ETHICS....

Write a five-paragraph argumentative essay on the ethics of refusing to provide life-saving medicines to anyone not able to pay full price. Use information form the reading and from the three theories of ethics to help you opinion .

     Businessmen do not study ethics. Ethics will destroy their business. They think straight-buying and selling are a perfectly straightforward matter between dealer and customer. The dealer asks as much as he thinks he can extort, and the customer, having paid it, is under no obligation whatever to the dealer. He just sees a strong relation between his goods and money from the customer. Main purpose of his business is to receive benefit, and he looks at his account-purchase cont + selling cont = gain.
    I give the above details to present the character of a businessman . Ethics is not subject of study for businessmen. Ethical questions are about right and wrong, good and bad , just and unjust. They matter in daily life because what we do affects us individually , affects our community, and can even affect people we do not know or see. Kant says that when you make a moral decision , you should ask yourself a question what if everyone acted this way? From this point of view , we  cant expect all businessmen being idealists. Personally ,a businessman , out of the business , can be giving alms to a beggar but, in business he never thinks and fells in that way.
          Many businessmen , capitalists, and wealthy men donate a lot of money on social services . They build temples, homes for poor and orphans, etc,but all these expenses are accounted in their business. They sponsor a TV program just for advertisement . They never do anything with money on loss. They do everything from the personal utilitarian theory.
         A pharmacist or a drug store does not provide any medicines, not even life-saving medicines , to anyone not able to pay full price. The medicine seller , if he were working in a social organization like The Red Cross , would give the medicine free of cost. As a businessman , he will never think of such idealistic action. He would follow Mill, but not Kant, nor Aristotle. His thoughts will be all business and benefit oriented.
        Ethics are found in every aspect of life. There are business and professional ethics. This type of ethics will not permit him to do such action of providing life-saving medicines to anyone not able to pay full price. He knows well that nobody acts that way.

ETHICS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Write a paragraph on moral aspects of downloading films form the internet without paying.

    We probably use the internet every day without thinking of the potential social ethical and legal issues. Copyright infringement can occur if we illegally download music, movies ,television shows, books or other media of which we have not paid a downloading fee. Downloading files online is a tough choice for people . They know it is illegal in some cases but people also fight with moral values. In many cultures stealing is not only wrong, its a crime. Downloading music without an artists permission equates to stealing. It's pretty unethical and illegal to download movies that are as such not intended for free distribution over the internet. Pirated films are generally shared over the internet in this way along with music ,books , software and games. Some people argue that since these are not actually physical commodities, trading in them in not illegal.  Or that no one is actually getting harmed or the people who visit cinemas visit them anyway and sales do not get affected  in anyway . Others say that all these arguments however are not very accurate. Production companies and studios spend a millions of Dollars on these films and stealing their profits will only result in them losing interest in making movies or spending so much money. Even if we were to assume that cinema sales do not get   affected, it is safe to say that DVD sales do.

Human Clonging

how do you feel about genetically engineered babies? Do parents have the right to create the prefect baby? what traits would you choose for the child ? What problems could this create for society?

   Genetic engineering , recombinant DNA technology , genetic modification / manipulation and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes. Genetic engineering is different form traditional breeding , where the organism's genes are manipulated indirectly.Genetic engineering uses the techniques of molecular cloning and transformation to alter the structure and characteristics of genes directly. Genetic engineering techniques have found some successes in numerous applications.
      Basically, human cloning is the artificial process of making a genetic twin of a person. Human cloning has already become illegal or restricted in a variety of degrees in several countries .Furthermore, there has been quite a bit of legislation proposing to completely ban human cloning ,and also a large amount of legislation proposing to allow human cloning . Therefore, it is very controversial to say that parents have the right to create the "perfect baby" . If i had such chance of creating the perfect baby, i would wish for oval shape face wheat-colour- complexion ,intelligent mind healthy body and mind , smart behaviours etc. I know there would be several problems .It would create much confusion in relation and also creates inheritance issues. It would create uncertain genetic consequences. Cloning humans would be lesson the status of humanity. The mankind will fall into the slavery of intelligence of their own invention , and face all kinds of risks and dangers.

          Advantage of Human Cloning ?

Human cloning is a burning issue in the field of science. It has created confusion among the scientists. It is the creation of genetically identical copy (carbon copy) of human being. The creation of human being from the cell of parent is called reproductive cloning and the creation of the cells or tissues for the treatment or replacement of the cell is called the rapeutic cloning. Cloning certainly has many benefits in the human life. First of all, it is beneficial to the sterile parents who can’t give birth to their biological children. This process of creating the future generation is highly applicable and is useful to many species of birds and animals in the verge of extinction. Although, this process can’t be helpful to save/ create the vanished creatures using their dead cells, it may be helpful to save others in the line of disappearance. The parents with defective genes, who are in dangers of giving birth to the offspring, get ample opportunity to create healthy children. Even a single parent can have babies. They can choose the traits as they wish. Similarly, it can be useful for the treatment of many types of genetic diseases as well as in the replacement of new tissues such as cancer, plastic surgery, etc.

Despite many defects and doubts cloning can’t be legally banned. Cloning should be controlled and be applied only in the limited cases and circumstances. It is the responsibility of the government to control such type of human experimentations. Cloning shouldn’t be made legally free for everyone for the experiments. It should be handed to the professionally responsible people with great care and conscious supervision. However, cloning has created ethical problems.

 Disadvantage of Human Cloning?

Human cloning is a burning issue in the field of science. It has created confusion among the scientists. It is the creation of genetically identical copy (carbon copy) of human being. The creation of human being from the cell of parent is called reproductive cloning and the creation of the cells or tissues for the treatment or replacement of the cell is called the rapeutic cloning.

Though cloning has been successfully applied in animals and plants, it has created a great conflict among the human beings. Though cloning has many advantages, people are much scared with its likely dangers. If we stared to create exact copies of people by means of cloning, it would create a lot of problems. Creation of exact copy of a person will have many practical and genetic problems in the human society. Human being is unique in nature. Cloning would not allow people to be unique and personally distinct. Physical resemblance of many people may cause practical problems when one can’t be distinguished from the others. Their identical traits create confusion and problems in others. Moreover, it affects badly in the role relationship of the staff in a company or in an office as it may lead to the creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes. There may be numerous unknown and un-identified defects of cloning in the offspring, like the transmission of defective genes. A clone can’t acquire potential power of brain, one is limited to parents. So, further progress and investigations are hampered. The cloned person may have diminished sense of individuality. Cloning might create havoc in the traditional concepts; and the cultural activities like marriages, caste-system, etc. It might affect in the investigation of crimes for lot of people might have identical genetic characteristics.

Then and Now:Finding My Voice (Elain

Both the Cabuliwallah and Elaine were treated as "perpetual outsiders." What are the similarities in their situations? What are the difference?

In the story "The Cabuliwallah ", Rahman is the hero, who has come from Cabul, Afghanistan, to do a little business in the street of calcutta.  He sells fruit and clothes. Far in distance , in the mountains of Cabul , his wife and a little daughter lived. He has parental feelings , he does have sentiments. He feels lonely in the foreign land. He sells goods to the people, some people take good on credit. Once a year, in the middle of year, Rahman used to return to his own country.
  While living in Calcutta , he has made familiarity with some people like the writer, who talks with him in gentle way and helps with money. Many people do not give him prestige. Many people think that he is kidnapper,  and he carries away little children to injure him in anger. Thus , he was arrested and imprisoned for eight years. Poor man suffered unnecessarily.
   Elaine was treated like a foreigner-non-American , and she suffered in the hand of the whites since her school life.After the devastating Korean War of the 1950s,her family had migrated to America as a refugee.
Most people who had ever heard of Korea thought that it was a state in Japan or China. She was used to being asked if she was Chinese of Japanese, as if there could be no other choices. She had heard that the printing press and gunpowder had been invented in Korea and that a Korean marathon runner had won a gold medal in the 1936 Olympics, disapproving Nazi Germany's insistence on the superiority of the whit race. These were not heard in her school. To impose and impress the non-Americans, the school taught that all of the world's great inventions and discoveries were made by Europeans and Americans.
      African's Americans were often victimized and harassed. Although Asians were , unlike African Americans, were allowed to live in white neighbourhoods, these Asians also harassed .Her brother was taunted and beaten by white boys daily. She was called called " chink" and "jap". Asians , along with blacks and jews, were not welcome at the tourist homes. She was not invited into white folks 'homes'. She was always asked when she had to America and when she "going back". In that racial climate, Americans treated Asians as foreigners. For an Asian American girl, a cheerleader was near impossibility . These were the reasons that stimulated her to work against racism and sexism.
Less or more both had similar experiences of staying in foreign countries.

Why go to universtiy

Do you agree with Richard wright and the author of "Why go to university ?" the education is supremely valuable ? why or why not?
Express your views on education on the basis of "The library card " and " Why go to university?"
What similarities of ideas do you find between " The library card " and " Why go to university ?"

"The Library card " shows importance of reading for social changes, and entire revolution in the society. The story deals with the ideas of call struggle ,and development of mind for right decisions at right time. The person has close knowledge of the society and social changes. The author of " Why go to university " enlists several advantages of education , and advantages shown in " The Library card" in one of them. Reading books also means getting knowledge. It is also a kind of education.
Richard Wright's story " The Library card " deals with advantages of reading books . The more one reads books, the more advantages he has. A book is a human world. Mind is widened with the knowledge of families , society , human affairs and world's affairs. Wright knows right and wrong human traits. He understands prejudices prevalent in the society. Knowledge of the social discrimination of apartheid evokes anger in his mind and heart. He feels that we must revolt against the white to preserve the rights of the Negroes. He learns to compare and contrast the privileges that have been given to the white and the Negroes .He moves his hand to raise the suppressed souls with violence against their cruel enemy-the white people.
        Moti Nissani writes general benefits of education unlike Wright whose work describes specific benefit. Nissani has enlisted ten advantages that one has after having better income and job opportunities. They can save money by the knowledge of repairments and other daily works. They can keep better health. They can have physical and mental exercises. Education gives maturity . It guides in political activities . People have maximum utilization of democracy. From both texts , there is common essence that education is foundation of culture and civilization . It is extremely valuable.

MARRIAGE IS A PRIVTE AFFAIR

Would you say that marriage in Nepal is a private affair?

Ans: Nepal is a country where are varieties of cultures, customs, social and tribal groups, communities and religious groups. The marriage system varies in these different social cultural, religious and tribal groups. In some of the social group , tribal communities and religious groups especially , in the rural parts of Nepal,there are strict traditional rules about marriage. The matured people are not free to choose their life partners of their own choice . If the boys or girls go against their religion, culture and tradition , they are punished or rejected by the society . The parents arrange marriage and it is not private affair for these people.

However, many changes have taken place in the marriage system nowadays. In the city parts, marriage has become a private affair. The matured people are free to do love marriage and court marriage . They are free to choose their own partners. The traditional and religious norms and restrictions are being broken.More and more people are being educated and they are not ready to follow the old systems. Inter-caste marriage has become popular.Though some conservative parents reject these new systems in the beginning, they accept their daughter-in-law or son-in-law slowly. The society has become broad and liberal and law of our country has also encouraged inter-caste and other forms of private marriages. Thus as a whole , marriage has become a private affair in our country.

Me.Know-All

Literal Comprehension : The narrator of the story was going to Yakohama  from San Francisco .On the ship, he had to share the cabin, with a stranger named Max Kelada  who was chatty and argumentative . He talked to everybody on various topics as if he knew everything .For that reason , he was nicknamed as Mr. Know-All .He was hated by almost everyone on board . There was another man named Mr. Ramsay who was going Kobe from New York with his beautiful wife . One evening , an argument started between Mr. Know-All and Mr.Ramsay .They argued about pearls. Mr.Kelada  claimed that he knew much about pearls.  He showed a pearl-chain worn by Mrs.Ramsay and said that it was real and it would cost thirty thousand dollars, But Mr.Ramsay was sure that the pearl-chain was artificial and his wife had bought for just 18 dollars. Mr.Ramsay and Mr. Kelada bet hundred dollars on it. Mr. Kelada examined the pearls with his magnifying glass and found out that the pearls were real. He looked at Mrs. Ramsay and saw that her face was pale and she looked as if she was going to faint Mr. Kelada hid the truth and said that the pearls were artificial . He gave a hundred dollar note to Mr. Ramsay , Next morning ,he got his money back from Mrs. Ramsay.
Interpretation:  This story deals with humanity and the nature of woman.What appears on the surface is not always the reality. Though Mr. Kelada is talkative and he is hated by all, he is proved to be the best example of humanity . He became fool but saved the happy married life of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay . People laughed at him and ridiculously nicknamed him as Mr. Know-All ,but he didnt care it. He told a lie and lost the money as well as prestige to save the prestige of others. On the other hand , the story also shows the duel character of women . Mrs. Ramsay looks very honest and good wife but she involves in the immoral love affairs with other men in the absence of her husband.
Critical Thinking:  This story is very interesting and it had  a surprise ending. The writer has successfully shown the human nature. Some good people like Mr.Kelada are really misjudged and it is difficult to know about the secrecy of women. However , some ideas are less convincing . If alcohol was prohibited at that time , how did Mr.Kelada  offer a good cocktail to the narrator ? Did Mr. Kelada know every thing? If Mr.Kelada did many things to entertain the people on board why was he hated ? Except these doubts, the story is convincing , exciting and realistic.
Assimilation:  I am very much affected by this story . This story has taught me that we cant judge people through their outward behaviors. On the other hand, it is not easy to understand the character and secrecy of women. 

Mr.KNOW-ALL

After reading the story ,''Mr.know-all " , do yo think what Mr. Kelada did was right or wrong?Why?

Ans: The narrator  of the story was going to yakohama to San Francisco. On the ship, he had to share the cabin with a stranger named Max  Kelada who was chatty and argumentative . He talked to everybody on various topics as if he knew everything. For that reason , he was nicknamed as Mr.Know-All .He was hated by almost everyone on board .There was another man named Mr.Ramsay who was going to Kobe from New York with his beautiful wife.One evening,an argument started between Mr.Know-all and Mr.Ramsay. They argued about pearls . Mr. Kelada  claimed that he knew much about pearls . He showed a pearl-chain worn by Mrs. Ramsay and said that it was real and it would cost up to thirty thousand dollars . But Mr. Ramsay was sure that pearl-chain was artificial and his wife had bought it for just 18 dollars. Mr. Ramsay and Mr. kelada bet hundred dollars on it. Mr. kelada  examined the pearl with his magnifying glass and found out that the pearls were real. He looked at Mrs. Ramsay  and saw that her face was pale and she looked as if she was going to faint. Mr. kelada hide the truth and said that the pearls were artificial. He gave a hundred dollar note to Mr. Ramsay Next morning, he got his money back from Mrs. Ramsay.
This story deals with humanity and the nature of women . What appears on the surface is not always the reality . Though Mr. Kelada is talkative and he is hated by all, he is proved to be the best example of humanity. He became fool but saved the happy married life of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay . People laughed at him and ridiculously nicknamed him as Mr. Know-All ,but he didnt care it. He told a lie and lost the money as well as prestige to save the prestige of others. On the other hand , the story also shows the duel character of women . Mrs. Ramsay looks very honest and good wife but she involves in the immoral love affairs with men in the absence of her husband.This story is very interesting and it has surprise ending. The writer has successfully shows the human nature. Some good people like Mr. kelada are really misjudged and it is very difficult to know about the secrecy of women.

 Basing your answer on ' Phaedo' answer the question , how should a human being face death??

Ans: The story Phaedo is about the last moments in the life of  Socrates . According to the description of Pheado. Socrates was accused of misleading the youths. For his influential ideas ,he was given death punishment. He could have saved his life by changing his views or opinions but he didnt do so. He always walked on the of truth .He accepted death very easily. Though his execution was coming near, he worked and behaved in the normal way. His wife and children as ell as his disciples wept, Socrates remained firm in his opinions. He lived bravely and died bravely. Death is inevitable . All of us should die sooner or later. Most of he human beings are worried and afraid of death . The story Phaedo  teach us that we should face death as Socrats does.Without being worried and afraid of death,we should live meaningful life. We should always perform our duties walking on the path of truth. We should not hesitate to die for the sake of truth or humanity. Socrates drank a cup of hemlock in  a single drought. He left his wife ,children ,disciples and this world very easily. Though he died , his philosophy  and the path of truth that he showed are still alive. Thus death is a natural force and we cant escape it. But , we should accept it easily , face it bravely and make our death meaningful.

PHAEDO

 Phaedo, the disciple of Socrates, describes his last discussion to Echerates. Socrates lived his life bravely and accepted the death bravely. All of his family members and the disciple couldn’t tolerate his death but he consoled them with his soothing words. He believed in his life after death. According to him death is inevitable. We have to meet the ultimate truth of death, so we shouldn’t worry and get afraid of death. We should live meaningful life by following the path of truth and the god.Socrates believed in the concept of ‘hereafter.’ He believed that when someone is dead, only his body is dead. The soul is eternal. After death, the soul is separated from the body and ascends to heaven. He doesn’t give any importance to dead body since it is nothing after the soul is released from the body. That’s why he asked his disciples to bury his dead body as they wish to bury. The god is powerful. The god only welcomes pure soul in the heaven. If we commit sinful act, the gate to heaven is closed for us. So, we should win the heavenly glory by following truth and reality in life.As Socrates lived bravely, he accepted the death bravely. He drank the cup of hemlock happily in front of his disciples. He could save his life by begging excuses to the authority, but the truth was dearer to him than his life. Before dying, Socrates asked Crito to offer cock to Asclepius. It was the Greek custom to make an offering to the divine healer, Asclepius after recovery from illness. According to Socrates, he was recovering, not dying. He was just entering into next heavenly life. Thus, Socrates was the bravest, the wisest and the most upright man of all the time.       

 Interpretation : Socrate's  sayings are focused here. He says that we should follow the true path of life . He further says that a dead body can be buried or burned . It makes no difference to the person because he/she, after death, is already gone to another world - heaven. Finally , he says that we do not gain anything just by enjoying a few hours when we know that there is no life any longer. He says  that , the sooner a person dies, the sooner he goes the heaven and there he/she has real pleasure of life.

Critical thinking : According to Socrate's there is another world after life as heaven but this saying is contradictory because nobody has proved yet the existence of another world - heaven or hell; therefore , to argue against this saying the the sooner one dies, the sooner he goes to the heaven , or speaking in favour  of this saying is useless. Practically, or  by reasoning , one cant believe such thing happens ,but religiously , such type of talk is very common.

Assimilation : In the present  world of materialism ,many people do not have faith on religion or on gods , or on heaven , but rather they enjoy all kinds of thing which are found immediately in their surrounding . Yet there are some people, though very small in number , talking about the true path of life. Lord Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi and others have been seen in this world who followed the true path of life for the sake of truth, and for the sense of humanity, they sacrificed their comforts and life . I dont think they had any vision of heaven, but they did have true and virtual souls. 

Que.    Do you accept Socrates ' belief in the hereafter' ? If you share his views, what might a contemporary biologist say about them? what might a Hindu feel about Socrates indifference to the manner in which his corpse will be disposed of?

  Socrates has a strong belief on the life after death. He believes that after his death , his soul will go to the heaven . He says that when he drinks poison , he will remain  no longer in this world but will depart to a state of  heavenly happiness . He believes that there is spiritual life after worldly life .God is almighty . He is omnipresent . He sees everything and he is the supreme judge. The gate of heaven will be closed and he is the supreme judge .The gate of heaven will be closed for those who involve in the misdeeds in this world . Socrates believes that the ultimate punishment or reward will be given by God. He believes in the hereafter and always involves in the meaningful activities .He always walks on the path of truth , justice and humanity .He is not afraid of death as it is the natural process which comes to everyone. He lives bravely and dies bravely. I accept the views and beliefs of Socrates. A contemporary biologist doesnt believe on afterlife .  In the modern  scientific world , hardly any people believe on the existence of heaven and hell. Nobody knows what happens after death. Biologists say that life ends with death. Religious people believe that another life begins with death. Like Socrates , i also believe that our soul doesnt die though our body dies and becomes soil. Our soul is tested by god and we are sent either to heaven or hell. If all the people have belief on afterlife and are afraid of god , they will involve in the good deeds and world itself will be the heaven.

Socrates shows indifference to the manner in which his corpse will be disposed of . When his disciples ask him how they should bury him,  Socrates  replies that they should dispose of him in whatever way they like. For him, when the soul departs the body ,he dead body is insignificant . The dead body is decayed and becomes soil . The soul will enter another world .However , a Hindu thinks differently. According to Hinduism , if a dead boby is not well disposed of , he/she will go to hell, instead of heaven.

contrast or different between

compare and contrast between richard wright's " The library card " and Moti nissani's "Why go to university"?
 Ans: However , there are some differences in these two essays ,Richard Wrights focuses on informal education. He studied himself and because of self study, he become aware and a great writer. On the other hand, Nissani focuses on the formal education .He talks about the advantage of the university education. He says that to get better job and to make our life  bright and prosperous we should have university degree. Richard Wright talks about the racial discrimination but Nissani does not mention it. Rest of the ideas are similar in both the essays.

Democies Sword

Do you agree with the writer of " Democies Sword " that boundless wealth doesnt necessarily bring happiness and satisfaction?
 Ans: Yes , i agree the writer of this story the boundless wealth doesnt necessarily bring happiness and satisfaction . According to this story ,king Dionysius of Sicily was honorable , rich , powerful and he was surrounded by brilliant court men and a large number of flatters .One of the flatters named Damocles was very foolish . He always flattered the king to win his favor. But in the of the story ,when Damocles was given a change of sitting in the throne , he was shocked and terrified .He saw a sword or death hanging over the head of the king. Then he avoided the throne and understood that a king would not be always happy and satisfied .This story proves that though the king s, rulers and people of high rank seem happy , satisfied ,wealthy , powerful etc, they are always under constant danger, challenge and burden of responsibilities.  

The cricket

Summary :  The cricket’ is a Chinese story; it presents a detail picture of an authoritarian government. In china, during Mings reign, cricket fighting was very popular among the high officials. The magistrate wanted to win the favor of his seniors by collecting fighting specimen, and he was successful to find the one. So, floral shade was appointed as a royal supplier of the cricket to the court.As a nature of shifting down the responsibility to the juniors, the magistrate shifted the responsibility to the neighborhood head named Make- good who was an honest man. If he became unable to collect sufficient tax, he would supply from his own pocket. So he was bankrupt within a year.
 The same happened in the matter of collecting cricket. When Make-good failed to feel quota set by his higher officers, he wished to die. But his wife encouraged him finding cricket himself. The man could not find anything for the whole ten days. So, he was beaten to death. Then, a fortune teller came to the village, so the wife went to visit the fortune teller. The teller issued a sheet of paper out of the curtained room. But instead of written words, the wife got picture only. As guided by the picture Make-good was able to find a very attractive cricket. He kept it properly, and went to work. At the same time, his nine years old son happened to release the cricket. In an attempt of recapturing the cricket, the cricket was injured and it died later. The boy was so terrified that he attempted suicide by jumping into a well. When they were going to bury the boy, there was a faint breathing. So, he was brought home. But the boy was lifeless.
Worried, Make-good went to find cricket. He found one ordinary specimen and brought home. He wanted to test the ability of the cricket, so he set a fight with local warrior cricket named Crabshell Green. To his surprise, his cricket won the fight. So, the cricket was presented to the magistrate. The magistrate again presented it to the governor, and the governor to the king. The cricket won all the fights. So Make-good received a lot of prizes from the governor. He became the rich person.
After a year, Make-good’s son regained consciousness. While he received his spirit, he said that he become a cricket while he was sleeping. He become an expert warrior and learned fighting during the period.

Interpretation :  The writer points out the superstitious , belief on fate and coincidence . Based on the real event  that was widely practiced and favoured during the Ming reign, the writer connects, fate of Make-good, a common man , who suffers and finally succeeds with great achievement  from the cricket fighting. The dead child appears to be cricket that wins all battles and helps his parents with the favours of the authorities and with enormous wealth . That is superstitious and merely a faith on fate.

Critical thinking : I think that this story is a horrible  story with death and reappearance of the person to support the living ones. Superstition is just a blind belief, which is supposed not to happen in real life. More interesting aspect of the story is its presentation an imaginary event based on a real event. Though the cricket fighting is still enjoyed in China , it is legally banned. 

Assimilation: I have read a similar type of horrible story in which parents wish for some money. A guest came in the evening and gave them a monkey's paw with enchantation  . They would have three wishes fulfilled from that enchanted paw. First wish they made for money . The following day a lawyer came and gave them some money as compensation for the death of their only son by the machine in the factory. They had second wish for survival of their son. Their son really came at midnight, but thinking that he might have been a ghost, they were frightened and so wished for the death of their son. Thus, all their three wishes were wasted. 

  
 Would  the writer of "The cricket" agree that it is better to live in a free country than in an authoritarian one?
  
Ans: In this story , the writer seems to agree that it is better to live in a free country than in an authoritarian one. This story is based on chinese context . It deals with cricket fighting in china which began during tang Dynasty and it is still a popular pastime today . Through this story , the writer tries to show that there is no freedom but authoritarian rule in china. The ordinary people are suppressed by the authority or power.
                                                       This story portrays not only the culture of china but also the authoritarian rule of China . Make-good was beaten mercilessly when he couldnt fulfill  the command of the magistrate.
Under the totalitarian communism of china , the ordinary people cant enjoy freedom , rights , equality and justice. The magistrate , governor , emperor and other high class officals  dominate, suppress torture and exploit the general people.
When Make-good was unable to fulfill  the quota set by the magistrate, he had to face the punishment of one hundred strokes .This event shows the fate of the ordinary people in china. Thus , the writer seems to attack the tyranny , cruelty , dictatorship etc of the rulers.

The barve little parrot

Literal Comprehension: Taken from Buddhist legend, the story “The Brave Little Parrot,” carries a moral lesson at its heart. Once upon a time, Buddha was born as a little parrot. One day, there was lightning, and the thunder struck the jungle, and the fire took the jungle in its grip. The little parrot, at first, tried to save its life flying towards the river but he came to observe that his jungle-friends were captivated inside the flames of the fire. Not being able to tolerate the sufferings of animals, the little parrot made a plan to save their lives. Then the parrot went to the river, dived into it and flew back to the jungle. When it arrived at the point where the fire was the most wild, it sprinkled the few drops of water remaining in its body. Though it was too tired, the little parrot repeatedly went to the river & came back with drops of water with the hope of extinguishing fire. The Gods were passing just above the jungle at that time; they began to laugh seeing the fruitless effort of the little parrot. But the heart of one of the Gods was kindled. He took the form of golden eagle & flew towards the parrot. The eagle advised the parrot to save its life by flying away. But the little parrot replied that he needed help than any advice. The answer of the parrot melted the heart of the golden eagle, & began to weep. The tears of the eagle came down on the earth as a cool rain. The fire was extinguished. New life sprung where the tears fell on. All the dead animals & the plants got their life back as if nothing had happened in the jungle.

Interpretation: This beautiful story is probably trying to give the message that we can get success at the end if we continue our efforts without any hesitation. Because of its strong determination, the little parrot got victory over the deadly fire. The story is also trying to tell that selfless services are always rewarded by the God. Similarly, it also tells us that even the God has to bend its head in front of little creature like parrot if it takes the path of selfless welfare.

Critical Thinking: The story is successful in spreading the Buddhist philosophy of social welfare. But a lot of questions emerge in the mind of a critical reader. Do the Gods really exist in this world? Can the birds talk like human beings? Is it possible that the tears of a bird take the form of stream? Is it possible to restore the life of dead creatures? These are some of the situations in the story that are not agreeable.

Assimilation: The story is based on a myth. The story beautifully draws the Buddhist philosophy of ‘live and let live.’ After reading the story, I truly understood the value of living in a society. We are growing selfish these days. The story teaches us the principle of community service. The story motivates its readers to be laborious, and help the others in need. Value of brotherhood is glorified in the story.

The brave little parrot can be interpeted as an argument. identify and explain what this argument might be.
                                                        or
the brave little parrot can be interpreted  as an advice to you about how you should conduct your own life.please explain what this advice might be ?
ANS:  The story can be interpreted as an argument. The argument might be that "if we never lose courage in the most difficult or critical situation and help others, god will certainly help us".Though is seemed really impossible for the little parrot to extinguish the raging fire, he didnt give up hope and confidence. He didnt think about himself but he was worried about others.Being selfless ,he did what he could do. he didnt think and worry about the fruit or outcome of his effort. He only performed the action or duty . When the eagle advised him to stop his foolish and save himself, the parrot asked the eagle to help him. The eagle was impressed and his heart filled with love and benevolence .Thus , we should not be worried about our little strength and powerlessness .We should rather perform our duty being selfless. If we serve others, God will serve us.

Yudhishthira's wisdom

summary:   One day the pandava brothers went far from their dwelling place in search of deer in the jungle. They saw a deer  and followed it but the deer vanished. They felt very tried and thirsty. Yudhishthira could not walk any further. They also could not find any sign of water around them. So Yudhishthira sent Sahadeva to search water. Sahadeva  went from there but he did not come back. Yudhisthera became worried and he sent Nakula Bhim and Arjun one by one.  When  they  did not  return, Yudhishthera went himself following their foot steps to know what had happend to them . After some time he came to a clearing. He saw a beautiful pool. The water of the pool looked fresh ,cool and inviting. But at the same time , he saw another terrible scene. His all brothers were lying on the bank of the pool.  Their eyes were closed.           
                                                    Yudhishthira became mournful . He  prayed the god to take him also because he could not live without his dear brother. He cried bitterly . However ,he could not control his thirst. When he bent down to drink the water, the sound of the yaksha ordered him that he could not drink the water until he answered his question . He had given the same order to the other  Pandava brothers but they ignored it and he had cursed them. However , Yudhishthira was very wise and patient. He requested the yaksha to ask his question and promised that he would answer them as well as he could.
                                                     The yaksha asked him many questions that he answered sincerely and rightly. The yaksha was very much impressed by his replies and he promised to revive one of his brother. Yudhisthira was very just, fair ,truth and wise .So ,he requested the yaksha to save Nakula, the son of his step mother. The yaksha was even more impressed by Yudhishthera's wisdom, justice and fairness. So he decided to save all Yudhishthira's brothers.He appeared before Yudhishthira as Yama , Yudishthira's hevenly  father ,the god of justice and death . He revived all the brother of Yadhisthira. He also advised them to remember him in future difficulties .Then he suggested themto go to matsya with Draupadi and spend the rest exile period there.

Interpertation: The story may be trying to tell us something about the importance of patience , obedience to gods  ,wisdom and right conduct. If Yudishthira had lacked these qualities , all Pandava brothers would have been lost. The story tresses the right,  justice and fairness more than other things. Likewise ,the story suggests us to be courageous and to give up anger, and desire to live a happy and healthy life.

critical thinking: After reading this story ,I found many useful things for life. However there are some disagreeable ideas.Do the gods exist ? if so , what is the proof of their existence ? Can we truly say that patience and right conducts are rewarded on this earth ? Was the right conduct of people like Gandhi and  Martin luther king rewarded while they lived? And what about Yudhishthira replies to Yaksha ? Do such complicated question really have so simple answer s? would life be worth living without desire ? so , i dont agree with the writer tatally.

Assimilation: When i read this story ,i found many things useful for my life. I  understood the importance patience, justice and right conduct. I will also try to be like Yudhishthira . However , i will not give up all my desires if they are within my reach.