This week’s post on fiction is about two novels which occupy an important place in the history of 18th century fiction and are the earliest examples of ingenious skill and mastery of the craft of fiction. Both the novels belong to the picaresque tradition of which ‘Don Quixote’ is the most famous example. Humphrey Clinker…
The Man in the Iron Mask is a sad novel for me. Here there are the deaths of Porthos, Athos, Raoul and D’Artagnan. My first acquaintance with D’Artagnan was in my 7th standard when we had ‘The Three Musketeers’ as our English non-detailed text. Since then D’Artagnan: the fearless warrior, that unrivalled swordsman has grown…
Mark Twain’s. The Prince and the Pauper is an old tale of two people who look alike and change places, to experience life in both the worlds. Here it is King Edward VIII and Tom Canty, the pauper who swap places. The king in his sojourn into the world of his subjects is informed harshly…
E.M.Forster’s novel ‘A Passage to India’ narrates the social and political condition of the days of the British Raj and the relation between the colonial masters and their Indian subjects. The relationship was strained and fragile. The novel presents the fractious and mistrustful sentiment that permeated this unequal relation and even gestures or attitudes which…
The language of childhood is Universal. Is there any writer who does not wish to go back to those happy, innocent days when life was an endless discovery spent in the company of friends. R.K.Narayan’s Swami or Chami as he is affectionately called by his Grandmother in the TV series ‘Malgudi Days’ beautifully recreated by…
Mark Twain’s ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ is a romantic tale of mistaken identity and how the situation of the Prince, who is identical in appearance to the pauper, becomes miserable after the exchange. His romantic notion of freedom and liberty from the artifice and monotony of his existence turns out to be an irreversible…
How many times should one read a novel? This is a question that has been in my mind for a long time. With the amount of time at my disposal, after professional and personal work has been fulfilled and the large number of books which ought to be read, it is indeed very difficult to…
Sub categories among the obc quota is a long pending legitimate demand as it will prevent the cornering of the benefits of reservation in central government jobs and education institutions by the advanced and enlightened communities in the obcs. The marginal community groups because of lesser population,lack of awareness, education,who could not get the benefits will be able to compete in a separate group which ensures their selection.Eventually all the community groups should have a level playing field.
Coming to the different forms of narrative, one has to look closely at an epic convention called ‘Medias res.’ In the Iliad Homer plunges directly into the action in the middle of the Trojan War. More famously in ‘Paradise Lost’ Milton takes us directly to Satan ruminating and wallowing in Hell with his comrades. The…
“ Showing” as it is called is obviously more difficult than merely “Telling” because while telling, the novelist can narrate from experience, render judgment, analyze and objectify motives, vent anger and frustration at a degenerate world and assume the position of anything that he or she desires: A sympathizer, a castigator, a Judge or a…