1. This answer was edited.

    The American, speaking English, expects Muni to do so. However, Muni hailing from a different country is unable to understand the foreigner. The language barrier causes the humor in the story. Muni only knew the words “yes” and “no”. So when the stranger greeted him by saying, “Namaste! How do you dRead more

    The American, speaking English, expects Muni to do so. However, Muni hailing from a different country is unable to understand the foreigner. The language barrier causes the humor in the story. Muni only knew the words “yes” and “no”. So when the stranger greeted him by saying, “Namaste! How do you do?”, Muni, scared, uttered, “yes, no.” After offering Muni a cigarette, the man offered him a light but Muni blew it on and put it out, as he was not understanding the man’s intention. Because they both spoke different languages, the American businessman believed that he bought the horse statue whereas Muni believed that he had managed to sell off his goats. Neither of the two could understand each other, so they tried to express themselves through sign languages or pointing at physical objects.

     

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    The story also ended in a misunderstanding. The American businessman was under the impression that he had purchased a horse statue whereas Muni believed that he had managed to sell off his goats. When he comes back to his wife and rejoices with the money that he had received by selling his goats. ThRead more

    The story also ended in a misunderstanding. The American businessman was under the impression that he had purchased a horse statue whereas Muni believed that he had managed to sell off his goats. When he comes back to his wife and rejoices with the money that he had received by selling his goats. The ending presented the impression of how the culture clash could lead to a misunderstanding but also result in both the men getting what they wanted all the while. The ending also presented the impression of how Muni was satisfied with his simple spiritualistic life whereas the American man dreamed of a big materialistic life.

    A Horse and Two Goats Summary in English

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    The themes of the story are:- 1) Culture Clash- The American man speaks English and thereby expects Muni to also speak it. This is a thought of a privileged class. Belonging to a poor family, Muni does not have the luxury to learn English and hence, is unable to understand what the businessman was tRead more

    The themes of the story are:-

    1) Culture Clash- The American man speaks English and thereby expects Muni to also speak it. This is a thought of a privileged class. Belonging to a poor family, Muni does not have the luxury to learn English and hence, is unable to understand what the businessman was telling him. This culture clash results in both men not understanding each other and trying to express themselves to sign language and pointing at random objects. Despite trying to understand the language the conversation leads to misunderstanding. While Muni believed that the man was going to buy his goats, the man was actually buying the horse statue.

    2) Materialism versus spiritualism- the horses and the two goats reflects materialism and spiritualism respectively. The horse statue is a symbol of materialism as despite having a strong value to the villagers, the American ends up buying it. The goats are the hopes of Muni- a sign of hope and peace. Muni had no intention of selling the statue but due to the language barrier, he ended up selling it to the American man. The American man is representation of all materialistic values in the world as he’s only concerned with business and not with culture and tradition. Muni, on the other hand, represent spiritualism as he reminisces the past and lives on simple little things which makes his life hard but survivable.

    3) poverty and wealth- Muni is the representation of poverty whereas the American businessman is the representation of wealth. Even being burdened, Muni leads a simple life by reminiscing the past and taking his goats out to graze. The American businessman, despite being wealthy, is after the horse statue which he knew was a great importance to the villages. The American man’s mentality is that of a privileged one whereas the mentality of poor Muni was that of respect for his own culture and tradition.

    A Horse and Two Goats Summary in English

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  4. This answer was edited.

    The main conflict in the story arises from the culture clash. The American man speaks English and thereby expects Muni to also speak it. This is a thought of a privileged class. Belonging to a poor family, Muni does not have the luxury to learn English and hence, is unable to understand what the busRead more

    The main conflict in the story arises from the culture clash. The American man speaks English and thereby expects Muni to also speak it. This is a thought of a privileged class. Belonging to a poor family, Muni does not have the luxury to learn English and hence, is unable to understand what the businessman was telling him. This culture clash results in both men not understanding each other and trying to express themselves to sign language and pointing at random objects. Despite trying to understand the language the conversation leads to misunderstanding. While Muni believed that the man was going to buy his goats, the man was actually buying the horse statue.

    A Horse and Two Goats Summary in English

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  5. This answer was edited.

    The story represents a cultural clash through Muni, who is simple villager from South India and the American businessman. The American man speaks English and thereby expects Muni to also speak it. This is a thought of a privileged class. Belonging to a poor family, Muni does not have the luxury to lRead more

    The story represents a cultural clash through Muni, who is simple villager from South India and the American businessman. The American man speaks English and thereby expects Muni to also speak it. This is a thought of a privileged class. Belonging to a poor family, Muni does not have the luxury to learn English and hence, is unable to understand what the businessman was telling him. This culture clash results in both men not understanding each other and trying to express themselves to sign language and pointing at random objects. Despite trying to understand the language the conversation leads to misunderstanding. While Muni believed that the man was going to buy his goats, the man was actually buying the horse statue.

    A Horse and Two Goats Summary in English

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  6. This answer was edited.

    In the story, the horses and the two goats reflects materialism and spiritualism respectively. The horse statue is a symbol of materialism as despite having a strong value to the villagers, the American ends up buying it. The goats are the hopes of Muni- a sign of hope and peace. Muni had no intentiRead more

    In the story, the horses and the two goats reflects materialism and spiritualism respectively. The horse statue is a symbol of materialism as despite having a strong value to the villagers, the American ends up buying it. The goats are the hopes of Muni- a sign of hope and peace. Muni had no intention of selling the statue but due to the language barrier, he ended up selling it to the American man. The American man is representation of all materialistic values in the world as he’s only concerned with business and not with culture and tradition. Muni, on the other hand, represent spiritualism as he reminisces the past and lives on simple little things which makes his life hard but survivable.

    A Horse and Two Goats Summary in English

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    The villagers believed that the redeemer will come and save them when the world parishes in the form of a horse. They believed in the resurrection of the redeemer when the world ends. The horse statue also known as the Kalki statue is the final avatar of the Hindu god. A Horse and Two Goats SummaryRead more

    The villagers believed that the redeemer will come and save them when the world parishes in the form of a horse. They believed in the resurrection of the redeemer when the world ends. The horse statue also known as the Kalki statue is the final avatar of the Hindu god.

    A Horse and Two Goats Summary in English

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  8. This answer was edited.

    The title of the story as A Horse and Two Goats, is appropriate is it creates the driving force of the story. Even though Muni is the protagonist of the story, the conversation carried out between him and the American revolves around a horse and two goats. Because of the language barrier, Muni belieRead more

    The title of the story as A Horse and Two Goats, is appropriate is it creates the driving force of the story. Even though Muni is the protagonist of the story, the conversation carried out between him and the American revolves around a horse and two goats. Because of the language barrier, Muni believed that the American was trying to buy his goats whereas the American was after the horse statue. This highlights misunderstanding of the story which is also central to the plot. The title of the story also shows the significance of materialism versus spiritualism in the form of the horse and the goats.

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    Muni is quite dependent on his wife which is a result of poverty. His wife cares for him, even going as far to prepare a special meal. However, poverty has worn her down which results in giving Muni a hard time. Despite all the hardships in a relationship, Muni and his wife has stuck with each otherRead more

    Muni is quite dependent on his wife which is a result of poverty. His wife cares for him, even going as far to prepare a special meal. However, poverty has worn her down which results in giving Muni a hard time. Despite all the hardships in a relationship, Muni and his wife has stuck with each other through prosperity and poverty.

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    The confusion occurred due to the language barrier between the American and Muni. The American, speaking English, expected Muni to do the same whereas Muni cannot understand and neither reciprocate to the American. The two men ended up talking to each other through sign language and pointing at objeRead more

    The confusion occurred due to the language barrier between the American and Muni. The American, speaking English, expected Muni to do the same whereas Muni cannot understand and neither reciprocate to the American. The two men ended up talking to each other through sign language and pointing at objects around them.

    A Horse and Two Goats Summary in English

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