Otional English 1 PDF

The tell tale heart
Summery
The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is relayed by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince
the reader of the narrator’s sanity while simultaneously describing a murder they committed. The victim was an old man with a filmy "vulture-eye", as the narrator
calls it. The narrator emphasizes the careful calculation of the murder, attempting the perfect crime, complete with dismembering and hiding the body under the
floorboards. Ultimately, the narrator's feelings of guilt, or a mental disturbance, result in hearing a thumping sound, which the narrator interprets as the dead man's
beating heart.
The story was first published in James Russell Lowell's The Pioneer in January 1843. "The Tell-Tale Heart" is often considered a classic of the Gothic fiction genre
and is one of Poe's best known short stories.
The specific motivation for murder (aside from the narrator's dislike of the old man's eye), the relationship between narrator and old man, the gender of the narrator
and other details are left unclear. The narrator denies having any feelings of hatred or resentment for the man who had, as stated, never wronged them. The
narrator also denies having killed for greed.
It has been speculated that the old man is a father figure, the narrator's landlord, or that the narrator works for the old man as a servant, and that perhaps his
"vulture-eye" represents some sort of veiled secret, or power. The ambiguity and lack of details about the two main characters stand in stark contrast to the specific
plot details leading up to the murder
ssssssPlot
"The Tell-Tale Heart" is a first-person narrative of an unnamed narrator, who insists that they are sane, but is suffering from a disease (nervousness) which
causes "over-acuteness of the senses". Due to the ambiguity surrounding the identity of the story's narrator, the narrator's gender is uncertain.
The old man with whom the narrator lives has a clouded, pale, blue "vulture-like" eye, which distresses the narrator so much that they plot to murder the old man,
despite also insisting that they love the old man. The narrator insists that their careful precision in committing the murder proves that the narrator cannot possibly
be insane. For seven nights, the narrator opens the door of the old man's room in order to shine a sliver of light onto the "evil eye". However, the old man's
vulture-eye is always closed, making it impossible to "do the work".
On the eighth night, the old man awakens after the narrator's hand slips and makes a noise, interrupting the narrator's nightly ritual. But the narrator does not draw
back and, after some time, decides to open the lantern. A single thin ray of light shines out and lands precisely on the "evil eye", revealing that it is wide open.
Hearing the old man's heart beating loudly and dangerously fast from terror, the narrator decides to strike, jumping out with a loud yell and smothering the old man
with his own bed. The narrator then dismembers the body and conceals the pieces under the floorboards, and ensures the concealment of all signs of the crime.
Even so, the old man's scream during the night causes a neighbor to report to the police, who the narrator invites in to look around. The narrator claims that the
scream heard was the narrator's own in a nightmare and that the man is absent in the country. Confident that they will not find any evidence of the murder, the
narrator brings chairs for them and they sit in the old man's room, on the very spot where the body is concealed, and suspect nothing, as the narrator has a
pleasant and easy manner.
The narrator begins to feel uncomfortable and notices a ringing in their ears. As the ringing grows louder, the narrator comes to the conclusion that it is the
heartbeat of the old man coming from under the floorboards. The sound increases steadily, though the officers seem to pay no attention to it. Terrified by the
violent beating of the heart, and convinced that the officers are aware not only of the heartbeat but also of the narrator's guilt, the narrator breaks down and
confesses, telling them to tear up the floorboards to reveal the remains of the old man's body.
Point of view
The point of view of this story is first person objective. This means that the narrator is a participant in the story and uses the first
person pronoun "I." The "objective" portion of the label refers to the timing of the narration. An objective narrator relates the events
after they have concluded, as opposed to a subjective narrator, who relates events as they occur. You can tell that the narrator is
objective because he uses mostly past tense verbs to describe the action (instead of the present tense verbs used by a subjective
narrator).
There are times when the narrator does switch into second person. For example, he says, "You fancy me mad. Madmen know
nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded [...]." This narrator has had time to reflect on
his experiences, one of the benefits of an objective narrator, and he is trying to influence our perception of events because he realizes
what we might think (i.e. that he is crazy). His use of the second person pronoun "you" indicates this switch.
Themes and Characters

Although there are two characters involved in the story—an old man and the younger man who lives with him—it is really about a
single character. An examination of the nature of the narrator's obsession shows how Poe sets up this story about a split psyche. The
narrator insists that he loves the old man, has no personal animosity toward him, does not want his money, and has not been injured
by him. Instead, he says he wishes to kill the old man because of his eye! Although there is no way to understand this obsession, the
reader must determine the method and meaning of the madness. For Poe, there is no such thing as meaningless madness in fiction.
It was a low, dull, quick sound—much such a sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.
To understand what the old man's eye means to the narrator, it is necessary to examine the relevance of other themes and ideas.
Besides the theme of the "eye," there are two primary motifs: the idea of time, and the identification of the narrator with the old man.
The narrator says at various points in the story that he knows what the old man is feeling as he lies alone in bed, for he himself has
felt the same things. He says the moan the old man makes does not come from pain or grief, but from mortal terror that arises from
the bottom of the soul overcharged with awe. "Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own
bosom, deepening with its dreadful echo, the terror...
Symbol
Perhaps the vulture eye is an omen, reflective of what is to happen to the narrator. For, the narrator declares, "Whenever it fell upon
me my blood ran cold." And, so, the narrator becomes disturbed in a cold premonition of evil to come. Thus, he creates a rational for
killing the old man whom, he declares, he loves. He must be rid of the eye to which he ascribes evil: "For it was not the old man who
vexed me, but his Evil Eye."
In his stories Poe applied a technique which he termed "arabesque." This arabesque is a twisting and turning of details in a horrific
way. In "The Tell-Tale Heart," it is, indeed, the heart that tattles on the evil-doer. However, rather than being the heart of the victim as
the narrator imagines, it is the beating of his own heart that the narrator hears, his own conscience which he tries to silence long
before the murder. This guilt is what causes the narrator's "blood to run cold" in the beginning when he sees the vulture's eye. For, in
an arabesque, the narrator sees already reflected in the eye the murder which he will later commit. That is, he sees in the vulture eye
of death, the evil which his soul already knows before the deed.
Conflict
The narrator has an internal conflict of which he seems consciously unaware. He believes that his conflict is with the old man's
"vulture" eye, for he says that he has no other motive to kill him. He believes that it is the old man's heart that he hears, making a
"low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton." Even he, however, cannot provide us with an actual
reason for murdering the old man other than that he must rid himself of the man's eye. But why? We get a few clues...
First, he describes the old man's eye as being like a vulture's. Vultures are scavengers that feed on the carcasses of dead animals;
therefore, they are often associated with death. Next, he describes the eye has possessing a "film over it"; this sounds like cataracts,
an ailment associated with the elderly. Finally, the man is, as the narrator says multiple times, "old." It seems that the narrator has
identified several ways in which his victim might remind him of the fact that we all age and, more importantly, that we all die. On the
night he eventually kills the old man, he says that he hears the man make a "groan of mortal terror," and that he "knew the sound
well" because on many nights, "it has welled up from [his] own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted
[him]." It seems, then, that what the narrator really fears is his own death, and the old man is a painful reminder of it.
It is not the old man's heart that he hears, sounding like a watch. It is his own. We realize this, though the narrator does not, because
he hears it again after the old man is already dead and dismembered. He hears "a low, dull, quick sound—much such a sound as a
watch makes when enveloped in cotton" as he speaks to the police. It is his own heart that he hears, ticking away his limited time (the
watch standing in as a symbol of mortality and the dwindling of what time the narrator has left). His conflict is internal: he knows that
he must someday die, but he longs to fight it.
Setting
There are two physical settings in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”: the house the narrator shares with the old man where the
murder takes place and the location from which the narrator tells his story, presumably a prison or an asylum for the criminally
insane. However, the most important setting for the story is within the obsessed mind of the narrator. The old man is hardly more
than the evil eye that so infuriates the narrator, the source of his mysterious obsession.
The central question on which the story depends is, why does the narrator kill the old man? He says he has no personal animosity
toward him, that he does not want his money, that the old man has not injured him in any way. In fact, he says he loves the old man.
The only reason he can give is the evilness of the old man’s eye. Although some critics have suggested that the eye is the “evil eye” of
superstition, which the narrator feels threatens him, there is no way to understand his motivation except to say the narrator must be
mad. Still, the reader feels compelled to try to understand the method and meaning of the madness. For Poe, there is no meaningless
madness in a short story.
The key to understanding the mysterious motivation in the story is Poe’s concept of a central idea or effect around which everything
else coheres, like an obsession that can be identified on the principle of repetition. Thus, if the reader is alert to repetitions in the
story, these repeated themes become the clues to the mystery. Determining motifs foregrounded by repetition helps the reader
distinguish between details that are relevant to the central theme and those that merely provide an illusion of reality. Poe, the creator
of the detective story, was well aware of the importance of discovering all those details that matter in a case and then constructing a
theory based on their relationship to each other
To understand what the eye means in the story, the reader must take Poe’s advice in his essays and reviews on short fiction and
determine how all the various details in the story seem bound together to create one unified theme and effect. In addition to the
details about the eye, there are two other sets of details repeated throughout the story: the narrator’s identification with the old man
and the idea of time. When the narrator sticks his head in the old man’s chamber at night and hears him groan, he says he knows
what he is feeling, for he himself has felt the same terror many times himself. At the moment the narrator kills the old man, as well as
the moment when he confesses the crime, he thinks he hears the beating of the old man’s heart; however, of course, what he hears is
the beating of his own heart. When the police question him about the old man’s scream in the night, he says it was his own in a bad
dream.
The narrator makes several references to time. The beating of the old man’s heart sounds like the ticking of a watch wrapped in
cotton; the old man is said to listen to death watches (a kind of beetle that makes a ticking sound) in the wall; time seems to slow
down and almost stop when he sticks his head in the old man’s chamber. To understand this obsession with time and its association
with the beating of a heart, the reader must relate it to the title and ask, what tale does a heart tell? The answer is that the tale every
heart tells is that of time—time inevitably passing, every beat of one’s heart bringing one closer to death. As in many other Poe
stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” suggests that when one becomes aware of the ultimate destiny of all living things—that humans are born
only to die—time becomes the enemy that must be defeated at all costs.
By connecting the repeated theme of the narrator’s identification with the old man to the obsession with the eye, the reader can
conclude that what the narrator wishes to destroy is not the eye but that which sounds like “eye” (after all, he says that his sense of
sound especially has been heightened). That is, the word “eye” sounds like the word “I,” the self. This connection relates in turn to the
theme of time. The only way one can escape the inevitability of time is to destroy that which time would destroy—the self. However,
to save the self from time by destroying the self is a paradox that the narrator can only deal with by displacing his need to destroy
himself (the I) to a need to destroy the eye of the old man. By destroying the old man’s eye, the narrator indirectly does succeed in
destroying himself—ultimately by exposing himself as a murderer. Of course, one could say, this is madness; indeed it is. However, it
is madness and motivation with meaning, a meaning that Poe wishes us to discover by careful reading of the story.
Cop and anthem
Su"The Cop and the Anthem" has only one character who is given a name, the protagonist "Soapy." Furthermore, no last name is given. It is made clear that
Soapy is homeless, a member of the substantial army of underclass men and women who flocked to New York City during the earliest years of the twentieth
century.
The short story's narrative is set in an unstated day in late fall. Because the city trees' deciduous leaves are falling and there is a hint of frost in the air, Soapy faces
the urgent necessity of finding some sort of shelter for the winter. He is psychologically experienced in thinking of Blackwell's Island, the local jail, as a de
facto winter homeless shelter, and the narrative shows him developing a series of tactics intended to encourage the police to classify him as a criminal and arrest
him.
Soapy's ploys include swindling a restaurant into serving him an expensive meal, vandalizing the plate-glass window of a luxury shop, repeating his eatery exploit
at a humble diner, sexually harassing a young woman, pretending to be publicly intoxicated, and stealing another man's umbrella.
However, all of these attempts are quickly exposed as failures. The upper-class restaurant looks at Soapy's threadbare clothes and refuses to serve him. A police
officer responds to the broken window but decides to pursue an innocent bystander. The diner refuses to have Soapy arrested, and instead has two servers throw
Soapy out onto a concrete pavement.
Soapy's failures to earn his desired arrest continue. The young woman, far from feeling harassed, proves to be more than ready for action. Another police officer
observes Soapy impersonating a drunk and disorderly man, but assumes that the exhibitionistic conduct is that of a Yale student celebrating a victory over
"Hartford College" in football. Finally, the victim of the umbrella theft relinquishes the item without a struggle.
Based on these events, Soapy despairs of his goal of getting arrested and imprisoned. With the autumn sun gone and night having fallen, Soapy lingers by a small
Christian church, considering his plight.
As O. Henry describes events, the small church has a working organ and a practicing organist. As Soapy listens to the church organ play an anthem, he
experiences a spiritual epiphany in which he resolves to cease to be homeless, end his life as a tramp afflicted with unemployment, and regain his self-respect.
Soapy recalls that a successful businessman had once offered him a job. Lost in a reverie, Soapy decides that on the very next day he will seek out this
potential mentor and apply for employment.
As Soapy stands on the street and considers this plan for his future, however, a "cop" (policeman) taps him on the shoulder and asks him what he is doing. When
Soapy answers “Nothing,” his fate is sealed: he has been arrested for loitering. In the magistrate’s court on the following day, he is convicted of
a misdemeanor and is sentenced to three months in Blackwell's Island, the New York City jail.
Mmery
PlotInitial Situation
Stage Identification: Soapy realizes winter is coming.
Explanation/Discussion: We first meet Soapy on his bench in Madison Square in New York City. A dead leaf falls on his shoulder making him
realize that winter is coming very soon. Brrrrr…
Conflict
Stage Identification: Soapy is homeless and needs to find a warm place for the winter.
Explanation/Discussion: New York City winters are notoriously harsh. This is a big problem for people like Soapy who live outside. He
decides to solve his problem the same way he's solved it for a few years: by getting arrested and sentenced to three months in jail. In jail he
can wait out the winter and not have to worry about food or shelter for a while.
Complication
Stage Identification: Soapy can't get arrested.
Explanation/Discussion: Soapy tries breaking a shop window, dining and dashing, pestering a lady, stealing an umbrella, and acting like a
drunken maniac. But none of this works. Soapy seems to have some strange immunity to being arrested tonight.
Climax
Stage Identification: Soapy hears the anthem and is inspired to change his life.
Explanation/Discussion: Soapy gives up on trying to get arrested, at least for the night, and walks back to his park bench. On the way, Soapy
hears organ music (an anthem) coming from a church. The music and the beautiful, quiet scene make Soapy believe that he can live a better
life than he is now. He decides to look for work and try to build a life full of the things he really values – friends, family, nature, and church.
Suspense
Stage Identification: None.
Explanation/Discussion: O. Henry doesn't really give us time to feel any suspense after the climax. Things leap abruptly to the denouement
and the ending. If there is a suspense stage in this story, it comes in between the complication and the climax. That is, readers might be in
suspense wondering over whether or not Soapy will finally get arrested.
Denouement
Stage Identification: Soapy is arrested.
Explanation/Discussion: Just after Soapy decides that he can think of better way to get food and shelter than getting arrested, he gets
arrested. Ironically, he is arrested for doing "Nothin'" (46). He is arrested for being transient or vagrant, for being what he's decided he no
longer wants to be, a homeless man.
Conclusion
Stage Identification: Soapy is sentenced to three months in jail.
Explanation/Discussion: This story's conclusion comes at us so fast we might wonder where the rest of it is. But no, it's really just that one
line from the judge sentencing Soapy to jail for the winter. If you want to talk more about this, we have lots to say in "What's Up With the
Ending?"
Point of view
"The Cop and the Anthem" is told in the third person and only follows our main character, Soapy. Although other people's reactions to him
show us a little about how they feel about Soapy, we only see these reactions from his point of view. Although this narrator is omniscient
(knows everything) where Soapy is concerned, they still only reveal certain details. That's why we say the omniscience (knowing everything)
is limited.
In other words, what we have here is a very reserved narrator, one who gives us clues about Soapy's past, present, and future, but little solid
information about Soapy himself. It's possible this is meant to suggest that Soapy is also reserved, as if he would hold back a lot from us if
we were to talk to him about his life. Or maybe this narrator is trying to respect Soapy's privacy in an effort to try to preserve his dignity. Yet,
he does share Soapy's most intense moment in the story, and even talks about what is going on in Soapy's soul.
Every detail the narrator reveals—from descriptions of Soapy's clothing to descriptions of New York City—seems authentic and realistic. This
helps establish a sense of trust between readers and the narrator and makes it easier for us to believe in what we're being told.
You might also notice that this story is heavy on narrative and light on dialogue. This might be meant to mirror Soapy's isolated state. He
doesn't seem to really interact with others all that much, except out of necessity. He seems to live in his own little world; one that other
people barely penetrate. The anthem does manage to penetrate it, though, inspiring Soapy to crave the company of people, like "mothers"
and "friends"
Charater
Character Analysis
Soapy is the main character of "The Cop and the Anthem" and the only character whose name we learn. We follow him through New York
City one chilly fall night as he tries very hard to get arrested and sentenced to three months in jail. Why is Soapy so desperate to get
arrested?
See, Soapy's home is a park-bench in Madison Square in New York City. This is all fine and dandy in the summer, but not good when the
temperature drops below zero and the snow starts falling. Soapy could die if he stays outside. Soapy knows he could find free shelter, but he
claims that such charity always comes with "humiliation" (5) and invasions of privacy. According to Soapy, going to jail is a more dignified
way to get free room and board for the winter. So, Soapy's real goal isn't jail so much as a way to get food and shelter in the least humiliating
way with the least sacrifice of his privacy.
Maybe this is why he ultimately decides that there is a better way to take care of his basic needs than receiving charity or getting arrested.
It might seem like we get very little information about Soapy in this story. That's because we do get very little information about Soapy in this
story. Still, we do get clues, and we can explore those clues to get to know our unlikely hero a little better.
Soapy's Past
Early in the story we learn that for the past few years Soapy has been spending the warm parts of the year in New York City around Madison
Square and his winters in the prison on Blackwell's Island. We get a vague sense of his life, which is devoted to getting the basic survival
necessities. When Soapy hears the anthem coming from the church, we learn some things about his past before becoming homeless:
And the anthem that the organist played cemented Soapy to the iron fence, for he had known it well in the days when his life contained such
things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars. (42)
This sentence really gives us a lot to think about. First, we notice is that Soapy is familiar with the anthem—he used to be a churchgoing
man. It also tells us that Soapy, who is probably in his twenties or thirties, used to have family and friends. The fact that roses used to be in
Soapy's life might hint that Soapy had a romantic interest or interests, and/or that he simply liked flowers and was interested in nature. By
recognizing that he used to have ambitions, Soapy admits that he really doesn't have them anymore—or that his present ambitions (survival)
aren't very ambitious.
The sentence ends with two more references to church: immaculate (squeaky clean) thoughts, which are what church is supposed to help
you have, and collars, which priests and ministers wear. Could Soapy himself have been studying to be a minister or priest? It's possible.
While the passage gives us clues, it doesn't give us a solid sense of Soapy's prior life. It does, however, give us a sense of Soapy's deeper
value system. He values a life with family, friends, nature, and religion.
Since Soapy used to actually have a life that included such things, we can guess that his current existence is a stark contrast to his past.
We'd sure like to know what happened to make Soapy change so drastically. Wouldn't you? Any guesses as to what happened to him?
Soapy's Present
He viewed with swift horror the pit into which he had tumbled, the degraded days, unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties, and
base motives that made up his existence. (43)
Soapy doesn't really seem to be doing anybody any serious harm. He's not out to hurt others, just to take care of his basic needs of food,
shelter, and clothing. But still, his story is a little nightmarish and harsh, even though it's told playfully. Getting food and shelter and staying
clean and healthy is no picnic when you don't have money or at least a home.
This passage suggests that before Soapy hears the anthem he is almost numb to how difficult, uncomfortable, and isolating his life really is.
The phrase "unworthy desires" suggests that there might be aspects of Soapy's life that are even worse than what is revealed to readers.
The beginning of the story makes us think Soapy doesn't really mind his life. Toward the end we realize that he might have gotten used to it,
he might have accepted it, but he really doesn't like it. The anthem helps him realize this. Maybe even more importantly, it inspires him and
empowers him to try to do something to make it better.
Soapy's Future
He would pull himself out of the mire; he would make a man of himself again […] he would resurrect his old eager ambitions and pursue
them without faltering. […] He would be somebody in the world. He would— (44)
It sounds like Soapy really means it, he really wants to change his life. Interestingly, he seems to want to change it back to the way it was
before he became homeless. Apparently, during those times he had goals that he still considers worth going after. Unfortunately, we don't
have a clue what these are.
We might have found out if Soapy's heartfelt dreams for the future weren't interrupted by the sixth policeman. Like a genie in a bottle, the cop
delivers the wish Soapy makes at the beginning of the story—to be arrested so he can spend the winter in jail. In "What's Up With the
Ending?" we talk about how different readers will interpret this in different ways.
Some might feel that Soapy will continue his cycle of living on park benches and in jails. Other readers believe his change is so intense that
he will still be able to change his life when he gets out of jail in the spring. Remember, O. Henry changed his life while in prison—he wrote
and submitted and published his first twelve stories from jail. Now, how do you imagine Soapy's future life?
POLICEMEN
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Character Analysis
We count six cops in total throughout this story. All but the sixth one has no interest in arresting Soapy at all. We don't learn much about
these six men, but we do know they are included in the four million people (the population of NYC in 1904) O. Henry was trying to reach and
represent. Notice that the policemen are shown fairly neutrally, not particularly bad or particularly good. The policemen shown are simply
men trying to do their jobs.
WAITERS
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Character Analysis
Like the cops, the waiters are nameless. Unlike the cops, two of the four we see actually use a little physical violence on Soapy. We get the
impression that people trying to get free meals is a fairly frequent and very annoying occurrence. The waiters are significant because they
thwart Soapy's plans for arrest, but also because they signify food—another thing that is a little bit out of reach for Soapy most of the time.
THE UMBRELLA MAN

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Character Analysis
The last thing Soapy does to try to get arrested before giving up for the night is to steal an umbrella. The irony here is the umbrella man
"picked it up this morning in a restaurant" (35) and thinks Soapy is its real owner. Like the other characters, the umbrella man is someone
who thwarts Soapy's plans.
THE LADY
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Character Analysis
The lady is the only female in the story, and she provides a little comic relief. There is something really funny about Soapy asking her to
come back to his (nonexistent) place and her agreeing to do it if he buys her some beers. Like the other characters, the lady thwarts Soapy's
plans. Like the other characters, she helps us get an idea of O. Henry's New York and the people populating it.
THE ORGANIST
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Character Analysis
We never see the organist but he (or maybe she) is vital to the story. If the organist hadn't been in the church late in the evening practicing
for the Sunday service, Soapy might never have heard the familiar anthem and never decided to change his life.
THE JUDGE
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Character Analysis
The Judge sentences Soapy to jail at the very, very end of the story. We know nothing about him except that he is a judge and he sentences
Soapy to three months in jail. Like the other characters, the judge works to thwart Soapy's plans. The judge sentences Soapy after Soapy
decides he no longer wants to go to jail. The poor guy just can't get a break.
Setting
New York City, Fall, Early 1900s

Like many of O. Henry's stories, "The Cop and the Anthem" is set in New York City in the late part of the 1800s and first ten years of the
1900s. The story features one night in the life of Soapy, a homeless man trying to get arrested to he can have a warm place to be during the
winter.
In this story, the setting is very realistic. Henry is trying to give us a realistic impression of New York City, one that will ring true to New
Yorkers and even to people who have never been.
Although O. Henry's New York City setting is detailed, it is also minimal. O. Henry doesn't give us a lot of description. A shop window is
simply a shop window—we don't know the name of the shop and aren't told what the window displays. Maybe this vagueness is part of
Henry's attempt to make the story feel like it could happen anywhere.
Contrast Between Soapy and Where He Lives

Soapy lives on a park bench in Madison Square, which is on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway in New York City. Even a hundred
years ago, this was a center of money and power, a shopper's paradise. Soapy is surrounded by all the finest things money can buy. He
sees wealthy, powerful people eating in fancy restaurants, wearing fancy clothes, and enjoying expensive entertainments.
Soapy's life seems the reverse of this. He only looks for enough to get by. He doesn't seem to envy or desire money or what it can buy.
Perhaps this lack of desire for material things is part of why Soapy became homeless. Maybe he had nothing to motivate him to work, and
realized he could survive without doing much at all.
But, as you know by now, Soapy does become motivated to work. But what motivates him is not money, or even better living conditions.
Soapy finds nothing appealing in the lives of New York City's wealthy and fabulous. What actually inspires Soapy is something very different
(keep reading).
A Quiet Street With a Church

Picture it:
The moon was above, lustrous and serene; vehicles and pedestrians were few; sparrows twittered sleepily in the eaves—for a little while the
scene might have been a country churchyard. ( 41)
Aha—this is a big change in our setting, right? It's this contrast between two very different settings, both of which contain very different types
of wealth, that makes setting very important in this story. Before this we get the impression that New York City is all parks, shops,
restaurants, busy streets, and taxicabs—or carriages, rather…this is the early 1900's after all.
Here we see another side. New York City and surrounding areas are actually home to many a natural paradise. Other than the fact that the
leaves are falling and it's getting cold, this is the first time we've seen Soapy observing nature. Notice also that the writing style becomes a bit
more melodic as Soapy's mood changes along with the setting. This tells us that Soapy values nature, natural beauty, and quiet.
The next passage really brings home the contrast. Check it out:
The conjunction of Soapy's receptive state of mind and the influences about the old church wrought a sudden and wonderful change in his
soul. He viewed with swift horror the pit into which he had tumbled, the degraded days, unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties,
and base motives that made up his existence. (42)
Due to this change of scenery, Soapy is able to gain a new perspective on life. He is able to realize what he really does value—nature, quiet,
churches, music, and friends and family. See what a little change of scene can do? Here it reveals Soapy to himself, and reveals Soapy to
the readers
Conlict
Theme
THE COP AND THE ANTHEM

THEME OF FREEDOM AND
CONFINEMENT
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O. Henry turns this theme upside-down and shakes it in this story. "The Cop and the Anthem" is about a free man, Soapy, trying to get
thrown in jail. Over the course of the story, Soapy begins to discover that he is a prisoner of his own mind and that he can choose a better
life. By better, we mean a life where he has more freedom and control. When Soapy has a change of heart, he sees work as a way to
achieve this freedom and control. Sure, he'll have to answer to a boss, but it will be worth it to have more freedom and feel good about
himself.

Questions About Freedom and Confinement
1. How will Soapy feel about being in jail now that he no longer wants to be in jail?
2. How might Soapy define freedom when we first meet him? How might this definition change during the story? How do you define
freedom?
3. Do you think there are people today who try to get arrested so they have food and shelter? How would you find out if this were
true or just a stereotype?
4. Why does Soapy feel that jail gives him more freedom than, say, a homeless shelter? Do you agree with him? Would Soapy feel
the same way if he lived in the 2000s?

Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
"The Cop and the Anthem" argues that freedom is a state of mind.
This story is not relevant to today's readers because prison has changed a lot since the early 1900s; tracing the history of the prison system
in the US will help demonstrate that Soapy's views on prison would not make sense in the 2000s
Symbol
THE BROKEN SHOP WINDOW

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Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Breaking a shop window is one of the first things Soapy does to get arrested. This could symbolize his feelings about material wealth—not
only does he not like it, he wants to destroy it and show he has no regard for it. It could also symbolize the broken nature of his heart during
this time in his life.
After he hears the organists' song (the anthem) coming from the church, we learn that Soapy once had and is now regaining religious
aspirations. Religious people are sometimes known for shunning material possessions and only using what is needed. Maybe Soapy's
seeming disregard for wealth can be translated into something positive through religion.
Interpretation
This story is full of cops (six in all) but we don't meet the one in the title, the one who finally arrests Soapy, until the end of the story. Same
thing with the anthem—we learn what this mysterious-sounding thing is near the ending. We can't really talk about the title without looking at
this whole anthem situation, so here's what we've found out about that:
The Anthem
And the anthem that the organist played cemented Soapy to the iron fence, for he had known it well in the days when his life contained such
things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars. (42)
It's not clear if the organist is also singing the hymn or if Soapy just recognizes the tune of it. What's more important is that this is the first
time we've been given information on his past. We know that he is homeless, has been so for several years, and that he's spent the past few
winters in the jail on Blackwell's Island. What we don't know is how he got this way. The anthem triggers memories of his life when it was
better.
We learn that Soapy used to have a nice life, one that included church, "immaculate thoughts," and collars, which are what priests and
ministers wear. When he remembers this old life, Soapy is finally able to see his current life clearly, and he doesn't like what he sees:
He viewed with swift horror the pit into which he had tumbled, the degraded days, unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties and base
motives that made up his existence. (42)
This passage suggests that the choices Soapy has made have led to his current life. At the same time, it suggests that it happened by
accident, that he "tumbled" into his situation. Maybe it was some combination of the two. Whatever the case, the anthem fills him with the
power and the drive to turn his life around. He has no doubts, in this moment anyway, that he can do much better. We are told,
Those solemn but sweet organ notes had set up a revolution in him. To-morrow he would go into the roaring downtown district and find work.
A fur importer had once offered him a place as driver. He would find him to-morrow and ask for the position. He would be somebody in the
world. He would— ( 43)
The anthem helps Soapy want something more out of his life than what he has now. Has this ever happened to you? Has a piece of music or
other art ever changed your life? Was the change lasting? Do you think Soapy's change will be permanent?
The Cop
The cop acts to thwart Soapy's newfound plans. Although Soapy has changed on the inside, to the sixth policeman, Soapy is still obviously a
homeless man. Soapy isn't pulling anymore shenanigans at this point in the story, so he's probably arrested for "vagrancy"—the crime of not
having a place to live and not being able to support himself.
For Soapy, getting what he used to want presents an obstacle to his new goals and plans. They cop might represent obstacles Soapy will
have to overcome to reach his dreams (whatever those dreams are).
The Cop and t he Anthem

We might look at the cop and the anthem as different parts of Soapy's life, or as two different paths available to him. The anthem represents
the life he used to have, and wants to have again. The anthem represents a path where Soapy can live a good life on his own terms.
Everybody has their own idea of what a good life is, but it usually doesn't include being in jail. Soapy's goal isn't really to go to jail, but to have
a warm place to live for the winter. When he hears the anthem he feels empowered to achieve that goal without sacrificing his freedom.
The cop represents the life Soapy has now, one where he is either avoiding the police or looking for the police to arrest him, depending on
the season. The cop represents a path where Soapy has to be under someone else's authority, where he has to do what others tell him to
do.
Gfhdfggggggggggggggggggggffgf
Plot Overview
Mathilde Loisel is “pretty and charming” but feels she has been born into a family of unfavorable economic status. She was married off to a
lowly clerk in the Ministry of Education, who can afford to provide her only with a modest though not uncomfortable lifestyle. Mathilde feels
the burden of her poverty intensely. She regrets her lot in life and spends endless hours imagining a more extravagant existence. While her
husband expresses his pleasure at the small, modest supper she has prepared for him, she dreams of an elaborate feast served on fancy
china and eaten in the company of wealthy friends. She possesses no fancy jewels or clothing, yet these are the only things she lives for.
Without them, she feels she is not desirable. She has one wealthy friend, Madame Forestier, but refuses to visit her because of the
heartbreak it brings her.
One night, her husband returns home proudly bearing an invitation to a formal party hosted by the Ministry of Education. He hopes that
Mathilde will be thrilled with the chance to attend an event of this sort, but she is instantly angry and begins to cry. Through her tears, she
tells him that she has nothing to wear and he ought to give the invitation to one of his friends whose wife can afford better clothing. Her
husband is upset by her reaction and asks how much a suitable dress would cost. She thinks about it carefully and tells him that 400 francs
would be enough. Her husband quietly balks at the sum but agrees that she may have the money.
As the day of the party approaches, Mathilde starts to behave oddly. She confesses that the reason for her behavior is her lack of jewels.
Monsieur Loisel suggests that she wear flowers, but she refuses. He implores her to visit Madame Forestier and borrow something from her.
Madame Forestier agrees to lend Mathilde her jewels, and Mathilde selects a diamond necklace. She is overcome with gratitude at Madame
Forestier’s generosity.
At the party, Mathilde is the most beautiful woman in attendance, and everyone notices her. She is intoxicated by the attention and has an
overwhelming sense of self-satisfaction. At 4 a.m., she finally looks for Monsieur Loisel, who has been dozing for hours in a deserted room.
He cloaks her bare shoulders in a wrap and cautions her to wait inside, away from the cold night air, while he fetches a cab. But she is
ashamed at the shabbiness of her wrap and follows Monsieur Loisel outside. They walk for a while before hailing a cab.
When they finally return home, Mathilde is saddened that the night has ended. As she removes her wrap, she discovers that her necklace is
no longer around her neck. In a panic, Monsieur Loisel goes outside and retraces their steps. Terrified, she sits and waits for him. He returns
home much later in an even greater panic—he has not found the necklace. He instructs her to write to Madame Forestier and say that she
has broken the clasp of the necklace and is getting it mended.
They continue to look for the necklace. After a week, Monsieur Loisel says they have to see about replacing it. They visit many jewelers,
searching for a similar necklace, and finally find one. It costs 40,000 francs, although the jeweler says he will give it to them for 36,000. The
Loisels spend a week scraping up money from all kinds of sources, mortgaging the rest of their existence. After three days, Monsieur Loisel
purchases the necklace. When Mathilde returns the necklace, in its case, to Madame Forestier, Madame Forestier is annoyed at how long it
has taken to get it back but does not open the case to inspect it. Mathilde is relieved.
The Loisels began to live a life of crippling poverty. They dismiss their servant and move into an even smaller apartment. Monsieur Loisel
works three jobs, and Mathilde spends all her time doing the heavy housework. This misery lasts ten years, but at the end they have repaid
their financial debts. Mathilde’s extraordinary beauty is now gone: she looks just likes the other women of poor households. They are both
tired and irrevocably damaged from these years of hardship.
One Sunday, while she is out for a walk, Mathilde spots Madame Forestier. Feeling emotional, she approaches her and offers greetings.
Madame Forestier does not recognize her, and when Mathilde identifies herself, Madame Forestier cannot help but exclaim that she looks
different. Mathilde says that the change was on her account and explains to her the long saga of losing the necklace, replacing it, and
working for ten years to repay the debts. At the end of her story, Madame Forestier clasps her hands and tells Mathilde the original necklace
was just costume jewelry and not worth anything.
Ssssssssssssssssssss
THE NECKLACE THEME OF
PRIDE
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You can read "The Necklace" as a story about greed, but you can also read it as a story about pride. Mathilde Loisel is a proud woman. She
feels far above the humble circumstances (and the husband) she's forced to live with by her common birth. In fact, her current situation
disgusts her. She's a vain one too, completely caught up in her own beauty. It could be that it is also pride that prevents Mathilde and her
husband from admitting they've lost an expensive necklace. After the loss of the necklace makes Mathilde poor, and her beauty fades, she
may learn a pride of a different sort: pride in her own work and endurance.
Questions About Pride

1. What signs are there at the beginning of the story that Mathilde is a proud woman? In what way is she proud? Of what is she
proud?
2. Is it pride which prevents the Loisels from telling Mme. Forestier they've lost her necklace? If so, whose pride is it? Or is it
something else?
3. Does Mathilde's experience of poverty humble her? Does it make her proud in a different way?
Chew on This
It's M. Loisel's pride that is responsible for the tragedy at the end of the story.
It is not pride, but the Loisels' sense of honor, which is responsible for the tragedy at the end of the story.
ANALYSIS: SETTING
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Where It All Goes Down

Belle Époque Paris
The story's set in Paris, that magical, glamorous city of lights where just about every other work of 19th century French literature is set.
So that's the where. When's the when? We'd say the 1880s or so, around the time Maupassant wrote it. Granted, we don't get many specific
clues, not a lot of detail on clothing, or important people, places, or happenings of the time. But if the author doesn't do anything to suggest
he's otherwise, it's usually a safe bet to assume he's writing in his own time.
One thing that's telling, though, is that Mathilde dreams of being rich, but doesn't seem to think a whole lot about being noble. If the story
were set earlier, noble blood would have mattered more, and Mathilde probably would have thought about it just as much as money. At this
point in time, however, money (plus a little bit of charm) practically makes nobility. Money's what enables you to pay for the "high life," and
surround yourself with fancy, fabulous things. And the fancy, fabulous things that Mathilde fantasizes about – the oriental tapestries, "tall
lamps of bronze," the "precious bric-a-brac" in "coquettish little rooms" – all hint at the fashions of the time, as does the intimate," small-party
social life that she idolizes.
In fact, the importance Mathilde gives money, posh "comfort," and fancy, fashionable baubles makes her fit right in with the Paris of the late
19th century. That period was often called the "Belle Époque" (which you could translate as the "Lovely Age," or "Grand Years" – depending
on how you understand it). It was a time of peace and technological innovation (electricity, for example). It was also a period of spectacular
wealth, modish fashion, and what you might call "high consumerism." Going on expensive shopping sprees at the brand new, super-ritzy,
block-sized department stores that had just opened up downtown was all the rage (Sacks Fifth Avenue-type shopping palaces were a new
invention back then).
So if you're one of those folks who thinks a work of literature should capture the "spirit of the age" in which it was written, "The Necklace"
works quite well.
THE NECKLACE
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Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

The necklace could very well be just a necklace, but it could also be something more. It's so flashy and beautiful, and so seemingly valuable.
Despite its convincing outside, it turns out to be "false." It's all show, in other words, with no substance. Doesn't that description sound like it
could fit any number of other things?
For one, you could easily read the necklace as a symbol of "wealth" itself – flashy, but false, in the end. Like "wealth," the necklace is the
object of Mathilde's mad desire. Perhaps the revelation of the necklace's falseness at the end is meant to mirror the falseness of Mathilde's
dream of wealth. Having wealth is not worth the trouble, any more than the false necklace was worth ten years of poverty. Then again,
wealth has its advantages: it certainly seems to do wonders for Mme. Forestier's looks, for instance, while poverty ruins Mathilde's.
Maybe that connection between wealth and looks is a telling one. Even deeper than wealth, the necklace might represent appearance, the
world in which it's the outside that matters. Wealth belongs to the world of appearance, because money buys glamour. Mathilde's unhappy
because of the way her own shabby house looks, and the way her lack of money prevents her from wowing the people she wants to wow
with her natural charm and good looks. The necklace is glamorous, and it also gives her the opportunity to be the woman she wants to be,
for one evening. Beneath the fancy exterior, though, the necklace is not worth anything – it's a fake. In that respect, it fits Mathilde's own
situation at the party: though she fools everyone there, she's not really wealthy. At the end of the day she is still a clerk's wife in a fancy party
dress with some borrowed jewels.
The fact that the necklace is a fake may or may not have some kind of moral meaning. You could take it to mean that wealth, or appearances
more broadly, are false. Against the backdrop of wealth and appearance, we have the contrast of Mathilde's poverty. Being poverty stricken
may ruin her appearance, but it forces her to become responsible and hard working, and perhaps makes her appreciate what she had
before. You could take away a moral such as, wealth just keeps you wanting more until you ruin yourself, while poverty teaches appreciation.
Then again, Maupassant never comes out and gives us this moral explicitly. And it's up to the reader to decide if giving up good looks,
comfort, and your own personal maid for a work ethic and a little more appreciation is a good deal. After all, the world of wealth and
appearances may be false, but it's still kind of fabulous. Just like the necklace
The Cabuliwallah- Tagore

Summary:
The cabuliwallah is from Kabul. His real name is Abdur Rahman. He works as a peddler in
India. He goes to Kabul once a year to visit his wife and little
daughter. In the course of selling goods, once he reaches to the house of writer, Rabindranath
Tagore. Then his five years daughter, Mini calls him ‘Cabuliwallah! A Cabuliwallah’. When
Cabuliwallah goes to visit Mini she is afraid because he is wearing loose solid clothes and a tall
turban. He looks gigantic. When the writer knows that Mini is afraid, he introduces her with him.
The Cabuliwallah gives her some nuts and raisins. Mini becomes happy from next day, the
Cabuliwallah often visits her and he gives her something to eat. They crack jokes and laugh and
enjoy. They also feel comfortable in the company each other. The writer likes their friendship.
But Mini’s mother doesn’t like it. She thinks that the peddler like Cabuliwallah can be child
lifter. However, Mini and the Cabuliwallah becomes intimate friend.
The Cabuliwallah sells seasonal goods. Once he sells a Rampuri shawl to a customer on credit.
He asks him for the money many times but he doesn’t pay. At last he denies buying the shawl.
The Cabuliwallah becomes very angry and stabs the customer. Then he is arrested by police and
taken him to the jail. He is jailed for eight years. When he is freed from jail at first he goes to
visit Mini surprisingly. It is the wedding day and he isn’t allowed to visit her. When he shows the
finger of a piece of paper to the writer, he permits to meet Mini who is in wedding dress. The
writer knows that the Cabuliwallah has no money to go back to his house so the writer cuts of the
wedding expenses like a light and bands and gives one hundred rupees to the Cabuliwallah and
sends him to Kabul.
Interpretation:
The writer may be trying to show the attitude of peoples towards the foreigners and poor peddler. Although the Cabuliwallah is very simple
and honest, writer’s wife suspects him as a child lifter, also tries to cheat
him by not paying his money. The story also shows the plight of the people due to poverty. If the Cabuliwallah had enough money, he would
not come to India leaving his wife and daughter in Kabul. The writer seems to shows that temper ruins anyone. If Cabuliwallah didn’t stab the
costumer, he wouldn’t have to go to the jail. This story is also full of feelings of humanity. The writer cuts off the wedding expenses and helps
the Cabuliwallah.
Theme
In Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore we have the theme of connection, love, escape, trust, friendship, sadness and charity. Taken from his Collected Stories
collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed man (Mini’s father) and after reading the story the reader realises that Tagore may be exploring
the theme of connection. Mini though at first afraid of Rahman gets to enjoy the time that she spends with him. She is intrigued by the goods he sells and rather
than accepting the money for the purchased items. Rahman hands Mini back the money her father has given her. It is also noticeable that Mini’s father is very
much in love with Mini despite the fact that at times by being inquisitive she can be a handful. Most times Mini’s father plays along with Mini when she is asking
questions as she knows all that Mini is doing is trying to learn. Mini’s mother on the other had has less patience and does not like Mini asking so many questions.
It is also interesting that Mini’s father likes to escape into different worlds, he is a writer after all. However he always seems to be brought back down to life by
family life.
There is also an element of trust in the story. By letting Mini talk and play with Rahman Mini’s father is trusting Rahman. Which may suggest that Mini’s father
considers Rahman to be of good character. Mini’s mother on the other hand appears to be distraught that Mini is being allowed to talk to a person she knows
nothing about. It is also noticeable that Rahman and Mini’s relationship is only fleeting. After Raham has been sentenced to jail for seven years. Mini after a period
of time and as other girls would do forgets all about her friendship with Rahman. However despite the passing of time Rahman has never forgotten Mini.
Something that is noticeable by the fact that he arrives to Mini’s home on the night of her wedding. There is also a sense that Mini does not recognise Rahman.
There is no talk of their past and the meeting between the two ends abruptly. This is more than hurtful for Rahman because he knows that he has a young
daughter the same age as Mini in his village and she too most likely will not recognise Rahman. Tagore possibly deliberately adding an element of sadness into the
story through Rahman’s character.
Mini’s mother is also an interesting character. Though she has little patience for Mini’s continued talking she still nonetheless is concerned about her daughter. She
knows what can happen on the streets of Calcutta and that Mini could easily be kidnapped. Though some critics might suggest that Mini’s mother is overreacting it
is most likely that she is just protecting Mini from the dangers of the streets. Mini’s father on the other hand believes that Mini should be allowed to explore the
world around her. To live her life to the best of her ability. Particularly when it comes to Rahman who has something that he can teach Mini. Rahman is very much
a man of mystery with his stories he can help enlighten Mini’s already inquisitive mind. It is as though Rahman and Mini’s friendship is a match made in heaven.
Rahman though he may have attacked a man with a knife over an unpaid debt has never brought any danger to Mini or her family. He at all times has been polite
and good-natured when it comes to his engagement with Mini and her family.
The end of the story is also interesting as Mini’s father feels sympathy for Rahman. He knows that Rahman has a daughter and he knows that it is better for him
to visit his daughter. The life he had previously lived in Calcutta is no more. So the money Rahman receives from Mini’s father is very helpful. It affords Rahman
the opportunity to not only see his daughter again but there may also be a possibility that Rahman can become a Kabuliwala again. A life that reader knows
Rahman very much enjoyed. It is also interesting that Mini’s father feels good about his act of charity. Just as he is together with his daughter at Mini’s wedding.
So too can Rahman be with his daughter back in his village. Rahman will be able to put behind him the seven years he spent in jail and start a fresh life all over
again. One that will include him getting to know his daughter all over again. Thanks to the charity of Mini’s father who could have avoided Rahman and have
asked him to leave the house. If anything Mini’s father has showed an altruistic streak when he did not have to. He was not made or pushed to help Rahman
rather he choose to. Which leaves the reader suspecting that Mini’s father is a good man. Who does not judge another person by their past. For Mini’s father the
future and what an individual does with their future is important.
The Bishop’s Candlesticks by Norman Mckinnell :

Posted on February 12, 2013
The Bishop’s Candlesticks by Norman Mckinnell :

Summary
The plot of the play revolves around a story that brings forth the themes of Religious virtues like love and redemption. The play dramatically depicts
how the love and the compassion of the Bishop brought about a change of heart in a convict and turned him into a man of promise for a good life. The
Bishop was a kind-hearted man who being a true Christian was also an ardent humanist. He was ready to sacrifice everything to help the needy
people. Even after selling all, he had, for others, he felt sorry that he could do so little whereas the world had so much suffering. He sold his saltcellars
and gave the money to Mere Gringoire so that the latter might pay his rent to the bailiff. His sister. Persome was how ever a worldly woman, neither as
self-less as her brother nor so noble. She did not like her brother to live for others and not for himself. She thought that people took an unfair advantage
of his charitable nature. But the Bishop thought that if the people pretended to be in distressed and deceived him, then they are the poorer in spirit and
not he. His door was never shut and it was opened for everybody. One night when the Bishop was about to go to bed, a convict entered the house. At
the point of his knife he demanded food from the Bishop. The Bishop was unruffled. He called Persome and asked her to give some supper to the
convict. The convict wondered why the Bishop kept his doors and windows open and whether or not he was afraid of thieves and robbers. The Bishop
told them that he was not afraid but that he was sorry for them, as they were only poor sufferers. He treated the convict with all love and respect as he
regarded him too as a sufferer. He regarded him as a fellowman and a friend. His attitude had some effect on the convict. If we treat a man as a beast,
then he becomes a beast. If we treat a beast as a man then it becomes a man. A man is what we think him to be. The convict told the Bishop how he
was caught by the police while he stole some food for his ill and starving wife. He was caught and sentenced to ten years in prison. The authorities did
not pat any heed to the fact that he had stolen only to feed his ill and starving wife, Jeanette. They regarded him as a born criminal and treated him like
a beast for ten years. Then one day he escaped but the society treated him no better. As he was a prisoner, nobody would give him any job. The police
hunted him down. He was running away from them starving. So he stole again for food. Thus, society with its wrong attitude, did not give him a chance
to lead a good life. Then he entered the house of the Bishop as he was hungry. The kind Bishop was touched and gave him a bed to sleep on. The
Bishop went to sleep. Left alone on his bed, the convict could not resist the temptation to steal the silver candlesticks of the Bishop. He took them and
went out of the house. As he went out, the door slammed. Persome got up at the sound and found out that the convict had stolen the silver
candlesticks and had gone away. Persome reacted violently. She shouted and was very upset. The Bishop is also upset but he blames himself for
exposing the convict to the temptation. The Bishop was sorry to lose the candlesticks as they were given to him by his mother. But like a true Christian,
he felt that he was responsible for the convict’s behaviour. By keeping them before him, he had led him into temptation. The Bishop thought that he
used to value the candlesticks very highly. It is a sin to get addicted to wealth. Lastly, the candlesticks might be of some use to the convict and what
had happened had happened for the good. But the convict was arrested by the gendarmes along with the candlesticks The sergeant saw the convict
moving stealthily and arrested him. They recognized the candlesticks of the Bishop and brought him back to him. But the Bishop told that the accused
was his friend and that he himself had given the candlesticks to him. The police sergeant released the convict and went away. The convict was
overwhelmed by the love of the Bishop and now he is convinced that the Bishop was kind and loving. He regained his faith that there can be goodness
in men. He was sorry that he had stolen the candlesticks. He felt that he was once again a human being and not a beast. The kind Bishop told him of
the secret road to Paris and gave him the candlesticks. The candle sticks were a dying gift from the Bishop’s mother. They reminded him of her. But
when the convict received them as a gift, they become symbols of hope and life. The convict would now believe in the goodness of life and lead a
steady life. He asked him to remember that the body of man is the temple of God. The convict was already a changed man and he promised to
remember the Bishops’ last words and he went away.
THE MONKEY'S PAW CHAPTER

1 SUMMARY
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● "The Monkey's Paw" starts off the way many good scary stories start – with a dark and stormy night.
● We're in England, inside Laburnam Villa, where things are not dark and stormy. Actually, they are quite cheery – there's even a
fire burning in the fireplace.
● Now we meet the White family. The father and mother both have white hair. Their grown son, Herbert White, is probably in his
mid-20s.
● Mr. White and Herbert are playing chess, while Mrs. White knits near that fire we were talking about. What could be more homey
and comfy than this?
● Mr. White makes a wrong move and Herbert wins the game, putting Mr. White in a bad mood, but just for a second.
● Soon Sergeant-Major Morris arrives. The Whites welcome him and offer him some whiskey. The alcohol makes Morris talkative,
and he tells the White stories of his time in India.
● Apparently he has been away in India for the past 21 years, serving in the British Army.
● Mr. White brings up something from an earlier conversation with Morris – a monkey's paw.
● Morris says the paw is "magic" (1.21). As he takes it out of his pocket, he says, "To look at, it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to
a mummy" (1.23).
● Mrs. White is grossed out by the paw, but Herbert holds it and checks it out, then Mr. White takes it.
● Morris tells them the legend of the paw: "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir, a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled
people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could
each have three wishes from it" (1.26).
● Morris says he got the paw from the first man who wished on it. Guess what that man's third wish was. It was "for death" (1.33).
(Hmm. Bad sign.)
● Morris says he made three wishes on the paw too, and his wishes came true, but he isn't sure he would wish again if he had the
chance.
● Suddenly, Morris chucks the paw into the fire.
● Mr. White grabs it out before it burns. He asks Morris to let him have the paw.
● Morris warns him against it, but then he gives him instruction on using the paw: 1. Hold paw in hand. 2. Make wish. (Definitely not
rocket science.)
● After Morris leaves, Mr. White holds the paw and says, "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact […] It seems to me I've got
all I want" (1.54). Oh really? Then why did you want the cursed paw in the first place?
● Herbert suggests wishing for two hundred pounds (pounds are English currency, just like the dollars are American currency). Two
hundred pounds is the amount Mr. White needs to finish paying back the bank for his house.
● Mr. White holds the paw and makes the wish. The paw moves in his hand – eek! He screams.
● Herbert makes some jokes about the paw. He doesn't believe it's magic.
● After his parents go to bed, Herbert sees (or thinks he sees) the "horrible" face of a monkey in the fire. He throws water on the
face, then gives the paw a squeeze and goes to bed.
● BACK
● NEXT

2 SUMMARY
● BACK
● NEXT
● Things don't look as scary to Herbert in the bright light of morning. He feels silly for letting a dirty little paw spook him last night.
● He makes some jokes about the paw and then leaves for work.
● Mrs. White doesn't believe in the power of the paw either, but she can't help thinking about the possibility of the money magically
appearing.
● Later in the day a fancily dressed man pays the Whites a visit. He says he comes from Maw and Meggins, the company where
Herbert works. (We never learn exactly what kind of work Herbert does.)
● The man tells the Whites that Herbert "was caught in the machinery" (2.21). Their son did not survive the accident.
● (From this detail, we can guess that Herbert worked in some kind of factory. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, it wasn't
uncommon for factory workers to be injured or killed in accidents with machines.)
● Mrs. White tells the man that Herbert is the only child they have left. (We guess that means they had other children who died.)
● Now for the part you've been waiting for: the man tells the Whites that Maw and Meggins isn't responsible for Herbert's death, but
it does want to give the Whites two hundred pounds to settle the matter.
● At this news Mrs. White screams and Mr. White faints.
3 SUMMARY
● BACK
● NEXT
● The Whites bury Herbert in a cemetery two miles from their house. Their home is now a dark and lonely place.
● The Whites feel like they are waiting for something to happen to help them with their sadness.
● One night, about a week later, Mrs. White remembers the monkey's paw.
● She wants Mr. White to wish Herbert back to life. Mr. White, who isn't sure whether Herbert's death has anything to do with the
paw, is totally against this idea.
● But Mrs. White won't take no for an answer, so Mr. White, against his own judgment, wishes Herbert back to life.
● Nothing happens.
● They go back to bed. Mr. White is relieved. Herbert has been dead ten days and his body looked really horrible ten days ago.
(Fatal factory accidents do that to a body.) Mr. White has no desire to see the undead version of his son.
● After a while, the Whites hear someone – or something – banging on the front door.
● Mrs. White decides that it just took Herbert a little while to get home, because the graveyard where he was buried is two miles
away. She runs downstairs to welcome home undead Herbert.
● Mr. White is scared. He wants nothing to do with undead Herbert.
● He quickly makes his third wish. The story doesn't say what this wish is, but the knocking stops just as Mrs. White gets the door
open.
● When she steps outside, nobody there and the road is empty. She screams because Herbert isn't there.
● Mr. White goes outside and comforts her.
● Want to talk about the ending? Hurry over to "What's Up With the Ending?"
THE MONKEY'S PAW THEME OF

THE SUPERNATURAL
● BACK
● NEXT
Do you or don't you believe in the power of the monkey's paw? This is one of those stories, unlike the Harry Potter books, where we aren't
ever quite sure whether supernatural forces are at work or not. It's like "The Monkey's Paw" is trying to convince us of two conflicting things:
1) that the paw really is magic and directly causes Herbert White's death; and 2) that the paw isn't magic and Herbert's death just happens to
coincide with Mr. White's wish for two hundred pounds.
But which is it? If you're feeling confused and uncertain, you're not alone. This sense of confusion is exactly what the characters are feeling
throughout the story. Even the very rational Herbert White, who tries hard to show he doesn't believe in the paw's powers, sees (or thinks he
sees) the face of the evil monkey in the fire. Rest assured that W.W. Jacobs wants us to be unsure, and that's a big part of what makes this
story so eerie and so awesome.
Questions About The Supernatural

1. Who believes in the paw more, Mr. or Mrs. White?
2. Does Sergeant-Major Morris really believe the paw has magical powers, or is he teasing the Whites?
3. What do you think Mr. White's third and final wish was?
4. If you were going to wish someone back to life, how would you word your wish to make sure the person didn't come back all gross
and crazy and violent like a zombie?
5. Do you think the paw is actually magical? Why or why not?
6. Why do you think that Jacobs never really tells us if the paw is magical or not? How does the uncertainty impact the story?
7. Create your own alternate ending for the story in which Mr. White doesn't wish Herbert dead again. What does Mrs. White see
when she opens the front door? What does Mr. White spend his third wish on? Use this is your opportunity to settle the question
of whether or not the monkey's paw is magical.
8. The story never tells us what Morris or the first owner of the monkey's paw wished for. Write your own story explaining what
happened to these men, and why the first owner finally wished to die.
Chew on This
The paw is fueled by the monkey's anger and vengeance, which makes it impossible to wish on it without negative consequences.
The story's ending proves that the paw's powers are real.

DEATH
● BACK
● NEXT
In "The Monkey's Paw" we watch as the White family is transformed from a loving trio into a grief-stricken duo with the death of Herbert
White. We can all relate to this aspect of the story. The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things to deal with in life. "The Monkey's
Paw" can be seen as a story about how one family deals with the death of their last living son, and the frightening possibility that he could be
brought back to life. For Mrs. White, death is the worst possible fate for her son, and she'd prefer him alive, no matter the cost. Mr. White, on
the other hand, seems to believe that there is a fate worse than death for his son – being some kind of mangled, undead monster.
After a loved one dies, people often wonder whether they could have done anything to prevent the tragedy. For example, if there was no
monkey's paw in this story, Mrs. White might have blamed herself for not stopping Herbert from going to work that day. We know that W.W.
Jacobs lost his mother when he was young. His firsthand knowledge of the grieving process certainly must have influenced and maybe even
inspired this story.
In 1902 England mortality rates were high due to a variety of diseases and lack of today's medical technologies. There were also many
deaths and even more accidents related to factory work, like that done by Herbert White. The story thus taps into something that was
touching the lives of many of its readers.
Questions About Death

1. Does the paw have anything to do with Herbert's death?
2. Do you think Mr. White succeeds in wishing Herbert back to life?
3. It seems like Mr. White's third wish is for Herbert to be dead again. Why would he wish that? If you were in his position, would you
do the same thing? Do you think Mr. White does this for Herbert's sake or for the sake of himself and his wife?
4. Does knowing that Herbert had siblings who died change the way you see the Whites? Why or why not?
5. Do you think we live in a dangerous time? What are the most common causes of death today? What were they in the early
1900s? What has changed and why?
Chew on This
W.W. Jacobs uses the genre of horror literature to explore a serious issue in society – unsafe working conditions in factories, which often
result in injury or death.
Mr. White spends his third wish to make sure Herbert is dead again. He does this for Herbert's sake.
THE MONKEY'S PAW

When Mr. White wishes Herbert dead again, he
THEME OF FATE AND FREE

WILL
● BACK
● NEXT
Are the Whites responsible for the bad things that happen to them, or are they helpless victims of fate, destined to suffer? Is it a combination
of both? When we look closely at "The Monkey's Paw," it's full of questions about how much power people have over the direction of their
lives.
This story is also about how we make choices. Think of Mr. White. He decides he wants to keep the paw, but it's Herbert who suggests the
first wish, and Mrs. White his second one. He seems to make this second wish against his will. He knows it could be disastrous, but he does
it anyway, either because he can't say no to his wife or because he wants to please her. His final wish, whatever it is, could be seen as a sign
that his character is getting stronger. He is learning (rather late in the game), to take control of his life and to make good, careful choices on
his own.
Questions About Fate and Free Will

1. Can you find examples of times when the characters seem to be doing things they don't want to do – that is, acting against their
will?
2. Can the wishes we make impact the course of our lives?
3. Does Mr. White learn to make his own decisions over the course of this story?
4. If Mr. White had wished more carefully, could he have gotten some good stuff from the monkey's paw, or were his wishes
destined to become curses?
5. Does Mrs. White make Mr. White do things he doesn't want to do?
6. Why does Mr. White follow Herbert's suggestion and wish for money?
Chew on This
Fear of seeing Herbert back from the dead forces Mr. White to start making decisions on his own.
Even if Mr. White had wanted to resist the paw, he would have no choice but to wish on it.
does this for his wife's sake.
FAMILY
● BACK
● NEXT
At the center of "The Monkey's Paw" is the White family. The family is made up of Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son Herbert. Their
loving home is disrupted by the arrival of the monkey's paw and Herbert's subsequent death. Morris mentioned that wishing on the monkey's
paw leads to utter disaster, and the fact that Mr. White's first wish is twisted such that Herbert dies indicates that a death in the family is the
worst possible thing that could happen to the Whites – worse, for example, than losing their home. Mr. and Mrs. White's intense grief over
Herbert highlights how much they adored their son, as does Mrs. White's desire to have her son back, no matter the cost.
Questions About Family

1. From the little we see of it before Herbert's death, how would you describe the Whites' family life?
2. What do we learn about the Whites' family life after Herbert dies?
3. After Herbert dies we find out that there used to be other White children, though we don't know how many or how they died. The
Whites seemed to be able to rebuild a happy life after their other children died. Do you think they'll be able to do the same now
that they've also lost Herbert?
4. What do Mr. and Mrs. White's different reactions to the knocking on the door (presumably Herbert, back from the dead) show
about their love for their son?
5. How would you describe Mr. and Mrs. White's relationship? Mrs. White's relationship with Herbert? Mr. White's relationship with
Herbert?
Chew on This
Without Herbert, the Whites will never feel like a family again.
Mr. and Mrs. White's relationship makes this not just a horror classic, but a tender love story as well.

TECHNOLOGY AND
MODERNIZATION
● BACK
● NEXT
From the late 1700s to the mid 1800s, British society underwent a huge transformation, known as the Industrial Revolution. Lots of factories
were built in cities, providing many of jobs. At the same time, because of advances in agricultural technology, fewer workers were needed on
farms. This led people to leave the countryside and move into cities in droves.
The Whites seem to be an exception to this rule. We get the impression that they live in an isolated, almost-forgotten area. Herbert
commutes to his factory job by train. The factory's reaction to Herbert's death speaks not only to the dangerous working conditions in
factories at the time, but also to the rise of feelings of alienation brought by increased industrialization and mechanization. Herbert is
important to the company only as a worker, someone to run the machinery, not as a flesh-and-blood human being.
Questions About Technology and Modernization

1. Herbert is injured in a factory accident. Have you heard of or can you find examples of factory accidents or workplace injuries in
the news today? How might working conditions of the early 1900s compare with working conditions today?
2. What technologies exist today that did not exist in 1900? If you were to adapt the story to our own time, what technologies might
you include and why?
3. Based on the visit from the man from Maw and Meggins, how do you think the company views its employees?
Chew on This
Through "The Monkey's Paw," Jacobs is commenting on the dangerous work conditions resulting from technological advances in the early
1900s.
Living in an isolated area, Mr. and Mrs. White are mostly cut off from technology and modernization. Through Herbert's accident, technology
intrudes tragically into their lives.
● Iukuy
Vowel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
A vowel is a particular kind of speech sound made by shaping the upper vocal tract. In English it is
important to know that there is a difference between a vowel sound and a letter in the alphabet. In
English there are five vowel letters in the alphabet, but there are many more vowel sounds.
The sounds of English are written with letters in the English alphabet, as either vowels
or consonants. All English words are written with vowel letters in them.
These letters are vowels in English:
A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.
It is said that Y is "sometimes" a vowel, because the letter Y represents both vowel and
consonant sounds. In the words cry, sky, fly, my and why, letter Y represents the vowel sound
/aɪ/. In words like myth and synchronize, Y represents the vowel sound /ɪ/. In words
like only, quickly, and folly, Y represents the vowel sound /i/.
It can also be a consonant sound called a glide as in the beginning of these
words: yellow, yacht, yam, yesterday. Y is a consonant about 2.75% of the time, and a vowel
about 97.5% of the time. [1]
The letter W can sometimes be the second part of a vowel sound as in words like such
as cow, bow, or how. In these words the vowel has the sound of /aʊ/. The letter W can be used
as a consonant sound at the beginning of in the words when, where, wet. In some in some
languages, like Welsh, the letter W represents the vowel sound /ʊ/, like cwm (a kind of valley).
In written English the six vowel letters are use to represent the 13-15 vowel sounds (depending
on the variety) in English. This means there are more vowel sounds than letters in the English
[2]
alphabet, and the English spelling systems doesn't always help us figure out what the English
sounds are. This can be confusing.
● The rest of the letters of the alphabet are consonants:

B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y (sometimes), and Z
Monophthongs and diphthongs[change | change source]

Simple vowels are called monophthongs. The letters, like /ɪ/, are the IPA letters for each
vowel sound in English. (The IPA is the International Phonetic Alphabet). In the IPA,
each symbol represents a different sound, so using the IPA is helpful in pronouncing words.
Common monophthongs in English (these are for General American English) include:
● /i/ as in polic e, fe et, eat, and silly

● /ɪ/ as in it, si t, ki ck, myth and bit ter
● /ɛ/ as in en d, be t, les s, and let ter
● /æ/ as in at, apple, fat, and mat ter
● /u/ as in cool , tu ne, so up, and kung fu
● /ʊ/ as in co ok, sho uld, pud ding, and foot
● /ʌ/ as in bu s, blood , co me, and up
● /ə/ as in kingdom , phot ography, phi loso phy, ketchup, and hu
n
dred
● /ɚ/ as in butter, colla r, flavo r, fi rm, and burst
● /ɔ/ as in al l, fought, ho
t , and bot
● /ɑ/ as in father, walk, arm, he art, was p, la
g
er, envelope and aar dvar k
Diphthongs are a combination of two different vowel sounds, one vowel sounds turns into
another sound as you say them. If you pronounce the words below slowly, you can hear the
two vowel sounds of the diphthongs.
Common diphthongs in English include:
● /eɪ/ as in ate, reig n, va in, fla

vor, sla
y, and convey
● /oʊ/ as in to e, row, go , boat , mod e, and chate au
● /aɪ/ as in eye, I, pie, cry, cypher, cli mb, lim
e, li ght, kaya k, Tha
i, and height
● /aʊ/ as in loud, ho use, co w, about , Da oism, and Maca u
● /oɪ/ as in bo y, mo is t, and Freud
Like other languages, there are many dialects of English, and different dialects often use
different vowel sounds. But the IPA symbols can tell us which vowel sound a dialects uses.
For example, some American English speakers differentiate between the vowels in the
words cot and caught, while in other dialects these words are homophones. People who
study the differences between the dialects of English often study the different way vowel
sounds are pronounced.
The difference between the way English is spelled and the way the words are pronounced
came about because all languages change, so spoken English changes, but the spelling
system does not.
The study of speech sounds is called phonetics.
Monophthong
A monophthong (pronounced "Mono-F-thong") is simply a vowel. The word monophthong comes

from the old Greek language. Mono means one or single, and the -phthong means sound or tone,
from the basic word phthalein, which means to speak, create sound with the voice. The
word monophthong shows that a vowel is spoken with exactly one tone and one mouth position.
For example, when you say "teeth", then while you are creating the sound of the "ee", nothing
changes for that sound.
A monophthong can be a lexeme of a language and as such it can as well be a syllable. There is
no shorter syllable than a single monophthong.
Diphthong
A diphthong (pronounced "DIF-thong" or "DIP-thong") is a vowel that the speaker has to move their
mouth into two different positions to make. It is a vowel where two different vowel qualities can be
heard. Examples are: waist, die, noise, road, house, fierce, bear, sure. Each of these is a different
[1]
vowel sound.
A monophthong is a simple vowel sound that a person does not have to move his or her mouth to
make, like the "oo" sound in "book." In a diphthong, the person combines two different
monophthongs, as with the "oi" sound in the word "oil". The speaker starts with the mouth in the
position to make an "o" sound, then quickly moves the mouth to make a hard "e" sound. Another
example is the "ou" sound in the word "house". The mouth starts out making a sound like the soft "a"
sound in "flat", then moves to make the a hard "oo" sound like the one in "caboose".
Just like with every other part of language, the exact way to pronounce a diphthong is a little different
for different accents.
The word diphthong is derived from the old Greek language. Here, di means two or double, while
the part -phthong means sound or tone, from the basic word phthalein, which means speak, creating
sound by the voice.
A diphthong can be a lexeme of a language and as such it may be one syllable, but rarely.
Consonant
onsonant (band).
For the alternative rock group, see C
Not to be confused with the musical concept of c onsonance
The letter T, the most common consonant letter in English.[1]
Places of articulation
Labial
Bilabial
Labial–velar
Labial–coronal
Labiodental
Bidental
Coronal
Linguolabial
Interdental
Dental
Denti-alveolar
Alveolar
Coronal–velar
Postalveolar
Palato-alveolar
Retroflex
Dorsal
Postalveolar
Alveolo-palatal
Palatal
Labial–palatal
Velar
Uvular
Uvular–epiglottal
Laryngeal (Guttural)
Pharyngeal/Epiglottal
Glottal
Peripheral
Tongue shape
Apical
Subapical
Laminal
Sulcal
Domed
Secondary articulation
Labialization (Rounding)
Palatalization
Labio-palatalization
Velarization
Uvularization
Pharyngealization
See also
Articulatory phonetics
Coarticulation
Double articulation
Glottalization
Manner of articulation
● v
● t
● e
This article
contains IPA phonetic
symbols. Without
proper rendering support, you
may see question marks, boxes,
or other symbols instead
of Unicode characters. For an
introductory guide on IPA
symbols, see Help:IPA.
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial
closure of the vocal tract. Examples are [p], pronounced with the lips; [t], pronounced with the front
of the tongue; [k], pronounced with the back of the tongue; [h], pronounced in the throat; [f] and [s],
pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel (fricatives); and [m] and [n], which have air
flowing through the nose (nasals). Contrasting with consonants are vowels.
Since the number of possible sounds in all of the world's languages is much greater than the number
of letters in any one alphabet, linguists have devised systems such as the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA) to assign a unique and unambiguous symbol to each attested consonant. In fact,
the English alphabet has fewer consonant letters than English has consonant sounds,
so digraphs like "ch", "sh", "th", and "zh" are used to extend the alphabet, and some letters and
digraphs represent more than one consonant. For example, the sound spelled "th" in "this" is a
different consonant than the "th" sound in "thin". (In the IPA, they are transcribed [ð] and [θ],
respectively.)
Contents
● 1Etymology
● 2Letters
● 3Consonants versus vowels
● 4Features
● 5Examples
o 5.1Most common
● 6Audio samples
● 7See also
● 8Notes
● 9References
● 10External links
Etymology[edit]
The word consonant comes from Latin oblique stem cōnsonant-, from cōnsonāns
(littera) "sounding-together (letter)", a calque of Greek σύμφωνον sýmphōnon (plural sýmphōna) . [2][3]
Dionysius Thrax calls consonants sýmphōna "pronounced with" because they can only be
pronounced with a vowel. He divides them into two subcategories: hēmíphōna, semivowels
[a]
("half-pronounced"), which correspond to continuants, not semivowels, and áphōna, mute or silent
[5] [b]
consonants ("unvoiced"), which correspond to stops, not voiceless consonants.

[6] [c]
This description does not apply to some human languages, such as the Salishan languages, in
which stops sometimes occur without vowels (see Nuxálk), and the modern conception of consonant
does not require co-occurrence with vowels.
Letters[edit]
The word consonant is also used to refer to a letter of an alphabet that denotes a consonant sound.
The 21 consonant letters in the English alphabet
are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Z, and usually W and Y. The letter Y stands
for the consonant /j/ in yoke, the vowel /ɪ/ in myth, the vowel /i/ in funny, and the
diphthong /aɪ/ in my. W always represents a consonant except in combination with a vowel letter, as
in growth, raw, and how, and in a few loanwords from Welsh, like crwth or cwm.
In some other languages, such as Finnish, y only represents a vowel sound.
Consonants versus vowels[edit]

Consonants and vowels correspond to distinct parts of a syllable: The most sonorous part of the
syllable (that is, the part that's easiest to sing), called the syllabic peakor nucleus, is typically a
vowel, while the less sonorous margins (called the onset and coda) are typically consonants. Such
syllables may be abbreviated CV, V, and CVC, where C stands for consonant and V stands for
vowel. This can be argued to be the only pattern found in most of the world's languages, and
perhaps the primary pattern in all of them. However, the distinction between consonant and vowel is
not always clear cut: there are syllabic consonants and non-syllabic vowels in many of the world's
languages.
One blurry area is in segments variously called semivowels, semiconsonants, or glides. On one side,
there are vowel-like segments that are not in themselves syllabic, but form diphthongs as part of the
syllable nucleus, as the i in English boil [ˈbɔɪ̯l]. On the other, there are approximants that behave
like consonants in forming onsets, but are articulated very much like vowels, as the y in
English yes [ˈjɛs]. Some phonologists model these as both being the underlying vowel /i/, so that the
English word bit would phonemically be /bit/, beet would be /bii̯t/, and yield would be
phonemically /i̯ii̯ld/. Likewise, foot would be /fut/, food would be /fuu̯d/, wood would be /u̯ud/,
and wooed would be /u̯uu̯d/. However, there is a (perhaps allophonic) difference in articulation
between these segments, with the [j] in [ˈjɛs] yes and [ˈjiʲld] yield and
the [w] of [ˈwuʷd] wooed having more constriction and a more definite place of articulation than
the [ɪ] in [ˈbɔɪ̯l] boil or [ˈbɪt] bit or the [ʊ] of [ˈfʊt] foot.
The other problematic area is that of syllabic consonants, segments articulated as consonants but
occupying the nucleus of a syllable. This may be the case for words such as church in rhoticdialects
of English, although phoneticians differ in whether they consider this to be a syllabic
consonant, /ˈtʃɹ̩tʃ/, or a rhotic vowel, /ˈtʃɝtʃ/: Some distinguish an approximant /ɹ/ that
corresponds to a vowel /ɝ/, for rural as /ˈɹɝl/ or [ˈɹʷɝːl̩]; others see these as a single
phoneme, /ˈɹɹ̩l/.
Other languages use fricative and often trilled segments as syllabic nuclei, as in Czech and several
languages in Democratic Republic of the Congo, and China, including Mandarin Chinese. In
Mandarin, they are historically allophones of /i/, and spelled that way in Pinyin. Ladefoged and
Maddieson call these "fricative vowels" and say that "they can usually be thought of as syllabic
[7][page needed]
fricatives that are allophones of vowels". That is, phonetically they are consonants, but phonemically
they behave as vowels.
Many Slavic languages allow the trill [r̩] and the lateral [l̩] as syllabic nuclei (see Words without
vowels). In languages like Nuxalk, it is difficult to know what the nucleus of a syllable is, or if all
syllables even have nuclei. If the concept of 'syllable' applies in Nuxalk, there are syllabic
consonants in words like /sx̩s/ (/s̩xs̩/?) 'seal fat'. Miyako in Japan is similar, with /f̩ks̩/ 'to build'
and /ps̩ks̩/'to pull'.
Features[edit]
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Manners of articulation
Obstruent
Stop
Affricate
Fricative
Strident
Sibilant
Sonorant
Nasal
Approximant
Semivowel
Vowel
Vibrant
Flap/tap
Trill
Liquid
Rhotic
Lateral
Occlusive
Continuant
Airstreams
Egressive
Ingressive
Ejective
Implosive
Lingual (clicks)
Linguo-pulmonic
Linguo-ejective
Percussive
See also
Articulatory phonetics
Aspirated consonant
No audible release
Phonation
Place of articulation
Voice
Voicelessness
● v
● t
● e
Each spoken consonant can be distinguished by several phonetic features:

● The manner of articulation is how air escapes from the vocal tract when the consonant
or approximant (vowel-like) sound is made. Manners include stops, fricatives, and nasals.
● The place of articulation is where in the vocal tract the obstruction of the consonant occurs, and
which speech organs are involved. Places include bilabial (both lips), alveolar (tongue against
the gum ridge), and velar (tongue against soft palate). In addition, there may be a simultaneous
narrowing at another place of articulation, such as palatalisation or pharyngealisation.
Consonants with two simultaneous places of articulation are said to be coarticulated.
● The phonation of a consonant is how the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation. When the
vocal cords vibrate fully, the consonant is called voiced; when they do not vibrate at all, it
is voiceless.
● The voice onset time (VOT) indicates the timing of the phonation. Aspiration is a feature of VOT.
● The airstream mechanism is how the air moving through the vocal tract is powered. Most
languages have exclusively pulmonic egressive consonants, which use the lungs and
diaphragm, but ejectives, clicks, and implosives use different mechanisms.
● The length is how long the obstruction of a consonant lasts. This feature is borderline distinctive
in English, as in "wholly" [hoʊlli] vs. "holy" [hoʊli], but cases are limited to morpheme boundaries.
Unrelated roots are differentiated in various languages such as Italian, Japanese, and Finnish,
with two length levels, "single" and "geminate". Estonian and some Sami languages have three
phonemic lengths: short, geminate, and long geminate, although the distinction between the
geminate and overlong geminate includes suprasegmental features.
● The articulatory force is how much muscular energy is involved. This has been proposed many
times, but no distinction relying exclusively on force has ever been demonstrated.
All English consonants can be classified by a combination of these features, such as "voiceless
alveolar stop" [t]. In this case, the airstream mechanism is omitted.
Some pairs of consonants like p::b, t::d are sometimes called fortis and lenis, but this is
a phonological rather than phonetic distinction.
Consonants are scheduled by their features in a number of IPA charts:
IPA: Pulmonic consonants
Place → Labial Coronal Dorsal Laryngeal
Linguolabia Retrofle Pharyngeal/epiglotta

Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Manner ↓ l x l
Nasal m̥ m ɱ n̼ n̥ n ɳ̊ ɳ ɲ̊ ɲ ŋ̊ ŋ ɴ
Stop p b p̪ b̪ t̼ d̼ t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ
ʈ ɖ t̠ d̠
Sibilant affricate ts dz t̠ʃ d̠ʒ
ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ
b p̪ t̪ d̪ t d t̠ d̠ q
Non-sibilant affricate pɸ b̪v cç ɟʝ kx ɡɣ ʡʢ ʔh
β f θ ð ɹ̝̊ ɹ̝ ɹ̠̊˔ ɹ̠˔ χ
Sibilant fricative s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ɕ ʑ
Non-sibilant fricative ɸ β f v θ̼ ð̼ θ ð θ̠ð̠ ɹ̠̊˔ ɹ̠˔ ɻ˔ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h ɦ

Approximant ʋ̥ ʋ ɹ̥ ɹ ɻ̊ ɻ j̊ j ɰ̊ ɰ ʔ̞
Tap/flap ɾ̼ ɾ̥ ɾ ɽ̊ ɽ ɢ̆ ʡ̆
̟
Trill ʙ̥ ʙ r̥ r ʀ̥ ʀ ʜ ʢ
t ʈ c k ɡ
Lateral affricate dɮ
ɬ ɭ̊˔ ʎ̝̊ ʟ̝̊ ʟ̝
Lateral fricative ɬ ɮ ɭ̊˔ ɭ˔ ʎ̝̊ ʎ̝ ʟ̝̊ ʟ̝
Lateral approximant l̥ l ɭ̊ ɭ ʎ̥ ʎ ʟ̥ ʟ ʟ̠
Lateral tap/flap ɺ ɭ̆ ʎ̆ ʟ̆
IPA help
full chart
template
Symbols to the right in a cell are voiced, to the left are voiceless. Shaded areas denote articulations judged impossible.
IPA: Non-pulmonic consonants
BL LD D A PA RF P V U EG
ʡ
Stop pʼ tʼ ʈʼ cʼ kʼ qʼ
ʼ
t̪ q
t̠ ʈʂ kx
Affricate θ tsʼ χ
ʃʼ ʼ ʼ
ʼ ʼ
Ejective f θ χ
Fricative ɸʼ sʼ ʃʼ ʂʼ ɕʼ xʼ
ʼ ʼ ʼ
c k
tɬ
Lateral affricate ʎ̝̊ ʟ̝̊
ʼ
ʼ ʼ
Lateral fricative ɬʼ
Tenuis ʘ ǀ ǃ ‼ ǂ ʞ
Voiced ʘ̬ ǀ̬ ǃ̬ ‼̬ ǂ̬
Click Nasal ʘ̃ ǀ̃ ǃ̃ ‼̃ ǂ̃
Tenuis lateral ǁ
Voiced lateral ǁ̬
Implosive Voiced ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ ʛ
Voiceless ɓ̥ ɗ̥ ̥ ʄ̥ ɠ̊ ʛ̥
IPA help
full chart
template
IPA: Co-articulated consonants
Nasal
n͡m
Labial–alveolar
ŋ͡m
Labial–velar
Stop
t͡p
d͡b
Labial–alveolar
k͡p
ɡ͡b
Labial–velar
q͡ʡ
Uvular–epiglottal
Fricative
Sj-sound (variable)
Approximant
ɥ̊
Labial–palatal
Labial–velar
Lateral approximant
Velarized alveolar
Nasal approximant
j̃
Palatal
w̃
Labial–velar
h̃
Glottal
IPA help
full chart
template
Examples[edit]
The recently extinct Ubykh language had only 2 or 3 vowels but 84 consonants; the Taa
[8]
language has 87 consonants under one analysis, 164 under another, plus some 30 vowels and
tone. The types of consonants used in various languages are by no means universal. For instance,
[9]
nearly all Australian languages lack fricatives; a large percentage of the world's languages lack
voiced stops as phonemes, such as [b], [d], and [ɡ]. Most languages, however, do include one or
more fricatives, with [s] being the most common, and a liquid consonant or two, with [l] the most
common. The approximant [w] is also widespread, and virtually all languages have one or
more nasals, though a very few, such as the Central dialect of Rotokas, lack even these. This last
language has the smallest number of consonants in the world, with just six.
Most common[edit]
The most common consonants around the world are the three voiceless stops [p], [t], [k], and the two
nasals [m], [n]. However, even these common five are not universal. Several languages in the
vicinity of the Sahara Desert, including Arabic, lack [p]. Several languages of North America, such
as Mohawk, lack both of the labials [p] and [m]. The Wichita language of Oklahoma and some West
African languages, such as Ijo, lack the consonant /n/ on a phonemic level, but do use it as
an allophone of another consonant (of /l/ in the case of Ijo, and of /ɾ/ in Wichita). A few languages
on Bougainville Island and around Puget Sound, such as Makah, lack both of the nasals [m] and [n].
The 'click language' Nǁng lacks [t], and colloquial Samoan lacks both alveolars, [t] and [n]. Despite
[d] [e]
the 80-odd consonants of Ubykh, it lacks the plain velar /k/ in native words, as do the
related Adyghe and Kabardian languages. But with a few striking exceptions, such
as Xavante and Tahitian—which have no dorsal consonants whatsoever—nearly all other languages
have at least one velar consonant: the few languages that do not have a simple [k] usually have a
consonant that is very similar. For instance, an areal feature of the Pacific Northwest coast is that
[f]
historical *[k] has become palatalized in many languages, so that Saanich for example
has [tʃ] and [kʷ] but no plain [k]; similarly, historical *[k] in the Northwest Caucasian
[10][11]
languages became palatalized to /kʲ/ in Ubykh and /tʃ/ in most Circassian dialects. [12]
The most frequent consonant (that is, the one appearing most often in speech) in many languages
is [

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The tell tale heart

Themes and Characters

Cop and anthem

THE UMBRELLA MAN

New York City, Fall, Early 1900s

Contrast Between Soapy and Where He Lives

A Quiet Street With a Church

THE COP AND THE ANTHEM

THE BROKEN SHOP WINDOW

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

The Cop ​and t​ he Anthem

Questions About Pride

Where It All Goes Down

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

The Cabuliwallah- Tagore

The Bishop’s Candlesticks by Norman Mckinnell :

The Bishop’s Candlesticks by Norman Mckinnell :

THE MONKEY'S PAW CHAPTER

THE MONKEY'S PAW CHAPTER

THE MONKEY'S PAW THEME OF

Questions About The Supernatural

THE MONKEY'S PAW THEME OF

Questions About Death

THE MONKEY'S PAW

THEME OF FATE AND FREE

Questions About Fate and Free Will

Questions About Family

THE MONKEY'S PAW THEME OF

Questions About Technology and Modernization

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● The rest of the letters of the alphabet are ​consonants​:

Monophthongs and diphthongs​[​change​ | ​change source​]

● /​i​/ as in ​pol​ic​ e​, ​fe ​ e​t,​ ​ea​t,​ and ​silly​

● /​eɪ​/ as in ​a​te​, ​r​eig ​ n,​ ​va​ i​n,​ ​fla

Jump to navigation​Jump to search

A ​monophthong​ (pronounced "Mono-F-thong") is simply a ​vowel​. The word monophthong comes

Jump to navigation​Jump to search

Jump to navigation​Jump to search

Not to be confused with the musical concept of c​ onsonance

The letter ​T​, the most common consonant letter in English.​[1]

● 3​Consonants versus vowels

consonants ("unvoiced"),​ which correspond to ​stops​, not ​voiceless​ consonants.​

Consonants versus vowels​[​edit​]

Each spoken consonant can be distinguished by several phonetic ​features​:

Place​ → Labial Coronal Dorsal Laryngeal

Linguolabia Retrofle Pharyngeal/epiglotta

Non-sibilant fricative ɸ β f v θ̼ ð̼ θ ð θ̠ð̠ ɹ̠̊˔ ɹ̠˔ ɻ˔ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ h ɦ

Lateral fricative ɬ ɮ ɭ̊˔ ɭ˔ ʎ̝̊ ʎ̝ ʟ̝̊ ʟ̝

IPA​: Non-​pulmonic​ consonants

IPA​: ​Co-articulated​ consonants

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The Cop and t he Anthem

Jump to navigationJump to search

● The rest of the letters of the alphabet are consonants:

Monophthongs and diphthongs[change | change source]

● /i/ as in polic e, fe et, eat, and silly

● /eɪ/ as in ate, reig n, va in, fla

Jump to navigationJump to search

A monophthong (pronounced "Mono-F-thong") is simply a vowel. The word monophthong comes

Jump to navigationJump to search

Jump to navigationJump to search

Not to be confused with the musical concept of c onsonance

The letter T, the most common consonant letter in English.[1]

● 3Consonants versus vowels

consonants ("unvoiced"), which correspond to stops, not voiceless consonants.

Consonants versus vowels[edit]

Each spoken consonant can be distinguished by several phonetic features:

Place → Labial Coronal Dorsal Laryngeal

IPA: Non-pulmonic consonants

IPA: Co-articulated consonants