English Literature books summary

burned. Leeford's wife and son then lived in the West Indies on their ill-

gotten fortune which is where Brownlow went to find Monks after Oliver was

kidnapped, Oliver's startling resemblance to the woman in the portrait, his

mother, having bothered his conscience too much. Meanwhile, the search for

Sikes continues.

Crackit flees to Jacob's Island to hide after Fagin and Noah are

captured. They find Sikes' dog waiting for them in the house that serves as

their hiding place. Sikes follows soon thereafter. Charley Bates arrives

and attacks the murderer, calling for the others to help him. The search

party and an angry mob arrive demanding justice. Sikes climbs onto the roof

with a rope with the hopes of lowering himself to escape in the midst of

the confusion. However, he loses his balance when he imagines that Nancy's

ghost is after him. The rope catches around his neck, and he falls to his

death with his head in an accidental noose.

Oliver and his friends travel to the town of his birth, with Monks in

tow, to meet Mr. Grimwig. There, Monks reveals that he and his mother found

a letter and a will after his father's death, both of which they destroyed.

The letter was addressed to Agnes Fleming, Oliver's mother, and it

contained a confession from Leeford about his marriage. The will stated

that if his illegitimate child was born a girl, it was to inherit the

estate unconditionally.

If it was born a boy, it was to inherit the estate only if it

committed no illegal or guilty act. Otherwise, Monks and his mother were to

receive the fortune. Upon learning of his daughter's shame, Agnes' father

fled and changed his family's name. Agnes left to save her family the shame

of her condition, and her father died soon thereafter of a broken heart.

His other small daughter was taken in by a poor couple who died in their

own time. Mrs. Maylie took pity on the little girl and raised her as her

niece. That child is Miss Rose. Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Bumble (the former Mrs.

Corney) are forced to confess their part in concealing Oliver's history,

and Mr. Grimwig takes measure to ensure they never hold public office

again. Harry gives up his political ambitions and becomes a clergyman. He

persuades Rose to marry him.

Fagin is sentenced to death by hanging for being an accomplice to murder.

Noah receives a pardon for his testimony against Fagin. Charley eventually

turns to an honest life. Brownlow arranges for the remains of Monks'

property to be sold and the proceeds divided between Monks and Oliver.

Monks travels to the New World where he squanders his share and turns to a

life of vice for which he is arrested. He dies in a prison. Brownlow adopts

Oliver as his son. He, Losberne, and Grimwig t take up residence near

Harry's church.

The Poor Laws

Oliver Twist opens with a bitter invective directed at the nineteenth-

century English poor laws. The laws were a distorted manifestation of the

Victorian middle class emphasis on the virtues of "work." England in the

1830's was rapidly undergoing a transformation from an agricultural, rural

economy to an urban, industrial nation. The growing middle class had

achieved an economic influence equal to, if not greater than, the British

aristocracy.

Class consciousness reached a peak for the middle class in the 1830's.

It was in this decade that the middle class clamored for a share in

political power with the landed gentry, bringing about a re-structuring of

the voting system. Parliament passed a Reform Act that granted the right to

vote to previously disenfranchised middle class citizens. The middle class

was eager to gain social legitimacy. This desire gave rise to the Puritan

Evangelical

religious movement and inspired sweeping economic and political change.

The ideal social class belonged to the "gentleman," an aristocrat who

could afford not to work for his living. The middle class were stigmatized

for having to work for a living. One way to alleviate the stigma attached

to middle class wealth was to establish work as a moral virtue. Between the

moral value attached to work and the insecurity of the middle class about

its own social legitimacy, the poor were subject to hatred and cruelty. The

middle class Puritan moral value system transformed earned wealth into a

sign of moral virtue. Victorian society interpreted economic success as a

sign that God favored the honest, moral virtue of the successful

individual's efforts. Thus, they interpreted the condition of poverty as a

sign of the weakness of the poor individual.

The sentiment behind the Poor Law of the 1830's reflected these

beliefs. The law allowed the poor to receive public assistance only through

established workhouses. Begging carried the punishment of imprisonment.

Debtors were sent to prison, often with their entire families, which

virtually ensured that they could not re-pay their debts. Workhouses were

deliberately made to be as miserable as possible in order to deter the poor

from relying on public assistance. The philosophy was that the miserable

conditions would prevent able-bodied paupers from being lazy and idle bums.

Anyone who could not support himself or herself was considered an

immoral, evil person. Therefore, such individuals should enjoy no comforts

or luxuries in their reliance on public assistance. In order to create the

misery needed to deter such immoral idleness, families were split apart

upon entering the workhouse. Husbands were permitted no contact with their

wives, lest they should breed more paupers. Mothers were separated from

children, lest they impart their immoral ways to their children. Brothers

were separated from their sisters because the middle class patrons of

workhouses feared the lower class's "natural" inclination towards incest.

In short, the State undertook to become the surrogate "parents" of

workhouse children, whether or not they were orphans. Moreover, meals

served to workhouse residents were deliberately inadequate so as to

encourage the residents to find work and support themselves.

Because of the great stigma attached to workhouse relief, many poor

people chose to die in the streets rather than seek public "aid." The

workhouse was supposed to demonstrate the virtue of gainful employment to

the poor.

In order to receive public assistance, they had to pay in suffering

and misery. Puritan values stressed the moral virtue of suffering and

privation, and the workhouse residents were made to experience these

"virtues" many times over.

Rather that improving the "questionable morals" of the able-bodied poor,

the Poor Laws punished the most defenseless and helpless members of the

lower class. The old, the sick, and the very young suffered more than the

able-bodied benefited from these laws. Dickens meant to demonstrate this

with the figure of Oliver Twist, an orphan born and raised in a workhouse

for the first ten years of his life. He represents the hypocrisy of the

petty middle class bureaucrats, who treat a small child cruelly while

voicing their belief in the Christian virtue of giving charity to the less

fortunate.

Dickens was a life-long champion of the poor. He himself suffered the

harsh abuse of the English legal system's treatment of the poor. In England

in the 1830's, the poor truly had no voice, either politically or

economically. In Oliver Twist, Dickens presents the everyday existence of

the lowest members of English society. He went far beyond the experiences

of the workhouse, extending his depiction of poverty to London's squalid

streets, dark houses and thieves' dens. He gave voice to those who had no

voice, establishing a close link between politics and literature.

What does the phrase "justice is blind" normally mean?

The phrase "justice is blind" normally means that the law treats all

individuals equally. It means that the law is not biased. The phrase is

ironic because the legal system portrayed in Oliver Twist is heavily biased

in favor f individuals who belong to the middle and upper classes. Oliver

enters he courtroom twice in the novel. The magistrate who presides over

Gamfeld's petition to take Oliver on as an apprentice is half-blind. He

asks the workhouse officials if Oliver wants to be a chimney sweep, and

they assure him that he does. The law essentially does not recognize any

legal right for Oliver to speak for himself. The magistrate deigns to ask

for his opinion only after he notices Oliver's terrified expression. Oliver

is saved from Gamfield's brutal treatment, but only by a stroke of luck.

Hence, the phrase "justice is blind" is ironic when applied to the hearing.

The magistrate's half-blindness serves as a metaphor for the half-

blindness of middle class Victorians and their institutions. Although there

are glimmers of hope for mercy and kindness towards the poor, there are

still huge obstacles to change because the law is biased against the poor.

Oliver's trial for stealing a handkerchief highlights the precarious

position of the poor in the eyes of the law. In 1830's England, the right

to vote was based on wealth. Therefore, the law was designed to protect the

interests of people wealthy enough to own property.

Hence, the penalties for stealing were unbelievably harsh. Mr. Fang, the

presiding magistrate, is an aptly named representative of the English legal

system. The law has fangs ready to devour any unfortunate pauper brought to

face "justice." Without hard evidence, without witnesses, and even despite

Brownlow's testimony that Oliver is not the thief, Mr. Fang convicts Oliver

and sentences him to three months hard labour. Mr. Fang is biased against

Oliver from the moment he steps into the courtroom. He does not view Oliver

as an individual, but as the representative of the "criminal poor."

Therefore he views Oliver through the vicious prejudices of the Victorian

middle class.

Again, the phrase "justice is blind" is ironic when applied to Oliver

Twist. The magistrate is blinded by biased stereo types, and the legal

system he represents is biased against the poor. How is Fagin an anti-

Semitic stereotype? How does Dickens's anti-Semitism manifest itself ?

Consider Dickens's habit of referring to Fagin as "the Jew" or "the old

Jew." Consider Fagin's obsession with gold.

Victorians stereotyped the Jews as naturally avaricious beings who

worship gold for its own sake. Fagin's eyes "glisten" as he takes out a

"magnificent gold watch, sparkling with jewels." True to the anti-Semitic

stereotype, his wealth his obtained through thievery. Furthermore, Fagin's

psychological warfare on Oliver's basically virtuous nature reflects the

anti-Semitic stereotype of Jews as conniving, cunning conspirators. Dickens

characterizes Fagin's manipulation of Oliver as a slow poison meant to

corrupt Oliver's sense of right and wrong. Unlike an ordinary villain, the

Jewish villain is far worse. He presents a face of kindness over his true

nature as twisted brain-washer. When Oliver sees Fagin and Monks staring at

him through Mrs. Maylie's window, he cries, "The Jew! The Jew!" He does not

shout Fagin's name, so he does not consider Fagin's villainy as an

individual quality particular to Fagin. He names it as a Jewish quality.

Clearly, Dickens does not portray Fagin as a villain who happens to be

Jewish. He portrays Fagin as a villain because he's Jewish. The continual

habit of referring to Fagin as "the Jew" makes him an abstraction of anti-

Semitic stereotypes, not an individual.

The Victorian middle class's stereotypes of the poor.

Throughout Oliver Twist, Dickens levels a strident criticism at the

Victorian middle class's representation of the poor as hereditary

criminals. Dickens goes to great lengths to criticize the attitude that the

poor are inherently immoral from birth. However, he portrays Monks in the

very same light.

Brownlow tells Monks, "You . . . from your cradle were gall and

bitterness to your own father's heart, and . . . all evil passions, vice,

and profligacy, festered [in you]." Basically, Monks was a b ad one from

the cradle. Why should the unfortunate child of an unhappy, forced marriage

be the very paragon of evil?

A Passage to India by E.M.Forster

Part One: Mosque

Chapter One:

Forster begins A Passage to India with a short description of

Chandrapore, a city along that Ganges that is not notable except for the

nearby Marabar caves. Chandrapore is a city of gardens with few fine houses

from the imperial period of Upper India; it is primarily a "forest sparsely

scattered with huts."

Chapter Two:

Dr. Aziz arrives by bicycle at the house of Hamidullah, where

Hamidullah and Mr. Mahmoud Ali are smoking hookah and arguing about whether

it is possible to be friends with an Englishman. Hamidullah, educated at

Cambridge, claims that it is possibly only in England, and the three gossip

about English elites in India. Hamidullah Begum, a distant aunt of Aziz,

asks him when he will be married, but he responds that once is enough. A

servant arrives, bearing a note from the Civil Surgeon; Callendar wishes to

see Aziz at his bungalow about a medical case. Aziz leaves, traveling down

the various streets named after victorious English generals, to reach Major

Callendar's compound. The servant at the compound snubs Aziz, telling him

the major has no message. Two English ladies, Mrs. Callendar and Mrs.

Lesley, take Aziz's tonga (carriage), thinking that his ride is their own.

Aziz then leaves to go to the nearly mosque paved with broken slabs. The

Islamic temple awakens Aziz's sense of beauty; for Aziz, Islam is more than

a mere Faith, but an attitude towards life. Suddenly, an elderly

Englishwoman arrives at the mosque. He reprimands her, telling her that she

has no right to be there and that she should have taken off her shoes, but

she tells him that she did remember to take them off. Aziz then apologizes

for assuming that she would have forgotten. She introduces herself as Mrs.

Moore, and tells Aziz that she is newly arrived in India and has come from

the club. He warns her about walking alone at night, because of poisonous

snakes and insects. Mrs. Moore is visiting her son, Mr. Heaslop, who is the

City Magistrate. They find that they have much in common: both were married

twice and have two sons and a daughter. He escorts Mrs. Moore back to the

club, but tells her that Indians are not allowed into the Chandrapore Club,

even as guests.

Chapter Three:

Mrs. Moore returns to the Chandrapore Club, where she meets Adela

Quested, her companion from England who may marry her son Ronny Heaslop;

Adela wishes to see "the real India." She complains that they have seen

nothing of India, but rather a replica of England. After the play at the

Club ends, the orchestra plays the anthem of the Army of Occupation, a

reminder of every club member that he or she is a British in exile.

Fielding, the schoolmaster of Government College, suggests that if they

want to see India they should actually see Indians. Mrs. Callendar says

that the kindest thing one can do to a native is to let him die. The

Collector suggests that they have a Bridge Party (a party to bridge the

gulf between east and west). When Mrs. Moore tells Ronny about her trip to

the mosque, he scolds her for speaking to a Mohammedan and suspects the

worst, but Mrs. Moore defends Dr. Aziz. Ronny worries that Aziz does not

tolerate the English (the "brutal conqueror, the sun-dried bureaucrat" as

he describes them). When she tells him that Aziz dislikes the Callendars,

Ronny decides that he must pass that information on to them and tells her

that Aziz abused them in order to impress her. When she tells Ronny that he

never judged people in this way at home, Ronny rudely replies that India is

not home. Finally Ronny agrees not to say anything to Major Callendar.

Chapter Four:

Mr. Turton, the Collector, issues invitations to numerous Indian

gentlemen in the neighborhood for the Bridge Party. While he argues with

Mr. Ram Chand and the elderly and distinguished Nawab Bahadur, Mahmoud Ali

claims that the Bridge Party is due to actions from the Lieutenant

Governor, for Turton would never do this unless compelled. The Nawab

Bahadur is a large proprietor and philanthropist; his decision to attend

the Bridge party carries great weight. Mr. Graysford and Mr. Sorley, the

missionaries who live nearby, argue that no one should be turned away by

God, but cannot decide whether divine hospitality should end at monkeys or

jackals or wasps or even bacteria. They conclude that someone must be

excluded or they shall be left with nothing.

Chapter Five:

Neither Mrs. Moore nor Adela Quested consider the Bridge Party to be a

success. The Indians for the most part adopt European costume, and the

conversations are uncomfortable. Mrs. Moore speaks to Mrs. Bhattacharya and

asks if she may call on her some day, but becomes distressed when she

believes that Mrs. Bhattacharya will postpone a trip to Calcutta for her.

During the party, Mr. Turton and Mr. Fielding are the only officials who

behave well toward the Indian guests. Mr. Fielding comes to respect Mrs.

Moore and Adela. Mr. Fielding suggests that Adela meet Dr. Aziz. Ronny and

Mrs. Moore discuss his behavior in India, and he tells her that he is not

there to be pleasant, for he has more important things to do there. Mrs.

Moore believes that Ronny reminds her of his public school days when he

talked like an intelligent and embittered boy. Mrs. Moore reminds him that

God put us on earth to love our neighbors, even in India. She feels it is a

mistake to mention God, but as she has aged she found him increasingly

difficult to avoid.

Chapter Six:

Aziz did not go to the Bridge Party, but instead he dealt with several

surgical cases. It was the anniversary of his wife's death; they married

before they had met and he did not love her at first, but that changed

after the birth of their first child. He feels that he will never get over

the death of his first wife. Dr. Panna Lal returns from the Bridge Party to

see Aziz and offers a paltry excuse for why he did not attend. Aziz worries

that he offended the Collector by absenting himself from the party. When

Aziz returns home he finds an invitation from Mr. Fielding to tea, which

revives his spirits.

Chapter Seven:

Mr. Fielding arrived in India late in his life, when he had already

passed forty, and was by that time a hard-bitten, good-tempered fellow with

a great enthusiasm for education. He has no racial feelings, because he had

matured in a different atmosphere where the herd instinct did not flourish.

The wives of the English officers dislike Fielding for his liberal racial

views, and Fielding discovers that it is possible to keep company with both

Indians and Englishmen, but to keep company with English women he must drop

Indians. Aziz arrives at Fielding's house for tea as Fielding is dressing

after a bath; since Fielding cannot see him, Aziz makes Fielding guess what

he looks like. Aziz offers Fielding his collar stud, for he has lost his.

When Fielding asks why people wear collars at all, Aziz responds that he

wears them to pass the Police, who take little notice of Indians in English

dress. Fielding tells Aziz that they will meet with Mrs. Moore and Adela,

as well as Professor Narayan Godbole, the Deccani Brahman. Mrs. Moore tells

Mr. Fielding that Mrs. Bhattacharya was to send a carriage for her this

morning, but did not, and worries that she offended her. Fielding, Aziz,

Mrs. Moore and Adela discuss mysteries. Mrs. Moore claims she likes

mysteries but hates muddles, but Mr. Fielding claims that a mystery is a

muddle, and that India itself is a muddle. Godbole arrives, a polite and

enigmatic yet eloquent man, elderly and wizened. His whole appearance

suggests harmony, as if he has reconciled the products of East and West,

mental as well as physical. They discuss how one can get mangoes in England

now, and Fielding remarks that India can be made in England just as England

is now made in India. They discuss the Marabar Caves, and Fielding takes

Mrs. Moore to see the college. Ronny arrives, annoyed to see Adela with

Aziz and Godbole. Ronny tells Fielding that he doesn't like to see an

English girl left smoking with two Indians, but he reminds him that Adela

made the decision herself.

Chapter Eight:

For Adela, Ronny's self-complacency and lack of subtlety grow more

vivid in India than in England. Adela tells Ronny that Fielding, Aziz and

Godbole are planning a picnic at the Marabar Caves for her and Mrs. Moore.

Ronny mocks Aziz for missing his collar stud, claiming that it is typical

of the Indian inattention to detail. Adela decides that she will not marry

Ronny, who is hurt by the news but tells her that they were never bound to

marry in the first place. She feels ashamed at his decency, and they decide

that they shall remain friends. Ronny suggests a car trip to see

Chandrapore, and the Nawab Bahadur offers to take them. There is a slight

accident, as the car swerves into a tree near an embankment. Adela thinks

that they ran into an animal, perhaps a hyena or a buffalo. When Miss Derek

finds them, she offers to drive all of them back into town except for Mr.

Harris, the Eurasian chauffeur. The Nawab Bahadur scolds Miss Derek for her

behavior. Adela tells Ronny that she takes back what she told him about

Страницы: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47