Literary Quest

Rules of Concord (Subject–Verb Agreement) with Examples Concord means the agreement between the subject and the verb in number and person. Below are the main rules of concord , explained simply with examples.   1. Singular subject → singular verb Plural subject → plural verb The boy runs fast. The boys run fast.   2. Two singular subjects joined by and → plural verb Ravi and Sita are classmates. Exception: If they refer to one person or idea, use a singular verb. Bread and butter is my breakfast.   3. Subjects joined by or / nor → verb agrees with the nearest subject Either Ram or his friends are coming. Neither the teachers nor the principal is present.   4. Words like each, every, everyone, someone, anybody, nobody take a singular verb Everyone is happy. Each of the players was rewarded.   5. Collective nouns take: Singular verb when the g...

  Marxism emerged from the 1848 collaboration between Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who transformed the study of society into a materialist philosophy. Instead of seeking spiritual explanations, they argued that history is "motored" by the class struggle for economic and political power. This struggle is rooted in the Base, the material means of production, which inevitably determines the Superstructure, the cultural world of ideas, art, and law. This concept of economic determinism suggests that no cultural product is "innocent"; rather, all art is shaped by the economic forces of its time. In a capitalist system, this drive for profit leads the bourgeoisie to exploit the proletariat by extracting surplus value from their labour. The human consequence of this system is alienation, where workers are separated from their own creativity and humanity. Marx identified this as reification, a process where people become things, viewed merely as "hands" or pa...

  The poem “Pride” is written by Dahlia Ravikovitch, a noted Israeli poet. She is known for her powerful images to present human emotions, relationships, and the hidden pain behind ordinary life. In this poem, she uses the image of a rock to explore the theme of pride, vulnerability and emotional breaking. The poem begins by saying that even rocks can crack. Rocks normally appear strong, permanent and unchanging. For years, they lie under the sun, rain, heat and cold. They remain motionless, and the cracks inside them are not seen. This creates an illusion of calm strength. The rock becomes a symbol of pride. People also hide their weaknesses and do not show their pain. They appear calm and strong from the outside. The poem then shows that time passes over the rocks: seasons change, the sea moves, moss and seaweed grow. Everything around is changing, but the rocks still seem the same. This reflects how people go through many experiences while trying to remain steady and strong....

Foundations of Marxism Marxism was founded by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who announced the advent of Communism in their jointly written Communist Manifesto in 1848. It is a materialist philosophy that seeks concrete, scientific explanations for the world of observable facts, rather than spiritual ones. At its core is the belief that history is driven by class struggle, a competition for economic, social, and political power between the bourgeoisie (owners) and the proletariat (workers). Under capitalism, this struggle involves the exploitation of the working class, where profit is generated by extracting surplus value from their labour. This leads to alienation, a state where workers are "de-skilled" and perform fragmented, repetitive tasks. A key result of this process is “reification”, a term from Marx’s Das Kapital describing how workers are stripped of their humanity and thought of as "hands" or "the labour force"—in essence, people become th...

  Marxism – An Overview   Marxism emerged through the collaborative intellectual work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, two German thinkers whose friendship and shared political concerns shaped a powerful theory of history and society. Marx, originally trained in law, dedicated most of his life to political journalism and philosophical writing. Engels, after leaving Germany, worked in his father’s textile factory in Manchester, where he witnessed the harsh conditions of industrial capitalism first-hand. Their meeting was initiated when Engels read an article by Marx, and from that point their partnership developed into a lifelong scholarly alliance. Together, they produced some of the most influential texts of modern political thought, including The Communist Manifesto in 1848. At the centre of Marxist doctrine is the vision of a classless society. Marxism argues that social inequality arises from the ownership and control of the means of production. In a capitalist syste...

  Summary of the Novel Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tells the story of Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who lives with his parents and four grandparents in a small wooden house. The family is extremely poor and often goes hungry, but Charlie remains humble, kind, and caring. Nearby stands Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory, which has been closed to the public for years. One day, Wonka announces a contest: five Golden Tickets are hidden in his chocolate bars. The lucky winners will receive a tour of the factory and a lifetime supply of sweets. The tickets are found by four spoiled and selfish children—Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee—and finally by Charlie, who discovers his ticket by chance. Accompanied by his loving Grandpa Joe, Charlie joins the other winners at the factory gates. Inside, Willy Wonka welcomes them into a dazzling world of invention: a chocolate river, an inventing room with magical sweets, a nut room fu...