ONE-ACT PLAYS
THE BEAR Anton Chekhov
Question# 1 Discuss the title of the play?
Anton Chekhov Chekhov is the most eminent Russian playwright who is universally regarded as the greatest Russian storyteller and dramatist of modern times. “The Bear” is one of one of his highly cherished comic works. This one – –act act play is written with the purpose of exposing the hypocrisy, pretension, falsity and artificiality
of the feudal class of his country. It is light heartedly presented to set focus on a deep social trend. The title is ironic. The heroine of the play rebukes the hero and calls him, “a coarse bear, a bourbon! a monster. But at the end she accepts his love and is driven into his arms forgetting all her claims of love for her late husband and her proposed dislike for Smirnov… the bear. Bear is thought to be a greedy, impertinent and totally uncontrollable animal. So the bear may symbolically point towards the hero of the play. Smirnov is ill mannered and violent but at the same time he is a very passionate man. He is haughty and boorish. His attitude with Popova is very harsh and impolite that reveals his bear like nature. So the title is meant to represent Mr. Smirnov and his true nature.
Question# 2 What is
Luka telling Popova?
Popova is a young lady whose husband has died seven months ago. She is in mourning and is wearing black dress. She has shunned every relation with the outside world and is confined to the fourwalled grave of her room. She has a servant named Luka. Luka is very sincere to his mistress and has deep concern for her welfare. As the play starts in Popova’s Popova’s drawing drawing room, Luka is trying to convince his mistress to abandon her prolonged mourning and come out of her cocoon of so-called grief. He tries to make her realize that she is wasting her life in a futile way. He rightly says that one cannot die with the dead. People come and go but life goes on. He tells her that she was still young and beautiful and could easily calm down in her life by marrying a young officer. She should take interest in life and its pleasures.
She should go out and see other people. These words of Luka produce a very irritating effect on her and she asks him not to talk to her in that way because she can never think of leaving l eaving her husband’s memory and that she would remain true even to his grave. All these demand of Popova prove delicate and they suddenly fall apart as soon as the very first man knocks at the door of her heart
Question# 3 Why did Smirnov come to Popova’s house?
Popova was a young lady whose husband had died seven months ago. Her husband had been in the farm business and used to buy oats from a man called Smirnov. There was some of his money still unpaid so he came to get that money back.
He was in a desperate need of money because he had to pay the installments on his mortgaged land. He visited all his creditors but could not get anything. Then he travelled seventy miles from his home to Nicolai Mihailovotch’s village. There he was confronted with Nicola’s widow, Popova, who did not want to pay him anything. Thus ensued an exchange of bitter and cynical remarks that concluded at the decision of marrying each other.
Question# 4 What did Popova think of her late(mrhoom )husband?
Popova was married to Nicolai Mihailovitch, who died seven months ago. She remained in mourning for a long time and had shut herself in the four walls of her own room. She broke every relation with the outside world. While talking to her
servant, Luka, she shows her views about her late husband. She said that he was a faithless and disloyal husband who had love affairs with many other ladies. After his death she discovered a whole drawer (one that attracts) full of love letters. She said that
he betrayed her, made fun of her feelings and made love to other woman. He spoiled her money, youth and life. She had very adverse feelings about him. She was in mourning only to show that unlike him, she was a faithful wife who was loyal to her husband even after his death. She wanted to show it to her late husband as well as to the world that she was an emotional and loving wife. But the reality contradicted all her claims of loyalty and show that how petty and artificial she was. She had hypocritically simulated an outward show of love and loyalty when at heart she had some other motives. Smirnov rightly
mocked at her by saying that her mourning was just a false show and that she wanted to present herself as a mysterious and r omantic omantic “Tamara” before the world.
Question# 5 What were Smirnov’s views about ladies?
Smirnov is a retired army officer and a respectable landowner of a nearby village. He comes to Popova’s house to get his money back that he has lent to her late l ate husband. In the course of their discussion, they start arguing about the character of ladies and men. Popova holds the view that all the t he men are scoundrels and they exploit ladies for their own purposes. She cites the instance of her own late husband who has been cruel and disloyal. In response, Smirnov badly
ridicules ladies and their ways. He says that ladies are false and artificial… they hook hook a man by nose to fulfill their vested interests. He tells that he himself has a great experience with ladies and knows their true nature. The ladies only make an outward show of their affection and never love anyone truly. Ladies easily shift their affection from one person to another. He further says that ladies behave like crocodiles and they shed tears to attract and trap a man. They can love a lap dog but not a man. They are soft from outside but from inside they are very cunning, wicked and cruel. He even goes further and criticizes Popova herself and makes fun of her mourning dress and her make up. He also laughs at her for being locked up in her home. All these remarks show that he has very negative views about ladies.
Question# 6
What is the end of the play?
This play presents a blend of resist situations. Although it begins begins with a sad note but its middle and specially its end is very sudden and surprising. Popova is shown in deep mourning at the start and she recalls her husband with inconsistent emotions. Smirnov comes to her home to get his money back. He needs money to pay the interest on his mortgaged land other wise that may be confiscated but Popova can not do so as her steward isn’t in the town and she herself has no spare cash. Here starts a fierce verbal war…they criticize each other. They both abuse each other in a harsh way. Smirnov makes fun of Popova and the ladies in general while Popova condemns men. He feels like breaking her head and she calls him very offensive names. They decide even to shoot each other. But… without any
forewarning, Smirnov falls in love. He expresses his love in his natural insolent style and proposes her. On the other side Popova is in a conflict…she doesn’t want to lose Smirnov but at the same time she doesn’t want to shun her ostentatious image of a faithful widow. She oscillates between “yes” and “no” asking him to go at once and then shouting, “Where are you going”. Finally she turns away from her pretension and is driven into his arms. Quite unexpectedly they accept each other as life partners.
Question#7 This play is a criticism on the hypocritical attitude of upper class. Discuss
Chekhov often uses the drama to reveal the variety of attitudes in the society, his main concern being the
hypocrisy of feudal class and the t he pragmatism of newly emerging economic sector. This play revolves around two characters that accidentally come face to face. Both belong to the landed gentry of Russia…both are single. Smirnov is shown without a wife while Popova’s husband has died seven months back. They go through a disagreement on matter of the payment of some money. During their negotiations, they reveal their true personalities before the reader or audience. The heroine of the play is an affected lady who tries to t o give an artificial show of modesty and innocence. She vehemently asserts her loyalty with her late husband but in the same breath she unlocks a profound bulk of complaints against him. She cries and faints in an artificial way. She is all in all a hypocrite because she exploits her husband’s death as an occasion to affirm herself as mysterious goddesses of devotion and
fidelity. She treats her guest very rudely and starts a proper brawl with him…. calls him names and is ready even to shoot him. She pretends to dislike him but at heart she cherishes tender feelings for him. Her attitude is full of contradictions…she says “yes” and “no” at the same moment. She represents the ladies of upper class who have dual personalities and hide their true self in the curtain of false show of humility and devotion. Their true motive is ease and material comfort but apparently they take many sham stances. Smirnov is an inconsistent person who too, like Popova, wavers badly in his manners. He is agitated and disappointed. He needs money but he at once forgets all about it and falls in love. A little earlier he has given very adverse remarks about love and behaviour of ladies but he takes no time in practically refuting all that he has
said earlier. He is rude in handling a lady…loses temper and childishly challenges her to fight a dual with pistols. Then quite unexpectedly he goes on his knees offering his hand to the lady he was about to shoot moments ago. All these factors point point towards the superficial life style of upper class where it is very hard to differentiate between real and false. People are heartless and pragmatic; they even capitalize the circumstance caused by some loved-one’s loved- one’s death. Question# 8 Draw the character sketches of: a ) S m i rn o v b ) Po Po p o v a
Smirnov
Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov is a
vibrant and striking comic figure. His character has been delineated in a realistic but compassionate way. He is a Russian landowner who has previously been a lieutenant of artillery. He is not physically described but his actions and manners show him to be an energetic fellow. He is violent and hyperactive… breaks too many of Popova’s chairs. He is rude, ill mannered and can’t control his temper. In spite of his apparent hard surface he proves to be a very passionate man at the end. He is in dire need of money because he has to pay the interest on his mortgaged land. If he fails to t o pay the money he may lose his land. He goes to all the people who are in his debt but none of them pays anything to him rather they take him non seriously. So he can’t be called a successful businessman. businessman. He rebukes all his debtors in an agitated way. Even he behaves with Popova in a very impolite
manner and makes fun of her mourning. He goes too far in his demand of money and uses even abusive words and threatening manners. But at the end forgets all about money and interest. He keeps very bad opinion about women and thinks them to be false and trivial. He says that a lady doesn’t know what the love and sufferings are; they only enjoy the impatience of their lovers and try to hook them hard by nose. They only make outward show of love by crying and fainting while men give all the sacrifices in love. He takes his indictment further and says that women can easily shift their affection from one lover to another but they can truly love their lapdogs only. He ridicules them by calling them “softer sex” in a sarcastic way. He even makes Popova a prey of his criticism and exclaims in a stinging way, “you may have buried yourself alive, but you haven’t forgotten to powder your face!” f ace!” This is a very serious denunciation of
women folk. He has a vast experience of love; three times he has fought duals on account of ladies. He has refused twelve women, and nine have refused him. He tells Popova that there has been a time when he used to love and suffer like a young boy; he has spent his emotions and money on such things. Now he claims to have left all these things and has taken a vow not to love l ove a lady any more… but he cant stand by his guarantee and falls in love with Popova. He is trapped in the snare of her dazzling looks and her courageous dynamic attitude. He expresses his love in an unusually rude way but is accepted by his counterpart who too possesses an equally pulsating personality. Thus it will not be an exaggeration to say that Smirnov’s character cannot be easily erased from the memory of the reader or audience.
Popova
Popova is a pleasantly conceived, multi dimensional character. She is young and very beautiful, “with roses in her cheeks”. She is very careful about her looks and doesn’t doesn’t forget to apply cosmetics even in her mourning. Her husband has died seven months ago and she has vowed not to go out and see other people in her extended mourning. She has shut herself in the four walls of her room. She pretends to be much moved at her husband’s death but infact it is not more than eyewash. She is hypocrite in her attitude. She never enjoyed good relations with her husband who used to betray her. He had love-relations with other ladies and made fun of her feelings. He used to leave her alone for weeks and wasted her money on other ladies… but she wants to show his soul that she is not
like him. She tries to prove herself as a faithful wife. She unrealistically longs to bury herself alive but the very first person, she meets, shatters her so-called idealism and she readily agrees to marry a well to do land lord. Her servant Luka tries to make her realize the reality that she may lose her chances in life by such an unrealistic attitude of cutting herself off from everyone else. He says that her good looks will be finished in some years and then she will have to live a miserably lonesome life. She reacts strongly and is not ready to listen anything against her mourning but soon she forgets all of this and decides to marry again. She is not a good housekeeper as none of her servants except Luka is available to her. All have gone out without her knowledge. She is a very rude and ill-mannered
lady. She treats her late husband’s friend very roughly who is under her roof as a guest. She bluntly tells Smirnov that she can’t pay him money unless her steward is back. She doesn’t try to understand his problem and goes on blowing the trumpet of her critical “state of mind” due to mourning. She doesn’t hesitate hesitate to start verbal row with a stranger and talks to him in an angry manner. She uses very rough language and calls him, “bear, bear! bear”. She criticizes all men and specially her late husband. She takes Smirnov’s insult of ladies very seriously and retorts with spirit. She is a courageous lady and couldn’t be subdued by Smirnov’s aggressive manners. She is willing to fight with him and brings her husband’s pistols though she has never held a pistol in her hand before. She is in conflict when Smirnov proposes her; she doesn’t want to let him go but can’t immediately decide to stop him. She moves back and forth in her desire to be loved and
her ambition to be called a faithful widow. At last she discreetly discreetly decides in favour favour of Smirnov and is ready to get married again. On the whole she is an enjoyable figure who never fails to amuse the reader though she has some negative aspects too. Her beauty and vigour make her a treat for the reader and audience. Posted by Fouzia Malik at 06:03 1 comment: Email ThisBlogThis ThisBlogThis!!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest The Little willow Frances Tower
Question # 1
the title of the story?
Discuss
This is a touching tale of an unexpressed love. The strength of unrequited love gives depth and width to the idea of life and existence. A young quiet girl falls in love with a war-beaten soldier who comes to her home and kindles the deep and compassionate relation of love in Lisby’s naïve heart. Their love is sacred like a candle burning in a hermit’s cave whose flashes never go out but it brightens the whole world with its suppressed light. A little willow made of jade and and crystal becomes the symbol of their silent love. On Simon’s departure Lisby gives him the most precious thing that she owns…a little willow tree “for luck”. He keeps it as a token of his love with himself even on the war front. This tree becomes the symbol of his beloved Lisby who silently runs like deep waters but never shows any ripples
on the surface. She burns with the heat of Simon’s love but never lets any spark out in front of him or anyone else. When the bombshell hits Simon and he gets injured the little willow present in his kit is also smashed. Their love bond is physically broken as Simon is going to die. But the bond of soul is bound to prosper, as his death is to bring the expression of his deep love for Lisby. So the title of the story is the symbol of the relation of love and its nature. It is the outward emblem of the union of two quiet but extremely beautiful souls.
Question # 2 Portray the setting of their drawing room?
Brenda, charlotte and Lisby lived in the “Courthouse” in the suburb of London. They were very brilliant girls with
their exquisite taste and mannerism. They had superb friends like artists, painters, writers and soldiers. Charlotte was a stage decorator. Their drawing room was very graceful and exotic in its appearance. The walls were painted in white bright colour with reflections of colours clearly striking on the walls. There was a thick black hearthrug in the middle with pink roses printed on it. It was a rug woven by some Balkan peasant perhaps. Tables and shelves were stacked with a large number of books on varied subjects. On the grand piano, there were number of photographs arranged in a mysterious fashion. Over the fireplace a dark smoky painting of some old master hung and gave a strangely unusual look to to the otherwise bright room. According to Simon a dark picture in a bright room gave it a spiritual worth and quality. Amid all this dramatic and and romantic setting, setting, the three sisters were waiting for their stories to unfold with different tinges of love,
death, romance, weddings and tragedy.
Question # 3 What was the important feature of those girls?
The sisters portrayed in “The Little Willow” were exceptionally charming and talented. The two elder sisters were extraordinarily seductive. They always lured the boys and made them captive of their magnetism. They played with the hearts of young men. They were not the modern girls but were the type of girls who had always been… a man’s rose of beauty, his cup of hemlock. They were the phenomena phenomenall ladies with all the charms and manners of beauty and love. They had superb friends and were very creative by nature. Charlotte was a stage designer while Brenda was an expert in playing piano. They were a brilliant host that’s why in the wartime their
house had become a place of refuge for many young men who came on vacations from the front. The boys coming in to their home fell victim to one or the other elder miss Avery. While the youngest sister Lisby was not that expressive and imposing. She remained silent most of the time. The elder sisters were like powerful electric lamps but Lisby was silent and serene like the soothing moonlight.
Question # 4 How was Lisby different?
Lisby was the youngest Avery sister. She was not as dynamic and vivacious as her two elder sisters were. They were all glitz and glamour while she was like a silent mignonette. She did not have a poetic imagination of herself and was very recessive. When people came to to
their home she did not try to impose herself on them rather she would remain silent and detached. But if her elder sisters were neglecting a guest, she would give company to him. She was an unusual girl in her attitude. She had spent her first term salary, as a teacher, on buying a beautiful willow tree that was made of jade j ade and crystal. She had superb artistic taste as she had insisted forcefully on hanging the smoky old painting of an Angel in their bright room. She liked that picture for its holiness. Her sisters were physically valued but she was spiritually deep and exalted. She thought about many famous paintings like “La Belle Ferroniere”, “Piero Della Francesca” and El Greco’s “Christ in the Temple”. Charlotte her eldest sister complimented Lisby by calling her as serene and deep as the moonlight while she compared herself and Brenda with arc lamps. Lisby liked Simon Byrne for the
intricacy and passion of his personality. She did not value his status or any other factor but she liked him spiritually. She never expressed her love for him in words but expressed it through her eyes and her gesture of giving away her most treasured willow tree to him. Thus Lisby was a different girl a perfect heroine for the tragedy tr agedy and romance connected to war times.
Question # 5 Analyze the relation between Simon and Lisby?
Charlotte’s friend brought Simon Byrne to their home in his vacations and after that he used to visit that house time and again. He belonged to South Africa and was not acquainted with anyone in London. He was a silent and reserved person. He loved art and music. It was he who at once
judged the spiritual spiritual worth of a smoky painting in a bright room that had amazed Lisby too. It was only because of her that t hat such a painting was left hanging there. Similarly, he was deeply moved by Brenda’s piano playing. The music was meant to ensnare him in Brenda’s love but he praised the music but remained indifferent to the musician who on her side used to claim that Simon was in love l ove with her though it was not true. The relation of Lisby and Simon was quite unobtrusive as Lisby was never sure of his feelings for her or her own feelings for him. They had the same spiritual frequency level that joined their hearts. The things that made Simon laugh made her laugh too though others did not even notice those things. He used to hum the tunes that had been haunting Lisby’ s mind for several days. He praised her willow tree not for its outward beauty but for
the concept behind it. He told her that when he had been lost in the desert he dreamt of willow and water. The coolness and glitter of that willow tree struck his heart as it had stricken Lisby’s heart that fell in love with it in an antique shop. He never said a single word about his love neither did Lisby ever utter anything. They regarded love as something sacred and exalted so they never spoke of it even to each other and he went away without knowing about Lisby’s feelings. But in the depth of his heart he knew that Lisby was his sweetheart. Lisby too always thought about him though ironically, she used to expect a letter from him to Brenda. On the day of his death, the last thing that he had spoken about was the confession his love for Lisby. Their love relation was intriguing and complex exactly corresponding correspondin g to their specific personalities.
Question # 6
was Captain Oliver?
Who
After the war Charlotte Charlotte got married to Richard Harkness and Brenda was engaged to Gerald. A friend of Richard Harkness, Captain Oliver too came on their wedding. He was a doctor and had been in the same camp where Simon was a prisoner. He had something to tell… but to whom …he didn’t know. He had been with Simon at the time of his death and had his confession of love to be delivered to his unidentified beloved. He was not sure about her because Simon had not even named her. Captain was a handsome lad and Brenda was trying desperately to get his attention but he was a different man. After much deliberation, he wisely made a decision. He told Lisby that he wanted to confide something in her because she seemed the most apt person to him. He told her about Simon’s last days when he got
injured in an attack and was made a prisoner in Germany. His wound was very grave and it later became the cause of his death. At the night before his death he talked to captain Oliver and dictated a letter to his mother in his usual poetic style. Oliver asked him about anyone else thinking that the memory of his beloved will soothe him a bit. At this t his Simon said blissfully that there was a girl who never knew… she was his girl. He expressed his deep soft feelings for her. He told Oliver that his beloved had given him a little willow tree that was shattered when the shell got him. This was a painful reality for Lisby who came to know about her first love through a third man and that too after the death of her lover. When Simon was about to depart after his vacations and Lisby came out to see him off, he promised that he would try to come in spirit if not in flesh and he had fulfilled his promise. His soul
was there with its love and intensity of his passion for the little silent girl of his own sort. The death made his love eternal. “The Little Willow” creates an iceicechilled, frosty, cool atmosphere; sometimes of quietude, solemnity, and sometimes of death. Simon keeps the willow as a token of Lisby’s love that gives him solace and strength before and at the time of his death. He dies a whole man, perfect in his faith in love and thus defeats death with the power of his sacred love. Posted by Fouzia Malik at 05:58 No comments: Email ThisBlogThis ThisBlogThis!!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest A Passion in the Desert Honore de Balzac
Question # 1 Discuss this story as a fantasy?
A fantasy means means a play of the imagination to present the action, characters and setting that are “impossibl “ impossible e under ordinary conditions or in the normal course of human events.” A fantasy is about life, but unlike the realities of life”. This short story is of course a fantasy in which a young soldier develops feelings of friendship for a female panther that too feels strong attachment with him. The panther lives in the desert and is very happy to see another living creature near itself. The soldier runs away from the custody of Arabs and takes refuge in her
cave. In the start he is afraid of her but later they develop a master-pet relationship and his fear is diminished to a great extent. Their relation itself is incredible but the display of different human emotions by the panther looks even more marvelous. She shows the emotions of love, friendship, and an urge for companion companionship. ship. At the end she even displays the strong reaction due to the feelings of jealousy. This story looks an exaggerated presentation presentation of the tool of “pathetic fallacy”. The story reminds the reader of William Blake’s poetry where lions and wolves shelter and protect the little children. So the panther and her love transport us to an ideal land where there is is no danger of wild animals but the natural feeling of insecurity present in the human heart leads the soldier to kill his companion companion.. Thus it becomes a permanent regret in his heart.
Question # 2 Who was the soldier?
The hero of the story was a twenty-two years old French soldier who was part of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Bonaparte’s military excursion in Egypt. The Arabs made him captive and took him to the desert with them. They travelled constantly to escape from the French army and took rest only at nighttime. One night they tied the hands of the soldier and all of them went to sleep. This was a vital chance for the soldier to run away and he instantly availed it. He took a scimitar and a gun and jumped over a horse, galloping at full pace. On the t he way, his horse died because of fatigue and he was left to himself. He started walking in a very low spirit; the boundless desert was fearsome for him. It spread far and wide like an unending sea with the scorching sun shining overhead. He reached an oasis
after the sunset and carelessly slept on a granite rock under a palm tree. He was tired of the terrible conditions in the desert and his fear of death had been decreased a lot. When he got up the next morning, the sun was hot and tremendous heat was being emitted from the granite rock. He got up in a very low morale. He hugged a palm tree and started crying because of his lonely dejected state. The immensity and brutality of the desert was steadily killing him. But then he got up and tried to find some sheltered place. Luckily he was able to spot a cave in the rock nearby and it was good enough to spend a hot day of desert in it. The cave had some signs of having been used by some other person some time before because there was a tattered piece of rug lying there. He tried to cut a palm tree to shelter the facade of the cave but he couldn’t do so. He went inside to sleep, and thus started his incredible i ncredible tale of adventure and passionate camaraderie.
Question # 3 Describe the initial encounter of the soldier with the female panther?
Due to fatigue, the soldier instantly fell asleep asleep in the cave. It was was nearly midnight when his sleep was disturbed by a loud sound of an even but strong breathing nearby. He contracted his eyes and saw two tiny yellow lights blazing in the darkness. He was unable to see clearly in the dark cave so he didn’t know what creature was lying besides him. Was it a lion, a tiger, or a crocodile? His fear was tremendous t remendous as his ignorance led him to imagine all terrors at once. He endured the cruel torture, noting every variation of the breathing close to him, without daring to make the slightest movement. After some time the moon rose and he was able to see a great panther
lying in the den, inches away from him. The spots on its body were clearly visible and it was curled up like a big dog. He could hear his own apprehensive heart that was beating very loudly. He didn’t know what to do against such a gigantic enemy. He thought of shooting it with his gun but the distance between them was so little that the muzzle of gun extended beyond the animal…and… if the animal woke up!..… The thought made his limbs rigid. Twice he placed his hand on dagger so that he could cut her head off but felt that it wasn’t that easy and to miss would be to die for certain. So he thought to give himself a chance and wait till morning. At dawn, he could see the bloodstained muzzle and paws of the panther that meant it wasn’t hungry at least at that time. It was an extremely powerful and beautiful female panther; the soldier’s soldier’s courage was at its lowest edge. But then he thought that he might have been killed by the Arabs when
he tried to escape the day before yesterday, so he took himself as good as dead already and waited bravely for his enemy’s awakening. On sunrise the panther suddenly opened her eyes, stretched her body and yawned…. Suddenly Suddenly her eyes fell on the t he soldier and she started staring at him steadily without moving. The rigid lustrous eyes made him shudder, especially when the animal walked towards him. But he looked at her caressingly, staring into her eyes in order to magnetize her; then with a movement both affectionate and gentle he passed his hand over her whole body, from head to tail. The animal waved its tail t ail voluptuously, and her eyes grew gentle and she uttered a soft voice showing its pleasure and it started purring like a cat. Thus, she came to like the soldier and had been tamed.
Question # 4 Describe the relationship and attachment of two diverse creatures of God?
The destiny brought two diverse creatures of God in close contact in the wilderness of a desert. In wartime a French soldier fled away from Arabs who had captured him. He happened to reach in a female panther’s den and gradually forged an affectionate association with her. At first he was afraid of her presence presence and his previous knowledge about such wild animals wasn’t encouraging either. When she came closer to him he tried to caress and pamper her. This was the language of affection that she understood and lost her ferocity. She looked at him with soft loving eyes and behaved like a little cat that t hat tried to get her master’s attention by all means. She was living alone in that desert and was happy to have a nice loving companion; the
soldier too had developed a liking for her. He was greatly enamoured by her beauty and her coquettis coquettish h manners. She behaved like a lovely girl that’s t hat’s why her movements reminded him of his beloved back in France. Her name was Virginie but he used to call her lovingly by the name of “Mignonne”. She was an extremely jealous girl and often threatened to hit him with a knife. He tried to make the panther answer to the name, “Mignonne” and soon she started responding to this name. As was already already planned, he stealthily came out of the cave one night and tried to escape. But he hadn’t covered much distance when he saw her running after him at full speed. Unluckily, at that very time a quicksand surrounded him and his life was in danger. She quickly came ahead, took hold of his collar and pulled him out of the madly whirling sand. This brought him back to her and he accepted it as his fate. She liked to play with him, and
wanted to be gently stroked by his hands. Their relation had become very intimate and deep; he could interpret all the modes of her voice and her moods. The changing expression of her eyes wasn’t a meaningless thing for him anymore. One day he saw a big eagle hovering on his head and was fully attentive to him, neglecting his feline beloved for a moment. Surprisingly, she behaved like his girlfriend Virginie and visibly she was jealous of the intruder intruder who had deprived deprived her of her lover’s attention. Her eyes flashed like lightening and she obviously was annoyed. In her annoyance she gently caught hold of his leg, the soldier got frightened and thought that she would devour him. In panic he plunged his dagger into her throat, she rolled over, giving a cry that froze his heart. He saw her dying but still looking at him with gentle loving eyes without any anger. Now the soldier regretted his act heavily and wanted to
bring her back to life at any cost. Then after a day, he was rescued by a group of army men who found him crying besides her dead body. Since then he had been restless and wandering through many countries but he claimed that he had never seen anything like the desert and its sultana. All through his life he regretted his act of killing her who was so majestic and so loving. Posted by Fouzia Malik at 05:56 No comments: Email ThisBlogThis ThisBlogThis!!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest The Fly KATHERINE MANSFIELD
Question # 1 Who was Woodifield? Why did he come to see the boss?
Woodifield was an old man who was living a retired life. He used to visit the boss who was his friend. Woodifield suffered from serious sort of diseases that’s why his wife and daughters kept him locked up in the home except at the Tuesdays when he was allowed to go to the city and see his friends. His family didn’t even let him drink lest it should do some irreparable harm to his health. At that day he was sitting in boss’s office and was very impressed of the new setting of his office. He praised the new furniture, carpets and the heating apparatus. He even called the t he office as a very comfortable place. The attitude of the boss was also very peculiar, as he loved to hear his things praised specially by the old Woodifield. The boss
was five years older than Woodifield but he enjoyed a good health while Woodifield’ health was really in a precarious condition. He wanted to tell the boss about something but his old brain was unable to recall it. The boss offered him whiskey that was dangerous for his life. He said ruthlessly that a spot of whiskey would help him recall all that he had forgotten… and indeed the whiskey warmed up his brain enough that he recalled what he was to tell the boss. He told him that his girls had been to Belgium to visit the grave of his son who was killed in the war with the boss’s son. The girls told that the Belgian government kept the graveyard nicely. This made the boss very sad and dejected as it reminded him of the t he untimely and tragic death of his own son.
Question # 2 What was the tr agedy agedy of boss’s life?
The boss was a thriving t hriving man who had a very successful business. He worked very hard to establish and flourish his company. He had a son who was a very charming boy and all the efforts and hard work of the boss was for him. He wanted to develop his business for his son’s sake and expected him to step into his shoes soon. He actually brought him to his office and the boy started learning the work. The boy was a brilliant learner and he understood the work very quickly. Moreover his attitude was extremely friendly to all the people. Every one liked him and had high hopes for his future. But then the war started and all the young men had to go there. So the boy of the boss also went to Belgium with British troops and unluckily he could c ould not come back. He was killed in Belgium and was buried there. It was the greatest shock of the boss’s life who could never even think of any such possibility. It was
impossible for him to imagine any life without his son. His grief had no bounds and he started crying even by thinking about him. He had claimed that the time ti me could never curtail his grief. That day when Woodifield had talked about his son’s grave visited by Woodifield’s daughters the boss was overwhelmed with grief and he wanted to cry but he was astonished to realize that he could not cry. He looked at the boy’s picture; even then he could not shed a single tear. The time is of course a healer and it unobtrusively tramples over all human woes due to its profound velocity. “ Wars are the trade of kings” who solely opt for their own vested interests and regard the common people as merely the fuel for war. The boy was the most treasured entity for his father but in the t he war he was killed like a fly f ly by the immoderate ambitions of politicians. The aspirations, hope and planning of the boss were erased from the world like a useless u seless word written
by a senseless little kid. So death of his dear son was the tragedy of the boss’s life and it corresponds to the title of the story fully.
Question # 3 What did he do to the fly and why?
When Woodifield had gone out, the boss tried to recall his son and cry but he was unable to weep. He was dejectedly thinking about his sad condition when he saw a fly that had been dropped in a broken inkpot and was desperately trying to come out. The inkpot was slippery and the little fly could not climb up. The boss seized a pen, picked the fly out of the ink, and shook it onto a piece of blotting paper. The fly remained still for fraction of a second but soon its legs started to wave slowly. The fly started drying itself, it took
hold and waved its wings. It was about to fly when the boss had an idea and dropped a large drop on the newly cleaned minute body of the fly. The fly f ly was absolutely intimidated, stunned and afraid to move because of what would happen next. But then very painfully it dragged itself forward. The process of drying it self started from the beginning though it was slower in pace now. The boss admired the courage of the fly that was not ready to admit the defeat. Finally the little fly was again able to gather itself and the laborious task of drying had been completed. Then what happened?……… happened ?……… Before it could flap fl ap its wings, another heavy drop fell on its tiny body. The boss thought that it was all over. But he was amazed to see the front legs waving again. He felt much pity for the tiny creature and he breathed over it to help it dry itself. That time the movements of fly were extremely weary but even then it collected itself and the process of getting
out of the catastrophe started again. After a long struggle it had again successfully beaten the crisis but was very timid and weak. The boss decided that it would be the last drop and he again dipped the pen in inkpot. It actually proved to be the last drop as there was no life left in the little fly. The boss threw its corpse into dustbin and soon forgot all that he had done to it. The story has been based on the famous lines of Shakespea Shakespeare, re, “ As flies to the wanton boy are we to the gods; they kill us for their sport”. This is the theme of the story and the boss exactly behaves like a wanton boy and heartlessly kills a little fly. fl y. But the thesis is not complete unless we go deep into the story. The gods of fate and circumstances had as callously killed the boss’s son as he had killed the fly. So the fly f ly symbolically stands for man and the boss stands for the controlling powers of the universe that don’t respect emotions and planning of a man.
The reality is very cruel and it doesn’t show mercy to anyone… all have to face it. The whole universe is under a colossal power, which is very indifferent and uses death as its tool. Death spares none, old or young. The world gives woes and the time applies a soothing balm on these wounds. Man moves on and forgets everything. The life and time travel so quickly ahead that a man has to leave the previous sorrows to accept the new ones. The fly was vulnerable and insignificant in face of the calamity that befell it but it struggled hard to battle with the chaos though the fate won and the little fly was perished. The boy in the story too t oo was treated in a heartless manner by Providence. The author illustrates a fatalist outlook that proves a man’s helplessness before the uncontrollable authority of destiny. She herself was suffering from tuberculosis and was crushed like a fly by the hulking command of Death and fate. So the story presents a subtle event to
demonstrate the theme and the whole plan of human existence on the planet earth.
