Q2 of 17 Page 172

‘The novel is the one bright book of life’. ‘Books are not life’. Discuss the distinction between the two statements. Recall Ruskin’s definition of ‘What is a Good Book?’ in Woven Words Class XI.

‘The novel is a bright book of life’ means that the novel casts light on the real aspects of life and portrays them in the form of a story so that people can gain knowledge from them. But there is also a reminder that the author posts. He strongly says that though the novel might be a real-life portrayal of events, it is not ‘life’ in reality. It is just meant to draw experience and collect important lessons. This now takes us back to what Ruskin had said in ‘What is a Good Book?’. Ruskin had said that it is mandatory to read between the lines of a good book so as to understand the underlying meaning that a good author has wanted to say.


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What are the arguments presented in the essay against the denial of the body by spiritual thinkers?

 1

The interest in a novel spring from the reactions of characters to circumstances. It is more important for characters to be true to themselves (integrity) than to what is expected of them (consistency). (A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds—Emerson.)

 1

Certain catch phrases are recurrently used as pegs to hang the author’s thoughts throughout the essay. List these and discuss how they serve to achieve the argumentative force of the essay.

 2

The language of argument is intense and succeeds in convincing the reader through rhetorical devices. Identify the devices used by the author to achieve this force.