Money can never bring ultimate happiness

 It was an autumn evening in 1870. The rich banker was pleased with himself for hosting a dinner party for some of his friends and acquaintances. Among the many things they discussed at the dinner table, capital punishment soon became a hot topic. While some argued that capital punishment was immoral which should be replaced with imprisonment for life, others found nothing wrong with it. The host, on his part, supported it vigorously.

As the discussion continued, the host invited the opinion of a young lawyer in the group. "The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral," said the lawyer, "but if I had to choose between death penalty and imprisonment for life, I would certainly choose the latter. To live anyhow is better than not at all."

"It's not true," shouted the host striking the table with his fist. "I'll bet two millions you wouldn't stay in solitary confinement for five years."

"If you mean that in serious," said the lawyer, "I'll take the bet, but I would stay not five but fifteen years." "Fifteen? Done!" cried the host. "Gentlemen, I stake my two millions."

But on second thought, the host tried to dissuade the lawyer from taking the bet. However, the lure of money had already made the young man blind and totally oblivious to the hardships he would have to endure. As he was only 25, he dreamt of getting out of solitary confinement at the age of 40 and living the rest of his life in luxury with the banker's money.

"You stake your two millions and I stake my freedom," said the young man in cool manner.

Amidst anxious expressions of awe and wonderment at the dinner table, it was agreed by the lawyer to begin his solitary confinement at 12 noon on Nov 14, 1870 for a period of 15 years which would end at 12 noon on Nov. 14, 1885. The confinement was to be at a lodge owned by the banker under strict supervision. No outside contact would be allowed and he would have to spend the 15 years of his confinement with a piano and as many books as he would desire. It was agreed that any attempt to break the conditions even at the last minute on the part of the lawyer would relieve the banker of the responsibility of paying the bet.

So the solitary confinement began. In the beginning the detainee seemed to be depressed and lonely and spent most of his time playing the piano. Then he began to read books. Initially he chose contemporary novels and short stories. Then he focussed on classics. After reading all the available classics, he studied six languages one after another. After mastering languages, he concentrated on reading the Bible and books on theology and spirituality.

 

In the meantime, the banker had almost become bankrupt through gambling and speculation in stock market. To save himself from the disgrace of not paying the bet, the banker decided to murder the lawyer.

It was the eve of the release of the lawyer. In the still of the night the banker entered the room of the lawyer to execute his hideous plan. The lawyer was fast asleep sitting in a chair with his head resting on a bundle of books. As the banker approached the lawyer, he was taken aback at the sight of a long letter on the table. It was addressed to the banker. With trembling hands he took it and read it.

"Tomorrow at 12 o'clock I regain my freedom."

"For 15 years I have been intently studying earthly life...

Your books have given me wisdom... You may be proud, wise and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice... You have lost your reason and taken the wrong path...So I marvel at you, who exchange heaven for earth.”

"To prove to you in action how I despise all that you live by. I renounce the two millions of which I once dreamed as paradise and which now I despise. To deprive myself of the right to the money I shall go out from here five hours before the time fixed, and so break the contract...."

After reading the letter, which opened his eyes, the banker left the room ashamed of himself. The following day the banker, with tearful eyes watched the lawyer leave the room and disappear from sight a few hours before 12 noon.

 

The Bet, a short story by the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov, ends with the banker locking the lawyer's letter in a fireproof safe. The lawyer had been greedy; he had always been dreaming of making money. That was why he grabbed at the first big opportunity in his life to make money. However, many years of reading and reflection made him aware of how foolish he was in going after money and the pleasures of life.

 

Our natural tendency is to go after money and the worldly pleasures. However, by the time we realise that they don't bring us true happiness, it would have been too late for us. All of us need money to live a comfortable life. But when money becomes the ultimate goal, our life becomes topsy-turvy. And no matter how hard we try, we will never find happiness and peace.

The lawyer in Chekhov's short story is a constant reminder that money can never bring us ultimate happiness.

THE GOLDEN EAGLE

 

A man found an eagle's egg and placed it under a brooding hen. The eaglet hatched with the chickens and grew to be like them. He clucked and cackled (sounds); scratched the earth for worms; flapped his wings and managed to fly a few feet in the air.

Years passed. One day, the eagle, now grown old, saw a magnificent bird above him in the sky. It glided in graceful majesty against the powerful wind, with scarcely a movement of its golden wings.

 

Spellbound, the eagle asked, "Who's that?"

 

"That's the king of the birds, the eagle," said his neighbour. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to earth-we're chickens."

So the eagle lived and died a chicken for that's what he thought he was.

A Hidden Beautiful Face

"Valentine, you will go out in the morning," announced the prison warden with an air of authority in his words. "Brace up, make a man of yourself. You are not a bad fellow at heart. Stop cracking safes, and live straight."

"Me?" feigning surprise, Valentine said. "Why, I never cracked a safe in my life."

It was for bank robbery Jimmy Valentine had been sentenced for a four-year term in prison. However, with the support from friends, he was able to get a pardon from the governor after being imprisoned only for ten months. That was how he ended up at the office of the warden. "Better think over my advice, Valentine," the warden said, with an earnest desire to see the young man rehabilitated as an honest citizen.

But Valentine didn't give a hoot to the warden's advice. Almost immediately after his release, he robbed three banks one after another in Richmond (Indiana), Logansport and Jefferson City. Noting the similarities in the burglaries, detective Ben Price, who had nabbed Valentine earlier, was convinced that the culprit was Valentine.

In the meantime, Valentine landed at Elmore, a little town in Arkansas (a state in U.S), where he set up a shoe store under the assumed name. Ralph Spencer. He also fell in love with Annabel Adams, the beautiful daughter of the owner of "The Elmore Bank." His business flourished and within one year of his arrival at Elmore, he got engaged to be married to Annabel.

He broke the good news of his wedding to one of his friends through a letter. In that letter he had also requested him to meet him at Little Rock to pick up the tools he had been using for burglary, as he no longer needed them. Detective Price who got wind of this message arrived at Elmore as Valentine and the Adams family were taking a quick look at the new safe and vault which the bank had just put in. Price was determined to block Valentine's wedding and bring him to justice.

Valentine who had arrived at the bank with a suitcase full of tools was getting ready to leave for Little Rock when he heard a scream from Annabel's married sister. Her two children, May and Agatha, were running about, and the 9-year-old May had shut the 5-year-old sibling in the vault for fun. Unfortunately, the combination of the lock had not been set and nobody knew how to open it again.

 

As Agatha panicked and continued to shriek inside the dark vault, Annabel approached Valentine and said, "Can't you do something, Ralph?" Annabel had no idea about Valentine's knack for cracking safes; she made the request only because she thought that he would somehow find a solution.

Valentine knew he was the only one there who could save the child by opening the vault. He also knew that any attempt to use his tools would betray his past, endanger his planned wedding. and bring him to justice.

"Get away from the door, all of you," Valentine commanded. Then he opened his suitcase, selected some tools, cracked open the vault and got the child out. As everybody looked at him in total astonishment, he put his tools back in the suitcase, closed it and walked to the front door thinking that he had betrayed himself in the act. Imagine his surprise when he saw Detective Price standing at the front door waiting for him.

 

Valentine was a criminal. But as the warden had reminded him earlier, he was not a bad fellow at heart. That was why, when it came to the question of saving a child at the expense of his future security and married life, he did not hesitate.

Yes, there is so much goodness in everybody. Nobody is bad at heart. It is usually the circumstances that make some people behave so badly. However, if we give the right training and encouragement, they would never end up as criminals or losers in life. But unfortunately, we very often fail to see this goodness in others as well as in ourselves.

 

Let us come back to the rest of the story as told by the American literary genius, O. Henry in "A Retrieved Reformation." When Valentine saw Ben Price standing at the door, he said, "Hello, Ben! Got around at last, have you? Well, let's go." Valentine was ready to be arrested and brought to justice. However, Price had other ideas. He said: "Guess, you are mistaken, Mr. Spencer. Don't believe I recognize you."

 

Price who came to arrest Valentine saw his goodness in saving a child at the cost of betraying himself. That struck a chord in his heart and he did not want to put Valentine into trouble; he allowed him to go free!

 

There is so much goodness in our hearts. If only it is reflected in our daily life!

 

There is so much goodness in everybody.  Nobody is bad at heart.

Pray not for the material needs... but for the eternal blessings

 Narendra was born in the lap of luxury. But his world collapsed upside down unexpectedly. His father was a leading advocate in the High Court of Calcutta, India. Lavish in every way, his father never cared to save anything for a rainy day. He thought he would always be there to support his family. But his untimely death shattered the life of Narendra and his mother.

Narendra was in college when his father died. He had to discontinue his education and support himself and his mother. He knocked at many doors for a job. But none offered him even an attendant's job. Yet he never gave up. He believed God would be on his side to help him.

 

It was his practice to get up early in the morning to pray. One morning while he was immersed in prayer, his mother lost her cool mind set and scolded him violently saying, "Why are your prayers not answered with food? Will you get food for your stomach if you recite the names of God?"

Narendra was speechless. He could not believe his mother would say such a thing. However, he knew pains of hunger would drive people insane. Bravely he went to see his spiritual guide and guru Sriramakrishna Paramahamsa. Without much introduction he requested the Swamiji to pray for his family's financial turnaround. But Swamiji refused to do such a thing. However, he said if Narendra so wishes he himself could go to the temple and pray for his financial well being. Narendra knew he had no choice because of his mother. He went to the temple to pray. But while he was there he forgot why he was there and asked God only for wisdom and devotion. On his return the Swamiji asked him whether he prayed for material blessings for his family. Only then did he remember why he had gone to the temple. This time the Swamiji recommended that he should go back to the temple and pray for the prosperity of his family.

 Narendra went back to the temple, but again forgot why he was there. Hence, he prayed to the Lord again to bless him with wisdom and devotion. When Sriramakrishna found out what had happened he insisted that Narendra should go back again to the temple to pray for his family's needs. This time, while being in the temple, he remembered why he was there. But he could not bring himself to do it. Hence, he prayed for God's blessings and left the temple.

Narendra was in extreme poverty. Even then he could not think of asking God specifically for material blessings. It was this Narendra who later became world-famous as Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902).

 

Vivekananda believed in the providence of God. He knew God would take care of his needs. That was why even in the midst of dire poverty he did not pray for material needs. Instead he prayed for the blessings of God. He knew what he really needed was God's blessings and not material prosperity.

 

The fact that Vivekananda did not pray for material prosperity does not mean that we should not pray for material blessings in our life. However, we should make sure that our prayer does not end up with endless requests for material blessings. God is our heavenly father. Hence, there is nothing wrong in asking Him what we need in our lives. However, we should never forget that what we really need in our lives is His love and continued protection. If God's blessings are with us, then we will lack nothing. In that case why should we always blabber about material things in our prayer?

 During the great war of Kurukshetra, the rival leaders went to Lord Krishna for help. While Duryodhana asked Krishna for the support of his whole army, Arjuna requested only the personal support of Krishna. Arjuna knew it was enough to have the personal presence and the blessings of Krishna to win the war. And that is what happened with the personal presence and support of Krishna, Arjuna and other Pandavas won the war. What we also need in our life is God's presence and His blessings. And then we will have dearth of nothing, we will never fail.

 

Writing style and themes of Dylan Thomas as a modern poet

 

Dylan Thomas, a Welsh poet is considered one of the prominent figures of modern poetry. His writing style and themes exhibit several distinctive characteristics that set him apart as a modern poet.

He made a dramatic impact on the literary world with his first collection of poetry, appeared in December of 1934, when he was only twenty years old. Although he had published a few poems in literary magazines during the previous year, Thomas was basically an unknown figure. From the beginning, he was a controversial poet. Not part of the conventional literary establishment, unconnected with any particular poetic movement, his work was difficult to categorize. Although Thomas’s poems received critical acclaim for the force and vitality of their language and imagery, he was also criticized for obscurity. Because of this, he was often identified with the Surrealist movement, where images and language violated the rules of logic, frequently imitating the landscape of dreams, or even nightmares. On the surface, Thomas seems to have much in common with Surrealism. Thomas fully intended his images to be understood. Unfortunately for the reader, the intensely personal nature of many of his metaphors makes this difficult.

 

Here are some key aspects of his style and themes:

 

Experimental Language: Dylan Thomas was known for his rich and evocative language. He experimented with the sounds and rhythms of words, employing alliteration, assonance, and internal rhyme to create a musical quality to his poetry. His vivid and imaginative use of language often created a dreamlike or surreal atmosphere in his works.

Dense Imagery: Thomas's poetry is replete with vivid and often complex imagery. He painted pictures with words, using sensory descriptions to evoke powerful emotions and provoke the reader's imagination. His use of visual, auditory, and tactile imagery contributed to the overall intensity of his poems.

Exploration of Human Psyche: Like many modern poets, Thomas delved into the complexities of the human mind and emotions. He often explored themes of love, death, identity, and the passage of time. His introspective and subjective approach added depth and emotional resonance to his poetry.

 

Rejection of Traditional Forms: As a modern poet, Thomas challenged traditional poetic forms and structures. While he occasionally used classical forms like sonnets, he was more known for his experimentation with free verse and irregular rhyme schemes. This departure from conventional patterns allowed him greater freedom in expressing his ideas and emotions.

Celebration of Nature: Nature was a recurring theme in Thomas's poetry. He had a deep connection with the Welsh landscape, and his works often celebrated the beauty and power of nature. However, his portrayal of nature was not merely blissful; he sometimes explored its darker and wilder aspects as well.

Personal and Universal Themes: Thomas's poems often contained personal elements from his own life experiences, but they were also relatable on a universal level. His exploration of love, mortality, and the human condition resonates with readers from various backgrounds and experiences.

Emphasis on Subjectivity and Emotion: Like the Romantics, Thomas places a strong emphasis on subjectivity and emotions in his poetry. His poems often explore complex and intense emotional states, and he uses vivid and evocative language to express these feelings. He weaves personal experiences, dreams, and memories into his poems, inviting readers to engage with the world through an emotional and imaginative lens.

Celebration of Childhood and Innocence: Many Neo-Romantic poets idealize childhood and innocence as a state of purity and freedom. Thomas, too, frequently incorporates themes of childhood, nostalgia, and innocence into his work, exploring the loss of innocence and the passage of time. His famous poem "Fern Hill" exemplifies this aspect, recounting the joys of childhood on a farm while also acknowledging the inevitable transition into adulthood.

Escapism and Fantasy: Neo-Romantic poets often embrace escapism and the realm of imagination, seeking to transcend the constraints of reality. In his poetry, Thomas creates surreal and fantastical imagery that blurs the lines between the real and the imagined. His poem "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" is a powerful example, where he calls on his dying father to resist death, using vibrant metaphors to depict the fight against mortality.

 

Rejection of Rationalism: Neo-Romanticism tends to reject the dominance of reason and logic, instead valuing intuition and emotion as essential aspects of human experience. In many of his poems, Thomas avoids strict logical structures and embraces a more imaginative and emotive approach to language and meaning.

 

Rich in Symbolism: symbolism is a general phenomenon in literature. It has become a hallmark in the modern age. The poems such as ‘The force that through the green fuse drives the flower, Fern hill and Death shall have no dominion remarkably express the craftsmanship of Dylan Thomas a symbolist poet.   

 

Writing style of Philip Larkin as a 20th century movement poet

 

Philip Larkin (1922-1985) is regarded as one of the most significant poets of the 20th century, and his work is often associated with the "Movement" in British poetry. The Movement was a group of poets who emerged in the 1950s and 1960s and shared certain thematic and stylistic characteristics. Larkin, along with other poets like Kingsley Amis, Thom Gunn, and Donald Davie, is considered a key figure of this literary movement.

 

Following are the features of a movement poetry

Rejection of Romanticism: The Movement poets rejected the lofty and idealistic themes of Romantic poetry. Instead, they focused on everyday life, the mundane, and ordinary experiences. Larkin's poetry reflects this aspect of the Movement. He often wrote about common subjects like aging, loneliness, and disappointment in love and life. His poem "Toads" is a prime example of how he elevates mundane daily routines to explore deeper existential questions.

 

Realism and Detachment from sentiments: Movement poets sought to convey a sense of realism, avoiding sentimentalism and overt emotional expression. Larkin's poems frequently demonstrate a detached and ironic tone, which sets him apart from earlier Romantic poets. In "This Be The Verse," he uses direct and unadorned language to address the complexities of family relationships.

 

Precise and Accessible Language: The Movement poets aimed to use clear and straightforward language, making their poetry accessible to a wider audience. Larkin's poems are renowned for their precision and simplicity. He often employed everyday language to communicate profound ideas. "An Arundel Tomb" is an example of Larkin's ability to evoke powerful emotions through precise and accessible language.

 

Focus on the Individual: The Movement poets emphasized the individual's experience and perspective in their poetry. Larkin's works frequently delve into the inner thoughts highlighting the human condition. Poems like "Aubade" and "Mr. Bleaney" explore the existential fears and anxieties of the individual, making them emblematic of the Movement's focus on the self.

 

Skepticism and Disillusionment: Another characteristic of the Movement poets was their skepticism and disillusionment with grand ideologies. Larkin's poetry often reflects a sense of disillusionment with societal norms and values. In "High Windows," for instance, he challenges conventional attitudes towards sex and morality, expressing a sense of rebellion and critique.

 

Urban Landscape and Modern Life: The Movement poets were influenced by the changing urban landscape and modern life. Larkin's poetry frequently depicts the urban environment, exploring the impact of modernity on individuals and society. Poems like "The Whitsun Weddings" capture the essence of post-war England and the impact of societal changes on people's lives.

 

While Philip Larkin undoubtedly embodies many characteristics of the Movement, it is important to note that his poetry goes beyond the confines of any specific literary group. His unique voice, astute observations, and masterful use of language make him a standout poet of the 20th century, transcending any categorization. Larkin's deep explorations of the human condition, his unflinching examination of life's complexities, and his ability to find beauty and meaning in the ordinary set him apart as a truly exceptional poet of his time.

 

Philip Larkin's significance as a 20th-century poet lies in his ability to use accessible language to convey profound insights into the human condition. His realism, emotional restraint, and exploration of universal themes continue to resonate with readers, making him a lasting and influential figure in modern poetry. Despite the controversies surrounding some aspects of his work, Larkin's enduring legacy as a poet remains firmly established.