New Horizon College of Engineering

NEW HORIZON COLLEGE MARATHALLI, BANGALORE (Affiliated to Bangalore University) A Recipient of Prestigious Rajyotsava State Award 2012 conferred by the Government of Karnataka

II SEM BBM, BCOM, BCA STUDY MATERIAL

ADDITIONAL ENGLISH

Prepared By

Meenakshi T

Ring Road, Bellandur Post, Near Marathalli, Bangalore - 560 103 Tel : +91-80-6629 7777 Fax : +91-80-2844 0770 E-mail : [email protected] Web : www.newhorizonindia.edu

Table of Contents

Sr. Title of the Chapter Page no. no. 1 A Horse and Two Goats 4

2 The Cow of the Barricades 6

3 Building A Wall 9

4 Mending Wall 12

5 The Berlin Wall 13

6 A Wall Is Just A Wall 21

7 11/9 Versus 9/11 22

8 A Girl 25

9 To Mother 26

10 A Ring To Me Is Bondage 27

11 The Beauty Industry 29

12 I Am An Ordinary Man 32

13 Previous Years‘ Question Papers 34-40

PART I: STORY TELLERS

1. A HORSE AND TWO GOATS R K Narayan

R K NARAYAN a literary genius is known for his extraordinary skill of finding humor in day to day life. Here he illustrates the story of an ordinary Tamilian and a foreigner who in spite of not comprehending each other‘s language still converse for long.

―Kritam‖ meaning crown in Tamil was a tiny village which housed thirty small houses and a big yellow house. Muni lived in one of these small houses lorded over a flock of forty sheep. Every morning he would drive his flock to the highway to graze while he would sit on the pedestal of the statue of a horse. He would collect some firewood for his kitchen. Now days were bad and from a flock of forty it was reduced to two skinny goats.

Muni, though old, still his mouth watered for some delicious food but his dreams could not be materialized as the shopkeeper had refused to give him anything on credit basis. Every time he approached him he would be reminded of his earlier credits and turned back and he would return with a broken heart when he thought of all the people who had seen him at the shop

Muni remembered his good old days when he had the sheep to shear and how the butcher from town would come and pamper him with all the goodies from town. Muni remembered how he had an upper hand over his wife. He was childless and people talked behind his back about the barren couple. All these hurt him a lot.

He would often think about the stories associated to the horse. It was nearly life- size, made of clay, baked, burnt and brightly colored. It stood with its legs in the air and its tail in a loop. Beside the horse stood a warrior like statue of a man who seemed to possess great strength. Muni remembered how it had looked earlier with its majestic looking brocaded back cover on its milky white body but none in the village admired it as they hardly noticed its existence. It stood untouched by the vandals of the village. Now the statue was farther as the village had moved inside.

One fine day as usual Muni was out with his goats when a vehicle stopped abruptly before him. A foreigner who was driving the vehicle stepped out and approached muni enquiring for a gas station. All of a sudden his eyes fell on the huge statue of the horse. He was amazed. Muni saw the man wearing khaki and was scared .He wanted to run but his old legs would not take him far and so decided to face the odds.

Muni who did not know English more than a yes or a no started conversing in Tamil confessing that he was unaware about the murder in the next village some time ago. A long conversation went on between Muni and the foreigner though they both did not understand what each other said. The foreigner told him about how he had come to India with his wife Ruth from New York. The foreigner felt it was Muni beside the horse and he expressed his desire to buy the statue. He was also willing to offer Muni a good price for it but poor Muni

not knowing his intention started narrating what he had known about the horse from his great grandfather. The foreigner stood on its pedestal and marvelled at its beauty its colour combinations that made it look exquisite. Muni carried by his own thoughts said the horse was believed to be the guardian of the village and would protect it from all adversaries. He said that at the end of Kali Yuga all worlds would be destroyed and the redeemer will come in the shape of a horse called Kalki and this horse will come to life and trample all bad men.

The foreigner went on to tell Muni about his plans of setting up the horse at his home in New York. He would shift all his things at home to give space to this horse that he would be taking. Muni went on to tell him about all ―avatars‖ of Vishnu and many other things. Muni asked the foreigner how many children he had but he under stood it as how much he was willing to pay for the horse. He drew his wallet and handed Muni a hundred rupee note. Muni though shocked thought it was for the skinny goats that he possessed. Finally went home thinking that he would make his wife for the deal he had struck.As he stood explaining the day‘s events he heard the bleating of the goats outside. His wife unaware of the situation senses a foul play and tells Muni that she would return to her mother‘s place rather than being a partner in the crime.

Questions:

2 Marks:

1. Where was the village of Kritam located? 2. What was Muni‘s initial opinion of the foreigner? 3. What did Muni think the foreigner wanted to buy? What did the man actually want to buy? 4. What did the foreigner plan to do with the horse?

6 Marks:

1. What is the nature of the relationship between Muni and his wife? Discuss. 2. Discuss the humourous element of the story.

10 Marks:

1. Write a character-sketch of Muni while discussing the ups and downs faced by him in his life. ______

2. THE COW OF THE BARRICADES Raja Rao

‗The Cow of the Barricades‘ written by Raja Rao portray the story of a cow that appears strangely in a village. The cow named Gauri would behave like a pet to the Master in the hermitage of the village. She would appear from nowhere on every Tuesday in the evenings just before sunset. She would walk straight to the Master and express her love for him in a very humane way. She would nibble (gesture of chewing in this case) at the hair of the Master and the Master too would caress her with profound love. He would ask her how she was. After that she would accept and chew what the Master would offer her as if she is uttering some holy words and noiselessly walk out and disappear.

This strange episode occurring every Tuesday thrilled the other villagers. They became more eager to know who she was; from where she would come and that too exactly why on every Tuesday. Gauri would be heartless to reject what the other villagers would offer her to eat and simply walk out. People would follow her in the local places like the Cotton Street, the Mango Street and the Ginning Mills and through the Weavers‘ Lines but she would not be found anywhere. They would be all surprised and would go and ask the Master who might this cow be?

The Master being a humble man would just joke that she must be his mother-in-law and the mother of someone in the crowd. And finally, they all came to a conclusion that she must be the ―vehicle‖ of the great Mother. That was how Gauri came to be celebrated as an embodiment of the Holy. And the celebration went on to a large extent. People would come and visit her from near and far and would worship and offer her. They would bring grain, hay and kumkum to honour her. People with various hopes and expectations came to worship her. The merchants came to worship her thinking the coming year they would have more money and more harvest; students would go and touch her head and tail praying for good results; young girls would come to pray for getting suitable matches for themselves; widows would pray for their lifelong purity; childless would pray for the child. And every Tuesday would be a gathering of people and procession at the Master‘s hermitage.

Gauri remained unaffected by these gestures and would just accept the offering of her master and walk out. People would take back all they got to offer her and throw it in the river. They would not take it back with them but would rather give it away.

And one morning things in that simple village turned terribly bad. The army of the Government was attempting to take over the village. The village seemed to be under attack. People were all frightened. Situation became such that no woman or child would be spared by the army of the Government. So the men in the village took their wives and children far away from the village somewhere in the fields beyond and cooked food beneath the trees and lived there. The villagers hid the clothes, vessels and jewels. The village became an unfriendly place for these villagers. The workmen and only the men with the Master remained in the

village. They called the Master the President then. The entire village was terror stricken. Men in khadi and Gandhicap would call the old and the miserly who would peep from behind the doors and take them behind the village where the others were taking shelter. The Master ordered only the young and the strong to stay in the village. For a very long period, the villagers stayed in fear and under such condition. The red men‘s army came in train after train to the village. The village roads were full of barricades and the biggest barricade was on the Suryanarayana Street. It looked like a chariot.

The men from the village who were the followers of the Master also hid themselves behind the big barricade and were determined to attack the red man‘s army. The Master tried to persuade them not to fight but all in vain. They were furious and brought picks, scythes and crowbars and a few Mohammedans brought swords and rifles too. Failing to persuade the followers, the Master resigned and went and sat meditating to save the place from bloodshed. Other villagers became very angry when they heard that the Master had resigned and left. But it was logically correct. Neither the Master nor the men could be hold wrong.

The night came when the intensity of the impending war became very high. There were signs of the impending war. Owls were hovering in the midday light, when the dusk fell the stars were hanging low and people felt that night would witness the war. Everybody remembered their holy saviour and the ―vehicle‖ of God. They wondered where she had been. At ten o‘clock the assaults began. Gauri appeared all on a sudden with big steps moving forward to Suryanarayana Street. She walked down the Oil Lane, Copper Seenayya‘s house. When people saw her they started gathering around her and walking along with her the Brahmin Street, the Cotton Street and the Venkatalakshamma well. They brought bells and rung them, lit the camphors and broke coconut at her feet. But Gauri was walking as fast as she could. From the other side the workmen who were hiding behind the big chariot like barricade in the Suryanarayana Street thought the villagers were sending the cow instead of themselves coming for help and as she was moving towards them the workmen also started falling flat on her feet. The men thought she had come to fight for them and out of honour and expectation they pushed her up the barricade. The red men‘s army saw the movement on the barricade and first took it as a flag showing agreement with the Government. Later they realised it was the cow. They even saw the tears in the eyes of Gauri which were as clear as a drop of the Ganges. Even the red men‘s army also started shouting ―Victory to the Mahatma! Mahatma Gandhi ki Jai!‖ but unfortunately the chief of the red men‘s army fired a shot and it went right through Gauri‘s head and she fell down among her worshippers. People said blood came out only from between the forelegs and the thickness of her breast though she was shot on the head.

Now there is a huge metal statue of Gauri that stands on the Suryanarayana Street where the big barricade was placed. It stands tall and stiff much unlike Gauri herself. People still offere flowers, honey and perfumed sweetmeats and the first green grass of spring. Children play in and around the statue. Hawkers sell the toys of Gauri which are bought and taken home by children visiting Gorakhpur from far and wide places.

The Master feels Gauri must be in the Middle of Heavens and waiting if India is grief- stricken again. The she will once again come to her rescue. Someone has rightly said, Mahatma knew very well that all living creatures are full of love both the speechful and the mute. Questions:

2 Marks:

1. Who was Gauri and what was her routine? 2. What made people think that Gauri is a holy cow? 3. How did life in the city change with the arrival of the army? 4. Describe the statue of Gauri that was erected after her death?

6 Marks:

1. Why did different people worship Gauri? 2. Why did the Master resign from the Presidentship and what did he do after that?

10 Marks:

1. Do you think that Gauri was the ‗vehicle of God among the lowly men‘? Substantiate your answer with appropriate examples from the text.

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PART II: A WALL IS JUST A WALL

1. BUILDING A WALL

This chapter tells about the Great Wall of China and about the phases of its construction under various kingdoms and also the legends associated with the wall. The Great Wall was enlisted as one of the World Heritage sites under UNESCO in 1987. The wall is an extension of 6700(4,163 miles) kilometres and covers various geographical areas like the deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus. It is believed that the construction on the wall started 2000 years back and now at various places one can see the ruins of this great and old fort.

The chapter is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the history of the construction of the wall. The three dynasties whose names are always associated with the construction of the wall are the Qin, Han and the Ming dynasty. It is believed that the original construction work of the wall was started by the Three Warring States Periods-Yan, Zhao and Qin as a kind of protective wall against their enemies. However, when it was built at that time it was not that long and was never a single wall. It was in bits and it was much later in the time of Qin dynasty that it got joined as the great wall. It began as independent walls for different states.

The reason why it was joined could be traced back to the time of Qin dynasty. Qin Shihuang- the king of Qin dynasty in order to drive off the Huns from invading the land joined the existing walls and that was how this fort came into existence.

The next part of the lesson deals with the construction of the wall. For the construction of this wall the local resources were used and the construction was carried out under the management of contract and responsibility system.

The construction of the wall began in the 7th and the 8th centuries. The wall stretched from east to west covering 5000 kilometres of the land when it was initially constructed to ward off the enemies. Their enemies were basically the nomadic tribes. After the Qin dynasty which actually began the construction of the wall, the Ming dynasty worked hard on the wall. There were around 18 renovations made on the wall under the Ming dynasty. In this way, the wall that was constructed in the time of the Qin dynasty was also kept in good condition through the renovations and another 1000 kilometres was also added to its length. Therefore, the length of the wall stands 6,700 kilometres.

The architecture of the Great Wall actually highlights the wisdom and the hard-working capability of the people of China. The wall provided a fortification to keep the enemies far away. Along with that the Chinese people also used their own weaponry. These included swords, spears, lances and halberds and bows and arrows. The various parts of the Wall had other protective installations like— passes,watchtowers, signal towers and moats.

The Wall became a more sophisticated means of protection in the time of the Ming dynasty. There was defence system along the wall that was also set up. There were garrison towns(towns where the army would stay and protect the people living within the periphery of China), garrison posts(posts where the soldiers can climb up and check the enemy),passes, blockhouses, additional wall structures, watchtowers and beacon towers(towers where fire can be lit to indicate that the enemy is near). All these protective structures were given different responsibilities to keep the land protected.

The administrative system at the king‘s court was well networked with these systems for protection and they would work together harmoniously in case of any danger.

The Great Wall that stands there today is 10 metres high and 5 metres wide.

Then the passage talks about the culture of the wall which is nothing but what we can understand about the people of China after looking at the wall. The Great Wall had as much been a part of their cultural life as it had been a part of their political life. Besides being a monument which witnesses the protection it had provided for long to the people of Chinese over hundreds of years, it is also a part of their legends which have passed on from one generation to the other.

The passage depicts three such legendary stories associated with the Great Wall. The first and the most remarkable is that of the woman Meng Jiangnu, second is that of the mathematician Yi Kaizhan and the third is that of King You.

Meng Jiangnu‘s story goes back to the time of Qin dynasty(221-206 BC). Her husband Fan Qiliang was caught by the federal officials of the king and was sent to build the wall. Meng Jiangnu after not hearing anything about her husband since his departure wept bitterly and went in search of her husband. By the time she reached the Wall, she came to know that her husband had died and her bitter weeping made a part of the wall collapse. This story clearly indicates that the common men of the kingdom were involved in the construction of the wall.

The second legend is about the mathematician Yi Kaizhan. This story dates back to the time of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644BC). Yi Kaizhan was a very good mathematician. He calculated that the construction of the pass Jiayuguan (a part of the Great Wall of China) would require 99,999 bricks. This he told the supervisor who was employed to construct the Jiayuguan pass. The supervisor did not believe him and told that if the construction of the Jiayuguan pass would require even one brick less or more than all the workmen involved in the construction of the pass will be punished for three years. After the completion one brick was found lying behind the Xiwong city gate. The supervisor became so happy that he reminded Yi Kaizhan of his words. But Yi Kaizahan was so intelligent that he informed the supervisor if that stone is moved the entire wall will collapse as it has been put there by some supernatural power. It is said, the stone can still be found today there at the same site.

The third legend is that of King You. This legend is also known as the legend of the Beacon Tower. This incident happened at the time of the Western Chou Dynasty (11th-6th century BC). The King had a very pretty Queen named Bao Si. But she never smiled. The King was always upset. One day an official suggested him that he can set the beacon tower on fire and then the whole crowd will get mad. If the Queen sees this, she might be happy and smile at the chaos. So the King did accordingly and exactly the Queen smiled. This was the good part of the story. The sad part of the story is that when the enemies actually attacked and King You set the Beacon Tower on fire people in the kingdom never believed him and the King was finally attacked and killed by the enemy.

There are so many things associated with the wall the tenacity, the identity of the Chinese people and now the Wall has become a means of connecting people across the borders through tourism. Questions: 2 Marks: 1. What are the factors that qualify the Great Wall of China for the title of one of the greatest wonders of the world? 2. What was the contribution of the Ming dynasty, in the construction of the wall? 3. Which class of people was involved in the construction of the wall? How do we know this?

6 Marks:

1. The Great Wall of China is symbol of the wisdom and tenacity of the Chinese people. Do you agree? Elaborate? 2. Discuss the various stories related to the Great Wall of China.

10 Marks:

1. Write whatever you have come to know about the Great Wall of China after reading the chapter and discuss how the wall is a symbol of Chinese History and mythology.

______

2. MENDING WALL Robert Frost Robert Frost the American poet who is known for his simplicity of language and good diction here in this poem speculates on the idea of building a wall to protect us from dangers but at the same time cuts us off from the rest of the world.

The poem literally says that a stone wall separates the speaker's property from his neighbor's. Every year the wall is damaged from harsh weather and hunters. He says that the gaps are so broad now that two can cross it abreast. In the spring, the two neighbors walk the wall and jointly make repairs with the stones that have fallen on either side of the wall He says that he casts a spell to make the boulders stay in its place so that they at least stay till the poet turns his back. It is like any other outdoor game. Also, the speaker sees no reason for keeping the wall because there are no cows to be contained or anything, only apple and pine trees. The apple trees will never eat the pines why then the wall?

The theme is that you won't get to know a person unless you pull down your wall or barrier .The poet insists for change and wants to put an end to the wall. The poet‘s neighbor only tells him that Good fences make good neighbours. Frost wants his readers to ponder over the question that by constructing a wall what do we ―wall in and wall out‖. The neighbour is compared to an old-stone savage for he moves in the darkness of trees and shade with boulders in his hands .The darkness also signifying ignorance. Whatever said and done the neighbour just refuses to go beyond his father‘s words and retorts back saying ―Good fences make good neighbours‖. The structure of this poem is that it is in blank verse with no stanza breaks.

One of the main literary device visible in this poem is metaphors and its presence is seen all throughout the poem from beginning to end. This stone wall symbolizes a divide between properties that puts up confinements and boundaries. This symbol develops a theme of barrier-building and segregation. The symbol of this wall also functions to develop the character of the neighbor as having an ancient and old fashioned way of thinking, which is noticeable through words such as "spells" and "elves" and an "old-stone savage".

Finally, irony is a device used effectively in this poem. The irony of the wall is that the speaker and his neighbour rebuild the wall every spring, only to have it broken again next year. Mending the wall is a pointless act because it will inevitably be damaged once again.

Questions:

2 Marks:

1. What makes the poet believe that something there is that does not love a wall? 2. Does the poet believe that the gaps have been made by hunters? Why? 3. What does the poet want to know before he builds the wall this time?

6 Marks:

1. What does the poet think about his neighbour? Does he think that his neighbour has a progressive outlook?

10 Marks:

1. Do you believe that “Good fences make good neighbours”? Discuss.

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1. A. THE BERLIN WALL

After the World War II, Germany was under the domain of the four nations namely United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union (as can be seen in the map above). With the coming of the Berlin Wall (the thick black line cutting across the map) on August 13, 1961 Germany was divided into two parts—West Berlin and East Germany (German Democratic Republic). This wall closed the border of East and West Berlin for 28 years. The wall was damaged on November 9, 1989.

The Berlin Wall symbolised the Cold War between United States, Britain, France on the one side and the Soviet Union on the other side. The only reason for building the wall was to stop

the flow of labour and the economic output associated with such a heavy flow of labour from east to West Berlin.

The wall comprised of a hinterland (area of a country that is far away from the cities) wall, electric fence, observation tower, bunker (an underground shelter where people hide to escape from bomb blasts), expanded wire fence, dog-runs (fenced in areas where dogs can run), barbed metal plating, and wall facing the enemy.

The area occupied by the German Democratic Republic (GDR henceforth) became one of the world‘s fifteen strongest industrialised nations although it was bankrupt when it started. West Germany was flourishing under the capitalist propaganda whereas East Germany was under the authoritarian governance. This made a big difference. Although East Germany was becoming one of the fifteen strongest industrialised nations, because of its strict governance many of the people looked to West Germany for political freedom and economic prosperity. Therefore, number of people moving from East Germany to West Germany kept ever increasing. However, sometimes West Berliners also visited East Germany for purchasing things at state subsidised rates. But this was very less impacting to the wide gap being created by the mass flow of people from East Germany to the West.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE WALL

That a wall will be constructed very soon could be guessed from the words of Walter Ulbricht in an international meeting. He said, ―No one intends to set up a wall‖. This was the first time the term ―Maeur‖ (Wall) was used to indicate this political barrier.

THE SCENE ON SUNDAY AUGUST 13, 1969

A 45 km construction started around the three western sectors early in the morning. East German troops sealed the boundaries. It was built by the East German troops and workers. But the direct involvement of the Soviet Union people was not there. The Wall was constructed in a very tactful way. It was built inside the East German territory. Anyone who would be standing on the other side of the wall will be still on the East German territory and would therefore never be charged for being in the West German territory. Some of the streets running along the wall were broken and blocked with obstacles like the barbed wire.

While the construction was going on the soldiers stood in front of it with orders to shoot anyone who would disturb or impact its construction. Along with the construction of the concrete wall the barrier was built up with many other things such as— chain-fences, walls, minefields, and other installations.

PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTION The only purpose of such a barrier was to stop people from moving to West Berlin from East Berlin. In addition to the above mentioned barriers certain other technical hindrances were

also kept like traps, elaborate signals, concrete shooting cells, watchtowers, anti-tank tetrahedrons, ―hedgehogs‖ and self-firing guns which killed the fugitives without the help of the border guards. The total length of the Wall is 155km (96 miles).

STRUCTURE OF THE WALL

In June 1962, a parallel wall was constructed. This was basically a fence 91 metres long. For the construction of this second wall, the houses in between were torn down and the people living in those houses were relocated. The gap between the two parallel wall constructions came to be known as the ―death strip‖. It was a no man‘s land. The death strip was made with raked gravel. This is because on such paths the footprints of the escapees could be easily visible. The area was uncovered and absolutely visible to the guards and so clear that the guards could comfortably fire. They tried to make it clearer so that no escapees could succeed. The wall was a site of repulsion. Nobody was attracted to it.

EIGHT BORDER CROSSING POINTS

Along the wall there were eight points (as can be seen from the map below) through which west Berliners, West Germans, western foreigners and Allied personnel could get into East Berlin as well as East German citizens into West Berlin. But for this it was necessary to have their permits with them. The most famous of these eight checkpoints was the Friedrichstrabe (Checkpoint Charlie). This checkpoint was not for the Allied personnel and non-German citizens.

Map of the Berlin Wall, showing checkpoint

SOCIAL & POLITICAL RESPONSES/REACTIONS

As a result of the construction of the wall many families were broken. Many East Berliners became jobless and lost their chances of improving financially.

The mayor of West Berlin Willy Brandt demonstrated against the wall with his people. He criticised the US President John F Kennedy for his speech on July 25, 1961. John F Kennedy spoke to defend the West Berliners but later nothing of that sort happened. Later the US government informed the Soviet government of East Germany that they have accepted the Wall as ―a fact of international life‖ meaning the US will not take any step against it. This was not what John F Kennedy had initially told. He said he would defend West Berliners and that any attempt to stand for the East Germans would lead to a downfall.

There were delicate attempts also made to destroy to this agenda of separating West and East Germany but despite it all the wall was prepared to put off the migration of people from one part Germany to the other.

The East Germans claimed that the wall was constructed to put off the hostility from the West Germans which sound quite illogical as all the entries were pointed inward to East German territory showing very clearly that the entry and exit are at their command rather than at the command of the West Germans. Whereas the West Germans believed that the Wall was actually nothing but a hindrance to the coming of East Germans to West Germany.

The Wall implied very important things. First, it allowed East German government to reassert its power over East Germany because now they had people under their control. Second, it proved what the West Germans believed was the tyranny of the East Germans.

ESCAPE ATTEMPTS

Richard Lovelace‘s Poem:

Neither a stone wall nor the iron bars of a cage can capture a person. Because for minds which are free in loving and whose souls are free can even make the prison a holy place. People with such hearts and minds are not less than angels and they are ever free even though physically they are in prison.

5000 successful attempts were made to escape. This was more of a kind of illegal immigration from East Berlin to West Berlin. Reports claim that around 231 people were killed while making attempts to escape.

Unsuccessful Attempts

On August 15, 1961 Conrad Schumann an East German border guard tried to escape to West Berlin by jumping the barbed wire. Around 2000 soldiers and officers from the army tried escaping during the first five years of the building of the wall.

Peter Fletcher, an 18 year old boy was shot by the border guards and he had to lie bleeding to death near the wall for 50 minutes when he tried to escape. The West Berlin police threw some bandage to him but the boy was so weak that he could not pick it up. Nobody came to help him in the fear of the Grepos (border guards of East Germany).

Peter Fechter (14 January 1944 – 17 August 1962) was a German bricklayer from Berlin in what became East Germany in 1945. He was 18 when he became one of the first victims of the Berlin Wall’s border guards while trying to cross over to what was then West Berlin.

Chris Gueffroy was the last person to be shot dead on February 6, 1989.

Siegfried Nokffe was digging a tunnel to fetch his wife and child little knowing that two houses away students were also digging a tunnel. As a result of this, the land was sinking and the East Berlin police caught it. Nokffe was shot dead and two of his helpers were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Successful Attempts:

18 fugitives were successfully transported to West Berlin in a very strange way. They were carried hidden in the car bonnets and even in the space meant for the battery and heating system.

The longest tunnel: 36 young men and 23 young women were involved in digging a tunnel 145 metre long and 12 feet deep. The tunnel was dug in the courtyard toilet of an unused bakery. The bakery was rented for 100DM (Deutsche Mark-official currency of West Germany) per month for this purpose. The sand that was dug out was transported in a trolley and a wheelbarrow through the different rooms of the bakery. It took 6 months for the tunnel to be dug out. 57 people escaped successfully. One person worked for 6 months every weekend sleeping only for two hours while working on the tunnel.

Thomas Kruger made a successful escape through Slim Z-42M on an East German military training organisation, at RAF Gatow.

Hot air balloons were made by inexperienced people and many families escaped in such balloons.

Home-built aeroplane was used by a student to escape.

Penalty for Escape Attempts:

70,000 people were sentenced between August 13 and November 9 for illegal emigration. The average penalty for it was 16 months. For people who helped such escapes the punishment was for 4 years. 800 people from 30 countries were imprisoned. Arrested members were imprisoned for 13 years.

FALL OF THE WALL

People from around the world came to protest against the wall. The wall became a cause of its own destruction. Artists, activists, freedom lovers from around the world came to protest against the wall.

Lebanese businessman Edmont Khayamat tried to cross into East Berlin carrying a huge wooden cross of 40 kilos but he was not allowed to get in and sent back.

T.N Sutzhi, an Indian was held for 5 days of interrogation for speaking on political freedom. He tried to break the wall and literally remove the stones form the wall. He was helped by a professor, a writer and a housewife.

An Egyptian student was on strike under temperatures as low as 28 degrees C. He wanted to enter East Berlin and was so arrested and sentenced jailed for 8 years. However, after 13 months in jail, the Bonn government was able to release him.

John Runnings an American citizen walked on the wall for 500 metres and 70 minutes. He knocked a piece of the wall. He was exiled after 20 hours of arrest.

Ronald Reagan in his famous speech in 1987 at the Brandenburg Gate challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to ―tear down the wall‖.

Hungary removed its border restrictions with Austria on August 23, 1989. In the month of September some 13,000 East German tourists escaped to Austria. Erich Honecker resigned on October 18, 1989 and was replaced by Egon Krenz a few days later. By this time the number of refugees leaving East Germany had increased. In order to ease the situation, Krenz decided to allow refugees to exit directly through crossing points between East Germany and West Germany including West Berlin. Private travel wa also gradually included. Gunter Schabowski the German Minister for Propaganda had the task of declaring the opening up of the wall. But he was on vacation and was not informed about this recent update. And when the note was given to him, he was not informed from which date or time the opening will be made effective. He felt it must be immediate since nothing was written on it. Therefore, he declared it was on November 9, 1989 the date on which he received the information. This declaration was heard by the Germans and they were excited and went and crowded the border checkpoints. The border guards could not resist the huge crowd and when they tried calling their superiors there was nobody who said anything on the issue. The guards finally had to give up and open the points.

As soon as the points were opened, the West Berliners welcomed the East Berliners. On that day people came to destroy the wall with sledgehammers to chip off the souvenirs and demolishing lengthy parts of the wall. These people were called ―Mauerspechte‖ (wall woodpeckers).

There were 10 new checkpoints opened on the border lines. Bulldozers were used to open up ways through the wall. However, this was misinterpreted by the media as ―dismantling the wall‖. New border crossings continued to be opened through the summer of 1990 including the most famous one at the Brandenburg Gate on December 22, 1989. Gradually the guards became lax and the demolitions of the wall and unauthorised border crossings were left unchecked.

The official dismantling of the wall began in Bemauer Straise on June 13, 1990. On July 1,1990 East Germany adopted the currency of West Germany and all the border restrictions ceased. The dismantling went on till November 1991. A few short sections and watchtowers were left standing as memorials. Finally, the German unification was officially declared on October 3, 1990. The moment was celebrated with great joy.

LEGACY

Parts of the wall have remained. An 80 metre piece near Potsdamer Platz is still standing; a longer section is there along the Spree River near Oberbaumrucke which was also named East Side Gallery and the third section in the north at Bernauer Straise was made a memorial in 1999.

The end of the wall also indicated the termination of the division of the world.

Chain fences and barbed wire of Berlin Wall

Antitank tetrahedrons

The death strip

Questions:

2 Marks:

1. What was the purpose of the Berlin Wall? Why is the Berlin Wall unique? 2. What is the ‗Death Strip‘? 3. Who were the ‗wall woodpeckers‘?

6 Marks:

1. Did the Wall stop the movement of the people from East Germany to West Germany? Give appropriate examples to support your answer. 2. ―Stone walls do not a Prison make‖ discuss it in the context of the Berlin Wall.

10 Marks:

1. The Berlin Wall contained the seeds of its own destruction. Do you agree? Give an elaborate answer. 2. Discuss the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall.

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3. B. A WALL IS JUST A WALL

Allan James Saywell The poet Alan James Say well begins the poem with a question. The question in the 1st line is not because he expects an answer to it but because he wants his readers to reflect on the thought that the Berlin wall had for some time curtailed peoples movement but could not take from them their freedom of thought and expression.Today‘s beliefs and principles can create a wall around the brain still it cannot stop the brain from thinking but there will be a revolution or a sudden physical change and force it to think beyond the wall.

The poet emphasizes the fact that a wall is just made of material, which can be broken down, or something that can be held in hand and admired but after all it is only a wall. Even if a human is tied up, a wall made around him or even if he is killed he will not stop thinking of freedom but he will imagine and find ways for it, for him a wall is just a wall. For him freedom is life.

He will express his imagination and no one can stop him from doing that. So the poet wants his readers to realize the fact that freedom of thought and expression can never be taken away from anyone in any way.

Questions:

2 Marks:

1. What happens if a wall is built around the brain? 2. What are the things that you can do with a wall according to the poet?

6 Marks:

1. Does being tied up and having a wall around a person change his opinion of a wall?

10 Marks:

1. Do you think a human can be controlled and restricted by a wall especially by an ideological wall?

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4. 11/9 VERSUS 9/11

Thomas Friedman

The two important events that led to the flattening of the world in the last 20 years are the destruction of Berlin wall on 11/9 and of the world trade centre on 9/11. One was the result of creative imagination were as the other the result of destructive imagination, when 11/9 created a more unified world and other 9/11 created an invisible concrete wall around itself of suspicion and doubt on the other nations around the world.

The removal of the Berlin wall made the world more open. It provided opportunities for individuals to grow to the heights of their potential. Hungary removed its border restrictions from Austria so now the East Berliners could come to Austria and go from there to any part of the world. So the iron curtain built by the communist rule failed to its real purpose. The world now became the open field of opportunities and the American youth could now go to different countries and the world became their oyster.

But 9/11 changed all that. Bin laden and his gang spent several years of their time to plan to kill as many innocent people as they could – all in the name of religion. Their perfect negative imagination to hit at the right spot between 98th floors of WTC resulted in its crashing down. The world appeared to close up like a shell for the Americans.

In the past, individual imagination was a big problem. It was possible for a Stalin or Hitler to twist the imagination of people. But today even the ordinary people can act big and pose a serious danger to the world order.

The stimulation of positive imagination has become very important. So we should encourage people to focus on productive outcomes, uniting the world, minimize alienation

and celebrate interdependence. We should avoid ideas of self-sufficiency and exclusion. This can be illustrated by two examples.

David Néeleman started in 1999, the Jet Blue Airlines by collecting $130 million capital. He used the services of stay at home mums and retirees to book passengers on their home computers. He used his optimistic imagination to make the world a better place. He is using part of his profits for relief funds. The other, Osama Bin Laden twisted imagination. He and his disciples raised their money to bring down the World trade centre towers using the same tool, the aeroplanes. So our problem as pointed out by Nandan Nilekeni is how to encourage more of good changes and keep at bay the bad ones.

Technology has no doubt well developed but that alone will not keep us safe. We have to find ways to affect the imagination of others who have a twisted one. So the author wants US to set an example by getting the best of their imaginations and never let their imaginations control them. The 9/11 happening could be on account of intelligence failure. But we should not imagine the worst in everyone. But Bin Laden now has to live in caves. Let him. But we need not and not fear an air journey fearing the terrorists.

The US from its inception has been a country that looks forward, not back. Since 9/11 America had to export fear more than hope. This ends up in importing everyone else‘s fears. We should therefore distinguish between precaution and extreme mistrust of all people. The author wants the US to remain the worlds dream factory and never to make the world a dark place by giving the mistrust the upper hand. They should retain the best of their imaginations but to influence others living far away in different cultures and speaking different languages is an uphill task and has its own limitations.

Listening to ones narratives, stories and myths feed the imaginations in one way or the other. This powerful tool is to be adopted and re-narrated to develop more tolerant and forward looking individuals. Others cannot do this. Every nation must do this for themselves.

Look at India there are 150 million Muslims in a vast Hindu dominated society. Sometimes communal disturbances have taken place between them. But it is not likely that they join Al Qaida to destroy the Tai Mahal as American Muslims joined hands with Al Qaida for the 9/11 disaster because they have enjoyed the secular free market democratic freedom better than any other Muslim in the world in the last 62 years.

In India Muslims have become Presidents and justices of the Supreme Court. They are Business tycoons, film stars, parliamentarians, cricket players etc. India has now become an IT giant. Information flows in seconds. It is not only the humiliation and also the pride that is dished out from people who are half a world away. So such people focus what to do next and not whom to blame next.

Questions:

2 Marks:

1. What kind of people were responsible for bringing down the Berlin Wall? 2. What is the one thing that cannot be commoditized? 3. What, according to Nandan Nilekani, do we need to learn, in order to keep the world safe.

6 Marks:

1. Who were the two people who started their own airlines? How did their imagination make them different? 2. What are the features that characterize an American? What will happen to the world if Americans lose these features? 3. Technology, the author agrees, can help us keep the world safe. But does he think that technology alone can keep the world safe?

10 Marks:

1. What is the role of imagination is changing the face of the world? Do you think that imagination is more important today than it has been in the past? Why? Use examples from the lesson to substantiate your answer. 2. The events of 11/9 (09 Nov 1989) and 9/11 (11 Sept 2001) have resulted in a world that is divided on the basis of differences even as it has brought people together in their shared concerns. Do you agree?

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PART III: A VOICE OF HER OWN 1A. GIRL Jamaica Kincaid

In this poem the poet instructs her daughter all the time how to present herself as a good girl. She would advise her daughter on how to do every little and simple job carefully and nicely so that she would never be called a bad girl. But the tone of instruction is little hurting for the daughter than informative or showing concern.

The mother seems to already accept that her daughter had become bad and notorious just like a slut. But in reality the daughter is not so. The daughter is silent and whenever she finds a scope she tells her mother that she is not like what the mother thinks. Rather she is decent and also knows how to behave in good way. All the words of the mother seem very useless to her.

The mother dispenses much practical and helpful advice that will help her daughter keep a house of her own some day. She tells her daughter how to do such household chores as laundry, sewing, ironing, cooking, setting the table, sweeping, and washing. The mother also tells the girl how to do other things she‘ll need to know about, including how to make herbal medicines and catch a fish. These words of wisdom suggest that the women live in a poor, rural setting, where passing on such advice is essential for daily living. Alongside practical advice, the mother also instructs her daughter on how to live a fulfilling life. She offers sympathy, such as when she talks about the relationships her daughter will one day have with men, warning that men and women sometimes ―bully‖ each other. She also says that there are many kinds of relationships and some never work out. The mother also tells the girl how to behave in different situations, including how to talk with people she doesn‘t like. The mother‘s advice is more a kind of injury than a help for the daughter. The mother considers the daughter a ―slut‖ who has already gone out of her control. But the daughter interjects in between. Questions: 2 Marks: 1 How many people are speaking in the chapter? 2 How many times you actually hear the voice of the other girl in the chapter. Do you think she is a bold kind od girl? 6 Marks: 1 What is the advice given by the narrator to the girl regarding men and how the younger girl should behave with them according to the narrator? 2 What is the narrator‘s advice about washing and ironing the clothes? 10 Marks: 1 Write a summary of the chapters in words of your own.

1.B. TO MOTHER Usha Navaratnaram

The present poem had been written in Kannada by the poet Usha Navaratnaram and was translated to English by the famous Indian poet A. K Ramanujan. The poem is uttered by a young girl who is seventeen years old. She does not like herself to be restricted in the traditional ways. Traditional ways often deprive girls of living their lives freely. There are too many rules and norms to be followed and that too at the cost of the happiness of the girls. For generations girls have suffered for following traditional rules and norms prevalent in society. The girl in the poem stands a protest to this restriction and utters these lines in the poem to her mother.

The voice of the seventeen year old girl is full of resistance and protest. She speaks to her mother in a bold way. She makes it very clear to her mother that she wants to walk out of the traditional ways and live a life of freedom unlike her mother had lived.

The poem begins by the protest that the daughter makes against the sari of her mother. She stops her mother to spread the sari on her and thus stop the life giving light from coming to her. The use of the sari and the act of spreading it acts as a metaphor in the poem. The sari stands for the traditional symbol of the feminine. Women draped themselves in sari to look more appealing and to project themselves as feminine. But they had to bear the difficulty of wearing it as well. The sari brought a kind of restriction of their movement as well.

The daughter restricts her mother from guiding her in the traditional ways. The daughter compares the mother as well as herself to snakes. But she is a different one. Her mother and perhaps her mother‘s mother (i.e., her grandmother) were the ones who could be kept and controlled under the commands of these rules and traditions (which is compared to the snake charmer). She is a different kind of a snake who will not care about the traditional patterns of behaviour or code of conduct. She will also spread this liberal view to others and therefore says, ―I‘ll sink my fangs into someone...‖

The speaker cannot circumbulate around the tulsi tree in the yard like her mother used to do. She would not even make rangoli designs thinking that they will see heaven once they are dead.

She wants to be loud and roaring. She has all vibrant with the urge to resist and reform the age old customs which have long imprisoned women.

Questions: 2 Marks: 1 Who is the speaker in the poem? What do you learn about the speaker? 2 What is the tune that the girl refers to?

6 Marks: 1 ‗Let go, make way‘ the girl tells her mother. What are the different ways in which the mother has restricted the girl? 2 ‗Don‘t‘ is the word that occurs throughout the poem. What is the effect created by the repetition? 10 Marks: 1 Summarise the views of the poet‘s in your own words. ***************

2. A RING TO ME IS A BONDAGE Mina Asadi

This poem talks about a poetess who is in exile. Mina Asadi is an Iranian poet, songwriter, author and journalist. She is in exile in Stockholm, Sweden. Her poems were very provocative and often discarded as vulgar. She has a strong sense of protest against the Iranian regime and is deeply affected by the Iranian Revolution which took place in 1979. She was born in March 12, 1943 in Sari, Iran. In her poems she writes about the people of Iran who lives in exile and who have forgotten their struggle as Iranians.

In the present poem, she sings of her exile and the physical distance which has isolated her in a foreign land. There is a sense of longing for her own land but she consoles herself with religious and sentimental arguments.

Time and again, she tells that she does not ―think of prayer-mats.‖ But yet she prays. She respects and elevates the Kibla but she avoids conventional attitude towards it. She says that Kibla is where happiness is. This shows that although she is in exile and isolated from her place yet she feels the place of prayer is not restricted to geographical dimensions but depends on the state of the mind. She is a little unconventional and admits that she prays on the Silk Roads. The very name Silk Roads brings to our mind an image of connectivity and also trade. In this context, it means, she prays even when she is an unconventional place. But that has its own sweetness. When she prays, she is accompanied by the sweet chirrups of the sparrows.

Then she talks about Affection. Affection or an attachment to one‘s own land, being nostalgic and home sick, is it really there in her? This is a feeling which shows her inner contradiction. She is a person who has been turned outside her land, her own country but she is still living. For her it becomes difficult to define to which land she is more attached.

But she is happy. And she has indeed no other way but to feel happy. She is alone, displaced- out of her country, far away from her people. Now her companion is her loneliness. Therefore, she states that loneliness is her happiness. She is at home in that foreign land. That

land is alien to her. Her near and dear ones are not there with her. It is a kind of isolation she is living with. Such is the condition of a person who is in a desert. The poet uses the word ―desert‖ as a metaphor. It basically stands for the inner loneliness of the poet. She can sense love within her only through the nostalgia. In other words, she yearns for her land and people and is sad. This is when she knows she has love for her own land and people.

In this alien land she is able to earn and live. She is even happy to earn five pounds and takes it to be her wealth. Even though it is very less in comparison to what she had in her own land.

She brings out her agony and anger against the people who destroy and exploit. She uses the image of the flower and the fish. She believes that a man who picks up flowers is blind because he has no mercy and love for the living, for nature. Likewise, a person who goes for fishing is like a murderer because he takes out the fish out of water which is its source of life.

She compares herself with the sea and tells how envious she is of the sea. She is very small compared to the sea. Perhaps, she feels the sea also feels the same when it sees the ocean. She envies the sea because it is vast and flows without restrictions. But her movement is restricted.

She tells that she does not understand the night. And she uses the capital letter N for night. This might mean that she does not know what is darkness. This again can be interpreted in two ways. First, she has nothing to do with things that happen in the night meaning anything negative. Second, she has wrapped herself with a powerful shield where she does not see the darker side of things and understands only the brighter side. That is why she tells, she understands the day well. Day is when everything is visible. One more reason for the use of the word ―day‖ can be the fear of light that she has. The threat of being seen and beheaded is there in her. If she goes to her land and is seen she has the danger of getting beheaded.

She encloses her world that she loves in her memory and remembrance. She loves to linger on the small things, which reminds her of her own place. That is why when she sees a small bush, she remembers her village and becomes nostalgic. She remembers her old days when she was free and there was no threat to her life. Remembering such things gives her great happiness and even a simple smile brings great joy to her.

She considers anybody having a cage as a Gaoler. Who are the people who have built a cage around her? They are her countrymen. She is jailed outside her country and now cannot go inside her own land. This might refer to the Iranian government as well.

For her the greatest hindrance lies within her. She feels all her thoughts which are not turned into action are barriers. These barriers are like walls. Thoughts like these could not be expressed and therefore are buried within her. Therefore, such thoughts trouble her.

She finally comes to tell that she feels a ring to her is bondage. Only in the last few lines she tries to justify the title of her poem. A ring stands as a metaphor for bondage to her. A ring, possibly in her case is a wedding ring is a functional item just like the prayer mat. But a ring is more imposing than a prayer mat. A ring for women is interpreted as a lifelong bondage depriving her of all her liberty and putting her to servitude.

But that does not mean that she had stopped praying. She does not follow certain norms but she has her own way of reaching God through the hundred roads in hundred gardens full of the silk tassel trees. Questions: 2 Marks: 1 What does the poet say about the Kibla? 2 Why does the poet envy the sea? 6 Marks: 1 Although the poet says her prayers daily, why does she not think of prayer mats? 2 What is the poet‘s definition of a Jailor and a murderer? 10 Marks: 1 Summarise the poet‘s views in your own words.

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3. THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY Aldous Huxley The writer is surprised to see that even the Great Depression that affected the world economy did not even slightly had any impact on the beauty industry of America. Even after the depression, the women of America spent too lavishly on maintaining their beauty. The amount of money that the beauty industry would earn would be three million pounds a week and one hundred and fifty-six million pounds a year. This sum is more than twice the sum of money that gets collected as revenue in India. The beauty industry is at par with the other kinds of business like bootlegging (making, selling or distributing illegal goods) and racketeering (scheming, playing the trick), movies or automobiles.

He wonders what the European figures of this industry would be. Possibly it is much less than in America. The writer‘s view is that Europe cannot afford to spend so much on beauty. Expenditure on beauty is equivalent to the expenditure on the maintenance of a Rolls-Royce. At the most European women must be using only soaps to wash their faces and make them appear pretty. In Europe it is through the loud advertisements on hoardings where beautiful and attractive models are used to highlight the quality of soaps promising that their use would effectively make women appear beautiful. On the other hand, these soaps might not have any such effect at all. Europe is still lagging behind in the field of beauty industry as much as it is less advanced in the manufacture of high-powered motor-cars and electric refrigerators. The

writer states that Europe is still far behind America in this case. However, it is not altogether false that every country of the world is making huge progress in beauty industry.

The reason for such a growth and investment in beauty industry is due to the prosperity of the people. Rich people always had their desire and ways of making themselves appear more beautiful. But now even the sets of people who have grown rich recently are conscious about this aspect of presenting themselves in beautiful ways. However, this single reason is not enough to justify the proliferation of beauty industry. Had it been only due to prosperity than it would have been equally affected by the economic depression every now and then like the other industries. The other reason that is responsible for the growth of the beauty industry is the change in the status of women and the consequent change in the attitude towards women.

Women have gained freedom now. This freedom is not the freedom that they want to be like men doing things which men do. But this freedom is that which made themselves free to become more attractive and good looking. They are freer than their grandmothers. They are free to look less virtuous (morally upright) than their grandmothers even though they are not. The British Matron who would be expected to be very simple without any external efforts to make herself beautiful but to be only dedicated to her work of nursing had now come out of that mindset. She depends on keeping herself more attractive than the matrons of earlier times. Such attempts to make herself appear once upon a time would have called her a ―Lost Woman‖ (a woman of low moral values). But now this brings her success rather than defame her.

But to see such changes people are also not shocked nowadays. There is no moral shock that one gets. One easily accepts the fact that the Matron needs to look beautiful. The Matron has her own desire of making herself appear good and there is no harm in beautifying one‘s body. This is more towards the Manichaean principle of evil. This principle says that there is an ongoing struggle between the good and the bad— good denoting the spiritual world and the bad denoting the material world. The human person is seen as a battleground for these powers: the soul defines the person, but it is under the influence of both light and dark. And now since we have accepted that the body has its own right (its own desire) then we can easily accept that the fact that the Matron can be beautiful. So we do not stick to the Christian ideas of forsaking the worldly for the divine. Therefore, we demand justice for things and pageants of beauty.

But how far are the women getting back what they have invested? This is a question that is difficult to answer. It is difficult to say whether the energy, time and money they have invested have given them the rewards worth their investment. If a woman looks younger than her age than it can be said that they are rewarded. The writer ironically states that old ladies are not seen anymore. He means that even aged ladies are concerned about their beauty and are now attempting to become younger. The Portrait of the Artist‘s Mother (a painting by Van Gogh) will become like The Portrait of the Artist‘s Daughter (a painting by Thomas Gainsborough). All this will be possible because of the skin foods, injections of paraffin wax,

facial surgery, mud bath etc. Ugliness is considered as a disease and beauty as healthy. In so far as making oneself beautiful is related to improvement of health it is justified. But beauty that is on the surface is of poorer quality. Existing parallel to that is the knowledge of people on the subject of health improvement. And the writer questions if the concept of beauty and health can be understood and made to function together will every woman be beautiful in the natural way i.e., without the need for surgery or chemical aid?

But this is not so. Real beauty comes with both external and internal beauty. External beauty of the woman is affected by the internal beauty. A woman is not a porcelain jar which would look beautiful no matter however much dirt is inside the jar. The inner darkness would come out on the surface because a woman is a living being and she cannot cover up what is inside her. Many women who try to be beautiful externally fail because the inner ugliness comes out however much they try to cover it.

Ugliness, the writer defines is also based on psychology of the woman. Sometimes when women behave in stupid ways or are unaware of certain things, or greedy, lustful, miserly then they can never be beautiful. Even though from the point of view of the porcelain jar, she might appear beautiful yet she is void of beauty according to the writer‘s point of view. Such was the case of two young American girls whom he met in North Africa.

Next he talks about the ―hardness‖ that comes on the faces due to over application of make- up. He gives the example of women in Paris who are used to this kind of over painting and ―wearing of masks‖. Through this they try to make their faces beautiful but the inner conflict or disturbance they go through can never be covered. The emotional disharmony that often makes the face look hard and lifeless, the writer says can often be of sexual nature.

The writer finally concludes that as long as these kinds of disharmonies exist there can be no real beauty with which women would be gifted. The external ways of making oneself appear beautiful will not be effective in any way if the soul is not touched by it. Health is also important in making one appear beautiful. In order for men and women to become beautiful one more factor needs to be taken care of. This is the social arrangements which would help men and women to stay harmoniously without any single obsession for external beauty. They should be focused on removing other negatives from their lives as well. But such an expectation can never turn to reality. Not all men and women will become beautiful. Even then we should be happy if we get mediocre outcomes. Questions: 2 Marks: 1 Which American industry is unaffected by the depression? 2 Describe the British Matron. 3 What is Huxley‘s comment about the young American girls whom he met in North Africa? 4 What, according to Huxley, is the deepest source of beauty?

5 Does Huxley believe that all men and women will be beautiful one day? Why does he think like that? 6 Marks: 1 What has happened to old ladies? What does Huxley predict for the old ladies of the future? 2 Even the most beautiful women can be ugly while even ugly women give evidence of some form of beauty. Do you agree? 10 Marks: ―The campaign for more physical beauty seems to be both a tremendous success and a lamentable failure.‖ Explain the success and the failure of the campaign.

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4. I ‘M AN ORDINARY MAN

Alan Jay Lerner

This poem is an extract from the movie ‗My Fair Lady‘, which was based on George Bernard Shaw‘s play ‗Pygmalion‘. The protagonist, Prof. Higgins also a misogynist keeps harping on the idea that all evils enter a man‘s life when a woman walks into his life. This example of a dramatic monologue was one of poet‘s best known musicals in the play.

The other character Pickering is a silent listener to the whole story. The poem begins with Higgins declaring that he is an ordinary man without any eccentricities and a life free from all problems doing whatever he thinks is best but then when a woman enters into your life you lose all peace. She starts revamping your home and repairing every soul. There is no point in going against for she is as stubborn as a wall. She executes all her plans and none of yours. She is insensitive to poetry. When you speak of Keats and Milton she speaks of love. Whenever you go to see a play or a ballet you end up searching for her gloves which she dropped somewhere. Better not come in their way or you invite eternal problems. He confesses his willingness to be drilled by a dentist than let a woman in his life. He says that he is a good natured, compassionate and a patient gentle man who would never use unpleasant language. But once a woman enters his life he forgets what patience is. She will beg for advice, listen intently but never practice it. He uses bizarre language. He says by letting her you are running into a knife and tightening a noose around your neck. He prefers spending the evening in the silence of his room and a restful atmosphere as in a tomb. He likes meditating and contemplating far away from the maddening noise in a quiet place, but than if a woman enters she brings in a never ending army of friends who just come to while away their time with loose talks. She has a large and a noisy family who enter without prior notice and a large mouthed mother whose shrill voice shatters the glass.

―Let a woman in your life‖ is the refrain of the poem and Higgins uses it repeatedly to create a negative effect among his audience. He, a male chauvinist is a self-possessed, egoistic, stubborn man who thinks that he can never be wrong. He continues hating women

and thinks he is right in doing so. His unwillingness to adopt social customs and his mistaken ideas about the opposite sex clearly proves that he is never an ordinary man who is so bent on proving himself right.

Questions:

2 Marks:

1 What does Prof. Higgins want out of life? 2 How do you think a woman will ‗overhaul‘ her husband? 3 What happens to patience, once a man lets a woman in his life?

6 Marks:

1 What are the refrains in the poem? What is the effect created by them? 2 What are Prof. Higgins‘ likes and dislikes? Write a description of Prof. Higgins, based on the poem you have just read.

10 Marks:

1 Do you think that Prof. Higgins is an ordinary man? Elaborate. ______