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II Sem Notes PDF
II Sem Notes PDF
A beggar was sleeping. A bull was passing by. It ate all his alms. Here the writer advises us to use our
conscience. The bull is an animal, yet it thinks rationally. Human beings, who are to be rational, are behaving
in an irrational manner. He was not criticizing any religion but advises us to think rationally.
Though human beings are intelligent they behave irrationally. No animal has superstitions. Animals are
driven by instinct. Humans are driven by reason and imagination. The authors feels pity our silly behaviour
because we fail to use our wisdom and waste our time unnecessarily. He advises us to use our energy to
transform our country.
2. Describe the arrival of the princess in your own words.
The writer describes the arrival of princess vividly. Some of the ghats were less crowded. To one of the
ghats came a palanquin. It was borne by six men. One was leading them. The palanquin has curtains of gold.
A barge was to bear them. The palanquin was brought to the edge of ghats. An arrangement was made so that
no one could see the princess who was inside the palanquin. It was lowered. From it came many a princess
and sat in the barge. It was covered with curtains; it slowly went into the middle of the river. Then the curtains
were raised. The princess bathed. The author pities them. They did not have any freedom. They were like
caged birds. The author has a keen eye. He describes all details clearly.
3. What according to Huxley should be our attitude towards religion? Why?
Huxley believed in religion. But he is rational. He wishes humans to use their reason and imagination.
Religion should liberate us but should not bind us. It should make us complete human beings. Blind faith
leads to irrational behaviour. Animals are driven by instincts. Humans are to be rational and wise. An eclipse
is a natural phenomenon. We should not waste our time in superstitions. We should concentrate on energies
in transforming our country for good. Progress happens only when we think in a rational manner. He pities
the princess who was equally superstitions. The bull was practical. It did not mind eclipse. It ate when hungry
and drank when it was thirsty. The author did not spare even his religion.
The author compares between bull and human behaviour.
4. What does the author propose for the betterment of India? Do you agree with his views? Give
reasons for your answer.
The author pleads for reason. He wants us to think rationally. These rituals will not save us. Eclipse is a
natural phenomenon. It is sad that we should learn from bull. Being wise and imaginative we do not think the
way we should. We must get rid of superstitions. He was sad that millions of Indians are wasting their
precious energies. Millions assembled to same number to the save to save India. He feels that religion is a
luxury. He is equally critical of all religions in this outlook. I agree with the views of the author. Religion is
a bond between man and god. It should not come the way we behave. It should enlighten us. It should not
make us blind.
The poem “stanzas written in Dejection Near Naples was written by P.B Shelley . Shelley belonged to
the Romantic Era of English literature. His poems are lyrical and show his love for humanity and freedom.
This poem was written when he and his wife visited Naples.
Shelley was spell and good expression/surprise by the beauty of nature at Naples. The sun was warm.
The waves of the ocean look as if they were dancing. The dew of the earth surrounded buds. Even the
mountains wear the colour of the moon. The scenery was enchanting.
The poet was fascinated by the light the comes from the moon. He was alone. He wanted to share his
emotion with someone. He became sad because he felt he had no hope, no contentment and health. He
understands that people enjoy life for themselves and call life as pleasure. He was sad because he did not get
this.
The poet remembers his sorrow and feels like a tired child. He feels lonely. He recognizes the sorrows
he has to bear. He wishes death steal life from him like sleep. Some people may think the poets’ sorrow at
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this time as untimely. We may that how a poet can be sad at the place near Naples. Shelley also accepts this.
He wants him sorrows be forgotten but he wants the sweet memories of the day be remembered forever.
SHAKESPEARE RETOLD: JULIUS CAESAR
1. How did Brutus justify his assassination of Caesar?
The drama ‘Julius Caesar’ was written by William shake sphere. The extract is from act III, scene 2 of
‘Julius Caesar’. Shakespeare is one of the very few Englishmen who influenced world literatures. His charm
has been increasing for the past four centuries.
Julius Caesar was a Roman general. He won many battles. But he was a tyrant and ambitious.
Rome was a republic then. His friend Brutus was a noble man. He tried a lot but could not change Caesar’s
behaviour. So, he along with his friends killed Caesar. The crowd was terrified. He persuades them. He
requests them to listen to him. Here they could take their own decision on his actions. He also permits Antony
to speak.
The speech of Brutus is crystal clear and to the point. He argued that he was a good friend
of Caesar. But his love for Rome forced him to forsake the friendship of Caesar. He killed Caesar because of
his duty to protect Rome as its sincere citizen. He said that Caesar would have made them slaves. Caesar was
ambitious. Brutus said he did not offend anyone. Caesar wanted to become a the king of Rome. Brutus
compares Caesar to a serpent.
Brutus requested the citizens to listen him attentively, criticise him wisely and judge him correctly.
2. What was the effect of Antony’s speech on the crowd? Describe how Antony employs irony in
his speech.
The speech of Antony has been the more eloquent of quoted one in English literature. This is one of the
finest ironies. Antony addresses the emotions of the crowd. Antony knows that crowd cannot be convinced
easily. Antony said that he was the best friend of Caesar. He says that only the evil deeds done by Caesar will
be remembered. He wants the crowd to know his good deeds also. When Caesar was offered crown, he
rejected it thrice. If Caesar was ambitious, he would have accepted the crown. Antony reads out the will of
Caesar. He wanted all his wealth be distributed among the citizen of Rome. Caesar got riches to Rome. He
wept for the poor. By cleverly constructing the argument and eloquence of his speech, Antony sways the
emotions of crowd in his favour. In the end he laments that people have lost the power to think rationally. In
this way Antony arouses vengeance in crowd. He completely changes the mood of mob. They are now
convinced that Brutus and his friends were bad and Caesar was good.
Soft skills
a. Time Management:
Managing our own time helps us to achieve success. It also keeps us healthy and cheerful. All of us have
same 24 hours. But some of us look busy and embarrassed. But some others look cool and calm. Do you
know why? This is the reason people in the latter group plan and work. Remember! Failing to plan is planning
for failure. They divide their time according to their priorities. Works of “importance” are different from
works of “urgency”. They write time schedules. They allot time for each work. In fact, they have the map of
completion of work before it gets finished.
The following tips will help to manage our time in a better way.
1. Goal setting: if goals are set they elicit the best from us. Goals guide us to manage our time.
2. To – do list: This helps us if we miss any important tasks.
3. Time wasters: Our favourite hobbies are our best time wasters. In this era, internet and smart phones
brought revolution in all areas. But they must be managed wisely.
4. Relish your work: when goals are set, deadlines are met, enjoy your work.
b. Leadership
Leaders are the people who motivate people to reach the common goal. Leadership is a skill. We can
learn it by following other leaders and their principles. The following points help us become leaders.
Communication: a good leader should develop open and honest communication. He/ she should
develop trust and integrity. When trust is complete, no one suspects anyone and all work for group. Then the
group will be a role model.
Honesty: this is the prime quality of a leader. When a leader is honest he/she begets honest followers.
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Fairness: a leader must be objective and treat everyone with dignity. Everyone should be given equal
priority. A leader should do SWOC analysis on regular basis.
Positivity: a leader must have positive attitude. This will have a great impact on his/her team. They
should be role models for their teams.
Legacy: leaders must prepare their team to face troubles in their absence. They must help people become
leaders, not followers.
c. Stress management:
Stress is a feeling we get when we are under pressure. This may be due to so much to do in very less
time. Work pressure irritates us. This affects our hormones. It affects our well-being and confidence. So, it is
mandatory for us to understand stress and manage it.
We need to identity how and why we get stress. Some may have stage fear some may get stress when
they have to meet deadlines. Once we identify the trigger, we can fix it. Though there is no single solution
for stress the following are some of the common practices to counter stress.
1) Exercise: moving your muscles through physical activity does tricks. It asks concentrate on other
than stress. It also relieves us of stress.
2) Share: sharing your stress may help you. So share your feelings with your near and dear. You get
confidence and support.
3) Relax: getting eight hours of sleep keeps you away from stress. It keeps our mind at ease and ready
for the day to face the day afresh.
4) Meditation: prayer and meditation recharge our confidence. They Keep us healthy and keep us away
from stress.
5) Habits: develop healthy habits and avoid unhealthy ones such as alcohol.
Sometimes small symptoms may be indications of your future stress. Detect them early. The simple
solution for stress is: identify, understand and overcome.
d. Etiquette:
Etiquette is the acceptable social behaviour. If your behaviour is polite it is possible that you are going
to achieve success in all walks of your life. Though there are many people in our office / college, only a few
become favourite for others. This is because of their etiquette.
Given below is the list of a few examples of good etiquette.
➢ Be punctual.
➢ Greet your colleagues with a smile.
➢ Develop the habit of neatness.
➢ Do not speak loudly.
➢ Seek permission if you enter into your colleagues’ room.
➢ Be honest and sincere in maintaining relations.
➢ Listen to problems with empathy.
➢ Keep your office room neat and tidy.
Grooming: it refers to our cleanliness and how we dress. The way we dress and its appropriateness tells
what kind of people we are. Here are some guidelines for being well groomed.
➢ Pay special care for hygiene.
➢ Dress in a proper manner. Your clothes should fit you well and they should give you dignity.
➢ Do not wear clothes that do not reflect your profession.
➢ Use perfume if you must. It should not embarrass others.
Value orientation
a. Time and tide wait for no one:
This is a saying which means we want use all time wisely. It does not go back. We must live our life to
the full. These goes a saying ; “yesterday is history- tomorrow is a mystery, today is what you have ; that is
why it is called present”.
This tells us the value of time. All great people value time ; theirs and others. The meritorious students
and other successful people may waste money, but not time.
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