પપ્પાની ગર્લફ્રેન્ડ by Dr. Nimit Oza

"Never judge a book by its cover ".ખરેખર આ બુક એવા લોકોની સમજની બહાર છે જેમને આ ટાઇટલ યોગ્ય ન લાગ્યું હોય.બુકમાં જે વાત થઈ છે એ તદ્દન નાજુક છે,પણ રિઆલિસ્ટીક છે.પણ વાત એ રહી કે શું આપણે એ એ હકીકત સ્વીકારવા સક્ષમ છીએ ,શું આપણમાં એટલી ક્ષમતા છે કે આ બોલ્ડ વિચારોને પચાવી શકીએ?? કદાચ નહીં.

એક વાક્ય છે આ બુક માં કે,

"રસ્તા પર પડેલી કેળાની છાલ જોઈને લપસી જવાનો વિચાર આવે અને તેમ છતાં એ કેળાની છાલ પર પગ મુકવાનું મન થાય તો એનો અર્થ એ નથી કે વ્યક્તિ મુર્ખ છે એ વ્યક્તિ કોઈ પુરુષ પણ હોઈ શકે છે."

આ બુકમાં વાત છે પ્રેમની,પુરુષની જરૂરિયાતોની ,સમાજના બંધનમાં બંધાયેલા એવા દરેક માણસની જે આજુબાજુમા આટલા બધા લોકો હોવા છતાં એકલો છે. નિમિત્ત ઓઝા એ સરસ વાત કરી છે કે 

“વધતી ઉંમરની સાથે કરચલીઓ ફરજિયાત હોય છે , એકલતા નહીં . પ્રેમ કરવા માટે કોઈ એજ લિમિટ કે ટાઇમ લિમિટ નથી હોતી . પચાસની ઉંમર વટાવી ચૂકેલા પુરુષને પણ પ્રેમમાં પડવાનો એટલો જ અધિકાર છે , જેટલો અધિકાર એક વીસ યુવાનને ”

પિતા થવું એટલે શું પોતાના પુરુષ હોવાના ગુણધર્મમાંથી રાજીનામું આપવું ? ના જરા પણ નહીં.પિતા હોય તોપણ પુરુષ,પુરુષ તો રહે જ છે. પ્રેમ એ દરેક વ્યક્તિની જરૂરિયાત છે.દીકરી પ્રેમ કરે જ છે,પણ દીકરીના હેતમાં અને ગર્લફ્રેન્ડના પ્રેમમાં ફરક હોય છે.ગર્લફ્રેન્ડનો સ્પર્શ જે આપી શકે છે,તે દીકરી નો સ્પર્શ નથી આપી શકતો.માતા અથવા પિતા બેમાંથી એક એકલા પડે,પછી પણ ફક્ત માતા કે પિતા નથી રહેતા.તેમનું અલગ અસ્તિત્વ હોય છે.તેમને પણ જરૂરિયાતો હોય છે.સમાજ શું કહેશે ? અમે તો હંમેશા છીએ જ ને,એ બધી પોકળ વાતો છે .આ વસ્તુ દરેક દીકરા અને દીકરીએ સમજવા જેવી છે.ઉંમર વધવા સાથે કંઈ જીવવાનું છોડી દેવાનું હોતું નથી.આવું જ કંઈક આ બુકમાં એક વાક્યમાં વાંચ્યું હતું.

"60 વર્ષ થાય એટલે માણસને જીવવાનું છોડી દેવાનું અમી ? આ જ ઉંમર છે જીવવાની . જ્યારે તમે બધી ચિંતામાંથી , બધી જવાબદારીઓમાંથી મુક્ત થઈ ગયા હોવ , એ જ સમય હોય છે મુઠ્ઠીઓ ખોલી હાથ ફેલાવીને જિંદગીને ગળે મળવાનો . એ સમય હોય છે અધૂરાં સપનાઓને પૂરાં કરવાનો ."

શું કામ 60 ની ઉંમરે સપનાઓ ના હોય ? શું કામ 60 ની ઉંમરે પ્રેમ ના થાય ? પ્રેમ કરવા માટે ખરેખર કોઈ ઉંમરનો બાધ નથી હોતો .

"વર્ષો વધવાની સાથે ઉંમર નથી વધતી . જિંદગીને ભરપૂર જીવી લેવાની ઇચ્છાઓ ઘટતી જાય ત્યારે ઉંમર વધે છે ."

દરેક વસ્તુનું,દરેક લાગણીનું ખુબ સરસ રીતે આલેખન કરવામાં આવ્યું છે ડૉક્ટર નિમિત્ત ઓઝા દ્વારા.એ પછી બાપ - દીકરીના સંબંધ હોય કે પપ્પાના ગર્લફ્રેન્ડ સાથેના ! ઈમોશનલ નીડની વાત હોય કે ફિઝિકલ નીડની વાત હોય. માણસને ઉંમર વધવાની સાથે ફિઝિકલ નીડ્સ ઘટે એ પણ જરૂરી નથી અને પ્રેમ તો કોઈ પણ ઉંમરે થઇ શકે . "પ્રેમ એ કોઈ GPSC ની ઍક્ઝામ કે જેની વયમર્યાદા હોય." અને છેલ્લે , મને આ બુકમાંથી ખૂબ જ સ્પર્શી ગયું તે વાક્ય... "પ્રેમ એટલે પોતાનું અસ્તિત્વ ગુમાવીને પણ કોઈને બિનશરતી ચાહવાની કુદરતી ઘટના."

Book Review -"ठीक तुम्हारे पीछे"

मैंने मानव कौल के बारे में कई बार सुना था किन्तु कभी पढ़ा नहीं था। ये पहली ही किताब थी जो पढ़ी हैं।“ठीक तुम्हारे पीछे” एक कहानी संग्रह हैं, या फिर कह सकते हैं, एक कहानी संग्रह के रूप में छपी उपन्यास. इसे उपन्यास कहना ही ज्यादा ठीक रहेगा. क्यूंकि हर कहानी दूसरी कहानी का विस्तार लगती हैं या तो उसके साथ जुड़ी हुई है, एक तरह की पूरक लगती हैं, और हर कहानी में एक ही तो एक मुख्य किरदार हैं, जिसका नाम कभी शिव हैं, कभी लकी, कभी बिक्की और कभी... कोई नाम ही नहीं. वैसे उस बिना नाम वाले किरदार को हम चाहे तो हमारे नाम से भी बुला सकते हैं, और चाहे लेखक के खुद के नाम से भी,हमारे नाम से बुलाना ज्यादा ठीक रहेगा।

हमे लगता है की हर कहानी में यह नाम और बिना नाम वाला मुख्य किरदार कुछ खोज रहा होता हैं. कभी एक नीलकंठ की उड़ान में, कभी एक पतंग बेचने वाले के हाथो में और कभी एक तस्वीर में. वो क्या खोज रहा हैं??? यह शायद उसको भी पता नहीं या पता होते हुए भी, वह उसे खोजने में असमर्थ रहता हैं।अगर हम गौर से पढते तो हमे लगेगा कि हम भी वही खोज रहे हैं, जो वह किरदार खोज रहा हैं,वो किरदार आखिर मैं हार जाता हैं और हम भी कही पर, उसे खोजते खोजते हार चुके होते हैं. उसका वो पूरा सफर हमारा सफर लगता है। वैसे देखा जाए तो दो कहानियों में वह खोज पूरी हुई दिखती हैं, जैसे उनकी पहली कहानी, “आसपास कहीं” और छठी कहानी, “माँ.” लेकिन ज्यादातर कहानियों में, मुख्य किरदार वही पर आकर रुक जाता हैं, जहाँ से उसने शुरुआत की थी.

मानव कौल ने जिस तरह से गम्भीर बातों को भी एक लाइन में, हल्के फुल्के अंदाज़ में कहा है वह सच में बहुत शानदार है। जैसा कि कुछ कहानियां बहुत ज़्यादा लेयर्ड हैं इसलिए एक बार पढ़ने में पता नहीं चलता कि क्या हो रहा है, क्या कहा जा रहा है। आपको एक से अधिक बार पढ़ना पड़ेगा, कहानियों में गहरे उतरने के लिए। पढ़ते हुए हर बार कुछ नया आपके हाथ लगेगा। यदि प्रयोग पसंद करते हैं, कुछ नया पढ़ने की चाहत है तो यह कहानी संग्रह आपको पसंद आएगा। 

इन कहानियों से हमे क्या पता चलता हैं ??? यही कि हमारी जैसी सोच रखने वाले एक हम ही नहीं. कुछ और भी हैं, जो हमारी तरह बारिश का इंतज़ार कर रहे हैं. जिनको समझकर अकेलापन अकेलापन नहीं लगता, एक महोत्सव लगता हैं, एक बारिश के इंतज़ार का महोत्सव.

कहानी के कुछ अंश / कोट्स 

👉"छोटी छोटी व्यस्तताऐ आदमी को कॉकरोच बना देती हैं। फिर उसे लगता है कि वह कभी भी नहीं मरेगा।"

👉"एक सन्नाटा है मेरे अगल - बग़ल। इस सन्नाटे के ढेरों शोर हैं । मैं अपने अकेलेपन में अलग - अलग शोर चुनता हूँ । सुनता हूँ । पर मेरे अकेलेपन में एक आहट है जो हमेशा बनी रहती है कि बाहर कोई है । कोई आने वाला है । मुझे असल में हमेशा किसी न किसी का इंतजार रहता । ना .. ना .. ना ... किसी न - किसी का नहीं , किसी का । कोई है जिसे मैं नहीं जानता हूँ या जानता हूँ ठीक तुम्हारे पीछे 124 पर मिला नहीं हूँ । या मिलना चाहता हूँ बेसब्री से। ऐसा कोई आने ही वाला है । अचानक दरवाजे पर आहट होगी और मेरे दरवाजा खोलते ही मुझे वह दिख जाएगा । वह जिसका मैं सालों से या शायद जबसे मुझे याद है तब से , इंतजार करता आ रहा हूँ । मुझे हमेशा से लगता था कि मैं अकेला रह रहा हूँ । जबकि मैं क़तई अकेला नहीं रह रहा हूँ । मैं हमेशा इंतज़ार में हूँ उस एक के जो बस आने को है । इसका मतलब मैं हमेशा से उस एक के साथ रह रहा हूँ और रहता रहूँगा जो कभी भी नहीं आएगा ।"

👉 "हम कितना fiction में जीते हैं ! जीना बहुत क्षणिक होता है । कभी कभी हम किसी आश्चर्य को जी लेते हैं । उसके पहले और बाद में हम fiction में ही रहते हैं ।"

👉"मुझे कोरे पन्ने बहुत आकर्षित करते हैं। मैं कुछ देर कोरे पन्नों के सामने बैठता हूँ तो एक तरह का संवाद शुरू हो जाता है। यह बिल्कुल वैसा ही है जैसे देर रात चाय बनाने की आदत में मैं हमेशा दो कप चाय बनाता हूँ, एक प्याली चाय जो अकेलापन देती है वह मैं पंसद नहीं करता। दो प्याली चाय का अकेलापन असल में अकेलेपन के महोत्सव मनाने जैसा है”

👉"यह एक बहुत बड़ी प्रदर्शनी है । मेरी बाल्कनी में वही कपड़े सूख रहे हैं जैसा लोग मुझे देखना - सुनना चाहते हैं । मैं भी लगातार उन्हीं कपड़ों को धोती - सुखाती हूँ जिन कपड़ों में लोग मुझे देखना चाहते हैं । तुम्हें पता है यह हिंसा है , हमारी ख़ुद पर ? और इसीलिए शायद हम उन खेलों के बारे में बार - बार सोचते हैं जिन्हें खेलना हमने बहुत पहले छोड़ दिया था । जिन्हें अगर खेल लेते तो शायद हम आज जीत जाते।"

Book Review: 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho

 

After I have finished my masters, I started feeling a bit depressed and anxious during staying at my home to wait for the beginning of a new journey. Am I the only one? And then I decided to read something.Before few days I got surprised. Suddenly one courier man came to my room and said that this is your gift.I was looking at these three books and thought that who gave me this wonderful surprise. And then I came to know about that man. You know you feel very lucky when you have a friend who is a book lover. He is younger than me but is very honest, mature, intelligent, respectful, and sincere than me. He is my online friend, we came in contact through Facebook. He is a student of forensic science though he is constantly connected with the literature and that intensity attracts me a lot. He qualified UGC NET in 2020 and right now is pursuing a Ph.D. in Forensic Science from Gujarat University. He is a good poet as well.

I have a lot of good people in my life, but I will say that it's a strange time that we live in - it's easy to make friends and make connections through social media. But it's very difficult to find a friend like him. I would like to thank Deepak Mahida for his consistent support and guidance during my dissertation writing and also thank you for this precious gift.

One of my favourite lines from his Gazhal:

રસ્તા ઉપર ઊભા રહીને ક્યાં જવું? ક્યાં ના જવું? એ પણ નિયત કરવું પડે, એવો સમય આવી અને થંભી ગયો છે.

દોડુ સતત તો સૌ નસો દુઃખ્યા કરે, બેસી રહે હાથે-પગે ખાલી ચડે, એવો સમય આવી અને થંભી ગયો છે.

-દીપક મહીડા

Book Review -The Alchemist by  Paulo Coelho

About the book:

The Alchemist is Written by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho in 1988. It was initially written and published in Portuguese. It is an international bestseller and has been translated to more than 70 languages. The book is relatively short having around 160 pages only. The theme is about finding one’s destiny or purpose in life.

It is said that Dreams are meant to be followed. Everything is one thing. Moments are meant to be lived. Reading these statements evokes a rush of energy, which is what the book leaves you with at the end of the novel. The vast majority of the people in this material world are unaware of how to choose the right path at the right time. Someone is confined to his legend or his feelings. With the temporary sacrifice of our love, this book offers a new approach to fulfilling our legend or dream.

'The Alchemist' is an interesting and inspirational journey. The whole story revolves around the “Personal Legend”. The story is all about a journey of physical and spiritual change. The whole journey tells us to tackle difficulties on our way. Some barriers stop us to go onward but this story throws light on the consistency and priorities. These barriers cannot stop us if we are stuck to pursue our Personal Legend. The main focus of the story is on the sufferings of the journey and the lessons of the sufferings.

The story starts with a dream. A shepherd named Santiago has chosen his profession according to his own liking. He dreams twice about a treasure lying under the Pyramids of Egypt. And his quest for finding that treasure becomes a struggle in his life. Following the dream is good but how to follow that process or method is very important.

After reading this book the I found the following lessons that the author might want to convey to his readers:

👉Live in the present- There is a whole conversation mentioned in the novel which talks about why the desert men need to live in the present. They justify it by saying that in case they start thinking about the war in the future, they would lose sight of the requirements to be made ready to fight the war-today.The important lesson is, “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

👉Never give up– The story highlights the importance of each clue to lead us to the dream of our life. It also portrays the never-give-up attitude of the protagonist that leads him to his dream. Paulo Coelho rightly said in this book that 

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

(The Alchemist)

👉Be passionate.

👉Be you.

👉Don’t be afraid to fail.

👉Overcome fear.

👉Follow your personal legend.

As a student of English literature and criticism let me try to apply the theory of Existentialism in this novel. Existential psychology deals with the individual’s encounters in life, both physical and psychological which lead to their transition in life that may be at times be life-changing that leads the individual to emerge, evolve and become a different individual. In simpler terms, existentialism deals with the awareness of his/her own being. It also deals with the questions, who am I? where do I come from? The most important protagonist of the novel Santiago conveys, 

“I learned the alchemist’s secrets in my travels. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe.”

 (The Alchemist) 

As a reader somewhere we find the life of protagonist very meaningless and purposeless. But if we read deeply we come to know that he is tested of patience, intelligence, determinants, bravery, and a lot more qualities, just to make sure he deserved the treasure. In in the end, he wouldn’t just find the treasure but also be left with the best version of himself. After a long struggle, he discovers that the treasure was not just the gold but what he had of himself.

You should definitely read this book if the words of Robert Frost have ever rung true for you

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by.

And that has made all the difference."

– Robert Frost

Thank You.......

Bookpratha- Purchasing books for Library

Hello readers

I am Daya Vaghani, Student of Department of English, MKBU.On 29th March we visited Bookpratha Library at Bhavnagar.This blog is about the experience of  purchasing the books.

 

"There is no friend as loyal as a book".

-Ernest Hemingway

Reading is a very good habit that one needs to develop in life. Good books can inform you, enlighten you and lead you in the right direction. There is no better companion than a good book. Reading is important because it is good for your overall well-being.

Vinod Joshi sir has given the grant to the #department_of_English to purchase book for our library. He is an Indian poet, writer and literary critic in Gujarati language from Gujarat, India.Today we sem 2 and sem 4 students visited #Bookpratha, #bhavnagar to purchase book from his grant.We had purchased many books of Gujarati Literature.It will be useful for the department students.Because reading helps you to develop positive thinking. Reading is important because it develops your mind and gives you excessive knowledge and lessons of life. It helps you understand the world around you better. It keeps your mind active and enhances your creative ability.Sidney Sheldon perfectly describes: “Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life.”

We are very greatful to Vinod Joshi sir Dilip Barad sir and also showing our gratitude towards Vaidehi Hariyani ma'am and Yesha Bhatt ma'am for joining us.

Here is a few glimpses of today.

P-208 Assignment

Need of Comparative Literature in Multilingual,Multicultural India

Name-Daya Vaghani

Paper- 208- Comparative Literature and Translation Studies

Roll no-06

Enrollment no-3069206420200017

Email id- dayavaghani2969@gmail.com

Batch-2020-22 (MA Sem-IV)

Submitted to- S. B. Gardi Department of English,

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Introduction:

As India is dominated by multilingual and multicultural practises (apart from our mother tongue, we also talk in other languages), Comparative Literature is required for studying Indian literature. India is a colourful jumble or mosaic of many languages and cultures.Culture, religion, races, and ethnic groupings are all factors to consider. Comparative Indian Literature is also a comprehensive study of Indian literature.all regional literatures that transcend religious, caste, and race divides, andNumerous regional cultures, traditions, and languages The goal of this type of comparative literature is to find out what's out there.The goal of this research is to find commonalities among the diverse Indian literatures.languages. A comparative literature research is a type of coordination that looks for similarities in two or more sources of information.respects.In such study not only comparison but other methods such as description, characterization, interpretation, narration, evaluation are employed. It is independent of linguistic or political boundaries.

What is Comparative Literature?

Comparative literature is the study of inter-relationship between any two or more than two significant literary works or literatures. Literature is the expression and exchange of feelings and experiences. Comparative Literature is more so, because it is the study of literature that traverses geographical, cultural and linguistic borders, nations, time, periods, genres, forms and themes. It bridges the gap between regions and nations and strengthens the bond. It views literary texts as both being the product of a specific language and culture and as a universal phenomenon transcending national and cultural boundaries and time frames.

The concept of comparative literature originates in Hitopadesha: 1.3.71 where it is written that it is only the narrow minded people who think that this is mine and this is someone else’s, for the selfless entire universe is a family: 

अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघु चेतसाम् |

Ayam nijam paro veti ganana laghu chetasam,

उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् |

Udar charitanam tu vasudhaiv kutumbakam.

Comparative Literature in began in India in 1956 with the establishment of Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its parent body was the National Council of Education where Rabindranath Tagore made his speech on world literature or Visvasahitya which he called Comparative Literature in 1907. The term ‘litterature comparee’ was first used by Villemain, a French scholar in 1829. Friedrich Schlegel used the term ‘Universal poesie’ in 1798. Amiya Dev in Comparative Literature in India writes: “Indian Literature is not an entity but an interliterary condition in the widest possible sense of the concept which is related to Goethe's original idea of ‘weltliterature’ which means ‘world literature’, a stage when all literatures would become one. ‘Weltliterature’, the term formulated by Goethe means literature that belongs to and can be appreciated by all nations and peoples, and also which by sharing of ideas acts as mediator between different nations and helps to deepen and augment the spirit of man. The definition of comparative literature given by Bijay Kumar Dass is very simple vivid and understandable:

The simple way to define comparative literature is to say that it is a comparison between the two literatures… Comparative literature analyses the similarities and dissimilarities and parallels between two literatures. It further studies themes, modes, conventions and use of folk tales, myths in two different literatures or even more .

Tagore refers to comparative literature by the name of 'Vishvasahitya' a term used for Universalism of literature and writes: 

From narrow provincialism we must free ourselves, we must strive to see the works of each author as a whole, that whole as a part of man's universal creativity, and that universal spirit in its manifestation through world literature (Bose).

 Mathew Aronold made meaningful efforts in English world and emphasized strongly the significance of the comparative approach to literary works. He wrote in a letter in 1848, “every critic should try and possess one great literature at least besides his own and more the unlike his own, the better” (Dhawan).

Bijay Kumar Dass rightly projects the purpose of Comparative literature where everywhere one looks beyond the borders of his nation or province: 

“Comparative literature transcends the narrowness, provinciality and parochialism of national and general literatures. The complacence of regional writers are shaken when the comparatists study their writings along with the writings of other writers in different other languages.”

The study of comparative literature can have a wide range of areas; however, it is done with the goal of using it as the most useful technique for examining works of art. By comparing a work to other works in different languages, one can better recognise its qualities. Second, one can consider literary merit in a balanced manner. Finally, any literature from a certain location or country cannot be examined in isolation from other literatures; it must be studied in conjunction with other literatures. The goal of comparative literary studies is to characterise the nation's spirit as expressed in its language and literature. The goal of these similarity and difference research is to develop a global structure of oneness.

The wide variation of India's cultural traditions and shared histories necessitates a comprehensive comparative approach to the country's literary studies. The goal of comparative literature, according to Gayatri Spivak, is 'Liberal Multiculturalism.' Each text has a tradition, cross-cultural influence, and is tied to other texts, just as no book or work of art lives in isolation. Any work of art that can be considered unique is always a copy of another work, as each work of art is linked to society, culture, and history, and the writer is influenced by a variety of factors.Studying Indian literature demands a comparative method where the classical or modern literature is studied under the entire Indian background as India has many languages and literatures.

Majumdar in Indian Dimensions Comparative Literature suggests that: 

Indian literature is neither "one" nor "many" but rather a systemic whole where many sub-systems interact towards one in a continuous and never-ending dialectic. Such a systemic view of Indian literature predicates that we take all Indian literatures together, age by age, and view them comparatively.

As a result, studying Indian literature in the singular is impossible, and studying Indian literature in the plural is as difficult. It is possible to comprehend Asvaghosa or Kalidasa in isolation, but when the two poets are read in relation to one another and to their times, certain characteristics emerge, such as Asvaghosa's' renunciation' themes and Buddhist tones, and Kalidasa's activistic themes and brahmanical learnings. These poets are also likened to those of the Kusana and Gupta dynasties in Indian history. Both poets owe Valmiki a debt of gratitude, and we can see that they share many ideas, idioms, and practises. This allows us to assess them more thoroughly and comprehensively.

Sanskrit and Dravidian languages are the foundations of Indian literature. Epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were translated from Sanskrit into all of India's regional languages. Other important Indian classics, primarily the Veda, Upanishad, and Bhagavata, as well as Kalidasa's famous inventions, were translated from Sanskrit into regional languages. Several elements were moved from one source language to another in this fashion, using various methods.

Indian criticism started in 200 B.C. with Bharatmuni’s ―Natyasastra. He was the first critic, who had compared and contrasted the characteristics of “Rasa” or taste with the performance of drama. In the Indian context other classics of literary criticism are Anandavardhana’s Dhvani, Kuntaka’s Vakrokti, Abhinavagupta’s Rasa-Bhava theory, and Kavyadarsah of Dandin play an important role. Rasa, Alamkara, Riti, Dhvani and Vakrokti are concepts around which poetic criticism always moved. Entire Sanskrit and Prakrita literature and even the literature in modern Indian languages has been appreciated keeping these theories in mind.

Comparative literature's major goal is to comprehend the relationship between literature and human activity and dilemma. Comparative literature is the study of literature using comparison as the primary tool, with the focus on human legacy and, as a result, all aspects of human experience. Its fundamental goal is to bring the complete human experience together and accept it wholeheartedly, and as a result, all human interactions are fulfilled through a comparative approach to literatures from other locations. Comparative research aids in the dismantling of regional and cultural barriers, revealing the universality of human connections in their place.

Conclusion:

Comparative Literature gives readers a deep, long-term awareness of cultures other than their own, allowing them to grow as global citizens. As a result, we must examine our literature from within, as well as the context in which it is produced and considered, and turn to sources and resources resulting from cultural contact that predates the colonial episode, reflect on their influences, and consider their survival in 'post' colonial modernity. As a result, Indian literature is a continuous, ever-evolving, and inter-literary process in which Indian language and literature are always being re/made.

Work Cited:

A Handbook of Translation Studies. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 2005. 

Bose, Buddhadeva. Comparative Literature in India, "Contribution to Comparative Literature Germany and India, Calcutta: Ravindra Publication House, 1973.

Dass, Bijay Kumar. Comparative Literature, New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 2000.

Dev, Amiya. The Idea of Comparative Literature in India. Papyrus: Kolkata, 1984. 

 Dhawan, R.K. Comparative Literature, New Delhi : Behari Publication, 1987. 

Majumdar, Swapan. Indian Dimensions Comparative Literature - Indian Dimensions. Calcutta: Papyrus, 1987. 

Nandan, Saloni. “Need of Comparative Literature in Multilingual, Multicultural India.” International Journal of Research in All Subjects in Multi Languages , vol. 6, no. 1, 2018. 

P-209 Assignment

Important of Mechanics in Research Writing

Name-Daya Vaghani

Paper- 209- Research Methodology

Roll no-06

Enrollment no-3069206420200017

Email id- dayavaghani2969@gmail.com

Batch-2020-22 (MA Sem-IV)

Submitted to- S. B. Gardi Department of English,

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Introduction:

Writing mechanics are the rules that regulate the technical components of writing, such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations, in composition. Putting your primary points together can be difficult, so one approach is to create a rough draught of your main ideas before you start writing. Under the broad subject of mechanics, several writing textbooks also include concerns like language and arrangement. For students and writers, these are the fundamentals of writing mechanics.

What Are Writing Mechanics?

The established standards that should be followed when creating sentences are known as writing mechanics. They are key ways to successfully communicate ideas and go hand in hand with grammar as the norms to follow when writing.The official standard for grammar and writing mechanics has been established by consensus. Although they aren't set in stone, following them as a reference is a smart idea.

1: Parts of speech

One of the most crucial things to know if you're a writer is how to classify components of speech like nouns, verbs, and adjectives, among others. Understanding the distinction between a verb and an adverb, or a preposition and a conjunction, is crucial to efficient communication. Knowing the definitions of each isn't absolutely important, but knowing how to utilise them correctly is.

Parts of sentences

When it comes to creating sentences, there are no hard and fast rules.This is actually a positive thing since it gives you a lot of room to be creative. Knowing the components of a sentence, such as subjects, objects, phrases, and clauses, aids in the cohesiveness of your sentences.A competent writer is able to maintain harmony while being innovative with sentence form.

Sentence errors

Even sentences that appear to be correct may not adhere to appropriate writing mechanics.If you're not familiar with them, things like run-on sentences, dangling participles, and improper parallelism are easy to overlook. Knowing what to look for is the only way to truly notice these mistakes. Finally, you should be aware of these types of phrase errors so that you do not make them.

Subject-Verb agreement

Subject-verb agreement is easy to miss, especially for novice writers. Knowing the proper or singular forms of verbs and then matching them to the subject as is required makes your sentences easier to understand.Subject-verb agreement also makes your work more enjoyable to read. Incorrect subject-verb agreement can be grating to a reader, especially if committed often in a single work.

Capitalization

Improper capitalization may not exactly affect the meaning behind the words that you use, but it does help keep your sentences organized. Capitalization signals to a reader the important details in a sentence.People, places, and ideas that are capitalized give them a hint as to the significance of that word. Capitalization also helps your sentences and paragraphs flow better as it signals the beginning of each sentence that you use.

Punctuation

There’s a joke that can easily convey the importance of proper punctuation. The difference between ‘Let’s eat, Fred,’ and ‘Let’s eat Fred’ is a simple comma, but it changes the meaning significantly. One is a dinner invitation, the other is cannibalism!Using the correct punctuation gives you the ability to convey your ideas to the reader exactly as you intended. Punctuation may be a small part of the sentence as a whole, but it definitely has a big impact.

a. General remarks. The primary purpose of punctuation is to ensure the clarity and readability of your writing. Although there are many required uses, punctuation is, to some extent, a matter of personal preference. But, while certain practices are optional, consistency is mandatory. Writers must guard against adopting different styles in parallel situations. The remarks below stress the conventions that pertain especially to research papers. More comprehensive discussions of punctuation can be found in standard handbooks of composition ….

 

b. Apostrophes indicate contractions (rarely acceptable in scholarly writing) and possessives. General practice is to form the possessive of monosyllabic proper names ending in a sibilant sound (s, z, sh, zh, ch, j) by adding an apostrophe and another s (Keats’s poems, Marx’s theories) except, by convention, for names in classical literature (Mars’ wrath). In words of more than one syllable ending in a sibilant, only the apostrophe is added (Hopkins’ poems, Cervantes’ novellas) except for names ending in a sibilant and a final e (Horace’s odes). Note that the possessive of a name ending with a silent s is formed by adding an apostrophe and another s (Camus’s novels).

 

c. Colons are used to indicate that what follows will be an example, explanation, or elaboration of what has just been said. They are commonly used to introduce quotations (see §§ 14b, 14c, and 14f). For their use in documentation and bibliography, see §§ 31c, 31h, and 41c. Always skip one space after a colon.

 

d. Commas are usually required between items in a series (blood, sweat, and tears), between coordinate adjectives (an absorbing, frightening account), before coordinating conjunctions joining independent clauses, around parenthetical elements, and after fairly long phrases or clauses preceding the main clause of a sentence. They are also conventional in dates (January 1, 1980), names (W. K. Wimsatt, Jr., and Walter J. Ong, S.J.), and addresses (Brooklyn, New York). A comma and a dash are never used together in modern English usage. If the context requires a comma (as it does here), the comma follows a closing parenthesis, but a comma never precedes an opening parenthesis. See §§ 31, 33, 35, and 41 for the usage of the comma in documentation and bibliography; see §14f for commas with quotation marks.

 

e. [Em] dashes. An [em] dash is typed … with no space before or after. Some writers tend to overuse [em] dashes, substituting them loosely for other marks of punctuation. The [em] dash, however, has only a few legitimate uses: around parenthetical elements that require a number of internal commas, and before a summarizing appositive.

Spelling

No one, especially a discriminating reader, wants to see poor spelling. Incorrect spelling detracts from your work and makes it less likely that a reader will finish it.Most modern text programmers, thankfully, feature spell checkers that can detect problems. However, you must not become complacent. Even spell checkers can overlook words that are perfectly spelled but incorrectly used.

Abbreviations

If you're trying to disguise the meaning of something, don't utilise abbreviations that your readers aren't familiar with. The recommended approach is to start with the full title and then add the abbreviation after that.You can now use the abbreviation instead of the full name. Make sure your reader is familiar with the abbreviations you use so they don't have to guess what they signify.

 Titles in the Text

 

a.Italicized

 

Titles of published books, plays (of any length), long poems (usually poems that have been published as books), pamphlets, periodicals (including newspapers and magazines), works of classical literature (but not sacred writings), films, radio and television programs, ballets, operas, instrumental music (but not if identified simply by form, number and key), paintings, sculpture, and names of ships and aircraft are all [italicized] in the text.  

  

   b.In quotation marks

 Titles of articles, essays, short stories, short poems, songs, chapters of books, unpublished works (such as dissertations), lectures and speeches, courses, and individual episodes of radio and television programs are enclosed in quotation marks.

c.Titles within titles

 If a title indicated by quotation marks appears within an [italicized] title, the quotation marks are retained. If a title indicated by [italicizing] appears within a title enclosed in quotation marks, the [italicizing] is retained.

d.Exceptions

These conventions of [italicizing] titles or placing them within quotation marks do not apply to sacred writings (including all books and versions of the Bible), to series, editions, and societies, to descriptive words or phrases (or conventional titles) used instead of an actual title, and to parts of a book, none of which is underlined or put within quotation marks. 

e. Frequent use of a title

If a title is to be mentioned often in the text, after the first full reference in the text or in a note, use only a shortened (if possible, familiar or obvious) title or abbreviation (e.g., “Nightingale” for “Ode to a Nightingale”; Much Ado for Much Ado about Nothing; HEW for Department of Health, Education and Welfare)

The Proper Mechanics of Writing: 

👉Mastering the proper usage of quotation marks.

👉Ensuring that both grammar and spelling are correct. 👉👉Knowing grammar rules is extremely vital.

👉Mastering punctuation.

👉Knowing how, where, and when to use apostrophes.

👉Creating a concise topic sentence or thesis.

👉Being able to form coherent sentence structures and avoiding sentence fragments.

👉Ensuring that capitalization is used properly.

👉Having a mastery of the English vocabulary.

👉Knowing how to formulate concise paragraphs that are not too wordy.

P-207 Assignment

Themes in The Only Story

Name-Daya Vaghani

Paper- 207 : Contemporary Literatures in English

Roll no-06

Enrollment no-3069206420200017

Email id- dayavaghani2969@gmail.com

Batch-2020-22 (MA Sem-IV)

Submitted to- S. B. Gardi Department of English,

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Introduction:

Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question.

(The Only Story)

The Only Story is a novel by Julian Barnes. It is his thirteenth novel and was published on 1 February 2018. The novel is about the life story of Paul Roberts, who we first meet as a 19-year-old Sussex University undergraduate returning to his parent's house in the leafy southern suburbs of London (Sutton, in Surrey, is suggested as a model.) The time is the early sixties, and there are a few references to current events. Paul joins the tennis club, which is one of the few opportunities such places offer for socialising. In a random-draw mixed doubles, he is thrown together with Susan MacLeod, a 48-year-old married woman with two daughters older than Paul. Improbably, Paul and Susan become lovers and she eventually leaves her family to set up house with Paul in South London. Having nothing to do but a little housekeeping, Susan soon descends into alcoholism and dementia. Paul departs and embarks on foreign travels, picking up jobs and women at random.

Paul is a quintessentially alienated character. With no interest in either politics or religion, and no particular ambition, he takes life as it comes. As he narrates his life in this book, he freely admits that memory is unreliable and he may not be telling us the truth.

Themes in The Only Story:

‘The only Story’ is a memory novel. It is based on the memory of Paul Roberts. Sometimes memory should be happy or sometimes it should be somethings that are unbrearble. This novel wildly talks about that Memory sorts and sifts according to the demands made on it by the rememberer.

According to KIRKUS “Much like Barnes’ 2011 novel, The Sense of an Ending, this one involves a man looking back at a youthful error in judgment and considering its consequences. Paul, the narrator, recalls being 19 and falling for 48-year-old Susan, who's in a loveless, sexless, and abusive marriage. Cocksure about their relationship in spite of others’ judgments—Paul’s parents and Susan’s husband are righteously indignant, and the duo are kicked out of the tennis club where they began their affair—Paul decides to move in with Susan to pursue “exactly the relationship of which my parents would most disapprove.” The thrill of independence is short-lived, though, as Susan’s nascent alcoholism intensifies; the first half of the book mentions Susan’s drinking habit, but as if to mirror Paul’s youthful ignorance, Barnes doesn’t overtly signal how deep she’s sunk until she’s practically beyond help.” 

Theme of Passion Suffering & Love :

One of the reviewer of this novel Ellen Prentiss Campbell observe that

"Remember,as you read this small book , generally and specifically about love, remember that suffering is,after all, the Latin root for passion".

This is similar to what Amitav Ghosh is doing in etymological study in Gun While discussing this theme we referred to the root of the word passion.

The Etymology of Passion:

The word ‘passion’ is one of those words where the modern application appears disconnected from the original meaning. The word itself comes from the Latin root word, patior, which means to suffer. It’s first use in English appeared around 1175 AD. Oddly enough the word is more frequently used in writing than in speech.Many of the modern applications of ‘passion’ no longer convey the idea of suffering at all. It’s present use is one describing an intense desire, which is often sexual in nature. (Murrah, “The Etymology of Passion.”)

So we can say that love is the passion but it cannot be isolated without suffering.This is how philosophically Barnes wants to explore the idea of love.In the Only Story the passion turn into suffering.The story of youth of 19 years Paul's passionate attraction towards Susan MacLeod 48 years old married woman of two daughters.This is nothing but a story of passion turning into suffering.

"Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less, and suffer the less? That is, I think, finally, the only real question" (Barnes, 2018, p. 3)

But then we find counter argument by the speaker…

"You may point out – correctly – that it isn’t a real question. Because we don’t have the choice. If we had the choice, then there would be a question. But we don’t, so there isn’t. Who can control how much they love? If you can control it, then it isn’t love. I don’t know what you call it instead, but it isn’t love."

Paul is giving his own defence that it was his mistake to fall in love with a middle aged woman.But can we think of all these things when we are in love?well we can't because if we think then we are not in love.That is how he was carried towards suffering, drifted like a wooden log.

“Most of what I’d read, or been taught, about love,didn’t seem to apply, from playground rumour to high-minded literary speculation. ‘Man’s love is of man’s life a thing apart/’Tis woman’s whole existence.’ How wrong – how gender-biassed, as we might now say– was that?

At the early stage of his life Paul thought that love is blissful.But as the end of the novel he himself find it full of pain suffering.

Quotes related to the theme of love

“First love fixes a life for ever: this much I have discovered over the years. It may not outrank subsequent loves, but they will always be affected by its existence.”(P-71)

“Perhaps love could never be captured in a definition; it could only ever be captured in a story.”(P-206)

“In love, everything is both true and false; it's the one subject on which it's impossible to say anything absurd.”(P-169)

“Love was by its very nature disruptive, cataclysmic; and if it was not, then it was not love."

"And who does not want their love authenticated?”(P-65)

Theme of History & Memory :

In this novel, the idea of memory is dealt by Julian Barnes very interestingly.Memory prioritises when we retell the story as the story narrated in this novel The Only Story.It is said that

"History is collective memory; memory is personal history"

"Trauma is memory"

When we look at the history of nation, history of society, history of human beings we may think that what is that and perhaps it is the memory of everybody.And that collective memory becomes history.Then what is memory? Memory is our personal history.It is a personal life that is lived in personal spaces.The life that is narrated or not narrated,told to anybody or not just told to self also or a history is only written for self and we do not share that with anybody else So it's is memory that is personal history which is not perhaps shared with anybody but it is only for us.When We are all alone we may going back to history our past and then we may be taking about that as a collectively.We go back into time and we write history that is what the forefathers the people on this earth in this society that time has lived and have done all this kind of things.

In form of literature we find that when there is one person (Paul Roberts) sitting there in his old age and going back into the past of his personal life and telling us the story of his life.That person will go back into memory that is only way that we can tell the story of the self.We will have to revisit our memory to tell others.So what is memory,how do we look at the memory? When anybody is revisiting the memory and trying to get historical evidence from his life and telling us the life story.Is it reliable or not? Can we say that well this is a true story because histories are normally considered as a true stories.Somebody individually tell a story is it reliable or not?.

We blindly do not rely on history.If there is the connection between history and memory it means that we also do not rely on memory.It may be our own personal memory.Through this novel Julian Barnes wants to prove that we have to be very careful of our memories.While discussing this point in classroom sir has gave some others concerns to understand this novel.

Film - Memento

This film is philosophically more significant.Memento is a 2000 American mystery thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and produced by Suzanne and Jennifer Todd. The film's script was based on a pitch by Nolan's brother Jonathan, who wrote the 2001 story "Memento Mori" from the concept. Guy Pearce stars as Leonard Shelby, a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, resulting in short-term memory loss and the inability to form new memories. He is searching for the people who attacked him and killed his wife, using an intricate system of Polaroid photographs and tattoos to track information he cannot remember. Carrie-Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano co-star.(from wikipedia) Memento is kind of film which seems to unreality because it deals with an idea that somebody has a problem with memory.He is suffering from a kind of a mental disease where he is forgetting everything within 15 or 30 minutes.

 Trauma is memory

Dipesh chakravarty in "Memories of Displacement:The Poetry of Prejudice of Dwelling" refers to this not in context of looking at memory narrative or ethical concern or like Memento or Julian Barnes is looking but his concern is more about post colonial about subaltern studies.Sir ga e example of partition literature.

Example : Partition literature is full of trauma,it is all about memory, what went wrong and Nas a part of a memory of what went wrong. Writers were writing stories on that.So that experience is a very traumatic experience.In that way trauma itself is a memory.

Historical narrative and memory narrative goes in opposite way.Historical narrative is public while memory narrative is very personal.Historical narrative speak about outside trauma while memory narrative speaks about internal trauma of individual.If we talk about this novel then traumatic experience lived by Susam Macleod.

In the novel, we come across the story of Eric and his love affair. So it is the best example of a memory novel. Paul suddenly talks about him. Eric had a relationship with American women and Eric was ready to leave earthly things but at the moment he realised that he was going the wrong way and he saved himself but Paul was not able to do this.

“Then there was the case of Eric. Of all his friends, Eric had truly been a man of good intentions, and therefore had always ascribed good intentions to others. Hence the lack of rebuke after he’d received a kicking at the fair. In his early thirties, working in a local planning department, and with a decent little house in Perivale, Eric had become involved with a younger American woman. Ashley said she loved him; a love which expressed itself as wanting to be with him all the time and never wanting to meet his friends. And Ashley wouldn’t sleep with him, no, not now anyway, but certainly later. Ashley had her faith, you see, and Eric, having been religious himself in his youth, could understand and appreciate that. Ashley wasn’t a member of an established church, because look at all the harm established churches had caused; Eric could see that too. Ashley said that if he loved her, and agreed with her contempt for worldly possessions, then he would surely join her in such beliefs. And so Eric, temporarily cut off from his friends, put his little house up for sale, planning to give the proceeds to some cockamamie sect in Baltimore, after which the couple would move there and be married by some cockamamie religious theorist, or shaman, or sham, whereupon Eric, in exchange for his Perivale house, would be granted squatter’s rights in perpetuity in his new wife’s body. Fortunately, almost at the last minute, some survival instinct asserted itself, and he had cancelled his instructions to the estate agent, whereupon Ashley vanished from his life for ever.”............

Another reference is that when Eric was beaten that time Paul was run away and afterward he said that he went to help the police, so all such things describe somehow that Pual is a coward, fails and loses character. He made so many wrong decisions throughout his life and his remorse is never ever accepted. 

Work Cited :

Barnes, Julian. The Only Story. Penguin Random House UK. 2018. Book. 24 January 2022. 

http://newenglishliterature.blogspot.com/2012/02/julian-barnes.html

“THE ONLY STORY.” Kirkus Reviews, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/julian-barnes/the-only-story/. Accessed 9 February 2022.

P-206 Assignment

The Enigma of Traumatized 'Womanhood' in Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood and Alice Walker's 

The Colour Purple:A Critical Study

Name-Daya Vaghani

Paper- 206 :The African Literature

Roll no-06

Enrollment no-3069206420200017

Email id- dayavaghani2969@gmail.com

Batch-2020-22 (MA Sem-IV)

Submitted to- S. B. Gardi Department of English,

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Introduction:

Buchi Emecheta of African-Nigerian literature and Alice Walker of African-American literature are considered the forerunners of women's literary authorization in the literary genre. The Color Purple and The Joys of Motherhood are two key works attributed to them, each reflecting the predicament of women in the patriarchal society in which they live.These stories are based on American literature and deal with issues such as trauma, identity, and community. This presentation explores the subject of 'womanhood' and its implications for personal fulfilment and communal harmony.

The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta:

The Joys of Motherhood was written by Buchi Emecheta, a Nigerian-born British author, and published by Allison & Busby in 1979. Emecheta has written and published over twenty works, from novels to plays, each of which delve into the complexities of what it means to be a woman and a mother in societies where the morals and traditions are constantly changing. The protagonist, Nnu Ego, has bad fortune with childbearing, and through her life centered on her children, she gains her community’s respect. As European governments seize control of African countries and annex them in order to turn them into a source of raw materials and labour, the newly colonised nations face war and a shift in their tribal values. Emecheta pushes all readers to see the contradictions that arise from accepting European ideas and traditions and naturally following age-old tradition as they follow Ego's trip. The colonialists' influence is eroding the Ibo's once strong community.

The book opens as Nnu Ego runs away from her home in Lagos, Nigeria, where her first baby has just died she has decided to commit suiside.The story flashes back to the story of how Nnu Ego was conceived. Her father, Agbadi, though he has many wives, is in love with a proud and haughty young woman named Ona. Ona refuses to marry him because she is obligated to produce a son for her father's family line, and not a husband's. But when Agbadi is almost killed in a hunting accident, Ona nurses him back to health and becomes pregnant with his child. She agrees that if it's a daughter, the child will belong to Agbadi.

 Emecheta also attacks Ibos who take use of masculine power to oppress women, wives, and daughters. Though women can bear children and raise them, the "Joys of Motherhood" can also be painful and anxiety-inducing. One of Emecheta's most important and well-known works, The Joys of Motherhood, criticises colonialism, tradition, and women's roles, and how they effect one woman, Nnu Ego, and her family.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker:

The Color Purple, novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist work about an abused and uneducated African American woman’s struggle for empowerment, The Color Purple was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of Black English Vernacular.

The Color Purple documents the traumas and gradual triumph of Celie, an African American teenager raised in rural isolation in Georgia, as she comes to resist the paralyzing self-concept forced on her by others. Celie narrates her life through painfully honest letters to God. These are prompted when her abusive father, Alphonso, warns her not to tell anybody but God after he rapes her and she becomes pregnant for a second time at the age of 14. After she gives birth, Alphonso takes the child away, as he did with her first baby, leaving Celie to believe that both have been killed. When the widowed Mr.__ (also called Albert) proposes marriage to Celie’s younger sister, Nettie, Alphonso pushes him to take Celie instead, forcing her into an abusive marriage. Soon thereafter Nettie flees Alphonso and briefly lives with Celie. However, Albert’s continued interest in Nettie results in her leaving.

Celie subsequently begins to build relationships with other black women, especially those engaging forcefully with oppression. Of note is the defiant Sofia, who marries Albert’s son Harpo after becoming pregnant. Unable to control her, Harpo seeks advice, and Celie suggests that he beat Sofia. However, when Harpo strikes her, Sofia fights back. Upon learning that Celie encouraged Harpo’s abuse, she confronts a guilty Celie, who admits to being jealous of Sofia’s refusal to back down, and the two women become friends. More significant, however, is Celie’s relationship with Shug Avery, a glamorous and independent singer who is also Albert’s sometime mistress. Celie tends to an ailing Shug, and the two women grow close, eventually becoming lovers.

During this time Celie discovers that Albert has been hiding letters that Nettie has sent her. Celie begins reading them and learns that Nettie has befriended a minister, Samuel, and his wife, Corrine, and that the couple’s adopted children, Adam and Olivia, are actually Celie’s. Nettie joins the family on a mission in Liberia, where Corrine later dies. The letters also reveal that Alphonso is actually Celie’s stepfather and that her biological father was lynched. Questioning her faith, Celie begins addressing her letters to Nettie. However, Shug later encourages Celie to change her beliefs about God. An emboldened Celie then decides to leave Albert and go to Memphis with Shug. Once there, Celie comes into her own and creates a successful business selling tailored pants. Her happiness, however, is tempered somewhat by Shug’s affairs, though Celie continues to love her. Following Alphonso’s death, Celie inherits his house, where she eventually settles. During this time she develops a friendship with Albert, who is apologetic about his earlier treatment of her. After some 30 years apart, Celie is then reunited with Nettie, who has married Samuel. Celie also meets her long-lost children.

‘Womanist’ and ‘Feminist’ 

During that time, women of colour, particularly African and African-American women, were not only subjected to the same political and social injustices as white women, but were also discriminated against ethnically owing to their skin colour and ethnicity. As a result, many women were unable to identify with the feminist movement, and instead found themselves affiliated with the new term "womanist," coined by African-American novelist Alice Walker.Another distinction between feminists and womanists is that while some white women see men as their adversary in their fight for equality, womanists fight not only for themselves but also against the oppression of African-American men, as both men and women have been oppressed in terms of race and class. BuchiEmecheta, on the other hand, deals with the two-fold oppression of women in her works. "Feminism with a Small 'f'," she writes in her work. 

I write about the little happenings of everyday life. Being a woman, and African born, I see things through an African woman's eyes. I chronicle the little happenings in the lives of the African women I know. I did not know that by doing so I was going to be called a feminist. But if I am now a feminist then I am an African feminist with a small f. (175)

                                                            -Buchi Emecheta 

Emecheta may oppose to being labelled a feminist, but her views, as expressed in her art, cause her to be labelled a Feminist with a capital F. Her works speak loudly and clearly about her feminist beliefs. Her representation of female characters provides the reader with a lens through which they may see what makes Nigerian society operate.

Trauma Theory:

‘Trauma’ theory has its origin from the early 1960s, from various social concern such as “recognition of the prevalence of violence against women and children (rape, battering, incest); identification of the phenomenon of post-traumatic stress disorder in (Vietnam) war veterans; and awareness of the psychic scar inflicted by torture and genocide, especially in regard to Holocaust” (Sprengnether 250). Trauma is generally described as damage to the body or psyche caused by some form of shock, violence, or unexpected event, and it usually occurs as a result of negative life experiences that devastate an individual's ability to cope with a threat they may encounter (Van der kolk,1996). There are many different types of trauma, such as complex trauma, which refers to traumatic occurrences that are usually severe and invasive; post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual abuse trauma, and so on. 

The Enigma of Traumatized 'Womanhood':

Both the female protagonists are subjected to horrific experiences as a result of the patriarchal society in which they live. Both stories thus examine the issue of 'womanhood' and the terrible situations they had to go through in order to reach the uncertain stages of it. Using the above critical theory as a foundation, this presentation examines the two female characters, Nnu Ego and Celie, from BuchiEmecheta's novel The Joys of Motherhood and Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple, and their problems as women in a patriarchal society. It also tries to depict the state of women through the experience of black female protagonists who are colonized twice, first by patriarchy and then by colonial rulers. 

Nnu Ego (The Joys of Motherhood)

 

This work depicts the pre- and post-motherhood circumstances of a woman in the current culture through the female protagonist, Nnu Ego. It also indicates her overwhelming dread of not becoming a mother and of losing her identity, both of which have left terrible marks on her. The majority of Emecheta's novels depict the terrible situations that African women frequently face in a traditional, male-dominated society.Gender violence, child marriage, virginity cult, objectification of womanhood, sexual harassment, and, most significantly, the necessity of being fertile are all topics in her work.

In a very patriarchal culture, the novel The Joys of Motherhood shows violence against women. The work successfully depicts the rules of the African Igbo society, in which the male society has absolute authority. Internal and external violence, i.e. psychological and physical violence, are depicted here. In general, violence is defined as abuse by intimate partners and other family members, and it can take many forms, including physical, sexual, psychological, economic, and omissional abuse. Physical violence is a powerful action that is meant to cause harm. Physical aggressiveness or assault, which includes striking, kicking, biting, slapping, shoving, and other forms of physical aggression or assault, is one example. Psychological violence, on the other hand, refers to the repercussions that some male characters' words and actions may have on female characters. The 'suffering' that was inflicted on her on a regular basis drove her to break the silence by committing'suicide.'

Celie (The Colour Purple) 

Similarly, Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple, which is an exemplary example of the epistolary form, depicts the storey of a woman's existence in an African-American culture. Celie, the heroine of the novel, is a black lady living in rural Georgia in the 1930s. The novel unabashedly glorifies black women who defy authority while simultaneously detailing the terrible agony and cruelty experienced as a result of unequal relationships compounded by hegemonic patriarchy. Celie and her sister Nettie are at the centre of the plot.

Walker exposes patriarchy and how males, including disenfranchised black men, oppress women. It's about a black woman's struggle to find her identity and independence in the midst of tremendous abuse, brutality, and oppression, and her path is one of self-discovery and resilience in the face of extraordinarily challenging and unfriendly circumstances. The novel's beautiful use of language and the depth of its female characters have also been lauded.This demonstrates how a woman loves everything and everyone in order to gain control. The novel's female protagonists are shown to be content with their lives after overcoming all obstacles.

 

"Dear God, Dear Stars, Dear Trees, Dear Sky, Dear Peoples, Dear Everything," Celie writes in her final letter, addressing and thanking everyone and everything: "Dear God, Dear Stars, Dear Trees, Dear Sky, Dear Peoples, Dear Everything" (The Colour Purple130).

To show that Womanism is a darker shade of Feminism, Alice Walker uses the colours purple for womanist and lavender for feminist. It is a movement led by women of colour. The text's title emphasises this facet of Womanism. In fact, throughout the story, the hue 'purple' has numerous meanings. Purple is connected with beauty and independence in this context. In this novel, Walker celebrates womanhood in this way. "Womanist is to feminism as purple is to lavender," she concludes. (1983, page xii) 

To show that Womanism is a darker shade of Feminism, Alice Walker uses the colours purple for womanist and lavender for feminist. It is a movement led by women of colour. The text's title emphasises this facet of Womanism. In fact, throughout the storey, the hue 'purple' has numerous meanings. Purple is connected with beauty and independence in this context. "I suppose it irritates God if you walk past the colour purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it," Shug explains in The Colour Purple98, and teaches Celie that God made small things like the colour "purple" to make them happy.

She encourages her to appreciate life and herself as a woman since God intends for them to. Celie does not like wearing purple in the beginning of the novel, but at the end of the novel, when she has her own home, she wants everything to be purple. This indicates that the colour 'purple' became associated with independence. Celie's husband gives her a purple frog, which symbolises equality between men and women.

Conclusion

As a result, it is possible to conclude that patriarchal society's rules are constantly opposed by women. Emecheta and Walker have developed characters in both works that defy society's so-called conventions and are surrounded by restricted discourses that turn them into the ultimate other wherever they go. Celie and Nnu Ego, the protagonists, were dominated by the white English community because of her ethnic background and colonial antecedents, and by the black community because of their wants. The repeating experiences of 'trauma' and 'suffering,' which converted them into 'abjects' of their society, eventually counter-revolve and transform their character into a powerful one. As a result, it is possible to conclude that patriarchal society's rules are constantly opposed by women. Emecheta and Walker have developed characters in both works that defy society's so-called conventions and are surrounded by restricted discourses that turn them into the ultimate other wherever they go. Celie and Nnu Ego were both dominated by the white English community because of their ethnic origins and colonial antecedents, and by the black community because of their ambitions. The repeating experiences of 'trauma' and 'suffering,' which converted them into 'abjects' of their society, eventually counter-revolve and transform their character into a powerful one.

Work Cited:

Emecheta, Buchi. “Feminism with Small ‘f’.” Criticism and Ideology: Second African Writers’ Conference Stockholm 1986, edited by Kirsten Holst Petersen, Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, 1988. 

Emecheta, Buchi. The Joys of Motherhood. Oxford, England :Heinemann International, 19941988. 

Kolk,Van der et all., editors. Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, AndSociety. The Guilford Press. 1996 

Sarmah, Puja. “THE ENIGMA OF TRAUMATIZED ‘WOMANHOOD’ IN BUCHI EMECHETA’S THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOODAND ALICE WALKER’S THE COLOUR PURPLE: A CRITICAL STUDY.” JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS, vol. 7, no. 4, 2020, pp. 2420–2429.http://www.jcreview.com/admin/Uploads/Files/61b841002c2ef7.93750521.pdf 

Sprengnether, Madelon. “Feminist Criticism and Psychoanalysis.”A History of Feminist LiteraryCriticism, edited by Gill Plain and Susan Sellers, Cambridge UP, 2007.

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. London: Women's Press, 1992. Print.