FIGURES OF SPEECH (SIMILE).

 

Figures of Speech.

 

Simile

 

Simile is a poetic device also known as a figures of speech. The poets use poetic devices to express the idea in more effective manner. Simile is used to compare two different objects or ideas. Simile is actually a subcategory of metaphor, which means all similes are metaphors, but not all metaphors are similes. Similes help paint a clearer picture in the reader’s or listener’s mind by linking abstract concepts or unfamiliar ideas to something familiar. This can make descriptions more engaging and memorable.

 

Simile is a figure of speech in which comparison is done between two different objects having some common element. The words, "like" or "as" are used to compare different objects. The goal is to highlight similarities between the two compared items, which helps in illustrating a concept or feeling more clearly. For example, "He fought like a lion." William Wordsworth compares himself with a cloud, "I wandered lonely as a cloud." Here, the poet compares himself with a cloud to express his loneliness.

 

Using "Like": Compares two things that are similar in some way. Example: “Her smile was like sunshine.”

Using "As": Compares two things in a way that emphasizes their similarity. Example: “He was as brave as a lion.”

 

Examples of Simile

As blind as a bat – This compares someone’s lack of sight or understanding to that of a bat.

"Without his glasses, he's as blind as a bat."

As busy as a bee – This simile compares someone's busy activity to a bee's constant work.

"She was as busy as a bee preparing for the party."

 

As clear as crystal – This simile describes something that is very clear or easy to understand.

"Her explanation was as clear as crystal."

As light as a feather – This simile compares something’s lightness to a feather.

"The pillow was as light as a feather."

Like a storm in a teacup – This describes a situation that is being made to seem more serious than it really is.

"The argument over the seating arrangement was just like a storm in a teacup."

 

 

 

A BIOGRAPHICAL DETAIL OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS.

 

 

 

Tennessee Williams

 

One of the most well-known playwrights in America, Tennessee Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi.

 

Here are some key details about his life:

 

• Early Life: Williams was raised in a difficult background. His mother, Edwina Dakin Williams, was a nervous former schoolteacher, and his father, Cornelius Williams, was a traveling salesman. Rose, his sister, suffered from mental illness, which had a lasting impact on him. Williams and his parents had a complicated connection. While his father was frequently absent and emotionally detached, Edwina, his mother, was extremely strict and controlling. These relationships helped young Williams develop feelings of alienation and loneliness, which would return in his writing in the future.

 

• Education: Williams studied drama at the University of Missouri, where he was honored with multiple awards for his work. After that, he changed schools and resumed writing plays at Washington University in St. Louis, where he graduated in 1937 with a degree.

 

• Career: In the 1930s, Williams migrated to New Orleans, which had a big impact on a lot of his writing. Williams authored a number of plays that were performed in nearby theaters while he was a college student. These early encounters gave him the groundwork and self-assurance he needed to pursue a playwriting career. While little attention was paid to his early pieces, he really came into his own with "The Glass Menagerie" (1944). Other masterpieces such as "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1947) and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1955) came after this. His plays frequently deal with themes of desire, societal degradation, and human weakness.

         

 

• Personal Struggles: Williams struggled drug addiction, alcoholism, and mental health disorders throughout of his life. He was greatly affected by his relationship with his sister Rose, who spent a large portion of her life in an institution.

 

 

• Later Life and Death: Throughout his life, Williams wrote and was praised for his works, even though his later ones were frequently not as well accepted. Williams experienced health issues from an early age, including a case of tuberculosis that required a lengthy hospital stay. He felt even more alone and different from his peers as a result of these health problems. His last years were spent on the road and in different places. He passed away in New York City on February 25, 1983, for reasons that are still not entirely apparent but were connected to his battles with drug misuse.

 

Williams' plays continue to be essential to American theater, and his examination of difficult social themes and human emotions has strengthened his status as a prominent writer.

 

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS OF EARNEST HEMINGWAY.

 

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”

                                                    

                                                               ― Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

Ernest Hemingway, one of the most prominent American writers of the 20th century, was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21, 1899. Hemingway, who is well-known for his distinctive writing style that is defined by simplicity and clarity, frequently addressed themes of masculinity, war, and the human condition in his works.

Ernest's mother, a highly religious and pious woman with an understanding of music, had hoped that her son would take an interest in music. she herself had once hoped for an operatic career, but during her first recital at Carnegie Hall, the lights were so intense for her defective eyes that she gave up performing.In high school, Ernest tried his hand at playing the cello, but it was obvious right away that he was not a musician. Rather, he was a great fan of the great outdoors, just like his father.

Ernest's father gave him an all-day fishing trip for his fourth birthday. Ernest started fishing when he was three years old. His grandfather got him a 20-gauge single-barrel shotgun for his twelfth birthday. He was one of the well-known group of foreign writers living in Paris when he soon set off on a life of travel, skiing, fishing, and hunting, activities which would serve as inspiration for his short stories featuring Hemingway's youthful fictitious character, Nick Adams.

His career as a journalist started after graduation. During World War I, he received injuries while driving an ambulance. The novel The Sun Also Rises (1926) came after his story collection In Our Time (1925). A Farewell to Arms (1929) and To Have and Have Not (1937) are examples of later novels.

His long-standing passion for Spain, which included a fascination with bullfighting, brought him to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, where he worked as a correspondent and wrote the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). Winner Take Nothing (1933), The Fifth Column (1938), and Men Without Women (1927) are some such collections of short stories. He was born and raised in Cuba, where his novella The Old Man and the Sea (1952, Pulitzer Prize) is set. He moved there around 1940.

In 1954, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Hemingway's unhappy years continued into the following few years, with attacks of high blood pressure and clinical depression in 1961. During his two lengthy stays at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, he was administered shock therapy; However, the majority of the recommended treatments for his depression proved to be unsuccessful.

Hemingway shot himself in the head and passed away at home on July 2, 1961. There seem to have been two Hemingways at all times. The bearded, grin-wearing "Papa" from the news photos was the adventurer; the other was the skillful, sensitive writer Hemingway, who carefully wrote, revised, and corrected his pieces.

Hemingway's term for his short stories, "gems," describes each of the collected short stories covered in this volume as a polished, completed work. There is no need for additional words, and no word is unnecessary. Literary commentators rank Hemingway as one of the greatest authors of short stories in history, ranking him alongside such well-known authors as Flannery O'Connor, John Steinbeck, and William Faulkner.

HIS FAMOUS WORKS :

Big Two-Hearted River (1925)

The Sun Also Rises (1926)

A Farewell to Arms (1929)

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)

The Old Man and the Sea (1952)

NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE AND DIALOGUE IN SHORT STORY.

 SHORT STORY (NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE AND DIALOGUE).

 

NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE.

The Narrative Technique is the writer's method of selecting who tells the story to whom. A unique point of view is essential because it affects how the reader interprets people, events, and other important aspects. There are three types of Narrative technique, First person, second person and third person.

First-person point of view

We frequently use the first person to talk about ourselves, our ideas, and what happens to us. The most obvious indication that a phrase is written in the first person is the use of first-person pronouns.  We, us, our, and ourselves are examples of first-person pronouns. They are singular first-person plural pronouns. Singular first-person pronouns include I, me, my, mine, and myself.

Example : I think I lost my wallet! I can’t find it anywhere!

Example : When I fall asleep, I can still see the sunlight on the waves.

Second-person point of view

The pronoun 'you' is used in second-person narrative. The reader is introduced as the protagonist or primary character in this point of view. It is the most challenging point of view to maintain during the course of some longer creative writing work.  Just keep in mind that it's the most difficult and rarely used point of view in fiction.

Third-person point of view

In third-person point of view, the narrator has the ability to know everything. You’ll see the pronouns he/his, she/her, they/them/their, and it/its in third-person point of view. This point of view allows for the greatest flexibility and also creates the most complexity.

 

There are three ways to write in the third person: 

Third-person omniscient: The narrator speaks freely about everyone and everything. There are no limits to the time, space, or character the narrator can access.

Third-person limited omniscient : The author writes in third person but keeps the thoughts and feelings limited to one central character. The Harry Potter series is an example of third-person limited omniscient. The reader has access to scenes across time and space, but they are only ever in the head of Harry himself. 

Third-person objective: The narrator is a neutral entity, relying on observations of characters rather than getting in their heads. Ernest Hemingway was a master of third-person objective. Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White Elephants” is the most popular example of this rare style in fiction.

 

DIALOGUE.

 

Dialogue is the written words of what character’s say. It allows the writer to move the story forward to its ending. It allows the writer to develop the character— personality, views, opinions, thoughts, impressions. It allows the writer to dramatize the story—to show readers what is happening, not tell them.

Some additional key details about dialogue:

Dialogue is defined in contrast to monologue, when only one person is speaking.

Dialogue is often critical for moving the plot of a story forward, and can be a great way of conveying key information about characters and the plot.

Dialogue is also a specific and ancient genre of writing, which often takes the form of a philosophical investigation carried out by two people in conversation. This entry, however, deals with dialogue as a narrative element, not as a genre.

 Example of Dialogue.

Alice: "Hey, do you want to grab coffee later?" 

Bob: "Sure! What time were you thinking?" 

Alice: "How about 3 PM? There's a new café that just opened up."

 

 

 

LARINS SAHIB (SHORT SUMMARY)

 

 

 

 

 

Larins Sahib (Summary).

 

The drama Larins Sahib (1968) revolves its plot on a specific event in India's colonial past. First presented by Derryck Jefferies at the Bhulabhai Theatre in Bombay in July 1969, the drama earned the Sultan Padamjee Award. The drama takes place in 1840s Punjab, when the fate of the region was decided by two events: the First Sikh War (1845) between Punjab's Khalsa and English and Maharaja Ranjeet Singh's death in 1839. But to read the play in the well-researched pre-independence Indian episode as a mere dramatic exercise would be a mistake.

 

The drama examines how human nature changes during times of conflict and shows how it might decline or become noble in response to such circumstances. In addition, the historical events of the nineteenth century that are still in existence are examined for similarities and observations regarding the social, political, and economic conditions of Indian society after independence. Although these parallels aren't brought up clearly, the play's overarching themes and motivations capture them. Larins Sahib provides a thorough analysis of the time period under consideration with its themes of power politics and history.

 

By merging historical events into its narrative and thematic framework, the drama recreates history. The play's historicity is connected to other contemporary topics that are closely related and provide significant insight into the evolution and persistence of culture, the pursuit of power by humans, and the place of religion in human affairs. The characteristics of the 1840s and 1850s historical period contain almost universal issues, such as power and politics, the rise and fall of an individual, and the conflict between morality and responsibility. Larins Sahib provides a post-colonial interpretation of history through their mutuality of significance and interpenetrations within the historical framework.

The play's action, set against the backdrop of political interest and chaos following the death of King Ranjit Singh, recalls of the social and political situation in India during the 1915–1916 period, when the nation was going through a period of despair following the death of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the nation's first prime minister.

While talking about the play, Gurcharan Das accepts: "We lived in the innocence of Nehruvian age when we still had strong ideas. We believed in socialism, democracy and the UN. We were filled with the excitement of building a nation. Even though the dreams soared, Nehru's idealism left a next permanent mark on us" (Das, TP 4).

 

The statement that Lawrence makes in the play following Ranjit Singh's death reflects the anxieties that people had immediately following the death of Nehru, who united India with his magnetic personality and failed to leave a worthy and capable successor in his wake. Larins Sahib expresses his disapproval of politicians that exploit politics to further their own agendas by creatively reconstructing the political situation of the current day. The drama successfully establishes itself as a piece of current relevance, using Larins as a metaphor for a liberal conscience destroyed by an excessive use in power.

  

Lawrence stands himself as a liberal who, in contrast to other Englishmen, rejects India and Indians, especially in his early years. In contrast to other Englishmen in the play who buy into racial stereotypes and are unable to overcome ethnic prejudices, he is opposite. Based on his experiences, Lawrence rejects these classifications, finding them unpleasant and arrogant. He is a liberal who does not succumb to any kind of cultural or religious prejudice.

The play, in praising Lawrence as a liberal enthusiast, validates a significant feature of Gurcharan Das's literature. Both in his private life and among writers, Gurcharan Das has been and still is a strong supporter of liberal principles.

He has been a great votary of liberal ideas like pluralism, tolerance, and freedom not only in the economic and political life but also in the social and religious one. He accepts: "Most of my life I have been a manager, so I don't think of myself as a literary person. But I have a passion for the humanities-history, philosophy, art-and a liberal temper that is skeptical of easy and total answer”.

In all of his plays, his characters respect these ideals—sometimes by their dialogue, sometimes through their concept. Henry Lawrence, who embodied liberal humanism in his capacity to be open to new ideas, actively engage with variety, and possess empathy, is honored in Gurcharan Das' drama Larins Sahib. He is not like racists like Lumsden and Abbott who view Indians as dirty, subhuman people. He chastises them for their misconceived notions about India and Indians:

LAWERENCE: Undeceive yourselves, if you think by remaining in India you will shoulder someone's burden and march into a hero's sunset. Rest assured, Mr. Abbot, the Indian doesn't need anyone's shoulder to lean upon. He can do without the Englishman, who as soon as he sets foot in India eternally pines for London fogs and Surrey greens. Your mission to civilize 'the crafty Hindu' will only result in his losing faith in the English, (Das, TP 58)

Lawrence draws harsh criticism from Lumsden because he is aware of other people's religious beliefs. He promises Lumsden that his actions were unacceptable and that, in spite of such insult, Indian people still believe in nonviolence because of his escape from the mob lynching: "Fortunately Indians are civilized people and don't resort to violence easily. In another land, we would have been burnt alive" (Das, TP. 57).

 

He is not blind to the shortcomings of Indians despite his affection for them. He criticizes them for being too touchy and sensitive about certain things  : "You Indians are the most touchy people in the world. Sometimes it's so difficult to talk to you. One's. always afraid of hurting you. You know Sher Singh... one has to be so careful with you" (Das, TP 66). 

Lawrence opposes the sari because he believes that women should not be exploited for religious purposes. He believes that a woman is a human being as well, and that no one should be able to burn a woman for the sake of tradition. Two Brahmins witness a widow refusing to be burned alongside her husband's corpse while he is holding a darbar. They want the British resident's permission to murder her.Their justification gets its power from the continued custom of burning widows as a proof of their faithfulness:

FIRST BRAHMIN: Maharaj it's the custom of our land that a holy-wedded wife perform sati on the pyre of her holy wedded husband.

SECOND BRAHMIN: Yes, your Highness. It is custom. And this irreligious immoral women refuses to abide by the custom by which her ancestors haveconducted themselves.
When Henry Lawrence orders to outlaw sati, one of the Brahmins protests:
"This is not the justice. A man has perfect right to do what he wants to do with his wife" (Das, TP 52).

 

Lawrence adopts a humanist position and expresses dislike of the Company's non-interference policy in the affairs of indigenous people. Lawrence not only opposes the intolerance of conservatives but also genuinely cares for Punjab and its people, as evidenced by his friendship with Rani Jindan. He is idolized by Sher Singh, and their bond is built on respect for one another. 

He genuinely wants to rebuild Punjab, and even though he copies Ranjit Singh's mannerisms and chowgah wearing, he still firmly believes that people should be governed well : "We want to build canals, bridges, roads. We want to ensure as much justice as possible to each citizen. We want to prevent the soldiers from interfering in your everyday affairs.

The play's main plot centers on the political strategy of self-centered leaders who betray their nation in order to further their own agendas. in this manner. Larins Sahib portrays a sharp picture of modern politicians by featuring opportunists such as Lal Singh, who will stop at nothing to seize power.

Gurcharan Das focuses on Maharaja Ranjit Singh's character as the father of a nation and his attempts to build Punjab into a nation of strength. Lawrence looks forward to Ranjit Singh as a role model because of the respect he has received from the public. Lawrence saw Ranjit Singh as the perfect monarch who united the warring states of Punjab and continued to influence it even after his death. He calls him "the greatest ruler Hindustan has known" (Das, TP 39) who "still lives in the hearts of the people" (Das, TP 41). Lawrence's praise for Ranjit Singh is unqualified and he is not ready to hear his criticism:

LAWRENCE: (Admonishing) don't speak like that about his highness. He was a great man. We should be lucky if we can continue his work. (Das, TP 43)


By depicting Ranjit Singh and Lawrence's attempts to imitate him, the author aims to convey his notion of a real monarch. In the end, it comes down to love and respect. The reward of a leader and Gurcharan is the feeling that one inspires in people via his work. Das sees it lacking in today's politicians who don't seem to care about people, too preoccupied with their small-time power struggles.

The drama portrays Rani Jindan as a devoted mother whose son Dalip Singh is the center of her universe. Despite her reputation among British people as a cunning and sour woman, the drama paints a more compassionate portrayal of her. She is deceived by Lal Singh before the play starts, who discredits her by having her sign the order for the troops to retire during the first Anglo-Sikh war. Despite her complete knowledge of Lal Singh and Tej Singh's treachery, she is forced by the British headquarters to keep them in the darbar. She nevertheless has an independent temperament and an energetic disposition in spite of these limitations.

LAL SINGH: (furious) The son of a pig! I am going to burn the Residency tonight.

RANI: (calmly) No, my sparrow, I like our Resident. (More to herself) Yes, I like him. He has something....

LAL SINGH: (Muttering) That's not surprising.

RANI: (Sharply) What do you mean?

LAL SINGH: (Appeasing) You know what I mean.

(She slaps him), (Das, TP 53)


Despite her creativity and interest in mysteries, she sincerely loves Lawrence. She finds him to be kind and innocent in the play's opening scene. whom she perceives as an aspect of hope for Punjab's survival. She is on the point of falling in love with him, and as a sign of their friendship, she offers him a Kohinoor diamond out of trust.

When she discovers that Lawrence has developed a strong ambition for political power as a result of his obsession with her late husband, she does not run away from her role as Lawrence's friend and lover. She openly informs him that his change is a result of his desire for power:

RANI: God, now I understand your robes, your darbars, and your Angrez Badshah. It all fits. And your obsession with my late husband. You are drunk, my friend. Power's gone to your head. And you have forgotten your friends. (Das, TP 106)


There is great sorrow in her appeal to Lawrence to keep her and her kid together. As a mother, she sees no future apart from her son, and she does everything within her power to stop the British Government's attempts to drive a wedge between them. She swears at Lawrence and the British out of frustration : "I am the mother of the Punjab. I am the wife of the One-eyed Lion. You won't dare! I am the Mother of the Khalsa. Touch me and you'll have mutiny on your hands. Once I leave, a curse falls on the Angrez. And the first one to go will be you, Larins" (Das, TP 98).
The play's conclusion reveals the true nature of her curse when the East India Company's Court of Directors summarily sends Lawrence to Calcutta.

It has been rightly pointed out: "The flux in Indian society today may be a parallel to the throes of change experienced in the late 1950s and 60s when the war ended our age of innocence and our Nehruvian dream" (Rajan 1).

 

While Larins Sahib stands for humanism and a need to look beyond compulsions of state politics. Through their examination in various circumstances, Gurcharan Das dramatizes the necessity of these principles in modern society and concludes that they are essential as a counterbalance to the rise of conservatism and fanaticism. He states that it is necessary to reexamine such dogmatic ideas that impede the development of both the person and the country.

It has been rightly averred that "literature reflects not only the social reality but also shapes the complex ways in which men and women organize themselves their interpersonal relationships and their perception of the socio-cultural reality" (Suneel 8).

 

In order to shape the political, economic, and social landscape of modern India, Gurcharan Das explores the development of various human connections in his plays. Using the human relationship pattern that recurs in all three plays, he paints a complete picture of Indian society. Men engage in social interactions and build relationships with one another since they are social animals. 

They reveal their feelings, priorities, tastes, and opinions about the society they live in as well as about themselves through their own relationship with one another. As a result, the author mirrors Indian society by having his characters interact and build relationships, which exposes their ideologies and thoughts. His plays depict a nuanced spectrum of interactions between mothers and sons as well as between husband and wife. Gurcharan Das reflects the ambience of Indian society through an exploration of these human relationships the lion.


LAWRENCE: (Excited) yes, yes just as it was in the days of the lion. We will make it rich and happy. We will build, build roads, canals and the land will sing with joy. (Das, TP 81)



When she discovers that Lawrence has developed a strong ambition for political power as a result of his obsession with her late husband, she does not run away from her role as Lawrence's friend and lover. She openly informs him that his change is a result of his desire for power :


RANI: God, now I understand your robes, your darbars, and your Angrez Badshah. It all fits. And your obsession with my late husband. You are drunk, my friend. Power's gone to your head. And you have forgotten your friends. (Das, TP 106)


There is great pathos in her plea to Lawrence to keep her and her kid together. As a mother, she sees no future apart from her son, and she does everything within her power to thwart the British Government's attempts to drive a wedge between them.

In her frustration, she curses the British and Lawrence: "I am the mother of the Punjab. I am the wife of the One-eyed Lion. You won't dare! I am the Mother of the Khalsa. Touch me and you'll have mutiny on your hands. Once I leave, a curse falls on the Angrez. And the first one to go will be you, Larins" (Das, TP 98). The ending of the play brings out the truth of her curse when Lawrence is unceremoniously packed off to Calcutta by the Court of Directors of the East India Company.

It has been rightly averred that "literature reflects not only the social reality but also shapes the complex ways in which men and women organize themselves their interpersonal relationships and their perception of the socio-cultural reality" (Suneel 8).

In order to shape the political, economic, and social landscape of modern India, Gurcharan Das explores the development of various human connections in his plays. Using the human relationship pattern that recurs in all three plays, he paints a complete picture of Indian society. Men engage in social interactions and build relationships with one another since they are social animals. They divulge their feelings, priorities, tastes, and opinions about the society they live in as well as about themselves through their own relationship with one another.

Even though Gurcharan Das explores a wide range of subjects in his plays, including power and ensuing corruption, human desire and its transcendence, and economic liberty, all of these themes are intended to highlight different aspects of Indian society. While each of his plays may be structured around a distinct concept to investigate, they are all synthesized with one another, much like the rivers in an ecosystem.

Even though his plays follow a thematic framework to depict modern Indian society, each play explores a different issue in a unique way. While there are certain common themes among them, they are also explored through well considered temporal and geographical settings in various historical periods. His plays all, in a sense, depict distinct facets of the post-independence India that is changing today.

His perspective has a unique depth due to his awareness of Indian life in the present as well as its continuation from the Vedic era. This vision is a composite perspective of a maturing civilization in its forward march towards a comprehensive and broad based life of happiness and justice for everyone, shaped by an awareness of both its antiquity and the present.

Thus, a framework of Indianness enters Gurcharan Das's dramatic works, providing unity and coherence through characterization as well as thematic that underlies. The three plays' beauty and appeal come from their ability to strike a balance between true to history and fictitious depictions.

Furthermore, pseudo-nationalism and self-obsessed regionalism are never the foundation of Das' perspective of India. He takes care to balance the demands of social determinism with the demands of individualism. He is careful nevertheless, to avoid the traps of excessive individualism and to recognize the importance of interpersonal ties and interdependence.