Peace of God Essay -- Essasys Papers

Peace of God The â€Å"Peace of God† encompasses a wide array of definitions. â€Å"Peace of God† is a gift from God. It is simpler than the peace that we may think. For example, I picked a sample of three gentlemen in my fraternity and asked them what is their first thought that arises with the phrase â€Å"Peace of God.† The responses in order was: . A society without wars . A God that condemns wars . A union of all religions. As interesting as their responses are, my research has found that the peace that God has endowed within his people are, â€Å"peace of mind and heart.† Site http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/ice/peace.html exhibits an interesting viewpoint of â€Å"Peace of God.† It begins by defining peace from the bible, where peace came from a Greek word â€Å"eireinei,† which refers to the â€Å"mental attitude of tranquility based on a relationship with God in the Christian way of life.† The site further analyzes â€Å"peace† in two ways. â€Å"There is a personal peace of God which comes when a person accepts Jesus Christ as Savior.† â€Å"There is the peace of God which is available on a daily basis as the believer participates in the Christian way of life according to the plan of God.† The site continues further by emphasizing that â€Å"Peace of God is never available apart from Grace.† Essentially through God's Grace, he dissolved the barrier between man and God. So that when â€Å"the unbeliever responds to Grace by faith, the result is peace.† Another site I found interesting in the way they defined â€Å"peace† was http://www.wolfe.net/~bibline/info/peace.html. This site contains diverse definitions of the biblical view of â€Å"peace.† Although this site does not exactly define the phrase â€Å"Peace of God,† the ... ...safety, and calmness†. Although I believe I have concluded my search for the â€Å"Peace of God,† I decided to search one more site. The site that I found is http://www.calvarychapel.com/lakevilla/tracts/peace.htm, which similar to the former site. It begins by defining God's peace in two ways, â€Å"Freedom from worries, troubles, and fears.† â€Å"Peace of mind: a state of friendliness and calm.† These two definitions regarding the peace of God are relevant in the life of a chivalrous knight in that a knight faces adversity many times. One cannot be worried or troubled because it is a waste of energy. For if a knight is constantly worried and afraid, he cannot have enough courage to defeat his enemy. Also without a â€Å"state of friendliness and calmness,† a knight is not being chivalrous if he does not have peace of mind and acts ungentlemanly – like.

Free College Essays - The Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice :: Pride and Prejudice

The Brutality of Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice The passage which best relates the theme of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austin, is on page 125, in the middle of the page. This is where Mr. Darcy is proposing to Elizabeth, and is informing her of the inferiority of her family and connections. This passage is significant because it is one of the few times where the characters openly acknowledge that the sole purpose of a person's life is to achieve a high salary and a high social position. It is evident from every point of the story that all people care about is marrying into a higher social rank. And even for those who are comfortable with their current status, it is imperative that they only marry someone of at least equivalent rank. This idea possesses every character in the story and seems to motivate every action that is taken. The superficiality of this idea goes so far as to break the bonds of love. Darcy is willing to insult a girl as he is proposing to her, just to inform her of what he has to go through in order to stoop to someone of her level. Regardless of what Darcy thought his chances were at acceptance, he was still addressing a girl that barely knows him, and actually dislikes him. That is not a situation where insults are likely to bring results. This point is compounded because Elizabeth only gets slightly insulted by this comment. Her initial refusal of Darcy was based almost totally on his actions towards Jane and Bingley's relationship, and his treatment of Mr. Wickham. However, she is barely perturbed by this comment of Darcy regarding her family. This is so strange because one would expect Elizabeth to at least be equally mad for personal insults as well as for what was done to others. Pride and Prejudice ends with Elizabeth and Darcy each overcoming their anger against each other, and falling in love. However, this touching scene is ruined because of the appearance of Lady Catherine. She demands Elizabeth to marry Darcy, and tells Darcy that it would reflect negatively on his family if he were to marry someone as "low class" as Elizabeth. Free College Essays - The Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice :: Pride and Prejudice The Brutality of Prejudice in Pride and Prejudice The passage which best relates the theme of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austin, is on page 125, in the middle of the page. This is where Mr. Darcy is proposing to Elizabeth, and is informing her of the inferiority of her family and connections. This passage is significant because it is one of the few times where the characters openly acknowledge that the sole purpose of a person's life is to achieve a high salary and a high social position. It is evident from every point of the story that all people care about is marrying into a higher social rank. And even for those who are comfortable with their current status, it is imperative that they only marry someone of at least equivalent rank. This idea possesses every character in the story and seems to motivate every action that is taken. The superficiality of this idea goes so far as to break the bonds of love. Darcy is willing to insult a girl as he is proposing to her, just to inform her of what he has to go through in order to stoop to someone of her level. Regardless of what Darcy thought his chances were at acceptance, he was still addressing a girl that barely knows him, and actually dislikes him. That is not a situation where insults are likely to bring results. This point is compounded because Elizabeth only gets slightly insulted by this comment. Her initial refusal of Darcy was based almost totally on his actions towards Jane and Bingley's relationship, and his treatment of Mr. Wickham. However, she is barely perturbed by this comment of Darcy regarding her family. This is so strange because one would expect Elizabeth to at least be equally mad for personal insults as well as for what was done to others. Pride and Prejudice ends with Elizabeth and Darcy each overcoming their anger against each other, and falling in love. However, this touching scene is ruined because of the appearance of Lady Catherine. She demands Elizabeth to marry Darcy, and tells Darcy that it would reflect negatively on his family if he were to marry someone as "low class" as Elizabeth.

Robert Jervis - Perception And Level Of Analysis :: essays research papers

Robert Jervis in Perception and Level of Analysis espouses the notion that in order to fully explain crucial decisions and policies it is essential that one pays heed to the decision-maker’s beliefs about the world and his or her perceptions of others. Rather than attempting to understand foreign policies as directly resulting from the three other levels of analysis, the bureaucratic, the domestic, and the international environment, which he outlines, Jervis contends that examination of a decision-maker’s perceptions, both their causes and effects, can more readily determine and explain behavioral patterns; in such a light, the taxonomy or three other levels of analysis appear devoid of truth value when applied alone, and all related theories are shown as invalid except in extreme cases. Nonetheless, one might more accurately contest that while careful study of a decision-maker’s beliefs is a necessity for comprehension, analysis of such beliefs is in fact an ex amination of bureaucratic organizations, domestic circumstances, and the international environment; all four are interrelated in the sense that the perceptions of the decision-maker are influenced by the circumstances existent in the three other levels. Likewise the three levels are themselves affected and often altered by the politician’s choices. Therefore, in order to provide the most comprehensive explanations of foreign policy decisions one cannot completely disregard externalities, and conversely one cannot ignore individual perceptions of decision-makers. One cannot rely solely on the bureaucratic level of analysis, the domestic, the international environment, or even on a combination of the three as adequate. What one might interpret as a clash of bureaucratic interests and stands yielding incoherent and conflicting policies, could in reality be a â€Å"clash among values that are widely held in both society and the decision-makers’ own minds† (Jervis 28). Similarly, if domestic situations were the medium upon which politicians base their decisions then changes in leadership would not necessarily produce significant changes in foreign policy; however, the consistency of foreign policy is difficult to measure. For example, some might contend that the Cold War would not have occurred had President Franklin Delano Roosevelt not died; they suggest that his death altered American policy in the sense that President Truman and his anti-Soviet position came to dominate political decision-making. Others contest that FDR would ha ve acted similarly to Truman, as he too was coming to an anti-Soviet stance prior to his death. If the former is seen as accurate the domestic level of analysis is insufficient and not applicable, but in the latter instance it could be viewed as a valid basis for judging decision-making.

Romanticism Poem and the Concept of Mercy

The concept of mercy can be a very hard thing for one to grasp. One may find themselves asking â€Å"Whom shall be given mercy? †, and â€Å"How much mercy should be shown? †. There is no definite answer to those questions as mercy can be shown in different ways. There are three particular works that emphasize the concept of mercy, each showing a different perspective. The three works that use very distinctive ways to show mercy are The Merchant of Venice, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, and Verses Upon the Burning of our House.All of the themes of these works are much alike, as they all involve the comparison of mercy to a great power. However, there are a few distinctions among the works. In The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, the author uses a particular caption in the play to show how the concept of mercy should be perceived. Shakespeare shows the concepts of mercy by explaining how powerful mercy. Shakespeare shows this by stating, â€Å"It is an attribute to God himself,† (IV. i. 193) thus saying that God uses mercy and so should everyone else.In the narrative Versus Upon the Burning of our House, the author, Anne Bradstreet, talks about the merciful God, and how he has saved her from destruction. She writes about how she has become too materialistic and how her merciful God has helped her in her time of need. This can be shown when the author writes, â€Å"And to my God my heart did cry/To straighten me in my distress,† (8-9) In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards writes about the Mercy of God as well. His account differs from Bradstreet’s a little, as he is talking about how God is the reason for everyone living.He says that if it were not for a merciful God, then no one would be living. This can be supported by the author stating, â€Å"It is nothing but His mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction,† (56) Even though these w orks have different variations of the concept of mercy, the overall theme is the power of mercy is unending. All three of these works demonstrate that mercy can be used in many different ways and different amounts. Although, as stated before, the theme is mostly the same over all the works, the tone is very different.Each of these works have their own clear-cut tones. Shakespeare takes on the tone of appreciation. While reading the passage, readers observe Shakespeare appreciating mercy and all its glory. Shakespeare writes, â€Å"It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,† (IV. i. 185) giving the reader the illustration that mercy is very plentiful and gentle. Countless times throughout the passage Shakespeare speaks of the power of mercy and just how wonderful it is. As for Bradstreet and Edwards, they take on totally different tones. Bradstreet’s tone is thankfulness of mercy.The author comes across within the passage as being very thankful for Gods mercy and how s he would be lost without it. This can be proving by the following quote, â€Å"I blest his grace that gave and took,/That laid my goods now in the dust. † (14-15) This is a prime example of the author thanking God for having mercy and helping her rather than punishing her. Both Shakespeare and Bradstreet talk about what can happen when mercy is present. Edwards on the other hand talks about what will happen without mercy. Edwards describes violent and vivid images of destruction in his writing.All of which can happen without the mercy of God. He speaks of how you should fear the absence of mercy saying, â€Å"Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downward with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf†¦. † (56) Over all, mercy is said to be praised for its presence, and feared for its absence. The authors use multiple ways of sho wing their own perspective on the concept of mercy.The three authors’ uses of literary devices in their works help strongly support their ideas on the concept of mercy. For instance, Shakespeare uses a simile that compares mercy as being better than a crown for a king. He writes, â€Å"It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown. † This simile backs up the idea of mercy being powerful, and it can be the most powerful in those with the most power. Bradstreet uses an extended metaphor saying that the burning of her house is like the burning of her sins.She thanks God for saving her from her material things which she feels are a sin. Edwards uses multiple similes and metaphors showings Gods power and how everyone is doomed without him. For instance he writes, â€Å"The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much a one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fir, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked,† giving the reader the understanding that Go d is unbelievably greater than people. Each writer uses different literary devices to strengthen their views on the concept of mercy, and each is used in a very strategic manner.The concept of mercy can be interpreted by many different people many different ways. There is no set rules of mercy, and it is up for discussion among people. Everyone has their own ideas on how mercy is and should be. Who’s idea is right? Well, there is no incorrect or correct way to show mercy. In the three works of literature discussed above, each author has their own interpretation of the concept of mercy. Each work has a very distinctive way of proving their point, and each has a similarities and differences with the other works as to how mercy should be perceived.

Parallels: The Influence of Lady Macbeth and the Three Witches Essay

Throughout a person’s life, there are many things, like strangers or the media, that influence how a person will behave. The main factor in this influence tends to be the people in their lives that they are closest too. Sometimes the influence of people can significantly change a person – whether in a good way, or a bad way. In the play _Macbeth_, written by William Shakespeare, there are many examples of bad influences changing someone for the worst. Through the influence of the three witches and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is changed into a bad person. By the three witches and his wife, Macbeth is influenced through his unquestioning trust in them, and the manipulation of his thoughts. Placing too much trust into the three witches and Lady Macbeth is what helped change Macbeth into a bad person. When Macbeth first meets the witches with Banquo, Macbeth is told three prophecies by them. The first he already knew to be true. Later on, he finds out that the next prophecy also comes true for him. This then makes him sure that the third prophecy – that he shall become king – will also come true. It can be seen that he trusts the witches words when he says, â€Å"Two truths are told, / As happy prologues to the swelling act / Of the imperial theme.† (I.iii.137-139) However, the next time Macbeth goes to see the witches for more prophecies, Macbeth proves that he is putting too much trust into the witches. This time they give him another three prophecies. After hearing these prophecies Macbeth says, â€Å"Whate’er thou art, for thy good caution, thanks;† (IV.i.79) When Macbeth hears the prophecies he does not even question them, but instead becomes over-confident in the witches’ words. While talking to Lennox after the witches disappear he even says: Time, thou anticipates my dread exploits: The flighty purpose never is o’erook Unless the deed go with it: from this  moment, The very firstlings of my hear shall be The firstlings of my hand. And even now, To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done; (IV.i.158-163) This proves that Macbeth’s trust in the witches made him impetuous and made him act upon all of his bad decisions without even thinking about them. Likewise, Macbeth’s trust in lady Macbeth made him into a bad person as well. After receiving the prophecies and informing his wife about it, Macbeth was not sure that he could actually go through with the murder of Duncan. But Lady Macbeth said to him, â€Å"To alter favour ever is to fear: / Leave all the rest to me.† (I.v.80-81) This shows how confident she was in her plan to kill Duncan. She portrayed it as the right and only thing to do. Since Macbeth had so much trust in her, he let her sway him into becoming a murderer. However, even though his trust in Lady Macbeth led Macbeth to kill one person, his trust in the witches led him to have many people killed, which shows that his trust in the witches had a far more negative influence on him in changing him into a bad person. Therefore, by trusting the witches and becoming too impetuous with his decisions and trusting Lady Macbeth to convince him to murder, Macbeth has proven that he has been changed into a bad person. Having Macbeth’s thoughts manipulated by the three witches and his wife also changed Macbeth into a bad person. Macbeth seemed perfectly normal before he met the witches. He had just fought in a war for his country and was already the thane of Glamis. Not once did Macbeth ever mention being unhappy about his current life. But, when Macbeth meets the three witches for the first time they are the first to put dark ideas into his head. The witches tell him three prophecies: he will be thane of Glamis, thane of Cawdor, and king. Macbeth already knew he was the thane of Glamis, and shortly after a nobleman of Scottland by the name of Ross finds Macbeth and says to him: And, for an earnest of a greater honour, He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor: In which addition, hail, most worthy thane! For it is thine. (I.iii.109-112) After hearing this Macbeth knows he is the new thane of Cawdor, which meant the witches’ first two prophecies were right. To Macbeth this meant that the third prophecy of him becoming king must be true as well, but then he starts to get some dark ideas in his head because of the witches prophecies. To himself he says: This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill; cannot be good: if ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? †¦ If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings: (I.iii.140-148) In the same way, Macbeth’s wife manipulates his thoughts by making him think he is not much of a man. After Lady Macbeth heard of the news that Macbeth would become king, she became so certain that king Duncan had to die – Macbeth had to murder him. So she discussed it with her husband. However when she realizes that Macbeth is not sure he wants to kill Duncan she says to him: When you durst do it, then you were a man; And, to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more than man †¦ (I.vii.54-56) To get her husband to commit the murder, Lady Macbeth attacks how much of a man he really is. This basically makes Macbeth feel worthless and have the sudden urge to prove his manliness. He does not instantly go and kill Duncan, but this manipulation of his thoughts by his wife really gets to him, and is a main factor in why he eventually killed Duncan. However, even though the three witches and Lady Macbeth both manipulated his thoughts, Lady Macbeth had a far greater influence on making Macbeth into a bad person. After his encounter with the three witches, Macbeth still had made no sure decision to actually kill Duncan. On the other hand, Lady Macbeth – the one person that Macbeth truly cares about the most – convinces him to do the killing. Without her influence Macbeth would not have committed the murder and might not have become the bad person he became. Therefore, through the witches putting dark ideas into his head and his wife attacking his manliness, Macbeth is influenced into becoming a bad person. In conclusion, the three witches and Lady Macbeth had the most influence on  Macbeth in the play. They influenced him into becoming a bad person. Their abuse of Macbeth’s trust, and manipulation of his thoughts led him to become impetuous, get dark ideas in his head, and finally commit multiple murders. His trust in the witches made him kill many people, but without listening to Lady Macbeth and doing as she told him, he would never have committed the first murder of Duncan. This murder was the inciting incident that led him to his downfall, and proved he became a bad person. This proves that Lady Macbeth was a more negative influence on Macbeth becoming a bad person. WORKS CITED Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Harcourt Brace & Company Canada, 1988.

Criteria for effective control

Briefly discuss the criteria for effective control. There are five criteria for effective control. In designing a control system, one must make sure that it measures what is important now and what is important in the future, not what is important in the past. Firstly, the systems must be related to organizational strategy. In designing a control system, one must make sure that it measures what is important now and what is important in the future, not what is important in the past.Multinational corporations often find it useful to maintain a entralized, integrated system of controls consistent with the strategic orientation of the organization. For example, General Motor maintains a number of units that are interdependent through each of the sequential steps in the manufacturing process, therefore, General Motor must have control systems that ensure that production processes are not disrupted. Secondly, use all steps in the control process.To be effective, a control system must employ all steps in the control process. Standards of performance must be set, measurements of actual performance taken, comparisons f standards with actual performance made, and when necessary, corrective action taken. For example, in our life, for a grade A in our management course, suppose we never bothered to check our posted grade on the midterm exam. In this case, our control system would be incomplete. Without knowing our midterm exam score, we would not compare our performance with our standard.Thirdly, be composed of objective and subjective measures. Effective control systems typically require managers to blend quantitative (objective) and qualitative (subjective) performance easures. For example, management may have set specific targets for productivity. This performance goal has a precise formula for measurement. In the same situation, management has also expressed a desire to achieve high levels of worker satisfaction. Forth, be timely in feedback reporting.Timeliness is the degree to which the control systems provides information when it is needed. The issue here is not how fast the feedback information is provided but whether it is provided quickly enough to permit a response to an unacceptable deviation. For example, the U. S. naval accident that occurred in early 2005 present the importance of timeliness itself. The crew of the nuclear submarine USS San Francisco violated the feedback timeliness requirement with near-catastrophic consequences.In short, the submarine smashed into an undersea mountain. A subsequent naval investigation reveal the crew should have checked the water depth more frequently, should not have been traveling at high speed, and failed to take into account a variety of danger signs, all of which contributed to the underwater accident. Last but not least, be cceptable to a diverse workforce. To be effective, organizational controls must be accepted by employees.The control system should motivate workers to recognize standards and act to achieve them. For example, as a student in a management course. Suppose our professor has no problem assigning course grade B or lower but says that a grade of A can be achieved only by students who read a new chapter and five related Journal articles everyday and submit a 20-page, typewritten synopsis of these readings each day. Would we be discouraged from attempting to earn a grade

Fasting, Feasting Style Essay

Point of View The novel is written in the third person limited point of view. This means that the author tells the story from an objective position, as if viewing the story’s events without benefit of any thoughts or feelings coming directly from the individual characters. The author presents the chain of events in the story and then interjects what the characters may be thinking or experiencing based on their reactions, facial expression, and tone of voice. This point of view is especially pertinent for the content of the novel, which revolves around the issue of repression, especially for the female characters. The women are not allowed authentic voices in their homes or their societies. So the author restricts what the reader can know to mimic the repression experienced by the characters. Genre A speedy, intense narrative switching point of view and tense as needed. There are many unheralded transitions from scene to scene and flashback (15-63) is used to excellent effect. Threads of the story are left unfinished only to be taken up again later in the novel and given a deeper significance (see Anamika’s or Aruna’s story). General Vision or Viewpoint Think well about this question from a couple of standpoints. It might be easy to dismiss Uma’s world as oppressive to women and to the servant underclass and to decide that life could not be a fulfilled experience in such circumstances. You might think that Uma’s life is a tragic injustice; that she is used and misused by a patriarchal family and society. You might see Arun as a narrow-minded, judgemental outsider unable to adjust to a culture different to his own and whose life is quite unfulfilled. But this might be to miss the humour and love that is invested in daily living. In India people have a warmth and a variety to their lives that is enviable. 1. Read these notes taken from different sources on the web. Do you agree with what they say? Does the point of view used by Desai make you sympathise with a certain character? Explain the use of point of view and provide quotations to support your ideas. Themes Family Life Although the novel has action in two separate countries and has many characters, there is the central theme of family life that unites them all. In India, the immediate family has great importance; but the extended family also has an impact on the characters’ lives. This is evidenced by the coming together of family members for securing bridegrooms and making wedding arrangements for Uma and Aruna. There is also huge family support and involvement related to times of sorrow, such as the coming together after the death of Anamika. The rituals for both these happy and sad occasions are marked with tradition and purpose. These elements seem to be sorely lacking in the Patton household in America. It is understood that the time period of Arun’s stay with the Pattons encompasses only three months and does not represent a comprehensive look at the Patton family. Themes and issues Suffering Human suffering is depicted frequently in both parts of the novel. Uma is made to suffer by her parents and men who take advantage of her. The unusual thing about her is her response to this suffering. She seems to maintain optimism throughout her ordeals. Anamika’s terrible life and the abuse she suffers may illuminate your discussion of suffering as would the plight of Melanie who suffers mental illness and bulimia and is a sad example of American youth. Loneliness The plight of Arun in America will yield many examples of loneliness as will Uma herself who despite her large extended family keeping her busy she seems quite isolated. Loyalty/Betrayal  You might advance the notion that Uma and Anamika are betrayed by their parents in that they treat them very badly when it comes to marriage and relationships. Both girls are seen as burdens to be disposed of and you could say they were betrayed. Similarly, Melanie’s plight is so ignored by her mother that the word betrayal might not be too strong. 2. Can you think of other themes in the novel? Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Provide quotations to justify your choice. 3Example of an analysis of passages Do you agree with him? Can you find more examples of how Desai uses X to  create Y ? Now analyse the following passage. 4 Questions 5. Poetry Pied Beauty Gerard Manley Hopkins Follow this link: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/gerard-manley-hopkins 1. Listen to the poem and read it at least twice. Hopkins was born in 1844, and died just 45 years later, in 1889, but in this relatively short life he wrote some of the most startling and original poetry of the whole 19th Century. He was a deeply intellectual and religious man, and became a Jesuit priest in 1877, the same year in which he wrote ‘Pied Beauty’. Throughout his life Hopkins was deeply fond of the countryside and its beauty, in which he could see the work and power of God. In ‘Pied Beauty’ he expresses his delight and astonishment at the sheer diversity of nature. What do the things Hopkins describes have in common? How does Hopkins celebrate diversity? How does the image of the chestnut link the physical with the spiritual world? How is the human world linked to the physical world in the poem? How are both the physical and the human world linked to God? Comment on the following compound nouns /verbs: ‘couple-colour’, ‘fresh-firecoal’, fathers-forth’. Comment on the use of sound in the poem and the effect it creates. Comment on the rhythm (metre) of the poem N.B. it is irregular). How does it contribute to its meaning? Annotate the rhyme scheme. What comments can you make on its effect? The poem begins and ends in a symmetrical way. Why? What is the effect of the short final line? In what way are the first and second parts of the poem the reverse of each other? What is the effect of delaying the verb ‘fathers-forth’ to the beginning of the penultimate line? Examination Question: How does this poem seek to convey the ‘glory’ and grandeur of God for Hopkins? After reading the poem, write in paragraphs a summary of what you think the poem is about and your analysis of it. You can work in groups (not more than four in each group) and hand in your work to Carolina, please. What does Curnow’s reading of his poem adds to your appreciation of it? 2. Read the following which will help you to analyse the poem. Entrapments at Home and Abroad in Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting T. Ravichandran Assistant Professor of English, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, IIT Kanpur Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting, as it is implied in the title itself, is a novel of contrast between two cultures, the one, Indian, known for its pious and longstanding customs representing ‘fasting,’ and the other, American, a country of opulence and sumptuousness epitomising ‘feasting.’ The plot unveils through the perceptions of Uma, in India, and of Arun, in America. Both of them are entrapped, irrespective of the culture and enveloping milieu, by oppressive bonds exercised by their own parents, MamaPapa. They are just MamaPapa or PapaMama but remain nameless throughout the novel. Yet, this namelessness does not indicate their anonymity but signifies their universality. They are the prototypical parents found everywhere in the middle-class families of India, who discuss, plan, plot, control, govern the activities of their children, be it marriage or going abroad for studies. And in their over-domineering concern, they tend to ignore the inadverte nt possibility of entrapping their own offspring. Thus, they do not give contingency to the fact that perhaps their children too can have a life to call their own. May be even their own preoccupations, their own priorities, maybe an agenda for themselves that goes beyond what they actually want for their children. The novel beings with a snapshot of MamaPapa in a contemplative mood: â€Å"The parents sit, rhythmically swinging, back and forth. They could be asleep, dozing—their eyes are hooded—but sometimes they speak.† That is when a sudden deluge of ideas hit them and they order their eldest daughter, Uma, to carry out them without delay. Uma is asked first to inform the cook to prepare sweets for her father, with neglectful impatience she states that she has been already asked to pack a parcel to be sent to her brother, Arun, in America. While she comes literally running on her toes, she is entrusted with an additional job of writing a letter to their son. Somewhere in the middle of the novel, the reader understands that it is the usual scene that goes on in the household of MamaPapa. â€Å"All morning MamaPapa have found things for Uma to do. It is as if Papa’s retirement is to be spent in this manner—sitting on the red swing in the veranda with Mama, rocking, and finding ways to keep Uma occupied. As long as they can do that, they themselves feel busy and occupied† (133). In th is manner, living under the demanding rule of MamaPapa, Uma is repressed, suppressed and is imprisoned at home. The first part of the novel tells us in a flashback how she became a reluctant victim of entrapment at home. The second part of the novel shows how her brother Arun, who leaves his home for higher studies feels trapped by the very education that is meant to liberate him. Usually, at home, it would be an oppressive atmosphere even if one of the parents is overpowering. With regard to Uma, both of her parents appear to have merged into a single identity MamaPapa/PapaMama, as if they have a â€Å"Siamese twin existence†(6). Hence, whenever MamaPapa say something, and whoever says it, it comes with double the intensity and power that it cannot be defied at all. â€Å"Having fused into one, they had gained so much in substance, in stature, in authority, that they loomed large enough as it was; they did not need separate histories and backgrounds to make them even more immense†(6). Despite a slight variation in the roles they have chosen to play, Papa’s of â€Å"scowling† and â€Å"Mama’s scolding†(10), in terms of opinion, they never differed from each other. Therefore, if one refused there would not be any â€Å"point in appealing to the other parent for a different verdict: none was expected, or given†(14 ). Furthermore, the women are not allowed for outings usually, but when Papa feels that the women laze around the house too much, then they would be taken to the park for walk. On one such occasion, Uma gets easily distracted and fails to keep pace with her Papa. Though Papa is far away, and she is left in the company of Mama, she would not dare attempt  to buy some eatables on her wish though it is highly tempting: â€Å"Uma finds saliva gathering at the corners of her mouth at the smell of the spiced, roasted gram but decides to say nothing† (12-13). In the end, Uma is blamed for being â€Å"slow† when all the while Uma could not reconcile herself as why they are hurrying just to go back home. Likewise, the children are not allowed to have any sense of privacy even when they have grown-up. They are not allowed to shut any doors in the household. For this meant secrets, especially nasty secrets, which are impermissible: â€Å"It meant authority would come stalking in and make a search to seize upon the nastiness, the unclean blot†(15). MamaPapa also decide which of their children should have education and how much of it. As far as Uma is concerned, a pleasant escape from her claustrophobic conditions at home is her school-going. The convent school for her is â€Å"streaked with golden promise†(20). Hence, she always goes early to the school and later finds some excuse to linger there for longer time. Conversely, she feels deprived during dull weekends when she is left at home: â€Å"There were the wretched weekends when she was plucked back into the trivialities of her home, which seemed a denial, a negation of life as it ought to be, somber and splendid, and then the endless summer vacation when the heat reduced even that pointless existence to further vacuity†(21). Regardless of Uma’s verve for convent education, she is forced to stop going to school when Mama gives birth to the third baby, Arun. Even as Uma shows disagreement, she is coaxed, cajoled and finally threatened to accept her Mamaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s decision: ‘But ayah can do this—ayah can do that—’ Uma tried to protest when the orders began to come thick and fast. This made Mama look stern again. ‘You know we can’t leave the baby to the servant,’ she said severely. ‘He needs proper attention.’ When Uma pointed out that ayah had looked after her and Aruna as babies, Mama’s expression made it clear it was quite a different matter now, and she repeated threateningly: ‘Proper attention’ (31). Later, Uma looks forward towards her marriage to give her the much-needed relief, yet, unfortunately, she returns home frustrated after a deceitful marriage and subsequent divorce. Back at home, she gets a rare, job offer  through Dr. Dutt, but MamaPapa refuse to send her. When Dr. Dutt persists on taking Uma for the job, Mama lies of an illness for which she needs Uma to nurse her. In like manner, when Uma receives an invitation for a coffee party from Mrs. O’Henry, MamaPapa refuse to send her to the party because of the apprehension that Mrs. O’Henry might ensnare her and convert her into a Christian nun. Reduced thus to a baby-sitter at her earlier days and an unpaid servant for her self-centred parents for the rest of her life, Uma finds no escape from her entrapment. Uma experiences, however, a brief repose of happiness and freedom once when she is allowed to accompany her ailing aunt, Mira-Masi, on her pilgrimage. During her stay at night in an ashram, Uma finds a strange link of her life with the barks and howls of the dogs: At night she lay quietly on her mat, listening to the ashram dog bark. Then other dogs in distant villages, out along the river bed and over in the pampas grass, or in wayside shacks and hovels by the highway—barked back. They howled long messages to each other. Their messages traveled back and forth through the night darkness which was total, absolute. Gradually the barks sank into it and drowned. Then it was silent. That was what Uma felt her own life to have been—full of barks, howls, messages, and now—silence (61). At this juncture, one is reminded of Anita Desai’s characteristic way of making her internally turbulent protagonists find expression by association with external surroundings. Thus, for instance, in Cry, the Peacock, Maya’s feelings of isolation and longings are coupled with those of the crying of the peacocks. Still, one locates a kind of sublimity in the agonised inner cry of Maya when it is likened with peacocks. When Uma’s pain is related to the barks and howls of dogs, the poetry of Maya’s anguish is to be seen in sharp contrast to that of the excruciating poverty of Uma’s entrapment. Catering to the whims and fancies of MamaPapa, but keeping her remorse selfcontained, at one point of the novel, Uma feels utterly friendless and alone, even when she is at home and surrounded by her MamaPapa. In desperation, she thinks of writing a letter to a friend to share her grief but it only ends up with the realisation that she has none to confide with: She could write a letter to a friend—a private message of despair, dissatisfaction, yearning; she has a packet of notepaper, pale violet with a pink rose embossed in the corner—but who is the friend? Mrs. Joshi? But since she lives next door, she would be surprised. Aruna? But Aruna would pay no attention, she is too busy. Cousin Ramu? Where was he? Had his farm swallowed him up? And Anamika—had marriage devoured her? (134). However, it would be wrong to presuppose that Anita Desai shows Uma’s unattractiveness, clumsiness and dullness of mind as causes for her entrapment. Uma’s polar opposite, her graceful, beautiful and brilliant cousin, Anamika’s confinement is more poignant. While Uma’s failure in her school exams pressurises her to stay at home, Anamika does so excellently in her final school exams, that she wins a scholarship to Oxford. Yet, Anamika lives in a patriarchal society that considers higher education to be the prerogative of males, and marriage as the major preoccupation of females. The scholarship obtained is used only as a means to win her a husband who is considered an equal to the family’s prestige. Anamika’s parents are unperturbed by the fact that he is so much older than her, so grim-faced and conscious of his own superiority, and is â€Å"totally impervious to Anamika’s beauty and grace and distinction† (70). But it is Anamik a, who starts another life of entrapment the moment she enters her in-laws’ house. Anamika’s husband is a typical ‘Mama’s boy’ to the extent he could be a silent witness to his mother’s beating of his wife regularly. Anamika, who won a scholarship to Oxford, spends her entire time in the kitchen cooking for a very large family that eats in shifts—â€Å"first the men, then the children, finally the women† (70). After a miscarriage, which followed a brutal beating, and the belief that she could not bear more children, finally, the family ties her up in a nylon saree, pours the kerosene over her, and burns her to death. Here again Desai is not implying that the un-burnt brides and the well-settled ones may live a content life. In this regard, she portrays the story of Aruna, Uma’s smart and pretty younger sister who makes a discreet choice and marries â€Å"the wisest, †¦ the handsomest, the richest, the most exciting of the suitors who presented themselves†(101). Aruna’s marriage to Arvind who has a job in Bombay and a flat in a housing block in Juhu, facing the beach is just a like a  dream-come-true. Yet to live that dream-life fully she transforms hersel f and desperately seeks to introduce change in the lives of others. She cuts her hair, takes her make-up kit wherever she goes, and calls her sister and mother as ‘villagers’ once they refuse to accept her sophisticated and flashy style of life. For that reason, she avoids visiting her parents’ home and the rare occasions of her short visits are spent in blaming the untidiness of the surrounding and the inhabitants. Even she goes to the extent of scolding her husband when he splits tea in his saucer, or wears a shirt, which does not match, with his trousers. In this way, Aruna’s entrapment is different from the rest. She has liberated herself from the customs and dominating home rules that bind the rest of the characters like Uma and Anamika. Yet, in negating those codes, she ensnares herself in her mad pursuit towards a vision of perfection. And in order to reach that perfection she needs to constantly uncover and rectify the flaws of her own family as well as of Arvind’s. When none other than Uma sees through the entrapment of Aruna, she feels pity for her: Seeing Aruna vexed to the point of tears because the cook’s pudding had sunk and spread instead of remaining upright and solid, or because Arvind had come to dinner in his bedroom slippers, or Papa was wearing a t-shirt with a hole under one arm, Uma felt pity for her: was this the realm of ease and comfort for which Ar una had always pined and that some might say she had attained? Certainly it brought her no pleasure: there was always a crease of discontent between her eyebrows and an agitation that made her eyelids flutter, disturbing Uma who noticed it (109). While Uma, Anamika, Aruna present the female versions of entrapment in Fasting, Feasting, Arun pictures the male version of it. Unlike his sisters, right from his birth, Arun desists eating the food of his family which is symbolic of its values. Much to the dismay of his father, he shows his preference for vegetarian food. Simply because it revolutionised the life-style of his father, Arun can not be forced to eat non-vegetarian food. This, of course, is a cause of disappointment for Papa: Papa was always scornful of those of their relatives who came to visit and insisted on clinging to their cereal-and vegetable-eating ways, shying away from the meat dishes Papa insisted on having cooked for dinner. Now his own son, his  one son, displayed this completely baffling desire to return to the ways of his forefathers, meek and puny men who had got nowhere in life. Papa was deeply vexed (32- 33). Nonetheless, Arun cannot fully come out of the clutches of Papa, especially, in terms of his education. And ironic enough, it is education, which instead of offering the desired autonomy, paves way for Arun’s entrapment. Papa, in order to give â€Å"the best, the most, the highest† (119) education for his son, takes charge of Arun’s life from his childhood. Although Arun’s school examinations are over, Papa cannot allow him to go to his sister’s house in Bombay during holidays, since he has planned that time for taking up entrance examinations and preparation for sending applications to go abroad for ‘higher studies’. However, in the eyes of Aruna, her father’s manic determination to get a foreign scholarship for Arun, is actually on account of his unfulfilled dreams, which he tries to impose on his son. That is why, when the letter of acceptance from Massachusetts finally arrives, it stirs no emotions in Arun: Uma watched Arun too, when he read the fateful letter. She watched and searched for an expression, of relief, of joy, doubt, fear, anything at all. But there was none†¦. There was nothing else—not the hint of a smile, frown, laugh or anything: these had been ground down till they had disappeared. This blank face now stared at the letter and faced another phase of his existence arranged for him by Papa (121). As a reviewer rightly observes, â€Å"With a deft touch, Desai shows us that MamaPapa’s ambitions for Arun are as stifling as their lack of ambition for Uma, †¦.† From America, Arun’s letters come just to indicate his endurance and survival. His messages are diluted, and are devoid of any emotion and substance. â€Å"The most personal note he struck was a poignant, frequently repeated complaint: ‘The food is not very good’† (123). The ties, though invisible, are so overwhelming that even in a country that feasts on individuality, Arun fails to manifest his identity as an individual. Caught in the prison house of his own family’s food habits, he can neither nourish the alien food nor develop a sense of belonging with Patton’s family that  shelters him during his vacation. The smell of the raw meat being charred over the fire by Mr. Patton for steak or hamburger is loathsome for Arun. Conversely, Mr. Patton fails to understa nd why Arun really refuses to eat a good piece of meat. While Mrs. Patton symphathises with Arun, and gives him the vegetarian food items, particularly tomato slices and lettuce on bread, Arun finds them detestable too. Because he thinks that â€Å"in his time in America he has developed a hearty abhorrence for the raw foods everyone here thinks the natural diet of a vegetarian† (167). Hence when Mrs. Patton, quite satisfied with her job of a host, watches him eating with pride and complicity, Arun ate with an expression of woe and a sense of mistreatment. How was he to tell Mrs. Patton that these were not the foods that figured in his culture? That his digestive system did not know how to turn them into nourishment? (184-185). Where Mrs. Patton’s daughter, Melanie, bluntly says she finds the food revolting, and refuses to taste it, Arun has to helplessly eat it. Melanie, however, suffers from bulimia—a disorder in which overeating alternates with self-induced vomiting, fasting, etc. Her bulimia, along with her mother ’s frenzy for buying food items to fill the freezer, signifies the consumerist society that she hails from, where excess becomes the malady. This seen in contrast to Rod, the fitness fanatic, who spends all his time and energy in jogging, baffles Arun who wonders that â€Å"one can’t tell what is more dangerous in this country, the pursuit of health or of sickness†(204-205). He apprehends that like Melanie, who eats, vomits and lies on her vomit most of the time, the people of her country too, go through an inexplicable pain and a real hunger. Yet he cannot reconcile his mind to the unanswerable question: â€Å"But what hunger a person so sated can feel?†(224). Anita Desai, in portraying the stories of entrapment in Fasting, Feasting, presents one version after another; each contributing together to a master version, and each simultaneously subverting the other towards an open and contingent version. Accordingly, in the story of Uma, we find her unattractiveness leading to her eventual entrapment. Yet, if we pass a final verdict on this account, we would be proved erroneous since Desai presents the versions of Aruna and Anamika, Uma’s appealing sister and charming cousin, respectively. Beauty cannot offer them escape from entrapments; in truth, it is rather their good looks that victimise them. Further, if we think again that it is Uma†™s lack of  education that has led to her entrapped situation, Desai presents us the subversion of Anamika, where foreign scholarship fetches her an equal match but fails to provide her the required escape, it suffocates and kills her literally. In like manner, if as Uma thinks, â€Å"A CAREER. Leaving home. Living alone† (130) would bring in the necessary freedom from entrapment, Desai presents us the story of Arun, who leaves home, lives alone for a career but feels the pangs of entrapment despite it. Also, in providing a male version through the story of Arun’s entrapment, Desai negates any feministic verdict based on the other female versions of entrapment that is likely to put the blame on the patriarchal, male-centred society. Thus, Anita Desai, often described as one of the finest writers of this country, has moved from her earlier, typical way of sympathising with her characters, females especially, to a different level of sensibility now. Where it would be easy to presuppose her overt feministic concerns in a novel like Cry, the Peacock, it would be unwise to approach her Fasting, Feasting with any such preconceived notions. Desai herself speaks out in a recent interview that she has been deliberately shifting her focus from female characters to male characters. She rather feels she needs to address and voice out themes which concern males too. She says: â€Å"Specially in my earlier work I found myself addressing the same things over and over again: very much about the life of women, specially those women who are confined to home and family, also the solitude from which a person can suffer even if living within a big family or surrounded by crowds. But after several years and several books I began to feel suffocated myself by the confinement of these subjects. I felt I was limiting the territory to such an extent that it created a kind of suffocation even for me. So I deliberately opened the doors, to widen the canvas, and started writing more about male characters and their lives, because I felt they had a wider experience of the world, and I could address a greater variety of experiences.† Finally, if we consider the male version represented by Arun and the female versions constituted by Uma, Anamika and Aruna as Indian versions, Desai offers American versions to counter them. The story, thus dangling between two countries and cultures shows to prove through the characters of Uma and Arun, and their counterparts Melanie and Rod, that attempts of escape from entrapments can only be temporary, illusory and self-destructively futile since entrapments through familial knots are ubiquitous, all encompassing and universal. And perhaps the salvation comes when one accepts entrapment of one kind or another envisioned as an inescapable fact of life. References 1Anita Desai, Fasting, Feasting (London: Vintage, 1999) 3. All subsequent page references are to this edition. 2Sylvia Brownrigg, â€Å"Fasting, Feasting† by Anita Desai. http://archive.salon.com/books/review/2000/02/17/desai/print.html. [9/15/2002]. Magda Costa, â€Å"Interview with Anita Desai, Lateral (March 2001). http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/users/sawweb/sawnet/books/desai_interview.html. [9/15/2002]. http://www.sawnet.org/books/writing/desai_interview.html