Page 1 : 1, , XII-FOCUS AREA NOTES, , 2022 -ENGLISH, , SL.NO, , LESSON, , UNIT, , PAGE NO., , NO., 1, , 3 LS OF EMPOWERMENT, , 1, , 2, , 2, , ANY WOMAN, , 1, , 3, , 3, , MATCHBOX, , 1, , 4, , 4, , HOREGALLU, , 1, , 5, , 5, , MENDING WALL, , 2, , 6, , 6, , THE HOUR OF TRUTH, , 2, , 7, , 7, , A THREE WHEELED REVOLUTION, , 3, , 9, , 8, , RICE, , 4, , 11, , 9, , DANGERS OF DRUG ABUSE, , 4, , 13, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 2 : 2, 1.3 LS OF EMPOWERMENT by CHRISTINE LAGARDE, The 3Ls of Empowerment is a speech by Christine Lagarde and here she talks about the, importance of women empowerment and the ways to achieve this goal. She begins the, speech by stressing the role of women in the modern world. She stresses that women have, great potential and inner power. But they are denied the opportunity to contribute their, potential for the benefit of the entire human race. She says that there are three ways in, which we can open the doors of opportunity for women. They are, Learning, Labour and, Leadership. Learning or education is the foundation on which any change is built. Learning, helps women to empower themselves. Women‘s education has a wider and stronger impact, than the education of men. She adds that if a man is given education, it will empower only, him and his family, but if a woman is given education she will give help the whole society, to achieve their goals., Christine Lagarde says that labour or employment is the second step to help women achieve, their true potential. Now they face many problems like unequal wages, low payments, low, job security and exclusion from high status jobs. If women participate in economic activity,, it is good, not just for women, but for the entire nation. Women‘s economic participation, can increase per capita income also. In order to give more opportunity for women in the, workplace there should be changes in laws and policies., The third aspect is leadership. More women should come to leadership positions. They, should be a part of decision making. Christine Lagarde asserts that women are actually as, good or even better leaders as compared to men. They take decisions based on consensus, building, inclusion and compassion., Christine Lagarde says that if we make a world where women can meet their potential, the, world will benefit from it. Lagarde ends her speech by saying that if women dare to take, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 3 : 3, risks by gathering courage and strength, there will be difference in the entire society and, this difference will deliver good results., 2ANY WOMAN BY KATHERINE TYNAN, ‗Any Woman‘ by Katherine Tynan is a short poem presenting the all – embracing power of, a woman to hold a family together. The role of woman is indispensable in a family. She is, the back bone of the family as well as society. Without her, the family will crumble down, and ruin utterly. Though she is not given due care or consideration, she lives for others and, loves and cares them., There is a harmonious bond between the woman and family. There is no home in its right, sense if there is no woman. If she is cut off from the family, the integrity of the family will, be no more and even the earth wouldn‘t be a place worthy to live. Her warmth of love, pervades in the entire family. She safe guards the family from any evil forces or adverse, experiences affecting them. She wishes and prays for the safety and wellness of her, children. Here Katherine Tynan closes the poem by a prayer to Jesus .Mother prays that she, should be allowed to live in the world till her children grow up., ANALYSIS OF THE POEM, The poet opens the poem with metaphorical images. It is said mother is the pillar of the, house, ‗keystone of the arch‘, ‗roof and wall‘ to insist her pivotal role in a family. Her, sacrificial love is symbolized through fire upon the hearth, light of good sun, heat warming, the earth and light of love. How the complete family is kept in the bondage of her love, not, allowing anyone going astray is picturesquely expressed through ‗sacred ring‘. The images, of ‗floor to roof‘, ‗warp and woof‘ represent the woman or mother as a symbol of patience, and omnipresence. The reference to the birth of Jesus Christ and the prayer highlight the, unique and deifying role of any woman., , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 4 : 4, The choice of words to describe the multifaceted role, the metaphorical images, sober tone, that prevails throughout the poem transform the emotions and feelings of the speaker, the, woman to the readers and asserts her identity as well., The poem is a humble expression of the supreme role of a woman. The author steadily, moves the poem to bring out the status of such self-less loving woman who is not given any, consideration or recognition, 3.MATCH BOX BY ASHAPURNA DEBI, ―Matchbox‖ written by Ashapurna Debi tells the story of the couple Ajit and Nomita. It, presents the picture of the unhealthy relationship existing in some Indian families. The, author compares women to matchboxes. Matchboxes have the potential to set everything on, fire. But in appearance, they are meek and harmless. Women also are capable of great, things, but in most occasions they will stay without exhibiting this capacity. The central, character of Matchbox is Nomita. She is a typical Indian wife who does not realize her true, potential. She is good looking and she got married to a rich family because of her looks., Her husband Ajit has the habit of opening his wife‘s letters. He argues that it is his right to, screen her mail. He doesn‘t pay any attention to Nomita‘s protest. Whenever she protests,, she is treated badly. He even ridicules her by calling her ‗dung picker‘s daughter‘. Her poor, family background forces her to suffer the humiliation in silence. Nomita is presented in the, story as a person who speaks her mind. So no one attacks her outright. The other members, of the joint family can only pinch her with sharp words. The readers become very, empathetic towards Nomita as they understand the poverty and the miserable condition of, her mother. Her mother has the habit of begging money from her daughter and son-in-law., At the climax of the story we see Nomita infuriated when Ajit challenges her by asking her, what she could do. She sets fire to the anchol of her own sari. This frightens Ajit and he, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 5 : 5, becomes defensive. But later when he goes out and meets others she pretends as if nothing, has happened. She cannot tell her mother and those in the village about her real situation., She is not ready to burn the colorful shell in which she has shut herself up. Men know that, women will not be ready to move out of their comfort zones. That is why they handle them, so confidently and carelessly as they treat matchboxes. They put them in their pockets, because they are sure that they will not burn themselves or harm them., 4.HOREGALLU BY SUDHA MURTHY, In every tiresome journey, we need a place to rest to regain our energy. This is necessary if, we want to continue our journey successfully. Everyone is carrying heavy burdens of, problems and worries. They need a place to unburden themselves. Sudha Murty in her, anecdote ‗Horegallu‘ talks about a stone bench under the village banyan tree. People used, to sit there and refresh themselves during their long walks. They blessed the horegallu for, being there. Like the physical horegallus people need emotional horegallus as well. The, author‘s grandfather was such a one. The grandfather used to sit on the stone bench and, listen to the worries of the villagers. This gave them strength to carry on with their journey., In the modern times the author found Ratna, a clerk in her office doing the same service., She used to listen to the problems shared by her colleagues. People sometimes need to share, their worries and problems with someone else. In the present times everyone is busy and no, one has time to listen to others. Talking itself can release a lot of pressure. It is not, necessary to suggest solutions to their problems. Actually solutions should come from the, people themselves. It is enough to be a good listener. A good listener should be patient and, sympathetic. Also he should not be judgmental. It is not necessary to be immensely, intelligent or professionally trained. No one can solve another person‘s problems. The, process of sharing itself can give the person some clarity about the problem. Most of all, a, good listener should be trustworthy. They should not betray the other person‘s trust., Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 6 : 6, Our present times require more and more horegallus. In a world where people have become, increasingly selfish, this has great relevance. Sudha Murty concludes her anecdote with the, hope that there were many more living horegallus like the grandfather and Ratna in this, world., 5. MENDING WALL BY ROBERT FROST, ‗Mending Wall‘ is a poem by the American poet Robert Frost. The poem describes how the, speaker and a neighbour meet to rebuild a stone wall between their properties—a ritual, repeated every spring. This ritual raises some important questions over the course of the, poem, as the speaker considers the purpose of borders between people and the value of, human work., Poet begins the poem by stating that there are some forces in the world that doesn‘t like, walls. It causes the frozen ground to swell underneath a wall, and the wall's upper stones, then fell in the warmth of the sun. This creates gaps in the wall so big that two people could, walk through them side-by-side. And then there are the hunters who destroy the wall. They, try to drive out the rabbits that hide in the wall in order to make their barking dogs happy., No one has seen or heard these gaps in the wall being made. They just find it there in the, spring, when it comes time to repair the wall., Poet says that he visit his neighbour and find a day to repair the wall. On the mending day, they walk along the wall and repair the walls. He walks on his side of the wall and his, neighbour on the next side. Some stones look like loaves of bread and some are round like, balls. Poet exaggerates that they would have to use a spell to balance the walls. Poet, complains that their fingers get rough by working on the walls., Poet says that it‘s just another outside activity. There‘s no need for a wall. His neighbour, has pine trees and he has apple orchard. He says that his apple trees are not going to cross, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 7 : 7, the wall and eat his pine cones .But neighbour was of the opinion that good fences are, necessary to have good neighbhours., Frost says that before building a wall, he would like to know what he was keeping in and, what I was keeping out, and who would be offended by this. There are some forces like, Elves that doesn‘t love a wall.Frost compares his neigbour to a primitive who holds stone as, a weapon. He closes the poem by asserting that his neighbour moves in darkness of his, ignorance., 6.THE HOUR OF TRUTH BY PERVICAL WILDE, The play, 'The Hour of Truth', is written by Percival Wilde. The play is taken from A, Question of Morality and Other Plays. The characters are Robert Baldwin, Martha, John,, Evie, Mr. Marshall and a maid. The scene is set at Baldwin's cottage and it is Sunday, afternoon. Robert Baldwin has gone outside. His wife and children are anxiously waiting, for his arrival., The sky is so dark. The family is expecting that it will rain and they don't know whether, Baldwin has taken his umbrella or not. While the family is waiting for Robert Baldwin's, arrival, they are talking about John Gresham on whose bank Mr. Baldwin worked. Now due, to financial crisis, bank was closed and John Gresham is found guilty for that and is in jail., From their talk, it is evident that John Gresham's trial is on the next day, and John Baldwin, is giving evidence against him. But John Gresham calls him that day. They are very, anxiously to know why he calls Baldwin., Evie has a doubt whether Baldwin has involved in ―wrecking of the bank‖ because every, newspaper is mentioning that, and Baldwin does not say anything against it. Martha tells, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 8 : 8, that the newspaper is unfair to him. Since Baldwin is working under Gresham's orders, the, family has a doubt whether he involved in the bank crash., But Martha firmly believes that Baldwin never did anything at all. He found out the bank, crash by accident. John says that he saw Donovan, the assistant cashier the previous day at, the Athletic Club. Donovan was working there for eight years. The news came like a bolt, out of a clear sky. John has a suspicion that his father must have known about it because he, is the only witness against John Gresham. Since he was named after John Gresham, John, feels that because of John Gresham his name is damaged. He mentions that John Gresham, has acquired a lot of wealth in these twenty years while his father is getting just sixty, dollars a week. Martha tells that her husband is very dedicated to his work. Whatever John, Gresham asked him to do without revolting he obeyed., Finally Robert Baldwin comes in the house. Everyone wants to know how the crash, happened in the bank. He tells that even he knew the reality only one day before the crash., The family enquires why John Gresham called Baldwin .Baldwin told them that John, Gresham wanted him to keep silence on the issue .He wanted him to tell, ‗I don't, remember‘, in the court. If Robert Baldwin does this, Gresham will give him hundred, thousand dollars. But Robert Baldwin does not accept his proposal., But when the whole family hears about the money, their mind begins to change. They begin, to convince John Gresham. Martha wants to know whether the depositors would lose any, money. Robert Baldwin replies that no one will lose anything. Thus the family comes to, know that the money is safe. John Gresham's crime was that he misappropriated the funds., The family begins to persuade Robert Baldwin to say lie and to help John Gresham. At first,, Robert Baldwin is shocked. Martha tells him that since they named their son's name after, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 9 : 9, John Gresham, it will be a disgrace to their son. Also, it was John Gresham who sponsored, John‘s baptizing. With these words, she forces Robert Baldwin to help John Gresham., According to Evie, if John Gresham tells the depositors that he will pay everything back the, next day, they will hate Robert Baldwin for sending John Gresham to jail. John supports her, by saying, ‗Nobody wants to see him punished‘. He also feels that if John Gresham does not, go to jail, he will start a business and might make Robert Baldwin his partner. Robert, Baldwin does not yield to these persuations., Martha tries to convince Robert Balwin by saying that now John is the sole breadwinner of, the family. But his income is not sufficient for the family to survive. If Robert accepts a, hundred thousand dollars from John Gresham, the family can lead a cozy life.Robert, Baldwin is not ready to change his decision even then., By this time, Mr. Marshall, the President of the Third National, arrives in the home. He, gives a piece of happy news to Robert Baldwin and his family by telling that a good, position is waiting for Robert Baldwin in the Third National. He hears from John Gresham, that Robert Baldwin has refused to tell lie in the court which prompted John Gresham to, confess. Mr. Marshall is impressed by his honesty.The play ends by Mr.Marshall praising, Baldwin for his honesty., 7.A THREE WHEELED REVOLUTION, A three wheeled Revolution is an interview with Irfan Alam by Sujatha Ramprasad for, India Currents in May 2010, after participating in the Entrepreneurship Summit in, Washington., Irfan deviated from the usual path of corporate business mentality to a, socially responsible entrepreneurship. During his teenage years, he started Stock Trade, Analysis and won a famous reality show, ‗Business Baazigar‘in which he contested with a, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 10 : 10, business proposal. The main idea behind the proposal was to organize the rickshaw sector, and make it a profitable venture, Irfan Alam, an internationally acclaimed entrepreneur was a man with a difference. He has, deviated from the usual path of corporate business mentality to a socially responsible, entrepreneurship. During his teenage years, he started Stock Trade Analysis and won a, famous reality show, ‗Business Baazigar‘in which he contested with a business proposal., The main idea behind the proposal was to organize the rickshaw sector and make it a, profitable venture. He suggested on redesigning rickshaws and equipping it with music,, newspapers, first aid kits, refreshments and advertisements. It created a revolution in the, rickshaw sector., He was invited for the Presidential Entrepreneurship summit 2010 and Obama, complimented him .The real journey to his success began with water. When he was, seventeen years old, he hired a rickshaw on a summer afternoon. He was thirsty. He asked, the rickshaw puller whether he would provide him water. He answered him that there was, no such provision because he did not have money to buy and stack them. That moment, made him to think about the plight of the rickshaw pullers. Thus in 2007,Samman was, formed to organize and empower the rickshaw pulling industry under one shade and thereby, improving their livelihood., It started without funds, but with innovative ideas. The word Samman means ‗respect or, dignity to all‘. Alam strongly believed to bring the marginalized to the mainstream. The, first aim was to change the concept of ‗rent rickshaws‘ to ‗own rickshaws‘. They were, given training on basic etiquette and traffic rules. They were also given insurances, id cards, and uniforms. The money earned through advertisements and other amenities was divided, between the rickshaw pullers and the Samman. It gave them a sense of belonging and, empowerment. The social venture thus became a social cause. Children of the operators and, Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 11 : 11, their spouses attended free evening classes called Samman Gyan. Innovative ideas like solar, powered fibre glass rickshaws are a new attempt at present. The environmental friendly, mode of transport has given a new identity and self-esteem to the underprivileged., Here Sujatha Ramprasad shows the real and great life of Irfan Alam through her pointed, and matter of fact questions. We get a very inspiring picture of Irfan Alam through this, interview. Here Alam stands unique as a saviour for the downtrodden., 8.RICE BY CHEMMANAM CHACKO, ‗Rice‘ is a poem which is written in Malayalam by Chemmanam Chacko and is translated, into English by Prof. K. Ayyappa Paniker. Rice is a beautiful and powerful poem written by, Chemmanam chacko. It is the English translation of the Malayalam Poem"Nellu". The, poem has been translated by professor Ayyappa paniker.in this poem the writer explains, Agricultural changes happened in Kerala. He was away from home for doing a research, study. He was feeling very bored eating Chappaties while he was in north india. After, completing four years research he backs to Kerala. He was very eager to eat a meal of, Athikira rice. He becomes dreamy on the traditional qualities of his native place. He is, restless sitting at the train berth. He wishes If the train would be little faster., He gets off the train and sees that the traditions of Kerala has completely changed. He could, not see his father in the paddyfield. He could see all over the places, the tall rubber tree and, arecanut trees. His mother was not preparing the meal with Athikira but she was waiting for, his brother who comes with Ration. He found his father fixing the rubber roller machine on, the southern part of the house. He found a helicopter flying above headed to north. It was, the chief minister flying to the center for asking more rations. He is completely perplexed, and depressed. The poem gives the light to the change of farmers‘ attitude. They embrace, the commercial Plantation to the traditional farming., The Poet has written the poem with beautiful figures of speech. It is rich with metaphor,, Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 12 : 12, Simile and imagery. It employs sarcasm to the greedy attitudes of our farmers. The Poem is, thought provoking., RICE -DETAILED SUMMARY, In the first half of the poem, the poet tells about his expectation of events that may happen, when he goes to his house after four years. In the beginning, the poet tells that after four, years doing research in North India, he is coming back to the native place in Kerala. He was, doing research on making toys with husk. He is eager to eat ‗a meal of athikira rice‘ from, his home as he is fed up with eating chapaties., He says that his father will be wearing a handloom dhoti which is stained with ‗yellow, mud‘. Father will be very happy that they are getting water from Varanganal canal. His, father would make some formal enquiries., Farmers will be ploughing the field with oxen .Seeing the poet, his little brother will run, towards him happily with tender saplings. His little brother would very loudly announce, that he has come., The poet then says that in order to reach his house he has to walk through the paddy field., He would have to walk very carefully so that he would not spill the seeds given by his, father. While he is on the way to his home, his mother will be draining rice. Imagining all, these, he wants to reach his home as far as possible., In the second section, the poet sees the changes that have happened when he reaches his, native placeTo his shock, so many changes have happened. When he left his place, there, were only palm-thatched houses. Now instead of palm-thatched houses, there are only, rubber plants. Rubber plants has replaced modan and vellaran ., As the poet reaches near his home, he expects that he can hear the shouts of workers who, are engaged in ploughing. Unfortunately, he cannot hear such shouts. To his dismay, he, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 13 : 13, sees ‗arecanut palms‘ in that field. Also, there are ‗dealwood trees‘ on either side of the, canal., Finally, the poet enters his house. He found his father fixing the rubber roller machine. His, father very proudly announces that he has shifted to commercial plantation because there is, no profit in paddy cultivation. Beyond that, government is providing rice ration as well., Poets brother comes with ration wheat for the family then. Then he hears the sound of the, aero plane.Poet says that the aeroplane is going to the centre to request for more rice for, Keralites. Satirically he commends that the Chief Minister is passing above the cash crops, which have destroyed the paddy cultivation in Kerala., The poet closes the poem by the satirical quipping whether the Centre will give him husk to, make toys too., 9.DANGERS OF DRUG ABUSE BY HARDIN B JONES, Hardin B Jones says that with the notion of preventing physical and mental diseases, drugs, have been discovered. This made people to think that any disease whether it is infective or, psychic can be cured by taking a pill. For instance, if there is a sign of nervousness, people, take pep pills. In order to mislead the public, medical journals promote people to buy, tranquilizers, amphetamines and mood-altering drugs. These are the reasons why the drug is, abused by people. If a person overuses the drug, he will lose his ability to solve life, situations through perseverance and proper means., Hardin says that it is not good to criticise the medical field for drug abuse because the, medical field has a great history from the period of Hippocrates His principle is practiced, by modern physicians. A physician should prescribe apt medicine to cure a particular, disease. The positive effect of the drug is that it has ―restorative‖ effects. The negative, effect of the drug is that if a healthy person takes drugs without any disease, it will destroy, the healthy functioning of the brain and the body., , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 14 : 14, Hardin then tells that one should make a distinction between medicines and sensual drugs., Sensual drugs are the drugs which will only provide a strong sense of pleasure by, stimulating the pleasure centres . It is the brain which controls sensations, moods, thoughts, and actions of an individual through a series of chemically controlled processes. Sensual, drugs alter these chemical processes which in turn affect the healthy functioning of the, brain.., When an individual starts drug abuse he urges for more intake. In severe addiction, the, pleasure mechanism fails. There is a misconception that drug can give relief to sorrows and, relief but it does not give relief to sorrows., A person who is addicted to drug begins to suffer from depression, physical problems and, personality disorders. His mind gets disturbed and this mental condition can be compared to, ‗paranoia‘. He does not know why he is disturbed. He becomes suspicious and introvert. He, feels that everyone is looking at him strangely because he cannot realise whether an, individual is smiling or angry with him. The addict even feels that he is dead inside. That is, why often drug addicts press their arms or legs deeply to realise that they are alive on the, reality which they have created. This prompts them to get more and more ‗drug-induced, sensations‘., The reason why drug addicts cannot stop drug addiction is that the drug's harmful side, effect is not immediately apparent. The only symptoms which will the drug addicts show, are ‗incidental delirious‘ effects and ‗death from overdose‘. In extreme cases, drug addicts, will face health issues. Their brain will be affected . This causes the drug addict to behave, in a strange way., When drug addicts use dirty needles, it would cause scratches in the arms and veins., Sniffing cocaine and amphetamines degenerate the nose tissues. Marijuana and tobacco, , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai

Page 15 : 15, smoking can cause lung diseases. Heavy users of alcohol, volatile solvents, amphetamines, and marijuana can permanently damage the liver. If pregnant women consume drugs, their, babies show withdrawal symptoms. The lifestyles of drug users make them more prone to, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malnutrition and weight loss. An overdose of sensual drugs leads, to respiratory or cardiac failure and death., Sensual drugs alter the chemical process of the brain cells. Side effect may be temporary or, permanent. As the article ends, Dr Hardin B Jones says that this article focuses on the drug's, effect on the brain as no one realises its effect on brain and it needs to be taken care of., , Sindhu P,HSST English ,GGHSS Kallai