Question

Answer the following question in about 100-120 words:

Analyse the similarities and differences between the young seagull from “Two stories about flying” and Lencho from “A Letter to God”, and provide a rationale for the significant role faith plays in challenging and adverse situations in life.

Answer 1

‘The Ball Poem’ and ‘The Sermon at Benaras’ both discuss the unavoidable nature of loss. Changes and losses are inherent in life. However, one must learn to accept the loss and go on. ‘The Ball Poem’ aims to illustrate the pointlessness of dwelling on the past. When a little child loses his ball, he feels loss. The ball’s disappearance represents the loss of his innocence as a child and his epiphany that losses are a necessary part of life and that one must accept them, deal with them, and move on. Similar to this, Kisa Gotami wishes to revive her only son after losing him in “The Sermon at Benaras.” She is advised by Gautam Buddha to bring a handful of mustard seeds from a home that has not been affected by death. After searching in vain for such a home, Kisa Gotami comes to the conclusion that everyone will eventually die. When she returns to Buddha, he preaches that accepting death with grace and rising above one’s grief is more important than moping over the dead or whining.