Sunday 17 March 2024

Deep Water


Deep Water

By William Douglas

 


Analysis :


§  The chapter ‘Deep Water’ is written by William O. Douglas who was an advocate and the longest serving judge of the court.

§  The following excerpt is taken from 'Of Men and Mountains' by William O. Douglas. It reveals how as a young boy, William Douglas was nearly drowned in a swimming pool.

§  In this essay he talks about his fear of water and thereafter, how he finally overcame it. We are able to notice how the autobiographical part of the selection is used to support his discussion of fear.

§  The story is subjective as it describes the emotions of the writer associated with his childhood and his fear of water. It brings his childhood memories back when he was nearly drowned.

§  This chapter depicts the author's intense personal struggle with a traumatic experience and the subsequent journey of overcoming fear. The near drowning experience at the hands of a bullying boy leaves a profound impact on the narrator. The vivid and detailed description of the fear, panic, and physical sensations during the incident provides a raw portrayal of trauma. 

§  Chapter highlights the gradual nature of healing and the theme of triumph over fear. This theme of resilience inspires the readers to be mentally strong, face the fear and overcome it.


Summary / Synopsis

The chapter ‘Deep Water’ reflects the author's intense personal struggle with a traumatic experience and the subsequent journey of overcoming fear.

Traumatic experience had happened when the narrator was ten or eleven years old. He decided to learn to swim. There was a pool at the Y.M.C.A in Yakima. He hated to walk naked in water and show his skinny legs. But he did it to learn swimming.

This scare for water got into his heart when he was three or four years old and father took him to the beach in California. He and I stood together in the surf. I hung on to him, yet the waves knocked me down and swept over him. His breath was gone. He was frightened. Father laughed, but he got extremely scared of overpowering force of the waves.

Y.M.CA. swimming pool revived his unpleasant memories and fear. But he tried to gather confidence as he was determined. He paddled with his water wings, watching the other boys.

Once he was alone at the pool. He waited for other boys to come. Then, a big bruiser of a boy, probably eighteen years old. He picked him up and tossed him into the deep end. He landed in a sitting position, swallowed water, and went at once to the bottom. He was frightened out of his wits. Those nine feet were more like ninety, and when his feet hit bottom, he summoned all his strength and made a great leap upwards. He tried to bring his legs up, but they hung as dead weights, paralysed and rigid. A great force pulled him under and he went down again. He went down and down, endlessly. And then sheer, stark terror seized him. When his third attempt also failed, his body became weak and motionless. And he was pulled out by the same boy who threw him into the water.

For days, months and years a haunting fear remained in his heart. The slightest thought of water upset him. Water served as a powerful symbol throughout the chapter. Initially, the YMCA swimming pool represents a place of safety and learning, but the traumatic incident transforms it into a source of deep-seated fear. The aftermath is characterised by lingering anxiety, nightmares, and an aversion to water related activities. The fear extends to natural bodies of water, impacting the narrator's ability to enjoy outdoor activities like fishing, boating, wsimming and canoeing. 

 Finally, one October, the narrator decided to get an instructor and learn to swim. He went to a pool and practised five days a week, an hour each day. The instructor put a belt around him and a rope attached to the belt went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope and he went under, the old terror returned and his legs froze. Then, he taught him to put his face under water and exhale, and to raise his nose and inhale. He repeated the exercise hundreds of times. Bit by bit he shed part of the panic that seized him earlier when his head went under water.

After good practice, he went to the Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire, dived off a dock at Triggs Island, and swam two miles across the lake to Stamp Act Island. Once, the fear gripped him in the Lake, he defeated that fear.

The narrator's decision to face and overcome the fear represents a journey of self discovery and resilience. Seeking swimming lessons and practicing regularly with an instructor display a deliberate and determined effort to confront and conquer the deep rooted phobia.

The narrative highlights the gradual nature of healing and triumph over fear. The step-by-step process of swimming lessons, started with basic skills and progressed to more challenging tasks. It results as the incremental progress in overcoming trauma.

Towards the end, the eventual triumph of the writer over his fear is marked by a swimming challenge across a lake. It was the symbol of a profound personal victory.

Despite the initial fear and ongoing struggles the narrator perseveres, faces the fear which had deep set in his soul and emerges victorious.



Monday 11 March 2024

Voice of the Rain


The Voice of the Rain

                                                          By Walt Whitman

Analysis :


The poem ‘The Voice of the Rain’ is composed by Walt Whitman, the representative poet of American Literature. He is renowned for the collection of his poems 'The Leaves of the grass'.

 It is a beautiful and magical interpretation of rain which springs from the poet’s soul and touches the readers' heart.

This poem is a conversation between the poet and the soft-falling rain.

The poem personifies the rain, portraying it as a timeless force that brings life, purification, and beauty to the Earth.

The poem also beautifully emphasises the cyclical and eternal nature of rain and finds affinity with the scientific explanation of this process known as water cycle.

This poem is rich with poetic devices and uses vivid imagery to describe the rain along with personification and symbolism.

The poem highlights the theme that rain is an instrument of purification, beautification and cheer on earth and in the world


Line by Line Explanation

And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,

Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:

I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,

The poet is asking the rain about its identity and nature. The rain which is falling softly and beautifully responds to his question, and the poet finds that  response to be little strange.

The rain identifies itself as the "Poem of Earth," It means to say that it is like a poem or song which is played by the Earth. In a way it the beautiful expression of this earth or nature. When the nature wants to express itself, it rains.

 

Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,

Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether

changed, and yet the same,

I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,

And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;

The rain describes its eternal nature and ceaseless process which is cycle or process and it can be explained scientifically. It describes how it rises invisibly from the land and the unfathomable sea as it is too deep. It rises towards the sky, undergoing a transformation as the water vapours change into thick clouds. But it remains same though it changes the form from water to water vapours and then to the clouds.

The rain explains its purpose of descending to the Earth. It falls on the earth to remove the droughts and quench the thirst of the dry land and the humanity. It cleanses everything on the earth and makes everything look greener and fresher removing the layers of dust covering the world.

The rain implies that everything on Earth was like dormant seeds or hidden potential, waiting to come to life. It is the rain that brings them to life and see the light of the world. In simple words without rain nothing can grow be it plants, flowers, fruits or creatures. Rain makes their life or existence worth it.

 

And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own

origin,

And make pure and beautify it;

(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering

Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)

The rain declares that it continually gives life back to its own origin, suggesting a cyclical and eternal process of nature. It means to say that when rain falls on earth, it completes the water cycle so that it can rise again to the sky in form of water vapours and form the clouds to rain again on earth and this way this cycle will go on forever. The rain purifies and beautifies the Earth and this world along with giving life.

The rain is compared to a song that, after being born and fulfilling its purpose, wanders back to its origin without caring whether it is being noticed, rewarded and appreciated or not. But, it always provides love and peace to the music lovers.


Poetic Devices

And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower, - Alliteration, Imagery

Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated: - Assonance, Personification

I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain, - Metaphor, Personification, Repetition

Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea, - Repetition, Assonance, Consonance

Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether – Consonance

changed, and yet the same, - Paradox, Enjambment

I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe, - Alliteration, Imagery

And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn; - Assonance, Alliteration, Anaphora

And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin, - Antithesis, Anaphora

And make pure and beautify it; - Repetition, Enjambment

Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.) – Consonance


Important Question Answers

Q. There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? which line indicates this?

Ans. The two voices in the poem are those of the poet and, of the rain.

The line is -  "And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower, which, strange to tell me an answer,"

Q. What does the phrase "strange to tell mean?

Ans. The phrase "strange to tell" here means that it is a strange feeling and quite difficult to believe that the rain speaks and answers to the poet.

Q. There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicate this? Explain the similarity between the two.

Ans. The line is "For song issuing and from its Birth - place, after fulfilment, wandering reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns”. The music is similar to the rain because music soothes the listeners coming from the heart of creator & returns to him as appreciation. In the same way rain leaves the earth as vapour & returns back to earth in form of rain drops which is another form of water only.

Q. How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem? Compare it with what you have learnt in science.

Ans. The cyclical movement of rain is shown as it rises out of land and sea in form of water vapour, and  then changes its forms from vapours to clouds and from clouds to rain drops. Still, the element remains the same. It is nearly similar to what is taught in science chapters.

Q. Why are the last two lines put within the parenthesis?

Ans. The last two lines are put within the parenthesis because they are neither spoken by rain nor poet. Instead, they are a direct comparison between rain and music.

 


Wednesday 28 February 2024

Summer of Beautiful White Horse


The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse

                                                          By William Saroyan

Analysis :


The story ‘The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse’ written by William Saroyan is a beautiful tale with the idea that a man could be the father of his son’s flesh but not of his soul.

It is an account of a family which is known for its honesty but their sons stole a horse just to fulfil their desire to ride a horse as they were poor and couldn’t buy one.

The story narrates small acts of smartness, courage, cleverness and innocence of Mourad in order to live his dream to ride a horse.

The story conveys the message that we can pass on our genes to the next generation but not the character which is to be built, developed and maintained.

 

Summary

The story is about two Armenian boys of the Garoghlanian family, a tribe whose hallmarks are trust and honesty. Mourad is the cousin of Aram, who is the narrator. Aram was very fond of horses and always longed to ride one. They were poor so it wasn't possible to possess or buy one. One morning Mourad managed to steal a horse from a farmer named John Byro. He invited Aram too, to ride with him. Aram first hesitated as no member of the Garoghlanian family could ever be a thief. He admired the horse so much that he leaped on its back and began riding. The experience was wonderful.

The narrator mentioned an incident of Mourad's uncle, Khosrove, who was very furious and short tempered and had a bad habit of saying, "It is no harm; pay no attention to it." Even when his own house was on fire, he said the same sentence. They enjoyed riding the horse. After that, Mourad asked the narrator to get down as he wanted to ride alone. Narrator’s cousin, Mourad had a way with horses due to which they followed Mourad's all commands. Moreover, when it was Aram's turn, the horse wasn't interested. When Aram started kicking into the horse, it started snorting, running and leaping over vines and thus Aram fell on the ground.

Both the cousins decided to bring the horse and hide it somewhere as everybody was up. Mourad did not tell Aram the truth about since when he was riding the horse as he did not want him to become a liar. Mourad hid the house in the barn of a deserted vineyard. The next day when Uncle Khosrove was at Aram's place, John Byro came over and expressed his grief of losing his beautiful horse. Soon, the farmer was very much annoyed by Khosrove's behaviour and left haughtily. Due to this the narrator discovered that Mourad was in possession of the horse for a month and pleaded to keep it until he learns to ride. The plea wasn't accepted by Mourad as he thought that it would take Aram a year to learn to ride and they couldn't keep it for such a long time.

For some weeks things went as usual, Mourad relished horse riding, on Aram's turn, horse threw him off and ran away. One morning when the cousins ran into John Byro, he inspected the house along with the cousins closely but turned down his thoughts according to which it was his horse as the members of Garoghlanian family were known for their honesty,

The next morning they returned the horse, and kept it back into John Byro's farm. Even the dogs didn't bark at Mourad as he had a way with them, too.

 

Important Question Answers

Q. Did the boys return the horse because they were conscience-stricken or because they were afraid?

Ans. The boys returned the horse because they were afraid to be caught and defamed. Mourad was in possession of the horse for a pretty long time and if they did not return the horse, they might get defamed as thieves. The boys did not want any member of their family to be called as thieves and that too because of their innocent dream. Hence, their conscience also pricked them and they returned the horse.

Q. A suspicious man would believe his eyes instead of his heart...". Justify this statement.

Ans. Over the course of the chapter, John Byro is seen as very much protective towards his horse. He is greatly affected, when he loses the horse. The farmer, when he encounters the cousins along with the house, becomes very suspicious. He closely inspects the features of the horse and finds them to be exactly same as his horse. Any man with that kind of suspicion would believe his eyes not what his heart says. It is only due to the reputation of the Gauoghlarian family that he believes that the horse is the twin of the one John Byro used to have.

Q. William Saroyan brings out the truth of the contemporary world that a man could be the father of his son's flesh and not of his spirit. Discuss.

Ans. William Saroyan, the author of the chapter, "The summer of the beautiful white house" beautifully justifies the fact that "A man could be the father of his son's flesh and not of his spirit". Even though Zorab was the biological father of Mourad, there weren't many things that were similar in their character. Mourad was a crazy fellow, he had ascended the crazy streak in their family from Uncle Khosrove. Mourad's real father, Zorab was a completely practical man but Uncle Khosrove was more like Mourad's character & behaviour.



We are not Afraid to Die


We're not Afraid to Die... If we can all be together

                                                          By Gordon Cook and Allen East

Analysis: 


The story ‘We aren’t Afraid to Die’ written by Gordon Cook and Allen East is a beautiful message of mental strength, courage and resilience.

It is an account of a family and sailors who experienced a storm in Southern Indian Ocean. The story narrates small acts of bravery, courage, support, compassion and sensitivity in order to keep the hope of life alive amid the storm.

The story is great lesson to all the people on how to fight the hurdles and emerge triumphantly in the time of crisis especially with the examples of the children who did their best to bring smiles on the grim faces.

Captain Gordon Cook stood out as a true example of strong leadership and perseverance. He displayed amazing sensibility, great awareness of the storm and directions, and selfless spirit of a captain.

 

Summary :

The narrator with his wife Mary and two children set sail from Plymouth, England, to make a voyage round the world in their boat ‘Wavewalker’ which was their dream. They also practised honing their seafaring skills and testing their boat in British waters.

Initially the journey passed pleasantly as they sailed down the west coast of Africa to Cape Town. They took on two crewmen, American Larry Vigil and Swiss Herb Seigler to tackle one of the world’s roughest seas, the southern Indian Ocean.

Second day out of Cape Town, they encountered strong gales which remained thus for few weeks. The size of the waves was alarming. On December 25 despite atrocious weather they had a wonderful holiday complete with a Christmas tree. New Year’s Day saw no improvement but they still hope for favourable change soon but it changed for the worse. At dawn on January 2, the waves were gigantic, and the wind were screaming. To slow the boat down, they dropped the storm jib and double lashed everything, put on the life jackets and waited.

Then, the wind dropped, the sky immediately grew dark and a disastrous wave came roaring. Then, a tremendous explosion shook the deck and a torrent of green and white water broke over the ship and they were sinking below the waves experiencing the approaching death. The narrator was losing consciousness. Then, unexpectedly, his head popped out of the water and a wave hurled the boat upright. He grabbed the guard rails and went into Wavewalker’s main boom. He held the wheel firmly and geared up sternly for the next wave. He experienced “Water, Water, Everywhere”.

Suddenly Mary came and screamed that the ship is full of water. The children were pumping madly to remove the water out of ship. After finding a hammer, screws and canvas, the narrator headed for repairs to stop the ship from sinking and he was successful in doing so. But, then the hand pumps started to block up due to the debris floating in and the electric pump short circuited. The water level again rose threateningly. Then, he connected to another electric pump to an out-pipe and it worked. All night they were pumping, steering and working the radio but no replies came to their Mayday calls. Sue was injured badly but didn’t bother her parents as all were busy in fighting the storm.

On January 3, the situation was under control and they could rest in rotation. But Wavewalker wouldn’t hold together up to reaching Australia. Their only hope was to reach one of the two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the east. One of them, Ile Amsterdam, was a French scientific base.

Mary found some corned beef and biscuits, and they ate their first meal in almost two days. The weather again deteriorated and by January 5, the situation was again desperate. Jon asked in fright, “Daddy, are we going to die?”, “we aren’t afraid of dying if we can all be together — you and Mummy, Sue and I.”

He left the children’s cabin and was determined to fight the sea with everything he had. He tried to do the mending but the water kept coming. Still, Wavewalker rode out the storm and by the morning of January 6 the wind eased. Sue had drawn caricatures of Mary and the narrator who looked funny. They laughed to see the caricatures. Sue made it to say ‘thank you’.

The narrator checked and calculated to understand the way and where they were going. He had lost his main compass and was using a spare which had not been corrected for magnetic variation. Then, he went on deck and expected to see the island at about 5 p.m. When I woke up at 6 p.m., he felt they missed the island. Then, the children gave him a hug saying that he is the best dad and the best captain and informed that they found the land. He was amazed to actually have found Ile Amsterdam, the most beautiful island in the world for them. He felt grateful to Larry and Herbie, all his crewmen, his wife and especially his children who were exceedingly brave and ‘not afraid to die’.

Important Question Answers

Q. What difference did you notice between the reaction of the adults and the children when faced with danger?

Ans. On being encountered by the lethal waves of the southern Indian ocean all the family members including the crewmen and wavewalker took immense damage. Everybody was significantly shaken. The adults were quite baffled by the increasing danger and continuously thought of approaching death. However, the children displayed some splendid sense of maturity and were not quite afraid of death. They were very helpful in their behaviour and did not choose to bother their tensed parents.

Q. How does the story suggest that optimism helps to endure the direst stress?

Ans. The story suggests that optimism helps to endure "the direst stress" by referring to the two crew members i.e. Larry and Herbie who kept their calm and hopes alive even when they had slim chances of survival amidst the violent weather. It was because of this continued efforts and cheerful attitude that all of them maintained to reach the Ile Amsterdam

Q. What lessons do we learn from such hazardous experiences when we are tar to face with death?

Ans. When such incidents happen and when we are battling between death and life, we learn that keeping our calm and optimism are the key to survival. Holding our nerves helps us make correct decisions and battle out our way to move away from the dangers.

Q. Why do you think people undertake such adventurous expeditions in spite of the risks Involved?

Ans. Knowing the risks of any adventurous expeditions, people decide to undertake them, as a challenge. They usually do it to relish the thrilling experience of these risks. Some people also decide to take them to gain worldwide fame. The narrator undertook this voyage to take their family name and tradition farther.




Wednesday 14 February 2024

A Photograph


A Photograph

                                    By Shirley Toulson

 

Analysis of the poem : 

§  The poem ‘A Photograph’ is composed by Shirley Toulson, a new age English poet, journalist and local politician.

§  The poem explores the passage of time, memory, and the enduring impact of loss through a memory captured in a photograph.

§  The poem discusses three different phases in poet’s life and only one of them shares active relation between the poet and her mother. This shift in time is one of the themes highlighting the transience of life and the inevitable changes that occur over the years.

§  The poem is subjective as it describes the emotions of the poet associated with her childhood and mother. It brings her childhood memories back and separation from her mother.

§  The poem is rich in language and profound in emotional content with the wonderful handling of words and expressions. It is free verse without any rhyming scheme.

§  The tone of the poem is melancholic as the poet feels sad recalling the day when her mother was be there with her remembering her childhood.

§  One is clearly able to make out the theme of the poem that aging and death though are natural and unavoidable become scary and painful to accept.

§  The poem is a free verse without any rhyme scheme and meter.

§  This beautiful poem depicts a daughter-mother relation and fear of losing one’s relations.


Summary / Synopsis

§  "A Photograph" intricately weaves together themes of time, memory, nostalgia, and the complex emotions associated with the loss. The photograph serves as a poignant memory of the poet and her mother’s life.

§  The poem also describes deep impact of shared moments in their life through an image captured on a beach holiday.

§  Poet’s mother first laughs at funny dresses of the three girls on the holiday but later realises the loss of her childhood while the poet laments at the loss of her mother after death.

§  The poet feels that sea hasn’t changed while there has been profound change in both the poet’s life as well her mother’s.

§  The concluding lines contemplate the silence surrounding death. The speaker's mother has been dead for as many years as the girl in the photograph lived.

§  The poem suggests that there is a profound silence associated with death, a silence so powerful that it itself becomes an expression of the unutterable nature of loss.

 

Line by Line Explanation

The cardboard shows me how it was

When the two girl cousins went paddling,

Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,

And she the big girl — some twelve years or so.

All three stood still to smile through their hair

At the uncle with the camera. A sweet face,

My mother’s, that was before I was born.

And the sea, which appears to have changed less,

Washed their terribly transient feet.

 Explanation:

The poet is looking at a photograph framed in a cardboard, which serves as a memory of the past.

The photograph captures a moment when two female cousins of the poet’s mother were wading or playing in water with her. The cousins were holding hands with her mother, indicating a close and affectionate relationship.

The poet's mother is older or ‘big girl approximately twelve years old at the time of the photograph. The trio stopped moving and posed for the camera, smiling with their hair falling over their faces. They smiled at the uncle who was taking the photograph. The poet's mother had a sweet smiling face. The photograph captures a moment from a time before the poet was born.

The sea under their feet seems to have undergone almost no changes but the people in the photograph have changed drastically as they have grown old. The sea is described as washing the feet of the three girls, emphasising the transient and fleeting nature of life compared to ceaseless and perennial nature.

 

Some twenty — thirty — years later

She’d laugh at the snapshot. “See Betty

And Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they

Dressed us for the beach.” The sea holiday

Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry

With the laboured ease of loss.

 Explanation :

Twenty or thirty years have passed since the photograph was taken. The  mother later used to laugh with the Poet as she found the clothing and the dressing style of her cousins and herself funny on the day when she went out for the beach holiday. The mother mentioned her cousins, Betty and Dolly and laughed at their dresses as she felt that they looked funny in the dresses. The laugh of the mother is now a history, her past for the poet.

The beach vacation depicted in the photograph was her mother's past, while the speaker's own past is her mother's laughter as she is dead and the speaker misses her mother and her laughter.

The laughter of both the mother and the speaker is described as "wry" or bittersweet. Mother is sad as her childhood has gone and her carefree days of childhood are over which is a huge loss for her. The poet is in grief at the loss of her mother to death. There is a painful smile at poet's lips as she remembers her mother's laugh. This acceptance of loss is not effortless as it is extremely painful and difficult.

 

"Now she’s been dead nearly as many years

As that girl lived. And of this circumstance

There is nothing to say at all.

Its silence silences"

 Explanation :

The speaker's mother has been deceased for a similar length of time as the girl in the photograph had lived. At the time of the photograph the mother was twelve years old and it’s been same time after her death now when the poet is looking at the photograph and missing her mother. The speaker acknowledges the reality of death and the inability to find words to express the circumstance and her emotions at this emotional loss. Now, the girl in the photograph is silent and this silence is hurting her, troubling her.

The poem concludes with the tragic and unavoidable fate of a living soul that is death. The poet feels unable and incapable to express herself but this silence is troublesome and painful.  

Theme

The poem highlights the theme of impermanence and transience. The sea, which "appears to have changed less," becomes a symbol of permanence of nature in contrast to the fleeting nature of human life. The image of the sea washing their "terribly transient feet" conveys the loss of life against perennial sea. The poet also reflects that aging and death though are natural and unavoidable become scary and painful to accept.

Poetic Devices

Each one holding one of my mother’s hands – Repetition, Alliteration

And she the big girl — some twelve years or so – Alliteration

All three stood still to smile through their hair – Alliteration, Consonance  

At the uncle with the camera. A sweet face – Repetition

My mother’s, that was before I was born – Repetition

And the sea, which appears to have changed less,

Washed their terribly transient feet – Alliteration, Paradox

Some twenty — thirty — years later - Assonance

She’d laugh at the snapshot. “See Betty – Alliteration

And Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they – Repetition

Dressed us for the beach.” The sea holiday – Repetition

Was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry – Repetition, Consonance

With the laboured ease of loss – Alliteration, Oxymoron, Pathos  

Now she’s been dead nearly as many years – Alliteration

As that girl lived. And of this circumstance – Alliteration, Consonance

There is nothing to say at all – Assonance

Its silence silences – Alliteration, Assonance, Pathos