Prakruti Bhatt's Assignments

This post is in response to the questions asked here Literature, no matter in what language it is written, is considered to possess a relevance across time and space. Taking this into consideration, it isn't shocking to find that a English novel and a Bollywood (Hindi Cinema) movie, belonging to two different time frames and cultures, though not completely similar, share many things in common. Let me give you a brief idea regarding the movie Kya Kehna, since The Scarlet Letter is much well known text for all literature students. The movie is directed by Kundan Shah and was released in India in the year 2000. Let me also remind you that the movie is neither based on the novel nor is it an adaptation of the same. Secondly, the comparison here is made only for the better understanding the thematic similarities shared by both the texts. Click here to read about the movie Answers of questions 1,2,3, and 4: Both the texts deal in their own unique way with entangled relationships....

This post is in response to the questions asked  here . 1)  If there is an argument on whether Eliot was regressive and simultaneously about whether         Nietzsche was progressive compared him, my opinion would be to accept both their views in terms of their context. At the time when humanity found itself hopeless because of an existential crisis, the role of a philosopher and a poet would of course have different perspectives and solutions to the situation. In fact it would be a prejudiced opinion to call Eliot regressive just because he uses the religious and mythical stories for finding a solution to the present socio-cultural problems. Neither can we proclaim Nietzsche as progressive and forward looking just because he presents solutions from contemporary times. 2) Once again, before having opinion on whose method would lead us to a satisfied life, we must remember, that Freud is a psychoanalyst, so he would stress on the findings o...

Literature celebrates multiplicity. Probably this is the reason why it has a universal appeal. No matter in what language it is written, literature addresses the human condition. This is justified by works like The Waste Land by T.S Eliot. Eliot's epic poem refers to not just the Eurocentric sensibilities but also to the human sensibilities across cultures and nations. This is the reason why it appears relevant even after so many years of its composition. Though the contexts have changed, but the socio-cultural decay it hints at has continued to exist in the post-modern era as well. Even today humanity finds itself in a spiritual crisis not just when a war breaks out but whenever a socio-cultural issue comes up. Other than the subject matter The Waste Land also uses many motifs from various cultures and religions. For example, the use of Upanishadic preachings in What The Thunder Said , Buddhist philosophy in the Fire Sermon , use of German, Spanish and Greek examples and lang...

The word modern is usually associated with something which breaks away from tradition. However, it was not until the 1580s that modern officially came to mean pertaining to current time. In the words of Malcolm Bradbury and James McFarlane," If there is an argument about when Modernism began, and hence, implicitly, about what its causes and character are, then there is also one about whether it has yet ended. Most critics would like to see modernism as an early 20th century phenomenon, which was committed to renewing the arts through various kinds of experimentation and which was underway by the 1890s or early 1900s." As mentioned in the quoted statement, therefore, modernism is characterized by a renewal of the arts. Simultaneously, however, it was a radical shift from, rather than renewal of, the old mindsets and lifestyle. Various socio-political factors altered the way of thinking and living of the people of the 20th century. One of them was The Great War, now known ...