I Am Malala: Chapter 1
1.1 Summary
Malala explains that she was born at dawn (traditionally a sign of luck in her community), but
many people in the village still felt sorry for her family because Malala was a girl. As she puts
it, women in her country are seen as second-class citizens, fit only for making food and birthing
more children.
One of the only people to celebrate Malala’s birth was her father’s cousin, Jehan Sher Khan
Yousafzai. He gave Malala a “handsome gift of money.” He also brought with him a large
family tree, showing the sons and fathers of Malala’s family. Malala’s father, Ziauddin, had an
unusual reaction when his cousin brought the family free. Instead of accepting it as a gift, he
took a pen and drew a line to indicate Malala’s birth, even though she was a woman. Ziauddin
insisted that Malala was special, and celebrated her birth with coins and fruit—gifts usually
reserved for male children
Malala is named after Malalai, a heroine of Afghanistan. Malala’s ethnic group, the Pashtuns,
are divided between two countries, Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. The Pashtuns obey
a strict moral code of honor, which obligates them to treat all people with honor and respect.
The Pashtuns are also a proud, warlike people. Malalai is a heroine to them because in the
1880s, she led the Pashtuns in a successful uprising against the British Empire. Malalai was
only a teenager at the time, and she set aside married life to become a general and a warrior.
British soldiers killed her, but her troops eventually defeated the British. To this day,
monuments to Malalai are built in Afghanistan, and she’s a symbol of the native resistance to
foreign aggression.
Malala continues explaining her culture. She lives in Swat Valley, a beautiful place full of fruit
trees, rivers, and forests. In the winter, the villagers ski in the nearby mountains. Swat is
currently a part of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Pakistan. Formerly, Swat was an
independent state, but following Indian independence in 1947, it became an autonomous state
of Pakistan. The people of Swat use the Pakistan currency—the rupee—but nonetheless
maintain an unusually large amount of cultural and political autonomy from Pakistan. Most of
the people of Swat have never left their valley, even though the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad,
is only a hundred miles away.
Malala and her family live in the village of Mingora, the largest town in Swat. Swat has been
an Islamic town since the 11th century. Prior to this time, however, it was a Buddhist state, and
there are still ruins of Buddhist temples in Swat. Malala has grown up surrounded by birds and
other animals, enjoying the beauty of the valley and the surrounding Hindu Kush mountains.
Malala’s family is very poor. Despite founding the first school for girls in Mingora, Malala’s
father and his family live in a shack. Nevertheless, Malala’s family frequently entertains
visitors, cooking for them and spending time with them. Hospitality, Malala explains, is a
crucial part of her culture. Malala’s brother, Khushal, is named after their father’s school,
which he attends. Her youngest brother, Atal, is seven years younger than she. Her family is
very small by Swati standards. Malala’s father, unlike the majority of Swati men, never hits his
wife, whose name is Tor Pekai. Malala notes that the people in her community aspire to have
paler skin. Malala’s father, for instance, was always ashamed of his dark skin as a child. Only
after he married Tor Pekai did he overcome his shame. Tor Pekai and Ziauddin had an unusual
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marriage, since they married out of love, not social obligation. This is highly rare in Pakistan,
Malala notes.
Malala continues describing her family. Tor Pekai is very religious, and always prays five times
a day, as is the Muslim custom. Malala’s father was rarely around when Malala was growing
up: Ziauddin was busy writing poetry, organizing literary societies, and taking measures to
preserve the environment in the valley. Although he is from an impoverished village, Ziauddin
used his intelligence and hard work to become successful. Malala grew up respecting the power
of language, largely as a result of her father’s influence.
Malala’s family is descended from the Yousafzai, a noted Pashtun tribe who celebrated combat
as well as poetry. The Yousafzai feuded with one another constantly, but in 1917, one
Yousafzai warrior managed to impose order on the Swati Valley. His son, Jehanzeb, brought
great wealth and prosperity to the Valley. In 1969, the year Malala’s father was born, the Valley
firmly united with Pakistan. Malala thinks of herself as Swati first, then Pashtun, then Pakistani.
Growing up, Malala noticed that, as a woman, she was restricted from traveling where she
wanted. From an early age, however, Malala decided that she wouldn’t let the sexism of her
society stifle her. Her father encouraged her to be “free as a bird.”
1.2 The Story of My Experiments with Truth Summary
First, the structural deets: Gandhi's autobiography is divided into an intro, five parts with
chapters, and a closing. Most chapters are short and cover a brief episode or two in his life. His
account is pretty much in chronological order. The intro outlines his quest for truth, and the
closing sums it up, so they show the big-picture message.
Part One gives us Gandhi's birth (October 2, 1869), childhood, teens, and time in England. He's
influenced as a kid by his religiously tolerant political official father and devout mother. At age
13 (!), he's married to Kasturbai in a child marriage, meaning she's a teenager, too, and their
parents are the ones who decide they should get married.
After a few years, she becomes preggo with the first of Gandhi's four children. Once Gandhi's
father dies, a family friend suggests Gandhi go to England to study law to keep the family a
high status one. However, his caste tells him it's against their religion for him to travel abroad.
Meanwhile, his mother is worried he'll lose his way in the foreign culture and start drinking
alcohol, eating meat (his family is vegetarian), and sleeping with women other than his wife,
who's to stay at home in India while her husband has his big adventure. Gandhi tells his caste
he's definitely going to England, and they can go ahead and kick him out…which they do.
As for his mother's concerns, Gandhi takes serious vows not to touch alcohol, meat, or other
women. With that, he's off to England. After being called to the bar (i.e., after officially
becoming a lawyer), he returns to India.
Part Two tells us all about his time in South Africa, where he goes to work with a law firm. He
gets kicked off a train due to "color prejudice" (which is what he calls racism), and he decides
to fight back—non-violently, of course. He continues studying religion and founds the Natal
Indian Congress. He heads back to India for a while, where he meets his mentor Gokhale and
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others, but is soon recalled to South Africa to continue "public work," which is his term for
what we today might call activism.
In Part Three, Gandhi develops his spiritual practice of self-restraint by taking the
brahmacharya vow of celibacy—by now, he's had his four sons, all with Kasturbai—and
develops his political power by leading an Indian ambulance corps in the Boer War. He returns
to India, where he attends the Indian National Congress and stays with Gokhale, his mentor.
He also practices law there. When his second son becomes very ill, Gandhi refuses the doctor's
advice to give him meat broth, which goes to show how seriously our author takes his religious
ideals. Gandhi is full steam ahead by this point for sure.
Part Four has Gandhi fighting the Asiatic Department in the Transvaal, giving legal advice to
Johannesburg Indians in land acquisition cases, organizing an Indian Volunteer Corps for the
Great War, and more. He tells us about his religious studies, his experiments in diet (fruits and
nuts only: dang), and his thoughts on the brahmacharya vow. He's glad to be celibate, saying
that life with sex is "insipid and animal-like." He feels the self-restraint of celibacy is a
purifying practice that makes him a better seeker of truth.
Part Five shows Gandhi at the height of his political power. He founds the Satyagraha Ashram
in Ahmedabad, secures help for peasants in Champaran, fights the Rowlatt legislation,
suspends Satyagraha after people become violent, edits newspapers, and gets a non-cooperation
resolution passed by the Nagpur Congress. And that's just some of what he does politically.
There's also his decision to drink goat's milk when a doctor recommends it for a terrible illness.
Gandhi had seen all milk as an animal product, like vegans do today, but decided he needed
strength for his public work and that his vow to his mother not to touch milk only encompassed
buffalo and cow milk. Gandhi writes that even if drinking goat's milk doesn't violate the letter
of his vow, it violates the spirit, and he feels quite conflicted and pained over his choice.
And that's a wrap!
Part 1, Chapter 1 Birth and Parentage
It's time for some family tree action. Gandhi introduces us to some relatives and then goes into
detail about his father and mother.
Pops was a political official and served as prime minister for Rajkot and for Vankaner, two
cities in India. He had no education but lots of life experience and was truthful and
incorruptible. Sounds like a pretty good influence on our autobiography-ing hero.
Ma was saintly and deeply religious. She would fast often, was informed about matters of
government, and had good common sense.
Gandhi is born on October 2, 1869, and spends his childhood in Porbandar, a city in India.
Part 1, Chapter 2 Childhood
At age 7, Gandhi is a mediocre student but doesn't lie—he's a regular George Washington with
a cherry tree.
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A teacher once tries to get him to cheat on a spelling exercise conducted for an inspector, and
our autobiography-ing hero doesn't even realize what the teacher was trying to get him to do.
Gandhi comes across two plays by chance. The devotion of the main character in Shravana
Pitribhakti Nataka for his parents inspires the youth.
The honesty of Harishchandra in the eponymous play also inspires him. Devotion and
honesty—yup, that's Gandhi.
Part 1, Chapter 3 Child Marriage
Gandhi now tells us about his child marriage. He's married at 13. Wait, what? Yes, seriously.
His parents choose his wife, and hers him. He says there are no moral arguments in favor of
such young marriages, but that's the tradition.
The adults decide to marry Gandhi, one of his brothers, and a cousin of his all at the same time
in order to save money on the celebration.
Gandhi's father is injured on the way to the wedding, but the teenager forgets grief in the
excitement of the marriage.
He enjoys the celebration, having no idea that as an adult, he will criticize the institution of
child marriage.
The newlyweds spend a nervous night together, which Gandhi doesn't describe. But, he tells
us he right away assumes authority over her as her husband.
1.3 Where the Mind is Without Fear – Gitanjali 35 – Rabindranath Tagore
WHERE THE mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action-
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Summary
Where The Mind Is Without Fear turns from a religious to a patriotic theme. Tagore prays
for the freedom of the country and that too an ideal freedom. He prays that his country become
a place where a man can go with his mind, free of any fear and where he can hold his head high
with self-respect and dignity. A country where everybody has free access to knowledge and
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where narrow boundaries set up between man due to caste, creed, region and religion, do not
exist and the country is therefore not broken up into small pieces. A new and free India where
people speak with the conviction of truth and man earnestly endeavors and endlessly tries to
achieve perfection.
A country where man's power of determining right and wrong is not forced to stagnate and
die like a desert stream dies in the sand, where his power of reasoning would not be choked by
old, orthodox and outdated customs, habits and traditions. Where man's mind is always inspired
by God to go forward and progress and achieve better thought and action. Finally, he prays to
God that his country is changed from the darkness of ignorance and slavery into a heaven; "let
our country awake a free country, a heaven, a paradise."
1.4 Love Cycle by Chinua Achebe
About Achebe
Born 16 November 1930, Chinua Achebe was a renowned Nigerian novelist, poet, and essayist.
He is majorly known for his debut novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), which is the face of modern
African literature. A recipient of several national and international awards, Chinua Achebe
published short stories, poetry collections, and essays during his lifetime. He greatly admired
Christopher Okigbo, an African poet who influenced Achebe’s craft.
From 1990 to 2009, Achebe taught at Bard College; after which, he taught at Brown University
for four years. Among others—and besides his debut novel—his notable works include Arrow
of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and There Was A Country (2012). As he reveals
in this discussion, Achebe believes in penning down the unfiltered truth—good or bad. He
heavily exercises the aforementioned practice in his last book, There Was A Country.
Achebe lived 82 years and died 21 March 2013.
At dawn slowly
the sun withdraws his
long misty arms of
embrace. Happy lovers
whose exertions leave
no aftertaste nor slush
of love’s combustion; Earth
perfumed in dewdrop
fragrance wakes
to whispers of
soft-eyed light…
Later he
will wear out his temper
ploughing the vast acres
of heaven and take it
out of her in burning
darts of anger. Long
accustomed to such caprice
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she waits patiently
for evening when thoughts
of another night will
restore his mellowness
and her power
over him.
Summary
‘Love Cycle’ opens by describing the actions of the sun at dawn. At this time, the poem compares the
interaction between the sun and Earth to the aftermath of dispassionate sex between a couple. It goes
on to describe the harshness of the sun as dawn gives way to noon. Here, Love Cycle relates the earth’s
endurance of the sun’s scorching rays to the forbearance of a woman dissatisfied by her partner.
Towards the end, however, it speculates why she (Earth) remains in a relationship with him (the sun),
and therefore why this natural phenomenon reoccurs. Love Cycle concludes by implicitly mentioning
moonlight, a gentle reflection of the sun’s rays. The subdued nature of the sun at night gives Earth
free reign over her partner. Love Cycle points to this moment as the reason she stays.
Detailed Analysis Stanza One
Love Cycle’ opens with the persona describing the attitude of the sun at dawn. One can imagine the
sun’s withdrawal from embrace to mean its light isn’t fixated on anything. This translates to how
widespread and scattered the sun’s rays are at this time. Unlike at noon, the rays aren’t locked on any
surface; they aren’t harsh as well. Hence, their representation as “long misty arms”. The adjective
“long” reveals the far reach of the sun.
Stanza Two
This stanza introduces the object of the sun’s influence: Earth. The persona portrays the interaction
between the two entities as a relationship between a couple. As shown in the first three lines of the
stanza, however, the nature of their relationship is dispassionate. The aforementioned lines mention
the aftereffects of sex between the represented couple: it’s lukewarm. This reveals the irony in the
last line of stanza one. In that line, the persona calls the sun and Earth “happy lovers”, but this stanza
begs to differ.
From a different perspective, the first three lines also underscore the theme of nature by representing
the attitude of Earth at dawn. In this case, “love’s combustion” refers to the heat of sun, which is
absent at this time. The stanza highlights the presence of dew—and therefore, humidity—showing
the freshness of Earth in the morning.
Stanza Three
In this stanza, dawn gives way to noon. Again, the persona portrays the sun as a man with a temper.
Like his temper, the speaker predicts the “soft-eyed light”—representing the sun’s rays at dawn—will
grow hot with time. The man “ploughing through the vast acres of heaven…” is a metaphor for the
sun’s journey from the east, where it rises, to the west, where it sets. The speaker tells us that within
that time, the sun will become harsh.
Stanza Four
Employing the established metaphor, this stanza reveals Earth’s reaction to the sun’s harshness. Her
attitude is one of patience and tolerance. “Burning darts of anger” refers to the scorching rays fixated
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on Earth, as the speaker predicted. The earth absorbs the harsh light the same way the metaphorical
woman tolerates her partner’s temper while swallowing her own. This stanza highlights themes of
tolerance and patience.
Stanza Five
As it concerns nature, the concluding stanza of ‘Love Cycle’ is speculative. It reasons why Earth
tolerates the sun’s harshness, using the established metaphor. From the metaphorical perspective,
the woman stays in a clearly unhealthy relationship because at night, her partner’s gentleness returns.
The tone of the stanza indicates that the man becomes mellow because he wants her to make love to
him. At this point, the theme of power plays comes in. The woman takes comfort in these moments
where she has full reign over her partner.
The metaphorical perspective provides a speculative reason Earth tolerates the harshness of the sun
during the day. At night, sunlight becomes significantly gentle through the reflective surface of the
moon. The persona guesses Earth tolerates the sun for these moments of freedom and relief. Of
course, it’s only speculation backed by the speaker’s power of imagination. As indicated by the title of
the poem and the natural phenomenon explored, the events in ‘Love Cycle’ are recurring. In a sense,
the poemnever ends.
