Euphues the Anatomy of Wit and His England by John Lyly | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. John Lyly is often credited for writing the very first novel of English literature titled Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit, published on 2 December 1578. He again wrote a sequel to this didactic romance by the title Euphues and His England which was entered in the Stationer’s Register on 25 July 1579 and was published in 1580.

These were the prose romances written by John Lyly, one of the Universal Wits who were the prominent authors before the Shakespearean age.

Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit was the first work of its kind that gave shape to the Elizabethan style of the 1580s. John Lyly used an overly ornated style of writing appended by rhetoric that was taught in the Tudor grammar schools and universities during that period. The titular character of the novel is Euphues which became the root word of Euphuism, a writing style that became popular during that period. Euphuism is a style of writing in which more elaborative and ornate words are used in place of simple, easier words. Paradoxes, antithesis, elaborate similes, alliteration, rhetorical questions, and clever word rhyming make the prose more interesting. Euphuism signifies the use of paradoxical and self-correcting language, while its spokespersons express a great deal of self-doubt and contradiction.

Euphues is a Greek word that means ‘Gracefully Witty.’ Roger Ascham first used it in his work The Schoolmaster published in 1570. The Schoolmaster was a treatise on the right order of teaching and pleaded for gentleness and persuasion instead of coercion and punishment in schools. Ascham described Euphues as a student who is apt by the goodness of his wit and active by the willingness to learn. John Lyly used the name Euphues for his titular character.

Lyly’s work is based on a romantic plot but Euphues in the novel writes several letters on a variety of topics including love, morality, and education. Thus, Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit can also be considered as an epistolatory novel. John Lyly used an impressively ornate style of writing in these novels. Some of the very popular quotes from Eupheus, the Anatomy of Wit include-

“It is far more seemly to have thy Studie full of Bookes, than thy Purse full of money,” and

“Is it not far better to abhor sins by the remembrance of others' faults, than by repentance of thine own follies?”

Some quotes from Eupheus and His England are--

“The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war.”

“In misery, it is great comfort to have a companion.”

“As the best wine doth make the sharpest vinegar, so the deepest love turneth to the deadliest hate.” and,

“All is fair in love and war.”

Characters of Eupheus, the Anatomy of Wit:

Euphues is the main character of the novel. He is a student belonging to a noble family of Athens. He looks handsome and rich. He is highly intelligent and witty but he is not a good person and he often lies. Instead of making good use of his intelligence, he uses his wit to lead a life of wickedness. He is excessively obsessed with pleasure and lives like a Casanova. Philatus is a young man from Naples who is a close friend of Euphues. Philatus is a kind and intelligent person who loves a girl named Lucilla. Philatus blindly trusts Euphues but later learns that his trust in Eupheus was misplaced. Lucilla is the daughter of a wealthy nobleman in Italy. She is a beautiful but fickle-minded person. Don Ferado is the wealthy nobleman and father of Lucilla. Eubulus is an old gentleman of Athens who likes Euphues but is worried by his nature and activities. He tries to guide him to the right path by the wisdom of his experience and advises him to work on his character traits instead of devoting himself to pleasure. However, Euphues ignores his advice. Curio is another character, a young but poor man, a man of "little wealth and less wit,” whom Lucilla finally marries.

Summary of Eupheus, the Anatomy of Wit and His England:

The story of Euphues is a romantic comedy. Euphues is a young Athenian man belonging to a noble family from Athens. His family is based in England. Though he is intelligent and witty, he spent his childhood in frivolous activities. He often uses his many gifts for wrongdoings, choosing to chase hedonistic pleasure rather than uphold virtue. As a result, he has turned into a Bohemian Casanova, spending sumptuous money and ample time in chasing girls and various art forms. Euphues decides to go on travel and reaches Naples, Italy. He meets many people who try to lead him into a life of gluttony and non-productivity. Euphues is cautious about their intentions, however, and escapes their sphere of influence.

Then he meets an old man named Eubulus. The wise old man examines Euphues’s behavior and is impressed by his intelligence and wit but is saddened by Euphues' wicked use of his many gifts. He advises him, by the wisdom of his experience, to work on his character traits instead of devoting himself to pleasure. However, Euphues ignores his advice, rather, he offers witty counterarguments against this advice with various rhetorical questions and parallel structure ("this is true and that is true"). Eubulus realizes that he cannot outsmart Euphues and goes away.

After some time, Euphues meets another young and attractive man named Philatus. Euphues realizes that Philatus is a kind and intelligent man and both swear eternal friendship. Philatus believes that Euphues is a good man and a good friend and trusts him with all his heart. However, both of them are vociferously dedicated to their point of view. The two of them become very close friends. Philatus decides to introduce Euphues to his family members. He takes him to meet Lucilla who is the beautiful daughter of a wealthy and powerful nobleman named Don Ferado.

Lucilla is Philatus’s fiancee and both of them have plans to get married soon. However, when Euphues sees Lucilla, he feels that she is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. He feels a strong infatuation towards Lucilla and thinks about flirting with her. He contemplates the risks of creating this potential love triangle between him, his close friend Philatus, and Lucilla and decides to pursue her. Lucilla is a fickle-minded girl who is not convinced about her affair with Philatus. When Euphues pursues her, she readily accepts his advances. This breaks Philatus who feels betrayed by both, his friend and fiancee. However, Lucilla proves to be much more fickle than Euphues had thought. Euphues begins feeling true love for Lucilla but she leaves him for another young man named Curio, a man of ‘little wealth and less wit.’ Despite being a poor man with not so much intelligence, Lucilla decides to marry him. After the disastrous love affair between Euphues, his best friend Philautus, and Lucilla, Euphues learns about love, life, and morality. Euphues, heartbroken, goes back to Philautus with sincere apologies, then returns to England and denounces philandering and begins advocating a celibate life of prayer and study. After reaching England, Euphues writes a number of letters advising about behavior, morality, loyalty, and love.

In the second novel, Euphues and His England, Philatus forgives the treachery of Euphues and decides to visit him in England. The two friends, now reconciled, decide to visit Canterbury where they meet a young beautiful pastoral girl named Fidus. Philatus soon falls in love with Fidus but she loves someone else. Euphues now acts like a wise advisor for Philatus and tries to soothe him. Philatus listens to Euphues and decides to woo another beautiful girl and succeeds in that. He returns to Naples with his love.

Seeing Philatus happy, Euphues decides to leave England. He eulogizes England and the women of England while trying to soothe his melancholic heart as he still has not recovered from the heartbreak he suffered in Naples.

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

The Strange Case of Billy Biswas by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Strange Case of Billy Biswas is the second novel by Indian author Arun Joshi, published in 1972. The story again explores the themes of self-existentialism, alienation, morality, and individual freedom. The protagonist of the novel is Billy Biswas and his case is strange because he does not fit into the accepted norm of the 'civilized' society Billy finds himself motivated enough to rebel and break its shackles to join a world that is far removed from the everyday reality of his former world. He leaves the modern civilized world to enjoy the nascent lifestyle of tribals in the jungle. He is dragged by the mysterious world of the tribal society. The effort to bring Billy back to civilization by arresting him only leads to his tragic end. It is a metaphoric novel depicting a so-called civilized world with its hollowness against the uncivilized tribal world with its simplicity.

Characters of The Strange Case of Billy Biswas:

Billy Biswas (Bimal Biswas) is the main character of the novel. He belongs to a rich Indian Bengali family. His grandfather was the Prime Minister of a famous Princely State in Orissa. After Indian independence, his father became the ambassador to a European country and after that, he became a judge of the Supreme Court of India. Billy’s childhood was spent in Delhi. Since his childhood, he has been a lonely person with a brilliant mind and an obsessive attraction toward nature and a primitive lifestyle. He fails to connect with the modern, evolving, materialistic world and prefers to delve more into the primitive ways of living. At the age of 15, his father sends him to study in America. His father wishes him to become an engineer. However, Billy declines engineering and prefers studying Anthropology which satiates his desire to know more about primitive lifestyles. He deeply studies and researches tribal attitudes and customs. Gradually, his attraction towards primitive ways continues to increase. He suffers hallucinations and begins to develop a split personality in which he sees himself as a lonely primitive man living in an alien world. Romi Sahai (Romesh Sahai) is the narrator of the story. He is a close friend of Billy whom he met in Harlem, America. Romi shares a room with Billy in America. After returning to India, Romi becomes a Collector in Indian Administrative Services. He continues his friendship with Billy who becomes a professor of Anthropology at Delhi University. Romi tries to help Billy in every way possible. Tuula Lindgren is a 30-year-old Swedish woman who came to America for advanced training in psychiatric social work. She comes in contact with Billy and becomes his close friend. She recognizes the split personality of Billy and tries to help him against the hallucinations he suffers. She says that although every human being faces these alienating feelings and hallucinations in a very mild form, Billy feels them quite strongly. She advises him to suppress such feelings of alienation. Meena Chatterjee is a beautiful and sophisticated modern Indian girl whose father is a retired civil servant. Billy marries her but finds that Meena is much more materialistic than he could bear. While Meena truly loves Billy and tries to understand him, she fails to cope with his obsessive attraction to tribal ways of living. Rima Kaul is a young girl who praises Billy’s work in Anthropology. Billy gets attracted to her because he feels that Rima could understand him better than Meena. However, Billy realizes that Rima is sympathetic towards him yet, she can’t understand him. He begins feeling that his affair with Rima is corrupting his soul. He breaks off with her and suddenly disappears. After leaving the civilized modern society, Billy begins living in the tribal region of Stpura forests where he marries Bilasia, a tribal girl. Dhunia is a tribal man of the same tribal community where Billy lives. Billy helped Dhunia in curing his ill grandson. Situ is Romi’s wife who suffers from a chronic migraine. Billy uses tribal medicines to cure her.

Summary of The Strange Case of Billy Biswas:

Billy Biswas was a brilliant but eccentric person since his childhood. He experiences strange hallucinations since childhood that continue to gain strength as he grows old. At the age of fourteen, he went to Bhubaneswar and visited Konark. Along with his uncle’s chauffeur, he went to the tribal people. The chauffeur wanted to enjoy life, but Billy sat there and saw the tribe dance, drink, sing, and make love. Billy felt a strange familiarity with those tribal people. He felt that only tribal peoples had the answer to his questions. His father was a reputed judge of the Supreme Court of India. He had been an ambassador of a European country before. Billy’s grandfather had been a successful courtier of the princely state of Orissa. Billy’s father wishes similar social and materialistic success for his son and hence sends him to the U.S. to study and become an Engineer.

Billy comes to Harlem, America to study but instead of opting for Engineering, he opts to study anthropology. He deeply studies tribal attitudes and customs. In America, he meets Romi who came for education. Romi becomes Billy’s close friend and roommate. One day, Romi and Billy visit a music party with their friends and during the party, Billy suddenly begins beating the bongo drums. He plays a pair of bongo drums at a feverish pitch for nearly a quarter of an hour. Through his music, Romi and others feel the fascinating pull that holds everyone by its absolute vitality. It awakens latent primitive urges in the audience. Romi notices that Billy became the center of attraction for the whole party, he remains aloof and alienated as if he was alone. Billy informs him that he often has hallucinations. Romi introduces Billy to a Swedish woman named Tuula Lindgren who came to the U.S. for advanced training in psychiatric social work. Tuula is a Swedish girl yet her values are centered on the vitalizing force of their life which brings her close to Billy. She is strongly interested in India. She observes the spiritual degeneration in society objectively and knows how to encounter this utter confusion. Billy tries to come out of alienation by participating in life with Tuula and Romi. When Billy tells her about his hallucinations, she says that a great primitive force is disturbing Billy’s psyche. She says that though everyone suffers such hallucinations mildly, Billy is experiencing it at a much stronger level. Tuula advises Billy and Romi to suppress those feelings and hallucinations.

After the death of his father, Romi returns to India and becomes a Collector in Indian Administrative services. Billy too returns and becomes a professor of Anthropology at Delhi University. His family arranges his marriage with Meena Chatterjee, the sophisticated, educated, and very beautiful daughter of a retired civil servant. Meena is a beautiful woman with a caring and joyous attitude. She tries to become a dutiful loyal wife but her temperament doesn’t match with Billy’s. While Meena loves the modern materialistic life of Delhi, Billy doesn‟t find the phony, consumerism-ridden world of Delhi much different from the American materialistic society. Billy does not enjoy his role and finds it difficult to get used to the workings of his job and place. He begins going on undeclared trips and vacations to the mountains and jungles. He undertakes numerous expeditions for investigations among primitive communities in hills and forests. Despite Meena’s efforts, their marriage deteriorates. Meanwhile, Billy meets a young woman Reema Kaul who is interested in Billy’s work. Reema is highly impressed by Billy’s knowledge of anthropology. They develop an affair. Billy feels that he could get that feeling of togetherness from Reema that he couldn’t attain with Meena. However, soon he realizes that while Reema is sympathetic towards him, she doesn’t understand his inner feelings. He feels cheated and he feels that he is also cheating. This inner guilt forces him to break up his relationship with Reema.

Romi meets Billy nearly after three years and finds that Billy has completely changed. He is no more, as optimistic and energetic as he used to be as if he is suffering immensely.

Meena contacts Romi and asks for his help in resolving the issues of her marital life with Billy. However, before Romi can talk to Billy, he decides to go away and disappear. He leaves the world of civilized men and reaches the world where he is not culturally uprooted and socially self-estranged. Soon after the disappearance of Billy, an enormous search is launched by the police. But they can not discover Billy and in the end, declares that he is killed by a tiger. But Romi, who is posted as a Collector in a district of Central India, has not given up hopes of tracing him back. He continues to search for Billy.

After ten years, Romi goes on a tour of interior villages destroyed by a terrible drought. During his tour, he sees a strange man in lion-cloth and when he approaches him, Romi realizes that he is none other than Billy himself. Billy tells him about his life after his disappearance. He says that he needed to search for the true purpose of his life that he had found in the valleys of the Satpura mountains with the tribal people. He is, now, living by the side of a white cliff called Chandtola which is according to him the place of some supernatural forces. He seemed to be in secret communication with the forces of nature and knew the course of events to come.

Romi talks about Billy with other people in the area. An old man named Dhunia informs him that Billy lives with his wife Bilasaia at the foot of a nearby mountain. He says that Billy has magical powers and he helps people by curing them against various diseases. Dhunia informs how Billy cured his grandson when he was about to die. Romi meets Billy again and tells him about his wife Situ who has been suffering a chronic migraines for some time. Billy visits Romi’s wife and uses some indigenous medicines to cure her. He asks Romi not to tell anyone his whereabouts. However, Romi’s wife Situ insists that Romi must tell who was the person who cured her. Romi tells her about Billy and how he found him after ten years. Situ fails to keep the secret. She shares the information about Billy with Meena. When Meena comes to know that Billy is still alive, she again tries to bring him back. Billy’s father insists the police send a search team and bring Billy back.

However, Billy doesn’t cooperate and the local tribal people take a stand with him against the police. In that confusion, a police constable fires a shot at a tribal man but that tribal man is Bill who dies.

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 Foreigner by Arun Joshi | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Arun Joshi was an Indian English writer who won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1982 for his novel The Last Labyrinth. He was born on July 7 1939 and died in 1993. His father was the Vice Chancellor of Benaras Hindu University. His first novel was The Foreigner which was published in 1968. The novel tells the story of a young man facing problems of alienation, an identity crisis, a sense of void, and an existential dilemma. The story's protagonist is Sindi Oberoi. The story revolves around his loneliness and feelings of anguish and anxiety born of his estrangement from his environment, tradition, and true self.

The story is told in a series of flashbacks and appears highly autobiographical by the protagonist. While the main theme of the novel is alienation and existential crisis faced by the protagonist, it also highlights the difference between the Western and Eastern cultures, Marxism, socio-economic classes, and discrimination against women, and delves into the deeper discussion of nonattachment, suffering, fear of commitment, and the concept of Karma yoga.

Characters of The Foreigner:

Sindi Oberoi (Surinder) is the main character. He is a young man with a sad lonely past. Since childhood, he remained alone and uprooted from any sense of family, culture, and society. He learned from his experience that detachment from human emotions and committed social relationships is a way to avoid sadness. However, he learns that his non-commital attitude and detachment cause more harm than good and he seeks a better way of living. He is an Indian born in Kenya. His mother was an English woman while his father was an Indian businessman in Kenya. His parents passed away when he was just four years old. He was raised by one of his uncles in Kenya who too died away when he was still growing. He goes to London for his education and then he moves to Scotland to work as a librarian in a village. Later, he moved to Boston, America for further studies and to complete his Ph.D. Frank Sinatra is a Japanese girl whom he meets and befriends in London.

Anna is a minor artist working in London with whom Sindi develops an affair. Kathy is an English housewife who develops an extra-marital affair with Sindi. Baburao Khemka is an Indian student in Boston who has become a close friend of Sindi. He is the son of an overprotective Delhi tycoon. Being a young man, Babu is very interested in girls however, his father is strictly against inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. June Blyth is an American girl studying with Sindi and Babu. She befriends Babu and develops a love affair with Sindi. While June wishes to marry Sindi, he does not believe in marriage but in women hunting. He believes that marriage is ‘more often a lust for possession than anything else.’ Sindi also learns that Babu is very much interested in marrying June. He pushes June to marry Babu who is unaware of the affair between Sindi and June. Mr. Khemka is Babu’s father. He is a greedy man who is only interested in making money. Sheila is Babu’s younger sister. Karl is another American friend of Sindi and Babu. His stepmother has extra-marital relationships with other men. After his father’s death, she tries to seduce Karl and thus, Karl leaves the house. Mr. Ghosh is a worker at Mr. Khemka’s factory who continues to study and becomes an Income Tax officer. He doesn’t like Mr. Khemka’s discriminatory and abusive attitude towards lower workers and raids on his factory after becoming an income tax officer. Muthu is a common man and leader of the workers working at Mr. Khemka’s factory.

Summary of The Foreigner:

The story is narrated from Sindi’s point of view and describes the gradual evolution of Sindi Oberoi from a negative philosophy of detachment to a positive aspect. The story begins at a morgue where Sindi is called to identify the dead body of his friend Baburao Khemka who committed suicide.

Sindi is an Indian student pursuing a Ph.D in Boston, America. His father was an Indian businessman working in Kenya and his mother was an English woman. His parents died when he was only four, and he was brought up by his uncle in Kenya. He was educated in East Africa, London, and America. He was denied parental love at a very childhood age. So, he did not feel any kind of love or affection towards his parents. Sindi had felt some kind of security when his uncle was alive. But after his death, the security was destroyed. He grew up as a parentless child who missed the childhood affection and care of parents enabling the tender child to establish a meaningful relationship with the external world. To him, the memory of his parents is “the story of those strangers whose only reality was a couple of wrinkled and cracked photographs.” He grows into a wayward man and finally becomes a wanderer, alien to his own culture. He finds no longer any security and his sense of being an outsider remains to be static. This is why the novel is titled ‘The Foreigner’ because Sindi, wherever he goes, finds himself alien to others. Sindi begins feeling that emotional attachment is the main cause of people’s misery and sadness and favors detachment which leads him to his irresponsible behavior.

After the death of his uncle, he goes to London for studies. He decides to become an Engineer and joins London University. However, he finds that classroom lectures aren’t providing him the knowledge about life and his own problems. Thus, he decides to work outside the University to gain some knowledge about life in general. He begins working as a dishwasher in a local Soho Club where he meets Anna, an amateur artist. He develops an intimate relationship with Anna, however, he intends to avoid involving at an emotional level. Anna, on the other hand, wishes to have a family. Sindi realizes that getting involved with a married woman would be better as such a woman won’t ask for marriage and thus, he develops an illicit relationship with Kathy, a married woman working at the Saho club. Kathy too enjoys Sindi’s company but after some months, she begins feeling guilty about cheating on her husband and declines to continue with Sindi. Sindi fails to accept this and considers it his loss. Being raised in Western culture, Sindi feels nothing wrong or taboo about premarital or post-marital sexual relationships.

After his graduation, he leaves London and goes to Scotland where he begins working at the library of a small village. He meets the local priest of the village and discusses Christian ethics and morality with him at length. After some months, he decides to go to America to pursue his post-graduation. He gets admission to Boston University where he meets June Blyth, a young American girl studying at the same university. June and Sindi develop a love relationship but Sindi again tries to avoid emotional attachment. June wishes to marry him but he doesn’t want to commit to any such relationship. Sindi also befriends Babu Khemka, an Indian student who also loves June and wishes to marry her. June befriends Babu and Sindi feels a feeling of jealousy about this. He questions himself and wonders if he too is possessive about June. He decides to remain detached and pushes June to marry Babu while Babu is unaware of the relationship between Sindi and June. Babu is a typical Indian male who values virginity before marriage and the sanctity of marriage.

After their marriage, June becomes pregnant. Meanwhile, Babu realizes that June and Sindi were romantically involved before his marriage to June. He also notices that even after his marriage, June and Sindi have maintained their relationship to some level. This breaks Babu emotionally and he commits suicide. Sindi is heartbroken by this incident as June also blames him for the death of Babu. June and her unborn child also die during the delivery and Sindi begins questioning himself about his idea of detachment. He feels guilty and decides to go to Delhi and meet the family of Babu.

He meets Babu’s sister Shiela and her father Mr. Khemka who lives in a huge bungalow. Sindi begins working at Mr. Khemka’s factory and notices that Mr. Khemka is a greedy and corrupt businessman who treats his workers very badly. He meets. Mr. Ghosh works as a clerk at the factory. Sindi befriends Muthu, the leader of the factory workers. Sindi realizes that the poor workers of Khemka’s factory are working and living in drastic conditions while Mr. Khemka’s family enjoys a lavish lifestyle. He tries to improve the situation of workers and gains their trust. Mr. Ghosh is a bright student who prepares for administrative services and succeeds. He becomes an Income Tax officer. He decides to raid Mr. Khemka’s factory as revenge for the ill-treatment he faced as his worker. Meanwhile, Sheila develops a friendly relationship with Sindi. Sindi discusses Babu’s death with her. Shiela says that she or her father never approved of his marriage to June. She strongly opposes the idea of premarital sex and favors Indian girls who maintain their virginity till their marriages. Sindi says, “So you think one of these Marwari girls is really superior merely

because of a silly membrane between her legs?” Gradually, Sheila begins trusting Sindi.

Mr. Ghosh finds financial irregularities in Mr. Khemka’s business and Mr. Khemka is imprisoned for embezzlement. In his absence, it becomes difficult for Sheila to manage the business. She asks for Sindi’s help but Sindi begins feeling detached again and wonders if he should run away from the responsibility of managing the factory, factory workers, and Babu’s family. He decides to go away but while he prepares to go, Muthu meets him and tells him how hopeful factory workers are. They believe that Sindi will manage the factory well and will help them improve their condition too. Sindi realizes that staying and facing the problems might be a better option than running away from the responsibilities. For the first time, he feels that while detachment is important, involving in the world’s affairs too is equally important and true emancipation is in remaining detached while fulfilling all the worldly responsibilities. He realizes that this is what Karma Yoga says and this is what he must follow. He decides to stay in Delhi and help Sheila in managing the business.

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 Chimney Sweeper by William Blake | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Chimney Sweeper is the title of two separate poems by William Blake. The first of these poems was published in his collection ‘Songs of Innocence’ in 1789. In 1794, Blake published the second poem by the same title in his collection ‘Songs of Experience’.

The earlier poem is told from the perspective of a young chimney sweeper who has been sold as a child laborer by his father. He meets another young kid named Tom Dacre who is terrified by the situations at the chimney workplace. During that period, young boys from poor families in England were sold to clean chimneys at the age of four or five. They were suitable for the work because of their diminutive size. Children in this field of work were often unfed and poorly clothed.

In most cases, these children died from either falling through the chimneys or from lung damage and other horrible diseases from breathing in the soot. This poem is titled The Chimney Sweeper which primarily deals with the dream of Tom Dacre in which he and other chimney sweepers are visited by an angel who releases them from their “coffins of black” and promises them eternal bliss, but at a cost. The angel tells Tom that if “he’d be a good boy/ He’d have God for his father & never want joy.” The emphasis on their “duty” as chimney sweepers belies Tom’s naivety—he accepts an implicit social contract that dictates his servitude in exchange for the abstract promise of salvation.

The Songs of Experience contain the second poem or the second part of the same poem titled THE Chimney Sweeper. In the second poem, the child is more clear about his situation with no illusions about the exploitative situation he has been forced into.

Structure of The Chimney Sweeper:

“The Chimney Sweeper” comprises six quatrains, each following the AABB rhyme scheme, with two rhyming couplets per quatrain. The regularity of the form offers a sense of a nursery rhyme of children's fable. The poem follows anapestic and iambic meter and is written in first person narrative. The poem is set in London, during the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s.

The poem can be divided into four sections. In the first stanza, the narrator introduces himself and the misery and hardship of his life as a chimney sweep. The second stanza is Tom Dacre's arrival into the chimney sweep worker’s group, followed by shaving his head. The third, fourth, and fifth stanzas all deal with Tom Dacre's dream which has elements of pastoral poetry.

Summary of The Chimney Sweeper:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“When my mother died I was very young,

And my father sold me while yet my tongue

Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!

"So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.”

The first stanza introduces the speaker, a young boy forced by circumstances into the hazardous occupation of a chimney sweeper. The little boy recounts how his mother passed away when he was quite young. When he was young enough to not even be able to say the word "sweep," he was sold by his father to a Master Sweeper instead, and he cried constantly. The sorrowful meaning of the pun created by the word "weep" appears three times in the third line of this stanza. Like him, the majority of chimney sweeps had an accent that caused them to pronounce sweep as "weep." Since he was a little child, the youngster has been cleaning the chimney and spending the night inside his soot-covered body without cleaning it off. The poet used a 2nd-person addressee (your) that stands in for English society: in other words, those whose chimneys are swept. This choice gives the poem an accusatory tone.

Stanza 2 Lines (5-8)

“There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said,

"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."”

The speaker then introduces Tom Dacre, the hero of the poem. Tom was referred to as "Dacre" because he lived in Lady Dacre's Almshouse, which was tucked away between Buckingham Road and St. James Street. The almshouse only let in the needy among its residents, who were foundling orphans. The youngster, Tom, may have been sold to a master sweeper by a foster parent to represent him. In the same way, a lamb's back has been cut for wool, Tom cried when his head was being shaved. Then the narrator instructed Tom to stop crying and stop talking. Because there wouldn't be any chance of lice breeding in the pate or of hair catching fire, the narrator advised Tom to maintain his cool. The speaker says that now when Tom is bald, the soot cannot ruin the white color of his hair.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“And so he was quiet, and that very night,

As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!

That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack,

Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;”

The speaker succeeds in calming Tom down. He was no more weeping for this bald head after that and he fell in a deep slumber that night. During his sleep, Tom had an amazing dream that began on a depressing note. In his dream, he saw the deaths of numerous chimney sweepers by the names of Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, and the remains of these men were found within cage-like coffins constructed of dark wood.

Stanza 4 Lines 14-16

“And by came an Angel who had a bright key,

And he opened the coffins & set them all free;

Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run,

And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.”

The dream continues in the fourth stanza. The speaker further explains the dream of Tom Dacre and says that an Angel, who was carrying a shining key, came near the coffins. The Angel opened the coffins containing the bodies and set all the bodies free from the bondage of coffins. The freed little sweepers of the chimney ran down a green ground, washed in the water of a river, and dried themselves in the sunlight to give out a clean shine. This was an excellent ending for the dream that began at a gloomy note. The chimney sweepers were freed from the shackles of bondage labor, exploitation, and child labor.

Stanza 5 Lines 17-21

“Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,

They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.

And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,

He'd have God for his father & never want joy.”

The dream continues in the fifth stanza as the narrator says that as the children got rid of their shackles, they bathed in the clear shiny river. They were all naked and white, free of any soot, blackness, and dirty clothes as all their bags were left behind. The children travel through the clouds while having fun in the blowing air. The poet uses the imagery of free-floating clouds as a visual sign of liberation from the physical limitations of the body. The angel assured Tom that if he behaved well, he would have God as his father and would never be without happiness.

Stanza 6 Lines 22-24

“And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark

And got with our bags & our brushes to work.

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;

So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.”

The dream concludes in the sixth and final stanza. As Tom woke up, his dream ended abruptly. Tom and the other young sweeper lads got out of bed in the pitch black. They prepared for work by grabbing their bags for dirt and the scrubbers they needed for washing the chimney. Tom felt warm and content after having the dream, despite the chilly morning. The poet offers a suggestion in the last line; If everyone does their responsibility, they need not fear any damage.

In 1794, Blake published his other major poetic collection titled Songs of Experience which again contained a poem by the same title “THE Chimney Sweeper.” However, he capitalized all letters of the first word ‘The.’ In the same year, he published the unified version of these collections by the title Songs of Innocence and of Experience Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul. Both the poems were published in this version and they offer a contrast between the joy, freedom, and happiness that are the natural state of childhood with the oppression and exploitation of contemporary society.

While Blake offers the solace and comfort of organized religion while criticizing English society in the first poem, he attacks organized religion along with the society in this second poem. The children are still suffering in the chimneys despite their best efforts to commit to their duties. The little sweep boy is so covered in soot that he is barely recognizable. He explains that society has oppressed and exploited the natural joyfulness of his youth. He is so deteriorated and weak that there is no hope for him. Blake again wrote this poem in quatrains but it is rather short with just three stanzas (12 lines, four lines in each stanza). Blake used iambic and anapestic meter in this poem following a rhyming scheme of AABB CACA EFEF. Blake used alliteration, assonance, and imagery in the poem. This second poem can be divided into two sections. In the first section, an unspecified speaker notices a little black thing’, the little chimney sweep boy in the snow who is crying. The speaker wonders why the child is crying and asks him about his parents. The child then answers how he was trapped in the Chimney and how devastating his life has been.

Summary of THE Chimney Sweeper:

Stanza 1 Lines 1-4

“A little black thing among the snow,

Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!

"Where are thy father and mother? Say?"

"They are both gone up to the church to pray.”

The unknown speaker notices a strange black thing in the snow. This thing is a child, who has lost both his parents. He is so covered in the soot that he is unrecognizable. The poet describes the child as ‘a little black thing,’ suggesting the inhumanity of the society of that period. As the speaker asks the child about his well-being and his parents, the child cries out, that both of his parents have “gone up the church to pray”. There is no one to care for him. No parents to provide for him or an organization that cares what happens to him. Many might say they care but then do nothing to prove it.

Stanza 2 Lines 5-8

“Because I was happy upon the heath,

And smil'd among the winter's snow,

They clothed me in the clothes of death,

And taught me to sing the notes of woe.”

The child hardly had anybody to share his sorrow and when this unspecified stranger asked him about his well-being, he took a chance to express his anguish. He thinks back to his earlier days and how happy he used to be. All of this was taken from him. “They,” the church, “clothed” the child in “death” and forced him to ‘sing the notes of woe”. He was taught the darkest parts of life during a very important period in his life. He should’ve been free to be happy and joyful in nature but instead, he’s a chimney sweeper.

Stanza 3 Lines 9-12

“And because I am happy and dance and sing,

They think they have done me no injury,

And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,

Who make up a heaven of our misery."”

In the last stanza, the poet scathingly attacks the church or organized religion. The child says that the men and women who might help him, those who go to church, think he’s okay because he “dance[s] and sing[s]”. They don’t know that these things are done only to get by and sometimes to find some comfort somewhere. They think that they’ve done him “no injury”. The child speaker places the blame for his circumstances at the feet of “God and his Priest and King”. The Church, and more broadly organized religion, is at fault for his “misery”.

In the first poem (of Innocence) the poet offered organized religion as a solace against the ill conditions of the children by means of the strange vision of Tom Dacre. But in this second poem, there is no such illusion in the child’s mind. He realizes that the actual culprit for his ill-condition is the organized religion. It was the duty of the church to take good care of the orphan children but the church forced them in slavery to work in the chimneys.

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!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Fahrenheit 451 is a fictional dystopian novel by American author and dramatist Ray Bradbury published in 1953. The story depicts a future American society where free thoughts, expression, and books are outlawed. Bradbury wrote the book during the Second Red Scare period also known as the McCarthy Era when people in America suffered the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of alleged communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United States.

Bradbury was also inspired by the incidences of book burning in Nazi Germany. Bradbury claimed he wrote the book because he was concerned about the threat of Thought Control and restriction over Freedom of Speech in the United States. The novel stands against censorship and defends literature as necessary to the humanity of individuals and civilization.

In 1948, Bradbury’s short story Bright Phoenix was published that tells the story of a librarian who confronts a "Chief Censor", who burns books. In 1951, he published another short story ‘The Pedestrian’ which talked about a society in which citizens are expected to watch television as a leisurely activity. A common man, ‘The Pedestrian’ decides to go for a nighttime walk in his neighborhood and is harassed and detained by the police. Bradbury combined the elements of both short stories to write another short novel The Fireman published in 1951. He continued exploring the dystopian theme of his stories to produce his magnum opus Fahrenheit 451 published in 1953.

Characters of Fahrenheit 451:

Guy Montag is the protagonist of the novel. He is a 30-year-old married guy who works for the government as a fireman. His job is to burn books and the houses where they are illegally kept. Initially, he is a loyal fireman committed to his work. However, some instances instigate him to question the nature of his job. He begins feeling a conflict regarding his job. This inner conflict makes him feel apathy for his wife, job, and the society in which he lives. Mildred Montag (or Millie) is the wife of Guy Montag. She is addicted to sleeping pills, absorbed in the shallow dramas played on her television and seashell radio, and indifferent to the oppressive society around her. She epitomizes the shallowness and complacentness of society that Montag comes to despise. Clarisse McClellan is a teenage girl just one month short of her seventeenth birthday. Guy Montag is attracted to her because of her inquisitive nature. She is outgoing, naturally cheerful, unorthodox, and intuitive. Her classmates and teachers do not like her because she is too curious and asks ‘why’ instead of ‘how.’ She disappears without a trace and when Montag questions about her, Millie tells him that she was hit by a speeding car and her family left the place immediately after the accident. Montag doubts that Clarisse might have been assassinated. Captain Beatty is the antagonist of the novel. He is the manager of the firehouse where Montag works. He is loyal to the authorities and often lectures Montag, trying to prevent him from succumbing to the appeal of books. Professor Faber is an aging retired intellectual in a world with no place for such people, Faber greatly disapproves of the dehumanized, oppressive society in which he lives. He prefers living discretely rather than protesting or attempting to change the world. He helps Montag in clarifying his conflict regarding his job. Later on, he also helps in avoiding being caught by the Mechanical Hound. Faber escapes the atomic bomb, as he had planned to catch an early bus out of the city. Granger is the leader of a group of intellectuals living discretely who help Montag. The Old Woman is one of the victims of the firemen’s job. When Montag goes to burn her books and the house, she decides to stay within the house and burn herself to death among her treasured books. Black and Stoneman are colleaues of Guy Montag. They are devoted firemen who mindlessly follow authority. Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels are housewives and friends of Millie, sharing her interest in the television and her simplistic outlook on life.

Summary of Farenheit 451:

The novel is set in a futuristic American society in the 24^th century. Technological advancement has reached such an extent that nearly all buildings were made with fireproof materials, and firemen preventing fires were no longer necessary. The government then turned the firemen into officers of society's peace of mind: instead of putting out fires, they were charged with starting them, specifically to burn books, which were condemned as sources of confusing and depressing thoughts that complicated people's lives. The story is divided into three parts. The first part is titled ‘The Hearth and the Salamander.’ ‘Hearth’ is a place in homes where people have open fire to produce heat and prepare food. Salamander, on the other hand, is an attractive amphibian.

The novel begins as Guy Montag returns from his duty of burning a hidden collection of books. In the future, books are totally banned and firemen are those who put fire to the books and other possessions of those who keep illegal books. Montag is happy after completing his work as he feels it is a ‘pleasure to burn.’ After his duty hours, he returns home when he meets a young girl who lives in his neighborhood. She introduces herself as Clarisse McClellan and says that everybody thinks she is crazy. Montag finds her very energetic and inquisitive. He is astonished by her questions which prompts him to think and question himself. She discusses abstract issues such as happiness, satisfaction, purpose, love, and much more.

Montag tries to ignore her questions but he finds himself prompted to ponder more on these subjects. After reaching home, he finds that his wife Millie has taken an overdose of the prescribed sleeping pills. He wonders if Millie attempted suicide. He calls for emergency and health workers to visit his home to save his wife. As he tries to sleep, he begins thinking about the questions raised by Clarisse about life. He feels a certain discontent within himself. He feels disturbed by the fact that his wife who appears normal, conventional, and happy, tried to kill herself.

The next morning, he tries to ask why Mildred attempted suicide but she is not interested in any discussion. She completely declines that she took an overdose of sleeping pills. Rather she claims that she went to a wild party and woke up hungover. She ignores Montag and begins preparing for a new script she was given for a television interview. Her disenchantment frustrates Montag as he leaves for the Firehouse. On his way to work, he again meets Clarisse who begins a discussion. She further raises innocent questions that he never thought about such as, what is the taste of rain droplets and what dandelions represent. Her enthusiasm offers relief to Montag. He continues to meet Clarisse almost every day. Clarisse tells him that she is sent to therapy because she does not enjoy the normal activities of life and prefers to be outside and have conversations.

After reaching the Firehouse, he receives an alarm that an old woman has a stash of hidden literature. Montag and his two colleagues Black and Stoneman visit the old woman’s house. The woman refuses to give up her library, and the firemen break in and begin to tear the house apart. Montag warns the lady that she should move outside as they are going to burn her library. The old woman refuses to go out and opts to get burned with her loved books. Montag is startled by her adamance. He wonders why are these books so important for the lady. In the chaos, Montag steals a copy of the Bible on impulse while the old woman sets herself and her books on fire. Montag feels that perhaps the happiness he lacks can be found in books. The sight of the old woman burning to her death disturbs him deeply. After reaching home, he hides the Bible and thinks about the old woman. He asks Millie if she remembers where they met for the first time. None of them could remember their first meeting. Millie informs him about Clarisse’s death in an automobile accident.

Disturbed by the death of the old woman and by the news of Clarisse’s death, Montag decides to take a sick leave the next day and doesn’t go to work. He tells Millie that he is not willing to work as a fireman anymore. Mildred panics over the thought of not being able to afford their home and the large wall-sized televisions if he leaves the job. She then sees Montag having a book.

His senior officer Captain Beaty visits him at his home. Montag feels that Captain Beaty somehow knows about the book he took and hid from the old woman’s library as Beaty delivers a long lecture on the history of censorship, the development of mass media, the dumbing down of culture, the rise of instant gratification, and the role of firemen as society's "official censors, judges, and executors." Millie tries to point out that Montag has a book by lifting the pillow under which he had hidden the book but Montag stops him. Millie then asks Captain Beaty what will happen if a fireman himself has kept some book. Beatty says it's okay for a fireman to keep a book for 24 hours out of natural curiosity, so long as he turns it in the next day. When Beatty leaves, Montag shows Mildred twenty books, including a Bible, that he's been hiding in the house. He feels that their lives are falling apart and that the world doesn't make sense, and hopes some answers might be found in the books. Montag and Mildred try to read the books.

The second part is titled “The Sieve and the Sand.’

Millie tries to read the Bible but finds it difficult and soon gives up as she never read any book. She asks Montag to destroy the books immediately to ensure their safety. Montag then decides to take the help of an old, retired English professor, Faber, whom he had met in a park. Montag decides to visit Faber to gain more understanding about books and his recurrent thoughts. When Faber notices Montag in front of his house, he gets frightened that Montag came to burn his books at home. However, Montag shows him the Bible he stole. Montag asks him to help him in reading the book. Faber says that these are difficult times as the threat of an atomic war is impending. Faber agrees to teach him how to read and he gives Montag a seashell radio so they can communicate with one another.

When Montag returns home, he finds that two of Millie’s friends, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels are at home and the three women are watching television. Montag is disgusted by his wife and her friends. He wonders why are they not worried about the impending atomic war that may destroy the whole human civilization. Montag abruptly puts the television off and tries to entertain the women by reading a poem titled Dover Beach. However, this frightens the women and Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowels leave Millie’s house immediately. Millie too gets annoyed by Montag. Montag fears he may face consequences and decides to hide all the books he stole in his backyard. When Montag visits Firehouse for his work, he submits a book to Captain Beaty to dissuade Captain Beaty’s suspicion about him stealing the books. Captain Beaty tells him that once he too was an enthusiastic reader but soon learned how harmful books can be. He then lectures more anti-book, anti-intellectual rhetoric. The firemen are called to an alarm, and Montag is dismayed to discover that it is his own house that is to be burned. His wife Millie reported him.

The third part is titled “Burning Bright.”

This time, Captain Beaty accompanies, Montag, Black, and Stoneman. Captain Beaty orders Montag to burn his hidden books and all other possessions in each room of his house. Montag tries to use ‘The Salamander,’ the fire-throwing machine that can immediately burn his house but Captain Beaty insists that Montag must use ‘the flamethrower,’ a less powerful machine that burns slowly. This further pains Montag. After burning all his books and possessions, he confronts Captain Beaty who chides him for hiding and reading books and thus disobeying the authority. The two men get into a scuffle and Montag decides to use the flamethrower against Captain Beaty. Montag noticed that Beaty didn't oppose or try to save himself and got burned alive. Montag realized that Captain Beaty wasn’t happy with his life and wished to die and purposefully incited Montag to kill him. He decides to run away.

He takes some books and hides them at Black’s house to incriminate him and then reaches Faber’s house to get his help. Faber says that he cannot help him much because soon a Mechanical Hound will be set loose to catch Montag. He then tells him the way to escape and says that he must escape down the river where he will get some help. Montag helps Faber in getting rid of all the traces of him and then runs away to the river. A Mechanical Hound pursues him but he loses his trail as he dives and swims down the river. Meanwhile, Faber decides to run away as the atomic war is looming. He goes to St. Louis to ask a former printer he knows to print some books.

After swimming for long, Montag leaves the river. In the wild, he meets a group of former writers, clergymen, and academics by the riverbank. These are ‘drifters’, the protestors against the authority who have been outcasted. They take Montag to their leader Granger. Montag learns that they failed to save books though each of them has memorized at least one book to carry its knowledge into the future. As Montag studies with them, bombers fly overhead and drop nuclear bombs on the city. The Drifters are far enough away to survive. The next day, Granger tells them about the legendary Phoenix that rose from the ashes and muses that humans can do the same, except with the knowledge of their own mistakes to guide them. The group then begins walking towards the city to help rebuild society with their memorized wisdom.

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 Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Inheritance of Loss is the second novel by Kiran Desai that was published in 2006. The novel won the Booker Prize in 2006. In 2007, the American Literary Society National Book Critics Circle also chose the book for the Best Fiction Award. The novel touches on the sensitive theme of Colonialism and its impact on postcolonial India. The novel explores the social and cultural conflicts that emerged due to the effect of Colonialism. The novel also stresses the social, cultural, economic, and psychological impacts on the migrants. It discusses the problems of illegal migrants in the U.S. Another major theme of the novel is the civil unrest in India during the mid-1980s and highlights the ethnic and cultural demands by Gorkhas in Northeast India for independence and a separate state government. The novel also raises the issue of Multiculturalism and Miscommunication.

Characters of Inheritance of Loss:

Biju is a nineteen-year-old boy whose father is a poor cook working in India. Biju leaves India for the US for a better future. He reaches New York City as an undocumented immigrant. Isolated and insecure, Biju struggles to make ends meet and dreams of returning home. Sai is a teen orphaned girl. Her parents died in an accident. She lives with her grandfather who is a retired Judge. Jemubhai Patel is the grandfather of Sai. He belonged to a poor farmer’s family but his father saved enough money for his good education. He went to Cambridge for higher education by using the money he got as a dowry in his marriage. At Cambridge University, he suffered excessive discrimination. He returned to India and cleared the Indian Civil Service examination to become a judge. Bose is one of Jemubhai Patel’s friends from his Cambridge days. He helped Jemubhai learn the English ways and customs. Gyan is a poor college graduate of Nepalese origin. He takes an active part in the Gorkha National Liberation Front activities. Meanwhile, he also begins tutoring physics to Sai who belongs to a rich family of Gujrati origin. Sai develops a romantic attachment with Gyan. While Gyan acknowledges her love, he cruelly betrays Sai, who he believes symbolizes the class of people who oppress him. Lola is an upper-class Bengali widowed woman who lives with her sister Noni. Lola’s daughter, Pixie, works for BBC London and Lola is very proud of her because she idolizes British culture. Lola is prejudiced against poor Nepali people and adheres to a strict interpretation of class division. Noni is a middle-aged unmarried woman living with her elder sister. She used to be the tutor of Sai during her younger age. Like Lola, Noni appreciates British culture. Bomanbhai Patel is Jemu’s father-in-law. He used to be a supplier during the British Raj and made a good fortune. He idolizes British culture and marries his daughter Nimi to Jemu because he is pursuing a Cambridge education. Nimi or Bela is the dauhter of Boman and wife of Jemu. She was married to Jemu when she was fourteen years old girl. She was a simple Indian teen girl. When Jemu returns from Cambridge, she tries to develop an emotional connection with him but finds him brutal. She resists his abuses but when she realizes that he hates her for being Indian, she becomes depressed because despite her trying, she fails to assimilate into British culture. Jemu rapes her, degrades her, and then leaves her at her father’s home. Harish-Harry is the owner of an Indian cafe in the U.S. where Biju works. He is a cruel and greedy employer who exploits the poor illegal immigrants. Father Booty is a Swiss missionary who lives in Kalimpong and runs a dairy farm. He has been illegally living in India for years. The police catch him during the insurgency of the Gorkha National Liberation Front and force him to leave India. Uncle Potty is a brat son of wealthy parents who studied at Oxford. He is the nearest neighbor of Jemu. Pradham is the leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front.

Summary of The Inheritance of Loss:

The novel is set in 1986. The story begins at retired Judge Jemubhai Patel’s home called Cho Oyu who is sitting with his granddaughter in the verandah. It is a large, English-style Bungalow located outside of Kalimpong.

Armed insurgents of the Gorkha National Liberation Front attacked their home and demanded all the rifles and other valuables that Jemubhai had collected. After the robbery, Jemu sends his cook to the police station. After the initial investigation, the police accuse the poor cook of being an accomplice of the robbers. They search his hut for evidence but find nothing except some letters written by his son Biju who is working in the U.S. The cook suffers humiliation but the police get no evidence of his involvement.

Meanwhile, Biju is working at a restaurant in Manhattan. The owner of the restaurant is asked by the authorities to perform a green card check. Since Biju is an undocumented migrant, he is asked to leave the place and is forced to look for employment somewhere else. He continues getting jobs at various restaurants but nowhere he gets any job security. He continues to suffer from anxiety, ill-treatment, and discrimination.

At Kalimpong, Jemu has a flashback. He was the son of a poor farmer but was good at studies. He got a chance to go to Cambridge University for higher education but he didn’t have enough money. Jemu met Bomanbhai Patel, a businessman and supplier of goods to the British government, and asked for monetary help. Bomanbhai was impressed by Jemu’s future prospects so he suggested the marriage of Jemu with his fourteen-year-old daughter Nimi. Jemu agreed to the marriage and suggested that he would consummate the marriage after returning from England. He got enough dowry to go to England. He faces constant discrimination throughout his schooling in Cambridge and adapts himself to English speech and customs as a result. He decides to return to India and clears the Indian Civil Service examination to become a judge. He returns to India contemptuous of his native land and people. Bomanbhai sends Nimi to live with him but Jemu doesn’t like Nimi because of her Indianness. Nimi is a traditional girl with no idea of English culture. Jemu tries to teach her the English ways but he fails and then he begins to abuse her. Once she had taken the powder puff that he brought from England. As he looked for it, his family ridiculed him for using it. By the time he discovered that Nimi had taken it, he was furious, and he raped her. In the following days, he insisted that she speak English and follow English customs, which she refused to do. He took off her bangles, threw away her hair oil, and pushed her face into the Western-style toilet when he discovered her squatting on it. He then left her at their home while he went away on tour. After many years, he learned that Nimi had given birth to his son, and later on, she was probably murdered by her brother-in-law.

Bomanbhai took care of his son who went to Moscow for a job and got married there. Sai's parents were killed in a tragic bus accident in Moscow. As a result, Sai was withdrawn from a convent school and taken to live with her grandfather, Judge Patel. Judge isn’t too happy with the responsibility of Sai but he feels that God has given him a chance to correct the wrongs he did to Nimi. Sai finds a surrogate father in the cook who is very sympathetic towards her.

In the U.S. Biju begins working at the Queen of Tarts bakery where he meets a Pakistani young man Saeed. Saeed is cordial towards him and teaches him somehow to remain safe as an undocumented illegal immigrant in the U.S. Biju begins to question his prejudice against people from Pakistan and other ethnicities as they had never done anything harmful to him or to India, unlike white people. Saeed marries an American woman to get a green card and then he divorces her cordially.

Biju sends letters to his father in which he lies about his success in America. The cook sends letters to Biju, requesting him to help other young poor Nepalese to get a place in America which overwhelms Biju. Judge Jemu sends Sai to Nooni’s house for tuition. Nooni treats Sai very well and teaches her about Western culture. As Sai continues to grow, Nooni feels that she cannot teach her anymore. For her physics tutoring at age 16, the judge hires a young Nepali man named Gyan, with whom Sai becomes romantically involved.

The situation in Kalimpong continues to deteriorate due to the uprising of the Gorkha National Liberation Front. Police randomly torture civilians, GNLF members illegally take up residence on Noni and Lola's property, and shortages bring the entire community to the brink of starvation. Gyan and Sai's relationship turns sour as Gyan joins the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). To Gyan, Sai represents the oppressive social and political systems that prevent him from advancing in life. Having tutored Sai in Cho Oyu, Gyan has intimate knowledge of the mansion. He informs the GNLF of the judge's cache of weapons.

After the robbery, Gyan feels guilty but doesn’t wish to reveal his involvement in the robbery. Thus, he begins to ignore Sai. One day, Sai decides to follow him and learns that he is living in very poor conditions. When Gyan sees her, they fight bitterly. Gyan slaps her in his anger and says that he supports GNLF and he hates Sai because she belongs to the upper class. Sai retorts that he used to enjoy cheesecakes with her at her house. Gyan’s sister listens to all this and she informs Gyan’s grandmother about his involvement with GNLF. Gyan’s mother is totally against any such insurgency. Being the matriarch of the family, he asks Gyan to immediately break all ties with Pradham, the leader of GNLF, and not to attend the upcoming Indo-Nepali Treaty burning, effectively ending his involvement with the GNLF. Relieved to no longer be politically aligned, Gyan considers making up with Sai.

Meanwhile, Pradham announces that he will require one man from every family in Kalimpong. The cook doesn’t wish to join GNLF so he tries to run away. On the day of protest against the Indo-Nepal treaty, the parade turns bloody, several police officers are beheaded, and many civilians are injured. The cook barely escapes; traumatized, he returns to Cho Oyu.
At the judge’s house, a poor woman arrives, requesting the release of her husband who was wrongfully jailed for robbing his house. The woman continues to beg the judge for mercy but he blatantly refuses. Saddened and desperate, the poor woman steals Judge Patel's beloved dog, Mutt, and sells her. Upon discovering the loss of his treasured pet, the judge frantically searches the village and then brutally beats the cook, blaming him for the dog's disappearance.

Meanwhile, Biju begins working at the Gandhi Cafe owned by Harish-Harry who is a mean man. Harish-Harry invites the staff to live in the basement below the kitchen, but then pays them a quarter of minimum wage. While working there and living in strenuous conditions, Biju falls ill. He asks for advance payment for his treatment but Harish declines to help him and says that if he cannot work he must return to India. Biju is too tired and brutalized by the continuous discrimination he faces in the U.S. and decides to come back to India. He brings all his savings and expensive American goods. In India, he finds that the roads to Kalimpong have been blocked because of curfew. Unable to find any way to go back to his home, he bribes GNLF members to drive him to the village. After days of driving, the insurgents rob Biju, taking even his clothes and shoes. His leg gets injured when he tries to oppose the GNLF members who leave him on the road. On his still injured leg, Biju walks to Cho Oyu wearing nothing but a woman's nightdress. The cook and Biju reunite, both overjoyed.

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!