CHAPTER 1: THE BEST INVESTMENT I EVER MADE (ANECDOTE)
1. Summary:
The narrator was on his voyage out from New York. On the second day of journey, he noticed that a couple – Mr. and Mrs. John – was watching him closely. At first he ignored them. But on the final day, they introduced themselves.
They were on a tour to New England states. There, they wanted to inspect the summer recreational camps for the young people. They wanted to study the cases of backward, maladjusted and delinquent youth. The narrator was impressed by their action. But he couldn’t realise Mr. John though they knew each other years ago. Mr. John murmured a few words in narrator’s year and thus the narrator recollected that event.
Years ago the narrator was a doctor who practiced in a working class district of London. One night at 1’o’ clock, he heard a knock on the door. It was a sergeant of police to call him for a suicide case. They arrived at the spot with the land lady. There lay the body of a young man.
After a hard labour they saved the life that young man. He was an orphan who was working as a clerk in a London Solicitor’s office. He had no real friends and he began to bet on horses. He lost all his own savings as well as the money from his office. Feared of the punishment, he shut himself in his room and turned on the gas. Finally, the sergeant agreed to save him from the court proceedings. The landlady offered a month free board. The narrator gave seven pounds and ten shillings to save him from debt.
Now, the narrator is happy to see the young man as Mr. John That ten pounds and seven shillings proved to be the best investment he had made in his life.
2. Diary:
Imagine that Mr. John, after meeting the narrator for the second time writes his diary entry. What would be the possible diary entry? Write it down.
Monday 27, January
What a wonderful day…! Finally I met my savior. I have been searching him for many years. But I could not find him. But today I am very much happy to see him. I don’t remember the name of my mother because I am an orphan. But will not forget this man who has changed my life. If this doctor did not come I would die soon. He saved me from death. He also paid my debt. With that generosity, I began a new life. Thus I am here. Now I am doing many charity works with my wife. He is the reason for that. Today I met him again after many years. Now I am the happiest man in the world. It’s certainly an unforgettable day for me.
CHAPTER 2: THE BALLAD OF FATHER GILLIAN (POEM)
Appreciation:
The poem The Ballad of Father Gilligan was written by the noted Irish poet W.B. Yeats. This poem narrates the story of a Parish priest and his parishioners. The priest used to give the last communion and funeral service to his parishioners. The theme is mercy and pity of God. The priest Peter Gilligan was tired of his many last communions and funeral services.
During the epidemics many people died in his parish. When one man came to call him for another last communion, the priest complained at first but apologized soon. While he was praying, the wearied priest fell asleep. The next morning at dawn he woke up and realized his mistake. As he failed to perform his duty, he carelessly rode his horse to the house of sick man. But the sick man had already died happily. His wife asked, “Father! you come again!”. The priest knelt and prayed. He understood that God had sent an angel for the last communion of that dying man. Thus God saved both the priest and the sick man from damnation.
The poem is beautiful one. The poet has used simple language and it has a rhythm. The second and fourth lines of each stanza have rhyming words such as ‘day-lay, eve-grieve, die-I’. Poet has used both visual and auditory images. Green sodes and shining stars are examples for visual images and sparrow chirp is of auditory image. ‘As merry as a bird’ is the best example for the use of simile.
CHAPTER 3: THE DANGER OF A SINGLE STORY (SPEECH)
1. Summary:
The speaker Chimamanda Adichie begins her speech by telling about her childhood. She began reading British and American children books at the age of two. Later, when she began to write stories they were like the stories she was reading. All her characters were white and blue eyed. They played in the snow and ate apples. Adichie had never gone outside of her Nigeria. She wrote in her stories what she had read from books.
Later when she began to read books of African authors like Chinua Achebe and Camara Laye. She found characters like her in those stories. Thus she started writing about kinky hair and skin of chocolate colour. Thus African writers saved Adichie from having a single story of whatbooks are.
If we hear the stories only about a part of the world, we will have a tendency to see that part of the world as the stories describe those places. Thus Adichie gives a description of experience about a single story in her life.
When Adichie reached in a university in USA her American roommate was shocked by her. That girl had a belief from stories that Africa was still a dark place with tribal music only. She was also amazed to hear from Adichie that Nigeria’s official language was English. Her American roommate had felt sorry for Adichie even before she saw her. This was because the American roommate must have heard different versions of a single story.
Adichie gives one more example of the danger of believing in a single story. A professor once told her that her novel was not authentically African. By the term authentically African the professor meant starving characters in African literature. The professor was amazed to see educated middle class characters who could drive cars in Adichie’s novel.
