Em 15 (Finals)
Em 15 (Finals)
Em 15 (Finals)
The Gift of the Magi is a short story by O. Henry, published in the New York Sunday World in 1905 andthen
collected in The Four Million (1906).
Summary of the “Gift of the Magi”
The story begins on Christmas Eve, with Della lamenting the fact that she’s only saved $1.87, despite months of
pinching pennies at the grocer, butcher, and vegetable man. She flops down on their shabby couch and cries,
while the narrator goes on to introduce the young couple, Della and Jim Dillingham Young. The narrator then
describes their apartment, remarking upon its cheapness—8 dollars a week—and lack of a working doorbell.
EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
Della tops crying but is still at a loss for how she might buy a Christmas present worthy of Jim. She suddenly
remembers the pier-glass—a sort of thin mirror between the windows of the apartment—and stands before the
glass, releasing her hair to fall to its full length. Here, the narrator describes the couple’s most prized
possessions: Della’s long, brown hair that falls below her knees and Jim’s gold watch that was passed down
from his grandfather. He compares these items to King Solomon’s treasures and the queen of Sheba’s jewels.
Della runs downstairs onto the street, where she finds a hair shop run by a Madame Sofronie. After a brief
exchange during which Madame Sofronie evaluates Della’s hair, Della sells her long locks for twenty dollars.
Della spends the next two hours looking for a perfect present for Jim. She decides finally on a simple platinum
chain for Jim’s watch, comparing the watch’s lack of ornamentation and value to Jim’s personality, which is
equally quiet and valuable.
Trees
BY JOYCE KILMER
The boundary between artistic and popular literature is murky, with much traffic between the two categories
according to current public preference and later critical evaluation. While he was alive, William
Shakespeare could be thought of as a writer of popular literature, but he is now regarded as a creator of artistic
literature. Indeed, the main, though not invariable, method of defining a work as belonging to popular literature
is whether it is ephemeral, that is, losing its appeal and significance with the passage of time.
The most important genre in popular literature is and always has been the romance, extending as it does from
the Middle Ages to the present. The most common type of romance describes the obstacles encountered by two
people (usually young) engaged in a forbidden love. Another common genre is that of fantasy, or science
fiction. Novels set in the western frontier of the United States in the 19th century, and called westerns, are also
popular. Finally, the detective story or murder mystery is a widely read form of popular literature. Popular
literature has also come to include such genres as comic books and cartoon strips.
Classic Poetry
Much debate surrounds the definition of classic poetry. To be properly called a classic, something must exhibit
both high degrees of quality and staying power. Poems that are included in the classic poetry list generally have
both of these characteristics. Often, poets who lack staying power but exhibit a high degree of talent have their
poems re-introduced to the list of classic poems long after they are deceased.
A poem is generally not described as "classic" until several decades have passed since it was originally penned
and released to the public. Adequate time must have elapsed for the poem to have demonstrated its staying
power. If high school seniors are still assigned to analyze the poem 50 to 100 years after the poet has passed
away, it is a good sign that it is a classic poem.
In the past, the addition of non-Western poetry to the classic poetry canon has been impeded by language and
cultural differences. Thankfully, modern academics have taken care to include a diverse assortment of poems in
the classic category. Long-standing classic poems survive the effects of time and cultural shifts. Anthologies of
classic poetry now contain representative writings from all corners of the globe, in translations of many
languages, and from a variety of eras of human history. In fact, some famous Chinese poems dedicated to
cultural deities date from 1000 BC.
Different rhyming schemes and linguistic structures are found among examples of classic poetry. These are
often influenced by the original language in which the poem was written. Translations often offer an inaccurate
picture of the original structure or intent behind the poem in question. Efforts are being made to include notes
EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
with all translations in order to further explain the process and attempt to explain as much of
the connotation and denotation of the words as possible.
Though there is no definitive list of classic poems, there are many poets whose works can be found in almost
every poetry anthology that is sold and studied in the world. For example, one of the most widely read poems is
Dante's Inferno. William Shakespeare's sonnets are among the classics as are the love sonnets of Pablo Neruda.
Some of the other names include Emily Dickinson, Lord Byron, Ogden Nash, as well as Wilfred Owen, Lewis
Carroll, and even Queen Elizabeth I.
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST
Importance of Characterization
Modern storytelling usually emphasizes characterization even more than classical literature. This is because
characterization is a major tool in the plot-driven narrative. They can quickly connect the reader to the
character, without taking them out of the action. When you’re busy moving characters from one place to
another, making things happen to them, it’s clumsy to suddenly stop, get inside of Tom’s head, and drift around
with his thoughts for a while. On the other hand, no one is going to truly care about a story if they don’t care
about its characters, whether by love or hate or even just amusement or pity.
So, it’s very useful to balance these two areas of development. Plot and character should be
developing side by side and rely upon each other, which reflects the human experience. After all, how much of
our own “plots” are related to our decisions (our character), and how much of it is totally random and
disconnected from what we do?
EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
Examples of Characterization
The way a character speaks can inform us of their background and personality, like how educated they are,
or what they consider to be important. Even the way other characters speak to and about our characters is a form
of characterization.
· Example 1
In the Harry Potter series, Dobby refers to Potter as “the noble Harry Potter,” or “good Harry Potter,” which
shows us how the house elf adores the young wizard. It might also be a hint of how Dobby would show
affection for other people he admires.
· Example 2
The way a character reacts to a certain scene also teaches us about them. For example, a character who snubs a
beggar has is different from a character who opens their wallet and hands over a wad of hundreds, and still there
are more differences from a character who works directly with the homeless population in a city.
Types of Characterization
Direct/Explicit
This is clearly informative, and often uses the narrator, the protagonist, or the character
themselves. The narration, “Clara had always been a smug, wicked little princess,” is a form of direct or explicit
characterization, as is the line of dialogue, “Nicholas will never stop until he gets what he wants! He’s crazy!”
Indirect/Implicit
This more subtle method of characterization relies on you, the reader, to decide for yourself what it means.
Indirect or implicit characterization uses behavior, speech, and appearance, as well as the opinions of other
characters. Although other characters can be used to make direct
characterization (“Nicholas is crazy!”), they can also be used to make indirect characterization about
themselves.
Figuring out what it all means is most of the fun, and it’s the reason fans of certain books, shows, and movies
can argue about whether or not a certain character is good, or evil, or in love. They’ve interpreted the
characterization differently.
Characterization in Literature
The way a character speaks can inform us of their background and personality, like how educated they are, or
what they consider to be important. Even the way other characters speak to and about our characters is a form of
characterization.
Example 1
In the Harry Potter series, Dobby refers to Potter as “the noble Harry Potter,” or “good Harry Potter,” which
shows us how the house elf adores the young wizard. It might also be a hint of how Dobby would show
affection for other people he admires.
Example 2
The way a character reacts to a certain scene also teaches us about them. For example, a character who snubs a
beggar has is different from a character who opens their wallet and hands
over a wad of hundreds, and still there are more differences from a character who works directly with the
homeless population in a city.
Many of the most famed manuscripts are beloved for their “strong characters,” which is another way of saying
EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
characterization. Harry Potter has already been mentioned and has many beloved characters such as Hermione
or Hagrid. From “The Great Gatsby” to “A Christmas Carol”, characterization is a major facet of both classical
and popular fiction.
Example 3
In “The Great Gatsby”, the location of lower upper-class characters (East Egg) compared to the location of
upper upper-class characters (West Egg) serves to characterize their financial boundary.
Example 4
In “A Christmas Carol”, Scrooge tells a charity collector that, if the poor would rather die (than go to poor-
houses), they’d better do it, and “decrease the surplus population.” This line tells us a lot about how Scrooge
sees both other people and his own good fortune.
Summary of Maya Angelou's 'I know why the caged Bird Sings'(a chapter)
Maya Angelou is a great Afro-American writer, whose original name is Marguerite. This prose is an extract of
her autobiography “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” which explores the themes
of economical, racial and sexual oppression. This piece describes her life as a black girl in Arkansas, the way
she comes out of her silence and her empowerment. As her parents divorced, Marguerite and her brother Bailey
lived with their maternal grandmother’s house with their mother. She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend at
the age of eight. She shared this with her brother and later that culprit was killed by her uncle. The traumatic
incident silenced the small innocent girl. Maya
considered herself especially her speech as responsible for his death and withdrew herself to silence. This
extract tells the readers how she comes out of the guilty feel and gains her speech after five years with the
influence of her neighbor Mrs. Flowers.
Maya, the narrator begins this part by stating about the influential person of her life Mrs. Bertha Flowers, who
was the reason to develop Maya’s love for language and speaking skill. Mrs. Flowers is an aristocrat among the
black community. Maya describes Mrs. Flowers’ superior position through her elegant
appearance and dressing style. Maya goes to the extent of describing Mrs. Flowers smile and simple actions.
The gentleness and care of Mrs. Flowers enabled Maya to understand what a human being can be. Maya
feels attracted by Mrs. Flowers and compares her with the women characters in English movies who live with
individuality. To Maya Mrs. Flowers looked more beautiful than the white heroines. Maya feels relieved as
Mrs. Flowers does not talk to white people. She believes that the white people may have superiority complex
over the black and due to it they may call Mrs. Flower as Bertha which may shatter the image of Mrs.
Flower. The fact of Mrs. Flower a black enables Maya to feel proud to be a black. This indicates Mrs. Flowers
appeal on the young narrator.
The narrator’s grandmother Mrs. Henderson has a strange relationship with Mrs. Flowers. Her grandmother
calls Mrs. Flowers as sister though they both belong to different churches. Mrs. Flower is an educated upper-
class lady lives in the hill side, away from Maya’s locality. She speaks formal English and
her grandmother responds in informal language with grammatical error. Such communication between them
especially her grandmother’s grammatical error irked the girl and at times she longs for the ground to open and
swallow her.
She narrates a life changing incident that is still fresh in her memory. One day Mrs. Flowers buys provisions
from the grandmother’s shop. When the grandmother offers someone to carry the luggage, Mrs.
Flowers calls Maya to help by stating that she wants to talk to her. Maya feels excited about this chance and
changes her household dress to a formal one. Mrs. Flowers appreciates the dress and extends her
compliments to the grandmother for stitching. As that is the first compliment the old lady receives compliment
for her work, her excitement makes her to take off the dress from Maya. Maya feels ashamed of standing half
naked in front of her favorite person. Again, she feels like getting sunstroke and dying than to face Mrs.
Flowers.
EM 15: SURVEY OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
Later they both start walking towards Mrs. Flowers’ house. On the way Mrs. Flowers tells her that she got good
feedback about Maya’s writing from school and the only trouble with Maya is her silence. She advises Maya
that language is a powerful tool for communication and it separates man from the rest of the
livings. Mrs. Flowers asks Maya to read books aloud initially. When they enter the house the sweet smell of
vanilla invited them. Mrs. Flowers says that she prepared tea cookies for Maya and asks her to eat it. Maya feels
overwhelmed with the thought of her favorite lady preparing something special for her. She compares the
special moment of drinking lemonade and eating cookies with Mrs. Flowers with having mead (an alcoholic
drink of medieval period) with Beowulf. Beowulf is a famous Anglo-Saxon hero of an epic
titled Beowulf. He is known for his bravery and considered to be a savior of people. Next Maya compares the
special moment with having a hot cup of tea and milk with Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist is the protagonist of
Charles Dickens’ famous novel Oliver Twist. Comparing the event of having cookies with Mrs. Flowers with
Beowulf and Oliver Twist tells the importance of the moment in her life as well as her interest in reading
literature.
Mrs. Flowers reads a poem for Maya and that listening melts her stiffness. Maya says that it was the best thing
that she has done in her life and speaks for the first time with Mrs. Flowers. Mrs. Flowers gives her some books
to read aloud and some cookies for Bailey, Maya’s brother. Maya is excited about her visit and returns home
happily. Her grandmother and Bailey wait to receive Maya. Maya imagines the happy expression of her brother
to receive cookies and says ‘by the way’ Mrs. Flowers gave cookies for Bailey.
Something upsets her grandmother and asks Maya to take off her dress and be ready to get beating. Initially
Maya thought it as a joke but soon she realized the seriousness. They three kneel down and pray to god to
forgive her mistakes and she even gets some beating from her grandmother. Now she understands that she has
committed some unforgivable mistake. That day evening the grandmother tells the reason as Maya has used the
word ‘by the way’. The word way means Jesus and one cannot use god’s name in useless way. Bailey tells her
that the white people, whose god is Jesus as well use the word ‘by the way’ casually in their conversation.
Grandmother rejects his argument by stating that white people use hateful words before god and no need to
consider them seriously. This indicates the Afro-Americans faith in religion.
This prose piece enables one to understand the socio- economic condition of the black community in America.
Most of them live in poverty driven condition and have great faith in Christianity though they are
converted one. It also presents the transformation in the life of Marguerite from silent phase to active phase.
The title is apt for her autobiography as one can understand the Maya Angelou is the caged bird. The title of
the book is taken from her favorite poet Dunbar's poem "Sympathy". For Angelou, the image of a caged bird
serves as a metaphor for her own life. She compares her personal struggles including racism, abuse, oppression,
and poverty with a cage. As a caged bird, she tries to get the attention of the public regarding the injustice she
and her community faced through her poetry.