Sleepwalkers (Summary) and Important Passages

 Summary

Most men and women of the elite Indian society profess to be progressive in their outlook. They profess to be liberal, modern, and advanced in their views. But in reality, they are all slavish in their behaviour. They blindly follow what western. The white skin is for them a sure mark of superiority. They have no confidence in themselves. They would cower and cringe in front of Britishers or Americans. They have no faith in their own ability and would seek recommendations and favours even for pretty things. It is this lot of the so-called liberal, modern advanced men, and women of progressive India that, the play, and ‘The Sleepwalkers' has a take on.

In this play, we have some light Indian guests who have been invited to a reception arranged in honour of an American editor and publisher, who has come to India to launch his new magazine. The Indian guests include Mr. and Mrs. Raman Mr. and Mrs. Shah, Mr. and Mrs. Kapur, Mr. Verma, and Miss Ganguli. Mr. Raman is a journalist who has studied journalism in New York. . Prof Shah is a poet and critic, Mr. Kapur is an editor, Mr. Verma is a short story writer, and Miss Ganguli is a Bengali dramatist. Thus all these are educated people and are supposed to have their own individual and independent views.

But the fact is quite opposite of it. The playwright doesn’t allow them to show their faces all through the play. He makes them wear masks because they are just types and have no distinct individuality of their own. We can see the likes of them everywhere in our society. We can see prof. Shah in our educational institutions who for their lectures use notes they had prepared as students decades ago. We can see Mr. Verma who can seek recommendations and influence to have their short stories published. We can see Miss Ganguli has no idea of the themes of their dramas. We see ladies whose husbands have whisky and meat while the ladies content themselves with orange juice and vegetables. Thus we are left with no doubts that the play is a satire on the servile and ludicrous behaviour of the so-called elite Indians.

Important Passages

1. Bengali has the most advanced literature in India, Mrs. Morris, according to foreign observers.

Reference to the Context: - These lines have been taken from the one-act play” The Sleepwalkers”, by Nissim Ezekiel. This is in the form of a force and satire where Indian men look upon the American or English as superior human beings.

Explanation:- Introducing Miss Ganguli to Mrs. Morris, Mr. West says that she is a Bengali playwright from Calcutta. In a vein of self-praise, Miss Ganguli says that Bengali has the most advanced literature in India. Miss. Ganguli doesn’t even know that literature is not a thing to be observed. And then foreign observers can’t be considered to be the ultimate judges of Bengali literature.

 

2.  India is culturally rich, Mr. Morris though economically backward. Our spiritual life is so much better compared to materialistic America.

Reference to the Context:- These lines have been taken from the one-act play, ‘The Sleepwalkers’, by Nissim Ezekiel. This is in the form of a force and satire.

Explanation- These lines have been spoken by Prof. Shah to Mr. Morris when Miss Ganguli and Mr. Varma talk of the great playwrights in Bengali and Hindi. In his attempt to impress Mr. Morris, Prof. Shah says that India is culturally rich though economically backward with an air of superiority, he says, “ Our spiritual life is so much better compared to materialistic America”. What a consolation for being economically backward!

 

3. My stories are perfectly suitable for your magazine, Mr. Morris, My critics say they are totally without thought.

Reference to the Context:- These lines have been taken from the one-act play, “ The Sleepwalkers”, by Nissim Ezekiel, This play has been written in the form of a force and a stature.

Explanation:- Describing the main feature of his magazine. Mr. Morris says, “ In my magazine, there is no thought”. Even without thinking, the Indian guests start praising the magazine for investing in this quality and investing themselves with ‘greatness’. These lines show how Indians become too willing to imitate even the absurdities of white-skinned people.

 

4. Real living, the living that matters is living by doing. The more we do the happier we are. But we cannot be doing all the time. Sometimes we relax. We watch television. We listen to radio of the record player. We read magazines.

Reference to the Context:- These lines have been taken from the play” The Sleepwalkers” written by Nissim Ezekiel. An American, Mr. Morris comes to India in order to promote his magazine ‘Blank’. At the airport, he tells them so-called Indian intellectuals that the aim of his magazine is to discourage thought.

Explanation:- In these lines an American, Mr. Morris is speaking. He continues speaking about his magazine. He says in real living only doing work is important. The light is not important. The more we do, the happier we will be. But we cannot do work all the time. We want relaxation also. At such times, his magazine will be very useful. People will be able to pass time by reading his magazine.

 

5. Unfortunately, these media which were originally used to abolish thought or to decrease it, are often used to provoke it. As long as people think they will come to different conclusions. These different conclusions are the true cause of division among human beings. When humanity doesn’t think, it is peaceful. Thinking divisions humanity into warring groups. In my magazine, there is no thought.

Reference to the context:- These lines have been taken from the play” The Sleepwalkers” written by Nissim Ezekiel. An American, Mr. Morris comes to India in order to promote his magazine’ Blank’. At the airport, he tells them so-called Indian intellectuals that the aim of his magazine is to discourage thought.

Explanation:- In these lines, Mr. Morris is addressing his Indian friends. He says that in the past, the aim of the media was to abolish thought or to discourage it. But now they often provoke thought. When people think they come to different conclusions. These can be the division among people. Humanity is peaceful only it doesn’t think. Because of thought, people are divided into violent groups. That is why there is no thought in his magazine.

 

6. We don’t analyze. We don’t separate one thing from another. We don’t make any distinction between what is important and what is unimportant. That makes for dis-comfort, Everything that happens is important and unimportant. They merge they become one. We merge with it. We are with it. We swing along. We swing along. We happen. In that way, we discourage ideas.

Reference to the context: - These lines have been taken from the play” The Sleepwalkers” written by Nissim Ezekiel. An American, Mr. Morris comes to India in order to promote his magazine’ Blank’. At the airport, he tells them so-called Indian intellectuals that the aim of his magazine is to discourage thought.

Explanation:- In these lines, Mr. Morris says that in his magazine, they don’t analyze. They don’t separate one thing from the other. His magazine does not differentiate between the important and unimportant matters of life. All the happenings of life are important as well as unimportant. They are actually one and his magazine also merges with them. They flow along with the happenings of the world. In this way, we are in the villages, and there’s no entertainment in the villages or anything like that. You know, the way you have nightclubs, and so on.