JUNE-2021
B.A. (IV Semester) Examination
ENGLISH
Paper: BENG-404(E)
(Reading Prose and Fiction)
Full Marks : 80
Pass Marks : 35%
Time : Three Hours
Notes: (i) Answer all questions.
(ii) The figures in the margin indicate full marks for the questions.
UNIT –A
I. Bertand Russel” had a passionate concern for mankind’s welfare and a faith in the power of knowledge to save man from fatal pitfalls” Discuss after Russel’s essay Science and War. (16)
Or
Do you think Nehru makes a correct appraisal of Gandhi in his Homage to Gandhi” discuss (16)
UNIT-B
II. Discuss the significance of the title of R.K. Narayan’s novel The Guide (16)
Or
Attempt a character sketch of Rosie (16)
UNIT-C
III. Discuss the theme of love and marriage in the Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice (16)
Or
Do you think Jane Austen’s women are more intelligent and life-like than her man? Give reasons for your answer (16)
UNIT-D
IV. Discuss the significance of the title of the short story The Fly (16)
Or
Critically appreciate the short story The Duchess and the Jeweler (16)
UNIT-E
V. Attempt a critical appreciation of the following passage (16)
It was my brother who taught me how to acquire and train grasshoppers. All afternoon we wandered on the outskirts of the town, peered into every ditch and culvert, stirred up the weeds and trapped the grass grasshoppers in little canisters and brought them home, he always let me keep the green ones, and the large brown variety was reserved for his own pleasure. We kept them each in a cardboard box perforated for air, and stuffed in green leaves, sugar and what not for their nourishment, and tried to teach them tricks, but invariably found the dead two mornings later. Although puzzled, we never wasted time in trying to unravel the mystery of their death, but sallied forth to collect fresh ones in the afternoon. When eight weeks of my vacation were over, and I had to go to Madras, I felt desolate. Having got used to the company of my brothers and sisters, to my mother attention and to servants, it would seen an impossibility to go back to drab street companions, the abusive school master, the scabby bench mates from the boarding and above all the loneliness of Madras Home. But I had no choice. A postcard from that end in my uncle’s clear cut calligraphy intimated the date of my school’s opening and the fact that I was promoted to the next standard. I have no doubt that I was pushed up by devious means, as the old school clerk who noted down passes and failures in the register was a constant visitor to our home and received many small favours from my uncle. Later he became my private tutor at home for many years and navigated me through the perilous seas of arithmetic and geography in particular, sometimes flourishing his cane as an aid to his teaching; occasionally he promised me solitary and starving confinement, in a cell supposed to be right under the crucifix atop the Lutheran Mission School; yet he was helpful at the time of promotion. My mother prepared several types of sweets to last me for weeks and saw me off in the company of someone going to Madras. During my departure, my father hovered about to give me parting advice: “Try not to become a Madras Vagrant”, he said jocularly and gave me pocket money.
