NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English (Kaleidoscope Non-Fiction) Chapter 4 Why the Novel Matters

Ans : A novel, like most other literary genres, consists of characters. The characters are the manifestations of real human beings on paper. The liveliness of the novel depends entirely upon its characters. There are several personality traits of the characters that the novel displays. It does not build up flat characters. Instead, it gives an insight into every deed of the character whether good or flawed and leaves it upto the interpretation of the readers. Thus, this is how the novel reflects the wholeness of the human being. 

Ans : The author considers the novel to be a superior genre among books. He believes that not all books possess the liveliness that a novel has. A novel induces a kind of liveliness in the readers which makes the entire man-alive tremble. In other words, it induces life in the readers which the other types of books like poetry, philosophy or science fail to do. Thus it is considered superior by the author. 

Ans : When the author says the novel is a ‘tremulations on the ether’ he means that it induces a kind of life in the readers which the other books are not capable of doing. Reading the other type of books is very similar to reading messages or hearing news being read over the radio. One can hear them and at the most feel sorry for them. However, one can never identify with them on a personal level. However, the novel provides a multidimensional view of the characters and the readers can relate with them on a personal level. A novel gives the readers a crucial insight into valuable life lessons that the individual can then induce in their lives and mould their decisions. Thus, the novel is a life inducing agent of the writer’s thought processes which have considerable effects on the readers. 

Ans : Lawrence does not believe that a body is a mere vessel for containing the soul and that the soul is the only alive entity. He provides the example of a hand. A hand writes the words. It has a life of its own. It hops from word to word like a grasshopper and knows the universe through the sensory route of touch. It numbs and slows down if the author writes for too long and it is just as much active and alive as the mind which dictates the words to be written. Hence, denying the hand to be a lifeless object only to be used as a medium of writing is completely incorrect according to the author. Similarly, a parson talks about the importance of souls in heaven. How- ever, being a novelist, Lawrence says that ‘paradise is in the palm of your hand’. A philosopher talks about infinity and the pure spirit who knows everything. However, Lawrence says that “infinity is just a handle to this self-same jug of a body of mine”. A burning finger brings such incitement and knowing that it renders the concept of Nirvana as a mere conjecture. Hence, the body is alive, perhaps more alive than any other entity and denying it is an erroneous decision by spiritual thinkers. 

Ans : The backbone of any literary text, especially that of the novel is its characters. The plot, the storyline all revolve around the characters depicted in the novel. Hence, it is crucial for the characters to be true to their integrity and this is what essentially juices up the characters. If not, they lose their charm and become dull and flat characters. Every novel consists of two types of characters- round characters and flat characters. Flat characters are those that remain unaffected during the entire course of the novel. Not a single incident changes them or has any impact on them. Round characters on the other hand keeping on developing with the progression of the storyline. They help in peaking the interest level and keeping the readers glued to the novel. Thus, if every character is flat i.e. sticking to ‘what should be done’ rather than being round i.e. following their instincts, the novel will lose its charm and become monotonous. Hence, Bergman believes, “It is more important for characters to be true to themselves (integrity) than to what I expected of them (consistency).”