Vaidehi Hariyani

Hello friends, This blog is a part of my classroom activity. Click Here to view this activity. Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to become immortal, overthrow the wizard governing body known as the Ministry of Magic. Here is my response according to my understanding:- 1)      The theme of Love and Death: How does Harry Potter make use of age old theme of Love of the dead as well as living as protecting armour? How does Harry Potter deal with the concept of Death as something inevitable? Harry’s mother died to save Harry from Voldemort. And in doing so she gave Harry a shield of her love for protection. Harry lived a...

What is Literature? Being a daughter of a School Teacher, relation with literature is quite old. That is not always enough.  I used to read literature, but my understanding about Literature developed in my U.G and especially it developed more in P.G studies. During U.G study everything was just exam oriented but in P.G it became life oriented. In school I never thought about this that what is literature or didn’t even know that the stories I read is called literature. During my first year B.A, I had a book in my syllabus “An Introduction to English Literature for Foreign students” by R.J.Rees. Even that book was read  just for the sake of reading.  Then after that when anyone used to ask me that what is literature? I used to say that Literature means “Mirror to the society.” Even when I had to write what is literature for the admission process at P.G level, I wrote the same definition.  What was the understanding back then and what is now?...

‘Black Skin and White Masks’ is one of the influential cultural criticism of 20 th century. It was written by a French writer Frantz Fanon in 1957. This is a long essay which studies the psychological mindset of black and white people. This work was a PhD thesis that is why it is hard to understand. One or two reading will help to understand. It is worth reading as the understanding of Fanon will help us to understand American racism in 2010’s. Frantz Fanon studies the mind which is common for all. The essay is divided into eight chapters.  Here I am sharing my presentation on this for better understanding. Use of color in popular media with reference to "Black Skin and White Masks" from vaidehi Hariyani Thus, Fanon in his long essay studies the mind of all. He doesn’t have any prejudices against white. He believes in humanity. 

“Mourning becomes Electra” is a play by Eugene O’Neill written in 1931. The Play is psychologically very rich. The two complexes are highlighted in the play: Oedipus complex and Electra complex. It was performed 159 times in theatre. The plot of the play was inspired by a Greek tragedy ‘Orestia’ written by Aschyllus. ‘Mourning becomes Electra’ is modern version of ‘Orestia’. Thought the plot and the story line are similar, there are many differences. Ezra Menon is a soldier at war and dies as the play begins. The death is not natural or we are not aware of the reason of his death. Then Orin Menon, son of Ezra and Christine returns from the war. It was opened to him by Lavinia that she saw Christine kissing Adam Brant- who resembles in looks to all Menons. So, Orin shoots Adam Brant.  Orin kills Adam because he wanted love of his mother. The title refers to Lavinia as she is the protagonist of this play. And she is the alone who is left alone and eventually s...

 " The Old Man and the Sea" is a most read and celebrated short novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway and published in 1952.It was the last major work of fiction by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. It is the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Florida. This is amazing piece of work. The will power of the old man Santiago is inspiring. The language of Novella is simple. It follows the structure of iceberg. The novella is full of simple and deep sentences. After the struggle of so many days , the old man is not able to save Marlin. But as it is said in the books itself, “ A man can be destroyed but can never be defeated.” He was able to prove himself. This book can be viewed as a parable, self-help book and much more. Though he is old he had that vigorous energy that any young man had it. His only support is Manolin, a young boy....

Raja Rao (8 November 1908 – 8 July 2006) was an Indian writer of English-language novels and short stories, whose works are deeply rooted in Metaphysics. He won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1964. Raja Rao’s first and best-known novel, Kanthapura (1938), is the story of a south Indian village named Kanthapura. The novel is narrated in the form of a purana by an old woman of the village, Achakka. Dominant castes like Brahmins are privileged to get the best region of the village, while lower casts such as Pariahs are marginalized. Despite this classist system, the village retains its long-cherished traditions of festivals in which all castes interact and the villagers are united. The village is believed to be protected by a local deity named Kenchamma. The main character of the novel, Moorthy, is a young Brahmin who leaves for the city to study, where he becomes familiar with Gandhian philosophy. He begins living a Gandhian lifestyle, wearing home-spun khaddar and disc...

    “The Purpose” is a play by T.P.Kailasam . This play was a part of our paper Indian Writing In English. T. P. Kailasam (1884 – 1946) was a prominent playwright, writer, and a poet of Kannada and English. His popular plays are:- ·        Fulfilment ·        The Purpose ·        The Brahmin’s Curse This play is divided into two acts. The Central Theme: based on Adi Parva of The Mahabharata. The main Characters: Eklavya, Drona, and Arjuna. The purpose of learning archery ( ધનુર્વિદ્યા ). In this play we see the theme of class conflict prevalent in India. It is prevalent even today also but not that much as it was at that time. Arjuna is a Kshatriya Eklavya is a Nishadha boy Powerful upper caste A weak person from lower caste arrogant and prodigal prince a savior of Animals of Jungle ...

“The Sense of Ending” is written by   Julian Patrick Barnes, published in 2011 “The Sense of an Ending” is that novel which hits like a hammer to our frozen heart. It helps us to see the darker inside of us. This is the perfect book which disturbs our comfort. The writer of this blog will not not tell you how it hits like a hammer. To experience it read this novel. Here I am sharing my response about the thinking task. CLICK HERE to view this task. My interpretations are according to my understanding. So, it is open for criticism and opinion. 1.) What is the meaning of phrase ‘Blood Money’ in Veronica’s reply email? Veronica tries to tell Tony that the money (5000 Pounds) send by Sarah Ford is full of blood of Adrian. That is to say that Veronica was trying to make Tony realise his mistake. He is one of them who are responsible for Adrian’s death. 2.) How do you decipher the equation: b = s – v x/+ a1 or a2 + v + a1 X s = b? b = s – v x/+ a1 B...