The Wretched Stone

The Wretched Stone

Literal Comprehension:

The story ‘The Wretched Stone’ is in a diary form. It is a travelogue recorded by the Captain of ‘Rita Anne’ Randall Ethan Hope. Once he set out on his voyage with his sailors. He managed everything needed for the journey to help his sailors spend their leisure time. He kept some books of stories, musical instruments and so on. With all preparations, the journey started. After a week, they came to a very strange Island where the environment was strange. They found a glowing stone on the island. They were quite startled when they saw it, since from its surface was coming magical glowing light which was beautiful and pleasing to look at. They brought and placed it in the ship. Since then, the sailors gathered in front of it and went on watching it. They forgot their daily activities. The ship was in the course of journey. The huge storm pushed the ship into stake. But the captain somehow managed to save the ship. When the captain came to the sailors’ room, he found that the sailors had turned into hairy apes. He knew that it was because of the same stone. Then the captain got them to throw the stone in the sea. Similarly, he was able to bring them back in the normal position by playing the violin or reading to them. Ultimately, they were saved by the rescuers from the next ship.

Interpretation:

The story presenting the journey of captain teaches us some disadvantages of TV. Though TV is regarded as one of all modern means of communication and entertainment, it has many harmful aspects too. On the one hand, it makes people quite passive and helps them to spend their time unproductively. They lose their creativity and remain irresponsible to their daily activities as the crew of the ship did.

Critical Thinking:

So far as the story presents the disadvantages of TV, it seems quite impressive. The story at the same time proves to be too much beneficial. But, at some points, the story fails to be convincing and believable since it has given very misleading ideas about TV. It may create many critical questions in the readers’ mind. In fact, TV is regarded as one of the most revolutionary modern means and scientific discoveries. It has made the people advanced and progressive.It is an artificial product. So, it is humorous to believe that it was found on the unidentified island. Similarly, TV has been the part and parcel of modern life. How can one ignore the presence of TV? It would be very unjust to call it a major means to destroy human creativity because even watching TV can help perform various creative activities and enjoy the time.

Assimilation:

The reading of this story has greatly influenced me. In fact, before reading it, I was too much addicted to TV. I used to spend all my leisure time by watching it. I never thought of study and other activities as worthy to practice. But, the story has opened my eyes now. Instead of devoting the time on it, I have started spending my time reading books and engaging myself in other various creative activities. I am also encouraging others to avoid the habit of watching TV.