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St. Joseph’s College of Commerce (Autonomous)
End Semester Examination – March / April 2016
B.COM (T.T.) – II SEMESTER
C2 15 2AE: ADDITIONAL ENGLISH
Duration: 3 Hours Max. Marks: 100
Section -A
- I) Answer the following questions in about 200 words. (6×10 =60)
- Compare and contrast the village setting of Kirumallige in the story Classmate and of the village surroundings in Card Sharper’s daughter. Use specific examples that the authors of the two texts have used to describe the village and its people.
- Examine the role of Dyamappa in Classmate and Petrovitch in The Overcoat. Do you find any parallels in their role and performance that offers the stories its uniqueness?
- What is the argument presented in the prose poem Let’s Beat up the Poor. Do you agree with the writer’s approach to treat the poor? If no, what can be an alternative to it?
- India is a Strange Country and Telephone Conversation present two alternative ways of tackling racism and discrimination. According to you which text has a more powerful appeal and why?
- Amongst the three vachanas taught in the class, which one is more relevant to end racism and casteism in society? Also explain your reasons for it.
- Compare the circumstances that led to the death of Basvegowda in Classmate and death of Akakiy in the Overcoat. What is the metaphorical significance of death in the two- story?
Section – B
- Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions in about Two paragraphs each. (4X10 =40)
The works of Satyajit Ray ( 1921-9 2) present a perceptive understanding of the relation between different cultures, and his ideas remain pertinent to the major cultural debates in the contemporary world – not least in India. In Ray’s films and in his writings, we see explorations of at least three general themes on cultures and their interrelations: the importance of distinctions between different local cultures and their respective individualities, the necessity to understand the deeply heterogeneous character of each local culture (even that of a community, not to mention a region or a country), and the great need for inter-cultural communication while recognizing the difficulties of such intercourse. A deep respect for distinctiveness is combined in Ray’s vision with an appreciation of the importance of inter-cultural communication and also the recognition of much internal diversity within each culture. In emphasizing the need to respect the individuality of each culture, Ray saw no reason for closing the doors to the outside world. Indeed, opening doors of communication was an important priority in Ray’s work. In this respect his attitude contrasts sharply with the increasing tendency to see Indian culture (or cultures) in highly conservative terms – wanting it to be preserved from the ‘pollution’ of Western ideas and thought. Ray was always willing to enjoy and learn from ideas, art forms and lifestyles from anywhere – within India or abroad.
Ray appreciated the importance of heterogeneity within local communities. This insight contrasts sharply with the tendency of many communitarians – religious and otherwise – who are willing to break up the nation into some communities and then stop dead exactly there: ‘thus far and no further’. The great film-maker’s eagerness to seek the larger unit (ultimately, his ability to talk to the whole world) combined well with his enthusiasm for understanding the smallest of the small: the individuality of each person. Distinctions and Communications There can be little doubt about the importance that Ray attached to the distinctiveness of different cultures. He also discussed the problems that these divisions create in the possibility of communication across cultural boundaries. In his book Our Films Their Films, he noted the important fact that films acquire ‘colour from all manner of indigenous factors such as habits of speech and behaviour, deepseated social practices, past traditions, present influences and so on’. He went on to ask: ‘How much of this can a foreigner – with no more than a cursory knowledge of the factors involved – feel and respond to?’ He observed that ‘there are certain basic similarities in human behaviour all over the world’ (such as ‘expressions of joy and sorrow, love and hate, anger, surprise and fear’), but ‘even they can exhibit minute local variations which can only puzzle and perturb – and consequently warp the judgment of – the uninitiated foreigner’. The presence of such cultural divides raises many interesting problems. The possibility of communication is only one of them. There is the more basic issue of the individuality of each culture, and questions about whether and how this individuality can be respected and valued even though the world grows steadily smaller and more uniform. We live at a time when ideas and practices spread across boundaries of countries and regions with great rapidity, and the possibility that something extremely important is being lost in this process of integration has aroused understandable concern. And yet cultural interactions, even in a world of deep inequalities, can also create space for creative innovations, which combine construction with vulnerability. The individuality of cultures is a big subject nowadays, and the tendency towards homogenization of cultures, particularly in some uniform Western mode, or in the deceptive form of ‘modernity’, has been strongly challenged. Questions of this kind have been taken up in different forms in recent cultural studies, especially in high-profile intellectual circles influential in the West (from Paris to San Francisco). While these questions are being asked with increasing frequency in contemporary India as well, there is perhaps some irony in the fact that so much of the Third World critique of ‘Western modernity’ has been inspired and influenced by Western writings.
Indeed, I find no evidence in Satyajit Ray’s work and writings that the fear of being too influenced by outsiders disturbed his equilibrium as an ‘Indian’ artist. He wanted to take full note of the importance of one’s cultural background without denying what there is to learn from elsewhere. There is, I think, much wisdom in what we can call his ‘critical openness’, including the valuing of a dynamic, adaptable world, rather than one that is constantly ‘policing’ external influences and fearing ‘invasion’ of ideas from elsewhere. The difficulties of understanding each other across the boundaries of culture are undoubtedly great. This applies to the cinema, but also to other art forms as well, including literature. For example, the inability of most foreigners – sometimes even other Indians – to see the astonishing beauty of Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry (a failure that we Bengalis find so exasperating) is a good illustration of just such a problem. Indeed, the thought that these non-appreciating foreigners are being wilfully contrary and stubborn (rather than merely unable to appreciate across the barrier of languages and translations) is a frequently aired suspicion. The problem is perhaps less extreme in films, in so far as the cinema is less dependent on language, since people can be informed even by gestures and actions. But our day-to-day experiences generate certain patterns of reaction and non-reaction that can be mystifying for foreign viewers who have not had those experiences. The gestures and non-gestures – that are quite standard within the country (and understandable as ‘perfectly ordinary’) may appear altogether remarkable when seen by others.
Questions:
- What are the various themes explored in the films of Satyajit Ray? According to you which themes are least presented in the contemporary Indian cinema? You can use your own experiences of watching films in answering the questions.
- Explain the term ‘inter- cultural communication’. Do you think such forms of intercultural dialogue can be a threat to the culture and traditions of the local Indian communities?
- What are the fears and apprehension expressed by Amartya Sen in being limited to one’s cultural background? In what ways can various art forms create a larger space for homogenization of subjects?
- This semester you have read pieces from Indian Literature in English, Indian Literature in Translation and World Literature in Translation. In context of the above passage and your semester readings write about your experiences of reading translated works.
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