Pennyworth Books

In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain encounters an immortal being referred to as the Green Knight. From the moment the Green Knight barges into King Arthur’s court, Sir Gawain is not only thrust into a journey that will define him as a knight, but he is exposed to several important lessons – all of which are taught by the GreenKnight. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Green Knight teaches Gawain lessons of respect and accomplishment, mortal humility, and the virtue of understanding a challenge before accepting it.

The first lesson taught to Gawain by the GreenKnight is one of respect and accomplishment. At the time that the dual with the GreenKnight is first proposed, Sir Gawain is one of the lesser knights of King Arthur’s court – having not had the opportunity to prove his worth. Upon considering the GreenKnight’s challenge, he accepts, acknowledging, “I am the…

John Milton was born on 9th December, 1608 in London. Milton very nicely blends the Renaissance and Reformation movement in his great literary works. Some of his literary contributions are “Ode on The Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” Paradise Lost,” “L’Allegro” and “II Penseroso” (1633), “Comus ” (1634), “Lycidus” (1637), “Paradise Regained,” “Samson Agonisttes.”

Milton’s “Paradise Lost” is a great epic. It is one of the greatest English epic of all ages. It brings out the poet’s strong intellectual and creative energy. “Paradise Lost” mainly deals with God, Satan, Adam, Eve, battle for heaven between God and Satan, creation of our first man and woman – Adam and Eve, their happy hours in the Garden of Eden.
We get a very vivid and accurate description of Garden of Eden in Book 4 of “Paradise Lost”. Milton very nicely shows the beauties of Paradise. We get to know that Milton’s Garden of Eden and…

My neighborhood bookstore was touting a Sherlock Holmes detective story, and I wondered why? “Babyboomers don’t read Sherlock Holmes stuff anymore,” I thought.

With some hesitation I purchased The Hound of the Baskervilles and read it over the weekend. The novelette is a detection story about a spectral hound that has terrorized the country side. It turns out that the ghostly hound wasn’t ghostly at all but real, a half-starved dog so kept by a convict.

Before long, I realized why I hadn’t read Conan Doyle in such a long time. First, Sherlock’s cruelty toward Watson is tasteless; not to say rude to the reader. But on the other hand one cannot help thinking that the ill treatment may be due to Watson’s obsequious nature. Yet arrogance and cruelty in any shape is repulsive to me.

Second, Holmes thinks of Watson as a dunce, a vehicle for the detective’s genius, and he isn’t…

Although The Great Gatsby is one of America’s most beloved and respected novels, the basic premise of the book is so simple that it could easily make for a bad sitcom: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl marries someone else, boy buys nearby mansion, tells girl he happened to be “in the neighborhood.” What gives the story it’s depth and complexity – aside from the tricky love pentagram and depressing double-murder/suicide – are the elements added by Nick Carraway’s narration.

Nick tells the story of his relationship with Gatsby from memory. First, we learn that Nick is cousins with Daisy Buchanan, and that he attended Yale with her jock of a husband, Tom. The two live in the super fashionable East Egg of Manhattan, while Nick lives in the still-fashionable but less wealthy West Egg. We then accompany Tom and Nick on a trip to visit Myrtle, Tom’s mistress (who…

The Crucible by Arthur Miller takes place during the volatile time of the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts, 1692. Miller used real people and real events to interpret the horrors which occurred. Though records of this time are sketchy at best, the play comes across feeling quite real and plausible.

Reverend Parrish’s daughter and his ward, Abigail, are found dancing in the woods with a few other young girls. Immediately they are accused of witchcraft, and Parrish brings in an expert on the matter, Reverend Hale. The girls confess and begin naming other “witches” in the community. What begins with lies and jealousy ends in hysteria, madness and executions.

The Crucible is one of those plays they require you read in school, though if you’re like me and missed out, it’s definitely worth it to pick it up. Those interested in history and the Salem Witch Trials obviously need to read through…

Daniel Defoe was born in 1659 at St. Gille’s, Cripplegate in London. He was a man of many shades. These different personal traits are reflected in his literary contribution. He had done a numerous occupation during his life time. Some of his important masterpieces like “Essay on Progects “(1698), “The True born English Man” (1701), “The Hymn to Pillary” (1703), “Consolidator” (1705),” Apparition of Mrs. Veal” (1706), “History of the Union” (1708-09), “Reasons Against Succession of the House of Hanover” (1712), “A General History of Trade” (1713), “Robinson Crusoe” (1719), “Captain Singleton” (1720), “Mole Flanders” (1722) “Rexona or the Fortunate Mistress” (1724) and other important literary works will remain glorious throughout the ages.

Man has control over everything except nature. But the fact is false in case of Defoe’s “ROBINSON CRUSOE”. Defoe’s hero Robinson Crusoe has total control over the environment. He is hardcore traveler. He loves to explore new and…

The animals at manor farm are treated appallingly. Their life is one of toil and misery as their food rations are constantly cut. Tested to breaking point they finally snap. They rebel and rise up and finally after considerable violence, force the hated Mister Jones from his land.

The animals are now free, no longer under the domination of humankind, led by the pigs, especially the domineering Napoleon and the more imaginative Snowball.

From now on, life will forever be sweet, with heated accommodation, education, security, good pensions, and ample food for all.

I first read this book 45 years ago at school, and it was indeed this very same copy, that somehow found its way back to me. (Where has that time gone?)

Back then I thought it a rather sweet kid’s story and was only vaguely aware that it held added meanings.

Reading it again today brought those meanings to the fore. Mister…