Activities on History of Novel

1. Choose the correct alternative and rewrite the sentence:

i. Eighteenth century gifted mankind with….

a) Drama and poetry
b) Novel and drama
c) Poetry and novel
d) Novel and periodical essays
ii. Novel soon became dominant literary genre as it ….
a) Helped people to live a more purposeful life.
b) Caught the intellectual, sentimental and realistic spirit.
c) grew gradually and gained popularity.
d) All of these.
iii. Indian writers in English Novel initially wrote about the theme of …..
a) Domestic violence.
b) Nationalistic and Social virtues.
c) Scientific theories.
d) Psychological insights.
iv. Gothic novel contains …….
a) Terror and supernatural.
b) Mystery and thriller.
c) Horror and haunted buildings.
d) All of these.
v. Strike out the unnecessary
Detective fiction is ….
a) A sub-genre of crime fiction.
b) Agatha Christie mastered the art of crime fiction.
c) Detectives can be professional or amateur.
d) Protagonist is a necessarily an eccentric person.

2. Fill in the blanks by choosing correct alternative.

1) A novel is relatively a …………narrative.
(Short / long /descriptive)
2) English word ‘Novel’ is derived from the Italian word …….
(Novella, Novelle, Novellus)
3) Geoffrey Chaucer wrote …….
(Morte De Arthur, The Canterbury Tales, Tale of Genji)
4) The Tale of Genji by Muraski Shikabu was published in the year ……
(1010, 1605, 1050, 1600)
5) ‘The Pilgrims Progress’ is a Novel written by …..
(John Bunyan, Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe)
6) …… is the pioneer of the ‘Stream of Consciousness’ novel.
(Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf)
7) The first Indian English novel ‘Rajmohan’s wife’ was written by …
(Mulkraj Anand, R.K.Narayan, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya)
8) Joseph Conrad wrote the novella named as …….
(Billy Budd, The Heart of Darkness, Pearl)
9) Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with………
(Futuristic settings, death and decay, earlier period than of writing)
10) The famous trio of Indian writers is …………
(Mulkraj Anand, R.K.Narayan, Raja Rao / Amitav Ghosh, Manohar Malgaonkar,
Mulkraj Anand / Amitav Ghosh , R.K.Narayan,Arvind Adiga)
11) The Periodical Essay and Novel are the gifts of ………… .
(18 th century/ 17 th century /19 Th century)
12) A Novel is relatively a ………….
(a short narrative fiction/ a long narrative fiction / a fiction of moderate length)
13) The industrial revolution gave birth to ……… .
(poor class/ middle class/ rich class)
14) Appearance of newspaper in 18 th century attracted a large number of readers from
……………… (poor class/ middle class/ rich class)
15) Rise of Novel as a literary genre resulted in lowering the importance of…………
(poetry/ drama/ Drama and Poetry)
16) Salman Rushdie, V. S. Naipaul, Kazuo Ishigura are ………..
(Indian authors/ immigrant authors/ writers of Indian origin)
17) The novel as a literary genre has a history of about years.
(thousand/ two thousand/ five thousand)
18) The new literature written in the 18th century was characterised by.…
(mystery/ fantasy/ spirit of realism)
19) In ……… novel, the surface meaning is different from the symbolic meaning.
(Allegorical/ Dystopian/ Gothic)
20) The reader follows the actions of one main character throughout the novel and this
character is referred to as the ………
(speaker/ antagonist/ protagonist)
21) …...... is the central idea of the novel which can be expressed in a nutshell.
(Theme/ character/ conflict)
22) Utopian is a ...... community or society possessing the ideal qualities.
(real/ historical/ imaginary/ social)
23) Fiction is a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts.
(Science/ Psychological/ Historical)
24) …… century has gifted English literature two new forms named 'The periodical essays'
and 'novel'. (16th/ 17th/ 18th/ 19th)
25) After 1740 in ……………. Nobel originated as literary form.
(England/ France/ Rome)
26) Novel is a type of prose fiction which is a shorter than a full length ……….. and longer
than short story. (play/ poem/ novel)
27) The ……… novel is based on the life of the author. (Biographical/ historical/ dystopian
autobiographical)
28) In the first half of the 20th century a cult of.... became popular.
(science fiction, allegorical novel, epistolary novel, pulp magazine)
29) 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelly is considered the first novel based on…………. (Crime
and investigation/ emotions and psychology/ stream of consciousness/ science and
technology)
30) The Spanish word 'Picaro' means.(adventure, rogue, horror, death)
31) Conflict is a struggle between opposite forces in the story.
32) A novel is relatively long narrative fiction which describes intimate human experience
normally in a prose form.
33) The language and the technique used by the author for the narration of the course of
events is known as the style.
34) The word ‘picaresque’ is originated from the Spanish word ‘Picaro’.
35) Setting includes place, period, time, climate or weather and lifestyle.
36) The German word ‘bildungsroman’ indicate growth.
37) The realistic novel is also called a novel of manner.
38) Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction flourished in the second half of the 19th
century.
39) Psychological novel treats the internal life of the protagonist.
40) The European novel is often said to begin with 'Don Quixote' by Spanish writer Miguel
de Cervantes.
41) Novelists like Anita Desai, NayantaraSahgal, Aruna Joshi and Manohar Malgaonkar
through their works changed the current of Indian English Novel.
42) The background in which the story takes place is called setting.
43) Today the most recognised dominant literary genre is novel.
44) Salman Rushdie, V.S. Naipaul, Kazuo Ishigura are 20th century immigrant novel
writers.
45)The novel that include terror, mystery, horror, thriller, supernatural doom, death decay or
haunted buildings are called the Gothic novels.
46) Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery.

3. Chronological Order
1. Write in chronological order
a) Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji
b) Greek Romances
c) The appearance of magazines and newspapers
d) Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
Ans: a) Greek Romances b) Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales c) Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of
Genji d) The appearance of magazines and newspapers

2. Write in chronological order

a) Industrial Revolution
b) Drama and Poetry started fading away
c) Novel gained popularity
d) The rise of middle class
Ans : a) Industrial Revolution b) The rise of middle class c) Novel gained popularity d)
Drama and Poetry started fading away
3. Given below are some novels, events and writers of Indian English. Arrange them in
chronological order.
a) Rise of famous Indian Trio
b) Nayantara Sahgal, Arun Joshi, Manohar Malgaonkar
c) Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai, Kiran Nagarkar
d) Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya
Ans : a) Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya b) Rise of famous Indian
Trio c) Nayantara Sahgal, Arun Joshi, Manohar Malgaonkar d) Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai,
Kiran Nagarkar
4. Given below are some Novels in English literature. Arrange them in their order of their
appearance.
a) The Pilgrim’s Progress and Oroonaku
b) Ecologues and Morte De Arthur
c) Pamela and Gulliver’s Travels
d) The Tale of Genji and Don Quxiote
Ans : a) Ecologues and Morte De Arthur b) The Tale of Genji and Don Quxiote c) The
Pilgrim’s Progress and Oroonaku d) Pamela and Gulliver’s Travels

4. State whether the following sentences are True or False

1. Novel is recognized as the most dominant literary genre in modern times. True
2. A Novel is relatively a short narrative. False
3. ‘Tale of Genji’ is described as world’s first novel. True
4. Middle class people had a little interest in romances and tragedies. True
5. Novel gave voice to the aspirations and longings of middle class. True
6. The women novelists haven’t contributed significantly in English Literature. False
7. Novella is greater in length than Novel. False
8. Setting doesn’t affect plot or characters. False
9. The struggle in opposite forces in a story is called as conflict. True
10. Epistolary Novel is a series of correspondence, other documents and diary entries as
well. True
11) Novel makes life easier to understand than in drama and poetry. True
12) Agatha Christie wrote many novels based on politics. False
13) Plot is essentially the story or the course of events that make up the theme. True
14) The realistic novel is a fiction that gives the effect fantasy. False
5. Pick the odd word out:
1) Amit Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Henry Fielding, Amitya Desai.
- Henry Fielding
2) plot, novella, climate, theme
- Novella
3) place, time, climate, epistolary
- Epistolary
4) horror, mystery, picaresque, thriller
- Picaresque
5) Joseph Conrad, Graham Green, Daniel Defoe, Anthony Buegess.
- Daniel Defoe
6) Mystery, Character, Style, Conflict.
- Mystery
7) The turn of screw, Aphra Behn, Rajmoham’s wife, Jane Eyre.
- Aphra Behn
8) Drama, Novel, Psychology, Poetry.
- Psychology
9) Anita Desai, Nayantara Sehgal, R K Narayan, Herman Melville.
- Herman Melville
10) Place, Period, Theme, Climate, Life-style.
- Theme
11) Theme, Language style, Character, Stream of Consciousness, Setting.
- Stream of Consciousness
12) Realistic, Psychological, Autobiographical, Complex, Picaresque.
- Complex
13) Plot, Conflict, Protagonist, Language
- Protagonist

14) Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan, Raja Rao, Thomas Hardy

- Thomas Hardy

15) Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthrone, H.G. wells, George Eliot

- George Eliot

16) The Heart of Darkness, The Turn of the screw, The pilgrims Progress, Death in Venice

- The pilgrims Progress

 ------ Notes on ‘To Sir, With Love’ -----
 Explain the theme of the novel 'To sir, with Love'.

Majar themes of the novel are student-teacher relationship and prejudice and racism.
E.R. Braithwaite gets a job in a notorious school as a teacher. The students of the school are belongs
from bad background that is not suitable for learning. He notice that they are in no mood to change
their behavior. So, he uses his novel and creative ideas, innovative techniques and understands their
psychology. Gradually he wins their heart and change their attitude and behavior.
Second major theme is racism which is faced by him at every step of his life like
encounters on the bus, at job interviews, at Greenslade school, When searching for house, at a
restaurant with his girl friend and so on.
Another theme is prejudice when Braithwait was brought up in British he thought that he
was British citizen but when he left the job, he found himself to be an outsider.

 Write the character of E.R.Braithwaite.

E.R. Braithwaite was British American novelist, writer, teacher and diplomat. To sir, with love' is
an autobiographical novel written by Braithwaite. He had patience even though he was treated
outsider by the white Britishers, he didn't lose his mind. The students also harass him from day one,
using foul language but he didn't lose his patience.
By qualification, he is an engineer but due to racism he accepts the job of a teacher. He does not
like racism. He has also served in British Air Force. At Greenslade School, students harass him even
though girls also. At the beginning he also rough towards the students but latter he changes his
attitude and behavior He decided to interact with them as though they are adults and respectable
persons. He also practice new techniques and innovative ideas and then there are notable changes in
overall progress of the student. In half yearly report programme, he becomes happy to see the
progress of his students.

 Compare the character of Miss Euphemia Phillips and the Head Teacher
Mr. Florian.

Miss Euphemia Phillips and the head of the school Mr. Florian are two characters in this
novel. Mr. Florian the head of the school addressed the students in the beginning of the half yearly
report. In his long address he spoke, about aims and policies of the school and important contribution
each child could make in strengthening those aims. He praised students wherever is required but also
made a point that there was yet a great deal of important to be done by students in conduct.
cleanliness and in the pursuit of knowledge. Initially he was against the presentation of half yearly
report.
Miss Euphemia Phillips was one of the three teachers who was invited on the stage for
question answer session. She surprised Braithwaite by proving to be the coolest and best informed
among the three who were present on the stage. To Mr. Braithwaite, she had appeared brainless and
free. In-between the question answer session Miss Phillips intervened skillfully to help one of the
others without causing any embarrassment to them. Miss. Phillips, when Weston could not answer
the question properly, she took rein in her hand and her stock promptly shot up a hundred fold. She
reminded the whole school including P.T. all subjects and games are carefully considered and are
fixed in to the time-table and each student will get maximum benefit so such different such
contrasting approach towards the study and students the head teacher Mr. Florian and Miss.
Euphemia Phillips had.

------ Notes on ‘Around The Wolrd in Eighty Days’ -----

• Theme of the novel Around the world in Eighty Days' OR

• Illustrate the example of the time theme of the extract.

The novel is full of adventure and the excitement. The most important theme of the novel
is 'Time'. How Phileas Fogg, the major character of the novel, wins the bat even though there are
unexpected delays and missed trains. He had unknowingly gouged a day before when crossing the
international Date line. And hence he was still in time.
Before his journey around the world, Fogg lived a solitary life. But by the end of his
journey, he recognizes the importance of human connections, both in the form of love, with Aouda,
and friendship, with Passpartout. So, he has gained Auda's love by saving her life and got married. In
this way the final conclusion of the novel is that not money but love is true achievement.
Time shows very important role in the novel. As Fogg with his companions try to
complete their bet but time foils their plans. But time also helps them. First Fogg is arrested before
the completion of his journey. When he is released, He takes special train to reach at the destination.
But the train gets late by five minutes. He thinks that he has lost the bet and goes home.
But next day he knows that he has gained a day because he had crossed the international
timeline. So he reached at the Reform club before the stipulated time.

• Character sketch of 'Fhileas Fogg'

Phileas Fogg is the hero and chief protagonist in the novel. He was a rich British
gentleman and a solitary person. He cared little about the opinions of others. He was honest,precise,
brave,determined ,tolerant courageous and calm. He was cool when dealing with Passepartout and
with Aouda.
Though he had plenty of self-respect, he was honourable man in the Reform Club. He was
unselfish, non- materialistic and generous. He could control his emotions.
He has the ability of quick thinking. He accepts the challenge to go around the world in
eighty days. He completes his journey overcoming all the obstacles. He is a master calculator and
obsessive organiser.
Before journey, he lives a solitary life, but in his journey, he rescues an Indian princess
Aouda and wins her heart. He understands the importance of human connections during his journey
both in the form of love, with Souda, and friendship, with Passpartout.
• Character sketch of 'Passpartout'
Passepartout is one of the major characters in the novel 'Around the World in Eighty Days'.
He is a newly appointed French valet(personal attendant) of Phileas Fogg.
Passepartout is the fellow traveller of Mr. Fogg. He is an honest as well as comic French
man. He is loyal to his master, Fogg. He was very emotional and excitable person. He is comic in
nature. He is loyal and obedient. He is honest, tolerant and brave. He accompanies Phileas Fogg in
the journey around the world.
When Fogg is arrested, he thinks that he is the cause of Fogg's misfortune. He has repentance
as he realized that he could have prevented Fogg's arrest. When Aouda proposes Fogg for marriage,
he hastily runs to engage the clergyman for their marriage and then comes to know that Phileas Fogg
has completed the journey within the scheduled period of eighty days and thus helps Fogg indirectly
to win the bet. He became very excited when they reached the Reform Club.

• Character sketch of 'Mrs.Aouda'

Mrs. Aouda is a charming young woman. She is the only female in the story. She is
adventurous and brave as she journeys around the world with Phileas Fogg.
According to Mr. Fogg, Mrs. Aouda has had a very difficult time in India where she was nearly
killed by her persecutors but she was saved by him. She was very grateful for it. She was very
loving. She was not at all money-minded. She was kind-hearted and generous. She was an admirable
woman.
• Character sketch of 'Detective Fix'
Detective Fix is a dutiful man. Once he makes up his mind, nothing can change it. He was
stubborn.
During the whole journey Fix followed Mr. Fogg as he suspects him as a bank robber.
Scotland Yard had given only a vague description of the robber. He puts many obstacles in Fogg's
path also arrested him as soon as they reached Liverpool.
He arrests Fogg as a part of duty but releases him when he comes to know that fog is not a
robber but the actual robber James Strand whose face resembles to Fogg was arrested before three
days. He apologizes Fogg for arresting him. He felt very sorry and apologized him. The author Jules
Verne presented him a stupid and an unimaginative person in the story.

------ Notes on ‘Sign of Four’ -----

 Theme of the novel sign of four

The theme of the novel revolves around the Agra treasure. Throughout the story, the
appearance of the treasure leads to a direct and often tragic change in the lives of the characters.
Because of this, it is important that the removal of the treasure would cause the characters to return
to their previous position. The shallowness of wealth and the destruction that can come through it is
also seen prevailing throughout the novel.
As the Agra treasure directly and adversely affects almost everyone. In the course of the
story, the Sheik's emissary and Bartholomew are both murdered for the treasure, Tonga is killed
while fleeing with it, and Small is sentenced to life imprisonment. Additionally, both Thaddeus and
his father spent their lives constantly in fear about wooden legged men, and about strangers in
general.
  Sketch the character of Miss. Morstan.

Miss. Morstan is the protagonist of the novel. She is the centre of all the events. It is her
search for her father that resolves all the mysteries in the story. She is the bold and attractive woman.
She is described as blonde with pale skin. She was 27 years old. She is ready to face challenges of
life. She is not afraid when she receives the letter from the stranger. She is very intelligent.
She handles logically the situation. When she meets Sherlock Holmes, he is also impressed
with the proofs which she has brought. Though she is not rich, she assures Holmes to pay the money.
She appears in the novel as a common woman. She is not greedy about treasure. She just wants to
know about the culprits who are responsible for her father's mishap. At the end of the story, Watson
proposes to Mary Morstan and she accepts it.

 Sketch the character of Thaddeus Sholto.

Thaddeus Sholto is a son of Major Sholto. He is the one who was sending those precious
pearls to Mary Morston from past six years. He does all this to try to share his wealth when he found
that his father Major Shalto was involved in Mary Morston's father's death. In the letter part of the
novel he contacts homes when he finds that his brother has located the treasure chest. He is not all
happy in his father's actions. He is not in good health and always nervous. In the course of the novel
Thaddeus is arrested as a suspect in his brother's murder because it was known that they found the
night before the Murder.

 Arrange the following incidents in correct sequence as per their occurrence in the
extract from the novel "The Sign of Four'.

(a) Miss Morstan showed Holmes the pearls and letter.

(b) Miss Morstan discussed her problem with Holmes and Watson.
(c) They planned to meet the writer of the letter.
(d) Miss Morstan met Holmes and Watson at their house.

Ans- (d) Miss Morstan met Holmes and Watson at their house.
(b) Miss Morstan discussed her problem with Holmes and Watson.
(a) Miss Morstan showed Holmes the pearls and the letter.
(c) They planned to meet the writer of the letter.

 Miss Morstan plans to meet Sherlock Holmes. Give reason

Ans- Miss. Morstan plans to meet Sherlock Holmes, because that day morning she had received a
letter asking her to meet at 7.00 in the evening at the third pillar from the left outside the Lyceum
theatre. She was told that if she does not believe in him she can bring two friend with herself but
she should not inform the policeman. The letter was from the person who was sending pearls to
her from last six years on same date. She wanted Sherlock Holmes to solve this case so she
planned to meet Sherlock Holmes that day.
 Write a short character sketch of Jonathan Small.

Ans- Small is an antagonist in this novel. He had beard and lined face. He had got an accident
with crocodile and as a result he had one wooden leg. There are four men in the story who had
discovered a treasure, and he is one of them. After this an uprising took place and he was kept in
a prison. There he passed the secret to Major Sholto and Morstan. Morstan takes all jewels and
betrays all leaving Small in prison. No sooner Small get out of the prison he leaves for England
to get his share. He thinks that he and other four are the only people who are entitled for share of
the treasure. When he is captured, he dumps the treasure in a river. In the search this quest he had
taken help of Tonga. Small is such a character who was not afraid of going to the level of
violence to achieve his goal. He did not like the thing when Tonga killed Bartholomew.

 Write a short character sketch of Tonga.

Ans- Tonga is one of the characters in the novel who was belonging to island Andaman. Tonga
was completely devoted to his master Jonathan Small. Small was so much close to him that he
nursed him back to health when Tonga was ill. Tonga helped him to escape from the prison and
break into Sholto's house. Tonga is a character who killed Bartholomew. Here Tonga is
considered as a racist character as Doyle describing him as 'animalistic' and 'savage'.

All The Best