"The Sense of an Ending" Julian Barnes

   This is my academic activity blog to see the entire activity 

      click here Worksheet: The Sense of an Ending

     

  

(1) What is the meaning of phrase ‘Blood Money’ in Veronica’s reply email?
This phrase can be interpreted in various ways like Tony is self-centric narrator and he think Veronica’s mother sent 500 dollar because she damages him is silly thing.
Ans: For Sarah it means because of Tony she got handsome young boy who in love with her and that’s why she sent money to him which is blood money for Veronica. She may felt guilty of Adrian’s suicide and she wants to blame Tony or wants to regret for that and so she sent him. Veronica thinks that because of Tony Adrian would have relation with her mother. If Tony had not sent letter to Adrian or informed him that if you are not believe in me than ask her own mother who will inform you. And Adrian may go to ask her and since there their relation would have started and she became pregnant and that’s why intellectual Adrian had suicide. It means Tony played feelings of people and which lead to the destruction of some character’s life like Veronica, Sarah, baby, Adrian so it is blood money. 

2) How do you decipher the equation: b = s – v x/+ a1 or a2 + v + a1 X s = b?

It is the equation Tony found it in the diary page of Adrian. Earlier in the novel Adrian use it to demonstrate chain of responsibility.

I would decipher it as

1.      b = s – v x/+ a1  as B= Baby, S=Sarah, V=Veronica, and A1= Adrian

Thus for the Baby all three are responsible.

2.     a2 + v + a1 X s = b?

B= Baby, S=Sarah, V=Veronica, and A1= Adrian and A2=Anthony

They all are the units of a chain, a chain of responsibility which caused the birth of a baby. Adrian was able to meet Sarah only because he was boyfriend of Veronica, And it is Anthony/Tony who suggests Adrian to meet Sarah.

Thus not only Adrian and Sarah are responsible for the retarded child, but it is collective action of all these characters which resulted in the birth of a child.

3) Was the mentally retarded middle aged ‘Adrian’, Tony’s friend who did not commit suicide and was suffering from trauma and thus gone mad, and was living with hidden identity?

No it’s not true(according to the story- unreliable narrator), This mentally retarded person is the son of Adrian and Veronica’s mother Sarah Ford. The retarded Adrian is the result of late age pregnancy of Sarah. According to the

Story  Adrian the friend of Tony has committed suicide long before. We can say he his super sense of morality, and the guilt conscious of Adrian forced him to commit suicide. 

 

The Da Vinci code by Dan Brown

     " જ્યાં પહોંચવાની ઝંખના વર્ષોથી હોય ત્યાં

          મન પહોંચતાં જ પાછું વળે એમ પણ બને"

                                                

1)Brown states on his website that his books are not anti-Christian, though he is on a    'constant spiritual journey' himself, and says that his book The Da Vinci Code is simply "an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate" and suggests that the book may be used "as a positive catalyst for introspection and exploration of our faith."

According to Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code is not Anti-religion or Anti-Christian book. But here in this novel Brown put all things which include as conspiracy Christian fiction. It is about Christianity of revealing the contrarian truth or not may be truth that Jesus Christ was not virgin and he had child also, He revealed this thing not based on myth or interpretation but he has also some strong evidence. He includes a historical thing that is battle between Opus Dei and Priory of Sion over the possibility of Jesus having been married to Mary Magdalene. Dan Brown uses history of Christianity to forward the story of the novel. This book The Da Vinci Code is simply an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate that he imagined one story that made only for entertainment.

(2) What difference do you see in the portrayal of 'Ophelia' (Kate Winslet) in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, 'Elizabeth' (Helena Bonham Carter) in Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or 'Hester Prynne' (Demi Moore) in Roland Joffé's The Scarlet Letter' or David Yates's 'Harmione Granger' (Emma Watson) in last four Harry Potter films - and 'Sophie Neuve' (Audrey Tautau) in Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code? How would justify your answer?

  The portrayal of the character its makes difference, and the perspectives towards the author or film maker is different for us, Kenneth Branagh sexually objected Kate Winset by taking liberty with Ophelia's portrayal and showed her nude which we do not find in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ron maintained sacredness in Sophie's portrayal  in movie and thus, even if Dan's Sophie is kissed on lips, he do not show those scenes in movie. Kenneth Branagh in Frankenstein also, takes liberty with portrayal of Elizabeth on screen, whereas Ron Howard, remained faithful to the central theme of feminine sacredness in Sophie's portrayal.

9)Explain Ann Gray’s three propositions on ‘knowability’ with       illustrations from the novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’.

    .       1) Identifying what is knowable 
          2) identifying and acknowledging the relationship of the  knower and the known
        3) What is the procedure for ‘knowing’?

          

"જે શોધવામાં જિંદગી આખી પસાર થાય

ને એ જ હોય પગની તળે એમ પણ બને"

    In this novel this sentence "I dont know what I dont know" is reflecting here, even character of Sophia her self don't know that she is descendant of Jesus and also Robert langdon quest for knowing is also presented, so idea of 'knowability' is play a vital role in this novel.  And after the known the truth Sophia and Robert langdon are seems to not happy, they dont take much interest to revel the truth to the worlds the lines 

" જ્યાં પહોંચવાની ઝંખના વર્ષોથી હોય ત્યાં

          મન પહોંચતાં જ પાછું વળે એમ પણ બને"

Are represents both situations at the end of the novel.

"The white Tiger" By Arvind Adiga

 This blog is a part of my classroom activity on The white Tiger by Aravind Adiga. 

 Click here to show worksheet of given task.

1) How far do you agree with the India represented in the novel The White Tiger? 

( Research article on Representation of India in Adiga's white tiger )


Aravind Adiga in an interview with the BBC said;


“The White Tiger is the story of a poor man in today’s India, one of the many hundreds of millions who belong to the vast Indian under class; people who live as labourers, as servants, as chauffeurs and who by and large do not get represented in Indian entertainment, in Indian films, in Indian books. My hero-or rather my Protagonist-Balram Halwai is one of these faceless millions of poor Indians”

The novel studies the contrast between India’s rise as a modern global economy and the lead character, Balram, Who comes from crushing rural poverty. “At a time when India is going through great changes and, with China, is likely to inherit the world from the West, it is important that writers like me try to highlight the brutal in justice of society(Indian). That’s what I’m trying to do-it is not an attack on the country, it’s the greater process of self-examination” (“Review: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga”, The Telegraph).

 the picture Aravind Adiga paints of India in The White Tiger is of a nearly feudal society disguised as a democracy. If even a tenth of what Balram describes as normal operating business is actual, and there is no reason to believe otherwise, then India’s economic miracle is as much a lie as China’s. The country might have gained its independence from the British at the end of the 1940s, but the majority of the people in India are still trapped in servitude. The White Tiger is a depiction of the social and economic inequalities of contemporary India. It is a penetrating piece of social commentary, attuned to the dissimilarities that persist despite India’s new prosperity

The novel is set in present situation in which the writer portrays the hard reality of contemporary Indian society. He collates the rural India with urban India through satire and black humor. He brings to contrast the disparity between progressive Indian cities and regressive Indian villages. The novel is centered on Balram Halwai, the son of poor rickshaw puller, Vikram Halwai. He is the strong voice of underclass in which the subalterns, landless laborers, unemployed youths, poor auto drivers, servants, prostitutes, beggars and unprivileged figures. This paper aims to study the darker aspects of India as enumerated in this novel by Adiga along with a contrast with the light aspects of cities.

Social groups involve two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics and collectively have a sense of unity or objective similarity. In the case of Aravind Adiga’s ‘The White Tiger,’ the vast numbers of different social groups are represented in several different ways. Drivers in India are an example of a social group mentioned throughout the novel. Adiga’s interpretation of each driver or group of drivers in the novel are viewed though the eyes of Balram Halwai, the main character of the novel, who goes from living on the streets, to becoming a driver, to developing into an entrepreneur of his own driving company.

Apart from that he satires on the the Indian systems major like 

• Indian Education system
• Indian Marriage system
• Way of becomes Successful entrepreneur 
• Way of doing the Buisness
• Bossim
• Servitude nature of Humans
• Indian Police system 
• Joint family living system                                                                                                                        Almost every field or aspects of Indian peoples and their way of living life is covered by Adiga in this novel. 

(2) Do you believe that Balram's story is the archetype of all stories of 'rags to riches'?

This story told by the central character Balram Halwai who move from rags to riches. Rags to rich means a journey of becoming poover to rich. In the movie Slumdog Millionaire the protagonist jamal maliks story and Adiga's The white tiger are both similar in a same narrative about the journey of becoming rags to rich.  Balram was a middle class Halwai son who letter on becomes a famous entrepreneur. Though he would become successful because of murdering of his master and stalled his name and money.  

(3) "Language bears within itself the necessity of its own critique, deconstructive criticism aims to show that any text inevitably undermines its own claims to have a determinate meaning, and licences the reader to produce his own meanings out of it by an activity of semantic 'freeplay' (Derrida, 1978, in Lodge, 1988, p. 108). Is it possible to do deconstructive reading of The White Tiger? How? 

  

 To deconstruct the text or writers own writing is one of the prominent key feature of postmodern novels. Adiga and Julian Barnes way of narrating the things at some level similar. For example, first character narrates the story and letter on by him / her self deconstructed the narrative. Like in Adiga's the white tiger,  

 As novel begin that in first sense Balram talk about to Mr. Jiabao. He says that,

         “Neither you nor I can speak English but there are some things that can be said only in English”.

It means that Adiga knows about use of language as better way.

       This novel we also deconstructed on the basis of class conflict. Balram is servant and also driver of Honda city car. In India servant is always faithful to his master example like Hanuman. So here this idea of loyal or faithful servant of his master was deconstructed very artfully.

(4) Is it possible to read The White Tiger in context of Globalization? 

            Yes, it is possible to read "The White Tiger" in the context of Globalization. Through out the novel we see some form of America seems to pop up in a key moment. for example when Balram is describing Ashok’s corruption on page 173,

 “you’ve got plenty of places to drink beer, dance, pick up girls, that sort of thing. A small bit of America in India.”  

 So here see effect of globalization clearly. India is being like America so here we see cultural diversity and open up new exiting world. Some how it is good thing but sometime it also harm to the culture. Next we see in the novel that Balram sees Ashok being transformed by the influence of American culture, the creeping globalization that is taking over Delhi.

 

Chetan Bhagat's 'one night @ the call center

This blog is my part of classroom activity on One night @ call center by Chetan Bhagat.

To show the worksheet of given task click here. 

(1) Contemporary issues in on@tcc:

Chetan bhagat a contemporary Indian Author has touches upon some contemporary issues of society as well Nation also. Like Globalization,Anti- american sentiments, damage to Indian Economy systems etc. Apart from that Youth, their burring problem of joblessness or Bossism, Love/ arranged marriage, breakup & patch up, Bossism, exploitation in modeling or other sectors, OLD MORALITY- NEW MORALITY, family values, constant fight of parents and its effect on children, low self esteem, emotional blackmailing, hire & fire work culture, anti- American sentiments etc.

(2) One night at the call center as a cyberpunk novel

Cyberpunk is a postmodern science fiction genre. Cyber Punk connected with science and technology. It features higher science, such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order. Cyberpunk plots often center on a conflict among hackers, artificial intelligences, and Mega Corporation, The characters deals with cyber technology. Vroom hacks Bakshi's email and writes email to Esah on his behalf. The American's are terrorized with the help of bug in MS Office as virus attack on Internet . In the world of technology heroes are hiker like Shyam. Machine is controlling human beings. Bakshi controlling heroes and other high teach and law life. Character dealing withBug, FM radio, Email, Internet (computer). So we can say it classify as Cyber punk novel.

 Its a new wave in science fiction A subgenre of science fiction which focuses on computer or information technology and virtual reality.A cyberpunk character, a hacker punk, a high-tech low life.

 Cyberpunk plots often center on conflict among artificial intelligences, hackers, and megacorporations, in this novel one Gmail is creating a conflict and gives the twist to the plot. Vroom and shyam are hack the Mr. Bakshie's Gmail account. 

(3)  ON@tcc as a self-help book. 

Self help book is about moral lesson, solution of problems and also helpful for build personal philosophy. The meaning of Self-Help Book is to self improvement, Genre – non fictional book. Self –help books often focus on popular psychology such as romantic relationship, or aspects of the mind and human behavior. In On@tcc God’s call it shows the moral massage and it developed self confidence of characters.

Here we see that all character present the real life situation, of the people. In the story we see that character of Shyam, who almost lost his love. Character of Radhika is in an unhappy marriage with demanding mother-in-law. Character of Military Uncle, who wants to talk to his grandson. Character of Mr.Bakshi, who boss of the call center, all hate them because of their cruel and somehow sadist behavior.

We see that all character suffer in their life. Also these all problems we find in our real life and also in the society. With help of the type of book we find solution of the problem. Chetan Bhagat’s present the real life situation of the people and how they all manage the life.

We can say that Chetan's God becomes a mouthpiece for his self help - 'listen to the inner call'. It is about inner call or inner voice. A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. God’s call it is a kind of a help, or it can be interpreted in many ways. God’s call pays the path, he shows just the path, but then all characters help themselves. In this way we can take this book as a self help book also.

ü God's message to the group

ü Four things needed for success:

ü ‐ a medium amount of intelligence,

ü ‐ a bit of imagination

ü ‐ self‐confidence

ü ‐ Facing, suffering failure

Chetan Bhagat book One Night @ the Call Center. We see that how Chetan Bhagat present the people life situation. In the story we see that all character suffer in their life. Many problems in their life. But then they all live in the life.

(4)One night at the call center as popular literature. 

• characteristics of the popular literature 

 i.      Popular literature commonly lacks a sustained plot, worked out with close regard to cause and effect.

                                                         

  ii.      Still more characteristically it lacks the study of character and the intellectual analysis of such varied problems as occupy the fiction of the present age.

                                                      

  iii.      The popular romances lay their stress chiefly on incident and adventure or simple intrigue, and set forth only the more familiar and accepted moral teachings.

                                                       

 iv.      They represent, on the whole, an instinctive or traditional, rather than a highly reflective, philosophy of life.

                                                           

v.      For all these reasons they have come to be regarded chiefly as the literature of children; a natural result, perhaps, of the fact that they originated largely in the childhood of civilization or among the simple peoples in more advanced ages.

                                                        

vi.      It does not raise or answer abstract questions; it assumes that man knows what he needs to know in order to live.

ON@tcc can be considered as popular literature because it does not have proper plot structure, there is plot between love and break up-love of Shyam and Priyanka. It does not have that deep philosophy about life. And character blindly believing in god’s call. You do not require intellectual understanding after reading it. Plot follow simple story line like, love and breakup. All character has some kind of the problem with their family member. So it shows modern mind set of the people which Chetan Bhagat very well represented in his novel. So we can say that this novel is come in the category of popular literature.

Activity: CALL / Web Tools

 Technology is an integral parts of humans lives in the contemporary era. Not any signal filed could be operate without use of technology. In Education nowadays puts more stress on the Integration of technology, Digital language lab, E-learning, and many more things. Specially in English language teaching technology becomes key pillar and would be more beneficial is believed. Here are some Thinker and Education consultant who tries to explain the integration and importance of using technology in the learning and Education.   


Video 1 :- Sir Ken Robinson : Changing Paradigm

 Sir ken Robinson in this video puts more stress on

1. Why is it necessary to use Technology in Education? 

• In education main focus is on teaching learning process. And because of this Teacher is at the center from the very earlier stage of teaching learning process. But now time is changing and with the flow of time teaching learning process is also starts changing. So now Students are at the center rather than teacher.
 There are so many methods and approaches for teaching learning process but no one can replace technology as a best method of teaching learning process.That’s why technology is very important thing in teaching learning process and it is necessary in process of teaching learning. Self-learning is very important part of teaching learning process with the help of technology. Dec-entering the center from teacher to student.


Video 2  :- Sugata Mitra: School in the Cloud - SOLE 

In this video Sugata mitra striking on Using technology and integration it its both the different.

2)  Integrating technology and using technology are different with each other because some people were using technology for the sake of entertainment but some are using it as an instrument to fulfill their goal.

For example: If a teacher using technology for teaching is call use of technology, but how students were understand and use that technology is call integrating technology. We can find that many students were using mobile for the sake of entertainment, where as a mobile device can help to get knowledge as well as well as learning also. So it known as using Technology in Various ways. 
Integrating technology is related with effect and its use into the class room where technology plays main role in teaching and learning process. Because with it learner can learn threw audio and visual way so that students can learn anything into the digital world as interdisciplinary way. It also depends on capacity of teacher and student learning way of technology.

Video 3 :- Sugata Mitra:- Future of Learning

 3) Integrating the technology is also related with teacher and students use of technology into the classroom. By using new ideas. Is the use of technology of a tools integrate  the content areas in order to allow students to apply computer and technology skills to learning and problem solving of students. Generally speaking the curriculum which is hard but can solve by using technology.

Discussion on Academy Award winning documentary: "A Girl in the River" by Sharmee

Hello readers,

         This blog is about my response on online discussion on Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Academy Award for her documentary, A Girl in the River.

 Click here to show review artical of this documentary. On that whole discussion is based. How far can you agree or disagree with the views expressed in this article? Cultural Studies and Postcolonialism

     

 This short film is based on striking the issues of honour killing killing , and injustice happens with the women in Pakistan.  She was awarded because of  showing the ugly reality of the Pakistanis women and their struggle, instead of showing their goody goody and positive image she strikes on the darker shades of the women life which are double marginalized in the not only in Pakistan but also in India. "Literature as a mirror of society" or x-ray image, or photocopy of the society, its function to shows the reality rather then Utopian world. Its reflects on what the society is, how its works, and how society is dealing with the people,  as in that case the writer and Author has to capture the human condition and their truth in the literature/ film.  like Sharmeen Julian Barnes, Arvind Adiga are the writer who success to capture the X-ray image (Ugly image, Negative image ) of their society,  they also got noble prize not for showing the Bright side of the society but for showing the Darker shades of the humans. I am absolutely agree in the choice of  materials of the writer or artist. Its their choice for what to portrayed and how to portrayed.

Another Disagreement point is of  The buzz around Sharmeen’s film has prompted Nawaz Sharif to say that the practice of honour killings in Pakistan should come to an end,

As a film maker or artist/ Writer their job is only putting the things in front of the society, in front of the people not to artists, academics and activists are not propagandists in the service of the state. Their job is not to sell shiny, happy images of their country to the rest of the world, however far they may be from reality. Their purpose is to tell the truth, however inconvenient, however uncomfortable, however shameful. What subject or cause they pick is entirely their own business. We can take issue with them about the authenticity of their work, its quality, its effectiveness, but we don’t have the right to question their choice of material.

An Indian film 'NH10' directed by Navdeep Singh.

 which similarly striking the same issue of honor killing of girls in name of  fake Image. A girl who killed and murder by their family members on the issue of "Love marriage"

So this kinds of the choice of materials are upon on the artist not their work to prevent and rebel against these kinds of acts and problems.

I am also disagree with the Postcolonial views about  "other" or ' orient'
 Every Artist and Film maker deeply desire  for they winning award like Oscar, and any other which given by the foreign countries or by the First world countries, which is not right.

Another thing is that filmmaker or artist are trying to show goody goody and positive image about their country to the others, not think about the morals and their function towards their country.
I am agree with the views on postcolonial context that how we wants to show our image and how they interpreted is

For the truth is that the very people who rail against western approbation, actually crave it. Why else would they demand that only ‘positive’ images be projected to that audience? In fact nothing thrills us more than winning prizes in the UK and the US. It validates us in ways that domestic attention just does not. I’ve seen excellent books by desi authors languish unnoticed in shops in both India and Pakistan. Until they win a major prize in the West. Then they fly off the shelves.

Of course western interest can be narrow in its focus and agenda driven. But whose is not? Instead of frothing with self-righteous rage or manufacturing hysterical conspiracy theories to justify other people’s selective interest or indifference, we would be better served to confidently define our own priorities. We have to fight our battles, celebrate our heroes and tell our stories truthfully.

And if we find that these stories shame us, then we must do something about them. But for those of us still fixated on the ‘image’ issue, it’s quite simple really: you want better PR? Improve the product.