Union Bank of India conducts Oratorical Contest for College students
at Madras Veterinary College in Vepery
on Saturday, September 05, 2009.
For more details, contact:
Mr.Karunanidhy, 139, Broadway, Chennai - 600108
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Monday, 17 August 2009
College Closed..:
Dear Students,
In view of the H1N1 epidemic, our College remains closed from 17 August 2009 till 27 August 2009. Hence your I CIA Tests, scheduled for Monday remains postponed. For further details and clarification, verify the same with the College Notice Boards.
Regards,
Rufus
Friday, 14 August 2009
Spoken English Course:
Dear Students, Olive Institute of Technology conducts Courses on Basic Communication Skills.
Course starts on Wednesday, 19 August 2009
at Olive Institute of Tech, E.Tambaram.
Morning Batch: 7.00 - 8.30 am
Evening Batch: 6.30 - 8.00 pm
Contact: 9500102310 for more details.
Contact: 9500102310 for more details.
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Portion for I CIA Test..:
Dear students of I BSc Pbt/Zoo(Reg),
You will be tested on the following:
Text-based: Poetry: 1.) Mending Wall, 2.) On the Move, 3.) Phenomenal Woman
Short Story: Tagore's The Postmaster
Language-based: From what has been taught in class (Writing, Vocabulary, Etymology etc.)
Newspaper: You are expected to bring the day's Newspaper (Times of India), as part of the Test.
Regards and all best wishes,
Rufus
PS: As you will be writing your I CA test, in case of any clarifications, write to me at rufusonline@gmail.com
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Mending Wall – Robert Frost - Poem Summary
Mending Wall is one of the most widely quoted poems of Frost. It is a dramatic lyric or monologue. The speaker is a young man, presumably the poet himself, and the lyric is an expression of his views and attitudes. The other character is the poet’s neighbour. He does not speak even a single word, but we come to know of his views and attitudes, of his conservatism and orthodoxy, from what the speaker says about him.
Spring time Repairs: Attitude of the poet and the New England Farmer:
The speaker in the poem, the poet himself, and his neighbour get together every spring to repair the stone wall between their respective properties. The neighbour, an old England farmer, seems to have a deep-seated faith in the value of walls and fences. He declines to explain his belief and only reiterates his father’s saying, “Good fences make good neighbours.”
Enigmatic Attitude of the Speaker:
Yet, the speaker’s attitude is also enigmatic and in some respects primitive. He seems to be in sympathy with some elemental forces of nature which denies all boundaries. It is suggested that there is some supernatural power at work in Nature, that is against all fences and walls:
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen ground swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
Points of View portrayed in the Poem:
The poem portrays a clash between two points of view, and it may, therefore seem that its meaning is the solution. The poem leads one to ask, which of the two is right, the speaker or his Yankee neighbour? Should man tear down the barriers which isolate individuals from one another, or should he recognize that distinctions and limits are necessary for human life? Frost does not really provide an answer. He pictures it with an incident from rural life, and in order to reveal its complex nature he develops it through the conflict of two opposed points of view.
Paradox in the Poem:
Spring time Repairs: Attitude of the poet and the New England Farmer:
The speaker in the poem, the poet himself, and his neighbour get together every spring to repair the stone wall between their respective properties. The neighbour, an old England farmer, seems to have a deep-seated faith in the value of walls and fences. He declines to explain his belief and only reiterates his father’s saying, “Good fences make good neighbours.”
Enigmatic Attitude of the Speaker:
Yet, the speaker’s attitude is also enigmatic and in some respects primitive. He seems to be in sympathy with some elemental forces of nature which denies all boundaries. It is suggested that there is some supernatural power at work in Nature, that is against all fences and walls:
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen ground swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
Points of View portrayed in the Poem:
The poem portrays a clash between two points of view, and it may, therefore seem that its meaning is the solution. The poem leads one to ask, which of the two is right, the speaker or his Yankee neighbour? Should man tear down the barriers which isolate individuals from one another, or should he recognize that distinctions and limits are necessary for human life? Frost does not really provide an answer. He pictures it with an incident from rural life, and in order to reveal its complex nature he develops it through the conflict of two opposed points of view.
Paradox in the Poem:
The real strength and effectiveness of the poem arises from the contradiction and clash of opposites. The strength of the poem rests upon the contradiction expressed in its two famous lines:
The poem maintains that: Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.
But it also insists that: Good fences make good neighbours.
The poem maintains that: Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.
But it also insists that: Good fences make good neighbours.
The contradiction is logical, for the opposing statements are uttered by two different types of people and both are right. Man cannot live without walls, boundaries. Limits and particularly self-limitations; yet, he resents all bounds and is happy at the downfall of any barrier.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
The poem represents two opposing attitudes towards life – one is the surrender to the natural forces which draws human beings together, and the other, - the conservatism which persists in keeping up the distinctions separating them. The poem reveals the characteristic features of Frost’s style – colloquial and dramatic, in presentation.
*****
Phenomenal Woman - Maya Angelou - Poem Summary
Introduction:
In this poem, Maya Angelou celebrates femininity by playing upon the two possible meanings that could be attached to the poem's title - Phenomenal Woman. As a liberated woman, the speaker in the poem proudly proclaims her individuality; she is an extraordinary person, and therefore phenomenal.
Phenomenal - from Angelou's Perspective:
Maya Angelou asks the reader to probe deeper into the whole question of what makes a woman attractive, worthwhile and valued. The "Phenomenal" in the ordinary sense of the term relates to all data that can be perceived by the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. However, Maya Angelou takes the reader into the specific and much higher qualities that are attributes of "Phenomenal" - they are: intangible qualities like a soul, a mind, and a temperament.
Women have spent hours making over their appearances for centuries. But phenomenal woman, by her very naturalness, is more alive and more sensual than her doll-like sisters. Men, however, are bewildered by her power to attract because they have forgotten what a real woman is like. Phenomenal Woman is breezy in flaunting her mystery. Unlike conventional "mysteriousness" which men assign to woman, the Phenomenal Woman does not depend on glamour, coquetry, tantrums, or capriciousness to intrigue men. Her mystery is profound and real, especially since men and women do not understand her extraordinary, natural vitality.
The Attitude of Men towards Phenomenal Woman:
Phenomenal woman has men behaving in ways pretty woman can only dream of - they mill around her like bees around a honeycomb. Men are bowled over by her charm. Her conquests are effortless. She is cool - a black English word to describe someone who is perfect, proud and in-charge of herself. Phenomenal woman's physical charm expresses a wholly different female temperament. The fire in her eyes is a marker of passion, the flash of her teeth is a symbol of primitive and even savage energy. The swing of her waist and the motions of her feet suggest the celebrating notes of a jungle dance.
Characteristics of a Phenomenal Woman:
The last stanza addresses the world. Phenomenal woman remains unconquered. She is not "subject" to anyone. She does not need to be agitationist, attention-seeking, or polemical. Shouting, jumping and protesting loudly are entirely unnecessary for her. Phenomenal woman simply is. Phenomenal woman is in complete control of herself unlike insecure women who worry constantly about their appearance.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Angelou states that, above all, phenomenal woman is self-defining. The key-phrase upon which the entire poem revolves is the one which repeats itself in every stanza: "I say." Because she articulated herself, and does not allow others to define or describe her, she exists.
*****
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
On the Move - Thom Gunn - Poem Summary
Introduction:
This poem, from Gunn's second collection, is his most famous piece, and among the best-known of all post-war poems. In it, the aimless, but threatening movement of a motorcycle gang becomes a metaphor for modern man's sense of alienation and lack of purpose. In On the Move, Gunn uses a series of connected metaphors, all deriving from the key image of movement.
A Sociological "footnote of the fifties":
The poem is a sociological footnote of the fifties. The young black-jacketed motor cyclists of the west become fitting symbols of restless energy and violent movement. The subtitle of the poem, "Man, you gotta go" denotes the unwillingness and inability to stand still. It is the epigraph to the poem.
In the first stanza, Gunn briefly introduces the general premise of the poem, that is, always to be on the move. The bird of the crow family, the blue jay, with its gay plumage, with its confused movements, is also always on the move, following some hidden purpose.
The aimlessness of the motor-cycle gang:
The depiction of "the boys" in the second stanza seems sympathetic (they are seen very much as they wish to be seen, bikes, goggles, leather jackets) yet Gunn also views them critically. Gunn uses the analogy (parallel) of the actions of the motorcyclists to show how modern man in general (in the poem, referred to as "one") lacks a clear sense of purpose and thus follows others, even if their activity too, is ultimately purposeless. They are unable and unwilling to keep still. They have replaced language with noise, and pursue their hidden purpose forward.
The statement that men "manufacture both machine and soul" is developed in the reference, later, to the "self-defined" and the "created will". It examines the idea that modern man invents or chooses, as a deliberate act of will, definitions of lifestyle and personality, to supply what nature has omitted.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Gunn shows how the bikers' activity, because it is only a "part solution" leaves the central existential problem still open, whether there is a solution or only a "part solution" to man's lack of purpose. Thus, for Gunn, man's life is a struggle in which, through action, kind of victory is won in defeat. The poem can be understood in three ways: as an example for the poet's heroic stance; as a sociological footnote of the fifties, and as a beautifully finished piece of imaginative writing.
*****
Monday, 10 August 2009
The Importance of Being Earnest - Lesson Summary
Introduction:
The Importance of Being Earnest is a comic play by Oscar Wilde, set in England during the late Victorian era. The play's humour derives in part from characters maintaining fictitious identities to escape unwelcome social obligations. It is replete with witty dialogue and satirizes some of the foibles and hypocrisy of late Victorian society. It has proved to be Wilde's most enduringly popular play.
The major themes of this play are three: they are:
1). The triviality of the upper class. 2). The triviality of marriage and 3). The importance of wealth and leisure.
Jack visits London to meet Gwendolen:
Jack drops in unexpectedly on Algernon and announces that he intends to propose to Gwendolen. Algernon confronts him with the cigarette case and forces him to come clean, demanding to know who “Jack” and “Cecily” are. Jack confesses that his name isn’t really Ernest and that Cecily is his ward, a responsibility imposed on him by his adoptive father’s will. Jack also tells Algernon about his fictional brother.
Arrival of Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen:
Gwendolen and her mother, Lady Bracknell, arrive, which gives Jack an opportunity to propose to Gwendolen. Jack is delighted to discover that Gwendolen returns his affections, but he is alarmed to learn that Gwendolen is fixated on the name Ernest, which she says “inspires absolute confidence.” Gwendolen makes clear that she would not consider marrying a man who was not named Ernest.
Lady Bracknell Interviews Jack and subsequent Disapproval for their Marriage:
Lady Bracknell interviews Jack to determine his eligibility as a possible son-in-law, and during this interview she asks about his family background. When Jack explains that he has no idea who his parents were and that he was found, by the man who adopted him, in a handbag in the cloakroom at Victoria Station, Lady Bracknell is scandalized. She forbids the match between Jack and Gwendolen and sweeps out of the house.
Algernon visits Jack’s Country Estate to meet Cecily:
In Act II, Algernon shows up at Jack’s country estate posing as Jack’s brother Ernest. Meanwhile, Jack, having decided that Ernest has outlived his usefulness, arrives home in deep mourning, full of a story about Ernest having died suddenly in Paris. He is enraged to find Algernon there masquerading as Ernest but has to go along with the charade.
Algernon proposes to Cecily at Jack’s Country Estate:
While Jack changes out of his mourning clothes, Algernon, who has fallen hopelessly in love with Cecily, asks her to marry him. He is surprised to discover that Cecily already considers that they are engaged, and he is charmed when she reveals that her fascination with “Uncle Jack’s brother” led her to invent an elaborate romance between herself and him several months ago. Algernon is less enchanted to learn that part of Cecily’s interest in him derives from the name Ernest, which, unconsciously echoing Gwendolen, she says “inspires absolute confidence.”
Arrival of Gwendolen at Jack’s Country Estate: War between two girls:
Algernon goes off in search of Dr. Chasuble, the local rector, to see about getting himself christened Ernest. Meanwhile, Gwendolen arrives, having decided to pay Jack an unexpected visit. Cecily has no idea who Gwendolen is. Cecily explains that she is engaged to be married to Ernest Worthing. Gwendolen points out that this is impossible as she herself is engaged to Ernest Worthing. The tea party degenerates into a war of manners.
Jack and Algernon admit the truth:
The two women demand to know where Jack’s brother Ernest is, since both of them are engaged to be married to him. Jack is forced to admit that he has no brother and that Ernest is a complete fiction. Both women are shocked and furious, and they retire to the house arm in arm. However, when Jack and Algernon tell Gwendolen and Cecily that they have both made arrangements to be christened Ernest that afternoon, all is forgiven and the two pairs of lovers embrace. At this moment, Lady Bracknell’s arrival is announced.
Arrival of Lady Bracknell:
Lady Bracknell has followed Gwendolen from London, having bribed Gwendolen’s maid to reveal her destination. She demands to know what is going on. Gwendolen again informs Lady Bracknell of her engagement to Jack, and Lady Bracknell reiterates that a union between them is out of the question.
Jack informs Lady Bracknell that, as Cecily’s legal guardian, he refuses to give his consent to her union with Algernon. However, Lady Bracknell refuses to entertain the notion. She and Gwendolen are on the point of leaving when Dr. Chasuble arrives and happens to mention Cecily’s governess, Miss Prism. At this, Lady Bracknell starts and asks that Miss Prism be sent for.
Miss.Prism’s Confession: The Climax:
When the governess Miss.Prism arrives and catches sight of Lady Bracknell, she begins to look guilty and furtive. Lady Bracknell accuses her of having left her sister’s house twenty-eight years before with a baby and never returned. She demands to know where the baby is. Miss Prism confesses she doesn’t know, explaining that she lost the baby, having absentmindedly placed it in a handbag in which she had meant to place the manuscript for a novel she had written. Jack asks what happened to the bag, and Miss Prism says she left it in the cloakroom of a railway station. Jack presses her for further details and goes racing offstage, returning a few moments later with a large handbag. When Miss Prism confirms that the bag is hers, Jack’s identity is established. He is the legitimate child of Lady Bracknell’s sister and, therefore, Algernon’s older brother. Furthermore, Jack had been originally christened “Ernest John.” All these years Jack has unwittingly been telling the truth: Ernest is his name, as is Jack, and he does have an unprincipled younger brother—Algernon. Again the couples embrace, Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble follow suit, and Jack acknowledges that he now understands “the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
Conclusion:
The mood of The Importance of Being Ernest is largely satirical. This is because Wilde is seeking to mock the triviality of the upper class society of London. Wilde’s satire is characterized by wit and is, throughout, lighthearted. Wilde is also writing from an aesthetic perspective, a movement in literature that celebrated art for art’s sake, and did not concern itself with the political issues of the outside world.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a comic play by Oscar Wilde, set in England during the late Victorian era. The play's humour derives in part from characters maintaining fictitious identities to escape unwelcome social obligations. It is replete with witty dialogue and satirizes some of the foibles and hypocrisy of late Victorian society. It has proved to be Wilde's most enduringly popular play.
The major themes of this play are three: they are:
1). The triviality of the upper class. 2). The triviality of marriage and 3). The importance of wealth and leisure.
Jack visits London to meet Gwendolen:
Jack drops in unexpectedly on Algernon and announces that he intends to propose to Gwendolen. Algernon confronts him with the cigarette case and forces him to come clean, demanding to know who “Jack” and “Cecily” are. Jack confesses that his name isn’t really Ernest and that Cecily is his ward, a responsibility imposed on him by his adoptive father’s will. Jack also tells Algernon about his fictional brother.
Arrival of Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen:
Gwendolen and her mother, Lady Bracknell, arrive, which gives Jack an opportunity to propose to Gwendolen. Jack is delighted to discover that Gwendolen returns his affections, but he is alarmed to learn that Gwendolen is fixated on the name Ernest, which she says “inspires absolute confidence.” Gwendolen makes clear that she would not consider marrying a man who was not named Ernest.
Lady Bracknell Interviews Jack and subsequent Disapproval for their Marriage:
Lady Bracknell interviews Jack to determine his eligibility as a possible son-in-law, and during this interview she asks about his family background. When Jack explains that he has no idea who his parents were and that he was found, by the man who adopted him, in a handbag in the cloakroom at Victoria Station, Lady Bracknell is scandalized. She forbids the match between Jack and Gwendolen and sweeps out of the house.
Algernon visits Jack’s Country Estate to meet Cecily:
In Act II, Algernon shows up at Jack’s country estate posing as Jack’s brother Ernest. Meanwhile, Jack, having decided that Ernest has outlived his usefulness, arrives home in deep mourning, full of a story about Ernest having died suddenly in Paris. He is enraged to find Algernon there masquerading as Ernest but has to go along with the charade.
Algernon proposes to Cecily at Jack’s Country Estate:
While Jack changes out of his mourning clothes, Algernon, who has fallen hopelessly in love with Cecily, asks her to marry him. He is surprised to discover that Cecily already considers that they are engaged, and he is charmed when she reveals that her fascination with “Uncle Jack’s brother” led her to invent an elaborate romance between herself and him several months ago. Algernon is less enchanted to learn that part of Cecily’s interest in him derives from the name Ernest, which, unconsciously echoing Gwendolen, she says “inspires absolute confidence.”
Arrival of Gwendolen at Jack’s Country Estate: War between two girls:
Algernon goes off in search of Dr. Chasuble, the local rector, to see about getting himself christened Ernest. Meanwhile, Gwendolen arrives, having decided to pay Jack an unexpected visit. Cecily has no idea who Gwendolen is. Cecily explains that she is engaged to be married to Ernest Worthing. Gwendolen points out that this is impossible as she herself is engaged to Ernest Worthing. The tea party degenerates into a war of manners.
Jack and Algernon admit the truth:
The two women demand to know where Jack’s brother Ernest is, since both of them are engaged to be married to him. Jack is forced to admit that he has no brother and that Ernest is a complete fiction. Both women are shocked and furious, and they retire to the house arm in arm. However, when Jack and Algernon tell Gwendolen and Cecily that they have both made arrangements to be christened Ernest that afternoon, all is forgiven and the two pairs of lovers embrace. At this moment, Lady Bracknell’s arrival is announced.
Arrival of Lady Bracknell:
Lady Bracknell has followed Gwendolen from London, having bribed Gwendolen’s maid to reveal her destination. She demands to know what is going on. Gwendolen again informs Lady Bracknell of her engagement to Jack, and Lady Bracknell reiterates that a union between them is out of the question.
Jack informs Lady Bracknell that, as Cecily’s legal guardian, he refuses to give his consent to her union with Algernon. However, Lady Bracknell refuses to entertain the notion. She and Gwendolen are on the point of leaving when Dr. Chasuble arrives and happens to mention Cecily’s governess, Miss Prism. At this, Lady Bracknell starts and asks that Miss Prism be sent for.
Miss.Prism’s Confession: The Climax:
When the governess Miss.Prism arrives and catches sight of Lady Bracknell, she begins to look guilty and furtive. Lady Bracknell accuses her of having left her sister’s house twenty-eight years before with a baby and never returned. She demands to know where the baby is. Miss Prism confesses she doesn’t know, explaining that she lost the baby, having absentmindedly placed it in a handbag in which she had meant to place the manuscript for a novel she had written. Jack asks what happened to the bag, and Miss Prism says she left it in the cloakroom of a railway station. Jack presses her for further details and goes racing offstage, returning a few moments later with a large handbag. When Miss Prism confirms that the bag is hers, Jack’s identity is established. He is the legitimate child of Lady Bracknell’s sister and, therefore, Algernon’s older brother. Furthermore, Jack had been originally christened “Ernest John.” All these years Jack has unwittingly been telling the truth: Ernest is his name, as is Jack, and he does have an unprincipled younger brother—Algernon. Again the couples embrace, Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble follow suit, and Jack acknowledges that he now understands “the vital Importance of Being Earnest.”
Conclusion:
The mood of The Importance of Being Ernest is largely satirical. This is because Wilde is seeking to mock the triviality of the upper class society of London. Wilde’s satire is characterized by wit and is, throughout, lighthearted. Wilde is also writing from an aesthetic perspective, a movement in literature that celebrated art for art’s sake, and did not concern itself with the political issues of the outside world.
[With due acknowledgements and thanks to 'booknotes/wikipedia/sparknotes'.]
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