English Literature Made Easy for Students

  The Myth of Rama-Sita and Ravna in Kanthapura  Ans. The novel Kanthapura really revolves around the myth of Rama-Sita and Ravana. The Ramayana was narrated by the great Sage Valmiki long ago. In the same way, there is a narrator, Achakka, in Kanthapura also, though not a great Sage, but the grandmother of the village Kanthapura. She compares Gandhiji with lord Rama and India with Sita. Achakka, the narrator says that as Sita was overpowered by the chief of Evil, Ravana, so was the mother India overpowered by the British. The people of India had been made slaves by the British. The miserable condition of the labourers working at the Skeffington Coffee Estate is the living example of miniature size. One can guess easily how the people of India were being treated under the foreign rule in India at that time. Lord Rama collected the ‘Vanara-sena’ (the army of the monkeys) and attacked Ravana, the king of Lanka (now Sri Lanka), defeated and killed him. Thus Sita was liber...

 Kanthapura- The Language, the Narrative Style and the Literary Merits’ of Kanthapura   Kanthapura is a successful novel even if it is judged through its narrative style and techniques used by Raja Rao. It was a big challenge for the writer to achieve his goal by writing this novel in English. He had to make some innovations in his narrative style to suit the Indian atmosphere.  Let’s study this novel in the light of the use of ‘language, the narrative style and the literary merits’ of Kanthapura.  As we know, it was not an easy task for the writer to narrate a tale of an imaginary village, named Kanthapura, where people had different mindsets and where most of the people were illiterate, following different myths and superstitions. They were the people who were divided on the basis of caste and religion. The writer was to portray them as living beings, clashing with one another to safeguard their personal interests and then to elevate them to unite for the big...

  Kanthapura by Raja Rao: Essay-type Questions & Answers  Character sketch of Moorthy Ans. Moorthy is the central character in the whole gamut (range) of characters in the novel Kanthapura. From the very beginning, Moorthy catches readers' attention (focus). We come to know that after leaving college education, Moorthy follows Gandhiji. He is so much impressed with Gandhiji’s personality that he adopts his ‘swadeshi ideas.’ Narsamma, his mother, wanted him to see highly educated and sitting on a high positioned seat.   But her dreams are shattered when Moorthy left education and devoted himself fully to Gandhiji's ‘Swadwshi’ and Freedom Movements. Now he does not wear foreign clothes. He does not read even foreign books. He keeps fasts to purge himself at times.His mother was initially against all that Moorthy was doing, but gradually, she had to accept all that.   Moorthy picks up social evils like maltreatment towards widows and untouchability and the...

   Kanthapura A Novel of Indian Freedom Movement Gandhiji’s impact on the novelist Raja Ram is quite obvious (clear/evident) and it is also reflected in the whole novel ‘Kanthapura’ through his mouthpiece character ‘Moorthy’ and even though several other ways.   After reading a few pages of this novel, the action of the novel catches speed in one direction that is Freedom Movement of India, the mainstream of the novel. Raja Rao was born in Gandhiji’s era, so he had a deep impact of Gandhian ideology in his mind.   Gandhiji’s role in India’s Freedom Movement attracts even foreign reputed minds. So he is one among the main freedom fighters of his times.   Raja Rao had all these points in his mind while creating Moorthy’s character in this novel. As Moorthy is introduced, a very good image of him is formed in the reader’s mind. He begins his role following the footsteps of Gandhiji by practising his ideal’s great principles of life, i.e. love for trut...

Kanthapura as a Novel of Gandhian Ideology    Kanthapura is truly a novel that reflects Gandhian ideology and its deep impact on the people of the village Kanthapura. It is a sleeping village situated at the slopes of the    Malabar Hills in South India. It becomes vibrant (lively) all of a sudden as Moorthy begins his active participation in the social and religious life of the people of Kanthapura.   He gives up his education and starts following Gandhiji and his ideas.   This novel can be called Gandhi-epic because it depicts Gandhian influence on the life of the people of Kanthapura. Although Gandhiji does not appear personally in Kanthapura, yet the people there are greatly influenced by his ideals of non-violence (ahinsa), truthfulness and satyagraha, etc. The novelist Raja Rao himself is greatly influenced by Gandhiji and, we see the novelist’s reflection in Moorthy in this novel. He embodies the Gandhian ideology of non-violence and sacrifice for ...

             Kanthapura by Raja Rao: Bhatta’s Character This chapter introduces us to ‘Bhatta’, who plays a negative role to create hurdles in Moorthy’s way. The narrator tells us that his last visit to the city has changed his thinking. Before his last visit to the city, he used to sit and sing with the people of Kanthapura.   But all of a sudden, he got involved in business pursuits. He has also started giving money on loans to people. He was always ready to do sale and purchase deeds. He would mortgage people’s land to give them loans at a very high rate of interest. During elections, he is the person who lends money to people inside or outside Kanthapura. He has financed Seenappa’s and Chandra Shekhara’s elections. He is always ready to help the people of Kanthapura to solve their money-related problems. But, he does not do it in charity. He exploits people’s problems and charges high rates of interest if his client...

  The World is too Much with Us The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;— Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn. About the Poet William Wordsworth was born in 1770 and died in 1850. He was the most fortunate of the great five romantic poets, who had a long poetic career and lived a long span of life. He was a great worshipper of Nature. About the Poem In this poem, he laments that human beings have become more attached to ...

  The World is too Much with Us by William Wordsworth Questions-Answers-The World is too Much with Us by William Wordsworth Very Short Answer-type Qs (one word-a phrase-a sentence) Q1. According to the poet, what is man's attitude to nature? Ans. Man’s attitude to nature is of indifference (lack of interest). Q2. Who were Proteus and Triton? Ans. They were Greek and Roman gods of Nature. Q3.Why does the poet want to become a Pagan? Ans. He wants to become a Pagan to worship gods of Nature. Q4. What does the poet mean by stating ‘the world is too much with us? Ans. It means that man has become too much attached to the material world. Q5. What are we ‘out of tune with’? Ans. We are ‘out of tune’ with Nature. Q6. What is the ‘sordid boon’? Ans. Lust (extreme greed) for possessing material things is a sordid boon. Q7. Who is the Pagan according to the poet? Ans. A non-Christian is a Pagan according to the poet. Q8. What does the poet glimpse and what is...

The World Is Too Much with Us: Long Answer-type Questions Answer the following questions in about 150 words each Q1. What does the poet think about the way a man treats nature? How does he express his thoughts and feelings on this topic in the poem?  Or Summary of the poem ‘The World Is Too Much with Us' Ans.   The poet thinks that we have made ourselves detached (cut off/separated) from Nature. We are every time busy in earning and spending money. We have no communion with Nature. He means to say that God has created Nature for all the creatures on the earth. So Nature belongs to us and we also belong to Nature. We cannot afford separation from it. If it happens, harmful effects on the earth can be felt or seen. We have given our hearts to material things. It means we have started loving them. He expresses his deep concern over people’s growing love for worldly things. Man has become a slave to the god of money, Mammon. All the diseases and mental discomforts are due to ...

Types of Novels 1. Picaresque novel may be called the earliest experiment in the field of novel. The word ‘picaresque’ has been derived (taken) from the Spanish word ‘Picaro’ that means a ‘rogue’ / r əʊ ɡ / (dangerous and harmful) or a ‘knave’ / ne ɪ v / (dishonest) in English. A picaresque novel has a long narrative that revolves around a person, who is a criminal for society. But, in reality, he helps the poor by duping (cheating) the rich. He is a Robinhood type of character, a highwayman, who suddenly appears and suddenly disappears after finishing his job of robbery.  This theme of appearance versus reality was followed by many English novelists in the eighteenth century. It was really a very popular theme. We can quote (cite/give) several examples of this type of novel. Henry Fielding wrote Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews. Charles Dickens wrote ‘ The Pickwick Papers (1836–37) . We have Jonathan Swift’s famous ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry...

Wounded Plants by Jagadish Chandra Bose: Qs & Ans. A.      Short Answer-type Qs) Q1. How can we realise the pain of the sufferings of the plants? Ans. The mute may express their feelings of pain by their agonised expressions on faces or by the convulsive movement of their body parts. Q2. Why do we not realise the pain of some living beings? Ans. It is because   human sympathy is often shown to the superior or to the equal and not to the creatures that are thought to be of lower kinds. Q3. What characterises individuals from one another? Ans. Mainly two things characterise individuals from one another. The first is the degree of shock one receives (gets) and the second is the sympathy shown at the sufferings of the other individuals. Usually, we show our sympathy to those who are higher or equal to us. We hardly show it to our inferiors. B.       Answer the following questions in about five sentences each: Q1. Ho...