Literary Summaries: Classic Tales & Plays Explained
The Tale of Melon City: A Folk Tale Summary
The Tale of Melon City runs like a folk tale. The city is called Melon City because its ruler is a melon. There is a curious tale about it. Once, a fair and easygoing king ruled over a state. He got an arch built across the thoroughfare. As he passed under the low arch, it struck his head, and he lost his crown. He thought it a disgrace and ordered the chief of builders to be hanged. The chief laid the blame on the workmen. The workmen were surprised and they said that the bricks were made of the wrong size. So the masons were deemed guilty. The masons shifted the blame on the architect. The architect split the blame at the king’s door, as he had amended his original plan. The king sought a wise man’s counsel. The wise man held the arch guilty and ordered it to be hanged. A councilor objected to it as it had touched the king’s head.
Birth: A Medical Student’s Challenge
Birth Summary
The story Birth is an excerpt from The Citadel. It relates how a medical fresher handles a child delivery case in a mysterious way and brings back life in a seemingly stillborn child. In doing so, he applies his medical textbook knowledge as well as intuition. He finds that textbook knowledge alone is not sufficient to handle such cases. The story expresses the anxiety and excitement of the doctor, Andrew Manson, and his team.
In the beginning of the story, it is narrated how Andrew Manson, who had recently passed out from a medical school, was returning home after a disappointing evening with his girlfriend, Christine. It was midnight, and when he reached his house, he was requested by Joe Morgan.
A Photograph: A Poetic Reflection
A Photograph
The cardboard shows me how it was when the two girl cousins went paddling,
Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,
And she the big girl—some twelve years or so.
All three stood still to smile through their hair at the uncle with the camera.
A sweet face, my mother’s, that was before I was born.
And the sea, which appears to have changed less,
Washed their terribly transient feet.
Some twenty or thirty years later, she’d laugh at the snapshot.
“See Betty and Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they
Dressed us for the beach.” The sea holiday
Was her past; mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the labored ease of loss.
Now she’s been dead nearly as many years
As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all. Its silence silences.
The Adventure: A Journey Through Alternate History
The Adventure Summary
Professor Gaitonde was traveling from Pune to Bombay via the Jijamata Express, a train that was faster than the Deccan Queen. As he was crossing towns and villages, he met a man named Khan Sahib, who talked about his business and chatted about several things. They got off at Victoria Terminus station, which was neat and clean. It had British officers, Parsis, and Anglo-Indian staff all around. He was confused as to how the East India Company was ruling the country, as according to his facts, they had fled after the events of 1857.
He went to Hornby Road and noticed that the shops were different. He entered the Forbes Building and inquired about Mr. Vinay Gaitonde, but as checked by the receptionist, no such man had ever worked there. He went to the Town Hall and sat in the reading room. He took five books related to history and decided to go through them one by one and check how the facts had changed. He started investigating from the period of Ashoka to the Third Battle of Panipat.
According to the fifth volume, Bhausahebanchi Bakhar, he found out that the Marathas had won the Battle of Panipat and spread their influence all over India thereafter. He was confused as it was different from what he knew so far. After the victory, India moved towards democracy. There were no longer any kings ruling, and democratic parties had been set up. The professor started liking India as he kept reading further about it. It was different from the one he believed he saw. This country knew how to stand on its feet, and it was no longer enslaved under the white man.
As he was going through the book, the librarian told him to finish since they were closing the library. It was eight o’clock. He asked about carrying the books with him as he would return the next morning and slipped the Bakhar book into his left pocket. He checked into a guesthouse and had his dinner. He decided to walk towards Azad Maidan. He noticed a large crowd of people going towards a pandal. A lecture was going on, but he noticed something unusual. The presidential chair was empty.
The speaker was talking, and the crowd was continuously moving inside and outside. He could not control himself and moved towards the stage and sat on the chair. The crowd was taken aback and started asking him to get up and move away. He tried to talk to them, but they started throwing several objects at him, such as tomatoes, eggs, etc. Soon the crowd moved towards him to push him away, and he was nowhere to be seen.
Mother’s Day: A Satirical Play Summary
Mother’s Day English Class 11: Summary
J.B. Priestley is one of the noted authors of the contemporary era. His satirical prose pieces are iconic in explaining the societal conditions of his time. In this play, Mother’s Day, he explains how Mrs. Pearson has been continuously disregarded by her husband and children. Every day, she received ignorance and pity from her children, Doris and Cyril. Even her husband, George, did not pay attention to the children’s misbehavior towards their mother.
One day, she went to have tea with Mrs. Fitzgerald, an old lady and a fortune-teller by profession. She explained the terrible treatment she received from her family members every day to the old lady. Mrs. Fitzgerald had a sinister personality. She was determined that those good-for-nothing fellows must be taught a lesson. This is where the play starts taking a new turn. It is quite interesting to study. If you follow the summary, you will understand the main plot.
The play begins with a candid conversation between two friends at Mrs. Pearson’s house. Mrs. Fitzgerald tells Mrs. Pearson her fortune and gives her advice. Mrs. Pearson goes on and on about how her family members do not value her and do not appreciate anything she does for them.