DENNES SEBASTIAN

Character Sketch of Nomita   Nomita in the story  Matchbox   written by Ashapurna Debi is a typical Indian housewife who is bound to sacrifice many of her ambitions and hopes and be enslaved in the kitchen. Ashapurna Debi portrays her colorless – without the hues of a happy life. Her widowed mother thinks that she is successful in consigning her daughter to a rich family which is not on the merit of finance but by looks alone. Nomita expects a minimum freedom of reading the letters addressed to her. Her husband seems to be dubious about the letters when he tries to read it without her consent.  It is true what Ashapurna Debi says about Nomita and women in general that they are like matchboxes settled at the corners of the house with their hidden power to explode at any time. Nomita follows the example of a matchbox and she burns with anger when she is helpless. To break the shackles of marital slavery she is rea...

Matchbox Ashapurna Debi “Matchbox”, is written by Ashapurna Debi, a Bengali Novelist. It tells the story of Ajit and Nomita , young married couple. The story narrates the unhealthy man-woman relationship existing in most Indian families. Ashapurna Debi, in the beginning of the story compares women to matchboxes. Matchboxes have the potential to light up everything into fire. The tiny bit of gunpowder in it can burn down a hundred Lankas, she says. But in appearance, they are meek and harmless. You can place the matchbox in the kitchen, pantry, bedroom, in pocket or anywhere without fear. We know that it won’t cause a fire by itself. It is the same with women. They also appear to be meek and harmless. Men treat the like matchboxes. Men don’t fear women and take them lightly. But Ashapurna Debi tells us that if they want, they can set everything into fire within no time. The central character of the story is Nomita. Her husband Ajit has the habit of opening his wife’s letters a...

The 3 Ls of Women Empowerment Christine Lagarde   Women and Economy The global economy is struggling to generate the growth that can provide a better life for all, and all can contribute, yet women remain blocked from contributing their true potential. This has a huge cost: In some countries, per-capita incomes lag significantly because women are denied equal opportunity. They represent half the world’s population, but contribute far less than 50 percent of economic activity. What is needed to change this picture is a concerted effort to open the door to opportunity with what I call the “3 L’s” of women’s empowerment: learning, labor and leadership. First, learning: Education is the foundation upon which change is built.   Education is both an elevator and a springboard.  Learning helps women to help themselves and break the shackles of exclusion. There is an African adage that goes: “If you educate a boy, you train a man. If you educate a girl, you ...

Any Woman Katherine Tynan I am the pillars of the house; The keystone of the arch am I. Take me away, and roof and wall Would fall to ruin me utterly. I am the fire upon the hearth, I am the light of the good sun, I am the heat that warms the earth, Which else were colder than a stone.   At me the children warm their hands; I am their light of love alive. Without me cold the hearthstone stands, Nor could the precious children thrive.   I am the twist that holds together The children in its sacred ring, Their knot of love, from whose close tether No lost child goes a-wandering.   I am the house from floor to roof, I deck the walls, the board I spread; I spin the curtains, warp and woof, And shake the down to be their bed. I am their wall against all danger, Their door against the wind and snow, Thou Whom a woman laid in a manger, Take me not till the children grow!     About the Poet: Katherine Tynan Katharin...

Analysis: “Dusts of Snow” is a simple and beautiful poem by Robert Frost. The poet regretted the better part of   the day for reasons known only to him. Naturally he was quite sad and unhappy. It was then, a crow shook off the dusts of snow, from its feathers sitting on hemlock tree. We have very few images in this short poem, namely “the man”, “the crow”, “the hemlock tree”, and “the dusts of snow”. x x Naturally it is the season of winter. A crow is perching on an ever green pine called the hemlock tree and the poet stands under the tree. The crow is shaking off the snow from its wings. It too might have been very cold and wanted to save itself from the biting cold. The tree on which the crow rests is hemlock. It is quite a majestic and beautiful tree native to America . In some pagan religions hemlock tree is associated with protection and healing. Do not confuse hemlock tree with hemlock plant which is poisonous and grows only three to five feats. Greek p...

Summary Lencho was Mexican farmer, who lived in a lonely house on top of a low hill. He had a strong faith in God. From early years he was instructed to believe in God unquestioningly. Lencho and his family were hard workers and lived by the money they made from cultivating crops in their field. He was hoping for a decent rain which would be good for his crops . He told his wife that they might have rain that day. It was during the dinner time that it began to rain. Lencho was happy and believed that each rain drops will bring him a better crop and plenty of money . But soon against his hopes, the rain turned ugly and it began to pelt hailstones. His entire labour for the year was laid to waste. His crops were completely destroyed. He was sad. But Lencho did not lose all hope. He turned to God for help. Faith can move mountains . The next day he wrote a letter to god seeking a hundred pesos so that he can plant his crops once again. He went to the post office and posted the ...

Sunrise on the Hills    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, United States on 27 th February, 1807 and died on 24 th March, 1882. He was an educator, traveler, a linguist, and a romantic.   Analysis:   ‘Sunrise on the Hills’  by H.W Longfellow is a celebration of the healing power of nature. The poet muses upon the morning sun shining on the woods and hills, and urges readers to return to the lap of nature to soothe their souls. Throughout the poem, Longfellow compares the sun to a knight, and nature to his sweetheart; the princess. The poem opens with a description of the grand glorious returning march of the sun which the poet witnesses from the top of a hill. Nature, the princess, has been waiting long under captivity. Now the city gates – heaven’s wide arch – is glorious with the knight’s arrival. The sun’s glory outshines everything else, and the clouds that have gathered midway round the wooded height now look lik...