HSEB English Class 11 ( UNIT 2 Summary)

Unit 2::Men, Women And Children

My Heart Leaps up and when I behold

Notable for love of nature and simple language of poetry, William Wordsworth explores poetry as the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings and emotions recollected in tranquility. Thus the poet here projects his poetry philosophy as a trial when he happens to have a glimpse and recollects the joyful moment of the rainbow and his own experiences of childhood days with a meaningful conclusion.

The speaker in the poem happens to view the rainbow in the sky. All of a sudden he feels great sensations in the form of happiness. He after that realizes the existence of the rainbow in the past, at present and so in the future .Mean while he concludes that the existence of rainbow of human beings is only possible in the existence of nature otherwise for him death is much more better than the living life. Flashing back to the glimpse of the rainbow, he in no time gets back to his childhood memories, and synthesizes the childish feelings and the emotion with the fusion of intellect as the child is the father of man and deep respect for nature.

Summing up the poem" My Heart Leaps when I Behold" is the experimentation of Romantic trend in poetry. In fact, the poet is successful in the application of poetic Philosophy. Beginning with the feeling and emotions in the present of rainbow and the childhood days on the other, the speaker develops a great message that the child in a sense is the university of the world itself where one learns many things like sense of innocence, creativity and so on. Finally he is in opinion that the existence of human beings depends on the existence of nature the poet regards God is quite different analysis in a sense.

Speaking of Children

"Speaking of Children" is one of humorous essay that explains about that the obstacles that the parents have to face after having many children. The essayist has lightly and joyfully criticized about having more number of children. According to the essayist one child is lake a part of parent body .He is outnumbered. Parents can do anything with him. They can brainwash him or teach him anything they lake .They can take him to anywhere they like as well. But plural children make parents life troublesome .Parents cannot enjoy their holiday freely. They have to go to the laces of the entertainment for children.

The famous writer Barbara Holland has lightly probed the subject matter in the essay. She has told that they have to rapidly change their flat for a better school for their children. In others word parents have to move from their own life to their children life. Thus, with own child parents can live in their own way but with more than one child their lives become complicated. Moreover according to the writer some private chatting between husband and wife is important for a healthy marriage life .But the couple having many children nearly gets any chance for the private talk .Whenever they start talking they are disturbed by the children by the one way or another way. To express their feelings the husband and the wife can write to each other but after the children learn to read ,they can not do that either .The parents have to use different languages or they can telephone to each other from their office.

In this essay ,the writer delightfully examines the disadvantages of having many children and advantages of having single children.

Look at the tea cup

The story ‘Look At A Teacup’, written by Patricia Hampel, shows how a simple writing helps in finding out great events. It is about the history of writer’s mother in a delicate teacup. The two major themes of this essay are relationship between a mother and her daughter and a connection between the past generation and present generation. Both these things are represented by a teacup.

The writer’s mother was married in the year 1939, the beginning of the Second World War. The same year she bought the teacups as gifts that were later given to the daughter. Hampel sees a connection between herself and her mother. The teacup reminds her of her mother’s history because her mother bought it in 1939. Through the cup the mother transfers the culture and history of her time to the daughter. So, the cup is historical memory only. It was made in Czechoslovakia, which was taken over and destroyed by the armies of Adolf Hitler.

The essay associates and removes the objective description and subjective feeling of author and teacup. The author can express lots of feeling and ideas making the teacup as a medium. She tries to compare the falling of flower in the teacup as destruction of beauty due to falling bombs. There was also cultural and social degradation. The style of this essay is stream of consciousness. So, the reader feels somehow puzzled to track down the plot of the essay. She expresses all her feelings try to compete each other. So, some sentences are fragmented. Logically they do not follow each other. The writing is beautifully decorated but the meanings are deviated.

There is symbolic meaning of the things. ‘Falling flowers’ implies the degrading situation and ‘teacups’ were human rituals and arts. Certainly the essayist refers the fall and break of culture. ‘Falling bodies’ were dying people in the war and ‘beds’ have meaning of the battlefield where the falling bodies lay. ‘The falling of bombs onto women’ means the tragic fate of these women. They had the disturbed married life. Fates of women were accursed by the war and their destiny was darkened by the war and their destiny. ‘Falling countries’ refers to the degradation of humanity, peace, progress, brotherhood, culture, etc. of the countries involved in the war. This essay presents the reality of war and shows the real picture of the world caused by the destruction due to war.

Worn out Path

Phoenix Jackson of the far out village came through the pinewood jungle with a walking stick. She used to look ahead. Her face was wrinkled .She had a red piece of cloth on her hand .When there was a movement in he bush she used to abuse all the animals and ask them not to block her way, because she was going away. All the birds and doves were chirping. She reached a hill through the jungle, She looked back at the way and started to climb down. She reached into a bush and thrones kept her dress and she said "You don't let me go away". At last she got rid of thorns by trembling and went away. She lost her time .She went to weep. She crossed the river and thought she was not as old as she thought. She sat there .A boy brought some cake she asked him but he didn't give her .She went through the bared wire fence. She went to the safety place and stood up. A vulture came and sat on the tree. She became glad that it was not the time of bulls and snake were also sleeping. And she became happy when she didn't see the two headed snake .There were a lot of snakes in summer .Then she went through the maize field and the cotton field but she couldn't find he way. There was a black, tall and skinny thing moving before her.

She thought it was a man but it didn't make a sound so she took it as a ghost .She cried "Ghost" "Who are you the ghost of ?"She felt it closing eyes. She found a coat and a cold as ice inside. She said "You scare crow " She felt to be old very much. She reached the way. She went through the huts by saying she was walking when they are sleeping .She drank more sweet water in the stream. She reached shallow place place and ask the alligators just sleep. She meet a dog coming out from a hole. She hit it with the stick slightly but herself feel into the hole. She tried to get out but she was unable so she lay there A white man came alone and shouted at her saying “What are you doing there ?” “I am waiting a man,” said Phoenix. The boy help her to get out and ask where she was going. She said she was going to the city. He insisted on going back home but she refused. She picked up a nickel dropped from the boy’s pocket. He ask her age and she told her it was impossible to say the age. The man went where the dogs were fighting .The white boy pointed his gun towards the Phoenix but she faced it. He asked if she was frightened by gun but she told him that she was familiar to such guns .He told “Granny.you are hundred so you aren’t afraid of anything anyone”. If you go home I would give you ten cent .They disported and carried their way.

Phoenix reached the city. The city was decorated because of Christmas. There were light on during a day. She sat on the payment. She saw a lady carrying a present for Christmas in her hand .She ordered her to tie shoelace up. She asked what the old lady wanted and at last she help her to lace up. Phoenix thanked her and reached a stony house There were golden papers hanging on the walls. There was an attendant who ask her work and name. In the mean time, the women, who know Phoenix, came and asked her about her grandson. “She doesn’t come for her but for her grandson” said Phoenix could answer quickly. So she repeated her question .She requested Phoenix not to take there time because they didn’t have the time, if she would have any problem they would solve it quickly. She said to her that Phoenix forgot about her grandson but slowly she reminded her of grandson. She told them he was not death. He was serious and sometimes he could not breath. They were only two % people live in there family. The women said, doctor had given some medicine but it couldn’t affect the diseases .Phoenix said he was helpless and in bad condition, he might live for some time. Nurse gave her free medicine .The old lady thanked her. The nurse gave her five cent and Phoenix climbed down the steeps slowly.

Three Days Blow

This is a dramatic story which contains the dramatic elements like character setting, scene etc. In this story the writer draws on analogy between the three day blow and the mental agony of the hero, Nick. This story is a dramatic story which contains approximately seven scenes, apart from the expository one. This story has two major character Nick and the bill and the entire story takes place either inside or outside the cottage . When the story begins Nick was walking around orchard near the cottage. The rain has just stopped and the autumn wind is blowing .Nick reaches the cottage .After this expository scenes there are seven more scenes. In the very first scenes Bills meet Nick at the door telling him that his father is out in the woods for hunting .Then they start talking about the blowing of the wind with Bill saying "She will blow like that for three for the next three days ".In the next scene both of them go inside start drinking. While drinking they discuss a variety of the topics like base ball players .Their favorite writer and their father .In the third scene nick want to that he is not drink .So he goes to bring a log to add it in the fire place. But while passing a pan with dry apricots fall off the Kitchen table .In the next scene Bill helps Nick to put log on the fire place and he brings another bottle of the whiskey.

In the next scene Nick goes into the Kitchen to drink some water. On his way back, he sees a mirror and looks on it. He smiles at strange face and the face too grins back. Then he winks at it and goes .Finally after many drinks they start talking about Nick was wish to be separated from his girlfriend .In bills opinion ,to get married is to ruin oneself. Nick has left her mother because of her trouble maker mother .Bills goes on giving several reason regarding why he did good by leaving his girlfriend while Nick just listen. After sometime Nick is lost in himself and he is no more drunk. The case of Marjorie seems to bother Nick a lot. According to nick everything was suddenly finished between him and Marjorie. It was just like the three day blow which comes suddenly and takes all the leaves off the tree. Finally ,Nick seems to change his mind about the whole situation. Now ,he resolves to find Marjorie at any cost. Then Nick feels quite happy and relived As he said, "There is always a chance". In the last scene both of them feel that they should go hunting and they go out in the wild.