Monday, July 25, 2016
Monday, June 27, 2016
Four Levels of The Savage Male
Literal Comprehension:
The Yanomamo males are fierce and war-like people. They are
military sexists. They bruise, would, mutilate or kill their women. They take
hallucinogenic drugs and have fantastic vision. These drugs also help to endure
pain and to control fear while fighting. Males are highly valued while females
are badly treated since early childhood. Women expect to be beaten. Their
status as wives is measured by the beatings their husbands give them. The extreme
case of male supremacy is shown in their different types of duels in which two
men try to hurt each other to the limit of their endurance. Guests and hosts
usually take part in such duels. Fighting is common among the Yanomamo males.
There is no hope of peace among them because of treachery. All the time they
are concerned with building up military power, which is necessary for their
survival. They should be watchful all the time. And this has been their
mechanism of life.
Interpretation:
This is a ‘true’ picture of the Yanomamo people given by an
anthropologist. It shows that people have to struggle for existence. Those who
are fit can survive and those who are weak cannot live freely. It also throws
some light on the male supremacy in the society. The powerful always ruled over
the weak. It also justifies the fact that human beings are basically savage. It
also proves that the meaning of life to a man is to satisfy his ego. The
Yanomamo people support the weak group but they expect something in return from
them.
Critical Thinking:
Being a reader it is natural for us to look at the Yanomamo
people from our won point of view. To us many of the things seem unbelievable.
Do husbands kill or wound their wives for fault at all? If men expect women to
serve them, how can they mutilate them? Why do they try to endure pain for
nothing at all? Or do they so to prove their manhood? Why are these people
ready to kill and get killed? Why do they expect unnatural death? Don't they
regard life so valuable? Also, it is noticeable that the author of the text has
relied all his drawings based upon a male anthropologist and gives a very
little space for a woman anthropologist. This actually draws the margin that a
study cannot illustrate a true picture of the subject when one practices
partiality. I personally feel that the reality of the Yanomamo people might not
the one that is depicted in the text.
Assimilation:
By learning about their societies, we can broaden own
visions and gain insights into our own culture. We can judge critically what is
right and what is wrong in our own society. Like in the Yanomamo society, wives
are beaten in our society. Our society is also male-dominated. Boys are
preferred to girls. Women at every menstrual period are kept separately. Boxing
and wrestling among the students in the campuses remind us of the Yanomamo
duels of different sorts. Group quarrels or fights in our society are similar
to their fights. In many cases we find that our society is not different from
theirs. In their society we find the cases to extreme points whereas we have a
milder form.
Four Levels of Stickeen
Literal Comprehension:
Stickeen was taken to the icy region of Southwestern Alaska.
He used to be slow and motionless in the canoe. But when the landing time was
near he would be the first to step on to the hand and he was always the lat to
get in. When Muir was away, he followed him, and he would also follow the
hunter. Other times he was aloof and indifferent. One stormy day Stickeen
accompanied Muir. The level flood was hitting on their faces. They went to the
west shore of the glacier, and on a return trip there were many dangerous crevasses.
It was difficult for the writer to cross them, but Stickeen crossed them
easily. He was calm and following Muir. Finally, they were trapped in a place
surrounded by a nearly fifty –foot wide crevasse. The writer made small steps
on the vertical wall and went across the silver bridge. On the other side also
he had to make steps on the vertical wall to climb up. Thus he went across. But
Stickeen wisely knew the risk while crossing the crevasse through the bride. He
ran, moaned and grieved. The writer encouraged and warned him to cross.
Finally, he tried to cross it very carefully and succeeded. Then he was
completely changed. He showed uncontrollable joy. He sobbed, cried, shouted and
screamed. They reached the camp safely. He never left the writer and always
looked at his face as if he were his god. After the trip was over, he was taken
by his master and was later stolen by a tourist. But, Muir would never forget
him.
Interpretation:
The story may be trying to tell us that there is no
difference between human beings and animals. Like human beings they love
adventure for nothing. Like saints, they want to be perfect and to develop
through suffering. The pleasure earned after hard labour is worth having.
Animals are wise and witty, too. They are wise enough to know the reality and
the appearance. So Stickeen knew that the last crevasse was really dangerous.
Like human beings, they are also completely changed when something terrible
happens in life. Stickeen, after being saved, became social and devoted to the
savior and also story might be trying to tell us that experience teaches us
more than any thing else. The dog stickeen changed completely after it
successfully cross the silver bridge and save its life. It may also be
interpreted to mean that there are many things which we find in animals and
human beings equally. Friendship and gratitude are equally found in animals.
Critical Thinking:
This beautiful story has many points which are normally
unacceptable to us. Why do people explore such remote place by putting their
lives in danger? Don't they die of cold when they are wet in the icy cold
region? Does God make landscapes by floodstorm? Can an animal express its
happiness as Stickeen has expressed? But this story makes us feel as if we are
with the writer making the journey.
Assimilation:
By reading this story I have learnt many things about the
glaciers and the weather there. I came to know that life and death, beauty and
danger are interwoven. Like the dog Stickeen, I found myself changed. Now I
understand better what the Buddha meant when he said that we should love all
living creatures.
Four Levels of Cabuliwala
Leteral Comprehension:
Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘The Cabuliwallah’ presents a touching narrative enlightening a deep companionship between Mini, a five-year-old Bengali girl, and Rahman, the Cabuliwallah from Afghanistan. Walking along the street the Cabuliwallah was suddenly called by Mini, the narrator’s five-year-old daughter. As she had false fear of him, she ran away after calling and hid herself in her mother’s warm lap. Thinking that Mini should get rid of that false fear, the narrator thought of introducing Mini to the Cabuliwallah. It was their first meet and ever since they started to convene regularly. Rahman would come to see her with almonds and raisins. Her stuffed pockets with almonds and raisins would delight Mini a lot. They would enjoy talks and jokes for hours. But unfortunately one day, Rahman was arrested on charge of a murderous attack and was imprisoned for years. Surprisingly after many years, he appeared there on the day of Mini’s marriage with some offerings. After the writer realized that the man missed his daughter Parvati and came to Mini to console himself, he called for Mini. They met but differently because Mini was no more a small child. Seeing Mini in her marriageable age, Rahman felt that his daughter had to have been of similar age. He felt bad that he had been far from her for so long. The writer could feel that Rahman was missing Parvati badly, so he gave a hundred rupee note to Rahman for going to Afghanistan and meet his love. He did so by curtailing the wedding expenses. The writer felt very happy that a long lost father in a distant land was going to meet again his only child and perhaps stay with her forever.
Interpretation:
Tagore is probably making sense that friendship does not recognize any gap, border and difference. There was, of course, lots of gap between Mini and Rahman. Mini was a five-year-old much loved daughter of a prestigious man. Rahman was a neglected old peddler from the mountain of Afghanistan. There was a huge age gap. They had a wide cultural difference as well. Mini’s mother doubted such peddler so much that she always feared her daughter might be kidnapped by such people. The mother thought the meaning of almonds might be temptation, but hidden fact was that Rahman was there to forget the deep sense of missing his daughter Parvati by meeting Mini. To bridge the huge cultural gap between Rahman and Mini, there was love, care and attachment. That is why, perhaps, the writer is attempting to make the point that if there is anything strong enough to fill the vast gap between different cultures, it is nothing but love, care and attachment.
Critical Analysis:
I am quite satisfied with each and every issue raised by Tagore in this story. I am also highly attracted to his way of storytelling. But while going through the story, one issue time and again dissatisfied me. It is Tagore’s biased view towards women. He has portrayed himself to be highly understanding, cooperative, and sociable. But in his portrayal of his wife, he has not been able to be fair. He has made her be negative towards the peddler. As a writer, he could make himself suspicious to Cabuliwallah. But being guided by patriarchal values, he thought that only a female suited such role and did the same. Leaving this case behind, the story is mesmerizing and useful, too. Another issue which strikes my mind is that the punishment given to Rahman. Was it fair? Did the man who he stabbed and hurt not have any blame to be shared? Was he given a just punishment? I feel no.
Assimilation:
This story reminds me of an old man who used to love me so much during my childhood days. He was from Rai community while I belonged to Brahmin community. He had a hotel to serve tea, biscuits, vegetables, and so on to people. But he never sold anything to me. Every time I would visit his hotel, he would instantly take me into his hold and kiss me. I still remember the way his white beard would trouble the soft skin of my cheek. But I too enjoyed it because I knew he loved me. Even the harsh smell of wine did not make me be far from him forever. After taking me into his hold for some time, he would give me whatever I chose to eat. If he did not see me there for some two or three days, he would even come my home to know if I were not keeping well. But I am very sad to state that that old man of mine lives no longer. Alas! He died some five years back.
Four Levels of Sheb's Hobby
Literal
Comprehension:
This
story by a British writer and veterinarian James Herriot is about a dog’s hobby
of fiercely barking at visitors and the reaction that hobby brought about.
Under the topic ‘actions and consequences,’ the text deals with Herriot’s
action of warning Shep not to bark at him, and the consequences of obedience
from it. One day, Mr. Herriot, the veterinarian and also the writer, went to
Mr. Bailes’s home for the treatment of his cow Rose which was suffering from a
terrible stomach disease. While he was totally occupied with his thoughts, he
was suddenly attacked by a terrible explosion of sound. It was Shep, Bailes’s
pet dog. Herriot was very much terrified. Anyway, he went to the cow and
treated it with a lavage. Next day, he went to see if the cow was okay. While
he was on the way to Bailes on the green grass, he once again had to face the
same tragedy. The dog barked at him so fiercely and suddenly that he felt it
might cause the evacuation of his entrails. He tolerated and went to see the
cow’s condition. He dragged Shep by catching his chain and threatened him not
to repeat the violent attack from the next time. When he was called once again
by Bailes next month, first to his surprise and later to his agony, the dog did
not even bark from a distance. Rather, it pulled itself back by seeing Herriot
there. He felt very bad for stealing the pleasure of an animal. But he consoled
himself after he saw instantly the similar attack of Shep that made the
pot-mender run away by scattering the pots and pans he was carrying.
Interpretation:
The
story can be interpreted to mean that even the animals are not only conscious
but also sensitive about what to do and what not to do. They do different
things for their pleasure but only till they think their act has not done anything
wrong. Shep seemed like very fierce animal to Herriot in the beginning and he
feared him to death. But as he stopped even to bark at him when he threatened
him, Herriot understood sensitivity of Shep. It was only Herriot to whom Shep
would not bark. So we can say that he was conscious about what to do and what
not to. The text might also be trying to tell us that we human beings should be
highly sensitive about not killing the pleasures of animals for our comfort. We
must rather be conscious about the consequences of our actions. If Herriot
could have been conscious about the probable consequences of his action of
threatening Shep, he would not have done so.
Critical Thinking:
The story is interesting to catch the attention of the
readers. It is successful even in conveying some important ideas. But some
points are still there where we can pose questions. Some of them are: Can a
seriously sick cow run at a notable speed? Is it possible, without any reason,
for Bailes to be highly faithful to Herriot’s skill while he had already made
fun of him by saying that it was Jim Oakley, instead of him, who cured the cow
successfully? Do animals enjoy by terrifying human beings? Can a dog understand
human’s warning and act as expected even after months?
Assimilation:
Reading this story once again made me aware about the
notable level of intelligence and consciousness in animals. It also taught me
that it is better to think about the probable consequences before our certain
actions. Moreover, I am reminded of one incident of my life when I was severely
attacked by a dog and intolerably bitten. Ever after then, whenever I hear the
voice and see the movement of the dog, I fear to death. Even in the case when
people assure that the dog is friendly, I cannot be friendly to it. I even
cannot be nearby it. The dog has been my weakness since then. Shep reminded me
of the most terrible dog of my life.
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