famous poem ‘Elegy Written in Country Churchyard’ which was published in 1751. The contemplates such themes as death and the afterlife. These themes foreshadowed the upcoming Gothic movement. Because of this poem, he became known as one of the Graveyard Poets. The "Graveyard Poets", also termed "Churchyard Poets", was a number of pre-Romantic poets of the 18th century characterized by their gloomy meditations on mortality, "skulls and coffins, epitaphs, and worms" elicited by the presence of the graveyard. Moving beyond the elegy lamenting a single death, their purpose was rarely sensationalist. The "graveyard poets" are often recognized as precursors of the Gothic literary genre, as well as the Romantic movement. The term "Graveyard School" refers to four poems: Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard", Thomas Parnell's "Night-Piece on Death", Robert Blair's The Grave, and Edward Young's “Night-Thoughts”.

Gray also wrote a mock-elegy titled ‘Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes’ that he wrote for his friend Horace Walpole’s cat. The mock elegy was published in 1747. In the same year (1747) he wrote “Ode to a Distant Prospect of Eton College” which was published anonymously. In this poem, he recalled his schooldays as a time of great happiness. It was a Horatian Ode with a calm and reflective form. In contrast to the lofty, heroic Pindaric odes, most of Hortian odes are intimate, calm, and reflective; they are often addressed to a friend and deal with friendship, love, and the practice of poetry.

In 1754, Gray published ‘The Progress of Poesy: A Pindaric Ode’. It was his first Pindaric Ode. A Pindaric Ode is a ceremonious poem written in a triadic structure consisting of a strophe (two or more lines repeated as a unit) followed by a metrically harmonious antistrophe, concluding with a summary line (called an epode) in a different meter. Pindaric odes are often ceremonious, celebrating the victory of a winner with a performance of choral chant and dance in an elaboratively complex, metaphorically rich, and intensively emotive language. His other famous Pindaric ode was The Bard: A Pindaric Ode which was published in 1757. Gray was self-critical and this is why he didn’t write much. His published content include only thirteen poems but all his poems were hugely popular. He gained so much popularity that in 1757, he was offered the post of Poet Laureate of England, which he refused. Gray considered his Pindaric odes as his best work. However, these were the poems in which the poet writes while considering the sentiments of the audience. Samuel Johnson commented on Gray’s Elegy written in Country Churchyard and said, "I rejoice to concur with the common reader ... The Church-yard abounds with images which find a mirror in every mind, and with sentiments to which every bosom returns an echo".

Ode on the Spring:

Ode on The Spring was the first published poem by Thomas Gray. It was published in 1747. This poem is made up of five stanzas with ten lines in each. The rhyming scheme of each of the stanzas is ABABCCDEED.

Stanza 1 Lines 1-10

“Lo! where the rosy-bosomed Hours,
Fair Venus' train, appear,
Disclose the long-expecting flowers,
And wake the purple year!
The Attic warbler pours her throat,
Responsive to the cuckoo's note,
The untaught harmony of spring:
While, whisp'ring pleasure as they fly,
Cool Zephyrs thro' the clear blue sky
Their gathered fragrance fling.”

The poem is all about Spring and its beauties and wonders that it brings to the world. The first stanza speaks of the beautiful sunrises, the flowers blossoming, the birds singing and flying, and a great smell in the air. This stanza is marked by both neo-classical characteristics and the romantic temper of the poet. The time of spring is personified as the “rosy-bosom’d Hours” which are regarded as the attendants of Venus. The winds and the breezes have been personified as Zephyrs (that is, the followers of Zephyrus, the god of winds). The Nightingale is described as “the Attic warbler”, and this is an example of poetic diction.

Stanza 2 Lines 11-20

“Where'er the oak's thick branches stretch
A broader browner shade,
Where'er the rude and moss-grown beech
O'er-canopies the glade,
Beside some water's rushy brink
With me the Muse shall sit, and think
(At ease reclined in rustic state)
How vain the ardour of the Crowd,
How low, how little are the Proud,
How indigent the Great!”

The second stanza is about sitting next to a bank during the season. In this stanza, the poet addresses his Muse and suggests how he and his Muse will cherish the natural pleasantries of the season while they (poet and the Muse) also meditate upon the smallness and insignificance of the people in the city who feel proud of themselves, and upon the extreme poverty of those persons who think themselves to be very rich and exalted.

Stanza 3 Lines 21-30

“Still is the toiling hand of Care;
The panting herds repose:
Yet hark, how through the peopled air
The busy murmur glows!
The insect-youth are on the wing,
Eager to taste the honied spring
And float amid the liquid noon:
Some lightly o'er the current skim,
Some show their gayly-gilded trim
Quick-glancing to the sun.”

In the third stanza, the poet speaks of all the insects wanting to pollinate. It appears as nature poetry as the poet describes the beauty of the scene. He observes and describes the sounds coming from the insects which are passing through the prime of their existence, and which are fluttering their wings as they fly about through the air. These insects are eager to taste the sweetness of the flowers that bloom during this season (namely spring). These insects fly in a leisurely manner on the surface of some brook at noon-time.

Stanza 4 Lines 31-40

“To Contemplation's sober eye
Such is the race of Man:
And they that creep, and they that fly,
Shall end where they began.
Alike the Busy and the Gay
But flutter thro' life's little day,
In Fortune's varying colours drest:
Brushed by the hand of rough Mischance,
Or chilled by Age, their airy dance
They leave, in dust to rest.”

The fourth stanza goes back to him thinking about the season. He wonders about these wonderful insects and how they will end. All these insects are dressed in the different colors with which Fate has endowed them. Some of these insects shall get killed by an accidental blow from someone, and some of them shall die a natural death in due course. These flying insects would ultimately cease their movements through the air and would end their existence to rest on the ground below where they would mingle with the dust.

Stanza 5 Lines 41-50

“Methinks I hear, in accents low,
The sportive kind reply:
Poor moralist! and what art thou?
A solitary fly!
Thy joys no glittering female meets,
No hive hast thou of hoarded sweets,
No painted plumage to display:
On hasty wings thy youth is flown;
Thy sun is set, thy spring is gone -
We frolic while 'tis May.”

The fifth stanza covers all the stanzas comparing himself and others like him to flies. He wondered about the fate of insects and now the poet contemplates what might be the answer of those insects. This is what the insects have to the poet, “You are a miserable preacher delivering sermons to others. What are you yourself? You are no better than a lonely fly. You have no woman, dressed in bright and shining garments or wearing jewelry, to keep you company and to serve as a source of pleasure to you. You possess no storehouse full of accumulated pleasures from which you can draw any happiness at your will. You have no gaudy garments or showy equipment to display. Your youthful years have already passed, and they have passed in a hurried manner. The years of your prime are over, and thus the spring of your life has already ended while we are still enjoying our spring and are flying about merrily.

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!

I Died for Beauty but Was Scarce by Emily Dickinson | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. “I Died for Beauty but Was Scarce” is an allegorical macabre poem written by Emily Dickinson that was published posthumously in 1890. The poem offers a discussion between two idealist persons, one died for beauty, and the other died for death. The speaker who died for beauty develops friendship and a rapport with the martyr who died for truth. However, soon their discussion ends as their voices and identities dissolve into oblivion. The poem offers a contrast of idealism against the stark reality of death, emphasizing that death is far more permanent than the ideals people die for.

The poem can also be interpreted as a discourse between truth and beauty that are laid beside one another in the graveyard of mind.

Structure of I Died for Beauty but was scarce:

The poem consists of 12 lines composed in three quatrains or stanzas. The poem follows a formal rhyming scheme of ABCB. Each of the four lines in all the quatrains follows a uniformly structured metrical scheme. Iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter dominate the poem. The tetrameter lines (the first and third in each stanza) have eight syllables and four feet, and the trimeter lines (the second and fourth) have six syllables and three feet. This structure offers a stress pattern of 4-3-4-3.

Dickinson used strong imagery in this poem. “Moss had reached our lips” and “covered up – our names” offer an imagery of the decaying effect of death. The two dead people buried in the same tomb are metaphors or personifications for the ideals of truth and beauty. Dickinson also used symbolism. While the ideals of truth and beauty symbolize perfection, death symbolizes failure. Dickinson used enjambment in lines 1,2, and 3 but used dashes and question marks in the other lines of the poem.

Summary of I Dies for Beauty but was scarce:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“I died for Beauty – but was scarce
Adjusted in the Tomb
When One who died for Truth was lain
In an adjoining Room –“

The poem begins with a paradoxical tone as a dead person is speaking. It appears as if the poem is about the afterlife. However, the dead person is beauty personified. Beauty is being adjusted in the tomb carefully and lovingly. However, once she is inside, she feels lonely and scarce. She noticed that she wasn’t alone, there was someone else. A man who died for Truth. He may be a martyr or a soldier who died in the war. And the speaker could be a lover or a beautiful woman. Now, after their death, they both are put in the same tomb.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“He questioned softly "Why I failed"?
"For Beauty", I replied -
"And I - for Truth - Themself are One -
We Brethren, are", He said -”

In the second stanza, the poetess opens up her metaphors. is a discourse between the one who died for beauty and the one who died for truth. Sensing the presence of beauty beside his tomb, truth enquires about her cause of death. He addresses her slowly and genuinely, understanding that he is touching on a sore topic. He speaks softly to Her. Then “beauty” gives her reply, listening to which “truth” connects himself to the cause. He calls them “brethren” as both of them had given up their lives for the fundamentals they believed in.

Dickinson used the term ‘failed’ for ‘died’. If a person fails the suggestion is that they somehow didn't quite make the grade in life, or died too young, or in suspicious circumstances. The poem appears thoroughly romantic and gothic but doesn’t appear macabre.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“And so, as Kinsmen, met a Night -
We talked between the Rooms -
Until the Moss had reached our lips -
And covered up - Our names -”

In the third stanza, the poetess continues to describe the delicate relationship between the two ideals, Truth and Beauty. They have met like kinsmen at night and talked between their rooms. Their deaths for noble causes make them spiritually akin, which enables their communication. Like a found relationship where people do not run out of things to speak, the two keep communicating. Ironically, the conversation here happens between two corpses. Both have paid the ultimate price - how heroic, how perfect - and are now entering a new phase of their lives: death.

But, this doesn’t go long for they are covered by moss. The decay ends their ability to speak. They are once again silenced by the natural cycle of life and death. The image of the moss covering the bodies’ mouths erases not only their names but their memories from the time.

Dickinson was an avid reader and she read Shakespeare and John Keats. Some scholars suggest that this particular poem ‘I Died for Beauty but Was Scarce’ is a direct response to the penultimate stanza from Shakespeare's The Phoenix and the Turtle:

“Truth may seem but cannot be;
Beauty brag but 'tis not she;
Truth and beauty buried be.”

Some other scholars suggest that Emily’s poem could be inspired by the last two lines of Keats's Ode to a Grecian Urn:

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,- that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

In any case, Dickinson’s poem agrees with both Shakespeare and Keats and depicts the truth and beauty one in same, as a company in the afterlife.

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!