King Lear

King Lear’s character is a pitiful one in the play though he somewhat redeems himself in the latter sections of the book. King Lear suffers the consequences of his tragic flaw, which was a need to be flattered hence his figurative blindness. With this tragic flaw he banishes the only daughter who truly loves him and took away her inheritance as she refused to flatter him. He split his land between his two insincere daughters who feigned love for him. When King Lear is mistreated by these two daughters, he finally realized that he had made a tragic mistake when he banished the only daughter who was sincere and cared about his wellbeing. They are reunited in the latter section of the book and just when things seem to be going good, they are reminded of the turmoil around them as the war was about to begin. He suffers severe consequences for his flaws as Cordelia his one true loving daughter died as a result of his initial action, which was soon followed by his own death.

Reflective Piece on the play Schoolbag

The theatrical performance of Schoolbag, produced by Zee’s Youth Theatre was indeed a great experience. The heavens literally opened at the end of each scene. As this was not my first theatrical experience, I was impressed by the calibre of performance exhibited by most by most of the actors, seeing as they could be viewed as amateurs. The actors really embraced their characters and tried to do the most with it. I arrived shortly after the graduate had started and I could really relate with the message being brought about in it. As for schoolbag, the storyline was superb, and was very much realistic. It causes one to think about every action they take. One never knows what impact their words and actions may have on other individuals. While one person may take it lightly, another might probably be deeply affected by these actions or words. The play depicts real life issues being dealt with in various schools throughout the island, throughout the region and probably throughout the world. It shows that we should not judge others as we may not know what they are going through on the inside or issues they may be dealing with at home. Danielle’s character was the one that really struck me as we have so many people like what she represented in our lives and we judge these people and misunderstand them when they appear to be quiet or reserved. We often term them as being “fooly”, or say that they feel they are better than us. Many people are going through many things and if we just take the time to get to know them then maybe we could lend a helping hand or maybe we might find that they are not that different from ourselves. Sometimes all these people need is a true friend, someone they can trust, rely on and talk to. This play reminded me of the values of life and the meaning of true friendship, which was conveyed time and time again through Kareem French’s character.

Synopsis of Clear Light of Day

The story takes place in India in the setting of Old Delhi with few references to New Delhi. The author places the story at the turn of the Indian revolution when India and Pakistan are separated and there is tension between the Hindus and Muslims. It depicts the life of an Indian and allows us to delve into a culture way different from our own. It places us right in the heat of the terror when unleashes as the Hindus and Muslims waged war against one another. Anita Desai allows us to view the war and the death of Mahatma Gandhi through the eyes of an Indian. These political and religious issues place a strain on the relationships between the characters of the play. Raja had always admired Hyder Ali Sahib,as he rode on his great white horse with a servant in front and a dog behind. Raja is ecstatic when Hyder Ali invites him to his home and allows him to borrow books from his library. Raja frequently visits Hyder Ali's home. Raja'a family becomes sceptical of his realtionship with Hyder Ali as they were of different religious and political backgrounds. Hyder Ali encourages Raja to go to a Muslim school and major in literature but raja's father refuses to send him as he is aware of the revolt that will soon take place between the Muslims and the Hindus and he does not want raja to be killed, as he is a Hindu. so raja's choice of school was affected. also his consortium of friends was affected, as he was "pro-Muslim", many of his associates became sceptical of him as he was in support of what they were against. Anti-Muslim terrorists who attended his school tried to get him to join their group but when he refused and threatened to report them, they reported him instead as a traitor to Hindus. The revolt began and his dear friend, Hyder Ali and his family, is forced to flee...Raja fell sick with tuberculosis and was extremely disturbed when he learnt that they had left without informing him. He then puts pressure on Bim who was his closest sibling, to find out what was going on with the Hyder Alis. This puts a strain on their relationship. Bim and Raja's doctor, Dr. Biswas, were beginning to go out, though Bim was not entirely interested. When Bim goes with him to meet his mother, on her way home she hears of Mohammed Gandhi's death. At this, Bim runs unto a bus to tell Raja of this mishap, leaving Dr. Biswas standing there all alone. This was the end of her first and last romantic interest. Raja is perturbed at the news but is relieved when he hears that Gandhi was killed by a Hindu and not a Muslim as this would cause a great on slaughter of the Muslims putting Hyder Ali and his would be wife, Benazir, in danger. This whole religious and political disturbance then in turn determines Raja'a final home, as he leaves to go to Hyderabad to be with his dear friend Hyder Ali and his daughter Benazir who he would soon marry. This drives a hedge between Bim and Raja. Their relationship was never quite the same again.

Symbols found in the book are the rose walk, the well, the family’s house, Old Delhi and New Delhi. The rose walk may be described as a representation of the passage of time. As upon Tara’s visit home, the first place she brings her sister to is the rose walk. Here is where she sees most of the unchanged things, for although the roses are still there, they are slimmer and weaker. Thus, the rose walk is mentioned several times throughout the book. The well symbolises death to the family. The well is located in the garden of the family house and becomes a strong symbol of death to the siblings especially with the death of their cow that drowned in the well. The novel takes place almost entirely at the family's house. Although characters come and go as they pass away or grow up and move out, the house itself remains unchanged and those who remain in it, Bim and Baba, seem unchanged, as well, when Tara arrives to visit as an adult, years later. Old Delhi is the place where the children grew up with their family and where their house still sits, unchanged. The house symbolizes no change. New Delhi is the city where everything changes and where all the action seems to be far removed from the unchanged Old Delhi.

A theme is the central idea or ideas, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work. A work of literature may have more than one theme. The themes of politics and of women’s situation in India are the main themes utilized in the book, Clear Light of Day. The novel deals with the political situation in India before, during, and after Independence in 1947, and how the partition in turn affected both India as a country, and individuals on a personal level. Through the characters in the novel we are given an insight into how everyday Indians dealt with the crisis, and how their lives have been in the aftermath of the partition. Desai’s focus is mainly on the women of the Das family, and through the various female characters we get to see the different choices they have in life. The theme of politics may be seen throughout the book as the setting for the story takes place at the time when British India became independent and was divided into Pakistan and India. This division had a great impact on the characters of the novel and also influences major life decisions made by these characters. For example, as there was a war between Pakistan and India, the Muslim and Hindu, the Hyder Ali family was forced to move from Old Delhi to Hyderabad. This resulted in Raja moving to be with this family in Hyderabad. This action started the distance both physically and emotionally between Raja and his closest sister Bim.
The theme of women’s situation in India is also very prevalent in this novel as it is based upon the experiences of two sisters, Bimla and Tara. For example, Tara is portrayed as the traditional Indian woman who doesn’t go to college but gets married as a teen, being loyal to her husband and having children. On the other hand, Bimla was completely independent and went against the traditional way of life for an Indian woman. She went to college and pledged never to get married.

Descriptions of even tiny things like the rose garden, the verandah and the wildlife are so exact that the imagery used can be said to be very vivid. One of the girls' childhood memories was of a cow that their aunt bought for the fresh milk, which later fell into the well and drowned. Thereafter, the girls were terrified of going anywhere near the well. Their fear is palpable. Poetry is used throughout the book to highlight the sisters' feelings, which links into their childhood when their brother Raja thought of himself as a poet. The story is told by switching between the views of Bim and Tara. There is quite a lot of cross story-telling - we read about the same event more than once, from the angle of the sister telling the story at the time. This could have been boring, but somehow the author manages to embellish the language in such a way that it was just as fascinating, if not more so, when reading if for the second time.

Significance of Baba in Clear Light of Day

Baba is known as the quiet child. He learns to do most things but does not learn to talk. Baba can be said to symbolize no change. Baba remains pretty much the same throughout the book. He may have grown body wise but mentally he remains the same. Since childhood, he’d been playing with his marbles and he did so right through to adulthood. Baba can be said to be afraid of change. This may be seen when he was sent to the office and as soon as he entered the world outside his gates he went into a panic attack and ran back to his home. He lives in the same house which also remains unchanged. Even when Raja brings him a new entertainment system he refuses to use it and relies on his old gramophone which he taken from the Benazir’s room when he was younger. Bimla also uses Baba as an excuse to fight change. When Tara asks why there has been no changes made to the house, Bim claims that the change would probably confuse Baba. Bim also uses the excuse to escape going to Raja’s daughter’s wedding. She claims that New Delhi is too far out of the comfort zone of Baba. She attributes most of her lack of accomplishments to Baba as she said she could not leave him. Baba also helps to make Aunt Mira feel more satisfied, as he was dependent upon her and she felt a sense of purpose, a sense of want and appreciation. Aunt Mira gets to display most of her maternal instincts with Baba as he needed special attention and she was with him from the time he was a baby and she had been the one to teach him things that normal boys may learn on their own.

Literary Symbol of Clear Light of Day

THEME

A theme is the central idea or ideas, image, or motif, repeated or developed throughout a work. A work of literature may have more than one theme.

The themes of politics and of women’s situation in India are the main themes utilized in the book, Clear Light of Day. The novel deals with the political situation in India before, during, and after Independence in 1947, and how the partition in turn affected both India as a country, and individuals on a personal level. Through the characters in the novel we are given an insight into how everyday Indians dealt with the crisis, and how their lives have been in the aftermath of the partition. Desai’s focus is mainly on the women of the Das family, and through the various female characters we get to see the different choices they have in life.
The theme of politics may be seen throughout the book as the setting for the story takes place at the time when British India became independent and was divided into Pakistan and India. This division had a great impact on the characters of the novel and also influences major life decisions made by these characters. For example, as there was a war between Pakistan and India, the Muslim and Hindu, the Hyder Ali family was forced to move from Old Delhi to Hyderabad. This resulted in Raja moving to be with this family in Hyderabad. This action started the distance both physically and emotionally between Raja and his closest sister Bim.
The theme of women’s situation in India is also very prevalent in this novel as it is based upon the experiences of two sisters, Bimla and Tara. For example, Tara is portrayed as the traditional Indian woman who doesn’t go to college but gets married as a teen, being loyal to her husband and having children. On the other hand, Bimla was completely independent and went against the traditional way of life for an Indian woman. She went to college and pledged never to get married.

Significance of Mira-masi in Clear Light of Day

It can be said that Aunt Mira played a significant role in the lives of the children as she was like a mother figure to them. The children had not really experienced a maternal figure in their lives until Mira-masi came along. Upon her arrival Aunt Mira brought with her gifts for the children, this began a fruitful relationship between them, though, this also showed the children that they were the ones with the upper hand in the relationship. Aunt Mira would read to them, play with them and provide all the love and care that they did not receive from neither mother nor father. Aunt Mira took really good care of Baba. When the rest of the family had all but given up on him, convinced that he would never learn to do anything a normal boy could do, along came Aunt Mira. She taught him to do things for himself, though it was a slow process, while the children watched with amazement as these developments unfolded. Soon Baba could do most things a normal boy could do but he never learnt to talk. As the children grew, Aunt Mira became closest to Tara and Baba as they remained dependent upon her. Baba, as he was not fully developed and Tara, because Raja and Bimla were close and they often ridiculed her ideas about life and her aspirations, for these ridicules she would complain to Aunt Mira. The children provided Aunt Mira with the family she never had. They gave her the sense of responsibility that she would have felt, had she had her own family. She finally felt needed and appreciated, not like a slave or servant, as she was being treated in her former household. She was accepted for who she was by the children and not looked down upon because of her looks. I think the problem for Aunt Mira began with the death of her cousin, Mrs. Misra, which was shortly followed by the death of Mr. Misra. The drinking actually started when Mr. Misra died. Aunt Mira would sneak and drink small portions of the alcohol he had stashed in the cupboard in the room. From the time of the first death, things kept going downhill, Raja got sick with tuberculosis and then Tara wanting to go out with Bakul. I think it all took a toll on her and she probably felt like her world was crumbling and who used to depend on her no longer needed her or really paid her any mind. I think her main problem was neglect. Her drinking escalated when Tara, the person closest to her got married and just left and as in the analogy given in the book, as the children needed their milk, she got it for them and now it was her turn, she needed her substance. I guess drinking was her way of coping with her problems

1. The two nobles in the opening scene are the Earl of Gloucester and the Earl of Kent. They are talking about the fact that King Lear was about to divide his kingdom. This topic did not last long as Kent asked Gloucester about Edmund, if he was his son. Gloucester replies that he had to do with his conception but he is a bastard as his mother was not his wife and she had a husband. Thus Edmund was raised away, but was still loved regardless of the circumstances surrounding his conception.

2. I think Edmund must be feeling hurt and resentment at the way his father is practically mocking him. He probably feels at this moment that society has dealt him ill as he was considered a bastard and thus was seen as a ‘nobody’ in the sight of the world. Also, I think he must be jealous of Edgar as Gloucester refers to him as his son by order of law. Gloucester can acknowledge Edgar as his son at any point in time but it is not so in Edmund’s case.

3. Old King Lear was planning to divide his kingdom into thirds among his three daughters. The test he proposes to his daughters is for them to profess how much they loved him and be dealt their share of inheritance accordingly.

4. The first two daughters answers the old man with flattery, professing a false love. Goneril firstly stated, “A love that makes . . . speech unable . . . Beyond all manner of so much I love you” and Regan follows her sister’s lead by saying, “I am made of that self metal of my sister. . . Only she comes too short...”

5. Cordelia’s answer to the test proposed was “nothing”. She also says that she loves him according to her bond, as a daughter should love a father, returning the duties given her. She answers in this way because she is not insincere like her sisters. She was the only daughter who really loved their father and she did not want to answer in the ways her sisters did, flattering her father, so as to increase her inheritance which she knew she would have possibly gotten in greater abounds as she was the favourite of her father. Also she did not know how to flatter her father as her love was sincere. Her reference to “nothing” suggests her authentic love and Lear’s blindness to it, which triggers the tragic events that unfold in the rest of the play.

6. I don’t think Cordelia is being cruel in refusing to play her father’s game. I think that by playing her father’s game, she would have made herself no better than her sisters. Most likely she did not intend to hurt her father, as I believe she thought that he was aware of her true love for him and did not foresee the reaction she was going to be given by him. All this brought about by his insecurities in his old age and his desire to be flattered or praised.

7. Lear reacts to Cordelia’s response by asking the question, “So young and so untender?” He then disowns her as his daughter and revokes her inheritance, sharing up what would have been hers between her sisters. He also gives her up to be married without his blessings or love, demanding that she leaves and never comes back as he never wanted to see her face again. Lord Kent reacted to Lear’s response by telling him to be careful of what he was doing, as he was in an angry state. He told Lear not to let flattery get in the way. He tried to persuade him that Cordelia loved him most and that the other daughters were empty-hearted and hallow.

8. The references to sight and blindness may become important for the rest of the play as Lear, Albany and Gloucester were both blinded in the play. Lear and Gloucester were at first, figuratively blind. As a result of this figurative blindness, Gloucester is later physically blinded. This blindness on a whole contributes a great deal to the tragedy of the play and more significantly, the tragedy of King Lear. Hence, once of the main themes utilised by Shakespeare, blindness to the truth.

9. Burgandy was the first to ask for Cordelia’s hand in marriage. When he hears that Cordelia’s dower has been removed, he pleaded with the king to have it returned to her and that Cordelia would be Duchess of Burgandy but King Lear refused. As a result, Burgandy no longer wanted to marry Cordelia. This shows that Burgandy is a very shallow man and was only marrying Cordelia for the position, fame and wealth that would have come from the marriage. He didn’t really want Cordelia. France on the other hand, still asked for Cordelia’s hand in marriage, even after Burgandy refused her and it was made definite by her father that she would not be receiving any dower. He admired her honesty and sincerity and stated that she was herself a dowry. He made her his queen. This shows that France is an honest man with a level of integrity. He was not after possession or whatever else came with marrying Cordelia. She in herself was what he truly sought after.

10. When Cordelia says to her sisters, “I know you what you are,” she means that she knows they are insincere and they were scheming to get more power and more control of the kingdom. Near the end of the scene, the sisters say that their father is foolish for banishing the only daughter who truly loved him. They basically said that he was as if he was going senile and he let pride get the better of him and they guessed it came with his old age.

11. The two views of nature contrasted in the action and dialogue of this scene is the social hierarchy which leads to the plague of custom and unconstrained existence. As he is illegitimate, he is seen as unimportant in society via the manmade social systems but he plans to go against that in rebellion, stating that he is as smart as any legitimate child and considers himself as living in an unconstrained existence and he plans to get some status if not the legitimate way, then the trickery way.

12. The parallel seen between this scene and the first one is the second scene is a subplot to the plot of the first. This is so as in both scenes we see two fathers who blinded to the truth. Lear and Gloucester both have children who truly love and care about them and children who don’t really love them who are deceiving them to their get the power and possessions. They are both blind to this fact and in turn makes some mistakes which they will have to pay for further on the play.

13. A couple of months have passed and Goneril is upset at the fact that her father hit one of her servants for scolding his fool. She feels like he is constantly offending her as he is always coming up with some new offense. She also says that he’s wielding around power that he already gave away. As a result, she instructs her servant, Oswald, to move lethargically around him and to instruct the other servants to do the same. She also ordered that they mistreat his guards. Her intention was to strike up confrontations so she could tell him a piece of her mind and send him to be with her sister whom she knew felt the same way she felt about him and would stand her ground and thus resulting with them getting the rid of their father.

14. Kent wants to work for Lear as he loves his master despite the fact he was banished and wished to carry out his plan with disguise. He discerns in Lear’s countenance that Lear does not recognise him. This is ironic as this man has worked for him for years but he is so mentally blind he does not even recognise his faithful worker.

15. Kent reacts to Oswald’s actions to Lear by tripping him then later telling him to leave and that he would teach him respect and he also said that if he wanted to be tripped again to stick around.

16. What the Knight says about the Fool’s pining away “since my young lady’s going into France” is important because it reflects the feelings of the King himself as even the fool could see that it was not a smart action.

17. The function of the fool is to provide statements of a comedic nature. Three examples of such are:

1. If I gave them all my living, I’d keep my coxcombs myself.

There’s mine. Beg another of thy daughters.

2. Truth’s a dog that must to kennel. He must be whipped out,

when Lady Brach may stand by th' fire and stink.

3. Mark it, nuncle.

Have more than thou showest,

Speak less than thou knowest,

Lend less than thou owest,

Ride more than thou goest,

Learn more than thou trowest,

Set less than thou throwest,

Leave thy drink and thy whore

And keep in-a-door,

And thou shalt have more

Than two tens to a score.

18. Edmund tricks his brother into leaving by convincing him that someone told his father lies about him and that his father was very upset and that he should flee to safeguard himself.

19. Kent’s actions with Oswald characterize him as a “plain dealer” as he has all the behaviours of a commoner thus strengthening his disguise. As someone with his original stature would not engage in the common behaviour he had displayed, threatening and tripping Oswald.

20. Kent’s line, “nothing almost seems miracles/ but misery” may serve as a motto for the play as every blind action has a consequence in this play. It may seem all good at the moment but it later results in disaster, hence the misery.

21. Edgar’s disguising himself as a bedlam beggar is an example of social criticism in the play as it can be seen that beggars are of no significance in that social hierarchy, as he, a man of status, disguises himself as a beggar and is not even recognised for such long a period in time. Edgar’s statement, “Edgar I nothing am” is important to the meaning of the play as it shows how with one false judgement how lives can be changed drastically. Within moments one could move from a powerful to a powerless being without so much as a thought. Status can be snatched away.

22. Lear is angry that his servant Kent has been put in the stocks by Regan and Cornwall because to him, to disrespect a king’s messenger is as bad a sin as murder.

23. Regan’s first response when Lear complains of his treatment at the hands of her sister is telling him to calm down. She told him she hopes there is a misunderstanding and it was more likely that he didn’t know how to appreciate her than she failing to do her duties.