An Easy Summary of "Playing the English Gentleman"

             This essay Playing the English Gentleman is an account of Mahatma Gandhi’s struggle to mix with the English and the English society. He was studying law in London then.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi talked about how his life in London was not an easy one because he was a vegetarian and his friend did not appreciate this. His friend would find vegetarianism a hurdle in his development. One day Gandhiji was hesitant to eat in a restaurant because he was not sure whether the food was vegetarian or not. His friend became angry and told him that he was too clumsy for a decent society. This provoked Gandhiji to take measures and make himself suitable for the English society. For being the English Gentleman, Gandhi changed his dressing style for example, he wore a new suit, tie, hat, watches etc. and also took a few lessons like dancing, violin, and elocution but all in vain. After some days he realized that he was a student and he ought to go on with his studies.

Gandhi thought that he was there in London to study and he was not supposed to stay there all his life. After that he stopped trying to become the English Gentleman and began to concentrate on his studies.  

An Easy Summary of "A Cup of Tea" by Katherine Mansfield

    ‘A Cup of Tea’ by Katherine Mansfield deals with an upper-class woman named Rosemary Fell. She spends her day out shopping at some west corners of London. One day she visits an antique dealer’s shop that shows her a beautiful small blue velvet box. But she does not buy it and asks the shopkeeper to save it for her. 

    While getting to her car she is approached by a girl. This girl is wearing tattered clothes and asks her for money for tea. Rosemary finds this an opportunity to show herself as charitable. So, she takes the young girl with her to the house. 

    As they reach the house, Rosemary takes the poor girl to her room and asks her to sit by the fire. She helps her take off her coat and hat and tries to soothe her. The girl seems to be hungry and therefore, the girl is provided with tea and sandwiches. Rosemary tries to inquire more about the girl as she is planning to help her. The conversation is interrupted by her husband Philips. He is surprised to see the stranger in the room and asks his wife to talk to him privately in the library. Rosemary wishes to keep the poor girl with her but her husband disapproves it. Seeming his wife’s determination, Phillip tries the oldest trick in diplomacy i.e. jealousy. He praises the girl on her pretty looks. This gives a rise to insecurities of Rosemary. Rosemary leaves the library and enters the study room from where she picks up some cash. She returns to her room and hands over the money to the poor girl making her leave the house. 

    After the girl leaves the house Rosemary joins Philips back in the library. After a pause, she whispers, “Am I pretty?”

What is One-Act Play?

     A one-act play is a type of play which does not necessarily consist of one act. It is neither an act from full length play. More specifically you can say that the duration of the play may be equal to the time normally required by an act from a full-length play.

    A one-act play is an independent as well as a self-sufficient form of art. It also consists of all the elements that you find in a full-length play such as setting, characters, property, stage, conflict, and point of view, theme etc. It also has an organic form with beginning, middle and an end. Unlike a full-length play, the unity of time, place and action do not function fully.

    You will see that a one-act play does not have episodic subjects; rather it has a visionary and conceptual unity. It normally represents a single situation, action, and atmosphere leading to deep impression. The characters and the experiences are not complex, you can understand easily.

    Since it has a confined canvas, the life experiences it conveys can not be complex and difficult as it happens in a full-length play. The number of characters is bound to be small. Some of the beautiful examples that you will love to read are Donne Byrne’s The Professors, Stanley Houghton’s The Dear Departed, and W. W. Jacobs’s The Monkey’s Paw.

    Though the orchestral representation, multidimensional experience, a throbbing effect may not be there in a one-act play, but it certainly has to offer a slice of life as a piece of literature does.

An Easy Summary of the Story "The Child" By Munshi Premchand

    ‘The child’ is a beautiful story written by Munshi Premchand. The story highlights a new sense of social awareness in people. 

     The story ‘The child’ is narrated by a generous narrator. Gangu is one of the servants who considers himself as a Brahmin. He is different from many other servants in the household. He is lazy by nature and does not bear the characteristics of an ideal Brahmin. Once he goes to the narrator in private to say something but he hesitates to speak. The narrator thinks that he must have came to either ask for money or to complain about another servant. But the narrator is surprised when Gangu states that he wants to quit the job as he is going to marry a woman named Gomti Devi. 

     Gomti Devi had been driven away twice by her two past husbands. Now, she has started living in the same mohalla. All consider her to be of low character. But Gangu’s opinion is different. The narrator tries to persuade Gangu but he does not understand the scenario. Finally he leaves the job. The narrator thinks that very soon Gomti Devi and Gangu will get separated but they surprisingly they live happily.

     After some time, Gomti runs away. The narrator feels satisfied thinking that he has proved true. Gangu is now upset but still has faith in her. After one month when the narrator returns from Nainital, Gangu comes to see the narrator again. Meanwhile, Gangu had found out Gomti with a new born baby. Gangu is not the father of that child because Gomti Devi delivers a baby within just few months after marriage. The narrator tries hard to provoke him against Gomti about the illegitimacy of the child but he is firm in his love. He accepts the child as a gift from the god. Finally, seeing Gangu’s feeling and generosity, the narrator is touched and offers his blessing to the baby.