UNIT 2 HEIGHTS OF HARMONY ...NOTES BY JP

MENDING WALL

STUDY BY HEART

“Little deeds of kindness, little words of love, make our Earth an Eden, like the heaven above”-Julia F Carney

“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost is a narrative about two neighbours. They meet every spring to repair the stone wall that divides their properties. The central theme of the poem is whether it is wise to erect walls among human beings.” In this poem he describes the importance of harmonious life. It deals with the two contrasting views of the poet and his neighbour. Nature tends to destroy the walls. The Poet’s neighbour remarks that good fences make good neighbours and adds that there will not be any good relationship without any walls.

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS FROM THIS POEM:-

1) Write a paragraph about the two contrasting views presented in this poem.

A) The poem, “ Mending Wall”, deals with the two contrasting views of the poet and his neighbour. According to the Poet, fraternity and tolerance are the two important factors for leading a harmonious life. He doesn’t like walls which separate one from another. But the neighbour says that “Good fences make good neighbours”. He believes that walls are very important to prevent misunderstanding.

2. Write a paragraph about the poetic devices used in this poem.

The Poet effectively makes use of metaphors and similies in this poem. He uses them ironically. The wall is a metaphor for a barrier. He turns the natural process of the spring into a mysterious ‘something’ that doesn’t love a wall; that ‘sends’ ground swells, that ‘spills’ boulders and that ‘makes gaps’.  The Poet also makes use of ‘similies’ in this poem. He playfully characterizes some of the boulders as ‘loaves’ and others as ‘balls’. The Poet again makes use of metaphor when he jokes with his neighbour, “My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines”.

3. Imagine you are the Poet’s neighbour in “The Mending Wall”. You want to justify your viewpoint that “Good fences make good neighbours”.  Present your reasons in the form of two arguments.                                                  (Score : 2)

A) a. According to me good fences strengthen the human relationship

     b. Good fences will reduce the quarrel between the neighbours.

4. Prepare an appreciation of the poem “ Mending Wall”.

HINTS to include in the appreciation:- The central idea of the poem, Symbolic significance of the ‘wall’ in the poem, Poetic devices employed by the Poet, Language, Structure and Contemporary relevance

A) “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost describes the importance of harmonious life. It is a narrative about two neighbours who meet every spring to repair the stone wall. It is a dramatic lyric. Here the poet expresses his views and attitudes about building walls. The central theme of the poem is whether it is wise to erect walls among human beings.

We can see two contrasting views presented by the poet and his neighbour. The poet says that there is no need for walls or fences. But he respects his neighbour when he expresses the view that, “Good fences make good neighbours”.

The wall symbolizes all man-made barriers such as divisions between nations, social divisions, wealth, race etc. The wall actually makes a prison around him. It separates him from the world. So the poet supports the same thing. Walls are always separating us from others. It disturbs the good relationship.

 The Poet effectively makes use of metaphors and similies in this poem. He uses them ironically. The wall is a metaphor for a barrier. He turns the natural process of the spring into a mysterious ‘something’ that doesn’t love a wall; that ‘sends’ ground swells, that ‘spills’ boulders and that ‘makes gaps’. There is alliteration in the lines “There is something that doesn’t love a wall”. Here ‘t’ and ‘th’ in the words ‘ther’ and ‘that’ are examples of alliteration. The Poet has effectively employed ‘assonance’  in the line ‘And spills the upper boulders in the sun’ . Here  ‘u’ in the word ‘upper’ and ‘u’ in the word ‘ sun’ are repeated. The Poet also makes use of ‘similies’ in this poem. He playfully characterizes some of the boulders as ‘loaves’ and others as ‘balls’. The Poet again makes use of metaphor when he jokes with his neighbour, “He is all pine and I am apple orchard”. There is personification in the line ‘God fences make good neighbours’. Here ‘fence’ gets human appearance.

This poem is written in blank verse.  All the lines of the poem are unrhymed. But the blank verse contributes to the meaning of the poem. The poet also makes use of several images. It is a two-stanza poem. But the language used by the poet is not so simple, because we can find some hidden meanings in the lines. The poet emphasizes the need for walls or fences for making a harmonious life. As all the poems of Robert Frost this poem too begins in delight and ends in wisdom.

5. What is the importance of having a positive attitude to life?

A positive attitude leads to success and happiness. It helps you to do your daily affairs very easily. It brings optimism into your life and helps to avoid worries and negative thinking. It would bring constructive changes into your life. Our life becomes happier, brighter and more successful. When we have a positive attitude, it helps us to see the bright side of life.

A positive frame of mind can help you in many ways, such as

·         Expecting success and not failure

·         Making you feel inspired

·         It gives you the strength not to give up.

·         It makes you look at failure and problems as blessings in disguise.

·         It enables you to show self-esteem and confidence.

·         It helps you to look for solutions

·         It helps you to see and recognize opportunities

A positive attitude leads to happiness and success and can change your whole life. It helps you to look at the bright side of life and your whole life becomes filled with light. This light helps you to see your environment and the people around you more clearly.

24. Read the following poem and compare it with “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost.

                                       Good Neighbours

To my shame I’ve been mending fences again,

a quaint habit I inherited from my father;

he would rather fix a fence than parley

repair and that it is where our views diverged.

He said fences were meant to make good

Neighbours. In the intervening years I had it

wrong, believing a fence was a line of defence.

along a disputed border. In my father’s sense

It was the commencement of a wider duty,

a line where trust and respect must meet

And mesh, where neighbours are defines.

Today he watched me fix the fence-naturally

It made eminent sense to him as my cattle had

raided his space. When I said it was his fence too,

That the problem was shared he agreed, and thanked me for making repairs. I would that he could have read my face.

(parley- to discuss with others to solve a disagreement; intervening- coming between two events; mesh- to fit together or match closely)

A) As it is said, ‘”Little deeds of kindness, little words of love can make the earth Eden like the Heaven above”, the poem “Good Neighbours”also conveys a similar idea. It is a poem which bears so much similarity with the poem “Mending Wall” written by Robert Frost.

In the poem, “good Neighbours”, a similar pattern of idea is observed. The poet feels shame for building walls but could not stop since it has become a habit which he inherited from his father. This is the point where both are keeping different views.

“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost is a narrative about two neighbours who meet every spring to repair the stone wall. The central theme of the poem “Mending Wall” is whether it is wise to erect walls among human beings. It highlights the idea that ‘good fences make good neighbours.’ The poem “Good Neighbours” is also such a poem which underlines the importance of fences to make good neighbours. It emphasizes the fact that fence is a line where trust and respect meet.

In the poem “Mending Wall”, the poet tells that there is something in nature that doesn’t like a wall. He attributes the cause of damaged wall to nature. Every spring the poet notices this and calls his neighbour to repair it. They mend the wall together. Thus it was really the strong bond of relationship between the poet and his neighbour. The mending of the wall really brought so much positive elements such as love and concern. We can also see the contrasting outlook of the poet and his neighbour. The poet had a wrong notion about the walls at that time. He thought wall is a kind of separation between them. But the poet’s neighbour believed that good fences make good neighbours. Thus we can see a neighbour who is sticking to his father’s advice.

In the poem, “Good Nighbours” too we can see the similar idea. The poet says that he got the habit of making fences from his father. The poet in this poem was also against making of the walls. According to him it was a line of defence. But his father had taught him that fences were meant to make good neighbours. We get much evidence of this from this poem. When the poet’s cattle ran to his neighbour’s ground, the fence was broken. Then the poet repaired it. The neigihour who saw this thanked the poet for his good deed.

Thus both the poems highlight the importance of making walls for maintaining good relationship. In “Mending Wall”, the poet Robert Frost makes use of many good images of apple trees, frozen ground, hunters with dogs, etc. He employs the figure of speech simile when he compares his neighbour as an old- stone age man. He also makes use of personification when he orders stones to stand still. We can also see number of funny facts such as ‘My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines”. The language used by the poet is very simple and attractive.

In the poem, “Good Neighbours”, alliteration is effectively used in the line, ‘fix a fence’. The poet also makes us of metaphor when he says that ‘fence was a line where trust and respect must meet’

As a whole both these poems convey the same message and begin in delight and ends in wisdom. The major difference between the poem, “Mending Wall” and “Good Neighbours” is the role played by nature. In “Mending Wall’, we can see the nature, disliking the wall. But in the poem, “Good Neighbours”, we cannot see any role of nature. The presence of supernatural force is also absent in the poem, “Good Neighbours”. In both the poems we can see different perspectives of making a wall. Both the poems share contrasting attitudes of different people. We can see different angles and perspectives of making a wall. It sometimes upsets the mindsets of the people. The ideas are conveyed in a clear and creative manner. Thus both these poems are highly relevant in the contemporary society where people create boundaries on the basis of races and nation and individual and society. It really sets up the mind of the readers to show tolerance and adjustment.

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AMIGO BROTHERS BY PIRI THOMAS

Introduction:- ‘Amigo Brothers’ by Piri Thomas

·         Story of two seventeen year old friends

·         Trying to qualify for the Golden Gloves Championship Tournament.

·         The story centres on a neighbourhood fight between the two

·         The two face internal conflicts

·         They are too much concerned about their friendship.

SUMMARY:- This is a story that assimilates the true value of friendship. The main characters in the story are FELIX VARGAS AND ANTONIO CRUZ. They are both seventeen years old. They live in New York. Antonio is fair, lean, and lanky. His lean form makes him the better boxer. Felix is dark, short and strong. His short and muscular form makes him the better slugger. They are very passionate, athletic, loyal, competitive and determined. Though they are opponents in the boxing ring, Felix and Antonio are thick friends. They were dreamful. They practiced well for competing in the Golden Glove Tournament. They fight each other well to represent their town in the tournament. When the fight takes place it becomes very difficult to mention the winner. The story doesn’t mention the winner. They walk away arm in arm   and their friendship wins beyond everything. Thus this story recognizes that real friendship goes beyond all the restrictive forces of society.

MODEL QUESTIONS:

1. Identify the similarities and the differences between Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas.

SIMILARITIES:- Both Antonio and Felix were seventeen years old. Their friendship was stronger and they were living as brothers. Both of them had known each other well from their childhood onwards. They lived upon the Lower East side of Manhattan. Both of them had the same dream of becoming a light-weight champion of the world. They were very hard workers. They practised well for achieving their dream. They had a collection of Fight magazines.

DIFFERENCES:- Antonio was fair, lean and lanky. Felix was dark, short and husky. Antonio’s hair was always falling over his eyes. But Felix wore his black hair in a natural Afro style.

2. Imagine that you are a newspaper reporter and you witness the contest between the Amigo Brothers and note down the points which you would like to include in your report.

Venue: Tompkins Square Park.

Time : Afternoon.

Contestants: Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas

(Park begins to fill up earlier…Fighters enter….Crowd explodes with a roar….Refree gives instructions….Fight begins….So much blows and punches…..Last round starts……Crowd becomes silent…….Amigo brothers’ blows continue to pound on each other like hailstones…..Referee and the two trainers pry Felix and Antonio apart……Before announcing the result, the champions leave the ring.)

MANHATTAN, 19^TH OCTOBER 2016: It was a wonderful evening for the audience at the Tompkins Square Park. Everybody present there witnessed the stunning performance of Amigo Brothers.

The fight between Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas was fixed in Tompkins Square Park. The Park was crowded even before the scheduled time. The game started at 2 o’ clock. When the both fighters entered the audience welcomed them with great applause. Felix was escorted by a dozen fans in white T-shirts. Antonio too was escorted and guided in a grand manner. At first the referee gave the instructions. When the fight began, they attacked each other with strong blows and punches. The crowd was vibrant and enthusiastic in the beginning. When the fight was about to finish, they got worried. It was because of the fighters’ savage attacks. Both of them were really fighting hard. Everybody thought that it would end in draw. The crowd became silent and their blows continued. The bell rang again and again. Their blows appeared as hailstones. Finally the referee and the two trainers pried Felix and Antonio . After a few minutes, they looked around and then rushed towards each other and embraced each other. The referees were really in a dilemma. They found it very difficult to find the winner. The announcer began to make the announcement. He was looking around to see the winner. But both Antonio and Felix had left like true friends. They knew they would always be champions. The crowd at the Tompkins Square Park witnessed the true friendship of these two boxers.

MAKING ANNOUNCEMENTS:-

It is better to begin the announcement in an attractive style. The following announcement was made by the announcer before the competition began.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, now is the moment we have all been waiting for. The main event between the two fine young Puerto Rican fighters will begin shortly. The fighters are Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas. Felix Vargas weighs 134 pounds and his rival Antonio Cruz weighs 133 pounds. The winner will represent the Boy’s club in the tournament of champions, the Golden Gloves. It would be really a wonderful competition. Soon the whistle will go and you will see the wonderful boxing competition.. Be ready for a breathtaking finish. I can see the referee preparing to whistle. Hope all of you would enjoy it well”.

You are a friend of the Amigo brothers and you witnessed the contest between them with great excitement. Prepare a blog entry describing the contest.

(When you start writing a blog, first of all you should give a catchy headline and the date.)

A STUNNING PERFORMANCE BY AMIGO BROTHERS.

 DATE AND NAME It was a wonderful evening for the audience at the Tompkins Square Park. Everybody present there witnessed the stunning performance of Amigo Brothers.

The fight between Antonio Cruz and Felix Vargas was fixed in Tompkins Square Park. The Park was crowded even before the scheduled time. The game started at 2 o’ clock. When the both fighters entered the audience welcomed them with great applause. Felix was escorted by a dozen fans in white T-shirts. Antonio too was escorted and guided in a grand manner. At first the referee gave the instructions. When the fight began, they attacked each other with strong blows and punches. The crowd was vibrant and enthusiastic in the beginning. When the fight was about to finish, they got worried. It was because of the fighters’ savage attacks. Both of them were really fighting hard. Everybody thought that it would end in draw. The crowd became silent and their blows continued. The bell rang again and again. Their blows appeared as hailstones. Finally the referee and the two trainers pried Felix and Antonio . After a few minutes, they looked around and then rushed towards each other and embraced each other. The referees were really in a dilemma. They found it very difficult to find the winner. The announcer began to make the announcement. He was looking around to see the winner. But both Antonio and Felix had left like true friends. They knew they would always be champions. The crowd at the Tompkins Square Park witnessed the true friendship of these two boxers.

THE HOUR OF TRUTH

Percival Wilde’s play “The Hour of Truth” is an intense psychological study. It studies the corrupting influence of money on people. The plot of the play explores greed from different angles. Almost all individuals in this play are tempted by money. This one act play particularly shows how easily people forget their moral values and principles. But at the end of the play the reader realizes that money only brings isolation, punishment, deception, frustration and endless shame. The play brings a positive note when the bad people get punished and the good people get rewarded. We can see the battle between self and society in the character of Mr. Robert Baldwin, the secretary of a bank and the bank president, Mr. John Gresham. 

Mr Baldwin represents an everyday American man. He works hard for a living. His salary is not enough to support his family. When Mr. Gresham, Robert’s boss is accused of misappropriating the bank’s money, everything changes. It hurts the clients of the bank. Mr. Baldwin considered Mr. Gresham as a good boss. When Mr. Gresham was arrested, we lose confidence in his character. Mr Gresham was totally changed with his greed for money. He teaches the readers how badly money influences people. After the arrest, Mr.Gresham begs Mr.Baldwin to say three words at the time of his trial: “I don’t remember”. As a reward he offered him one hundred thousand dollars. It was really a large amount of money.

At this offer, we see how his virtuous family members changed their opinion. When they heard about the bribe, they insisted Robert to tell those three words. Thus we can see how money changes the people’s outlook.

It is at this time we can see the moral level of Mr Baldwin. He rejects the offer. This made Mr Gresham feel ashamed and he was forced to confess his crime. This story ends with a positive note. We see honesty is rewarded in the end. Robert Baldwin’s honesty and integrity brought him a job in another bank. He was proved again as a decent and dignified man. Marshall was impressed by Baldwin’s honesty. The play ends with Marshall offering Baldwin a job in the Third National Bank.

MODEL QUESTIONS….

1. Prepare a character sketch of Mr. Baldwin.

A) Robert Baldwin is the protagonist of this play. He leads a simple life with his wife Martha and his son John and daughter Evie. He is working as the secretary of national bank. He is a man of principles. He is an honest, diligent and hardworking employee. He has been working in the bank for more than 35 years. He keeps a good relationship with his family members. Though he is a middle aged man, he is a man of virtues. He is kind and loyal to others. He is not ready to make any kind of compromise with his morality. When his friend John Gresham was arrested for the misappropriation in bank account, Baldwin was not ready to make any kind of compromise. Baldwin was the only witness. He is not upset when John Gresham offers a bribe of 100000 dollars to say in the court, “I don’t remember”.  It is because of his deep-rooted morality and honesty, he is getting promotion at the Third International.

2. Prepare a character sketch of John Baldwin.

A) Mr. John Baldwin, son of Mr. Robert Baldwin is a representative of the new generation youth. He is not really a man of principles. His mind is changing according to the circumstances. When the play begins we can see his strong principles of morality. But later he is changing his opinion. His virtue is not deep-rooted.  In the beginning of the play he even suspects his father. But he is powerful and energetic.

3. Prepare the character sketch of Mr Gresham.

A) Mr. Gresham is the President of a national bank. He is corrupt from the beginning. He is really a true representative of the new American. He has a strong attachment with the money. He misappropriates money from his own bank. His attitude towards money is really selfish. He is ready to do anything for hiding his corrupted nature. He is ready to give and take bribes. But he is changing in the end with the powerful and truthful attitude of his friend John Baldwin. He becomes a new man. This shows that he has a will to be a man of honesty.

4. PREPARE A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF THE PLAY ‘THE HOUR OF TRUTH’

Percival Wild’s play,  “The Hour of Truth” is an intense psychological study on the corrupting influence of money on people. The plot of this play analyses the bad trait, ‘greed’ from different points of view. This play shows how easily people forget their morals and values before fortune. This story promotes the theme that the good get rewarded and the bad get punished. The two main characters in this play are Robert Baldwin, the secretary of a powerful bank and his boss Mr.John Gresham, the bank President.

Mr.Baldwin represents an everyday American man who works for a living. But his salary is really insufficient to support his family. All of them hold their views on morality and express hope for the American Dream. The play helps us to think positively when the bad get punished and the good get rewarded.

The entire course of the play changes , when we find out that Mr. Gresham, Robert’s boss is accused of appropriating the bank’s money. This becomes a serious issue and it hurts the clients of the bank. When Mr. Gresham is arrested, we immediately lose confidence in his character. Actually Mr.Gresham was a good boss to Mr. Baldwin. After this incident, readers lose all their love and respect towards Mr. Gresham. They also comprehend the truth how badly money can influence people.

Gresham becomes aware of the seriousness of his crime. For the first time in his life, he thinks crooked ways to escape from this situation. He begs Mr.Baldwin to say three words “I don’t remember” during his examination on trial. As a reward, he offered him one hundred thousand dollars. It was really an amazing amount of money at the time of the story.

It is to be noted that money changes everything except the mind of Mr.Baldwin. It’s surprising to see that even his family changes from being virtuous and respectable. They tempt him and compel him to say just those three words. Yet it is Robert who brings the hope back into the story. He goes above the temptation and and admits courageously he cannot accept a bribe. Mr.Gresham was ashamed by Robert’s action.

The end of the story is positive because of Baldwin’s honesty and integrity of character. This helped him to get a better job in another bank. Mr.Gresham spread out Baldwin’s reputation as a decent and dignified man. He also realized that Robert Baldwin was really a good man. It is interesting to note that the readers become aware of the evil effects of money.  Above all this play highlights  the isolation, punishment, deception, frustration and the possibility of endless shame caused by money. The integrity of character makes our relationship different and that makes all the difference.

5 . A panel discussion is conducted in your School on the topic ‘Corruption in Democracy.’ Given below is an excerpt from the presentation made by a panelist during the panel discussion.

“Corruption is a global threat to development and democratic rule. It diverts public resources to private interests, leaving fewer resources to build schools, hospitals, roads and other public facilities. When development money is diverted to private bank accounts, major infrastructure projects and badly needed human services come to a halt. Corruption also hinders democratic governance by destroying the rule of law, the integrity of institutions, and public trust in leaders.”

Now prepare a brief script for panel discussion by the next panelist highlighting how corruption can be minimized.

A) Good Morning to everyone…… I totally agree with the views of A. Corruption has become a great threat to a democratic country. But we cannot fully overthrow corruption from our society because of the modern world. But we can minimize corruption if strict rules and regulations are laid down. Public resources should be given prime importance than the private interests. Most of the corruption in education sector can be removed by encouraging public schools and colleges. Strict rules should be enforced on private finance companies. Private hospitals should be discouraged and public hospitals should be encouraged. Similarly private firms should be discouraged. It is not possible to measure corruption, but it is possible to measure the perceptions of corruption. Often it is the State that inevitable creates a fertile ground for corruption.The growth of International trade and business has also created a suitable environment for corruption. Among the economic changes in recent times, privatization is the one that has been closely linked with corruption. It is good to note the definition of corruption, ‘It is the abuse of public power for private benefit.’ This is the definition used by the World Bank. From this definition it should not be concluded that corruption cannot exist within private sector activities. It exists in the private activities regulated by the government. Corruption reduces public revenue and increases public spending. It increases income inequality. It is generally believed that increasing the penalties for acts of corruption would reduce a country’s corruption. Corruption cannot be reduced without modifying the way governments operate. The fight against corruption is intimately linked with the reform of the state.To reduce corruption my humble suggestions are 1. Honesty and visible commitment by the leadership to fight against corruption. The leadership must show zero tolerance for it. Reduce the supply of corruption by Increasing  public sector wages, imposing strict penalties and instituting effective controls.

6. Answer the questions after reading the passage from the play, “The Hour of Truth”.

“I’ve got only a few years to live but I’ll live those as I’ve lived the rest of my life. I’ll go to my grave clean.”

a) Who speaks these words?

A) Robert Baldwin speaks these words.

b) Why does he say so?

A) He says so because he is not ready to make any compromise with his friend and Boss Mr John Gresham. When he mentioned about the bribe to his family, his son John and daughter were surprised. We can see how money changes the people. But John Baldwin is not changing his mind. He wants to lead a life of honesty. He doesn’t consider earthly honours great. He is virtuous and wants to go to his grave clean.