English Journal Entries

1. Discuss any five themes presented in Anton Chekhov's Swan song. Like every writing of Chekhov, this drama ' Swan song ' is filled with profound themes. Swan song refers to the final performance or gesture given just before death or retirement. The major character of this drama, Svetlovidov is seen to be performing his Swan song. The setting, plot, character selection and the use of Shakespear's play, all resonate together to introduce these five major themes in the drama: 1. Death and old age Svetlovidov is sixty-eight years old and has spent forty-five long years acting on the stage. But old age has diminished  his enthusiasm and strength. He is no longer able to perform like he used to, and hence is filled with feelings of being worthless. All alone in the world, there is not a single person to care him. He knows that time has come to leave the acting career.  The  author has used the symbolic representation of his aging protagonist to emphasize life's tra

   1. Write a paragraph to demonstrate the understanding of Stephen Toulmin's model of argument. Image source:Google People who smoke cigarettes or weeds and/or drink alcohol are inattentive in class (Claim). Most of the time, they seem to be lazy, preoccupied and dizzy. Some of them usually sit at the last bench so that they can escape the gaze of teacher and sleep peacefully or talk with their friends. When asked questions on the recent topic of study, most of them cannot answer and even cannot tell about the topic being taught (Qualifier) . This directly supports the fact that they were not paying attention to the teacher. Their scores in exam is also low compared to those who don't drink or smoke (Evidence). Research shows that drinking alcoholic beverages affects person's feelings, thoughts and action. It is a depressant which has major role in causing anxiety and stress. Smoking  leads to nicotine withdrawal symptoms (depression and schizophren