VBTS

The Village by the Sea

Author - Anita Desai

Anita Desai’s Village by the Sea is set in a small village called Thul, which is 14 kilometres from Bombay. Lila, the eldest child among four siblings, is but thirteen years of age, yet she already has the outlook and maturity of an adult. Her brother Hari, twelve is the only person with whom she can share her troubles . Their mother is an invalid and needs constant care and nursing. Nobody knows what exactly is wrong with her but she grows weaker and weaker with every passing day. Their father, who has been out of work for months, is in a permanent drunken stupor, from which he arises occasionally to shout at his family. What with two younger sisters to take care of as well as their mother, life for Lila and Hari is not easy. Their father is most useful when he is away at the local toddy shop, getting drunk. There is a constant need for money as the family is almost always in debt. Then one day, Hari decides he’s had just about enough and leaves for Bombay – the Bombay where dreams come true and ambitions grow into reality. Lila is left alone, to manage her sisters Bela and Kamal and her mother and somehow keep the family strings together. Help comes from an unexpected source, the rich DeSilva’s. Meanwhile, Hari is new in the great city of Bombay, and all alone. A kind restaurant proprietor, Jagu, takes pity on him and welcomes him to work in his restaurant. There, Hari builds a strong friendship with Mr. Panwallah, the lovable watch repairer whose shop is just beside Jagu’s. Set against the backdrop of a typical Indian fishing village, The Village by the Sea will leave a lasting impression on the mind of the reader. Anita Desai’s vivid imagery and appropriate settings and a good plot make this, a book well worth reading. Anita Desai was born in 1937 in Mussoorie to a German mother and Bengali father. She spent much of her time in Delhi. Desai is among the well known Indian writers in English and is at present in the United States, where she is the John E. Burchard Professor of Writing at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her other novels include Fire on the Mountain (1977), which won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, and Clear Light of Day (1980), In Custody (1984) and Fasting, Feasting (1999), each of which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In Custody was made into a film by Merchant Ivory productions. Her children's book The Village by the Sea (1982), won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award.

The Mahogany Table

 Author’s background

•       Born in 1893

•       An only child of Harrow School housemaster George Townsend Warner (remembered as a brilliant teacher) and his wife, Nora.

•       Sylvia Townsend Warner contributed short stories to the New Yorker for more than forty years.

•       At Theodore Powys's house, Sylvia first met the poet Valentine Ackland. When in 1930 she bought "the late Miss Green's cottage" opposite the village inn, she invited Valentine to live there. So began a love affair which lasted until Valentine's death from breast cancer in 1969. 

•       She died 9 years after Valentine’s death.

PLOT (exposition)

•       Mrs. Carrington is introduced, leaving Letitia Foley’s house.

•       She praised Letitia for being aeffecient and marvelous.

•       Letitia was humble.

•       Despite all the description of her tasky daily routine.

Rising action

•       Letitia was old and living alone in a large house.

•       The mahogany table she inherits from her late-great-grandmother reminded her the memories she had with her sister, Cecily.

•       Cecily and Letitia is twin.

•       Before, both ladies lived a slatternly life together

Conflict

•       1918, Cecily introduce Dexter, a limping missionary American.

•       She planned to marry Dexter.

•       Letitia asked Cecily whether she will be taking the mahogany table.

•       After Dexter’s departure, Letitia and Cecily fought.

•       Cecily left the house without reconciling with Letitia

Climax

•       Letitia was left alone since then, organised her own life.

•       Continuous post letters to Cecily despite Cecily intermittent reply.

•       One day, Letitia received news, Cecily died in a car accident.

•       Characters:

        Lettitia Folley- Discipline, Meticulous, Organise , Neat-freak, Adhere, Loner

        Cecily Folley-Controlling, Exuberant, Care-free, wishful, Imaginative

        Mrs Carrington-Caring*, Gossiper, Socially-active, Important/well-known

Point of view

•       The third point of view.

–      An outlook from the narrator.

–      Clear descriptive of the situation and events, narrate by the narrator, allow readers to imagine the story and plot clearly.

–      Reader can input their personal perception into analysing the characters.

Theme

•       A harmonious relationship with family members will secure a happy home.

Ups and downs in relationship among siblings

The summary of Jungle of hope

Summary: Jungle of Hope

This story is about a group of traditional farmer in Ketari and Benus who are solely dependent on traditional farming. They are forced to move to the jungle of Janda Baik by a potent combination of natural disasters - a severe drought followed by a particularly serious flood. At the same time, outsiders are buying up the lands in the village to plant rubber trees and to open a mining land as a result of the post WWI colonial policy which encouraging rubber planting and tin mining on large scale.The villagers have to make decision concerning their lands and their livelihood. Pak Kia and his family decided to take up the challenges to open a new piece of land in Janda Baik while Zaidi sees an opportunity to acquire wealth by planting rubber and move away from that traditional farming. Pak Kia quit Karim's study and bring him to the jungle so that he can be a young pioneer by culminating skills in him. In Janda Baik Pak Kia and family suffer hardships and circumstances. Their new planted paddy was attacked by elephants, Pak Kia's younger daughter suffered from sickness and died and Pak Kia himself was attacked by the wild boar. Karim helped to do his father's job while he is still unable to do heavy jobs. The price of the rubber fluctuated and influences Zaidi's shop. The number of his customers slowly decreases and it is due to the economic depression as well. Yet he took initiative to supply rattans and so forth to Tuan Pekok even though the price is pretty cheap. Zaidi did help the Janda Baik's villagers to sell their vegetations to Kuala Lumpur with the help of Karim and Salim.Meanwhile Pendekar Atan who always use deceitful way to gain something that he wants finally locked up in jail. Perhaps it is a punishment for a "finagler" just like him. In the end, everything that started something like defeat and escape has turned into physical and spiritual triumph especially for Pak Kia's family.

*adapted from Kent Teslian's presentation and the novel Jungle of Hope itself. Thanks

Tales Of The Unexpected S01 E09: The Way Up To Heaven Pt 2

Tales Of The Unexpected S01 E09: The Way Up To Heaven Pt 1

Week 3
16/1-20/1

American Writers
Three hours between planes Hills like White Elephant The Tell Tale Heart
1-Chelsea & Lisa
2-Haiqal & Mai
3-Luqman & Hakim
Week 4
30/1-3/2



British writers
A little place off the Edgeware Road The Mahogany Table The House that was Never Built (Australian writer)

1-Aiman & Muiz

2-Karen & Maimunah
3-Amin & Alex

5
6/2-10/2
African writers
Civil Peace Africa Emergent A Dream of China (Asian) 4. Games at twilight (Asian)

1-Wani & Fara
2-Haziq
3-Akmal & Syahirah

4-Juliati & Dulcy

6
13/2-17/2
Malaysian writer
Shame Mariah Sarah and the wedding Aquestion of dowry
1-Shahrole & Ehsan
2-Che Rasyidah & Izzati
3-Lily & Naim
4-Mira & Lorretta

*Please be prepared*thanks*

English Literature Rap