To Know When to Say 'It's None of Your Business' by Mark McCornmack

To Know When to Say It’s None of Your Business

-          Mark McCormack

Mark McCormack was an American Lawyer and writer. He was dealing with the sports figures like Tiger Woods, Wayne Gretzky, Andre Agassi etc. through his IMG, International Management Group. In the given essay, he discusses the need for not interfering into the personal space of others at the work place.

The Snoop

            Mark McCormack begins the essay making a reference to an executive who was an incorrigible snoop. He was more interested in knowing the personal details of others. He enquires in such a way people cannot deny the information he asks for. He collects information both about the superiors as well as the subordinates. Though it was an irritating behaviour, the writer points out that his behaviour was harmless and he did not intend any harm to others based on the information he collects.

The Two Things to be Avoided

            According to the writer one should be very careful while handling the information related to the following two things:

            1. Someone else’s Money

            2. Someone else’s Personal life.

These are the two sensitive things that people will hesitate to share. So, the writer advises that one should avoid asking details related to these. If anyone shows more curiosity in collecting such details it may end in disappointment and misunderstanding.

A Client’s Behaviour

            Mark McCormack shares a client’s unacceptable behaviour. Once, a writer was given the task of writing a textbook. The deal regarding money was sealed ahead of the project. When the work was in progress, he wanted to know the contribution of the illustrator for this work and his remuneration. So he made a call to the writer’s company and asked the details of the payment made to the illustrator. Though the request sounded innocent, the writer opines that it is wrong and the request was denied consequently.

The Danger of Sharing Personal Life

            The essayist conveys that sharing the personal details with the co-workers is not necessary and it may harm one’s stay in a work place. He alludes an embarrassing incident to prove his point. Once a professional developed a warm friendship with the CEO and shared all the details regarding his personal life and commitments. On another occasion, when the employee fails to answer one of the questions asked by the CEO, the boss says “May be you’d know more if you didn’t spend your evenings on the phone to your girl friend in Chicago”.  He ditches the employee that he is wasting his time with his girl friend. Literally, the boss insults the employee based on the information shared with him in a private conversation. Hence, the writer affirms that one need not disclose the personal details at the work place for the individual’s safety and dignity.

Conclusion

            The writer concludes that there are people who are more interested in knowing other’s personal details. We are not sure who is harmless and harmful. Hence, one should try to maintain a professional relationship at the work place to avoid unnecessary problems in future. It is better that one should neither ask other’s personal details nor share such details.Hence one should learn to say "It's None of Your Business" whenever needed.

Refund Essay

Refund

-- Fritz Karinthy

Introduction: The play “Refund” is a synthesis of humour and satire. Fritz Karinthy, a Hungarian dramatist, criticizes the present system of education, which does not prepare students for their career.

Wasserkopf: The main character in the play is Wasserkopf. Wasserkopf in German means one with a “waterhead,” an eccentric person. He is forty years old, yet he remains unemployed. Wherever he goes, the people tell him that he is fit for nothing. They tell him that he has not learnt anything in his school.

Leaderer’s Advice: One day Wasserkopf meets his friend, Leaderer, in the street. He asks him about his business. Leaderer talks about foreign exchange and Hungarian money. Wasserkopf is not able to understand anything and starts asking questions about foreign exchange. Leaderer says that Wasserkopf has not learnt anything and therefore he should go to his school to get his tuition fees back. Wasserkopf, who is jobless and does not have any finance, finds this idea as something beneficial to him and so he goes to the school where he studied once in order to demand his tuition fees back.

Meeting with the Principal: When he asks for the refund of his tuition fees, the Principal is shocked because after eighteen years he has come to the school thinking that he has learnt nothing worthwhile. The Principal calls for an urgent meeting with all other staff members. They decide to keep a re-examination for Wasserkopf and agree that whatever answer he gives they will prove him right.  

Re-Examination: One by one each teacher questions him and justified his wrong answer to be correct one and they mark him excellent. Though Wasserkopf gives wrong answers and use abuse words to each teacher, they don’t show their anger because they have to prove him as an excellent student. Finally, the Mathematics Master says that he will ask an easy question and a difficult question. The first question is about the speed of light. Wasserkopf gives wrong answer and so the Mathematics Master gets angry and says that he has failed in his examination.  Then he tells Wasserkopf that he deserves the refund of tuition fees and asks him the “difficult” question -- “ How much do we owe you?” Wasserkopf, without knowing that he is going to fall into their trap, says that it is 5682 crowns and 38 heller. Now the Mathematics Master says that was his difficult question. Wasserkopf is declared to have passed the examination.

Conclusion: The play deals with an extraordinarily ludicrous situation. It also shows the ability of the teachers to manage the situation and how they tackle Wasserkopf without spoiling the reputation of their school.

The Walrus and the Carpenter- Essay

The Walrus and the Carpenter

-- Lewis Carroll

“The Walrus and the Carpenter” is a poem which tells a humorous and playful story. It resists rational and logical interpretations. Yet it has a serious theme -- a commentary on political corruption and how the politicians grow fat at the expense of the people. The poem is a warning to innocent people who are misled by the cunning and the shrewd. The rhyme scheme is ABCBDB.

The Walrus and the Carpenter saw the sun shining brightly at midnight and the angry moon sulking. They also realized that the sea was wet and the sand was dry and there was no cloud to be seen. These were odd things that they experienced. These peculiarities and the nonsense dialogues of the characters add beauty to the poem.

The Walrus and the Carpenter are the two greedy characters who get the oysters to trust them and go with them. They invite the oysters to have fun with them. The promise of entertainment does not interest the elder oyster. But the young and the innocent oysters follow the walrus and the carpenter. This is an example of a politician’s call to the people. The politicians make many promises that appeal to the people. Eventually they degenerate into talking about useless issues, such as flying pigs. In the end after the destruction of the innocent people, they will shed false tears of remorse. As the walrus covered his face with his handkerchief to wipe the tears, he gobbled up as much oysters as he could.

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A Town by the Sea by Amitav Gosh- Essay

A Town by the Sea

Amitav Gosh is an acclaimed Novelist, Journalist, Anthropologist and Professor. He is one of the prominent Indian writers in English. In his essay “The Town by the Sea”, Gosh recalls the tsunami that devastated India in December 26, 2004. By disclosing how one of his friends lost his family during tsunami, the writer talks about the inability of human beings against the power of nature.

Gosh’s friend is a malaria Research Director in Car Nicobar. On the eve of December 25, 2004 the director goes to Andaman for an official visit. In the next day morning, he wakes up from the bed by the earth quake. So he runs out of the house to save his life. At that time his wife calls him over mobile, but he disconnects the call thinking that he can call her later. Suddenly, the sea rises and comes towards him. Hence he runs towards the high land in order to protect his life.

Andaman was affected severely by tsunami. He is anxious about his family members after the incident. Later, he comes to know that his thirteen years old son saves his life by clinging to the rafters of a church. When the director contacts his son over phone, he informs his father that his mother and sister disappeared in tsunami. The director tells the writer that his son is a brave boy.

When the director visits Malacca after a few days, they find only the concrete foundation of his house. There were only five structures standing in Malacca: Skeleton of a church, a white washed building, a Murugan temple, the arch of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Park and a school. Though the town was affected in the sea shore, the interior of the island was not affected.

The director recalls that his wife was an English teacher in the island and she wanted to leave the island long back. Since he did not get transfer, they had to live in the same place. He feels that as a husband he did not provide a better opportunity to his wife. The director discloses that his daughter was a good painter and got prizes for her works. The director thinks that he is defeated as a husband and father by nature. The nature has stolen his family all of a sudden without giving a chance.

While describing the consequences of tsunami, this essay illustrates the supremacy of nature and the uncertainty of human life. Also, it is proved that man is nothing against God and nature.  Acceptance of truth is more important to lead a peaceful life.

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The Professor by Nissim Ezekiel Essay

The Professor

- Nissim Ezekiel

            “The Professor” by Nissim Ezekiel is a satirical poem. It is written in the form of a conversation between a professor and his old student. Here, the poet criticises modern way of life and changing values. At the beginning of the poem, the professor introduces himself as Sheth. He claims that once he taught him geography.

            The Professor tells the student that his wife has passed away few years back. All his children ‘are well settled in life.’ He also mentions that one of his sons is a Bank Manager and another is a Sales Manager. To describe their social and financial condition, he says that they both own cars. Then he refers to his third son as the black sheep.

            The professor then talks about his daughters, Sarala and Tarala. He says that they both are married and leading a happy life. He is very proud that his son-in-laws ‘are very nice boys.’ The professor has eleven grandchildren. He asks his student how many issues he has. The student probably says three. The professor accepts that the people are going in for family planning these days which is good. The professor points out that the whole world is changing. But, he is very concerned that the old values are replaced by new values.

            Finally, the professor talks about his age related issues. He says that he hardly goes out and he has usual aches and pains. He reveals that he is not suffering from diabetes, blood pressure or heart disease. He believes that he is healthy because of the good habits that he cultivated from his youth. He is sixty nine and and hopes to live for hundred years. He jokes with his student that the latter was like a stick earlier but now he has gained weight and become a ‘man of weight and consequence.’

            Thus the poem serves as a contemporary social criticism.

The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde - An analysis

The Happy Prince

“The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde is a wonderful allegory. It narrates the story of the statue of a Happy Prince and a little Swallow.

The Happy Prince is a beautiful statue. The statue is covered with thin leaves of gold. He has sapphires for his eyes and a ruby in his sword. One night a little swallow flies over the city. He is tired and wants to spend the night between the feet of the Happy Prince. As he is ready to sleep large drops of water falls on him. Soon the swallow realizes that the Happy Prince is crying.

The Happy Prince tells the swallow that he lived in a palace. While he was alive, he had a kind human heart. There was no sorrow and his courtiers called him the happy prince. After his death he had been set up on a high pillar, his heart is made up of Lead. But the heart always weeps when he sees the ugliness and misery of his city.

The happy prince tells the swallow that a little boy of a seamstress is sick. He is crying and his mother could not give him oranges to eat. He asks the swallow to give his ruby to the poor woman. The swallow keeps the ruby on the table of the poor woman. Then the Happy Prince sees a writer. He is hungry and suffering from cold. The Happy Prince asks the swallow to give one of the sapphires to the writer.

Next, the Happy Prince looks at a girl who lost her matches in the gutter. At his command the swallow unwillingly plucks out the sapphire from the other eye of the Happy Prince. The swallow slips the sapphire into the palm of the match girl. Now the Prince is totally blind. Then the Happy Prince allows the swallow to fly away to Egypt. But the swallow decides to stay with the blind Prince forever. The swallow, at the command of the Happy Prince, distributes the golden leaves among the poor.

Now the statue is dull and grey. The frost makes the swallow colder and colder and he becomes sick. The swallow Kisses the Happy Prince on the lips and dies. The lead heart of the Prince breaks into two. The Mayor of the town orders to pull down the statue since it is neither beautiful nor useful. The statue is melted in a furnace. But, the broken heart does not melt. So it is thrown away on a dust heap where the dead swallow is also lying. When God asks the angels to bring the two most precious things in the city, an Angel brings the dead bird and the broken heart.

Thus the story illustrates the selfless love between the happy prince and a swallow. The love without expectation will earn a high place in heaven.

A Little Bit of What You Fancy by Desmond Morris- An Analysis

A Little Bit of What You Fancy

                                                                                              -Desmond Morris

Introduction

     Desmond Morris is an English zoologist and writer.  In his essay “A Little Bit of What You Fancy”, he talks about his own mother and the people who lived during the 18^th century and their diet preferences.

The Appetite of the Mother

     The mother of Desmond Morris was born during the reign of Queen Victoria. She enjoyed eating different varieties of food. She ate by piling her plate with greasy, fatty, fried up grill foods without worrying about their bad effects.  She completely ignored the words of health gurus and diet experts. Considering the appetite of his mother, Morris believed that she would die young. But, she lived for 99 years. She did not think of what was correct to eat. For a good digestion, one should not worry while eating.  If one eats in fear and tension, the body will refuse to co-operate.

Modern Pontificators (one who gives opinion)

     Nowadays, the modern pontificators feel that it is their duty to tell the people about what to eat as if they have discovered the secrets of eternal life.  The author dismisses them on two grounds.  First, they keep on changing their views.  Secondly, they overlook the fact that the human species evolved as an omnivore.  Eating the wide verity of food only keeps human beings different from animal rivals.

Cause of Health Problems

     Today, so many people suffer from obesity, indigestion and various diet deficiencies.  The answer lies in their lifestyle.  They do not realize that man needs a variety of food for good health.  The urban people suffer from various anxiety problems and work tensions which lead to indigestion. According to Morris, food should be savoured (tasted), relished, enjoyed and digested at leisure.

Food taboos (ban) and Totems

    There are two reasons for the existence of so many food taboos, namely totems (special respect to religious emblem) and poisons.  People from ancient times chose a particular animal as a god-figure and tried to protect it.  Another reason was the deep-seated human fear of being poisoned.  This irrational fear makes people avoid certain foods and causes anxiety. 

    

Conclusion

     Morris feels that we should never consider the words of food experts or diet gurus. He also enjoy ten more years of life by eating food stuffs prepared by various cooks. So, we should enjoy all kinds of foods and need not worry about the advice of diet experts.