Summary- 28.04.2008

The date is June 15th. The narrator had noticed that one of Satipur’s beggars was an old woman who never spoke: she held out her hands only when she was hungry. She was not rooted to a particular area. The narrator notices her lying in the same place first when she drops off her clothes and later when she picks them up. She initially wondered if the woman was dead—concluding that she might be but that it was not her job to do anything about it (at this thought, she wonders at how she had changed, not even having bothered to see if the woman was alive). She later ascertains that the woman is alive and walks to the hospital. The doctor there is more than polite but can do nothing. Where, asked the narrator, should the old woman die? She walks through the hospital corridor; its floors covered with patients for whom there are no beds. She surprises herself again by thinking that the old woman was „dispensable“—and that she, who would never have previously allowed such a thought, is changing. She is surprised to learn that the old woman has a name: Maji knows her name and her history.

Summary

The year is 1923. Graveyards had had an effect on Olivia even back in England, where she would wander through the rows, reading inscriptions and occasionally sitting on the head stones. She thought the graveyard at Satipur evocative. It contained mostly the graves of children, most recently the Saunders’ baby, marked by the crumbling Italian angel statue. A few adult graves dated back to the Mutiny, when the gallant British officers had died „defending their women and children.“ Others came from the outer provinces where there were no Christian cemeteries.

After she had first seen that baby’s grave, she had shut herself in her stiflingly hot room. Douglas had had to devote an entire evening to consoling her: Children rarely die these days . The next day Olivia visited Mrs. Saunders, a bleak woman. She finds Mrs. Saunders’ home quite to her dislike: Had none of the servants produced a vase for the pretty flowers she’d brought because there was no vase? Olivia sat at her bedside and listened to Mrs. Saunders talk solely of her ill health since the baby’s death, a topic Olivia thought distasteful. She was startled by Mrs. Saunders’ vigorous angry response to a servant who entered the room wearing shoes . Mrs. Saunders then launched into a description of how the servants conspired to deceive and cheat their masters behind their backs. She began weeping and Olivia comforted her, by this time weeping herself.

She was pleased to accept the invitation passed on by cheerful Beth Crawford, an invitation from Nawab’s mother, the Begum. This time she and Mrs. Crawford were ushered into the ladies quarters. Mrs. Crawford, who set straight in her chair, knees together, hands in white gloves clasped together over the handbag in her lap, spoke enough Urdu to carry on a conversation. Olivia would have preferred lounging but feared doing so wouldn’t have been proper etiquette. All the other women in the room also played their respective roles well. Olivia kept wondering if the Nawab would enter the room. That did not happen: when it was the „right“ time, Mrs. Crawford excused them and their hosts protested just the right amount. After leaving the palace, the two women stopped on the edge of Khatm to see Mrs. Minnies. She and Mrs. Crawford were close friends and, although they tried to include her, Olivia did feel excluded and worse, bored with their advise about how servants should wash crepe blouses and the like. When she asks them whether the Nawab was married, their conversation paused. Mrs. Crawford finally answered that the Nawab did not live with his wife, who was incapacitated, mentally. But, Mrs. Minnies added, things could have turned out much worse . Olivia finds more answers: from the Nawab’s houseguest, Harry. He arrived one morning and stayed the entire day. The Nawab, he explained, had ruled since he was 15 when his father died suddenly of a stroke. He was accustomed to getting what he wanted when and how he wanted it, which had been too much for Sandy. Her family had been against the marriage. When they thought Sandy was getting too fond, they traveled from London to Paris, as did the Nawab, who was following them. The Nawab, he continued, is a person motivated by generosity, someone who wants the best for his friends. The Nawab, he explained, really wanted to give a party at which she and Douglas were guests. He finally speaks of the Begum: it is by then late afternoon and the house is hot. Olivia wishes Harry would leave.

On festive occasions, the rich men of Satipur would pay their respects to Douglas. Douglas later told her that they thought themselves frightfully cunning, but were really naive like children. He further explained that it is only in Hindustani that he can insult them, laughing at the thought of Olivia doing similarly: delivering deadly insults, he proclaimed, is a man’s game. The Nawab later made a trip to tell Olivia his palace was not happy that Douglas had turned down his invitation. He came with his whole retinue but this time, would not stay. He invited her for a small drive or picnic, making the invitation sound like many levels of honour were involved, and she did want to go. Harry sat with the chauffeur in the front seat of the Rolls, the Nawab and Olivia in back, him smoking cigarette after cigarette. The Nawab was silent the entire drive, which disturbed Olivia. After driving, they hiked a narrow trail to a grove whose ground his servants had covered with carpets and pillows. Olivia did like it when he acted like she was the only person there who mattered to him. His own ancestors, he explained, were desperadoes who had looked for the pickings they could find in „free-for-all between the Moguls, the Afghans, the Mahrattas and the East India Company.“ He took her to his private shrine and told her she was the same type of person as he was, that they were different from Mrs. Crawford . They returned to the grove with the others and feasted, after which they played musical chairs using cushions: Olivia and the Nawab were the last two players. He won and was „tremendously pleased“ about it.

Characterization of Solomon Barber

Solomon Barber was one character of the story „Moon Palace“, written by Paul Auster. Let me say something about his background.  He is born in Shoreham, near Long island, in 1917.  His father hab been a painter. Solomon lost his parents very early. His father died in Utah and his mother whenn he was twenty-two-years old in 1939. His childhood was lugubrious. In his youth he often were treated by other school mates very bad. They made fun of him because he was fat. Later on he became a teacher and wrote books
about american history. Solomon Barber was a very lonely person. he lived a very monoton life an was completely isolated from the outside world.

What does the Central Park mean to Marco?

I think that the Central Park is something like a new begining of Marco’s life. There he has a place to sleep, for example under bushes. It is a better place to live than being homeless on the streets. Of course there he is homeless,too, but he can think about himself and can return to his inner life. Furthermore he gets help of others by giving him something to eat or allow him to participate in games.

Maybe it is a little step to get back in society.

Mr Michiko Kakutani is impressed of Paul Auster’s writing. He compares it with Dickens and Twain.  Another remarkable fact is his attention on the name of the hero.

„Yet were it not for Mr. Auster’s canny eye for contemporary detail and his hero’s existential leanings, the reader might well mistake “Moon Palace“ for an 18th- or 19th-century novel. The book reads like a composite of works by Fielding, Dickens and Twain, with a faint 20th-century gloss of Ionesco and Camus. Not only is Marco an orphan, like so many picaresque heroes before him – his father apparently died before his birth; his mother was run over by a bus -but as depicted by Mr. Auster, he also becomes a latter-day Telemachus, bouncing from one coincidence to the next, as he searches for his father, the key to his own past and future.“

„Take Marco’s name, for instance: the Marco refers to that wide-ranging traveler, Marco Polo; the Stanley, to the man who tracked down Livingstone and found fame in darkest Africa; the Fogg, to Phileas the explorer who saw the world in 80 days. All of them seekers, voyagers into the uncharted and unknown.“

Mr Michiko Kakutani is impressed of Paul Auster’s writing. He compares it with Dickens and Twain.
Another remarable fact is his attention on the name of the hero,

“Yet were it not for Mr. Auster’s canny eye for contemporary detail and his hero’s existential leanings, the reader might well mistake “Moon Palace“ for an 18th- or 19th-century novel. The book reads like a composite of works by Fielding, Dickens and Twain, with a faint 20th-century gloss of Ionesco and Camus. Not only is Marco an orphan, like so many picaresque heroes before him – his father apparently died before his birth; his mother was run over by a bus -but as depicted by Mr. Auster, he also becomes a latter-day Telemachus, bouncing from one coincidence to the next, as he searches for his father, the key to his own past and future.”

“Take Marco’s name, for instance: the Marco refers to that wide-ranging traveler, Marco Polo; the Stanley, to the man who tracked down Livingstone and found fame in darkest Africa; the Fogg, to Phileas the explorer who saw the world in 80 days. All of them seekers, voyagers into the uncharted and unknown.”

Passive Voice….

Change the following sentences into the passive voice:

1. .A lot of cowboys could be seen by the audience2. The picture of a cowboy’s life is shown in many films.3. Bandits weren’t chased by real cowboys.4.  Cattle had to be rounded up and animals were driven for many miles to the railroad stations by cowboys.5. Very often the cattle were followed by the cowboys for hundreds of miles. 6.. Thousands of Indians were forced to leave their land by the settlers.7.On the other hand the settlers were taught how to grow corn by the Indians.8.  An own alphabet was developed by the Sequoia and their children were taught to read and write

Make passive sentences from the following words. Look out for prompts which determine the tenses.
9.The children have just been asked some difficult questions.10. Another film will be shown by us next week.11A new bridge is built across the Thames now.12. The new museum has not been opened yet.

test: passive voice

Test: Passive voiceChange the following sentences into the passive voice:1. The audience could see a lot of cowboys in the show.   2. They show the picture of a cowboy’s life in many films. 3. Real cowboys did not chase bandits. 4. Cowboys had to round up cattle and then they drove the animals for many miles to the railroad stations. 5. Very often the cowboys were following the cattle for hundreds of miles. 6. The settlers made thousands of Indians leave their land. 7. On the other hand the Indians were teaching the settlers how to grow corn. 8. The Sequoia developed their own alphabet and could teach their children how to read and write. Make passive sentences from the following words. Look out for prompts which determine the tenses.
9. the children / to ask / just / some difficult questions 10. next week / we / to show / another video film 11. a new bridge / now / to build / across the Thames 12. the new museum / to open / not yet

Bill Bryson – Notes from a big country – Friendly people

In the chapter “ Friendly People“ of Bill Bryson’s ‘Notes from a big county’  the narrator describes  the friendly and courteous behavior of the American population and of course in generel the good things of the American daily life. He is enthusiastic about the confidence of his neighbours and is astonish about the low rate of crimes.

How to have fun at home

The chapter ‘How to have fun at home’ of the novel ‘Notes from a big country’, written by Bill Bryson is about a middel aged couple describing the every day life in American Households. The couple hasn’t the same opininon. She is a little bit naive and is very impressed and things that life could not be any better. He is impressed,too, but quite know what is real and what is a fake. Furthermore he differntiate between necessary and unnecessary things.