English notes

Introduction Little children love to hear stories from their parents at bedtime. Such stories are mostly fables and have no logic behind them. Many a time, parents make up stories out of their own head. Little children take them as literally true. But as the child grows up, he becomes inquisitive. He begins to ask many questions. He wants to know why and how certain things happen. He wants to know the reason behind things. Sometimes parents take this questioning of the child as an affront. They try to discourage it. They want the child to accept as true whatever is said to him. Is such an attitude desirable? This story poses this very question. A father tells his child a story out of his head. The child interrupts him a number of times. She raises questions whenever she feels that the story is wrong. The father feels himself caught in an ugly middle position. He does not know whether he should accept the child’s version or stick to his own. Thus the story raises a moral issue and leave...

Introduction The story highlights how a Japanese doctor saves the life of an American prisoner of war and rises above narrow national prejudices. He risks his honour, career, position and life by sheltering a war prisoner of the enemy camp and saving his life. The author has beautifully portrayed the conflict in the doctor’s mind as a private individual and as a citizen with a sense of national loyalty. Setting The story takes place on a coastal town of Japan in the year 1941 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. A war going on between America and Japan. Japanese were hostile to the Americans and ready to kill any American found in their soil. Theme ‘The Enemy’ gives the message that humanism transcends all man made prejudices and barriers. Dr. Sadao upholds the ethics of medical profession in treating an enemy. The story is a great lesson of peace, love, sympathy, fellow feeling and humanism. Characters Dr. Sadao Hoki: A Japanese doctor trained by Americans. Sadao’s father: much concerned...

Journey to the end of the Earth Introduction The lesson revolves around the world’s most preserved place, Antarctica. Not many people have been there but out of the few that have, Tishani Doshi is one of them. A south Indian person who went on an expedition with a group of teenagers affiliated with ‘Students on Ice’ programme who takes young minds to different ends of the world. Thus, it gives an insight into how Antarctica is the place you should visit to have a glimpse of the past, present and the future in its realist form.   Journey to the end of the Earth Summary For a south Indian man travelling to Antarctica from Madras, it takes nine time zones, six checkpoints, three water-bodies and just as many ecospheres to reach there. Tishani Doshi travelled to the Southern end of the Earth along with an expedition group named ‘Students on Ice’ that provides opportunity to the young minds to sensitise towards the realistic version of climatic changes happening in the world. According ...

Introduction The story ‘The Tiger King’ is a satire on the pride and stubbornness of those in power. The writer takes us to the days of autocratic and eccentric kings. These kings lived under the thumb rule of British, hence they fear them. Most of the time the rulers were not interested in serving the people and working for the welfare of the public; instead they spent their time in foolish pursuits. They flouted all laws and bent them to suit their selfish interests. The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram tried to belie what was written in his fate. The chief astrologer had predicted that the cause of his death would be a tiger. The King tried his best to belie the prediction. His campaign of tiger-hunting was very successful. All his strategies and wise plans worked till he killed 99 tigers. But the hundredth tiger eluded him till his death. The irony of fate brings quite an unexpected end of the Maharaja. The hero who killed ninety nine tigers couldn’t kill the only one that was left. The...

The Third Level Introduction The Third Level by Jack Finney is about the harsh realities of war. War has irreversible consequences thus leaving people in a state of insecurity. It is also about modern day problems and how common man tends to escape reality by various means. In this story, a man named Charley hallucinates and reaches the third level of the Grand Central Station which only has two levels.   The Third Level Summary The story revolves around a 31 year old man named Charley, who experienced something weird. One day after work coming from the Subway, he reached the third level of the Grand Central station (which doesn’t actually exist). He reminisces the entire experience with his psychiatrist friend Sam. Charley thought he experienced time travel and had reached somewhere in the eighteen-nineties, a time before the world saw two of its most deadliest wars. As soon as he realised what time he is in, he immediately decided to buy two tickets to Galesburg, Illinois; one ...