Discuss The Grass is Singing as a Colonial Novel.

The Grass is Singing as a Colonial Novel

Doris Lessing’s novel The Grass is Singing is set in Southern Rhodesia, now called Zimbabwe in southern Africa during the late 1940s. It deals with racial conflicts between the whites and the blacks in that country.

 

Discuss the Auto Biological Elements/Treatments of Childhood in Jane Eyre.

Auto Biological Elements/Treatments of Childhood in Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte in Jane Eyre gives a graphic description of childhood in which we find none of the children is well adjusted or happy.

 

Jane is orphaned and left to the merciless treatment first of her cousins, then of the orphanage.  While she had a few good moments in her young life, hers could not be called a happy or even normal childhood.  Through no real fault of her own and through circumstances generally beyond her control, she lived a rather difficult life.
  

Comment on the Factor Responsible for the Tragedy of Tess.

Factor Responsible for the Tragedy of Tess

Hardy is a tragic novelist whose tragic heroes and heroines are free from tragic flaw. Their actions are largely determined by their circumstances which are beyond their control. Tess, one of the greatest tragic heroines in English literature, suffers a lot largely by Alec, Angel and Fate, and to a lesser extent by her a flaw in her own.

 

 

Would You Call Hardy a Pessimist? Justify Your Answer.

Hardy a Pessimist

Hardy’s conception of life is essentially tragic. He believes happiness is an occasional episode in the general drama of pain. He concentrates on human suffering and shows that there is no escape for human beings from the suffering.

 

What is the Significance of the Title of the Novel Pride and Prejudice? How are These Qualities Portrayed in the Novel?

Significance of the Title of the Novel Pride and Prejudice

 
The title “Pride and Prejudice” is very likely taken from a passage in Fanny Burney’s popular 1782 novel Cecilia. The novel deals with the gradual union of Darcy and Elizabeth. Shortly after they meet, the begin to diverge because of their ‘Pride’ and ‘Prejudice’; but in course of time, Darcy’s pride demolishes and Elizabeth’s prejudice turns into a reasoned attitude and finally they are best suited to each other for a marital relationship.

 

Assess the role of Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities.

How does Dickens portrary Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities? 

Role of Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities

Madame Defarge is the wife of Ernest Defarge. She is a cruel, embittered, and vengeful woman. She was a watchful eye and records, in her knitting, the names of all those who had to die. She represents the bloody and violent aspect of the revolution.

 

Who is Godot? What does Waiting for Godot Imply for the Characters on Stage and for the Audience?

Godot is one of the riddles of Beckett’s play called Waiting for Godot. Neither the author nor the critics do know exactly who Godot is. The audiences are only left guessing about him. When Beckett was asked who or what was meant by ‘Godot’, he replied, ‘If I know, I would have said so in the play’. By such a statement, we should not, however, conclude that Beckett actually did not know about Godot. He wanted his readers and critics to interpret ‘Godot’ in various ways suitable to them. Thus there is a variety of interpretations of ‘Godot’.

How does The Caretaker Mirror the Contemporary Society

The Caretaker Mirror the Contemporary Society

The Caretaker appears to be a critique of society not in a broad sense but in its limited aspects. That is a number of aspects of society appear to come under criticism in the play. In their different ways both Davies and Aston are victims of society. Davies cannot cope with its complexity and Aston has a damaged mentality but society makes no attempt to help them. Davies seems to be doomed to perpetual loneliness, while Aston, also lonely relies on the unpredictable companionship of his brother. Both the characters lack fulfillment.

 

In what Sense does Davies Represent Everyman?

Davies Represent Everyman

Davies in The Caretaker is a prominent character whose life and problems can be seen as representing certain basic features that are shared by every human being.

How Does Jimmy Porter Resemble Osborne in His War Against the Upper-Middle Class?

Jimmy Porter Resemble Osborne in His War Against the Upper-Middle Class

In Look Back in Anger Jimmy Porter resembles Osborne, the author, in his denunciation of the upper-middle class. There is much similarity between Jimmy and Osborne in their origin. Both of them have come from similar socio-economic background. Jimmy faces opposition from Alison’s mother and in much the same way Osborne faced opposition while courting his wife Pamela. Like Jimmy, Osborne also married Pamela much against her parents’ consent.

What is the Significance of the ‘Bear-and Squirrel’ Game in Look Back in Anger?

Significance of the ‘Bear-and Squirrel’ Game in Look Back in Anger

The ‘bear-and-squirrel’ game in Look Back in Anger signifies the conjugal relationship of Jimmy Porter and Alison. The ‘bear’ and the ‘squirrel’ represent Jimmy and Alison respectively. They are the stuffed toys that Alison and Jimmy keep on their dressing table or in the chest of drawers. The bear is described as a large, tattered toy teddy bear and the squirrel is soft and woolly.

 

 

Discuss in Brief the Theme of Isolation in the Play, The Caretaker.

Theme of Isolation in the Play, The Caretaker

The theme of loneliness or isolation, one of the great problems of modern life has been expressed largely through the characters of Davies and Aston in Pinter’s play, The Caretaker. both Davies and Aston are lonely but the reasons for their loneliness are different. We find Davies alone when he is rescued by Aston from a brawl at the cafe, and after a brief interlude he is left alone again at the end of the play. Davies is an outcast, a vagrant, a man cut off from society but we feel that his isolation is rather self-imposed, because he would not rectify his bad habits. Therefore, isolation for such an unpleasant person is inevitable.

 

Do you Consider The Caretaker to be an Absurd Play?

The Caretaker to be an Absurd Play

We know that Harold Pinter was associated with the ‘theater of the absurd’, and that does not mean that The Caretaker is an absurd drama. This play, no doubt destabilizes such fundamental elements of dramatic structure such as plot, character, and the conventions 

 

 

How does Pinter Illustrate His Idea of ‘Love of Power’ in The Caretaker?

Pinter's Idea of ‘Love of Power’ in The Caretaker

Love of power is a primitive instinct. Power is connected with territory and the struggle for supremacy within that territory. Apparently, the theme of power is depicted through Davies and Mick but Aston at the end exerts his power and banishes the outsider from what he considers his domain.

 

 

Briefly Discuss the Significance of the ‘Tree’ in the Setting of Waiting for Godot.

Significance of the ‘Tree’ in the Setting of Waiting for Godot

The ‘Tree’ generally represents the ‘cross’ on which Jesus Christ was crucified. As such, it is argued that the ‘Tree’ stands as a symbol of hope in the play; because it means that the religious dimension is not completely absent. Indeed, the cross, which is often referred to as the tree in Christian literature, is not a symbol of despair to the Christians. In the light of the Resurrection, it is in fact, the very opposite; it is a sign of the Victory over the forces of the world. Moreover it is claimed, this interpretation of the tree in Waiting for Godot is confirmed by the fact that the tree is seen to have grown leaves in the second Act.

 

Discuss the Use of Pun in the Title of the Play The Importance of Being Earnest.

Use of Pun in the Title of the Play The Importance of Being Earnest

A pun is a form of wit, not necessarily funny, involving a play on a world with two or more meanings. The tile of the play is ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ and pun is involved in the use of the word “Ernest” and the word “Ernest”. So the words “Earnest” and “Earnest” have unity of sounds under duplicity of meanings. The title of the play as mentioned above means that, in order to 

 

 

In What Way is The Importance of Being Earnest Trivial Comedy for Serious People?

The Importance of Being Earnest Trivial Comedy for Serious People

The play The Importance of Being Earnest has been called by its author “a trivial comedy of serious people”. This is, of course a witty and paradoxical description of the play. Serious people cannot be interested in a comedy. Serious people would be interested in serious matters and not in things which appeal to the comic sense. Again a comedy which derives its whole value form the originality and the brilliance of its wit cannot be called trivial. The word trivial has been used either form a feeling of modesty on the author’s part or in an ironical sense.