Mr.Know All - Somerset Maugham

Mr. KNOW ALL

(By Somerset Maugham)

About the Author:

William Somerset Maugham was a British Playwright, Novelist and Short Story writer. He was one of the most popular writers of 20^th Century. Many of his works were adopted as films.

Date of Birth: 25 January 1874 

Date of death: 16 December 1965

Famous works: Of Human Bondage; The Moon and Sixpence; Cakes and Ale; The Razor’s Edge;

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Brief Summar/Character of Mr. Kelada:

Mr. Know All is a short story written by Somerset Maugham. Mr. Max Kelada is the central character in the story. In the story, the author travels in a ship.  He happens to share a cabin with Mr. Kelada. Mr. Kelada is a talkative person.  He is short, but sturdy. He is dark skinned. His hair is thin and long.  His nose is bulgy. His eyes are laden. He does not appear like an English national.  The writer dislikes his company.  Mr. Kelada makes friendship with every one in the ship.  He offers the author a cocktail.  He behaves as if he knows about everything under the sky. Therefore, his fellow passengers nicknamed him ‘Mr. Know All’.

Mr. Kelada enters into an argument with Mr. Ramsay, regarding a chain worn by Mrs. Ramsay. While Mr. Ramsay says that the chain is made of fake pearls, Mr. Kelada argues that the pearls are natural and very valuable. They enter into a bet for 100 dollars. Mr.Kelada examines the chain. He appears to have found the pearls as natural. But, looking at Mrs. Ramsay’s pleading eyes, he does not reveal the truth.  He accepts that the pearls are fake and loses 100 dollars to Mr. Ramsay. The next day, he receives an envelope containing 100 dollar note thrown into his cabin.

Thus, Mr. Kelada, who appears as a silly character in the beginning, due to his talkative nature, proves himself as a helping and kind-hearted person. The author starts liking him.

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Noojilla Srinivas

Lecturer in English

Govt. Degree College - Alamuru, A.P. India.

email: noojillasrinivas@gmail.com 

The Language of African Literature (Decolonising the Mind) - Notes - SUMMARY

The Language of African Literature

(Decolonising the Mind)

-       Ngugi Wa’ Thiong’o

About the Author:

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o  born 5 January 1938) is a Kenyan writer. He was writing formerly in English and now working in Gikuyu. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri.

Some of his famous works :

Novels: Weep not Child; The River Between; A Grain of Wheat; Petals of Blood

Short Story collections: A Meeting in the Dark; Secret Lives and other Stories

Plays: The Black Hermit; This Time tomorrow;

Essays: Home Coming: Essays on African and Caribbean Literature, culture, and Politics; Writers in Politics: Essays; Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature; Moving the Centre: The struggle for Cultural freedom;

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Summary of the Essay: “The Language of African Literature” (Decolonising the Mind)

“Decolonising the Mind” is an essay written by Kenyan born English writer Ngugi Wa Thiongo.  This essay describes how colonial system of education takes the native child away from his culture and language. 

The writer was born into a large family. He enjoyed the stories in his native language ‘Gikuyu’. The stories were full of animals, good and bad men as their characters. Through his native tongue, he shared the harmony with his family and community But, the harmony was broken by colonial intervention. The colonial system of education showers praise and recognition to those who excelled in the English language. Thus, the system transports the child further and further away from his culture. The system discouraged the use of a student’s mother tongue in school by severely punishing those who did.

The author asks the African writers to express in their native languages, rather than in European languages.  This will help them renounce lingering colonial ties and build an authentic African literature.  Despite heavy opposition, the author himself chose to write in ‘Gikuyu’. His literature forms part and parcel of the Kenyan and African people’s anti-imperialist struggles.

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NOOJILLA SRINIVAS

Lecturer in English,

Govt. Degree College,

Alamuru.

noojillasrinivas@gmail.com

The Road Not Taken poem - by Robert Frost - Notes - SUMMARY

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Poem: 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

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About the Poet:

¨Robert Lee Frost 

¨Birth: March 26, 1874 

¨Death: January 29, 1963

¨American poet

¨Known for his realistic

   depictions of rural life 

¨Frequently wrote about

   settings from rural life 

   using them to examine

   complex social and philosophical themes.

¨Received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry

Other Famous Poems: A Boy’s Will; Mending Wall; Birches; Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening;

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Summary:

‘The Road Not Taken’ is a poem written by Robert Frost. The poem has a universal appeal. The poem deals with the dilemma in decision making.

One day the poet travels through a wood. There are two roads available for him. Both appear almost the same except for small difference. While one road was used by many, the other one was less used. After much deliberation, the poet decides to take the less traveled road. He leaves the first road for another day. But he knows that it is not easy to come back.    The poet tells that in future, he would tell others that he chose the less traveled road which made all the difference.

Frost uses the divergent roads as the images for different choices in our lives. Before taking a decision we have to think carefully. But once a decision is taken, we should move forward. We should not regret for that in future. Every road will have its own difficulties or hurdles. When one wants to tread the less traveled path, he must have the courage to face the consequences.

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Noojilla Srinivas

Lecturer in English

Govt.Degree College, 

Alamuru

noojillasrinivas@gmail.com