MA I Sem ( New Syllabus: 2025-26) Paper: III (Fiction)

Hareshwar Roy,

 Semester: I; Paper: III ( Fiction)

Syllabus (Session 2025-26 onward)
MA English Literature: PG 2- Year Programme
Semester: I
Course Title: Fiction (Paper III)
Course Type: Core Course
Credit Value: Option I= 5, II & III= 4
Max Marks- 40+60; Min. Passing Marks- 40
Content of the Course
Unit I: Early Narrative Fiction
Aphra Behn: Oroonoko
Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe
Activities:

Historical Context Research Project: Activity: Assign students to research the historical context of slavery, Colonial Surinam, and Aphra Behn’s life as a Restoration writer.
2. Colonialism Case Study: Activity: Analyze Robinson Crusoe as a colonial text; include short readings from postcolonial theorists (e.g., Edward Said, Homi Bhabha).

Unit II: Picaresque and Satirical Novels
Henry Fielding: Tom Jones
Laurence Sterne: Tristram Shandy
Activities:

1. Historical Context Presentation: Research and present on 18th-century England—class structures, legal systems, and gender roles—to better understand the novel’s social  commentary.
2. Podcast or Mock Interview: Produce a podcast episode or mock interview with Laurence Sterne or Tristram himself; Focus on why the novel is constructed as it is and what it's trying to do with narrative form.

Unit III: Gothic and Sentimental Fiction
Horace Walpole: The Castle of Otranto
Richardson: Pamela
Activities:

1. Debate: Is The Castle of Otranto a Satire or a Serious Gothic Tale? Structure: Divide class into two teams to debate Walpole’s intent and tone.
2. Epistolary Role-Play: Activity: Students write letters in character from Pamela, Mr. B, or Lady Davers responding to key events or moral dilemmas.

Unit IV: Realist & Domestic Novels
Charlotte Bronté: Jane Eyre
Gustav Flaubert: Madame Bovary
Activities:

1. Art & illustration: Students illustrate a key scene or create a visual character map. Encourage them to annotate their work with textual evidence explaining their creative choices.
2. Literary Trial: Who is to Blame? Stage a mock trial where different characters (Charles, Rodolphe, Homais, Emma, society itself) are on trial for Emma’s downfall. Students argue and provide evidence from the text.

Unit V: Victorian Social & Psychological Realism
George Eliot: The Mill on the Floss
Thomas Hardy: Tess of the d’Urbervilles
Activities:

1. Comparative Literary Analysis: Compare Maggie with another Victorian heroine (e.g. Jane Eyre or Dorothea Brooke) in terms of agency, morality and fate.
2. Courtroom Role-Play: Put Tess on trial: students play the roles of prosecutor, defender, judge, and jury, debating moral and legal responsibility in the novel.

*****
Location: B-37, City Homes Colony, Jawahar Nagar Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India
Currently Dr. Roy is working as Professor of English at Govt. P.G. College Satna, Madhya Pradesh. He is the author of the following books: (1) Diasporic Articulation in the Novels of M.G. Vassanji (2) A Study of M.G. Vassanji 's Novels (3) Varieties of Indianity in the Works of M.G. Vassanji & Rohinton Mistry (4)Diaspora & Indian Diaspora: A Brief Study (5) Short Notes of English Literature - I (6) Short Notes of English Literature - II (7) हमार पहचान ह भोजपुरी - भोजपुरी कविता संकलन (8) हमरा प्यार हो गइल - भोजपुरी गज़ल संकलन (9) भोजपुरी कविताएँ

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