India's Message to the World (Swami Vivekananda)

 Introduction:

Swami Vivekananda was a brave-saint of twentieth century India. He has made the people of the world to focus their attention on India through his address at the Parliament of Religion in Chicago. In “India’s Message to the World”, Vivekananda praises the spiritual glory of India which guided India in the past and would guide India as well as the entire world in future. While the West is finding some solutions to the problems of the present condition of human beings, India had already found some ways to keep human kind in upright condition by following the spirituality pronounced by great saints and sages. India’s ‘Purana and Upanishads’ contain all solutions to the problems of human kind. According to the Indian spirituality, renunciation is the solution for all worldly problems and miseries. 

Vivekananda’s Excitement:

In Chicago, Vivekananda felt very much excited when he saw different races of people. He felt that he was fortunate to study the wonderful customs and practices of people belonging to various races. But what he understood was that under all the various customs and beliefs, there exists human hearts in which joy and sorrow, and strength and weakness are one and the same.  

Vivekananda’s Perception:

Vivekananda says that good and evil are everywhere but they are in equal proportion. Like this, men and women are in every race and so it is necessary to keep the balance men and women in equal proportion in every race as Emperor Ashoka told “In every land dwell Brahmins and Shramanas.”

Vivekananda’s tribute to India and Indians:

Vivekananda thanks India and Indians for the great knowledge that he has achieved in the fields of philosophy and spirituality. He says that he is indebted to India and its people for his success. He proudly states that if a man who is brutal like animal happens to stand in the soil of India, he will become a ‘human being’, because such a great power exists in the philosophy, ethics, and spirituality of India.

Vivekananda’s Message:

In India amidst the ocean of humanity lies the strong current of pleasure and pain, of strength and weakness, of wealth and poverty, of joy and sorrow, of smile and tear, of life and death.  In India, the struggle between birth and death is overcome by renunciation. In India, all religions are practical and real. Here men and women attempt anything boldly to achieve their goals. But in other lands the stronger section of the society exploits the weaker section. In India alone people understand that human world has a link with nature and the universe and there has a continuous connectivity among all these elements. So, the souls of Indians find the ‘infinite’ in them. Vivekananda says that India’s spiritual-life never faced deformity even in the crises caused by various foreign invasions. Instead, India’s influence has been falling upon the world like that of a gentle dew and brining blossoms all over the world. Vivekananda considers the entry of the English into our country positively, because he believes that the English has brought India in contact with the rest of the world. Vivekananda strongly believes that India’s spirituality will save the world from the abyss of materialism. In fact, the socialists of many nations have understood that “Vedanta” – which is India’s spiritual philosophy – has the power to save the world from the fall.

Conclusions:

Thus, Vivekananda in “India’s Message to the World” glorifies Indian spirituality which has the power to save mankind from fall. He also believes that with its spirituality India was able to survive, overcoming the adversity caused by many foreign rulers. He advises the nations for spiritualization and assimilation of people under one system. These acts would turn people’s life meaningful. Therefore, it is found that ‘assimilation of different races into one has been the common task in the life of every nation.

Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence (Sadkars)

 About the Authors:

Dr. David Sadkar is an American educator who has taught at all levels both in school and in college. He also has many years of experience as a teacher trainer. His late wife, Dr. Mary Pollack Sadkar was a pioneer in the study of gender discrimination and wrote the first book on gender bias in American schools in 1973. The Sadkers became leading advocates for equal educational opportunities and gained national reputation for their efforts to create more equitable and effective schools.

Multiple Intelligences:

In many communities, one’s intellect is calculated using the IQ test which focuses on one’s linguistic and logical-mathematical skills and that leads to ‘IQ  envy’ among the individuals who score less scores than others. Howard Gardner says that man’s intellect can not be assessed using only IQ tests, because man possesses multiple intelligences.

According to Gardner intelligence means “the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural settings.” The nine intelligences pronounced by Gardner are:

1.     Logical-mathematical: Related to solving mathematical problems

2.     Linguistic: Sensitivity to the meanings, sounds and rhythms of words and the function of language

3.     Bodily-Kinaesthetic: Ability to use physical strength

4.     Musical: Ability to produce music and also appreciate various forms of music

5.     Spatial: Ability to form a mental model of the spatial world

6.     Interpersonal: Ability to analyse and respond to the motivations, moods and desires of others.

7.     Intrapersonal: Knowledge of one’s own feelings and needs; ability to guide one’s own behaviour

8.     Naturalist: Ability to discriminate among living things and a sensitivity to the natural world.

9.     Existential intelligence: It is questioning about who we are, where we come from, why we die and the like.

Hence it is necessary to calculate the multiple intelligences, according to Gardner.  He also says that intelligence may differ in different societies, depending on cultural values. For example, in the Pacific Island intelligence is the ability to navigate. Therefore, Gardner’s theory on intelligence has revolutionized the ‘teaching and learning’ process. The old pencil-paper tests used to assess linguistic, math and logical intelligence which is less appropriate for assessing one’s intelligence. Today, new education system follows ‘portfolio system’ which includes many practical and projects writing along with linguistic and logical-mathematics. In this system, the evaluation method is also descriptive. Thus, Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has reshaped the present education system.

Emotional Intelligence:

Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) is described by Daniel Goleman thus: “It is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one’s thinking and action.” According to Goleman EQ taps into the heart, as well as the head. The marshmallow tests conducted at the age of 4, helps proving one’s emotional intelligence.  The children who gave into temptation and ate the marshmallow were described as stubborn, easily frustrated and lonely teenagers. The children who waited were reported to be better adjusted, more popular, more adventurous, and more confident youths. The EQ tests shows that the regulation of emotion enhances better living. Studies have shown that people with high emotional intelligence have greater mental health, job preference and leadership skills. The five components of emotional intelligence are 1. Self-awareness, 2. Self-regulation, 3. Motivation, 4. Empathy, and 5. Social skills.

Conclusion:

Thus, Gardner’s ‘Multiple Intelligences’ and Goleman’s ‘Emotional Intelligence’ theories have changed the entire educational traditions. The new educational tradition which assesses students’ intelligences use diverse ways and means in teaching-and-learning process, as recommended by Gardner and Goleman. 

Silas Marner (Themes)

About the Author:

Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian^[1]), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England; most of her works are set there. Her works are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.

Introduction:

Silas Marner the weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot. It was published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.

Plot:

Silas Marner covers a long span of time — over thirty years. However, concentration within this span limits the time actually portrayed to three relatively short periods. The first of these, the time on which the book opens, shows Silas living his lonely existence at Raveloe. This period is followed by a flashback to the time fifteen years earlier when he was driven from Lantern Yard. The time then skips quickly back to its original point, settling on a November afternoon. The events between then and New Year's take up the first portion of the book, although the narrator briefly mentions some events that follow as Silas begins to raise Eppie.

Sixteen years are then jumped over, and the results of the early events are seen. The intervening years are filled in mostly by the narrator or by conversations between characters. There are only a few brief dramatic portrayals of events during those years — for example, Godfrey and Nancy's discussion about adopting Eppie. After the past is brought up to date, the time remains at the same Sunday on which this portion of the book opened, until the main plot considerations are disposed of (for example, Dunstan's disappearance, Godfrey's relationship to Eppie, and Eppie's future). Some events occur after that — Silas goes to Lantern Yard a few days later, and still later Eppie is married — but they are treated very briefly.

Themes:

Themes are simply ideas that Eliot develops in the course of the novel. It should be remembered, however, that what a good novel says is not detachable from the way it says it. The meaning is a part of the style and structure, and themes cannot be set out in so many pointed quotations. Meanings and attitudes are expressed through the whole work of art, and they must be studied as a part of it.

The major theme of Silas Marner is of course the influence of "pure, natural human relationships," but there are several others. Some of these are never the subject of a direct statement, but constant repetition brings them to the reader's attention, and the novel draws some sort of conclusion about them. One of these themes is the function of religion in society. Another is the use of custom and tradition. There is a more direct consideration, focused on Nancy, of the extent to which "principle" should predominate over sympathy in human relationships. This is closely connected to the question of indulgence versus discipline in human life, as exemplified by the home life of Godfrey and of Nancy.

A theme may be mentioned only indirectly and yet be quite explicit in its meaning. One such in Silas Marner is the effect of industrialization on English society in the nineteenth century. Lantern Yard after the factory has been built is a grimy, dark place full of unhealthy people. There is a sharp contrast between the grim unfriendliness of Lantern Yard and the community spirit of Raveloe, between Silas' life as a spinning insect and the fresh air of the open fields.

 Themes:

Themes are simply ideas that Eliot develops in the course of the novel. It should be remembered, however, that what a good novel says is not detachable from the way it says it. The meaning is a part of the style and structure, and themes cannot be set out in so many pointed quotations. Meanings and attitudes are expressed through the whole work of art, and they must be studied as a part of it.

The major theme of Silas Marner is of course the influence of "pure, natural human relationships," but there are several others. Some of these are never the subject of a direct statement, but constant repetition brings them to the reader's attention, and the novel draws some sort of conclusion about them. One of these themes is the function of religion in society. Another is the use of custom and tradition. There is a more direct consideration, focused on Nancy, of the extent to which "principle" should predominate over sympathy in human relationships. This is closely connected to the question of indulgence versus discipline in human life, as exemplified by the home life of Godfrey and of Nancy.

A theme may be mentioned only indirectly and yet be quite explicit in its meaning. One such in Silas Marner is the effect of industrialization on English society in the nineteenth century. Lantern Yard after the factory has been built is a grimy, dark place full of unhealthy people. There is a sharp contrast between the grim unfriendliness of Lantern Yard and the community spirit of Raveloe, between Silas' life as a spinning insect and the fresh air of the open fields.

Conclusion:

George Eliot’s Silas Marner brilliantly combines the  apparently conflicting aspects such as realism and the air of a fairy tale. Silas Marner is a tale of love and overcoming setbacks. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Silas, loses his friends, his faith, and his fiancé when he is framed for theft. Exiled, he moves from Lantern Yard to the idyllic English country side of Raveloe, a farming community.

 

 

 

Silas Marner (Realism and Air of Fairy Tale)

About the Author:

Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian^[1]), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels: Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England; most of her works are set there. Her works are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.

Introduction: 

Silas Marner the weaver of Raveloe is the third novel by George Eliot. It was published in 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism and its sophisticated treatment of a variety of issues ranging from religion to industrialisation to community.

Plot:

Silas Marner covers a long span of time — over thirty years. However, concentration within this span limits the time actually portrayed to three relatively short periods. The first of these, the time on which the book opens, shows Silas living his lonely existence at Raveloe. This period is followed by a flashback to the time fifteen years earlier when he was driven from Lantern Yard. The time then skips quickly back to its original point, settling on a November afternoon. The events between then and New Year's take up the first portion of the book, although the narrator briefly mentions some events that follow as Silas begins to raise Eppie.

Sixteen years are then jumped over, and the results of the early events are seen. The intervening years are filled in mostly by the narrator or by conversations between characters. There are only a few brief dramatic portrayals of events during those years — for example, Godfrey and Nancy's discussion about adopting Eppie. After the past is brought up to date, the time remains at the same Sunday on which this portion of the book opened, until the main plot considerations are disposed of (for example, Dunstan's disappearance, Godfrey's relationship to Eppie, and Eppie's future). Some events occur after that — Silas goes to Lantern Yard a few days later, and still later Eppie is married — but they are treated very briefly.

Important Events:

The three times on which Eliot concentrates contain five main events: the Lantern Yard robbery, the theft of Silas' gold, the death of Molly (or the arrival of Eppie), the return of Silas' gold, and Godfrey's attempt to claim his child.

Consideration of these basic events gives a broad view of the structure of Silas Marner. They are all more or less related, either in the mind of one or more characters, or by cause-and-effect. The last four fall into pairs: the theft of the gold and the coming of Eppie in its place; the return of the gold and Godfrey's claim on Eppie. The first two are not related in fact, as the reader knows, but Silas and the other inhabitants of Raveloe consider them to be a kind of cause-and-effect, which gives rise to a symbolic relationship between them. The latter pair are related strictly through their cause — the discovery of Dunstan's body with the gold leads Godfrey to confess that he is Eppie's father. But the symbolic relationship that has been established carries over from the past. The first event, the robbery at Lantern Yard, is of course the indirect cause of the rest, for it sends Silas to Raveloe, but it also provides the basis for Silas' reactions at the time of the second robbery — it causes his feeling of being tormented by an unseen power. As such, it is responsible for the symbolic values of later events.

Two Plots:

There are two plots in Silas Marner: Silas' rejection of humanity and his redemption, and the plot involving Godfrey and his two wives. The two plots are not unrelated, however. In the beginning, there is little connection between them, but by the end of the tale they are inseparable. A glance at the events outlined above shows how this happens. The structure of the book might be thought of as a funnel, with Godfrey and Silas on opposite sides at first but gradually being carried by events into the same course. There are many parallels between their lives. At first these parallels are distant, but they come closer and closer until at last they join. Note, for example, that Godfrey is betrayed by Dunstan as Silas was betrayed by William Dane. Godfrey has two wives to correspond to Silas' two treasures; in both cases, the first is their ruin, and the second is their salvation. Their first real connection is the gold: Dunstan is trying to extort money from Godfrey, and when he fails at that, he steals it from Silas. Eppie comes to replace the gold, and she is the second and far closer connection between Silas and Godfrey. Godfrey is her real father, but Silas becomes like a father to her. Furthermore, the event that brings Eppie to Silas is looked on as a blessing by both Silas and Godfrey, for it frees Godfrey to marry Nancy.

Techniques:

The meaning of the novel and its symbolic values are completely bound up in the contrasts and comparisons between these two plots. The nature of a "blessing," the meaning of good and bad in relation to social conduct — these and other problems become involved in the working out of events. Nor are Godfrey and Silas the only persons involved. Their lives are connected most of all through the society in which they live. The community of Raveloe is an agent of their acts as well as a spectator and commentator. When Silas discovers the robbery, he reports it to the Rainbow, and Godfrey hears of it from there. A cross-section of the community is present to receive word of Molly's death. Eppie provides a connecting link not only between Godfrey and Silas, but between Silas and the community as well. Communal opinion is never the final authority in the novel; Eliot often treats it ironically; but it is an important factor in the lives of the major characters and in the functioning of the plot.

Conclusion:

George Eliot’s Silas Marner brilliantly combines the  apparently conflicting aspects such as realism and the air of a fairy tale. Silas Marner is a tale of love and overcoming setbacks. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist, Silas, loses his friends, his faith, and his fiancé when he is framed for theft. Exiled, he moves from Lantern Yard to the idyllic English country side of Raveloe, a farming community.