The Man in Black

The Man in Black

The Man in Black essay written by Oliver Goldsmith attacks the socio-political situations of England through this satirical piece. The essay commences by Oliver stating that if he admired someone it was the man in black. He states the reason why he admired him. The characteristics of the Man in Black are shown as genial, kind and sympathetic. On the contrary, he had the characteristics as stern, curt, unkind and rude. During that time it states that man was prevailed to be stern, chauvinistic, macho or masculine. In the family, the patriarchy was politically and socially acceptable and was encouraged. The man was considered to be dignified and prestigious and society encouraged them to be dominant. Therefore, through this essay Oliver discourage the thought of "Being what you are not."

The man is a charitable man. He cares about others, gives to others, and shares with others, but he pretends to not care about the well-being of others. He is “ashamed of his natural benevolence.” While he pretends to have a disliking for mankind, he’s not very good at pretending to be. The author reveals that his poker face is not up to par. “… While his looks were softened into pity, I have heard him use the language of the most unbounded ill-nature.”

The “Man in Black” is so concerned with the place of the poor, that he complains to the author of how ignorant the countrymen, or wealthy, are to the state of living of the poorer people. He says that the poor only want a few things – food, housing, clothes, and warmth but cannot obtain those things due to the negligence of the fortunate.

The man in black gives a beggar a piece of silver, but when doing so, he appeared “ashamed” to present his weakness to the author; the man has too much pride to show his soft spot for the less fortunate.

When a man with a wooden leg passed the author and the man in black, the author ignored him. The man in black showed much attention to him, but instead of giving him alms, he called him out to be a poser of the needy. But once hearing the sailor’s story of fighting in defense of the country while others “did nothing at home”, the man gave alms to him.

The man in black and the author ran into a woman who was an obvious example of helpless, but he had no money to give her. He became shameful, as it was presented in his face, but once he found a “shilling’s worth of matches”, and placed it in her hands, he was pleased with himself seeing the smile in the woman’s face. This anonymous man, the Man In Black, is a man of benevolence, and is bluntly shameful of it. There is no understanding of why.

The man is one who cannot exhibit generous behavior without being ashamed of it. He wants the world to see him as a man who does not care too much about the well-being of others; much less, the unfortunate. He is the “Man In Black”, because he hides his benevolence. He does not want to be noticed for it. He is, the Man in Black.

Animal Farm

Animal Farm

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals — inspired by his philosophy of Animalism — plot a rebellion against Jones. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall.

Initially, the rebellion is a success: The animals complete the harvest and meet every Sunday to debate farm policy. The pigs, because of their intelligence, become the supervisors of the farm. Napoleon, however, proves to be a power-hungry leader who steals the cows' milk and a number of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also enlists the services of Squealer, a pig with the ability to persuade the other animals that the pigs are always moral and correct in their decisions.

Later that fall, Jones and his men return to Animal Farm and attempt to retake it. Thanks to the tactics of Snowball, the animals defeat Jones in what thereafter becomes known as The Battle of the Cowshed. Winter arrives, and Mollie, a vain horse concerned only with ribbons and sugar, is lured off the farm by another human. Snowball begins drawing plans for a windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the animals more leisure time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes such a plan on the grounds that building the windmill will allow them less time for producing food. On the Sunday that the pigs offer the windmill to the animals for a vote, Napoleon summons a pack of ferocious dogs, who chase Snowball off the farm forever. Napoleon announces that there will be no further debates; he also tells them that the windmill will be built after all and lies that it was his own idea, stolen by Snowball. For the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat on whom he blames all of the animals' hardships.

Much of the next year is spent building the windmill. Boxer, an incredibly strong horse, proves himself to be the most valuable animal in this endeavor. Jones, meanwhile, forsakes the farm and moves to another part of the county. Contrary to the principles of Animalism, Napoleon hires a solicitor and begins trading with neighboring farms. When a storm topples the half-finished windmill, Napoleon predictably blames Snowball and orders the animals to begin rebuilding it.

Napoleon's lust for power increases to the point where he becomes a totalitarian dictator, forcing "confessions" from innocent animals and having the dogs kill them in front of the entire farm. He and the pigs move into Jones' house and begin sleeping in beds (which Squealer excuses with his brand of twisted logic). The animals receive less and less food, while the pigs grow fatter. After the windmill is completed in August, Napoleon sells a pile of timber to Jones; Frederick, a neighboring farmer who pays for it with forged banknotes. Frederick and his men attack the farm and explode the windmill but are eventually defeated. As more of the Seven Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs, the language of the Commandments is revised: For example, after the pigs become drunk one night, the Commandment, "No animals shall drink alcohol" is changed to, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

Boxer again offers his strength to help build a new windmill, but when he collapses, exhausted, Napoleon sells the devoted horse to a knacker (a glue-boiler). Squealer tells the indignant animals that Boxer was actually taken to a veterinarian and died a peaceful death in a hospital — a tale the animals believe.

Years pass and Animal Farm expands its boundaries after Napoleon purchases two fields from another neighboring farmer, Pilkington. Life for all the animals (except the pigs) is harsh. Eventually, the pigs begin walking on their hind legs and take on many other qualities of their former human oppressors. The Seven Commandments are reduced to a single law: "All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others." The novel ends with Pilkington sharing drinks with the pigs in Jones' house. Napoleon changes the name of the farm back to Manor Farm and quarrels with Pilkington during a card game in which both of them try to play the ace of spades. As other animals watch the scene from outside the window, they cannot tell the pigs from the humans.

The Village Schoolmaster

The Village Schoolmaster is an extract from Goldsmith’s famous long poem The Deserted Village (1770) in which he describes the decline of a village in Ireland in the nineteenth century. The extract describing the schoolmaster is said to have been inspired by one Thomas Byrne, an ex-soldier who taught Goldsmith when he was a boy. The poem has a rural background. It depicts scenes, people, manners and objects of a village in 18thcentury Britain. It is a pastoral lyric which abounds in pictures of village life and contains nostalgic reflections from Goldsmith’s boyhood days. The speaker fondly remembers his childhood schooldays at a village school. The poem is remembered for the formal simplicity of its language and poetic style, and for the sincerity of the emotions and sentiments that it expresses. The tone is sympathetic yet gently humorous. This poem is a simple word-picture of the tale of a village school master. It was a small village school at Lissoy, the Irish village where the poet himself had studied. Mr. Thomas Paddy Byrne was the village school master. This poem has become one of the immortals of literature because of the ring of authenticity, for he was a pupil of this school master. With a passing reference to the location,  the poet gets to work to describe the man.

The school master's moods, the situation in the classroom and the reactions of the learners have been described in this poem. It is sufficiently clear that Goldsmith lookedupon the teacher with the mixed feelings of fear, respect and humour.

TEACHER’S CHARACTER

His appearance was stern

He was a strict disciplinarian – the pupils were terrified of him

He was jovial by nature – joked with his pupils

He was kind

He loved learning and was intense about it

He was extremely knowledgeable – the villagers were amazed at all that he knew

He had very good debating skills – he could argue at length using long, difficult words. The poet gives a humorous study of the teacher's character but never loses his sympathy for him. He makes an analysis of the character and capabilities of the schoolmaster. He was a staunch disciplinarian who took his students to task if they played truant. The poet, as a student, was very aware of this aspect of the school master but he appreciated his stand and came to love and respect him. The severe measures taken by the teacher had a soft and pious motive behind them as he wanted to see his pupils 'turn into learned people. The school master's character is portrayed with many paradoxes. He is an able and strict man yet his school is always noisy. He is severe in manner but at the same time is jovial with a stock of seasoned jokes. He is supposed to be a great scholar though he can only read, write and solve simple sums of arithmetic. He is stern and yet kind. The school master is acknowledged as a great erudite person by the entire village and even the parson recognizes his skill in debate. The rhetoric of the teacher leaves the rustics gazing in admiration. The poem ends on a note of humour. The teacher is not to be taken as a mere satirical sketch. Apart from his scholarly pretensions, he has been a remarkably kind and benevolent gentleman. The frown on his face often hides a heart overflowing with love and sympathy. He has a smattering of useful information which he puts to good use with the illiterate and ignorant villagers. Thus he projects a larger than life image of himself before them. He has an opinion on every issue and loves to engage in debates particularly with the village priest He knows that in the eyes of the villagers the outcome of the debate depends more on sound than on sense. Hence he continues arguing even after he has lost his point

Look Back in Anger Summary

Look Back in Anger begins in the attic flat apartment of Jimmy Porter and Alison Porter. The setting is mid-1950's small town England. Jimmy and Alison share their apartment with Cliff Lewis, a young working class man who is best friends with Jimmy. Cliff and Jimmy both come from a working class background, though Jimmy has had more education than Cliff. They are in business together running a sweet-stall. Alison comes from a more prominent family and it is clear from the beginning that Jimmy resents this fact.

The first act opens on a Sunday in April. Jimmy and Cliff are reading the Sunday papers while Alison is ironing in a corner of the room. Jimmy is a hot tempered young man and he begins to try and provoke both Cliff and Alison. He is antagonistic towards Cliff's working class background and makes fun of him for his low intelligence. Cliff is good natured and takes the antagonism. Jimmy attempts to provoke his wife, Alison, by making fun of her family and her well-heeled life before she married him. Jimmy also seems to display a nostalgia for England's powerful past. He notes that the world has entered a "dreary" American age, a fact he begrudgingly accepts. Alison tires of Jimmy's rants and begs for peace. This makes Jimmy more fevered in his insults. Cliff attempts to keep peace between the two and this leads to a playful scuffle between the two. Their wrestling ends up running into Alison, causing her to fall down. Jimmy is sorry for the incident, but Alison makes him leave the room.

After Jimmy leaves, Alison confides to Cliff that she is pregnant with Jimmy's child, though she has not yet told Jimmy. Cliff advises her to tell him, but when Cliff goes out and Jimmy re-enters the room, the two instead fall into an intimate game. Jimmy impersonates a stuffed bear and Alison impersonates a toy squirrel. Cliff returns to tell Alison that her old friend, Helena Charles, has called her on the phone. Alison leaves to take the call and returns with the news that Helena is coming to stay for a visit. Jimmy does not like Helena and goes into a rage in which he wishes that Alison would suffer in order to know what it means to be a real person. He curses her and wishes that she could have a child only to watch it die.

Two weeks later, Helena has arrived and Alison discusses her relationship with Jimmy. She tells of how they met and how, in their younger days, they used to crash parties with their friend Hugh Tanner. Jimmy maintains an affection for Hugh's mother, though his relationship with Hugh was strained when Hugh left to travel the world and Jimmy stayed to be with Alison. Jimmy seems to regret that he could not leave, but he is also angry at Hugh for abandoning his mother. Helena inquires about Alison's affectionate relationship with Cliff and Alison tells her that they are strictly friends.

Cliff and Jimmy return to the flat and Helena tells them that she and Alison are leaving for church. Jimmy goes into an anti-religious rant and ends up insulting Alison's family once again. Helena becomes angry and Jimmy dares her to slap him on the face, warning her that he will slap her back. He tells her of how he watched his father die as a young man. His father had been injured fighting in the Spanish Civil War and had returned to England only to die shortly after. Alison and Helena begin to leave for church and Jimmy feels betrayed by his wife.

A phone call comes in for Jimmy and he leaves the room. Helena tells Alison that she has called Alison's father to come get her and take her away from this abusive home. Alison relents and says that she will go when her father picks her up the next day. When Jimmy returns, he tells Alison that Mrs. Tanner, Hugh's mother, has become sick and is going to die. Jimmy decides to visit her and he demands that Alison make a choice of whether to go with Helena or with him. Alison picks up her things and leaves for church and Jimmy collapses on the bed, heartbroken by his wife's decision.

The next evening Alison is packing and talking with her father, Colonel Redfern. The Colonel is a soft spoken man who realizes that he does not quite understand the love that exists between Jimmy and Alison. He admits that the actions of him and his wife are partly to blame for their split. The Colonel was an officer in the British military and served in India and he is nostalgic for his time there. He considers his service to be some of the best years of his life. Alison observes that her father is hurt because the present is not the past and that Jimmy is hurt because he feels the present is only the past. Alison begins to pack her toy squirrel, but then she decides not to do so.

Helena and Cliff soon enter the scene. Alison leaves a letter for Jimmy explaining why she has left and she gives it to Cliff. After Alison leaves, Cliff becomes angry and gives the letter to Helena, blaming her for the situation. Jimmy returns, bewildered that he was almost hit by Colonel Redfern's car and that Cliff pretended not to see him when he was walking by on the street. He reads Alison's letter and becomes very angry. Helena tells him that Alison is pregnant, but Jimmy tells her that he does not care. He insults Helena and she slaps him, then passionately kisses him.

Several months pass and the third act opens with Jimmy and Cliff once again reading the Sunday papers while Helena stands in the corner ironing. Jimmy and Cliff still engage in their angry banter and Helena's religious tendencies have taken the brunt of Jimmy's punishment. Jimmy and Cliff perform scenes from musicals and comedy shows but when Helena leaves, Cliff notes that things do not feel the same with her here. Cliff then tells Jimmy that he wants to move out of the apartment. Jimmy takes the news calmly and tells him that he has been a loyal friend and is worth more than any woman. When Helena returns, the three plan to go out. Alison suddenly enters.

Alison and Helena talk while Jimmy leaves the room. He begins to loudly play his trumpet. Alison has lost her baby and looks sick. Helena tells Alison that she should be angry with her for what she has done, but Alison is only grieved by the loss of her baby. Helena is driven to distraction by Jimmy's trumpet playing and demands that he come into the room. When he comes back in, he laments the fact that Alison has lost the baby but shrugs it off. Helena then tells Jimmy and Alison that her sense of morality -- right and wrong -- has not diminished and that she knows she must leave. Alison attempts to persuade her to stay, telling her that Jimmy will be alone if she leaves.

When Helena leaves, Jimmy attempts to once again become angry but Alison tells him that she has now gone through the emotional and physical suffering that he has always wanted her to feel. He realizes that she has suffered greatly, has become like him, and becomes softer and more tender towards her. The play ends with Jimmy and Alison embracing, once again playing their game of bear and squirrel.