Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

                                                                                       Robert Frost, USA (1874 – 1963) 
Summary in English 

In the poem, the speaker (poet) is going somewhere on horseback. The time is evening. As he arrives at the peaceful place where woods are covered by the snow, then he is delighted and attracted through the beauty of the nature. He looks at the woods wearing the nice dress i.e. snow. Then, he expresses his feeling that those villagers do not know the value of the beauty of nature. He imagines those woods that belong to a farmer of the village.
The second stanza is dedicated to horse activity. The horse is surprised because he is placed in the lonely jungle where there are no sheds. In addition, the horse feels that his master must have mistaken the way. Even horse might be asking his master sorry that he made a mistake. Then, the horse rings harness bell. It makes the speaker wake up and realize that time is already gone and he has already promised that he has to reach somewhere on time. As the speaker forgets all in the beauty of nature, at last he becomes conscious of his duty, too.
The speaker describes the beauty of the woods as "Lovely, dark, and deep" but reminds himself that he must not stay there for long time since he is busy and has a lot of duties and responsibilities. Man should not forget the duty of life just in the name of beauty. Anyway, happy and progressive life is a life combining both duty and beauty. According to speaker, life is a long journey, so, we have a lot of things to do before we die. If so, life remains meaningful and death is forgotten.

Shep's Hobby

       
                                                                                    James Herriot, UK, (1916 – 1995)
Summary in English

'Shep's Hobby' by James Herriot is an animal story tries to defend the rights and freedom of animals. This story tries to advocate that animal rights should not be interfered. Since the writer is animal lover, he suggests us not to suppress the feeling, joys, hobbies, likes, dislikes, emotions, etc. of the animals. All creatures have hobby and fun. If such hobby and fun are deprived of, the creature's life becomes useless.
Herriot often went to Mr. Bailes's farm. Mr. Bailes had kept a big dog named 'Shep.'  Shep is a bigger than collie, black and white in color with massive limbs, brown head with upright ears. He was very strange and playful creature. He used to frighten passersby violently but without any harm to them. The stranger would be frightened and would jump several inches in the air. Then, Shep would be happy and wait for another victim.
One day, James Herriot was invited by Mr. Bailes to see his sick cow named 'Rose'. The cow was suffering from an unknown illness. Herriot was walking between the walls when Shep barked so loudly into his right ear that he was frightened. He jumped several inches in the air. Anyway, the doctor checked the cow for a long time since Rose did not improve her condition. Every time, he was frightened by the dog. The writer could not understand whether the dog wanted to bite him or he only played for fun. He thought Shep was a dangerous dog so he decided to punish him. For that, he caught the chain and dragged the dog nearby his feet. Shep wagged his tail and asked for pardon looking at the eyes of the writer.
After a month, the writer was again invited by Mr. Bailes. This time dog 'Shep' did not bark since he understood that writer did not like such behavior. In fact, Shep used to enjoy by frightening people with his loud barking having no evil plan of biting them. Therefore, the writer felt guilty for breaking the hobby of Shep.
After few weeks, the writer saw a potter who was walking through Mr. Bailes's farm. It was Shep who jumped and barked loudly at him. Having frightened, the potter ran away leaving his all pots and Shep felt happy. The writer also felt happy realizing that Shep's hobby was still alive.

Scientific Inquiry: Invention and Text

   
                                                                                        Scientific Inquiry: Invention and Text
Summary in English

This is a scientific essay. The process of scientific discovery often involves formulating hypotheses, testing predictions, and an interdisciplinary search in the real world. A scientific inquiry carries on several assumptions and testing to get the invention of scientific discovery. Thus, the writer tries to say that one should formulate a good hypothesis, test the possible conditions and reach the conclusion through a rigorous scientific inquiry.
Hempel talks about the research of Ignaz Semmelweis who discovers the main cause of the death of a large number of women who believed babies in the First Division. Semmelweis, a physician of Hungarian birth, did this work during the years from 1844 to 1848 at the Vienna General Hospital. As a member of the medical staff first Maternity Division in the hospital., he was distressed to find that a large proportion of the women who were delivered of their babies in that division contracted a serious and often fatal illness known as perpetual fever or childhood fever. They died from it while they delivered their babies.
Semmelweis began by considering various explanations that were current at the time. He chose some for the experiments. One of the views assumed that the cause was epidemic influences. However, he argued that such influence could not affect the First Division only. In both the First and Second Division, women delivered babies suffered from childbed fever and died of it. But the surprising thing was that the number of women who died of such fatal illness was greater in the first Division. But the crowd was more in the Second Division because the patients wanted to avoid the notorious First Division.
Semmelweis formulated his hypothesis by rejecting some meaningless or confused explanation. He adopted some logical predictions as follows:
He knew that epidemic influence was one of the causes but did not know why it was fatal in the First Division.
Overcrowd might be another cause but the crowd was more in the Second Division.
Another cause might be that the trainees were doing rough experiments and causing injuries. However, the death rate in the First Division was the same even after decreasing such number of medical students.
Finally, the research of Semmelweis reached to the significant conclusion that the women in the First Division died due to blood poisoning. The doctors and medical students used to come to the First Division from the autopsy room without washing their hands properly, and they used to examine the women who delivered babies. Therefore, when the doctors and trainees washed their hands properly and examined the women, the mortality rate in the First Division got decreased. Similarly, the midwives examining patients in the Second Division required no autopsy training. Thus, the death rate among the women they examined was low in the Second Division. Similarly, infected mothers transmitted the infection to their babies as well.

Science and the 'Spirits'

                                                                                          John Tyndall, England (1820 – 1893)
Summary in English 

 The essay represents the relationship between science and the spirits where the scientific methods of inquiry dealing with natural truth can be also applied to the "spiritual phenomena." The writer says that many people have the beliefs on the existence of spirits still in the modern world. The essay rightly claims that the séances to spread illusions about the existence of ghosts or spirits have been going on.
John Tyndall receives an invitation to attend a dinner party where a séance is being held. Tyndall tries to apply his scientific training to investigate the feasibility of communication with spirits. He finds out different natures of people in the party. Some people claim that they can have communication with the spirits. Out of them, one silly man claims that he has supernatural power so that he can read the minds of people. Tyndall recently asks him what is in his mind but he can't reply.
In the party, every people who claim about supernatural power that gets failed pass by simply empirical tests. Although Tyndall proves that the alleged messages originate from some of the participants but all most all participants believe on their interaction with the spirits. So, the majority of human beings on this planet believe in spirits-both their own spiritual aspect and the existence of non-physical spirits.
Similarly, in the evening time, the table and candles of the table begin to shake. Many people believe that it is because of the power of spirits. Immediately, Tyndall observes what happened but finds some people sitting under the table shaking it. Likewise, one woman claims that she has the supernatural power having the effect of magnet. But when Tyndall observes her, she becomes talkless and indifferent. From all these observation, the writer comes to the conclusion that people believe on spirits without any truth and scientific observation.

Piano

                                                                          D. H. Lawrence, England (1885 – 1930)
Summary in English  

"Piano" is a lyric poem reflecting the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker as he listens at dusk to a woman singing a song that brings back childhood memories of sitting at his mother's feel while she played the piano. It is a short poem of 12 lines divided into three quatrains, rhymed AABB. The poem contains vivid images, and specific and concrete details provide a clear embodiment of his memory.
The poem shows the conflict between the speaker's (poet) desire to go back to the childhood and his desire to be a perfect man. Similarly, it highlights the significance of music where all most all creature n this universe including human beings are influenced by it.
The poet expresses his feeling and emotions that a beautiful girl is playing piano in the evening in soft and melodious form to attract the handsome poet. He says that she wants to make him the best lover. As the poet listen such music, he remembers his past childhood days where he takes the present girl as his mother. He forgets the present where he is and thinks that he is sleeping on the lap of lady of his mother under the piano. As he is young, he tries to control himself. But, the memory of the past frequently comes to him. So, he assumes as if he was a child and does the activities like small child forgetting his present age, roles and responsibilities. He starts weeping as he used to do when he was child.

Marriage Is a Private Affair

                                                                                      Chinua Achebe, Nigeria (1930 - )
Summary in English

'Marriage Is a Private Affair' is a story by Chinua Achebe. This story portrays the realistic conflict between old and new generations in Nigerian society in particular and in all the societies in general. In fact, this story shows the victory of new generation with modern values over the traditional customs.
Nnaemeka is a village boy from Ibo tribe of Nigeria. His father named Okeke is very traditional and rigid. Nnaemeka goes to town for his higher education after completing his school education. He falls in love with Nene, a modern girl from another culture at University. Both of them live in Lagos, a town of Nigeria. Nene asks Nnaemeka to write a letter to his father about their love and engagement. But Nnaemeka does not because he is afraid of his own father. However, Nene does not believe that parents will be unhappy when their son is engaged to marry.
Nnaemeka goes home on his holidays to convince his father. But his father wants to marriage his son with Ugoye Nweke, a Christian girl from Ibo tribe. Nnaemeka refuses to follow the suggestion of his father and clearly tells him that he loves a girl in town. She is Nene Atang and she is the only girl he could marry. She does not belong to the Ibo tribe and she is a teacher. His father believes that a Christian woman should not teach so he along with other villagers think that Nnaemeka has gone mad and a devil has entered into his mind.
Then, Nnaemeka goes to town and gets married with Nene. He stops going to visit his father on holidays. However, he sends the wedding picture to his father. His father tears the picture and sends back.
There is no connection between Nnaemeka and his father, Uekeke for about 8 years. Nene makes good relation with people living in Lagos.
Nnaemeka and Nene have two sons. Nene writes a letter to her father-in-law, Okeke asking to let his grandchildren visit their grandfather. She also requests him to take Nnaemeka and his two children for a few days while she would stay in town alone.
When Okeke gets this message, he is not able to resist his heart. He imagines his two grandchildren playing with him. Suddenly, love emerges from his heart for them. He knows that he could not stop loving his innocent grand children. Thus, he decides to go to town to take them.

Life Without Chiefs

                                                                                    Marvin Harris, USA (1927 – 2001)
Summary in English

"Life Without Chiefs" is an anthropological essay that represents how the egalitarian society of the past turned into the present society based on the stages, empires and hierarchical one. In the present world, human beings cannot exist without some people ruling and others beings ruled. However, the greater part of human existence went without chiefs. Human beings lived a far greater part without kings, queens, presidents and ministers. In the prehistoric society, people were selfless, equal, discrimination and inequalities due to the cultural revolution.
In the egalitarian society, there were no governments, political parties, courts, chiefs, police, army, institutions, leaders, weapons and so on. People used to live in small group sharing whatever they had. The society was run by the headmen who were never selfish. There were no wars, violence, crimes, and hierarchies. However, there was no room for gratitude or thanks in the egalitarian societies. Anyone who wanted to be superior was left alone in such societies. During the reign of egalitarian headman, no individual could control access to natural resources. Rivers, plants, animals and the land were all communal property.
After the rapid growth of the population, human cultures got changed. The Headmen turned into Bigmen. Douglas Oliver reports that the Bigmen were also known as 'Mumis'. The Bigmen slowly turned into Chief. People became powerful with the industrialization: the modern world has become very much selfish, hierarchical, commercial and materialistic. From peaceful origin, human beings are heading towards nuclear war, violence and destruction. In the modern world, there are chiefs, government, police, army, leaders, courts and institution which control, guide and rule the common people. There is full of war discrimination, injustice and inequalities here and there. Therefore, we, modern people have to learn moral lesson from the very past egalitarian society.