Assignment Code: MEG-08 / TMA / 2022-23

Course Code: MEG-08

Assignment Name: New Literatures in English

Year: 2022 - 2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Attempt all the ten questions and answer each question in approximately 500 words.

Q 1. Canada’s literary enterprise has passed through many stages. Discuss its journey and the impacts that have helped Canada to evolve its own literary traditions and identity. 10

Ans) Many Canadian authors were born in other countries and brought with them outsiders' expectations. Popular attitudes also perpetuated stereotypes of Canada, so Canadian literature often had to deal with differences in perspective. Canada is commonly viewed as a barren and uninhabitable land, a cultural wasteland, and an undeveloped land rich in business opportunities and natural resources. These distortions have created an audience for stereotypes, which Canadian authors sometimes reinforce by writing romantic adventures set in the frozen North, in which everything native to the region is portrayed as hostile or savage and "civilization" is brought in from elsewhere. Over time, they worked to document local experience and use literature to shape their own culture, rather than imitating or deferring to another society's assumptions.

The so-called "Canadian voice" lacks a unified tone due to differences in geography, social experience, Indigenous cultures, immigration patterns, and proximity to Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Canadian culture is still influenced by the country's many languages. Despite this, Canadian authors bring many similar perspectives to their depictions of nature, civility, and human interaction, whether they are set in Canada or elsewhere in the world.

Journey and Impacts that helped Canada to Evolve its own Literary Traditions

First to write in English in Canada were explorers, travellers, and British officers and wives. They charted, journaled, and wrote about British North America. These foundational documents of journeys and settlements foreshadow the documentary tradition in Canadian literature, in which geography, history, and perilous journeys of exploration and discovery represent the search for a personal and national identity. Canadian literature is dominated by the question "Where is here?" Metaphorical mappings of people and places became central to the Canadian literary imagination at the time.

The earliest documents were simple travelogues. These straightforward accounts document heroic journeys to the west and north and encounters with Inuit and other native peoples. These journeys were often made for the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company, two prominent fur-trading companies.

A Journey from Prince of Wales' Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean (1795) was written by the explorer Samuel Hearne, and Sir Alexander Mackenzie, an explorer and fur trader, described his travels in Voyages from Montreal...Through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans (1801). Simon Fraser documented his 1808 trip west to Fraser Canyon (The Letters and Journals of Simon Fraser, 1806-1808, 1960). Captain John Franklin's published account of a British naval expedition to the Arctic, Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea (1823), and his mysterious disappearance during a subsequent journey resurfaced in the writings of authors Margaret Atwood and Rudy Wiebe in the twentieth century.

A Narrative of John R. Jewitt's Adventures and Sufferings (1815) is a captivity narrative that describes Jewitt's experience as a prisoner of the Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) chief Maquinna after Jewitt was shipwrecked off Canada's west coast; on the whole, it presents a sympathetic ethnography of the Nuu-chah-nulth people. Mrs. John Graves Simcoe's Diary (1911) chronicles the wife of Upper Canada's first lieutenant governor in 1792-96. (Now Ontario). Anna Jameson's account of her travels in the New World, Winter Studies, and Summer Rambles in Canada, was published in 1838.

Q 2. Write a detailed note to show how the literatures in English, emerging from South Asia, reflect the colonial encounter. 10

Ans) Postcolonial studies often emphasise language. During colonisation, colonisers imposed or encouraged the dominance of their native language, even forbidding natives to speak their mother tongues. Many colonial-era writers describe how students were demoted, humiliated, or beaten for speaking their native language in school. Postcolonial writers and activists advocate a return to indigenous languages in response to colonial language imposition. Others see the colonizer's language (e.g., English) as a more practical alternative to improve inter-nation communication and counter a colonial past by de-forming a "standard" European tongue and re-forming it in new literary forms.

The Empire Writes Back details the linguistic debate. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin examine how writers encounter colonial language. They describe a two-part process through which post-colonial writers displace a standard language (denoted with a capital "e" in "English") with a local variant that does not have the perception of being sub-standard but reflects a distinct cultural outlook through local usage. "Abrogation" and "accommodation" are their terms.

Abrogation is a rejection of imperial culture's categories, aesthetic, normative or "correct" usage, and "inscribed" meaning.

In the last two to three decades, English Studies in Asia has changed significantly. The pace of this change varies by country, depending on their situations, colonial history, and other variables. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Srilanka, which were under British imperial rule, inherited it. Non-colonial countries like Indonesia and the Eastern Archipelago had a different English Studies trajectory than the earlier group.

In modern times, all of them have shifted from pure Eng-lit to English literature. Asian academics questioned the validity of teaching British or American literature that was culturally remote and not relevant to students' immediate experiences and socio-cultural milieu.

Historical Lineage

This was the feeling in India, a former British colony where English Studies was a formal discipline before it was in England or Great Britain. Throughout the paper, I will make frequent references to India because among all South Asian countries, English Studies has been most entrenched in India, and changes and shifts in India often affect the rest of South Asia.

English Studies was used as an acculturation tool in India and spread across the country. The British administrators in India viewed English literature as embodying the nation's highest values. English literature conveyed the country's historical progress and moral standards. They viewed English literature as the cultural history of the nation, or as Charles Kingley put it in his 1848 inaugural lecture at Queen's College in London, "the autobiography of the nation." British educational policymakers in India began teaching English in 1835. Charles Babington Macaulay, who changed India's education policy, said:

No wonder India institutionalised it first. After independence, it remained. Instead, it grew as the new elite invested heavily in English Studies. The privileged in India adopted English from the colonial masters. Powerful language. In India, there were fierce debates about retaining the colonizer's language, and some groups demanded its abolition. English was retained, and in many cases became the medium of Higher Education in Indian colleges and universities. Since then, it is grown.

Q 3. Through his novel, A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi presents his views about the British colonial rule in Kenya. Discuss with examples from the text. 10

Ans) The British colonisation of Kenya serves as the primary political pressure in A Grain of Wheat and has a significant impact on the book's characters. In A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi makes his opinions on the British colonial government's rule in Kenya abundantly clear. The argument made by Ngg's narrative is that, even though both the colonial and the settled feel innocently justified in their hobbies, colonialism is an immoral and rough practise, which justifies the violent struggle for freedom waged by the settled people.

British colonialists and Kenyan freedom fighters (the Mau Mau) want opposing futures for Kenya, putting them at war and creating moral pressure over Kenya's future. The British want to modernise Kenya by expanding their conglomerate. They force themselves on ancient ethnic groups like the Gikuyu and steal their land. A Grain of Wheat expresses Ngugi's views on British colonial rule in Kenya. Thabai wants "the white man" out of Kenya to save their way of life. Do you agree? Instead of the " ultra modern" unborn envisioned by the pioneers, the Gikuyu stopgap to maintain their independence, right to self-govern, and ancestral traditions. Some Kenyans, including some Gikuyu, align themselves with the British and adopt their vision of the future for Kenya. This makes colonisation a moral conflict between Western imperialism and Kenyan tradition.

Both colonials and settlers see themselves as righteous heroes working for humanity's good. John Thompson and Kihika illustrate this. John Thompson, the English indigenous governor, believes British colonialism is moralising and purifying progress. A Grain of Wheat clearly expresses Ngugi's views on British colonial rule in Kenya. Do you agree British institutions are well-versed in Western history and literature and promote British imperialism? John is awed and inspired by the power of colonialism to replace "immoderation, inconsistency, and superstition" with "reason, order, and measure." John tells a group of officers, "To administer a people is to administer a soul," arguing that British colonialism makes subjects more mortal and moral, further from primitive beasts.

Britain's colonisation of Kenya is the backdrop for A Grain of Wheat and the book's main political tension. Ngg Wa Thiong'o, a native Kenyan, uses context and character development to explore the morality of colonisation from the British and Kenyan perspectives. Ngg's narrative argues that both the coloniser and the colonised feel morally justified in their pursuits, but colonialism is immoral and oppressive, justifying the colonised people's violent struggle for freedom.

British colonialists and Kenyan freedom fighters (the Mau Mau) want opposite futures for Kenya, pitting them against each other and creating moral tension. British imperialists want to modernise Kenya with technology and administration. They force themselves on ancient ethnic groups like the Gikuyu and steal their land. The Mau fighters want to push "the whiteman" out of Kenya to preserve their way of life. The Gikuyu hope to maintain their independence, right to self-govern, and ancestral traditions. Some Kenyans, and even some Gikuyu, align themselves with the British and adopt their vision for Kenya's future. This makes colonisation a moral conflict between Western imperialism and Kenyan tradition.

Q 4. Soyinka believed that an artist should not live in an ivory tower and instead should write works which were socially relevant. Discuss how A Dance of the Forests reflect his social concerns. 10

Ans) Soyinka's play, A dance in the forest, was performed for the first-time during Nigeria's independence and explores issues related to Nigerian independence, tradition, and history. In this play, Soyinka seems to stress that Nigerians must rid society of evil. The play warns Nigerians that if they are not vigilant, history will repeat itself and mistakes will be made. A Dance of the Forests begins with the Dead Woman and Dead Man emerging from the ground. No one seems to be the protagonist or antagonist, and gods are not used as antagonists. The play tells how the living invite their dead ancestors to a party. This is a distortion, exaggeration, and fictionalisation of the whole storey. The play establishes Soyinka as a moralist, and the storey shows his social-political concern.

The play is a social-political commentary set in 1960 as part of Nigeria's independence celebration, so it opines much more than critics have said. The play features Ogun (god), a symbol of disparate alliances. He is called "the Dionysian-Apollonian-Promethean essence," which means he is the god of creation and destruction, love and hate, protection, and punishment. In the play, Soyinka suggests that what is good can also be bad. In Hegelian philosophy, contradictions naturally resolve, but not in Soyinka's world. They may end badly.

We judge Prometheus for stealing, but we sympathise with him because he stole to do good. Ogun symbolises individualism vs. collectivism, civilization vs. permissivity, and light vs. darkness. The play ends without the three major conflicts. That is, between Ogun and Eshuoro, between living and dead, and between living and unborn. "Ogun enters the stage carrying Demoke, looking at the sky anxiously; he carries a gun and cutlass; the sun creeps through; Ogun gently downs Demoke, leaves his weapons beside him, and flees; Eshouro is still dancing when the leading beaters break on the scene and later flees after his Jester" (Soyinka, 1963, P. 76).

In this episode, it may be unclear why Dead Woman with Half-child is led offstage. The play asks more questions than it answers (Melamu, 2001). Soyinka's play shows his metaphysical and mythological vision of humanity. He believes that humans are conscious, able to reason, and act on their lived experience. According to Soyinka's play, Yoruba are different from Europeans in their concept of time. Unlike the west, Yoruba see human existence as living, dead, and unborn. He sees "the present human" as "the child of the past" and "the future" (Soyinka, 1963, P. 36). Yoruba believes in continuity between the born and unborn.

According to Soyinka, human life has no beginning or end. It means that the life of the dead continues in the lives of the living and unborn. The episode shows an umbilical cord connecting the living to their dead ancestors and unborn children. Dead Man and Dead Woman symbolise the past of the living, while Half-child symbolises the future. All have a metonymic quest for life's essence and meaning. Soyinka uses Rola/Madame Tortoise to represent a prostitute responsible for men's deaths now and eight centuries ago, when she was a prostitute queen responsible for Dead Man, Dead Woman, and others in senseless war. The writer condemns a prostitute, which is how women are treated in Sonyika's world.

Thus, Wole Soyinka’s play explores the impact of ancestral spirits on the beliefs and activities of living mortals. While focusing on the spirits and people as characters, he further applies their motivations and interactions to the larger social and political environment of Nigeria in early post-independence times.

Q 5. Ice-Candy Man highlights feminist concerns. Elucidate the role played by the major female characters of the novel. 10

Ans) Partition of the Indian subcontinent has always been a source of concern for a number of Indian and Pakistani writers. However, most works in both countries are dominated by men. Bravery, chivalry, heroism, and so on are only associated with male protagonists. Female is portrayed as a subdued and reliant being. Ice Candy Man differs from most popular works in that it focuses on women rather than men.

The storey of partition is told through the eyes of Lenny, a lame man. Her disability also represents the difficulties that a female writer faces when expressing her opinions.

Lenny – the Protagonist

Lenny, an eight-year-old child is the protagonist of the novel. She is innocent and unaware of the bitter differences among different communities. This can be judged based on the fact that she is much attached to Shanta Devi, who is a Hindu. But as the novel develops, her innocence withers away and the bloody experience of the partition takes its place. She gradually becomes aware of the dark realities of life. She witnesses the city of Lahore burning into the flames. She also becomes aware of the violence that happens with Rana and his family. Rana is the only survivor of his family. Males of his family are butchered, and women raped by Hindu and Sikh marauders.

Cousin Seduces Lenny

Cousin often seduces Lenny by squeezing her breasts and playing with her genitals and Lenny on her part also plays with the penis of Cousin. But at some stage, Lenny becomes aware of her sexual dignity and restrains the lustful movements of Cousin. The Cousin tries his best to seduce her. But she boldly guards herself. But in other novels, sexuality is represented with the will of the male. The woman is represented as someone who is weak and vulnerable to the lust of male.

Ayah

This shows the belief of Bapsi Sidhwa inequality in terms of gender and her contradiction with widespread belief. Ayah is the other important characteristics of the novel. In addition to being a nanny of Lenny, she is a young woman of charm and beauty and knows well how to attract males. She has many admirers like a masseur, gardener, butcher, Ice-candy Man etc. She often dominates the situation. e.g., in one scene when an argument arises among her admirers, she threats to leave the group. At this, the argument is resolved for her and even Ice-candy Man vows not to argue again in front of her.

Ayah Goes to Amritsar

In another scene, when Ice-candy Man compels her to spend time with her, she chases him away with a stick. Even in the ending of the novel, after becoming Mumtaz, she leaves Ice-candy Man and goes to Amritsar with the help of Godmother. This shows how Sidhwa has made the self-interest of a woman more important than that of man. Sidhwa also attaches the quality of heroism to the women of the Parsi Community. Lenny’s mother along with other Parsi women goes out in the night to help the victims run away to safe places. There is a lot of danger in doing so, yet they accomplish the task boldly. Moreover, Godmother helps Shanta to return to her family in Amritsar on her plea. Thus Ice-candy Man is a novel that focuses on woman emancipation and is a feminist novel.

Q 6. A House for Mr. Biswas is a chronicle of socio-political changes vis-à-vis Trinidad society. Discuss with examples from the text. 10

Ans) A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul follows the titular protagonist from birth to death in Trinidad, chronicling his journey through temporary homes, unsatisfying jobs, and frustrating family relationships before he finds an eventual, if fleeting, sense of freedom in his own home. Mr Biswas' struggles revolve around his desire for independence—from family, drudgery, and fate—and his desire for a sense of belonging in a place and social group drives his search for his own house. Nonetheless, these two impulses, to belong while also living independently, appear to pull in opposite directions: the first toward his family and the second away from it. Surprisingly, Mr Biswas can feel completely dependent when he is completely alone, and completely independent when he relies on others.

Events in History at the Time of The Novel

Five hundred years of conquest and foreign occupation created Trinidad's cultural melting pot. Christopher Columbus claimed the Amerindian-inhabited Island for Spain in 1498. Thousands of European settlers and African slaves helped the Spanish develop the colony, driving out native peoples and changing the landscape. By the 1790s, French Catholic settlers and African slaves had outnumbered natives 16 to 1.

Sugar plantations dominated the island and economy at this time. British traders lured them to the West Indian colony in 1797. British settlers followed the Spanish and French, but African slaves remained most of the workforce. In 1834, the British Empire emancipated its slaves and replaced them with indentured servants from India. In 1838-1917, 144,000 East Indians moved to Trinidad to support the sugar industry. To keep a low-wage workforce on the island, East Indians were indentured for five years and given land grants at the end of their contracts or after ten years of residence. One-third of the servants returned to India, while the majority stayed and opened shops, businesses, and farmed sugar.

Due to its colonial heritage, slavery, and indentured servitude, Trinidad lacked a national cultural identity in the 20th century. Despite white Europeans dominating the government and upper classes, 80 percent of the population was African or East Indian. Residents were divided along economic and racial lines by racism and discrimination. As long as sugar was "king," all social goals were subordinated to output. There was little encouragement to develop the arts and instil a pluralistic national identity.

Instead of a national identity, two strong "minority" communities emerged and openly clashed. East Indians and African slave descendants had to compete with white elites for land and opportunities. In this competitive environment, they developed mistrust and socially isolated themselves. While descendants of African slaves from various regions created their own culture in Trinidad, East Indians held firmly to old Asian traditions, which many African descendants perceived as arrogance. Sometimes tensions erupted. East Indians cheering on India's cricket team nearly caused a "war."

In A House for Mr. Biswas, as in Naipaul's life, displacement and lack of a national community are central themes. Biswas and Naipaul both seek identity—a "home"—that East Indians in Trinidad lacked at the time. In the novel, Mr. Biswas marvels at Pastor, an African who fills out forms for illiterates outside the county courthouse. ""Despite his grumbling, Pastor had found his place," says Mr. Biswas. Mr. Biswas "felt apprehension at the sight of every person in the street, but not from fear, but from regret, envy, and despair "revelation (Naipaul, A House for Mr. Biswas). Mr. Biswas struggles to find his identity as an East Indian colonial in a British colony.

Q 7. Language is an effective tool for exerting control and battles can be fought on the linguistic terrain. Discuss this with reference to the Caribbean colonization. 10

Ans) In the Caribbean, the languages of Europe’s colonial powers were blended with various African languages that were spoken by slaves and, to a lesser extent, indigenous languages. Scholars call those new languages Creoles. Today, Creoles are languages in their own right, representing the region’s hybrid cultures. Caribbean countries still use their respective colonial power’s language for official purposes, but their dominance is contested. Creole languages are authentic expressions of Caribbean nations’ identities.

The modern world, as we know it, was formed on the islands and territories in the Caribbean Sea. It was here, rather than in Europe, that a large labour force was first used for the manufacture of a mass consumer product: sugar. By the mid-17th century, sugar plantations were large-scale agro-industrial operations.

The labour force, which can be described as a proto proletariat, was made up of millions of enslaved Africans and some enslaved indigenous people. Enslavers of English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Danish origin were in control.

The sugar plantation colonies in and around the Caribbean were the pioneers of the European-based manufacturing operations which were at the heart of the industrial revolution. The Caribbean sugar plantations were, as suggested by historians C. L. R. James and Eric Williams, also the main sources of capital used to finance the industrial revolution in the “mother countries” in Europe.

It is clear that the Creole languages of the Caribbean – and by extension the Atlantic area, including Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname in South America, Georgia and South Carolina in North America, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria in West Africa – constitute a family of languages. They reflect a set of related identities and historical experiences, dating back to the time when the Caribbean was the centre of global economic development.

When European empires expanded into the Indian and Pacific Oceans in the 18th and 19th centuries, they used the Caribbean as a model for establishing plantation colonies. People and languages from the Caribbean and Atlantic were brought to unfamiliar places. As a result, the Creole languages spoken in the Indian and Pacific Oceans have many features in common with those of the Atlantic.

Colonial practices in relation to language

First, colonisation gave rise to a (new) language hierarchy in which the language of the coloniser was inscribed as the most prestigious language and came to dominate the administrative and mercantile structure of each colony.

Second, colonial language practices also brought about the demise of many languages. In some cases, such as in South America language extinction resulted from the physical elimination of an entire population (as in Uruguay) or of part of it (as in Brazil, Chile, or Argentina).

Third, colonization and slave trade also led to the creation of new languages. The most well-known and studied cases are Creole languages that emerged in European plantation societies around the world, e.g., the Caribbean, the Americas and Australia.

Fourth, in some settings, colonial language practices also gave rise to a change in the relationship between the different local languages. Colonial standardization efforts were not purely descriptive exercises but actively shaped the linguistic space in which they were operating.

Fifth, Calvet points out that the colonial language hierarchy also ensured that the European and local languages influenced each other differently.

Q 8. Critically analyse the poem ‘Ananse’ by Edward Brathwaite. 10

Ans) Ananse is a trickster spider (which often pranks and even takes human shapes) which is one of the primary characters in West African and Caribbean folklore.

The poem has been divided into two parts

1. In the first part, Ananse thinks and memorizes the native culture of his country which once existed but has been lost now.

2. In the second part, Ananse weaves and recreates the lost culture by binding past stories, cultures, words, songs of Africa and thus like God, he brings the dead African culture to life.

In every stanza, Ananse changes its form and presents something different.

Part 1: Part 1 of the poem says Ananse, the trickster spider, is thinking with his eyes open. Past culture and myths are in his mind like a butterfly's pupa; they are lifeless and buried deep in his mind, and he is thinking about them. He studies ancient histories, ghost stories, myths, Caribbean identity, and culture. He memorises forgotten folklore, songs, music, and carnivals (festivals) of villages. Villagers have heard him. He motivates them. Dead traditions have no influence on modern man. The tradition is not dead but in hibernation. Ananse recognises dead myths.

Part 2: Ananse moves to a corner of the ceiling where no broom can reach him, having reflected on his dead culture's past. This shift most likely means returning to a previous culture where colonialism cannot harm him or his thinking. He has moved to the corner and is preparing to recreate the past culture that has been destroyed. The poet compares this creation from destruction ("dust, desert's rainfall of soot") to Adam's ascension to earth following his fall from Heaven ("a new fall from heaven").

Analysis

The poet attempted to challenge the canons of language established by colonialists in this poem. He defies these rules by deviating from them. He believes that the colonial powers' destruction of culture can only be reversed by rejecting the colonialists' language rules. This deviation is depicted in the poem's title, "Ananse." In British English, the correct spelling is "Anansi." However, the poet chooses the word "Ananse" on purpose to express his outrage. The literature in the English language is always written and meant to be read, but in this poem, we find the concept of "Orature," or oral literature, which can only be understood by listening to it.

The oral literature of Africa was meant to be heard. This idea is present in this poem. The meaning of the poem can be found in its sound or form. English literature is written with the intention of being read. Orature is mentioned by the poet. The poem defies the rules. The poet substitutes "hun-ger" for "hunger." He says "iron-eye'd" rather than "ironied."

The use of Ananse as the narrator, creator, and breaker represents the power of an African to recreate his culture, reject colonial culture, and ascend to Godhood (of Colonialists). Thus, the poem's use of language represents a revolt against the domination of culture (by Colonialists).

Q 9. Write a detailed note on myth, symbol, and allegory present in The Solid Mandala. 10

Ans) In the Solid Mandala, the protagonist's vision is split in half by twin brothers Arthur and Waldo Brown. Waldo despises life. Arthur is a fool who finds his vision in the Mandala, which consists of Adam and Tireseas merging to form one and giving him the power to dominate others, including Waldo, an intellectual. Genuine author's works from developing countries always have a sense of emptiness. As a result, they are either lost in the memories of their glorious past or in the plight and predicament of the helpless present.

The present paper is limited to the novels that have Indian mythical names and its related symbolism. Mandala, a Sanskrit word-

1. Means circle or magic circle.

2. Its symbolism embraces all concentrically arranged figures, all circumferences

3. Having a center, and all radial or spherical arrangements.

The writers share the trait of reflecting the spirit of the present age against the backdrop of their past and then comparing the past and the present.

Patrick White employs a revolting principle that goes beyond social realism in order to reflect the power of imagination, mental conviction, and insights, as well as their own concept of myths and spiritualism. In Rides in the Chariot and The Solid Mandala, White employs mythological symbols in a new classical style. The chariot is a Hindu symbol that appears in the epics The Ramayana and Mahabharata. However, Rama's chariot is no longer in his exile, but in the War of Kurushetra, Arjuna's chariot (in the middle of Pandwas) is driven by Lord Krishna himself. White had appropriated these two Indian mythological concepts for the title of the current novels.

White employs mandala symbolism to explain his metaphor, which states that every living body is a symbol associated with the universe and God. Natural images of trees, flowers, the sun, and the sea appear in White's writings.

The figurativeness in the Solid Mandala is interpreted by Patricia Morely as allegorical. “On the allegorical level there is the further connotation of the mystery of the relationship between man's body and soul, identified with Arthur and self-will, identified with Waldo.”

There are in the novel blends of:

1. myth

2. comic symbolism

3. allusions to several religions:

(a) ancient (b) modern (c) Eastern (d) Western (e) the overall framework of day-to-day mundane life.

Examples

Mrs. Feinstein instructs Arthur to drink lemonade slowly in order to "extract the prana" from it.

"The symbolic use of physical characteristics is in fact a prominent feature of the novel," writes Thelma Herring. Arthur's brown eyes connect him not only to his gentle father, but also to Dulcie, Len Saporta, and their children.... whereas Waldo's "inherited eyes," pale and cold, connect him to the mother whose aristocratic connections fascinate him, and he feels an affinity with other blue-eyed people." Herring (79).

Patrick White has used various ideologies related to the past as well as the present in his works, such as The Solid Mandala and Riders in the Chariot. He employs Nazism, Jewish characters, and ancient and modern Australian characters, including Bushmen, Aborigines, and modern Australian characters and settings. The main issue is the complexity and challenge of his choice of Indian mythical names such as chariot and mandala despite his knowledge of the Upanishads and Indian culture. In the modern Australian context, White had chosen the mythical title. As a result, the current research paper is titled Mythical Modernism in Patrick White's 'The Solid Mandala and Riders in the Chariot.'

Q10. Discuss The Stone Angel as a novel of awakening citing examples from the text. 10

Ans) Margaret Laurence, a Canadian writer, published The Stone Angel in 1964. Laurence's books are set in the fictional town of Manawaka, Manitoba, in a rural area of Canada. Manawaka is a conservative town with traditional social values. Two plot lines are in conflict. The first is set in the early 1960s, while the second is set earlier in the life of the central character, Hagar Currie Shipley, who is ninety years old in the present and fighting against being placed in a nursing home, which she sees as a sign of impending death. Hagar narrates it in the first person, using stream-of-consciousness at times. As the storey progresses, Hagar's cognitive functioning deteriorates.

Hagar flees when she learns her son and daughter-in-law plan to put her in a nursing home. She sleeps in a deserted cannery. The next day, she is discovered with exposure and is hospitalised. She is tied to the bed so she cannot escape. The storey now includes present-tense flashbacks. Men seem to have defined Hagar's life. Jason Currie's daughter Hagar. Hagar was well-dressed as a child. She adopts her father's intelligent, persistent, and hardworking traits as she ages. Her older brothers are not as business-savvy as Hagar. Her father teaches them business and his trade. Hagar does not see her father's love or his attempts to teach her life skills. Hagar has trouble nurturing others. When she refuses to care for her brother after he falls through ice, he dies. Hagar grows close to her son John, in whom she sees herself. Her son Marvin is estranged.

Jason is clearly preparing Hagar to take over the family business. She is sent to an Eastern finishing school, whereas her brother is not given the same opportunity. Her father wants her to take on one of the most important jobs in his company when she returns: accounting. Jason understands that this is the first step toward preparing her to take over the company. Hagar, on the other hand, sees it as her father's attempt to control her rather than a demonstration of his faith in her abilities. She makes the decision to become a teacher. As an act of defiance, she marries Brampton (Bram) Shipley, whom her father does not approve of. As a result, Jason excludes her from his life. She eventually receives no inheritance from her father.

Their marriage is unhappy. His family is lower-class Manawaka. He is crude. He is just ambitious enough to get by. He likes horses and drinking. He ignores Hagar and their sons' needs. Bram has feelings for Hagar, despite being self-absorbed. Hagar, a college graduate, is embarrassed by Bram's low-class behaviour. People no longer see her as Jason Currie's daughter, a title she valued more than being Bram Shipley's wife. Hagar verbally abuses and controls Bram as she loses social status. She leaves town with John after her divorce. Hagar imitates John as he ages. She fails to control her son, who marries Arlene in Manawaka. John and Arlene's deaths leave Hagar numb. She feels stoned. Hagar fears becoming dependent on others, while Marvin and Doris cannot care for her at home. When her son visits her in the hospital, she finally expresses her feelings.

"This is not a Dickensian-style storey about a badly led life that is redeemed at the end by a revelation brought in by a golden light that brings a joyous repentance," January Magazine said of The Stone Angel. Rather, it is Laurence's examination of an unlovely life based on unwavering convictions. And, as is typical of Laurence, we are treated to vivid portraits of time, character, and setting that have helped to make The Stone Angel an unforgettable novel."