Class 11 English Unit 8: A Few Kind Words for Superstition by Robertson Davies

 

Unit 8 Humour and Satire

A Few Kind Words for Superstition by Robertson Davies

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZv5N7C-fso

Reflection of the Essay

In the essay “A Few Kind Words for Superstition,” Robertson Davies defines superstition and its four kinds, which he describes as Vain Observance, Divination or consulting oracles, Idolatry, and Improper Worship of the True God.

Davies claims that he has lived in the middle of a large university, and he has seen superstition in every corner of the university and among the people who were rational and educated. Similarly, superstition does not belong to just one kind of society or a specific group of people. I have grown up in a conservative type of society, and I have seen and witnessed all four kinds of superstition that Davies mentions in my home and community.

The first kind of superstition, or as Davies pointed out, the vain observance, reminds me of my childhood. I have grown up in a small village in Ghazni, Afghanistan. As a child, my siblings and I were not allowed to go out alone at night. Our village had been covered with trees and bushes, and my mother was saying that at night, jinn hide on the branches of trees and do not let us breathe. It remained a question in my mind, and I was always afraid of going out at night.

But after going to school, I learned about trees and that they are alive, and they breathe oxygen and extract carbon dioxide during the day. I learned that this process makes people breathe carbon dioxide instead of oxygen under the shadow of trees at night. After that, I believed that there were no jinn, and this was just a superstition. Divination or consulting oracles is another common kind of superstition among the people in Kabul. 

             In every street of Kabul, one can see a man introducing himself as a clergy who could foretell future events. Among the people who consult these men, young boys and girls are more visible. As Davies says, “Superstition is linked to man’s yearning to know his fate, and to have some hand in deciding it.” These young boys and girls, who are also the educated group of society, believe in superstition and want to have a hand in deciding their fate. The third kind of superstition or Idolatry is a reminiscing of my school and examination days, when my class fellows and I were doing strange things with our pens, like wrapping them with verses from the Qur’an or pieces of string brought from pilgrimages.

And we believed that we would do better in exams by doing so. Going on pilgrimages or to cemeteries and putting the dead persons as an intermediary between the True God and themselves is the fourth kind of superstition. Most of the old women in my region believed in this kind of superstition. Finally, superstition exists in any society and among any group of people. As Davies mentions, in the Terror of Deity, or having some hand in deciding our fate and future.

Ways with Words

A.   Match the following.

Column A	Column B
a.      transcendental	spiritual, nonphysical, or mystical
b.     deplore	to feel or express strong disapproval of (something)
c.      absolve	set free from blame, guilt, or responsibility, release
d.     Juju	a charm or fetish used by some West African people
e.      crude	natural state
f.       chronicle	a written record of historical events

B.    Find the contextual meanings of the following words from the text and then use them in sentences of your own.

a.      condemn - to express disapproval
Don’t condemn him before you hear the evidence.

b.     terror - feeling extreme fear
Anger and terror were on her face.

c.      unbidden -  without being asked, invited, or expected
She shook her head to remove the unbidden thoughts.

d.     persist -  continue to exist
Alcohol and tobacco consumption by young people is especially worrisome because habits formed early are likely to persist.

e.      devout - deeply religious
Nepalese are very devout./She is a devout Hindu.

f.       banish -  expel from a community or group
You must try to banish all thoughts of revenge from your mind. 

g.     creed - any system of principles or beliefs
I live by a certain creed, one that runs in our family.

h.     hasten -  move faster or act quickly
I hasten to add that I knew nothing of the fraud at the time.

i.       sober - become more realistic/lacking brightness or colour
He talked to us in a sober, friendly fashion. 

j.       Scorn -  lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
Many women scorn the use of makeup.

k.     yearning -  prolonged unfulfilled desire or need
There was a yearning look in his eyes./She found herself yearning for friends again. 

l.       aloof - remote in manner/distant
He stood aloof from the crowd.

m.   Swarthy -  naturally having skin of a dark colour/dark-skinned
She had a broad, swarthy face.

n.     humbler - low or inferior in quality/low/
His parents were typical examples of all that is best among the humbler families of Nepal.

C.    One of the ways to understand words and their meanings is to learn the origin of the word. For example, the word 'expand', which means 'to spread out or extend', comes from Middle English expanden, derived from the Latin word expandere: ex-(out)+ pandere (to spread). Trace the origins of each of the following words, finding such explanations in a dictionary or on the Internet. Then make sentences by using each word.

minatory, placated, cajoled, antedates, proliferated, philtre

a.      Minatory- Origin –Latin          Meaning- threatening

Your behaviour at work is minatory.

b.     Placated- Origin – Latin           Meaning – console

My father placated me when I got lower marks in the exam.

c.      Cajoled- Origin- French           Meaning- to persuade somebody

They cajoled him to buy the machine.

d.     Antedates- Origin – Latin         Meaning- predates

There are no references to him that would antedate his birth.

e.      Proliferated – Origin – Latin    Meaning – increased greatly

The new designs of buildings proliferate by day and night.

f.       Philter- Origin – Greek            Meaning – magical tonic

Kings used to filter for their queens.

D.   List any five words found in an English dictionary beginning with the prefix 'super-.' What common meaning do all of these words share? How do the words in your list change meaning if you eliminate the prefix?

All these words share a common meaning of above or more than normal. If we eliminate the prefix ‘super’, we will lose the meaning ‘more than normal. The five words beginning with the prefix ‘super’ are given below:

a.      Superimpose – place on the top

Impose – enforce sth. Or insist on sth.

i.       The Sun image is superimposed on the Nepali flag.

ii.     The state government imposes taxes on income.

b.     Superman – exceptional human being

Man- adult human being

i.       Are you Superman?

ii.     A man depends on a woman.

c.      Supernatural – beyond nature

Natural – produced by nature

i.       The god is supernatural, but stone is a natural resource.

d.     Supernumerary – extra

Numerary – related to numbers

i.       Most supernumerary leaders are living a luxurious life.

ii.     It is difficult to see numerary in a sentence.

e.      Superstar – more popular artist

Star – mass of gas in space / popular artist

i.       Rajesh Hamal is the superstar of the Nepali film industry.

ii.     Stars shine at night only.

Comprehension (page 74)

Answer these questions.

a.      According to the author, what are the four types of superstition?
According to the author, the four types of superstition are Vain Observances, Divination, Idolatry, and Improper Worship of the True God.

b.     Which language is the word ‘superstition’ derived from? What does it mean?

The word ‘superstition’ is derived from the Latin language ‘supersisto’. It means to stand in terror of the Deity.

c.      How do psychologists understand superstition?
Psychologists understand superstition as a compulsion that neurosis does not banish.

d.     How does superstition differ from religion?

The difference between Religion and superstition lies in the beliefs of a community. Religion is confined to worshipping Gods and devoting to them. Superstition is just a belief that relies on rituals performed over them.

e.       What is the belief of some people in the Middle Europe about sneezing?
Some people in the Middle Europe believe that when a person sneezes, his/her soul is absent from the body for a moment, and they hasten to bless him.

f.       In the author’s view, why are people so fascinated by superstition?
In the author’s view, people are so fascinated by superstition because of their desire to know their fate and to have some hand in deciding it.

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