रामाभाष संजाल

Golden Age of Radio 1935-50

1935 – Radio became the “central medium” of Depression America; 2 of 3 homes had radio sets, the 4 national and 20 regional networks provided programs everywhere in America 24 hours a day, advertising agencies shifted money from newspapers to radio as public trust in print media declined but grew stronger in radio.

1936 – CBS began the “Columbia Workshop” series. In the November election, FDR used radio more effectively than Alf Landon, with both parties spending a record $2 million on radio. Father Coughlin formed a Union Party and used radio to attack FDR. March of Time story on “Royal Oak, Michigan” 8/16/35.

1937 – Archibald MacLeish produced an allegory on the growing threat of war in Europe with his radio play “The Fall of the City” on CBS, Arch Oboler produced “Lights Out” on NBC, Orson Welles began his “Mercury Theatre” series on CBS. When the Hindenburg exploded at Lakehurst NJ May 15, 1937, WLS announcer Herb Morrison and engineer Charles Nehlsen were making a disc recording and thus were able to capture the event “live” as it happened. This recording was so unique and dramatic that NBC decided to break its own rule banning records on the radio and allowed this recording to be broadcast on the network.

1938 – two radio programs in October exposed the growing national fear of war “Air Raid” by Archibald MacLeish; “War of the Worlds” by Orson Wells. “The Plot to Overthrow Christmas” by Norman Corwin was heard by Edward R. Murrow in New York, at home briefly from his European post, and began the long and close friendship of the two radio pioneers. On Nov. 10, Kate Smith broadcast Irving Berlin’s song “God Bless America,” a broadcast reenacted for the 1943 film This Is the Army.

1939 – The earlier bombing of Guernica inspired Norman Corwin’s hatred of fascism, and he decided to write “They Fly through the Air with the Greatest of Ease” for his “Words Without Music” radio series; it premiered 2/19/1939, caused a thousand favorable letters sent to CBS; “it was, in truth, bold radio at a time when growing isolationism made even the mention of war a matter of controversy. Broadcasting, in particular, tried to maintain a balance between the two factions of public sentiment. The fact that CBS made no attempt to censor the broadcast was evidence again of the network’s liberal leaning. Still, seven months later, the network decided it best to cancel a repeat of the program upon the news that England and France had declared war.” (Bannerman p. 43) The program won award from the Ohio State Institute for Education by Radio as best individual dramatic program of 1938-39. NBC broadcast a concert by Marian Anderson from the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, Apr. 9, before a live audience of 75,000 and a radio audience of millions. Charles Lindbergh spoke on radio in favor of isolationism.

1940 – Radio News reached maturity with regular reports of the bombing of London by Edward R. Murrow, his “London After Dark” series broadcast by shortwave; William L. Shirer reported the fall of France and the dramatic surrender at Compaigne. In the November election, FDR’s radio skill helped him defeat Wendell Willkie and win an unprecedented third term as President. Music remained the dominant content of redio, occupying 50% of all programming. A federal court had allowed radio stations to play records without the prior consent of artists or music companies, and ASCAP raised its rates. When some radio stations refused, and signed contracts with the new BMI, ASCAP arranged for compromise rates.

1941 – The FCC Mayflower rule prohibited stations from editorializing only one point of view, later to become known as the Fairness Doctrine. In New York, Maritin Block started the first disc jockey show called “The Make Believe Ballroom” on WNEW when he pretended to be talking about live bands and performers, but was actually only playing records. No recording was made of the first news bulletin announcing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. The famous recording by John Daly saying “We interrupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by air” was actually spliced together in 1948 for the Murrow record album I Can Hear It Now by Fred Friendly of CBS. The splice was made from two other later recordings, according to veteran radio announcer Robert Trout, and no news bulletin interrupted any network program on Dec. 7.

1942 – and Norman Corwin produced “This Is War” on CBS. Command Performance began March 1, produced by the Radio Division of the War Department’s Bureau of Public Relations. The Voice of America was created by the government to broadcast propaganda abroad. The Armed Forces Radio was started May 26 and created a world-wide network of radio stations for service personnel, including the mobile American Expeditionary Stations that moved with the troops. The radio service became the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRS) with 306 stations. James Petrillo of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) began on July 31 a 2-year strike against the Big 4 recording companies, RCA Victor, Decca, Columbia, Capitol, and radio stations who refused to pay new ASCAP-like fees to muscians, and eventually won a victory over the networks.

1943 – Only 700,000 radio sets were sold due to the wartime ban on non-essential electronic manufacturing, down from the 13 million sets sold in 1941. Shellac was also deemed a strategic war material, causing a decline in the production of phonograph records. The AFRS began using vinyl to make records for distribution to its military radio stations. In Sept., Lt. George Robert Vincent began the production of V-discs with the permission of James Petrillo to use AFM musicians to make records only for the military.The Army used wire recorders and developed the hand-held walkie-talkie radio set.

1944 – The percentage of radio time devoted to news increased to 20%, up from 7% in 1939, but music still dominated programming. In the November election, FDR defeated Thomas Dewey to win a 4th term, and 50% of the nation’s radio homes listened to the election eve reports on November 7. The ratings system of Clark Hooper using random telephone calls replaced the old Crossley polls.

1945 – Edward R. Murrow reported the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp on April 15. Norman Corwin produced “On a Note of Triumph” on CBS. The Blue Network that had been sold by NBC in 1943 to Edward J. Noble became ABC. “Meet the Press” began on NBC, and would become the longest running radio show in history. Fiorella LaGuardia read the Sunday comics over the radio during a newspaper strike, Universal 18-414 newsreel, 7/9/45, on Newsreel DVD57.

1946 – The post-war radio business exploded as controls were removed, manufacturing of sets resumed, the number of AM stations on the air would increase from 961 in 1946 to 2006 in 1949, and 6 millions autos had sets. A poll found that 63% of the American people regarded radio as their primary source of news. Edward R. Murrow produced radio documentaries at CBS such as “Who Killed Michael Farmer?”

1947 – Bing Crosby adopted magnetic recording for his new radio program on ABC.

1948 – The Democratic and Republican National Conventions were held in Philadelphia to take advantage of the city’s central location on the East Coast coaxial cable and microwave relay network. Television remained an infant medium during the FCC freeze 1948-52, with only 107 TV stations competing with 2000 AM stations. The FCC canceled the low-band FM frequency of 40 MHz favored by Edwin Armstrong, allocating instead all FM transmission to the higher 88-108 MHz band, and contributing to the decline of FM broadcasting until the mid-1950s.

1949 – Radio income from advertising reached a high of $203 million, but an increasing proportion of this was earned by local stations, and the national networks lost an increasing proportion. Radio was victim of its phenomenal growth; the more stations, the greater division of advertising revenue. Only half of the 2000 AM stations on-air were affiliated with a network.

1950 – 40 million American homes owned radio sets (94% of all households), up from the 30 million in 1942 (84%) and the 20 million in 1934 (65%).

Development of Radio News

Lowell Thomas – Sept. 29, 1930 
Press-radio war – April 1933 
Schechter at NBC; Klauber, White at CBS 
1934 Communications Act – “public interest” 
FDR’s New Deal – a “national public forum” 
Senator Burton Wheeler cut off in East 
Earl Browder dropped in New England 
Hawariate relayed but Aloisi refused by BBC 
Edward VIII’s abdication Dec. 1936 
Murrow organizes CBS European bureau 
Shirer, LaSuer, Collingwood, Smith, Sevareid 
Murrow critical of BBC Nov. 1937:

·     “radio has enormous power but it has no character, no conscience of its own.”

March 13, 1938 – multipoint shorwave roundup 
Sept. 12-30 – Munich – Kaltenborn in Studio 9 
1939 – The World Today at 6:45 p.m. every day 
1943 – On Oct. 12, NBC Blue became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) 

Stereophonic Sound

1881 – Clement Adler at the Paris Electrical Exhibition put “a series of 80 telephone transmitters across the stage at the Paris Opera and connected them by wires to telephone receivers in a suite of four rooms” in a local hotel where visitors could pick up a receiver for each ear and listen to the live transmision, but no sound was recorded.

1916 – Harvey Fletcher joined the Research Division of Western Electric Engineering Dept to work with Irving Crandall on hearing and speech, was director of acoustic research at Bell Labs 1927-49, built the Western Electric Model 2A hearing aid and a binaural headset in the 1920’s, published the widely-read book Speech and Hearing in 1929 that analyzed the characteristics of sound. Fletcher would lead much of the research on binaural, or what later would be called “stereophonic” sound recording, at Bell Labs.

1931 – In December, Harvey Fletcher and Arthur C. Keller of Bell Labs with Leopold Stokowski used improved electrical recording equipment in the Academy of Music in Philadelphia to record and transmit monaural and binarual sound. Also in December, Alan Dower Blumlein filed a patent application in Britain for stereo recording.

1932 – March 12 Stokowski recorded his first stereo disc, Scriabin’s “Poem of Fire” for Bell Labs in Philadelphia using vinyl rather than shellac, with the dynamic range extended to 60 db and response to 10,000 hz. The master disc was gold-coated by vacuum-sputtering. At first, for the Scriabin recording March 12, Bell had recorded two separate grooves for each channel, but later Arthur Keller in the patent #2,114,471 described the 45/45 method in one groove. The patent application was not filed until 1936 because Bell did not see an immediate commercial application of the method. Keller was unaware of Blumlein until the 1950s when his 45/45 system was re-invented by Westrex.

1933 – April 27 Stereoscopic sound was transmitted to the National Academy of Sciences and many invited guests at Constitution Hall, Washington. Transmission was over wire lines from the Academy of Music in Philadelphia and three channels were used with microphones respectively at left, center and right of the orchestra stage and loud speakers in similar positions in Constitution Hall. The orchestra in Philadelphia was conducted by Alexander Smallens while Dr. Stokowski in Washington manipulated the controls so as to enhance the music in accordance with his own views.

1934 – Jan. 19 Alan Blumlein recorded Thomas Beecham at the Abbey Road Studio in stereo, conducting Mozart’s “Jupiter Symphony” with a vertical-lateral technique using a stylus to vibrated in 2 directions, first recording one channel of sound in a groove laterally and then recording another channel of sound in the same groove vertically.

1940 – Harvey Fletcher and Stokowski made another stereophonic demonstration at Carnegie Hall April 9 and 10, with recorded stereo music from a three-channel system using sound on film with a frequency range of 30 to 15,000 cps and a volume range of 120 decibels. A 4th track was used as a loudness playback control track. The New York Times reported April 10 “Sound Waves ‘Rock’ Carnegie Hall As Enhanced Music’ Is Played” and “The loudest sounds ever created crashed and echoed through venerable Carnegie Hall last night as a specially invited audience listened, spellbound, and at times not a little terrified.”

1945 – Decca’s early stereo LPs used a Teldec/Neumann Stereo cutter to record one channel lateral and another vertical, each on the opposite wall of a groove; but the dual tracks could not be reproduced with heavy mono pickups on the turntables and record players.

1949 – General Motors asked Magnecord to make a stereo tape recorder to improve spatial analysis of automobile noise. Magnecord modified its PT-6 tape recorder that had been introduced in May 1948 at the National Association of Broadcasters show. This modified recorder was introduced at the 1949 Audio Fair in New York with two record/play heads 1.5 inches apart, each with its own amplifier.

1951 – Emory Cook made the first stereo recordings of railroad trains in the field for the LP titled “Rail Dynamics” demonstrated at the 1951 Audio Fair in New York.

1953 – The Robe had 4-track stereo sound; was the first CinemaScope film and led the release of 33 stereo films in 1953, but stereo failed to transform motion picture soundtracks and would not reappear until 1975 with Dolby optical stereo sound. The Robe used directional sound, footsteps of Roman Legions marching from right to left, thunder and wind and rain of the crucifixion scene. The first time off-screen voices are actually heard off-screen, when voices warn Marcellus of his ship departure to Judea. Only Fox and Todd-AO would record dialogue with directional sound. All other studios provided some music in stereo for magnetic soundtracks, but recorded voices and sound effects in mono.

1954 – Jan. 31, Edwin Armstrong jumped out of 10th floor window in Alpine, NJ, committing suicide due to the tangle of lawsuits over his invention in 1939 of FM radio (his wife Mariod continued the lawsuits of another 13 years and eventually won). FM radio with lower noise and greater frequency response than AM radio would be a major stimulus to the spread of stereo.

1954 – Murray Crosby demonstrated FM stereo multiplex system in his Syosset, Long Island, lab to 16 executives of RCA; his demo was the result of a request by Leopold Stokowski to David Sarnoff; this was the first time the executives heard stereo and it led to the issue of RCA prerecorded open-reel stereo tapes; No. 1 tape that sold for $18.95 was “Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss, recorded by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner using 2-track magnetic tape at 30 ips, 2 Neumann M-50 omnidirectinal mics 12 ft. high and placed 24 ft. apart with the orchestra in between.

1954 – Feb. 21, RCA made its first commercial stereo recording of a symphony when Jack Pfieffer and Leslie Chase went to Symphony Hall in Boston to record the “Damnation of Faust” by Berlioz with a RCA RT-11 two-channel tape recorder and two Neuman U-47 mics. This same month, EMI in London made “Stereosonic” recordings at its Abbey Road studio that were announced to the public in April 1955.

1954 – In May, Decca made its first stereo recordings at the Kingsway Hall studio for classical music recording in London with the “Decca tree” designed by Roy Wallace, using 3 directional cardioid-pattern Neuman KM-56 condensor mics suspended eleven feet above and slightly behind the conductor’s platform on a cross-bar, pointed 30 degrees down to the orchestra and clustered tightly together to exclude reflected sounds from the sides and rear. The mixed signal was recorded on an Ampex 350-2 recorder at 15 ips.

1957 – Sept. 5 Westrex gave a private demonstration of its 45-45 stereo disc recording system. Shortly after, Haddy demonstrated the Decca V-L system to RCA. The Westrex system was publicly demonstrated at annual convention of the Audio Engineering Society in New York Oct. 11. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) adopted the Westrex system and the “full stereo record” (not compatible with mono records) with stylus tip of 0.7-1.0 mil radius and vertical force of 6 grams as the industry standard on March 25, 1958. High Fidelity components began to appear.

1958 – Oct. 18 the BBC began regular stereo broadcasts Saturday mornings

1960 – The dual bilateral light valve was developed, that allowed each side of an optical motion picture soundtrack to be modulated independently, allowing 2-channel stereo sound. The movie industry adopted stereo optical sound quickly, and it was the movie industry that pushed multichannel sound into home market.

1961 – April 19 FCC ruled in favor of the GE/Zenith stereo FM system rather than Crosby matrix system. Murray G. Crosby had worked for Edwin Armstrong and Crosby held 150 patents and wanted the FCC to adopt his stereo FM system that utilized the matrix principle (that of transmitting the sum signal L+R as the main channel modulation and the difference signal L-R as a subcarrier) rather than suppressed AM subcarrier principle (by Zenith & GE). WEFM in Chicago and WGFM in Schenectady began stereo FM broadcasting June 1.

1962 – 87 FM radio stations existed in 29 states and Canada, including 2 FM stations in New York City; John Koss was starting to promote his idea of individual stereo headphone listening, but few audio components had headphone jacks.

1968 – Sheffield Lab made the first modern direct disc recording, “Lincoln Mayorga and Distinguished Colleagues Volume One.” No tape recorder was used and only a limited number of records was manufactured. Only one single point stereo tube mic designed by Sheffield Lab was used.

1970 – Quadraphonic sound used 4-channels, but produced an “antisocial” stereo sound that allowed only one listener to hear it correctly in the stereo seat, or “sweet spot.” There was no center channel. Although it failed, the technology had a lasting effect, especially the JVC CD-4 system that recorded 4 discrete channels in the grooves of an LP record by extending the bandwidth to 50 khz. Stereo systems developed better cutting and pressing technology, better pickups with wider bandwidth and reduced tracking distortion.

Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS)

 

1990 – In June, a government-industry group staged a demonstration in Canada of the European- designed Eureka-147 digital radio system that used the L-band. Unlike AM and FM, L-band radio reception is virtually immune to interference, which means there are no static growls or ‘multipath’ echoes caused by signal reflections off buildings or topographical features.

1992 – World Administrative Radio Conference allocated the L-band for worldwide digital radio transmission.

1993 – Public and private broadcasters form Digital Radio Research Inc. (DRRI)

1995 – First commercial terrestrial broadcasts of L-band digital radio begin in Canada, and the first commercial digital radio receivers come on the market for consumers. This began the transition period from analog to digital radio that will result in the complete replacement of AM-FM bands by 2010 in Canada.

1997 – April 2 auction by FCC of two licenses to CD Radio and American Mobile Radio Corporation for Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (S-DARS) in the S-band. CD Radio submitted a winning bid in the amount of $83,346,000.00 for the 2320-2332.5 MHz portion of the frequency band and American Mobile Radio Corporation (XM Satellite Radio) submitted a winning bid in the amount of $89,888,888.00, for the 2332.5-2345 MHz portion of the band.

1998 – The Advanced Audio Coding, or AAC algorithm used in the demonstrations at National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) for the terrestial In-Band, On-Channel (IBOC) system that will use existing AM and FM bands for digital radio broadcasts in the U.S.

1999 – Oct. 1 – Lucent Digital Radio, Inc., announced its agreement with the National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC), a joint body representing broadcasters and electronics manufacturers, on NRSC’s testing schedule for In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) Digital Audio Broadcast systems. Lucent recently conducted tests on National Public Radio (NPR) member station WBJB-FM. These tests were the first time that an IBOC FM system successfully passed a hybrid (both analog and digital) signal over a radio station’s antenna and transmitter without affecting the host analog signal. According to the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA), there are more than 600 million radios in the United States, or more than six per household. More than 235 million Americans tune in to radio broadcasts for a weekly average of 22 hours. (Lucent press release 10/1/99)

1999 – June 15 – Ford Motor Company and CD Radio today announced an alliance to bring digital satellite radio to Ford customers. Ford is partnering with CD Radio to bring customers a revolutionary in-vehicle entertainment service that will include commercial-free music and seamless, coast-to-coast US coverage. Ford vehicles are expected to be the first cars and trucks in the nation to have factory-installed satellite radio receivers. The exclusive agreement includes all seven Ford brands — Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Volvo. (Ford press release 6/15/99)

1999- October 26 – XM Satellite Radio signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc., to design, develop, produce and market radios capable of receiving XM’s new band of radio. Mitsubishi Electric

Corporation, is the largest Japanese manufacturer of factory-installed car radios for the US market. On Oct. 12, Motorola signed a similar agreement. XM will create and package up to 100 channels of digital-quality music, news, sports, talk and children’s programming at its Washington, DC, broadcast facility. The service will then be uplinked to XM’s powerful satellites and transmitted directly down to vehicle, home and portable radios across the country. With an XM-capable radio and a small antenna, listeners everywhere in the continental United States will be able to enjoy their favorite XM channels. (XM press release 10/26/99)

2000 – On July 1, a Russian Proton rocket carrying a U.S. telecommunications satellite launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. International Launch Services (ILS) successfully launched the Sirius-1 digital audio radio service satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit for Sirius Satellite Radio, of New York.

 

 

 

Literal Comprenhension:When all preparation had been completed Rita Anne a big cargo ship started her voyage.It was all good and the journey was very fine because the sailors were fine and they spent their free time reading five books,sing song dancing and telling adventurous stories.They were getting good entertainment and there was no boring in ship at all.After four weeks they found an island which was very strange because there were no fruits in the plant and there was no signs of humanlife.At first air was pleasant but later it smelled bad.There were springs having bitter taste of water.They found there a strange stone having one side shining.From that side,strange and beautiful light was emitted then it was brought into the ship.The light produce by the side attracted all sailors when they were free they started watching the light sitting before the stone.The stopped doing their job and their behaviours were also changed.They rarely spoke.They always remained just infront of the stone watching the light sometimes they walked like animals this made the captain surprise when they knew that the captain was going to throw the stone they locked themselves into the room with ston.They didn’t realize their duty.There was terrible storm and captain was alone there when therewhen he went call them he was surprised o find them that all of them had been changed into hairy apes.They didn’t understand the language of captain after the strom was over the ship was still floating.The stone didn’t give any light all the apeslike sailor were sad,then the captain beganto play the voilen and read books to them.They began to recover gradually from the condition.There eyes were alert and started to do their normal lworks finally they were rescued by another ship and the captain set fire to the ship so that the wretched stone would be destroyed.

 

Interpretationa:

 This is metaphorical story.Many things in the story are used metaphorically.In the story the stands for the television set ape like humanbeings stands uncreative people who are very crazy for T.V watching.The str.. island is representing unproductive island.Anyway the author has managed these thing very skillfully and tries to show ther demerits of massive T.V watching.According to the writer t.v watching causes the divert of our job and responsibility so in this case tv watching is curse unproductive and uncreative job.It should be avoided.Another important interpretation of the story is that we should adopt another devices of getting lintertainment such as reading books , singing song,telling stories etc.Thsi process of getting intertainment is mch better and more interesting and natural than watching tvthe witer may also be trying to tell us that we must be very serious and dutiful to get success of our job.

 

Critical Thinking:

                            There is very interesting story which is very successful to impart the demerits of watching t.v the metaphorical arrangement of the story is very impressive.It tells us the very creative imagination of the author beside this there are some aspects which don’t seem logical and style.They think that television is boonfor them so they may raise somequestions is T.V really a wretched stone for modern people?Can we find any such island as mentioned in the story?How can a person become a hairy ape just watching the light ?Doesn’t television have any advantages?In this story the writer whas totally forgottenabout the advantages of television watching.His one side interpretation of the text makes the reader be critical their blooming soft mind. T.V has both audio and visusal system this audio and visual system is able to pull children whole attention so they do not get any entertainment by reading their books.After reading this poem I don’t let children watch T.V freely,I let them to watch some selected programs which are very good and useful for them and I also remember this beautiful poem when I see many children who are very crazy to watch t.v and they don’t pay any attention to their study.

Literal Comprehension

                                    Mini was the lovely daughter of writer. She was very talkative and playful. Once Mini saw a pedlar walking around her hourse he originally belongs to cabul the capital of Afganstan he was selling his goodsfrom door to door and Mini used to call him Cabuliwallah and ran away to her mother because she had wrong belief that he would take her. But her father called the peddler and introduced Mini with him. After that Mini false fear was chased away then the Cabuliwallah and Mini became close friends. They used to spend long time telling funney jokes and stories so meantime caubliwallah asked her if she would go her father in law and she replied him carelessly without understanding the real meaning of it.Once cabuliwallah,Tahman was arrested on the charge ofmurderous attack to his costumer and sent jail for several years that time Mini also asked him whether he was going to father in law. After spending several years Cabuliwallah arrived at Mini’s house. Meanwhisle there was wedding ceremony of Mini was goingon.He was there to meet Mini.He had taken some fruit to give her as  a gift. At first the writer didn’t likehim but when the writer was informed by Rehman that he loved her very much he regarded her as his own daughter,Parvati. The cabuliwallaha also told him that he brought that because he like her very much as his own daughter. Then the writer was very impressed by the relation between Rehman  and Mini. So Mini was called to meet Rehman she appeared in the red silk of her wedding dress when he sawher in the grown up he was surprised then Rehman felt sad realizing that his daughter Parvati must have grown up like Mini, then Mini’s father gave him a hundred rupee note cuttingsome of the wedding expenses. He felt that the long lost father would be happy seeing his only child  and family and because of their happiness they would bless Mini for her good future.

 

Interpretaion:

                        This isbeautiful story through Rabindra Nath Tagore is trying to tell us that all strangers are not mysterious. Some are generous because thaey have their family and they also love their family and country as other people so we shouldn’t show any disparity upon a foreign peddler. This story also tries to tell about the child psychology. All children are talkative and playful like Mini and they never differentiate any person in terms of caste,religion and country. In the story there is deep friendship between Mini and Cabuliwallah although they belong to different countries and culture. A child is ignorant and enjoys his childish activities with anyone who understand him but it is society and parents who modify their activities and thought. The story might also be trying to tll us that selfishness help and brotherhood are the best ways of getting happiness in our life. We should always respect the cosmopolitan feeling.

 

 

Critical Thinking:

                          This it the story which impart beautiful lesson to us. It has interesting story plot which shows an ideal picture of friendship between a small girl and Cabuliwallah a foreign peddler. But the story has some points which are very impractical so against then we may raise some question to give our critical thoughts. So we allow a foreigner to make friend with our child? Do we tolerate his presence in our home everyday? Do we give any prisioner to meet our daughter on her wedding day? Can we help him by cutting down some of the expenses of the wedding? In the story writer is very much idealistic.

 

Assimilation:

                        After reading this story my attitude to the peddlers visiting my door everyday has changed. Before reading this story I used to think them as non human and mysterious person. I supposed that they were vagabond and they were in humane but now I relized that they are also real human beings having good sentiments and they are also dutiful father of small children for whom they are earning money. They leave their lovely home and family for their compulsion when I see a padler I remember cabulwallah of this story.

Literal Comprehension:

Nnaemeka is a young man of Ibotribe whois engaged to marry a teacher Nene. Nene is from another tribe. According to Nnaemeka’s Ibo culture marriage is usually arranged within the tribal group of senior or elders but Nene is unknown about the rality of Ibo culture because she is grown  up in cosmopolitan environment.However she request Nnaemeka to inform his parents.When Nnaemeka informs his father Okeke is shocked and even worried about such inter tribal engagement.Okeke tries his son not to marry her but Nnaemeka is determined to marry Nene.Then Okeke is ready to give up his son forever as lost and isno more concern in him.Even many people from Ibo society dislikes this marriage.But later all people except his father realize that Nnaemeka and Nene have very good marital life.Like this they are living happily out Okeke doesn’t like to talk about his son by a great effort for eight years he has been able to forget his son. The father how ever at last softens his heart when Nene writes a letter in which she mentions that his grandsons wants to meet him.Even this time he tries to harden his heart but he cannot and this time the sky is covered with black clouds and the wind started blowing the dust and dried leaves.It starts to rain heavily it seems that nature is talking part in his struggle heimagines that they are outside and he realizes his weakness and at last he opens his door for his grandsons.

 

Interpretationa:

                        Through this story chinua Achee is tryingto tell us about the culture conflict between two culturesin terms of marriage.Acording to the story writer marriage is completely private affair.One has to get right to think about his own life. No one should interfere anyones private affair.On the another level lof interpretation of this story is that wider  understanding makes us happy but narrowindedness and limited thought lead to sadness and misunderstandings. So, the story teller might be trying to advise us that we shouldn’t stick to single culture and traditionally blind.It is not good way of living another interpretation of the story is that there might be the victory of new idea over old idea and the search of origin or root. Grandson’s search for their grandfather in the story might reflect the same theme.

 

Critical Thinking:

                        It seems realistic story in which there is  beautiful story plot.Taking very common issue for the underdeveloped country the writer is very successful to make the story very intresting there are some points in the story which are not agreeale to modern compolitan readers.In the story the role of the father figure Okeke is contradictory.Being a good christion one cannot be such an unkind person like Okeke.One side he regards Christianity is his life style but another side he doesn’t follow pure Christian teaching. Aren’t all human beings equal interms of humanity? Didn’t Okeke learn anything about humanity? Another point in the story about the reaction of nature. It is also disagreeable to the readers. Does nature understand human mind and behaviour?

 

Assimilationa:

                        After reading this story I can getthe real social picture of underdeveloped country. We have many blind prejudices and unsicientific system of lour society which in fact do not let our society develop and civilized. When I see many blind traditional people I remember theis story . We have both Okeke and Nnaemeka like people in oru society.But I encourage and inspire Nnaemeka like person.This story also teaches me to lsee that marriage isabsolutely private affair. We shouldn’t interfere on the matter of private affair in the name of blind faith of culture and I also recommend theis story to read to those people who are extremely blind on their culture.