Indian Writing in English — DU B. A. (Hons) English Previous Year Question Papers

Course: Bachelor of Arts (Honours Course) English Time limit: 3 hours Max marks: 90 c. Candidates have to answer ALL the questions in Part A and ANY THREE questions in Part B. Questions in Part A carry 10 marks each and questions in Part B carry 20 marks each. Q1- (a). Write a short note on the following: Bimla and Raja, the siblings (b). Describe Bakul's character as he appears in the novel. Q2- (a). Critically explain the following lines with reference to context: "How felt he when he first was told A slave he ceased to be; How proudly beat his heart, when first He knew that he was free! The noblest feelings of the soul To glow at once began" (b). Critically explain the following lines with reference to context: "Men say the world is full of fear and hate And all life's ripening harvest-fields await The restless sickle of relentless fate. But I, sweet Soul, rejoice that I was born, When from the climbing terraces of corn I watch the golden orioles of Thy morn". Q3. (a). Write a short note on Ramani in Salman Rushdie's story "The Free Radio". (b). "And at present we were not friends, not acquaintances even, but only a husband and wife." Comment on these lines from Shashi Deshpande's story "Intrusion". Q4. (a). Discuss the significance of the title of the novel The Clear Light of Day in symbolic and literary aspects. (b). Discuss Bimla as the central protagonist and as the strongest woman among other women created by Desai. Q5. (a). How does Robin S. Ngangom deal with the tension between personal memory and collective history in his poetry? Explain it with a critical reading of the poems prescribed in your syllabus. (b). How does the portrayal of female sexuality challenge the conventional notions of femininity in the poetry of Kamla Das? Explain it with reference to the poems prescribed in your syllabus. Q6. (a). Ramani is a victim of the Emergency in Salman Rushdie's "The Free Radio". Do you agree? Give a reasoned answer. (b). Critically comment on the significance of the title of the short story "Stains". Q7. (a). Critically examine two writers/poets from your syllabus who discuss patriotism. (b). Describe how Indian English writers engage with the question of marginality in their works. Critically evaluate with the help of at least two texts of your choice from your syllabus.