ASSIGNMENT

DRIVE FALL 2013

SEMESTER III
BAC 301 GENERAL ENGLISH

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Q.No1 Explain the following verses with reference to context:

I) I dont agree with you, said the host. I myself have experienced neither capital punishment
nor life imprisonment, but if one judges a priori, then in my opinion capital punishment is more
moral and more humane than imprisonment. Execution kills instantly, life imprisonment kills by
degree. Who is the more humane executioner, one who kills you in a few seconds or one who draws
the life out of you incessantly, for years?
a. Who is the speaker in these lines?
b. Why is he favouring capital punishment?
c. What takes life instantly?
d. What is the whole discussion about?
ANSWER:
A. The banker is the speaker in these lines.
B. He favours capital punishment because it is more moral and humane in his view.

C. Capital punishment, execution, takes life instantly.

D. The discussion is about the validity and necessity of capital punishment.
II) During the first year of imprisonment, the lawyer, as far as it was possible to judge from his
short notes, suffered terribly from loneliness and boredom. From his wing, day and night came the
sound of the piano. He rejected wine and tobacco. Wine, he wrote, excites desire, and desires are
the chief foes of a prisoner: besides nothing is more boring than to drink good wine alone, and
tobacco spoiled the air in his room.
a. How did the lawyer feel during the first year?
b. What was the source of forming an idea about lawyers position?
c. Why did he reject wine and tobacco?
d. What are the chief foes of a prisoner?
ANSWER:
A. The banker is the speaker in these lines.
B. He favours capital punishment because it is more moral and humane in his view.
C. Capital punishment, execution, takes life instantly.
D. The discussion is about the validity and necessity of capital punishment.
2 A Service of Love begins with sacrifice and ends in love. Discuss.
ANSWER: A Service of Love begins with sacrifice and ends in love and it is amply illustrated by the
example of Joe Delia story. Joe was a student of art and Delia a student of music.
The two met in an atelier, fell in love and in short time they got married and started living in a lonesome
little flat. They were a happy couple because they had their art and they had each other. But soon they ran
out of money, and it became impossible for them to continue their studies. However, neither of them
wanted the other to stop the studies in between. Delia said that she would give music lessons to some
pupil and earn some money so that Joe could continue his study of art. But Joe didnt approve of the idea
given by Delia and he also thought of earning something. Thus, both of them showed a spirit of pure
sacrifice for each other. However, Delia was not able to find any pupil, nor Joe was able to sell any of his
paintings. Both of them, without telling each other, started working in a laundry. Delia took up the job of
ironing the shirts, while Joe took up the job of firing the laundry engine. It was hard life for the students
of music and art. But it didnt seem hard to them because it was a service of love. Each of them sacrificed

their dear Art for the sake of love. Their sacrifice shows the depth of their love, and also the truth of their
new premise that when one loves, no service seems too hard.

3 Summarize the essay Lady Orators by Joseph Addison.

ANSWER: Addison mentions four types of lady orators in the essay. The very first type is of those ladies
who arouse passions. The second type is of those lady orators who are always critical and are skilled in
fault-finding in others. They are full of imaginative faculty. They have the good fluency of expression.
They can present a single story in different forms without making any sound difference in the subject
matter.
To support his argument, Addison gives the example of a lady who made an unhappy marriage the subject
of her conversation for a long period of one month. Such type of women cannot be relied upon.
The third type is of those ladies who are the gossips. They describe even trivial matters with great details.
They know every minute detail. They even know which dish has been served in the neighbor's house.
They can describe the wit of that child who has not learned how to speak. Thus they are extra cunning.
In the fourth type we have such type of lady orators who are coquettes. Such a lady loves one for a
moment, and the very next moment she starts hating him. This type of women cannot be trusted any time.
Addison makes an endeavor to find out the causes for women being perfect orators. He says that the
ladies are better orators than men. They can speak for hours even without any topic. Giving the very first
cause, Addison says the ladies keep talking because they have no power of suppressing their feelings or
passions. They can hardly keep anything a secret.
While giving the second reason, he says that the tongues of women have been specially lubricated and
have been constructed in such a way that they can talk for long hours and need not any rest. Their tongues
may have more juices that make them more active. He further adds that the female tongues may have
special muscles which keep them moving.
In the third reason, Addison says that perhaps they can talk longer because they do not take any serious
issue in their conversation. They always take trivial issues which don't require special attention. So a lady
orator can speak tirelessly for long times.
4 Summarize the essay The Secret of Work by Swami Vivekananda.
Answer: Swami Vivekananda states at the beginning of his essay that this world is full of sorrows and
miseries. He holds mans desire for material gains responsible for the cause of all these evils. The author
opines that the evils can be cured not by the physical help but by change in mans behaviour. Because of

lack of knowledge, evils and sorrows are caused in life. So the light of knowledge is essential for
mankind. Through this knowledge, a man can get spiritual progress which is a real advancement.
The author quotes the example of Bhagavad-Gita and says that one must work continuously and expect
nothing in return. All actions, good or bad, should be done in selfless and detached manner. Everyone is
affected by the nature of work. Good works leave goodimpressions and bad works leave bad impressions.
And a mans character is the sum total of these very impressions. So our Samskaras must be good for
our character-building.
In this essay Swami Vivekananda propounds the same theory as has been propounded by the BhagavadGita. This theory is that one should work continuously but without expecting anything in return as fruit.
The author says that this world is not our permanent home. This is one of the places where we take shelter
during our journey. So we must not have any attachment with it. We should always be free from the
bondage of the world.
Swami Vivekananda suggests that we should work not like slaves but as masters. The works done with
selfless attitude always give love and happiness. In the Bhagavad-Gita Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that he
too works constantly for the safety of the universe. The world will decay if he stops working. The lord
also adds that he gains nothing in return. He does all this only for the mankind and, thus, is totally
unattached. So the author too advises the men and women to work continuously but without expecting the
fruit for it.

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5 Paraphrase the following verses of the poem:

i) My mistress bent that brow of hers;
Those deep dark eyes where pride demurs

When pity would be softening through,

Fied me a breathing-while or two
With life or death in the balance: right!
The blood replenished me again;
My last thought was at least not vain:
I and my mistress, side by side
Shall be together, breathe and ride,
So, one day more am I deified.
Who knows but the world may end to-night?
Answer:
Paraphrase
On hearing the request of the lover, his beloved bends her brows. She gives a thought to the request for a
moment. Her pride holds her back to grant the request but her pity is softening her. The lover wishes her
to be more considerate and sympathetic. His fate hangs in the balance. His breathing stops for a moment.
It is a question of life or death. A positive answer means life for him and a negative answer means death.
But then the beloved gives her consent to oblige him. The poet says that her consent removes all his
suspense and anxiety. He feels life has come back to him once again and the blood starts flowing again in
his veins in a normal manner. He thanks his stars that his last desire had not been turned down; his request
did not go in vain. He is grateful that his beloved has given her consent. He feels overjoyed at the
prospect of riding side by side with his beloved. Their breaths will mingle. It will be the moment of
highest bliss for him. For one more day he will feel God-like, enjoying heavenly bliss. He thinks that
there is a possibility that the world might come to an end that very night. If it happens so, his ride will
become eternal and he will die in a state of heavenly bliss.
.
ii) Fail I alone, in words and deeds?
Why, all men strive and who succeeds?

We rode; it seemed my spirit flew,

Saw other regions, cities new,
As the world rushed by on either side.
I thought, All labour, yet no less
Bear up beneath their unsuccess.
Look at the end of work, contrast
The petty done, the undone vast,
This present of theirs with the hopeful past!
I hoped she would love me; here we ride
Answer:
Paraphrase
The lover says that he is not the only person who has failed to get his beloved, who has failed in keeping
his promise and in completing his project. Everybody has to face failures. All men make efforts to realise
their dreams or achieve their goals, but not all men are lucky enough to succeed completely. The lover
feels satisfied that he is riding with his beloved. He feels like flying in the sky. In other words, he feels
overjoyed riding with his beloved. He sees new countries, new cities in his imagination. As he proceeds
along the road, the world appears to be running backwards on either side. He makes some interesting
observations on his situation. He compares himself with those who labour hard in their lives. All men try
hard to achieve some thing dear to them. They fail in most cases. Just consider the wide gap between
what they plan to do and what they actually succeed in doing. The work done is small. In other words,
their achievement seems very small. The work yet to be done is vast. They started with high hopes in the
past, but today they feel miserable. The poet also hoped to win his beloved. He did not succeed in
marrying her. But he is, at least, enjoying a ride with his beloved.

6 How is the poem Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel a true expression of Indian
sensibility?
Answer:

In this poem, the poet has mirrored the whole tone and sensibility of the Indian society through a very
simple incident. It depicts the attitude of Indian villagers.
On the surface the poem relates to a common and simple incident. A scorpion crawls under a sack of rice
to escape the rain. It stings the poets mother. After injecting poison into mother's body it moves out of the
house in the rain to escape punishment. The simple and superstitious villagers try to find the scorpion and
kill it. When they do not succeed, they turn to god and pray for the mother's better life in the next birth.
On contrary, poets father acts rationally and tries all the medicines to lessen her pain.
The theme of the poem is the widespread illiteracy, ignorance and superstitions in Indian villages. The
villagers are simple hearted people, sincere in their sympathy. They have fellow feelings. The whole
village comes to help the poet's family. They are not rational or scientific in their approach. They turn to
god for every suffering. The poet has presented a true picture of the rural society in India. The villagers
get together to fight an evil or danger.
Their behaviour in a critical situation like this is praise worthy. In the end, the mother glorifies the
tradition of love and sacrifice. This could only be an Indian's philosophy she doesnt blame god for her
suffering, but she thanks him for sparing her children. All these descriptions make a concrete and
composite image of the reality of Indian life.