Summary of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise"

 

Maya Angelou is an African-American poet.  She has written many poems.  She has written many poems on women and race.  ‘Still I Rise’ is a poem by the American poet Maya Angelou.  This is a protest poem.  ‘Still I Rise’ is about racial and gender discrimination. 

 

Angelou starts her poem by saying "you." She uses wordplay with "write down in history." This phrase means both "write my history" and "downplay me by lying." Even if people try to make her and other African-Americans feel small, Angelou says she will rise, just like dust, and not be defeated.

 

In the second stanza, Angelou asks if her confidence and attractiveness upset people. She walks proudly, like a rich oil baron. In the third stanza, she says she will rise like the sun and moon, and like our hopes for a better future.

 

In the fourth stanza, Angelou asks more questions. She says the addressee wants to break her spirit. In the fifth stanza, she shows her pride. She holds her head high instead of bowing. She laughs confidently, like someone very rich with gold mines in their backyard.

 

In the sixth stanza, Angelou shows her defiance. People may use cruel words and unkind looks, and throw 'hatefulness' (meaning both 'bad attitudes' and 'hate for others') at her and other black people. But they will rise 'like air': naturally and lightly.

 

In the seventh stanza, Angelou talks about her 'sassiness' becoming 'sexiness'. She shows more confidence. Now, she looks like she has diamonds between her thighs. This means her body and wealth have come together.

 

‘Still I Rise’ ends differently with fifteen lines repeating ‘I rise’ many times. Angelou says she and others rise from the shameful history of how black people were treated. She is like a powerful, vast, and energetic ocean that can handle life's challenges.

 

She is leaving behind the dark times of fear and starting a new, brighter, and hopeful time. Her ancestors, who suffered as slaves and faced racial prejudice, dreamed of this moment. Their hard work and struggles, including those of Civil Rights campaigners like Angelou, have made this dream come true.

Summary of Jawaharlal Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny"

 Introduction

Jawaharlal Nehru is the first Prime Minister of India.  He took part in India’s freedom struggle.  He is a well-educated man.  His book The Discovery of India narrates the history of India in detail.  Tryst with Destiny is a speech delivered by Nehru on 14^th August 1947 to the Indian Constitution Assembly.

 

Nehru’s Vision

Nehru opens his speech by thanking destiny or fate, which has given way to India’s freedom after a long time.  He is eagerly waiting for midnight, wherein India will be a free nation.  India will awake when the whole world sleeps.  India has achieved freedom after a long struggle.  Before British came to India, we were a better nation.  Nehru wants Indians to be idealistic and make India progress.

 

Responsibility of Indians

Nehru asks the people of the assembly to take responsibility that is given by freedom.  India still suffers from the pain that was there before freedom, yet we should think of the future and not the past.  Future of India is not an easy one.  Indians should fight against poverty, ignorance, dieses and inequality. 

 

Nehru’s Mission

Nehru calls every Indian to work hard to make the dream come true.  Indian must work hard to unite the whole world.  Indians should not blame each other over petty issues, but they should be united.  Nehru is waiting for 15^th August and he wants to rewrite Indian history through its freedom.

 

Thanking Freedom Fighters

Nehru thanks Gandhi, the father of our nation.  He asks every Indian to follow the footsteps of Gandhi and to pass his messages to the next generations.  He thanks the soldiers and volunteers, who fought for India’s freedom.  He also remembers the people, who are been sent to other countries during freedom.

 

Free India

Nehru calls every one of us to create better India in future.  Freedom and opportunity must be given to farmers and ordinary people.  India must be developed into a progressive nation with good society, economics and politics.  Everyone should work together without religious and other differences. 

 

Conclusion

            He concludes his speech by thanking the people of the world and promising them that India would help other countries to create a better world.

Summary of Oliver Goldsmith's A City Night-Piece

 

A City Night-Piece

-          Oliver Goldsmith

Introduction

Oliver Goldsmith is a poet, dramatist, essayist and a novelist.  He has contributed to English literature in all its forms.  His works are known for their observation of his society.  He explains in detail about the people and the setting of age in all his works.  A City Night-Piece is a short essay about Goldsmith’s experience during a night.  He walks alone by 2.00 a.m. and observes the people and the happenings in the streets of London.

London at 2.00 a.m.

Goldsmith comes out by 2.00 a.m. and finds the taper busy rising and falling into the socket.  The watchman is almost asleep.  People who worked hard are asleep.  People who are suffering from guilt and despair, drunkards, robbers and people who commit suicide are the ones who are awake.

Goldsmith’s Philosophical Thoughts

Goldsmith stops his observation and decides to walk around the streets.  All streets are empty without people.  A few hours before all the streets were full of people, who were very proud.  By 2.00 a.m., there are no people and no pride.  The sound of a dog and a chiming clock is heard.  All human beings are silent.  It is like a mockery of human pride.  Goldsmith thinks of a period where a future traveler like him may come and look at the empty city.  The traveler would see bushes and plants in the place of churches.  Reptiles will be seen in temples and theatres.   All places would have fallen and become empty.  The rich and influential people would become dead.  Every human being and their pride will become nothing.

The People at 2.00 a.m.

Goldsmith looks at the few people who are found in the street at that part of the day.  They are the people who wear a mask during day time.  These people will hide themselves during day.  These people are strangers, wanderers and orphans, who usually stay in the streets and before the houses of the rich.  These people horrify Goldsmith and they create pity.  Some people are without proper clothes and many are with diseases.  There are some women, who are turned to be prostitutes by rich men.  These women were beautiful once.  They were misused by villains who are rich.  These women are now suffering and shivering in snow.  The villains who ruined their life are happy and peaceful.

Conclusion

Goldsmith finds it difficult to see the suffering of all these people.  The world, for him, will give him only sufferings.  People are suffering because of the small habits of the rich people.  The powerful people destroy their life.  The poor people only cry out of pain.  Even laws become an enemy to the poor.  Goldsmith feels bad for observing such people, because it pains him.  He cannot help them and this makes him suffer more than those people.

Summary of Francis Bacon's "Of Adversity"

 

Of Adversity

-          Francis Bacon

 

Introduction

Francis Bacon is called as the father of English prose.  He was the first to write prose pieces in English, during Elizabethan period.  He writes about common topics.  He deals the topics in a straight forward manner by using less number of words.  Of Adversity is one such essays, which is about the positive features of adversity.  Adversity means bad or difficulty times.

 

Positivity of Adversity

Bacon opens the essay by quoting Seneca, a Roman Philosopher, who has said that prosperity is always related to good things, so it is often wished for.  Adversity should be admired and appreciated.  He quotes another Latin saying which means, things of victory are desired and adversity is wonderful.  Through these quotes Bacon wants us to see adversity in a positive way.

 

Miracles and Adversity

Miracles happen during adversity.  These miracles are created by God, to save normal human beings.  These miracles prove our faith in God.  Bacon again quotes a Latin proverb, which says that greatness is in the man’s prayer to God during the times of adversity.  When we accept that we are powerless, we are great before God.

 

Adversity through Poetry

Bacon says that these miracles happen in poetry.  The calamities and adversities of our life are better explained through the imagination in poetry.  Bacon shares the story of Hercules and Prometheus to explain this.  Prometheus was a brave man, who wanted to help human beings, but he was punished by God.  Hercules, who was Prometheus’ friend, went to rescue him.  Hercules crossed an ocean in a very small vessel to save his friend.  This story in the form of poem helps us to think of adversity in a positive way.

 

Adversity and Bible

Prosperity and adversity are gifts of God.  Prosperity brings moderation and adversity brings courage.  Prosperity is the sign of Old Testament and adversity is the sign of New Testament.  Bacon narrates the story of Job from Bible.  Job faces many difficulties or adversities during his life, which has a happy and blessed ending.  Bacon wants us to accept a life of adversities, so that we become stronger and courageous.

 

Adversity compared with Embroidery

Bacon says that prosperity is not always with joy and happiness.  Adversity is not always with sorrow and grief.  He explains this by comparing it with an embroidery.  It is good to see a bright embroidery with a dull background.  If the background is good and the embroidery is dull, it will not be attractive.  We cannot complain the embroidery work.  We should judge something by heart and not with our eyes.

 

Conclusion

Bacon concludes the essay by saying that the true smell of a flower will be experienced only when it is crushed.  Similarly, our true strength and courage will be known to everyone only during the times of adversity.

 

Summary of Margaret Atwood's Survival

 Introduction

            Margaret Atwood is a famous Canadian writer.  She has written many novels.  The prose Survival talks about her reading habits, when she was young.  It also talks about her introduction to Canadian literature.

 

Atwood’s First Books

            At her young age, Atwood started reading Canadian literature without knowing that she is reading Canadian literature.  Later she reads comics like Captain Marvel, Plastic man and Batman.  She reads comics because her parents asked her not to read them.  She also read some animal stories.

 

Reasons for her Reading

            Nobody says her that she was reading Canadian literature.  Even if someone had said her that she was reading Canadian literature, she would not have thought much about it.  She reads for entertainment.  She did not see different literature in her reading.  She read books for entertainment. 

 

Reading at a Later Age

            Her level of reading changes when she grows up.  She reads Captain Marvel as a fantasy escape.  She reads animal stories because she finds them real.  She reads a few books on recipes.  She says that only a few recipes are good when cooked and others are bad.  The animal stories were about the struggle to survive.  It is like a riddle to her.

 

Her Christmas Gift

            When she grows up someone gives her Robert Weager and Helen James anthology Canadian Short Stories.  For the first time she reads a story named Canadian literature.  The stories have animals in the form of human beings.  The stories are about human beings chased away by other human beings.  The stories are about dead bodies.  This gives a different feel to her.

 

Conclusion

            Atwood concludes the essay by saying that she has read some her literature but other do not read their own literature.  She also says that the more she reads Canadian literature she comes to know more about her country Canada.

 

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COMPARATIVE LITERATURE AND TRANSLATION STUDIES

 

 

            Some critics consider comparative literature as a subject and some do not consider it as a subject.  However, comparative literature depends very much on translation. Translation studies promote comparative literature.

 

            Comparative literature is a reaction against the narrow 19^th century nationalism.  It is originated in France in the year 1816.  Matthew Arnold popularized the term in England in 1848, through his lectures.

 

            Comparative literature is a study of intertextuality, for example, if we have to compare an English novel with that of an Oriya novel, we have to use English or Oriya as out medium.  Certain conditions determine high translation activities.  According to Evan Zohr, translation activity takes place when the literature is in its initial stage or when it is marginal.  For example, in 12^th century Europe the translation activity was significant because of a shift from epic to romance.

 

            In India there is craze for translation in recent times for two reasons:

 

1)      The writers or the critics want their literature to be translated into English or any other language because they want others to notice their literature and language.

2)      When their literature is translated there is so much scope of comparing their literature with other literary texts and its own text in source language.

 

Derrida’s theory of translation is very important.  He does not consider the source text as original because it is an elaboration of an idea, of a meaning and it in itself is a translation.   This idea about the original translation makes us conclude that translation is no more a secondary work.

 

To conclude, we could quote Susan Bassnett, who says “We should look upon translation studies as the principle discipline from now on, with comparative literature as a valued but subsidiary subject area.”

TRANSLATION AS CREATIVE WRITING

 

 

            In olden days, translation was considered as a mere rendering of SLT in TLT.  Many scholars and translators considered translation as creative process and as new writing.  Best translations are that does not read like translation at all.  Translation theories have undergone sea change with the modern critical theories.  Modern critical theories give new meaning to literature.  Based on their argument, we could easily say that translation is creative for it recreates SLT into TLT.

            A translator is a reader, an interpreter and a creator.  Sir Aurobindo says “a translator is not necessarily bound to the original he chooses; he can make his own poem out of it, if he likes…”

            Old classics, in our country, like Upanishads, Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata have been rendered into many languages of India and the world.  Every such rendering is called as a new writing.

            K. Ayyapa Panikar says that the evolution of translation in our country began in the middle ages with the translation of Sanskrit classics like epics and puranas.  They were translated without exactness and accuracy.  These works are translated based on the features of the target language and the taste of the target readers.  The Aryan texts were translated to the Dravidian or south Indian languages, they were localized.  These localized versions are well received by the public and there is nothing alien about them.  These stand an example for the fact that translation is more of creation and not mere imitation.

            The concept of translation as a creative writing can be better understood if we examine the works of self-translators.  Self-translators are people who write the same work in two languages.  For example, Tagore’s Gitanjali in English is vastly different from his original Bengali version.  Manoj Das, a bilingual writer in Oriya and English, writes a short story in Oriya and gives sometime to translate it into English.  He keeps the plot of the story but changes many details while translating it in English.  He creates a new version in English.  Both their writings, language 1 and language 2, should be considered as new writings and creations.

Summary of Dr. Radhakrishnan's On Earth One Family

 

Introduction

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is the second president of India.  Indians celebrate Teachers Day to mark the birth date of Dr. Radhakrishnan.  He is a philosopher, statesman and a teacher.  He has written many books on religion and philosophy.  On Earth One Family is a prose about equality among every human being around the world.

 

Role of Science and Technology in Bringing Unity

            Dr. Radhakrishnan begins the essay by saying that the dream of prophets and the seers have true.  The modern world is emerging into a world society.  Every one of us belongs to one family because the earth has become one.  Buddhism, Christianity and Islam have talked about brother-hood, one family and one God on earth.  Science and technology has made this come true.  We are all brought together easily through science and technology.  Inspite of different races and cultures we all have become one.  The development of nuclear weapon has created the fear and hatred of war.  This has made all countries to be friendly with each other.  Total disarmament will bring peace among us.  If we want to be peaceful we should achieve it through love and brother-hood and not through hate, violence and force.

 

The Example of Nepal

            Dr. Radhakrishnan takes Nepal as an example on how to achieve peace.  Nepal had three separate entities – Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu.  These three places had their own armies and existence.  After a lot of struggle, they merged together and became one state-Nepal.  To become one social injustice must be removed.

 

Qualities to Achieve Unified World

            Dr. Radhakrishnan lists the following three qualities to achieve peaceful life:

1.      We should feel that we belong to one whole and we all have common purposes, apart from all sorts of differences we have.  We all should be unified by one central authority, which will encourage love and peace among people.  This centre will link with other parts of world and we all can be united.

2.      The second quality is to remove injustice among people and to have a sense of contentment.  People should not be frustrated about their living.  They should be content with what they have and do not cry over what they do not have.  This could be achieved by removing the injustice done to them.  People must be hopeful that their life would change.

3.      The third quality is to develop a sense of belonging.  Every citizen should have a sense of belonging with the whole world.  Everyone must have the right idea, which will move the world in the right direction.  We should get rid of bad ideas.  We should have a sense of tolerance and not hostility.

 

Conclusion

Dr. Radhakrishnan is happy that the world today is united.  Earlier people did not know what was happening outside their country and religion.  But today with the help of radio, transport and communication.  This idea of oneness should be instilled in the young minds before it is corrupted by other factors.  Dr. Radhakrishnan could see the change with his own experience and with his own eyes.  To achieve unity, we should not think of the past but think of the future.  Today is an age of interdependence.  Every country depends on each others.  We must teach young students  about one nation.

Summary of Walt Whitman's O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman is a famous American poet.  He has written many poems on the theme of democracy.  O Captain!  My Captain is an elegy written on the death of Abraham Lincoln, the President of America.  In this poem, Whitman compares Lincoln as captain of a ship that returns after the American Civil war.

The poem opens with the poet addressing the captain, Abraham Lincoln, who is returning to the shore after winning the civil war.  The poet imagines that he is standing among the people on the shore waiting to celebrate the captain’s arrival and victory.  The ship has passed through all hardships and it is grim and daring.  In the deck of the ships, the captain is lying dead and cold.  The hearts of the people are bleeding with drops of red blood.

The poet asks the captain to rise up from death on hearing the bells and bugles.  He wants the captain to wake up and see the flag, bouquets, the wreaths and the shore that is crowded with people.  The people on the shore are waiting eagerly to look at the victorious captain.

The poet addresses the captain as his father and asks him to wake up from death.  It is more like a dream for him to see the captain cold and dead in the ship.  For all the cries and calls, the captain does not open his lips, which has become very pale.  There is no pulse in his arms and the father does not feel the poet’s touch.

The ship reaches the shore and is anchored safely.  The voyage ends with the people after a victorious journey for the sake of the people.  The ship stops after achieving its objectives.  These lines could also be taken metaphorically.  The ship’s voyage represents the life of Abraham Lincoln, which has come to a halt after the strenuous and victorious journey.  The poet and the crowd are at a loss.  They do not know how to respond to this situation.  They came to celebrate the victory of the war and their captain but the captain is dead.  The poet asks them to ring the bells and he walks to the deck to see the captain, who is cold and dead.

Though the poem is an elegy, Whitman uses many figures of speech like extended metaphor, transferred epithet, simile, etc. to convey his grief in an effective way.  The poet, through this poem, expresses his true love and affection of the people of America towards their president.

Summary of William Wordsworth's Tables Turned

 

 

Introduction

            William Wordsworth is a famous English poet.  He has written many poems about nature.  People call him a nature poet.  Tables Turned is a short poem about the goodness of nature.  The poem is n the form a conversation with a friend who supports books.  Wordsworth argues that nature teaches better lessons than books.

Nature – A Better Teacher

            The poet opens the poem by disturbing his friend, who is busy reading a book.  He asks his friends to stand up, go away from the books, so that he does some physical activity, and stay away from becoming fat.  He asks his friend not to toil and trouble with books; instead, he can clear his looks by spending some time with nature.

            Wordsworth describes the world outside the books.  He looks at the tall mountains and the colourful green fields.  He also enjoys the different colours of the evenings.  The outside world offers a colourful life. 

            He advises his friend to listen to the song of the linnet (a small bird).  The song is sweeter and it offers him more wisdom than what a book gives.  Books are dull, compared to nature.  The throstle, a small bird, is better preacher than some moral books.  Nature is always a better teacher.  Nature is full of wealth and health.  It gives happiness to all people who approach it.

            A tree can teach better moral lessons than a sage can.  Learning from nature is always sweet.   It is human beings, who murder nature to understand it.

Conclusion

            The poet concludes the poem by asking his friend to close all the books on science and art.  He confirms that books do not offer any formal education.  He asks his friend and the readers to come to nature with a open heart and to learn by simply watching the happenings nature.

PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION

 

What is Communication?

Communication is an English word that has its origin from Greek word “communicare”, which means to share.  We communicate every second of our life.  We share our emotions and thoughts with others by using many ways.  Communication could be best defined as “everything we do is communication”.  We communicate through speech or writing, which are a set of symbols or lexemes created and used by human beings.  We use words to communicate.  Usually the words, we use in our communication, are compared with the tip of an iceberg.  Tip of an iceberg is seen at the surface of the sea but its foundation is hidden inside the sea.  The foundation is usually very strong and well rooted.  So the words we use is just the tip, very less in amount, and other factors like volume, tone, eye contact, etc convey more than the words we use.  Real communication is reaching out to people in the right way.  It is the message received and not what is said.

 

Process of Communication

 

 

The communication process starts with the formation of ideas by the sender, who then transmits the message through a channel or medium to the receiver. The receiver gives the feedback in the form of a message or appropriate signal in the given time frame to continue the communication cycle.

 

Components of Communication

1.      Context

Context is a broad field.  Every message we communicate has a context.  Context could be the message we are going to communicate and it depends of country, culture, organization and the persons who are involved in the communication.

 

2.      The Message

The message is what a speaker is going to convey or share with his audience.

 

3.      The Speaker/Sender/Encoder

Sender is the person who communicates the idea, information, material, etc.  He/she encodes the message, which he/she is going to convey, in the form of words, gestures, appearance, mime, etc.

 

4.      Medium

Medium is also called as channel.  A medium in communication is by what means a speaker is going to convey his message.  A medium could be telephone, email, message, facebook timeline, etc.

 

5.      The Audience/Receiver/Decoder

The receiver is the person who is going to receive the message is said.  Receiver is called as a decoder because he/she is the person who is going to receive the message and understand it in his/her own terms and respond.

 

Types of Communication

            The following are the different types of communication:

1.      Verbal communication

Communication, which is done by using words, is called as verbal communication.  Verbal communication is divided as oral communication and written communication.  Oral communication is information spoken by mouth or speech.  The following are the kinds of oral communication:

a)      Monologue

Monologue is a speech made by one person expressing his thoughts to the audience.  There will be silent listeners when this person conveys his ideas.  There are two types of monologues.  Exterior monologue is when the speaker speaks aloud to the listener and interior monologue is when the speaker speaks as if to himself.

b)      Soliloquy

Soliloquy is also like interior monologue, wherein a speaker expresses his inner thoughts, when no one is there to listen to him.

c)      Dialogue

Dialogue is a formal exchange of ideas between two persons.

d)     Short conversation

Short conversations are informal spoken exchange between two persons.  Body language plays an important role in short conversations.

e)      Long conversation

Long conversations happen in both formal and informal ways.

Written communication is by means of written symbols.

 

2.      Nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication takes place through sending and receiving wordless messages.  Messages sent through body language, gestures and postures are nonverbal.  Eye contact with the audience is the simplest thing you can do to establish a relationship.  Eye contact serves the following purposes:

It establishes that the audience is listening

It indicates receptiveness

It is basic expressive form

It fulfills the ego of the audience

 

3.      Formal communication

Formal communications happens through formal channels and usually through written modes like letters, notice, reports, etc.

The following are the advantages of formal communication:

Fixation of responsibility

Maintaining of the authority relationship in an organization

Disadvantages of formal communication:

It is time consuming

Leads to good deal of distortion

 

4.      Informal communication

Communications that take place outside formal communication are called as informal communication.  It is normally done to maintain and build social relationship.  Informal communication does not follow authority and it need not always be in written mode.

 

Barriers in Communication

Barriers to communication make a communication difficult or misunderstood.  The following are the common barriers in communication:

·         Physical Barrier – include large working areas and the distortions caused by the background noise and other acoustics

·         Perceptual Barrier – happens when we communicate with persons from the other world or culture

·         Cultural Barrier – every group has expressions unique to their culture and this could not be understood or misunderstood by the other group.  Idioms are good examples of this barrier.

·         Language Barrier – when a person uses inappropriate words while conversing or a different language that is unknown to us

·         Gender Barrier – there are different speech patterns between a man and a woman

·         Lack of subject knowledge

·         Stress

 

Overcoming Barriers to Communication

·         Orientation to employees

·         Developing proper interpersonal relationships

·         Protective listening

·         Using proper language

·         Communication through actions and deeds

 

Summary of Francis Bacon’s Of Studies

 

Introduction

Francis Bacon is called as the father of English prose.  He was the pioneer of English prose.  He has written many prose pieces on various subjects.  Bacon is known for his short yet poignant language.  He uses less number of words and sentences, yet he delivers great meaning and message to the readers and the society.  Of Studies is a short essay, which gives Bacon’s views on studies and its varieties. 

 Three Purposes of Studies

            Bacon opens his essay in a direct way.  He opens by establishing and listing out three major purpose of studies – delight, ornament ability.  People use studies for delight when they are within their private circle and when they rest and enjoy life.  Studies would help them to be at peace with themselves and with their close ones.  Some people use studies as an ornament in their discourse, either in their speech or when they write.  Some people use studies to prove their ability of judgement and to transact business. 

According to Bacon, expert men can execute a work when they handle a situation one by one.  They cannot handle things that come in groups.  On the other hand, only learned people have the quality and capability to handle things in groups. 

 Negative Impact of Studies

            Bacon talks about the negative impact of studies.  If a person spends too much of time in studies then he would become lazy, a sloth.  If a person uses too much of what he or she has studied for ornamentation, it would affect his personal character and would lead to self pride.  If a person uses too much of studies to make judgement about others, then it would degrade the learner into a mere clown and not a scholar.

 Studies and Nature

            Studies perfect nature.  Studies are perfected by experience.  Studies are like natural plants that needs little caring.  Studies would get a complete shape and will be capable of reaching to others through experience.  Crafty men condemn studies because they are involved in their skills.  Simple men admire studies and wise men use studies to acquire wisdom. 

            Bacon warns the readers not to study to contradict and confute, to believe and take for granted and not to talk but to consider and judge with patience.

 How to Read?

            Bacon also advises on how to read a book, “Some books are to be taste, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested”.  There are a variety of books among which some are to be read only in parts, a few books are meant to be read but not with eagerness and some books, which are really good, should be read as a whole with more concentration.

            While describing the importance of reading books, Bacon says, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.”  He also explains that, if a man writes little, he is lacking memory.  If a man talks little, he is lacking wit.  If a man reads little, he will be cunning.  Reading makes a human out of us. 

Cure given by Studies

Bacon establishes his Latin proficiency by quoting “Abeunt studia in mores” which means Studies pass into and influence manners.  Bacon compares studies with that of exercises, which keep the diseases away from our body.  “Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like.”  Similarly, if a man needs to improve his wit he should study mathematics.  If he is not able to differentiate or distinguish, he should study ‘Schooldmen’ (kind of logics, puzzles and riddles), which would make him split his hair and think.  If someone is not good at proving himself, let him study lawyer’s cases. 

            Bacon concludes the essay saying that every defect of mind could be cured by studies.

Gender in Film Studies

Introduction/A Short History

            Gender in film studies means the representation of women in cinema.  Such studies came into existence along with the raise of feminism.  In 1970s, along with the rise of second wave feminism, the patriarchal bias of the society was slowly diminishing and the female stereotypes were stopped and women protested for a realistic portrayal.  The following books laid the foundations for gender studies in cinema:

1)      Kate Millet’s Sexual Politics

2)      Marjorie Rosen’s Popcorn Venuses: Women, Movies and the American Dream

3)      Joan Mellen’s Women and Their Sexuality in the New Film

4)      Molly Haskell’s From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies

            All these works talk about the role of women in cinema.  These feminist views of cinema were highly criticized for demonstrating a naive understanding of social reality and of the operations of films.  They were also said to lack psychological study.  In spite of all these negative criticisms women changed their ideologies and registered their thoughts in more powerful ways.

Theories of Spectratix

            In 1989, a special issue of film journal Camera Obscura appeared under the title The Spectratrix.  This term means how feminist film critics came increasingly to regard the female spectators’ situation as a locus of both theoretical inquiry and political intervention.  Laura Mulvey’s essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema is the most influential essay.

            Mulvey presents a pessimistic note about portrayal of women in narrative cinema.  She talks about ‘3 looks’ in cinema about women:

        i.            The characters’ look at each other during the narrative

      ii.            The camera’s look at the screen

    iii.            The spectator’s look at the screen

            Though these 3 looks are interdependent and they vary accordingly, they are very different from one another.

            Mulvey, while talking about the characters’ look at each other, distinguishes the male gaze and the female reaction.  In all films the male characters gaze at women and they are free to do it.  On the other hand, the women are denied of that free gaze or look.  Men are considered as active spectators and women are passive “to-be-looked-atness”.  Men dominate with their gaze and women allow to do it.  The male’s gaze, though a pleasure for him, creates panic in the women.  The worst case is, where these characters look at.  Mulvey concludes this gaze into two terms – voyeurism and fetishtic scopophilia.  Mulvey analyses Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Vertigo and Marnie for the pleasures of male gaze and the perils it gave women.  Many critics were against Mulvey’s view point.  She, however, criticizes main stream cinema and the need to break away from it and create new forms of cinema.

            Later a critic named Mary Ann Doane, concentrated on the performance quality of women in cinema and not with her biological rootedness.  She compared women’s role and acting with the male counterparts.

Problems of Psychoanalytic Feminism

            Flo Leibowitz, a film critic, argues that feministic film critics spoil the view of a cinema.  According to Flo, a cinema bypasses gender and race and audience watch a movie as a whole.  Gendering cinema concentrates on one aspect of a movie and this brings out the unconscious into conscious level, which would lead to confusion and misunderstanding.  A cinema is an open and common medium, which must be seen only from an open perspective and not with a biased attitude.  Jacquline Bobo, a feminist critic, studies about the responses of common audience for the movie The Colour Purple (1985) by Spielberg.  Every audience did not see the deviation from the novel, neither they termed the movie as feministic  instead they found the moves as uplifting and motivating.  All these are works against the feministic approach of cinema and they show the limitations of psychoanalytic feminism.

Masculinities in Film

Image of ‘man’ as shown in cinema – their physical and muscular strength – their roles could be acted by women also – their morality – being the iconic ‘male’