The Boatman’s Gift - Summary- Pamela Michael B.Ed. first year Compulsory English

The Boatman’s Gift by Pamela Michael

Summary

The essay” The Boatman’s Gift ” is written by female writer Pamela Michael in a narrative form. She has included an experience of her journey to Laos, a landlocked mountainous country with no railroad. It has domestic airlines and few roads.  It has rich civilization and natural beauty. She visited Laos and enjoyed her journey.

She had three options to reach Laos: air, land, or water. She decided to fly instead of several days of anxious land or river journey. She enjoyed rugged mountains, thick green forests, breathtaking highlands, freshwater rivers, wooden houses, ancient Buddhist temples, Laotian architecture, shops, and villages. She found that Laotians had tolerance, forgiveness, and compassion even though they had suffered much during nine years of the US bombing in the war.

She visited an ancient city, Luang Prabang, in Laos.  It’s known for its many Buddhist temples. It is rich in architecture, culture, and traditions. Her journey by air from Vientiane (capital of Laos) to Luang Prabang was enjoyable, although Laotian airlines were known as dangerous airlines.

The different customs and traditional historic artifacts drew her attention and connected her with the people of Laos. She compared their living status and food with her California and found them more exotic. Similarly, she found that fish, rice, and different varieties of fresh vegetables were common among them.

She took photographs of the beauties of Laos. While she was changing the film of her camera, a boatman offered her to visit Buddha caves. Unfortunately, she found batteries were dead in her camera they were impossible to replace in that remote place. She thought without her camera her stay there would be meaningless. When the boatman knew her intention he advised her that she could enjoy the beautiful scenery with the camera of her natural eyes. This knowledge was a gift to the writer from the boatman.

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A Horseman in the Sky Summary B.Ed. first year Compulsory English

"A Horseman in the Sky" highlights the destructive impact of the war on a single family. The central character is a young Virginian, named Carter Druse, a Union soldier from the South who must make a terrible decision between his family and his duty. 

“A  Horseman in the Sky” is a play written by Ambrose Bierce. It is the time during American Civil War. One morning Carter Druse, main character of the play, tells his father Mr. Druse that he wants to join the union army who are against slavery system and detachment (टुक्रा , अलगाव )of the states of America. As his father is against the union army and he is in confederate army, he is not too happy with his son and calls him a traitor (देशद्रोही).  By joining the union Carter will be against his own state. Yet Mr. Druse respects his decision and tells him that he must always do his duty. Cater and his father decide not to tell it to Carter’s mother because she is her health is too bad and Carter’s this decision may make her health worse. Leaving sick mother Druse goes in soldier for the nation.

Carter is in his duty. He falls asleep on duty, when he wakes up he sees an enemy soldier, on a cliff opposite  to him. He is a confederate soldier sitting on his horse. A moment later he is shocked to see the man is his father. There comes two alternatives for him either to choose duty or to choose family. Then he remembers his father’s  advice. Finally he shoots at the horse causing the horse and the rider falling down from the cliff. One soldier witnesses the horse and Confederate soldier fall off the cliff and seemingly fly through the air.  It appears like a horseman in the sky.

In this way he unwillingly  kills his father. It shows that soldiers are sad after the war ended because the enemies were their own relatives.  War caused emotional pain. Bierce explores the themes of duty and family in this story. Carter Druse claims a strong sense of duty to his chosen cause, but seems to focus more on his rebellion against his father.