POEM 2: THE SPIDER AND THE FLY by Mary Howitt

POEM 2:   THE SPIDER AND THE FLY by Mary Howitt    (Summary)

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

·       INTRODUCTION

·       INVITATION TO PARLOUR

·       LITTLE BED

·       SPIDER’S PANTRY

·       SPIDER’S FLATTER

·       THE SPIDER’S CONFIDENCE

·       SAD END OF THE FLY

·       CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:  “The Spider and the Fly” is a poem by the poet Mary Howitt.  The poem is written in the form of a dialogue between a cunning ‘Spider’ and an immature and innocent ‘Fly’.  The Spider which is hungry seduces the Fly by using false and flattering words to fall a prey to its hunger.  The Fly is cautious in the beginning.  Later it falls a prey to the Spider.  The poem is a warning to the children as well as to all who are tempted by evil things in this world.

INVITATION TO PARLOUR:   In the first stanza the spider invites the fly to its parlour.  The spider tempts the fly by saying that its little parlour is the prettiest one.  The parlour has a winding stair.  The spider told the fly that it would show many curious things that are there in the parlour.  The fly understood the trick played by the spider and refused saying that whoever went up the winding stair could never come down again.

LITTLE BED:  The spider persuaded the fly by inviting it to sleep on its little bed.  The spider said that the fly must be tired after flying so high and it might need rest.  It said that pretty curtains surrounded the bed and the sheets on the bed were fine and thin.  The fly could rest a while and it could be comfortably tucked in by the spider.  The fly exclaimed that it would not accept the invitation.  It added that it had often heard that those who slept upon the spider’s bed would never wake up again. 

SPIDER’S PANTRY:  The spider told the fly that it wanted to prove its warm affection it had for the fly.  It invited the fly to visit its store to choose from a number of good things to eat.  The fly replied that it did not wish to see the pantry. 

SPIDER’S FLATTERY:  The spider spoke sweet and attractive words about the fly.  It said that the fly was clever and wise.   The fly looked handsome and it had delicate wings and brilliant eyes.  The spider invited the fly to step into its parlour for a moment to look into the looking-glass it had in the parlour’s shelf.  The fly did not heed to the spider and left the place that it would come again on some other day.

THE SPIDER’S CONFIDENCE:  The spider was confident that the fly would soon visit its den.  So it wove a delicate web cunningly in a little corner.  It set its table ready so that it can eat the fly when it came back again.  The spider came to the door of its web and sang happily to attract the fly.  It sang that the fly looked beautiful with its pearl and silver wings.  The fly had a crest upon its head with its green and purple dress.  The spider told the fly that its eyes looked dull as lead whereas the fly’s eyes looked bright like diamond.

SAD END OF THE FLY:  The fly which was careful in the beginning failed in overcoming the temptation.  It got tempted by the flattery of the spider.  The fly flew nearer to the spider’s web and gave a chance for the spider to catch it. The poor foolish fly thought only about its brilliant eyes, its green  and purple colour and its crested head and went very near to the web.  The cunning spider jumped and caught the fly.  It dragged the fly into its winding stair and miserable den.  The fly did not come out again.

CONCLUSION:  The poet warns the children as well as others not to fall a prey to flattering words.  We should not heed to an evil counsellor.  We should learn a lesson from this tale and understand that there are people like the spider and we may fall a prey to them like the poor fly.

SHORT STORY 2: THE SQUIRRREL by Ambai (SUMMARY)

SHORT STORY 2:    THE SQUIRRREL  byAmbai    (SUMMARY)

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

·        INTRODUCTION

·        THE LIBRARY

·        NARRATOR’S VIEWS ABOUT THE BOOKS

·        WOMEN IN JOURNALS

·        CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:  ‘The Squirrel’ is a famous short story by Ambai.  It was written in Tamil Language titled ‘Anil’ by Ambai and was translated into English by Vasanth Kannabiran and Chudamani Ragavan in 1992.  The author is known for writing about women.  This story also brings out the problems faced by women.  Through this story she makes us understand how women’s writings were not taken care of in those days.  The short story “Squirrel” voices about feminism and male domination. 

THE LIBRARY:  The story “Squirrel” is based on the narrator’s visit to a library, which is full of feminist writing.  She asked the librarian what was there on the top floor of the library. The librarian said that there was nothing but only dust.  The narrator asked about the books there.  The librarian replied that those were the books written by women.  The narrator asked him to allow her to look at those books.  There was a squirrel which has come there to eat the glue found on the covers of the books.  The character of the squirrel in the story stood for the inner world of the narrator.  The transition between dream and reality and vice versa is made through the representation of the squirrel.  The narrator found volumes of PenmadhiBodhini and Jaganmohini and many other books in the third floor of the library.  The narrator touched the spine of a mended, nineteenth-century book and felt as though a shock rose from the sole of her foot. 

NARRATOR’S VIEWS ABOUT THE BOOKS:  The narrator sarcastically says that only she and the squirrel were there to grieve for Anna Sattianandhan who was on her deathbed and asked her husband to pray. She says that the woman who first set out on horseback to spread Christianity broke through the meshed windows of the library.  A Bengali girl set fire to herself when she could not prevent her father selling their only house to meet her marriage expenses.  Thus the books she read made her feel the agony of the women writers.

The narrator says that the books on the third floor of the library were not mere books.  They talked about the whole generations agonizing with life. Our Indian women wore nine yard saris and played  badminton with the white women.   They were addressed as “my girl” trying to sound.  Women were taught the dharma to be followed by them.  Nallathangal pushed her son into a well  and jumped herself into it.  An unshaven dead widow was denied the performance of the last rites.  The devadasis dedicated to the temple underwent a lot of suffering.  Mahatma Gandhi addressed women spinning at the charka. 

WOMEN IN JOURNALS:   The narrator went through the journals.  In the journal ‘Tyagabhumi’ Uma Rani declared that she was not a slave.  “Kasini” gave new patterns for bangles.  The girl on the cover of The Ananda Vikatan walked freely while her husband carried the shopping bag.  Tamarai Kanni Ammaiyar said that we should give up our lives for Tamil.  Ramamrutham Ammaiyar angrily confronted Rajaji who wrote that Gandhi would not come unless people pay him money.  The narrator returned to senses only the squirrel tapped its tail and raised dust.  The squirrel ate the glue found on the covers of the books.

CONCLUSION:   The narrator found the Library a dark and dusty place where the library staff was trying to restore the books that were falling apart. At lunch time the staff indulged in idle conversation and exhibited no interest in the work assigned to them. The librarian used string and mended the books in the library.  He wrote letters to the higher authorities to reimburse the amount he spent for the string but was in vain.  The librarian told the narrator that the books and magazines were waste and they should be burnt one day.  This made the narrator leave the library with a heavy heart.  Thus the story reveals the sufferings of women and women writers in the past.