Is Pen still mightier than Sword?

“Pen is mightier than sword”. It is an age-old maxim. The significance of the maxim is immense and undeniable. Pen is a symbol of creation, while sword symbolizes destruction. Pen is a source of creative activities whereas sword is a means of destructivity. Sword proves to be as mighty as pen when it is used for a good cause. Sword can be used in a rebellion against autocracy and a movement against iniquity. The purpose of using sword may be humanitarian, but it causes violence and bloodshed.       

Mahatma Gandhi who is regarded as the father of nation in India had taken up pen to write in protest against the exploitation of Black Africans during the Apartheid era. He started writing articles for newspapers and journals to mobilize public opinion in support of his crusade against social injustices as well as political iniquities. Thus, pen is a powerful tool of journalism.   

One’s literary activity finds a concrete expression in words through pen. Mahasweta Devi, an eminent writer and activist of Bengal, penned down her voice in protest against the rape of women in “Choli ke Peeche” one of her powerful short stories. Italo Spinelli, a film and documentary maker from Italy, adapted the story into a sensitive movie “Gangor”. The movie was shown at the recent 17^th Kolkata Film Festival.

Pen is a multi-functional tool. It creates, innovates and inspires. Pen can create controversies and bring about an upheaval. Using this powerful tool, writers, activists and journalists can mobilize the mass and bring about a change in the current social-political state of the nation. For example, Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses had infuriated the whole Islamic world.

Swords leave nothing but wounds and painful memories behind. Sword stands for war, a bloody game. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are among the worst victims of warfare. Sword also stands for violence which is on the go in the Middle-East countries, at present. If sword is taken as a symbol of action, pen symbolizes the thought behind the action. To say precisely, a leader in Libya had posted a tweet announcing his move against the tyrant Gaddafi, and the tweet inspired the mass of Libya to pick up swords against tyranny.

No doubt, pen is still mightier than sword.  

Which character – Bishop or convict is integral to the play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’?

Both the characters the Bishop and the convict are integral and relevant to the plot of the play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’. Appearance of the convict moves the play towards its climax. The Bishop’s humane values and virtues are revealed through his treatment of the convict. The Bishop’s kindness, generosity, hospitality and nobility are mostly reflected in his attitude towards the convict. The moral issue of this play is expressed through the transformation of the convict by the Bishop. Hence, the characters – the Bishop and the convict do not weigh more or less than each other in the play ‘The Bishop’s Candlesticks’.       

Explanatory note on The Hero by Siegfried Sassoon

“The Hero” is a bold attempt by Siegfried Sassoon, one of the most famous war poets, to tear off the mask from the face of war. The poem expresses the hypocrisy hidden behind the glory of war. War is a game of bloodshed. Many innocent lives are lost in the bloody game. There is nothing glorious about it. Many youths are forced to join the warfare and thus, they are driven to untimely death against their wish. The painful death of a soldier is glorified as the death of a martyr. The people sitting back at ease in their homes think and speak highly of soldiers and their death in the battlefield. 

The poem “The Hero” gives us the real picture of how some cold-footed soldiers die being blown into countless pieces. In the poem, Jack lacks the bravery of a true soldier. Afraid of the cruelty of warfare, Jack makes a lame excuse to go back home from the trench. When he passes through the trench, a mine explodes and blows him into bits. Jack meets an unpleasant death which is glorified as a great achievement by senior officers. 

The Colonel sends an officer with a letter to Jack’s mother. The letter from the Colonel speaks of the dead Jack in glowing terms to console the poor old mother over the death of her only son. The mother is down with grief for having lost her son on the one hand and holds her head high with pride for the supposed glorious death of her son on the other hand. The kind-hearted Officer who comes to meet Jack’s mother hides the harsh reality about Jack’s death from her. He does not want the old lady to get hurt. He rightly thinks that her pride over the heroic death of her son in the trench is the only consolation for her.   

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Siegfried Sassoon’s attitude to war in the poem The Hero

The poem The Hero reflects Siegfried Sassoon’s satirical attitude to war. The poet is not critical of warfare but the hypocrisy that surrounds war. Some soldiers like Jack are not brave enough to fight and face death in war. They meet an untimely and unpleasant death. Their death is, then, glorified as a heroic one, and they are honored as martyrs. In the poem ‘The Hero’ itself, Brother Officer speaks highly of Jack on the one hand and thinks of him as a ‘cold-footed, useless swine’ on the other hand. Besides, mothers whose sons die painfully not courageously feel proud of their sons. The poet rightly bears a critical attitude to the practice of attributing martyrdom to coward soldiers.           

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Is Jack a brave soldier in ‘The Hero’ by Siegfried Sassoon?

Soldiers who fight in a war far from their homes and near ones are different from the common run of men.  The words ‘brave’ and ‘courageous’ are associated with the image of a soldier. But, Jack is not a true soldier in terms of bravery and fearlessness. He is an ordinary person of flesh and blood with fear of death. He makes a lame excuse to go back home and tries to cross the trench. Then a mine explodes and blows him into pieces. Evidently Jack is not a hero as he lacks the essential qualities of a true solider.   

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Relevance of the Title: The Hero by Siegfried Sassoon

By the word ‘Hero’, we think of a brave and courageous person. Jack the protagonist (principal character) is glorified as a hero in the poem. But the close reading of the poem reveals that Jack is a ‘cold-footed, useless swine’. From this perspective the title of the poem sounds irrelevant and illogical. However, the title ‘The Hero’ is reflective of the poet’s satirical attitude to war. By giving such an ironical title the poet Siegfried Sassoon has exposed the truth of a soldier’s unpleasant death and satirized the tradition of glorifying a coward solider as a hero. So the title of the poem ‘The Hero’ is substantial and relevant.     

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Life without Electricity in City

Life without electricity is unimaginable in the present decade of 21^st century. Machines drive the ways of our daily life. Machines from a handy gadget to a massive appliance need electricity. Electricity fuels all sorts of gadgets and gizmos directly or indirectly to ensure their proper functioning. 

Life comes to a standstill without electricity in cities and towns. In cities, modern household gadgets like washing machine, refrigerator, home theater system, air conditioner, kitchen appliances like oven, hand blender, mixer, drinking water purifier; official gadgets like computers, printers, scanners, internet devices run on electricity. Mobiles phones, digital cameras, iPods and laptops are integral parts of our city lifestyle. Batteries of phones, laptops, cameras need to be charged with electricity from time to time. 

Cellphone and Internet are two major mediums of communication in the present time. If supply of electricity is cut off for a few hours, communication is disrupted slowing the pace of life in cities. AC is a must need to keep the confined atmosphere cool and comfortable at workplaces where there are many computers. The functional operation comes to a stop during power cut. Lift is the only means for smooth movement from bottom to top in high rises. Without electricity lifts and escalators do not work, and therefore all movement stops. 

The picture of life without electricity in villages is not as grim as in cities. However, the necessity of electricity is undeniable in some fields of rural life. For example, water pumps which run on electricity are used to irrigate agricultural fields. Evidently life depends on electricity as we depend on gadgets, and gadgets depend on electricity for functioning. To say it brief, life with no electricity is a nightmare.    

                                                                   by Aditya Roy Choudhury, a class VI student                          

Notes on ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost

Describe the two roads which Robert Frost had once come across 

Once the poet Robert Frost on the way of his journey, halted at a point where the road was divided into two. One of the roads was much trodden and therefore, it was rough. The other road was hardly trodden by anyone and so, it looked fair and was covered with green grass. To the poet the less trodden path was more luring than the much trodden one.  

Which of the two roads did Robert Frost choose? Why? 

The poet Robert Frost chose the road which was less trodden and covered with grass. Initially, the poet was full of doubts about that less trodden path because it might not be safe to walk on a less trusted path. The next moment he thought that he should take this road to reach his destination and it might make a difference in his life. The poet had the confidence and courage to meet the challenge of treading the path which was hardly walked on by any traveler. Indifferent to the fate and the future consequences, Robert Frost dared to go different from the common lot. 

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Explanatory Note on ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost

Synopsis of ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost

Once Robert Frost was confronted with a situation which required him to make a choice during his journey to a destination. At times in life, making a choice or decision is an uphill task, if there is more than one option and all the options seem to be luring. The poet had to choose one of the two roads in order to reach his destination. After a little toing and froing, he decided to choose the road which as less travelled and therefore, covered with grass. Initially, he had doubt if he would be able to reach his goal and come back safely. Then, he desired to go different from the common run of mill, and gathered courage to take the challenge of treading the less trodden path. In later life, the poet Robert Frost had no regrets for his decision. His choice made all the difference in his life. If he walked down the much travelled road, he would have to share the fate of the common lot. His choice was influenced by none but his mind and his insight into future. Therefore, the poet was happy about his decision. 

The kernel of the poem “The Road Not Taken” is that we face mental conflict while taking a decision at some or the other turn in human life, and that the way to get out of that mental conflict is only the right decision. To be facing mental conflict when time and situation require us to choose between two options is an integral part of human existence.   

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