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Fervour for Femocracy Reflected in the Works of George Bernard Shaw: A Study of His Plays with Reference to the Synergising Feminist and Democratic Ideologies
Get PDFIt is the truth universally acknowledged that conventionality is not morality. All that is accepted may not be absolute every time but could just be a time bound adjustment to make the ‘system’ work in itself at a particular period. But as time changes, the laws, rules, or socio- economic codes which permeated one particular era, may stand obsolete for another phase of time; the blow to it always comes in the form of reaction expecting one to retrospect over the existing dichotomy as well as change in the system to meet the changing needs of time. Some may take a safer stance by operating within the system to make it work in itself as well as to keep themselves floating while some may abrogate the norms to change the foundations and re- construct the whole order to adapt to the new surroundings. George Bernard Shaw (26th July 1856-2nd November, 1950) belongs to the second band of reactionists, who will not mind bearing wrath of socio- Cultural temper to unveil hard core reality. A non- conformist ‘naughty nineties' writer of partly Victorian era and basically early twentieth century created a new vista through his ‘unpleasant’ plays by focusing the basis of society in his attempt “ to take literatures seriously,” the fact pinpointed by his later successor T. S. Eliot; as a committed dramatist, he ‘strip (ped) the ragged follies of the time. Naked, as at their birth and with a whip of steel, print (ed) wounding lashes in the iron ribs.’ If, for him, ‘every great truth commences with blasphemy,’ Shaw's blatant attack did not spare anything and anyone right from slum landlordism, quackery, false notions of Valour, prostitution, idealization of feminity and all. In his propagandist mission to expose all evils, His fervour for ‘femocracy’ is grabbing attention even in the twenty first century and makes him win unequivocally, the label of ‘ Male feminist’ along with being an ‘odd-man- out' to his own milieu. The term, a geological compounding of ‘ female’ and ‘ cracy' and so ‘women’s rule’s has been interchangeably used for women Empowerment and women’s era has been a buzzword in intellectual as well as ‘socialete' circle in today’s time. Shaw, in his fierce endeavour to withdraw women from the stock image of ‘angel in the house’, undoubtedly becomes the recipient of ‘femocrat' tag
Nature, Culture and Literature: An Ecocritical Contestation
Get PDFLiterary theory, in general, examines the relations between writers, texts and the world. In most literary theory, "the world" is synonymous with society-the social sphere. The two most influential schools of thought that brought about great remarkable changes in people’s perspectives and life in the twentieth century—Marxism and psychoanalysis have the common assumption that what we call ‘nature’ exists primarily as a sign within the cultural discourse. Apart from it, nature has no being and meaning, they claim (Coupe 2). This vision of nature as a cultural construct permeates various schools of thoughts like formalists, new historicist, and deconstruction - all of which repudiate the existence of nature outside the cultural discourse, and take is just as a sign. However, nature affects us in several different ways, and always remains influential in human life; it cannot, therefore, be dismissed merely as a linguistic construct, and from ecological point of view it will be a big mistake to take it just a sign within a signifying system or a mere concept within the cultural discourse
Varieties of Language and the Quest for Excellence in its Teaching and Learning
Get PDFHuman beings are different from animals in being able to organize the range of sounds produced by body mechanism into a highly efficient system of their identical language-based communication which has a network of varieties along with space, time, and social classes, deciding the identity, lexis and structural aspects of that variety of language known as a dialect. When one person uses one dialect in his own unique way, it is called his idiolect but different roles and situations decide the register and style of that dialect which is used as a standard dialect, no less than a language in itself. Every language has its own sounds, words, sentence patterns, and semantic meanings which need to be taught and learned. For this, three variables namely, the students, the methods/ approaches, and the teachers should be given due attention for further exploration in the field of academic study (teaching and learning) of the English language
Representation of Racism, Oppression and Marginalization of Black Women in Tony Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
Get PDFThe concept of racism is developed and constructed by our society which further creates disparities among people. This term is based on belief system and very much relevant in the modern contemporary society, therefore, internalize by great number of masses. Racism is a cooperative force of actions by large number of people that maintain and persist with each other, where some communities enjoy the benefits and other groups suffers difficulties. Thereby racism is responsible for prejudice and discrimination between people all around the world. This omnipresent and multi-faceted nature of racism is particularly poignant in Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye. The article critically analyzes the novel, and scrutinizes how Morrison defies Western standards of beauty which further reveals that the idea of beauty is socially constructed. Morrison identifies that large section of black women is severely marginalized and oppressed by men and by western culture. In exhibiting pride in being dark, this author does not just depict optimistic pictures of blackness but also she focus on the damage that the black women characters experiences through the development of femininity in a racialized world. This article try to investigate the issues associated with the subjugation of African American women and non American African women, the class differences, the idea of beauty and materialism linked with the growing class versatility, patriarchal society, the ill-treatment of women and the notion of beauty as a way to have a "superior life". The article shows how the prejudice that exists within the African American people can be viewed as an impact of the discrimination and bigotry that its people have been subjected by the Whites. The Bluest Eye is a remarkable articulation of Toni Morrison's ethnic social women's liberation, a critic of black poverty, vulnerability and loss of optimistic self-image signified by Pecola who believe that blackness has condemned her to cruelty and ignorance. The idea of race and the idiocy of fair skin are depicted through the incidents and stories told by the characters, particularly the three young women Claudia, Pecola and Frieda in the novel. Thus, Morrison proves us the damaging impact of pre-conceived notion of white beauty on individual and on society through the struggle of those people who have suffered. It also scrutinizes the marginalization and oppression of black women by not only whites but also by their native people
Crime, Vulnerability, and Compassion in Kishwar Desai’s Witness the Night
Get PDFWomen in India today don’t feel protected or safe either within the four walls of family or in public spaces. Women have served in various senior positions but this progress doesn’t reach the common society. Many women in India still exposed to such difficulties within their families and in society. Violence against women, especially the number of rapes is increasing in India. Despite all the efforts taken for the progress of our nation, women still suffer from such social exploitation. The reason surprisingly lies in the unit of an Indian family. In Indian society, families are the centre of everything. The efforts should be started from there for the real progress of Indian women. Education, jobs and such exposure bring women to the forefront. Such efforts will give them the courage to stand up for themselves and others who are in crisis. This paper discusses crime against women, vulnerability of women and the necessity of compassion towards women discussed by Desai in her novel, Witness the night
Exploring Some Facets of Rasa Theory
Get PDFThe present paper is an exercise in humility to explore some of the facets of Rasa theory. Rasa as the name suggests means milk, wine or gist of a thing. The ancient theorists regard Rasa as the soul of poetry. Creation has evolved from the heterogeneity of Sattva, Raja and Tama. Pleasure is the most sought after thing starting from an insect to Brahma. This aesthetic pleasure or constant consciousness in Supreme Happiness is technically or poetically designated by the name of Rasa. The earliest treatise in which the Rasa theory finds an expression is the Natyashastra of Bharat who in turn claimed to have seen its first expression in Atharvveda. Rasa according to Bharat is a thought feeling synthesis. Rasa like the recipe of a drink is made up of many bhavas (feelings). As we delve deeper into the paper the explanation of Bharat about the origin of Rasa is given. Finally deities of this Rasas are shown in a tabular form
Dalit and African Literature as the Discourse of Resistance: A Comparative Study
Get PDFThe research article is to give literary representation to Dalits and Africans against the politics of caste and race. Dalits, we all know, suffered suppression, humiliation and oppression in the past and present in the name of Varna system while Africans have been forced to serve their masters under the colonial system. It is an attempt to focus on a comparative study between these two groups in the context of oppressions and marginalities at socio-economic, religious and political level, while asserting their identity and solidarity demanding egalitarian and just society. The paper will include selective writers: Sharan Kumar Limbale, Baby Kamble, Omprakash Valmiki, Mulk Raj Anand, Arundhati Roy, Ngugi wa Thiong ’o, Chinua Achebe, Meja Mwangi as their genres of discourse of resistance are psychologically and sanguinely committed to the deep-rooted dignity, all-round emancipation and liberation of Dalits and Africans
An Empirical Study on Consumer Behavior of Life Insurance Purchasing Decision
Get PDFThe Indian economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with GDP per capita growing at a rate of 7.1% per annum1. The country is also experiencing a demographic shift towards a younger population with about 35% of the population being between 15 and 34 years of age2 in 2017. In the next few decades, unprecedented numbers of young people are expected to enter the workforce, earn and save part of their earnings. India’s household financial savings were estimated to be about 8.1% of the Gross National Disposable Income (GNDI), or about $26 trillion in the financial year 2016-17. About a fourth of these savings are invested in insurance3. Thus, the insurance sector is large and will grow further in the coming years. Understanding consumer behavior and what influences purchase decisions is important for different players in this industry including regulators and insurance companies. Despite recent growth, the life insurance market in India has low penetration rates compared to many other countries. Financial inclusion is one of the primary concerns of policy makers across the world. Now the author has described several aspects about consumer behavior about Life Insurance at the event on purchasing
Predicament of a Woman in Manju Kapur’s Home
Get PDFManju Kapur is an Indian novelist. She was born on 25th October 1948. She is an archetypal representative of the postcolonial women novelists. She was a professor of English Literature at her alma mater at Miranda House College, Delhi. But she is retired from there. She joined the growing number of Indian women novelists, who have contributed to the progression of Indian fiction i.e. Shashi Deshpande, Arundhati Roy, Kamla Das, Geetha Hariharan, Anita Nair, Shobha De. Her novels reflect the position of women in the patriarchal society and the problems of women for their longing struggle in establishing their identity as an autonomous being. Her works not only gives voice to the society’s effort to improve its women population but it is for every woman’s self–consciousness in order to improve the society. She has written five novels, Difficult Daughters (1998), A Married Woman (2002), Home (2006), The Immigrant (2008), and Custody (2011). Kapur’s most memorable female characters are Virmati, Astha, Nisha, Nina, Shagun and so many others. All of them strive to assert themselves. These characters give us a rare glimpse of modernized Indian women who are in their aggression may enter into a scandalous relationship with her married neighbor, the professor or develop lesbian relationship as Virmati does in Difficult Daughters and Astha in A Married Woman. But Nisha in Home is different from her predecessors
The Poetry of A. K. Ramanujan: In Search of Self
Get PDFSelf at the centre of all kinds of search manifests itself in Ramanujan’s art from the very beginning of his creative life and the artist has all through assumed an elusive character till his vision clears; well, but his vision is gained through experience. His vision of the self permeates most of his elusive poems, the poems which have so far been faulted on one count or another. First, perhaps is “The Stridess” which is not by chance, the first poem of Ramanujan’s first volume of poems, and this volume The Striders is also entitled after this poem. Ramanujan concern with the self and hence his idea of the individuality of beings is very much there but misted with an uncanny subject like waterbug and mare, gone veiled under an objectivist style of the moderns