Autobiography - The Genre

What is Autobiography?

            In an autobiography, an author writes about his own life and achievements.  It is a successful presentation of a personality.  It ends before the death of the writer.  Dr. Johnson says autobiography is better than biography because everyman’s life is best written by himself.  In psychological point of view, autobiography is better because the autobiographer knows his motives, secret hopes and ambitions better than anyone else does.  Longfellow said that autobiography is a product of first hand experience and biography of second hand knowledge.  Stevenson said that autobiography is the true writing.

Types of Autobiography – Objective and Subjective Autobiography

            Autobiography is a narration of events with the purpose of candid telling of the author’s inner life and his public career.  It progress from the outward to the inward, from the objective to the subjective.  St. Augustine’s Confessions, 5^th Century A.D, was the earliest autobiography.  After ten centuries, Rousseau wrote his autobiography in 18^th Century.  Later David Hume, Edward Gibbon and Benjamin Franklin wrote their autobiographies, which were not candid, sometimes repellent, self-revelation or self-exhibitionism.  They are clear, distinct in style and well planned.  These writers inspired many other writers like De Quincey, Benjamin Robert Haydon, Ruskin, H.G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Winston Churchill.  Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn wrote autobiographies in the form of diaries in the 18^th century.  Dorothy Osborne, Thomas Gray, Charles Lamb and John Keats’ wrote autobiographical sketches in the form of letters.

Difficulties of the Autobiographer

            An autobiographer faces many special problems. 

1)      According to Abraham Cowley, writing an autobiography grates the authors heart when he praises himself. 

2)      It is not easy to tell the truth. 

3)      It is difficult to recapture the emotions of the distant past. 

4)      Some episodes may be embarrassing not only the author but also others. 

5)      It is impossible for anyone to be entirely objective. 

6)      Great care must be taken while commenting people who may be alive.  Sometimes it might lead to libel. 

7)      Herbert Spencer pointed out that a biographer and an autobiographer should omit common situations in life and should present the striking and exceptional ones.  This is difficult. 

Whatever difficulties autobiography poses, many authors are victorious in overcoming the problems and have presented their life in the best way.

summary of Anton Chekhov's "A work of Art"

Introduction

Anton Chekhov is a Russian writer.  He is a doctor.  He has written many short stories and dramas.  A work of Art, a short story, is about a statue, a work of art, which is disliked by many persons for its appearance.

Sasha Smirnov

Sasha Smirnov is a small boy.  He is the only son for his mother.  When the story opens runs in the streets with an object wrapped in a newspaper.  He goes to Dr. Koshelkov and unwrap the statue.  He presents the statue (candelabrum) to the doctor, as a thanking note for saving his life from a dangerous disease.  The doctor, at first, does not accept the idea of gifting by saying that he did his work and nothing extraordinary.

Dr. Koshelkov’s Reaction

Sasha compels the doctor to have the candelabrum with him.  The statue is made of bronze.  It has a couple of girls dressed like Eve.  The doctor admires the beauty of the candelabrum but he refuses to accept it.  He says that the candelabrum is not meant for public display.  The statue is obscene.  He also says that he is a family man and his children and many women visit him.  Sasha turns a deaf ear for all these reasons of the doctor.  Finally, the doctor is compelled to accept the gift.

The lawyer’s reaction

Sasha leaves the place happily by advising the doctor to see the statue just a work of art and not as a piece of obscenity.  He decides to give it to the lawyer, Ukhov, his friend, who never gets money for the legal services he does for the doctor.  He goes to lawyer and presents him thinking that he will not object the statue because he is a bachelor.  Ukhov says that his mother, his clients would come often and his servants may laugh at him.  Unmindful of his miserable cries the doctor leaves the candelabrum and goes off.

Shashkin’s reaction

The lawyer, in turn, bestows the candelabrum upon his friend Shashkin, a stage comedian. He gives the candelabrum when the comedian is in the sets. Everybody laughs at the comedian.  He closes the door and stays alone with the statue to avoid being ridiculed.  He is unwilling to talk with the visitors.  The wigmaker advises the comedian to sell the statue at an antique shop, run by an old woman.  Shashkin agrees to the advice and he sells the candelabrum at the shop.

Conclusion

Sasha and his mother run the antique shop.  The next day Sasha runs to the doctor carrying the candelabrum.  He goes to the doctor and presents it to him saying that the statue has a pair and thereby no one would think badly of the doctor.  The doctor’s jaw drops on hearing this.

A Tea Party - Ruth Prawar Jhabvala Summary

Introduction

Ruth Prawar Jhabvala was born on Germany.  She has written many novels and short stories.  A Tea Party is about Prem, a college lecturer, who goes to a tea party with his wife.

Indu’s Dressing

Prem works as a lecturer in Khanna Private College.  Mr. and Mrs. Khanna invites all the teachers for a tea party.  Prem asks his wife Indu to come along with him.  Indu takes more time in dressing.  She wears her best saree.  She wears more jewels.  She looks different from her normal look.  Prem looks at her with surprise.

Prem’s Instruction

They both go out of the house.  They talk less while walking.  Indu asks Prem about the way she should behave in the party.  Prem asks her to talk with people in a decent way.  This is new for Indu.  Indu is uneducated. 

Dishes at the Tea Party

Mr. and Mrs. Khanna receive them happily.  They both enter and take their seat.  Varieties of dishes are served in the party.  The women pass the dishes to men.  The men ask them take it.  All women start eating.  Indu likes the sweets very much.  She eats the dish and forgets about others around her.

Prem’s Embarrassment

            Mr. Chadda is also a lecturer in the college.  He stands up and thanks Mr. and Mrs. Khanna for the party.  He says that such parties would help them build a good relationship.  Everyone agrees with him.  During his talk, Prem sees Indu eating lots.  This embarrasses Prem.  Indu does not care for him and she eats a lot.  He feels bad about her behaviour.

Conclusion

            By the end of Chadda’s speech, everyone starts moving home.  Prem feels sad that he did not speak.  He  does not wish to scold Indu for her behaviour.

A Talk on Advertising - Herman Wouk Summary

 

Introduction

Herman Wouk in his essay A Talk on Advertising talks about the negative features of advertising.  He considers advertising job as cheating people and earning more money.

Marquis’ Invitation

The author goes to Marquis’ office on his invitation.  In his office, Herman Wouk finds different things used by an advertiser.  The office was filled with many pictures, captions, models, etc.  The author takes this invitation as a chance to assault advertisement.

The Evil of advertisement

Herman Wouk opens the essay by asking many questions about the basic needs of human beings.  He asks why people eat.  He answers that people eat because they feel hungry.  They pay money and get their food.  The shopkeeper gets money and serves food.  But people today are not satisfied with ordinary food.  They drink wine, smoke, and eat unhealthy food.  The author blames advertisement for making people to eat all these.

Abuse of Language and Arts

Herman then talks on how advertisers abuse language.  He takes a product named “Aurora Dawn”.  The word aurora mean early morning.  The word dawn mean early morning.  Herman scolds the advertisers for unnecessarily repeating the words with same meaning.  Herman then takes a shampoo named “double-bubble”.  Shakespeare first used the word double-bubble.  The advertisers abuses Shakespeare by using his words for a cheap product like a shampoo.

Abuse of nature

The author then talks about the real-estate businessmen who consider the lands to be their own and not as god given.  They daringly use the caption “come buy” for the lands given by god.

Dismal Pilgrimage

He then talks about a serious problem.  He calls the youths going towards cities with the aim of joining advertisement field as dismal pilgrimage.  He says that not all the youths become a success and many lose their lives.

Conclusion

The author concludes he essay by apologizing for assaulting advertising.  He also wishes that at least two persons would leave the advertisement job on reading his essay.

A Slip of the Tongue - F.E.B. Gray summary

Introduction

F.E.B. Gray is a famous English writer.  He has written many short stories.  “A Slip of the Tongue” is a short story from India.

Harisharman’s Wish

Harisharman is a beggar.  He has a family.  He begs daily for his food.  He wishes to become rich so he moves to another town.  In the town, he searches for job.  He becomes a servant in Sthuladatta’s house.  In few days Sthuladatta arranges marriage for his daughter.  Many people come to the marriage.  Sthuladatta does not invite Harisharman to eat in the marriage.  Hari decides to become popular.  He asks his wife to say that her husband is intelligent.

The Horse

Harisharman steals Sthuladatta’s son in law’s horse and ties it away in the forest.  Sthuladatta feel sad that the horse is stolen.  At that time Hari’s wife goes to Sthuladatta and says that her husband can find the horse.  Sthuladatta comes to Hari.  Hari does some actions and says that the horse is inside the forest.  Sthuladatta becomes happy on getting his horse.  He gives money to Hari.

The King’s Treasure

After few days, the king’s treasure were stolen.  The king calls Hari to find the treasure.  Hari is given a room in the palace and asked to find the treasure.  Inside the room, Hari talks to himself.  He scolds his tongue for telling lie.  This was overheard by Jhiva, a servant.  She comes to Hari and says that it is she who is responsible for the theft.  She says the truth because Jhiva means tongue.  Hari asks her to take some treasure and he takes some.  He asks the rest of the treasure to be kept in garden.  He says the king to dig the garden and find the treasure.  The king gives money to Hari for finding the treasure.

The Test

The ministers in the court doubt Hari’s intelligence and calls him for a test.  They keep a big jar and asks Hari to find what is inside it.  Hari scolds himself as a frog, his nick name in the childhood.  The ministers say that frog is inside the pot.  They all praise Hari.  The king gives a palace and few people for Hari.

A Grammarian’s Funeral- Robert Browning summary

Introduction

Robert Browning’s A Grammarian’s Funeral is a dramatic monologue set in shortly after the renaissance in Europe.  It is a mourning poem sung by a disciple of a noble grammarian, who passed away after spending whole of life in learning new things.  The poem is about the life history of the grammarian as seen by the disciple.  It is in the form of a movement from plains to the hilltop, where they plan to burry the grammarian.  They walk in darkness towards the mountain and during the walk the grammarian’s disciple sketches (says) the biography and the achievements of his master.

Choice of Place/The Right Place

            The grammarian’s disciples decide to bury their master’s corpse in the mountain.  They feel that plains are meant for uncouth people.  They wish their master should be buried in the mountain where there is culture and learning.  They mountain here represents greatness and higher thoughts.  It is a place where the sun shines first and later it passes down.  The grammarian is not an ordinary man to be buried along with the ignorant, illiterates.  Therefore, they decide to bury him in the mountain.  As they walk, they find the rest of the village people fast asleep, in the darkness – under ignorance.

            They say that the life of the ordinary people is like night and the grammarian’s life is like morning.  As climb up they see many peaks and the disciple chooses one peak, which has some light at its top.  The light is not a natural one but it comes from a place there.  They decide to bury the grammarian there.  As they walk, the disciple ask others, who carry the grammarian, to lift their heads and chest up, so that the dead grammarian gets due respect before the onlookers.

The Grammarian’s Young Age

            The grammarian spent all his young age reading and gaining knowledge.  He was interested in knowing the mystery of world and human life.  During his young age, he kept reading voraciously so that soon he became old.  On becoming old, he did not get lazy and unenergetic, but he kept reading his books and understanding life.  If it had been other men, they would have said no to their studies, but the grammarian kept reading books.  Even in his old age, he wanted to know the views of poets and other great scholars.

           

As he grew old, his eyes lost its power and his body became very weak.  If it had been an ordinary man, then he would have stopped reading and started enjoying life but the grammarian did not enjoy life.  He believed in enjoying life after death (the eternal life).  He kept reading books, without a stop.  After reading books, he wished to read the commentaries and criticism of some books.  He wished to read until the last minute of his life.

The grammarian saw life not as parts but as a whole.  He believed that life is of parts that give rise to whole.  To explain this, the poet uses the image of constructing a building.  He says that before building a house one has to draw its parts and then only they have to build.  Similarly, the grammarian believed that to live a happy one must strive (work) hard at the early stage or young age.  The grammarian before beginning to live his life planned for his life.  The grammarian fully believed in God and thereby he planned for his happy life, after death.  Ordinary men would say that time keeps moving and they would start enjoying their life but the grammarian believed in life after death and in the concept that soul has no end.  He also says that human beings should prepare for their life after death.  The present life and enjoyment of life is meant for lower animals and not for human beings.  He says that only animals believe in present and enjoying life.

His belief in God and life after death made him study book after book, without getting tired.  As he grew older and older, his eyes became dim like a lead.  His physic became weaker and weaker.  His disciples, along with the diseases, would advice him not to keep reading books.  However, the grammarian kept reading with more enthusiasm and energy.  One could not separate learning from the grammarian.  Ordinary man drinks water when he is thirsty.  The grammarian drinks knowledge, like a dragon.  His thirst is said as a mighty thirst, a bigger thirst, a noble thirst.

Like ordinary human beings, the grammarian did not mind about cheap and petty ambitions.  He was not narrow in his thoughts.  He did have small ambitions.  He did not draw a small circle around him.  Only ordinary men would believe in short gains and profits and they would lose the bargain during the Judgment day.  Ordinary people aim for a small profit and they achieve it in their life, but they are miserable failures in their eternal life.  The grammarian looked for life beyond death.  His ambitions are larger than life size.  He aimed at a million.  During his life on earth, he did not fulfill one percent of his ambition, but still he was happy and sure of a better life after death.  For him, death is a preparation of life.  He solely believed upon God.

The grammarian was interested in learning even in his deathbed.  Though his voice was feeble and incoherent he explained his disciples the parts of speech and the correct usage of Greek words like hoti (because), oun (therefore) and right usage of the prefix ‘De-’.  He explained the rules of Greek grammar, even when his body was partly paralyzed.

As they come and reach the hilltop, they choose a place filled with lots of birds like swallows and curfews.  The disciple says that the grammarian flew in the sky like the birds.  The disciple once again says that common people should live in the plains and this place is meant for the grammarian.  He describes the qualities of the highest peak.  He considers it as the place where the sun rises, the stars shoot into the sky, the lightning loosens itself, the clouds form and the birds haunt.  It is a place of grandness that suits the grand man, the grammarian.  Therefore, they all decide to stop (halt) and bury the grammarian there.

Conclusion

            As the funeral procession proceeds, we could see the disciple giving instructions to the persons who come along with him.  He gives them signals about the winding path and the way they should walk to avoid inconveniences.  On the whole, the poem is yet another best dramatic monologue of Robert Browning, expressing his philosophy of life and skill of describing nature at its best.

A Devoted Son - summary

Introduction

            Anita Desai is a famous Indian writer.  She has written many novels in English.  Almost all her stories talks about ordinary Indian life and characters.  A Devoted Son is a short story about the relationship between a father and a son.

Rakesh’s Achievements

            Rakesh is the protagonist of the story.  His father’s name is Varma.  The story opens announcing Rakesh’s achievement as the first rank holder in medical studies at national level.  His father feels proud of his son.  He shares with others the fact that Rakesh touched his feet as soon as he saw the results in the paper.  The neighbours celebrate this occasion.  Rakesh moves to U.S. and does his higher education there.  He gets back to India to the same old house, situated in a dirty locality.  He comes to India and falls in his father’s feet.  This surprises the father and the neighbours.  Rakesh’s mother feels happy because Rakesh does not come with a white girl.  Rakesh then worked in a city hospital, grew well in the administrative organization and he left the hospital as a director and built his own hospital.  He took his parents to his clinic in a blue ambassador.  His name spread all over the place and he became famous and rich.

Rakesh’s Old Father

            Rakesh’s mother dies peacefully when her son does her an operation.  After her death, Varma becomes lonely and sick.  He acts strangely.  Sometimes he sits erect, sometimes he lays flat without any movements, and suddenly he rises up and spits beetle juice.  In spite of all indifferent activities, Rakesh read newspaper to his father in all mornings took him to the garden in the evenings and made him sleep in the lawn during summer nights.

Treatment Given by Dr. Rakesh

            Varma becomes old and Dr. Rakesh prescribes him more medicines.  He asks his father not to eat halwa and other sweets.  He orders his wife to give him tasteless food.  He wishes his father to live a long life with him.  He takes care of his father.  He is devoted to his father and his health.  He behaves strict to his father in diet.  He cuts almost all food items.  The father becomes much older and then medicines become his only food.  Rakesh takes care of his father to the best possible.

The Reactions of the Old Man

            Varma hates to see his devoted son as a doctor.  He does not like Rakesh ordering and restricting his diet.  He wishes to eat lots or at least eat the food that he loves most.  He persuades his daughter-in-law and his grand children to get him some sweet but Rakesh objects that.  This heightens his anger.  He complains about his son’s behavior of not providing food to his father to his neighbour friends.  Varma feels totally upset with his son’s attitudes towards his diet.  By the end of the story, he dies with a sad soul.  He does not part Rakesh happily as his mother does.