The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

"The Eclipse"
By Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist, and critic has beautifully portrayed the natural phenomenon of eclipse. She has also enlightened the importance of the sun. She has narrated the essay dramatically and has regarded sun as an actor that was going to come on the stage to perform as if a drama was going on. The sky served as a stage. She has made the scene vivid and ravishing by the usage of colors, images and similes. The way she has described it is so highly coloured and realistic that the readers visualize the eclipse to be occurring before their eyes. People were anxiously going towards a hilltop from where all would view the sun with reverence. People had gathered on the hilltop and stood in a straight line that it seemed they were statues standing on the edge of the world. As the sun rose, clouds glowed up. Light gleamed and peered over the rim of the clouds. The sun raced towards the point where eclipse had to take place. But the clouds were impeding it. The sun with a tremendous speed endeavoured to escape the mist. At some point it came forth then again was shrouded by the fleecy clouds. The sun then appeared hollow as the moon had come in front of it. A substantial proportion of the Sun was covered and the loss of daylight became noticeable. The writer has efficaciously described the sun's efforts to break free from the cloudy hurdle. She has continuously personified sun as it was putting its best efforts to make its face appear before the world. The clouds were stifling the sun's speed. The sanctified twenty-four seconds had begun but still the sun was entrapped and was striving to disencumber itself from the clump of clouds. "Of the twenty-four seconds only five remained, and still he was obscured." The time of the eclipse was passing and it seemed that the sun was losing. It was continuously obliterated by the clouds. The colours of the valleys seemed to disappear.

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

"Whistling of Birds"
by D.H. Lawrence
Main Theme
Whistling of Birds is very touching (sad) essay which moves our imagination. The writer has presented a contrast between Spring season and Winter season in it. The allegory (symbol) of seasons has been described so masterfully that it keeps on gripping our attention throughout the essay. Life is a continuous process; seasons also move in a cycle and follow each other. Winter is the symbol of death while spring is the symbol of life. When winter season comes, everything begins to die out. Leaves of trees begin to wither (droop). There is frost everywhere. Birds die out and their remains in the bushes and ground cast the shadows of death. Death seems to hover (float) all about but this lasts for only sometime then the change comes. It is the arrival of spring season which is the symbol of life. Things beaten by winter start to recover and restore their life. Birds forget the remains of dead and whistle to welcome the spring and new life. The branches of trees give birth to new leaves and greenery starts to rule. Frost melts away and give way to rays of life.

More about Essay

"Whistling of Birds" by David Herbert Lawrence is a depiction of the vividness (brightness) of his writings and his own artistic vision and thought. In this essay he has elucidated (clarified) the change of seasonschange from winter to spring- in an impressive way by the use of images, similes and metaphors.

Winter, as he narrates, brings woe (sadness) and causes wreck (destruction). The intense frost that sustained for several weeks caused the death of birds. The remnants (left) of the beautiful bevy (flock) of birds lapwings, starlets, thrushes, lied scattered in the fields. The "invisible beasts of prey" had wolfed (consumed) the birds. The winter had massacred (slaughtered) the song birds and their bloodsoaked skins were spread all around. The beings that could not shield themselves against its rigours shivered with cold and were exposed to the fury of biting cold winds. Winter thus had brought a host of hardships to the poor souls who found it hard to face the bitterness of the weather. Then sudden change appeared. The way wind began to blow depicted change of weather. The winds were warm and during the day shimmers (sparkle) sunlight could be seen. The birds began to chirp uncomfortably, without a pause. The doves were uttering strained (stressed / tense) coos as the influence of winter prevailed on them. Their attitude was queer (surprising). It was like a overlapping season. The surroundings were still snow carpeted. They kept on cooing with weakness. The breeze was still chilly enough to hurt. The subdued (passive / quiet) sunlight provoked the birds to chirrup in feeble (weak) tones. During the hard frost, deathly silence held sway. Then with the slight change of conditions, the whistling of birds appeared to be a peculiar (strange) act. It was extremely difficult to accept the change. The writer inquires for it, as the earth had been covered with the sheet of lacerated (tear / cut) cadavers (corpse / dead body).

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

Summary ("Whistling of Birds")

D. H. Lawrence in his essay Whistling of Birds describes the transition (change) from winter to spring using birds as the focal (central) point. Lawrence delves (look into/investigate) deep into a philosophical discussion about transitions. The songs of the birds remain the primary point used to tie the discussion to the concrete (real) world. Behind the birds, however, lies a clear allusion (hint) to the transition of the world from war to peace. Lawrence wrote the essay as the winter was becoming spring. He begins describing the aftermath (result) of the winter: most of the birds had died and lay on the ground rotting and partially eaten by other animals. This is the first clear allusion to The Great War, with the birds being the dead soldiers, and the winter being the time of war; a time when cultural progress was stopped. Lawrence expounds (explain) this last point later in the essay. Lawrence continues on about how the birds simply began to sing, seeming not to care about carcasses (remains) of the other birds strewn (scattered) among them on the still partially frozen ground. He was startled (worried) by the return of the noises after the silence of the cold winter. It was startling and almost frightening after the heavy silence of frost. How could they sing at once, when the ground was thickly (heavily) strewn (spotted) with the torn carcasses of birds?" There is another world. The winter is gone. There is a new world of spring...Surely the call is premature (untimely) while the things are still frozen...Yet we have no choice." Here Lawrence points out that the world is changing men have no choice but to be pulled along with it. The reason the birds seem not to notice the dead around them is because of ...the utter incompatibility of death with life." The worlds of death and life are entirely separate, and once the transition has been made from death to life death can no longer be seen. Once the transition from the death of progress during the Great War to the post-War period has been made the stagnation (stoppage) during the Great War will not seem as real or be remembered. Stagnation is not remembered; progress is. Man, as intelligent a species we are, ultimately cannot control the change of time. When the winter ends the birds will sing. Nothing man does can change this. Likewise, the culture of mankind is beast of its own and continues to progress even if many people wish for it to remain dead. For every winter a spring must follow. What is interesting is that the spring is entirely separate from the winter despite the transition between them. Lawrence finds this odd; It is strange, the utter incompatibility of death with life." This explains the quick recovery the birds made from the winter and the quick recovery from the Great War culture made. In Germany, for example, the years of the Weimar Republik were the most culturally rich years that Germanic Culture had experienced in a long time (even if the Republic was to suffer the fate of death, and was, for most of its existence, financially and politically weak). A large portion of Germany was in a state of physical ruin (just as the patches of ground are still frozen as winter ends), and, in spite of the physical and financial ruin, culture flourished. Even after a long winter, we are detached (separate) as soon as there is no more frost. This is another example of the separation between Death and Life (Winter and Spring). The new world is entirely separate from the old because the old must pass away entirely in order for the new to exist. Although there is a transition between the two on a grand scale there is no such transition for the individual. Each

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

bird begins to sing his song at a definite moment in time, casting away his silence. Likewise the individual person casts away his memories of the Great War (or any cultural disruption) at a single point in time but not everyone does so at the same time, thus creating the appearance of a gradual, rather than immediate, transition. And so, since the transition between worlds is so sudden for each individual, there is no connection between them. In the kingdom of death the silvery song is not." Once the winter has been left behind, the birds cannot stop their song. Once the time of the war has been left behind, culture cannot stop its progress. The winter will eventually return and the change of mode will occur again; the spring, however, shall also return and so progress is unceasing. Some accept the transition into a new time while others reject it. Those who accept it are better o_ for there is no escaping it. These are two important points that Lawrence briefly touches on. Lawrence ponders about where the song of the bird comes from so soon after the winter recedes. His argument is that the songs of the birds are not forgotten during the winter but rather hide within them as they pass into the cold world of the winter. The parallel in human society is that culture never really died during stagnant periods (in this case during the Great War). Instead it lies hidden because it cannot progress during such times and must wait for the end before it can come to life again. When cultural progress arises again after a period of stagnation, it resumes its progress slowly. Eventually it will reach its former levels and continue on. Lawrence writes that we cannot know where the new beginning will go; we must go forward with culture whether we wish to or not into an unknown future state. Lawrence writes of birds singing their songs as a way to express his views on the cultural transition from the period of the Great War to the post-War period. He uses his views on that particular transition to explain his views on essentially all transitions. Transitions may appear to be gradual, but there is a point at which return to the old mode of being is no longer possible. It is at this point Lawrence believes one becomes detached from his old mode of being and views it as entirely different even if the change was perhaps not very large.

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

"Take the Plunge" theme and purpose by

Gloria Emerson
Take the Plunge is a fantastic essay with the message that Determination is the key to success. We can always turn impossible into possible if we have confidence and strong will power. The writer, Gloria Emerson, has told us about her personal experience of taking the plunge to prove this message.

She has such a poor physical condition that everything that everybody used to take pity on her and thought her worth nothing. So she decided to do something extra ordinary to wash the mark of pity off her. She thought about many adventures but the only one suited with her bad back and uncertain ankles was to dive in the air with parachute from aeroplane. She joined a flying club to learn the art of diving with the help of a parachute. After completing her training successfully, she boarded a Corona 180 along with a companion. When she took the plunge, she felt the slap of wind and noise but after when her parachute popped open, everything came into peace giving her pleasant look of colours of earth and soothing (calming) expanse (area) of space. In the end, she landed successfully. Nobody could expect from her such an act but she surprised all her friends by doing this bold act despite her poor physical condition. People applauded her attempt and her determination.

Purpose Of Gloria Emerson In Writing About Her Jump From The Aero Plane
Gloria Emerson worked in newspaper office. She wrote stories about women. There was no thrill or excitement in her stories. They came out like little cookies. They did not make much impact on the readers. She wanted to have some thrilling experience or 5 adventurous events to write about. She was fed up with common stories of social and romantic contents. She wanted to perform something daring and brave. Then she wanted to write a shining, interesting story about it. The purpose was to surprise and impress others. Gloria Emerson was a woman of weak health. She could not run or drive confidently. She needed a task suited her physical and mental condition. So, she chose to jump from an aero plane with a parachute. It seemed to her a perfect adventure as it did not require any talent. It something women do not usually do. S he was anxious to feel the rising of a small plane, taking the plunge in the open atmosphere and then descending slowly under the huge canopy of parachute. She was assured that parachuting was as safe as swimming. She liked it because; she had little imagination to think of the dangers involved in it. The writer enjoyed her parachute drop. All her friends were surprised at her success.

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

Moreover, she gave a thrilling story to her newspaper readers. Her purpose of making this jump and writing a good story was fulfilled.

The Silk Academy

ESSAYS Pakistan and the Modern World by Liaqat Ali Khan Circumstances which led to the Creation of Pakistan

by Mubashar Habib

Pakistan and the Modern World is, in fact, the speech of Liaquat Ali Khan that he made at University of Kansas, America. In his speech he tried to introduce Pakistan to the modern world by justifying the causes of its creation and highlighting its future expectations from the developed nations of the world. He brought to light all the major causes which made it necessary for Muslims to establish an independent state for them. In the united sub-continent, there was a multitude of nations including Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsees and such other nations. Hindus and Muslims were two main nations in that part of the world. They were living together for centuries but nothing common could be developed among them. They had their different cultural, social, economical and educational back-grounds. They had a definite prejudice and bias towards each other to the effect that they could never intermarry nor inter-dine. So it was impossible for them to live independently under one rule. Hindus were in majority with the ratio of 1:3. When the English government decided to quit from sub-continent, Hindus were ready to capture the reign after the departure of British. So for the Muslims, freedom from British rule was nothing but a change of masters. There could easily be discerned a perpetual clash between Hindu majority and Muslims and a continual problem of law and order. Sub-continent was vast enough to be divided into two independent parts. It was surely difficult for one ruler to keep such a heavy mass under his control. A fear of political and social disturbance could always be there. So the Muslims rightly decided to struggle for a separate independent homeland for them where they could lead their lives according to their own religious, political, cultural, economical and social life style Hardships faced by Pakistan After its Creation At the time of partition Pakistan had to face many hardships and problems. Pakistan was quite a new state having no capital, no flag and no administrative power. It received no military equipment. So it was very difficult for Pakistan to manage things for its survival. Industry was poor and people were backward. The only thing Pakistan had was the unity, will power and determination of its people to face all these problems. Freedom and independence with a poor economic condition had set Pakistan on a blind way which had the light of goal far away. Liaquat Ali Khan mentioned in his speech the duties which our freedom demanded from us. According to his point of view, it was our first and foremost duty to maintain and safeguard the freedom. Freedom from foreign rule was not the real freedom. Real freedom was freedom of common man from the threat of poverty, disease, social security and ignorance. So it was necessary for the people of Pakistan to utilize all the qualities of their mind and soul to get the maximum out of least given to them. Liaqat Ali Khans Expectations In his speech at Kansas, Liaquat Ali Khan tried to explain the expectation Pakistan had had from American and Western world. According to him, Pakistan was one of developing Asian countries, trying to pace on the way to progress. Had the developed countries helped it, it could have joined them in the same capacity. To maintain the rate of progress Pakistan was looking towards the advanced nations such as America to

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

owe helping hand. Liaquat Ali Khan viewed the progress of Pakistan not merely as the progress of a country but as a development and solidarity of Asia. Asia was a backward part of the world with people struggling against poverty, disease and ignorance. To make the world prosperous and strong, this major part of the world was necessary to be supported by the developed countries. Being situated in the centre of Asia a strong Pakistan could be a guarantee of peace in her continent. At that time only Pakistan was unified enough to lead other countries of her part on the way of progress. So America and other developed nations should support Pakistan and help it to improve its economical, educational and social knowledge A note on the essay "Eclipse" The Eclipse is a well-written essay by Virginia Woolf. It is a self-witnessed account of a solar eclipse which happened to take place in the northern parts of England on a morning of June. The essay shows the love of writer for nature and highlights the importance of sun for us. The writer thinks that all the colours of earth are because of sun. It is the sunlight which makes the earth colourful, gay and live. If there is no sun, the earth would be dead. The eclipse which is discussed in the essay was taken place on a morning of June 1870. People were very enthusiastic and eager to watch this change of Nature. From every nock and corner of the country, people were going to the northern area from where they could watch this scene more clearly. Trains were full of passengers who were going to that place. Many groups of cars and other means of transport were seen on the roads moving towards the northern parts. All were anxious to observe the eclipse by himself. The writer herself and other people reached on the stone hedge which was the temple of sun-worshippers. When the eclipse started, a cloud began to cover the sun. Its light and brightness started to fade. Colours began to disappear from the earth. The blue changed into purple, pink faced grew green. The light turned into shadows and shadows began to become darker and darker. Then with the passage of time, as the eclipse completed, light completely went out. The earth seemed to be dead and the sun looked like a skeleton. But this lasted only for a short period. Then the sun tore the clouds and showed its one corner. A ray of hope glittered with the ray of sunlight. The sun seemed to be struggling to get rid of the clouds of eclipse. By and by the light of sun grew its brightness restoring the colours and warmth of earth. Finally the sun shone with full face and earth again turned into a colourful living thing. Nagasaki August 9, 1945 essay bu Machaito Ichimaro The essay is written as an attempt to point out the deterioration and destruction of atomic weapons. The writer has narrated the scene of destruction which happened after the attack of atomic bomb on Nagasaki by America. When this was happened, the writer himself was there and witnessed it personally. He heard the voice of a plane and then the smoke and fire was every where. The roofs of the buildings swung away, grass burnt into black and people either died or injured badly. The parts of their bodies, spotted with their blood, were scattered on the ground. Death was marching everywhere. Splendid building had got the shape of ruins. A number of ambulances were running on the roads to take the people to the hospitals.

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

Such was the scene of destruction in Nagasaki after the attack of atomic bomb on it. In fact the writer has given in his essay the picture of this horrible attack to make the world realize the after effects of the use of atomic weapons. He seems to be giving a message to all of us that atomic energy may be useful in some ways but as far as a war is concerned never again should these terrible nuclear weapons be used, no matter what happens. Only when the mankind renounces the use of these nuclear weapons, will the souls of my friends rest in peace. "Take the Plunge" theme and purpose by Gloria Emerson Take the Plunge is a fantastic essay with the message that Determination is the key to success. We can always turn impossible into possible if we have confidence and strong will power. The writer, Gloria Emerson, has told us about her personal experience of taking the plunge to prove this message. She has such a poor physical condition that everything that everybody used to take pity on her and thought her worth nothing. So she decided to do something extra ordinary to wash the mark of pity off her. She thought about many adventures but the only one suited with her bad back and uncertain ankles was to dive in the air with parachute from aeroplane. She joined a flying club to learn the art of diving with the help of a parachute. After completing her training successfully, she boarded a Corona 180 along with a companion. When she took the plunge, she felt the slap of wind and noise but after when her parachute popped open, everything came into peace giving her pleasant look of colours of earth and soothing expanse of space. In the end, she landed successfully. Nobody could expect from her such an act but she surprised all her friends by doing this bold act despite her poor physical condition. People applauded her attempt and her determination. Main Theme "Whistling of Birds" by D.H. Lawrence Whistling of Birds is very touching essay which moves our imagination. The writer has presented a contrast between Spring season and Winter season in it. The allegory of seasons has been described so masterfully that it keeps on gripping our attention throughout the essay. Life is a continuous process; seasons also move in a cycle and follow each other. Winter is the symbol of death while spring is the symbol of life. When winter season comes, everything begins to die out. Leaves of trees begin to wither. There is frost everywhere. Birds die out and their remains in the bushes and ground cast the shadows of death. Death seems to hover all about but this lasts for only sometime then the change comes. It is the arrival of spring season which is the symbol of life. Things beaten by winter start to recover and restore their life. Birds forget the remains of dead and whistle to welcome the spring and new life. The branches of trees give birth to new leaves and greenery starts to rule. Frost melts away and give way to rays of life. Moral and Main Theme of "My Tailor" by Stephen Leacock The moral of the essay, My Tailor is that we should try to understand our fellow beings and try to share the worries of our fellow beings specially the common professionals around us. We often go to so many people around us to buy or get prepared something for us but we keep ourselves restricted to the business matters. We take them for mechanical workers and never try to take them as a man. These men also keep a screen of professional dealings and manners on them and do not show their real

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

personality to us. That is what Leacock has presented in his essay, My Tailor. He tells us about his tailor in a funny way. He describes his ways to talk and deal, habits and actions in a mocking way. But towards the end of the essay he tells us that when he learnt that his tailor was dead, he got a shock. Only then he understood him as a common man and came aware of his worries and hardships. When the tailor was alive, the writer had never tried to know about his real life. But after his death he felt sorry for him and regretted his formal dealings with him. He has not mentioned any particular moral lesson or advice in the essay. He has simply described the character sketch of the tailor and has let us draw the moral ourselves. And the best possible moral in this essay is surely that we should not restrict our dealings with others to the business only.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Character-Sketch of "My Tailor" by Stephen Leacock My Tailor is apparently a humorous essay with a sad end. It is about the life of a professional man who looks like a machine during his work and keeps his real life and personality hidden under the cover of his professional life. The writer draws the character sketch of his tailor and describes his behaviour and actions in a funny way. But towards the end of the essay he turns this humorous figure into a pathetic character and tries to win our sympathies for him. In fact he seems to be of the view point that the real personality of such men is hidden beyond their professional smiles, actions and dialogues. Whenever the writer used to go to his tailor to order for new suits, the tailor used to behave in the same way and rehearsed the same dialogues in every visit as these were the part of his dealings. There was always a smile of welcome on his face and a tape around his neck. He talked in a very sympathetic and polite way to his customers and always showed them cloth by putting on his bended knee. While taking the measurement, it was his habit to flatter the writer by saying that the size of his chest had increased by half an inch though the writer knew it very well that there was no increase at all in the size of his chest. Normally people start their conversation with the topic of weather but the tailor used to end the conversation at this topic. The writer always enjoyed the actions, behaviours and machine like attitude of his tailor. But when he learnt that the tailor was dead, and his family was in trouble, he felt sorry for not knowing about his real personality in his life. For the first time, he took his for a man and realized his worries and problems. The death of the tailor tears his professional cover and shows him as a man. The writer describes this situation in a grave way and wins the sympathies of readers too for the tailor. What are your observations of "Walking on the Moon"? Walking on the moon is an informative essay by David Scott. He has written this essay to tell us about his adventure of visiting the moon for three days. He has used a number of metaphors to make this essay interesting and attractive. He tells us about the sights, experiences and weightlessness he observed there. He made this journey in

The Silk Academy

by Mubashar Habib

the Apollo 15 on July 29, 1971 and landed on the surface of moon with the help of a lunar module along with his two companions. They felt weightlessness as the gravity of the moon was sixteen times less than that of earth. They felt as they were walking on a trampoline. There were mountains on the surface of the moon. Stars were shining there. Then the sun rose with its full brightness and they came down on the surface of the moon with the help of a ladder. There was no air, no water, no plants and no life. Only brownish mountains and the beaches were there. One day on the moon was equal to 50 hours on the earth. They walked on the moon with an air of pride and honour as they were doing what no human being had ever done and they were the first to touch that mystical soil under their feet. These were the observations and feelings of Scott which he has composed in his essay to share them with the readers so that they can also feel his enthusiasm and pride.