Republic of the Philippines

Mindanao State University-GSC

College of Social Sciences and Humanities

The Cultural Strains of

INDIAN LITERATURE
(Short Stories)

A Term Paper
Presented to
Prof. Lourdes C. Manzano

In partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements in
English 175
Afro-Asian Literature

Kimbeerlyn B. Calauod
BSED English

March 27, 2012

Introduction

As early as 300 B.C., India had already produced a considerable body of

literature written in several Indian tongues derived from a common ancestral language-

Sanskrit.

The earliest known literature of India is a collection of tradition handed down by

word of mouth. These traditions are known as the Vedas. These contain hymns

addressed to the Indian gods, who are very numerous. They also contain stories about

these gods. The literature of India is often called Sanskrit-literature. The word Sanskrit

means cultivated. Hindu literature reveals the inner and outer life of a remarkable

people; it extends from a remote past to the present. India was the center of an

ancient civilization which spread east and south. This civilization affected the language

and culture in both Europe and Asia. India also founded colonies in ancient Persia,

Greece, and Rome, as well as in Spain, England, and France. These countries belong to

the Indo-European race. They once had their homes in central Asia and spoke the same

language. Even now various languages spoken in these Indo-European countries are

only different forms of the original. This is especially true of words referring to family

like father, mother, daughter, and sister. The word daughter comes from Sanskrit word

signifying to draw milk. It preserves the memory of the time when the little milkmaid in

the primitive Indo-European household.

Like Philippines, India is also a country with many languages. Though their

literary inheritance is common, there is an inherent unity on the Indian literature as a

whole which has flourished against a common socio-political culture and literary
background ever since birth. Moreover in terms of civilization, Indians have a civilization

older than that of the ancient Greeks and Romans. While savages roamed the dense

forest of England, France, Italy, and Germany, the Indians already had a highly

developed civilization and were producing masterpieces in the arts.

Indian masterpieces like short stories and poems convey a lot of meanings. It

may be tragedy, love story or a story about friendship. Also there are many Indian

movies that were derived from some wonderful short stories in India like the “3 Idiots”-

- which the story was about education, friendship and love. A lot of Indian movies had

struck us in so many different ways.

In connection with this, here are some of the wonderful short stories that India

has produced over the years. Though its plot is simple yet the meaning conveyed by

each stories helped much in shaping the readers values and it contributes much in

knowing what India’s culture, tradition, and way of living is.

One and A half Years
By: Gitanjali Maria

This short story was about a young woman who went to Mumbai to find a job.

On her stay in a hostel room she knew a friend whom she felt at ease. This friend of

her was so close to her heart that when she knew that this girl had cancer she took the

responsibility of taking care of her.

Some of cultural strains in the story are as follows:

 They have hostel room. “As I sat packing up my bags to leave the hostel room

forever, I was reminded of the last one and a half years I had spent there.”

 They have common mess/restaurant. “They also provided food at the common

mess/restaurant that operates on the underground floor; but it was optional.”

 They have local trains. “I hurried out to catch the local train as to reach my

office well in advance of the given joining time.”

 They have stationary.

 They have shops. “I bought some stationary and other necessities for my room

from a shop next to the station.”

 They have beach. “During weekends I often used to go out with prima and few

other girls to Chowpati, marine drive or Juhu beach.”

 They have beds. “She sat down at the edge of her bed and asked her if what the

matter is.”
  They have scans and x-ray reports. Prime said “that doctors diagnose her with

cancer and her scan and x-ray reports showed the same.”

 One of their illnesses is brain cancer. “Your chance of living beyond six months

was slim and this kind of brain cancer rarely responds to treatment.”

 They have orphanage. “I got to know that she had no parents and that she had

been brought up in an orphanage.”

 They give flowers to the sick. “During this time the young girls have to go for a

trip as a call of work and so “she got some flowers and presented them to her.”

 They have government hospital. “She has been admitted to the government

hospital a few days before that and the authorities there had informed the hostel

about the time and date of her death.”

 They mourn for their dead. “I mourn for her death and wondered how much she

had meant for me, how much she had taught me through her life experiences.”

Agony of Win
By: Malavika Roy Singh

The story was about a girl who fell in love with a man who was already married.

Some cultural strains of the story are as follows:

 They have revolving chair. “Amrita slumped on to her revolving chair.”

 They have coffee machine. While Amrita and Sangeeta was talking, “sangeeta

replied coldly, who was now pouring a cup of coffee from the coffee machine.”

 They also have women’s magazine. “Where, Sangeeta who sat with the steaming

coffee flipping over the page of a woman’s magazine.”

 They throw their coffee in the sink. “She got filled up with Amrita’s stubbornness

she got up, threw the remaining coffee into the sink and banged her fist on the

kitchen.”

 They have bags. “She picked up her bag hurriedly and leave.”

 The men have a fling.“A fling of affairs was prima facie to that.”

 They have credit cards.” a credit card fraud had left Amrita a Little better than

bankrupt.”

 Their money is Rupee. “I cannot go giving you a lakh of rupees.”

 They use phone as means of communication. “…a frustrated voice of Sunil had

suddenly spoken to her harshly on the phone.”

 They have washroom. “Infuriated by herself, she slowly got up and went to the

washroom.”

 They also have mirror inside the washroom. “…as she checked herself in the

mirror, she found an irrational but, a self-assumed smart woman staring back.
Not Just a Phone Call Away
By: Malavika Roy Singh

The story was about friendship, trust and health. This story had been very

interesting to me because it states a real fact about human life. The message conveyed

by this story is that, you cannot say that everything will always be okay because we

cannot figure out what will happen next after the blink of our eyes.

Some cultural strains in the story are as follows:

 They have hospitals. “He paced up and down in the corridor of the hospital”

 They console their problematic friend. “He slowly approached and kept a

consoling hand on his shoulder, halting him in his tracks.”

 They have night events. “He was still not able to come over last night’s events

that led to his dear friend’s unfortunate fate.”

 They drink alcoholic drinks. “If only they had controlled their alcohol

consumption, things would have been different.”

 They have farewell parties. “…and it had been his last day in his office, his

farewell party.”

 They have music speakers.“I’ll miss you Yaar. We had such a good time

together. I don’t know how we’ll I will adjust on my new student’s life. “
  They have bandages and pipes. “Rajeev lay amidst a pile of bandages and pipes

that went all around his upper body, around his neck and head.”

 They cremate their dead.“Next day, he went to his cremation where he saw his

wife walking towards him.”

Conclusion

IndianLiterature’sthemes are really suited for all ages most especially to the

youth of today for most of the stories taught moral lessons. Its culture has interesting

and distinctive qualities. It is rich in spiritual and imaginative values..

Thus, It is better that we must get those cultural strains reflected in the story so

that we can have the better understanding of the story and we can put ourselves in the

shoes of the characters. Also it is the simplest way to know the practices of such

culture. These are the evidences that Indian Literature is very healthy and that they will

continue to produce such good works.

Sources

http://www.induswomanwriting.com/the-agony-of-win.html#ixzz1pcOrTucU

http://www.induswomanwriting.com/one-and-half-years.html#ixzz1pcPBLTjv

http://www.induswomanwriting.com/not-just-a-phone-call-away.html#ixzz1pcPVtmeN
 Republic of the Philippines

Mindanao State University-GSC

College of Social Sciences and Humanities

The Cultural Strains of

AFRICAN LITERATURE

(Short Stories)

A Term Paper

Presented to

Prof. Lourdes C. Manzano

In partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements in

English 175

Afro-Asian Literature
 Kimbeerlyn B. Calauod

BSEd English

February 28, 2012

Introduction

There are as many types of African literature as there are African nations—from

Northern Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. However, the oral tradition, stories passed

down verbally from one generation to another, is common to all of them. These stories

include folktales and songs of praise for the nations’ ancestors, but in the late

nineteenth century, a European scramble to conquer Africa radically changed its

literature. “Trickster” tales characterize pre-colonial African literature, while colonial

literature tends to deal with slavery and themes of independence. Postcolonial works

often deal with conflicts between the past and the future and the difficulty of

maintaining an African identity in the face of globalization.

Moreover, George Joseph noted on his book on “African literature in

Understanding Contemporary Africa”Literature can also imply an artistic use of words

for the sake of art alone. Traditionally, Africans do not radically separate art from

teaching. Rather than they write or sing for beauty in itself, and taking their cue from

oral literature, use beauty to help communicate important truths and information to

society. Indeed, an object is considered beautiful because of the truths it reveals and

the communities it helps to build.

 African writers have been very promising because of the message they were

conveying on their works. There were works which shows their cultures their way of

living, beliefs, traditions, and behaviors. African writers use their masterpiece to let the

world know Africa. This shows how George Joseph’s defines African literature.

Today, some of the best-known African writers who gives value to their culture

and tradition are Nigeria’s Chinua Achebe (Things Fall Apart) and South Africa’s Alan

Paton (Cry, the Beloved Country). On the other hand there are lots of aspiring writers

whose aims are not only to entertain the readers but also inform them the wonders of

Africa which involves their culture, practices, beliefs, and traditions. Some of them are

B.L. Leshoai (Tselane and the Giant), and Amos Tutuola (Don’t Pay Bad for Bad).

Cultural Strains refers to the body of customary beliefs, social forms and

materials, traits constituting a distinct tradition of racial religions including knowledge,

beliefs, opinions, morals, laws, customs, practices, superstition and arts. This term

paper will show some of African writers’ works and we’ll discover what cultural strains

being shown to us.

Tselane and the Giant

By: B.L. Leshoai

Tselane and the Giant by B.L. Leshoai began as an oral tale. In traditional African

communities, groups of people would gather after their evening meal to share stories

and other entertainment. The story speaks about a giant living inside a cave. He made
the cattle and sheep as his evening meal and sooner began to starve because there

were no longer any sheep and cattle to eat. So, he began to eat human beings.

Some Cultural Strains of this story are as follows:

 They have cattle and sheep. “He killed their cattle and sheep and even people

themselves”

 They close their animal kraals. “They shut their animals up behind well-built

kraals made from the wood of Mimosa trees.”

 Armed men and dogs fight the giant. “Sometimes angry men and their vicious

hunting dogs went out to fight the giant to put him to death”

 They chant with their war song. “The men stopped chanting their war songs as

though they had already come face to face with the enemy.

 They live in huts. “…ran into their huts and bolted the doors behind them when

they saw that they were defeated.”

 They use stick “They use stick to struck the doors with their sticks and fists.”

 They eat bread and meat. “…she would bring her bread and meat every second

day.”

 They use basket. “…for many years she brought her daughter food in a basket…”
  They used mat. “At night he tossed sleeplessly in his mat.”

 They use huge pots for cooking. “She hurriedly hid the girl in one of the used

unused pots”.

 They used logs for the fire. “…She went to the door of the cave to bring in the

logs to the fire”

Fishing Expedition
Translated by: Harold Courlander and George Herzog

Another African short story is the Anansi’s Fishing Expedition translated by

Harold Courlander and George Herzog. It is tricky tale that is expose to illusion about

life.

It also reminds us the rules that allow people in Africa to live together in peace.

Anansi’s Fishing Expedition is set in an Ashanti village where Ashanti are the West

African people who lived in central Ghana. Their traditional religion involves the working

of ancestor spirits and a supreme god named Nyame as well as minor deities.

Some Cultural Strains of this story are as follows:

 They use palm branches to make fish traps. “Early the next morning Anansi and

Anene went into the woods to cut palm branches to make their fish traps.”

 They use fish traps to catch fish “Anansi my friend, let me carry the fish traps to

the water, and you can get tired of me.”

  They have knife. “Give me the knife, Anansi. I shall cut the branches for the

traps.”

 They old fish in the market. “So Anene carried the sixteen fish to the market and

sold them.”

 They believe in spirits. “The ancestor's spirits are working to reach them.”

 They believe in god and minor deities.

Don’t Pay Bad For Bad

By: Amos Tutuola

Don’t Pay Bad For Bad of a famous African writer Amos Tutuola. It is a story that

teaches us the value of friendship, humility, and forgiveness between the two main

characters named Dola and Babi. Most especially it focuses on teaching the readers that

“jealousy” is bad— she quoted “If we continue to pay bad for bad, bad will never finish

on earth”. The story started when Baby got jealous to Dola for earning big in her kola-

nut which started the conflict. Well in fact Dola did not intend to be wealthy.

Some Cultural Strains of this story are as follows:

 They have wedding ceremony.

 They have kola-nut tree.

 They use earthen jar to be filled with water.

 Every morning, they would go and kneel down before the tree and jar.
  They pray to the kola-nut for help.

 They believe in spirits.

 They have domestic animals that eat the tree leaves.

 Selling kola-nut is their occupation.

 They have Village Chief.

 The material mention is fine brass ring.

 They have swordsman.

 They have assembly ground in front of the palace.

 They have palace.

 They believe in justice.

 They live in a house.

Conclusion

Stories are not meant to be temporally frozen; they are always responding to

contemporary realities, but in a timeless fashion. Storytelling is therefore not a

memorized art. The necessity for this continual transformation of the story has to do

with the regular fusing of fantasy and images of the real, contemporary world. The

characters take images from the present and wed them to the past, and in that way the

past regularly shapes a readers experience of the present. The authors reveal
connections between humans—within the world, within a society, within a family—

emphasizing interdependence and the disaster that occurs when obligations to one’s

fellows are forsaken. The characters makes the linkages, the authors or writers forge

the bonds, tying past and present, joining humans to their gods, to their leaders, to

their families, to those they love, to their deepest fears and hopes, and to the essential

core of their societies and beliefs.

Sources

Tselane and the Giants

http://freeafricantales.blogspot.com/2006/09/tselane-and-ogre.html

Fishing
Expeditionhttp://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/course/wrldlit/unit1/part1/webresou
rces/anansi.shtml

Don’t Pay Bad For Bad

http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/stories/dola_and_babi.html

About African Literature

http://www.enotes.com/topics/african-literature
 Republic of the Philippines

Mindanao State University-GSC

College of Social Sciences and Humanities

The Cultural Strains of

CHINESE LITERATURE
(Short Stories)

A Term Paper

Presented to

Prof. Lourdes C. Manzano

In partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements in

English 175

Afro-Asian Literature

Kimbeerlyn B. Calauod

BSED English
 February 28, 2012

Introduction

Chinese prose prospered in the Tang dynasty. Chief among the Tang prose

masters was Han Yü, who advocated a return to simple and straightforward writing in

the classical style, as a reaction to the artificial prose of his time. As a result of Han Yü's

efforts, political and philosophical treatises, informal essays, and tales of the marvelous

(ch'uan-ch'i) were all written in the neoclassical style. The latter represent some of the

early specimens of Chinese literary fiction.

Moreover, to some, Chinese literature remains a hidden seam in the rich strata of

Chinese culture. As a matter of fact, it is a treasure of a very considerable number of

brilliant and profound works as each dynasty, in the long history of China, has passed

down its legacy of magnificent events and works. For 3500 years, they have woven a

variety of genres and forms encompassing poetry, essays, fiction and drama; each in its

own way reflecting the social climate of its day through the high spirit of art. Chinese

literature has its own values and tastes, its own reigning cultural tradition and its own

critical system of theory.

There has been in use a style in literary composition known as ping-ti. A subtle

form of parallelism composed in high flown diction and make use of excessive metaphor

and classical allusion. The growth of fiction writing was ushered in during tang period.

Originally stories were written solely for entertainment until they become part and

parcel of Chinese culture and life.

 In connection with, there have been a lot of beautiful Chinese stories written by

the most amazing Chinese writers that we can read. One example of a Chinese short

story is written by P’u Sung-ling (The Painted Walls, The Fisherman and His Friend, and

A Supernatural Wife) which stories manifest eulogies to ghosts and deities and to

meritorious deeds.

The Painted Walls

By: P’u Sung-ling

"The Painted Wall" adapted by Michael Beard is a collection of Up Sung-ling's 7th

century Chinese folk and fairy tales adapted into short stories for a young adult

audience.

It's tumbler of Grimm's fairy tales with a twist of "Twilight Zone". Imagine a

painting so beautiful that it could become real. Could you walk into such a landscape

and interact with its animals and people? Wouldn't it be nice to use a magic pear tree to

teach a greedy merchantman a lesson? Or a pair of glass eyes to teach a naughty boy a

lesson about stealing? All of these and more await you in "The Painted Walls”.

Some Cultural Strains of this story are as follows:

 They have wall paintings. “On either side were beautifully painted with

life, life representation of men and animals.”

  They believe in fairies. “On the east side were pictured a number of

fairies.”

 They believe in Buddha. “An old priest was preaching the law of Buddha.”

 Their religion is Buddhism.

 They have apartment. “He arrived at a small apartment.”

 They fell on their knees and worshipped heaven and earth together.

 They have wedding ceremonies.

 The materials mentioned to fix hair are hair pins, head ornaments, top-

knot, and coronet of pendants.

 They have temples.

The Fisherman and His Friend

By: P’u Sung-ling

The Fisherman and His Friend is adapted by Michael Beard is a collection of Up

Sung-ling's 7th century Chinese folk and fairy tales adapted into short stories for a

young adult audience.

The story is all about a fisherman who is guided by a disembodied spirit in

fishing that later become his true friend. The story teaches us the value of “friendship”.

Imagine how this spirit invited the school of fishes to Hsu for him to catch? That’s one
of the highlight of the story “The Fisherman and His Friend” were their friendship

started.

Some Cultural Strains of this story are as follows:

 They drink wine. “He would carry some wine with him, and drink…”

 They use goblet. “…filling up a goblet…”

 They use basket. “He always got a full basket.”

 They use net in fishing. “…casting his net, made a splendid naul.”

 They pray. “I pray to you, come and see me.”

 They go fishing only at night. “…that night they went to fish as usual…”

 Fishing and selling fish is their occupation.

 They believe in spirits. “I am a disembodied spirit— the soul of one…”

 They always show gratitude and generosity. “…offering his companion

and share of the fish, in great delight.”

 They believe in god. “…you well deserved to be made a god.”

 They have inns. “...and took up his abode at an inn.”

 They have temples. “He then inquired of the landlord where the village

temple was.”

 They have village cocks. “Village cocks began to crow.”

A Supernatural Wife
By: P’u Sung-ling

A Supernatural Wife is adapted by Michael Bedard is a collection of Pu Sung-

ling's 7th century Chinese folk and fairy tales adapted into short stories for a young

adult audience.

It is tricky tale that is exposed to illusion about life. The main character Mr.

Chao is a poor and badly sick man who thought that the woman he marry is a mortal

but the woman informed him that she is a spirit. But, despite the revelation Mr. Chao

accepted her and all her promises. Then later everything was gone and he realized that

it was just an illusion including the wonderful things happened which returned again

from the original form and state.

Some Cultural Strains of this story are as follows:

 They use medicine. “I don’t want medicine to cure you.”

 They believe in spirits. “I am a spirit”, replied she.”

 They have couch. “He saw a couch.”

 They use robes. “…covered with costly robes.”

 Their walls are papered with a silver-flecked paper.

  They have chairs.

 They have tables.

 They drink wine. “…the latter laden with all kinds of wine.”

 They have Verandah. “They moved him into the verandah.”

 They celebrate feast. “…with some friends at Tuang-yang Festival.”

 The animal mentioned is rabbit. “…a white rabbit ran in.”

Conclusion

P'u masterpiece is very entertaining because of its supernatural and satiric

themes. His short narrative written is a highly allusive, traditional Chinese style. P'u has

a greatly refined style and innovative fusion of social criticism with entertainment.

Largely drawn from imaginative folk tales and legends, (The Painted Walls, The

Fisherman and His Friend, and A Supernatural Wife) are stories containing ghosts,

fairies, and various birds and animals symbolizing both the mortals (people) and

immortal (spirits). His stories depict a dualistic world in which forces of evil, though

initially triumphant, are ultimately overcome by forces of good.

Sources

STRANGE STORIES FROM A CHINESE STUDIO by P’u Sung-ling,

Translated by Herbert Giles, 3rd edition, 1916, Scanned by Todd Compton