" The Slave's Dream" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

" The Slave's Dream"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Introduction:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was an American poet and educator, renowned for his lyrical and narrative works that often explored themes of history, mythology, and human emotion. His poem The Slave's Dream, published in 1842, is a poignant reflection on the life and aspirations of an enslaved African man. Through vivid imagery and a dreamlike narrative, Longfellow captures the stark contrast between the brutal reality of slavery and the rich inner world of freedom and dignity that the enslaved man envisions in his final moments.

Summary Stanza by Stanza:

1. Stanza 1:
   The poem opens with the enslaved man lying beside a rice field, his body worn and lifeless. His hand rests on the sand, and his face reflects a sense of peace, suggesting that he is no longer bound by the chains of his physical suffering. The "mist and shadow of sleep" indicate that he is entering a dreamlike state, where his spirit is free to wander.

2. Stanza 2:
   In his dream, the man returns to his homeland in Africa. He sees the Niger River flowing under the golden light of the sun, a symbol of his native land's beauty and vitality. This vision contrasts sharply with the harsh reality of his life in captivity, highlighting his deep longing for freedom and connection to his roots.

3. Stanza 3:
   The dream continues as he envisions himself as a king in his homeland. He rides proudly on his horse, adorned with a "golden chain" that symbolizes his royal status, a stark contrast to the iron chains of slavery. This imagery underscores his inherent dignity and the loss of his noble identity due to enslavement.

4. Stanza 4:
   The man hears the sounds of his family—his wife and children—singing and rejoicing. This auditory imagery evokes a sense of warmth and belonging, emphasizing the familial bonds that slavery has torn apart. The dream allows him to momentarily reclaim the love and joy that were stolen from him.

5. Stanza 5:
   The dream shifts to a scene of nature, where the man sees the "dark-eyed virgins" and the "triumphal march" of his people. These images celebrate the cultural richness and communal life of his homeland, further contrasting with the dehumanizing conditions of slavery.

6. Stanza 6:
   The man feels the freedom of the wilderness as he rides through the forests and deserts. The "blaze of the eye of the lion" symbolizes his courage and strength, qualities that slavery sought to suppress. This stanza reinforces his connection to the natural world and his untamed spirit.

7. Stanza 7:
   The dream reaches its climax as the man hears the drums and war cries of his people, evoking a sense of pride and unity. The "glorious roll of the drums" represents the resilience and defiance of his culture, a powerful counterpoint to the silence and submission imposed by slavery.

8. Stanza 8:
   The poem concludes with the man's death. His body remains lifeless, but his soul is free, having escaped the bonds of slavery through his dream. The "flamingo's flight" symbolizes his final journey to a place of peace and liberation, far removed from the suffering of his earthly existence.

Conclusion:
The Slave's Dream is a powerful exploration of the human spirit's resilience and the enduring desire for freedom. Longfellow uses vivid imagery and a dreamlike narrative to contrast the enslaved man's harsh reality with the beauty and dignity of his inner world. Through this poem, Longfellow not only critiques the inhumanity of slavery but also celebrates the indomitable spirit of those who endured it. The poem serves as a reminder of the strength of the human soul and the universal yearning for liberty and belonging.

THE SECOND CRUCIFIXION Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre

 THE SECOND CRUCIFIXION

Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre

INTRODUCTION:

“The Second Crucifixion” is written by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. It deals with the death of Mahatma Gandhi, while the First Crucifixion is about the death of Jesus Christ. On 30^th January 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Naturam Godse while on his arrival at Birla Bhavan.

ALL INDIA RADIO ANNOUNCING THE ASSASSINATION OF GANDHI:

The director of A.I.R anticipated the turn of events if Gandhi’s assassin was to be a Moslem. So, he ordered the programmes to continue as normal. He announced the death of Gandhi by a Hindu assassin only at six o’clock, nearly 40 minutes after the event, when sufficient security arrangements had been made in all places.

MOUNTBATTEN FELT THAT GANDHIJI WITH BUDDHA AND CHRIST:

On hearing the news of Gandhiji’s death, Louis Mountbatten rushed to Birla House where his body was kept. Gandhi’s look was full of repose and peaceful. He thought that Mahatma Gandhiji would be remembered in history on par with Buddha and Christ because he had sacrificed his life like them for the sake of mankind.

NATION RESPONDS TO GANDHIJI’S DEATH:

On hearing the news of Gandhiji’s death, the whole nation was filled with sorrow and silence. The streets of the cities of Bombay and Calcutta wore a deserted look. In Pakistan, millions of women shattered their baubles and trinkets to show their grief. In some places mobs tried to attack the buildings of Hindu mahasabha and R.S.S villagers started marching towards Delhi to mourn the leader.

MOUNTBATTEN WANTS TO CARRY HIS BODY:

Mountbatten planned to carry Gandhiji’s embalmed body in a special funeral train throughout the country. So that millions of people could have a last darshan of their leader. But pyarelal Nayar ended the idea by pointing out that Gandhiji had clearly wanted his body to be cremated within twenty-four hours of his death in accordance with Hindu tradition.

NEHRU AND PATEL RELUCTANT USE OF GANDHIJI’S CREMATION:

Mountbatten suggested engaging the military to organize and conduct the funeral procession, as there would be a very huge crowd. Though Nehru and Patel were reluctant Gandhiji was always against war and violence. Mountbatten convinced them of the military procession.

EVE OF GANDHIJI’S DEATH:

Filled with tears Nehru announced the death of Gandhiji on the radio. He said that “THE LIGHT HAD GONE OUT OF OUR LIVES” as the Bapu is dead. But he corrected himself and said that the light will be always seen as it represented the eternal truths of life guiding us in the right path.

HINDUSTAN HERALD PAYS ITS TRIBUTE TO GANDHIJI:

The most memorable tribute to Gandhiji was paid by the Hindustan herald. Its editorial page was left blank ringed by a black border. At its centre in bold letters there was a single paragraph which described the killing of Gandhiji as “A SECOND CRUCIFIXON in the history of the world, enacted on the same day-Friday-on which Jesus was killed”. Thus, Gandhiji’s death is a great loss to the whole world. He will remain in all our hearts as Mahatma forever.

Salman Rushdie's 'Imaginary Homelands'

 Salman Rushdie's 'Imaginary Homelands'

I. World Behind the Text

·         Indo-Anglican Seminar on Indian Writing in English at London in 1982 during Festival of India.

·         It was attended by Indo-Anglican writers: Nirad Chaudhari, Anita Desai, Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand

·         During the time period 1982  

o   India – Indira Gandhi’s rule

o   Pakistan – Zia Regime & Execution of Ali Bhutto

o   Britain – Thatcher Revolution

o   USA – Ronald Reegan & cold war

·         Emergence of new possibilities, uncertainties & dangers

·         In such circumstances Salman Rushdie writes Midnight’s Children in 1981.

II. World in the Text:

·         The text is a collection of 75 essays written from 1981 to 1992.

·         It is an essay that propounds an anti-essentialist view of place.

·         This essay was written after the publication of the Midnight’s Children. This was well responded in western countries but in Indian it was rejected.

·         It is written out of pain to go to the roots of one’s origin. The desire of belonging to somewhere, it is desire of an individual to claim a country as his/her homeland. 

·         Text is divided into 12 sections comprising 6 major sections:

I           – Work roughly grouped around Midnight’s Children

II         – Politics of India and Pakistan

III        – Indo-Anglican Literature

IV        – Movies and Television – Gandhi movie

V         – 5 pieces of expressions & experiences of Indian migrants to Britain

VI        – 3 pieces of Thatcher Revolution: Margaret Thatcher's policies as British prime

minister changed many aspects of British life, and were collectively called Thatcherism

VII-XI – Writers of Africa, Britain, Europe, South America & USA

XII      – Reflection on Satanic Verse

III. Textual Analysis

Introduction

·         'Imaginary Homelands' is the title essay of Salman Rushdie's collection of total 75 essays.

·         In this piece, Rushdie describes the situation of those writers who are born in one place and choosing to live elsewhere, fighting to get back or to get away from their homelands.

·         According to Rushdie: "exiles (deported) or emigrants (migrant) or expatriates (voluntarily absent from home), are haunted (troubled) by some sense of loss, some urge to reclaim, to look back.

ü  The seed of the imaginary homelands were sown in the indo-Anglican seminar at London. Mighty pens of Indian English writing were present.

ü  Some of the participants described Indian culture not as a rich mixture of all inclusive tradition but an exclusive one (Sanskrit sloga), though Christian, Parasi, Muslim, Sikh participants were present.

ü  The second day, an eminent Indian academician delivered a paper on Indian culture that utterly ignored all minority communities.

Writer and the Homeland

·         Rushdie claims that any writer, who writes about his homeland from the outside, must necessarily “deal in broken mirrors, some of whose fragments have been irretrievably lost".

·         Rushdie calls the migrants the "translated men" (having been borne across the world, we are translated men, there may not be originality).

·         Rushdie raises the point that duality in an author's identity: a dual sense of identity from both culture – British and Indian, a geographical and national identity, gender and race. He says: "Our identity is at once plural and partial.” Sometimes we feel that we belong to two cultures; at other times, that we fall between two stools.

Description of India in Midnight’s Children

·         “Politician and writers are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their own image; they fight for the same territory and the fiction is one way of denying the official, politician’s version of truth.”

·         Some claim that the descriptive of India that Midnight’s Children attempts, is very pessimistic. But Rushdie denied that the book is nihilistic (lack of meaning). The form of the story is optimistic.

·         He tried to set up a tension in the text, a paradoxical opposition between form and content of the narrative. He makes use of memory, magic realism and telepathy (thought transference) which take us back to the ancient India.

Diaspora:

·         ‘Imaginary Homelands’ is all about feeling to belonging nowhere.  The feeling of insecurity always remains there in his mind which got reflected in his work.

·         He is a member of marginalized group, member of Indian Muslim family in Bombay, a Pakistani, and at present a British Asian. Thus, there is not a fix root which he can claim.

·         In creating a story like “Midnight's Children” he is in a way trying to establish a relationship that he has a land somewhere he belongs to. As he writes “I too had a city and a history to reclaim”.

·         Diasporic writers could not claim their belonging to the country and they could not completely mingle with the new one, as the memory of the past doesn’t allow him/her to accept it. They held up between two cultures, two languages, two nations, and lost identity.

·         He declares that to live in British society is to face everyday problems:

o   What does it mean to be an Indian outside India?

o   How can culture be preserved without become ossified (fixed)?

o   How to turn away our self which one goes to another country?

o   How are we to live in the world?

Conclusion

In the conclusion of the essay, Rushdie compares a writer within himself with a dog from the novel The Dean’s December. Protagonist Dean imagines dogs’ barking outside. The barking of the dog symbolizes the protest against his limit of experience.  “for god’s sake,” the dog is saying, “open the universe a little more”. It is the limitation of the diasporic writers that they were protesting, what they really want is to be accepted as a human being. They need little more freedom of expression, and we have to accept them as they belong to somewhere.

Salman Rushdie's 'Imaginary Homelands' portrays a migrant's inner conflict between his strong urge to reclaim his homeland and his inability to capture its true essence. This conflict leads the author to create a number of "imaginary" homelands in his fictions such as, Indias of the mind. These imaginary homelands capture the essence of reality as seen through the eyes of characters who, like their author, face the challenge of straddling two cultures.