APPRECIATING FICTION

(ENG4B05)

STUDY MATERIAL
CORE COURSE

IV SEMESTER

B.A. ENGLISH
(2019 Admission)

UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT
SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
CALICUT UNIVERSITY P.O.
MALAPPURAM - 673 635, KERALA

19011
School of Distance Education
University of Calicut
STUDY MATERIAL
IV SEMESTER
B.A. ENGLISH
(2019 Admission)
Core Course
ENG4B05 : APPRECIATING FICTION

Prepared by:
Dr. ARUNLAL K.
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Government College, Mokeri.

Scrutinized by:
Dr. SUNITHA SRINIVAS C.
Associate Professor
Department of English
Government College, Mokeri.

DISCLAIMER

"The author(s) shall be solely responsible

for the content and views
expressed in this book".

Printed @ Calicut University Press

 CONTENTS

1 Module: 1 1-9

2 Module: 2 10 - 34

3 Module: 3 35 - 41

4 Module: 4 42 - 44
Introduction

The course aims to instil in the learners, a love of

fiction, to stimulate their imagination and to foster intercultural
dialogue.

Syllabus
Module 1.
What is fiction - Plot - character - Atmosphere - Narrative
Technique - Points of View - Difference between long and
short fiction - Different types of fiction.

Module 2.
O Henry: The Cactus
Maxim Gorky: Her Lover
James Joyce : Eveline
Ray Bradbury: Sound of Thunder
Sally Morgan: The Letter
Arun Joshi: The Homecoming
Ken Liu: The Paper Menagerie

Module 3.
George Orwell: Animal Farm

Module 4.
Film: Moby Dick: dir John Huston
 ENG4B05 : Appreciating Fiction

Module 1
Introduction
This section introduces various aspects of fiction. Reading
fiction usually requires no prior preparation. In fact it is
understood that fiction enjoys its mass-appeal because it serves
the interests of leisure of the literate class of the society. This
module tries to take the reading of fiction beyond the interests
of leisure; fiction being also a way of understanding human
social and spiritual life in comprehensive dimensions.
Appreciating fiction in such a dimension however requires us
to familiarize with a special vocabulary, a toolkit to open up
the concealed pathways.
What is fiction
In very banal terms, fiction is literature in the form of prose,
especially novels, that describes imaginary events and people.
But its matter-of-fact approach subverts the poignant reasons
why readers choose to lose themselves in works of fiction.
Perhaps the question "what is fiction?" means more than what
meets the eye. To answer that question in a fuller manner we
should perhaps also investigate what the need for writing
fiction is. Lady Murasaki, an eleventh century Japanese
novelist has commented so on the contingencies of why people
write fiction--"Again and again something in one's own life or
in that around one will seem so important that one cannot bear
to let it pass into oblivion. There must never come a time, the
writer feels, when people do not know about this." All good
writers draw on the life around them as well as on their own
inner lives, and all good writers develop a distinctive style and
vision of their own. These latter reasons should bring us to the
answer for the primary question: What is fiction? Fiction, more
than its prose, more than its word-skill, more than imagination,
is about vision and its ability to process life for revision and
retrospection.

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Plot
Ever since Grecian antiquity, plot was seen as a major aspect
of a creative work - Aristotle had said plot is the most
important element of a tragedy. Plot is not quite the story of a
work of fiction; it is what the writer makes of a story. A story
can produce a thousand plots. The writer can decide the point
at which the story should begin, the dose and frequency of
flashbacks, the foregrounding or vanishing of certain
characters, the addition or deletion of subplots etc. This
intervention from the part of the writer results in the
conversion of story to plot. It is the plot that really carries the
style and vision of the writer.
In the modern times, especially after the dawning of
modernism, the primacy of plot has been questioned.
Modernist writers like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and
William Faulkner rejected plot and focused on the interiority
of their characters. This revolutionized realism but in effect,
distanced common readers from serious novels. Popular novels
now draw from the modernist experiments, but generally have
reinstated the plot as the primary concern of novels.
Character
In fiction, in general, authors create characters to take the
narrative forward. There are many ways to develop characters.
Generally characters are moulded from the author's
imagination; sometimes people from real life are given slightly
altered habitations, at other times, especially in genres like
popular fiction, characters that represent one particular aspect
or one particular social prejudice are created. This latter
variety is called stereotypes. Stereotypes are cliched characters
used and re-used by writers in their works.
E. M. Forster speaks of two fundamental types of characters in
his Aspects of the Novel: flat characters and round characters.

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Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are relatively

uncomplicated. By contrast, round characters are complex
figures with many different traits; that evolve as the story
proceeds. They lead the reader to the vision of the author. The
distinction between Dynamic characters and static characters is
a similar one. Dynamic characters are those that change over
the course of the story, while static characters remain the same
throughout.
Atmosphere
Atmosphere is the all-pervading mood of a work of fiction. It
is a rather abstract idea, and is not quite as visible as a motif or
symbol in the body of writing. Atmosphere mainly emerges
through description rather than action. It is the climate, time of
day or night, the ensemble of objects and the like that create
atmosphere. This can project the actions of a character in a
certain light.
Atmosphere defines the hope, distress, anxiety, and thrill of the
sequences in fiction. Certain genres are especially dependent
on atmosphere. Horror, for example, is an extremely
atmosphere-dependent genre.
Narrative Technique
Narrative technique is an umbrella term that holds other ideas
such as ―literary device,‖ ―figures of speech,‖ and ―verbal
quip‖. At its core, it is the style which the writers choose to
present their plot to their readers. It includes all the methods
that they use to develop a story.
The individual elements of different narrative techniques can
be broken down into six distinct categories:
Character
Perspective
Plot

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Setting
Style
Theme
Each of these plays an important role in developing a story—
taking the writers‘ message and presenting it to their audience
in a deliberate way.
Points of View
Points of view refer to who is narrating a story. A story can be
told from the first person, second person or third person point
of view. Writers use point of view to express the personal
emotions of either themselves or their characters. The point of
view of a story is how the writer wants to convey the
experience to the reader.
First Person Point of View
With first person point of view, the main character is telling
the story. Readers will see the words "I," "me" or "we" in first
person writing. It is commonly used for narratives and
autobiographies. First person point of view can be singular or
plural. The singular form uses "I" or "me" and the plural form
uses the word "we." Both are used to give the writer's personal
perspective.
Second Person Point of View
When writing from a second person point of view, the writer
has the narrator speaking to the reader. The words "you,"
"your," and "yours" are used from this point of view. Some
common uses for second-person point of view are directions,
business writing, technical writing, song lyrics, speeches, and
advertising.
Third Person Point of View
Third person point of view has an external narrator telling the

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story. This perspective can be singular or plural, as well as

gender specific or gender neutral. Words like "he," "she," "it,"
or "they" are used in this point of view. Third-person point of
view is often used in academic writing and fiction.
Difference between long and short fiction
Short fiction and long fiction are both narrative fiction written
in prose. Long fiction is otherwise called novel. The most
evident difference between a short story and a novel is
definitely in the length; a short story is generally shorter than a
novel as it is intended to be read in a single setting. Short
stories generally range anywhere from 1,500 to 30,000 words
whereas novels generally start from about 50,000 words.
However there is no hard and fast dictum that requires the
genres to keep these limits.
There are some other points of difference that entails out of
this difference in length.
Short fiction usually contains one basic plot whereas novels
can, and usually contain, many subplots and a complex main
plot. Short fiction does not risk comprehensive
characterization. It, as a rule, focuses on one or two characters.
Novels, on the other hand, allow the author to sport a host of
multiple characters. Finally, Short Stories generally cover a
very short time period in their plot, whereas novels can cover
very long periods.
Different types of fiction.
Genre is a term that we generally use to refer to a certain
variety of literature. An idea about genre can control what one
writes and how they write it. It describes the style and focus of
the novel in consideration. Certain acknowledged genres of
fiction are considered below:

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Adventure Novels.
Any story that puts the protagonist in physical danger,
characterized by thrilling encounters, and courageous and
daring feats, belongs to this genre. It is fast paced, the tension
mounting as the novel progresses. There is usually a climax
that offers closure and the reader some relief.
Science Fiction.
This genre incorporates any story set in the future, the past, or
other dimensions. The story features scientific ideas and
advanced technological concepts. Writers build new worlds
and use genre-specific words. The setting defines the plot.
Fantasy.
These stories deal with kingdoms as opposed to science
fiction's universes. Myths, otherworldly magic-based concepts,
and ideas characterize these books. They frequently take cues
from historical settings like The Dark Ages.
Speculative Fiction.
These stories are created in worlds unlike our real world in
certain important ways. This genre usually overlaps one or
more of the following: science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror
fiction, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and
dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and
alternate history.
Romance.
These stories are about a romantic relationship between two
people. They are characterized by sensual tension, desire, and
idealism. The author keeps the two apart for most of the novel,
but they do eventually end up together. There are many sub-
genres, including paranormal, historical, contemporary,
category, fantasy, and Gothic.

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Suspense/Thriller.
A character in jeopardy dominates these stories. This genre
involves pursuit and escape. It is filled with cliffhangers and
there are one or more ‗dark‘ characters that the protagonist
must escape from, fight against, or best in the story. The
threats to the protagonist can be physical or psychological, or
both. The setting is integral to the plot. This is often described
as a gripping read. A Techno Thriller is a sub-genre.
Young Adult.
Young Adult (YA) books are written, published, and marketed
to adolescents and young adults. The Young Adult Library
Services Association (YALSA) defines a young adult as
someone between the ages of 12 and 18, but adults also read
these books. These are generally coming-of-age stories, and
often cross into the fantasy and science fiction genres. YA
novels feature diverse protagonists facing changes and
challenges.
Horror/Paranormal/Ghost.
These are high-pitched scary stories involving pursuit and
escape. The protagonist must overcome supernatural or
demonic beings. Occult is a sub-genre that always uses
satanic-type antagonists.
Mystery/Crime.
These are also known as ‗whodunits‘. The central issue is a
question that must be answered, an identity revealed, a crime
solved. This novel is characterized by clues leading to rising
tension as the answer to the mystery is approached. There are
many sub-genres in this category.
Historical.
These fictional stories take place against factual historical
backdrops. Important historical figures are portrayed as

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fictional characters. Historical Romance is a sub-genre that

involves a conflicted love relationship in a factual historical
setting.
Westerns.
These books are specifically set in the old American West.
Plotlines include survival, romance, and adventures with
characters of the time, for example, cowboys, frontiersmen,
Indians, mountain men, and miners.
Family Saga.
This genre is about on-going stories of two or more
generations of a family. Plots revolve around things like
businesses, acquisition, properties, adventures, and family
curses. By their nature, these are primarily historical, often
bringing the resolution in contemporary settings. There is
usually a timeline involved in these books.
Women‘s Fiction.
These plot lines are characterized by female characters who
face challenges, difficulties, and crises that have a direct
relationship to gender. This is inclusive of woman‘s conflict
with man, though not limited to that. It can include conflict
with things such as the economy, family, society, art, politics,
and religion.
Magic Realism.
Magical events are part of ordinary life in this genre. The
characters do not see them as abnormal or unusual. They are a
natural part of the story. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a
classic in this genre.
Literary Fiction.
This genre focuses on the human condition and it is more
concerned with the inner lives of characters and themes than

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plot. Literary fiction is difficult to sell and continues to decline

in popularity.
Writing For Children
Children's literature is not confined to fiction. Here the
emphasis is on the audience, who obviously are children. The
language tones down in this genre. Also dark themes are
usually avoided. The genres of fantasy and science fiction edge
into this genre in their pleasant overtones.

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Module 2
Short fiction
1. The Cactus
O Henry
Introduction to the author
O. Henry (1862 - 1910) was an American short story writer.
He is today understood as a pioneer in the field. O Henry's real
name was William Sydney Porter.
He started writing stories rather late in his life. He had worked
variously as a shepherd, portrait artist, musician, cook,
babysitter, banker, journalist and translator before that. All
these opened him to an active social life and the experience
contributed to making him a writer of popular acclaim.
His first collection of stories namely Cabbages and Kings was
published in 1904. All the stories in this collection were
collected from conversations with people he knew in person.
His stories are remembered for the surprise-endings he gave
them.
His classic titles include The Last Leaf, The Gift of the Magi,
The Cop and the Anthem, and The Cactus. Henry had an
obvious affection for New York City and its diversity of
people and places, a reverence that marks many of his stories.
O. Henry died in 1910 and is buried in North Carolina.
Plot Summary
The story begins with a man named Trysdale. He is in his
apartment with a friend after a wedding and seems to be
troubled by the events of the day. There is a philosophical
narration about time that seems to be allusive. But, soon
enough, the whole picture becomes clear to the reader through
Trysdale's reflection.

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The serious tone continues as the narrator describes a lone

cactus sitting on a table in a jar. Trysdale's friend, the brother
of the bride, drinks alone annoyed that Trysdale will not drink
with him. Trysdale recalls the scent of flowers and noises from
the church where a marriage had just taken place, one that
seems to have affected him negatively.
The reader learns that Trysdale had "lost" her although we are
never told who "her" is, and he wonders how and why. The
narrator explains Trysdale is now looking at his true self, one
stripped of ego, vanity, and conceit. He recalls watching her
walk to the altar and look at her now husband. He lied to
himself, believing she could not be happy with him. But with
that look, he saw how she used to look at him, and the rest of
his ego came crumbling to the ground. He recalled how she
used to look up to him with rose colored glasses and always
assumed the best of him. It seems she believed him to be
godlike and perfect.
He thinks back to a time when she asked him about speaking
Spanish because she heard it from one of his friends, Captain
Carruthers. Trysdale's ego accepted the skill, knowing full well
it was a lie. He then thinks back to when he proposed to her.
He was sure that she would be too eager to accept him readily.
She showed all kinds of emotional jubilation and her body
language too had been one of eager consent. She said she
would send word the next day. The only thing he received was
the aforementioned cactus with a note stating its kind which he
simply did not care for. Trysdale had taken the cactus as a
mark of refusal or betrayal. She, therefore, was under the
impression that he was a master of Spanish and had, therefore,
very romantically assented to his proposal in the Spanish
language which he had failed to comprehend, thus giving her a
false impression of being rejected by him.
Days passed, and Trysdale's ego was pushing him beyond his

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emotional bounds. He refused to contact her, only later running

into her at a dinner. They shared small talk, but when nothing
of their relationship was mentioned, she became cold and
distant. Trysdale's vanity did not allow him to understand what
was happening between them.
Trysdale's friend began to speak, pulling Trysdale out of his
reminiscent trance of misery. He asked Trysdale what the
matter was and joked about his horrible Brandy. He eventually
asks Trysdale where he got the cacti and says he recognizes the
type. Trysdale said he received it from a friend and that the
name of the plant is on the tag. The friend asks if he knows
Spanish. When Trysdale replies no, the man translates the
meaning: Ventomarme: "Come and take me."
Trysdale now realizes his fault at ignoring the tag and the
cactus sent by his proposed girlfriend and instead expecting
her assent in the way he expected her to give it. In his vanity
Trysdale had ignored the call of bliss in his life and it was now
too late to realize it.
Setting
1. Place: The events in the analyzed story happen in the
apartment of the protagonist Trysdale: "That is what Trysdale
was doing, standing by a table in his bachelor apartments.‖
2. Time: After the marriage ceremony of this girl was over and
the scent of the huge bunches of flowers piled in the church
was still haunting him. His friend and bride's brother is with
him.
3. Social environment: The setting of the events in the given
story is rather realistic, though a bit subjective. The place
where action happens is not depicted in a detailed way, but the
behaviors of main characters are described rather vividly.
4. Atmosphere: The author uses the flashback technique, and
this bachelor apartment shows the big regret Trysdale feels.

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Characters
There are three main characters in the story. They are:
Trysdale, Trysdale's friend or bride's brother and Trysdale's
beloved or the bride herself.
Trysdale
The main character of the story is Trysdale a young man,
noble, wealthy and cultured. The writer reveals Trysdale's
character by indirect characterization, so we get to know about
him through his words, deeds and emotions. He is a young,
unmarried man, who lost his beloved lady in a stupid manner.
He is deeply depressed and seems unhappy. The author
employs hyperbole to depict his mood: ‗It seemed that in his
nostrils was still the scent of the flowers that had been banked
in odorous masses about the church, and in his ears the low
pitched hum of a thousand well-bred voices, the rustle of crisp
garments, and, most insistently recurring, the drawling words
of the minister irrevocably binding her to another.‘ All the
ceremony is too arrogant and pompous for him. It makes him
feel even more miserable than he did before. This idea is
shown through use of various epithets while describing his
thoughts about wedding: 'odorous masses', 'well-bred voices',
'crisp garments', 'drawling words. In a way, it shows his
jealousy and regret about lost love. The poorness of the
situation is also rendered through the use of metaphor and
simile: 'White favors like stars upon their coats shone through
gloom of the apartment.‘
He realizes that his girlfriend is excessively devoted to him,
that ‗She had always insisted on placing him upon a pedestal,
and he had accepted her homage with royal dignity‘. He
realizes how selfish, egoistic and hypocritical he was; ‗the
garbs of pretence and egoism' which separated him from his
beloved. His disappointed and frustration are also conveyed.
When he noticed the glance of the bride during the ceremony,

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he felt a hope, that not everything was lost. But it was just a
hope. That sullen exultation shows how his dreams face rough
reality. Epithets as innermost, unmitigated, arid unbedecked
self; the indulgent, confident victor are used to describe the
personality of the main character.
2. Trysdale's friend, the brother of the bride.
Along with Trysdale is his friend, the brother of the bride. The
South American resident brother of the bride is carefree, light-
hearted, and loved to drink. This character is described both
through direct and indirect characterization. Direct quote states
the way he looked: 'Both men were in evening dress. White
favors like stars upon their coats shone through the gloom of
the apartment. And indirect shows what kind of person he was.
"I say, Trysdale, what the deuce is the matter with you? You
look unhappy as if you yourself had been married instead of
having acted merely as an accomplice. Look at me, another
accessory, come two thousand miles on a garlicky, cockroachy
banana steamer all the way from South America to connive at
the sacrifice--please to observe how lightly my guilt rests upon
my shoulders. Only little sister I had, too, and now she's gone.
Come now! take something to ease your conscience." Henry
uses zeugma, which creates humorous effect, to clear the air.
He knows the pain, Trysdale feels and tries to console him.
The bride‘s brother from South America solves the
misunderstanding between Trysdale and the girl after the
marriage was over. The wrong impression that she was a
woman of sarcastic temperament is brushed aside in the
readers thoughts, and she is vindicated.
3. Trydale's beloved, the bride herself.
The last character is Trysdale's beloved. The lady is portrayed
as modest, childlike, worshipful and sincere. Both direct and
indirect characterization are used to create her character.
Indirect characterization is: 'She had always insisted upon

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placing him upon a pedestal, and he had accepted her homage

with royal grandeur' and with womanly swiftness she took her
cue from his manner, and turned to snow and ice. Besides,
direct characterization is employed: 'How glad, how shy, how
tremulous she was!" Strangely O. Henry does not give her a
name. It seems to indicate that she was taken for granted and
had no identity of her own as a human being in the mind of
Trysdale. To him, she was just his disciple and biggest fan.
She worships and looks up to Trysdale and is always
glorifying his many positive attributes.
Point of View
The story is narrated in an omniscient (the 3rd person) point of
view. The author seems rather close to events, but still, he
doesn't participate much resulting in giving objective opinions
on characters' feelings and emotions.
2. The Lover
Maxim Gorky
Introduction to the author
Maxim Gorky was born in 1868 in Russia as Alexei
Maximovich Peshkov. He is recognized as one of the earliest
and foremost exponents of socialist realism in literature. His
brutal yet romantic portraits of Russian life and his
sympathetic depictions of the working class had an
inspirational effect on the oppressed people of his native land.
From 1910 until his death, Gorky was considered Russia's
greatest living writer. Gorky the tramp, the rebel, is as much a
legend as the strong, individual characters presented in his
stories. His hero was a new type in the history of Russian
literature—a figure drawn from the masses of a growing
industrialized society; his most famous novel, Mother (1907),
was the first in that country to portray the factory worker as a

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force destined to overthrow the existing order. Gorky died in

1936.
Plot Summary
The short story "The Lover" is one of the many famous stories
by Maxim Gorky. In the beginning, the narrator tells the author
about the time when he was a student in Moscow. He had lived
alongside a neighbor, a lady called Teresa. The narrator
describes her as "a tallish, powerfully-built brunette, with
black, bushy eyebrows and a large coarse face as if carved out
by a hatchet." Her reputation is questionable, says the narrator.
He says he always avoided meeting her on the staircase. When
they randomly met in the yard, she would smile which seemed
to the narrator as sly and cynical.
One morning, Teresa asked him for a favor- to write a letter to
her acquaintance who lived in her home country, Poland. "My
dear Boles ... my darling", she started to dictate. She finished
her letter with the phrase "your sorrowing little dove, Teresa".
The narrator nearly burst out laughing, hearing this from the
woman who was more than five feet high. He asked, "Who is
this Boles?". "My young man.", she answered. "Young
man?!". "Why are you so surprised, sir? Cannot I, a girl, have
a young man?".
Next time, Teresa asked the narrator to write a letter again. "To
Boles?‖ he asked. "No, this time it is from him." "Wha-at?",
the narrator exclaimed.
The narrator understood at last that Boles is a fictional
character invented by Teresa herself. Teresa was revealed to
him as "a human creature who had nobody in the world to treat
her kindly, affectionately, and this human being had invented a
friend for herself!" Since that day, the narrator wrote a letter to
Boles twice a week, and an answer from Boles to Teresa.

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Themes:
Human loneliness and lack of communication
- Gorky highlights that the industrialization of Tsarist Russia
and especially how the industrialization of Moscow had
alienated the common people. Human loneliness, lack of
communication, fragmented and lost identity marked modern
industrialized Russian society
- overcoming a prejudice which divides the society leads to a
new level of understanding people. The ―rags of our virtues‖,
together with ―the mist of our self-sufficiency,‖ prevent us,
like the boy in the story, from appreciating the lives of others
as in the case of Teresa.
The early decades of the twentieth century witnessed a radical
shift in the modernist perception of human identity. Human
identity was viewed as being lonely with lack of human
communication, fragmentation and alienation in life and social
relationship. These views play an important role in Gorky‘s
short story ―Her Lover.‖ Gorky presents these views of
identity in the story through the life of his fictional character
Teresa.
Character
Teresa
Gorky represents Teresa as a lonely, outcast, and friendless
woman without a proper contact with anyone else outside;
there is ―nobody in the world to treat her kindly,
affectionately.‖ Other than her make-believe lover called
‗Boles‘ there was no one left for her in her original home to
send and receive letters. She yearns for her family and often
indulges in drinking alcohol to alleviate her condition. She
lives in a much poorer condition and is older than the
acquaintance, but is respectful towards him, mainly because he
is a student. The boy uses severely sexist and offensive

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language to deride Teresa‘s old age, her muscular and large

body. He mocks her calling herself a dove when she was black
as soot or as dark as a dove who had spent some time in the
chimney. Gorky describes her dark eyes as bestial, maybe to
indicate the rakish hunger of a woman of ‗doubtful repute.‘
Her bass voice makes her appear like a cabman or a
fisherwoman to the acquaintance. Teresa does not want much
in life but a kind of life which ―grows easier‖ for her in the
face of difficulties imposed on her in the actual life. It (the
imaginary friend) also enables Teresa psychologically to create
an imaginative space where she holds on tightly to life without
the anxieties of the actual. Through it she also strives to escape
the intolerable harshness and reality of her life.
3. Evelyn
James Joyce
Introduction to the Author
James Joyce (1882-1941) is one of the most important
modernist writers of the early twentieth century. His reputation
largely rests on just four works: a short story collection
Dubliners (1914), and three novels: A Portrait of the Artist as
a Young Man (1916), Ulysses (1922), and Finnegans Wake
(1939). Each of these works represents a development from the
last, with Joyce‘s writing becoming increasingly experimental,
obscure, and challenging.
Like his fellow countryman, the Irish poet W. B. Yeats, Joyce
writes about the country he knew so well: Ireland, the country
of his birth. But unlike Yeats, Joyce had no time for the
romantic vision of Ireland encapsulated by the Celtic Twilight.
Joyce said that he wrote the short stories that make up
Dubliners in order to give Ireland one good look at itself in the
mirror: his vision of Ireland is an unflinchingly realist ‗warts
and all‘ depiction of a country which, especially in the early

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works, seems gripped by a paralysis (a key word for

Dubliners) that is partly a result of the country‘s obsession
with its own past and with Catholicism.
It‘s telling that Joyce spent much of his adult life living outside
of his native Ireland, on the Continent, where he could absorb
French literary influences which would be so important for his
development as a novelist.
Plot Summary
Eveline‘ is one of the shortest stories that make up James
Joyce‘s collection Dubliners (1914), a volume that was not an
initial commercial success (it sold just 379 copies in its first
year of publication, and 120 of those were bought by Joyce
himself). Eveline is a young woman living in Dublin with her
father. Her mother is dead. Dreaming of a better life beyond
the shores of Ireland, Eveline plans to elope with Frank, a
sailor who is her secret lover (Eveline‘s father having forbade
Eveline to see Frank after the two men fell out), and start a
new life in Argentina. With her mother gone, Eveline is
responsible for the day-to-day running of the household: her
father is drunk and only reluctantly tips up his share of the
weekly housekeeping money, and her brother Harry is busy
working and is away on business (another brother, Ernest, is
dead).
Eveline herself keeps down a job working in a shop. On
Saturday nights, when she asks her father for some money, he
tends to unleash a tirade of verbal abuse. When he eventually
hands over his housekeeping money, Eveline has to go to the
shops and buy the food for the Sunday dinner at the last
minute. Eveline is tired of this life, and so she and Frank book
onto a ship leaving for Argentina. But as she is just about to
board the ship, Eveline suffers a failure of resolve, and cannot
go through with it. She wordlessly turns round and goes home,
leaving Frank to board the ship alone.

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Analysis of Evelyn
Like many stories in Dubliners, ‗Eveline‘ explores the
relationship between the past and the future by examining a
single person‘s attitude to their life in Dublin. Joyce was
interested in this relationship, and believed that Ireland –
which often had a habit of nostalgically looking backwards and
holding onto the past – needed to progress and strive to bring
itself up to date. In contrast to those writers and artists such as
W. B. Yeats who embraced the ‗Celtic Twilight‘ – a mythical,
traditional view of Ireland as a land of faery and history –
Joyce wanted to see Ireland bring itself into the modern world.
In many ways, Eveline typifies the difficulties faced by many
Dubliners at the time. Joyce depicts her current existence as
dull, uninspiring, even oppressive, with her abusive father
highlighting the idea that the older generation needs to be cast
off if young Ireland is to forge itself into a new nation. Even
the good aspects of the old Ireland, such as Eveline‘s mother
and her older brother Ernest, are dead and gone. There is also,
though, Eveline‘s (by no means unfounded) fear that history
will end up repeating itself and she will end up becoming her
mother, trapped in a marriage to an abusive alcoholic and
caught in a life of poverty and flattened dreams.
As she mused the pitiful vision of her mother‘s life laid its
spell on the very quick of her being—that life of commonplace
sacrifices closing in final craziness. The promise of a new start
in a new country (in a city that means literally ‗good air‘)
seems like the best way to shake off the musty old air of
Ireland. She was about to explore another life with Frank.
Frank was very kind, manly, open-hearted. She was to go away
with him by the night-boat to be his wife and to live with him
in Buenos Aires where he had a home waiting for her—―She
stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must
escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps

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love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy?
She had a right to happiness. Frank would take her in his arms,
fold her in his arms. He would save her.‖
And yet when it comes to the moment when she must board
the boat, Eveline is unable to do so, and instead clings to the
barrier as though literally clinging to old Ireland and the past
which is dead and gone but which she cannot leave behind:-
―He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He
was shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her
white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes
gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.‖
"Eveline" it has been pointed out unravels a circular journey,
where a character decides to go back to where their journey
began and where the result of their journey is disappointment
and reluctance to travel. The way that final triplet builds out
from love to farewell to recognition (what, she now doesn‘t
even recognize him?) is a masterstroke on Joyce‘s part.
Theme of Past and Memory
Eveline cannot let go of the past, as the early sections of the
story reveal. We see Eveline sit and reminisce about happy
times from her childhood. One wonders if it is the nostalgia
for old Ireland – embodied by her childhood memories – that
prevents her from emigrating with Frank?. The masterstroke
on Joyce‘s part is refraining from telling us precisely what
makes Eveline stay in Dublin at the end of the story. Is it filial
duty to her father and brother that makes her turn back? Or is it
a nostalgic attachment to Ireland, and the happy memories that
it carries for her, even though most of the people who shared
those memories with her have either emigrated (back to
England, revealingly) or have died?
This is consistent with much modernist fiction, which avoids
providing readers specific instructions on how to respond to

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the events recounted in the story. Life is sometimes filled of

half-truths and hidden reasons, and our motivations are
sometimes even partially hidden from ourselves since we live
in a state of ambiguity and doubt.
One of the key words in Joyce‘s Dubliners is ‗paralysis‘:
people feel immobilized, unable to move or progress, trapped
in their own lives. This, Joyce believed, is what Dublin – and,
indeed, much of Ireland – was like as a whole: paralyzed.
‗Eveline‘ offers in a little snapshot an example of how deeply
such paralysis could run, even leading a young woman to forgo
the chance of a new start in favour of remaining in an abusive,
dead-end life.
The irony of Eveline is that the immobility she fears
succumbing to – that life of daily sacrifice that characterized
her mother – also keeps her from departing that world due to
fear or a lack of assurance that abandoning the old world is the
correct thing to do. Her paralyzing reality even paralyses her
while she tries to flee it, dooming her to remain in Dublin and,
quite perhaps, to die.
4. Sound of Thunder
Ray Bradbury
Introduction to the author:
Ray Douglas Bradbury, (born August 22, 1920, Waukegan,
Illinois, U.S.—died June 5, 2012, Los Angeles, California),
was an American author best known for his highly imaginative
short stories and novels that blend a poetic style, nostalgia for
childhood, social criticism, and an awareness of the hazards of
runaway technology. He was a master of Science-fiction
though he himself had said that his only science fiction book
was Fahrenheit 451. Much of his work was however
technology-related fantasy, horror, or mysteries. Bradbury had
gone on record saying, ―I use a scientific idea as a platform to

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leap into the air and never come back.‖ He received many
honours for his work including an Emmy for his animated
adaptation of The Halloween Tree (1994) and the National
Medal of Arts (2004). In 2007 the Pulitzer Prize Board
awarded Bradbury a Special Citation for his distinguished
career.
Plot Summary
In 'A Sound of Thunder,' a science fiction short story set in
2055, time travel allows the common man to experience the
past in ways never before thought possible. Eckels, an avid
hunter, pays $10,000 to travel back to the age of dinosaurs to
hunt a Tyrannosaurus rex.
Time Safari, Inc., the time-travel outfitting agency, wants to
make sure its customers understand the risks involved. They
do not guarantee safety, relating the deaths of six guides and
twelve hunters in the previous year. But they do guarantee
dinosaurs, and Eckels cannot refuse this trip of a lifetime.
While Eckels waits his for his expedition to begin, he and a
company employee discuss the recent election in which the
democratic candidate Keith, the moderate presidential
candidate, was elected over Deutscher, the dictatorial
candidate described as an anti-everything man. The two
suggest that if the election had turned out differently, many
people would be running for the time machine just to escape
Deutscher's rule.
Travis, the tour guide, along with his assistant, Lesperance,
leads Eckels and two other hunters, Billings and Kramer, into
the time machine and they set off to a time 60,002,055 years
before the time they left.
When they arrive, Travis gives the hunters two specific
instructions: shoot only the dinosaurs marked (they were going
to die soon anyway) and stay on the path, which is made of

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antigravity metal that hovers above the ground. When Eckels

asks why, Travis launches into an explanation of how
changing the past could have a negative effect on the future: if
one mouse is killed in the past, the families of that mouse will
also no longer live, along with the animals that would have
preyed on the mouse. This would, in turn, cause the animals
that preyed on those animals to no longer live, compounding
until the effect of the death of that one mouse could mean
generations of people may no longer be alive in the present.
With everyone sufficiently scared, they head out.
As they anxiously wait for the Tyrannosaurus rex, the men
hear 'a sound of thunder' - the footsteps of the dinosaur - and
Eckels is overcome by the beauty and majesty of the beast. He
decides he cannot shoot it. Travis, furious that Eckels has
chickened out, tells him to return to the machine. Eckels, in a
state of shock, moves in the wrong direction, catching the eye
of the dinosaur. As the Tyrannosaurus rex begins to come after
the hunters, they fire and kill it.
Upon returning to the time machine, Travis notices that Eckels'
boots are muddy. He stepped off the path! Furious, Travis
threatens to leave Eckels in the past unless he collects the
bullets from the dinosaur, which they can't leave. He does so,
but Travis still threatens to kill Eckels for disobeying the rules.
Upon arriving back in 2055, Eckels notices that things are a
little off. The air smells weird and the spelling of the company
sign is a little different. Eckels looks down at his shoes and
notices a butterfly stuck to the bottom, dead. In shock, he asks
who won the presidential election and the employee exclaims
that, thankfully, it was Deutscher. Eckels groans. Travis aims
his weapon at Eckels and there is a sound of thunder.
Analysis
As in many of his works, Bradbury highlights worries about

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technology in 'A Sound of Thunder,' this time with a

concentration on time travel. Bradbury suggests that
technology and time travel are dangerous because of the
warning about how little alterations in the past can cause
dramatic changes in the future and the consequence indicating
that Eckels has badly altered the present by modifying the past.
Bradbury suggests that technology and time travel are
dangerous and destructive and are things that shouldn't be
pursued. Small actions can have far-reaching consequences,
and the story, like much of Bradbury's work, condemns the
arrogant use of ever powerful technology in a world that
humans do not completely comprehend. The story shows the
deep connection between the past, present, and future by
emphasizing the dramatic impact of something as seemingly
commonplace as crushing a butterfly aeons ago. It ultimately
argues that every action, no matter how small, has
consequences.
Questions and Answers
1. What company does Eckels visit?
Eckels visits Time Safari, Inc for a time travel to a
distant past to shoot a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
2. Why has Eckels come to the Time Safari , Inc.
office? What does he plan to do?
The protagonist of the story Eckels approaches Time
Safari ,Inc., a company that offers safaris to the past and
pays $10000 to travel back to the age of now extinct
dinosaurs to hunt a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
3. Briefly describe the office of Time Safari ,Inc.
The office of Time Safari ,Inc. was a mass of snaking
and humming wires and steel boxes. A light flickered in
different colours. There was a sound like the gigantic
bonfire burning all of Time.

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4. How much does the Safari cost?

$10000.
5. Why is Eckels pleased when Keith wins the election?
Keith had won the American Presidential election
defeating Deutscher who was an anti- people, anti- Christ,
anti –human, anti- intellectual dictatorial person.
6. Name Eckels‘ fellow travellers.
Travis, the Safari leader, Lasperance , Travis‘ assistant
and two hunters Billings and Kramer were his fellow
travelers.
7. Who is the Safari leader?
Travis
8. According to Travis what is the best way to kill a
dinosaur?
The best way to kill a dinosaur is to put first two shots
into the eyes , blind it and then shoot at the brain.
9. How many years did the hunters travel back?
Sixty million, two thousand and fifty five years
10. Why must the hunters stay on the Metal Path?
The hunters were asked to stay on the Metal path which
was floating six inches above the ground. Its purpose is
to keep them from touching the world of the past in any
way. If they touch the ground and kill any organism,
small or big, it will have a huge repercussion on future
evolution of the world.
11 Why do the hunters wear the Oxygen helmets?
The hunters wear Oxygen helmets so that they cannot
introduce bacteria into the pure atmosphere of the ancient
past.

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12. How does Lesperance select the animals that can be

hunted?
Lesperance tracks the existence of the animals and selects
an animal which is going to die soon under normal
conditions of the jungle. Then he tags the animal with a
paint bomb.
13. Why are the hunters allowed to kill the dinosaurs
that are marked?
The dinosaurs that are marked are going to die anyway
within minutes. So killing them will leave only a minimal
impact on nature.
14. What are the three precautions that Safari ,Inc. has
taken to prevent any altering of future?
All the Safari team members will only be staying on
the metal path so that they will not touch the world of
the past in any way . The hunters will kill only
preselected animals which are going to die within minutes
anyway under natural conditions in the jungle. They had
sterilized the Machine, their clothes and bodies and were
wearing oxygen helmets so that they won‘t introduce
bacteria into the ancient atmosphere.
15. What does Travis refer to as ― His Royal Majesty‖ ?
The Tyrannosaurus Rex.
16. What mistake does Eckels make while his fellow
travelers are hunting?
Eckels had deviated from the Metal Path and had trodden
on the ground, killing a butterfly. This small mishap
would change Time and history.
17. Why can‘t the hunters take the Dinosaur as a trophy?
The dinosaur‘s body has to stay right there where it

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would have died originally. The body was intended for

insects, birds and bacteria to live on it.
18. What does Lesperance offer Billings and Kramer that
they turn down?
Billings and Kramer turn down Lesperance‘s suggestion
of taking a picture with the dead Tyrannosaurus.
19. Why does Travis force Eckels to retrieve the bullets
from the monster‘s body?
The bullets do not belong to the past . The presence of
the bullets might change the course of evolution.
20. How was the sign at the Time Safari different when
the hunters reached back?
The English words were spelt strangely.
21 What does Eckels learn about the elections after his
return?
Eckels discovers that Deutscher has won the election
instead of Keith.
22. What does Eckels find on the bottom of his shoes
after the Safari?
Looking at the mud on his boots, Eckels finds a crushed
butterfly, whose death has apparently set in motion a
series of subtle changes that have affected the nature of
the present to which the safari has returned.
23. What is the sound of thunder at the end of the
story?
Travis raises his gun, and there is a sound of thunder,
implying that Eckels is fatally shot.
24. What happens to Eckels at the end of the story ?
Travis shoots Eckels for disobeying the rules of the Time
Safari and changing the course of evolution of the world.

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5. Letter
Sally Morgan
Introduction to the author
Sally Morgan was born in 1951 in Perth, Western Australia.
Her father was a white man and her mother was part-
Aboriginal. When Sally Morgan was nine years old her father
committed suicide, leaving her and her four sisters and
brothers to be raised by her mother and part-Aboriginal
grandmother. Sally Morgan is a descendant of the Palku
people from the Pilbara region.
She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of
Western Australia in 1974, majoring in Psychology. Today she
is a very successful novelist and artist. Her first book, My
Place, was very popular and it won her the Patricia Weickhardt
Award in 1988.
Plot Summary
The story revolves around two generations of Australian
aborigines. Elaine, the daughter of Nellie, was taken away by
the state authorities. The racist regime thought it was better for
fair-skinned Elaine to grow away from her black-mother
Nellie. Elaine was born of a rape that Nellie had to undergo
from a white man. Afterwards, Nellie spends years searching
for Elaine. She finally locates Elaine and starts sending her
letters. She tells Elaine that she belongs to their race and
family. Elaine is by now adopted into a white family. She
refuses to even consider Nellie's pleas and sends back all for
letters. Nellie has contacts with her sister: she entrusts with the
sister the last letter for Elaine, and a few treasured photographs
from Elaine's childhood and dies. However, by the end of the
story, Elaine calls her aunt, and says thest she wanti to meet
her the next day. This gives the reader a notion that Elaine is
finally returning to the fold.

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Analysis
The story is a poignant presentation of the violence Australian
whites have perpetrated on the indigenous aborigine
population. It takes a first person point of view to narrate the
story. Aunt Bessie is the narratorial person here. The Story is
a criticism of the inhuman policies that prevailed in early
modern Australia.
It showcases the extraordinary industry and bravado on the
part of the dead and deceased character Nellie, who always
believed her daughter would come back and accept her.
6. The Homecoming
Arun Joshi
Introduction to the Author
Arun Joshi was born in Varanasi in 1939. He completed his
studies in the U.S and returned to India to become an industrial
manager. Writing was his passion. He is noted for works such
as The Strange Case of Billy Biswas and The Apprentice. He
won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel The Last
Labyrinth in 1982. One of the few writers from India to have
successfully attempted existentialist novels, Joshi was an early
revolutionary in Indian English fiction. He died in New Delhi
in 1993.
Plot Summary
The story is about a young soldier who returns home from the
war front, only to find the whole place strange and un-natural.
After experiencing the bloody battles of the Eastern front, the
protagonist returns home and is welcomed warmly by his
family and fiancée. He tries to go back to his civilian life- the
life led by his fiancée and his family.
However, he cannot find it within himself to mingle with the
crowd his family hangs out with. His sister takes him to a party

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and he discovers that they are spiritually shallow, the kind of

people who are big on the words and hesitant on the action. He
realizes that these people keep talking about things they have
no experience of, but they do it anyway because it makes them
look and feel intellectual. The story documents in detail the
thought processes of a war-scarred man who finds the people
around him to be hollow. The story is a brilliant depiction of
how popular culture and society often paint pictures that they
want, despite the fact that they often know nothing about it.
‗Homecoming‘ catches the emotional turmoil the young
lieutenant of the army goes through in his attempts to melt in
to civilian social life. The story is noted for tearing away the
fake facades under which modern society tends to lie low,
modern fads which are rather hypocritical. At the end of the
story, the protagonist‘s fiancée tells him that she has put on
weight and therefore is going on a diet. The young man is
taken back to the time just after the end of the war when he
had been in charge of a relief center where he had to dole out
food to the refugees. He says,
―Everyone was hungry, once in a way, but to be always
hungry, he had seen, was different. It made a bit of an animal
of you, he thought, turned you stupid….‖ When they got their
ration they swallowed it in about two minutes. After that they
could see that they were as hungry as before, that in fact they
were waiting for the next meal. The old people had not
bothered to look for food. If it came their way they ate it. If
not they lay down and died. That was the way it had been
where he had come from.‖ The story is a picture of contrasts
such as the one given above. It is meant to inform us of how
mainstream life is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to
the vastness of human experience.
Analysis
The story is a dark and stark portrayal of the hypocrisy and

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ignorance that plagues our society, especially in the self-

proclaimed high-brow, intellectual circles. It is an appeal in a
little more than a couple of thousand words to stop talking if
you do not know what you are talking about. Replete with
stunning images from the battle field, images that are meant to
chill the reader to the very bones, the story goes on to relate
the doings of a self-proclaimed poet, the most intellectual and
well-read person in the party our protagonist goes to. He
indulges in banal discussions that reminds one very much of
the pointless discussions that occur in our mainstream media
with alarming frequency. His rush to define ‗genocide‘ and to
paint a picture of a terrible war from the comfort of his
metaphorical arm chair is despicable and Arun Joshi is bent on
tearing away that facade.
It is about all those pseudo-intellectual campaigners who
pretend to have nothing but the interests of our jawans in their
hearts, about those poets who write poems about a soldier‘s
widow when they are yet to see even a soldier, about those
critics and analysts who dish out trivia on wars and conflicts
but could not operate a slingshot to save their lives. The storey
speaks out against the hypocrisy and deception that has
permeated our society, deception perpetuated by the elite and
intellectuals who have no idea what is going on.
7 The Paper Menagerie
Ken Liu
About the author
Ken Liu (born 1976) is a multiple Hugo Award-winning
American author of science fiction and fantasy. His epic
fantasy series was titled The Dandelion Dynasty. His short
stories have appeared in several international anthologies.
Besides his original work, Liu's translation of Liu Cixin's
Chinese language novel The Three-Body Problem won the

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2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel, making it the first translated
novel to have won the award.
Plot Summary
Paper Menagerie" is a short story about a bi-racial boy named
Jack, who has a white dad and a Chinese mom, who
immigrated to America. When he is a kid, Jack's mom creates
an origami menagerie for him, and when Jack's mom breathes
into the origami, the menagerie comes to life, jumping and
playing with him.
After a fight with schoolmate who teases Jack about his
Chinese heritage, Jack discards the menagerie, and rejects his
mom, who grows increasingly silent. As Jack grows up, he
distances himself from his mom until their relationship is
uncomfortable and strained. But when his mom dies, Jack
discovers that she has been writing letters in the paper of his
menagerie, and she has her own story that she has been
struggling to tell.
Analysis
The story is a powerful allegory about the experience that so
many children of immigrants have. But in addition to
describing an allegory of how we relate to our heritage, the
story is also a heartbreaking look at the ways children relate or
distance themselves from their parents as they grow up. It also
seeks to trace the psychological and spiritual coming of age of
Jack, Paper Menagerie manages to keep its politics right
where it belongs. There is a very relevant social dimension in
which the story operates. Resentment, culture, identity,
discrimination, acceptance, struggle, and love are all themes
explored here. After reading the story, the reader realizes that
Liu may be investigating the issue of resentment, which is told
in the first person by a man named Jack. Despite having had a
pleasant childhood, Jack aspires to be like other American

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males. He is aware that he stands out and that people are

prejudiced towards him just because he has a Chinese mother.
This could be relevant since Liu is seeking to demonstrate how
bigoted America can be against those who look different. This
was very much the situation with Jack when he was younger.

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Module 3
Animal Farm
George Orwell
Introduction to the author
George Orwell's real name was Eric Arthur Blair. He was born
in 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, India. Blair's father was a civil
service employee with the British government. He gathered
fame later as an English essayist, journalist and critic. Blair
served in Burma with the Indian Imperial Police for several
years. He had combat experience in Spanish Civil War too. He
was also a journalist for BBC for a considerable while. He died
in 1950.
List of works:
Fiction
1934 – Burmese Days (his experiences in colonial Burma)
1935 – A Clergyman's Daughter
1936 – Keep the Aspidistra Flying
1939 – Coming Up for Air
1945 – Animal Farm
1949 – Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nonfiction
1933 – Down and Out in Paris and London (autobiographical,
poverty in London)
1937 – The Road to Wigan Pier
1938 – Homage to Catalonia
Plot Summary of Animal Farm
One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble
in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had

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about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of
their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting,
but the animals — inspired by his philosophy of Animalism —
plot a rebellion against Jones. Two pigs, Snowball and
Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of
this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the
animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are
chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm,
and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on
the barn wall. Initially, the rebellion is a success: The animals
complete the harvest and meet every Sunday to debate farm
policy. The pigs, because of their intelligence, become the
supervisors of the farm. Napoleon, however, proves to be a
power-hungry leader who steals the cows' milk and a number
of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also enlists the
services of Squealer, a pig with the ability to persuade the
other animals that the pigs are always moral and correct in
their decisions.
Jones and his soldiers return to Animal Farm later that fall and
attempt to reclaim it. Snowball's methods help the animals beat
Jones in what becomes known as The Battle of the Cowshed.
Winter arrives, and Mollie, a conceited horse that is only
interested in ribbons and sweets, is enticed away from the farm
by another person. Snowball begins drawing plans for a
windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the
animals more leisure time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes
such a plan on the grounds that building the windmill will
allow them less time for producing food. On the Sunday that
the pigs offer the windmill to the animals for a vote, Napoleon
summons a pack of ferocious dogs, who chase Snowball off
the farm forever. Napoleon announces that there will be no
further debates; he also tells them that the windmill will be
built after all and lies that it was his own idea, stolen by
Snowball. Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat for the rest

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of the tale, blaming all of the animals' misfortunes on him. The

following year is dedicated to the construction of the windmill.
Boxer, a massively powerful horse, proved to be the most
valuable animal in this quest. Meanwhile, Jones abandons the
property and relocates to another section of the county.
Contrary to the principles of Animalism, Napoleon hires a
solicitor and begins trading with neighboring farms. When a
storm topples the half- finished windmill, Napoleon
predictably blames Snowball and orders the animals to begin
rebuilding it.
Napoleon's lust for power increases to the point where he
becomes a totalitarian dictator, forcing "confessions" from
innocent animals and having the dogs kill them in front of the
entire farm. He and the pigs move into Jones' house and begin
sleeping in beds (which Squealer excuses with his brand of
twisted logic). The animals receive less and less food, while
the pigs grow fatter. After the windmill is completed in
August, Napoleon sells a pile of timber to Jones; Frederick,
a neighboring farmer who pays for it with forged banknotes.
Frederick and his men attack the farm and explode the
windmill but are eventually defeated. As more of theSeven
Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs, the
language of the Commandments is revised: For example, after
the pigs become drunk one night, the Commandment, "No
animals shall drink alcohol" is changed to, "No animal shall
drink alcohol to excess."
Boxer again offers his strength to help build a new windmill,
but when he collapses, exhausted, Napoleon sells the devoted
horse to a knacker (a glue-boiler). Squealer tells the indignant
animals that Boxer was actually taken to a veterinarian and
died a peaceful death in a hospital— a tale the animals believe.
Years pass, and Napoleon purchases two fields from a nearby
farmer, Pilkington, to expand Animal Farm's limits. All of the

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animals' (save the pigs') lives are difficult. Eventually, the pigs
learn to walk on their hind legs and adopt many of the
characteristics of their previous human captors. The Seven
Commandments are reduced to a single law: "All Animals Are
Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others." The novel
ends with Pilkington sharing drinks with the pigs in Jones'
house. Napoleon changes the name of the farm back to Manor
Farm and quarrels with Pilkington during a card game in
which both of them try to play the ace of spades. As other
animals watch the scene from outside the window, they cannot
tell the pigs from the humans.
Analysis
Animal Farm is a political allegory.
A political allegory is a narrative where the agents, action and
setting are contrived by the author to make sense literally and
at the same time to signify and correspond to political
personages, events and setting. However, the lofty ideas that
motivated the revolution in the first place give way to
individual and class-based self-interest over time. The
rebellion in Animal Farm, like other popular revolutions,
grows out of a desire for a better future in which farm animals
can enjoy the fruits of their own labour without the oppressive
tyranny of humans. During the revolution, all of the animals on
Mr. Jones' farm, including the pigs, are committed to the
concept of universal equality. Animal Farm exemplifies how a
revolution can be turned into a totalitarian dictatorship by
slow, steady modifications.
Character List
Napoleon
The pig who emerges as the leader of Animal Farm after the
Rebellion. Based on Joseph Stalin, Napoleon uses military
force (his nine loyal attack dogs) to intimidate the other

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animals and consolidate his power. In his supreme craftiness,

Napoleon proves more treacherous than his counterpart,
Snowball
Snowball
The pig who challenges Napoleon for control of Animal Farm
after the Rebellion. Based on Leon Trotsky, Snowball is
intelligent, passionate, eloquent, and less subtle and devious
than his counterpart, Napoleon. Snowball seems to win the
loyalty of the other animals and cements his power.
Boxer
The cart-horse whose incredible strength, dedication, and
loyalty play a key role in the early prosperity of Animal Farm
and the later completion of the windmill. Quick to help but
rather slow- witted, Boxer shows much devotion to Animal
Farm‘s ideals but little ability to think about them
independently. He naïvely trusts the pigs to make all his
decisions for him. His two mottoes are ―I will work harder‖
and ―Napoleon is always right‖ Boxer represents the peasantry
Squealer
The pig who spreads Napoleon‘s propaganda among the other
animals. Squealer justifies the pigs‘ monopolization of
resources and spreads false statistics pointing to the farm‘s
success. Orwell uses Squealer to explore the ways in which
those in power often use rhetoric and language to twist the
truth and gain and maintain social and political control.
Squealer stands for Vychaslev Molotov, a staunch supporter
and protégé of Joseph Stalin.
Old Major
The prize-winning boar whose vision of a socialist utopia
serves as the inspiration for the Rebellion. Three days after
describing the vision and teaching the animals the song

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―Beasts of England,‖ Major dies, leaving Snowball and

Napoleon to struggle for control of his legacy. Orwell based
Major on both the German political economist Karl Marx and
the Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin.
Clover
A good-hearted female cart-horse and Boxer‘s close friend.
Clover often suspects the pigs of violating one or another of
the Seven Commandments, but she repeatedly blames herself
for misremembering the commandments. She represents the
female proletariat
Moses
The tame raven who spreads stories of Sugarcandy Mountain,
the paradise to which animals supposedly go when they die.
Moses plays only a small role in Animal Farm, but he
represents the Russian Orthodox Church. Orwell uses him to
explore how communism exploits religion as something with
which to pacify the oppressed.
Mollie
The vain, flighty mare who pulls Mr. Jones‘s carriage. Mollie
craves the attention of human beings and loves being groomed
and pampered. She has a difficult time with her new life on
Animal Farm, as she misses wearing ribbons in her mane and
eating sugar cubes. She represents the petit bourgeoisie that
fled from Russia a few years after the Russian Revolution.
Benjamin
The long-lived donkey who refuses to feel inspired by the
Rebellion. Benjamin firmly believes that life will remain
unpleasant no matter who is in charge. Of all of the animals on
the farm, he alone comprehends the changes that take place,
but he seems either unwilling or unable to oppose the pigs.

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Muriel
The white goat who reads the Seven Commandments to Clover
whenever Clover suspects the pigs of violating their
prohibitions.
Mr. Jones
The often drunk farmer who runs the Manor Farm before the
animals stage their Rebellion and establish Animal Farm. Mr.
Jones is an unkind master who indulges himself while his
animals lack food; he thus represents Tsar Nicholas II, whom
the Russian Revolution ousted.Mr. Frederick
The tough, shrewd operator of Pinchfield, a neighboring farm.
Based on Adolf Hitler, the ruler of Nazi Germany in the 1930s
and 1940s, Mr. Frederick proves an untrustworthy neighbor.
Mr. Pilkington
Foxwood, a neighbouring farm, is run by this easygoing
gentleman farmer. Mr. Pilkington, Mr. Frederick's greatest
adversary, represents the capitalist governments of England
and the United States.
Mr. Whymper
Napoleon employs this human solicitor to represent Animal
Farm in human society. Mr. Whymper's arrival in the Animal
Farm community sparks communication between the farm and
human civilization, scaring the ordinary animals.
Jessie and Bluebell
Two dogs, each of whom gives birth early in the novel.
Napoleon takes the puppies in order to ―educate‖ them.
Minimus
The poet pig who writes verse about Napoleon and pens the
banal patriotic song ―Animal Farm, Animal Farm‖ to replace
the earlier idealistic hymn ―Beasts of England,‖ which Old
Major passes on to the others.

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Module 4
Moby Dick
Introduction to the Author
Herman Melville was born on August 1, 1819. After his
father's death, Melville attempted to support his family by
working various jobs, from banking to teaching school. It was
his adventures as a seaman in 1845 that inspired Melville to
write. On one voyage, he was captured and held for several
months. When he returned, friends encouraged Melville to
write about his experience. Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life
(Wiley and Putnam, 1846) became his first literary success; the
continuation of his adventures appeared in his second book,
Omoo (Harper & Brothers, 1847). Moby Dick (published in
1851) was his most ambitious work. But this failed attract
audience when it was released. Melville retired to obscurity
after this failure.
Melville died of a heart attack on September 28, 1891, at the
age of 72. It wasn't until the 1920s that the literary public
began to recognize Melville as one of America's greatest
writers.
Plot Summary
Moby-Dick recounts the adventures of the narrator Ishmael as
he sails on the whaling ship, Pequod, under the command of
the monomaniacal Captain Ahab. Melville dedicated the book
to fellow Dark Romantic, Nathaniel Hawthorne: "In token of
my admiration for his genius, this book is inscribed to
Nathaniel Hawthorne." Ishmael believes he has signed onto a
routine commission aboard a normal whaling vessel, but he
soon learns that Captain Ahab is not guiding the Pequod in the
simple pursuit of commerce but is seeking one specific whale,
Moby-Dick, a great white whale infamous for his giant size
and his ability to destroy the whalers that seek him. Captain

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Ahab's wooden leg is the result of his first encounter with the
whale, when he lost both leg and ship. After the ship sails it
becomes clear that Captain Ahab is bent on revenge and he
intends to get Moby-Dick.
Ahab demonstrates erratic behavior from the very beginning
and his eccentricities magnify as the voyage progresses. As the
novel draws to a conclusion, the Pequod encounters the
whaling ship Rachel. The Rachel's captain asks Ahab to help
him in a search and rescue effort for his whaling-crew that
went missing the day before -- and the captain's son is among
the missing. But when Ahab learns that the crew disappeared
while tangling with Moby-Dick he refuses the call to aid in the
rescue so that he may hunt Moby-Dick instead.
The encounter with Moby-Dick brings a tragic end to the
affair. Ishmael alone survives, using his friend Queequeg's
coffin as a flotation device until he is ironically rescued by the
Rachel which has continued to search for its missing crew.
Characters
Ishmael The narrator of the novel is a keen observer, a young
man with an open mind who is wary of Ahab but, like most of
the crew, swept away by the captain's charisma.
Ahab The "grand, ungodly, god-like man" is a deeply complex
figure, one of the most controversial in American literature.
His monomaniacal hunt for Moby Dick dominates the novel's
plot.
Moby Dick The giant sperm whale seems to manipulate his
confrontations with mankind in a manner beyond the capacity
of a leviathan. Critics debate the nature of Moby Dick: whether
he is an allegorical representation of some eternal power, a
representation of Ahab's obsession, or nothing more, literally,
than a whale.

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Queequeg The Polynesian harpooner who opens Ishmael's

mind and eventually — and indirectly — saves his life.
Queequeg is important to the theme of friendship and the value
of diversity.
Father Mapple His sermon at the Whaleman's Chapel sets the
tone for the novel. The message, through the story of Jonah, is
that we must disobey our own desires if we are to learn to obey
God.
Starbuck The chief mate aboard the Pequod. He is the only
one who attempts to stand up to Ahab's obsessive direction of
the ship's purpose. Even he eventually acquiesces.
Fedallah The ancient Asian who is Ahab's harpooner and
spiritual guide. His prophecy regarding Ahab's death
ominously foreshadows the end of the novel.
Pip The cabin boy, who nearly drowns when he is abandoned
during a whale hunt. He discovers painful insights that allow
him an unusual view of reality and temporarily endear him to
Ahab.
Elijah The cryptic prophet who helps to set an early tone of
dark mystery in the novel. He alerts Ishmael to possible
problems with Ahab and secrets aboard the Pequod.
Stubb The second mate. He considers himself to be quite the
wit, but his treatment of Fleece, the cook, is more cruel and
racist than it is amusing.
Perth The ship's blacksmith. His story is an unusual departure
for Melville as it is told with the excessive sentimentality and
predictability of melodrama.
Gabriel The raving Shaker prophet aboard the Jeroboam. He
correctly predicts Ahab's final resting-place.
Bildad A hypocritical Quaker. The co-owner's exchange
regarding Ishmael's pay allows Melville an opportunity for a
little caustic satire.

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