ElectiveCoursein English (BEGE - 105) {INDERSTANDING PROSE Assignment June 2009-July 2010 Maximum Marks: 100 Programme: BDP Answer All Ouestions l. Comment on the dominant varietyof prose (narrative, expository or descriptive) present in each of the following passages. Write a brief critical appreciation of each passage in about 250words each: We took him homethat night. We got him to go by telling him that his fatherhad bought a silver rifle and special Indian clothes for him, and we were goingto hunt bears the next day. It was just twelve o clock whenwe knocked at Ebenezer's front door. Just at the moment I should havebeen takingthe fifteenhundred dollars from the box underthe tree, according to the original plan, Bill was countingout two hundred andfifty dollars into Dorset's hand.'Whenthe kid foundout we weregoing to leave him at home he started a scream like a terrible wind and clungto Bill's leg. His father dragged him off gradually, like a plaster. Aroundme on the grass are lumps of dry yak dung andclusters of yellow flowers. In the lateafternoon hail falls out of a sunny sky. We arenow near Naqu,andthe view is another one of those red and green contrasts that are so brilliant as to seem unnatural.Rainwater gathers in red puddles, the red drainage gulliesparallel to the roadarefull; the roaditself,a stripof red, lies on abaize of completely flat greenery. On the horizonstands a complex yet symmetrical peak, covered with snow. A few horses are beingdriventowards Naqu, probably for the annual fair and horse-races heldthere at this time of the year. William Golding, the BritishNobel winner,is reported to have stated that it was time thatAsianwriters weregiven their share of recognition by theNobelCommittee, asif one were talking of an equitable distributionof cabbage soup in a relief camp. Geographical, topographical, hemispherical or ethnicconsiderations are irrelevant in literature. Onecannot, for instance, compel a selection committee to turn its attention to Antarctica since the claims of that part of the world have been overlooked. On the other hand it must also be said that if the soil (or ratherthe snow) of Antarctica produces a literary masterpiece, it is bound to emerge like a shining star in the firmament evenif the Nobel, Committee remains ignorant of its existence. A classic does not have to wait for the Nobel stamp of approval. (10x3:30) 2. The story "The Other Woman" is marked by humour and irony. Discuss,giving examples from the text. (10) a) b) c) 3. Discuss the theme of human relationships as it is seen in the novelThe Binding Vine. (10)