SCHOOL of HUMANITIES Uttarakhand Open University PROGRAMME CODE: MAEL 20
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Programme code: mael 20 SEMESTER I:PROSE & SHORT FICTION(MAEL 501) SEMESTER II: FICTION (MAEL 505) SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Uttarakhand Open University PROGRAMME CODE: MAEL 20 SEMESTER I: PROSE & SHORT FICTION (MAEL 501) SEMESTER II: FICTION (MAEL 505) SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Uttarakhand Open University Teenpani Bypass Road, Behind Transport Nagar, Haldwani- 263139 Phone No. :- 05946-261122, 261123 Toll Free No. :- 18001804025 Fax No. :- 05946-264232, E-mail :- [email protected] http://uou.ac.in Board of Studies Prof. H. P. Shukla (Chairperson) Prof. S. A. Hamid (Retd.) Director Dept. of English School of Humanities Kumaun University Uttarakhand Open University Nainital Haldwani Prof. D. R. Purohit Prof. M.R.Verma Senior Fellow Dept. of English Indian Institute of Advanced Study Gurukul Kangri University Shimla, Himanchal Pradesh Haridwar Programme Developers and Editors Dr. H. P. Shukla Dr. Suchitra Awasthi (Coordinator) Professor, Dept. of English Assistant Professor Director, School of Humanities Dept. of English Uttarakhand Open University Uttarakhand Open University Unit Writers Dr. Ratnesh Pandey Semester I: Units 1,2,3, National P G College, Barahalganj, Gorakhpur Dr. Archana Shukla Semester I: Unit 4 Government Polytechnic, Nainital Prof. H.P. Shukla Semester I: Units 4 & 5 Uttarakhand Open University Dr. Suchitra Awasthi Semester I: Unit 6 Uttarakhand Open University Mr. Rohitash Thapliyal Semester I: Unit 7 Graphic Era Hill University Semester II: Unit 1 & 2 Bhimtal Dr. Binod Mishra, IIT, Roorkie Semester II: Units 3 & 4 Dr. Veerendra Kumar Mishra Semester II: 3 & 4 IIT, Roorkie Dr. Preeti Gautam, Govt. P.G. College, Rampur Semester II: Unit 5 Edition: 2020 ISBN : 978-93-84632-13-7 Copyright: Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani Published by: Registrar, Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani Email: [email protected] Printer: CONTENTS SEMESTER I MAEL 501 BLOCK 1 Unit 1 Bacon 02-08 Unit 2 Addison and Steele 09-18 Unit 3 Charles Lamb 19-26 Unit 4 J. Krishnamurti: Education and the Significance of Life 27-45 BLOCK 2 Unit 5 Manoj Das: The Dusky Horizon 46-65 Unit 6 Galsworthy: The Apple Tree 66-75 Unit 7 Hemingway: The Snows of Kilimanjaro 76-83 SEMESTER II MAEL 505 BLOCK 1 Unit 1 Jane Austin: Emma 85-94 Unit 2 Charles Dickens: Great Expectations 95-103 BLOCK 2 Unit 3 D.H. Lawrence 104-113 Unit 4 Lawrence: Sons and Lovers 114-130 Unit 5 Forster: A Passage to India 131-147 Prose and Short Fiction/ Fiction MAEL 501/505 SEMESTER I Uttarakhand Open University 1 Prose and Short Fiction/ Fiction MAEL 501/505 UNIT 1 BACON 1.1. Introduction 1.2. Objectives 1.3. Bacon (1561-1625): An Introduction 1.4. Summary and Analysis of “Of Truth” 1.5. Summary and analysis of “Of Studies” 1.6. Summary and analysis of “Of Marriage and Single Life.” 1.7. Let Us Sum Up 1.8. References 1.9. Terminal and Model Questions Uttarakhand Open University 2 Prose and Short Fiction/ Fiction MAEL 501/505 1.1. Introduction This unit will introduce you to Sir Francis Bacon, one of the most celebrated writers of the Renaissance period. He is popularly known as the “Father of English Essays.” Francis Bacon is mainly known for his practical as well as his philosophic essays. In this unit we take up three of his essays, namely, “Of Truth”, “Of Marriage and Single Life” and “Of Studies” and, through a study of these essays, analyse Bacon as an essayist and a thinker. 1.2. Objectives After going through this essay, you will be able to know about the life and works of Sir Francis Bacon. You will also analyse his prose style and through a careful examination of his essays, understand Bacon as an essayist and a thinker. 1.3. Bacon (1561-1626): An Introduction Francis Bacon was a politician, philosopher and essayist. His father was a famous lawyer and statesman who was the Lord Keeper of the Seal. As a boy, his wit attracted the attention of Queen Elizabeth who called him jestingly “Little Lord Keeper’. He was educated in King’s college, Cambridge. He later studied law and was called to the bar in 1582. After the accession of James I in 1603, Bacon rose rapidly in fame and fortune. The same year, he became a knight and married a rich lady. He was made the Attorney General in 1613, Lord Keeper of the Seal in 1617, Lord Chancellor and Baron Verulam in 1618, and Viscount St. Albans in 1621.His nosedive decline started the same year when he was impeached on various charges of malpractice. He offered no defence, was fined heavily and was imprisoned for a few years. However, Bacon got a royal pardon in the end. He spent the remaining years of his life in scholarly pursuits and died in 1626. It is, however, as an essayist and theoretician of scientific methodology that made Bacon a renowned figure. The important works of Bacon are- (a) Advancement of Learning (1604); (b) De Sapientia Veterum – Wisdom of the Ancients (1609); (c) Novum Organum – New Method (1620); (d) The New Atlantis (1626); (e) Essays (Three editions in 1599, 1612 and 1625) Bacon’s popularity rests highly on his essays, especially his terse observation in the style of Seneca rather than the fluid meditation of Montaigne. His influence on later generations of English philosophers was laudable. Comparing Bacon with his predecessors, Hooker, Sidney, Lyly and Roger Ascham, it will be seen how widely he departs from the prolix methods of the day. In rhetorical power, musical cadence, quaint turns of speech, he is equalled by many of his contemporaries, excelled by a few but for a clear and terse writing, he has no peer save Ben Jonson, and even to-day, and his essays are models of succinct, lucid prose. No man of the age had a greater foresight than he for clear-headed, prudential considerations. Material success and services to humanity were his goals in life. These aims were sometimes in conflict; though he did his best to blend them and when the tussle came, personal considerations won the day. He had a great mind but not a great Uttarakhand Open University 3 Prose and Short Fiction/ Fiction MAEL 501/505 soul. He was too fine a man to play for self-aggrandizement only, too sagacious a thinker to truckle to the shallow heads of the day; but he was not great enough to resist temptation. He was both too great and too little to succeed in life. For this reason Alexander Pope rightly calls him “The wisest, brightest and the meanest of mankind.” 1.4. Summary and Analysis of “Of Truth” Bacon begins this essay with a statement made by Pilate, the ancient Roman Governor of Judea. He asked in a jesting manner about the nature of truth, but the fact was that he was not much interested in knowing the meaning of truth (and that is why he did not bother to find out about the truth at the trial of Jesus Christ). He was a man of sceptical frame of mind. There are people who frequently change their opinions. To them, constancy of ideas is a kind of slavery. They avoid having fixed beliefs about anything because to them it seems a type of bondage; they prefer to be totally free in thought as well as in action. The sceptics, an ancient group of philosophers, doubted the validity and truth of every belief. Though they are now dead, they have left behind some followers who are of the same frame of mind. However, these followers do not have the same vitality and vigour of the sceptics. Bacon says that it is not easy to find truth; one has to devote a lot of time and labour to discover it. Besides, once truth has been discovered, a person becomes bound to follow it. Truth then acts as a restraint upon him and he cannot now keep on changing his views and ideas. Man loves falsehood because truth is like the bright light of the day and can expose the reality of man. It brings to light the deformities and blemishes of human life whereas lies are like candlelight in which the reality is somewhat dimmed and looks more attractive than it really is. Thus people are more attracted to lies. Only those who understand truth realize the value of truth. Truth is the supreme good for human beings. The inquiry of truth may be described as the wooing of it; the knowledge of truth may be described as the presence of it, and the belief of truth may be described as the enjoying of it. The first thing that God created was light and the final thing that he created was the rational faculty which he bestowed upon man. Having completed His work of creation, God has ever since been illuminating the minds of human beings with his divine spirit. First, God breathed light upon matter or chaos. Then he breathed light into the face of man. And afterwards He has always been breathing light into the faces of those whom he chooses for his special favours. A man who practises truth is placed much higher than the rest and this peak where he stands is full of peace and tranquillity and from here he can survey the errors and follies of men as they go through their trials but this survey should fill the watcher with pity and not with pride. The essence of heavenly life on this earth lies in the constant love of charity, an unshakable trust in God, and steady allegiance to truth. Truth is important not only in theological and philosophical fields, but also in day-to-day life.