Prakruti Bhatt's Assignments

This post is in reference to the information given here A major tenet of Modernism is to break down all the classical or rather traditional methods of expression and artistic craftsmanship. Samuel Beckett's Breath seems to be a great example to substantiate this statement. This thirty-second play by Beckett captures the absurdity and meaninglessness of the 'modern times'. The idea of absurdity or strangeness associated with plays like Breath arise from the fact that they are not merely meant for entertainment. They tend to pose a question to the audience and lead them to think instead of just being silent spectators.  Following is what the play consists of: 1) Light movements 2) A stage littered with miscellaneous rubbish 3) A 'faint brief cry' 4) The sound of someone breathing The blank spaces which Beckett has left for reader's or audience's interpretation, allows them to have as many perspectives as they want resulting in the play being releva...

The mysterious, secretive and dark settings characterize the stories of the writer who is considered to be the inventor of detective fiction, i.e Edgar Allan Poe. Mostly known for his short stories and poetry, Poe's own life was quite mysterious and controversial itself. However, that's not what this post is all about. This post explores how, writers of those times, especially writers of detective fiction like Poe, could create some of the spine-chilling narratives with nothing but words. Language though often considered a distinct field of study from literature, has a symbiotic relationship with the same. Which is obvious because literature is composed with the use of anything but language! 😅 Anyways, let me move on to the task at hand which is to answer the questions asked here . 1) Alliteration is indeed one of those devices which help the writer in creating a kind of dark setting required for this genre. However, I would rather like to point out the very first line o...

The narratives centered around the freedom struggle of a nation are often full of a kind of euphoria about the sacrifices made during that struggle. However, literary writers try to highlight those meta narratives which are often missed out in these larger narratives of freedom struggle. For a post colonial critic therefore such literary texts are a matter of interest. The text or movie I will be referring to for my purpose of explaining these points, is Salman Rushdie's Midnight Children. Post colonialism also looks at how the generalizations and stereotypes regarding a particular identity and or a nation result in nothing but distrust and calamity for the human race. These generalizations are normalized in the minds of people in order to sustain a particular power structure and therefore are not born out of innocence. In this case imperialism and colonization are the two major power structures, wherein the colonizer, builds a picture or ideology about the colonized and circula...

The word Oriental is associated with the Eastern part of the world and specifically the East Asian nations. For Said however, the Orient consists only of the Arabic World. Orientalism discusses how Arab is portrayed by America and Europe and how it results in a misunderstanding about an Arabic or middle-eastern identity. In the 21st century, when issues like the Israel - Palestine conflict are at their peak, Orientalism has some interesting arguments to think about. For my purpose, I've referred to Said's interview on Orientalism with Sut Jhally, University of Massachusetts- Amherst. Said's Orientalism was published in 1978, and it tries to answer, in Sut Jhally's words,' when we think of the Middle East for example, we have a preconceived notion of what kind of people live there, what they believe, how they act'. The basic argument of Orientalism, therefore, is that 'the way we acquire this knowledge is not innocent or objective but the end result of a ...

The terms colonialism and imperialism are usually considered to have some degrees of commonality between them. However, they are quite different, as I'll try to prove in this post. Also, I'll try to discuss in as much as detail as possible, the area of study that is post colonialism. Post colonialism is not just a study of the time or life after colonialism, it is rather a study of how it continues to exist even today in one form or the other in the lives of the colonizers and those who were colonized. The fundamental aim for post colonialism, therefore, is to study how colonialism was and is understood till now. And also, specifically, to analyze how it has affected the lives of the colonizer and the colonized. Let us therefore, first understand the term colonialism and how it is different from imperialism. The etymology of the word colonialism and its further description is best explained by Ania Loomba who, in her Colonialism and Post Colonialism explains: Acco...

This post is in response to the questions asked here 1)  "Life is not a series of gig lamps symmetrically arranged; life is a luminous halo, a semi-transparent envelope surrounding us from the beginning of consciousness to the end."  This statement by Woolf, in my opinion, answers the given question. Also, it is an accepted belief that the beauty of life lies in its uncertainty and imperfection. So, if Woolf was trying to capture the every day life and struggles of people, their interpersonal relationships, stream of consciousness was, and is, one of the best narrative techniques to do so. It can be agreed to a great extent that what Virginia Woolf wanted to portray or express, i.e complexity of human relationships, everyday life struggles as well as the struggles of a female artist against the middle/upper class society, etc; can only be done in the way she has done it. Stream of Consciousness, is first a psychological state and then a narrative technique. Therefore. ...

This post is in response to the questions asked here Answer to questions 1,2, 3, 5, and 6: I believe that struggles are a part of human of life. Accordingly, there are people who like to share their troubles with others and try to search for a solution for the same. While there are people who choose to handle their issues on their own, without mentioning or sharing the same with others, or sharing only when they feel like doing so. I belong to the second class of people and therefore often choose not to share my struggles with anyone until and unless it is really necessary to do so. Therefore, I hope you'll respect my decision of not answering these questions. 4) Lions are not just symbols of strength but also of pride. For the old man therefore they function as a source of strength and on the other, function as something which fuels his ego of being the best fisherman while he was young. 7) As I've expressed earlier, facing failures is a part of everyone's life. T...

This post is in response to the questions asked here 1) At a fundamental level, English for me is a foreign language. However, this cannot deny the fact that it is equally prominent mode of expression, since it almost functions as a second language. Also, being a student of English literature, it functions as a language in use, i.e it is used for all the professional purposes. 2) As a foreign speaker, the basic struggle while acquiring the language is that of pronunciation and accent. In both the cases, native language is likely to interfere. Another struggle during the acquisition process is the traditional method, i.e translation method, of learning employed during the learning process. Because of this method of learning, foreign speakers like me, suffer from fluency issues. 3) For me R.K Singh's ideas about having a neutral approach towards the English language sounded more appealing. In my opinion therefore, while learning the language with a neutral attitude would ...