Assignment Code: BEGE-141/ASST/TMA/2021=22

Course Code: BEGE-141

Assignment Name: Understanding Prose

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Answer All Questions

Section A

Q I) Write short notes on the following in about 200 words each: 4 x 5 = 20

Q (i) Expository Prose

Ans) The definition, explanation, or interpretation of a topic is the focus of expository writing. Among the topics explored are physics, law, philosophy, technology, political science, history, and criticism, to name a few. Exposition is the process of logically presenting information. Its primary goal is to clarify and explain things. It presents data in a simple and precise manner. Expository writing is a style of writing in which the author discusses a topic. But we're not looking for simple solutions. We're searching for educational writing that may also be enjoyed as a work of fiction.

In addition to being a distinct writing style, expository prose writing is a linguistic discipline, a literary genre, and an official literary form in and of itself. It was not created by a single person, entity, or country, and it was not limited to a single language; rather, it evolved over time in a variety of civilizations. Its growth was fuelled by the need for effective intra- and worldwide factual communication.

As the quality of expository writing skills grew, expository prose writing progressed, and it eventually became the most appropriate style for the goal. Expository writing can be traced back to the Bible, Plato, Aristotle, Cato, and Julius Caesar, and dates back over two thousand years. Some of the forms that emerged in the last century or two are still in use today, albeit with minor alterations; new types appear on a regular basis. Today, no other writing style is as well suited to a writer who just wishes to convey facts.

Q (ii) Varieties of Prose

Ans) There are three types of prose: descriptive, narrative, and explanatory. Good description can be found in narrative writing. To make your explanation more effective, you can also describe and narrate. The three divisions aren't set in stone. A good writer may sprinkle in a little description here, a little narration there, and a little explication elsewhere. Understanding the three types is beneficial because it allows you to see how the writer effectively employs one or more of them. You'll notice that they're almost always used in conjunction with one another, and they're rarely found alone.

1. Descriptive Prose

Descriptive writing is used to describe things as they are or appear to be. It can be used to describe a person, a place, or an event. We can perceive things as they are, or as they were seen, heard, or imagined by the describer, when we read descriptive literature. What happens or happened is described in a storey. It is mostly concerned with happenings. An excellent description takes the writer's observation and turns it into vivid details, creating its own mood. The author attempts to recreate what he or she has seen or imagined through his or her description. A good description is like a word picture. A good description allows you to picture the scenario or the person. In general, description is not a stand-alone type of writing; that is, a book will not be entirely comprised of descriptions. It's frequently utilised to help with narrative or expository writing. Its primary function is to express a sensory sensation or a mood.

2. Narrative Prose

A narrative is a storey about what happened. It could be dealing with external or internal issues. Individuals' thoughts, feelings, and emotions are referred to as internal events. Narrative writing attempts to recreate an actual or imagined experience in such a way that we can mentally feel it. We become temporarily absorbed in the narrative's characters and events. Facts or fiction can be dealt with in narratives. Autobiographies, biographies, and history are true accounts. Narrative fiction encompasses both the short storey and the novel. We are carried along with the action in a narrative. We focus on the sequence of events when narrating a storey. The reader's attention is captured by the activity.

3. Expository Prose

Expository writing is concerned with the definition, explanation, or interpretation of something. It consists of Expository writing is a type of writing that explains something. However, we are not looking for writing that simply explains things. We're looking for explanatory writing that can also be read as fiction. Here's an example of explanatory prose: The tibia and fibula are two bones of the leg. The tibia, or shinbone, is a long, robust bone that bears the body's weight. The fibula, also known as the splint bone, is a long, slender bone that is linked to the tibia like a pin connects to a brooch.

Q (iii) Differences between Biography and Autobiography

Ans) While both an autobiography and a biography recount a person's life, they are not the same. An autobiography is a work in which a person writes his or her own life storey. A biography is a book written by an author about the life of another person.

Definition of Biography

A biography, sometimes known as a "bio," is a detailed account of someone's life written or produced by someone else. It contains detailed information about the person's birthplace, educational history, work, relationships, and death. It examines the subject's entire personality and offers intimate facts about their life. It focuses on the highs and lows of the subject's life.

A biography is normally written, but it can also take the shape of a musical work or a film adaptation of literature.

It is the recreating of a person's life via the use of words written by someone else. To engross the readers in the storey, the author collects every single detail about the subject and offers those facts in the biography that are significant and engaging.

Definition of Autobiography

An autobiography is a personal account of a person's life written by that person. The term auto refers to one's own self. As a result, an autobiography comprises all of the features of a biography, but it is written or narrated by the author. He or she can write on their own or engage ghost-writers to help them.

The narrator's persona is sketched out in an autobiography, together with his birth and upbringing, education, job, life events, obstacles, and accomplishments. This could include incidents from his childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Key Differences Between Biography and Autobiography

The following points go over the differences between biography and autobiography in greater detail:

1. An autobiography is a thorough account of a person's life published by the subject themselves, whereas a biography is written by someone else.

2. Biographies can be written with (authorised) or without (unauthorised) authorization from the person/heirs involved. As a result, there is a potential that the information contains factual errors. Autobiographies, on the other hand, are self-written and hence do not require permission.

3. Biographies contain material that has been gathered through time from a variety of sources, giving the reader a unique perspective. Autobiographies, on the other hand, are written by the subject themselves; as a result, the writer presents the facts and his ideas in his own unique way, giving the readers a limited and biased perspective.

4. The author of an autobiography uses first-person narratives such as I, me, us, he, she, and so on. As a result, the author and the reader have a close bond since the reader experiences numerous things as if he or she is in that historical period. A biography, on the other hand, is written from the perspective of a third party and is far less personal.

5. A biography is written to introduce and inform readers about a person and his life, whereas an autobiography is meant to express the narrator's life experiences and accomplishments.

Q (iv) Diary writing as a literary form.

Ans) The autobiographical genre of writing includes diaries, autobiographies, and memoirs. It is a literary style in which the writer keeps a diary of his or her own life and ideas on a regular basis. It has been practised as a genre for nearly 500 years. The word diary comes from the Latin word dies, which means "days," emphasising the "day to day" character of the writing. To avoid the monotony of a monologue in a diary, the writer frequently creates a fictional addressee, a recipient of the words made. The phrase 'Dear Diary,' or, as Anne Frank christened her diary, 'Kitty,' relieves the writer of the agony of writing in a vacuum. The diary, as a day-by-day account of events, accurately records the diarist's thoughts, hopes, and emotions, which are typically very personal and private. Diary writing is, at its most basic level, a sort of self-reflection, a therapeutic mediation of one's life that is not intended for public consumption. As a result, diaries such as Anne Frank's aid individuals in coping with stress and tragedy in their lives. However, diaries are written with the intention of being read in the future. Writers such as Jonathan Swift and Samuel Pepys utilised diaries to comment on people's lives as well as to describe and critically analyse the society, culture, and politics of their period.

The diary is also an important historical chronicle of an individual's life, providing historians with written evidence of a period's historical, social, and political situations. It aids in our comprehension of crucial historical periods. It's about a person's reaction to a public disaster, and it's an interesting blend of the literary and non-literary, public and private, as is typical of the genre.

During times of enormous social turmoil, when public records may have been repressed, altered, or destroyed, the diary, as in Anne Frank's diary, can be depended upon to provide a true account of the events. It gives us a compelling record of social history that would have gone undiscovered otherwise by portraying the life of a Jewish family in hiding in Nazi-occupied Holland.

Section B

Q. II Answer the following questions in about 350 words each: 4 x 7.5 = 30

Q 1) Explain the features of Strachey’s prose style as seen in Queen Victoria.

Ans) Strachey is unquestionably a master of English prose. With equal ease, he recalls and describes historical occurrences as if he had personally observed them. He writes in a prose that is humorously candid without being spiteful, looking back on the past in an unsentimental and dispassionate manner.

For example, he says, "Victoria, like Albert, was accustomed to playing second fiddle." He isn't one for equivocation, either, as we learn of Victoria's "arbitrary temper" and "obstinacy." Strachey speaks in an equal tone, offering mildly humorous tongue-in-cheek remarks like "A Queen's husband was a creature unknown to the British Constitution."

Who is it that the irony is aimed at? These small touches make the book, which could have been a weighty study in other hands, eminently readable.

Simple antithetical phrases show the collision of the two characters and cultures: "She adored London, and he despised it." The sentence is simple and concisely summarises the issue. Strachey doesn't waste time with long-winded wordplay and instead gets right to the point. Strachey's literary style has become known for its directness and brevity.

To portray the effect of variation within the main theme, longer phrases alternate with quite short ones. The impression of continuity is maintained as one paragraph leads to the next, with connectives such as ‘But...' and ‘Nor....' bridging the gap. With the young Queen, we may practically ‘watch the dawn rising behind St. Paul's...' The prose is highly evocative, yet the reader is never let to forget that they are reading a well-researched and meticulously proven piece of history, not fiction.

Strachey does not compromise authenticity in the name of dramatic effect. The technique appears to emphasise the possibility of a historian and an artist coexisting in the same person, particularly if that person is Strachey. As a result, the prose works on two levels. It is a historical work on the one hand, and a work of literature on the other.

Strachey not only informs us about Queen Victoria's life and times, but he also entertains and thrills us with his somewhat sardonic remarks and anecdotes. The passage's last anecdote is told with the masterful skill of a seasoned storey teller.

Q 2) Aitkin’s travelogue is both informative and interesting, comment with examples from the text.

Ans) As an author, Aitken shares his awareness of the cultural divide between the North and the South in his travelogue Travels by a Lesser Line, as well as his passion with the steam engine. Keeping these three factors in mind, consider how the temple and the train station have two characteristics: beauty and firmness.

The railway station has been rebuilt in the style of a shrine. The author continues, "tastefully so," implying that the station architecture is akin to that of the temple. Both are close to the water's edge, surrounded by azure water and swaying palms.

On the temple's tower is a massive lance that resembles a clock's hour hand. Aitken depicts the lance graphically by comparing it to the hour hand of a large clock found in a train station. The lance is a representation of Lord Murugan's great lance, which provides it strength and firmness as well as radiance thanks to the neon lights attached to it.

The verbal sparring between pilgrims from the north and the Tamil bus drivers in the Rameshwaram-Tiruchendur segment is referred to by Aitken. This is an excellent illustration of the disparity in viewpoints between the two groups. Travelers from the north do not feel obligated to be punctual, whereas Tamils are punctual to a fault. People in the South have a much better sense of hygiene than those in the north. The 25 paise fee for using the bathrooms appears to be an unnecessary expenditure to Northern travellers. On the other hand, the Tamil driver does not mind spitting all the way through the voyage, much to the chagrin of the passengers in his bus. The passengers' persistent nervousness about their belongings on the bus's exposed roof is made light of by the bus staff, resulting in more arguing between the two.

The train journey was almost like a beautiful dream, as he could take in the scenery, listen to the lively conversation of his fellow passengers, sense the people's spiritual quest, and sway to the rhythmic motion of the slow-moving steam locomotive. The author feels a deep, almost exquisite sensation of relaxation, akin to what one feels when writing and reading poetry.

Q 3) ‘Twelve Million Black Voices’ reveals the unrelenting and harsh attitude of Whites towards Blacks. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans) The title 'Twelve Million Black Voices' is not an assessment of the lives of African Americans in the United States. In a figurative sense, the word "black" also means "despair," "a gloomy, dismal, sullen state of mind due to unrelieved sorrow." Words, phrases, and sentences are used to convey the title's significance. White men's harsh attitudes are like stony cliffs and steep cliffs. Because "our personalities are still numb from the shocks of slavery," black people are unable to articulate their sentiments, emotions, and thoughts. ‘Time glides past us remorselessly, and it is hard to tell of the iron that lays beneath the surface of our calm, mundane days' in a place of riches and beauty. African Americans live in "unpainted wooden shacks" that "sit casually and insecurely atop the red mud." The term "black voices" sum up the terrible realities of Black people's life.

The metaphor "island" might describe an abstract concept in the author's mind that is mentioned at the start of the chapter, where the term "black" is defined in a unique way. It's a so-called "psychological island." What this means is that the Black is an island in the centre of a sea of white faces. White males have authority over the Blacks in the same way that the water has control over the island's conditions. An enlarged image of an island can be seen. The Whites' unrelenting harsh attitude is compared to the island's stony borders. The Black people's hopes and dreams are like waves crashing against the rocks with no consequence.

Blacks' restlessness and activity as a result of reconstructive efforts has been compared to a cat yawning and stretching after a long nap. We already learned that their personalities had become numb as a result of the shock of enslavement. They were as though sleeping like a cat in a condition of inertia till they were set free, pleased to stretch and yawn when roused up, indifferent to any demand for exacting action on them.

Conclusion

The author's goal is to describe the Black experience in America, and by presenting the abundance and wealth of American soil, he only serves to highlight the Blacks' exploited situation. According to the author's account, Blacks are significantly more likely than whites to declare they have encountered financial hardship. Black men are considerably more likely than white men to believe that their gender has hampered their ability to advance in life. Additionally, blacks place a higher priority on organising protests and rallies than whites, despite the fact that few blacks believe this is an effective approach to impact change.

Q 4) The story ‘Misery’ deals with human insensitivity to other people’s grief. Discuss

Ans) "Misery," by Anton Chekhov, discusses human pain and the necessity for human compassion. A cab driver is turned down when he tries to talk about his son's death. He does, however, discover compassion in an unlikely place.

Iona Potapov

People can be burdened by grief. People typically seek out individuals with whom to share or talk about their sentiments in order to reduce their stress. In Anton Chekhov's Misery, Iona Potapov tries to talk to others about his terrible bereavement. Iona Potapov's grief derives from his son's untimely death a week ago. Over the course of one evening, he tries to communicate to others about his sorrow.

First Fare

Iona takes up a passenger, a military overcoat-clad officer. The cop tells Iona where she's going and then criticises how she's driving the sled. Iona tries to speak with the police but is met with blank stares or apathy. Iona eventually says that his kid died just a week ago.

The officer inquiries about Iona's son's death, but before the heartbroken father can finish his response, the officer cautions him to maintain his focus on the road. The feeling of sympathy or compassion has departed. The cop has lost interest in speaking with Iona. Iona and his horse wait in the snow for them when they reach at the officer's destination. I'm alone and silent.

Second Fare

Iona is approached by more customers a few hours later. Three rowdy young males who wish to cross the Police Bridge. The most irritating of the three is a ‘short and hunch-backed' man who torments Iona throughout the journey, mocking his attire and abusing him 'til he chokes over some elaborately imaginative string of epithets.'

When Iona says that his kid died recently, the hunchbacked young man just says, "We shall all die." He shares the officer's lack of compassion and care for Iona. The young guys resume their chat, pausing only to chastise Iona or slap him on the back of the neck. Iona bears the pain and receives a meagre twenty kopecks as payment.

Iona comes to a halt to watch the mob pass by, his misery rising within him. He wonders why he can't find "someone who will listen to him" "among those thousands." Everyone in Iona's circle has their own agendas and problems, and there is no time to listen to others. Even when Iona approaches a house porter and inquiries about the time, he merely moves on.

Section C

Q. III Answer the following questions in about 600 words each: 5 x 10 = 50

Q 1) ‘On seeing England for the first Time’ reveals Kincaid’s indignation characteristic of a colonized person against her colonizer. Discuss.

Ans) In “On Seeing England for the First Time”, Jamaica Kincaid considers a variety of topics related to England. Kincaid's work is elegantly structured to address a variety of issues and topics, and she leads the reader into a "personal journey of thought and awareness."

Kincaid uses sarcasm, phrase design, and figurative language to drag the reader into her text and take them on a personal journey that supports her dismal view of England. Her rising disdain for England is evident throughout the work, with her comparing the country to a "prison" or a "leg of mutton." The first paragraph, on the other hand, effectively conveys her growing antipathy against the northern European country. She doesn't want to bore the reader with long sentences, but she does want to make him or her feel resentful of England, as she believes the country deserves. This bitterness pervades the piece as she eventually gets to visit the place where "the sun shined with what seemed to be a deliberate harshness at times." Furthermore, her use of sarcasm, "England was a special jewel all right, and only special people got to wear it," recalls a world in which England is not the country it depicts itself to be, or the country that small schoolboys and girls in English colonies represent it to be. England is far from that in Kincaid's universe, and she uses minor details that reinforce her point of view to lure the reader into her world and take them on a tour through it.

“The gap between the notion and the reality had grown filled with hatred in my mind.” Kincaid is deftly putting out the piece's primary dilemma, namely, that her hatred stems from her lack of a distinct identity, and she blames British colonisation for it. Furthermore, her solution to the central difficulty can be found in the same statement. “When I finally saw it, I wanted to grasp it in my hands and rip it into small bits, then crumble it up like clay.” Kincaid's anger for England, as well as her depictions of it, are what she believes the country deserves, and it is through this artistic approach that she is able to address the piece's primary dilemma.

Because of Kincaid's experience, we've decided to look into more examples of people fleeing their country due to a loss of national identity. Living in a country that belongs to another one is difficult. Getting a feeling of what a true identity should be like and understanding the beginnings that make up and complete oneself is difficult. Raising a child in a colony cannot be simple, not because of terror or political corruption, but because there is a genuine struggle to achieve a meaningful identity with which one may be content. Jamaica Kincaid was born on the Caribbean Island of Antigua & Barbuda on May 25, 1949. She is one of the many lost identities that resulted from British colonisation, and she is one of the many who will continue to seek a true understanding of the island's former ruling country. People like Kincaid are concerned that British colonisation has harmed their life, and that if they had been free of the British, they would have learned to love their homeland.

Living in the shadow of another country and never feeling good enough can have a severe impact on a person's mental health. On November 1st, 1981, Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state, and it must have been a huge relief for the people of this island to be able to separate themselves politically and economically from a country that tried to persuade the residents to think of England as a paradise.

Q 2) How does ‘Shooting an Elephant in Burma’ reflect Orwell’s views on imperialism? Discuss in detail.

Ans) The tale of the elephant killing begins with a thoughtful introduction to the acts in which the narrator, Orwell, emphasises the hardship of being a colonial police officer, particularly in British Burma in the middle of the twentieth century, when many people despised him. Orwell depicts anti-Europeans as enraged to the point of spitting on European women as they entered the market.

Orwell links the shooting of the elephant to the enmity that exists between the British Empire and the authorities, as well as the natives. Both parties have a lot of animosity, mistrust, anger, and denigrate each other in this situation, therefore the shooting reflects a lot of economic pain.

In British literature, and especially in the political climate of modern criticism, “Shooting an Elephant” has sparked a lot of debate. This is due to the fact that it has sparked a controversy about whether Orwell was legally correct in condemning imperialism. Critics claim that the narrator is a British Empire agent who denounces the presence of the British who are ruining their territories, and that the narrator is a British Empire agent who denounces the presence of the British who are corrupting their regions.

Where the colonial officer indicates that he is against the oppressors and their wicked crimes, the colonial officer's view of British imperialism is more evident. Despite the fact that he is a British officer with a lot of power among the Burmese people, he has a lot of resentment and loathing for himself and his kingdom, as well as the Burmese people, whom he refers to as wicked hearted little monsters.

As a result, the essay not only depicts the author's personal encounter with the elephant, but also employs metaphors to depict his experiences with imperialism and his opinions on colonial power.

Orwell emphasises his disdain for imperialism, British justifications for usurping the powers of the Burmese people, and the British Empire as a whole. Orwell establishes the tone of the essay by depicting the weather as a foggy and stuffy morning at the start of the rain. This demonstrates how Orwell has established that his character is weak and unsettling, particularly when detailing how the Burmese laughed and mocked him.

As a result, it is apparent that the development of the storey of the elephant's discovery serves as a metaphor for imperialist forces usurping people's rights. The narrator shows how the elephant's rampage wrecked homes, food shelves, and, worst of all, murdered a man whose face was described as being in excruciating anguish. The narrator also mentions that when he found the elephant, he felt he had no right to shoot him.

This demonstrates that, as a colonial commander, he should support rather than destroy his reigning regime. When the narrator saw the huge mass of Burmese behind him, he changed his mind about shooting the elephant, according to the narrator. He repeatedly states that he did not wish to shoot the elephant, implying that the narrator recognises the remorse of shooting an elephant that appeared tranquil from afar.

The narrator also explains why he did not wish to shoot the elephant, stating, for example, that an elephant is worth more living than dead. He also admits that he isn't very good at shooting and that he doesn't want to miss the target because he doesn't want the audience to laugh at him and make him look defeated. This demonstrates that the colonial police officer succumbed to the Burmese's demands. He resolved to shoot despite his will and moral convictions. This shows how, unlike the colonisers in the novel, the British people would never wish to appear weaker than the natives. The elephant's death serves as a symbol for British Imperialism in Burma. This is because Burma was a free monarchy before the British invasion, and the Burmese and British oppressors fought three wars before the British conquered the country in 1855.

Orwell is an anti-imperialist writer who advocates this through the storey of the elephant being shot. This is due to the fact that both the colonisers and the colonised are annihilated in the end. He despises colonial Britain's anchoring effects, and the storey demonstrates that the invader has no influence over the situation but is guided by the people's expectations.

Q 3) Letter writing as a form of prose is both informative and aesthetically appealing. Discuss with reference to Nehru’s “The Quest of Man”.

Ans) From the Dehra Dun district jail, Nehru wrote his daughter Indira Priyadarshini the letter "The Quest of Man." The letter's subject matter is philosophical, but it is written in a simple and attractive language. The writer (Nehru) makes a serious subject matter linked to the human search for knowledge easy to understand for the reader (he had a fourteen-year-old girl in mind here). The letter "The Quest of Man" is written in a basic, direct, and conversational way. When a reader reads the letter, he or she will notice the letter's clear and simple style, which makes the reader as much of an addressee as Indira, to whom it was originally directed. It provides the impression that the reader and the author are conversing. Because the writer appears to engage his reader in a direct conversation, the letter uses a direct form of address. To make the letter read like a novel about human civilisation, the paragraphs are connected together.

Nehru discusses his current location of captivity and the sense of exhilaration he has when he is near the mountains and greenery that surrounds his prison in the introduction of his letter "The Quest of Man." Being held to a solitary confinement in a prison holds no bitterness. The writer, on the other hand, has the unusual ability to discover happiness even amid the crisp night air and distant trees and mountains. Then he expresses his scepticism about his writings' merit and value.

The author then attempts to reconstruct world history from prehistoric to present times. According to Nehru, he began by narrating the discovery of fire and agriculture and then expanded his writings to include historical facts concerning empires and civilizations. He wonders if midway had lost sight of the most important human challenge: solving the universe's mysteries. He's written about past civilizations, but somewhere along the way, he neglected to explore the human drive to comprehend the universe in which he finds himself.

Then he follows the man's long trek to learn more about his world. Man's greatest asset is his mind, which aids him in his pursuit. Nehru's scepticism dissipates as he begins writing about man's mission. When he writes as though they were sitting together and talking, he feels connected to his daughter. Then he goes into detail on the two methods to understanding the world: religion and science. Religion, according to Nehru, strives to impose its own views based on faith and spiritual beliefs, whereas science seeks answers via experimentation and reason. There can't be a single answer to what man is looking for because his search has taken two different paths: understanding himself and understanding nature. Religion examines man's inner essence, whereas science examines his external environment. Both are vital, but Nehru likes science because it is reasonable and open-minded, unlike religion, which is dogmatic. However, instead of utilising science's power, man is squandering it to the point of destroying the civilization he has constructed.

So, in his letter "The Quest of Man," Nehru presents a serious subject matter relating to the human quest for knowledge in a simple, direct, and conversational language. In this letter, Nehru focuses on man's intrinsic desire to know and understand the world around him, rather than dates and facts. Despite the fact that Nehru's letters were intended primarily for his daughter and were personal, subjective, conversational, and casual, they make a well-knit series of world history for every reader to savour.

Q 4) Margaret Laurence’s speech “My Final Hour” reveals her deep commitment to social causes. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans) In her speech "My Final Hour," Margaret Laurence observed, "It is my feeling that as we grow older, we should become not less radical, but more radical." Laurence used her final decade of life to promote causes including nuclear disarmament, social justice, and environmental protection through didactic lectures, articles, and even direct-mail fund-raising efforts, based on this idea. She even gave her illustrious name to other causes, driven by moral and religious urgency.

Laurence's arguments on all nuclear issues were basic observations of a moral, sensitive person. She maintained that in a nuclear war, “there are no two sides,” because there will be no victorious or defeated parties, only a few survivors, even if the world survives the nuclear holocaust. Laurence was particularly concerned about the nuclear issue. According to her, if the issue of a nuclear assault was not resolved, no one would be available to address other issues such as poverty, disease, hardships, and sufferings that existed in many parts of the world. “Malaria could be wiped off the face of the earth for the price of one Trident nuclear submarine,” she says. That makes me think. These two issues, the ancient one of unnecessary suffering in the world and the construction of nuclear weapons, are inextricably linked.” The problem in the nuclear arms race, according to Laurence, was caused by a "crisis in the imagination" among world leaders, particularly the two great superpowers, who talked about megadeath without realising, as Laurence put it, "that these are real live human beings, that they're talking about our children, real people, who would die horribly in a nuclear holocaust..." Laurence went on to say that when she was writing a novel, she tried to imagine that her characters were as real as she was, that their joys and pains were as real as hers, and that “the inability to feel the reality of others is what enables people to become so brutalised that they are able to torture and murder their fellow human beings.” If people realised that none of them were ordinary, that they were all special human beings who cared, they could band together and persuade their governments to disarm nuclear weapons around the world.

Laurence was also a writer who was dedicated to resolving the nuclear issue, while finding it difficult to discuss the issue in her essays, conferences, and lectures. “I can't create novels that preach,” she said, “but I can reinforce my entire life-view through the characters in my books.” I believe that a great sense of appreciation of life itself comes through in all of my writing.”

Margaret Laurence's determination to resolving the nuclear issue is expressed in this speech. She opposes the use of nuclear weapons and the billions of monies spent on their development. She is a staunch supporter of worldwide nuclear disarmament.

Conclusion

Every citizen, in complete accord with Margaret Laurence, should be concerned about the dreadful society we live in. Injustice, misery, and terror are all around us. In such a world, it is tough to keep hope, yet I believe there is hope. Margaret Laurence declares and affirms her personal belief in the social gospel, stating that it is the responsibility of every human to care for and honour all living things. There are far too many concerns to be concerned about, such as global warming, nuclear disarmament, environmental protection, and pollution, which cause pain to innocent people. As a citizen of my country and, eventually, of the globe, it is our job to address these serious concerns and eliminate misery from our lives in order to experience a brighter future tomorrow, as Margaret Laurence did.

Q 5) Critically appreciate the prose style of Bertrand Russell as seen in his Autobiography.

Ans) Bertrand Russell was a prolific prose writer who wrote in a variety of genres. He is a well-known writer of the twenty-first century who wrote with zeal and zest on a wide range of human interests. He used a powerful and logical manner to communicate his knowledge and writing ability. He wrote on practically everything, and there was scarcely a human problem he didn't address.

Unity of Thoughts

The unity of thinking is the second distinguishing feature of Russell's approach. The principles of unity of thinking were taught to him through logic and mathematics. His arguments begin with a well-established basic assumption and progress step by step to the logical conclusion of his arguments, much like a mathematical premise. His arguments have a great deal of coherence. Each argument, like Euclid's postulate, is connected to the one before it. As a result, the conclusion reached is the logical conclusion of his arguments.

The Exact Use of Words

Russell's ideal scientific propensity allows him to employ words precisely and perfectly. He employs rich, pure, clear, and transparent language. There are no ambiguities or opacities. If there is any ambiguity, he clarifies it in the following phrases. He avoids using a lot of words. He uses few words, yet they have a lot of significance. He avoids hollow jargon in favour of a charming style of writing that makes sparse use of words.

Long Sentences

To retain his coherence of thought, Russell frequently employs long and complex sentences. His thoughts flow smoothly from beginning to end, with a pleasing cadence and coherence. His style acts as a conduit for his thoughts to flow freely. His writing is not dull, but rather lovely, which the readers enjoy.

Simplicity of Language

He avoids bombastic and pompous words in favour of simplicity and expression effect. He doesn't utilise a lot of synonyms to make the sentence boring and tasteless. That is why his writing is not monotonous and boring, but rather sweet and delightful, and the readers enjoy it. He uses a persuasive and straightforward approach that speaks directly to the reader's heart.

Seriousness

Almost all of his articles maintain the gravity of the subject, however, as previously stated, his writings lack his personal emotional impact. He was one of the finest humanists of the twentieth century, greatly affected by humanity's suffering and challenges. His manner was heartfelt and powerful because of his deep vision. He was deeply worried for humanity, which was beset by terrible challenges. He also bemoaned human follies in the past and expressed his serious anxiety about impending disasters. His heart was overflowing with compassion and love for the human race. He pondered human follies, difficulties, and hardships, and he was continually thinking of methods to solve them.

His Humour and Satire

Russell's writing has a light-hearted and humorous tone to it. His work has an academic and cerebral tone to it, with a sense of humour thrown in for good measure.

Ornate Style

Russell's writing style is characterised by clarity and brevity, but he is also capable of producing florid and ornate language to demonstrate his artistic grasp of the written word. His works are mostly thoughtful and controversial, yet this does not detract from his clarity and fluency. Russell's autobiography serves as a great illustration of his descriptive approach. It tells the storey of his life in a beautiful, simple, and engaging manner, and the readers are captivated by it.

In short: Russell is recognised as one of the best prose writers of the twentieth century, having written about a wide range of topics relevant to human life with tremendous talent. His style is characterised by clarity, simplicity, fluidity, and harmony. He masterfully displays both his unity of ideas and his unity of style.