Divya's Personal Blog

Alice is sitting with her sister outdoors when she spies a White Rabbit with a pocket watch. Fascinated by the sight, she follows the rabbit down the hole. She falls for a long time, and finds herself in a long hallway full of doors. There is also a key on the table, which unlocks a tiny door; through this door, she spies a beautiful garden. She longs to get there, but the door is too small. Soon, she finds a drink with a note that asks her to drink it. There is later a cake with a note that tells her to eat; Alice uses both, but she cannot seem to get a handle on things, and is always either too large to get through the door or too small to reach the key. While she is tiny, she slips and falls into a pool of water. She realizes that this little sea is made of tears she cried while a giant. She swims to shore with a number of animals, most notably a sensitive mouse, but manages to offend everyone by talking about her cat's ability to catch birds and mice. Left alone, she go...

The story begins in a meadow of 19th century England, where the young horse, Black Beauty, has just been born. There, his mother nurtures him, raises him and gives him advice which he remembers and acts on for the rest of his life: do good and give your best effort always and everything will work out. The story of his life is this advice in living form. As his youngest days pass in that meadow, he witnesses the death of his own brother and a rider in a hunting accident. Soon after, he must undergo the breaking-in process where his trainer gently teaches him to bear a rider, wear a saddle and bridle and respond to the rider’s driving signals. After this coming-of-age training, he is ready to leave the meadow of his youth. He is sold to Squire Gordon, a man who takes a liking to this strong, young, beautifully dark coated horse. Squire Gordon’s residence, Birtwick Park, thus becomes Beauty’s new home. There he meets those who will become among his dearest friends: Ginger, Merrylegs...

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in the small town of Tuscumbia, Alabama. When she was a year old, she was stricken with an illness that left her without sight or hearing. In the early years after her illness, it was difficult for her to communicate, even with her family; she lived her life entirely in the dark, often angry and frustrated with the fact that no one could understand her. Everything changed in March of 1887, when Helen's teacher, Anne Sullivan , came to live with the family in Alabama and turned Helen's world around. Miss Sullivan taught Helen the names of objects by giving them to her and then spelling out the letters of their name in her hand. Helen learned to spell these words through imitation, without understanding what she was doing, but eventually had a breakthrough and realized that everything had a name, and that Miss Sullivan was teaching them to her. From this point on, Helen acquired language rapidly; she particularly enjoyed learning out...

In  The Canterville Ghost , Virginia befriends the ghost haunting Centerville Chase. She chastises him for rattling his chains like a stereotypical ghost. She helps him cross over into the afterlife, but never describes what she saw there. Horace B. Otis and his family move into Canterville Chase despite the warnings of Lord Canterville himself. The house is haunted by the ghost of Sir Simon , who killed his wife there in 1575 .  Otis's housekeeper claims that the blood stain in the living room dates back to the day of the murder. Otis scoffs at this and cleans it up, but the blood stain reappears the morning after. Later, it's revealed that the ghost used Virginia Otis's paints to recreate the stain.  Virginia chastises Sir Simon for stealing the paints, but after talking to him agrees to help him leave the house and travel to another dimension. Virginia returns from their journey unharmed. “The Canterville Ghost” begins with the sale of an old British mansio...

Julius Caesar opens with a scene of class conflict, the plebeians versus the tribunes . The plebeians are celebrating Caesar's victory over the sons of Pompey, one of the former leaders of Rome. The tribunes verbally attack the masses for their fickleness in celebrating the defeat of a man who was once their leader. Caesar enters Rome accompanied by his supporters and a throng of citizens. It is the feast of Lupercalia, February 15 , a day when two men run through the street and strike those they meet with goatskin thongs. Caesar orders Mark Antony to strike his wife Calpurnia in order to cure her barrenness. A soothsayer calls out to Caesar as he passes and warns him against the ides of March, March 15. Caesar ignores the man and dismisses him as a dreamer. Upon seeing Cassius, Caesar informs Antony that he would rather be surrounded by men who are fat and happy than thin men like Cassius. He is worried that Cassius is dangerous because he "thinks too much"....

Novel begins and we find that The Umuofia Progressive Union (U.P.U) has given Obi Okonkwo a scholarship to study law in England, a scholarship that Obi has to pay back upon his return. And, thus, he leaves for England, stopping in Lagos on the way out. While in England, several things happen to him. First, he changes his course of study to English and abandons law. Secondly, he finds himself nostalgic for home,  writing poems about Nigeria. Finally, he meets a girl named Clara at a dance in London, the girl is Nigerian, and they begin a relationship after 4 years. Obi stay in Lagos with his friend Joseph, trying to find a job and a place of his own. He also visits his own home village of Umuofia. Obi is quickly given a post on the Scholarship Board of the Civil Service and is also introduced to the world of bribery, which is a world he rejects. A man offers Obi money for his little sister's scholarship. Obi rejects the offer, only later to be met at home by the little sister ...

As the novel opens, Huck is not thrilled with his new life of cleanliness, manners, church, and school. However, he keeps it out at the request of Tom Sawyer, who tells him that in order to take part in Tom’s new “robbers’ gang,” Huck must stay “respectable.” All is well and good until Huck’s drunken father, Pap, appears in town and demands Huck’s money. The local judge, Judge Thatcher, and the Widow try to get legal custody of Huck, but another new judge in town believes in the rights of Huck’s natural father and even takes the old drunk into his own home in an attempt to reform him. This effort fails and Pap soon returns to his old ways. He hangs around town for several months, harassing his son, who in the meantime has learned to read and to tolerate the Widow’s attempts to improve him. Finally when the Widow Douglas warns him to stay away from her house, Pap kidnaps Huck and holds him in a cabin across the river from St. Petersburg. Whenever Pap goes out, he locks Huck in the...

History of English literature is divided into following period 1.Old or Anglo Saxon literature 2.Middle English literature 3.Elizabethan literature 4.The age of Milton 5.Restoration drama 6.Neoclassicism 7.Romanticism 8.The Victorian period 9.The twentieth century (modern) 10.Post modernism (present) 1. Old English literature: was written from about 600-1100, The greatest old English poem called 'Beowulf ' whose author is unknown. The old English authors, are known by name are Cadmon,the author of a short hymn,and Cynewulf' the author of four long poems 2.Middle English literature: (1100-1500) Poetry: the most important poet of the time is Geoffrey Chaucer, his greatest work is Canterbury tales. Drama: The three main types of medieval drama are mystery plays,about Bible stories,miracle plays about the lives of saints and the miracles the performed and morality plays,in which character s personify moral qualities such as charity or vice. 3.Elizabethan lit...

As the novel opens, Huck is not thrilled with his new life of cleanliness, manners, church, and school. However, he keeps it out at the request of Tom Sawyer, who tells him that in order to take part in Tom’s new “robbers’ gang,” Huck must stay “respectable.” All is well and good until Huck’s drunken father, Pap, appears in town and demands Huck’s money. The local judge, Judge Thatcher, and the Widow try to get legal custody of Huck, but another new judge in town believes in the rights of Huck’s natural father and even takes the old drunk into his own home in an attempt to reform him. This effort fails and Pap soon returns to his old ways. He hangs around town for several months, harassing his son, who in the meantime has learned to read and to tolerate the Widow’s attempts to improve him. Finally when the Widow Douglas warns him to stay away from her house, Pap kidnaps Huck and holds him in a cabin across the river from St. Petersburg. Whenever Pap goes out, he locks Huck in the...

Novel begins and we find that Scout Finch lives with her brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus , in the sleepy Alabama town of Maycomb . Maycomb is suffering through the Great Depression, but Atticus is a famous lawyer and the Finch family is well off in comparison to the rest of society. One summer, Jem and Scout become friend with a boy named Dill, who has come to live in their neighborhood for the summer, and the trio acts out stories together. Eventually, Dill becomes interested with the strange house on their street called the Radley Place. The house is owned by Mr. Nathan Radley, whose brother, Arthur (nicknamed Boo), has lived there for years without coming outside. Scout goes to school for the first time and dislikes it. She and Jem find gifts apparently left for them in a hole of a tree on the Radley property. Dill returns the following summer, and he, Scout, and Jem begin to act out the story of Boo Radley. Atticus puts them away, urging the children to try...

"Dover Beach" is a lyric poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold. It may have been composed in 1851. It is regarded as the most famous poem written by Matthew Arnold. The poet is in an extreme sorrow. He says that sea of faith was roaring once. It was full of storms. Rushing towards the shore but now the faith has gone and like the faith the waves are also retreating. The sorrow is quite evident in this poem. Full Text of the Poem: The sea is calm tonight.  The tide is full, the moon lies fair  Upon the straits; on the French coast the light  Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,  Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.  Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!  Only, from the long line of spray  Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,  Listen! you hear the grating roar  Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,  At their return, up the high strand,  Begin, and c...