Spoon Feeding by W.R. Inge

William Ralph Inge is well known as a genial writer on topics of contemporary interest. In “Spoon Feeding”, he elaborates on how mankind is dwindling into a race of pygmies by excessive dependence on the comforts of science and technology.

                He begins his essay by comparing the noble savage with the modern man. According to Inge, the noble savage is far better than the civilized people because he never had any trouble with his teeth. He was able to tear tough meat without the help of knife and fork. But the modern man eats with the help of knife and fork and that became the reason for the most of his diseases.

                Earlier the house wives used to bake bread and make her own jam but now she has become incapable of anything. The laborers before industrial revolution were self-sufficing, but now he depends on tools for everything. Inge refers to Austin Freeman, because Austin too has realized the evils of machinery, when his caravan was overtaken by a storm in Central Africa.

                Inge points out the evil of machinery in the field of education also. He feels that typewriting has killed the art of handwriting and slowly it is creating a generation who cannot write at all. Many changes have come over in the process of reading also. An ancient manuscript tested the reader’s eyes. But still the ancients had the patience and good eyesight to read those books because those books were worth reading. But the modern day prose is neither beautiful nor dignified but it is generally clear. There is no difficulty in understanding any sentence and the writers too don’t want to disturb their readers mind. The modern day books are printed in a good plain type. Reading has become receptive. Newspaper reading too is done without real involvement,

Earlier the students used to read the classics and puzzles out the difficulties by himself. But the student of a modern generation sits before a crib, two commentaries and a book of lecture notes which have been slowly dictated in class. There is no need for him to use his brain. They never understand the valuable part of classical literature.

                Inge further adds about the changes came over in sports. He tells that walking and riding the two delightful health giving exercises are becoming extinct. The joy of a long country walk is unknown by the younger generation. Even in cricket, today’s  batsman are unable to face the famous Lord’s shooters and he puts the blame on the ground man to hide his own inefficiency.

                Next Inge talks about the people’s attitude in today’s generation. In today’s world people want insurance against every kinds of accidents even if is causes by their own negligence. They wanted their life to be easy, safe and fool proof. Even the branches of the trees in the public parks are cut down according to their own convenience. Because they fear that those branches may fall on someone’s head and hurt them at anytime.

                Inge warns that Nature will make us to pay for all our false comforts and will take away all its natural defenses. He adds that people will very soon lose their power of tackling with difficulties. And after the derangement of the social order, people will miss it very badly.

                Finally Inge says that man should be ready to suffer for achievement and nothing can be gained without effort. The younger generation wanted everything in tabloid form and without wasting their own energies. But Inge quotes Michelangelo words that “Nothing can make the soul so pure, so religious as the endeavor to create something perfect”

HAPPY LEARNING