B.A second semister dol

Q1: How does Seth present his view of China ? 

Ans : Bikram Seth presents the unique culture of China as well as the attitude of the Chinese administration towards the foreigners. He also highlights the Chaina's topography. 

                  In this essay ,Seth has focused on the cultural behaviour of the Chinese people. The Chinese people try to avoid conversation with the foreigners .During interaction with the foreigners too, they tend to use their language very much and they are quite hesitant to acquire language other than their native language. They believed that their language is self sufficient and as such no foreign language needs to be mastered. They emphasized their own culture. Foreign culture was banned in the name of smooth acquisition of culture. Their belief in the Maoist version of culture actually persuaded them to avoid foreign culture and the foreigners in general. 

            The official in China treat a foreigner like a panda .They kept a close watch on them all times so that no harm done to him and at the same time they stay alert in fear ,that he did not influence behaviour of the local inhabitants. The general Chinese people kept a sense of friendliness and individual foreigner. Foreigners were not easily allowed to visit different parts of China. Not only people, even the Chinese administration would see to it that the foreigners enjoy restricted access to different parts of China. The administration is of the view that the foreigners it given access would know the secrets that China always wants covered up. 

              Chaina's topography has been brought out in this essay in proper way .Vikram  Seth shows his fascination for visiting different locations of Tibet .He mentioned here different places of China, such as Tibet ,Nanjing ,Xinjiang ,Urumqi , Turfan ,Chongqing , Chengdu, Emei Shan etc. 

             It is not easy to get permission to visit the highly controversial region of China like  Tibet .Only wealthy travellers did received the permission. * Thus,  Vikram Seth very carefully portrays a version of China. 

Q2 : :Characters of  Sue and Johnsy  : Sue and Johnsy were to young artists  who lived on the top floor of a three story brick houses in Greenwich village. 

          Sue was from Maine while Johnny was from California. They met each other in a French restaurant “ Delmonicos" and found that their tastes in art , chicory salad and Choice in dressing are to be common. They became friends and decided to stay together in Greenwich village. 

             Johnsy planned to paint the Bay of Naples one day. But she fell in pneumonia in November and became soon bedridden. She had almost given up the hope of her survival  seeing the falling off the leaves from the ivy vine .She thought the falling of the last leaf of the ivy vine would bring her death. 

                     Sue ,her intimate friend ,called a doctor to examine Johnsy and according to the doctor Johnsy had very faint chance of survival as she was mentally very frail .Johnsy cried looking at the miserable condition of her most intimate friend. Sue indulged in encouraging conversation with Johnny in order to keep her in good spirit so that she would not think of her end the all time and sink into a world of depression. Sue remained with Johnny all the time and painted in her room for a magazine. She took care of her friend in a selfless manner which reflects her profound love her Johnsy. Sue told Behrman about Johnsy’s superstitious belief about her death. After hearing of Johnsy’s illogical imagination Behrman got surprised. To restore her health,  Behrman painted  the last leaf of ivy vine with its stem on the wall in the rainy and windy night. Next morning Johnsy found the last leaf still hanging from the branch. Finding the leaf intact , Johnsy soon realized that she was a bad girl wished to die. Thus the successfully brings out the contrast between Johnsy and Sue in the lesson ‘The Last Leaf”.

Q: Behrman  : Behrman was an over sixty year old painter who lived on the ground floor of a three story brick house of Greenwich village where Johnsy and Sue lived.  

             He was a simple mam and failed artist. He had been in his profession for last forty years but he had so far failed to achieve any substantive achievement in painting to be reckoned as his masterpiece. In the recent years he had not painted anything other than some commercial advertisements. He earned a little by posing as model to those young artists in the colony  who were  unable to afford a professional model. 

          He was a drunker and in his drunken state he would always claim that his masterpiece is coming. He smelt strongly of Juniper berries.  The smell betreys Behrman's fondness for alcoholic brew. Behrman was a kind-hearted man .After hearing of Johnsy’s  illogical imagination of connecting her death to the falling of the last leaf of the ivy vine, he thought of rejuvenating  her hopes to live through his art. Therefore  he ventured out in the rainy and windy night and painted the last leaf of ivy vine with its green stem on the wall .The painted leaf of Behrman removed Johnsy’s obsession about death. Behrman fell in ill and after two days later he died of pneumonia in the hospital. It is clear that the painted last leaf of ivy vine with its green stem on the wall of Behrman was his masterpiece. His dream became true through it and he became a successful artist.