VELAMMAL VIDYALAYA SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL, KARUR.

CLASS XII ENGLISH – CORE COURSE – FLAMINGO (Notes)

The Last Lesson – Alphonse Daudet

About the Author
Alphonse Daudet was a French short-story writer and novelist, now remembered chiefly as the
author of sentimental tales of provincial life in the south of France. He was born on May 13, 1840 at Nimes
in France. He was the son of a silk manufacturer. In 1849 his father had to sell his factory and move to
Lyon. Alphonse wrote his first poems and his first novel at age of 14. He died on Dec. 16, 1897 in Paris,
France.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. What was Franz expected to be prepared with for school that day?
Ans. Franz was expected to be prepared with participles that day for school, as Mr. Hamel had said that he
would question them on participles.

Q2. Why was Franz tempted to play truant from school?

Ans. The French teacher M Hamel was going to ask questions on participles which Franz had not prepared.
To avoid being scolded he was tempted to play truant from school and spend the day out doors in a
pleasurable manner.

Q3. What had been put up on the bulletin-board?

Ans. Franz had a negative view about the bulletin-board as for the last two years only bad news had come
from it. That day was no exception as Germans had put up an order passed from Berlin on the bulletin-
board to teach only German in the school of Alsace and Lorraine.

Q4. What was unusual about the school that Franz noticed when he entered the school?
Ans. On entering the school, Franz noticed that there was unusual silence. There was no noise of opening
and closing of desks. The village elders had occupied the last benches that were always empty. M Hamel
was in his very fine Sunday clothes. Everybody looked sad.

Q5. What changes did the order from Berlin cause in school that day?
Ans. The order from Berlin caused some changes in the school that day. The entire school seemed strange
and solemn. The old villagers were sitting on the back benches of the classroom quietly to thank M. Hamel
for his forty years of faithful service and for showing their respect for the country. M Hamel also had put
on his best dress on that day though it was not an inspection or prize day. The order from Berlin also
brought a sense of repentance for those who in spite of having time didn’t learn the French properly.

Q6. How did Franz’s feelings about M. Hamel and school change?
Ans. Earlier Franz didn’t like M. Hamel much because of his ruler and cranky nature and he would feel
fear from him but now all those feelings were entirely changed for M. Hamel. The message conveyed by M
Hamel about the order from Berlin was a thunderclap for little Franz. He immediately felt sorry for not
being sincere in the school and for not learning the French language and other lessons properly. His books,
which seemed a nuisance and a burden earlier were now Franz’s old friends.

Q7. What reasons did M Hamel give for their lack of interest in learning French?
Ans. The lack of interest in learning French was:
(a) due to the parents who wanted their children to work on a farm or at the mills to earn,
(b) due to the students who were reluctant to learn and often put off the lesson for the next day
(c) and due to himself as he asked them to water the flowersA and gave them off when he had to go for
fishing

Q8. Why doesn’t M Hamel want the people to forget French?

Ans. M Hamel wanted them not to forget French as it is the most beautiful, clear and logical language in
the world and as long as they hold fast to their language it would be as if they had the key to the prison.
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Q9. Franz thinks, “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” What could this mean?
Ans. The Frenchmen were highly patriotic and took a pride in their language. A strong feeling of revolt
was in the air against the Germans. It shows that Franz did not accept their rule and thought that they can’t
tame pigeons.

Q10. What did M Hamel say about the French language?

Ans. M Hamel said that French language was world’s most beautiful, clearest and logical language and
therefore it should be guarded and should not be forgotten by them. He also added that the love with one’s
own language can be proven as the key to the prison for the people who are enslaved.

Q11. Why did villagers come to school that day?

Ans. The old men of the village came to the school that day to thank M Hamel for his forty years of faithful
service. They also came to show their respect for the country that was theirs no more.

Q12. How did Franz find teaching and learning that day?
Ans. Franz found teaching and learning very interesting that day. He was very attentive and careful. Franz
also realized that M Hamel had never explained everything with so much patience. It seemed almost as if
the poor man wanted to give them all he knew before going away. M Hamel wanted to put it all into their
heads at one stroke as it was their last lesson.

Q13. Describe how M Hamel conducted the last lesson.

Ans. In his last French class though M. Hamel was emotional he fully involved himself in the teaching
learning process. He heard every lesson to the last sitting motionless in the chair. When the church bell
struck twelve he stood up pale and wrote ‘Vive La French’ and with a gesture he communicated that the
school is dismissed.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. How did M. Hamel react when Franz failed to recite the rules for the participles?
Ans. Franz’s name was called to recite the rules for the participles. But he got mixed up on the first word.
He was standing there, holding on to his desk, his heart beating and not daring to look up. But M. Hamel
instead of scolding, he told Franz that he must feel bad enough. He said that every day we think that we
have plenty of time and we will learn it tomorrow. And now you see where we have come out by putting
off learning till tomorrow. Now those fellows out there will have the right to say to you, “How is it; you
pretend to be Frenchman, and yet you can neither speak nor write your own language?”
Then M Hamel told Franz that only he was not to be blamed. His parents were not anxious enough
to have him learn. They preferred to put Franz to work on a farm or at the mills, so as to have a little more
money. M. Hamel blamed himself for it also. He said that quite often he had been sending Franz to water
his flowers instead of learning his lessons. And when he wanted to go for fishing, he would just give him a
holiday.

Q2. What does M Hamel tell about the significance and safeguarding of French language? How does he
conclude his last lesson?
Ans. M Hamel said that French was the most beautiful, clear and logical language in the world. They must
guard it among them and never forget it because when the people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to
their language it is as if they had the key to their prison.
Then M. Hamel opened a grammar book and read the students their lesson. All he said seemed so easy. He
had never explained everything with so much patience: After the grammar, they had a lesson in writing. M
Hamel had new copies for the students, written in a beautiful round hand: France, Alsace, France, Alsace.
He had the courage to hear every lesson to the very last. It seemed almost as if he wanted to give us all he
knew before going away and put it all into their heads at one stroke. He wanted to say something, but he
could not go on. Then he turned on the blackboard, took a piece of chalk and wrote “Vive La France!”
Lastly he said: “School is dismissed—you may go.”

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Q3. What impression do you form of M Hamel on the basis of your study of the story “The Last
Lesson”?
Ans. M. Hamel is an experienced teacher who has been teaching in school for forty years. He imparts
primary education in all subjects. He is a hard task master and students like Franz, who are not good
learners, are in great dread of being scolded by him. The latest order of the Prussian rulers upsets him. He
has to leave the place for ever and feels heartbroken. He feels sad but exercises self-control. He has the
courage to hear every lesson to the last. His performance during the last lesson is exemplary. He is kind
even to a late comer like Franz. He uses a solemn and gentle tone while addressing the students. He has a
logical mind and can analyze problems and deduce the reasons responsible for it. The problem for Alsace is
that it puts off learning till tomorrow. He knows the emotional hold of a language over its users. He is a
good communicator and explains everything patiently. Partings are painful and being human, M. Hamel
too is no exception. He fails to say good-bye as his throat is choked. On the whole, he is a patriotic
gentleman.

Q4. Franz’ attitude towards school as well as towards M. Hamel changes when he comes to know about
the takeover of his village by Prussians. Do you agree? Discuss with reference to the ‘Last Lesson’.
Ans. The orders from Berlin to take over the village where Franz lives have been pasted on the school
notice board. Only German language would be taught in the school and French teacher had to go. Franz
felt sorry for not learning his lessons in French any more. His books that had seemed such a nuisance a
short while ago, which he found so heavy to carry seemed to him old friends. His feelings about his French
teacher M Hamel Were changed. He decided to pay attention to the lesson. The school became very
important for him. The idea that the teacher was going away, genuinely upset Franz who became too
serious for history and grammar. I fully agree with it as one has to take one’s deeds seriously when he feels
the loss of it.

Q5. Give a brief description of M Hamel.

Ans. M Hamel was a very devoted, dedicated and a strict man of discipline. Students were afraid of his
cranky nature and iron ruler. He was a true patriot and a sincere teacher who dedicatedly served the school
for long forty years. The heart of this true Frenchman totally broke when he received the order from Berlin
to vacate his place to make the space for a new German teacher. He remained upset during his last class.
This changed his behavior too and he behaved rather very politely and patiently. When Franz was not able
to say his lesson correctly, he, instead of scolding him, just made him understand about the importance and
relevance of learning the mother tongue. He preached everyone presented in the class that important
things should never be postponed as time flies very fast.

Q6. What is linguistic chauvinism? Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far?
Ans. Linguistic chauvinism means an aggressive and unreasonable belief that your own language is better
than all others. This shows an excessive or prejudiced support for one’s own language. Sometimes pride in
one’s own language goes too far and the linguistic enthusiasts can be easily identified by their extreme zeal
for the preservation and spread of their language. In their enthusiasm, love and support for their own
language, they tend to forget that other languages too have their own merits, long history of art, culture
and literature behind them. Instead of bringing unity and winning over others as friends, having excessive
pride in one’s own language creates ill-will and disintegration. The stiff resistance to the acceptance of
Hindi as national language by the southern states of India is a direct outcome of the fear of being
dominated by Hindi enthusiasts. The result is that “one India” remains only a slogan.

Lost Spring – Anees Jung

About the author
Anees Jung is an author, journalist and a columnist for major newspapers in India and abroad. She
was born in Hyderabad in 1944 in an aristocratic family. Her father, Nawab Hosh Yar Jung, was a
renowned scholar and poet. He was the adviser to the last Nizam of Hyderabad princely state. Her
schooling and graduation were completed from her hometown. Later she went abroad for higher studies.
She did her Masters in Sociology and American Studies from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US. She
started her career in literal writing with the Youth Times, a Times of India publication. Later she served as

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its editor from 1976 to 1979. Prior to it, she worked as journalist. Jung came into the limelight with the
publication of Unveiling India in 1987. Later she published several books dealing with social issues
including abused children and women’s problems. Jung is noted for her lively and vivid descriptions,
though she rarely gives its solutions.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. What does the title ‘Lost Spring’ convey?
Ans. The title ‘Lost Spring’ conveys and picturizes that childhood is like the spring. As everything blooms
in this season, in the same way the childhood should bloom but through the poverty of Saheb and Mukesh,
we come to know about their stolen childhood. It is being destroyed and dumped in the web of poverty,
dirt and dust.

Q2. What does Anees Jung want to reveal in her story ‘Lost Spring’?
Ans. Anees Jung has portrayed two stories in ‘Lost Spring’ and both depict the grinding poverty, pitiable
condition of life and the other traditions that condemn the children to a life of exploitation. For the rag-
pickers of Seemapuri, garbage is gold and means of survival. The bangle-makers of Firozabad live in dingy
cells and stinking lanes. Even after much toil, they do not get full meal.

Part I – Sometimes I find a rupee in the garbage.

Q1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps? Where is he and where has he come from?
Ans. Saheb is scrounging for anything in the garbage dump that he can sell and make money. This is the
only means of survival. He sometimes manages to find a rupee or even ten rupees. He now lives with his
family in Seemapuri, a slum on the outskirts of Delhi. His family has migrated from Bangladesh in search
of a better life.

Q2. What makes the authoress embarrassed at having made a promise that was not meant?
Ans. On encountering with Saheb, the writer asks him to go to school. Immediately at the second thought,
she realizes that the advice must sound very hollow. On the other hand, Saheb replies that there is no
school in his neighbourhood. And he will go if the authorities make one. The writer asks half-jokingly if she
starts a school, “will he go?” Saheb goes on asking her “Is your school ready?” She feels embarrassed at
having made a promise that was not meant.

Q3. Does the rag picking mean the same thing for parents and children? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans. No, rag picking is not the same for parents and children. For children it is wrapped in wonders where
as for parents it is the means of survival.

Q4. Why was not Saheb happy on getting a job?

Ans. Saheb was not happy on getting a job in tea stall for a salary of Rs.800/- per month as he lost his
freedom. He had to carry the stall owner’s steel canister in place of his bag. He had lost his freedom and
carefree look. He was now no longer his own master.

Q5. What could be some of the reasons for the migration of people from villages to cities?
Ans. Most people, who have migrated from villages to cities, have done so because of the promise of a
better life. Some of them have not been able to earn any money from farming because of the unpredictable
vagaries of the weather. They have had no jobs and no way of earning a livelihood. Cities provide a ray of
hope as they are a means of escaping from abject poverty and offer hope of some employment. These
people feel that though they may have to live in the most abysmal conditions in the city, they will get at
least some food to eat.

Part II – I want to drive a car.

Q1. What was Mukesh’s dream?
Ans. Mukesh belongs to the family of bangle makers. He tells the writer to become a motor mechanic. He
will learn to drive a car and does not hesitate to go to the far off garage. He has no desire to live and
become the victim of poverty.

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Q2. Why don’t the bangle makers of Firozabad organize themselves?
Ans. The bangle makers are trapped in the vicious circle of middlemen and police. If they organize a co-
operative, they will be hauled up, beaten and dragged to jail by the police for doing something illegal.
There is no leader to help them out from their misery. They are the victims of greed and injustice.

Q3. How is Mukesh’s attitude to his situation different from that of his family?
Ans. Mukesh wants to be a motor mechanic and drive a car. He wants to break away from the generations-
old family tradition of bangle making. His family is not as optimistic as he is, but he is determined and
exhibits a spark of courage and hope and dares to dream, even though it means walking miles to get to the
garage.

Q4. Why does the author say that the bangle-makers are caught in a vicious web?
Ans. The family of bangle makers were caught in the vicious web of poverty. They are forced to practise
their ancestral profession. They remain ill fed and ill clad throughout life. They have no money to switch
over their profession. Their hard work is mind numbling. The police does not allow them to form co-
operatives.

Q5. How, in your opinion, can Mukesh realise his dream?

Ans. Mukesh belongs to the family of bangle- makers who prepare colourful bangles like that of rainbow.
But his attitude to this situation is different from others. He is a daring boy and he announces, “I will be a
motor mechanic, I will leam to drive a car. Though the garage is a long way from his home yet he insists I
will go to the garage and learn.” The determination and strong will of becoming a motor mechanic and
learning to drive a car, seems to be as firm as a rock in Mukesh. That is why he says he will walk to the
garage which is a long way from his home. Though his dream appears to be vague, unclear and like a
mirage yet he has a different ambition to fulfil. He can materialize his dream once he walks.

Q6. What forces conspire to keep the workers in the bangle industry of Firozabad in poverty?
Ans. The bangle makers firmly believe that having been born in the caste and community of bangle
makers, they cannot escape their fate and must remain where they are. They believe that bangle making is
the only skill they possess and that they must pass on the legacy to their children. Bangle making is not a
lucrative source of income but they have no alternative and hence remain entrenched in the same. They
have fallen into the vicious clutches of middlemen who had trapped their fathers and their forefathers.
They are afraid to form cooperatives to safeguard themselves because they feel that they will be beaten up
by the police and jailed for doing something illegal. Steeped in despair and apathy, they no longer have the
will to aspire and better their lot. Some of the industrialists conspire in unison with the sahukars, the
middlemen, the policemen and the politicians and then go on exploiting them. They see very little hope of
escaping from their impoverished life of misery and privation.

Q7. Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry. / Describe the difficulties the bangle
makers of Firozabad have to face in their lives.
Ans. The glass blowing industry of Firozabad employs local families and these families have spent
generations working around furnaces, welding glass and making bangles of different colours. Working
around the high temperature furnaces is very injurious to our growing bodies. The dark dingy cells
without light and air worsen the working conditions of the children. The dazzling and sparking of welding
light and the high temperature render the situation hellish. About 20,000 children slog their day light hours
and often lose the brightness of their eyes before they become adults. The bangle-makers lead their life in
utter miseries and grinding poverty. They could never prosper working in this industry. They hardly get a
belly full of meal in their lifetime. Thus they are not only underfed but also prone to ailments. The dingy
cells and stinking smell of garbage choke their bodies. There are flames of flickering oil lamps, the blinding
polishing and the welding work put a deep impact on their bodies. Those who work in bangle industries,
lose their eyesight before they become adult.

Q8. Why should child labour be eliminated and how?

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Ans. The child labour employed in any form is an offence. It is banned under law. Yet it goes on unabated
at the industrial towns like Firozabad, Shivakasi, Mirzapur and so on. The child labour is hazardous in
nature. It inflicts physical and mental harm to the boys. The work in the glass bangle industry often ends
up them losing their eyesight before they become adults. The mind-numbling toil of bangle-making kills all
their initiatives, drive and ability to dream in life. They are even deprived of the school education and
proper growth. According to the writer about 20,000 children are working in the glass bangle industry of
Firozabad. Some of the industrialists conspire in unison with the sahukars, the middlemen, the policemen
and the politicians and then go on stealing their childhood for some extra coins. The .only possible solution
lies with the government and the society to punish the wrong doers very strictly and keep a careful watch
and vigil over them.

Deep Water – William Douglas

About the Author
William Orville Douglas was an American jurist and politician. He was born on October 16, 1898, in
Maine, Minnesota. After doing graduation, he taught for two year in a school in Yakima. But soon he got
tired of this job and pursued a legal career. Douglas was appointed to the United States Supreme Court at
the age of 40 and served for more than 36 years, longer than any other justice in the Court’s history. Both
on and off the Court, Douglas was outspoken in his support for individual rights and for preserving the
natural environment. He died on January 19, 1980, in Washington, D.C.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. What had happened when Douglas was three or four years old?
Ans. When Douglas was three or four years old he was on the California beach with his father. There the
sea waves knocked him down and swept over him. He felt breathless buried in the water and was
frightened; but his father laughed at him.

Q2. What was the misadventure of Douglas?

Ans. One day, an eighteen year old big bruiser picked him up and tossed him into the nine feet deep end of
the swimming pool. He hit the water surface in a sitting position. He swallowed water and went at once to
the bottom. He nearly died in this misadventure but was somehow miraculously saved from the mouth of
death.

Q3. What were the series of emotions and fears that Douglas experienced when he was thrown into the
pool? What plans did he make to come to the surface?
Ans. The narrator was frightened but was still able to think. He decided that as his feet hit the bottom of
the pool, he would make a big jump and come to the surface. However, when he could not manage to come
to the surface, he was gripped with panic and this paralyzed his limbs.

Q4. How did Douglas finally overcome his fear of water?

Ans. Douglas overcame his fear of water by challenging the fear itself and going for several round of
swimming in the pool; but finally the residual fear he overcame when he went up to Tieton to Conrad
meadows and swam across the other shore and back of the warm lake as Doug Corpron used to do.

Q5. What thought of Roosevelt deeply impacted Douglas? How did he apply the thought to his life?
Ans. The thought of Roosevelt that there is terror in the fear of death, had deep impact on Douglas. He had
experienced both the sensation of dying and the terror of the fear of death. But later he brushed aside his
fear by challenging it by the strong will power and firm determination. He applied it and finally succeeded
to overcome the fear.

Q6. How did this experience affect him?

Ans. This experience left him fearful of water for a long time. He did not want to go near the pool. He
could not enjoy any water-related sport and it robbed him of the joy of canoeing, boating and swimming.

Q7. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear of water?

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Ans. Douglas was determined to get rid of this fear as he could not enjoy any of the sports that he had
enjoyed earlier. His fear of water not only kept him away from the pool, but also from activities like
canoeing, boating and fishing.

Q8. How was the instructor successful in making Douglas a perfect swimmier?
Ans. The instructor made Douglas a perfect swimmer by removing his fear of being drowned and teaching
him swimming piece by piece in a period of three months. During the training he let Douglas swim back
and forth of the pool tying him with a pulley. He taught him to put his face under the water to exhale and
raise above it to inhale.

Q9. How did Douglas make sure that he conquered the old terror?
Ans. Douglas swam extensively in all the lakes that he knew, making a concerted effort to rid himself of his
fear of water. He would swim long lengths, put his head under water, till all the residual fear was gone. It
was at Warm Lake that he was at last able to get rid of the fear of water that had haunted him for so long.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. Give an account of the fears and emotions of Douglas as he made efforts to save himself from being
drowned in the YMCA swimming pool.
Ans. When the author was flung into the deep end of the pool, he was overcome with fear. He was able to
think rationally and planned that he would jump up as soon as he hit the bottom of the pool. He hoped that
in this way he would be able to rise to the surface of the water. When this action did not produce the
desired result, he tried it again but in vain. Panic seized him when he realized that he was engulfed in
water that was suffocating him and abject fear immobilized him making his limbs unresponsive and heavy.
His flailing arms failed to find anything to hold on to and he found himself being pulled down to the
bottom. His lungs ached and his silent screams went unheard. The mass of yellow water that held him
captive in its grip produced stark terror over which he had no control. When three attempts to rise to the
surface failed, he fainted. He had experienced the terror that fear of death can produce.

Q2. How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Ans. The fear of water haunted Douglas for many years till he decided to hire the services of an instructor
and started practising five days a week. The instructor devised a method by which Douglas could learn
swimming without fear. Douglas was to wear a belt around his waist and attached to this was a rope that
went through a pulley that ran on an overhead cable. After three months, he had begun to relax. The
instructor also put him through the exercise of moving his legs in water by the side of the pool and though
at first Douglas felt paralyzed and quite unable to move, with sustained effort, he soon overcame it. The
instructor then felt that his job was done and that he had made a swimmer out of Douglas. He swam in
different lakes and rivers and it was after he had swum in Warm Lake that he knew that he had at last
conquered the fear of water.

Q3. Why does Douglas as an adult recount a childhood experience of terror and his conquering of it?
What larger meaning does he draw from this experience?
Ans. Douglas, as an adult, recounts this experience as to him it was larger than just overcoming fear of
water. The childhood experience of almost drowning in the pool had been a brush with death and this had
produced in him a greater desire to live. The terror that he had experienced was so real to him that only he
could understand the full implication of it. It had aroused in him the passion to destroy the fear that had
the ability to incapacitate him to the extent that it numbed his senses and paralyzed his limbs. This fear
continued to haunt him for years and strengthened his resolve to destroy it for he knew that the only way
he could ever live with himself was when he had attained freedom from it. It was a personal battle that he
had to win. The rigorous routine that he put himself through to overcome his fear bears testimony to his
willpower, courage and determination.

Q4. People say that failures are the stepping stones. They are the best teachers. Discuss in about 125
words.

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Ans. It is rightly said that failure plays an important role in a man’s life. Failure in one field becomes the
cause of exploring success in other fields. Failures make us familiar with our weaknesses and flaws. They
become the stepping stones and inspire us to fight against odd circumstances. Man should learn from his
mistakes and strive hard to reach at his destination. Most of the successful peoples failed at any step but
could get their target because failures guided them and encouraged them to try harder. One should never
give up one’s target. It is certain that failure inspires us to work with more strength and vigour. One should
never get depressed and dejected. All leaders, fighters, businessmen, bureaucrats firmly say that failures
are the pillars to success.

Q5. Strong will power and firm determination ensure success in your life. Douglas wanted to learn
swimming but he was afraid of water. He did not give up and finally mastered swimming. He proved
that where there is a will, there is a way. Write your views in about 125 words.
Ans. Strong will power plays a vital role in our life. Firm determination and consistent hard work are the
hallmarks of success. A person who has passionate desire to do something achieves his goals within the
stipulated time. Will power of a human being gives him strength, energy, vigour and enthusiasm. It
determines the fate of a human being. Absolute determination has the ability to face and overcome
obstacles. No hindrance can defeat the will power. It is invincible and insurmountable. There is no problem
in this world which has no solution. It has been proved by great personalities that all obstacles can be
overcome by sheer determination. Man has the knack to achieve anything. Nothing is impossible in this
world. He must not be fatalist. He should not believe in destiny, but on karma. Man can accomplish every
assignment if he desires. Strong desire is the prerequisite to success. There is no scope for disappointment
in the life of a person who has iron will and dogged determination.

The Rattrap – Selma Lagerlof

Short Answer Type Questions
Q1. From where did the peddler get the idea of the world being a rattrap?
Ans. The peddler went around selling rattraps that he had made himself from wire he had begged or
stolen. One day the thought occurred to him that the world was very much like a rattrap which offered
men shelter, food, clothing and other comforts for entrapping them.

Q2. What was the peddler’s philosophy about rattrap? Why did it amuse him?
Ans. The peddler’s philosophy was that the whole world is a rattrap with several baits in it. As one is
tempted to bait and touches it, the door is closed and everything comes to an end like in a rattrap. The
thought amused him because he has so far been selling rattrap; but not fallen in this world’s rattrap.

Q3. What kind of host was the old crofter?

Ans. The old crofter was an affectionate and generous host. He warmly welcomed the peddler as he got
someone to talk to in his loneliness. He served him porridge for his supper and offered a pipe with tobacco
roll to smoke and finally played with him Mjolis till bedtime.

Q4. The reader’s sympathy is with the peddler right from the beginning? Is it justified? Give reasons.
Ans. The rattrap peddler draws reader’s sympathy because of his poverty. The author’s description of his
clothes and appearance like –“his clothes are in rags, his cheeks are sunken and hunger gleams his eyes”
and his resorting to begging and petty thievery to keep his body and soul together evoke reader’s
sympathy.

Q5. Who do you think was at fault-the ironmaster or the peddler? Give two reasons.
Ans. I think the ironmaster was at fault because it was he who invited the tramp to his house for the
Christmas thinking him to be his old acquaintance; but on knowing he was not his acquaintance, he could
not oppose his daughter’s decision to offer him Christmas cheer.

Q6. Why was the peddler grateful to the ironmaster and his daughter?

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Ans. The peddler was grateful to the ironmaster and his daughter as they empowered him to release
himself from the world’s rattrap through their selfless hospitality, love, sympathy, compassion, and
understanding.

Q7. Did the peddler expect the kind of hospitality that he received from the crofter?
Ans. The peddler was surprised that the crofter not only invited him into his cottage but also shared his
porridge with him. He also talked to him, played cards with him and shared confidences with him.

Q8. Why was the crofter so talkative and friendly with the peddler?
Ans. The crofter was alone, and had no wife or child and was perhaps lonely. Therefore he became happy
to get someone to talk to in his loneliness.

Q9. Why did he show the thirty kroner to the peddler?

Ans. The crofter told the peddler that he was comfortable and had earned a reasonable sum of money from
his extraordinary cow that gave a lot of milk and he had earned thirty kroner last month. The peddler
expressed disbelief and thus the crofter showed him the money.
Q10. Did the peddler respect the confidence reposed in him by the crofter?
Ans. The peddler abused the trust reposed in him by the crofter because as soon as he could, he came back,
opened the window of the cottage and stole the crofter’s hard-earned money.

Q11. What made the peddler think that he had indeed fallen into a rattrap?
Ans. Having stolen the crofter’s money, the peddler was forced to stay off the road and walk in the forest.
When night fell, he could not see where he was headed to and seemed to be walking round and round the
same spot. He was tired and in his frustration felt that he was caught in the trap.

Q12. Why did the ironmaster speak kindly to the peddler and invite him home?
Ans. The ironmaster mistook the peddler to be an old acquaintance, Nils Olof, a comrade from the
regiment. It appeared to the ironmaster that the man had fallen on bad days and so he invited him to his
home, especially as it was Christmas time.

Q13. Why did the peddler decline the invitation?

Ans. The peddler declined his invitation, as he was afraid of being detected as the thief. He felt that by
accepting the invitation to go to the ironmaster’s house, he was voluntarily walking into the lion’s den.

Q14. What made the peddler accept Edla Willmansson’s invitation?

Ans. Edla Willmansson came to invite the peddler. She requested him to come home with such an apparent
and genuine kindness that the peddler could not refuse. She instilled a certain confidence in him.

Q15. What doubts did Edla have about the peddler?

Ans. Edla noticed that the peddler was afraid and she at once concluded that he was either a thief or had
escaped from jail. She told her father that it was strange that his regimental comrade had fallen on such bad
days and also that he had nothing about him to show that he had once been an educated man.

Q16. When did the ironmaster realise his mistake?

Ans. The ironmaster had first seen the tramp in the dim glow of the furnace. He had taken him to be his old
regimental comrade, but when the tramp had come down cleanly shaven and dressed in a borrowed suit of
the master, the ironmaster at once realized that it had been a case of mistaken identity. He had taken the
tramp to be his old regimental comrade.

Q17. What did the peddler say in his defence when it was clear that he was not the person the
ironmaster had thought he was?
Ans. The peddler pleaded that it was not his fault. He had never pretended to be anything but only a poor
trader. He only begged that he should be allowed to stay for the night near the forge. Since he had done
them no harm, he was ready to put on his old rags again and would leave at once.

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Q18. Why did Edla still entertain the peddler even after she knew the truth about him?
Ans. Edla was a kind woman at heart and understood how difficult the peddler’s life had been. She
realized how hard it must have been for him to be homeless and to have had to wander from place to place.
She empathised with him and was thus kind to him even though she knew who he was.

Q19. Why was Edla happy to see the gift left by the peddler?
Ans. The ironmaster and Edla had expected that the peddler would have made away with all their silver
and were indeed pleasantly surprised to find that he had not stolen anything but had left the thirty stolen
kroners in a rattrap along with a letter. He requested that the stolen money be returned to its rightful
owner and stated in his letter that having been treated with such dignity and having had his status elevated
to that of a captain, he felt that he could not embarrass them.

Q20. Why did the peddler sign himself as Captain von Stahle?
Ans. The pedellar was touched by the kind treatment Edla gave him. Edla, despite knowing his real
identity, treated him like a captain. Now it was his turn to show her that the guest she had honoured was
as honourable as the captain and not merely a petty thief. Latent goodness of his heart awakened, he
behaved in a dignified manner. Signed himself as Captain von Stahle.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. How does the peddler interpret the acts of kindness and hospitality shown by the crofter, the
ironmaster and his daughter?
Ans. The peddler feels absolutely no compunction about accepting the hospitality of the crofter and then
robbing him of his hard-earned kroner. He enjoys playing cards with his host all evening and then makes
away with his money the next morning. When the ironmaster having mistaken him for a regimental
comrade invites him to his house to share his Christmas lunch, he feels a sense of entrapment, having the
stolen money on his person, and thus declines the invitation. He feels that to accept the hospitality of the
ironmaster would be like voluntarily throwing himself into the lion’s den. However, he does not at the
outset disclose his true identity because he hopes to profit from the mistake thinking perhaps a few kroner
would come his way but now he only wants to rest near the forge at night and quietly slip away in the
morning. The kindness of the ironmaster’s daughter touches the tramp’s heart making him feel more
worthy. She makes him feel comfortable and raises his self-esteem. Even after his true identity has been
discovered, she feels sympathetic towards him and convinces her father to let him stay and share
Christmas cheer with them. She does not for a moment doubt his integrity and the tramp repays this faith
and kindness by leaving behind the stolen kroner to be returned to the rightful owner along with one of his
rattraps as a present and a letter addressed to the daughter thanking her for elevating his status to that of a
captain and for the chance to redeem his mistake.

Q2. What are the instances in the story that show that the character of the ironmaster is different from
that of his daughter in many ways?
Ans. The ironmaster is a man of power whose ambition was to ensure that good iron was shipped out. He
believed in closely supervising the work at the ironworks to make sure that all was in order. When he saw
the tramp, he was not overcome with sympathy. His arrogance came to the fore and he commenced to give
him a piece of his mind regarding his unwise decision of not resigning at the appropriate time. His
invitation to the tramp to come to his house stemmed more from a sense of superiority rather than true
philanthropy. He was most indignant to discover that the tramp had deceived him regarding his true
identity. The ironmaster’s daughter sensed something amiss on her very first meeting with the tramp. She
was not convinced that he had ever been in the army and when she was proved right, her reaction was not
one of indignation but one of sympathy, understanding and kindness. She realised how he must always
have to contend with being turned away and not being made welcome anywhere and decided that she
would give him that opportunity of feeling secure and welcome in their home. She had more faith in him
than did her father and when the tramp did nothing but eat and sleep, she was able to appreciate the fact
that he had probably never felt so secure in his life. She even convinced her father to gift him the suit that
was loaned to the tramp as a Christmas gift.

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Q3. The story has many instances of unexpected reactions from the characters to others’ behaviour. Pick
out instances of these surprises.
Ans. The peddler, walking along on a winters evening, is able to avail the unconditional warmth and
hospitality of the owner of the cottage. The host shares his food, his home and his confidences, showing the
stranger the money that he had made. The tramp, the next day, feels no remorse for stealing the money and
walking away. When he is seeking shelter from the cold and has the opportunity to spend the night at the
ironmaster’s house, he declines as he has the stolen money with him and feels that he will be walking into
the lion’s den. However, when the same invitation is extended by the ironmaster through his daughter, the
tramp accepts as her kindness filters through. Left alone in the ironmaster’s house, the tramp has every
opportunity to make away with the valuables. On the contrary, the tramp goes away leaving behind the
stolen money to be returned to the rightful owner along with a rattrap as a present for the ironmaster’s
daughter.

Q4. What made the peddler finally change his ways?

Ans. The peddler had lived a life of privation and constant rejection. It had made him cynical and
embittered. Self-preservation had become his sole objective and he could not sense the difference between
right and wrong. He had lost his sense of self-worth, having lived in penury with no home to call his own
and not even a name to answer to. He had to resort to begging and petty thieving to survive and life
offered no pleasure at all. The sadness and monotony of his life had convinced him of the fact that life was
like a huge rattrap and just as the cheese and pork in the traps that he made were the bait, so also the
riches, joys, shelter and the food that life offered were the bait. As soon as anyone let himself be tempted, it
closed in around him and all came to an end. He took pleasure in thinking of all the acquaintances who had
been caught in this trap. However, the meeting with the ironmaster’s daughter was the turning point in his
life. The kindness, the concern and the understanding that she showed him touched the core of his heart
and transformed his way of thinking.

Q5. How does the metaphor of the rattrap serve to highlight the human predicament?
Ans. The tramp during his wanderings hit upon the thought that just as the cheese and the pork are the
bait in the rattraps that he makes so also the joys, the warmth, the shelter and the comforts that life offers
are the bait to trap humans in the huge rattrap of the world. It gave him immense pleasure to ruminate
about all his acquaintances who had fallen into the trap. Though these were the thoughts of an embittered
man who envied those whose lot was better than his, yet the metaphor of the trap holds some truth when
one thinks about life. The more one has, the more one wants and sometimes the reasons for wanting those
things become secondary to the wants themselves. Jealousy and rivalry are the corollary of material
acquisitions and the only motivation to possess things is to outdo another. The rattrap of the world entraps
us and we are so occupied with chasing the state of fulfilment that ever evades us that we are again
engulfed in despair and discontentment.

Q6. The peddler comes out as a person with a subtle sense of humour. How does this serve in lightening
the seriousness of the theme of the story and also endear him to us?
Ans. The peddler, with his subtle sense of humour was able to make an equation between the rattraps that
he made and the world, which he likened to a huge rattrap, offering bait and then closing in, round those
who fell for them. This was his way of consoling himself that no matter what his lot, he was better off than
those who fell for the worldly bait of joy, warmth, shelter and other such comforts. This makes the sad, the
weary and melancholy tramp very human and real. He manages to arouse the sympathy of the reader
despite his thieving ways and his dead conscience for he makes the reader examine the merits of self-
preservation. His preoccupation with remaining undetected as the thief who has made away with the thirty
hard-earned kroner of the crofter makes him refuse the luxury of spending Christmas at the fine house of
the ironmaster. The kindness with which the ironmaster s daughter treats him touches the core of his
hitherto hardened heart. The restoration of his dignity results in his transformation into a responsible
human being, sensitive, courteous, grateful and gracious.

Q7. The reader’s sympathy is with the peddler right from the beginning of the story. Why is this so? Is
the sympathy justified?

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Ans. The peddler earns the sympathy of the reader because on every occasion when his woes seem to be
ending, he is assailed by fresh problems, as if caught in a rattrap with no escape. After receiving hospitality
form a crofter, he is assailed by feelings of guilt as he stoops to temptation and steals the crofter’s earnings.
Paradoxically, he loses his way in a forest even though he is a vagabond who has always found his way
through the woods. At the smithy when he is mistaken for an acquaintance of the iron master he plays
along, only to be discovered subsequently and being threatened with imprisonment. When Edla offers him
unconditional love and hospitality, he does truly reform. He rids himself of the stolen wealth and presents
the girl with the kroner in a symbolic rattrap, and becomes a carefree and satisfied individual.

Q8. The story also focuses on human loneliness and the need to bond with others.
(a) Festivities are not complete without bonding with other human beings. Thus the ironmaster takes home
the peddler mistaking him for his former acquaintance Captain von Stahle because he cannot bear to leave
an acquaintance stranded on Christmas Eve.
(b)The daughter and father welcome the stranger as they like to have company to share their joys on
Christmas.
(c) Even after finding out that the stranger is not the former acquaintance, the daughter insists on his
staying with them because of the need for human company.
(d) The story illustrates that lonely people are willing to take in any human beings because of the innate
need for human company. Thus the crofter welcomed the vagabond under his roof.
(e) The confession of the man to stealing or acquiescing to a false identity did not alter the generosity of his
hosts as they were hungry for company at all costs.

Q9. The story is both entertaining and philosophical.

Ans. (a) The story is entertaining because of the many sudden twists in the storyline that is maintained
throughout the content. Each time, the stranger seemed to have overcome his troubles, he met with fresh
hurdles.
(b) It is entertaining because of the differences in the locales where the various incidents occur, and the
dialogue of the characters. The scene of mistaken identities reveals this point.
(c) The story maintains an air of suspense right through and even the concluding part of the story is a
startling one.
(d) The story is philosophical because it poses an open-ended query as to whether our lives are conditioned
by our fate or are a direct follow-through of our own follies, caught as we are in a giant rattrap.
(e) It also brings to the fore that human love, in the form of hospitality when given unconditionally, brings
about real change as was revealed through the character of the ironmaster’s daughter towards the peddler.

Indigo - Louis Fischer

About the author
Louis Fischer, the son of a fish peddler, was born in Philadelphia on 29 February 1896. After
studying at the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy from 1914 to 1916, he became a school teacher. He served
as a volunteer in the British Army but he made his career as a journalist and worked for different
newspapers. Louis Fischer taught about the Soviet Union at Princeton University until his death on January
15, 1970. The famous American journalist Mr. Louis Fischer came to India in May 1942. He was in India for
two months. The world war was in full swing. In the scorching heat of June he spent one week with
Gandhi in his Ashram. Gandhi gave him one hour daily. He could also talk with Gandhi during other
activities such as eating, walking, etc. Fisher wrote a book “seven days with the Mahatma”. In this famous
book he has described the Ashram life and Gandhi’s likes and dislikes in a very touching way. He wrote
that he never felt afraid in Gandhi’s presence. His association with Gandhi was warm, healthy, full of joy
and cordial. He found Gandhi a cultured, able and always refreshing and sweet person. Louis Fisher has
described the wonders of Gandhi’s personality in the book.
Short Answer Type Questions
Q1. Why was Gandhiji impressed with Rajkumar Shukla’s tenacity and determination?
Ans. Raj Kumar Shukla, a poor Sharecropper from Champaran requested Gandhi inCongress Session in
Lucknow to fix a date to visit Champaran where the sharecroppers were subjected to injustice. Till Gandhi

12
fixed a date, he did not leave him rather he accompanied him wherever he went. Gandhi was impressed by
his tenacity and determination and finally agreed to go there from Calcutta.

Q2. Why did Gandhi chide the lawyers who represented the interests of group of sharecroppers of
Champaran?
Ans. Gandhi chided the lawyers for collecting big fees from the sharecroppers to fight their case in law
courts. He felt taking their case to law courts would do little good when they were so crushed and fear
stricken. So his first priority was to free them from fear.

Q3. What were the conditions of sharecroppers of Champaran?

Ans. The peasants of Champaran were tenants of British landlords. Under long term sharecropping
arrangement, they were growing Indigo on 15 percent of their holding and surrendering the harvest as rent
to the British landlord. But when Indigo price fell due to synthetic Indigo developed in Germany, the
landlords obtained agreement from the peasants to pay them compensation which some of the peasants
resisted and fought their case in court.

Q4. What made the British realize that the Indians could challenge their might hither to unquestioned?
Ans. The spontaneous demonstration around the court house by the peasants of Motihari on knowing that
Gandhi was in trouble was the beginning of their liberation from fear of the British which made the British
realize that now the Indians can challenge their might.

Q5. How did Gandhi make the peasants fearless and self-reliant?
Ans. Gandhi made the peasants fearless by letting them know about their rights, fighting their case and by
obtaining the refund of compensation made to the British landlords who were behaving as lords above the
law.

Q6. Why is Raj Kumar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?

Ans. Raj Kumar Shukla was a poor, illiterate sharecropper from Champaran who having heard of Gandhi
came to Lucknow to seek his assistance. He was illiterate but resolute. He wished to bring the plight of the
sharecroppers of Champaran to the notice of Gandhi and followed him everywhere till he finally agreed to
go to Champaran.

Q7. Why do you think the servants thought Gandhi to be another peasant?
Ans. Gandhi was committed to accompany Raj Kumar Shukla to Champaran to address the tribulations of
the sharecroppers of that area. En route to Champaran from Calcutta, Raj Kumar Shukla made Gandhi stop
in Patna to meet a lawyer called Rajendra Prasad who later on became the first President of India. The
servants thought that Gandhi was another peasant as he had come with an illiterate peasant.

Q8. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers?
Ans. Gandhi agreed to a settlement of 25 per cent refund to the farmers just to break the deadlock. Gandhi
felt that the amount was less important than the fact that the landlords had been obliged to surrender a
part of the money and along with it a part of their pride.

Q9. How was Gandhi able to influence the lawyers? Give instances.
Ans. Gandhi’s sincerity of purpose, convincing argumentation and a logical approach deeply influenced
the lawyers. Chiding them for over-charging the peasants, he encouraged them to court arrest for the poor
peasants’ cause, if he himself got imprisoned.

Q10. What was the attitude of the average Indian in smaller localities towards advocates of ‘home rule’?
Ans. In the smaller localities, Indians were afraid to show sympathy with advocates of ‘Home Rule’. Thus
it was surprising for Gandhi that he received support from Professor J.B. Kripalani of the Arts College of
Muzzafarpur. He met him at the station with a large group of students and also housed him for a couple of
days.

13
Q11. How do we know that ordinary people too contributed to the freedom movement?
Ans. Freedom movement is the story of the contribution and sacrifices of countless unknown and unsung
heroes like Raj Kumar Shukla and other Champaran sharecroppers. But for their active support and show
of solidarity, the first victory of Civil Disobedience in India would not have been possible.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. Why was the share-cropping arrangement irksome? What was its fate?
Ans. Most of the cultivating land of Chaniparan district was divided into large estates owned by the
Englishmen. It was worked by Indian tenant peasants, for which they paid rent. Indigo was the chief
commerical crop. The English planters compelled all peasants to grow indigo in three-twentieths or 15 per
cent of their land holdings. The entire indigo harvest was to be surrendered as rent to the British
landowners. The landlords came to know that Germany had developed synthetic indigo. Thereupon they
obtained agreement, from the share-croppers to pay them the compensation. This share-cropping
arrangement was irksome to the peasants. Some signed it willingly and those who opposed engaged
lawyers. The landowners hired thugs who forcefully collected the compensation amount. It was at this
point Gandhi reached Champaran. Gandhi’s civil disobedience and peasants’ spontaneous demonstration
compelled the Lieutenant Governor to appoint a commission of inquiry into the share-croppers situation.
The official inquiry concluded that the landlords had to refund the part of the money to the peasants. After
a few years they abandoned their estates. The indigo share-cropping disappeared completely.

Q2. How did Gandhiji win the battle of Champaran?

Ans. After his arrival at Motihari, Gandhiji used a house as the headquarter so that he can have complete
investigation for the share croppers. At that time there came a report about mal-treating a peasant. Next
morning Gandhiji went to see him but he was overtaken by the police superintendent’s messanger with an
order to come back. When he reached home, Gandhiji was asked to quit Champaran at once. Gandhiji
signed the order but wrote to disobey the order. Next day Gandhi appeared in the court. That night
Gandhiji telegraphed Rajendra Prasad to come with the influential friends. When the peasants knew that
Gandhiji was in trouble with the authorities, the court ground of Motihari became black with peasants. The
officials felt powerless and they had to seek his help. The trial was postponed but Gandhiji protested the
delay. In between he was left at liberty. Now Gandhiji asked the prominent lawyers what they would do in
case he was sent to jail. They told that they would follow Gandhiji and give the court arrest. Gandhiji
exclaimed: “The battle of Champaran is won”.

Q3. How did a visit to Champaran become a turning point in Gandhi’s life? How does this show
Gandhi’s love and concern for the common people of India?
Ans. After having clues from Raj Kumar Shukla, Gandhi reached Champaran to understand the appalling
conditions of share croppers. He found that the large estates were owned by the Englishmen where Indians
worked there as their tenantfarmers and they paid 15% of their land yield. After great tussel, Gandhi and
the lawyers made the Britishers agree to refund 25 percent of the money. Thus farmersbecame bold and got
their rights. Within few years, the landlords left chains over the estates and the farmers became the owners.
On finding backwardness of thepeople there, he appointed volunteers to teach the villagers. Kasturba
taught theashram rules and personal hygiene and community sanitation. A doctor helped the villagers in
their health problems. The people realized the value of self-reliance. The countrymen embarked on the task
of national freedom movement. It was a turning point in Gandhi’s life. All his activities were expressing his
love and concern for the Indians.

Q4. What were the steps taken by Gandhiji to solve the problems of social andcultural backwardness in
the villages of Champaran?
Ans. Gandhiji saw the cultural and social backwardness in the Champaran villages.In order to educate
them he made an appeal for teachers. His two new young pupilsMahadev Desai, Narhari Parikh and their
wives offered to work. Several more teachers came from Bombay (Mumbai), Poona and other distant parts
of India. His youngest son Devdas and Mrs. Gandhi (Kasturba) also arrived from the Ashram. Primary
schools were also opened in six villages to teach children. Kasturba taught the ashram rules on personal
cleanliness and community sanitation. In order to improve the miserable health conditions, Gandhiji got a

14
doctor. He volunteered his services for six months. Kasturba talked to the women to get rid of their filthy
state of clothes. During his long stay at Champaran, Gandhiji taught people self- reliance and freedom from
the fear of the British. Thus he paved the path for the freedom of India.

Q5. “Freedom from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor.” Do you think that the poor of
India are free from fear after Independence?
For the motion
I think that in the present day, the poor in India have been relatively free of fear for the following reasons:
(a) Ours is a democratic country encouraging the values of individual freedom.
(b) The Constitution of India guarantees freedom to every citizen in India and this makes a man fearless in
his attitude compared to the situation that had prevailed in this country under British domination.
(c) The legal system in the country is impartial and sympathetic towards people’s rightful privileges and
demands. This gives the poor in India a voice and a sense of fearlessness.
(d) The Press in India is ever vigilant and makes it a point to report instances of the abuse of freedom. It is a
widely watched medium among both the urban and rural poor and gives them the moral courage to resist
curbs on their freedom.
(e) A sound system of administration ensures that the poor in India are given legal and personal protection.
Against the motion
(a) Despite being the world’s biggest democracy, the poor in India live in denial of fundamental freedoms
because they are afraid to raise their voices against injustices committed against them.
(b) Economic suppression and the lack of social security measures make the poor live in abject fear of
falling a prey to disease and death or of being a victim of state and police atrocities.
(c) Women are in constant fear of their personal safety in both cities and villages irrespective of their age,
their education and other empowering tools.
(d) Corrupt practices and male dominance make their lives oppressive and fearful, for they are denied their
basic right to existence if they raise their voices against acts that are committed by their superiors.
(e) The poor are soft targets for vote bank politics and they dare not oppose the local mafia for fear of the
fallout and flack that will come upon him, his villages and his family members.

Q6. Exploitation is a universal phenomenon. The poor indigo farmers were exploited by the British
landlords to which Gandhiji objected. Even after our independence we find exploitation of unorganized
labour. What values do we learn from Gandhi’s campaign to counter the present day problems of
exploitation?
Ans. Exploitation is a universal phenomenon. It exists since the origin of the society. The mighty rules the
poor. It makes a strata of society slaves and the other one rule them. Since the British rule, this
phenomenon is on. They exploited Indians in each and every possible way. Most noticeable was the
exploitation of the poor Indigo farmers. They had been getting nothing for their hard work. Gandhiji
taught them to speak against it using the power of truth, education, peace and nonviolence. The condition
is even same in today’s scenario. Labourers are still being exploited in unorganized sectors. They Work for
long hours but do not get paid according to labour laws. They need to remain united, come ahead and fight
for their rights. Legal paths should be followed to get what they deserve. No one should be ready to work
in unhygienic and improper working conditions. Togetherness, strength and self-determination will
definitely bring fruitful results to the labourers in every field.

Going Places – A.R. Barton

About the author
A. R. Barton is a modern writer, who lives in Zurich and Writes in English. He has authored many
stories like “Going Places” which are mainly concerned with the problems and the stage of adolescence.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. What does Sophie dream of doing after she passes out of school? Why do you call it a ‘dream’ and
not a ‘plan?
Ans. Sophie dreams to have a boutique of her own. It will be the most amazing shop the city has ever seen.
She says that she will buy a boutique if ever she comes into money. She does not mind becoming an actress

15
to run a boutique as a side business. Since she has no money or experience, it is called a ‘dream’ and not a
‘plan’.

Q2. What are the other dreams of Sophie in addition to having a boutique?
Ans. The greatest dream of Sophie is to have a boutique. She wants to be a bit sophisticated and rise above
her lower-middle class status. Her other dream is of being an actress as “there’s real money in that”.
Moreover, actresses don’t work full time. She can look after her first love i.e. boutique as a side business.
She has another option. She can be a fashion designer, and do something sophisticated.

Q3. Why does Jansie say: “Soaf you really should be sensible”?
Ans. Jansie knows Sophie’s family background and financial position. She knows that both of them are
earmarked for that biscuit factory. Sophie dreams of big and beautiful things like having a boutique or
becoming an actress or a fashion designer. All these things need a lot of money and experience. Sophie has
neither of them. So Jansie advises her to be sensible and stop having wild dreams.

Q4. Compare and contrast Sophie and Jansie?

Ans. Sophie and Jansie are classmates and friends but they are poles apart in thinking and temperament.
Sophie is an incurable dreamer and escapist. She dreams of big and beautiful things, which are beyond her
reach. On the other hand, Jansie is realistic and practical. She knows that they are poor and have to work in
the biscuit factory after leaving school. She is well aware that big things require big money and experience,
which they don’t have.

Q5. What job is Geoff engaged in? How does he differ from his sister, Sophie?
Ans. Geoff is grown up boy. He left school three years ago. Now he is an apprentice mechanic. He has to
travel to his work each day to the far side of the city. He speaks little but listens to his sister’s ‘wild stories’.
But he is not a day dreamer like her. He knows the financial limitations of the family. He cautions Sophie
against entertaining dreams for a celebrity like Danny Casey.

Q6. Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff’s silence?

Ans. Geoff was almost grown up now. He spoke little. Sophie was jealous of his silence. She knew that
when he was not speaking, he was away somewhere. He was out in the surrounding country—in those
places she had never been. She wanted to share her brother’s affection.

Q7. What does Sophie tell Geoff about her meeting with Danny Casey? How does Geoff react to it?
Ans. Sophie tells Geoff that she met Danny Casey. Geoff is surprised. He looks round abruptly and asks
‘where?’ Sophie replies that she met him in the arcade. Geoff can’t believe her. He says, “It’s never true.”
He asks her, “What does he look like?” She replies that he has green eyes and is not very tall. Geoff is still
not convinced.

Q8. How does Sophie’s father react when Geoff tells him about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans. Geoff informs his father that Sophie had a meeting with Danny Casey. He turns his head on his thick
neck to look at her in disbelief. His expression is one of disdain. He ignores the news and goes on to talk
about Tom Finney. He hopes that Danny will be like Tom Finney one day. When Sophie says that Casey is
going to buy a shop, he reacts sharply. “This is another of your wild stories.”

Q9. Who was Danny Casey? How did the members of Sophie’s family react towards him?
Ans. Danny Casey was a young Irish football player. He played for the United. The Irish prodigy could
easily dodge the defenders and score goals. Sophie’s father was a football fan. He admired old heroes like
Tom Finney and young wonder boy Casey. Geoff had a large poster of United first team squad on his bed
room wall. There were three coloured photographs of Casey in the row below it. Every Saturday they went
to watch United.

Q10. Where did Sophie meet Casey and what transpired between them?

16
Ans. Sophie met Danny Casey in the arcade. It was she who spoke first and asked if he was Casey. He
looked surprised. He was certainly Danny Casey as he had the Irish accent. She had already heard him on
television. She asked him for an autograph for little Derek. But neither of them had any paper or pen.
Before going he promised to give his autograph if she cared to meet him next week.

Q11. How did Jansie react at Sophie’s story of her meeting with Danny Casey?
Ans. Jansie was a classmate and friend of Sophie. She lived in the same neighbourhood. She knew Sophie
quite well. She was also aware of Sophie’s habit of dreaming. On learning of her meeting with Danny
Casey, her first reaction was of disbelief. “You never did”, exclaimed Jansie. But when Sophie told her
about her request for autograph, Jansie softened a little and said, “Jesus, I wish I’d have been there.”

Q12. Why did Sophie choose to walk by the canal? ‘What did she do there?
Ans. Sophie walked by the canal along a sheltered path. It was far away from the noise and crowd of the
city. It was a place where she had often played when she was a child. There was a wooden bench beneath a
solitary elm tree. Lovers sometimes came there. That was the most suitable place where she could dream of
her hero Danny Casey.

Q13. What did Sophie feel while sitting for hours and waiting for Danny Casey by the canal?
Ans. At first Sophie was optimistic. She imagined him coming out of the shadows. When time had elapsed,
pangs of doubt stirred inside her. She became sad and despondent. Danny would not come there at all. She
feared that people would laugh at the story of her meeting with Casey.

Q14. “Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.” Do you agree? Give reasons in
support of your answer.
Ans. I fully agree with the observation. Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all in her mind, she is a
hero-worshipper. The Irish prodigy is her hero. She imagines her meeting with him. Her day-dreaming
makes her sad and despondent. The idea that Casey will not come at all is quite painful to her. Thus her
dreams and disappointments are products of her mind only. They have nothing to do with reality.

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1. What impression do you form of Sophie on reading the story ‘Going Places’?
Ans. Sophie is a young school girl. She dreams of big and beautiful things. Some of these are beyond her
reach. Her ambitions have no relation with the harsh realities of life. She thinks of having a boutique. She
wants to have the most amazing shop this city has ever seen. Then she entertains the idea of being an
actress ‘There’s real money in that.’ Actresses do now work full time. So she would run the boutique as a
side business. If need be, she can be a fashion designer. She doesn’t realize that her family is not rich
enough and her dreams can’t be fulfilled. Sophie develops a romantic fascination for Danny Casey. He is a
young Irish football player and the hero of her dreams. She indulges in hero worship. She tells a story that
she met Casey. Her father calls it another of her “wild stories”. Even Geoff doesnot believe her. She has
seen Casey only once, but all the time she thinks of him. She sits alone and waits for his arrival. She
becomes sad and despondent when Casey does not come. She suffers because of her dreams. These dreams
and disappointments are all the creations of her mind.

Q2. Compare and contrast Sophie and Jansie highlighting their temperament and aspirations.
Ans. Sophie and Jansie are classmates and friends. They belong to lower middle class families. Both of
them are earmarked for biscuit factory. Jansie is down to earth. She is practical and realist. But Sophie is
totally blind to the harsh realities of life. She dreams of big and beautiful things. She wants to have a
boutique. She thinks of becoming an actress as there is lot of money in this profession. If need be, she can
also be a fashion designer. In short, she loves to be grand and sophisticated. All her dreams are beyond her
reach and resources. Jansie advises her to be sensible, but she remains a romantic dreamer. Sophie and
Jansie differ in thinking and temperament. Sophie is lost in her dream world, she shares her secret with
only one person. It is her elder brother Geoff. Jansie is ‘nosey’. She takes interests in learning new things
about others. She can spread the story in the whole neighbourhood. So Sophie doesn’t want to share secrets
with her.

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Q3. Describe the bond between Geoff and Sophie in spite of differences in their temperament and
thinking.
Ans. Geoff was Sophie’s elder brother. He was three years out of school. He was an apprentice mechanic.
He travelled to his work each day to the far side of the city. He was almost grown up now. He spoke very
little. Sophie was jealous of Geoff’s silence. He was quiet and didn’t make new friends easily. He thought
that Sophie was too young and immature. Geoff was mature enough to understand his limitations and
those of his family. He never dreamt of big and beautiful things. In spite of difference in their
temperaments, there was a close bond between the two. Geoff was always the first to share Sophie’s
secrets. He knew that Sophie’s story of meeting with Danny Casey was not true. Still he listened to her.
Sophie confided in him. Her secret was something special just between them. It was not meant for nosey
Jansie who would spread it in the whole neighbourhood. Geoff tried to persuade Sophie. He warned her
that Danny Casey was a celebrity. He must have many girls like her running after him. Sophie told him
that Casey would give her an autograph if she cared to meet him next week. Geoff did not believe “he’d
ever show up.” Thus he acted like an elder brother.

Q4. Who was Danny Casey? How was he adored by the family of Sophie, and especially by Sophie and
her father?
Ans. Danny Casey was an Irish Prodigy. He was a wonder boy of football. He had won the hearts of his
countless fans. He played for United. Sophie’s family was obsessed with the Irish genius. Sophie’s father
compared young Danny Casey to another great football player Tom Finney. He wished that Casey might
be that good someday. Geoff remarked that he was with the best team in the country. He hoped that Casey
would prove even a better player than Tom Finney. Geoff considered him the best. His father thought that
he was too young for the first team. The fact was that with his exceptional ability he was playing for the
first eleven. On Saturday, Sophie’s family made their weekly pilgrimage to the stadium to watch United
play their match. They watched their hero Danny Casey in action. Sophie adored Danny Casey. She had a
romantic fascination for the Irish prodigy. Her young heart throbbed for her hero. She imagined Casey
coming to her. She would sit under an elm tree, waiting for Casey and dreaming of him. She realized that
he would not come. This made her sad and dejected. Sophie became a victim of her own dreams and
disappointments.

My mother at sixty six – Kamala Das

About the poet
Kamala Das was born in Punnayurkulam, Thrissur District in Kerala, on March 31,1934, to V. M. Nair, a
former Managing Editor of the widely-circulated Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi, and Nalappatt Balamani
Amma, a renowned Malayali poetess. She spent her childhood in Calcutta, where her father was employed
as a senior officer in the Walford Transport Company that sold Bentley and Rolls Royce. Like her mother,
Kamala Das also excelled in writing. Her love of poetry began at an early age through the influence of her
great uncle, Nalappatt Narayana Menon, a prominent writer. At the age of 15, she got married to the bank
officer, Madhava Das, who encouraged her writing interests, and she started writing and publishing both
in English and in Malayalam. She was born in a conservative Hindu Nair (Nallappattu) family having royal
ancestry, after being asked by her lover Sadiq Ali, an Islamic scholar and a Muslim League MP, she
embraced Islam in 1999 at the age of 65 and assumed the name Kamala Surayya.
On 31 May 2009, aged 75, she died at a hospital in Pune. Her body was flown to her home state of
Kerala. She was buried at the Palayam Juma Masjid at Thiruvananthapuram with full state honour.

Questions for Comprehension

Q1. Where was the poet driving to? Who was sitting beside her?
Ans. The poet was driving to Cochin airport. The poet’s mother was sitting beside her.

Q2. What did the poet notice about her mother?

Ans. She noticed that her mother was weak, pale and unconscious like a dead body.

Q3. Why does the poet look outside? What activities does the poet see outside the car window?

18
Ans. The poet feels very sad thinking that her mother is nearing death. This painful thought makes her
worried and anxious. So in order to divert her attention from her mother, she looks outside. The poet sees
young trees running past them. She also sees little children coming out of their homes in a merry mood.
She sees life and vitality in the outside world.

Q4. Why are the young trees described as ‘sprinting’?

Ans. The young trees are described as sprinting’ as the movement of the racing car makes the trees appear
as if they are running along.

Q5. Why is the mother compared to the late winter’s moon?

Ans. The mother is compared to the late winter’s moon because like the moon of the winter season, the
poet’s mother also looks pale, dull and greyish.

Q6. What childhood fears do you think, the poet is referring to in the poem?
Ans. The poet feels uneasy and unprotected with the thought of losing her mother. She does not expect to
see her mother again on her return. So she shows a childish unwillingness to leave her mother.

Q7. Why has the poet brought in the image of the merry children ‘spilling out of their homes’?
Ans. The poet has used the image of merry children spilling out of their homes to bring a contrast between
the old age and childhood. Her mother’s pale, colourless face stands for old and fading age. Merry children
symbolise the spring of life, vigour and happiness. They also symbolize spontaneity of life in contrast to the
passive and inactive life of her aged mother.

Q8. What does Kamala Das do after the security check-up? What does she notice?
Ans. After the security check-up, the poet stands a few yards away from her mother and gazes at her
mother. She notices the declining age and finds her pale and worn out than ever before.

Q9. The poet compares her mother to many things. Pick out two similes which reinforce this
comparison.
Ans. (a) The two similes are: “Her face ashen like that of a corpse.” (b) “I looked again at her wan, pale as
a late winter’s moon”

Q10. What image does the poet use to describe death in the poem?
Ans. The poet uses the image “corpse” to describe death in the poem.

Q11. Cite an example of one device of contrast that the poet uses in the poem.
Ans. The device of contrast that the poet uses in the poem is old age of her mother and the young trees and
children playing merrily. The poet compares youth, energy, vitality and jubilance of childhood.

Q12. What do the parting words of the poet and her smile signify?
Ans. The poet said, “See you soon Amma” in order to give her mother moral support and encouragement.
She said so to give her mother hope that she would see her again. By “smile and smile and smile…” she
means to make herself and her mother hopeful to see each other again. It is actually a painful smile. The
poet tries to conceal the swelling emotions by smiling.

Q13. “My Mother at sixty-six” is an emotional account of the poet about her old mother. Discuss.
Ans. “My Mother at sixty-six” is an emotional account of the poet about her old mother. She feels very sad
and depressed on seeing her pale, weak and worn out. She tries her best to divert her thought but remains
unsuccessful and this thought haunts her mind every now and then. Till the end of the poem, she feels very
sad and disappointed about the declining age of her mother. She is unable to express her fears and
emotions to her mother with the thought of disheartening her. She bids goodbye to her mother by just
smiling in order to hide her fear, anxiety and real feelings.

Important Extracts
(a) Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
19
………..I saw my mother, beside me,
Doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that
Of a corpse and realised with pain
That she thought away, and looked but soon
Put that thought away, and looked out at young
Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling
Out of their homes, ………………
Q1. Where was the poet driving to? Who was sitting beside her?
Ans. The poet was driving from her parent’s home to the Cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside
her.
Q2. What did the mother look like?
Ans. Her old mother looked sick, drowsy and lifeless like a dead body.
Q3. What thought did she put away?
Ans. She put away her fear that she would not live long.
Q4. What do the sprinting trees signify?
Ans. The “sprinting tress” signify the vitality of youth.
Q5. What are “the merry children spilling out of their homes” symbolic of?
Ans. The “merry children spilling out of their homes” are symbolic of carefree childhood when all time is
playtime.

(b) Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:
…..I looked again at her, wan, pale
as a late winter’s moon and felt that old
familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,
but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,
All I did was smile and smile and smile …….
Questions:
Q1. Who looked wan and pale? Why?
Ans. The poet’s mother looked wan and pale due to her old age.
Q2. What is the comparison in the stanza?
Ans. The mother’s wan and pale face has been compared to the late winter’s moon.
Q3. What is her childhood’s fear?
Ans. It is the fear of ageing and approaching death of her mother.
Q4. Which figure of speech is used in the second line?
Ans. Simile – as a late winter’s moon.
Q5. How does she comfort/ console her mother?
Ans. She smiled and promised to see her mother soon.
Q6. What is the significance of the parting words?
Ans. These words signify hope and expectation to see her again.
Q7. What kind of pain/ ache does the poetess feel?
Ans. She feels pain on seeing the wan and pale face of her mother. It appears she will not live long.

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum - Stephen Spender

About the author
Sir Stephen Harold Spender was born on February 28, 1909, in London. He attended Oxford
University and fought in the Spanish Civil War. In the 1920s and 1930s, he associated with other poets and
socialists, such as W.H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Louis MacNeice, and C. Day Lewis, and his early
poetry was often inspired by social protest. During World War II Spender was a member of the National
Fire Service (1941–44). After the war, he made several visits to the United States, teaching and lecturing at
universities, and in 1965 he became the first non- American to serve as poetry consultant to the Library of
Congress (now the laureate consultant in poetry) a position he held for one year. In 1970 he was appointed
the professor of English at University College, London; he became professor emeritus in 1977. He was
knighted in 1983. Spender died on July 16, 1995.

Questions for Comprehension

20
Q1. Describe the slum children mentioned in the poem?
Ans. The slum school children are ill-fed and undernourished.Their faces lack the spark of life. Their hair
hang about their pale faces like rootless weeds. They look weak and tired. Some of these children have
inherited their parent’s diseases. They lack vigour and vitality and show no interest in their lessons.

Q2. How does the poet describe the classroom walls?

Ans. The classroom walls have not been painted for years. They are off-white in colour like sour cream.
There is a portrait of Shakespeare and a map of the world hanging in the classroom. Besides, there are some
pictures of some beautiful places. All these wall hangings look irrelevant and out of place in the dark and
dismal surroundings.

Q3. Why does the poet Stephen Spender say that the pictures and maps are meaningless? /Why does
Spender call Shakespeare wicked and the map a bad example?
Ans. The pictures, portraits and maps present a sharp contrast to the reality of slum children’s lives. These
children live in dark cramped places devoid of beauty and sunshine. Shakespeare cannot inspire noble
thoughts into the minds of these children who have no basic necessities of life. These pictures and maps
exhibit a world of opportunities which is so far away that the slum children cannot even dream of reaching
out to them. This is why these pictures and maps are meaningless and a bad example.

Q4. What does the poet want for the children of slums? How can their lives be made to change?
Ans. The poet wants these children to get a real and meaningful education that would open up a world of
opportunities for them. He wishes that these children ought to be brought out of their dark and dingy
world. He wishes these children to come out and play into green fields and golden sands.

Important Extracts
(a) Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones, reciting a father’s
Gnarled disease, His lessons from his desk. At back of the dim class
One unnoted, sweet and young. His eyes live in a dream,
Of Squirrel’s game, in the tree room, other than this.
Questions:
Q1. Who is the unlucky heir? Why is he called unlucky?
Ans. The thin slum boy is the unlucky heir. He is so called because he has inherited poverty, despair and
disease from his parents.
Q2. Who sits back unnoted? Why?
Ans. A young boy sits at the back. This boy is different from the others as ‘his eyes live’ in a dream – he is
dreaming and probably thinking about a better future. He is lost in his own world, therefore, not sad like
the others. This boy thinks of the ‘squirrel’s game’. He wants to enjoy and play freely like the squirrel in the
garden outside.
Q3. Pick two images each of despair and disease from these lines.
Ans. The images of despair are – ‘unlucky heir’, ‘dim class’, and that of diseases are – ‘twisted bones,
gnarled disease’.

(b) Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
And yet, for these
Children, these windows, not this map, their world,
Where all their future’s painted with a fog,
A narrow street sealed in with a lead sky
Far far from rivers, capes and stars of words.
Questions
Q1. Who are these children?
Ans. These are the slum children of Tyrol Valley.
Q2. What is their world like?
Ans. The school windows are their world because they cannot move beyond them.
Q3. What kind of future does the poet foresee for them?
21
Ans. The future of these children is quite dim. As we can’t see things in the fog, in the same way the future
of these children is looming under darkness. Their future is bleak.
Q4. Why does the poet say that the narrow street is sealed?
Ans. The narrow street is sealed as these provide no opportunity to make an access to the outer world of
wisdom.

(c) Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
Unless, governor, inspector, visitor,
This map becomes their window and these windows
That shut upon their lives like catacombs,
Break O break open till they break the town
And show the children to green fields, and make their world
Run azure on gold sands, and let their tongues
Run naked into books, the white and white green leaves open
History is theirs whose language is the son.
Questions:
Q1. Who can improve the lot of the poor slum children?
Ans. The rulers, the educationists, the teachers and the general public can pool their efforts to give a better
life to the poor slum children.
Q2. What kind of life do they live?
Ans. They are shut up in their dim classrooms and small hovels like dead bodies in the grave.
Q3. What is the poet’s appeal to the upper-class people?
Ans. The poet urges them to bring some light into the lives of the slum children. They may be imparted
education in a healthy atmosphere.
Q4. What should they break?
Ans. They should break all barriers and obstructions that hinder the school children’s growth.
Q5. What kind of a world does the poet imagine for these children?
Ans. The poet imagines a world where these children run around in the fields or on sea beaches in a
carefree manner. They should also enjoy the freedom of knowledge and expression.
Q6. What does the word ‘sun’ symbolize?
Ans. ‘Sun’ symbolizes light and brightness which, comes from education. Proper education alone can
improve the lives of these slum children.
Q7. What is the poet’s advice?
Ans. The poet suggests that the slum children should not only be educated properly but also removed from
their dirty surroundings to sunny and green fields.
Q8. Explain: “History is theirs whose language is the sun.”
Ans. The language that has warmth and power of the sun only can mould and write history.
Q9. What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their lives be made to change?
Ans. The poet wants an improvement in the quality of the lives of the slum children. He feels that the
government has a moral obligation to provide a meaningful education to these children and to break down
the barriers that stand in the way of improving their lives.

Keeping Quiet - Pablo Neruda

About the poet
Pablo Neruda’s real name is Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He was born on 12 July, 1904, in the
town of Parral in Chile. His father was a railway employee and his mother, who died shortly after his birth,
a teacher. Some years later his father, who had then moved to the town of Temuco, remarried Doña
Trinidad Candia Malverde. The poet spent his childhood and youth in Temuco. At age 13, he began his
literary career as a contributor to the daily La Mañana, where he published his first articles and poems. In
1920, he contributed to the literary journal Selva Austral under the pen name Pablo Neruda, which he
assumed in honor of Czech poet Jan Neruda. Neruda died just two years after receiving his Nobel Prize on
September 23, 1973, in Santiago, Chile. Though his death was officially attributed to prostate cancer, there
have been allegations that the poet was poisoned. In 2011, Neruda’s chauffeur alleged that the writer said
he’d been given an injection at a clinic by a physician that worsened his health. Chilean judge Mario

22
Carroza later authorized an official investigation into cause of death. Neruda’s body was exhumed in 2013
and examined, but a forensics team found no initial evidence of foul play.

1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines
we would be all together
in a sudden strangeness.
Questions
Q1. Which moment is referred to here and how will it be?
Ans. it will be a moment of peace and introspection. It will be a strange and attractive moment that will
bring us closer.
Q2. How would we feel at that moment?
Ans. We will realize a feeling of oneness.
Q3. How will it bring all of us together?
Ans. By keeping quiet and still, we all will feel alike as if we are together.

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about;
I want no truck with death.
Questions
Q1. What is it that should not be confused with total inactivity?
Ans. It is the moment of silence that should not be confused with total inactivity.
Q2. What is the life about?
Ans. Life is about actions and dynamism. It must go on. The efforts to keep the race alive cannot be
suspended even for a day. Action is essence of life.
Q3. Explain: “no truck with death”.
Ans. Total inactivity is a synonym of death and he has no association with death. This short silence is very
much alive and a preparation for renewed hectic activity.

3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
Questions
Q1. In which wars are there no survivors?
Ans. There are no survivors in the wars of poisonous gases and the war of firearms.
Q2. Who would put on clean clothes?
Ans. The war-wagers would put on clean clothes.
Q3. What does ‘put on clean clothes’ signify?
Ans. ‘Put on clean clothes’ signifies the feelings of their mutual understanding.

4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving
and for once could do nothing
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with death.
23
Questions
Q1. What will happen if we go on thinking single-minded?
Ans. In case we go on thinking single minded, we will remain busy in worldly activities, thereby we won’t
find time for self-introspection. It will be a sad situation.
Q2. How can we understand ourselves?
Ans. We can understand ourselves through self-introspection.
Q3. In what way can huge silence dispel sadness?
Ans. Huge silence will remove all our tension, violence and warfare. It will do away with all our sadness.
Q4. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
Ans. The poet Pablo Neruda refers to ‘sadness’ which we form out of our own thinking and actions. We
understand a lot of things but fail to understand ourselves and our actions and this becomes the creator of
all disasters. This is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem
Q5. Why does the poet want us to ‘do nothing’ for once?
Ans. The poet wants to do nothing for once, here he specifies that we should cease all our activities in order
to have introspection within ourselves so that we can realize the exotic moment.
Q7. How we can know ourselves?
Ans. We can know ourselves through introspection.
Q8. Identify ‘we’.
Ans. ‘We’ here refers to all human beings.

5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Perhaps the Earth can teach us a
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive.
Now I’ll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.
Questions
Q1. What does the earth teach us?
Ans. The earth teaches us how life springs from dead things. It further teaches us to realize life under
stillness.
Q2. What does the poet mean to achieve by counting upto twelve?
Ans. He wants us to achieve peace by counting upto twelve.
Q3. What is the significance of ‘Keeping Quiet’?
Ans. ‘Keeping quiet’ means that we should avoid all those activities which hurt the nature.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. Why does the poet want us to keep quiet?
Ans. Keeping quiet will develop a better understanding among human beings and allow us to establish
communion with our fellow beings at spiritual level.

Q2. Does the poet advocate total inactivity and death by suggesting being quiet?
Ans. No, the poet does not advocate it. He wants no truck with death. In fact he wants to live life full
bloodedly. But by advocating quietness he wants mixing of physical and spiritual aspect of life.

Q3. Why does not the poet want us to speak in any language?
Ans. The poet wants us not to speak in any language to introspect and know what we are about- know the
meaning of our existence. He wants everybody to know his spirit and have spiritual contact with others for
sometimes for which no language is required.

Q4. What will counting up to twelve and keeping still help us achieve?
Ans. Counting up to twelve and keeping quiet will assist us in attaining a state of peace in which we will
be able to introspect and thus, see and appreciate the benefits of the symbiotic relationship that would exist
between humans and between man and nature.

Q5. Do you think the poet advocates total inactivity and death?
24
Ans. The poet does not advocate total inactivity and death, but he does advise that we introspect deeply
and not indulge in activity that is mindless and thus potentially destructive for human beings and for the
balance that should exist between man and nature.

Q6. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem?
Ans. Men fails to understand themselves. They are always threatening themselves with death. When they
do not understand themselves, they become sad. Only silence might interrupt this sadness and make them
happy.

Q7. What symbol from Nature does the poet invoke to say that there can be life under apparent
stillness?
Ans. Life under apparent stillness can be seen in nature. During the winter season, the earth under the
snow looks dead, with no activity and no growth. But when the spring comes, the snow melts away, the
seeds sprout and the grass grows. All activities of life start again.

Q8. According to the poet, what is that human beings can learn from nature?
Ans. Nature teaches us a lot of things. We must learn that all things are bound together and depend on
each other for their survival. We should introspect ourselves by remaining calm and composed. So it
teaches us to be quiet and still. It is no use to hinder others. We should grow and develop at our own Place.
We must be contended with what we possess. There is no need for greed. The nature always remains alive.

A thing of beauty – John Keats

About the poet
John Keats was a British Romantic poet. He was born on October 31, 1795, in London. He lost both
his parents at a young age. His father, a livery-stable keeper, died when Keats was eight; his mother died of
tuberculosis six years later. After his mother’s death, Keats’s maternal grandmother appointed two London
merchants, Richard Abbey and John Rowland Sandell, as guardians. Abbey, a prosperous tea broker,
assumed the bulk of this responsibility, while Sandell played only a minor role. When Keats was fifteen,
Abbey withdrew him from the Clarke School, Enfield, to apprentice with an apothecary-surgeon and study
medicine in a London hospital. In 1816 Keats became a licensed apothecary, but he never practiced his
profession, deciding instead to write poetry. Keats spent the summer of 1818 on a walking tour in Northern
England and Scotland, returning home to care for his brother, Tom, who suffered from tuberculosis. While
nursing his brother, Keats met and fell in love with a woman named Fanny Brawne. That same autumn,
Keats contracted tuberculosis, and by the following February he felt that death was already upon him.
In July 1820, he published his third and best volume of poetry, Lamia, Isabella but by that time he
had reached an advanced stage of his disease. He continued a correspondence with Fanny Brawne and
when he could no longer bear to write to her directly because of his failing health, her mother prevented
their getting married. Under his doctor’s orders to seek a warm climate for the winter, Keats went to Rome
with his friend, the painter Joseph Severn. He died there on February 23, 1821, at the age of twenty-five,
and was buried in the Protestant cemetery.
Important Extracts
1. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
A thing of beauty is a joy forever
Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Questions
Q1. What is being said to be a joy forever?
Ans. A thing of beauty is said to be a joy forever.
Q2. What is peculiar about a beautiful thing?
Ans. A beautiful thing leaves a permanent impression on our minds. Its loveliness
goes on increasing. It stays in our imagination and becomes a source of joy forever.
Q3. What can a beautiful thing do for the human beings?

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Ans. A beautiful thing gives us a sound sleep full of sweet dreams, good health and a peaceful breathing. It
also helps us in achieving the peace of mind. It removes sadness and brings happiness to our depressed
spirits.
Q4. How does a thing of beauty keep a bower quiet for us?
Ans. It reserves a quiet place in our heart. When we are tired, tensed, troubled or disappointed, it heals our
sorrows and restores happiness for us again.
Q5. Explain: “It will never pass into nothingness”.
Ans. A thing of beauty is a perennial thing. Its beauty goes on increasing. It will never be reduced into
nothingness.

2. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or red;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.
Questions
Q1. Who are the mighty dead?
Ans. The mighty dead are those who sacrificed their lives for a noble cause and made great achievements
in their lifetime.
Q2. How is grandeur associated with the mighty dead?
Ans. The mighty dead are honored and worshiped for their remarkable achievements. Now they are lying
buried under their graves. On the day of judgement, God also will reward them for their noble deeds. It is
this dignity that is associated with them.
Q3. What lovely tales does the poet talk of?
Ans. He talks of the great myths and the tales of the olden days.
Q4. What does the poet call “an endless fountain of immortal drink”?
Ans. Beautiful things.
Q5. What image does the poet draw in the last two lines?
Ans. Beautiful things are like an endless fountain which goes on pouring the immortal drink unto us from
the heaven. They are a source of immense joy and happiness.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
Ans. A thing of beauty is a joy forever as its loveliness increases through recollection and contemplation. It
is a perennial source of pleasure that ensures good health and quiet breathing. It brings relief in our painful
existence.

Q2. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings?
Ans. In spite of troubles and sufferings, human beings love life because there are some beautiful things that
move away the gloom from the depressed minds. The beautiful things in nature like the moon, the sun, the
trees, the ferns and the daffodils bring happiness and reduce men’s sufferings.

Q3. List the things of beauty mentioned in the poem.

Ans. All beautiful things of nature are a boon for human beings. The sun, the moon, the trees, daffodils,
simple sheep, clear streams, forests ferns, musk rose etc. provide us peace and happiness.

Q4. List the things that cause suffering and pain.

Ans. Disease, disappointments, jealousy, lack of human qualities, gloomy days, unhealthy and evil ways
cause pains and sufferings in our lives.

Q5. What does the line, ‘Therefore are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to earth’ suggest to you?
Ans. When we pluck fresh flowers to make a garland, it shows our love for life, for nature and for beauty.
The flowers attract us and bind us to the nature and the earth.

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Q6. What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings?
Ans. There are many things that depress our spirits but our nature has blessed us with beauty that alone
makes our life happy. It removes the pall of sadness. It offers us loveliness and pleasures. So human beings
love life.

Q7. Do we experience things of beauty only for short moments or do they make a lasting impression on
us?
Ans. Things of beauty make a lasting impression on us and continue to delight us and give us joy. Beauty
can never fade away or lose its value.

Q8. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?
Ans. Human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings because nature is the best healer and it
brings beauty and joy to our life. The memory of the beautiful experiences helps us to bear our sorrows and
provide a peaceful retreat.

Q9. Why is grandeur associated with mighty dead?

Ans. Great men have great fall. The exploits of the mighty rulers and generals fill us with awe and wonder.
We admire and even worship our heroes. We remember them gratefully because they sacrificed their lives
for a noble cause.

Q10. What becomes of all lovely tales we have heard or read?

Ans. All lovely tales that we have heard or read become a source of pleasure. They become an endless
fountain of nectar and give us heavenly pleasure.

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers - Adrienne Rich

About the Poet
Adrienne Rich was an American poet and essayist. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland on May
16, 1929. She was brought up in a well-off family. She was the elder of two daughters. Her father was a
doctor and her mother was a music composer. In 1953, she married Harvard University economist Alfred
H. Conrad. She attended Radcliffe College, graduating in 1951, and was selected by W.H. Auden for the
Yale Series of Younger Poets prize. Two years later, she published her second volume of poetry, The
Diamond Cutters. After having three sons before the age of thirty, Rich gradually changed both her life and
her poetry. Throughout the 1960s, she wrote several collections. The content of her work became
increasingly confrontational—exploring such themes as women’s role in society, racism, and the Vietnam
War. In 1997, she refused the National Medal of Arts, stating that “I could not accept such an award from
White House because the very meaning of art, as I understand it, is incompatible with the cynical politics of
this administration.” The same year, Rich was awarded the Academy’s Wallace Stevens Award for
outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry. She died on March 27, 2012, at the age of eighty-two.
Important Extracts
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree:
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.”
Q1. What does prancing tigers symbolize?
Ans. Prancing tigers are a symbol of the spirit of freedom within Aunt Jennifer which remains subdued.
Q2. Why are they referred to as ‘denizens of a world of green’?
Ans. The tigers are the dwellers of the green forest so they are referred to as denizens.
Q3. What qualities of the ‘tigers’ are highlighted here?
Ans. Fearlessness and ferocity of the tigers are highlighted here. Aunt Jennifer’s nervousness and timidity
are in sharp contrast to wild ferocity of the tigers who are not afraid of hunting men. Unlike Aunt Jennifer,
the tigers fear nothing.
Q4. Explain; “They pace in sleek chivalric certainty”.

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Ans. The movement of the tigers are sleek, stealthy, sure, majestic and elegant. They are sure of their
purpose. Gallant and confident, they move ahead fearlessly undeterred by any obstacles or hindrances.

2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.”
Q1. Why do Aunt Jennifer’s fingers flutter through her wool?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer lives in constant fear of her husband. She feels so nervous and terrified that her hands
shake and flutter when she sits down to knit.
Q2. Why does she find it hard to pull the ivory needle?
Ans. She finds it hard to pull the ivory needle more because of mental suppression than because of physical
weakness. Due to constant fear that she confronts, has become a nervous wreck.
Q3. Explain: ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’.
Ans. The expression is symbolic of male authority and power. Matrimony binds the woman physically as
well as mentally. Likewise Aunt Jennifer is trapped in gender oppression and feels herself burdened by the
authority of her husband.
Q4. How is Aunt Jennifer affected by the ‘weight of matrimony’?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer cannot do things freely. She tries to come up to the expectation of her husband. She
seems to have lost her identity. The freedom that she dreams of through her art, is itself symbolic of her
oppressed self.

3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.”
Q1. What is Aunt Jennifer’s death symbolic of?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer’s death is symbolic of her complete submission to her suppression.
Q2. Explain: “terrified hands”.
Ans. Aunt Jennifer is terrified by her dominating husband and hence her hands are shivering.
Q3. What does ‘ringed with ordeals’ imply?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer has been so victimized in her life that even after death she remains trapped. We find her
a victim of gender injustice and oppression.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q1. How do the tigers made by Aunt Jennifer look like?
Ans. The tigers, made by Aunt Jennifer on the screen, are jumping and playing about without any fear of
the men beneath the tree. They walk in elegance and style displaying the spirit of courage, fearlessness,
strength and confidence.

Q2. What do the tigers made by the Aunt symbolize?

Ans. The tigers made by Aunt Jennifer symbolize the spirit of courage, strength and fearlessness Aunt
Jennifer, a victim of male oppression, expresses her crushed feelings in the form of art. So, the tigers are
symbolic of the fear of male domination with which Aunt Jennifer suffers.

Q3. Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are fluttering through her wool? Why is she finding the
needle so hard to pull?
Ans. Aunt Jennifer is victimized by the overbearing and dominant nature of her husband. Her life has
become a torture due to her suppression by her atrocious husband. The fear of her authoritative husband
has gone so deep into her being that she seems to have lost all strength and energy. Thus her hands shake
and flutter so much that she is not even able to pull the needle through the tapestry.

Q4. What do you understand by “massive weight of uncle’s wedding band”?

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Ans. Generally ‘wedding band’ is a symbol of joy and happiness. But in case of Aunt Jennifer, it has
become a symbol of torture and oppression. Her relationship with her authoritative husband has become a
painful burden to carry. Her ‘wedding band’ has brought her a world of pain, misery and torture. She has
lost her freedom and entered a world of humiliation and oppression.

Q5. Explain ’her terrified hands will lie, still ringed with the ordeals she was mastered by’.
Ans. These lines convey Aunt’s complete submission to the oppressive authority of her husband. The fear
of her husband has gone so deep into her being that even death cannot liberate her from the chains of her
mental suppression. Memories of her husband’s tortures and atrocities which bent her into a humiliating
slavery, will continue to haunt her even after her death.

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