Methods of English Language Teaching #ELT #Unit3

          In this unit we learnt different types of method which are very much different from each other. They are as given below:

• The Grammar Translation Method
• The Direct Method
• The Audio Lingual Method
• Total Physical Response
• Suggestopedia
• The Silent Way

1.     Which method appealed you the most from the above given methods? Give Reasons.

        The most appealing method to me is the direct method. In this method non-native learner can easily learn the second language by looking at the picture or expression of a person. In this method handwriting and speech both are improved. One can easily learn English by this method. Reading and self-correcting is being done so I feel that this can work for a beginner. 


2.     Tell something about your favorite method used by your teachers from School till PG. How is their method unique?

        My favorite method up till now is the one in which first teacher use to give the basic and fundamental knowledge of the lesson is going to start so that the base of the student get strong and clear. Once the base is ready teacher can easily explain the lesson by just giving the important points and then the class interaction is conduct in order to make it more firm.


3.     Tell something about the method you didn’t like from School till PG. Give Reasons.

        In some of the methods I didn't liked are just coming in class and simply going through the lesson without any basic information. All students are not same and so all might not be having the clear idea about the topic and teacher has to keep all students in mind and teach. 

Films of Post Colonial studies: Midnight's Children and The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Midnight's Children:

          Postcolonial as the word itself shows refers to period after colonialism. Colonialism is refferd to subjugation of weak countries and nations by the strong ones. When subjugation of colonizer by the colonized comes to its end and the colonizer physically leaves, it leaves behind some social, economical and emotional traces, which then become part of the previously colonized society. Postcolonial studies or literature is the literature created after the physical departure of colonizer from the colonized territory.

          Midnight's Children is a 2012 Canadian-British film adaptation of Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel of the same name. The film was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival, and the BFI London Film Festival. The film was also a nominee for Best Picture and seven other categories at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards, winning two awards.

          Midnight's Children is the story of Saleem Sinai, the narrator, whose birth parallels the emergence of independent India. By the apt use of magical realism, he narrates his life story and relates it to the national history of India. Rushdie uses the magical realist technique to talk about the postcolonial people of India, and different postcolonial issues. Instead of using realist technique, he employs this particular technique to expose and comment on different social and political problems a newly independent country like India has to encounter.

         This piece of art is among the most famous postcolonial social, cultural, political and religious practices that were evident in India. It deals with the life of almost three generation in detail, it is set in the time when India was under British rule till the year after independence so it covers the period from occupation till independence and the following years. It gives a colonial and more particularly the postcolonial picture of India. Magic realism is the narrative style of this novel and also the flash back method.

          The magic realism narrative adds beauty and vigor to the historical events represented in the novel and movie. Many real events are told and discussed here with addition of fantasy. This movie represents different geographical boundaries of India after independence. I feel that the powers they posses represent the quality of the particular areas they belong.

          Rushdie uses religious hybridity in to symbolize the identity crisis of India at the time of independence. The religious uncertanity of the characters is also the religious uncertanity of India. The root of the problem, however, does not start with independence, but instead, trace back to Adam's return from abroad and dismissal of his traditional religion.

         The beginning and the ending frame of the movie is almost same. It begins and ends with Saleem's birthday, fire crackers and ending of 14 August and rising of 15 August our independence day.



The Reluctant Fundamentalist:

          The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a 2012 political thriller drama film based on the 2007 novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. It is a post-9/11story about the impact of the Al Qaeda attacks on one Pakistani man and his treatment by Americans in reaction to them.

          The film premiered as the opening film for the 69th Venice International Film Festival, and at the 37th Toronto International Film Festival. The film had a limited release in the United States, India, and in Europe and North America. In Pakistan, the film was released in Urdu with a changed title as Changez on 24 May 2013. The film won "Centenary Award" at the 43rd International Film Festival of India held in Goa.

          

          The plot begins with the kidnapping of Anse Rainier, an American professor at Lahore University. After which an American Journalist Bobby Lincoln, a CIA agent comes to interview the protagonist Changez Khan at small cafe in Lahore. Story start with flash back technique and we see the frame narrative technique was used in the movie. Changez Khan opens up in front of Bobby and tells about his life that how he lived in America in last one decade, and then leaved U.S. As like other he was also enchanted with the American dream. For that he struggles a lot and gets success. He becomes CEO of the company and he enjoy to being CEO. But one event of 9/11 changes his life's story completely in an unbelievable manner.  

          The concept of racism we find in the entire movie. When the American colleague of Changez Khan has been kidnapped, at that time the main suspect was Changez because he was a Muslim tutor.

          When Changez went for interview at that time Jim Mack makes fun on Changez this shows the mindset of the white people towards black people.

                “Looks are deceiving”     

          This dialogues reflects postcolonial aspect of racism. Most of the time people are judged according to their look, but looks deceives people. First when Changez has looks like American people at that time white people have no problem but when he has beard and started appearing like Muslim, it  become problematic. 

          Very first time Changez fills like an outsider in America when American police treated him as terrorist because he has beard like Muslim. In that scene we can see that there is a reflection of Changez on glass and WTC tower is blasting, which suggests the blast of an American dream of Changez. The felling of “Otherness” Changez feels in America. He becomes stranger for America because of his identity as Muslim and Pakistani.

          In this movie we find term like, racism, terrorism and post colonialism. In the movie we find deep impact of racism and colonialism in mind of white people. The same thing we find in the movie New-York also. 

          

Thiong'o, Tharoor and Films on Colonial History

Shashi Tharoor:

• Author: Shashi Tharoor
• Language: English
• Genre: History
• Publication date: March 2007
• Publisher: Aleph (India), C. Hurst & Co. (UK)

          Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India is a book by Shashi Tharoor, an Indian politician and diplomat. The book depicts the atrocities and wrongdoings that were committed in the Indian sub-continent during the British Raj. It was published in India under the title: 'An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India'.

          Tharoor made a speech over a 2015 Oxford Union debate on the topic "Does Britain owe reparations to its former colonies?" which went viral over the web. Subsequently, his publisher floted the idea to transform the speech into a book. Whilst he was initially skeptical, he later went to write a 330 page book.

          what did I learn about my country's dark history as a subject of the British Raj? These are just some of the facts that absolutely shocked me... 

• Britain destroyed India's famed textile, shipbuilding and steel industries, reducing India's GDP to 3% by the time they departed India (a sharp contrast to the early 1800s when India's share of the world economy was a whopping 23%). 
• Courtesy the heavy taxation levied upon Indians during the Raj, India was Britain's biggest source of revenue at the end of the 19th century.
• Over 74,000 Indian soldiers died fighting Britain's cause in World War 1; London's Imperial War Museum pays tribute to animals that went to war, but sacrifices by millions of Indians remain untold stories. 
• The British were not interested in educating Indians and left India with a sordid 16% literacy rate. They taught English to a handful of Indians only for the sake of interpretation. 
• The railways built by Britain in India was not for the benefit of Indians but to further their colonial cause and profit from trade. 
• One Briton discovered tea leaves in Assam, and thus spurred India's tea cultivation spree by the British, for the British. British greed for commercial gains resulted in vast forest lands to be razed down, to grow tea, coffee and timber. 
• When General Dyer, the man behind the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, ordered his soldiers to fire every bullet unannounced in the hearts of 15,000 people gathered unarmed to celebrate Baisakhi, the British rewarded him a handsome financial sum and presented him a bejeweled sword! 
• Colonialists like Thomas Pitt looted India; he took off to Britain after resigning from the post of Governor of Madras after acquiring a 400 carat gem. The 'Pitt Diamond' represented the widespread extraction of wealth by the British from India. 
• The British 'Divide and Rule' policy resulted in the Hindu-Muslim strife that eventually culminated into the Partition of India in 1947, creating a new Pakistan that Indians of Muslim faith could call home.
• British barrister Cyril Radcliffe was tasked to partition India and Pakistan within 40 days; the lines he drew across the map dissected families, homes, fields and villages.  
• Nearly 4 million Bengalis died in the Bengal famine of 1943 a.k.a. 'India's Forgotten Holocaust'. Despite this, Winston Churchill diverted food from starving Indians to well taken care of British soldiers in Greece, and blamed Indians for 'breeding like rabbits', going as far as to question 'Why hasn't Gandhi died yet?'

Then and Now: Colonialism, Imperialism and Postcolonialism

Ania Loomba:

          Ania Loomba is Catherine Bryson professor in the field of English at the  Pennsylvanian popular works are:

1. ‘Gender,Race, Renaissance Drama.

2. ‘Dead Woman Tell No Tales:Issues of     

     Female subjectivity’.

3.’Shakespeare, Race and colonialism(2002)

4.’Postcolonial studies and Beyond(2005)

    

          There are some great and influential works of Ania Loomba.

The term colonialism is so much near to the word ‘imperialism’.

          The term according to ‘OED’ it’s comes from the Roman term ‘colonia’ which means ‘farm’or ‘settlement’.It means Roman who settled in other lands but still  their deep craving for their own land.The ‘oxford English Dictionary’ defined  it as-

          “A settlement in a new country… a body of people who settle in a new locality,forming a community subject to or connected with their parent state;the community so formed , consisting of the original settlers and their descendants and successors,as long as the connection with the parent state is kept up.”

  -Ania Loomba’s colonialism/

   post colonialism (p.7)              

                                                             

          The process of colonialism/post colonialism today just remain for the land.But, it’s became much wider and wider. It’s based on language,land,race, gender ,attitude economy there are all those thing decides that one is ‘superior’ another is ‘Inferior’.And, Ania Loomba talked about the same things here.

Ania  Loomba’s views about colonialism/ post colonialism:

          Colonialism is the physical occupation of territory and post-colonialism deals with The effects of colonization on cultures and societies.In the beginning of the book, on the publication of the  ‘second Edition’ of the book peter Hulme given few lines that-

          “Colonialism/post colonialism is both a crystal-clear to read.”of book beachers who dents radical potential.It’s exactly the sort of book teachers who dents to read.”

-Peter Hulme ,Department of Literature,Film and The university.

Ania Loomba’s colonialism/post colonialism.

          In her book ‘colonialism/post colonialism’.she mainly discussed about how ‘colonialism’ relevant with the person,place or anything.This book ‘colonialism/post colonialism mainly divided in to the three Parts.

In which 1 chapter about colonialism/post colonialism,

 imperialism, Neo-colonialism,post-colonial discourse etc.

2^nd chapter relates with the ‘Identities’ about race, class, colonialism psychoanalysis, sexuality and hybridity.

3^rd chapter about  ‘challenging  colonialism’-Nationalism and Pan-Nationalism, Feminism,Nationalism, and post colonialism, can the subaltern speak?,Post-modernism, and Postcolonial studies.

And,The last chapter about ‘Globalization’ Colonialism/  post colonialism .  So,let see all some views of Ania Loomba.

 

Colonialism/Post colonialism

          As we earlier discussed “colonialism” means first world country power over second, third and fourth  world country.This process known as colonialism/post colonialism.

 Imperialism:

          The ‘OED’ defines ‘imperial’ as ‘pertaining to empire and’imperialism’ as the ‘rule of an emperor, especially when despotic or arbitrary and, this word coined by British prime minister Benjamin in Disraeli in 1870s and Joseph chamberlain supporter of the movement.

Edward Said on 'Orientalism'

• Executive Producer and Director: Sut Jhally
• Producer and Editor: Sanjay Talreja
• Assistant Editor: Jeremy Smith

          Featuring an interview with Edward Said Professor, Columbia University and author of Orientalism.

          Introduced by Sut Jhally University of Massachusetts-Amherst

          In this interview the points are mainly covered are as under:

            1)  Introduction (Montage of entertainment and news images

            2)  The Repertory of Orientalism

            3)  Orientalism and Empire

            4)  American Orientalism

            5)  Orientalism Today - The Demonization of Islam in the News and Popular Culture

            6)  Orientalism in Action - The Media & the Okiahoma City Bomb

            7)  Orientalism and The Palestinian Question       

          Edward Said's 'Orientalism' was published in 1978 and it's mainly based on the ground of assumptions and on the academic field of oriental studies. It is mainly portray East and West with the Western structuring of the orient as other. Said analyses central Western texts in order to account for the way the conception of The East was crystallized. This conception, according to Said, prepared the

ground for the political and cultural occupation of the non-Western regions by the West.

          Said's analysis in Orientalism is on the thought of Michel Foucault and especially his thoughts on the concept of discourse and the knowledge/power equation. Another influence found in Orientalism is the concept of hegemony derived from the philosophy of Antonio Gramsci. Using this terminology Said shows how Orientalism served as a system of representations which served to consolidate the West's authority and supremacy over the East, and not just to reflect or describe it.

          One of the main implications of Said's work is that even and maybe especially scholarly research about the orient is in fact deeply political in being an essential part of the imperialist mechanism of control and exploitation. Said's book became a central text of post colonialism since it seeks to expose the fundamental principles and structures of colonialism embedded within different systems of knowledge and representation.

Israel - Palestinian Issue:

          As a public intellectual, Said was a controversial member of the Palestinian National Council, because he publicly criticized Israel and the Arab countries, especially the political and cultural policies of Muslim regimes who acted against the national interests of their peoples. Said advocated the establishment of a Palestinian state to ensure equal political and human rights for the Palestinians in Israel, including the right of return to the homeland. To begin with the theory of Orientalism itself, Said proposes that throughout the history of colonialism, those coming from the colonial metropolises created discourse frameworks that set up those living in the colonies as systematically inferior individuals who were, in all cases, fictitiously painted as the binary opposites of Western colonialist. Thus, while the colonialists perceived themselves as rational, they painted the dwellers of the colonies as impulsive and irrational. While the colonialists perceived themselves as reasoned and enlightened saviors, the dwellers of the colonies were constructed as heathens. 

             

             

Thinking Activity "To The Lighthouse"

1. How can you explain that 'what' Virginia Woolf wanted to say (for example, the complexity of human relationship, the everyday battles that people are at in their relationship with near and dear ones, the struggle of a female artist against the values of middle/upper class society etc) can only be said in the way she has said?

        The narrative technique which Virginia Woolf has chosen is the best way to say what she wanted to convey. She didn't wanted to entertain people rather she wanted to tell something which make people think, think about their behavior,  their relationships, about the people leaving around them. Every human being has complexity of thoughts which can not be seen from outer appearance, to see that conflict one has to dive deep in to the mind of human being and stream of consciousness technique which helped Virginia in making this novel different and best. By using this technique she beautifully shows the inner complexity of feelings and memory towards the people with whom we live our life, and how our emotions and impressions are continuously shifts.


2. Do you agree: "The novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay"?

        Yes, I agree that the novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay. Virginia Woolf was rebellious during her age. Then even if she is putting a domestic character like Mrs. Ramsay we can say that it is for criticizing the stereotypes of woman and for that she is putting a total opposite personality Lily. By showing Mrs. Ramsay as an idea  woman Woolf tries to criticize the way society see women. In this novel Mrs. Ramsay is a way through which whole family converse with each other but we also can see that till she is alive no relations of family was healthy but after her death all problems have seems to resolve. This way it is critique of Mrs. Ramsay.

        On the other hand it is also tribute to Mrs. Ramsay, because after her death she was alive in the memory of everyone. At the end also she is the subject of Lily’s painting and when she completes her painting and she got her vision which is Mrs. Ramsay. At the end whole Ramsay family goes to the lighthouse because it was the wish of Mrs. Ramsay and family wants to fulfill it. The family also takes the gift which is made my Mrs. Ramsay to give to the people leaving on the lighthouse. So these ways the novel is also tribute to Mrs. Ramsay.


3. Considering symbolically, does the Lighthouse stand for Mrs. Ramsay or the narrator (Virginia Woolf herself who is categorically represented by Lily)?

        Yes I think at some extent lighthouse symbolically stands for Mrs. Ramsay. For whole family and guests she is the one who stands with light in her hand to show directions to the others. She suffers alone from all miseries of her self and of others also. She is constantly having inner conflicts with herself like the waves at sea-shore. But I also feel that lighthouse symbolically stands for Lily Briscoe also. As she is representing Virginia Woolf, we can say as a woman artist in Victorian age she has to suffer a lot and that suffering of standing alone, more searching and at some level guiding others to start walking on their own path, it suggests that lighthouse is symbolically stands for Lily Briscoe. As a woman artist she has to stand in against of society and that constant suffering is we can see as sea waves. So I found the symbol of lighthouse more for Lily Briscoe than Mrs. Ramsay.


4. In the article by Joseph Blotner, two myths are patterned together. Name the myths? How they are zeroed down to the symbols of 'Window' and 'Lighthouse'? How does the male phallic symbol represent feminine Mrs. Ramsay?

        The first myth which is shown here is of Rhea and Demeter. First Mrs. Ramsay is compared with Rhea. Rhea is Greek goddess, and her husband is killing all her child but he saves the Zeus somehow. We can see same with Mrs. Ramsay as she is also saving James from Mr. Ramsay. Saving in the sense of anger. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay treat James differently. Mrs. Ramsay treat James in a sense which create anger in James mind for his father, she behaves in front of James as she is trying to save him from his father. Secondly she is compared with Demeter. Demeter is a daughter of Rhea and goddess of corn and fertility. It is said that when she is in sorrow whole earth becomes barren. Demeter is more worshiped by men than women, same as men are in more need of Mrs. Ramsay than women. Every men in summer house are in need of Mrs. Ramsay in one or the other way. 

        The second myth which is described is of Oedipus, who kills his father and marry his mother. The relation between James and Mrs. Ramsay are somewhat like that. James hatred towards his father reflect the Oedipus complex in him. He always think to kill his father because he want his mother care for only him and live only with her. When Mrs. Ramsay died that place is taken by Cam but then even his feelings for his father didn't changed. When Cam also have sympathy for her father James again thought that his father has stolen her. But at the end may be this hate has been vanished because Mr. Ramsay praised James for handling boat very well and Cam thought that James got at last what he always wanted.

       At last "The Window" is symbolically female and "The Lighthouse" is symbolically male. Virginia Woolf has shown female as love and life giver while on the other hand she has shown male has hatred, violence and are fatal. In a way she wants to say that female energy is necessary to function. By Virginia Woolf the quality of giving birth by female is emphasized here over male.


5. What do you understand by the German term 'Künstlerroman'? How can you justify that 'To The Lighthouse' is 'Künstlerroman' novel? (Key: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325047/Kunstlerroman)

        Künstlerroman is a German term which can be translated as "artist novel". Basically this term means a novel where the growth of artist is shown, mainly as a painter, musician or poet. In this type of novels the biographical elements are strong, because they describe their struggle as a writer or artist. In Virginia Woolf's " To The Lighthouse" we can see the growth of poet and painter. Augustus Carmichael as poet and Lily Briscoe as painter in both the cases it is shown that how a artist struggle for one thought or feeling that can lead towards the creation or how it is hard to paint our mind on canvas. At the end of the novel both the artist have their own creation. Augustus Carmichael has his collection of poems and Lily Briscoe has her vision in painting and at the end Virginia Woolf also had her novel. So we can say that this novel is künstlrrroman novel.


6. "... the wages of obedience is death, and the daughter that reproduces mothering to perfection, including child-bearing, already has on her cheeks the pallor of death. One reminded here of various texts by Lucy Irigaray, in which she attacks mothers for being, however unwillingly, accomplices in the patriarchal system of oppression." (Viola). In light of this remark, explain briefly Lily's dilemma in 'To The Lighthouse'. 

        By these lines we can say that Lily is in dilemma because of patriarchy and the women who consciously or unconsciously accomplice with patriarchy. We can see in the novel that Lily is attracted towards the Bank but she is not showing her feelings in sense of marriage because she don't want to be like Mrs. Ramsay. She is not happy with Mrs. Ramsay because she is the one who supports patriarchy and also wants her daughter to do the same. These lines shows that by following the order one gets death  Prue. She died because she followed her mother's order and married. The reason of the Prue's death is child birth, which again is the idea of ideal or perfect woman given by Mrs. Ramsay while bringing up her daughters. In process of becoming perfect she died. This is shows Lily's dilemma, that she is seeing all these things front of her eyes but can not change the mind of women around her.


7. You have compared the 'beginning' and the 'ending' of the novel and the film adaptation of the novel directed by Colin Gregg. Do you think that the novel is more poignant than the movie? If yes, do you ascribe the fact that the power of words is much greater than that of the screen / visuals?

        Both the beginning and ending of novel and movie are different. In novel we are wandering by the mind of the characters, while movie is giving introduction to all. We can see in movie we can understand but the sharp narrative is in the novel. At the end also both differs. In novel Lily put her brush in extreme fatigue but she stays with her art, that tiredness is of giving birth to something and she is enjoying her creation by staying there. While in movie she runs in to the house, which is discomforting to me. She behaves in the movie like she doesn't care about her painting and her vision, which is totally different from novel. I am agreed that while making movie one has to add changes because the language of novel and camera differs but here in this case novel is more poignant than movie.


8. How do you interpret the last line of the novel (It was done; it was finished.
Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision.) with reference to the ending of the film (After the final stroke on the canvass with finishing touch, Lily walks inside the house. As she goes ante-chamber, the light and dark shade makes her face play hide-and-seek. She climbs stairs, puts her brush aside, walks through the dark and light to enter her room. Gently closes the door - speaks: "Closed doors, open windows" - lies on the bed and with some sort of satisfaction utters: "Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool".) 

        The last lines of novel and movie both are different. In the novel Lily's last line is "I have had my vision" and in the movie it is "Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool". So if we take reference to understand novel's last line, from my perspective, it is the realization of Lily what she actually wants. She is fool to think about being like Mrs. Ramsay, she got her vision in her painting. Now she will continue with her painting and not with the thought of being like Mrs. Ramsay.


9. What does the catalogue named as 'Army and Navy' signify? What does cutting of 'Refrigerator'  signify?

        The catalogue named "Army and Navy" signifies by its name that war and consumerism, both are connected. Virginia Woolf here may tries to criticize capitalism during her time. The refrigerator in the catalogue, which first is a symbol of modernism and accepting new technology. Refrigerator is tool of conserving the things and prevent it to change naturally. We can connect Mrs. Ramsay with refrigerator, because she also tries to preserve the feelings. She is accepting new technology but she want her daughters like her with the old mindset and stereotypes. James is cutting refrigerator, which may seen as Mrs. Ramsay is the one who is preserving James' feelings.


10. Why did Virginia give such prominence to the tale of the “Fisherman’s Wife”? In particular, why did she weave such a misogynist tale into the fabric of a book which so eloquently challenges received patriarchal notions about the roles and capabilities of women? 

        By giving place to the story like "Fisherman and His Wife" we can see that Virginia Woolf is trying to criticize here the way woman is portrayed in the story. She also wants to criticize the women who thinks these types of stereotyping real and also believe in that, that they themselves are like this only. This notion of believing herself less this is criticized here. On the other hand we can see that this particular story is subverted here. It is misogynist but the use of the story here is different. The Fisherman's wife is here connected with Mr. Ramsay and the Fisherman who is fulfilling every demand of his wife is here Mrs. Ramsay, who is also fulfilling the demands of Mr. Ramsay. So in these ways we can see the meaning of using this story is changed.


11. How is India represented in 'To The Lighthouse'? 

         The people from west have different lenses to look towards the India. In "To The Lighthouse" also there are many reference of India but all are different. At some place India to west world is like a land which is unknown to them and far away from them, so they don't have any direct connection with India. While on the other hand it is represented as a country of wealth and jewels. The jewels of India is own by western people with proud of possessing it. At some place it also becomes the land of desire, great romance, adventure and happiness. Mostly when west is attracted towards India is because of the high level of spirituality. So when Augustus Carmichael is going to India is considered as some kind of achievement. It also shows the patriarchy in India as it also refers that it is ruled by men folk. So these are the different ways in which India is represented in "To The Lighthouse".


12.   Write summaries of these articles:

(1)     Mythic Patterns in "To The Lighthouse"

         In this article two myths are been taken in consideration. The first one is of Rhea and Demeter and the second one is of Oedipus. In this article it tries to say that Mrs. Ramsay is the central character and the novel revolves around her. Here it also says that the lighthouse is also Mrs. Ramsay as she guides her family in darkness and keeps all one. She is the soul of her family and guests also feel the same for her. She is very much close to James more than father. Through the myth the writer wants to portray Mrs. Ramsay as a central character and not Lily.

(2)     Fluidity vs Masculinity: Lily's Dilemma in Woolf's "To The Lighthouse"

         In this article the writer is trying to put Lily as the central character and tries to prove the argument accordingly. Here it say that the daughters to Mrs. Ramsay are very much obedient to her and tries to walk on the path she has shown. But Lily is not doing as Mrs. Ramsay says she is thinking rationally. In this article it further tells that one of the Ramsay daughter named Prue has died due to childbirth. Here the writer wants the Lily to be in the center and story is revolving around her and not Mrs. Ramsay. This article further talks about Kunstlerroman.

(3)     'Vision' "To The Lighthouse"

         This article begins with the "Someone has blundered" and its said by Lily for Mrs. Ramsay. In this article it says that in the first part we can feel that Mrs. Ramsay is the bridge between children and father, but this article says totally opposite to it. It says that after the death of Mrs. Ramsay the father and children could come near in a real sense. It also says that Lily gets her vision for her painting which she couldn't get from the long time and her vision in the painting was also Mrs. Ramsay and James.  

Elements of Transcendentalism and Anti-Transcendentalism in "The Scarlet Letter"

          Published in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the dark romantic story of The Scarlet Letter was immediately met with success. It had made quite an impact on Europe’s literary circles, portraying Hawthorne as the first fictional writer to truly represent American perspective and experience. At the time when most novelists focused on the outside world, Hawthorne dwelled deeply in the innermost, hidden emotional and mental psyches of his characters. More than one and a half century later, The Scarlet Letter is now part of the American literary canon, invoking incessant critical reviews on its numerous and rich political, religious, scientific, and social themes. The wide range of modern themes on The Scarlet Letter includes: feminism, literary symbolism,  medicine/toxicology,  morality,  politics,  sociocultural aspects, or socio-religious topics such as Christianity and Puritanism etc.

          The Scarlet Letter contains both transcendentalist and anti-transcendentalist views and ways of life organizing around the central theme of sin. Hester’s sin is her adultery with Dimmesdale, which produces her child Pearl. Dimmesdale’s sin is his failure to publicly admit his act of adultery with Hester. And Chillingworth’s sin is his ruthless torture of Dimmesdale, despite the latter’s remorse and sufferings. The basic premises of transcendentalism depicted in the novel include beliefs in self-confidence and self-reliance, in transforming or changing for the better, in individual worth and dignity of manual labor, in innate goodness of people, in the benefits of living close to nature, and in the fact that truth is acquired through intuition, not reason nor logic.

          As discussed above, in addition to transcendentalist aspects shown primarily in Hester and Pearl, anti-transcendentalist elements are also presented in Hawthorne’s famed novel. These elements include moral corruption, guilt, hatred, revenge, etc. that are expressed prominently in the characters of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. These two characters represent aspects of anti-transcendentalism because Dimmesdale is a man of dignity and a religious Puritan minister, and Chillingworth is a rational man of high academic learning. In a way, Puritans are like anti-transcendentalists because they believe that humans are born sinners, predestined in the eyes of God.

Transcendentalism

1.     Self-confident, Self-reliant, and Dignity of Manual Labor:

        In The Scarlet Letter, it is initially determined by the local government that the typical penalty of death for adultery is mercifully reduced due to the fact that Hester’s husband may already be “at the bottom of the sea” (deceased) and she can be effectively considered a widow. As a result, Hester is condemned to stand on the scaffold for three hours at mid-day for public humiliation and wear the scarlet letter A on her chest for the remainder of her life. Although Hester is initially filled with grief and shame for being subject to ridicule and harsh judgment by the townspeople, she chooses to be self-confident and self-reliant. Instead of letting the scarlet A letter be a symbol of her shame, she selects the finest red cloth and embroiders the letter A with illuminated gold thread to celebrate her unique life, away from the relation with her fellow Puritan society. Perhaps, instead of wearing the typical scarlet letter A as a symbol of shame (Adultery), she proudly wears hers as a token love for Dimmesdale and continues to live a life undisturbed by the harsh judgment of others around her.


2.     Transformation and Innate Human Goodness:

        During the early years of her seclusion from society, Hester experiences some transforming or changing in herself. This transformation in Hester, from anger or resentment to love, is a clear display of transcendentalism. She can experience the beauty of love due to good human nature, reflecting transcendentalist ideology  because of her transformation and her innately good character, Hester never stops helping those who are destitute or sick nearby  her place. Her “human tenderness,” a prominent transcendentalist characteristic, causes the town people to begin to appreciate her charity work; they see the change in the meaning of the fiery letter A on her chest, from “Adultery” to “Able”. Hester’s decision to openly acknowledge her sin allows her to keep it from destroying her from the inside, to move on with life, to seek forgiveness, and to flourish as an “able” and caring individual in society – thereby increasing the worth of herself and her societal standing.


3.     Living Close to Nature:

        To support her infant child Pearl, Hester settles on the outskirts of town, in an abandoned cottage that is next to the seashore and surrounded by the forest to the west. Alone, she utilizes her skills in needlework to make a living and raise Pearl. She does not leave town, perhaps with a dream to reunite with her lover again someday. The woods, the seaside, and the nature surrounding Hester and Pearl are also the places where the innocent Pearl is free to express herself, to develop her free-spirit character, and to become independent like her mother. Just like Hester, Pearl is a wonder because she is independent and is not corrupted by institutional rules and laws of society.



Anti-Transcendentalism

1.     Studied the effects of sin and guilt:

        As Hester was on her punishment of adultery, Dimmesdale was feeling very much guilty but he could not accept it easily because of his power position. He knows that sin was not done by Hester but he was also as guilty as Hester and child was also his. As he was feeling guilty whenever he was also so he has also carved an A on his chest to take punishment more than Hester. Dimmesdale was loving her truly so he could not see her in pain and staying away from him with a child and managing everything by her own.


2.     Studied the evil and emptiness of life:

        We know that Chillingworth was not happy to see that Hester her wife has given birth to a child out of wed-log in his absence. He could not see that Hester was living happily with his child alone in the forest. So he tried to know the name of her lover but somehow he came to know and Chillingworth was working as a doctor in the town. Dimmesdale was not well from long time so someone suggested him to take medicine from Chillingworth. So at that time Chillingworth gave him a wrong medicine in order to take revenge from Dimmesdale. As we know that Chillingworth has lost his family and was in darkness and emptiness in life.


3.     Developed from the Puritan thoughts:

        As we know that the setting of the novel is of Puritan and this society was very much rigid in religion and with one kind of mindset. When the society came to know that Hester has created a sin at that time they gave her a punishment of adultery and she was told to wear an A letter carved on her bosom and also have to live far from the society. When she came out of the prison after giving the birth she was told to stand at the scaffold for three hours and tell the name of the father.    

        

The Old Man and The Sea

          The Old Man and The Sea, short heroic novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1952 and awarded in 1953 the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was his last major work of fiction. The story centers on an aging fisherman who engages in an epic battle to catch giant Marlin.

          The old man named Santiago has gone 84 days without catching a fish. So unfortunately Manolin is forbidden to go for fishing with Santiago and he is ordered by his parents to go with other successful fisherman, but he keeps taking care of the old man till the end. On 85 day as usual old man goes for fishing and thinks that he should go deep into the sea in order to catch fish. As some time passes he got a big fish named Marlin who was bigger than he could expect. The old man has to stay a day, a night, a day and another night has it was bringing him farther out from the shore. The Marlin possesses great strength and endurance which allows it to drag Santiago's boat for a long distance for a long time. The old man kills the Marlin after much struggle and fills relief. On his way back to home with Marlin he has to face a new problem where swarm of sharks came and started eating the body of Marlin. When he was fighting with sharks he has lost all his resources. Finally when Santiago reaches the shore at that time only the skeleton of Marlin is left. This novel is open ended and it constantly swings between hope and despair.

Characters:

• Santiago - old Cuban fisherman
• Manolin - the boy who is Santiago's friend
• The giant Marlin (symbolic)
• The Sharks (symbolic)
• The Sea (symbolic)
• Joe DiMaggio (symbolic)

1.     Can you mark a critical phase of your life.

        When I was five years old from that till now I'm faced many problems due to my dry eyes problem. Firstly I have to change my schooling from English medium to Gujarati medium in seventh standard. Next thing I faced was that I have to change my stream from Science to Arts because in Science stream the reading is more and I could not cope-up with it. During my schooling time also my parents use to read and I use listen and face the examination. When I was going through all this things in life I was not having any kind of friends or someone to whom I can share my problem with. I was having my only parents who motivated me and helped me in over coming it.

2.     Do you have any such person whom you recall in the crisis?

        Yes, I have that person to whom I recall in crisis and that person is my grandpa and my father, but my grandpa is now no more in this world.

3.     What is the importance of that person? Why?

        As I mentioned above my grandpa is more so now I share my problem and everything with my father. Whenever I share my any problem with my father he never tells me that I should do this only, but instead he tell pros and cons of it and then he leaves the decision on me. If I say that then my father is my backbone and an very important person in life. He is the only one to whom I can share my each and every thing without any fear and would not judge me. He would guide me without being angry on me.

4.     What is the importance of dream of lions in the novel?

        Santiago associates the lions with his youth. It suggests a circular nature of life. In his dreams he imagines the lions, fierce predators, playing which suggests harmony between the opposing forces - life and death, love and hate, destruction and regeneration. 

5.     Do you have any such scene or image you frequently like to visit?

6.     What is the reason of your obsession for that scene?

        No, I don't have any such image till now in my life that I would frequently visit or obsession for it. As I'm living with my parents so I have very secured, protected and dependent life. I haven't face any such type to struggle in my life.

7.     Replace the old man with yourself. How would be the approach if you fail like the old man in life?

        As I have faced many failure in my life and also sacrificed my dreams so like old man I would also not loose hope and keep on trying to prove myself with different and new ways. If needed in life then I take a break or rest but I would never give up. To reach my goal I have struggled a lot and fought with many people so I would not give up after coming so near to it. 

The Role of English in India #ELT #unit1 ending task

          

          English Language Teaching (ELT) is based on the idea that the goal of language acquisition is communicative competence. It adopts concepts, techniques and methods in classroom for recognizing and managing the communicative needs of the language learners.


1.     What is English Language for you?
        
        For me English language is not much hard. It is a first language for me as I belong to an English medium school. From the beginning I'm a learner to English language so now it's as easy for me as Gujarati language. So I believe that for me English is not a second language. 


2.     What kind of challenges you are facing and have faced while learning this language?
        
        As I'm learning English from the childhood so as such I didn't faced any major kinds of challenges.


3.     Write a brief your understanding about any one essay.

        I'm here going to share my brief understanding of the essay on "Teaching English as 'Second Language' in India" by Kapil Kapoor.

    First language:

      First language means mother  tongue .PrimarIy language  that  the child would learn. First language has an importance influence on the  second  language acquisition. First language is our identity 

    Second language:

         “A person’s second language or L2, is a language that is not the native language of the speaker, but that is used for communication with the people of another language.”

        English language is Global language. English is not our mother tongue then too its not hard to learn if proper method and teaching techniques. English is necessary thing because each and  everyone requires English because it is our working language. To survive in this modern era it is necessary to have basic knowledge of English language.  Second Language acquisition (SLA) is also closely related to  cognitive psychology , and education.  According to Kreshan ,the Acquisition of a language is naturalistic process, where as learning a language is a conscious one. In this essay writer talks about the various benefit of learning English language as it is a linking language, window to the world, language of knowledge etc. Here he also talks that regional language makes conflict while English language makes unity.

4.     According to you which position English Language should be given?

        According to me English should be given first position in ones life because its the language on glob mostly people communicate. It is also the language of work. With this language people can convey their message to the other person. There are many translation available of various books but its not that that every book is translated to each and every language so if any one wants easily access to any book or information then mostly it will be in English Language. Now a days I feel that English Language is a basic need in the era of knowledge, information and technology.

5.     How you see your future with English language?

        I see my bright future with English language because its not only the language of just for learning, but it has now become the language of necessity in this era. As this language is connected to glob I see my self connected to it.