SECOND YEAR – SEMESTER III

GENERAL ENGLISH – III

Unit – I – ACTIVE LISTENING

Short-story
1.1 In a Grove – Akutagawa Ryunosuke (Translated from
Japanese by – Takashi Kojima)
1.2 The Gift of the Magi – O’ Henry
Prose
1.3 Listening – Robin Sharma
1.4 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech – Wangari Maathai
Unit – II – INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Poem & Prose
2.1 Telephone Conversation – Wole Soyinka
2.2 Of Friendship – Francis Bacon
Song on (Motivational / Narrative)
2.3 Ulysses – Alfred Lord Tennyson
2.4 And Still I Rise – Maya Angelou
Unit – III – COPING WITH STRESS
Poem
3.1 Leisure – W.H. Davies
3.2 Anxiety Monster – Rhona McFerran
Readers Theatre
3.3 The Forty Fortunes – A Tale of Iran – Aaron Shepherd
3.4 Where There is a Will – Mahesh Dattani
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 2

Unit – IV - GRAMMAR
4.1 Phrasal Verbs & Idioms
i. Phrasal Verbs
ii. Idioms & Phrases
4.2 Modals and Auxiliaries
4.3 Verb Phrases – Gerund, Participle, Infinitive
Unit – V – COMPOSITION / WRITING SKILLS
5.1 Official Correspondence – Leave Letter, Letter of
Application, Permission Letter
5.2 Drafting Invitations
5.3 Brochures for Programmes and Events
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 3

Unit – I – ACTIVE LISTENING

Short-story

1.1 IN A GROVE – Akutagawa Ryunosuke

(Translated from Japanese by – Takashi Kojima)

Text:
The Testimony of the Woodcutter Questioned by a High
Police Commissioner
Yes, sir. Certainly, it was I who found the body. This
morning, as usual, I went to cut my daily quota of cedars, when
I found the body in a grove in a hollow in the mountains. The
exact location? About 150 meters off the Yamashina stage road.
It‘s an out-of-the-way grove of bamboo and cedars.
The body was lying flat on its back dressed in a bluish
silk kimono and a wrinkled head-dress of the Kyoto style. A
single sword-stroke had pierced the breast. The fallen bamboo-
blades around it were stained with bloody blossoms. No, the
blood was no longer running. The wound had dried up, I
believe. And also, a gad-fly was stuck fast there, hardly noticing
my footsteps.
You ask me if I saw a sword or any such thing?
No, nothing, sir. I found only a rope at the root of a cedar
near by. And … well, in addition to a rope, I found a comb. That
was all. Apparently he must have made a battle of it before he
was murdered, because the grass and fallen bamboo-blades had
been trampled down all around.
―A horse was near by?‖
No, sir. It‘s hard enough for a man to enter, let alone a
horse.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 4

The Testimony of a Traveling Buddhist Priest Questioned by

a High Police Commissioner
The time? Certainly, it was about noon yesterday, sir.
The unfortunate man was on the road from Sekiyama to
Yamashina. He was walking toward Sekiyama with a woman
accompanying him on horseback, who I have since learned was
his wife. A scarf hanging from her had hid her face from view.
All I saw was the color of her clothes, a lilac-colored suit. Her
horse was a sorrel with a fine mane. The lady‘s height? Oh,
about four feet five inches. Since I am Buddhist priest, I took
little notice about her details. Well, the man was armed as well
as a bow and arrows. And I remember that he carried some
twenty odd arrows in his quiver.
Little did I expect that he would meet such a fate. Truly
human life is an evanescent as the morning dew or a flash of
lightning. My words are inadequate to express my sympathy for
him.
The Testimony of a Policeman Questioned by a High Police
Commissioner
The man that I arrested? He is a notorious brigand called
Tajomaru. When I arrested him, he had fallen off his horse. He
was groaning on the bridge at Awataguchi. The time? It was in
the early hours of last night. For the record, I might say that the
other day I tried to arrest him, but unfortunately he escaped. He
was wearing a dark blue silk kimono and a large plain sword.
And, as you see, he got a bow and arrows somewhere. You say
that this bow and these arrows look like the ones owned by the
dead man? Then Tajomaru must be the murderer. The bow
wound with leather strips, the black lacquered quiver, the
seventeen arrows with hawk feathers – these were all in his
possession I believe. Yes, Sir, the horse is, as you say, a sorrel
with a fine mane. A little beyond the stone bridge I found the
horse grazing by the roadside, with his long rein dangling.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 5

Surely there is some providence in his having been thrown by

the horse.
Of all the robbers prowling around Kyoto, this Tajomaru
has given the most grief to the women in town. Last autumn a
wife who came to the mountain back of the Pindora of the
Toribe Temple, presumably to pay a visit, was murdered, along
with a girl. It has been suspected that it was his doing. If this
criminal murdered the man, you cannot tell what he may have
done with the man‘s wife. May it please your honour to look
into this problem as well.
The Testimony of an Old Woman Questioned by a High
Police Commissioner
Yes, sir, that corpse is the man who married my
daughter. He does not come from Kyoto. He was a samurai in
the town of Kokufu in the province of Wakasa. His name was
Kanazawa no Takehiko, and his age was twenty-six. He was a
gentle disposition, so I am sure he did nothing to provoke the
anger of others.
My daughter? Her name is Masago, and her age is
nineteen. She is a spirited, fun-loving girl, but I am sure she has
never known any man except Takehiko. She has a small, oval,
dark-complected face with a mole at the corner of her left eye.
Yesterday Takehiko left for Wakasa with my daughter.
What bad luck it is that things should have come to such a sad
end! What has become of my daughter? I am resigned to giving
up my son-in-law as lost, but the fate of my daughter worries me
sick. For heaven‘s sake leave no stone unturned to find her. I
hate that robber Tajomaru, or whatever his name is. Not only my
son-in-law, but my daughter … (Her later words were drowned
in tears)
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 6

Tajomaru‟s Confession
I killed him, but not her. Where‘s she gone? I can‘t tell.
Oh, wait a minute. No torture can make me confess what I don‘t
know. Now things have come to such a head, I won‘t keep
anything from you.
Yesterday a little past noon I met that couple. Just then a
puff of wind blew, and raised her hanging scarf, so that I caught
a glimpse of her face. Instantly it was again covered from my
view. That may have been one reason; she looked like a
bodhisattva. At the moment I made up my mind to capture her
even if I had to kill her man.
Why? To me killing isn‘t a matter of such great
consequence as you might think. When a woman is captured,
her man has to be killed anyway. In killing, I use the sword I
wear at my side. Am I the only one who kills people? You, you
don‘t use your swords. You kill people with your power, with
your money. Sometimes you kill them on the pretext of working
for their good. It‘s true they don‘t bleed. They are in the best of
health, but all the same you‘ve killed them. It‘s hard to say who
is a greater sinner, you or me. (An ironical smile)
But it would be good if I could capture a woman without
kill her man. So, I made up my mind to capture her, and do my
best not to kill him. But it‘s out of the question on the
Yamashina stage road. So I managed to lure the couple into the
mountains.
It was quite easy. I became their traveling companion,
and I told them there was an old mound in the mountain over
there, and that I had dug it open and found many mirrors and
swords. I went on to tell them I‘d buried the things in a grove
behind the mountain, and that I‘d like to sell them at a low price
to anyone who would care to have them. Then… you see, isn‘t
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 7

greed terrible? He was beginning to be moved by my talk before

he knew it. In less than half an hour they were driving their
horse toward the mountain with me.
When he came in front of the grove, I told them that the
treasures were buried in it, and I asked them to come and see.
The man had no objection—he was blinded by greed. The
woman said she would wait on horseback. It was natural for her
to say so, at the sight of a thick grove. To tell you the truth, my
plan worked just as I wished, so I went into the grove with him,
leaving her behind alone.
The grove is only bamboo for some distance. About fifty
yards ahead there‘s a rather open clump of cedars. It was a
convenient spot for my purpose. Pushing my way through the
grove, I told him a plausible lie that the treasures were buried
under the cedars. When I told him this, he pushed his laborious
way toward the slender cedar visible through the grove. After a
while the bamboo thinned out, and we came to where a number
of cedars grew in a row. As soon as we got there, I seized him
from behind. Because he was a trained, sword-bearing warrior,
he was quite strong, but he was taken by surprise, so there was
no help for him. I soon tied him up to the root of a cedar. Where
did I get a rope? Thank heaven, being a robber, I had a rope with
me, since I might have to scale a wall at any moment. Of course,
it was easy to stop him from calling out by bagging his mouth
with fallen bamboo leaves.
When I disposed of him, I went to his woman and asked
her to come and see him, because he seemed to have been
suddenly taken sick. It‘s needless to say that this plan also
worked well. The women, her sedge hat off, came into the
depths of the grove, where I led her by the hand. The instant she
caught sight of her husband, she drew a small sword. I‘ve never
seen a woman of such violent temper. If I‘d been off guard, I‘d
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 8

have got a thrust in my side. I dodged, but she kept on slashing

at me. She might have wounded me deeply or killed me. But I‘m
Tajomaru. I managed to strike down her small sword without
drawing my own. The most spirited woman is defenseless
without a weapon. At least I could satisfy my desire for her
without taking her husband‘s life.
Yes … without taking his life. I had no wish to kill him.
I was about to run away from the grove, leaving the woman
behind in tears, when she frantically clung to my arm. In broken
fragments of words, she asked that either her husband or I die.
She said it was more trying than death to have her shame known
to two men. She gasped out that she wanted to be the wife of
whichever survived. Then a furious desire to kill him seized me.
(Gloomy excitement)
Telling you in this way, no doubt I seem a crueler man
than you. But that‘s because you didn‘t see her face. Especially
her burning eyes at that moment. As I saw her eye to eye, I
wanted to make her my wife even if I were to be struck by
lightning. I wanted to make her my wife … this single desire
filled my mind. This was not only lust, as you might think. At
that time if I‘d had no other desire than lust, I‘d surely not have
minded knocking her down and running away. Then I wouldn‘t
have stained my sword with his blood. But the moment I gazed
at her face in the dark grove, I decided not to leave there without
killing him.
But I didn‘t like to resort to unfair means to kill him. I
untied him and told him to cross swords with me. (The rope that
was found at the root of the cedar is the rope I dropped at the
time.) Furious with anger, he drew his thick sword. And quick
as thought, he sprang at me ferociously, without speaking a
word. I needn‘t tell you how our fight turned out. The twenty-
third stroke … please remember this. I‘m impressed with this
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 9

fact still. Nobody under the sun has ever clashed swords with
me twenty strokes. (A cheerful smile)
When he fell, I turned toward her, lowering my blood-
stained sword. But to my great astonishment she was gone. I
wondered to where she had run away. I looked for her in the
clump of cedars. I listened, but heard only a groaning sound
from the throat of the dying man.
As soon as we started to cross swords, she may have run
away through the grove to call for help. When I thought of that,
I decided it was a matter of life and death of me. So, robbing
him of his sword, and bow and arrows, I ran out to the mountain
road. There I found her horse still grazing quietly. It would be
mere waste of words to tell you the later details, but before I
entered town I had already parted with the sword. That‘s all my
confession. I know that my head will be hung in chains anyway,
so put me down for the maximum penalty. (A defiant attitude)
The Confession of a Woman who has come to Shimizu
Temple
That man in the blue silk kimono, after forcing me to
yield to him, laughed mockingly as he looked at my bound
husband. How horrified my husband must have been! But no
matter how hard he struggled in agony, the rope cut into him all
the more tightly. In spite of myself I ran stumblingly toward his
side. Or rather I tried to run toward him, but the man instantly
knocked me down. Just at the moment I saw an indescribable
light in my husband‘s eyes. Something beyond expression … his
eyes make me shudder even now. That instantaneous look of my
husband, who couldn‘t speak a word, told me all his heart. The
flash in his eyes was neither anger nor sorrow … only a cold
light, a look of loathing. More struck by the look in his eyes than
by the blow of the thief, I called out in spite of myself and fell
unconscious.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 10

In the course of time I came to, and found that the man
in blue silk was gone. I saw only my husband still bound to the
root of the cedar. I raised myself from the bamboo-blades with
difficulty, and looked into his face; but the expression in his
eyes was just the same as before.
Beneath the cold contempt in his eyes, there was hatred.
Shame, grief, and anger … I don‘t know how to express my
heart at that time. Reeling to my feet, I went up to my husband.
‖Takejiro,‖ I said to him, ―since things have come to this
pass, I cannot live with you, I‘m determined to die … but you
must die, too. You saw my shame, I can‘t leave you alive as you
are.‖
This was all I could say. Still he went on gazing at me
with loathing and contempt. My heart breaking. I looked for his
sword. It must have been taken by the robber. Neither his sword
nor his bow and arrows were to be seen in the grove. But
fortunately my small sword was lying at my feet. Raising it over
head, once more I said, ―Now give me your life. I‘ll follow you
right away.‖
When he heard these words, he moved his lips with
difficulty. Since his mouth was stuffed with leaves, of course his
voice could not be heard at all. But at a glance I understood his
words. Despising me, his look said only, ―Kill me.‖ Neither
conscious nor unconscious, I stabbed the small sword through
the lilac-colored kimono into his breast.
Again at this time I must have fainted. By the time I
managed to look up, he had already breathed his last—still in
bonds. A streak of sinking sunlight streamed through the clump
of cedars and bamboos, and shone on his pale face. Gulping
down my sobs, I untied the rope from his dead body. And …
and what has become of me since I have no more strength to tell
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 11

you. Anyway I hadn‘t the strength to die. I stabbed my own

throat with the small sword. I threw myself into a pond at the
foot of the mountain, and I tried to kill myself in many ways.
Unable to end my life, I am still living in dishonor. (A lonely
smile) Worthless as I am, I must have been forsaken even by the
most merciful Kwannon. I killed my own husband. I was
violated by the robber. Whatever can I do? Whatever can I … I
… (Gradually, violent sobbing)
The story of the Murdered Man, as told through a medium
After violating my wife, the robber, sitting there, began
to speak comforting words to her. Of course, I couldn‘t speak.
My whole body was tied fast to the root of a cedar. But
meanwhile I winked at her many ties, as much as to say ―Don‘t
believe the robber.‖ I wanted to convey some such meaning to
her. But my wife, sitting dejectedly on the bamboo leaves, was
looking hard at her lap. To all appearance, she was listening to
his words. I was agonized by jealousy. In the meantime the
robber went on with his clever talk, from one subject to another.
The robber finally made his bold brazen proposal ―Once your
virtue is stained, you won‘t get along well with your husband, so
won‘t you be my wife instead? It‘s my love for you that made
me be violent toward you.‖
While the criminal talked, my wife raised her face as if
in a trance. She had never looked so beautiful as at that moment.
What did my beautiful wife say in answer to him while I was
sitting bound there? I am lost in space, but I have never thought
of her answer without burning with anger and jealously. Truly
she said, … ‗Then take me away with you whatever you go.‖
This is not the whole of her sin. If that were all, I would
not be tormented so much in the dark. When she was going out
of the grove as if in a dream, her hand in the robber‘s, she
suddenly turned pale, and pointed at me tied to the root of the
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 12

cedar, and said, ―Kill him! I cannot marry you as long as he

lives.‖ ―Kill him!‖ she cried many times, as if she had gone
crazy. Even now these words threaten to blow me headlong into
the bottomless abyss of darkness. Has such a hateful thing come
out of a human mouth ever before? Have such cursed words
even struck a human ear, even once? Even once such a … (A
sudden cry of scorn) At these words the robber himself turned
pale, ―Kill him,‖ she cried, clinging to his arms. Looking hard at
her, he answered neither yes nor no … but hardly had I thought
about his answer before she had been knocked down into the
bamboo leaves. (Again a cry of scorn) Quietly folding his arms,
he looked at me and said, ―What will you do with her? Kill her
or save her? You have only to nod, Kill her?‖ For these words
alone I would like to pardon his crime.
While I hesitated, she shrieked and ran into the depths of
the grove. The robber instantly snatched at her, but he failed
even to grasp her sleeve.
After she ran away, he took up my sword, and my bow
and arrows. With a single stroke he cut one of my bonds. I
remember his mumbling, ―My fate is next.‖ Then he
disappeared from the grove. All was silent after that. No, I heard
someone crying. Untying the rest of my bonds, I listened
carefully, and I noticed that it was my own crying. (Long
silence)
I raised my exhausted body from the foot of the cedar. In
front of me there was shining the small sword which my wife
had dropped. I took it up and stabbed it into my breast. A bloody
lump rose to my mouth, but I didn‘t feel any pain. When my
breast grew cold, everything was as silent as the dead in their
graves. What profound silence! Not a single bird-note was heard
in the sky over this grave in the hollow of the mountains. Only a
lonely light lingered on the cedars and mountains. By and by the
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 13

light gradually grew fainter, till the cedars and bamboo were lost
to view. Lying there, I was enveloped in deep silence.
Then someone crept up to me. I tried to see who it was.
But darkness had already been gathering round me. Someone …
that someone drew the small sword softly out of my breast in its
invisible hand. At the same time once more blood flowed into
my mouth. And once and for all I sank down into the darkness
of space.
Essay
Introduction:
The early modernist short story ―In a Grove‖ by
Ryunosuke Akutagawa tells seven distinct stories about the
murder of samurai Kanazawa no Takehiko, whose body was
discovered in a bamboo forest near Kyoto. It is a collection of
testimonies and confessions concerning the death of the twenty-
six-year-old man. In this short story, the samurai is dead, his
wife has disappeared, and a notorious robber has been taken into
custody. The narrative moves forward by compiling a variety of
witness accounts to the incidents that are provided in response to
the high police commissioner‘s inquiries.
The four testimonies:
The story begins with four testimonies given to a
magistrate, a Kyoto city official who is investigating the
mysterious death. The first to speak is the woodcutter who
discovered the deceased that morning. He confirms the location
of the abandoned bamboo grove where he discovered the body
and goes into great detail about the dried wound on his chest.
The next witness, a travelling Buddhist priest reports that he saw
a man, a lady, and a horse the previous day noon. A policeman
then claims in court that he has apprehended Tajomaru, the
notorious bandit who has been raping women in Kyoto. The
policeman says the magistrate should question Tajomaru
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 14

because he is the one who is accountable. The mother of the

young lady provides the four evidence, attesting to the fact that
her daughter Masago and her husband Takeiko—the deceased
samurai—would have been on their way across the hills the
previous day. She sobs, fearing for the safety of her daughter
who went missing.
Tajomaru‟s testimony
Tajomaru admits to killing Takehiko when the narrative
shifts to his voice. He describes how Masago‘s beauty made him
scheme a plan. Tajomaru tricks Takehiko into entering a
bamboo forest on the promise of selling him riches pilfered from
an aristocrat‘s burial mound. He further explains that he tied
Takehiko up and sexually assaulted Masago. He also states that
she surprised him by asking him to murder her husband or
himself, promising to stay with the survivor. After releasing
Takehiko from his bind, Tajomaru challenged him to a sword
fight which ended in Tajomaru stabbing Takehiko in the chest of
his twenty-third thrust. As Masago escaped, Tajomaru rode
Masago‘s horse out of the jungle carrying Takehiko‘s weapons
until he was spotted and arrested. Accepting his fate, Tajomaru
requests to be hanged outside the prison‘s tree for execution.

Masago‟s confession:
The next story is told by Masago directly, as a
confession in the Shimizu Temple. Masago describes that she
saw contempt in Takehiko‘s eyes after Tajomaru‘s raped her.
She also adds that when she approached her husband‘s side, he
kicked her and she fell on the ground losing her consciousness.
When she awoke, the bandit had disappeared. Now that her
honour had been disgraced, she decided that she and her
husband had to die. She says that she sought Takehiko‘s
permission and took stabbed her husband in the chest with it.
She also mentions that she made an attempt to kill herself by
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 15

stabbing in the neck and diving into a pond, but she was
unsuccessful in the attempt. After the disgrace and her failed
attempt to commit suicide, Masago asks in for the advice of the
religious authority.

Takehiko speaks through a medium

Through a medium, the spirit of Takehiko gives the last
testimony. Takehiko‘s version claims that Masago asked the
bandit to kill her husband, which runs counter to the narratives
of Tajomaru and Masago. Takehiko pardons Tajomaru for his
misdeeds as a sign of respect for each other and their discussion
on whether or not to kill Masago. They were united in their
horror at her betrayal. Masago fled into the grove while
Takehiko was unsure how to respond to the bandit. After
releasing the rope that was holding Takehiko to the cedar tree,
Tajomaru fled with Takehiko‘s weapons. Takehiko says that he
snatched Masago‘s dagger out of exhaustion and stabbed
himself. He was bleeding slowly as he watched the sun set over
the grove. An unidentified figure approached him in the
shadows and took the knife away. At the end, Takehiko says that
he then sank into the darkness between lives.
Conclusion
Thus there remains no unifying narrative to clarify the
contradictions of the testimonies. The testimonies serve as
poignant meditations on the nature of truth and the frailty of
human memory. The readers are challenged to question their
assumptions and judgements, reminding that the truth is often
elusive and subjective. Akutagawa‘s incisive storytelling and
penetrating insight into the human psyche is expressed in this
sequel.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 16

1.2 THE GIFT OF THE MAGI – O. Henry

Text
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And
sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a
time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the
butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of
parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della
counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day
would be Christmas.
There was clearly nothing left to do but flop down on the
shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates
the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and
smiles, with sniffles predominating.
While the mistress of the home is gradually subsiding
from the first stage to the second, take a look at the home. A
furnished flat at $8 per week. It did not exactly beggar
description, but it certainly had that word on the look-out for the
mendicancy squad.
In the vestibule below was a letter-box into which no
letter would go, and an electric button from which no mortal
finger could coax a ring. Also appertaining thereunto was a card
bearing the name "Mr. James Dillingham Young."
The "Dillingham" had been flung to the breeze during a
former period of prosperity when its possessor was being paid
$30 per week. Now, when the income was shrunk to $20, the
letters of "Dillingham" looked blurred, as though they were
thinking seriously of contracting to a modest and unassuming D.
But whenever Mr. James Dillingham Young came home and
reached his flat above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged
by Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced to you as
Della. Which is all very good.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 17

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with

the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully
at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard. To-
morrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with
which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny
she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week
doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had
calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for
Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for
something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling -
something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honour of
being owned by Jim.
There was a pier-glass between the windows of the
room. Perhaps you have seen a pier-glass in an $8 Bat. A very
thin and very agile person may, by observing his reflection in a
rapid sequence of longitudinal strips, obtain a fairly accurate
conception of his looks. Della, being slender, had mastered the
art.
Suddenly she whirled from the window and stood before
the glass. Her eyes were shining brilliantly, but her face had lost
its colour within twenty seconds. Rapidly she pulled down her
hair and let it fall to its full length.
Now, there were two possessions of the James
Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One
was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his
grandfather's. The other was Della's hair. Had the Queen of
Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let
her hair hang out of the window some day to dry just to
depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon
been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement,
Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just
to see him pluck at his beard from envy.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 18

So now Della's beautiful hair fell about her, rippling and

shining like a cascade of brown waters. It reached below her
knee and made itself almost a garment for her. And then she did
it up again nervously and quickly. Once she faltered for a
minute and stood still while a tear or two splashed on the worn
red carpet.
On went her old brown jacket; on went her old brown
hat. With a whirl of skirts and with the brilliant sparkle still in
her eyes, she cluttered out of the door and down the stairs to the
street.
Where she stopped the sign read: 'Mme Sofronie. Hair
Goods of All Kinds.' One Eight up Della ran, and collected
herself, panting. Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked
the 'Sofronie.'
"Will you buy my hair?" asked Della.
"I buy hair," said Madame. "Take yer hat off and let's
have a sight at the looks of it."
Down rippled the brown cascade.
"Twenty dollars," said Madame, lifting the mass with a
practised hand.
"Give it to me quick" said Della.
Oh, and the next two hours tripped by on rosy wings.
Forget the hashed metaphor. She was ransacking the stores for
Jim's present.
She found it at last. It surely had been made for Jim and
no one else. There was no other like it in any of the stores, and
she had turned all of them inside out. It was a platinum fob
chain simple and chaste in design, properly proclaiming its
value by substance alone and not by meretricious ornamentation
- as all good things should do. It was even worthy of The Watch.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 19

As soon as she saw it she knew that it must be Jim's. It was like
him. Quietness and value - the description applied to both.
Twenty-one dollars they took from her for it, and she hurried
home with the 78 cents. With that chain on his watch Jim might
be properly anxious about the time in any company. Grand as
the watch was, he sometimes looked at it on the sly on account
of the old leather strap that he used in place of a chain.
When Della reached home her intoxication gave way a
little to prudence and reason. She got out her curling irons and
lighted the gas and went to work repairing the ravages made by
generosity added to love. Which is always a tremendous task
dear friends - a mammoth task.
Within forty minutes her head was covered with tiny,
close-lying curls that made her look wonderfully like a truant
schoolboy. She looked at her reflection in the mirror long,
carefully, and critically.
"If Jim doesn't kill me," she said to herself, "before he
takes a second look at me, he'll say I look like a Coney Island
chorus girl. But what could I do - oh! what could I do with a
dollar and eighty-seven cents?"
At 7 o'clock the coffee was made and the frying-pan was
on the back of the stove hot and ready to cook the chops.
Jim was never late. Della doubled the fob chain in her
hand and sat on the corner of the table near the door that he
always entered. Then she heard his step on the stair away down
on the first flight, and she turned white for just a moment. She
had a habit of saying little silent prayers about the simplest
everyday things, and now she whispered: "Please, God, make
him think I am still pretty."
The door opened and Jim stepped in and closed it. He
looked thin and very serious. Poor fellow, he was only twenty-
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 20

two - and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new

overcoat and he was with out gloves.
Jim stepped inside the door, as immovable as a setter at
the scent of quail. His eyes were fixed upon Della, and there was
an expression in them that she could not read, and it terrified
her. It was not anger, nor surprise, nor disapproval, nor horror,
nor any of the sentiments that she had been prepared for. He
simply stared at her fixedly with that peculiar expression on his
face.
Della wriggled off the table and went for him.
"Jim, darling," she cried, "don't look at me that way. I
had my hair cut off and sold it because I couldn't have lived
through Christmas without giving you a present. It'll grow out
again - you won't mind, will you? I just had to do it. My hair
grows awfully fast. Say 'Merry Christmas!' Jim, and let's be
happy. You don't know what a nice-what a beautiful, nice gift
I've got for you."
"You've cut off your hair?" asked Jim, laboriously, as if
he had not arrived at that patent fact yet, even after the hardest
mental labour.
"Cut it off and sold it," said Della. "Don't you like me
just as well, anyhow? I'm me without my hair, ain't I?"
Jim looked about the room curiously.
"You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost
of idiocy.
"You needn't look for it," said Della. "It's sold, I tell you
- sold and gone, too. It's Christmas Eve, boy. Be good to me, for
it went for you. Maybe the hairs of my head were numbered,"
she went on with a sudden serious sweetness, "but nobody could
ever count my love for you. Shall I put the chops on, Jim?"
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 21

Out of his trance Jim seemed quickly to wake. He

enfolded his Della. For ten seconds let us regard with discreet
scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction.
Eight dollars a week or a million a year - what is the difference?
A mathematician or a wit would give you the wrong answer.
The magi brought valuable gifts, but that was not among them.
This dark assertion will be illuminated later on.
Jim drew a package from his overcoat pocket and threw
it upon the table.
"Don't make any mistake, Dell," he said, "about me. I
don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or
a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less. But if
you'll unwrap that package you may see why you had me going
a while at first."
White fingers and nimble tore at the string and paper.
And then an ecstatic scream of joy; and then, alas! a quick
feminine change to hysterical tears and wails, necessitating the
immediate employment of all the comforting powers of the lord
of the flat.
For there lay The Combs - the set of combs, side and
back, that Della had worshipped for long in a Broadway
window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise-shell, with jewelled
rims - just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They
were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply
craved and yearned over them without the least hope of
possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should
have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.
But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she
was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair
grows so fast, Jim!"
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 22

And then Della leaped up like a little singed cat and

cried, "Oh, oh!"
Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out
to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal
seemed to {lash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit.
"Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it.
You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give
me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."
Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and
put his hands under the back of his head and smiled.
"Dell," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away
and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I
sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now
suppose you put the chops on."
The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully
wise men - who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They
invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their
gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of
exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related
to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat
who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest
treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these
days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the
wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest.
Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.
Essay
Introduction:
The American short-story writer O. Henry‘s The Gift of
the Magi reveals the deep love that a young couple have for
each other. The story of the lovers is skillfully interwoven with
that of the Magi.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 23

The lovers‟ poverty-stricken state

Della and Jim are a young couple. They are recently
married. They live in an ill-furnished flat. Jim earns only a
pittance. It is hardly enough for their hand-to-mouth existence. It
is Christmas eve. This is the occasion when people buy gifts for
one another. Della wants to buy some memorable gift for her
husband. But she has got only one dollar and eighty-seven cents.
This is the outcome of her effort to economize. She bargains the
grocer, the vegetable vendor and the butcher to extract as much
concession from them as possible.
Della and Jim buy gifts for each other
Della has luxuriant hair. She hopes to get some money
by selling her hair which is her most coveted possession.
Without any hesitation she has her hair cut by Madame
Sofronie. The hair-dealer gives only twenty dollars. Della walks
up and down the bazaar in search of a suitable gift for Jim. At
last she buys a platinum fob chain for his wrist watch, paying all
the twenty-one dollars that she has. As for Jim, he sells his wrist
watch and buys Della a comb made of tortoise shell. He thinks
that the comb will enhance the beauty of her curls. The pity is
that the gifts are useless, as Della has no hair to wear Jim‘s
comb and Jim has no watch to go with Della‘s platinum fob
chain.
Della and Jim compared with the Magi
Della goes back home with the gift of platinum fob chain
that she has bought for Jim. She is afraid that Jim may not like
her because she has lost her hair. She does her ravaged hair as
well as she can. She makes some tasty dishes for Jim. Jim
returns home and is stunned to see Della hairless. She tells him
that her hair will surely grow fast again. It is most pathetic.
Now, Jim admits having sold his wrist watch to buy her the
comb that she so badly needed. O‘Henry compares the couple to
the Magi who brought gifts for the Infant Christ, making great
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 24

sacrifices and undergoing all kinds of hardships to see him.

Their bitter experiences were not in vain as they finally saw no
less a person than God Himself. Similarly, Della and Jim
sacrificed their precious possessions. It was not an unwise action
as it made them aware of their supreme love for each other.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 25

PROSE

1.3 LISTENING – Robin Sharma

Text
Listening is, in so many ways, the social equity of the
world-class cultures that evolve into world-class organizations.
Listening makes people feel special (and talent leaves
organizations mainly because they didn‘t feel special). Listening
shows respect. Listening allows you to gather the data that will
improve everything you do. I guess what I‘m suggesting to you
is that brilliant performers are brilliant listeners.
Today, just for a day, make the decision to listen
masterfully. Don‘t interrupt. Don‘t rehearse your answer while
the other person is speaking. And don‘t dare check your email or
search for text messages while another human being is sharing
their words. Just listen, Just hear. Just be there for that person.
Everyone has a voice. And we all crave to be heard. Just
watch the great things that unfold when you do.

Essay
Introduction:
Robin Sharma, a leadership expert, emphasizes the
importance of listening in his teachings. He believes that
attentive listening is crucial for effective communication and
building strong relationships. Sharma often discusses strategies
for improving listening skills, such as maintaining eye contact,
paraphrasing to ensure understanding, and minimizing
distractions. Additionally, he stresses the significances of
empathy and genuine interest in others‘ perspectives during
conversations.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 26

Sharma‟s views about active listening

Sharma emphasizes the importance of listening as a key
aspect of effective communication and leadership. He shares
some insights about listening. He stresses the significance of
active listening, which involves fully engaging with the speaker,
focusing on their words, and demonstrating genuine interest in
what they are saying. Active listening helps build trust,
strengthen relationships, and foster better understanding
between individuals.
The role of empathy and silent listening
Sharma often highlights the role of empathy in listening.
He encourages people to not only hear the words spoken but
also to understand the emotions, perspectives, and underlying
needs of the speaker. He advocates that by empathizing with
others, one can establish deeper connections and respond more
effectively to their concerns. He speaks in favour of silent
listening, which involves not just hearing the words spoken but
also paying attention to non-verbal cues, such as body language,
tone of voice, and facial expressions. Silent listening enables
one to grasp the complete message being conveyed and respond
accordingly.
Leaders as listeners
According to Sharma, listening is not just about
receiving information but also about learning and personal
growth. By listening attentively to diverse viewpoints and
experiences, one can expand his or her knowledge, broaden
one‘s perspectives, and become more open-minded individuals.
Sharma also emphasizes that great leaders are also great
listeners. They seek input from their team members, value
diverse perspectives, and create an environment where everyone
feels heard and respected. Sharma is sure that by listening
effectively, leaders can inspire trust, foster collaboration, and
drive positive change within their organizations.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 27

1.4 NOBEL PRIZE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH

– Wangari Maathai

Text:
Wangari Maathai held her Nobel Lecture December 10,
2004, in the Oslo City Hall, Norway. She was presented by
Professor Ole Danbolt Mjos, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel
Committee.
Your Majesties
Your Royal Highnesses
Honourable Members of the Norwegian Nobel
Committee
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen
I stand before you and the world humbled by this
recognition and uplifted by the honour of being the 2004 Nobel
Peace Laureate.
As the first African woman to receive this prize, I accept
it on behalf of the people of Kenya and Africa, and indeed the
world. I am especially mindful of women and the girl child. I
hope it will encourage them to raise their voices and take more
space for leadership. I know the honour also gives a deep sense
of pride to our men, both old and young. As a mother, I
appreciate the inspiration this brings to the youth and urge them
to use it to pursue their dreams.
Although this prize comes to me, it acknowledges the
work of countless individuals and groups across the globe. They
work quietly and often without recognition to protect the
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 28

environment, promote democracy, defend human rights and

ensure equality between women and men. By so doing, they
plant seeds of peace. I know they, too, are proud today. To all
who feel represented by this prize I say use it to advance your
mission and meet the high expectations the world will place on
us.
This honour is also for my family, friends, partners and
supporters throughout the world. All of them helped shape the
vision and sustain our work, which was often accomplished
under hostile conditions. I am also grateful to the people of
Kenya – who remained stubbornly hopeful that democracy
could be realized and their environment managed sustainably.
Because of this support, I am here today to accept this great
honour.
I am immensely privileged to join my fellow African
Peace laureates, Presidents Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the late Chief Albert Luthuli, the
late Anwar el-Sadat and the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
I know that African people everywhere are encouraged
by this news. My fellow Africans, as we embrace this
recognition, let us use it to intensify our commitment to our
people, to reduce conflicts and poverty and thereby improve
their quality of life. Let us embrace democratic governance,
protect human rights and protect our environment. I am
confident that we shall rise to the occasion. I have always
believed that solutions to most of our problems must come from
us.
In this year‘s prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has
placed the critical issue of environment and its linkage to
democracy and peace before the world. For their visionary
action, I am profoundly grateful. Recognizing that sustainable
development, democracy and peace are indivisible is an idea
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 29

whose time has come. Our work over the past 30 years has
always appreciated and engaged these linkages.
My inspiration partly comes from my childhood
experiences and observations of Nature in rural Kenya. It has
been influenced and nurtured by the formal education I was
privileged to receive in Kenya, the United States and Germany.
As I was growing up, I witnessed forests being cleared and
replaced by commercial plantations, which destroyed local
biodiversity and the capacity of the forests to conserve water.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
In 1977, when we started the Green Belt Movement, I
was partly responding to needs identified by rural women,
namely lack of firewood, clean drinking water, balanced diets,
shelter and income.
Throughout Africa, women are the primary caretakers,
holding significant responsibility for tilling the land and feeding
their families. As a result, they are often the first to become
aware of environmental damage as resources become scarce and
incapable of sustaining their families.
The women we worked with recounted that unlike in the
past, they were unable to meet their basic needs. This was due to
the degradation of their immediate environment as well as the
introduction of commercial farming, which replaced the
growing of household food crops. But international trade
controlled the price of the exports from these small-scale
farmers and a reasonable and just income could not be
guaranteed. I came to understand that when the environment is
destroyed, plundered or mismanaged, we undermine our quality
of life and that of future generations.
Tree planting became a natural choice to address some of
the initial basic needs identified by women. Also, tree planting
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 30

is simple, attainable and guarantees quick, successful results

within a reasonable amount time. This sustains interest and
commitment.
So, together, we have planted over 30 million trees that
provide fuel, food, shelter, and income to support their
children‘s education and household needs. The activity also
creates employment and improves soils and watersheds.
Through their involvement, women gain some degree of power
over their lives, especially their social and economic position
and relevance in the family. This work continues.
Initially, the work was difficult because historically our
people have been persuaded to believe that because they are
poor, they lack not only capital, but also knowledge and skills to
address their challenges. Instead they are conditioned to believe
that solutions to their problems must come from ‗outside‘.
Further, women did not realize that meeting their needs
depended on their environment being healthy and well managed.
They were also unaware that a degraded environment leads to a
scramble for scarce resources and may culminate in poverty and
even conflict. They were also unaware of the injustices of
international economic arrangements.
In order to assist communities to understand these
linkages, we developed a citizen education program, during
which people identify their problems, the causes and possible
solutions. They then make connections between their own
personal actions and the problems they witness in the
environment and in society. They learn that our world is
confronted with a litany of woes: corruption, violence against
women and children, disruption and breakdown of families, and
disintegration of cultures and communities. They also identify
the abuse of drugs and chemical substances, especially among
young people. There are also devastating diseases that are
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 31

defying cures or occurring in epidemic proportions. Of

particular concern are HIV/AIDS, malaria and diseases
associated with malnutrition.
On the environment front, they are exposed to many
human activities that are devastating to the e nvironment and
societies. These include widespread destruction of ecosystems,
especially through deforestation, climatic instability, and
contamination in the soils and waters that all contribute to
excruciating poverty.
In the process, the participants discover that they must be
part of the solutions. They realize their hidden potential and are
empowered to overcome inertia and take action. They come to
recognize that they are the primary custodians and beneficiaries
of the environment that sustains them.
Entire communities also come to understand that while it
is necessary to hold their governments accountable, it is equally
important that in their own relationships with each other, they
exemplify the leadership values they wish to see in their own
leaders, namely justice, integrity and trust.
Although initially the Green Belt Movement‘s tree
planting activities did not address issues of democracy and
peace, it soon became clear that responsible governance of the
environment was impossible without democratic space.
Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle
in Kenya. Citizens were mobilised to challenge widespread
abuses of power, corruption and environmental mismanagement.
In Nairobi ‗s Uhuru Park, at Freedom Corner, and in many parts
of the country, trees of peace were planted to demand the release
of prisoners of conscience and a peaceful transition to
democracy.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 32

Through the Green Belt Movement, thousands of

ordinary citizens were mobilized and empowered to take action
and effect change. They learned to overcome fear and a sense of
helplessness and moved to defend democratic rights.
In time, the tree also became a symbol for peace and
conflict resolution, especially during ethnic conflicts in Kenya
when the Green Belt Movement used peace trees to reconcile
disputing communities. During the ongoing re-writing of the
Kenyan constitution, similar trees of peace were planted in
many parts of the country to promote a culture of peace. Using
trees as a symbol of peace is in keeping with a widespread
African tradition. For example, the elders of the Kikuyu carried
a staff from the thigi tree that, when placed between two
disputing sides, caused them to stop fighting and seek
reconciliation. Many communities in Africa have these
traditions.
Such practises are part of an extensive cultural heritage,
which contributes both to the conservation of habitats and to
cultures of peace. With the destruction of these cultures and the
introduction of new values, local biodiversity is no longer
valued or protected and as a result, it is quickly degraded and
disappears. For this reason, The Green Belt Movement explores
the concept of cultural biodiversity, especially with respect to
indigenous seeds and medicinal plants.
As we progressively understood the causes of
environmental degradation, we saw the need for good
governance. Indeed, the state of any county‘s environment is a
reflection of the kind of governance in place, and without good
governance there can be no peace. Many countries, which have
poor governance systems, are also likely to have conflicts and
poor laws protecting the environment.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 33

In 2002, the courage, resilience, patience and

commitment of members of the Green Belt Movement, other
civil society organizations, and the Kenyan public culminated in
the peaceful transition to a democratic government and laid the
foundation for a more stable society.
Excellencies, friends, ladies and gentlemen,
It is 30 years since we started this work. Activities that
devastate the environment and societies continue unabated.
Today we are faced with a challenge that calls for a shift in our
thinking, so that humanity stops threatening its life-support
system. We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and
in the process heal our own – indeed, to embrace the whole
creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. This will happen
if we see the need to revive our sense of belonging to a larger
family of life, with which we have shared our evolutionary
process.
In the course of history, there comes a time when
humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to
reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our
fear and give hope to each other.
That time is now.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has challenged the
world to broaden the understanding of peace: there can be no
peace without equitable development; and there can be no
development without sustainable management of the
environment in a democratic and peaceful space. This shift is an
idea whose time has come.
I call on leaders, especially from Africa, to expand
democratic space and build fair and just societies that allow the
creativity and energy of their citizens to flourish. Those of us
who have been privileged to receive education, skills, and
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 34

experiences and even power must be role models for the next
generation of leadership. In this regard, I would also like to
appeal for the freedom of my fellow laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi so that she can continue her work for peace and democracy
for the people of Burma and the world at large.
Culture plays a central role in the political, economic and
social life of communities. Indeed, culture may be the missing
link in the development of Africa. Culture is dynamic and
evolves over time, consciously discarding retrogressive
traditions, like female genital mutilation (FGM), and embracing
aspects that are good and useful.
Africans, especially, should re-discover positive aspects
of their culture. In accepting them, they would give themselves a
sense of belonging, identity and self-confidence.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is also need to galvanize civil society and
grassroots movements to catalyse change. I call upon
governments to recognize the role of these social movements in
building a critical mass of responsible citizens, who help
maintain checks and balances in society. On their part, civil
society should embrace not only their rights but also their
responsibilities.
Further, industry and global institutions must appreciate
that ensuring economic justice, equity and ecological integrity
are of greater value than profits at any cost. The extreme global
inequities and prevailing consumption patterns continue at the
expense of the environment and peaceful co-existence. The
choice is ours.
I would like to call on young people to commit
themselves to activities that contribute toward achieving their
long-term dreams. They have the energy and creativity to shape
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 35

a sustainable future. To the young people I say, you are a gift to

your communities and indeed the world. You are our hope and
our future.
The holistic approach to development, as exemplified by
the Green Belt Movement, could be embraced and replicated in
more parts of Africa and beyond. It is for this reason that I have
established the Wangari Maathai Foundation to ensure the
continuation and expansion of these activities. Although a lot
has been achieved, much remains to be done.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
As I conclude I reflect on my childhood experience when
I would visit a stream next to our home to fetch water for my
mother. I would drink water straight from the stream. Playing
among the arrowroot leaves I tried in vain to pick up the strands
of frogs‘ eggs, believing they were beads. But every time I put
my little fingers under them they would break. Later, I saw
thousands of tadpoles: black, energetic and wriggling through
the clear water against the background of the brown earth. This
is the world I inherited from my parents.
Today, over 50 years later, the stream has dried up,
women walk long distances for water, which is not always
clean, and children will never know what they have lost. The
challenge is to restore the home of the tadpoles and give back to
our children a world of beauty and wonder.
Thank you very much
Essay
Introduction:
Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan born social,
environmental, and political activist founded the Green Belt
Movement, an environment non-governmental organization in
1977. In 2004, she was presented the Nobel Peace Prize by
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 36

Professor Ole Danbolt Mjos, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel

Committee in the Oslo City Hall, Norway. This essay is the
speech delivered by her while accepting the prestigious award.

Maathai‟s acknowledgement
Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel
Peace Prize. She acknowledges the work of countless
individuals and groups worldwide, including women, girls, and
men, who work quietly and often without recognition to protect
the environment, promote democracy, defend human rights, and
ensure equality between women and men. She expects that the
prize also brings inspiration to the youth and encourages them to
pursue their dreams. Maathai owes the honour not only to her
family but also to her friends, partners, and supporters, who
helped shape the vision and sustain her work. She is grateful to
the people of Kenya, who remained hopeful that democracy
could be realized and their environment managed sustainably.
Her concern for her fellow beings
The Norwegian Noble Committee has placed the critical
issue of environment and its linkage to democracy and peace
before the world, and that Maathai is profoundly grateful for
their visionary action. She claims that her inspiration partly
comes from her childhood experiences and observations of
nature in rural Kenya where she witnessed the destruction of
local biodiversity and water conservation due to commercial
plantations. She was highly influenced by her formal education
in Kenya, the United States, and Germany. She states that she
began the Green Belt Movement in 1977 to address the needs of
rural women in Africa, who often face environmental
degradation and lack of basic needs due to commercial farming
and international trade. She says that she chose free planting to
address these needs, as it is simple, attainable, and guarantees
quick results. Over 30 million trees were planted, providing fuel,
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 37

food, shelter, and income for women‘s children‘s education and

household needs. She assures that this activity also creates
employment and improves soils and watersheds.
The citizen education program
Maathai, in her speech, highlights that historically,
people believed that poor people lack capital and knowledge to
address their challenges. However, they were unaware that
meeting their needs depended on their environmental health and
well-management. She recalls how a citizen education program
was developed to help communities understand these linkages
and make connections between personal actions and
environmental and societal issues. Through this, participants
learned about corruption, violence against women and children,
family breakdowns, and the abuse of drugs and chemical
substances. They also learned about devastating diseases like
HIV/AIDS, malaria, and malnutrition. In this process,
participants realized their hidden potential and empowered
themselves to take action, becoming the primary custodians and
beneficiaries of the environment.
Tree – as a symbol of peace
According to Maathai, the Green Belt Movement in
Kenya has been instrumental in promoting democracy and peace
through three planting activities. Initially, the movement did not
address issues of democracy and peace, but it later became a
symbol for the democratic struggle and the fight against
corruption and environmental mismanagement. Trees of peace
were planted to demand the release of prisoners of conscience
and a peaceful transition to democracy. The Green Belt
Movement empowered thousands of ordinary citizens to take
action and effect change, overcoming fear and a sense of
helplessness. The tree also became a symbol for peace and
conflict resolution, particularly during ethnic conflicts. The
movement explores the concept of cultural biodiversity with
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 38

respect to indigenous seeds and medicinal plants. She mentions

that good governance is essential for environmental degradation
and peace. The peaceful transition to a democratic government
in Kenya in 2002 laid the foundation for a more stable society.
The movement calls for a shift in thinking to help humanity heal
its life-support system and embrace the diversity, beauty, and
wonder of the Earth.
Efforts for a sustainable future
Maathai states that the Norwegian Nobel Committee has
called for a shift in understanding peace and sustainable
development. She opines that leaders, particularly from Africa,
should expand democratic space and create fair societies that
foster creativity and energy. She further states that Africans
should re-discover positive aspects of their culture to create a
sense of belonging and identity. She emphasizes that the civil
society and grassroots movements should be galvanized to
catalyze change, and governments should recognize their role in
building responsible citizens. Industry and global institutions
should prioritize economic justice, equity, and ecological
integrity over profits. She expects young people to involve in
activities that contribute to achieving their long-term dreams and
shape a sustainable future. She wants the holistic approach to
development, as exemplified by the Green Belt Movement, to be
embraced and replicated in more parts of Africa and beyond.
She asserts that the Wangari Maathai Foundation is established
to ensure the continuation and expansion of such activities.
Conclusion
Maathai concludes her speech by recalling her childhood
experience of visiting a stream to fetch water for her mother,
where she would play among arrowroot leaves and try to pick up
frogs‘ eggs and how she later saw thousands of tadpoles, a
world inherited from their parents. She exposes that over 50
years later, the stream has dried up, women walk long distances
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 39

for water, which is not always clean, and children will never
know what they have lost. For her, the challenge is to restore the
home of the tadpoles and give back to the children a world of
beauty and wonder.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 40

Unit – II – INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

Poem
2.1 TELEPHONE CONVERSATION – Wole Soyinka
Text
The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. ―Madam‖, I warned,
―I hate a wasted journey – I am – African‘.
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.
‗HOW DARK?‘ … I had not misheard … ‗ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK? Button B, Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public-hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis…
‗ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT‘? Revelation came.

―You mean – like plain or milk chocolate?‘

Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted.
I chose. ‗West African Sepia‘ – and as an afterthought.
‗Down in my passport‘. Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. ‗WHAT‘S THAT?‘ conceding
‗DON‘T KNOW WHAT THAT IS‘. ‗Like brunette‘.
‗THAT‘S DARK, ISN‘T IT?‘ ‗Not altogether.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 41

‗Facially I am brunette, but madam, you should see

The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blond. Friction, caused –
Foolishly, madam – by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black – One moment madam‖ – sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears – ‗Madam‘, I pleaded, ‗Wouldn‘t you rather
See for yourself?‘

ESSAY – 1
Introduction:
In all his writings Wole Soyinka brings out the hostility
between the whites and the blacks in America. In portraying the
arrogance and cruelty of whites, Soyinka is at one with other
African novelists. Soyinka wrote this poem at a time when
apartheid was at its worst in America. Africans could not live
with whites in the same area and their children could not study
in the same school as that of white children. In Wole Soyinka‘s
poem ‗Telephone Conversation‘ a white landlady is shown
practicing segregation in its most revolting form.
The landlady‟s negative attitude
The poem begins with an African selecting a house
owned by a white lady on the grounds that the rent is affordable
and the house is located in an ideal place. He does not want to
hide from her his being an African. He phones her up and
reveals his nationality. The white lady is shocked. She cannot
bring herself to accommodate a black-skinned man. At the same
time she does not want to create the impression of being ill-bred
and narrow-minded. She softly asks him whether he is thick
black or light black.
The African‟s description of his complexion
The African tries to maintain his self-respect. He wanted
to establish that black is not a repulsive complexion. In an effort
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 42

to make himself less disgusting in the eyes of the landlady, he

tells her that he is of the complexion of sepia. But the white
woman does not know what sepia means. She thinks that the
black man is trying to get the better of her. She says that sepia is
a synonym for black. The tenant tries to coax the landlady by
saying that his palm and the soles of his feet are blond, though
the rest of his body is brunette.

The African‟s unpleasant talk

The tenant‘s patience is worn out. He is sure that the
landlady‘s racial prejudices are deep-rooted and cannot be got
over easily. He earlier tried to convince her by comparing
himself to milk chocolate. Now he blatantly brandishes hiss
sexual attractiveness by talking of his posterior shining black
like the raven. The tenant‘s sexy talk only fills the landlady with
revulsion and she abruptly closes the telephonic conversation.
The landlady is a representative of tens of thousands of whites
who have erected an insurmountable barrier between themselves
and Africans.
ESSAY – 2
Sociological approach in „Telephone Conversation‟
Introduction:
The sociological approach to literature achieved
prominence ever since Marxism, captured the attention of
intellectuals all over the world. Sociological critics look upon
literature as a mirror reflecting the social, political, and religious
conditions of the society where it is produced. Without any
exception all African writings are concerned with portraying the
painful conflict between whites and blacks and so it would be
pertinent and profitable to analyse them from the sociological
angle.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 43

The landlady – a hypocrite

Wole Soyinka‘s poem ‗Telephone Conversation‘ shows
the breakdown of all communication between a rancorous White
landlady and a Black looking for a house to live in. The landlady
is a staunch believer in the practice of apartheid. She turns a
deaf ear to the African‘s plea for letting her house to him. She is
a hypocrite. She objects to him on the grounds of his being
black. He tries his best to present himself as tolerably good-
looking. First he says that he is complexioned like the chocolate.
Next, he says that he is brown like sepia. He goes on to say that
his palms and soles are ‗blond‘ and that only his face is
‗brunette‘. The landlady is not satisfied with any of these self-
defensive explanations. She bluntly and persistently calls him
black.

The African‟s unpleasant talk

The landlady is Soyinka‘s poem is a blind adherent to
old values. The African temptingly talks of his private parts
shining like raven. He hopes that his sexy talk will draw the
landlady towards himself. But it does not. The landlady is too
conventional-minded to respond favourably to the African‘s
overt invitation to come to him and ‗see‘ for herself. She is
outraged by what she considers to be his indecent talk and puts
down the receiver with a thunderous bang. The African is aghast
at the abrupt breakdown of communication. Thus the poem ends
on a bleak note. Neither a personal relationship nor an
impersonal tenant-landlady relationship is possible. The poem
presents whites and blacks as irreconcilable.

Conclusion
But conditions have vastly changed in America since the
time of Soyinka. Africans in America are no longer frowned
upon as ‗niggers‘. They have become citizens of America and
have come to be called African-Americans. Apartheid has
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 44

become a thing of the past. Wole Soyinka‘s poetry is now

nothing more than a museum piece.

ESSAY – 3
The characteristics of the landlady and the African
Introduction:
Wole Soyinka‘s poem ‗Telephone Conversation‘
presents two antithetical characters, a white landlady and an
African in search of a house to live in.
The frank revelation of the African
The African is desperately in need of accommodation.
Probably after a long-drawn-out search he has selected the white
lady‘s house for more than one reason. First, the rent is within
his reach. Second, it is located in a convenient place. The only
obstacle is that the landlady, being white, may not like to let her
house to an African. The man does not want to hide anything.
He frankly confesses to the lady that he is an African.
Racial determination of the landlady
From this point onwards, the two characters diverge
from each other. The landlady is in two minds. Being a rigid
segregationist, she does not want to accommodate a black. At
the same time, she does not want to part with him probably
because he is prepared to pay the rent she charges. In the
beginning of the telephonic conversation, it appears as though
she will accommodate the African if he is not very black. He
repeatedly asking him if he is light black shows her inner wish
to oblige him. Because of social pressure, she cannot openly
side with the African.
The transparent talk of the African
As for the African, he is straightforward. He does not
want to hide anything about himself. He lays all his cards on the
table. He confesses at the outset itself that he is an African. No
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 45

further proof of his honesty is required. At the same time, he

makes it clear that he is not grotesque. He underlines his plus
points as much as possible. It dawns on him that he can
influence her by hinting at his sexual prowess. He adopts very
subtle methods in his effort to win her over. He compares his
complexion to that of milk-chocolate. The comparison implies
his belief that she will find his company as tasty and enjoyable
as a child would find a piece of candy. Next, he compares
himself to sepia, a brownish-reddish substance that is eminently
useful in the manufacture of ink and paint. This comparison
implies that the African may lack physical attractions but this
deficiency will be more than compensated for by his usefulness
in day-to-day life. All these subtle comparisons are lost on the
landlady.

The conversation that ends abruptly

Now, the African uses his trump card. He openly talks of
his buttocks which, he says, are shiny black like the raven. The
puritanical landlady cannot tolerate his talk anymore and puts
down the receiver with a bang. The telephonic conversation
breaks down. This is because the two characters are polar
opposites.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 46

Prose
2.2 OF FRIENDSHIP – Francis Bacon
Text
It had been hard for him that spake it to have put more
truth and untruth together in few words, than in that speech.
Whatsoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a
god. For it is most true, that a natural and secret hatred, and
aversation towards society, in any man, hath somewhat of the
savage beast; but it is most untrue, that it should have any
character at all, of the divine nature; except it proceed, not out of
a pleasure in solitude, but out of a love and desire to sequester a
man‘s self, for a higher conversation: such as is found to have
been falsely and feignedly in some of the heathen; as
Epimenides the Candian, Numa the Roman, Empedocles the
Sicilian, and Apollonius of Tyana; and truly and really, in divers
of the ancient hermits and holy fathers of the church. But little
do men perceive what solitude is, and how far it extendeth. For a
crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures;
and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love. The Latin
adage meeteth with it a little: Magna civitas, magna solitudo;
because in a great town friends are scattered; so that there is not
that fellowship, for the most part, which is in less
neighborhoods. But we may go further, and affirm most truly,
that it is a mere and miserable solitude to want true friends;
without which the world is but a wilderness; and even in this
sense also of solitude, whosoever in the frame of his nature and
affections, is unfit for friendship, he taketh it of the beast, and
not from humanity.
A principal fruit of friendship, is the ease and discharge
of the fulness and swellings of the heart, which passions of all
kinds do cause and induce. We know diseases of stoppings, and
suffocations, are the most dangerous in the body; and it is not
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 47

much otherwise in the mind; you may take sarza to open the
liver, steel to open the spleen, flowers of sulphur for the lungs,
castoreum for the brain; but no receipt openeth the heart, but a
true friend; to whom you may impart griefs, joys, fears, hopes,
suspicions, counsels, and whatsoever lieth upon the heart to
oppress it, in a kind of civil shrift or confession.
It is a strange thing to observe, how high a rate great
kings and monarchs do set upon this fruit of friendship, whereof
we speak: so great, as they purchase it, many times, at the
hazard of their own safety and greatness. For princes, in regard
of the distance of their fortune from that of their subjects and
servants, cannot gather this fruit, except (to make themselves
capable thereof ) they raise some persons to be, as it were,
companions and almost equals to themselves, which many times
sorteth to inconvenience. The modern languages give unto such
persons the name of favorites, or privadoes; as if it were matter
of grace, or conversation. But the Roman name attaineth the true
use and cause thereof, naming them participes curarum; for it is
that which tieth the knot. And we see plainly that this hath been
done, not by weak and passionate princes only, but by the wisest
and most politic that ever reigned; who have oftentimes joined
to themselves some of their servants; whom both themselves
have called friends, and allowed other likewise to call them in
the same manner; using the word which is received between
private men.
L. Sylla, when he commanded Rome, raised Pompey
(after surnamed the Great) to that height, that Pompey vaunted
himself for Sylla‘s overmatch. For when he had carried the
consulship for a friend of his, against the pursuit of Sylla, and
that Sylla did a little resent thereat, and began to speak great,
Pompey turned upon him again, and in effect bade him be quiet;
for that more men adored the sun rising, than the sun setting.
With Julius Caesar, Decimus Brutus had obtained that interest,
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 48

as he set him down, in his testament, for heir in remainder, after

his nephew. And this was the man that had power with him, to
draw him forth to his death. For when Caesar would have
discharged the senate, in regard of some ill presages, and
specially a dream of Calpurnia; this man lifted him gently by the
arm out of his chair, telling him he hoped he would not dismiss
the senate, till his wife had dreamt a better dream. And it
seemeth his favor was so great, as Antonius, in a letter which is
recited verbatim in one of Cicero‘s Philippics, calleth him
venefica, witch; as if he had enchanted Caesar. Augustus raised
Agrippa (though of mean birth) to that height, as when he
consulted with Maecenas, about the marriage of his daughter
Julia, Maecenas took the liberty to tell him, that he must either
marry his daughter to Agrippa, or take away his life; there was
no third war, he had made him so great. With Tiberius Caesar,
Sejanus had ascended to that height, as they two were termed,
and reckoned, as a pair of friends. Tiberius in a letter to him
saith, Haec pro amicitia nostra non occultavi; and the whole
senate dedicated an altar to Friendship, as to a goddess, in
respect of the great dearness of friendship, between them two.
The like, or more, was between Septimius Severus and
Plautianus. For he forced his eldest son to marry the daughter of
Plautianus; and would often maintain Plautianus, in doing
affronts to his son; and did write also in a letter to the senate, by
these words: I love the man so well, as I wish he may over-live
me. Now if these princes had been as a Trajan, or a Marcus
Aurelius, a man might have thought that this had proceeded of
an abundant goodness of nature; but being men so wise, of such
strength and severity of mind, and so extreme lovers of
themselves, as all these were, it proveth most plainly that they
found their own felicity (though as great as ever happened to
mortal men) but as an half piece, except they mought have a
friend, to make it entire; and yet, which is more, they were
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 49

princes that had wives, sons, nephews; and yet all these could
not supply the comfort of friendship.
It is not to be forgotten, what Comineus observeth of his
first master, Duke Charles the Hardy, namely, that he would
communicate his secrets with none; and least of all, those secrets
which troubled him most. Whereupon he goeth on, and saith that
towards his latter time, that closeness did impair, and a little
perish his understanding. Surely Comineus mought have made
the same judgment also, if it had pleased him, of his second
master, Lewis the Eleventh, whose closeness was indeed his
tormentor. The parable of Pythagoras is dark, but true; Cor ne
edito; Eat not the heart. Certainly if a man would give it a hard
phrase, those that want friends, to open themselves unto are
cannibals of their own hearts. But one thing is most admirable
(wherewith I will conclude this first fruit of friendship), which
is, that this communicating of a man‘s self to his friend, works
two contrary effects; for it redoubleth joys, and cutteth griefs in
halves. For there is no man, that imparteth his joys to his friend,
but he joyeth the more; and no man that imparteth his griefs to
his friend, but he grieveth the less. So that it is in truth, of
operation upon a man‘s mind, of like virtue as the alchemists
use to attribute to their stone, for man‘s body; that it worketh all
contrary effects, but still to the good and benefit of nature. But
yet without praying in aid of alchemists, there is a manifest
image of this, in the ordinary course of nature. For in bodies,
union strengtheneth and cherisheth any natural action; and on
the other side, weakeneth and dulleth any violent impression:
and even so it is of minds.
The second fruit of friendship, is healthful and sovereign
for the understanding, as the first is for the affections. For
friendship maketh indeed a fair day in the affections, from storm
and tempests; but it maketh daylight in the understanding, out of
darkness, and confusion of thoughts. Neither is this to be
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 50

understood only of faithful counsel, which a man receiveth from

his friend; but before you come to that, certain it is, that
whosoever hath his mind fraught with many thoughts, his wits
and understanding do clarify and break up, in the
communicating and discoursing with another; he tosseth his
thoughts more easily; he marshalleth them more orderly, he
seeth how they look when they are turned into words: finally, he
waxeth wiser than himself; and that more by an hour‘s
discourse, than by a day‘s meditation. It was well said by
Themistocles, to the king of Persia, That speech was like cloth
of Arras, opened and put abroad; whereby the imagery doth
appear in figure; whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs.
Neither is this second fruit of friendship, in opening the
understanding, restrained only to such friends as are able to give
a man counsel; (they indeed are best;) but even without that, a
man learneth of himself, and bringeth his own thoughts to light,
and whetteth his wits as against a stone, which itself cuts not. In
a word, a man were better relate himself to a statua, or picture,
than to suffer his thoughts to pass in smother.
Add now, to make this second fruit of friendship
complete, that other point, which lieth more open, and falleth
within vulgar observation; which is faithful counsel from a
friend. Heraclitus saith well in one of his enigmas, Dry light is
ever the best. And certain it is, that the light that a man receiveth
by counsel from another, is drier and purer, than that which
cometh from his own understanding and judgment; which is
ever infused, and drenched, in his affections and customs. So as
there is as much difference between the counsel, that a friend
giveth, and that a man giveth himself, as there is between the
counsel of a friend, and of a flatterer. For there is no such
flatterer as is a man‘s self; and there is no such remedy against
flattery of a man‘s self, as the liberty of a friend. Counsel is of
two sorts: the one concerning manners, the other concerning
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 51

business. For the first, the best preservative to keep the mind in
health, is the faithful admonition of a friend. The calling of a
man‘s self to a strict account, is a medicine, sometime too
piercing and corrosive. Reading good books of morality, is a
little flat and dead. Observing our faults in others, is sometimes
improper for our case. But the best receipt (best, I say, to work,
and best to take) is the admonition of a friend. It is a strange
thing to behold, what gross errors and extreme absurdities many
(especially of the greater sort) do commit, for want of a friend to
tell them of them; to the great damage both of their fame and
fortune: for, as St. James saith, they are as men that look
sometimes into a glass, and presently forget their own shape and
favor. As for business, a man may think, if he will, that two eyes
see no more than one; or that a gamester seeth always more than
a looker-on; or that a man in anger, is as wise as he that hath
said over the four and twenty letters; or that a musket may be
shot off as well upon the arm, as upon a rest; and such other
fond and high imaginations, to think himself all in all. But when
all is done, the help of good counsel is that which setteth
business straight. And if any man think that he will take counsel,
but it shall be by pieces; asking counsel in one business, of one
man, and in another business, of another man; it is well (that is
to say, better, perhaps, than if he asked none at all); but he
runneth two dangers: one, that he shall not be faithfully
counselled; for it is a rare thing, except it be from a perfect and
entire friend, to have counsel given, but such as shall be bowed
and crooked to some ends, which he hath, that giveth it. The
other, that he shall have counsel given, hurtful and unsafe
(though with good meaning), and mixed partly of mischief and
partly of remedy; even as if you would call a physician, that is
thought good for the cure of the disease you complain of, but is
unacquainted with your body; and therefore may put you in way
for a present cure, but overthroweth your health in some other
kind; and so cure the disease, and kill the patient. But a friend
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 52

that is wholly acquainted with a man‘s estate, will beware, by

furthering any present business, how he dasheth upon other
inconvenience. And therefore rest not upon scattered counsels;
they will rather distract and mislead, than settle and direct.
After these two noble fruits of friendship (peace in the
affections, and support of the judgment), followeth the last fruit;
which is like the pomegranate, full of many kernels; I mean aid,
and bearing a part, in all actions and occasions. Here the best
way to represent to life the manifold use of friendship, is to cast
and see how many things there are, which a man cannot do
himself; and then it will appear, that it was a sparing speech of
the ancients, to say, that a friend is another himself; for that a
friend is far more than himself. Men have their time, and die
many times, in desire of some things which they principally take
to heart; the bestowing of a child, the finishing of a work, or the
like. If a man have a true friend, he may rest almost secure that
the care of those things will continue after him. So that a man
hath, as it were, two lives in his desires. A man hath a body, and
that body is confined to a place; but where friendship is, all
offices of life are as it were granted to him, and his deputy. For
he may exercise them by his friend. How many things are there
which a man cannot, with any face or comeliness, say or do
himself? A man can scarce allege his own merits with modesty,
much less extol them; a man cannot sometimes brook to
supplicate or beg; and a number of the like. But all these things
are graceful, in a friend‘s mouth, which are blushing in a man‘s
own. So again, a man‘s person hath many proper relations,
which he cannot put off. A man cannot speak to his son but as a
father; to his wife but as a husband; to his enemy but upon
terms: whereas a friend may speak as the case requires, and not
as it sorteth with the person. But to enumerate these things were
endless; I have given the rule, where a man cannot fitly play his
own part; if he have not a friend, he may quit the stage.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 53

ESSAY

Lover of solitude is a beast

Bacon on Solitude: Aristotle said that the man who takes
delight in solitude must be either a beast or a god. Bacon
disagrees with Aristotle. He says that the lover of solitude is a
beast and a beast only. He cannot claim to have any divine
quality. Some men are exceptional. They deliberately cut
themselves off from human society in order to devote
themselves to ‗nobler studies‘. Bacon gives many examples. The
Canadian sage Epimenides fell asleep in a cave when he was a
boy. He remained there for fifty-seven years. The Roman king
Numa retired into a cave at times to receive instructions from
the nymph Egeria. Apollonius, a worker of miracles, was also a
lover of solitude.

Lifeless picture in the absence of friends

Bacon says that solitude is more mental than physical.
The men who have no friends are like lifeless pictures in a
gallery. Their talk is mere noise. A friendless man may feel
lonely even in the midst of a milling crowd. The life of a
friendless man is like a desolate desert.
Unburdening to friend is Confession
Bacon on the Fruits of Friendship: Bacon discusses the
fruits of friendship at length. First, friendship relieves a man of
his mental tension in the same way as medicines cure him of his
diseases. Christians confess their sins to a priest. The confession
lightens their burden. Unburdening oneself to his friend is a kind
of civil confession.
Kings need sincere friends
A king‘s life is full of stresses and strains. He is
surrounded by toadies and traitors. He needs a sincere friend to
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 54

console him in times of crises. He elevates a lowborn and

bestows favours on him in order to win his steadfast devotion.
Bacon gives many examples of kings befriending lowborns.
Sylla raised Pompey to his level. In the same way Julius Caesar
elevated Brutus to a high rank. Unfortunately, neither Pompey
nor Brutus was loyal to his master. They became treacherous.

People without friends are cannibals

Bacon says that the man who is reserved and
incommunicative is ‗eaten‘ by his own worries and anxieties.
Charles the Hardy and Louis the Eleventh did not have friends
to share their thoughts with. They were tormented by the secrets
which they kept to themselves. Pythagoras characterized such
people as eating their hearts out. Bacon calls them cannibals. An
understanding and receptive friend doubles one‘s joy and halves
one‘s sorrows.
Friends clarify our chaos
Another good done by a friend is that he clarifies and
sorts out one‘s ideas. He evolves order out of chaos. An hour‘s
talk with a friend makes a man wiser than a day‘s meditation
can. Themistocles said that the thoughts of the man which are
communicated to others are like a rich piece of tapestry
unfolded and displayed. The thoughts that lie confined in a
man‘s mind are like the cloth that is packed up in such a way
that nobody can see the figures and designs in it.
Bacon‟s opinion about books
Bacon on the role of books: Some people say that,
instead of listening to a friend‘s advice, one can read good
books on morality. Bacon does not share this view. He says that
books are not only dull but also dead. They may not be relevant
to the present times.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 55

Examining faults of others

Some say that a person can correct his misconduct
himself by observing the faults of others and avoiding them in
his life. Bacon rules out this solution also. He says that it is
improper to examine the faults of others.

Things friends can do

Bacon winds up by saying that there are many things
which a man cannot do himself. For example, it is not decent for
a man to praise himself or to beg for help. Such things can be
done by a friend.
Friend catering to all needs
Again, a man can talk to his son only as a father, to his
wife only as a husband and to his enemy only as a man of
honour. But a friend can act in such a flexible way as to cater to
all needs.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 56

Song on (Motivation / Narrative)

2.3 ULYSSES– Alfred Lord Tennyson
Text
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match‘d with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy‘d
Greatly, have suffer‘d greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro‘ scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea, I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known, -- cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour‘d of them all, --
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
For on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro‘
Gleams that untravell‘d world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move,
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rush unburnish‘d, not to shine in use!
As tho‘ to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 57

And this grey spirit yearning in desire

To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the scepter and the isle, --
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro‘ soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fall
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toll‘d and wrought, and thought with me, --
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads, -- you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil.
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
‗Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the paths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 58

It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;

It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho‘ much is taken, much abides; and tho‘
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

ESSAY
Introduction
Browning has written a large number of dramatic
monologues. Tennyson‘s monologues, though not many, are as
well-constructed and revelatory of the ins and outs of characters,
as Browning‘s are.
A dramatic monologue
A dramatic monologue opens at a dramatic moment and
throws light not only on the character of the speaker but also on
that of the listener. ―Ulysses‖, conforms to this pattern. It opens
dramatically with Ulysses making known his resolve to leave
Ithaca in search of the legendary Happy Isles. Before setting out,
he deputes his son Telemachus to rule Ithaca in his stead,
describing his administrative genius at length.
Character of Ulysses
The poem shows what an indomitable warrior Ulysses is.
He is very old but is still full of wanderlust. He complains that
life in Ithaca is very dull. His old wife cannot give him any
conjugal pleasure. The natives are all barbarians who want laws
to the maneuvered in their favour. The land is barren and people
are living below the poverty line. Ulysses finds nothing to attract
him to settle down in Ithaca. He wants to resume his
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 59

adventurous career. He has a premonition that he will live only

for a few years. But he considers it a crime to live like an
animal, hoarding sleeping and eating. He knows that death is
inevitable. But he wants to achieve something noble in the short
span available to him. He knows fully well that he and his
sailors may get drowned in the process of discovering new
lands. His efforts are suicidal, to say the least.
Character of Telemachus
The poem reveals the character of Telemachus in all its
solidity even though he remains a passive listener. He possesses
the qualities necessary for an administrator. He is an
embodiment of patience. He can engage himself in the wearying
task of civilizing the ‗rugged‘ natives without losing his temper.
Also, by conducting religious ceremonies in a proper manner, he
can win over the masses. He excels in the sphere of
administration just as Ulysses does in the field of conquest and
expansions.
Ulysses‟ address to his mariners
Addressing his brave followers, Ulysses explains his
plans to them. He does not want to cheat them by giving a rosy
picture of what future has in store for them. He tells them
frankly that his purpose is to take them to the very end of the
western horizon where the stars are supposed to bathe. Also, he
wants to go to the Happy Isles, the abode of the souls of the
illustrious dead. He hopes to meet there the brave Achilles who
got killed in the Trojan War. Ulysses points to the mariners that
in the process of discovering these new lands they may meet
their death. Ulysses, followers are as brave as he is. None of
them is discouraged by the prospect of death.
Conclusion
The mariners who have decided to throw in their lot with
Ulysses are also effectively sketched. They share Ulysses‘ ideas
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 60

and ideals. Ulysses points to them the possibility of getting

drowned in the course of their wandering. Still, they follow him
with as great an ardour as their master‘s.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 61

2.4 AND STILL I RISE – Maya Angelou

Text
1
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lines,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I‘ll rise.
2
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‗Cause I walk like I‘ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
3
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I‘ll rise.
4
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
5
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don‘t you take it awful hard
‗Cause I laugh like I‘ve got gold mines
Diggin‘ in my own backyard.
6
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 62

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I‘ll rise.
7
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I‘ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
8
Out of the huts of history‘s shame
I rise
Up from a past that‘s rooted in pain
I rise
9
I‘m a black ocean, leaping and wide.
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
10
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

ESSAY
Introduction
Maya Angelou, an African-American biographer and
poet is a self-respecting and enlightened woman. She has faced
her tribulations with her white oppressors with dignity, courage
and self-confidence. She has understood the psyche of the white
people and their attitude to the black people. In the poem ―Still I
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 63

Rise‖, Maya Angelou describes various situations of oppression

in terms of racism, criticism, sexism and other personal
obstacles in her own life and how she overcomes each one of
them with pride and grace.
Blacks‟ achievements cannot be wiped out
The poem‘s first word – ―You‖ clearly is addressed to
others, especially to the white oppressors of black people. The
poetess says that no matter people desert all her good deeds deep
in the dirt, the dust occupies all her achievements. Any one may
lie just to make themselves happy, in order to abandon her
accomplishments. But she says she will rise again like the dust
that leaves the land and rises up in the air. Similarly, she will
again rise back and prove herself.
People are upset over Blacks‟ determination
The poetess questions as to why everyone is so much
affected if she behaves in a bold and brave manner. Why are
they arrogant when she is gloomy because of her moves?
Everyone feels jealous of her as if she is one of the wealthiest
persons with huge money earned without any hard work. But no
matter how everyone behaves or feels, the speaker is hopeful
and compares her life with that of the sun and the moon. Just
like everyday, the new sun shines and with every setting sun, a
new moon comes, the poetess shall also be hopeful of rising
again. Just like there is a certainty of high tides with the onset of
the moon, the author is full of rays of hope that even her life will
shine again.
Sadistic people
The poetess feels depressed and wants to know why
others are sad because of her happiness. She is much hurt and
asks why do they want her to be broken, shattered or unhappy.
She picturizes her condition to a broken and shattered lady with
bowed head and lowered eyes. She thinks that people want her
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 64

heart ache and soul cry. The poetess criticizes the sadistic
attitude of the White people over the Blacks.
The oppressed life of the Blacks
Once again, the poetess is trying to find the answers as to
why people are so upset with whatever she is, she has or she
does. Life is not easy for her and for her community as such, but
people feel that she is enjoying as if she just earned gold without
any hardship.
People‟s aversion towards Black people
The poetess blames the people for their nasty looks on
her, abusing her by their harsh words and hatred towards her.
She strives to rise over and above these looks, abuses and
hatred. The poetess thinks that people are upset from the fact
that she is being smart and sexy in her own way. The
expressions of the people are so intense as if she has won a
jackpot of diamonds and is dancing and showing off.
Black people are suppressed for a long period of time
The history of the Black people reveals that the Whites
have always suppressed the Blacks. It is a shameful fact. The
poetess feels painful while she recalls her memories of the past
which have been brutal and unfair. She feels emotional and finds
herself to be deep in a black ocean, trying to come up but it is
hard. She understands that she has to go through a lot, be it past
or even present. She had risen in the past and will do the same in
the future as well. She is hopeful and could see a wonderful,
clear and bright future. She has got this energy and boldness
from her ancestors who had suffered a lot. These could
strengthen her to rise against all sufferings. She knows that the
old days of slavery may have ended, but the present situation is
also not good. And in order to make the future a better one for
the Afro-Americans suffering from harassment, she has to be
strong and fight against these oppressions.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 65

Conclusion
Clearly addressed to the White oppressors of Black
people of poem presents with a Black woman willing to speak
up for herself, for other living Blacks, and even for her Black
ancestors. The speaker is indirectly responding to decades and
even centuries of oppression. Her tone, then never sounds
arrogant. Instead, the readers are likely to feel immense
sympathy with her spirited rejection of further oppression.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 66

Unit – III – COPING WITH STRESS

Poem
3.1. LEISURE – W.H. Davies
Text
WHAT is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs‘

And stare as long as sheep and cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty‘s glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

You may tread me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I‘ll rise.
Essay
Introduction
Welsh poet W.H. Davies‘ poem, ―Leisure‖ plays out in
seven rhyming couplets. The form of the poem might be
considered an American or innovative sonnet. But likely the
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 67

poet merely played out his thoughts in seven couplets and did
not think of his poem as a sonnet. The poem‘s speaker claims
that life moves too quickly. He bemoans the fact that human
beings are too ―full of cares‖ to ―stand and stare.‖
Man of today has no free time
According to the poet, the life of the modern man is
meaningless. He has no time to watch his surroundings in a
relaxed mood. He is too busy in his worldly affairs to spare any
time for leisure. He has no time to stand under the branches of a
tree and watch the things casually as the animals do. Even cows
and sheep raise their heads to survey the scene around them.
But, man today has no free time.
Man of today is blind to the beauty of things
Man of today is blind to the beauty of things around him.
If he happens to pass through a wood, he does not care to notice
how squirrels are playing about. They are hiding nuts in grass.
These playful creatures have a message for the over-busy man.
So busy is he that he does not see the beauty of a stream in the
day or the sky full of stars at night. The sky looks beautiful at
night with its shining stars. Similarly, the streams are beautiful
with flowers blooming on its bank.
The poet feels sorry for the modern man
The poet feels sorry for the modern man who does not
notice the beauty of a woman. It is indeed a pleasure to see how
a beautiful woman walks with dancing feet. But, unfortunately
the man of today cannot spare time to watch how a smile takes
birth in the eyes of a beautiful woman and then spreads on the
face.
Find time to stand and stare
Such a life is indeed poor and worthless. A life full of
cares and worries of life with no time for leisure is not worthy
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 68

living. One should find time to stand and stare in a mood of

peace and relaxation.
Conclusion
The poet is trying to tell us that a worthwhile human life
has time for work and leisure. Man is not born to drudge through
life. It is unfortunate that the modern man is busy in his worldly
affairs. He is greedy of worthy possessions. That leaves him no
time to expose himself to the beautiful world around. Nature is
the source of great joy with its sounds and sights. But the
modern man is blind to the beauty of nature. He is leading a
meaningless life. He is himself responsible for it.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 69

3.2. ANXIETY MONSTER – Rhona McFerran

Text
Anxiety, Anxiety-
you creep, you lurk, you worry me
Mangy monster under my bed
on all my fears you must be fed
and when I try to starve you out
you stab me with a blade of doubt

You sneaky, scurrilous, savage beast

I don‘t hate you, but I like you least!
You are not cute or cuddly
why do I let you cling to me?
You‘re ugly and you‘re worrisome
you drain my joy and leave me glum

Anxiety, Anxiety-
I hear you‘ve achieved notoriety
evidently I‘m not the only one
you‘ll hassle them all before you‘re done!
‗Though, I don‘t see how you find the time
to carry out your heinous crime…

For all day long, and night time, too

a hovering pest, too big to ―shoo‖
you hang around and taunt me fierce
by dangling daggers with which to pierce
I tremble in my delicate skin
but chin stuck out, I‘m determined to win

Anxiety, Anxiety-
you will not get the best of me!
You‘ve wasted enough of my precious years
you deserve no sympathy or tears
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 70

like the monster you are, you‘ll be destroyed

I‘ve armed myself with the likes of Freud

While you watch me, I‘ll study you more…

know your every weakness- for this is war!
I‘ll vanquish you for once and all
I‘ve armored up for the bloody brawl
but hey- what‘s this, a hasty retreat?
Don‘t tell me that you admit defeat!

No Anxiety, Anxiety-
you're devious, sly and slippery
Before you let me kill you off
you slink away to smirk and scoff
knowing full well that you‘ll come back
to get me with a sneak-attack!

Essay
Introduction
―Anxiety Monster‖ written by Rhona McFerran is a
poem which is written as an ode to ‗anxiety‘. The poem captures
the intensity of anxiety and its effects on mental and emotional
health with striking imagery and emotive words. It provides
insight into the lived experience of anxiety and the difficulties in
overcoming its consequences.
Characteristics of anxiety
The poet says that it creeps and lurks around bothering
her cruelly and making her restless. She realizes that it is fed and
grown by her fear and when she tries to overcome her fear and
starve out anxiety, it hurts her with doubts and despair. She
struggles to get rid of it but her efforts go in vain. She describes
anxiety as an ugly savage beast. She reveals that she does not
hate it but at the same time loves it least. According to her,
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 71

anxiety is neither cute nor cuddly but she looks into it daily and
develops her relationship with it. She wants to know how it
clings on to her. She wonders through, it is ugly and worrisome,
it ruins her happiness and makes her glum and spiritless.
Anxiety taunts the poet
McFerran explains the features of anxiety which is
popular among human beings. The poet says that it has achieved
its negative fame because of its creepy nature. She is sure that
she is not the only victim of anxiety. She wonders how it finds
time to carry out its terrible crime. She expresses her
experiences with anxiety through day and night. She compares it
with a pest that is too big to kill and taunts her ferociously. Like
a knife, it pierces her through the skin, and punctures her with
its sharp daggers making her skin tremble. However tough the
situation is, she stays determined to win and empower herself
without any kind of fear.
The poet‟s determination
The poet decides not to lose herself to anxiety like she
used to do in her past, where she wasted her precious years and
opportunities due to her fear towards anxiety. She fixes her aim
to destroy it without sympathy or mercy like killing a monster
without looking back. She considers herself strong enough and
gains courage to overcome anxiety through Freud‘s theory. She
imbibes Freud‘s theory of personality which deals with human‘s
consciousness and unconsciousness – the id, ego, and superego.
The poet‟s tactics
McFerran is clear enough that she starts analyzing the
weakness of anxiety and studies more about it. She wishes to get
rid of it and expects it to vanish from her life permanently. She
equips herself with armors and aims at defeating anxiety with
pride. She wants to fight against it with all her power and does
not want it to admit defeat or retreat before the completion of
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 72

the war. She exclaims that anxiety is cunning and wily and thus
is liked by none. She wants it to run away from her life with
shame and humiliation before it is killed by her. She does all
these knowing that it will come back to her again and hurt her.
Throughout this poem, the poet shares her struggles with anxiety
and expresses how restless she is while facing it in her day-to-
day life. When she tries to overcome it, she fails and is unable to
get rid of it.
Conclusion
At last she understands the tactics of overcoming
psychological problems. By studying the weakness of it and by
Freud‘s theories, she faces anxiety boldly. Though she knows
that it will never leave her instead come back again into her life,
she tries to chase it away for the time being. Thus she concludes
that anxiety cannot be destroyed permanently from one‘s life but
one can overcome it by determination and self-confidence.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 73

3.3. THE FORTY FORTUNES

– A Tale of Iran – Aaron Shephard
Text
NARRATOR 1: Once, in the royal city of Isfahan, there lived a
young man named Ahmed, who had a wife named
Jamell. He know no special craft or trade, but he had a
shovel and a pick – and as he often told his wife.
AHMED: (cheerfully) If you can dig a hole, you can always
earn enough to stay alive.
NARRATOR 4: That was enough for Ahmed. But it was not
enough for Jamell.
NARRATOR 2: One day, as she often did. Jamell went to the
public bath to wash herself in the hot pool and chat with
the other women. But at the entrance, the woman in
charge told her.
WOMAN: You can‘t come in now. The wife of the King‘s
Royal Diviner is taking the whole place for herself.
JAMELL: (angrily) Who does she think she is? Just because her
husband tells fortunes!
NARRATOR 3: But all she could do was return home, fuming
all the way.
JAMELL: (furiously) Ooh!
NARRATOR 1: That evening, when Ahmed handed her his
wages for the day, she said.
JAMELL: Look at these few measly coins! I won‘t put up with
this any longer. Tomorrow you‘ll sit in the marketplace
and be a diviner!
AHMED: Jamell, are you insane? What do I know about
fortunetelling?
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 74

JAMELL: You don‘t need to know a thing. When anyone brings

you a question, you just throw the dice and mumble
something that sounds wise. It‘s either that, or I go home
to the house of my father!
NARRATOR 4: So the next day, Ahmed sold his shovel and
hiss pick and bought the dice and the board and the robe
of a fortuneteller. Then he sat in the marketplaces near
the public bath.
NARRATOR 2: Hardly had he gotten settled when there ran up
to him the wife of one of the King‘s ministers.
MINISTER‘ WIFE: Diviner, you must help me! I wore my most
precious ring to the bath today, and now it‘s missing.
Please, tell me where it is!
NARRATOR 3: Ahmed gulped and cast the dice. As he
desperately searched for something wise to say, he
happened to glance up at the lady‘s cloak. There he spied
a small hole, and showing through the hole, a bit of her
naked arm.
NARRATOR 1: Of course, this was quite improper for a
respectable lady, so Ahmed leaned forward and
whispered urgently.
AHMED: Madam, I see a hole.
MINISTERS‘ WIFE: (leaning closer) A what?
AHMED: A hole! A hole!
MINISTER‘S WIFE: (perking up) Of course! A hole!
NARRATOR 4: She rushed back to the bath and found the hole
in the wall where she had hidden her ring for
safekeeping and forgotten it. Then she came back out to
Ahmed.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 75

MINISTERS‘ WIFE: God be praised! You knew right where it

was!
NARRATOR 2: And to Ahmed‘s amazement, she gave him a
gold coin.
AHMED: (stares at coin in his hand and shakes head in
amazement)
NARRATOR 3: That evening, when Jamell saw the coin and
heard the story, she said,
JAMELL: You see! There‘s nothing to it!
AHMED: God was merciful on this day, but I dare not test Him
on another!
JAMELL: Nonsense. If you want to keep your wife, you‘ll be
back in the marketplace tomorrow.
AHMED: (sighs in resignation)
NARRATOR 1: Now, it happened that on that very night, at the
palace of the King, the royal treasury was robbed.
NARRATOR 4: Forty pairs of hands carried away forty chests
of gold and jewels.
NARRATOR 2: The theft was reported next morning to the
King. He commanded,
KING: Bring me my Royal Diviner and all his assistants.
NARRATOR 3: But though the fortunetellers cast their dice and
mumbled quite wisely, not one could locate the thieves
or the treasure.
KING: Frauds! Throw them all in prison!
NARRATOR 1: Now, the King had heard about the
fortuneteller who had found the ring of his minister‘s
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 76

wife. So he sent two guards to the marketplace to bring

Ahmed, who appeared trembling before him.
KING: Diviner, my treasury has been robbed of forty chests.
What can you tell me about the thieves?
NARRATOR 4: Ahmed thought quickly about forty chests
being carried away.
AHMED: Your Majesty, I can tell you there were … forty
thieves.
KING: Amazing! None of my own diviners knew as much! But
now you must find the thieves and the treasure.
NARRATOR 2: Ahmed felt faint.
AHMED: I‘ll … do my best, Your Majesty, but … but it will
take some time.
KING: How long?
NARRATOR 3: Ahmed guessed the longest he could get.
AHMED: Uh… forty days, Your Majesty. One day for each
thief.
KING: A long time indeed! Very well, you shall have it. If you
succeed, I‘ll make you rich. If you don‘t, you‘ll rot with
the others in prison!
AHMED: (gasps softly)
NARRATOR 1: Back home, Ahmed told Jamell.
AHMED: You see the trouble you have caused us? In forty
days, the King will lock me away.
JAMELL: Nonsense. Just find the chests like you found the
ring.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 77

AHMED: I tell you, Jamell. I found nothing! That was only by

the grace of God. But this time there‘s no hope.
NARRATOR 4: Ahmed took some dried dates, counted out
forty, and placed them in a jar.
AHMED: I will eat one of these dates each evening. That will
tell me when my forty days are done.
NARRATOR 2: Now, it happened that one of the King‘s own
servants was one of the forty thieves, and he had heard
the King speak with Ahmed. That same evening, he
hurried to the thieves‘ meeting place and reported to
their chief.
SERVANT: There is a diviner who says he will find the treasure
and the thieves in forty days!
CHIEF: He‘s bluffing. But we can‘t afford to take chances. Go
to his house and find out what you can.
NARRATOR 3: So the servant climbed up to the terrace on the
flat roof of Ahmed‘s house and he listened down the
stairs that led inside.
NARRATOR 1: Just then, Ahmed took the first date from the
jar and ate it. He told Jamell,
AHMED: That‘s one.
SERVANT: (gasps loudly, nearly falls over)
NARRATOR 4: The thief was so shocked, he nearly fell down
the stairs. He hurried back to the meeting place and told
the chief.
SERVANT: This diviner has amazing powers. Without seeing
me, he knew I was on the roof! I clearly heard him say,
―That‘s one.‖
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 78

CHIEF: You must have imagined it. Tomorrow night, two of

you will go.
NARRATOR 2: So the next night, the servant returned to
Ahmed‘s roof with another of the thieves. As they were
listening, Ahmed ate a second date and said,
AHMED: That‘s two.
NARRATOR 3: The thieves nearly tumbled over each other as
they fled the roof and raced back to the chief. The
servant told him,
SERVANT: He knew there were two of us! We heard him say,
―That‘s two.‖
CHIEF: It can‘t be!
NARRATOR 1: So the night after that, he sent three of the
thieves,
NARRATOR 4: and the next night four,
NARRATOR 2: then five,
NARRATOR 3: then six,
NARRATOR 1: And so it went till the fortieth night, when the
chief said,
CHIEF: This time, I‘ll go with you myself.
NARRATOR 4: So all forty thieves climbed up to Ahmed‘s roof
to listen.
NARRATOR 2: Inside, Ahmed gazed at the last date in the jar,
then sadly took it out and ate it.
AHMED: That‘s forty. The number is complete.
NARRATOR 3: Jamell sat beside him.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 79

JAMELL: (gently) Ahmed, during these forty days, I‘ve been

thinking. I was wrong to make you be a diviner. You are
what you are, and I should not have tried to make you
something else. Can you forgive me?
AHMED: I forgive you, Jamell, but the fault is mine as well. I
should not have done what I knew was not wise. But
none of this helps us now.
NARRATOR 1: Just then came a loud banging at the door.
AHMED: (sighs) The King‘s men already!
NARRATOR 4: He went to the door and unbolted it, calling.
AHMED: All right, all right, I know why you‘re here.
NARRATOR 2: He swung the door open. To his astonishment,
he saw forty men kneeling before him and touching their
heads to the ground again and again.
CHIEF: Of course you know, O great diviner! Nothing can be
hidden from you. But we beg you not to give us away!
NARRATOR 3: Bewildered though he was, Ahmed realized
that these must be the thieves. He thought fast and said,
AHMED: Very well, I won‘t turn you in, But you must replace
every bit of the treasure.
CHIEF: At once! At once!
NARRATOR 1: And before the night was through, forty pairs of
hands carried forty chests of gold and jewels back into
the King‘s treasury.
NARRATOR 4: Early the next morning, Ahmed appeared
before the King.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 80

AHMED: Your Majesty, my magic arts can find either the

treasure or the thieves, but not both. Which do you
choose?
KING: The treasure, I suppose – though it‘s a pity not to get the
thieves. The boiling oil is all ready for them. Well, never
mind. Tell me where the treasure is, and I‘ll send my
men right away.
AHMED: No need, Your Majesty.
NARRATOR 2: Ahmed waved his hand in the air and called,
AHMED: Pish posh, wish wosh, mish mosh. By my magic, the
chests have returned to their place.
NARRATOR 3: The King himself went with Ahmed to the
treasury and found it so.
KING: You are truly the greatest fortuneteller of the age! From
this day forty, you shall be my Royal Diviner!
AHMED: (bowing) Thank you, Your Majesty, but I‘m afraid
that‘s impossible. Finding and restoring your treasure
was so difficult, it used up all my powers. I shall never
be a diviner again.
KING: What a loss! Then I must doubly reward you. Here, take
two of these chests for your own.
NARRATOR 1: So Ahmed returned home to Jamell,
NARRATOR 4: safe,
NARRATOR 2: rich,
NARRATOR 3: and a good deal wiser.
NARRATOR 1: And as any diviner could have foretold,
ALL: they lived happily even after.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 81

Essay
Introduction
―Forty Fortunes‖ is a short-story written by Aaron
Shepherd. This story is about Ahmed, a poor man. He is married
to Jamell and they live in the Royal City of Isfahan. He is a
woodcutter and has no other trade or determined to learn any.
All he owns is a shovel and a pick axe which he uses to dig
holes for little money. He is clearly unambitious and tells his
wife that all they need is only to survive and to satisfy their daily
needs.
Ahmed‟s wife convinces him
Jamell is not satisfied with her husband‘s status of being
poor, and things get worse when she is not allowed to access the
public baths because the King‘s Royal Diviner‘s wife is using
them. This makes her believe that if her husband turns into a
diviner, then her life will be changed as she wishes. When she
tells Ahmed that he should become a fortune teller, he is
shocked and initially believes that she is crazy. He has no
knowledge about fortune telling, but she convinces him by
saying that every diviner tells fortunes to earn fortunes. She
informs him that all he has to do is roll a dice and mumble a few
wise words. Ahmed obtains a dice and fortune-telling robes by
selling his shovel and pick axe in order to satisfy his wife.
Ahmed‟s wit
In the marketplace, he meets the wife of one of the
King‘s ministers who has lost her priceless ring in the public
baths. He glances at her and realizes there‘s a hole in her cloak.
He gets closer to her and whispers the word ‗HOLE‘. Through
his wit, he helps the wife to recall where she had left ring. On
doing such miracle, he receives a gold coin for finding out the
ring. Ahmed‘s wife congratulates him when he shows her the
gold coin, but he believes that it was God‘s grace and it is only
going to work temporarily.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 82

Ahmed gets trapped

In the same evening, forty chests from the King‘s royal
treasury are stole by the thieves. The King calls Ahmed since he
had heard of him after finding the missing ring, when his Royal
Diviner and his helpers are unable to solve the problem. Ahmed
is at a loss for words when the King asks him about the robbery,
he informs the King that the thieves must be forty in numbers as
there were forty chests, something the King‘s diviners were
unable to determine. In addition, he assures the King that he will
track down the thieves within forty days, and if he fails, he can
be sent to prison. Later, knowing that he will probably wind up
in jail if he does not reveal the burglars, he becomes hopeless.
Thief on the roof
Ahmed stores forty dates in a jar and eats one every
evening to warn himself when the forty days are up.
Remarkably, the King‘s servant who overhears the conversation
between the King and Ahmed is one of the thieves. He returns to
the chief thief and reveals the forty days plan. The thief goes to
Ahamed‘s house to inquire further. Meanwhile Ahmed takes one
of the dates and tells his wife, ―That‘s one,‖ as the thief is on the
house‘s roof. After becoming extremely afraid, the robber goes
back to the chief and informs him that Ahmed has extraordinary
abilities because he was able to find out that someone was on
the roof.
The confession
Every time the number of thieves on the roof matches
the number of dates Ahmed has consumed, the chief restarts the
same process with an extra thief. They are hopeless by this that
Ahmed is aware of them and would bring them before the King.
The forty thieves identify themselves and beg Ahmed to save
them so they won‘t be brought in front of the King. He told
them if they return all the chests they had taken, he will save
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 83

them. They return all the treasures to the treasury before the
night ends.
Conclusion
Ahmed goes back to the King and informs him that by
using his magic skills, he can either obtain the chests or find out
the thieves. Since he promised to save the thieves if they
returned the jewels, he acts in this way. The King chooses the
option to retrieve the treasures. Finding them again makes him
very happy, and he makes Ahmed his ‗Royal Diviner‘. Ahmed
regrets that in the process of finding and restoring the chests, he
lost his powers. He tells the King that he cannot be a diviner and
guide the King anymore. The King pities Ahmed and gives him
two chests in order to thank him and make him rich.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 84

3.4. WHERE THERE IS A WILL

– Mahesh Dattani

Critical Essays

1. Comment on the theme of Filial/Human relationship in

the play, „Where There‟s a Will‟.
Introduction
―Where There‘s a Will‖ is a study of human
relationships. There are four main characters in the play—
Hasmukh Mehta, Sonal, Ajit and Preeti. Hasmukh Mehta is one
of the richest men, called the Garment Tycoon. Sonal is his
wife, Hasmukh and Sonal have a son called Ajit. Ajit married to
Preeti.
Father-Son relationship
Hasmukh wants to rule his family by his own
accumulated wealth got by his hard work. He was ruled over by
his father. And as a result, he wants to rule his son Ajit by his
own dictates. But Ajit doesn‘t want to yield himself to the
authority of his father. And as a result, there is a strained
relationship between father and son. Even Hasmukh disowns
him. He feels humiliated for having given birth to such a
bankrupt and spendthrift son. He also has executed a will not in
favour of his own son. He has written a will in which he has that
Ajit can enjoy his wealth when he is forty-five. Ajit has to wait
for twenty-one more years to enjoy his father‘s property.
Hasmukh treats his son as a zero, indicative of psychological
break-down of his own life having been a victim of patriarchy
himself. Therefore, he fights the ghost of patriarchy by
perpetrating the same evil, fulfilling the adage like ‗father like
son‘. Since Ajjit has guts to challenge his father, he is crushed
down.
Husband-Wife relationship
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 85

Hasmukh has never felt satisfied with his wife. He

always finds fault with his wife. His wife, Sonal, prepares a
large junk of food items like halwa, salad, pulao and so on. But
she never allows Hasmukh to take halwa as he is a diabetic. She
never allows him to smoke as he has an abnormal heart. She
worked of his blood-sugar, blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
And as a result, Hasmukh is treated as a patient by his wife. So,
he wishes to die. Hasmukh openly complains that he has never
got satisfaction in sexual life with his wife. He says that his
marriage to Sonal is a mistake. When they got married Sonal
was as good as gold because her name ‗Sonal‘ means ―gold‖.
They had twenty-four years of married life. They did not enjoy
sex. So he has found his mistress, a married woman in his office.
He has made his mistress, Kiran Jhaveri, as one of the directors
in his company and later made her the ‗trustee‘ of ―The
Hasmukh Mehta Charitable Trust‖. He wants some consolation
from his wife as he had never had any love and affection from
his mother. Sonal tells Preeti that ‗Hasmukh‘ means ‗a smiling
face‘. But she cannot find a smiling face in Hasmukh. She
admits that till now she is doing her best for Hasmukh.
Hasmukh‘s relationship with his wife is frigid, empty love.
There is no intimacy between them. Sonal on her part fulfills her
role as a wife mechanically.
The relationship between Hasmukh and His Mistress
As Hasmukh is not satisfied in his relationship with his
wife, he has found his mistress. She is Kiran Jhaveri – a married
woman, who works in his office. Even before their relationship
Hasmukh got her married to a government officer in Excise
Department, who is fired from service for corruption. Hasmukh
Mehta‘s relationship with Kiran is not explicit. It is told by
Hasmukh to the audience and later by Kiran to Sonal, Ajit and
Preeti. Hasmukh finds a good woman and an able administrator
in Kiran. For which, he has made her one of the directors in his
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 86

company and later as the ‗Trustee‘ of ―Hasmukhs Mehta

Charitable Trust‖. But later, Hasmukh is shocked to hear from
Kiran that Hasmukh has failed and Ajit has won. She tries to
discipline Ajit and train him in office duties. Hasmukh Mehta‘s
relationship with his Mistress, Kiran, is only from infatuation as
he needed a mother and mistress in her. On her part, Kiran
found Hasmukh a growing up child, who found psychological
mothering from her. She hated him finding in him a replica of
her father, brothers and husband.
The relationship between Ajit and Preeti
Ajit and Preeti are husband and wife. They have their
own separate bedroom but they never had any romantic feelings.
When the play begins she is pregnant. She never bothers about
Ajit. She openly admits that she was married him for his father‘s
wealth. She knows Ajit is a man good for nothing. She always
asks him to please his father. But he never listens to her words.
She always quarrels with him for no reason at all. She has
exchanged her vitamin tablets with Hasmukhs‘ tablets for high
blood pressure. She is called by Hasmukh as a senile. Kiran
finds out her change the tablets. But as a woman, when Preeti
begs her not to disclose it to Ajit, she says to Ajit that Preeti
wanted to give a surprise birthday party to him. The relationship
between Ajit and Preeti remains merely at the level of
companionate love as she married him only for his money. On
the part of Ajit, he needed a woman merely as a companion in
his life-long fight against patriarchy.
The relationship between Sonal, Preeti and Kiran
In the opening scene of the play, Sonal‘s relationship
with Preeti is like a mere relationship between mother-in-law
and daughter-in-law. Sonal asked Preeti to cook various dishes
for his son. So, she assists her in cooking. Sonal and Preeti‘s
relationship exists on a mere physical level. There is no
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 87

emotional bonding between them. Even within the house, they

remain strangers to one other.
The relationship between Sonal, Preeti and Kiran is
based on their needs. Kiran has taken Hasmukh with love for his
money. After Hasmukh‘s death, she comes and stays with Sonal
and Preeti. As Kiran is the trustee of the ‗Hasmukh Mehta
Charitable Trust‘. Sonal and Preeti have to adjust themselves to
the demands and needs of Kiran. Later, Sonal and Preeti
sympathise with Kiran as she tells her that she had been ill-
treated by her drunken father, brothers and a drunken husband.
Sonal shares her room with Kiran. Preeti also adjusts herself
with Kiran and obeys her orders. Later, in the end of the play,
Kiran saves Preeti from revealing the truth that she had
exchanged her vitamin tablets with her father-in-law‘s tablets
for high blood pressure. Hence, in the play, their relationship is
a cordial one. They share themselves as common women do.
Conclusion
Human relationship in ―Where There‘s a Will‖ centres
on exorcising patriarchy. The patriarchy continues to wreck bliss
in family life. It is psychological depravity that leads Hasmukh
to exercises his supreme authority. Belittling his son, wife and
daughter-in-law, Hasmukh searches for fulfillment and
psychological bliss in extra-marital relationship with Kiran. On
the whole, the human relationship reveals a strained relationship
in a joint-family system.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 88

2. Justify the title of the play “Where There‟s a Will” (or)

Comment on the aptness of the title of the play “Where
There‟s a Will”.
Ghost overhears
In ―Where There‘s a Will‖, the ghost of an autocratic,
old business tycoon, who has willed his property to his mistress,
overhears the unpleasant truth about what his nearest and dearest
think of him.
Hasmukh‟s death wish
Hasmukh Mehta is dissatisfied with life. He thinks that
his wife Sonal, his son Ajit and his daughter-in-law. Preeti are
all failures in life. He thinks that they are all after his money. He
always finds faults with them. His wife, Sonal, is forever
nagging him about his diabetes. She is against his smoking. She
prepares special dishes for her only son Ajit. She fails to provide
sexual satisfaction to him. So, he has installed a mistress on the
other side. Hasmukh thinks that Ajit‘s plans will surely lead him
to ruin and bankruptcy. His pregnant daughter-in-law has an eye
on his money. When he dies, he feels it good to be dead. The
newspapers published the news in headings as ―Garment
Tycoon Dead‖. He has made a special will before he passed
away.
Hasmukh Mehta Charitable Trust
Hasmukh has donated all his money, property and shares
to a trust called. ―The Hasmukh Mehta Charitable Trust‖. His
wife, son and daughter-in-law can get little money for their
survival from the trust. The trustee is Kiran Jhaveri, his mistress.
They cannot contest the will and it was signed by Hasmukh with
sound body and sound mind with a medical certificate by Dr.
Jhunjhunwalla. The trust will be dissolved only when Ajit turns
forty-five.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 89

Kiran Jhaveri to stay forever

Kiran Jhaveri comes and stays with them in their house.
She is a married woman to a drunkard, who never minds her
being Hasmukh‘s mistress. Her main duty is to run Hasmukh
Mehta‘s industries. She gets a fixed salary for it. Sonal
volunteers to share her room with Kiran. Sonal is transformed to
be a clever and capable housewife and Ajit has started attending
office. He considers office as prison. Preeti finds fault with Ajit
as he has failed to please his father. When Sonal and Kiran
console one another for their unsuccessful marriage. Hasmukh
wants Kiran to leave his house. But he cannot ask her as he is
dead. He only overhears this and sees them. Sonal wants Kiran
to stay with her forever.
Kiran discovers
Kiran, also discovers how Preeti has changed her own
vitamin bottles with Hasmukh‘s tablets which controlled his
blood pressure. It has quickened his death. She wants to tell it to
Ajit but Preeti begs her not to tell it to Ajit. When Ajit comes,
Kiran tells him that Preeti has planned a surprise birthday party
for him. Sonal notices that Kiran and Preeti have become friends
forever. Hasmukh stands upside down on the tamarind tree,
which is to be trimmed when the gardener returns home from his
village.
The Will
The title of the play ―Where There‘s a Will‖ is highly
ambiguous and a relevant one. The entire play revolves around
the will executed by Hasmukh. The will executed by Hasmukh
is a trap to Sonal, Ajit and Preeti. The will was executed by him
with a certificate stating that his mind was sound and it was also
signed by Dr. Jhunjhunwalla. Hasmukh donated all his money,
properties and shares to a Charitable Trust called ―Hasmukh
Mehta Charitable Trust‖. The will executed by Hasmukh lays
terms and conditions such as
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 90

1. Ajit has to attend office everyday at 9 a.m. and he can

leave at 6 p.m.
2. He has to have his lunch there only
3. No new business project should be sanctioned.
If they do not follow the terms and conditions, the Trust
will donate the money and all to other Charities.
The Word „Will‟
The word ‗will‘ in the title of the play ―Where There‘s a
Will‖ also means one‘s own desire, longing, choice, intention,
decision, wish and so on. So, all the characters in the play
including Sonal, Ajit, Preeti and Kiran have a choice of their
own to get the wealth of Hasmukh. Ajit wills to inherit his
father‘s property, but he wills not to stoop down to the
expectation of his father. He is found fault by Preeti for this
stubbornness. Thus, the title of the play ―Where There‘s a Will‖
is a relevant one.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 91

Idioms & Phrases

1) Young cricketers always look up to Sachin.

2) He went for the ball
3) He hit on a brilliant idea.
4) He reeled off lines after lines.
5) They put off the examination.
6) Thrust on to the centre stage, Adam Gilchrist proved his
mettle.
7) It is character that sets people apart.
8) Children show a great passion for working with computers.
9) Children feel at home only with their parents.
10) My father called on me this morning.
11) Always turn a deaf ear to the ill-advisers.
12) The captain called up the players to practice well.
13) My father has given up the idea of buying a Laptop.
14) My uncle is working for a software company.
15) It is always good to turn to the advice of our elders.
16) Under the guidance of his mother, Shivaji grew up to be a
brave man.
17) Rubbish should be disposed off immediately.
18) Ganguly notched up many runs quickly.
19) When the cage was opened, the birds flew away.
20) Gandhiji believed in non-violence.
21) Mother has set the plates on the table for dinner.
22) Great men leave behind foot prints on the sands of time.
23) The public caught the thief and chained him up.
24) The cow feeds on grass.
25) The saffron in our National flag stands for sacrifice.
26) As he was injured, Dravid pulled out of the team.
27) Owing to heavy rain, the examination was called off.
28) When the elephant was caught in the snare, it called out for
help.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 92

29) When I went late, the teacher let me go with a warning.

30) The advocate put across the points clearly to the judge.
31) One who commits mistakes cannot live in peace.
32) The detective took a keen look at the photograph of the
criminal.
33) If you don‘t show progress in the next test, you will be
pulled up by the HM.
34) The police have zeroed in on the terrorists.
35) The boy was caught red-handed while copying.
36) The police made after the thief in rain.
37) She is very tall like her mother. She has taken after her
mother.
38) When the deer saw the tiger, it took to its heels.
39) The district collector gave away the prizes on our school
day.
40) It is up to all the citizens of India to keep up our tradition.
41) They are trying to rope you in. Be careful.
42) The IAC fright to Sri Lanka will take off at 10 p.m.
43) People turned out in large numbers to vote in the recent
elections.
44) I don‘t know anything about the share market. I can‘t make
head or tail of it from the papers.
45) Gandhiji was shot dead while he was going for prayer.
46) In that darkness, the rope on the road looked like a snake.
47) The thief was shoved into the lock up by the police.
48) We make use of the fridge to preserve food materials.
49) The approver confided the truth to the judge.
50) Being hand in glove with a criminal is a greater crime than
being a criminal.
51) Thanks to the efforts of Mujbur Rehman, Bangladesh was
born.
52) Some children join bad company and dig their own grave.
53) Nowadays, agricultural lands have given way to multi-
storeyed buildings.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 93

54) Some fans cleaved through the crowd to have a glimpse of

their matinee idol.
55) Nowadays, no one is let into the cockpit in an aeroplane.
56) Some scenes in the horror film got on our nerves.
57) Children are put to school at the age of 3.
58) My friend has setup a mini library in his house.
59) Noble people are blind to the faults of others.
60) When you peel an onion, it draws tears from your eyes.
61) Taking part in cultural activities is an added qualification to
the children.
62) We are not serious about controlling our population
explosion rapidly. We have to pay the penalty later.
63) We visited the U.S. last year. We found ourselves
completely at sea in the new surroundings.
64) The History sector in the computer had blanked out
completely on account of the computer virus.
65) The HM sent for Venkatesh in order to pass on an important
message to him.
66) A good mechanic can easily take apart the parts of a
machine.
67) When we saw Indians winning the match, our faces were lit
up.
68) The news about the fall of the twin towers in the U.S., was
flashed on the T.V. immediately.
69) Marketing experts, easily make friends with their customers.
70) With the advent of the internet, banking has been made
easier.
71) The president of India is put up at the Rastrapathi Bhavan.
72) On hearing about the assassination of Gandhiji, the whole
world broke down.
73) We are enamoured by the advanced models in
communication.
74) Abe Lincoln could not put up with the injustice done to the
blacks.
General English Notes _ Sem – III (2024_2025) 94

75) Always try to get rid of all the bad thoughts in your mind.
76) If you want to get to the air port in time, better go by taxi.
77) Rajaji was a great statesman. He was cut out for the job.
78) Some speakers beat about the bush, without touching the
point.
79) We can‘t believe any news unless in comes out in black and
white.
80) The plane ran out of fuel in the mid air and the pilot wisely
made an immediate landing.
81) Putting by something for the future is always safe.
82) We can‘t go out for a walk as it is raining cats and dogs.
83) The boss ordered the peon to wait on the guests carefully.
84) Children love to keep twiddling the buttons on in the remote
of the T.V.
85) It is the duty of the teachers to supervise boys against
copying.
86) Combustible materials must be kept away from the gas
cylinder.
87) Before executing a plan, we must think over deeply.
88) Inspite of the biting cold, our soldiers went ahead with their
duty to achieve success.
89) Always look up the dictionary to know the usage of words
and phrases.