Deep Water: Summary, and Question Answers

The excerpt โ€˜Deep Waterโ€™ is taken from Of Men and Mountains by William Douglas. It reveals how as a young boy William Douglas nearly drowned in a swimming pool. In this essay, he talks about his fear of water and thereafter, how he finally overcame it. As you read the essay, you will notice that the autobiographical part of the selection is used to support his discussion of fear.

Selected Snobberies: Summary, Detailed Notes and Questions and Answers

The present essay on Selected Snobberies is a fine example of what an essay should be. The writer has taken up an interesting topic and suggested some snobberies with which most people in the world are affected. The essay does not teach any moral principle but familiarises with a new subject that is applicable to most people of the world. It says whether we like it or not but most of us do have some kind of snobbery though we may not be conscious that it is only a snobbery.

The Season of the Plains By Shahid Ali

The Season of the Plainsโ€ brings alive the pangs of separation experienced by people who are living away from their homeland. Absence of a particular season in exile acts as a trigger for longing and nostalgia. Shahid Ali lived most of his adult life outside his homeland, Kashmir and passed away in the USA. This brings an intensely personal feeling into the poem.

National Prejudices By Oliver Goldsmith

In this essay, Goldsmith talks about prejudices which people have about other people from other countries. They consider their nation good in every respect and think that other nations are not as great as theirs. People no longer consider themselves general inhabitants of the globe, or members of that grand society which comprehends the whole humankind.

The Surgeon By Roald Dahl Summary, Theme, Characterization and Title

Sandy is as a profound surgeon who is not in the business for money. But upon saving a Saudi Arabian prince, he is offered a diamond worth almost a million dollars. He leaves with his wife for the weekend and they hide the diamond at a safe place in their house. When they return, they find their house broken in and the diamond missing. Will it ever be found?

A Handful of Dates By Tayeb Salih: Summary, Theme, Characterisation and Title

The short story was published, originally in Arabic in 1964, in a collection of stories โ€œThe Wedding of Zein.โ€ The action of this story, as with many of the stories written by Tayeb Salih, occurs in the fictional setting of the village of Wad Hamid, which is in Central Sudan. Though the story is quite brief, it exhibits a lot of themes of interest and applicability to people of all cultures and ideologies.

The Price of Flowers By Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay: Summary, Theme, Characterization, Title and Questions

โ€œThe price of Flowersโ€ is an emotionally touching story about a young but poor British teenage girl, Maggie, who sacrifices her hard-earned shilling for offering a floral tribute to her dead brother, Frank. Her sacrifice and the contentment derived out of it are invaluable and priceless.

The New Hangman By Laurence Houseman: Summary, Theme, Characters and Settings

In this play, unusual hero, the new hangman, refuses to carry out his share of work at the execution of a criminal. His revolt is against the inhumanity of taking a manโ€˜s life in cold blood and the injustice of foisting such a terrible duty on a fellow man. Though shocked and embarrassed by the unexpected behaviour of the new hangman, everyone in the prison is secretly relieved.

Third Thoughts: Summary and Question Answers

The essayist claims that when oneโ€™s mind is taken over by selfishness, there is no end to consider and reconsider. The narrator rightly admits that the story principle lies in dealing with his own soul. The essay also discusses the realistic human psychology that rules the world of business, where the seller and the buyer are trying to find themselves