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MODULE 1
To Mother S. Usha Summary

The poem “To Mother” has been written by the Indian poet S. Usha and published in Oxford

Anthology of Modern Indian Poetry, New Delhi 1994. The poem is based in a feminist perspective

and is written in narrative style where a daughter is seen pleading to her mother. The original poem

is written in Kannada language but has been translated to English by AK Ramanujan.

To Mother S. Usha Summary:

In the poem “To Mother” written by S. Usha, a daughter can be seen pleading to her mother to set

her free and not to force the same code of conduct on her which the daughter’s grandmother’s

forced on her mother. The poem is quite interesting as the common situations of the real world can

be easily compared to the events in the poem. The only two characters shown in the poem are the

daughter and the mother, and the difference between their ideologies is what we are going to

discuss:

The Daughter’s Pleading

“Mother, don’t, please don’t,

Don’t cut off the sunlight

with your saree spread across the sky

blanching life’s green leaves”

To Mother S. Usha Summary: In the first stanza, the daughter is pleading to her mother to not

to cut off the sunlight from her by spreading her saree. Here the sunlight refers to the daughter’s

freedom, and the example is given of green leaves. Just like the green leaves which cannot grow
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if the sunlight is cut off from them, the daughter also cannot live without freedom which her mother

is snatching from her. The lines, “Don’t cut off the sunlight with your saree spread across the

sky” proves that it is the mother who is trying to snatch the daughter’s freedom from her.

The Restrictions Imposed on the Daughter

“Don’t say : You’re seventeen already,

Don’t flash your sari in the street,

Don’t make eyes at passers-by,

Don’t be a tomboy riding the winds“

To Mother S. Usha Summary: Here the daughter is telling the restrictions which her mother has

imposed on her i.e. – to not to show off her clothes in public. Not to make direct contact with

passersby and because the daughter is 17, she should also understand that she shouldn’t act like a

boy and should be more feminine.

Daughter’s Revolt

“Don’t play that tune again

That your mother,

her mother and her mother

had played on the snake-charmer’s flute

into the ears of nitwits like me.

I’m just spreading my hood.

I’ll sink my fangs into someone and lose my venom.

Let go, make way.”

To Mother S. Usha Summary: In this stanza, the daughter can be clearly seen revolting against

her mother and is telling her to not play the same tune (rules), that her mother and grandmother
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played (forced) into the ears of young teenage girls like her. The daughter tells her mother that she

is just in her growing years and will apply her strength to anyone who comes in her way of freedom.

Breaking the Traditions

“Circumambulating the holy plant

in the yard, making rangoli designs

to see heaven, turning up dead

without light and air,

for god’s sake, I can’t do it.

Breaking out of the dam

you’ve built, swelling

in a thunderstorm,

roaring through the land,

let me live, very different

from you, Mother.

Let go, make way.”

To Mother S. Usha Summary: The daughter says that all the traditions which are forced upon a

girl in a society like worshipping the holy plant (Tulsi), making rangolis, etc. to visit heaven after

death instead of dying in the dark, the daughter cannot follow them at all. She wants to break the

damn which her mother has built on her, break the rules that her mother has enforced on her and

live freely like a raging thunderstorm. In the last lines, the daughter pleads again to her mother to

let her live a very different life from the mother’s and to let her go and enjoy freedom.

To Mother S. Usha Summary: Question and Answers

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Q: What does the word “Sunlight” Stand for in the poem and why the daughter is telling her

mother to not to spread her saree?

A: In the poem “To Mother” written by Kannada poet S. Usha and published in Oxford Anthology

of Modern Indian Poetry, the word “Sunlight” refers to the daughter’s freedom which her mother

is snatching away from her by spreading her saree across the sky. The metaphor “Don’t cut off the

sunlight with your saree spread across the sky” have been used with the metaphor “green leaves”

which have been used to refer to the mother’s cutting off the daughter’s freedom. That is why the

daughter is telling her mother to not to spread her saree across the sky.

Q: What’s the attitude of the daughter towards her mother?

A: In the poem “To Mother” written by Kannada poet S. Usha, the conversation between a mother

and daughter can be clearly portrayed in which the most of the behaviour of the daughter is

revolting against her mother. The mother has tried to force every rule that was imposed on her by

her mother on the daughter whereas the daughter wants to be set free and live her life comfortably

according to her own rules. From the events described in the poem, we can say that the daughter

is brave, revolting, and knows about the wrong traditions present in the society.

Q: Do you think the mother is purposely being unfair towards her daughter and the daughter

by using the words, “Let go, make way.” trying to address her mother? If yes, then tell why.

A: In S. Usha’s poem “To Mother,” a daughter can be seen pleading to her mother to not control

her life. The mother is not purposely being unfair to her daughter to wants to enjoy freedom but is

naturally playing the same tune, telling her the same rules that the mother’s mother abide on her.

She does not want her daughter to flash clothes in the public or to talk to a male directly, these

were the features of traditional Indian society which were forced on the mother and she was

unknowingly forcing on her daughter.Yes, by using the words “Let go, make way” the daughter is

trying to address her mother and to warn her to let her live freely according to her own rules. This

can be proved by taking the example of the warning that the daughter gives to her mother by saying

that she is just spreading her hood and will stop anybody who comes in her way of freedom
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MODULE 1

Jamaica Kincaid’s ‘Girl

‘Girl’ is a short story by the Antigua-born writer Jamaica Kincaid (born 1949). In this very short
story, which runs to just a couple of pages, a mother offers advice to her teenage daughter about
how to behave like a proper woman. ‘Girl’ was originally published in the New Yorker in 1978
before being reprinted in Kincaid’s collection At the Bottom of the River in 1983.

At just 650 words, Kincaid’s story can be regarded as a piece of flash fiction or micro-fiction.
However, it doesn’t tell a ‘story’ in the conventional or traditional sense. You can read
‘Girl’ here before proceeding to our summary and analysis below.

‘Girl’: plot summary

The story comprises one single sentence of 650 words, and takes the form of a dialogue between
a mother and her daughter. Although this is not stated in the story, the setting – as Kincaid has
subsequently pointed out – is Antigua, the Caribbean island where she was born and raised, and
the reference to numerous local foods, such as okra, salt fish, and dasheen, all hint at the story’s
Caribbean setting.

The mother gives advice to her daughter, the ‘girl’ of the story’s title. Initially, this is practical
domestic advice about washing and drying clothes, as well as cooking tips, such as how to cook
salt fish. It is also parental advice along the lines of not walking bareheaded in the hot sun. But as
the mother’s advice continues, we begin to learn something about her attitude to her daughter: she
tells her to walk like a lady on Sundays, rather than the immoral and unkempt woman she is
determined, according to the mother, to become.

The mother tells her daughter not to sing ‘benna’ in Sunday school: a reference to benna, a
calypso-like genre of singing popular in Caribbean countries and characterised by scandalous
gossip and a call-and-response format. At this point, the daughter’s voice breaks in, in italics, and
protests that she has sung benna in Sunday school, so she is being cautioned against doing
something she already knows not to do.
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The mother appears to ignore her daughter’s interjection, continuing to give her advice, including
how to wear a different smile for people she doesn’t like, people she actively hates, and people she

does like. She then tells her how to dress so she doesn’t look like ‘the slut I know you are so bent
on becoming’. This phrase is repeated several times in the story.

The mother carries on, becoming more critical of her daughter’s attitude and behaviour. She
mentions Obeah, a mystical religion with its roots in African beliefs and rituals, and tells her
daughter not to judge by appearances. She also offers medical advice, including how to bring on
an abortion and how to catch a fish, as well as how to catch, or attract, a man to become her
husband. Indeed, much of her advice focuses on the kind of domestic chores a wife would be
expected to perform for her husband in traditional societies.

The story ends with the mother advising her daughter how to squeeze a loaf of bread to tell whether
it is fresh. The daughter speaks again – only the second time she has done so in the story – to ask
what she should do if the baker won’t let her touch the bread. The mother responds, is her daughter
really going to be the kind of woman the baker won’t let near the bread?

‘Girl’: analysis

Kincaid’s story is about a mother passing on her wisdom to her daughter, but one of the clever
things about the way Kincaid organises the story is the way she seamlessly weaves in moral advice
about reputation among the more everyday, domestic knowhow she thinks her daughter needs to
know. The mother is concerned not just with ensuring her daughter becomes a good wife when
she grows up, but ensuring that she is seen as a good woman, rather than a ‘slut’ (the word the
mother uses several times in this short story) who is viewed as immoral and promiscuous by her
neighbours and the wider community.

The title of Kincaid’s story, ‘Girl’, is significant because it becomes clear that the daughter in the
story is actually a girl on the cusp of adulthood. This, then, is the mother having ‘the talk’ with her
daughter, if not quite about the ‘birds and the bees’ then about how to be seen as a woman of good
morals. Kincaid hints at the girl’s adolescence through several suggestive details, such as the ‘little
cloths’ she mentions early on: a reference to the girl’s underwear. This is a subtle allusion to
menstruation and what the girl should do when she starts her monthly bleeding.
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Given its brevity and the headlong structure of this one-sentence conversation, we as readers are
not given any deeper knowledge about how the mother views the society of which she is a part.
Does she approve of the patriarchal structure of her society, where women are prepared for their
roles as good daughters, and then good wives and good mothers, from an early age? On one level,
she is upholding this structure by uncritically presenting her recommendations as merely ‘the way
things are’, we might say.

But this might simply mean that she wants her daughter to have a good life and an easy life, if not
in terms of the daily grind of household chores, then in how she gets along with her neighbours
and friends. By doing as the mother advises, her daughter will be thought of well by the
community, and that will make her life easier.

Nor do we know whether she is right to return – as she repeatedly does – to sexual matters and the
kind of young woman she fears her daughter is ‘in danger of becoming’. The first of her daughter’s
two interjections suggests that her mother may be misjudging her own daughter, since when her
mother tells her not to sing benna in Sunday school, she responds that she doesn’t do that, implying
this is an unfair ‘criticism’ of her behaviour. This suggests – though it can only be inferred on our
part, rather than confidently asserted – that the mother is concerned with her daughter being led
astray, and her fears about her conduct and reputation may be unfounded, or at least exaggerated.

If this is so, then it only serves to underscore the traditional patriarchal structure of the Antiguan
society that Kincaid is seeking to depict in ‘Girl’. Of course, this would also be true of many other
societies around the world, although assuming the story has a contemporary setting (if not in the
1970s then perhaps recalling Kincaid’s own girlhood, from a decade or so before), it implies that
– assuming the mother’s attitudes are typical of the values held by that society more widely – there
was still a strong sense of the importance of family in Antiguan society when the story was written.
And a woman’s good reputation as a loyal wife and hard-working mother is important in upholding
those values. The story is also notable for its use of grammar: it consists of a single sentence, most
of which is spoken by a mother who is giving advice to her daughter. The mother’s monologue is
briefly interrupted by the girl on just occasions, but otherwise, this story consists of the mother’s
words of wisdom to her daughter – about life, relationships, housekeeping, and the importance of
reputation.
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MODULE 2
‘One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII’ by Pablo Neruda
‘One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII’ by Pablo Neruda describes the love he feels and how it
surpasses any previous definition of what love could be.

In the first stanza, the speaker lists out a few things that his love is not like. These objects, a rose
and a flaming arrow are traditional representatives of love. His emotions go far beyond the
physical. They exist deeper and are present in the “shadow and the soul.” This makes it seem as
if his emotions are forbidden or ephemeral. They cannot be pegged down to anything as trite as a
rose.

The next section describes how his love is going to exist, no matter what. It is like the love one
would feel for a flower that is not blooming, existing needless of exterior beauty. In the final
lines, the speaker gives up trying to define his love through metaphor. He admits that he loves
this person, and that is that. There is no better way to put it.

Themes
As with most love sonnets, the themes in this piece are quite clear. Neruda was concerned with
the power and possibilities of love, as well as the human soul. The speaker digs deep into his
love in the lines of this sonnet. He is very aware of its complexities and the fact that simple
language is not enough to define it. Neruda uses phrases like “I love you as one loves certain
obscure things, / secretly, between the shadow and the soul” to describe this relationship. This
forces the reader to think on a much deeper level about what the relationship is like and how it
might transcend normal barriers.

Structure and Form

‘One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII’ by Pablo Neruda is a fourteen-line sonnet separated into
three stanzas. The first two stanzas contain four lines and are known as quatrains. The last stanza
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has six lines and is known as a sextet. While sonnets are generally contained within one block of
text, they commonly follow this same pattern (of two quatrains and a sestet). The pattern
(regardless of rhyme) comes closest to the Petrarchan sonnet, named after the poet Francesco
Petrarca.

The space between the two sections of the poem is called the “turn.” This means that something
about the poem, whether that is the speaker, subject matter, or opinion of the narrator, changes.
The second half of a sonnet often also contains an answer to a question asked in the first or an
elaboration on the first’s details.

Literary Devices
Even though this poem was originally written in Spanish, there are several literary devices that
readers should take note of. These include repetition, enjambment, and imagery. The latter is one
of the most important techniques at work in ‘Sonnet XVII.’ As Neruda’s speaker, or Neruda, as
the case may be, it can be seen throughout the poem describing his love for the listener. He uses
lines like: “the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself” and “so close that your hand upon my
chest is mine,” all of which are quite evocative.

Repetition is another important literary device. In the case of ‘Sonnet XVII,’ Neruda
uses anaphora and repetition more generally. Anaphora appears when a poet uses the same word
or words to start multiple lines. For example, “I love you.” There are also broader examples of
repetition in that Neruda uses similar line structures throughout the poem. Enjambment is
a formal literary device that is concerned with where a line breaks. A poet might choose to insert
a line break before the end of a phrase or sentence. This can have different effects depending on
the content. For example, the transition between lines one and two of the second stanza and lines
three and four of the same stanza.
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Analysis of One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII

Stanza One
Lines 1-2

In the first stanza of ‘Sonnet XVII,’ the speaker tells his lover about a few things that don’t
represent his love. Although not mentioned explicitly in this piece, Neruda dedicated the
collection Sonnet XVII appeared to his third wife. This makes it likely that she was the intended
listener and the lover to whom he refers. Neruda is utilizing the second-person perspective in this
piece to broaden the range of people the words could refer to. This makes it easier for the reader
to see these lines applying to their own life.

The speaker states he doesn’t “love you” as he might love a “rose of salt, topaz.” A “rose of salt”
likely refers to a flower that grows near the ocean and takes in saltwater. He also mentions the
mineral “topaz.” It can appear in several different hues, from orange to blue and brown. Both of
these things are beautiful and somewhat precious or rare.

In the next line, the speaker presents another vague image. He describes an,

[…] arrow of carnations that propagate fire:

It is easiest to take this statement at face value. He doesn’t love his partner as one would love the
brightness of a flaming arrow. At this point, it is fairly easy to see the reasoning behind
the comparison the speaker is attempting. She is not the same as these symbols of love and
beauty are. There is something else to their relationship beyond the traditional patterns and
aesthetics of love.
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Lines 3-4

In the next two lines, the speaker describes how it is that he does love his partner. He states that
their love is the same as the love of “obscure” or dark, “things.” There is no clear description of
what these dark things are. Perhaps he is referring to the power of a love that is forbidden. It is
located somewhere between “the shadow and the soul.” This could also be a comparison
between the physical and the ephemeral. His love cannot be nailed down to the image of a rose
or a flaming arrow. It exists elsewhere.

Stanza Two
In the second quatrain of ‘Sonnet XVII,’ the speaker continues his metaphorical descriptions of
his love. The first line re-emphasizes the fact that his love is not based on beauty. He states that it
is closer to how one would feel about a,

[…] plant that doesn’t bloom but carries

The light of those flowers, hidden
Compared to the previous images, this one is fairly clear. His love is not dependent on a flower
being in full bloom and at the pinnacle of its beauty. It exists internally. He loves something
about this person that is deeper than the skin. This means that no matter if it is winter or summer,
his love would not change.

The second line adds to this fact by stating that he can see into the flower, past what might be its
dead exterior, to the “light”. He knows it will emerge in the spring, but for now, it is carried
around silently.

In the next two lines, the speaker thanks his lover for the way that she is. She gives off a “tight”
or quickening aroma that has seeped into his body and changed him. The feelings she gave him
are only growing, as a plant would, within his “body.” These two lines mirror the ones that came
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before them. The speaker keeps the love he feels inside his body, just like his lover (like a
flower) keeps her light and beauty inside her.

Stanza Three
The first two sections of the poem were devoted to attempts at defining what his love is like. In
the final six lines of ‘Sonnet XVII,’ he gives up trying to clear his feelings up through metaphors.
Instead, he takes a more straightforward approach and states that he loves her no matter what
happens. The first two lines put this sentiment very beautifully. The speaker says that he loves
her,

[…] without knowing how, or when, or from where,

[He loves her] directly without problems or pride:
His love is not defined or plagued by exterior problems or those which he might create for
himself. So far, the speaker has presented his love for this person as very singular. It does not
exist in any other place. In the third line of the stanza, though, he states that he loves her this way
because he doesn’t know how else to love. This makes his participation in the relationship more
important and actually goes against the previous statement about pride. He is clearly proud of his
own fidelity and purity of heart.

The final three lines speak to the way the lovers have become interconnected. When they are
together, the “hand upon [his] chest” is both hers and his. At the same time, the “eyes” that close
at night belong to them both. The two have grown so close and learned to love one another so
well that they’re becoming the same person.
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MODULE 2
Porphyria’s Lover
“Porphyria’s Lover,” which first appeared in 1836, is one of the earliest and most shocking of
Browning’s dramatic monologues. The speaker lives in a cottage in the countryside. His lover, a
blooming young woman named Porphyria, comes in out of a storm and proceeds to make a fire
and bring cheer to the cottage. She embraces the speaker, offering him her bare shoulder. He tells
us that he does not speak to her. Instead, he says, she begins to tell him how she has momentarily
overcome societal strictures to be with him. He realizes that she “worship[s]” him at this instant.
Realizing that she will eventually give in to society’s pressures, and wanting to preserve the
moment, he wraps her hair around her neck and strangles her. He then toys with her corpse,
opening the eyes and propping the body up against his side. He sits with her body this way the
entire night, the speaker remarking that God has not yet moved to punish him.

Form
“Porphyria’s Lover,” while natural in its language, does not display the colloquialisms or
dialectical markers of some of Browning’s later poems. Moreover, while the cadence of the poem
mimics natural speech, it actually takes the form of highly patterned verse, rhyming ABABB. The
intensity and asymmetry of the pattern suggests the madness concealed within the speaker’s
reasoned self-presentation.
This poem is a dramatic monologue—a fictional speech presented as the musings of a speaker who
is separate from the poet. Like most of Browning’s other dramatic monologues, this one captures
a moment after a main event or action. Porphyria already lies dead when the speaker begins. Just
as the nameless speaker seeks to stop time by killing her, so too does this kind of poem seek to
freeze the consciousness of an instant.

Commentary
“Porphyria’s Lover” opens with a scene taken straight from the Romantic poetry of the earlier
nineteenth century. While a storm rages outdoors, giving a demonstration of nature at its most
sublime, the speaker sits in a cozy cottage. This is the picture of rural simplicity—a cottage by a
lake, a rosy-cheeked girl, a roaring fire. However, once Porphyria begins to take off her wet
clothing, the poem leaps into the modern world. She bares her shoulder to her lover and begins to
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caress him; this is a level of overt sexuality that has not been seen in poetry since the Renaissance.
We then learn that Porphyria is defying her family and friends to be with the speaker; the scene is
now not just sexual, but transgressively so. Illicit sex out of wedlock presented a major concern
for Victorian society; the famous Victorian “prudery” constituted only a backlash to what was in
fact a popular obsession with the theme: the newspapers of the day reveled in stories about
prostitutes and unwed mothers. Here, however, in “Porphyria’s Lover,” sex appears as something
natural, acceptable, almost wholesome: Porphyria’s girlishness and affection take prominence over
any hints of immorality.

For the Victorians, modernity meant numbness: urban life, with its constant over-stimulation and
newspapers full of scandalous and horrifying stories, immunized people to shock. Many believed
that the onslaught of amorality and the constant assault on the senses could be counteracted only
with an even greater shock. This is the principle Browning adheres to in “Porphyria’s Lover.” In
light of contemporary scandals, the sexual transgression might seem insignificant; so Browning
breaks through his reader’s probable complacency by having Porphyria’s lover murder her; and
thus he provokes some moral or emotional reaction in his presumably numb audience. This is not
to say that Browning is trying to shock us into condemning either Porphyria or the speaker for
their sexuality; rather, he seeks to remind us of the disturbed condition of the modern psyche. In
fact, “Porphyria’s Lover” was first published, along with another poem, under the title Madhouse
Cells, suggesting that the conditions of the new “modern” world served to blur the line between
“ordinary life”—for example, the domestic setting of this poem—and insanity—illustrated here
by the speaker’s action.
This poem, like much of Browning’s work, conflates sex, violence, and aesthetics. Like many
Victorian writers, Browning was trying to explore the boundaries of sensuality in his work. How
is it that society considers the beauty of the female body to be immoral while never questioning
the morality of language’s sensuality—a sensuality often most manifest in poetry? Why does
society see both sex and violence as transgressive? What is the relationship between the two?
Which is “worse”? These are some of the questions that Browning’s poetry posits. And he typically
does not offer any answers to them: Browning is no moralist, although he is no libertine either.
Asa fairly liberal man, he is confused by his society’s simultaneous embrace of both moral
righteousness and a desire for sensation; “Porphyria’s Lover” explores this contradiction.
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MODULE 3
How to escape from Intellectual Rubbish by Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell begins this essay by stating that human beings are prone to
formulate foolish opinions, at some point of their life, though not always. To
substantiate this, he cites the example of Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, who
made a dogmatic pronouncement that women have fewer teeth than men. Russell
points out that Aristotle was indeed dogmatic in making this statement, for he could
have atleast employed a simple device by asking Mrs Aristotle to keep her mouth
open while he counted. This is the most perilous mistake ie. thinking that we know
when in fact we dont, to which we are all prone. Russel says that one can escape
from forming such foolish opinions, by simply following some rules. However many
matters are hardly brought to the test of experience. And it is indeed difficult too.
The main reason is that like most of mankind we too are obsessed with passionate
convictions on many such matters. This is how we become biased. But there are
many ways in which you can make yourself aware of your own bias: Observe
yourself Look for signs like getting angry very easily whenever you are confronted
with an opinion contrary to yours. If you have experienced the same, it implies that
you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason of thinking as you do and
you are afraid of admitting the fact. If someone opines that two and two are five or
Iceland is on equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so little of
arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary conviction.
Dogmatism versus Empiricism According to Russell, the most grave controversies
are those about matters that are dogmatic in nature ( matters to which there is no
evidence). One classic example of the same is between arithmetic and theology.
Persecution ( concept of sin and punishment on account of religious and political
beliefs), is used in theology and not in arithmetic. The main reason is that , in
arithmetic, there is knowledge. Knowledge is our familiarity with something or
somebody and it is purely based on experience and therefore empirical in nature. But
in theology, there is only opinion, which can easily turn to be dogmatic. Tips for
gettting rid of Dogmatism One can easily keep away from dogmatism by following
some simple steps: 1) Get out of your social circle. When you are confined within
the walls of the social circles to which you belong, you are only familiar with the
customs, traditions and beliefs of that particular circle. And there is a common
human tendency to develop insular prejudice out of this. So inorder to get rid of this
insular prejudice, it is always good to become aware of opinions held in social circles
different from your own. Russell here cites his personal experience . When he was
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young he lived much outside his own country- France, Germany, Italy and U S. 2)
Not all can afford the expenditure of travel or it is not necessary that all have
circumstances that favour travel. So there is another tip for those people who cannot
travel. Seek out people whom you disagree. It is always a pleasant experience to
carry on a healthy argument with people whom you disagree. This will help you to
think from their perspective, thereby reducing the intensity of insular prejudice. 3)
Reading newspapers that does not belong to your faction can also help a lot. As we
all consider our own versions of truth to be authentic and foolproof, there is a
tendency to despise others versions of truth. Our version of truth and others version
of truth may be a constructed reality which may be far away from the objective
reality. So if the people and the newspaper seem mad and perverse, remind yourself
that you seem so to them. Russell also calls our attention to the dark side of becoming
aware of foriegn practices. He maintains that the same does not always have a
beneficial effect. For example when the Manchus conquered china in the 17 th
century, it was a custom of the Chinese women to maintain small feet and among the
Manchus for men to wear pigtails. Instead of each dropping those foolish custom,
each adopted the foolish custom of the other. This is one of the disadvantages of
following foreign practices blindly. 4) Another way to escape from foolish opinion
is to imagine an argument with a hypothetical opponent. This has one and only one
advantage as compared with the real conversation. This one advantage is that the
method is not subject to the same limitations of time and space. Russel says that he
had to change his mind quite often as a result of this kind of imaginary dialogues.
Self Esteem Russell asks us to be cautious about opinions that can flatter your self
esteem. When your self esteem gets inflated, it can pave way for the development of
certain superiority complexes. That is the reason why both men and women are
firmly convinced of the superior excellence of their own sex. The question of
nationalism is also based on the same principle. We are all persuaded to believe that
our nation is superior to all others. We therefore adjust our standard of values so as
to make out that the merits possessed by our nations are the really outstanding ones
while its demerits are comparatively trivial. It is more difficult to deal with the self
esteem of man as man, because we cannot argue out the matter with some non-
human mind. The only way to solve this general human conceit is to remind
ourselves about the episodic human life in a small planet and that for ought we know,
other parts of the cosmos may contain beings as superior to ourselves as we are to
jelly fish Fear Bertrand Russell begins this essay by stating that human beings are
prone to formulate foolish opinions, at some point of their life, though not always.
To substantiate this, he cites the example of Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher,
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who made a dogmatic pronouncement that women have fewer teeth than men.
Russell points out that Aristotle was indeed dogmatic in making this statement, for
he could have atleast employed a simple device by asking Mrs Aristotle to keep her
mouth open while he counted. This is the most perilous mistake ie. thinking that we
know when in fact we dont, to which we are all prone. Russel says that one can
escape from forming such foolish opinions, by simply following some rules.
However many matters are hardly brought to the test of experience. And it is indeed
difficult too. The main reason is that like most of mankind we too are obsessed with
passionate convictions on many such matters. This is how we become biased. But
there are many ways in which you can make yourself aware of your own bias:
Observe yourself Look for signs like getting angry very easily whenever you are
confronted with an opinion contrary to yours. If you have experienced the same, it
implies that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason of thinking as
you do and you are afraid of admitting the fact. If someone opines that two and two
are five or Iceland is on equator, you feel pity rather than anger, unless you know so
little of arithmetic or geography that his opinion shakes your own contrary
conviction. Dogmatism versus Empiricism According to Russell, the most grave
controversies are those about matters that are dogmatic in nature ( matters to which
there is no evidence). One classic example of the same is between arithmetic and
theology. Persecution ( concept of sin and punishment on account of religious and
political beliefs), is used in theology and not in arithmetic. The main reason is that ,
in arithmetic, there is knowledge. Knowledge is our familiarity with something or
somebody and it is purely based on experience and therefore empirical in nature. But
in theology, there is only opinion, which can easily turn to be dogmatic. Tips for
gettting rid of Dogmatism One can easily keep away from dogmatism by following
some simple steps: 1) Get out of your social circle. When you are confined within
the walls of the social circles to which you belong, you are only familiar with the
customs, traditions and beliefs of that particular circle. And there is a common
human tendency to develop insular prejudice out of this. So inorder to get rid of this
insular prejudice, it is always good to become aware of opinions held in social circles
different from your own. Russell here cites his personal experience . When he was
young he lived much outside his own country- France, Germany, Italy and U S. 2)
Not all can afford the expenditure of travel or it is not necessary that all have
circumstances that favour travel. So there is another tip for those people who cannot
travel. Seek out people whom you disagree. It is always a pleasant experience to
carry on a healthy argument with people whom you disagree. This will help you to
think from their perspective, thereby reducing the intensity of insular prejudice. 3)
ADDITIONAL ENGLISH (LMS) 2024

Reading newspapers that does not belong to your faction can also help a lot. As we
all consider our own versions of truth to be authentic and foolproof, there is a
tendency to despise others versions of truth. Our version of truth and others version
of truth may be a constructed reality which may be far away from the objective
reality. So if the people and the newspaper seem mad and perverse, remind yourself
that you seem so to them. Russell also calls our attention to the dark side of becoming
aware of foriegn practices. He maintains that the same does not always have a
beneficial effect. For example when the Manchus conquered china in the 17 th
century, it was a custom of the Chinese women to maintain small feet and among the
Manchus for men to wear pigtails. Instead of each dropping those foolish custom,
each adopted the foolish custom of the other. This is one of the disadvantages of
following foreign practices blindly. 4) Another way to escape from foolish opinion
is to imagine an argument with a hypothetical opponent. This has one and only one
advantage as compared with the real conversation. This one advantage is that the
method is not subject to the same limitations of time and space. Russel says that he
had to change his mind quite often as a result of this kind of imaginary dialogues.
Self Esteem Russell asks us to be cautious about opinions that can flatter your self
esteem. When your self esteem gets inflated, it can pave way for the development of
certain superiority complexes. That is the reason why both men and women are
firmly convinced of the superior excellence of their own sex. The question of
nationalism is also based on the same principle. We are all persuaded to believe that
our nation is superior to all others. We therefore adjust our standard of values so as
to make out that the merits possessed by our nations are the really outstanding ones
while its demerits are comparatively trivial. It is more difficult to deal with the self
esteem of man as man, because we cannot argue out the matter with some non-
human mind. The only way to solve this general human conceit is to remind
ourselves about the episodic human life in a small planet and that for ought we know,
other parts of the cosmos may contain beings as superior to ourselves as we are to
jelly fish Fear Besides self esteem, there are other passions which are common
source of error. The most important is fear. It can sometimes operate directly by
inventing rumours, imagining objects of terror like ghosts. It is out fear we create
the concepts like heaven and hell. There are different types of fear like the fear of
death, fear of the dark, fear of the unknown, fear of the herd. Russell says that we
need to overpower this fear by admitting these fears to yourself and thereby guarding
yourself against the myth making faculty of human mind, if you want to think about
matters of greater significance. Just as fear is one of the main source of superstition,
it is one of the sources of cruelty too. So conquering fear is the beginning of wisdom.
ADDITIONAL ENGLISH (LMS) 2024

There are two ways of avoiding fear: 1) 2) by persuading by ourselves that practicing
we are immune sheer from disaster courage The first one has always been more
popular , for it was easy when compared with the latter. Primitive magic, sorcery,
injuring enemies and protecting oneself by talismans and spells, etc are clear
testimonials of the former one. Finally Russell concludes with the statement of Plato
in his Republic , that cheerful views of the next world should be enforced by the
State only because it would make the soldiers more willing to die in the battles. He
at the same time, hates the concept of Hades, for it presents life after death as gloomy
and unhappy.
MODULE 3
Clochette

How strange those old recollections are which haunt us, without our being able to
get rid of them.
This one is so very old that I cannot understand how it has clung so vividly and
tenaciously to my memory. Since then I have seen so many sinister things, which
were either affecting or terrible, that I am astonished at not being able to pass a single
day without the face of Mother Bellflower recurring to my mind's eye, just as I knew
her formerly, now so long ago, when I was ten or twelve years old.
She was an old seamstress who came to my parents' house once a week, every
Thursday, to mend the linen. My parents lived in one of those country houses called
chateaux, which are merely old houses with gable roofs, to which are attached three
or four farms lying around them.
The village, a large village, almost a market town, was a few hundred yards away,
closely circling the church, a red brick church, black with age.
Well, every Thursday Mother Clochette came between half-past six and seven in the
morning, and went immediately into the linen-room and began to work. She was a
tall, thin, bearded or rather hairy woman, for she had a beard all over her face, a
surprising, an unexpected beard, growing in improbable tufts, in curly bunches
which looked as if they had been sown by a madman over that great face of a
gendarme in petticoats. She had them on her nose, under her nose, round her nose,
on her chin, on her cheeks; and her eyebrows, which were extraordinarily thick and
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long, and quite gray, bushy and bristling, looked exactly like a pair of mustaches
stuck on there by mistake.
She limped, not as lame people generally do, but like a ship at anchor. When she
planted her great, bony, swerving body on her sound leg, she seemed to be preparing
to mount some enormous wave, and then suddenly she dipped as if to disappear in
an abyss, and buried herself in the ground. Her walk reminded one of a storm, as she
swayed about, and her head, which was always covered with an enormous white cap,
whose ribbons fluttered down her back, seemed to traverse the horizon from north
to south and from south to north, at each step.
I adored Mother Clochette. As soon as I was up I went into the linen- room where I
found her installed at work, with a foot-warmer under her feet. As soon as I arrived,
she made me take the foot-warmer and sit upon it, so that I might not catch cold in
that large, chilly room under the roof.
"That draws the blood from your throat," she said to me.
She told me stories, whilst mending the linen with her long crooked nimble fingers;
her eyes behind her magnifying spectacles, for age had impaired her sight, appeared
enormous to me, strangely profound, double.
She had, as far as I can remember the things which she told me and by which my
childish heart was moved, the large heart of a poor woman. She told me what had
happened in the village, how a cow had escaped from the cow-house and had been
found the next morning in front of Prosper Malet's windmill, looking at the sails
turning, or about a hen's egg which had been found in the church belfry without any
one being able to understand what creature had been there to lay it, or the story of
Jean-Jean Pila's dog, who had been ten leagues to bring back his master's breeches
which a tramp had stolen whilst they were hanging up to dry out of doors, after he
had been in the rain. She told me these simple adventures in such a manner, that in
my mind they assumed the proportions of never-to-be -forgotten dramas, of grand
and mysterious poems; and the ingenious stories invented by the poets which my
mother told me in the evening, had none of the flavor, none of the breadth or vigor
of the peasant woman's narratives.
Well, one Tuesday, when I had spent all the morning in listening to Mother Clochette,
I wanted to go upstairs to her again during the day after picking hazelnuts with the
manservant in the wood behind the farm. I remember it all as clearly as what
happened only yesterday.
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On opening the door of the linen-room, I saw the old seamstress lying on the ground
by the side of her chair, with her face to the ground and her arms stretched out, but
still holding her needle in one hand and one of my shirts in the other. One of her legs
in a blue stocking, the longer one, no doubt, was extended under her chair, and her
spectacles glistened against the wall, as they had rolled away from her.
I ran away uttering shrill cries. They all came running, and in a few minutes I was
told that Mother Clochette was dead.
I cannot describe the profound, poignant, terrible emotion which stirred my childish
heart. I went slowly down into the drawing-room and hid myself in a dark corner, in
the depths of an immense old armchair, where I knelt down and wept. I remained
there a long time, no doubt, for night came on. Suddenly somebody came in with a
lamp, without seeing me, however, and I heard my father and mother talking with
the medical man, whose voice I recognized.
He had been sent for immediately, and he was explaining the causes of the accident,
of which I understood nothing, however. Then he sat down and had a glass of liqueur
and a biscuit.
He went on talking, and what he then said will remain engraved on my mind until I
die! I think that I can give the exact words which he used.
"Ah!" said he, "the poor woman! She broke her leg the day of my arrival here, and I
had not even had time to wash my hands after getting off the diligence before I was
sent for in all haste, for it was a bad case, very bad.
"She was seventeen, and a pretty girl, very pretty! Would any one believe it? I have
never told her story before, and nobody except myself and one other person who is
no longer living in this part of the country ever knew it. Now that she is dead, I may
be less discreet.
"Just then a young assistant-teacher came to live in the village; he was a handsome,
well-made fellow, and looked like a non-commissioned officer. All the girls ran after
him, but he paid no attention to them, partly because he was very much afraid of his
superior, the schoolmaster, old Grabu, who occasionally got out of bed the wrong
foot first.
"Old Grabu already employed pretty Hortense who has just died here, and who was
afterwards nicknamed Clochette. The assistant master singled out the pretty young
girl, who was, no doubt, flattered at being chosen by this impregnable conqueror; at
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any rate, she fell in love with him, and he succeeded in persuading her to give him a
first meeting in the hay- loft behind the school, at night, after she had done her day's
sewing.
"She pretended to go home, but instead of going downstairs when she left the Grabus'
she went upstairs and hid among the hay, to wait for her lover. He soon joined her,
and was beginning to say pretty things to her, when the door of the hay-loft opened
and the schoolmaster appeared, and asked: 'What are you doing up there, Sigisbert?'
Feeling sure that he would be caught, the young schoolmaster lost his presence of
mind and replied stupidly: 'I came up here to rest a little amongst the bundles of hay,
Monsieur Grabu.'
"The loft was very large and absolutely dark, and Sigisbert pushed the frightened
girl to the further end and said: 'Go over there and hide yourself. I shall lose my
position, so get away and hide yourself.'
"When the schoolmaster heard the whispering, he continued: 'Why, you are not by
yourself?' 'Yes, I am, Monsieur Grabu!' 'But you are not, for you are talking.' 'I swear
I am, Monsieur Grabu.' 'I will soon find out,' the old man replied, and double locking
the door, he went down to get a light.
"Then the young man, who was a coward such as one frequently meets, lost his head,
and becoming furious all of a sudden, he repeated: 'Hide yourself, so that he may not
find you. You will keep me from making a living for the rest of my life; you will ruin
my whole career. Do hide yourself!' They could hear the key turning in the lock
again, and Hortense ran to the window which looked out on the street, opened it
quickly, and then said in a low and determined voice: 'You will come and pick me
up when he is gone,' and she jumped out.
"Old Grabu found nobody, and went down again in great surprise, and a quarter of
an hour later, Monsieur Sigisbert came to me and related his adventure. The girl had
remained at the foot of the wall unable to get up, as she had fallen from the second
story, and I went with him to fetch her. It was raining in torrents, and I brought the
unfortunate girl home with me, for the right leg was broken in three places, and the
bones had come trough the flesh. She did not complain, and merely said, with
admirable resignation: 'I am punished, well punished!'
"I sent for assistance and for the work-girl's relatives and told them a, made-up story
of a runaway carriage which had knocked her down and lamed her outside my door.
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They believed me, and the gendarmes for a whole month tried in vain to find the
author of this accident.
"That is all! And I say that this woman was a heroine and belonged to the race of
those who accomplish the grandest deeds of history.
"That was her only love affair, and she died a virgin. She was a martyr, a noble soul,
a sublimely devoted woman! And if I did not absolutely admire her, I should not
have told you this story, which I would never tell any one during her life; you
understand why."
The doctor ceased. Mamma cried and papa said some words which I did not catch;
then they left the room and I remained on my knees in the armchair and sobbed,
whilst I heard a strange noise of heavy footsteps and something knocking against the
side of the staircase.
They were carrying away Clochette's body.

Clochette
Summary of the Short Story
MICROSUMMARY: A young boy fondly remembers an old bearded dressmaker
who told him stories, and later learns about her tragic past and the secret love affair
that led to her disfigurement.
A young boy fondly remembered an old dressmaker named Mother Clochette, who
used to visit his parents' house every week to do the mending. She was a tall, thin
woman with a beard that covered her entire face.
Mother Clochette (Hortense) — old dressmaker; bearded, limping, kind-hearted,
and a storyteller.
The boy adored her and would often spend time with her in the linen room, listening
to her stories while she worked. She told me these simple stories in such a way that
they assumed in my mind the stature of unforgettable dramas, of sublime and
mysterious poems.
She told me these simple stories in such a way that they assumed in my mind the
stature of unforgettable dramas, of sublime and mysterious poems.
One day, the boy found Mother Clochette lying dead on the floor of the linen room.
He was devastated and hid in a dark corner of the drawing room, crying. I could not
tell you what profound grief, poignant dreadful grief, seized my childish heart.
I could not tell you what profound grief, poignant dreadful grief, seized my childish
heart.
As he hid, he overheard his parents talking to the doctor about the cause of her death.
The doctor revealed that he had treated Mother Clochette when she was a young and
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beautiful girl of seventeen.

The Narrator — young boy; curious, emotional, and fond of Mother Clochette.
At that time, a handsome young assistant schoolmaster had come to town and all the
girls were smitten with him. Mother Clochette, then known as Hortense, fell in love
with him and they arranged a secret meeting in the school loft. However, they were
discovered by the headmaster, who locked the door and went to fetch a candle. In a
panic, Hortense jumped out of the loft window to avoid being caught, breaking her
leg in the process.
The doctor treated her injuries and told her parents that she had been hit by a runaway
carriage. The police searched for the culprit, but the truth remained hidden. The
doctor considered Hortense a heroine for her sacrifice and never revealed her secret
until after her death. She is a martyr, a great soul, a sublime Vestal.
She is a martyr, a great soul, a sublime Vestal.
As the boy listened to the doctor's story, he continued to grieve for the loss of Mother
Clochette, who had been a significant figure in his childhood.
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MODULE 4
Education: India and America
Introduction Anurag Mathur is an Indian author and journalist born in New Delhi, India. Mathur
earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. Anurag Mathur contributed Indian
literature with his great works and the presented is one of those great works. Education: Indian and
American is a great essay by Anurag Mathur contrasting the two education systems of India and
America. The essay shows the experience of the writer from the both countries.  Gopal’s Early
Education When Gopal was at college, the Indian education system had drilled his mind and
tightened it. He felt his mind expanding. He had learnt the fundamentals of Science with great
consciousness. By completing his college with this type of education system, he went to America
for further studies.  Gopal’s Experience in America In America, for the first time, Gopal began
to learn the joy of analysis rather than memorizing the things. Often he paused uncertainly waiting
for someone to disapprove him; but instead he found encouragement. His mind began to soar. For
the first time, he gloried in studying. Gopal thought that he had left India at the right time. Indian
Education System had filled him with discipline and the basics while in America he found
encouragement from his friends and the teachers.  American Education System American system
of education put emphasis on questioning and analysis. In India, the teachers would try to belittle
students and try to humiliate them; while in America the teachers loved questioning. Even the
American students did not seem to resent his superior abilities. American students enjoyed Gopal’s
thoughts and asked him to study with them. The American students were transparently honest. 
Jealous Nature of the Indians Gopal sighed with pain. He said that he could write a book on envy.
Nowadays, a person’s success caused demonic leaps of fury in the hearts of everyone who had
heard about it. The immediate response was to either belittle him or to obstruct his way of success.
Gopal received more compliments in one month in America on his abilities and work than he had
received in all his life in India. Gopal thought that there were students in India quarreled with each
other without any reason. On the basis of Gopal’s experience, the environment in America is
friendly, co – operative, well – equipped and encouraging compared to India.  Conclusion
Education: Indian and American compares the education system of the both countries – India and
America. The writer of the essay, Anurag Mathur seems to be well – known to the education system
of both countries. The contrast of the education system of the two countries was notable in the
essay. Anurag Mathur greatly compares Indian and American education system with the character
of Gopal in the essay “Education: Indian and American.”

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MODULE 4
Seven Deadly Sins in Doctor Faustus Essay
Dr Faustus is a short play written by Christopher Marlowe. The play is a masterful
insight into the paradoxical soul of mankind and its ironically self inflicted
corruption. The play could be classification as a theological allegory. It can be
assumed that the play specifically speaks to the religious motivations of the time,
but can be adapted to the present as well. Marlowe portrays Faustus’ ambition as
dangerous; it was the cause of his demise.
Perhaps Marlowe used the theme of over-ambition as a warning to the audience, who
would be likely to be wary of ambition – it was looked down on as a negative
personality trait in Christian England Calvinism Munteanu, Class notes. An on going
theme within the story is the corruption of a soul which is played out through the use
of religious beliefs. Specifically, the use of the seven deadly sins is a precursor to
man kinds self inflicted death. Marlowe uses sin, redemption and damnation to get
his point across to the audience.
The sins that Marlowe specifically uses are those of: pride, covetousness, wrath,
envy, gluttony, sloth and lechery. Theses sins are colourfully displayed through the
character traits of Dr Faustus. In the process we view them and can adapt them to
our own lives and how they are all parts to the corruption of our souls. Marlowe
reflects ambition in the character of Faustus to deter the audience from being
ambitious, and over-reaching their place in the laws of the church.
Marlowe uses symbols of religion to fill the play such as the use of the dark arts,
angles, demons, God, the Devil, quotes from the bible, the symbol of blood, and the
ADDITIONAL ENGLISH (LMS) 2024

use of the seven sins. With the use of these icons he humours the reader he displays
the gullibility of even the greatest leaders. In the prologue, Marlowe introduces us
to Dr Faustus via the chorus. Here we are told of the life of an ordinary man, born to
modest people. This piece tells us that in the new age of the Renaissance, a common-
born scholar like Faustus, is as important as any king or warrior, and his story is
worthy of being told.
Also state is that Dr Faustus’s swelling pride will lead to his downfall. Here we are
addressed with a precursor of what is about to happen and how it is to be facilitated,
again by one mans desire to destroy himself in respect to Godliness. In act one,
Marlowe portrays Faustus as being over-ambitious by his turning to magic, which is
a much more sinister and much less conventional pursuit than others that he had been
discussing previously. Faustus hopes that magic will make him omnipotent and god-
like.
Through out the next few acts we see Dr Faustus disregard the teachings against the
seven deadly sins with his trickery and debauchery. The great doctor Faustus has the
seven deadly sins entrenched in his life and they are displayed by his various actions
during the play. The first deadly sin was that of pride. Dr Faustus saw himself as in
comparison to others in a competitive nature. Pride and vanity are competitive. This
was done in Act One when he sits there and tells the audience of his accomplishments
and wishes for more glory.
The second is covetousness, it is manifested in the play through various actions.
Faustus demonstrates this in various scenes, when he evokes the devils magic, the
want of a wife, and the overall actions of his character portray his pursuit of
knowledge and glory. Usually this sin is manifested through sex, power, or image
which demises the self control and can suffocate the soul. It is the self-destructive
drive for pleasure which is out of control. Faustus does this when he performs his
silly tricks for self indulgence. Wrath is the third sin.
Often this is our first reaction to the faults of others. Faustus demonstrates his
impatience with the way he treats the people around him, his servants demonic and
human, as well as other characters with in the play. Wrath is what Faustus feels when
he conjures up horns to place on the head of a knight of Emperor Charles V, court
Marlowe, 41-42. Since the knight shows scepticism in Faustus’s powers, Faustus
must rebuke his insolence by placing horns on the knight’s head. The fourth is envy.
Dr Faustus wanted more in his life and envied the powers of others.
ADDITIONAL ENGLISH (LMS) 2024

Therefore he wanted to command the demons to control the world to his accord.
Envy is almost impossible to differentiate from pride at times. Dr Faustus was
envious of the accomplishment of others and wanted to exceed their glory Act One.
In one of the comic scenes, scene 6, we learn that Robin and Rafe have stolen one
of Faustus’ books and plan to use it to seduce a woman. They must have been jealous
of Faustus’ power and his magical aptitude. The fifth sin is gluttony; temperance in
accepting the natural limits of pleasures, and preserves of the natural balance.
This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods,
and even the company of others. Faustus demonstrates gluttony when he evokes the
use of the dark arts. He is attempting to go beyond his earthly knowledge while
disturbing the natural balance of Gods laws and expectations. Faustus wants to
elevate himself as an equal to God. In Faustus’s eyes God is no longer the balance
or medium in his life, the devil has become the greater power to Faustus. In some of
the monologues, Faustus starts using the devils name in place of where one would
use Gods name.
Sloth, in conjunction with the other sins, works to muffle the spiritual senses so we
first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the slumber of
complacency to the demonic ways. This is the sixth sin in the death of Faustus; he is
given chances to repent throughout the play, and never does. Faustus has become
numb to his own sub consciousness; he no longer abides by what he does. Even in
the scene where he signs the contract with the devil, his blood congeals and he does
not understand why. His own body is fighting the deadly deed he was attempting to
do. Lechery, greed is the seventh sin.
Faustus also displays greed in act one when he states he has not accomplished
greatness. Faustus wants to gain glory; he has expectations of others to get him his
glory. Faustus uses Mephastophilis to gain glory, it is the perfect display of lechery,
and he does not acknowledge that the demon is responsible for all the tasks he
performs, but states it is his gift of the dark arts Marlowe, 12. During the play there
are various characters that Faustus meets, the most ironic of them is the seven deadly
sins. In the sixth act they are manifested into creatures that tell Faustus of what they
consist.
Faustus has encompassed many of these same sins into his life, he does not take heed
to their meanings. Marlowe’s display of the deadly sins is an ironic tryst because
they are elements of our own personal demise. The seven are present to humour the
reader and make them think, the humour of course in self reflection. Another
ADDITIONAL ENGLISH (LMS) 2024

humorous aspect is the reflection on Christian symbolism. The symbol of blood is

displayed in different points of the play. When Faustus signs the contract with the
deil his blood congeals, as if his own body is refusing to dam his soul.
Before Faustus dies he seems to think he sees the blood of Christ streak across the
sky. To Christians the symbol of blood means life and communion of the Christian
belief. Christian virtues are being inspected with the use of temptation, and sin.
Prominent token head figures are also being scrutinized they are placed in the story
for aid or to reveal their sins. With each of these symbols the author adds shock value
to the play. Using the head of the Catholic Church for humour is another twist that
Marlowe has woven into the play.
The pope and his courtiers are being made fun of; they do not see the stupid tricks
that are being played on them show their earthy insolence. These people represent
the cornerstones of the church; they are being played with, and rendered idiots of the
unknown. The use of redemption is the various characters that speak to Faustus and
bid him to leave the dark arts and pick up the scriptures or in other words return to
Gods light. Even the demonic spirits tell Faustus of the impending horrors of death
but he does not abide to the forewarnings.
This only shows that mankind has self direction he may chose what he wants to
follow. Even if the out come is negative God’s light is usually eternal and all we
need is to ask for help. The damnation with in the text is obvious as in the opening
scene with the chorus, the death of mans body but worse the death of his soul. His
corruption of earthly knowledge and possessions only grants the eternal demise. The
main character Dr Faustus is a tragic hero; in the process of the play he destroys
himself but in the same step he sarcastically displays the audiences own
idiosyncrasies.
The on going theme within the story has been the use of religious icons and beliefs.
We have seen the use of the seven deadly sins as well as the patriarchs of faith and
politics corrupted by a jester in their court. During an in class discussion we were
told that the play was written by Marlowe in response to the teachings of John
Calvin. Munteanu, 2002. Therefore it can be said that Marlowe is attempting to alter
the doctrines his fellow country men with whom are questioning their religions.
Marlowe uses the renaissance ideals with the medieval myths to master his point.
This work is a forewarning of damnation by those who attempt to alter the doctrines
or moral standards, and a beacon of caution to those in search of the unknown. Dr
ADDITIONAL ENGLISH (LMS) 2024

Faustus, the work of good and evil. When man becomes idle his mind wanders and
he wants more. With the wealth of knowledge Dr Faustus wanted more, he was no
longer content with his academia since they could no longer provide him with wealth
and fame as well as fulfill his souls want, he turned to the mastering of the dark arts.