Treasure Trove Book ICSE Guide

Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers Chapter 3  Notes A Horse and Two Goats – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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About the Author

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Ayyar Naranayanaswami was born in Madras, a large industrial coastal city in India, on October 10, 1906. He was known for his works set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was a leading author of early Indian literature in English, along with Mulk Raj Anand and Raja Rao. His family was Brahmin, the highest caste of Hindu society. When he was still young, the rest of his family moved to Mysore, a smaller city in the heart of the country. Narayan stayed in Madras with his grandmother, who read him classic Indian tales and myths from an early age and encouraged his imagination. He was not a serious student; he believed that the educational system was too regimented and that it discouraged students from thinking creatively, so he decided not to work hard and ended up failing several subjects and his college entrance exams.

After graduation, Narayan went to work in a government office in Mysore, but he was no more suited for mundane office work than for formal education. He tried teaching for a while, but did not last long as a teacher, either. What he wanted to be was a writer. At first, most of his stories were rejected. For three or four years he lived at home and earned less than five dollars a year, worrying and embarrassing his family.

Narayan highlights the social context and everyday life of his characters, and he has been compared to William Faulkner, who also created a similar fictional town, and likewise explored with humour and compassion the energy of ordinary life. Narayan’s short stories have been compared with those of Guy de Maupassant, because of his ability to compress a narrative. However, he has also been criticised for the simplicity of his prose.

In a career that spanned over sixty years, Narayan received many awards and honours, including the AC Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan, India’s third and second highest civilian awards. He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s parliament.

In 1933 he married a woman named Rajam, who encouraged him in his writing. To help support his wife and daughter, he tried journalism, starting out as a correspondent for the ‘Madras Justice’ and working his way up to junior editor. Rajam lived only five years as his wife, dying of typhoid in 1939. By that time Narayan had published three novels, and had begun, under the shortened name R. K. Narayan, to attract international attention. Finally, he was able to quit his newspaper job and become a full-time fiction writer. His fourth novel, The English Teacher (1945), features a character patterned after Rajam and describes Narayan’s own struggles to deal with her death. All of his fiction, most of which takes place in the fictional town of Malgudi and all of which is in English, gives a realistic portrayal of middle-class life in India, with its caste system and long-standing traditions, and many of his stories are based on real events.

Narayan is one of the most widely read of the Indian authors writing in English. He has published more than thirty novels and collections of short stories and essays, and was still producing new work well into his eighties. He has been honored for his work in India, in Great Britain, and in the United States, where he has been made an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. His own humble views of his life and success are presented in his memoir, ‘My Days’ (1984).

About the Story

First published in Madras, India, in the newspaper, ‘The Hindu’ in 1960, “A Horse and Two Goats” did not achieve wide international audience until 1970 when it became the title story of R. K. Narayan’s seventh collection of short stories, ‘A Horse and Two Goats and Other Stories’. It reached an even wider audience in 1985 when it was included in ‘Under the Banyan Tree’, Narayan’s tenth best-selling collection. By this time Narayan was well established as one of the most prominent Indian authors writing in English in the twentieth century. The story presents a comic dialogue between Muni, a poor Tamil-speaking villager, and a wealthy English-speaking businessman from New York. They are engaged in a conversation in which neither can understand the other’s language. With gentle humor, Narayan explores the conflicts between rich and poor, and between Indian and Western culture.

Narayan is best known for his fourteen novels, many of which take place in the fictional town of Malgudi. Many of the stories in his thirteen short story collection also take place in Malgudi, but “A Horse and Two Goats” does not. This accounts for the fact that the story has attracted very little critical commentary; however, all of the attention it has drawn has been positive. The story is seen as a fine example of Narayan’s dexterity in creating engaging characters and humorous dialogue, but it is not considered one of his greatest works.

Plot

1. Muni is a poor resident of Kritam, one of the thousands of inconspicuous villages situated in the Holy land of India. Muni was once a proud owner of a large flock of sheep and goats, but lost most of his riches, and is now the desolate owner of just two goats. He and his wife are in the last stage of their lives.
2. Despite his poor life, Muni is a dreamer and an avid food lover. Away from the prying eyes of villagers, he spends most of his time idling near the rocky highway, where his usual seat is the pedestal of a large clay horse.
3. One day, as he was sitting in his favourite place, an American comes to him to inquire about gas. As Muni knows just two words of English, Yes and No, he finds it difficult to satisfy the queer red man.
4. The American is smitten with the chaste Tamil.
5. The American notices the beautiful clay horse, is impressed with the unparalleled art, and makes an offer to Muni to buy the horse at an exorbitant price. As Muni sits on the platform nonchalantly, he has mistakenly identified him as the owner of the horse.
6. The American is able to buy the horse, by giving a hundred rupee note to Muni, while Muni thinks that the stupid foreigner has paid him too much for two paltry goats and goes home happily.
7. His wife thinks he has stolen the money and is angry.

Theme

The central theme of Narayan’s work, “A Horse and Two Goats,” is the clash of cultures, specifically the clash of Indian and Western cultures. Using humor instead of anger, Narayan demonstrates just how far apart the two worlds are: the two cultures exist in the same time and space, but literally and metaphorically speak different languages. The two main characters in this story couldn’t be more different: Muni is a poor, rural, uneducated, Hindu, brown; the American is wealthy, urban, educated, probably Judeo- Christian, white. As a good Hindu, Muni calmly accepts the hand that fate has dealt him, while the American is willing and able to take drastic and sudden action to change his life (for example, flying off to India, or throwing away his return plane ticket to transport a horse statue home on a ship). Each man is quite ignorant of the other’s way of life.Unlike many stories about culture clash, the conflict here is merely amusing. The inability to communicate in a common language in this story leads only to confusion, not to any real harm. In fact, although each feels vaguely dissatisfied with the conversation, the men do not realize that they are not communicating. Each speaks at length about his own life and local calamities, with no awareness that the other hears nothing. At the end of their encounter each man has what he wants or needs, and neither man has lost anything of value.

Another theme interwoven in this story is the disparity between wealth and poverty. The most important difference between Muni and the American is in their respective level of wealth. Narayan takes great pains in the opening of the story to show how desperately poor Muni is, and to emphasize that even in his time of “prosperity” his standard of living was still greatly below that of most Americans. The American takes for granted his relative wealth and seems  unaware of the  difference  between Muni and himself. He casually offers cigarettes to a man who  has never seen  one, complains about four hours without air conditioning to   a man who   has never had electricity, brags about enjoying manual labor as a Sunday     hobby  to a  man who grew up working in the fields from morning until night, and without a thought gives Muni enough money to open a business. He is not trying to show off; he simply accepts his wealth as his right. His very casualness emphasizes the gap between them. Narayan in no way condemns the man for being wealthy, or for not stepping in to aid poor Muni, but he wants the two men and their relative wealth to be clear, so that the relationship between wealth and poverty can be evaluated.

Knowledge and Ignorance is juxtaposed thematically in the story. “A Horse and Two Goats” explores the different ways that a person can be educated. Muni, who grew up a member of a lower caste at a time when only the Brahmin, the highest caste, could attend school, has had no formal education. He has not travelled beyond his village, and he likes to watch trucks and buses go by on the highway a few miles away so that he can have “a sense of belonging to a larger world.” He does not even know his own age. He does, however, have an impressive amount of knowledge of the two major texts of his literary heritage, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which he has learned by acting in plays and by listening to speakers at the temple. He knows the stories, and he is able to mine them for truth and wisdom when he needs them.The American, on the other hand, has had the full benefits of an American education. He has a roomful of books that he values as objects:“you know I love books and am a member of five book clubs, and the choice and bonus volumes mount up to a pile in our living room”, but there is no evidence that he understands or values what is inside them. On one level, he is familiar with the larger world around him in a way that Muni never will be. However, even on this trip to India “to look at other civilizations,” he does not seem to be looking at India for what it is, but only for a reflection of—and ornaments for—his own life. The uneducated Muni tries to tell him the significance of the horse statue, but the American sees it only as a living room decoration. Of course, the language barrier prevents him from receiving Muni’s interpretation, but it never even crosses his mind to ask. Narayan, in this story shows that there are at least two ways to be ignorant.

Highlights of Speech/or Summary

“A Horse and Two Goats” is set in Kritam, “probably the tiniest” of India’s 700,000 villages. It opens with a clear picture of the poverty in which the protagonist Muni lives. Of the thirty houses in the village, only one, the Big House, is made of brick. The others, including Muni’s, are made of “bamboo thatch, straw, mud, and other unspecified materials.” There was no running water and no electricity, and Muni’s wife cooked their typical breakfast of “a handful of millet flour” over a fire in a mud pot. Muni had shaken down six drumsticks from the drumstick tree growing in front of his house, and asked his wife to prepare them for him in a sauce. She agreed, provided he could get the other ingredients, none of which they had in the house: rice, dal (lentils), spices, oil and a potato.

Muni and his wife have not always been so poor. There was a time when he considered himself prosperous as then he had a flock of forty sheep and goats which he would lead out to graze every day. But life had not been kind to him or to his flocks: years of drought, a great famine, and an epidemic had taken their toll. As Muni belonged to a low caste he was never permitted to go to school or to learn a trade. Presently he was left with two goats, too scrawny to sell or to eat. He and his wife had no children to help them in their old age, so their only income was from the odd jobs his wife occasionally took on at the Big House. Muni had exhausted his credit at every shop in town, and so when he asked a local shopkeeper to give him the items his wife required to cook the drumsticks, he was sent away humiliated.

Muni’s wife sent him away with the goats saying, “Fast till the evening.” Muni took the goats to their usual spot a few miles away: a grassy area near the highway, where he can sit in the shade of a life-sized statue of a horse and a warrior and watch trucks and buses go by. The statue is made of weather-beaten clay and had stood in the same spot for all of Muni’s seventy or more years.

As Muni watched the road and waited for the appropriate time to return home, a yellow station wagon came down the road and pulled over next to him. A red-faced American man dressed in khaki clothing got out and asked Muni where to find the nearest gas station. He noticed the statue, which he found “marvelous.” Muni’s first impulse was to run away, assuming from the khaki clothes that the foreigner was a policeman or a soldier. But Muni was too old to run any more, and he could not leave the goats. The two began to converse—if “conversation” can be used to describe what happens when two people speak to each other in separate languages, neither understanding the other. “Namaste! How do you do?” the American said in greeting, using his only Indian word. Muni responded with the only English he knew: “Yes, no.”

The American, a businessman from New York City, lighted a cigarette and offered one to Muni, who knew about cigarettes but had never had one before. He offered Muni his business card, but Muni feared it to be a warrant of some kind. Muni launched into a long explanation of his innocence of whatever crime the man was investigating, and the American asked questions about the horse statue, which he wanted to buy. He told Muni about a bad day at work, when he was forced to work for four hours without elevators or electricity, and seemed completely unaware that Muni lived that way every day. By now he was convinced that Muni was the owner of the statue, which he was determined to buy.

The two talked back and forth, each about his own life. Muni remembered his father and grandfather telling about the statue and the ancient story it depicted, and tried to explain to the American how old it was. “I get a kick out of every word you utter,” the American replied. Muni reminisced about his difficult and impoverished childhood working in the fields, and the American laughed heartily. Muni explained about the statue: “This is our guardian. … At the end of Kali Yuga, this world and all other worlds will be destroyed, and the Redeemer will come in the shape of a horse.” The American replied, “I assure you this will have the best home in the U.S.A. I’ll push away the bookcase. . . . The TV may have to be shifted. … I don’t see how that can interfere with the party—we’ll stand around him and have our drinks.” It is clear that even if the two could understand each other’s words, they could not understand each other’s worlds.

Finally, the American pushes one hundred rupees into Muni’s hand—twenty times Muni’s debt with the shopkeeper. He considers that he has bought the horse, and Muni believes he had just sold his goats. Muni ran home to present the money to his wife, while the American flagged down a truck, got help in breaking the horse off its pedestal, and drove away with his purchase. Muni’s wife did not believe her husband’s story about where the money came from, and her suspicions only increased when the goats found their way home. The story ends with her shrieking at him, and Muni appears to be not much better off than he was at the start.

Characters

Muni

Muni, an old and desperately poor man, is the protagonist of the story. We know this when his wife tells him, “You only have four teeth in your jaw, yet you are craving big things.” Having very little teeth is often associated with being too young or too old.. The author also utilized the word “craving,” which is associated with longing, and more importantly, not having something you long for. This suggests that Muni and his wife lead very poor lives. He and his wife have almost no income and no children to help take care of them. Every day, Muni took the goats out to graze on the scarce grass outside of town, while his wife put something together for an evening meal. Although Muni is initially described as poor, the author then goes on to say that he wasn’t always as poor as he is. “In his prosperous days Muni had owned a flock of forty sheep and goats and sallied forth every morning driving the flock to the highway a couple of miles away. There he would sit on the pedestal of a clay statue of a horse while his cattle grazed around. He carried a crook at the end of a bamboo pole and snapped foliage from the avenue trees to feed his flock; he also gathered faggots and dry sticks, bundled them and carried them home for fuel at sunset.” The word “prosperous” is associated with wealth and success, which suggests that Muni had something of the sort. The author also utilizes words such as “sallied,” “carried,” and “bundled,” all of which are associated with labor and work. This suggests that he had enough animals to be able to perform manual labor on a daily basis and earn enough to be able to “sit on the pedestal of a clay statue of a horse while his cattle grazed around.” It is evident that while he worked hard, he trusted in the abundance of his stock enough to be able to sit down. The entire passage is written in the past tense, which highlights the fact that Muni was prosperous before the story takes place.

Muni is shown to be very cautious, paranoid to some extent. Like many poor and struggling people, he fears authority- figures, and so he fears the American who steps out of a strange car wearing khaki clothes. While the man tries to talk with him about the statue, Muni babbles on about a recent murder and the end of the world. This is portrayed in the passage during Muni and the foreigner’s encounter, “Muni shrank away from the card. Perhaps he was trying to present a warrant to arrest him. Beware of khaki, one part of his mind warned. Take all the cigarettes or bhang or whatever is offered, but don’t get caught. Beware of khaki.” Words such as “shrank,” “warned,” and “bewared,” are all associated with fear and dread, emotions which are associated with wariness.

Muni is also portrayed to be extremely distrusting, not only of others but also of himself, to some extent. “But all these seemed like memoirs of a previous birth. Some pestilence afflicted his cattle (he could of course guess who had laid his animals under a curse) and even the friendly butcher would not touch one at half the price…and now here he was left with two scraggly creatures. He wished someone would rid him of their company too. The shopman had said he was seventy. At seventy, one only waited to be summoned by God. When he was dead, what would his wife do? They had lived in each other’s company since they were children. He was told on the day of their wedding that he was ten and she was eight.” This passage mainly focuses on Muni’s recollections, which at his old age, seem to be faltering him. The usage of the words “seemed” and “guess,” both have connotations of uncertainty. Both these words are used in the context of Muni’s memories, suggesting that he is unsure of himself and does not trust even his own mind and experiences. Some other phrases which also suggest are “memoirs of a previous birth,” “he was told on the day of their wedding that he was ten and she was eight,” and “the shopman had said he was seventy.” These phrases utilize words such as “memoirs,” “told,” and “had said,” suggesting that these memories had to be reiterated to him, because he doesn’t trust himself and others don’t trust him to remember it well. The extent of Muni’s knowledge is also displayed. The fact that he does not trust his own knowledge shows that he is not confident about the information he knows, and does not know a lot and has not gone through proper schooling.

At the end he seems to have temporarily escaped his money troubles, but his bad luck continues when his wife suspects him of theft and threatens to leave.

The American

The American comes riding into the story in a yellow station wagon. A businessman who works in New York and commutes from Connecticut. He is dressed in the khaki clothing worn by American tourists in the tropics. He speaks only English, and is surprised to find that Muni can speak only Tamil. Although he is in the tiniest village in India, he expects to find a gas station and English-speaking goatherds.

He shown to be a pleasant man and a businessman by trade. Although not much is said about his character, we can deduce that he is friendly and genuine. This is highlighted in the line, “The Tamil that Muni spoke was stimulating even as a pure sound, and the foreigner listened with fascination. ‘I wish I had my tape recorder here,’ he said, assuming the pleasantest expression.’” The line utilizes the words “fascination” and “pleasantest,” suggesting that the foreigner is being very gracious to Muni despite the fact that he can’t understand him.

Once he sees the statue of the horse, he must own it for his living room. He is astute enough to know that money talks, even when he can’t speak the language.

Muni’s Wife

Muni’s wife has spent some sixty years with him (neither of them is sure about their ages), through prosperity and poverty. Although she is gruff with him now, she is willing ^ to indulge his request for a special meal. She works as hard as he does, or harder, getting up at dawn to fix his morning meal, and taking odd jobs at the Big House when their stores are low.

She often scolds him when he complains. This is reiterated in the line, when his wife says to him, ‘You are getting no sauce today, nor anything else. Fast till’ the evening, it’ll do you good. Take the goats and be gone now,’ she cried and added, ’Don’t come back until the sun is down.’” This entire passage is written in imperative form, and his wife uses many words and phrases that have negative connotations, such as “no,” “nor,” “be gone,” and “don’t come back.” This shows that she is exasperated with him and wishes him to be out of the house. Poverty has worn her down: her first reaction when she sees the hundred rupees is to accuse Muni of stealing.

The shopkeeper

The shopkeeper is a moody man who has given Muni food on credit in the past, but who has been pushed past his limit. Muni owes him five rupees, and although they share a bit of a humorous conversation, the shopkeeper will not give him any more.

Title

The title is very apt as the whole story revolves around the statue of the horse and the two goats. Muni grazes his goats at a grassy spot near the highway and sits under the shade of the statue. An American stops by and wants to purchase the statue of the horse. Muni cannot understand the American and thinks he wants to buy his goats. The American thrusts hundred rupees into Muni’s hands, the two men leave the place where they met, each taking away something of value. The comic characters of Muni and the American, could be identified with the roles of the “two goats” in the title.

Setting

The story takes place in Kritam, “probably the tiniest” of India’s 700,000 villages. Its. four streets are lined with about thirty mud and thatch huts and one Big House, made of brick and cement. Women cook in clay pots over clay stoves, and the huts have no running water or electricity. A few miles away, down a rough dirt track through dry fields of cactus and lantana bushes, is a highway leading to the mountains, where a large construction project is being completed. The meeting between Muni and the red-faced man was intended to take place between about 1945, when televisions became generally available to Americans, and 1960, when the story was published, but the date is not central to the story. Even today there are many villages in the world without modern technological conveniences, and many travellers who do not realize that not everyone lives as they do.

Style

Part of the fairy-tale element in this story is the result of the author’s use of coincidence. From a Western point of view, the story’s big coincidence—Muni’s opportune meeting with a rich American—may seem a fault: It undercuts the Western sense of probability, of order. However, that is apparently R. K. Narayan’s purpose. From a Hindu point of view, which sees the universe in flux, the coincidence is quite logical. In the Hindu view, anything can happen, though contingencies (or actions of the gods) usually balance out over time: Muni is wiped out by the pestilence but reinstated by the American. Just as Muni sells the American an avatar of a Hindu god, so Narayan slyly introduces the Hindu context into this story, complete with a lesson in theology, a reference to the great Hindu epics, and a wild conversation that mirrors the Hindu universe.

Narayan’s ability to present Hindu culture to the West is aided by one of the smoothest English styles in the world. Narayan has developed,his style over a long career, and “A

Horse and Two Goats” shows the style at its best—simple, supple, subtle, able to encompass the Hindu worldview and the demands of story writing at the same time. The style entertains without calling attention to itself.

Critical Appreciation

Over a prolific career spanning more than fifty years, Narayan has published fourteen novels, thirteen collections of short stories, and eleven other volumes of essays, translations and memoirs. He is known primarily for his many novels and short stories set in the fictional, small Southern Indian town of Malgudi, and most critics and reviewers focus on these stories. Reaction to Narayan’s work has always been quite positive. P. S. Ramana, in a short section of his Message in Design: A Study of R. K. Narayan’s Fiction, focuses on “how, by manipulating the narratorial position, focus, tone, attitude and commentary, the author is able to almost overlook the darker side of the experience to produce a highly humorous and ironic tale.

In this story of paradoxes and conflicts, Narayan touched many issues, be it the curse of childlessness, the crude apathy of mankind to the lesser mortals, or the irrepressible instinct of a man to show off his intelligence. The story is quite rich in mythological stories as well. Muni is an old man seeped in religion and is able to rattle off the avatars of Vishnu in his rustic easy manner, impressing the American unknowingly. As two protagonists indulge in a directionless dialogue, it is only the reader who knows both sides of the story and is able to laugh at the idiosyncrasies of life.

Once the nature of Muni’s world has been established by Narayan, both the plot and the comedy of the story hinge on the disruption of that routine .This is a formula Narayan uses frequently, and always with consummate skill. In “A Horse and Two Goats” the seemingly timeless routine is interrupted when a car stops and a “red-faced foreigner,” an American whose vehicle has run out of petrol, asks for directions to the nearest gas station.

“A Horse and Two Goats” is narrated in the third person by an omniscient narrator who reports clearly and objectively on the characters’ words, actions, and memories, but who does not comment or judge. The narrator describes Kritam’s erosion and Muni’s decline dispassionately, without regret; conversations between Muni and his wife, or Muni and the shopman, are told from Muni’s perspective, but with his calm acceptance of whatever fate brings him. This restraint is important to the understated humour of the  dialogue between Muni and the American; Narayan trusts the reader to interpret the absurd conversation without his having to explain his point of view through his narrator, “Notice that this response has nothing to do with the question asked,” or “See the irony in this remark.” When the two men leave the place where they met, each taking away something of value, neither has been accused by the narrator—nor by the reader—of foolishness or evil. By creating a narrator who tells the story without judging it, Narayan presents two believable characters with human flaws, but two characters for whom the reader can feel compassion and sympathy nonetheless. The conflict is between two like able characters, or two worthy cultures, not between good and evil.

Narayan makes adept use of realism In his fiction one finds simple and accurate presentation of common, everyday life as it is lived by identifiable characters. Narayan pays careful attention to the small details of Muni’s life: where he lives, what he eats, how he coughs when he smokes his first cigarette. Although many of the small details, like the drumstick tree and the dhoti where Muni puts his hundred rupees, are particularly Indian, they are also basic enough to human experience and so are easily understood by an international audience.

An integral part of Narayan’s art is the humour and understanding the humour in his fiction is important to understanding his world view. Humour which is affectionate and sympathetic to humanity and human foibles, is often distinguished from wit, which looks more harshly on human fallibility. For Narayan, who looks at the world through the lens of his Hindu faith, weakness and strife are to be accepted and transcended, not railed against. When he creates the comic characters of Muni and the American, which could be identified with the roles of the “two goats” in the title, he laughs at them gently and kindly, not critically.

A very different story indeed, written in the affable style of Narayan. A situational comedy where each misunderstanding brings a fresh peal of laughter. A perfect amalgamation of religious philosophy and modern thought!

Muni, the central character of the story, is a typical Narayan hero who has achieved little, and who feels he has been dealt with unsympathetically by the world around him, and by fate. Unlike most of Narayan’s heroes, though, he is a lower-class village peasant, rather than the usual middle-class Malgudi-dweller, and he is very poor, as the appalling conditions of his life, always present behind the humour of the story, attest. Indeed, on one level this tale provides the non-Indian reader with a glimpse of the type of poverty and hardship that must be endured by the millions of Indians who, like Muni, have barely enough food to keep them alive:

His wife lit the domestic fire at dawn, boiled water in a mud pot, threw into it a handful of millet flour, added salt, and gave him his first nourishment of the day. When he started out, she would put in his hand a packed lunch, once again the same millet cooked into a little ball, which he could swallow with a raw onion at midday.

Glossary

1. Dotting: spread out.
2. Flourish: thrive.
3. Microscopic: very small.
4. Revenue: the income of a government from taxation.
5. Sprawled: stretched out.
6. Furrowed: long, narrow, shallow trench made in the ground.
7. Hooped: encircled with.
8. Grandiose: impressive.
9. Gorgeous: very attractive.
10. Gargoyles: A comically carved human or animal face or figure.
11. Balustrade: A railing.
12. Sallied: marched out.
13. Crook: a bent or curved implement, sickle.
14. Snapped: broke
15. Faggots: a bundle of sticks bound together as fuel.
16. Miller: one who works in a mill.
17. Nourishment: the food necessary for growth.
18. Tethered: fastened.
19. Craving: strong desire.
20. Sauce: a semi-liquid substance served with food to add flavour.
21. Upturned: upward directed.
22. Imp: a small devil.
23. Eloped: ran away secretly.
24. Itinernt: wandering, roving.
25. Displaying a remarkable memory for old facts: showing the old debts.
26. Observations: scrutiny, calcualtions figure.
27. Impelled: forced.
28. Swarga: heaven.
29. Mumbled: murmured.
30. Sneered: gave a mocking smile.
31. Shearing: cutting the wool off a sheep.
32. Elated: carried away.
33. Pestilence: epidemic.
34. Scraggy: thin and bony.
35. Summoned: called.
36. Thrashed: hit.
37. Progen: offspring.
38. Barren: childless.
39. Spurn: turn away.
40. Pedestal: base on which a statue is mounted.
41. Crouch: bend down.
42. Scythe: a tool with curved blade especially for cutting long grass.
43. Bulging: swelling eyes, when the eye balls look large.
44. Brocade: a rich fabric woven with a raised pattern, typically with gold or silver thread.
45. Sash: waistband.
46. Vandals: persons who deliberately destroy or damage property.
47. Novelty : something unfamiliar or new.
48. Spectacles: shows that are exciting to watch.
49. Assortment: a varied mixture.
50. Sputtered: produced explosive sound.
51. Mauled: attacked and wounded.
52. Extricate: release.
53. Fidgeted: made small movements through nervousness.
54. Gainsay: deny.
55. Slanderers: the people who spread rumours.
56. Undaunte: not afraid.
57. Wary: suspicious.
58. Reeling: tottering
59. Unimpeded: unhindered.
60. Ingratiatingl: intending to gain approval.
61. Camphor: a substance with an aromatic smell and bitter taste.
62. Reminiscence: memories.
63. Stimulating: arousing interest.
64. Adversaries: enemies.
65. Progeny: children.
66. Wayfarers: travellers.
67. Yama Loka: Hell.

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Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers Chapter 10 Notes All Summer in a Day – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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About the Author

Ray Douglas Bradbury (22 August 1920 – 5 June 2012) was an American fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery fiction author. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and for the science fiction and horror stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951), Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th- and 21st-century American genre writers. He wrote and consulted on many screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works have been adapted into comic books, television shows, and films.

Ray Bradbury was born on 22 August 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois, to Esther Bradbury, a Swedish immigrant, and Leonard Spaulding Bradbury, a power and telephone lineman of English descent. He was given the middle name “Douglas,” after the actor Douglas Fairbanks. An aunt read him short stories when he was a child. This period provided foundations for both the author and his stories. The Bradbury eventually settled in Los Angeles in 1934, when Bradbury was 14. Bradbury—who was in love with Hollywood— was ecstatic.

Bradbury was a reader and writer throughout his youth. He knew as a young boy that he was “going into one of the arts.” In 1931, at the age of eleven, young Ray began writing his own stories. In his youth, he spent much time in the Carnegie library in Waukegan, reading such authors as H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allan Poe. At age twelve, Bradbury began writing traditional horror stories and said he tried to imitate Poe until he was about eighteen. In Beverly Hills, he often visited the science fiction writer Bob Olsen for mentorship as well as friendship while Bradbury was a teenager. They shared ideas and would keep in contact.

Ray Bradbury was free to start a career in writing when, owing to his bad eyesight, he was rejected admission into the military during World War II. Bradbury sold his first story, “The Lake”, for $13.75 at the age of twenty-two

It was in UCLA’s Powell Library, in a study room with typewriters for rent, that Bradbury wrote his classic story of a book-burning future, The Fireman, which was about 25,000 words long. Bradbury was once described as a “Midwest surrealist” and is often labelled a science fiction writer

About the Story

This story is set on the planet Venus, where the sun shines for only two hours once every seven years. It opens on the day that the sun is due to make its appearance once again. Margot and the other children in her school on Venus are nine years old. “All Summer in a Day” is a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury, first published in the March 1954 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Plot

Only two things happen in terms of plot: the sun comes out and Margot, who longs so deeply to see it, is locked away in a closet by the other children. The rest is the longing mood Bradbury evokes.

1. Introduction: The story is about a class of schoolchildren on Venus, which in this story is a world of constant rainstorms, where the Sun is only visible for two hours every seven years.
2. Conflict: One of the children, Margot, moved to Venus from Earth five years earlier, and she is the only one in her class to remember sunshine, since the Sun shone regularly on Earth. She describes the Sun as “a penny”, or “like a fire in the stove”, and the other children, being too young ever to have seen it themselves, do not believe her. She is bullied and ostracized by the other students and is locked in a closet down a tunnel.
3. Climax: As the Sun is about to appear, their teacher arrives to take the class outside to enjoy their two hours of sunshine and, in their astonishment and joy, they all forget about Margot. They run, play, skip, jump, and prance about, savouring every second of their newly found freedom. “It’s much better than sun lamps!” one of them cries.
4. Rising action: Suddenly, a girl catches a raindrop in her hands. Thunder sounds, and they start to cry and run back inside. At this point one of them remembers Margot, who is still locked in the closet. Ashamed, they let her out of the closet, standing frozen, embarrassed over what they had done, and unable to “meet each other’s glances.”
5. Conclusion: The precious Sun had come and gone and, because of their despicable act, Margot, who loved the Sun the most, had missed it.

Theme

The theme for “All Summer in a Day” is bullying and jealousy. Kids, and people alike, can be so mean when they are confronted with someone different than their current understanding or when they are jealous. Margot had known what the sun looked and felt like when she lived on Earth; but, the children of Venus who get to see the sun for two hours once every seven years could not relate to her experience

Highlights of Speech/or Summary

In “All Summer in a Day,” a group of schoolchildren live on the planet Venus with their families. They are nine years old, and they are eagerly awaiting a momentous occasion. After 5 years of continuous rain, the scientists on Venus have predicted that the sun will come out that day today for a brief period of time. The children have only seen the sun once in their lives, but they were two years,old then and don’t remember how it looked. To prepare for the day, they had constantly read about the sun and completed classroom activities, such as writing a poem, about the sun.

This is true for all but one of the children. Margot, a thin, pale girl that the rest of the children resent for various reasons, had lived in Ohio until she was five. She still had many memories of the sun, and the sun continued to fascinate her. Margot refuses to participate in any classroom activity that doesn’t include the sun. In fact, she had been in a depressed state for most of her time on Venus. Rumours have it that her parents were strongly considering taking her away from the underground colony on Venus and back to her home on Earth.

Margot looks out of the window, waiting silently for the rain to stop and the sun to ,  come out. The other children become upset with her and begin to push and taunt her.Suddenly, the children seize Margot and conceive the idea to hide Margot in a closet while their teacher is gone. Margot resists but they overpower her and lock her in a faraway closet.

The teacher returns and they all go to the tunnel’s exit, as she thinks everyone is present and accounted for from her class. Then, moments later, the rain stops and the sun appears. All of the children exit the tunnels and begin to run around and enjoy the sun. It is unlike anything they could imagine. They exult, “It’s better than the sun lamps, isn’t it?” as they run around the jungles of Venus.

After playing, and enjoying the weather, one of the girls cries out because she was ,cradling a big, fat raindrop in her hand. Everyone stopped. They stood for a moment,thinking about how wonderful the sun felt on their skins. While they do this, the rain clouds move in. The sun retreats; the rain falls harder. All of the children stop for a moment before re-entering the tunnels, reflecting on how wonderful the past hour was.

As they re-entered the hallway, they asked their teacher questions. “Will it really be seven more years?” Once again, another student gave a muffled cry. She remembered that Margot was still in the closet. She had been there for the entire time that they were outside enjoying the sun-soaked weather. They slowly walked towards the closet where they had left Margot, and they were all nervous to approach it. They slowly walked to the closet door, and no noises were emitted from behind the closet door. They unlocked the door and Margot slowly emerged.

Characters

Margot

Margot was a thin and delicate girl who looked as if she had been lost in the rain for years and the rain had washed out the blue from her eyes and the red from her mouth and the yellow from her hair. She was an old photograph dusted from an album, whitened away and her voice wa thin and raspy like that of a ghost.

Margot, is a sensitive, melancholy little girl whose soul’s sadness seems reflected in the ever present rain. The sun in this story becomes the metaphor for all our longings and desires.
Margot is a child who just doesn’t fit in. Margot is from Earth, and the other children are from Venus. In addition to that, Margot is delicate and sensitive and just doesn’t associate with the other kids.’ They turned on themselves, like a feverish wheel, all tumbling spokes. Margot stood alone.’

Margot came from Earth to Venus five years ago. She accurately recalled the sun and the way it looked and felt as it shone on her when she was back in Ohio. However, this is not the case with the other children. They were far too young to remember what the sun was like when last it shone upon them. They could only imagine the warmness of that sun upon their arms and legs. Margot tells the others that the sun is round like a penny and hot like a fire in the stove. The other children accuse her of lying, and they show their resentment of her seeming superiority.

Other children

They are pale and colourless, not just physically but also emotionally. The lack of the sun has not only washed away the colour on their skin but also their compassion and empathy for other people. They do not gain this until they’ve spent time under the sun’s rays. The sun is life giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus. The children are mean and jealous when confronted with someone different than their current understanding. The children are cruel to Margot because she is different, and because they are jealous. Due to their actions, she misses seeing the sun. Only then do the children regret what they have done.

Title

The story is about the wonderful experience that the sun brings to the inhabitants of Venus. This story is set on the planet Venus, where the sun shines for only two hours once every seven years. It opens on the day that the sun is due to make its appearance once again. Margot and the other children in her school on Venus are nine years old. Margot came from Earth to Venus five years ago. Therefore she accurately recalls the sun and the way it looked and felt as it shone on her when she was back in Ohio. However, this is not the case with the other children.They were far too young to remember what the sun was like when last it shone upon them. They can only imagine the warmness of that sun upon their arms and legs. Margot tells the others that the sun is round like a penny  and hot like a fire in the stove. The other children accuse her of lying, and they show their resentment of her seeming superiority by locking her in a closet. When the Venus rains finally stop and the sun comes out, it sends a flaming bronze color throughout the jungle growth. The children soak up the life-giving sunshine until the rains start to fall again. The children now know that Margot was telling the truth about the sun. Then and only then do they remember that Margot is still locked in the closet.

Thus the story being about the short lived experience of the benefits of the sun we can correctly say that the title, ‘All Summer in a Day,’ is apt and suggestive.

Setting

This story is set on the planet Venus, where the sun shines for only two hours once every seven years. It opens on the day that the sun is due to make its appearance once again. Margot and the other children in her school on Venus are nine years old. Margot came from Earth to Venus five years ago. Therefore she accurately recalls the sun and the way it looked and felt as it shone on her when she was back in Ohio. However, this is not the case with the other children. They were far too young to remember what the sun was like when last it shone upon them.

Style

Bradbury uss very evocative and picturesque language. His style is lucid and descriptive. Bradbury doesn’t just say it rained all the time, but describes the rain: “the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy … A thousand forests had been crushed.” Likewise, Bradbury lingers over descriptions of the sun. It is like “gold” or a “lemon crayon,” “flaming bronze” and a “warm iron.”

Bradbury repeatedly uses similes and poetic language to describe this sun and this world. Rather than hurtle us forward from event to event in this story, Bradbury encourages us, through his description, to stop and to experience being drenched in what it is like to be on this imaginary Venus.

Critical Appreciation

Prior to the sun’s appearance, the children are described as being so pale that they are almost colourless. The rain had washed the yellow from their hair, the blue from their eyes, and the red from their lips. The good qualities in their personalities have also seemingly been washed away because the children are quick-tempered and spiteful. That they are cruel by locking Margot in a closet never occurred to them. The sun, however, depicts a restoration for the children. It gives colour to their washed-out appearance, and it also enables them to possess new encouragement, strength, and wholeness in their lives. Finally the children remember Margot, but for her, it is too late — she must wait seven years to see the sun again.

Bradbury uses a variety of metaphors to depict an image of life on Venus, an idea that is foreign to us yet familiar through Bradbury’s language. Not only does his language bring us a clear image of Venus, but it also creates the tangible feeling of discovering the pleasures of the sun. Venus ‘was the colour of rubber and ash, this jungle, from the many years without sun. It was the colour of stones and white cheeses and ink, and it was the colour of the moon.’ The reader is instantly able to picture Bradbury’s Venus landscape with his illustrative language.

The power of the sun over the children living on Venus is notable. They are pale and colourless, not just physically but also emotionally. The lack of the sun has not only washed away the colour on their skin but also their compassion and empathy for other people. They do not gain this until they’ve spent time under the sun’s rays. The sun is life giving for the landscape as well as the inhabitants of Venus.

Margot’s initial exclusion from the group may speak of the difficulties of integrating immigrants into a community. Margot struggles to fit in everyday of her time on Venus, and she does not get along with the other children. They resent her for her past experiences on Earth with the sun, and they are also angry and jealous that she had the opportunity to travel back to Earth regardless of the financial costs. Though abstract, Margot represents one version of an immigrant story.

At the conclusion of the story, the children who were once hypercritical of Margot begin to arrive at an understanding of what she had been feeling since arriving in Venus. They did not understand her depression or refusal to participate in certain activities, primarily because they did not understand how Margot was so enraptured by the sun. It is not until they spend time outside, basking in the sunlight, that they begin to comprehend how much Margot sacrificed when she moved from Ohio to Venus.

This development in the story highlights a broader theme of ignorance and its presence and absence throughout the story. When the children only knew “sun lamps” and could not remember the last time the sun had shone, the daily monotony of rain was not a major concern in their lives. They were ignorant to the possible benefits of the sun. Now that they have experienced the sun and their ignorance has lifted, it would be difficult to shift back to the constant rain. As the rain begins to fall once again, they are disheartened when they ask their teacher, “Will it be seven more years?” They finally comprehend the gravity of their teacher’s answer.

Bradbury doesn’t just say it rained all the time, but describes the rain: “the sweet crystal fall of showers and the concussion of storms so heavy … A thousand forests had been crushed.” Likewise, Bradbury lingers over descriptions of the sun. It is like “gold” or a “lemon crayon,” “flaming bronze” and a “warm iron.”

Bradbury repeatedly uses similes and poetic language to describe this sun and this world. Rather than hurtle us forward from event to event in this story, Bradbury encourages us, through his description, to stop and to experience being drenched in what it is like to be on this imaginary Venus. Only two things happen in terms of plot: the sun comes out and Margot, who longs so deeply to see it, is locked away in a closet by the other children. The rest is the longing mood Bradbury evokes.

There is conflict in the story. The central conflict of the story is that Margot does not fit in with the other children. It had been raining on Venus for seven years. The children, who are nine years old, do not remember ever seeing the sun. The sun is scheduled to come out, so the kids are very excited. Margot is excited too, but she is a child who just doesn’t fit in.Margot is from Earth, and the other children are from Venus. In addition to that, Margot is delicate and sensitive and just doesn’t associate with the other kids.’They turned on themselves, like a feverish wheel, all tumbling spokes. Margot stood alone.’

Glossary

1. Weeds: wild plants
2. Peering: looking closely
3. Concussion: a temporary loss of consciousness.
4. Spokes: thin bars of metal.
5. Drenched: soaked.
6. Savagely: brutally.
7. Predict: forecast.
8. Surged: moved quickly.
9. Avalanche: a mass of snow that falls.
10. Tornado: a violent storm.
11. Muffled: making an unclear sound.
12. Tumultuously: loudly
13. Resilient: able to feel better quickly.
14. Squinte: looked at.
15. Savoured: relished.
16. Wailed: moaned.
17. Hurricane: a violent storm.
18. Gigantic: huge.
19. Solemn: serious.
20. Glanced: liked
21. Vanishing: disappearing.

For More Resources

 

Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers Chapter 6 Notes An Angel in Disguise  – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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About the Author

Timothy Shay Arthur was born in New burgh, New York on June 6, 1809. He had a very distinguished writing career, during which he wrote more than 150 novels and was an editor or the managing editor at over a dozen magazines. Being born to highly religious parents, many of T. S. Arthur’s works are moralistic in nature. He was also a strong proponent of temperance, and his most famous work is his essay, ‘The Nights in a Bar ­Room and What I Saw There’ (1854). His short story, ‘‘An Angel in Disguise’ features both his characteristic moral message, and his strong views on the consumption of alcohol.

Due to poor health, Arthur had little formal education. He grew up hearing Bible stories and many tales about his grandfather who was an officer in the Revolutionary War, from his mother. Arthur educated himself through reading and became an apprentice for a Baltimore craftsman. Later on he became an editor for the Baltimore Athenaeum and Young Men’s Paper. Three years later he started the Baltimore Literary Monument. It was during this period that Arthur learned of the Washingtonian Temperance Society, which inspired him to write many novels on prohibition. His novels were such a success that during the decade after the civil war, the only author that outsold him in American fiction was Harriet Beecher Stowe with “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. The older T.S Arthur got, the worse his eyesight became, his world narrowed during the early years of the 1880s, although he continued editorial work with the aid of amanuenses. By February 1885, he was unable to leave his home and died on March 6th, 1885. He was buried in Philadelphia’s old Chestnut Street Cemetery.

T.S. Arthur was often regarded as a litterateur of unrefined taste, and lack of brilliance, which was claimed to have been the reason why he was not as well known as most American authors, during the 19th century. However, despite the derogatory assessment, T.S. Arthur was also appraised for his realism, simplicity, and sentimental/ moral poignancy in his genre of nonfiction and fictional stories, that many found reassuring. All of these qualities mentioned are apparent in one of his more demure, yet enchanting works, An Angel in Disguise.

About the Story

“An Angel in Disguise” was written in 1851 by TS Arthur. This time period consisted of many historic happenings including: Failure of the Wilmot Provisio to pass in the US Senate, which could have prohibited slavery in all territories acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. The prohibition era of the United States, in which many Americans protested to ban alcohol completely. Children’s Labor laws began to be established. For example, children were forbidden to work for more than ten hours per day and many national institutions, such as the New England Association of Farmers, began to condemn child labour.

Plot

1. Introduction: Three children: John, Kate and Maggie are left alone, when their mother dies in a drunken fit right in front of their eyes.
2. Occasion: The occasion that causes this story to unfold is the death of a single mother of three children who are left alone as orphans. The mother’s cause of death is alcoholism, and her children are left with no where to go, since it was unexpected.
3. Rising Action:After the funeral, John and Kate were taken separately by two villagers while nobody wants to take care of the sick Maggie; until Mr. Thompson takes her in for the night.
4. Climax: Mr. Thompson arrives at his house carrying Maggie but his wife doesn’t like it and wants the child to be sent to the poorhouse.
5. Falling Action: Mr. Thompson finds his wife talking to Maggie. After their supper he talks Maggie and then later on Mrs. Thompson arrives with the child’s food. Mrs. Thompson decides to let Maggie stay.
6. Resolution: Mr. Thompson doesn’t see the Guardian of the Poor. They decides to let Maggie stay and live with them at their house.

Theme

This short story has an amazing message or theme. It tells of how three children were sadly orphaned with their mother dying. Their mother hated by the village, died leaving the children without any other family or friends because the mother had no friends. The first born child, a stout 12-year-old boy by the name of John, was taken in by Farmer Jones for the fact that he could work. Then the second born child, 10-year-old Kate, was a “bright, active girl”. She was taken in by Mrs. Ellis, who was looking for a bound girl (indentured servant). Then finally there was Maggie, the youngest. She had sustained serious injuries to her back/spine and had been rendered unable to move from her bed without her mother’s help. This being so no one in the village wanted the orphan sick child. Except for one sympathetic, compassionate wheelwright man. His name was Joe Thompson. He takes her to his home, to his bitter and cold wife not knowing what to expect. After establishing the fact that he plans on taking her to the poor house possibly the next day and tactical words from Joe,his wife settles down from her riled up state. Joe pleads with his dour wife, “Look at her kindly, Jane; speak to her kindly,’’Think of her dead mother, and the loneliness, the pain, the sorrow that must be on all her coming life.”After spending the day/night with the small child, Mrs. Thompson’s heart softened with every moment while she tended to the small orphan. Not having a child of her own or any interests or things to take care of had made her less compassionate. Caring for the orphaned child gives her a sense of purpose and meaning in her life. Thus, changing not only her attitude but also her life. The little girl brought light and joy into their home. Unveiled the theme shows that ‘Good comes to people who do good.’

Besides the above given theme the subject of this short story is also disease. The story begins by displaying the negative things that disease brings with it, like the mother’s death due to her addiction and Maggie being stuck alone because no one wants to adopt the child who cannot walk. Conversely, the end of the story demonstrates the happiness that accepting disease can bring, when the Thompsons take Maggie in and are finally happy.

Highlights of Speech/or Summary

Outside of her home, a woman drops dead of excessive alcoholism. Everyone saw it coming, and really, she wasn’t all that well liked in her community. But now what must the village do with her three children? Her two eldest are old and fit enough to be put to work in one way or another but the youngest, Maggie, is chronically ill and of no use to anyone for anything. The general consensus is that she must be taken to the poorhouse if she has no relations to take her in, and no charitable heart around her to fill the role of guardian. Everyone is quick to sentence poor Maggie to her fate, however, no one is willing to actually drop her off into a life of assured misery. A man named Joe Thompson finally goes to check on her, he is instantly charmed by her cherubic demeanour and innocent look. He decided to take her in for the night but planned on bringing her to the poor house the next morning, because he knew his wife would not approve of her. When Joe brought Maggie home in his arms, his wife Mrs. Thompson was enraged that he had brought that “sick brat” into her house. Joe convinces the dour Mrs. Thompson to take poor Maggie in for a short while. He says, Joe begged her to “Look at her kindly, Jane; speak to her kindly,”, “Think of her dead mother, and the loneliness, the pain, the sorrow that must be on all her coming life.” While Joe was out at work Mrs. Thompson spent the day with Maggie and grew very fond of her. The Thompsons ended up keeping Maggie, and she became a blessing, “It had been dark, and cold, and miserable there for a long time just because his wife had nothing to love and care for out of herself, and so became soar, irritable, ill-tempered, and self-afflicting in the desolation of her woman’s nature. Now the sweetness of that sick child, looking ever to her in love, patience, and gratitude, was as honey to her soul, and she carried her in her heart as well as in her arms, a precious burden” – Maggie was an angle in disguise.

Characters

The writer reveals all the characters by means of both direct and indirect characterisation. For example, at the very beginning of the story the author introduces us some characters by direct characterisation: ‘This woman had been despised, scoffed at, and angrily denounced by nearly every man, woman, and child in the village judging by these words, we may assume that the woman’s life was very hard, there was nobody to support her, to help her.

Maggie

Maggie is the youngest of her family, and is tragically crippled from falling from a window two years prior. She is unable to leave her bed unless carried in someone’s arms. Maggie symbolizes innocence and dependency, because she literally cannot survive without the love and care of someone else. This is seen as a burden at first glance, but Maggie turns out to be a blessing in the Thompson home because she gives Mrs. Thompson purpose. Maggie’s character illustrates the main theme of the short story,that humans cannot survive without other humans to love and care for them.

Maggie, is described as a weak person, but quite experienced. She didn’t talk a lot, the author pays special attention to her personality indirectly, but very masterfully. From the very beginning of the story one can feel how much Maggie was afraid to stay alone: ‘But no one said ‘[’11 take Maggie’. Pitying glances were cast on her wan and wasted form and thoughts were troubled on her account. Mothers brought cast-off garments and, removing her soiled and ragged clothes, dressed her in clean attire. The sad eyes and patient face of the little one touched many hearts, and even knocked at them for entrance’. She kept silent, her eyes told more. By all means, she understood that “But none opened to take her in. Who wanted a bed-ridden child?’, thus the author shows us a remarkable piece of realistic character drawing. The author renders the atmosphere of her loneliness very artfully.Usage of such words as ‘tearful’, ‘scarcely’, ‘a sobbing farewell’, ‘refraining from a look’, ‘alone’ evoke an emotional response and the reader gets the vivid notion of the situation described. ‘O, Mr. Thompson!’ she cried out, catching her suspended breath, ‘don’t leave me here all alone!’, it has a very specific emotional colouring and the author conveys much while saying little. The author gives a very bright indirect characterization of Maggie’s personality: ‘…somebody’s arms must carry her, and mine are strong enough for that task’. On the one hand, this example shows how weak and helpless Maggie is and, on the other hand, the example demonstrates Mr. Thompson’s responsibility, his strong character. Besides, the author uses speech characterization to reveal Maggie’s personality. There is a dialogue which shows the personality of a small child, who is in despair, who has just lost her family but now has other parents, who is happy and sad at the same time, who doesn’t know what to expect next. In the dialogue Maggie gives very short replies. For example: “Yes, sir’, ‘He used to come’, ‘No, sir’. She is very polite,always said ‘sir’.

Mrs. Thompson

Mrs.Thompson is first introduced as a very cruel harsh character with little compassion * for Maggie, calling her a “sick brat”. Mrs Thompson was a bitter and angry person before Maggie came into her life.She had nothing to love and care for out of herself, and so became sore, irritable, ill-tempered, and self-afflicting in the desolation of her woman’s nature. But after spending time with Maggie, Mrs. Thompson is transformed and decided she wanted to take care of Maggie for a few more days, which eventually turned into the rest of her life. Mrs Thompson ends up falling in love with Maggie, and finds purpose in taking care and looking after her. Maggie and her love changed Mrs Thompson. The sweetness of that sick child, looking ever to her in love, patience, and gratitude, was as honey to her soul, and she carried her in her heart as well as in her arms like a precious burden. Mrs. Thompson’s character illuminates the theme of caring, and how caring for and loving others can bring the best out of someone and give someone a purpose for living. T. S. Arthur tells,‘Joe Thompson’s wife, who happened to be childless, was not a woman of saintly temper, nor much given to self-denial for others’ good…’. As for this phrase we may predict that Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are likely two poles apart.

Mr Thompson

‘Though rough in exterior, Joe Thompson, the wheelwright, had a heart, and it was very tender in some places. He liked children, and was pleased to have them come to his shop… ’ judging by this phrase we get to know that Mr. Thompson is really a kind-hearted sort of person, who loves to spend his time with children. Mr. Thompson is a strong man, but the experience with Maggie touched him greatly, that’s why he cried a little bit. And what is more, those tears proved that he was happy that his wife changed.

Minor characters

Farmer Jones and Mrs. Ellis, are minor characters and presented in the story, so to say, just directly: ‘Farmer Jones, after the coffin was taken out, placed John in his wagon and drove away, satisfied that he had done his part.

Mrs. Ellis spoke to Kate with a hurried air, ‘Bid your sister good by,’ and drew the tearful children apart ere scarcely their lips had touched in a sobbing farewell’.

‘ However, we may imagine what kind of people they are. They weren’t interested in Maggie’s life, they took children as things. They left Maggie alone and no one cared about her future life, to send Maggie to the poorhouse was the easiest way out.

Title

The title of the story “An Angel in Disguise” is symbolic. Maggie is an angel in disguise. She has some problem with her health but she makes the life of other people more interesting, happier and fills of sense. She gives a speck of happiness for Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. She is as a honey to Mrs. Thompson’s soul. She is a little girl with a pure, clear and light soul. Maggie was the angel who came into their house. She came disguised as a sick, helpless, and miserable child, and filled all its dreary chambers with the sunshine of love. The author says she is disguised because her true self of love and beauty was hidden from the eyes of everyone and only when the Thompsons selflessly cared and loved her did the angel shower them with happiness in their lives.

Setting

The events of the story happen in the village, where every man or woman knows each other. The setting of the events is presented in a general way. The setting of the events is realistic. The author doesn’t describe the place, but we can imagine this place from the context. This village is dark and gloomy, because all descriptions in the story are in dark colors. But at the end of the story this description changes and the author uses in description words with positive semantic.

Style

The speaker in this story is a third person omniscient narrator (all-knowing). The story is in the third person narration, because the narrator is not an active participant of events and does not have any special insight into the characters’ perceptions. This technique is used when the author wants to make the narration more objective and free from any personal attitude, positive or negative.

The narrator has a bias toward the children, especially Maggie, due to her predicament of being an orphan whom everyone is reluctant to take in. The narrator demonstrates this bias when he describes Maggie as having “sad eyes and a patient face”, that once you’ve read it, it stays forever engraved in your heart.

Critical Appreciation

‘An Angel in Disguise’ is a story about love, kindness, human feelings and bereavement. This story is about an angel with open heart and pure soul. At the beginning this story is very sad, because three children: John, Kate and Maggie are left alone, when their mother dies in a drunken fit right in front of their eyes. Maggie is the youngest child. She is hopelessly diseased, because two years before her mother’s death, she had fallen out of a window and had injured her spine. No one wants to take her to their house; no one wants to bother with her, except Mr. Thompson.

The title of the story “An Angel in Disguise” is symbolic. Maggie is an angel in disguise. She has some problem with her health but she makes the life of other people more interesting and happier. She brings a spark of happiness for Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. She is as a honey to Mrs. Thompson’s soul. She is a little girl with a pure, clear and light soul.

The author’s message is to help other people, because we should be kind, sympathetic and tender, because there maybe an angel in disguise for us. The main theme of the story is that people can change and feel love for others.

The story is in the third person narration, because the narrator is not a participant of events. So the narrator is not an active participant in the story and does not have any special insight into the characters’ perceptions. This technique is used when the author wants to make the narration more objective and free from any personal attitude, positive or negative.

The author uses a neutral vocabulary but there are emotionally positive words (love, tender, sunshine of love etc.) and negative words (idles, vice, burial and others), high-flown words (farewell, chord, garments) and low word (brat). All these words make the story bright and interesting. There are some dialectal words: ‘tis, ‘ere, sha’n’t they help us to get to know about the character’s social status and occupation.

The author uses metaphors: ‘Though rough in exterior, Joe Thompson’ (the author uses it to make the description of Joe brighter, to show that he has a kind heart), ‘white face’ (to show Maggie’s inner condition, to show her paleness), ‘pity took the place of anger’ (to show the feelings of people to these children more vivid). One more example of the metaphor is ‘he wrapped her with the gentleness almost of a woman’ (it is used to describe the real feeling of Mr. Thompson.). ‘Her voice struck a chord that quivered in a low strain of music’ (it is used to show how the little girl is afraid). The author uses the metaphor to encourage us to draw a comparison between seemingly unrelated things.

The author masterly uses rich and vivid epithets, such as ‘a decent interment of the body’, ‘a bound girl’, ‘sobbing farewell’, ‘miserable work’, ‘pitying glances’, ‘a rough man’, ‘a sad place’. The epithets make the images described by the author more creative and interesting.

The author uses personifications ‘… love was springing into life’, ‘a few words came’ (they are used to help us understand the situation better), ‘a soft feeling crept into the heart’, ‘a weight lifted itself from his heart’. The personifications are used to make plain sentences more interesting.

There is one example of oxymoron: ‘death touches the spring’ (in most cases spring means that everything revives, come to life, but in this case it means death). The author uses it to create an ironic sense.

There are some examples of repetition: the end of the sentence is repeated: ‘Now, it is a small thing for us to keep this poor motherless little one for a single night; to be kind to her for a single night; to make her life comfortable for a single night’. It is used to make the story more interesting and pay attention to the last word.

The author uses elliptical sentences, such as: ‘Right soon’, ‘Yes, sir’, ‘But not lately?’, ‘Take her to the poorhouse’. They are used to avoid unnecessary words, be brief and draw our attention to more necessary words.

Exclamatory sentences are used: ‘She was alone!’, ‘O, Mr. Thompson’. ‘Women’s hearts are not half so hard as men’s!’, ‘How his heart swelled in his boson!’ They are used to put a great importance to these sentences and draw our attention to these sentences.

Rhetoric questions are used_not only to draw our attention, but to touch the soul of every reader.: ‘Who wanted a bed-ridden child?’.

Inversion is used to point out the most prominent part of a sentence: ‘On entering, Joe did not go immediately to the little chamber’.

This short story seems to target both an audience of alcoholics and those who discriminate against handicapped or disabled people. It targets alcoholics because it displays the tragedy that alcohol can inflict on a family. It also targets those who discriminate because the story illustrates the joy and love that disabled people can bring to ones life, and how valuable their life truly is.

The tone of the short story begins as a melancholy one, because a woman, who no one seemed to previously care about, has passed away and the townspeople suddenly act as if they are in mourning. This tone continues as the narrator reveals that the children are orphans, and especially when none of the townspeople are willing to take little Maggie in. Once Joe Thompson takes Maggie to his house, the tone shifts from melancholy to hopeful; although Mrs. Thompson wants to send Maggie to the poorhouse, her kindness toward the child foreshadows a possible change in mind. Finally, once Mrs. Thompson realizes that Maggie is bringing the couple happiness, the tone ultimately shifts to loving and optimistic for the future.

The recurring motif of disease or sickness which begins with the mother’s alcoholism and continues with Maggie’s injury and sickness demonstrates that a simple character flaw can cause positive and negative things to occur in one’s life. T. S. Arthur wrote this short story in order to illustrate the importance of caring and loving for others. Not only does Maggie need the care and love of another to survive, but Mrs. Thompson also needs Maggie as someone to care and love for to live a happy purposeful life. This displays that humans cannot survive without other humans to give them purpose and direction. T. S Arthur proves that love is essential for human survival.

Glossary

1. Idleness: the state of being indolence; laziness
2. Temperance: Moderation of passion; patience; calmness
3. Scoffed: to jeer; laugh at with contempt and derision
4. Poorhouse: a charitable institution where poor or homeless people are lodged
5. Saintly: like a characteristic of a saint
6. Mended: to repair
7. Shrink: to become smaller
8. Apt: suitable, appropriate; fit
9. Errand: a trip to accomplish a small mission or to do some business
10. Countenance: Appearance, esp. The feature and expression of the face

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Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers Chapter 5 Notes A Face in the Dark – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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About the Author

Ruskin Bond was born on 19 May 1934in a military hospital, to Edith Clarke and Aubrey Bond, in Kasauli. He is an Indian author of British descent. He lives with his adopted family in Landour, in Mussoorie, India. The Indian Council for Child Education has recognised his role in the growth of children’s literature in India. He got the Sahitya Academy Award in 1992 for Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra, for his published work in English. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan in 2014

When Bond was eight years old, his mother separated from his father and married a Punjabi Hindu, Hari. Ellen lived in Ludhiana until she died in 2014.

Bond spent his early childhood in Jamnagar (Gujarat) and Shimla. At the age of ten, Ruskin went to live at his grandmother’s house in Dehradun after his father’s death that year from jaundice. Ruskin was raised by his mother and stepfather. He did his schooling from Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, from where he graduated in 1950 after winning several writing competitions in the school including the Irwin Divinity Prize and the Hailey Literature Prize. He wrote one of his first short stories, “Untouchable”, at the age of sixteen in 1951.

Most of his works are influenced by life in the hill stations at the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his childhood. His first novel, The Room On the Roof, was written when he was 17 and published when he was 21. It was partly based on his experiences at Dehradun, in his small rented room on the roof, and his friends. On writing for children, he said, “I had a pretty lonely childhood and it helps me to understand a child better.” Bond’s work reflects his Anglo-Indian experiences and the changing political, social and cultural aspects of India, having been through colonial, postcolonial and post­independence phases of India.

Being a writer for over 50 years, Bond experimented with different genres; early works include fiction, short stories, novella with some being autobiographical. Later, he tried out non-fiction, romance and books for children. He said his favourite genres are essays and short stories. He considers himself a “visual writer” because for short stories, he first imagines it like a film and then notes it down.

About the Story

  Ruskin Bond once famously remarked that while he does not believe in ghosts, he sees them all the time—in the woods, in a bar, in a crowd outside a cinema. Not surprising, then, that in his stories, ghosts, jinns, witches—and the occasional monster—are as real as the people he writes about. He makes the supernatural appear entirely natural, and therefore harder to ignore. This story brings together all of Ruskin Bond’s tales of the paranormal. It opens with perhaps his best-known story, the unforgettable ‘A Face in the Dark’ is set in a pine forest outside Simla, A Face in the Dark is the perfect story to have by your bedside when the moon is up.

A Face in the Dark is a short story with the theme of the supernatural bind. The supernatural and Bond’s classically beautiful descriptive and matter-of-fact writing style spin out a story that does not aim to scare the day lights out of you; it merely indulges in various accounts of what and how the supernatural may or may not exist as a part of our everyday life.

A Face in the Dark is one of Bond’s more famous stories, having been a part of Indian school’s English Lit. books for a long time now. This story is short and crisp and has one of those beautiful endings that say very little but tell a lot. The story is eerie, leaving one haunted in a melancholy sort of way, and is beautifully written.

Face In The Dark offers some semblance of escape for readers. It is able to “raise the possibility of another layer of life outside our material selves – something of the soul-force, the aura of a person that lingers on after the body is no more.” And so lingers on long after it has been read.

Plot

A Face in the Dark is a short story by Ruskin Bond. It’s the story set on a windy night when Mr Oliver, an Anglo-Indian teacher, dares to walk through the pine forest on his way back to the school after an evening at Simla Bazaar. He comes across a weeping boy who lifts his face, which is not a face but a flat something without eyes, nose or mouth. Mr Oliver runs only to bump into a watchman who again had a face like that of the faceless boy.

Theme

The story a Face in the Dark exhibits Bond’s interest in the supernatural. It deals with the paranormal depicting the story of a school teacher who while returning from the Simla Bazaar takes a shortcut through the forest and encounters a faceless weeping boy. The boy has no nose, ears or eyes. Mr Oliver runs in fear but to his horror meets the watchman who is also without a face.

Highlights of Speech/or Summary

A Face in the Dark is a short story by Ruskin Bond. It’s the story set on a windy night when Mr Oliver, an Anglo-Indian teacher, dares to walk through the pine forest on his way back to the school after an evening at Simla Bazaar. The Simla Bazaar was about three miles from the school. Mr Oliver, was a bachelor and would generally go to the town to while away time and then return using a shortcut through the pine forest.

At night when winds blew forcefully they would make an eerie sound which frightened most people and they preferred to take the main road. But Mr Oliver was not a nervous man . He took the forest road carrying a torch. The battery was low so the gleam moved fitfully down the road.

And then he saw a figure. It was a boy sitting alone on a rock. He stopped next to the. boy as boys from the school were not supposed to be out after dark. Inorder to see him better, Mr Oliver moved closer and said, ‘ What are you doing out here boy?’ The boy seemed to be crying. Mr Oliver asked him to look up and to his horror the boy had no face, ears, nose or eyes. There was just a cap over a smooth, round head. Mr Oliver gets horrified and drops the torch and runs for the school, crying for help.

He collided with the watchman who asked, ‘What is it, Sahib? Has there been an accident? Why are you running?’

Mr Oliver told him about the faceless boy he had seen in the forest and to his shock and utter horror the watchman raised the lamp to his own face which was like the boy’s with no ears, eyes or nose. A faceless man. And then the wind blew out the lamp.

Character

Mr Oliver

Mr Oliver was an Anglo- Indian teacher working in a boy’s boarding school near Simla. He had been at the school for several years. He was a bachelor and liked to stroll to the Simla Bazaar in the evening. He was a man who prided himself on not being fearful of the dark and was unafraid. Hence he often returned to the school in the late evening via the shortcut through the pine forest. But seeing the faceless boy in the forest scares and horrifies him and in panic he drops his torch and runs towards the school meeting the watchman on the way. But to his dismay the watchman too is without a face. Maybe it was all his imagination, his inherent fears being conjured to frighten him face to face in the dark.

Title

The title of the story ‘A Face in the Dark’ is very appropriate as it suggests to the reader a theme which is got dark or paranormal connotations. The story revolves around Mr Oliver and his strange and frightening encounter with a faceless boy in the eerie forest in the darkness of the night. Mr Oliver stumbles into a faceless watchman when he runs towards the school. So the emphasis is on his strange experience with people who are weird in the sense they have no face. These are supernatural experiences, extensions maybe of Mr Oliver’s subconscious fears.

Setting

The setting of the story is a deep and dark pine forest on the outskirts of the north Indian hill- station, Simla. Mr Oliver, a bachelor often visited the Simla Bazaar in the evening and then took a shortcut through the forest to, the school. But on a particular night as he returned through the forest he saw a boy sitting on a rock and crying. When he asked the boy to raise his face , he saw in the flickering light of his torch a faceless round head with a cap perched over it. In fear he ran towards the school only to encounter another faceless entity in the form of the watchman. The setting of the story thus is mysterious, eerie and supernatural.

Style

Ruskin Bond stories are not horror they are like experiences. None of the experiences he describes are dangerous, life threatening or altering – they are just different. All his stories are good hearted, honest and believable. And even in this story Ruskin Bond yet again proves he is a master story teller and more than that a master story collector.

In order to suit his theme and make the story more impactful Ruskin Bond adopts a simple, lucid and straightforward style. The story is narrated in the third person by an omniscient author. The author has used apt and appropriate imagery and language to create an atmosphere of eeriness and super naturalism and is catering not only to the imagination of adults but also of children. The dialogues are crisp and short and the descriptions of the scenes and setting very vivid and graphic which all enhance the mysterious and weird atmosphere which the author aims at creating.

The author adroitly uses language to create his mysterious and strange atmosphere. . He opens the story with a everyday, normal occurrence and through the use of words and phrases like ‘sad,’ ‘eerie sounds,’ ‘racked with silent sobbing,’ ‘shook convulsively’ succeeds in creating an atmosphere replete with supernatural and fearful connotations.

Critical Appreciation

A Face in the Dark is a short story by Ruskin Bond. It is a story that is set in a strange and mysterious setting and atmosphere. On a windy night when Mr Oliver, an Anglo-Indian teacher, dares to walk through the pine forest on his way back to the school after an evening at Simla Bazaar he is faced with a weird experience. The Simla Bazaar was about three miles from the school. Mr Oliver, was a bachelor and would generally go to the town to while away time and then return using a shortcut through the pine forest. In the forest in the dark he comes across a weeping boy who lifts his face, which is not a face but a flat something without eyes, nose or mouth. Mr Oliver runs only to bump into a watchman who again had a face like that of the faceless boy.

In this story Ruskin Bond yet again proves he is a master story teller. He draws on his travels, interactions with people, and his bonding with them gives them the confidence to share their stories with him which then he presents in the same tone and style bringing his silent listener’s great talent in it. His writing skill lies in the way he graphically uses his language and imagination to transport us to the hills and watching the sun setting beautifully and the dark night enveloping the forest with the wind howling in the trees to create an eerie and strange atmosphere. The imagery abounds in super naturalism and paranormal scenes. The image of a lonely boy in the night in a dark forest amidst the howling wind and rustling leaves, sitting on a rock ‘racked by silent weeping’ not only evokes a feeling of strangeness, of impending horror but also of sympathy for a weeping child. Thus a mastery of language helps him to achieve this effect. Ruskin Bond stories are not horror they are like haunting experiences. The experience is not dangerous, life threatening or altering -it is just different. It is honest and believable.

The tone is straightforward and objective without melodrama. The author with his consummate simplicity of style puts one at ease as if feel one is spending a weekend on a hill station and then late at night next to the bonfire everyone starts telling you about the stories they have heard from strangers with haunting experiences. His tone and style gradually make make the reader warm like the bonfire burning, and attention is only diverted when shadows move in the vicinity or leaves rustle as if someone far is listening. One is transported into the world of paranormal activities without realising but the story is in no way macabre.

Bond builds the atmosphere from the ordinary to the surreal. He opens with the description of the ordinary school teacher’s routine, then introduces the eerie atmosphere of the dark forest with the howling wind, then a surprise element of sympathy and anger at the boy out after dark leading to the horror of the faceless entity, a surreal and weird encounter. The narrator writes, ‘He carried a torch -on the night I write of, its pale gleam, the batteries were running down – moved fitfully over the narrow forest path. When its flickering light fell on the figure of a boy, who was sitting alone on a rock, Mr. Oliver stopped.

Boys were not supposed to be out of school after seven p.m. and it was now well past nine.’ This detail about the torch suggests that something is not right and makes us wait expectantly for the unusual. And such an effect speaks of the superior writing and storytelling skills of Ruskin Bond.

Glossary

1. Outskirts: parts of a town away from the center.
2. Strolled: to walk in a relaxed manner.
3. Eerie: mysterious, frightening, strange.
4. Nervous: anxious.
5. Miscreant: a person who has done something wrong.
6. Distinctly: clearly.
7. Scrambled: moved quickly.
8. Stumbled: tripped.
9. Gasping: breathing heavily and in a fast way.
10. Horrible: terrible.

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Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Short Stories Workbook Answers Chapter 1 Notes Chief Seattle’s Speech – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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Introduction

Over the years, Chief Seattle’s famous speech has been embellished, popularized, and carved into many a monument, but its origins have remained inadequately explained. Understood as a symbolic encounter between indigenous America, represented by Chief Seattle, and industrialized or imperialist America, represented by Isaac L Stevens, the first governor of Washington Territory, it was first published in a Seattle newspaper in 1887 by a pioneer who claimed he had heard Seattle (or Sealth) deliver it in the 1850s. No other record of the speech has been found, and Isaac Stevens’s writings do not mention it. Yet it has long been taken seriously as evidence of a voice crying out of the wilderness of the American past.

About the Author

Seattle was a great speaker and skilled diplomat. Born in 1786, his real name, in the Lushootseed language, was See-ahth, which the whites found nearly impossible to pronounce.

Seattle’s mother Sholeetsa was Dkhw’Duw’Absh (Duwamish) and his father Shweabe was chief of the Dkhw’Suqw’Absh (the Suquamish tribe). Seattle was bom around 1780 on or near Blake Island, Washington. Seattle grew up speaking both the Duwamish and Suquamish dialects.

Seattle earned his reputation at a young age as a leader and a warrior, ambushing and defeating groups of tribal enemy raiders. Like many of his contemporaries, he owned slaves captured during his raids. He was tall and broad for a Puget Sound native, standing nearly six feet tall; Hudson’s Bay Company traders gave him the nickname Le Gros (The Big Guy). He was also known as an orator, and when he addressed an audience, his voice is said to have carried from his camp to the Stevens Hotel at First and Marion, a distance of 3/4 mile (1.2 km)

Seattle was also a warrior with a considerable reputation for daring raids on other Indian tribes. After smallpox wiped out many of his people, he realized the inevitablity of the coming tide of white settlement. In 1854, he made his speech on the differences between the Indian way of life and white way of life to more than a thousand of his people gathered to greet the Government’s Indian superintendent, Isaac Stevens. A year later, the chief signed a treaty with the United States Government, ceding much of the area on which the city of Seattle now stands. Most historians agree that the speech was delivered in the Salish dialect. Dr Henry A. Smith is believed to have taken notes and translated it into English. Thus it is Dr Smith’s version published in 1887 which is referred to mostly.

He died in 1866, at the age of 80, one year after the city named for him passed a law making it illegal for Indians to live in Seattle.

About the Story

There is a great deal of controversy surrounding Chief Seattle’s speech of 1854. There are many sources of information, various versions of the speech, and debates over its very existence.

The National Archives contains two short documents attributed to Seattle. In both, he talks about accepting the treaty and how his people are looking forward to receiving the things promised by the government.

Mr. Buerge said he believed the Smith translation, which mentioned nothing about the whites ravaging the environment, is close, in spirit at least, to what Seattle really said.

By most accounts, the speech was stirring, carried by the chief’s strong voice.

Even the date and location of the speech has been disputed, but the most common version is that on March 11, 1854, Sealth gave a speech at a large outdoor gathering in Seattle. The meeting had been called by Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens to discuss the surrender or sale of native land to white settlers. Doc Maynard introduced Stevens, who then briefly explained his mission, which was already well understood by all present.

Sealth then rose to speak. He rested his hand upon the head of the much smaller Stevens, and declaimed with great dignity for an extended period. No one alive today knows what he said; he spoke in the Lushootseed language, and someone translated his words into Chinook Indian trade language, and a third person translated that into English.

The speech given by Chief Seattle in January of 1854 is the subject of a great deal of historical debate. The most important fact to note is that there is NO VERBATIM TRANSCRIPT IN EXISTENCE. All known texts are second-hand.

Version 1 appeared in the Seattle Sunday Star on Oct. 29, 1887, in a column by Dr. Henry A. Smith. He makes it very clear that his version is not an exact copy, but rather the best he could put together from notes taken at the time. There is an undecided historical argument on which native dialect the Chief would have used, Duwamish or Suquamish. Either way all agree the speech was translated into the Chinook Jargon on the spot, since Chief Seattle never learned to speak English.

Version 2 was written by poet William Arrowsmith in the late 1960s. This was an attempt to put the text into more current speech patterns, rather than Dr. Smith’s more flowery Victorian style. Except for this modernization, it is very similar to Version 1.

Version 3 is perhaps the most widely known of all. This version was written by Texas professor Ted Perry as part of a film script. The makers of the film took a little literary license, further changing the speech and making it into a letter to President Franklin Pierce, which has been frequently reprinted. No such letter was ever written by or for Chief Seattle.                                                         ‘

Version 4 appeared in an exhibit at Expo ’74 in Spokane, Washington, and is a shortened edition of Dr. Perry’s script (Version 3).

The best description of the saga of Chief Seattle’s speech can be found in an essay by Rudolf Kaiser: “Chief Seattle’s Speech(es): American Origins and European Reception” published in Recovering the Word: Essays on Native American Literature by the University of California Press, 1987. Another excellent discussion appears in David Buerge’s article “Seattle’s King Arthur: How Chief Seattle continues to inspire his many admirers to put words in his mouth,” appearing in the July 17, 1991 Seattle Weekly.

Plot

1. Seattle delivers speech in Washington in 1854.
2. He thanked the white Chief for his greetings and friendship.
3. He accepted the White Chief’s proposition and says it was just.
4. Speaks about their ecological and Native American’s land rights.
5. Appeals to the White people to be kind and just to the natives.
6. Wants the assurance of protection of his people by the whites.
7. Offers greetings and friendship to the White people.

Theme

Through the speech that Chief Seattle delivered in Washington in 1854 in Suquamish language he attempted to forward a message of reconciliation and friendship to the White people. He spoke about their ecological responsibilities and respect for the native people. He felt that their hostilities should end and they should live in harmony. The White Chief should take the responsibility of protecting the natives. The native people in return agreed to live on the land marked for them. Seattle strikes a note of optimism when he accepted that the proposition made by the Whites appeared just. But as he is slightly apprehensive, he puts the condition that the natives should be allowed to visit the graves of their ancestors whenever they so wished. This is how the author puts forward the theme of respect for elders and value of the traditions of their race.

Highlights of Speech/or Summary

Chief Seattle delivered his speech at Washington in 1854 saying that whatever Seattle said, the Great Chief at Washington could rely upon with as much certainty as he could upon the return of the sun or the seasons.

He sends greetings of friendship and goodwill and thanks the White chief for their friendship in return. His people were many. They were like the grass that covered vast prairies. Seattle had few people. The White Chief had sent word that he wished to buy their land but was willing to allow them enough to live comfortably. This indeed appeared just, even generous.

There was a time Seattle’s people covered the land but that time long since passed away with the greatness of tribes that were now but a mournful memory. Youth is impulsive and young men often grow angry at some real or imaginary wrong, and are often cruel and relentless, and their old men and old women are unable to restrain them. Thus it was when the white man began to push the native’s forefathers ever westward. But he hoped that the hostilities between them may never return as there would be everything to lose and nothing to gain.

Seattle then referred to George Washington as —‘our great and good father,’ who promised the natives that if they do as he desires he would protect them. But native God is not the coloniser’s God! The coloniser’s god was partial and could not renew the native’s prosperity and awaken in them dreams of returning greatness. They are two distinct races with separate origins and separate destinies. There is little in common between them.

The ashes of their ancestors were sacred to the natives and their resting place is hallowed ground.

The native’s dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being. The Red Man has ever fled the approach of the White Man. However, he agrees that the white man’s proposition seems fair and the natives would accept it and retire to the reservation offered to them. Then they would live apart in peace. Grim fate seems to be on the Red Man’s trail., He compared the native’s plight to that of the wounded doe that hears the approaching footsteps of the hunter.

He agreed to accept the white man’s proposition on the condition that they would not be denied the privilege of visiting at any time the tombs of their ancestors, friends, and children.

He appealed to the white man to be just and deal kind to his people.

Character

Chief Seattle

Chief Seattle is a prominent and respected member of the Suquamish tribe. His people accept the decisions he makes. He is their leader. Seattle’s mother Sholeetsa was Dkhw’Duw’Absh (Duwamish) and his father Shweabe was chief of the Dkhw’Suqw’Absh (the Suquamish tribe). Seattle was born around 178C on or near Blake Island, Washington. Seattle grew up speaking both the Duwamish and Suquamish dialects.

Seattle earned his reputation at a young age as a leader and a warrior, ambushing and defeating groups of tribal enemy raiders. Like many of his contemporaries, he owned slaves captured during his raids. He was tall and broad for a Puget Sound.native, standing nearly six feet tall; Hudson’s Bay Company traders gave him the nickname Le Gros (The Big Guy). He was also known as an orator, and when he addressed an audience, his voice is said to have carried from his camp to the Stevens Hotel at First and Marion, a distance of 3/4 mile (1.2 km). Seattle was also a warrior with a considerable reputation for daring raids on other Indian tribes.

He was wise enough to understand that the White colonisers were powerful and the only option his people had was to agree to their proposition. So he agreed but also made a condition that the White Chief take the responsibility of protecting his people and allowing them to visit the graves of their ancestors. This showed that he loved and respected the traditions.

Title

The title, Chief Seattle’s Speech is apt and suggestive because it is a rendition of his views about the White people, his apprehensions and his reconciliation for the sake of the survival of his people. He speaks about the proposition made by the White Chief. His acknowledgement of the friendship, his fears for the safety and survival of his people and about their ecological responsibility.

Setting

Chief Seattle delivered his speech at Washington in 1854 saying that whatever Seattle said, the Great Chief at Washington could rely upon with as much certainty as he could upon the return of the sun or the seasons.

Chief Seattle’s speech was originally addressed to Governor Issac Stevens. Seattle claimed the rare opportunity to address Euro-American representations of American Indians to express his love for his land. Governor Issac Stevens spoke to them about what later came to be called the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, which was a land treaty between the United States Government and the Native American Tribes of the area in the Washington Territory formed in 1853. The speech was a reaction to the proposition of the White settlers to buy the land of the natives and settle them on a small part of it.

Style

Few speeches have captured the imagination of both Europeans and Americans as Chief Seattle’s legendary address has. It was originally made in the Suquamish language as Chief Seattle could not speak English. Reputedly delivered in the 1850s to Isaac Stevens, the governor of the Washington Territory, it took on a life of its own in the late 20th century when several different versions, many with an emphasis on the environment, surfaced.

Chief Seattle shares his precious land’s memories by forming two different tones. Chief Seattle creates a passionate and a sorrowful tone through diction and imagery. He made his speech passionate and sorrowful to move the audience’s heart and hoping that the people would take care of the land like the chief did.

The first part of Seattle’s speech of the land is packed with memories and what they mean to his people. He says that if he sells the land everybody must remember that they should treat “every” part of the land as if they were their “brothers”. The tone of his words is sorrowful because he focused on what he’s going to lose, the things and values that are precious to him – everything in his memory, his brothers.

Every detail of the land, part of the land came from his memories. Seattle uses detailed words or imagery such as every “shining” pine needle, every “humming” insect, and every “perfumed” flower. Seattle uses detailed words to describe a scene that had impacted him. His imagery centers and puts deeper meanings to his speech that he is going to miss the land.

The second part of Seattle’s speech presents is not his memory – it is what Seattle wants the inherent of the land to do and not to do and what the land means to him. He says to love and to care for the land because it is precious to everyone and all things are united and harming the land is the same thing as to have contempt for its creator. The tone of his words is passionate because the land is very precious to him and he wants everyone to take care of the land. Seattle uses repetition of “love” and “care” in the sentence: “love it as we have loved it, care for it as we have cared for it.” Repeating the two words emphasizes them and it makes it sound that he is really passionate about the land. Seattle says that “No man, be he Red Man or White Man can be apart.”

His speech abounds in similes and metaphors.
Similes : ‘My words are like the stars that never change.’
‘Our people are ebbing like a rapidly receding tide that will never return.’
Metaphor : He calls his God, ‘the Great Spirit.
Thus we can say that in his speech he adopts a style that is literary, straightforward and emotionally stirring.

Critical Appreciation

Controversy surrounds the speech Chief Seattle delivered in 1855 during a land treaty negotiation with Governor Issac Stevens. On one hand, we worship Seattle’s eloquent words for their unique insight on the Native American perspective. On the other hand, debate rages over the authenticity of the speech’s only existing recording, a reproduction produced by Dr. Henry Smith thirty years after the event. Many facts about Smith’s situation still remain clouded.

Despite the mystery surrounding this famous speech, its contents can be understood in terms of what Mary Louis Pratt calls a “contact zone.” In Pratt’s article “Arts of the Contact Zone,” she introduces this zone as the chaotic space in which cultures collide. Essential features of the contact zone include autoethnography, the representation of one’s own culture that responds to representations made by others, and transculturation, the selective absorption of the dominant culture by a marginal group. These features of autoethnography and transculturation emerge prominently in Chief Seattle’s speech, shedding more insight on the interactions between the Native Americans and the Euro-Americans; however, in the context of the unique circumstances surrounding the text, Seattle’s speech ultimately demonstrates the inherent dangers of representation and misrepresentation in the contact zone.

Under the assumption that Smith’s recreation of the speech accurately translates Chief Seattle’s original speech, the text qualifies as an autoethnography of the Native American people.

Traditional Euro-American representations of the American Indians consistently degraded them to the level of “savages.” From the beginning of their contact, Europeans contrasted their civilization with the savageness of the Indians.

This view of the beastly, godless, and devil-worshipping nature of the Indians continued for a vast part of the contact, shaping the violent interactions between the natives and the settlers. This view also led to the notion that the Native Americans had no claim to the land. The continual claiming of Indian land, even to the time of the Chief Seattle’s land negotiation with Governor Stevens in Washington, demonstrates the widespread acceptance of Gray’s view among the Euro-Americans. In his speech, Chief Seattle counters these Euro-American representations of the Native Americans. In response to the portrayals of savageness and godlessness, he emphasizes the nobility and religiousness of his people.

In particular, Chief Seattle condemns the violence that occurred between the two races and elevates his people above the mutual savagery. Seattle acknowledges the involvement of his race in the statement, “Youth is impulsive. When our young men grow angry… they are often cruel and relentless, and our old men and old women are unable to restrain them” However, he carefully creates the distinction between the “impulsive” youth and the wiser “old men and old women” who wish for peace, displaying the complexity within Indian society. Chief Seattle also points out that the Euro-Americans were equally at fault for the violence. He refers to the time “when the white man began to push our forefathers ever westward” and how his “paleface brothers [hastened] our untimely decay”. While acknowledging the violence, Seattle suggests that his “paleface brothers” were the true savages who slaughtered vast numbers of Indians during the westward push. Meanwhile, Seattle expresses his “hope that the hostilities… never return”, given the extent that they have hurt his people. In doing so, he completes the reversal of representations; the Euro-Americans are the barbarians waging war while the Natives are the victims begging for peace.

Chief Seattle also responds to the charge of “godlessness” circulated by the conquerors by comparing his religion with Christianity. He exclaims, ‘Your God is not our God! Your God loves your people and hates mine! … If we have a common Heavenly Father He must be partial, for He came to His paleface children. We never saw Him. He gave you laws but had no word for His red children.’

These statements highlight the absurdity of expecting the American Indians, having been isolated from the Europeans for thousands of years, to have adopted the same  religion. In place of Christianity, Seattle introduces the religion of his people: “Our religion is the tradition of our ancestors… ”. He points out several areas in which his religion is superior to Christianity. He says, “Your religion was written upon tablets of stone… so that you could not forget… Our religion… is written in the hearts of our people” . Similarly, “Your dead cease to love you… Our dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being”. These comparisons pose a direct challenge to the earlier portrayals of the Indians as godless and devil-worshiping. Furthermore. Chief Seattle also responds to the Euro-American belief that the Indians had no claim to the land by expressing their profound attachment to it. He declares, “The very dust upon which you now stand

responds more lovingly to [our] footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors.” In direct opposition with Euro-American representations, Seattle demonstrates that the Natives, like the Europeans, have a complex religion and culture.

The speech has elements of transculturation. Although Seattle tended to emphasize the differences between Native Americans and Euro-Americans, the Euro-American idea that the Native Americans were going to become extinct, surfaced throughout his speech.This idea of the inevitable extinction of the Native Americans as a race originated from the colonists. This idea served the colonists quite conveniently. It justified what Ring calls the “transfer of real estate,” the process in which European settlers gradually moved into established Indian communities as the Indians “disappeared”. Apparently, killing and stealing from an already-doomed race was easier to accept.

Throughout his speech, Chief Seattle indicates his acceptance of this belief that the Native Americans would become extinct. He refers to their “untimely decay” and laments, “It matters little where we pass the remnant of our days. They will not be many”, although he does not provide any concrete reasons for these sentiments. Instead, Seattle settles with the warning, “When the last Red Man shall have perished… these shores will throng with the invisible dead of my tribe… The White Man will never be alone”. In accepting the ultimate defeat of the Indians, Chief Seattle adopted an element of the dominant, Euro- American thought, demonstrating the transculturation predicted.

While the contents of Chief Seattle’s speech, as recreated by Dr. Smith, demonstrate both autoethnography and transculturation in a contact zone, their presence alone does not confirm the authenticity of the speech. In fact, numerous historical details question its legitimacy. Considering, for instance, that the original speech was given in Lushotseed, translated in Chinook Jargon a language with around 300 words and then into English from thirty-year-old notes , we should view the speech with at least some degree of suspicion.

In fact, Dr. Smith admits in the publication that his version fails to reproduce Seattle’s exact statements.

In addition to a lack of historical evidence, an analysis of the Chief Seattle himself also casts doubts on the very existence of the speech. The only two paragraphs of Chief Seattle statements on the official record present him as compliant and reserved: at one point, Seattle says, “My mind is like yours, I don’t want to say more” William Abruzzi suggests that Seattle was selected for the negotiation over local leaders precisely because he demonstrated this allegiance, not opposition. This picture of Chief Seattle, which sharply  contrasts the forceful, passionate tone of Smith’s text, suggests that the speech produced by Dr. Smith may not have taken place at all.

Regardless of the final verdict on the authenticity of Seattle’s speech, it is safe to conclude that Dr. Smith played at least a significant role in the formation of Chief Seattle’s speech. As Dr. Smith belongs to the dominant culture, the speech can no longer be considered as a pure autoethnographic text; elements of ethnography inevitably contaminate the speech. The transculturation present in the speech suffers a similar fate; we can no longer take Chief Seattle’s acceptance of the extinction of the Indians as an actual absorption of dominant material by a marginal group.

Significantly, each new version of Seattle’s speech, beginning with that of Dr. Heniy Smith and ending with the latest reincarnation of Ted Perry’s script, has been created entirely by non-Indians. Not one Native people has translated Seattle’s speech into their own indigenous language

The true interests of the Native Americans become lost as Euro-American culture continues to fabricate images of Native Americans through figures like Chief Seattle.

In sum, while autoethnography and transculturation offer valuable insights into cultures and their interactions, we must also remain wary of misrepresentation in the contact zone. Chief Seattle’s speech appears to shed valuable light on Native American reactions to the representations of the Euro-Americans, but the increasingly larger role that Dr. Smith is believed to have played in the production of the speech challenges the validity of those reactions. Perhaps then, one day, we can begin to understand Chief Seattle’s real message.

Glossary

1. Yonder : there
2. Compassion : sympathy
3. Eternal : permanent.
4. Prairies : wide areas of grassland.
5. Dwell on : think a lot about something.
6. Mourn over : grieve over.
7. Reproach : blame/criticize.
8. Denotes : indicates.
9. Restrain : check,stop somebody from doing something.
10. Hostilities : strong and angry opposition.
11. Receding : moving away.
12. Tide : wave of water.
13. Prosperity : progress
14. Multitudes : many.
15. Firmament : the sky.
16. Ancestors : persons in the family who lived long ago.

For More Resources

Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers Chapter 9 Notes – Abou Ben Adhem – ICSE Class 10, 9 English

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About the poem

Leigh Hunt based the poem, Abou Ben Adhem on a story in a French book, Bibliotheque Orientate, by Barthelemy d’Herbelot de Molainville (1625-1695). As the story goes, Abou Ben Adhem was a Muslim mystic, or Sufi, in Persia who was venerated as a saint after his death (circa AD 777). He is usually referred to in English-language religion and history books as Ibrahim ibn (or bin) Adham. Abou was the king of Balkh but later became sufi saint. Ibrahim ibn Adham gave up a life of luxury in exchange for a simple life devoted to his fellow man and to God. Ibrahim’s description of the moment of his, conversion to a new lifestyle appears in Tabaqat al-Sufiya, a book about Sufism by Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, who died in AD 1021. The poem, Abou Ben Adhem, is written as a religious concept. It consists of 2 stanzas with each having 11 lines. It also contains some archaic terms. The poet uses rhymed couplet to communicate the ideas of love, peace and happiness through the poem.

About the Poet

Leigh Hunt was a central figure of the Romantic movement in England, but he was not, one of its great poets. However, he produced, during the first sixty years of the nineteenth century, a large body of poetry in a variety of forms: narrative poems, satires, poetic dramas, odes, epistles, sonnets, short lyrics, and translations from Greek, Roman, Italian, and French poems. His vivid descriptions and lyrical quality are noteworthy, as is his keen delight in nature, and he is a master of mood and atmosphere. But Hunt is the least philosophical of all the Romantic poets. Rather than having depth and passion, his poetry is imbued with the spirit of cheerfulness, which makes it pleasant but not great. In addition, most of his poems have commonplace themes such as friendship, patriotism, appreciation of nature, and they are usually too uneven and lax for excellence. Hunt was a man of varied talents, however. As a poet, he played a major role in freeing the couplet from the rigidity of neoclassical practice.

Hunt lived mostly in the world of poetry, painting, and music. Though he was shy and home loving, he had a natural gaiety and sprightliness and was a lively conversationalist. James Henry Leigh Hunt was born seventh in a family of eight. His father, Isaac, was a lawyer from Barbados, and his mother, Mary She well Hunt, was the daughter of a wealthy merchant of Philadelphia. After his schooling, Hunt served an apprenticeship as clerk to his barrister brother, Stephen, but disliked the work intensely. In 1805 his brother John started a weekly paper, The News. As drama critic for it, Hunt gained a reputation for being perceptive and impartial at a time when impartiality was rare.

On 3 July 1809, after several years of courtship, Hunt married Marianne Kent, daughter of a court milliner. Marianne was not intellectual, and she seems to have been extravagant, an incompetent mother, and, in later years, an alcoholic who embarrassed Hunt by borrowing money from his friends behind his back. Hunt’s most prolific period of poetical activity occurred in the years 1812 to 1820. After 1816 he had a close association with Keats and Shelley. Not only did the three visit frequently, but in 1817 Hunt and his entire family stayed in Marlowe with Shelley for several months, and in 1820 Keats, mortally ill with tuberculosis, stayed with Hunt for several months in his cottage at Hamp stead Heath.

The 1830s were most difficult for Hunt. His influential days as editor of The Examiner were past as were his heady days with the great Romantic poets, and his reputation was at its lowest ebb. He lived through the decade in poverty and poor health. Because of his straitened circumstances he was forced to move from a small house to a smaller house to a smaller cottage. He borrowed frequently from his friends and was, at least once, sued for not repaying a loan. In the mid 1830s Hunt wrote most of his best remembered lyrics, including “Jenny Kissed Me.” Toward the end of the decade Hunt finally became somewhat more secure financially. In the last decade of his life, Hunt’s literary activities and reputation had changed. He was no longer the vigorous reformer of The Examiner but a gentle essayist, poet, and critic. His reputation in America was at its height, as evidenced by the several editions of his works published there during the 1850s and the visits paid to him by American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Leigh Hunt was clearly precocious, having published when only seventeen a volume of poems written between the ages of twelve and sixteen. He devoted his entire life to literature, writing several volumes of poetry, many essays, a handful of plays, and a novel, 5   as well as making other literary contributions as a critic, editor, and encourager of younger writers. But whether it was because he did not have the genius, which is likely, or whether  in order to provide for a large family, he simply had to write too hastily to write greatly,he never fulfilled his early promise, and, except for a few short lyrics, he seems to be little read today.

Central Idea

 Abou bin Adhem, a born prince, was a great saint who gave up a highly comfortable life for the service of mankind and love of God. The central idea of this poem is that God loves those who love their fellow men. Love of fellow men is the best type of worship.Abou Ben Adhem’s name was top of the list of those who loved their fellowmen. The poet through the example of’Abou bin Adhem’ teaches us to love our fellow men if we want to be blessed by God’s love. He, who is patient and thankful, is loving and gentle to God’s creatures, and returns good for evil, and subdues his passions and forgets his own self for others, will receive a great reward – the love of his Lord.

Word Meanings

1.  Tribe – race, class, here the number of people like Abou.
2. Increase – grow.
3. Awoke – got up.
4. Deep – undisturbed.
5. Within – here with the circle of moonlight in Abou’s room.
6. Like a lily in bloom – the angel is here compared to a lily in bloom to reveal his freshness and splendour.
7. Book of gold – book having golden leaves.
8. Exceeding peace – perfect calm and peace within that makes one bold.
9. The presence – here the angel in the room.
10. What writest thou? – what are you writing?
11. The vision – the angel.
12. The lord – god.
13. Mine – my name.
14. ‘Nay, not so’ – No, your name is not among those who love god.
15. More low – more humbly.
16. Cheerily – cheerfully.
17. Pray – request.
18. The – you.
19. Write me – treat me.
20. Vanished – disappeared.
21. Wakening light – dazzling light.
22. Blest – blessed.
23. Lo! – behold.
24. Led – headed, at the top.
25. Rest – other names.

Summary

Abou Ben Adhem is a poem that portrays the heavenly feelings of a devotee or a strong believer. This poem clearly explains that the poet who addresses himself as Abou Adhem is a strong believer in God. He believed that not only loving God, but also loving people who believed in God is great.

In this poem, Abou sees an angel in his room one night. He does not get frightened or scared, for he had belief in God and believed angels to be messengers of god so he was happy. He just wanted to know what the angel was writing down. When he was informed that the angel was making a list of people who loved God, Adhem inquired whether his name was also included. But when he was informed that his name was not there, he did not feel dejected or sad, he only requested the angel to write his name in the list of people who loved God’s fellowmen.

When Adhem saw the angel the next day also, he enquired the purpose of visit and he was totally surprised and happy to know that his name was in the list of people whom God had blessed.

This poem clearly depicts the belief one has in God. We can love God only if we love our fellowmen, created by God. By loving other people, we could make the world a better place and forget and forgive one another. The poet has tried to convey the message that, we could make the world a better place to live in and how God would love it to be so. All holy books teach us the same theme -“To love one another”.

Hunt has beautifully pictured how each one of us should think and how when we start thinking for others; we are truly blessed by God for our deeds. Loving God is not meant only by saying, but it is our deeds that ultimately God would count, and for every good deed that we do, we are being noted in God’s book and being blessed.

Paraphrase

The poet relates an event in the life of Abou Ben Adhem. Abou was a Pious man. He was the leader of a tribe. He was loving and gentle to his people. He was selfless and did good to everyone.

He had a meeting with an angel who was writing the names of those people who loved God. Abou’s name was not in it.

Abou requested the angel to write his name as one who loved his fellowmen. The angel did so and vanished. The next night the angel came again into his room and showed him the names of those who had been blessed by God’s love. Abou Ben Adhem’s name was at the top of the list.

It means if you want to get God’s love, you should love your fellow beings. Abou was selfless and did good to everyone.

Critical Appreciation

“Abou Ben Adhem” is a poem composed by James Henry Leigh Hunt. The poet was a religious man trained in a Christian hospital. He wrote the poem while still in school. The poem Abou Ben Adhem is written as a religious concept. It consists of 2 stanzas with each having 11 lines. It also contains some archaic terms. The poet used rhymed couplet to communicate the ideas of love, peace and happiness through the poem.

The poem is talking about the religious escapades of a man known as “Adhem”. He sees an angel one night in his room but he remains unruffled. He does not feel scared since he has a firm belief in God. For him, seeing an angel is a happy thing. He is rather interested in knowing what the angel is writing down. The angel informs him that he was drafting a list of people who loved God. Abou wanted to know whether his name was also included. The angel tells him that his name was not on the list. Abou did not feel sad or dejected because of that. He requested the angel to write his name in the list of people who loved God’s creatures i.e his fellowmen. Later on, the angel came back with a list that had Adhem’s name at the very top.

In all, “Abou Ben Adhem” is simply a narrative poem. It tells the story of the man Adhem and his encounter with an angel. The poem sends a message about the power of love, faith and prayer. It shows how some people pray to God. Some pray to love God while others prayer to love their fellow men. In any case, the love of fellow men attracts God’s blessing.

Hunt wrote the poem in rhyming pairs of lines {couplets). In other words, line 1 rhymes with line 2 {increase, peace), line 3 with line 4 {room, bloom), line 5 with line 6 {gold, bold), and so on. All of the end rhymes are masculine rather than feminine. In masculine rhyme, only the final syllable of one line rhymes with the final syllable of another line. In feminine rhyme, the final two syllables of a line rhyme with the final two syllables of another line, as in ringing and singing. The poem also contains internal „ rhyme,” as in lines 1-3.

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, withiin the moonlight in his room

The meter of the poem varies. Most of the lines have ten syllables that frequently consist of five iambs, as in line 3 and 5.

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room, (3)
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:— (5)

In the following lines the poet uses alliteration and assonance in the poem.
Alliteration

Abou Ben (line 1)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace (line 2) like a lily (line 4)
Ben Adhem bold (line 5)
“I pray thee, then (line 14)

Assonance

Ben Adhem (line 1)
deep dream of peace (line 2)
Making it rich (line 4)
And, lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest! (line 20)