1.) Why does Wasserkopf demand for refund?

Fritz Karinthy is a well know short story writer who wrote the
one act play “Refund” in the year 1938. This is the story of a
former student Wasserkopf, who demands that his tuition
should be refunded because he feels his education was
worthless. ... He better can go to the school and get his tuition
fees back.

2.) How does Wasserkopf get the idea of refund?

Ans – Wasserkopf believes that he didn't get his money's

worth and he didn't learn anything. so he wants his money
back. ... Ans – Wasserkopf wants to take another
examination to prove that he didn't learn anything in
school.so he gets his money back.

3) Who is Wasserkopf?
Wasserkopf is the central character of the play 'Refund'.

He is so gullible that he believes people, when they tell him

he knows nothing. It makes his frustrated and
angry. Wasserkopf is an unemployed man, about forty years
old. He is turned away from all places that he goes to,
seeking employment.

4.) How did the mathematics teacher prove that he was more
shrewd than the former pupil?

Wasserkopt's answer to first question was little out of way.

But for his second question to calculate the refund amount
the answer was correct. On getting right answer he called his
claim for refund genuine and called
him Mathematics genius. Thus he prove he was more
shrewd than Wasserkopt.
5.) What did the Mathematics teacher suggest to
checkmate Wasserkopf? ...
The Mathematics teacher 'knew that Wasserkopf would try
his level best to fail in the re-examination. If he failed, he
would succeed in his mission. In other words, the school
would have to refund his fees.

6.) How did the teachers outwit Wasserkopf?

A : The teachers understand that Wasserkopf's objective
is to fail in the re- examination as fie wants a refund. So they
decide beforehand that they should accept whatever
answers Wasserkopf may give and ensure that he passes.

7.) How many years did Wasserkopf attend the school in all?

Refund is a beautiful one act play written by Percival Wilde. It

is the story of a former student Wasserkopf. After an interval
of eighteen years, Wasserkopf come back to his school to
get back his tuition fees. He says that he did not get good
education and that was why he failed in life.

Refund
Fritz Karinthy

Fritz Karinthy is a well known short story writer who wrote the one act play
“Refund” in the year 1938. This is the story of a former student Wasserkopf,
who demands that his tuition should be refunded because he feels his education
was worthless. But he loses his fight when he is tricked by the mathematics
master.  The play “Refund” is full of humour which deals with an
extraordinarily absurd situation.
 Wasserkopf is forty years old. He could not get any job and wherever he
goes people tell him that he is fit for nothing. One day he meets Leaderer and
asks him about his business. When Leaderer tells him about foreign exchange
and Hungarian money, he could not able to understand anything and starts
asking questions about foreign exchange. Leaderer says when Wasserkopf does
not know the silly thing then what had he studied? He better can go to the
school and get his tuition fees back. Wasserkopf who is jobless and does not
have any finance, thought this idea as something beneficial. So he went to the
school where he studied once.

Wasserkopf wanted the refund of his tuition fees which were paid
eighteen years ago because he was taught badly. When he asks for it, the
principal is shocked. The principal is in a peculiar situation now and he calls for
an urgent meeting with all other staff members. The masters realized that
Wasserkopf’s real intention was to fail in the exam and claim the refund.
Therefore, they decided to outsmart the old student by proving all his answers
right. The Mathematics Master said that they had to be united and ought to help
each other in implementing their plan. The exam was an oral one as
Wasserkopf’s refusal to write. They decide that whatever answers he gives
whether it is right or wrong they will prove him right.

The first question was from the History Master. The Master asked him
how many years the ‘Thirty Years’ war lasted. The answer was in the question
itself. But Wasserkopf, who was keen on giving wrong answers, said that the
‘Thirty Years war’, lasted seven metres. The History Master did not know how
to prove this answer right. Fortunately for him, the Mathematics master aided
him by proving that the answer was right on the basis of Einstein’s Theory of
Relativity. The Master argued that time and space are relative terms and
therefore years can be represented in terms of meter. The war took place during
half of each day, three hours a day to eat, hours given up to noon day, so totally
seven years.  The actual time spent in fighting was seven years and it has been
by Einstein’s equivalence of seven meters. Wasserkopf called the History
Master a numskull.
 The Physics Master asked Wasserkopf whether clocks in church become
smaller if one walks away from it or is it because of optical illusion.  He called
The Physics master as an ass.  The master says that the answer is correct
because ass does not have any illusion of vision. Therefore, Wasserkopf has
given a metaphorical explanation. Wasserkopf called him a cannibal.

     The Geography Master asks Wasserkopf for the name of a city which has the
same name as the capital of German Providence of Brunswick.  He replied as
‘Same’.  Master said it as the correct answer.  There was a legend that once as
the emperor Barbarossa was riding in the city, he met a young peasant (farmer)
girl, who was munching a bun mouthful.  He called out her God Bless you and
asked her the name of the city, she answered same to you sir for his wishes, and
Emperor mistaken the city name as ‘Same’.

One by one each teacher justified his wrong answer to be correct one and
they mark him excellent. Though Wasserkopf gives wrong answers and use
abusive words to each teacher, they donot show their anger because they have to
prove him as an excellent student.

At last the mathematics master asks him a difficult question and an easy
question. For the easy question he gives wrong answer and the master gets
angry and says that he has failed in his examination so he should be given his
tuition fees back. The master says that they have decided to give him his tuition
fees back and asks for the exact amount which he has to get. Wasserkopf
without knowing that he is going to fall into their trap gives them the list of
exact amount. The mathematics master says that was his difficult question and
he gave the right answer. Now he is proved excellent in the entire subject and
they throw him out without allowing him to say anything further. It shows the
ability of the teachers to manage the situation and how they tackle Wasserkopf
without spoiling the reputation of their school.

5. REFUND FRITZ KARINTHY

(degree first year)
15. REFUND
FRITZ KARINTHY
INTRODUCTION:-
Refund was written by Fritz Karinthy one of the most famous Hungarian
writers. His works such as You Write Like this, A Trip around My Skull
and Professor, won him a lot of recognition. Refund was adopted by the
American playwright Percival Wilde for a general audience. Refund
brings out the extraordinary sense of parody, word play in karinthy’s
literary art.
EXPLANATION:-
The play is about a good- for- nothing fellow called Wasserkopf who goes
back to the school in which he had studied and demands a refund of the
fees he had paid. He claims that he had learnt nothing at school.
Wasserkopf, a former student of a school, tells the principal that as he
has not learnt anything.  He is entitled to a refund. A re-examination
says, would prove his claim that he had not gained any knowledge.
The principal is taken a back. He describes the matter with the teachers.
All of them are puzzled. The maths teacher says that all the teachers
must ensure that Wasserkopf some has passes in the examination. Even
if Wasserkopf gives wrong answer, he should not be failed. Otherwise
other students too might ask for a refund. All agree to this suggestion.
Thus, while Wasserkoff is determined to fall, the teachers are equally
determined to make him pass.
The teachers understand that Wasserkopf objective is to fail in the re-
examination as he wants a refund. So they decide before hand that they
should accept whatever answers Wasserkopf may give and ensure that he
passes.
The History teacher asks Wasserkopf how long the thirty seven meters.
All the teachers unite to justify their answer. The physics teacher asks a
question about optical illusions. In reply Wasserkopf call the teacher on
------. but this is accepted as the correct answer. The Geography teacher
asks what the capital of Brunswick province is Wasserkopf answer that
the answer is “same”. The teachers claim it is the right answer.
The teacher ask very easy questions. Though Wasserkopf gives ridiculous
answers they justify every answers. The mathematics teacher then asks a
meaningless question and Wasserkopf gives an equally meaningless
answer. The mathematics teacher says that Wasserkopf has failed. She
tells Wasserkopf to calculate the amount of that should be refunded.
Delighted, Wasserkopf makes calculations and reaches the figures of
6,450 crowns. The mathematics teacher then says that his calculation
was actually a question in the test. She says that Wasserkopf is a
mathematical genius. The teacher declares that Wasserkopf has passed
the exam. In this way they succeed in activity Wasserkopf.
CONCLUSION:-

A single exam is used to assess the capabilities of the student. Then too,
fivolus excessively elaborate questions may be asked. The career of the
student hinges on his performance in this exam. The dramalist polices
from at teachers too. Some teachers are not bothered about the welfare
of the students. They may also be under tremendous pressure to make
undeserving students pass as their job and promotion may depend on
the “pass percentage” of students.
3. THE VILLAGE SCHOOL MASTER. Summary.
Oliver Goldsmith.

Outline
The village school master who ran his little school was a severe
disciplinarian. The students were afraid of him and were
sufficiently clever to assess from his face whether that day would
bring any misfortune or not. In spite of his strictness, the school
master was jolly. The children laughed at his jokes with pretended
joy. If they noticed any sign of anger on his face they would spread
the news throughout the classroom.
The school master was, in reality, a kind hearted person. His only
fault was his excessive love for learning. He could write, work out
sums, survey land, forecast the time and tide and measure the
content of a vessel. He was a master at argument, too. He used
verbose words when he talked and the simple village people would
gawk at him. They were amazed that such a small head could hold
such an enormous hoard of knowledge.
Summary of the Poem
The village school master ran his little school in a small village. It
was situated next to the irregular fence that fringed the village path
with full blossomed, beautiful but ornamental furze. He was not
only a very strict disciplinarian but also a ferocious person to
observe. He was familiar to the poet and all other truants because
they had endured the master’s rage. His face was a thing of careful
scrutiny. The trembling pupils would gaze at his face to sense his
present frame of mind. The day misfortunes were written on his
forehead or in between the eyebrows.
The school master was a contradiction. Although he was stern, he
was kind and good-humored. He had a store of jokes. When he told
them, the children burst out in fake laughter, under the pretext that
the jokes were awfully hilarious. If the children observed a frown
on his fore head, they circulated the gloomy news throughout the
classroom in an undertone. But he was in essence a kind man. If at
all he had any fault, it was his intense love for learning. He wanted
his pupils to become genuine scholar and hence, he had to be
demanding with them.
The villagers were unanimous in their opinion that he really was an
erudite man. He without doubt could write and also work out sums
in arithmetic. He could also survey land, forecast weather and tides.
Besides, he was able to measure the content of a vessel .The parson
approved of his skill in debate. Even if defeated, the school master
would keep on arguing. He would become more fervent and would
fling booming words at his adversary. The uncomprehending
villagers would be convinced that the school master was
establishing his standpoint very thoroughly. They stood round the
two debaters and witnessed the verbal duel. They were awestruck
when they heard the high-sounding and incomprehensible words
used by the school master. They gawked at him and wondered how
his small head could keep that enormous hoard of knowledge.
Appreciation
This poem is a simple vignette of a village school master. The
school was in a small village at Lissoy, an Irish village where the
poet himself had studied. Mr. Thomas Paddy Byrne was the village
school master. This poem has become one of the classics of
literature because of the ring of genuineness. As the poet himself
was a pupil of this school master, he is able to create an authentic
aura to the poem. With a fleeting allusion to the site, the poet starts
to describe the man. The school master’s fluctuating moods, the
situation in the class room and reactions of learner are described in
this poem. It is amply obvious that Goldsmith looked upon the
teacher with the mixed feelings of fear, respect and humour.
The poet gives an amusing sketch of the teacher’s character with a
deep sympathy for him. He analyses of the nature and capability of
the school master. The teacher was a taskmaster who took his
students to task if they played truant. The poet, as a student, was
very aware of this facet of the school master but he valued his stand
and came to love and respect him. The harsh steps taken by the
teacher had a soft and virtuous purpose behind them as he wished to
see his pupils turn in to learned people.
The school master’s is recognized as a great scholarly person by the
entire village and even the parson recognizes his skill in debate. The
oratory of the teacher leaves the rustics gazing in admiration. The
poem ends on a note of humour. The teacher is not to be taken as a
sheer sardonic sketch. Besides, his academic affectations, he was
remarkably kind and compassionate . The scowl on his face often
masks a heart brimming with love and consideration. He has
smattering of useful information which he puts to good use with the
illiterate and ignorant villagers. Thus he creates a larger than life
figure of himself before them. He has a view on every subject and
loves to engage in debate above all with the village priest. He
knows that in the eyes of the villagers the conclusion of the debate
depends more on noise than on wisdom. Hence he keeps arguing
even if he is defeated.
Goldsmith’s portrait of his former school master is a tour de force
of depiction. He manages to make fun of the schoolmaster’s
idiosyncrasies while maintaining reverence and admiration for him.
The forte of the poem lies in the way in which Goldsmith has
neither idealized nor trivialized the school master. On the other
hand, the school master brush stroked to make him more humane.

QUESTION AND ANSWERS FROM THE POEM.

Q (a) Describe the place where the schoolmaster taught his little
school.
Ans:The school is situated in a village where there is a abundance
of green bush .Bordered with an irregular fence stands a big
building where his village master taught the little school.
Q (b) Explain straggling fence and unprofitably gay.
Ans:Straggling fence means irregular fence bordering the village
school.It means uselessly bright this beauty served no purpose
because there was body to admire it.
Q (c) Reference to the extract describe the schoolmaster .
Ans:The poet portraits disciplanarian. He was a man of stern
appearance and every indisciplined student knew that they could
not take liberties with him. Inspite of his strict exterior the school
master was a hind man and had a love for knowledge and his pupils.
Q (d) Who laughed? Why did they laugh with counterfeited glee?
Ans:The indisciplined and idle student laughed with counterfeited
glee . The master could tell many joked and even if the students did
not feel like laughing at those jokes yet they pretended to be happy
or merry to impress their teacher.
Q (e) Explain the line “The days disaster in his morning face.”
Ans:Day’s disaster means the misfortunes that were going to occur
that day for the indisciplined students in the school .Morning face
means expression seen on schoolmaster’s face in the morning.
Q (f) How did the people who laugh reacted when he frowned?
Ans: When truants and his other student found that the
schoolmaster was not in the good mood,they would know before
hand that day would bring disaster for them. The schoolmaster
would punish them strictly for their little faults.

Q (a)The poet has earlier referred to the schoolmaster as stern and

strict.What reason doer he attribute later for this?
Ans: Schoolmaster was a kind-hearted teacher. He used to act
though so that his students could develop a love for learning and
become responsible citizens.
Q (b) What opinion the villagers have of him?
Ans: The whole of the village was in awe of his knowledge and his
ability to solve problems effortlessly.
Q (c) What different qualities did the schoolmaster has?
Ans: The village schoolmaster could easily measure distance ,area
and volume. He could deliver the accurate meanings of various
expressions and could also predict the seasons and the events of the
future .Everyone acknowledge that he was good at debating because
he had the shill to continue with his arguments when he had lost the
debate.
Q (d) Elaborate on his argumentative skills.
Ans:The schoolmaster had a good argumentative skill and could
continue with his arguments even when has lost the debate.The
village loved to gather around him to listen his learned words that
were uttered in a high pitched voice.

THE FORTUNE TELLER

– KAREL CAPEK
Preface:
“The Fortune Teller” is a short story penned by Karel Capek, a
famous Czech writer.  The story is about a fake fortune teller
(astrologer) in England called Mrs. Myers.  How she is trapped by
the detective inspector Mr. MacLeary and punished by the
magistrate Kelly is the story.  But how her prophecy turns out to be
true is the irony of life. Everyone’s judgment goes wrong but not
the predictions of the fake astrologer.
The Predictions by Mrs. Myers
Inspector Mr.MacLeary spreads a net to catch Mrs.Myers by
sending his wife Mrs.MacLeary.  His wife pretends as if she is a 20
years old unmarried girl.  Mrs. Myers reads the cards.  She predicts
that the girl is going to marry a young rich business man before the
end of the year.  An elderly man will be an obstacle on her way but
she will succeed and move across the ocean after marriage. The
fee -one pound and one shilling is paid for her predictions.
The Trial Scene in the Court
The inspector files a case against Mrs. Myers.  She is summoned to
court for trial.  She argues that Mrs.MacLeary appeared as an
unmarried anxious girl that is why I predicted so.  However her
fradulence is proved and she is sentenced to deportation.  She also
has to pay the penalty of 50 pounds.
The Irony of Life 
A year later, the judge Mr. Kelley meets the inspector by chance.
He is shocked to know that Mrs.MacLeary eloped with a young rich
businessman from Melbourne.  She crossed the ocean a weak ago
for Australia.  Mrs. Myers is a fraud but her prediction becomes
true.  The inspector and judge are able to judge Mrs. Myers but not
the mysterious happenings in life.  Destiny overrules human
intelligence.

SUMMARY
karel Caper (1890-1938), was a famous Czeck novelist, playwright
and story writer. his short stories are marked by a gentle play of
irony. In this story a smart Dectective Inspector called MacLeary
employs his charming young wife to trap a Fraudulent fortune-
teller called Mrs. Myers.

CONTENT:

“The Fortune Teller” tells the story of Mrs. Myers, a woman who
comes to the attention of a police inspector called Mr. MacLeary.
Keen to know how she conducts her business, Mr. MacLeary’s wife
calls on Mrs. Myers at home and pretends to be a single woman
who desires to know her future. In their meeting, Mrs. Myers
predicts that Mrs. MacLeary (disguised as Miss Jones) will be
married before the year is up and will go on a long journey. A man,
it is claimed, will also try and stand in her way.

Believing these predictions to be false, Mrs. MacLeary reports

these findings to her husband. He has recently discovered that
Mrs. Myers’ identity is also false: her surname is, in fact,
Meierhofer and she comes from Lubeck in Germany.

As a result, Mrs. Myers is called to account for her business before

the local magistrate, Mr. Kelly, who finds her guilty of fraud and
sentences her to pay a fine of fifty pounds. The case of Mrs. Myers,
it seems, is finally over.
It is in the closing paragraph of the story, however, that Capek uses
irony when it transpires that Mrs. Myers’ original predictions for
Mrs. MacLeary come true. Mrs. MacLeary does indeed marry a
man before the year is up: he is a millionaire from Melbourne and
Mrs. MacLeary moves with him to Australia, a place which requires
a considerably long journey from London.

CONCLUSION:

In this short story the prophesy of the old lady, the fake fortune
teller that she predicted a certain future for Miss Jones, or Mrs.
MacLeary, comes true. Although the judge orders her to go back to
Germany and also advises her not to practice anymore such
fraudulent prediction as a professional fortune teller, yet the
greatest irony is that the prophesy of the fake fortune teller comes
true at the end and it takes the readers to some unpredictable
climax when Mrs. MacLeary is found to have been married to a
rich young businessman and have moved to Australia. Thus a
freakish forecast comes true in the life of the smart Inspector.

Refund (One act play)

Percival Wilde
Refund is a beautiful one act play written by Percival Wilde.  It is the
story of a former student Wasserkopf.  After an interval of eighteen
years, Wasserkopf come back to his school to get back his tuition fees. 
He says that he did not get good education and that was why he failed in
life.  He was fired from his last job and he thought that  he learned
nothing.   Then his old classmate Lederer advised him to go to school and
get back his tuition fees. The principal and teachers were shocked at this.
If Wasserkopf were paid back his tuition fees, the next day, all former
students would come and demand their tuition fees.  So the principal and
teachers decided not to refund the tuition fees. They decided to conduct a
re-examination and Wassserkopf should not be failed in any subject. 
Whatever his answers must be proved correct and he should pass the
exam.  Thus the exam is conducted and Waxsserkopf passed every
subject with the highest marks. Finally he is kicked out of the school. 
The play is a hilarious comedy.

2. The Mathematics Master designed the examination.  He

advised the Principal and other teachers that they should prevent
Wasserkopf  from failing because he would demand the refund of
the tuition fees. So whatever his answers, the teacher must prove
that his answers are correct.  They all agreed to this proposal.

3. In the re-examination, the Mathematics Master requested Wasserkopf  to sit on the chair,
but Wasserkopf angrily said “to hell with a seat” and he would stand.  But the Mathematics
Master said that the answer was excellent.  Wasserkopf meant that he did not like written
examination and he liked oral exam. Secondly his physical condition was good.  Therefore
Wasserkopf passed the Physical Culture subject with the highest marks.

4. In the re-examination, the History Master asked Wasserkopf how long the thirty years war
lasted.  Wasserkopf answered that the thirty years war lasted seven meters. The Master said
that the answer was excellent because Wasserkopf  made a lot of researches on the subject
based on Einstein’s Relativity Theory.  So a year is represented as a meter and seven years
are seven meters. But actual warfare took place only for less than twelve hours in a day. 
Thus thirty years war lasted seven meters. The answer is excellent and

Wasserkopf passed the exams.

5. The Principal and Masters proved every foolish answer of Wasserkopf as correct and they
passed Wasserkopf in the re-examination. They kicked Wasserkopf out of the school
 Questions.

1.  Why does Wasserkopf demand a refund of his tuition fees?     1st paragraph

2.  How does Wasserkopf get the idea of refund?                              1st paragraph

3.  How does the Mathematics Master design the exam?                2nd paragraph

4.  “To hell with a seat, I shall stand”- How does the Mathematics Master interpret
Wasserkopf's refusal to occupy a seat?                                             3rd paragraph

5.      How, according to the History Master, thirty years can be thirty meters?

         4th paragraph  

Write an essay on the following

1.       How does the poem ‘vindicate the ways of God to man?”
2.       The poem is a reflection on the reigning scientific thought of the
day. Discuss
3.       Discuss Alexander Pope as a Neoclassical poet.

 “Essay on Man” is a neoclassical poem written by Alexander Pope

one of the greatest of the Neoclassical poets in English literature.
Neoclassical period began from 1660 and ended in 1798 and
Romantic period began with the publication of “Lyrical Ballads”
by William Wordsworth and S. T. Coleridge. Neoclassical period
is also known as the Augustan period because the poets of this
period tried to imitate the style of the ancient Greek and Roman
writers like Homer and Virgil and others. The distinguished
writers of Neoclassical period are Alexander Pope, John Dryden,
Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, Dr. Johnson, Daniel Defoe and
others. This was also the period of the Enlightenment which gave
importance to logic and reason.
“Essay on Man” is a philosophical poem. The theme of the poem
is the justification of God’s ways to man. Neoclassical Age is
marked by a spirit of rationalism and scientific temper. Isaac
Newton was the greatest scientist of the period. Alexander Pope
had great respect and admiration for  the great scientist. God has
created every creature in perfect condition, giving them all the
qualities they need. Man in his pride questions the ways of God.
 The universe is infinite and man’s knowledge is very limited.
Many things we call wrong must be right because right and wrong
depends on the way we look at things.
The proud horse does not know why man controls him from
taking its own freedom or drives him over the plains. Similarly,
the dull ox does not know why he is used to plough the land.
Sometimes a creature becomes a victim and in another time he
becomes a ruler. In the Bible we see the story of Joseph who was
sold as a slave by his wicked brothers, but the same Joseph
became the ruler of Egypt and his own brothers became beggars
before Joseph. Man can understand these things only if he uses
his reasoning power. We have no right to say man is imperfect or
God is at fault. But we should understand that man is as perfect
as God wanted him to be. Man is given limited knowledge to suit
his place and position. He is given a particular place to live just as
the fish is given a particular place to live.
The poem is written in the form of heroic couplet in which two
lines written in iambic pentameter, ending with perfect rhymes.
The defect of Neoclassical poetry is that too much logic and
reason is applied by the poet leading to artificiality and worn out
bombastic phrases and lifeless personifications which destroy the
beauty and spontaneity of the poem. This is why William
Wordsworth and S.T. Coleridge introduced “Lyrical Ballads”
which opened a new era called
Romanticism.                                                 Kjt/- 20-03-2020

Julius Caesar
William Shakespeare
1.        Funeral speech of Mark Antony
2.        How does Antony turn the tables on the conspirators at Caesar’s
funeral?

When Brutus and other conspirators stabbed Caescar to death,

Mark Antony was shocked and frightened with fear. He runs away
and took shelter in a safe place. A messenger from Antony comes
to Brutus. He tells Brutus that Antony will love and honour
Brutus, if Brutus gives him satisfactory explanation of Caesar’s
murder.  Brutus agrees to it.  When Antony comes to Brutus, he
tells Antony that Caesar was murdered because Brutus and his
friends felt sympathy for the poor Romans who are suffering
under the tyranny of Caesar. But Brutus and others have no plan
to murder Antony.

But the explanation of Brutus does not satisfy Antony because it

is not supported by evidence. So Antony asks Brutus why and
wherein Caesar was dangerous. But Brutus does not answer the
question. So Antony requests Brutus to let him produce Caesar’s
dead body at the market place and make a funeral speech as a
friend of Caesar. Brutus readily agrees to it. But Cassius opposes
it because he knows how clever Antony is! Cassius is sure
that Antony will fully exploit the situation to his advantage.
Brutus tells Antony that Caesar shall have all true funeral rites
and lawful ceremonies. But Antony should not blame the
murderers and he can praise Caesar. Brutus asks Antony to
prepare the dead boy and follow Brutus and others to market
place.

At market place, Brutus speaks first. He says in his funeral speech

that his love for Rome was greater than his love for Caesar. That
was why he murdered Caesar. As Caesar was ambitious, he
murdered him.  He did not want the Romans to live and die as
slaves. Brutus was fully aware of Caesar’s good qualities and was
ready to praise him for them. But Brutus could not show any
evidence to prove that Caesar was tyrant and ambitious. That is
the failure of Brutus’ speech. He has no deep insight into the
character of the Roman mob.  He thinks that the common people
are wise, intelligent and sincere. He does not know that the
Roman mob is fickle-minded.

When the speech of Brutus is over, Antony comes up the pulpit. 

His speech is full of irony and sarcasm. When Brutus addresses
the Roman mob as Romans, countrymen and lovers. 
But Antony begins his speech addressing them as friends,
Romans and countrymen. Antony indirectly tells them that he is
one among them as a friend. He does not show any air of
superiority. Antony gives a number of examples to show that
Caesar was not ambitious. He says that Brutus and his friends are
honourable men and their words are true. But Antony shows
evidences that Caesar was not ambitious. That was why Caesar
rejected the crown thrice, when Antony offered him.

KING LEAR

Shakespeare has borrowed the story of the play King Lear from

a very ancient folk-lore of the same title and improvising the
theme to suit English Nationalism. King Lear decided to divide
his British kingdom among his three daughters Goneril, Regan
and Cordelia according to their degree of love for him. Goneril
and Regan vie each other in flattering the old king and he was
pleased. But Cordelia said that her love for her father was just as a
child loves its father, no less no more. The furious old king
divided his kingdom between the two daughters and Cordelia was
reduced to a beggar. The king of France is ready to marry her and
Cordelia becomes the queen of France. King Lear has decided to
live with the daughters Goneril and Regan every month
alternately. When he lived with Goneril for a week, the old king
saw the wolfish mind of his daughters and soon he is kicked out of
their homes and reduced to the level of a beggar wandering in the
heath in cold night, facing violent wind, lightning and thunder.
The fool alone follows him as his confident, and shadow every
where.  Cordelia comes to England with a French army and in the
war the king and Cordelia are taken as prisoners of war. Cordelia
is killed, the king dies of broken heart. Goneril and Regan want to
marry one man Edmund and Goneril poisons Regan to death.
Goneril commits suicide. There is a subplot in the play King Lear.
It is the story of the earl of Gloster and his two sons Edgar and the
bastard son Edmond. Gloster’s two eyes are plucked out on the
advice of Edmond by Cornwall, the husband of Regan and while
the blind old man is walking along the way he
says                               “ As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods,
                                       They kill us for their sport”.  

Julius Caesar (Play) by William

Shakespeare
Julius Caesar
 William Shakespeare
1.        Funeral speech of Mark Antony
2.        How does Antony turn the tables on the conspirators at Caesar’s
funeral?

When Brutus and other conspirators stabbed Caescar to death,

Mark Antony was shocked and frightened with fear. He runs away
and took shelter in a safe place. A messenger from Antony comes
to Brutus. He tells Brutus that Antony will love and honour
Brutus, if Brutus gives him satisfactory explanation of Caesar’s
murder.  Brutus agrees to it.  When Antony comes to Brutus, he
tells Antony that Caesar was murdered because Brutus and his
friends felt sympathy for the poor Romans who are suffering
under the tyranny of Caesar. But Brutus and others have no plan
to murder Antony.

But the explanation of Brutus does not satisfy Antony because it

is not supported by evidence. So Antony asks Brutus why and
wherein Caesar was dangerous. But Brutus does not answer the
question. So Antony requests Brutus to let him produce Caesar’s
dead body at the market place and make a funeral speech as a
friend of Caesar. Brutus readily agrees to it. But Cassius opposes
it because he knows how clever Antony is! Cassius is sure
that Antony will fully exploit the situation to his advantage.
Brutus tells Antony that Caesar shall have all true funeral rites
and lawful ceremonies. But Antony should not blame the
murderers and he can praise Caesar. Brutus asks Antony to
prepare the dead boy and follow Brutus and others to market
place.

At market place, Brutus speaks first. He says in his funeral speech

that his love for Rome was greater than his love for Caesar. That
was why he murdered Caesar. As Caesar was ambitious, he
murdered him.  He did not want the Romans to live and die as
slaves. Brutus was fully aware of Caesar’s good qualities and was
ready to praise him for them. But Brutus could not show any
evidence to prove that Caesar was tyrant and ambitious. That is
the failure of Brutus’ speech. He has no deep insight into the
character of the Roman mob.  He thinks that the common people
are wise, intelligent and sincere. He does not know that the
Roman mob is fickle-minded.

When the speech of Brutus is over, Antony comes up the pulpit. 

His speech is full of irony and sarcasm. When Brutus addresses
the Roman mob as Romans, countrymen and lovers. 
But Antony begins his speech addressing them as friends,
Romans and countrymen. Antony indirectly tells them that he is
one among them as a friend. He does not show any air of
superiority. Antony gives a number of examples to show that
Caesar was not ambitious. He says that Brutus and his friends are
honourable men and their words are true. But Antony shows
evidences that Caesar was not ambitious. That was why Caesar
rejected the crown thrice, when Antony offered him.

A Cup of Tea
                                                                               Katherine Mansfield

A Cup of Tea is a beautiful short story written by Katherine Mansfield who is a great English
short story writer.  In her short stories she uses symbolic use of objects, accurate descriptions
of events and a deep understanding of human nature.  In this short story Katherine
Mansfield tells us the basic nature of a wife when her husband praises the beauty of a poor
girl.

2.  One winter evening Rosemary Fell had been buying something in an antique shop
in Curzon street. It was a beautiful box. Rosemary Fell is rich, educated and good looking.
But she is not beautiful. Her husband Philip has great admiration for her artistic taste. After
shopping she came to her car. Suddenly a poor girl begged Rosemary to give her the price of
a cup of tea. Rosemary could not believe it. How poor the girl is. She has no money even for a
cup of tea! Rosemary is very lavish and spent a lot of money every day. Suddenly a wonderful
idea flashed through her mind. She wanted to adopt the poor girl as her own sister and look
after her. She thought of many such adventures of the heroes of Dostovesky’s novels. People
in the society would praise her kindness and generosity. She took the poor girl home in her
car. She took her to her bed room in the upstairs. She asked servant to give her plenty of hot
tea, brandy and food. While Miss Smith was drinking and eating greedily, Rosemary talked
to her with love and kindness. Then she bathed her, gave her fine dress and combed her hair.
3.  While Rosemary was talking to Miss Smith, Philip, her
husband knocked on the door and the door was opened. Soon
Philip learnt that Rosemary wanted to adopt the beggar girl as her
own sister and she is going to spend a lot of money on the poor
girl. Philip knew that if Rosemary wanted anything, no one could
stop her. But this time her nonsense should be stopped. Philip
asked Rosemary to come to library for a moment. She agreed. 
Philip waited for her wife. Soon Rosemary came. First, Philip
coaxed Rosemary to give up her foolish plan of adopting the poor
girl as a member of the family. But Rosemary was obstinate. Then
Philip used a clever trick.  He said slowly. “ Miss Smith was
astonishingly pretty”! It was a rude shock to Rosemary. She never
thought of that point. At once she knew that her husband was
attracted by the beauty of that beggar girl! If this is the opinion of
her husband today, what will happen tomorrow. Certainly
Rosemary would be thrown out of the house. Rosemary walked
away. She paid Miss Smith some money and sent her away.
Rosemary again put up more powder and other perfumes on her
face, make herself more beautiful with new dresses and went back
to Philip in the library and told him that  Miss Smith wanted to go
home and Rosemary gave her a present of some money and sent
her away. She then asked Philip whether he liked her. Philip told
her that he liked her very much. She wanted to ask him whether
she was pretty. 

The Boy Comes Home

A.A.Milne
“The Boy Comes Home” is a comedy that discusses many serious issues in a
light manner. The title refers to a boy who has come back to his home after
some years. The first theme is the conflict between generations. Uncle James
who thinks highly of discipline is disappointed when Philip does not follow it.
Philip, the representative of the young, wishes to enjoy his freedom after four
years of strict discipline at the war front.
Philip is a young man of 23. He lives with Uncle James who is his patron.
He has returned home after four years of war. Philip gets up late in the morning
because he has just come home the previous night. He calls the maid Marry and
asks her to bring breakfast for him. Uncle James keeps a strict discipline in the
house. According to his orders, breakfast is served at eight. Philip has problem
with Mary because of this. Philip handles her very cleverly.
Aunt Emily is very much impressed and tells Uncle James that Philip is
mature and responsible. The war has greatly affected Philip’s personality.
Before going to the war, Philip was just like an inexperienced boy. Now he is
like a grown up man. Before going to the war, he used to do what he was asked
to do. Now he makes his own decisions and nobody can dictate him. Army has
taught him something. He is different now.
Uncle James comes to see Philip. He wants to ask him to join his jam
business. But just before Philip’s entry into the room, he goes to sleep. In his
dream, he meets Philip. He orders him to join jam business. However, Philip
wants to learn some profession. Uncle James thinks that Philip is just like a
schoolboy and he cannot choose a career for himself. To prove that he is
mature, Philip relates his experience at Somme during the war.
It happened that Philip’s company was in a trench. The German knew
about them. The Germans killed the company commander. After his death, now
Philip was the company commander. They had lost about half the company by
that time. It was a very difficult situation and he had great responsibility on his
shoulders. Lives of many soldiers depended on him. He took a very mature and
responsible decision. He moved the company to the other trench. Then he went
back to the C.O. and told him that he had moved. That incident and responsible
of many lives changed him as a matured man of aged 25 or 35 or even
45.However, Uncle James still insists on his own decision. He threatens to use
the power of the purse. At this, Philip takes out a revolver and a bomb out of his
pocket and frightens Uncle James to death. He agrees to do what Philip wants.
 In the meanwhile, Uncle James wakes up. He is now a changed man.
When Philip actually comes to talk to him, he is rather confused and repeats the
same things what Philip has said in his dream. He behaves in a very appropriate
and considerate way to Philip. He asks him if wants to be an architect but Philip
is not interested in it. Later Philip agrees to join the jam business. Uncle James
is not sure about his dream.

Summary of The Village

Schoolmaster by Oliver
Goldsmith
                                                            The Village Schoolmaster
Oliver Goldsmith

The poem "The Village Schoolmaster" by Oliver Goldsmith is an extract from

his famous poem The Deserted Village. The word "village" in the title clearly
suggests that the poem is set in a rural area, probably where the speaker lived.
The poem portrays a realistic picture and the speaker's sentiments about a
teacher. The Schoolmaster presented in the poem might be the poet’s teacher
Thomas Byrne. The poem is about the characteristics of the Schoolmaster who
is respected by all the villagers due to his knowledge and interest in reading. It
also talks about how things could change in the course of time, a kind of
looking back at past.
The village school master runs his little school in a small village. The
poem starts with a description of the location of the school. The school is
situated next to an irregular fence which is dilapidated and also leaning over.
The road leading towards the school is lined with flowers, which are not being
admired or appreciated by the people. The school is mentioned as a ‘noisy
mansion’ following the rules of the school master. The village teacher is
equipped to manage a class and teaches his lessons there. He is a very strict
disciplinarian and also a stern person to observe. The speaker says that he and
all other truants know him well because they have undergone the master’s rage.
The students have learnt to sense the mood of the teacher by observing his face.
The day’s trouble is noticed from his forehead.
The school master is a contradiction. Although he is strict, he is kind and
good-humoured. He tells many jokes. Whenever he tells some jokes, the
children laugh with pretended joy.  If they notice any sign of anger on his face
they will spread the news throughout the classroom. But basically the
schoolmaster is a kind man. If at all he has any fault, it is because of his intense
love for learning.
The schoolmaster is admired and respected by the villagers. Everyone in
the village praise him for his great knowledge. He can write, do mathematics,
and predict weather patterns and tides. It is also assumed that he can do accurate
survey and determine borders easily. He can also debate intelligently and have
discussions with the village parson, a person who was greatly respected by his
parishioners. The master uses difficult words and emotional language to
convince and impress the poorly educated village people. The parson also
accepts the master’s skill in debate. Sometimes even after being defeated in
arguments, the schoolmaster continue to speak. The village people wonder how
his small head could contain so much knowledge.
Though the poem presents the pleasant remembrances of the poet about
the schoolmaster, the poem ends in a sad tone. The last two lines tell the present
condition. The great fame of the schoolteacher has become a thing of past. At
present the school where he faced many successes is forgotten.

The Necklace
Guy de Maupassant
Guy De Maupassant is a famous French writer. “The Necklace” is known for its twist, which
was a hallmark of de Maupassant's style. The theme of the story is the contrast of reality and
appearance.
Mathilde, the protagonist of the story, is a charming woman. She always feels upset about
born in a poor family and desires to be rich. Due to her economical condition, she marries a
poor clerk in the Ministry of Education. He is able to provide her only with a modest
lifestyle. Mathilde feels the burden of her poverty. She regrets about her life condition and
imagines a more wealthy life. While her husband expresses his pleasure at the simple food
she has prepared for him, she dreams of an elaborate feast served on fancy china in the
company of wealthy friends. She does not possess any fancy jewels or clothing and she longs
for that. She has one wealthy friend, Madame Forestier, but refuses to visit her because of her
poor condition.

One night, her husband returns home bringing an invitation to a party hosted by the
Ministry of Education. He hopes that Mathilde will be happy to attend that function, but she
feels angry and begins to cry. She tells him that she has nothing to wear and he has to give
the invitation to others. Her husband is upset by her reaction and decides to buy a new dress
for her. Later she starts to behave oddly. She confesses that the reason for her behavior is lack
of jewels.  He pleads her to visit Madame Forestier and borrow something from her. Madame
Forestier agrees to lend Mathilde her jewels, and Mathilde selects a diamond necklace. She
feels happy at Madame Forestier’s generosity.

At the party, Mathilde looks very beautiful, and everyone notices her. She feels happy
about others attention on her. Finally she looks for Monsieur Loisel, who has been sleeping
for hours in a deserted room and leave from the party.  He covers her bare shoulders in a
wrap and asks her to wait inside, while he fetches a cab. But she is ashamed of her cheap
wrap and follows her husband outside.
When they finally return home, Mathilde is saddened that the night has ended. As she
removes her wrap, she discovers that her necklace is missing.  Monsieur Loisel goes outside
and searches but could not find it. He instructs her to write to Madame Forestier and say that
the clasp of the necklace is broken and she will get it mended. They decide to replace it. They
visit many jewelers, searching for a similar necklace, and finally find one. It costs 40,000
francs, although the jeweler says he will give it to them for 36,000. The Loisels spend a week
to collect money from all kinds of sources. After three days, she purchases the necklace and
returns it to her.

The Loisels begin to live a poor life. They dismiss their servant and move into a
smaller apartment. Monsieur Loisel works three jobs, and Mathilde does the heavy
housework. After ten years they cleared their debts. Mathilde’s beauty is now gone: she looks
just likes the other women of poor households. They are both tired from these years of
hardship.

One Sunday, while she is out for a walk, Mathilde sees Madame Forestier. She
approaches her and offers greetings. Madame Forestier does not recognize her first and says
that she looks different. Mathilde says that the change was on her account and explains to her
about the loss of the necklace, replacing it, and working for ten years to repay the debts. At
the end of her story, Madame Forestier replies that the necklace was made of fake diamonds
not more than 500 francs. The story ends with a twist.

"Dimensions of Creativity"-
Summary
Dimensions of Creativity
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Dr. Abdul Kalam’s “Dimensions of Creativity” was a speech addressed to children at
Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal, Munger on Feb.14, 2004. In his motivational speech to the children,
he spoke about the importance of creativity and the achievement of great thinkers through
their creativity and field knowledge.
He begins his speech by stating that learning develops creativity and it leads to
thinking and thinking results in knowledge. In the past 60 years in the field of aeronautics,
space technology, electronic and computer science impossible things have become possible.
The bio research has transformed into technology that produced agricultural products. In
future with the help of creative minds one can see the integration of gravitational forces,
electromagnetic forces, relativity theory, space and time. Humans may setup their habitat or
industry in one of the planets. In the next 50 to 100 years fuel from fossils will become rare
instead humans get it from solar power satellites.
Kalam illustrates about the past achievements by the scientist. Farnbraun, a famous
rocket designer, who completed Moon Mission in 1961 and built Saturn V in 1975 made
impossible as possible. Ptolemaic astronomy was used in the ancient time to calculate stars
and planets. People assumed the earth as flat. But great astronomers like Copernicus, Galileo
and Kepler had given new dimension and proved that the earth is spherical and it orbits
around the sun. This paved way to new findings. The present technological advancements are
the outcome of the scientific explorations of the scientist in the past.
Kalam mentions how humans can change impossible as possible by quoting
achievers. Lord Kelvin, the president of Royal Society of London in 1890s, said that the
particles heavier than air cannot fly. This impossibility was possible by the Wright Brothers
two decades later. Kalam talks in detail about the creativity of Indians which led to many
innovations. Dr.Vikram Sarabhai in 1960s asked the Indians to develop large satellite launch
for communication satellite, remote sensing satellite. Many thought it was impossible. But
this vision of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai ignited many scientists and later those impossible things
have become possible.
In 1960s the scarcity of food grains affected India. Americans brought wheat in ships
to India to help the Indians. This pitiable condition of India changed the thinking and
implementing of green revolution by two thinkers Shri.C. Subramanian, a political thinker,
and Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, an agricultural scientist. Now India harvests million tonnes of
grains which are exported to foreign too.
In 1980s I.T and creative thoughts were limited in India and now it also has
developed. Similarly Pharma industry too has developed much. Hillary and Tenzing made
impossible as possible by reaching the Mount Everest. Sir.C.V.Raman found the molecular
scattering and gives it as a reason for the blueness of the sea. Chandrasekar Subramaniam
proved ‘Chandrasekar Limit’ that all the stars will not shine and discovered the black hole.
Homi Bhabha’s invention of electric energy to treat thyroid disorder and cancer was
considered as impossible in 1960s.
He concludes his speech by giving the result of empowerment to various set of
people. The child becomes a responsible citizen when it is empowered to various set of
people. The empowerment of the teachers leads youngsters with value system. The
empowerment of a leader results in birth of many leaders. Women’s empowerment makes
society as a stable one. The empowerment of students leads the country with development
mission. Hence he asks the students to have a powerful mind for the development of the
nation and he asks the children to take ten-point oath.

"The Sky is the Limit"-

Summary
The Sky is the Limit
 Kalpana Chawla
“Sky is the Limit’’ is about Kalpana Chawla, an Indo-American astronaut. Kalpana Chawla
was the first Indian women to travel to space. She was born in a middle class family a small
town Karnal in Haryana, India on 1st July 1961. From her childhood she was dreaming about
flying in the sky and touching the stars. Even at the small age she sketches airplanes than
dolls. Her ambition at the age was to travel to Mars. Determined to pursue a career in
aeronautics, she joined aeronautical engineering at the Punjab Engineering College,
Chandigarh. She got admission in the University of Texas for a Masters in Aeronautical
Science in 1982. As her father was not willing to send her abroad, she somehow convinced
him to go to the US. Her father permitted her on one condition that Kalpana’s brother had to
accompany her.
Kalpana’s brother joined the flight school and when Chawla wanted to join the
authorities wanted a written consent from the guardian. But her father refused. Her brother’s
words, “Everyone fights their own battles,” motivated her to get the pilot’s license for
airplane and glider.
She was determined about her goal and refused to accept ‘no’ for an answer. This
strong attitude she inherited from her father Banarsi Dass Chawla. He fled empty handed
from Pakistan to India during partition. He stated his business from scratch and supported his
family well. She wanted to be an astronaut.  She joined NASA Ames Research Center in
1988. She was selected to go to the Milky Way. For it she has undergone rigorous training
that required immense level of fitness.  Because the pull of gravity will increase the pulse rate
from 72 to 102 within seconds. In 1996, she started off on her path to the ‘Milky way.’ Hence
she became the first Indian woman to travel in space.
Her second space flight came to her in 2000. “Doing it again is like living a dream – a
good dream once again” said Chawla. Unfortunately on 1st February 2003, the space shuttle
exploded with Kalpana and other six crew members. Kaplana created a place for herself. She
serves as a source of inspiration to many young women to think beyond horizons and reach
for the stars. She conveyed her message in an interview as not to restrict oneself with small
location. The whole world is ours. Decide your goal and your journey towards the goal is also
equally important.

The Sparrow
K.Ahmed Abbas
K.A. Abbas is a famous Indian short story writer. His stories reflect the feelings of the down
trodden and the poor. His short story “The Sparrow” tells the importance of love and
affection to the fellow human beings.
Rahirn Khan is a fifty-year old peasant. Everybody in the village hates him for his
harsh and cruel behaviour. He is unkind even to children and animals. No one dares to talk to
him. The children use to run away from their play if they see him. But he was a very different
man when he was young. He wanted to join circus and was in love with a Hindu girl, Radha.
But his Parents had other plans for him and got him to marry a girl of their community. He
once heard his father boasting to his mother how well he succeeded in getting his
son to accept his words obediently. Rahim Khan then decided to avenge his defeat at the
hands of his parents, his family and society.
Having decided to take revenge, Rahirn Khan’s first and immediate target was his wife. He
saw her as the scapegoat for all his misadventures. His kind soul suddenly became as hard as
iron. For nearly thirty years, he ill treated his wife, his two sons and his two bullocks. He
quarrelled with everyone in the village. Subsequently the entire village started to hate him.
Six years earlier his elder son Bundu ran away from home after an unusually severe beating.
Three years later his second son Nuru also joined his brother.
 One day when Rahirn Khan returns home from the fields an old lady from the
neighbourhood tells him that his wife has gone to her brother's place and that she would be
back shortly. Rahim Khan knows that she will never come back. He suddenly begins to feel
lonely not because he loves his family but because he has no one now to display his anger.
Nobody is there to wash his feet; to give him food and other eatables. His wife’s absence
makes him feel uncomfortable as if a piece of furniture has been removed from his house.
Later as Rahirn Khan cleans the roof, he spots a small nest of sparrows in a corner.
Immediately he desires to exert his might on them. But good sense prevails upon him after
long gap and he leaves them undisturbed. He tries to have better look at them. But the parent
sparrows do not allow him to by hovering around him and fluttering their wings hard at his
face. He is amused at the little bird’s heroic efforts to save the young ones. He realizes their
love and care for the family. Soon the young ones grow well and begin to move around inside
his house. He starts feeding them with breadcrumb’s and other grains. He calls them as
Bundu and Nuru after his two sons. Now there is total transformation in his temperament and
outlook on life. The villagers too observe the change in him. But they continued their enmity
against him. He even stopped shouting at the children.
On a rainy day Rahirn Khan notices that the roof has begun to leak near the sparrows
nest. He immediately climbs his roof to close the gap. He gets fully drenched in the rain. He
starts sneezing and fails to take care at once. He wakes up the next day with high fever. His
only companions now are the two sparrows. At that moment he worries about the condition
of the two birds after his death. Couple of days passed. As there is no sign of Rahim Khan
walking out, the villagers become suspicious. They send for his wife who arrived with her
sons. When they come in they could see his body lying still and heard the fluttering of the
birds.

The Open Window

H.H. Munro
Saki is the pen name of H.H. Munro. He is a famous short story writer from England. His
stories are known for its satire, wit and humour. The short story “The open Window” by Saki
is famous for its twist in the climax and humour. The story is about Frampton Nuttel’s, the
protagonist of the story, visit to the house of one of his neighbours, Mrs. Sappleton.
 Nuttel suffers from a nervous condition. He has come to a village on the doctor’s
recommendation to spend some time alone. Earlier his sister has lived in the area. His sister,
by considering that he may not talk to his neighbours, has given him letters of introduction to
his new neighbours. With her letter Nuttel starts to visit his neighbours. Nuttel visits the
Sappleton family first, where he meets a fifteen-year-old girl named Vera, the niece of Mrs.
Sappleton. Vera gives company to Nuttel while he waits. By knowing that Nuttel has not met
the Sappletons, Vera tells Nuttel some information about the family. Vera says that three
years ago to the date, Mrs. Sappleton's husband and two younger brothers went for hunting.
On an October those three went through a large French window. They never returned. Vera
gives descriptions about the clothes they were wearing, the dog that accompanied them, and
the song that Mrs. Sappleton's younger brother sang on their way. Vera says that her grief-
stricken aunt keeps the window open and watches out the window expecting their return.
Meanwhile Mrs. Sappleton enters apologising for her delay to meet him. She asks
whether he mind to open the window in the afternoon. She adds that she opens it as she
expects her husband and brothers to return at any moment. Nuttel listens, thinking that Mrs.
Sappleton has gone crazy. He feels sorry to meet her at such a tragic condition and tells about
his nervous disorder to her. Suddenly, Mrs. Sappleton brightens as she tells Nuttel that her
husband and brothers are arriving. Veera looks at that direction in a horrified way. The
frightened Nuttel runs away from that place.  Mrs. Sappleton thinks his nervous breakdown
as a reason for Nuttel's strange behaviour. But Vera replies that he is afraid of dogs.
The last line of the story: "Romance at short notice was her [Vera's] specialty."
reveals the theme of the story, and unveils the character of Vera.  Veera perfectly victimized
Nuttel by narrating about her aunt's family through her imagination. Bored Vera took her
chance to deceive Nuttel and later the same trick she used to her aunt about Nuttel. The
climax shows that Veera played intelligently to wile her time.

John Milton
On His Blindness

John Milton’s poem “On His Blindness” is a well known autobiographical

sonnet. It is written in the style of Petrarchan sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets consist
of 14 lines: the first 8 lines (octave) introduce a problem and the remaining 6
lines (sestet) find a solution. The poem differs from the Petrarchan sonnet in its
theme. Generally Petrarchan sonnets deal with love where as this poem deals
with spiritual/ physical pain of the writer. The poem is written in the first person
narration, where the poet laments about his loss of sight. Milton lost his
eyesight in 1652 when he was 44 years old. He wrote this poem in 1655 when
he completely lost his vision.
          The poem begins with a subordinate class ‘When’ which leaves the
readers in suspense.  The poet talks about his blindness. He has become blind in
the middle of his life. He has to live in the dark and wide world for the rest of
his life. He feels that God has gifted him with the greatest talent: writing poetry.
He expresses his desire to serve God by using the ability which God has given
him. Unfortunately he is unable to fulfill his wish to write because of his
blindness. Due to the pain of being blind, Milton starts the poem in bitter tone.
          Milton feels that God might scold him for not using his talents. Milton
asks whether God needs man’s service. He foolishly questions, If God wants
man to serve him, why did God take away the light from his eyes? He wonders
whether he will be able to produce great works being blind.
          As Milton laments about his blindness and God’s criticism, Patience, a
guardian Angel, arrives with the reply that God never need man’s service.
Whoever is ready to bear the burden of life will serve the God well. God has
servants all over the world who are all the time serving him over the land and
the ocean without any rest. The poet realises the fact that God does not need
man’s service, and does not take away the talents He has given to man. He is the
supreme power and has countless servants. The people who accept all the
struggles of life without questioning God serve him the most. Thus the poem
ends with a positive note. The Octave of the poem starts with the pain and the
problem of blindness. The Sestet concludes with a positive note that accepting
the entire struggle without lamenting is serving God. The poem describes
Milton’s philosophy of life.
 I know why the caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is a great Afro-American writer, whose original name is
Marguerite. This prose is an extract of her autobiography I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings, which explores the themes of economical, racial and sexual
oppression. This piece describes her life as a black girl in Arkansas, the way she
comes out of her silence and her empowerment. As her parents divorced,
Marguerite and her brother Bailey lived with their maternal grandmother’s
house with their mother. She was raped by her mother’s boyfriend at the age of
eight. She shared this with her brother and later that culprit was killed by her
uncle. The traumatic incident silenced the small innocent girl. Maya considered
herself especially her speech as responsible for his death and withdrew herself
to silence. This extract tells the readers how she comes out of the guilty feel and
gains her speech after five years with the influence of her neighbour Mrs.
Flowers.
Maya, the narrator begins this part by stating about the influential person
of her life Mrs. Bertha Flowers, who was the reason to develop Maya’s love for
language and speaking skill. Mrs. Flower is an aristocrat among the black
community. Maya describes Mrs. Flowers’ superior position through her
elegant appearance and dressing style.  Maya goes to the extent of describing
Mrs. Flowers smile and simple actions. The gentleness and care of Mrs. Flowers
enabled Maya to understand what a human being can be. Maya feels attracted
by Mrs. Flowers and compares her with the women characters in English
movies who live with individuality. To Maya Mrs. Flowers looked more
beautiful than the white heroines. Maya feels relieved as Mrs. Flowers does not
talk to white people. She believes that the white people may have superiority
complex over the black and due to it they may call Mrs. Flower as Bertha which
may shatter the image of Mrs. Flower.  The fact of Mrs. Flower a black enables
Maya to feel proud to be a black. This indicates Mrs. Flowers appeal on the
young narrator.
 The narrator’s grandmother Mrs. Henderson has a strange relationship
with Mrs. Flowers. Her grandmother calls Mrs. Flowers as sister though they
both belong to different churches. Mrs. Flower is an educated upper class lady
lives in the hill side, away from Maya’s locality. She speaks formal English and
her grandmother responds in informal language with grammatical error. Such
communication between them especially her grandmother’s grammatical error
irked the girl and at times she longs for the ground to open and swallow her.
She narrates a life changing incident that is still fresh in her memory. One
day Mrs. Flowers buys provisions from the grandmother’s shop. When the
grandmother offers someone to carry the luggage, Mrs. Flowers calls Maya to
help by stating that she wants to talk to her. Maya feels excited about this
chance and changes her household dress to a formal one. Mrs. Flowers
appreciates the dress and extends her compliments to the grandmother for
stitching. As that is the first compliment the old lady receives compliment for
her work, her excitement makes her to take off the dress from Maya. Maya feels
ashamed of standing half naked in front of her favourite person. Again she feels
like getting sunstroke and dying than to face Mrs. Flowers.
Later they both start walking towards Mrs. Flowers’ house. On the way
Mrs. Flowers tells her that she got good feedback about Maya’s writing from
school and the only trouble with Maya is her silence. She advises Maya that
language is a powerful tool for communication and it separates man from the
rest of the livings. Mrs. Flowers asks Maya to read books aloud initially. When
they enter the house the sweet smell of vanilla invited them. Mrs. Flowers says
that she prepared tea cookies for Maya and asks her to eat it. Maya feels
overwhelmed with the thought of her favourite lady preparing something special
for her. She compares the special moment of drinking lemonade and eating
cookies with Mrs. Flowers with having mead (an alcoholic drink of medieval
period) with Beowulf. Beowulf is a famous Anglo-Saxon hero of an epic
titled Beowulf. He is known for his bravery and considered to be a saviour of
people. Next Maya compares the special moment with having a hot cup of tea
and milk with Oliver Twist. Oliver Twist is the protagonist of Charles Dickens’
famous novel Oliver Twist. Comparing the event of having cookies with Mrs.
Flowers with Beowulf and Oliver Twist tells the importance of the moment in
her life as well as her interest in reading literature.
Mrs. Flowers reads a poem for Maya and that listening melts her
stiffness. Maya says that it was the best thing that she has done in her life and
speaks for the first time with Mrs. Flowers.  Mrs. Flowers gives her some books
to read aloud and some cookies for Bailey, Maya’s brother. Maya is excited
about her visit and returns home happily. Her grandmother and Bailey wait to
receive Maya. Maya imagines the happy expression of her brother to receive
cookies and says ‘by the way’ Mrs. Flowers gave cookies for Bailey. Something
upsets her grandmother and asks Maya to take off her dress and be ready to get
beating. Initially Maya thought it as a joke but soon realised the seriousness.
They three kneel down and pray to god to forgive her mistakes and she even
gets some beating from her grandmother. Now she understands that she has
committed some unforgivable mistake. That day evening the grandmother tells
the reason as Maya has used the word ‘by the way’. The word way means Jesus
and one cannot use god’s name in useless way. Bailey tells her that the white
people, whose god is Jesus as well use the word ‘by the way’ casually in their
conversation. Grandmother rejects his argument by stating that white people use
hateful words before god and no need to consider them seriously. This indicates
the Afro-Americans faith in religion.
This prose piece enables one to understand the socio- economic condition
of the black community in America.  Most of them live in poverty driven
condition and have great faith in Christianity though they are converted one. It
also presents the transformation in the life of Marguerite from silent phase to
active phase. The title is apt for her autobiography as one can understand the
Maya Angelou is the caged bird.  The title of the book is taken from her
favourite poet Dunbar's poem "Sympathy". For Angelou, the image of a caged
bird serves as a metaphor for her own life. She compares her personal struggles
including racism, abuse, oppression, and poverty with a cage. As a caged bird
she tries to get the attention of the public regarding the injustice she and her
community faced through her poetry.

THE POSTMASTER
–   RABINDRANATH TAGORE ,
SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION:
“The Postmaster,” a story by Rabindranath Tagore,( 1861-1941) a
gifted Indian writer and thinker, achieved a world-wide reputation
when he as awarded the Nobel Prize. The Postmaster is a story of a
city-bred young man forced to live in a remote village. Necessity
drove him to spend his evenings in the company of a simple
orphan girl Ratan.
CONTENT:
The Postmaster short story is about an unnamed postmaster who
was transfered to a remote post office in a small rural Indian
village. The village was near a factory, and the owner of the factory
where Englishmen. The postmaster was from the huge city of
Calcutta and feels out of place in such a distant rural village. The
post office seems to contain only two rooms: the office itself, and
the postmaster’s living quarters made of “thatched shed” near a
stagnant pond circled by thick foliage.

The workers in the nearby factory were so much busy with their
work that they have no time to make friendship with anyone.
Besides, they were not good company for “decent folk.” In
addition, people from Calcutta were not particularly good at
socializing. They appear to be arrogant or uncomfortable. In any
case, the postmaster had few companions, and he does not have
many activities to keep him occupied.

Occasionally he tried to write a bit of poetry. The rural landscape

have inspired the kind of happy poetry he sought to compose. But
the postmaster is uninterested in the landscape and would be
happy if it were replaced by a paved road and numerous tall
buildings. His salary was not great; so, he had to cook his own food
and would share his suppers with Ratan – an orphan girl of the
village. She did odd jobs for the Postmaster.  In the evening, when
the village was filled with appealing sights and sounds, the
postmaster lights his lamp and called for Ratan.

Ratan, who has been waiting for the nightly call, typically asks
whether she has indeed been called. She then routinely lights the
fire needed for cooking. The postmaster tells her to wait till he
smoke his pipe, which Ratan always lights for him. The postmaster
used to talk with Ratan while smoking. He asked Ratan about her
early life which She loved to share with him . The postmaster
himself recalls his home, his mother and sister and discuss about
them with Ratan.

She used to call the Postmaster “Dada” meaning ‘elder brother’.

She obeyed her master. The postmaster taught her how to read.
Ratan begins to learn about double consonants. They develop a
bond of trust and friendship. They have meals together and Ratan
runs small errands for the postmaster.
One day, postmaster falls ill due to the showers of the season.
Ratan took care of him like a mother when he was sick. She sat
beside him the whole night during the time until he was cured
completely. The Postmaster decided to apply for a transfer back to
Calcutta. His application for transfer gets rejected, thus he resigns
from the job.

Finally the time came when our postmaster decided to return to

his city. Ratan was deeply hurt but didn’t express it. She asked him
to take her with him to his city. He laughed at her request. While
leaving he offered her his entire salary but Ratan denied it and ran
away crying. The kind gesture made her cry! She wandered about
the post office with tears trickling down her cheeks. Poor Ratan!
Her affection was not reciprocated. At the end, Ratan gets heart-
broken to know that her master left her forever.
CONCLUSION:
This short story was full of pathos and moves the readers to tears.
This story shows the difficulties which a city person faces when
migrate to the remote place and the life of an orphan girl Ratan
whose life is full of numberless meetings and partings. She knew
no philosophy of life. Her fondness for the postmaster may be
regarded as a one sided affection of a thirteen year old girl which
indeed was selfless and innocent.

A woman’s heart is indeed difficult to understand!

THE DOCTOR’S WORLD –
summary- R.K. NARAYAN
THE DOCTOR’S WORLD  –       
R.K. NARAYAN
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION:
The Doctor’s Word, is a short story from the collection of  “Malgudi
Days” by R K Narayan  published in 1943. In “The Doctor’s Word”
R.K.Narayan tells the story how a doctor’s word save the life of a
patient, that’s very reason his opinion was valued; he was not a
mere doctor expressing an opinion , but a judge pronouncing a
verdict.”
CONTENT:
Dr. Raman was an experienced doctor. He spoke plainly and always
spoke the truth. So, his pronouncement held in high esteem. Gopal
was the dearest friend of Dr. Raman. They had been friends for 40
years. They spent their time in dinning, seeing  pictures and
talking. Their friendship was not at all affected by chang of time.

One day Dr.Raman was informed that Gopal was ill. He went to
Gopal’s house. Gopal was lying on the bed as if asleep. Dr.Raman
examined him and gave necessary treatment. He is exceptionally
fond of him and scolds Gopal’s family for not notifying him earlier
about Gopal’s illness. He was worried about his friend’s life and he
had no hope of saving his life.

The patient asked the doctor about his condition He wanted to

sign the will and settled the property before he dies to avoid the
“endless misery for his wife and children”.   If Dr. Raman reveals his
pessimistic opinion, that Gopal will not survive the night, then it
would “virtually mean a death sentence and destroy the
thousandth part of a chance that the patient had of survival.” So,
Dr. Raman decided to tell a lie. For the first time in life, he told his
patient a lie. He informed Gopal that he would live for long time.
Gopal was relieved to hear this information. The next morning the
doctor was surprised to find Gopal alive with study pulse. How the
patient survives would be a puzzle to him all his life.

CONCLUSION:
Throughout the story Dr. Raman’s genuine concern for Gopal was
seen. The concern was not only with professional ethics but also
with the tension that often arrives when personal ethics and
professional ethics intersect. It is clear that Dr. Raman violates his
usual practice of truth-telling so as to save the life of his friend
‘Gopal’. Dr. Raman still remained a man of his word though he
does remain puzzled as how Gopal has survived.

“Human life is more important than the Science.”

1. Raman was not a mere doctor expressing an opinion, but also
a judge pronouncing verdict. Explain.
 
INTRODUCTION:
The Doctor’s Word, is a short story from the collection of
“Malgudi Days” by R K Narayan  published in 1943. In “The
Doctor’s Word” R.K.Narayan tells the story how a doctor’s word
save the life of a patient, that’s very reason his opinion was valued;
he was not a mere doctor expressing an opinion , but a judge
pronouncing a verdict.”

 
CONTENT:
 

Dr. Raman was an experienced doctor. He spoke plainly and always

spoke the truth. So, his pronouncement held in high esteem. Gopal
was the dearest friend of Dr. Raman. They had been friends for 40
years. They spent their time in dinning, seeing  pictures and talking.
Their friendship was not at all affected by chang of time.

One day Dr.Raman was informed that Gopal was ill. He went to
Gopal’s house. Gopal was lying on the bed as if asleep. Dr.Raman
examined him and gave necessary treatment. He is exceptionally
fond of him and scolds Gopal’s family for not notifying him earlier
about Gopal’s illness. He was worried about his friend’s life and he
had no hope of saving his life.

The patient asked the doctor about his condition He wanted to sign
the will and settled the property before he dies to avoid the “endless
misery for his wife and children”.   If Dr. Raman reveals his
pessimistic opinion, that Gopal will not survive the night, then it
would “virtually mean a death sentence and destroy the thousandth
part of a chance that the patient had of survival.” So, Dr. Raman
decided to tell a lie. For the first time in life, he told his patient a lie.
He informed Gopal that he would live for long time. Gopal was
relieved to hear this information. The next morning the doctor was
surprised to find Gopal alive with study pulse. How the patient
survives would be a puzzle to him all his life.

 
CONCLUSION:
 

Throughout the story Dr. Raman’s genuine concern for Gopal was
seen. The concern was not only with professional ethics but also
with the tension that often arrives when personal ethics and
professional ethics intersect. It is clear that Dr. Raman violates his
usual practice of truth-telling so as to save the life of his friend
‘Gopal’. Dr. Raman still remained a man of his word though he
does remain puzzled as how Gopal has survived.

“Human life is more important than the Science.”

 
2. How did the postmaster feel about his stay in the remote
village of Ulapur? What bought the postmaster and Ratan
together? Discuss.
INTRODUCTION:
 
“The Postmaster,” a story by Rabindranath Tagore,( 1861-1941) a
gifted Indian writer and thinker, achieved a world-wide reputation
when he as awarded the Nobel Prize. The Postmaster is a story of a
city-bred young man forced to live in a remote village. Necessity
drove him to spend his evenings in the company of a simple orphan
girl Ratan.
 
CONTENT:
 

The Postmaster short story is about an unnamed postmaster who

was transfered to a remote post office in a small rural Indian village.
The village was near a factory, and the owner of the factory where
Englishmen. The postmaster was from the huge city of Calcutta and
feels out of place in such a distant rural village. The post office
seems to contain only two rooms: the office itself, and the
postmaster’s living quarters made of “thatched shed” near a
stagnant pond circled by thick foliage.

The workers in the nearby factory were so much busy with their
work that they have no time to make friendship with anyone.
Besides, they were not good company for “decent folk.” In
addition, people from Calcutta were not particularly good at
socializing. They appear to be arrogant or uncomfortable. In any
case, the postmaster had few companions, and he does not have
many activities to keep him occupied.

Occasionally he tried to write a bit of poetry. The rural landscape

have inspired the kind of happy poetry he sought to compose. But
the postmaster is uninterested in the landscape and would be happy
if it were replaced by a paved road and numerous tall buildings. His
salary was not great; so, he had to cook his own food and would
share his suppers with Ratan – an orphan girl of the village. She did
odd jobs for the Postmaster.  In the evening, when the village was
filled with appealing sights and sounds, the postmaster lights his
lamp and called for Ratan.

Ratan, who has been waiting for the nightly call, typically asks
whether she has indeed been called. She then routinely lights the
fire needed for cooking. The postmaster tells her to wait till he
smoke his pipe, which Ratan always lights for him. The postmaster
used to talk with Ratan while smoking. He asked Ratan about her
early life which She loved to share with him . The postmaster
himself recalls his home, his mother and sister and discuss about
them with Ratan.

She used to call the Postmaster “Dada” meaning ‘elder brother’.

She obeyed her master. The postmaster taught her how to read.
Ratan begins to learn about double consonants. They develop a
bond of trust and friendship. They have meals together and Ratan
runs small errands for the postmaster.
One day, postmaster falls ill due to the showers of the season. Ratan
took care of him like a mother when he was sick. She sat beside
him the whole night during the time until he was cured completely.
The Postmaster decided to apply for a transfer back to Calcutta. His
application for transfer gets rejected, thus he resigns from the job.

Finally the time came when our postmaster decided to return to his
city. Ratan was deeply hurt but didn’t express it. She asked him to
take her with him to his city. He laughed at her request. While
leaving he offered her his entire salary but Ratan denied it and ran
away crying. The kind gesture made her cry! She wandered about
the post office with tears trickling down her cheeks. Poor Ratan!
Her affection was not reciprocated. At the end, Ratan gets heart-
broken to know that her master left her forever.

CONCLUSION:
 

This short story was full of pathos and moves the readers to tears.
This story shows the difficulties which a city person faces when
migrate to the remote place and the life of an orphan girl Ratan
whose life is full of numberless meetings and partings. She knew no
philosophy of life. Her fondness for the postmaster may be regarded
as a one sided affection of a thirteen year old girl which indeed was
selfless and innocent.

A woman’s heart is indeed difficult to understand!

 
3. Discuss who was Princess September? How did she grew very
beautiful?
INTRODUCTION:
William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) holds a unique place
among the English writers of this century as an entertainer. He
wrote novels, plays and short stories and delighted his readers in
every form of his art.  Princess September is a delightful fairy tale.
It is a short of fantasy, identity, jealousy, resentment, freedom, trust,
control and innocence.  It is a story of the girl, the  youngest of nine
sisters to the king of Siam.

CONTENT

The King of Siam had nine daughters named after the months of the
year. The youngest daughter named September had a very pleasing
personality. Her other sisters were all of sullen nature. One year on
his birthday the King gave each of his daughters a beautiful green
parrot in a golden cage. The parrots shortly learnt to speak.
Unfortunately, the parrot of Princess September died. She was
heartbroken.

Presently a little bird bounded into her room and sang a lovely song
about the king’s garden, the willow tree and the goldfish. The
princess was thrilled. The bird decided to stay with her and sing her
beautiful songs. When the princesses’ sisters became jealous when
they came top know of the sweet bird that sang better than their
parrots. The malicious sisters urged Princess September to put the
bird in a cage.

The innocent princess put the bird into a cage. The bird was
bewildered but the princess justified caging the bird as she was
afraid of the lurking cats. When the bird tried to sing, it had to stop
midway as it felt wretched in the cage. The next morning the bird
asked Princess September to release her from the cage, she did not
listen to it. Instead she assured the bird that it would have three
meals a day and nothing to worry all day. The bird was not happy
with it and pleaded to let it out from the cage. September try to
console the bird saying that she had caged the bird because of her
love for it. The distraught bird did not sing the whole day and
stopped eating its food.

The next morning the princess noticed the bird lying in the cage
still. Thinking that the bird was dead, she started weeping. Then the
bird rose and told the princess that t could not sing unless it was
free and if it could not sing it would die. Taking pity on the bird, the
kind princess released the bird. The bird flew away. Yet, it returned
to enchant the princess with its sweet songs. The princess kept her
windows open day and night for the bird to come and go whenever
it wanted.

With time, September grew up to be a paragon of beauty. Her youth

was exuberant. At the right age, she was married to the King of
Cambodia. On the contrary, the eight sisters became uglier and
uglier with time. They had never slept with their windows open.
They were given away to the councilors with a pound of tea and a
Siamese cat. Their wicked minds drove them to such disgrace.

CONCLUSION:
In the story Maugham is suggesting us that if a person do good
things, then they live happily as the Princess September lived after
marring the king. Good things will happen to a Good person. By
keeping the window open she has learnt the importance of freedom
and what freedom means. Thus she could learn many important
lessons of life from that bird. Maugham has also shown us the other
side of the ugliness of people through Princess September’s sisters
who lived their life controlling their environment and driven by
jealousy. Thus, couldn’t achieve much in their life.

“God Bless the good and Curse the bad!”

 
5. Attempt a character sketch of Vera from the story “Open
Window”.
INTRODUCTION:
 The open window is written by Saki(1870-1916). Saki is the pen-
name of Hector Hugh Munro, a famous short stories and novels
writer born in Scotland. ‘The Open Window’ is a short story that
makes intensely interesting reading. It presents to us a very self
possessed young lady of fifteen whose speciality is ‘mischief and
framing tale at short notice’. Mr Nuttel who was supposed to be
undergoing nerve-cure was terribly frightened by her story. The
element of horror fades away, leading to a pleasant surprise at the
end.
CONTENT:

Framton Nuttel, an eccentric (strange) hypochondriac (a person

who is always worried about his health and belives he is ill even
though he is alright), has moved to the country on his doctor’s
advice to effect a cure for a nervous condition from which he was
suffering. His sister has lived in the area he visits and has given him
letters of introduction to his new neighbors. The story concerns his
visit to the home of one of these neighbors, Mrs. Sappleton.
Mr. Nuttel first meets Mrs. Sappleton’s niece Vera, who entertains
him until her aunt is available. She deceived him by telling false
story about her aunt. She told him that her aunt’s husband and her
two brothers had gone out with their dog for hunting three years ago
and never came back and they are dead .  The aunt was driven to
distraction by her grief and loss, left the window open thereafter,
anticipating that “they will come back some day” with “the little
brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in that window just
as they used to do.” She told the story in such a way that Framton
believed it.

When Mrs. Sappleton comes to Mr. Nuttel she explains why she
kept the window open, apparently confirming Vera’s story. He
gives  horrible expression when Mrs. Sappleton said that her
husband and brothers would be home soon from the shooting. To
avoid that horrifying discussion  Mr. Nuttel then tells Mrs.
Sappleton about his nervous disorder and his need to avoid any
“mental excitement.” At that very moment Mrs. Sappleton sees her
husband and brothers returning from their hunt. Veera was a good
actor, she appears to be horrified by the sight of them. The nervous
Mr. Nuttel is therefore terrified and believed them to be ghost and
without waiting even a second he dashed outside the house.
Spinning another tale, Vera explains to the newly arrived hunting
party and her aunt that Mr. Framton fled when he saw the brown
spaniel because of his severe fear of dogs.

CONCLUSION:
This story shows Veera’s remarkable ability to create convincing
fiction, instantly and crack practical jokes. She was very clever,
resourceful and naughty. She was very good fabricator.

 
6. Hughie Erskine was of a generous and who had rewarded him
for his generosity. Illustrate.
INTRODUCTION:
The short story ‘The Model Millionaire’ was written by Oscar
Wilde (1854-1900). He was a famous Irish writer. In this story
Oscar Wilde describe about a boy Hughie Erskine who was a young
man of good profile. His financial status was very low as he had no
profession. He tried his hand in different profession to earn money
but was not successful. So the author referred him as “a delightful,
ineffectual young man with a perfect profile and no profession”

CONTENT:

Hughie Erskine was a poor young man who was good looking with
crisp brown hair and gray eyes. He was not only popular among
men but also among women. He failed to build a career although he
kept changing everything. He had gone on the Stock Exchange for
six months, he had been a tea-merchant for a little longer, then he
had tried selling a dry sherry. He was in love with a girl named
Laura Merton,  daughter of a retired Colonel. The Colonel was
against the engagement and would only allow them to get married if
Hughie had ten thousand pounds of his own.
One day, Hughie visited his friend named Alan Trevor who was a
painter. When Hughie came in, he found Trevor painting the
finishing touches to a wonderful life size picture of a beggar man.
The beggar himself was standing on a platform in a corner of the
studio. He was a wizened old man with a face like wrinkled
parchment and a most piteous expression. And then, at that night,
Hughie went to the Palette Club about eleven o’clock, and found
Alan in the smocking room. They had a talk about the model of a
beggar-man which was painted by Alan Trevor. On the
conversation, Alan said that the model of his picture was not a
beggar, but a millionaire. Hughie was surprised and he did not
believe about what he heard from Alan. The name of the millionaire
was Baron Hausberg. Hughie went home unhappily, whereas Alan
laughed loudly. Hughie had mistaken the Baron for a beggar and
offered him a sovereign. He felt very bad for treating a rich man in
that manner and feared that the Baron would have taken his act as
an insult.

The next morning, a messenger from Baron Hausberg came and

brought a letter to Hughie. The letter contained a cheque for ten
thousand pounds which was a wedding present to Hugh Erskine and
Laura Merton from Baron Hausberg. On the day of the marriage,
Alan Trevor was the best man and the Baron made a speech at the
wedding breakfast. Alan said, “Millionaire models are rare enough,
but model millionaires are rarer still!”

CONCLUSION:
 

In The Model Millionaire, Oscar Wilde portrayed beautifully the

theme of appearance, generosity, friendship, gratitude, love,
compassion, charity, commitment, connection, struggle and
happiness.  In this story Hughie was fooled into thinking that the
Baron was a beggar solely based on how the Baron was dressed and
on what Alan Trevor has told him. It was for this reason that
Hughie hands the Baron a sovereign. Hughie’s act of generosity is
the fact that Hughie gives the Baron more than he can really afford.
The Kindness of Hughie repaid him with kindness of Baron in the
way of ten thousand pounds as wedding present.

11. The play The Dear Departed shows inhuman attitude of

Amelia and Elizabeth towards their father. Explain.
 

INTRODUCTION

The play ‘The Dear Departed’ by Stanley Houghton is a story that

depicts the sad reality of the modern nuclear families that are
strained with selfish interests and individual desires. Reflecting the
society at large, the tale takes place at the house of the Slaters. Mrs
Slater is one of two daughters of Mr Abel Merryweather who lives
with her. The other daughter Elizabeth and her husband Ben stay
separately.

CONTENT:

The scene of the play is set in the sitting room of a small house in a
lower middle-class district of a provincial town. The setting of the
play reveals that the tea-table has been laid. Mrs Slater, a plump and
active lady is in mourning and she is getting ready to receive some
guests. She beckons to her daughter Victoria, who is ten year old,
and instructs her to change into something sober. It is revealed that
Victoria’s grandfather has passed away and the Slater family is
getting ready to receive Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Ben. Victoria
expresses surprise at this news because her aunt and uncle had not
paid them a visit for years. Mrs Slater reveals that they were
coming over to talk about grandfather’s affairs, on hearing of his
death. In the meanwhile Mr Slater enters. He is a heavy man who
stoops he is also in mourning dress.

Henry Slater is skeptical whether Elizabeth will come, for the last
time when Mrs Slater and Elizabeth had quarrelled, she had vowed
never to pay a visit again to their house. Mrs Slater gives Henry
new slippers of her father. She also plans to take away the new
bureau of the grandfather and shift it to their room, before Elizabeth
and Ben arrive. Both the husband and wife, lock the front door and
shift the bureau down and put their old chest of drawers there.
Victoria wants to know why they were stealing grandfather’s things
but her mother tells her to remain quiet. Grandpa’s new clock is
also taken away. Meanwhile Grandpa was stirring and moving.
After some time Mr Abel Merryweather enters and is surprised to
see his other daughter and son-in-law, Mr and Mrs Jordan. He
reveals that he was well and just had a slight headache he notices
Henry wearing his new slippers and takes them. Abels wishes to
know, why all were in mourning dresses. Mrs Jordan makes up
some story to pacify him. Abel Merryweather enjoys tea and has a
generous slice of the apple-pie. He grumbles and scolds Mrs Slater
for taking away his bureau. Mrs Jordan gets agitated and accuses
her sister of robbing her father. The husbands also join their wives
in hurling accusations at each other Abel discovers about his death.
He addresses his daughters directly and declares that he was going
to change his will and all the money will go to the one, in whose
house he dies. Both the daughters fight with each other to keep their
father. Abel is amused and watches all the fun. At last he makes his
announcement which shocks everyone. On Monday, he would go to
the lawyer and alter his will, then he would go to the insurance
office and pay his premium. After that he would go to the church
and get married to Mrs Shorrock. Everyone is shocked. Abel
reveals that he had at last found someone who was happy to keep
him. He exits with an invitation of his marriage. He also thanks Mrs
Slater for shifting the Bureau down-stairs for now it will be easy to
cart it away to “Ring-O-Bells.’
They will marry each other and spend the rest of their days taking
care of one another. In the end and with a cheek in his tone, he asks
his daughters and their greedy husbands to attend the wedding and
bless the bride and groom.

Conclusion

The play ‘The Dear Departed’ presents an interesting situation that

has tragically become common place in the world of today. A true
test of people is how they behave towards the elderly. The
daughters in ‘Dear Departed’ are very materialistic and like beasts
of prey, they are only ready to pounce on the money and belongings
of their father. Keeping father at home has become a tiresome
burden. Looking towards the elderly has become a matter of
comfort and financial aid rather than for inspiration and emotional
strength. The author asks us to remember that the difference
between a helping hand and an outstretched palm is only a twist of
the wrist.

MY GREATEST OLYMPIC PRIZE

Jesse Owens

ANSWER BRIEFLY

1. Why were nationalistic feelings running high during the 1936 Berlin
Olympics?

Hitler had insisted that his athletes were members of a ‘higher race’.

2. Why does Jesse Owens dismiss the claim of Hitler as childish?

Hitler was a dictator, no doubt. But his casual remark of building the spirit of his
athletes has been taken seriously.
3. Why was Owens expected to win the gold medal in the Long Jump hands
down?

Owens had set a world record in Long Jump just the previous year. So Owens knew
he could win the Olympics hands down. Additionally he had practiced hard for the
Olympics.

4. Why did Owens become hot under the collar before the trials?

Owens was irritated about the Nazi’s Aryan superiority theory.

5. “I was no exception: - Explain.

An angry athlete is prone to making mistakes. Despite knowing this, Owens got
angry that resulted in his underperformance which disallowed him to qualify in the
first jump.

6. Why did Owens kick the pit in disgust?

Owens leaped for several inches beyond the take-off point that ended up in
disqualification in the first jump of his trials.

7. What was actually eating Jesse Owens?

Owens was preoccupied with the disturbing thought of fouling in the finals.

8. Did Owens tell Long what was eating him? If not, why?

Owens did not admit to Long what was eating him because Long was just an
acquaintance then, apart from being a Nazi rival.

9. Describe Luz Long.

Luz Long was taller than Owens with a lean muscular frame with clear blue eyes, fair
hair and a strikingly handsome face.

10. How did Owens manage to qualify for the finals with a foot to spare?

Owens accepted Long’s advice to draw a line a few inches behind the take-off board
which helped him qualify for the finals with a foot to spare.

11. How did Luz Long respond to Jesse winning the gold?

Long was beside Owens congratulating him when Owens finished his jump. He gave
Owens a firm handshake that was devoid of any jealousy.
 12. Why did Hitler glare at Luz Long and Jesse Owens?

Hitler had nurtured Long to win the Olympics. Not only did Luz Long lose but was
congratulating Owens heartily on his victory. This angered Hitler.

13. What, according to Coubertin, is the true spirit of the Olympics?

Coubertin had declared that taking part in Olympics was more important than
winning.

ANSWER IN A PARAGRAPH

1.    Why did Jesse Owens foul the first two jumps in the trial?

Despite knowing that anger spoils the spirit of an athlete, forcing him to make
mistakes, he was angered at Hitler’s sly introduction of Luz Long to prove Aryan
superiority. Owens, being a Negro, hated it and his angered at Hitler’s way belittled
his determination to win the Olympics. Anger ruled his mind and made him foul in the
first two attempts in the trials.

2.    How did Luz Long help Jesse Owens?

Luz Long, a true sportsman and an amazing human being, eased Owens’ tension by
being compassionate. He gave him a genuinely friendly advice to draw a line a few
inches from the takeoff board to avoid over-stepping and thus fouling. Owens took
his advice and was able to qualify with a clean mind.

3.    How did the rivalry of Owens and Long end?

With Owens developing a misconception, the battle in his mind took over his
determination to win. Long, who noticed Owens fouling, understood what Owens
would be going through. Long’s decision to get acquainted with Owens eased
Owens. Owens, after the trials, met Long in his quarters and both spent some quality
time together knowing each other, thus leading to a long lasting true friendship.

4.    Explain the reference to Coubertin.

Coubertin had declared that taking part in Olympics was more important than
winning. Luz Long, being a true sportsman and an amazing human being, helped his
fellow sportsman to qualify in his jump that made him win. This shows Long believed
in participating rather than winning. His rival’s winning did not make him jealous. On
the contrary, he congratulated him with all his heart. This clearly exemplifies that
Long believed in Coubertin’s words and passed the thought to Owens.
5.    What do you understand of Hitler from Jesse’s account?

Hitler had secretly nurtured a very strong Nazi youth and had kept him hidden until
the day, to petrify other athletes, especially Owens. Hitler would have been fully
aware that an angry athlete often errs and that perhaps was what he wanted. His
slyness in doing so would allow his athlete to win, if not through competence, thus
strengthening the Aryan superiority.

ANSWER IN 200 WORDS

1.    How did Luz Long exemplify the true sporting spirit?

Luz Long, noticing a world record holder pathetically fouling, understood the
reason behind it. Without hesitation, despite being an opponent, he extends an arm
of friendship to Owens. Long was expected to beat Owens in the finals. His being
friendly with Owens will only result angering his leader. Without paying heed to that,
he also gives his rival crucial tips to avoid fouling. Owens took the advice and won.
            When Owens finished his jump, he found Long by his side congratulating him
on his victory, not bothering about his leader’s glares. He didn’t seem to mind his
loss. His demeanor and handshake, at Owens’ victory, showed no sign of jealousy
either. Long was the epitome of the message of Coubertin that not winning, but
taking part in Olympics is more important.

2.    Describe the professional rivalry and professional friendship of Owens and

Long.

            Initially Owens saw Luz Long as his professional rival since Long was indeed
brought in by Hitler to beat Owens. His anger led to his fouling in the trials. Long,
who noticed the unnatural development of a crisis in a world record holder,
counseled Owens to focus on the jump by giving him a valuable tip. This not only
took Owens by surprise, but also eased him and allowed him the opportunity to
believe Long thus breaking the ice. He later visited Long at his quarters and they
spent some time knowing each other. This paved way for building genuine friendship
between the two. When Owens won the finals, Long was beside him congratulating
him on his victory. Owens could sense no jealousy or regret in Long’s demeanor or
handshake. It was a platonic wish coming right from the bottom of Long’s heart. He
respected Long for it and knew that a strong friendship had bloomed between them.

3.    Which is considered as the greatest Olympic prize? Why?

Luz Long’s friendship was the greatest Olympic Prize that Owens ever won in
his life. Luz Long’s compassion and camaraderie touched Owens. Luz Long
 recognized the battle in Owens’ mind and offered him a valuable tip. He was
genuinely happy for Owens when he won the gold. He was by Owens’ side,
congratulating him. It is very rare for a rival to offer professional tips but Long did. It
is very rare for a rival to congratulate the winner without feeling a pang of jealousy.
But Long felt none. What Long felt was evident in what he said and how he looked.
His selflessness proves that he was an epitome of goodness and true
sportsmanship. His congratulating Owens on his victory was of greater value to
Owens than the gold medal itself. His genuine heart was so that Owens felt nothing
could equalize the friendship that formed between the two.

4.    Analyze the character of Luz Long.

Luz Long, though trained in the Nazi youth school, evidently did not possess the sly
characteristics of Nazis. His leader had brought him to take part in the Olympics to
win. Long, though knowing the pressure on him, had not lost the spirit of a true
sportsman. He had no inhibitions in offering his rival a very important tip even though
it could have meant his failure. He saw his rival as a friend. Not just that, he was a
good human being; he helped a person in distress. Long had nothing to hide. His
intentions were clear. He had come to participate and winning to him was just a
matter of effort.
           

 Knowing that Owens was a record holder, he did not try any foul means to win the
event. His camaraderie won the heart of Owens. Owens was swept off his feet at this
magnificent Nazi’s pure heart and led to a friendship beyond all material richness of
the game. Long nurtured no jealousy at his failure. He genuinely congratulated
Owens. He remained unbothered about having to face the wrath of his leader, for
losing. Long broke the hope of his leader and his nation, but helped an able world
record holder to set yet another record which he rightfully deserved. He also was by
his rival’s side when he won the event. Long is the perfect example of a true
sportsman.

 THE CUT OFF

- CHETAN BHAGAT

INTRODUCTION :-

                                  The short story “cut off” was written by Chetan

Bhagat, one of the most influential writer, novelist and best-seller. He is
a motivational speaker and columnist and was named one of the ‘100’
most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.

EXPLANATION:-

                              The writer makes an insightful critique of

engineering education in India through this short-story. It is a telling
comment on the present system and the attitude of society.

                  

                             Gautam Arora, narrator of the story topped XII

class exam by obtaining 92 percent marks. Inspite of good marks, he did
not get seat in any reputed college. He got turbulent by his condition and
decided to end his life. He met with his friend Neeraj and his girl friend
Anjali at café.

                                   Gautam told about his condition and asked him

to suggest the most graceful and painless way to suicide. Neeraj denied
his decision and advised him to be innovative and imaginative. Cowards
cannot progress in their life. Be brave and face the world with spirit.

                             
                             Gautham left the café and went to his house. After
dinner, his parent’s conversation made him think more about his
admission in a reputed college; still he was in dilemma and decided to
write a letter to the education department. He opened the WordPad and
wrote the letter. His letter was to describe the current situation of
meritous students in the country. Lack of IIMS and IITS colleges in the
country, their impact on the students who want to join undergraduate
courses is higher. He suggests the government to open more A-Grade
universities. He took a print out of the letter and keept it.

             
                         Early morning, their maid came delighted and
distributed the sweets as her son passed with 42 percent. Gautam
opened the newspaper and took out the admission supplement and
threw it into the dustbin.

                          
             Afternoon, he went to the chemist shop and purchased
copper sulphate to kill himself. Later, he went to his house where his
father was telling his mother regarding the positive aspect of less
branded college. Gautam understood the real meaning of his father
words, when he saw the crumpled newspaper under the pillow in his
father bedroom.

CONCLUSION:-

                                      Writer presents the rat-race for getting

admission in to A-Grade institutions in our country. If they fail to get
admission they have lost everything in their lives. They are subjected to
tension, fear and stress. Minting money seems to be the sole purpose of
their lives.

     
                 He also showed the relations between parents and
children which is getting widened when compared to the olden days.

THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

- KHUSHWANT SINGH

INTRODUCTION:-

“The Portrait Of A Lady” written by Khushwant Singh (1915-) is

Indian’s best known writer and columnist. He has been founder
editor of Yojana and editor of the National Herald and the
Hindustan Times. He is the author of classics such as Train to
Pakistan, I shall not hear the Nightingale, Delhi, the company of
women and Burial at Sea. A number of translations and works on
sikh religion and culture, Delhi, nature, current affairs and urdu
poetry.

EXPLANATION:

In this lesson author describes the relationship with his grand

mother. Firstly, he describes the personality of his grand mother.
He says that she was old, short and fat and slightly bent. She
could never have been pretty but she was always beautiful. He
delineates his grand father, who died very early and looks very
old.

When the author parents went to the city. He stayed with his
grand mother both had strong attachment. She had taken care of
him. They lived together in the village but his parents called them
to the city after they settled. It was a turning point in their
friendship their life quietly changed. They hardly spend time with
each other. His grand mother made a routine of spinning the
wheel  by reciting prayers and relax in evening by feeding the
bread to the sparrows. His grand mother was annoyed with his
schools teaching as they didn’t teach about the scriptures and
with his music lessons.

When the author went to university for further studies, the

common links of their friendship was snapped. She was very bold
to accept everything. She was very kind and spend her remaining
time in prayers. When author decided to go abroad he thought
that his grand mother would be upset. She was not sentimental
and went to the railway station to sent him off. After five years
when he came back. She met him at the railwaystation she called
all the women of the neighborhood and started sing with them
and enjoy every with them to celebrate her grand son’s arrival in
the evening.

In the evening she did not pray for the first tiem. Next morning
she felt ill. Doctor said it was a mild fever and it would go. His
grand mother said that, she want to pray in the eleventh of her
life before she close the chapter her life instead of wasting time in
talking. Author and his family protests but she condemned. Her
lips stopped moving and her rosary fell down. She was dead. They
made arrangements for her funeral. Author mother fetched some
bread for sparrows but they took no notice for the bread. They
were sad as their loving women died.

CONCLUSION:-

The story depicts the attachment of detachment between grand

mother and the grandson irrespective of their age. Though she
had orthodox thinking towards modernization but she adapted
herself in every situation. She had love towards animals and belief
towards god.
LS.2 DRESS IN COMMUNICATION   
( FORMAL DRESSING STYLES)
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LS.2 DRESS IN COMMUNICATION

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LS.2 DRESS IN COMMUNICATION

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BHM & BBA LS.2 DRESS IN

COMMUNICATION

 LS.2   DRESS IN COMMUNICATION

 How to write notice and circulars

Introduction

Notice   writing is an important part of English writing course in many education

boards including CBSE. Notices are used in our life in many ways .Thus it is
essential for us to understand utility, features and syntax of a good notice.

Utility
 Suppose you lost your watch in school playground; you can place a notice on school
notice board to appeal to return it to you. Your teachers can put a notice here to
inform about exam dates, change in syllabus, essay competition or educational tour
to Jaipur etc.
            You must have seen “public notice” in newspaper given by government,
lawyers or some company. These bring public attention to some important issues.
Interested viewer of a notice can be specific like student of a school or general like
readers of a newspaper. Notices are actually needed to be pasted, clipped or
published at a place where many interested persons visit to look for information. This
place can be notice board of a school, reception desk of an office, bank, court,
Websites of govt. department or any company, notice column of a newspaper or any
other place where people come frequently.
  
Features

A good notice should have following features

1) Brief: a notice should provide information in minimum number of words .About 40
to 50 words are enough. Sentences should be short. No repletion; No introduction;
only to the point information.

2) Complete: Notice should provide complete information. If you are writing notice
about sports competition, it should tell about participation criteria like age limit, fees if
any, Date, venue, chief guest, prize etc.

3) Authority : Notice must include name of authority who is issuing the notice. It can
be you (as in the case of watch lost in school playground), teacher, principal,
manager of bank, secretary of departments etc.

4) Clarity:  There should not be any ambiguity in the information. Message should be
straight forward.
Thus brevity, completeness and clarity are the main ingredients of a good
notice.

Syntax  

A notice has three parts- head, body and authority /contact person

1)      Head  it is the eye catcher. It tells the main topic or issue of the notice.

Example:   a) notice- dance competition.

                  b) notice- Annual magazine of school
                  c) notice- sports competition.
                  d) notice- change in interest rates of bank.

2)      Body  all information is provided here

 3)  Authority /contact person Name or/ and signature of notice issuing authority
should be included in the end. If notice requires meeting with someone to submit
name, paper or other things, contact person name, phone and meeting place and
time should also be included. Contact person is also required for further clarification
and information. 

Examples

Q1) you are siddhart, head boy of KGIL international school. Your school is
publishing annual magazine next month. Write a notice for your school notice
board and invite write ups from the student.

Ans)

Notice – Annual Magazine

Our school is publishing annual magazine next month. Interested

students can submit their articles, stories, essays, poems, jokes, etc to
the undersigned in room no 205, in 4thperiod before 15th of this month.
Mention your name, class, roll no, and also submit one photograph. Write
up should be original. In choosing content decision of selection
committee will be final.

Siddhart
Head boy –
KGIL international school

Q2) you are secretary of Mahatma Gandhi library. There are changes in membership fees and
book rental charges from next month. Write a notice for library notice board to provide all
these information to the members.

Ans)

Notice –change in membership & rental charges.

            Our library is the oldest and the biggest in the city. We are
increasing many facilities like Internet and online booking. We are
committed for quality. So, in this atmosphere of inflation we are compelled
to increase membership fees by 25% and book rental charges by 20%
w.e.f . first day of the next month. I hope you’ll bear with us.

Secretary
Mahatma Gandhi library.
Q3)You are Rohit Saxena, head boy of Ram convent school. Your school is organizing a dance
competition. Write a notice for your school notice board and invite names of interested
students.

Ans)

Notice-Dance competition

Our school is organizing a dance competition on 10-10-2011 in school

auditorium. Minimum age limit is 13 years. No registration fees. Winners
will get chance to represent school in inter-school competition in
December. (Judges panel include principal and music teacher) Interested
students meet undersigned in 5th period in room no-21.

Rohit  saxena
Head boy-
Ram convent school

CIRCULAR

Circular and notice are similar. The only difference is that circular is not placed at a
notice board or some public portal. It can be written in a register or file and circulated
to all interested members. It is made sure that it is brought in the notice of every
member.

From the examination point of view both, Notice and circular, are same.

3) HANDLING MEETINGS
WHAT IS A MEETING
The meeting is an assembly of persons whose consent is required for anything to
decide, expressing their consent by a proper majority of votes, whether or not that
thing should be done. The expression in its individual sense means a
conglomeration of the meetings held in a particular sessions and sometimes is
equated with the session. It is wide enough to embrace not only one sitting but all the
sittings within a particular session.

Law abhors looseness. Definition in law is essentially a process of crystallisation.

Definition would aim to find out the uniform content and meaning of the term. In legal
system, therefore, effort must be made to define a term with some basic uniformity.
More importantly, it is essential to avoid confusion in thought and idea. As already
pointed out, the term intakes several shades and in fact its common use bristles with
several shimmering social experiences.
According to Mozley & Whitley’s Law Dictionary,
Meeting means a gathering or assembly of persons convened for the conducting of
business, i.e. of a company, or relating to the affairs of the bankrupt. Such meetings
include Statutory Meeting, Annual general meeting and extraordinary general
meeting.

A meeting must do corporate act- The principle that corporate or collective act must
be done by “meeting” has universal acceptance. The cases have tried to find out the
validity of ‘an act’ or ‘resolution’ or of a proceeding or transaction and in its search
have decided whether a particular meeting could be treated as a ‘meeting’ in law. As
far as Indian law is concerned, it appears clearly settled that unless a validity called
meeting has met, its act cannot have legal force. Invalidity may creep in several
ways and would affect the constitution of meeting itself.

Sometimes it is thought that why meeting is important. Because of the fact that the
company is an artificial person so it cannot do any act by itself. It must act through
some human intermediary. In absence of any human, no meeting is possible. Law
empowers the members to do certain things. This right is reserved for them to do the
act in company’s general meetings.

REQUISITES OF A VALID MEETING-

There are various requisites of a valid meeting. For every meeting in order to be
valid, it must be -
1. Duly convened
2.  Properly constituted and
3.  Properly conducted

Duly convened means convened by the proper authority. The proper authority to
convene the meeting is the Board of directors, share holders or Company
Law Board. A proper and adequate notice must have been given to all those who are
entitled to attended the meeting.

For a meeting to be properly and legally constituted there must be proper quorum, a
proper person in the chair and proper compliance with the relevant provisions of
the Articles of Association and the Act.
Proper conduct of the meeting means that proper rules for ascertaining sense of the
meeting should be there. The rules for discussion and order in debate must be
observed. The proceedings should also be recorded properly.

KINDS OF MEETINGS
There are various kinds of meetings. They are:
1. Share holders meeting
          a) Statutory meetings
         b) Annual general meeting
         c) Extraordinary general meeting
         d) Class meetings

2. Board meetings
3. Meetings of committees of the Board

4. Meetings of Debenture holder

5. Meetings of the creditors

a) For the purpose other than winding up
b) For winding up
6) Meetings of contribution in winding up

1. STATUTORY MEETING

The first meeting of the shareholders of a public company is called as the statutory
meeting. It has to be called within six months from the date on which the company is
entitled to commence business, but it cannot be held within one month from that
date. It is so because of the requirement of Section 165 of the Company Act.

2. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

It is an annual meeting of body of members. Every company is required to call at

least one meeting of its shareholders each year. This meeting is known as annual
general meeting. Every company whether public or private, having share capital or
not, limited or unlimited must hold this meeting. The first annual general meeting of a
company must be held within eighteen months from the date of its incorporation, and
then no meeting will be necessary for the year of incorporation and the following
year. Like for example, if a company is incorporated in January 1960, its first annual
general meeting should be held within eighteen months, i.e., up to June 1961 and
then no meeting will be necessary either for 1960 or 1961. Therefore, one annual
general meeting must be held every year. The gap of one meeting and the next
should not be more than fifteen months. The Act provides no provision for the
deferment of the first AGM.

If a company fails to hold this meeting, two consequences will follow. Firstly, any
member can apply to the CLB and latter will order the calling of the meeting. An
application can be made by any member under Section 167 of the Act. This means
that a company is not competent to invoke the provisions of Section 167 because a
company cannot seek directions against itself. The CLB can give any ancillary or
consequential directions which it thinks expedient in relation to the calling and
conducting of the meeting. A meeting held in pursuance of this order will be deemed
an annual general meeting of the company. This power has been vested exclusively
in the CLB. The court cannot exercise it even under its inherent powers.

Secondly, the failure to call this meeting either generally or in pursuance of the order
of the CLB is an offence punishable with fine. The penalty is imposed upon the
company as well as every officer “who is in default”.

The registrar has been given the power, for any special reason, to extend the time
for holding an AGM for a period of only three months. But the time for holding the
first AGM of a company is never extended.

IMPORTANCE OF AGM
AGM is an important institution for the protection of the shareholders of a company.
The ultimate control and destiny of a company should be in the hands of its
shareholders. Thus, shareholders should meet together at least once in a year to
review the working of the company. This meeting affords that opportunity. It is in this
meeting that directors will come up for re-election. Auditors retire at this meeting
enabling the shareholders to consider whether they should be re-appointed or
replaced. Dividends are declared at this meeting. Chairman delivers a speech listing
the advances of the company during the year. Directors have to present annual
accounts for the consideration of the shareholders. A failure to present the accounts
is a punishable offence. The shareholders can ask any questions relating to the
accounts or affairs of the company.

3. EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

Clause 47 of Table A provides that all general meetings other than AGM shall be
known as extraordinary general meetings. The Board may call for such type of a
meeting as and when required. An extraordinary general meeting also becomes
necessary on requisition, for Section 169 provides that on requisition of a given
number of shareholders the directors must forthwith call a meeting. The requisition
must be signed by the holders for at least one-tenth paid-up capital having the right
to vote on the matter of requisition.

When a requisition is deposited at the registered office of a company the directors

should, within 21 days, move to call a meeting and the meeting should be actually
held within 45 days from the date of the requisition. In case the directors fail to do so,
the requisitionists can do so and later ask for the expenses they have incurred from
the company. The requisitionists cannot approach the CLB under Section 186 for an
extraordinary general meeting without first trying to call a meeting themselves.

                               

                                   
                                   NOTICE
Another important requirement of a meeting is the notice which is given to the
members of the meeting. The word ‘notice’ means and connotes giving of
information. However, it has a technical meaning in the law of meetings and is the
base of the rule that summons should be issued to all those who have right to
participate in the meeting. The notice has to specify the time, place and date of the
meeting, as well as its purpose. The Agenda is the necessary part of the notice and
it either accompanies the notice or is detailed in the body of the notice itself.

KINDS OF NOTICES

Notices may be oral, written, or in the form of an advertisement. It is usually

advisable to give written notice even where oral evidence is sufficient in law; and as
to notice by advertisement this form is usable where the interested party can be
traced or where it is prescribed by any statute or rule.
FORM OF NOTICE

The notice of the meeting should be issued in a form if prescribed, therefore, by the
bye-laws or the rules of the organisation. The issuance of the notice is a ministerial
act, but it is to be done under the authority of the Chairman, Committee or the
Registrar as the case may be; and the form or the contents must disclose the same.

WHEN NECESSARY

When meetings concern elected or other properly constituted bodies, due and
adequate notice must be given to every member of such body, and the rules or
regulations of that body must be strictly observed on all matters appertaining to the
authority to issue, attestation of, and particular methods prescribed for, the service of
notices.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

When notice is necessary, the following general rules must be observed:--

1. Every person entitled to attend the meeting must be summoned, unless he is

beyond reasonable summoning distance or is too ill to attend.
2. The notice must be frank, clear and free from trickiness, and if any special
business is to be transacted, this must be clearly stated.
3. The notice must be strictly served in accordance with the regulations of the body
on whose behalf it is given, and if any particular method is prescribed but the Act of
Parliament this must also be observed.
4. The appropriate body at a subsequent meeting may ratify an irregular notice.

In case of meetings, it must be kept in mind that no business of an important nature

is omitted from the notice. The notice must be definite as a contingent notice is not a
sufficient notice.

Notices are not scrutinized with a view to criticising them excessively. The true test
would appear to be the meaning, which they would convey to ordinary minds; the
courts do not examine them to find defects in them.

The following illustration emphasizes the importance of this principle.

The notice convening an extraordinary meeting for the purpose of altering the
articles of the company stated that such articles would be sent to any member on
request. The new articles contained among other things, clauses confirming an
agreement by the directors to pay one of the managing directors a pension, granting
an indemnity to each director for loss of office and power for the directors to borrow
up to 150,000 pounds. It was held that the notice was insufficient, because the
nature of alterations was not specified therein, and that as the meetings were
irregularly convened the resolutions thereat were invalid.

Another important thing is that no fresh notice is required for an adjourned meeting
which in law is only continuation of the original meeting and which has the same
agenda of previous meeting even though the time and place are changed, unless the
adjournment was sine die where the fresh notice is necessary. However, if a meeting
has once been properly conveyed, it cannot be postponed by a subsequent notice.

                             

                           
                         AGENDA
Agenda literally means the things to be done; hence, it denotes the programme or
list of business to be transacted at a meeting. It is a simple statement of subject or
matters to be considered at a meeting. Therefore, Agenda by its etymology is a list of
matters to be dealt with at a meeting and connotes things to be done. As a rule, the
business of the meeting has to be transacted in the order in which it occurs in the
agenda, circulated to the members. It is the function of the chairman to follow the
business in the order given in the agenda. However, he can change or vary this
order with the consent of the meeting. Agenda is generally constituted of two types
of business, one called ordinary and another called special business, and both
require ordinary and special resolutions respectively. The business has to be
transacted as pointed earlier by given majority of votes.

NECESSITY OF AGENDA

With regard to the meetings of any body or society where the transaction of business
is necessary, the preparation of agenda is indispensable. By calculating this prior to
the meeting members have an opportunity of considering beforehand the business to
be transacted. Great care and precaution should be taken in the compilation of
agenda, for if it is well drawn up and includes all the business that is to be conducted
at the meeting, it will facilitate the disposal of business thereat, and tend to create a
harmonious feeling among all concerned.

Another safeguard to ensure that everything of importance appears on the agenda is

to give every member an opportunity of notifying the secretary on any matters he
wishes to include; as to whether the particular item should appear on the agenda is a
matter for the official or committee responsible for the agenda to decide.

FUNCTIONS OF AGENDA

The function of the agenda is to disseminate information concerning business to be

discussed or transacted at the meeting. As the notice of the meeting state with
sufficient clarity the purpose of the meeting, so as the agenda, which is normally sent
with the notice, or forms the part of the same document. A good agenda would not
only consist a list of items, but would also amplify the headings with a brief note to
give guidance as to what precisely the meeting is intended to discuss and form
decisions upon. A carefully prepared agenda not only conduces to an efficient and
harmonious ordering of the meeting, but by its subsequent integration in the minutes,
forms, as it were, the structure on which the decisions noted thereon is based.
Agenda is thus the pivot upon which the discussion centres round, in a meeting. It is
circulated in advance and thus serves the purpose to give time to those who are
entitled to discuss the particular topics and to make up their mind pertaining to it. The
agenda is usually followed in the matter of dispatch of business by the Chairman in
the meeting and ordinarily forms part of the notice itself.

The agenda be prepared under the direction of those authorized to convene the
meeting and will set out in chronological sequence the various items of business to
be transacted and the matters for discussion. These may include-
1. Appointment of Chairman
2. Reading of correspondence relating to the meeting
3. Reading and verification of the minutes of the preceding meeting
4. Adjourned business
5. Laying reports and accounts before the meeting for adoption or approval
6. Special business as indicated in the notice of the meeting
7. Consideration and discussion of motions the terms of which should appear
8. General business

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING AGENDA

There is no fixed pattern or order in which the items of business to be transacted at a

Board of Meeting should be listed in an agenda. Basically an agenda consists of a
list of items, but preferably there will be included a brief note of guidance as to what
precisely the meeting is intended to discuss and form decisions upon.

In preparing an agenda of a Board meeting, the following guidelines may be kept in

mind:

1. Divide the agenda into two parts: first part containing usual routine items; second
part containing other or non routine items.
2. For each item of the agenda give an explanatory note followed by the resolution
proposed to be passed. The explanatory note should explain in sufficient details the
proposed resolution, with requisite references to the provisions to the Companies
Act, AOA, other relevant documents, previous Board or general meetings.
3. Give a consecutive serial number for each resolution to facilitate quick location
and preparation of Index.
4. The last item should be another business with the permission of the Chair.

                                        QUORUM
Quorum denotes the minimum number of members of a body of persons whose
presence is necessary in order to enable that body to transact its business validly, so
that its proceeding may be valid. It is generally left to the committee themselves to fix
the quorum of their meetings.

No meeting of any organisation or body can be held unless there is a proper quorum,
i.e. a minimum number of members who must be present before any business can
be transacted and its act may be legal. The term ‘meeting’ means the lawful
assemblage of the number or proportion of members necessary to make a quorum;
therefore, the terms meeting and quorum are in a sense synonymous terms.
                          OBJECT OF QUORUM
The object of the quorum rule is to ensure that business which may be of first rate
importance shall be done neither irregularly nor by too small a number of persons
who might, moreover, abuse their powers. In the case of shareholders, sometimes
the numbers of shares as well as the holders themselves count in the direction of
quorum. So a specified number must, in this case, hold a certain amount of share
capital of the Company before the quorum is made.

The purpose of having a quorum is to permit a stated proportion of the membership

to transact the business of the body, recognising the impracticability of securing the
attendance of all the members at any of its meetings.

When no specific quorum is required by Statute or the regulations governing the

particular meeting, the common law rule is that in the absence of special custom, a
major part of the members must be present at the meeting and of that major part
there must be a majority in favour of the act or resolution. This is obviously a wise
and necessary precaution against inadequate representation, since all the members
of an organised body are bound by the resolution of a meeting, even though they do
not attend the meeting.

In case of companies, however, the growing practice of voting by proxy and of

neglecting to attend the general meetings has resulted in a modification of the
common law rule regarding quorum. The quorum is usually fixed at a number much
smaller than the major part of the members.

For public meetings, there cannot be a fixed number to form a quorum, as there is no
limit set to the number of persons who may attend such meetings. It is, therefore,
desirable that a fairly large number of persons should be present before the
proceedings are commenced.

Therefore, the basic and fundamental object of having a quorum is to permit a stated
proportion of the members to transact the business of the organisation or body,
recognising the impracticability of securing the attendance of all the members at any
of its meetings.

                         ABSENCE OF QUORUM

It is not competent in the absence of quorum for the members of a meeting which
has previously been duly constituted to person’s ministerial acts, unless such acts
have been previously authorized by the corporate or other body concerned.

Any business transacted at a meeting while a quorum is not present is invalid.

However, if a company’s articles provide, inter alia, that no business shall be
transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present “when the meeting
proceeds to business” and there is in fact a quorum at that time, the subsequent
departure of a member thereby reducing the number below the quorum does not
invalidate the proceedings after his departure.
               EFFECT OF FAILURE OF A QUORUM
If no quorum is present, then there is no meeting and the proceedings are invalid.
However, acts done creating rights in favour of third parties at a meeting without a
quorum being present would not affect the rights of such third parties, provided they
had no notice of the irregularity (e.g.- debentures issued at a meeting of directors
where there was an insufficient quorum. If a meeting has reached decisions which
are acted upon and treated as valid by all concerned, it is not within the competence
of a person not concerned at a time, to seek to invalidate the proceedings because
of the lack of quorum.

                                 MINUTES
Minutes are the records of what transpired at the meetings. It is compulsory and
mandatory under the law that the Minutes Book should be maintained and should be
kept open for inspection by every member or shareholder at the company’s office.
Such Minutes Books are to be maintained not only of the meetings of the
shareholders, but also of the meetings of the Board of Directors. It is stated by Talbot
(Company Meetings) that only resolutions and decisions should normally be
recorded in the Minutes. The minutes are an official record of what was done and is
distinguishable from the report. Minutes should be concise, free from ambiguity,
contain the exact wording of all resolutions passed and sufficiently detailed so that a
number either of the Board or of the company could by reading them, fully
understand as to what was done at the meeting.

Therefore, it can be said that a minute means a note to assist the memory and the
minutes of a meeting are a record of the proceedings of the business gone through
at the meeting. The minutes should be recorded following the order in which
business was dealt with.

                                 ESSENTIAL OF MINUTES

There are various essentials of valid minutes. They are-

They must contain names of members present.
The members’ signature must be there as a token of their attendance either in the
minute book or attendance registers with a mention of their presence in the minutes.

They must also be-

· Grammatically correct
· Accurate version of what happened at the meeting
· Concise
· Clear and unambiguous
· Essential or at least useful
· Capable of being understood by the successor of the officer writing the minutes

The minutes are concerned only with the recording the fact that a meeting was held
and that certain decisions were arrived at by the meeting. The minutes will
accordingly state in relation to the meeting they record-
The nature of the meeting

The time and place at which it is held

How the meeting was constituted, i.e. who occupied the chair and who other persons
were present

 What persons (e.g. solicitor, paid officials) were in attendance though not present as
the members of the meeting.

The full terms of the resolutions adopted

Appointment of officers and their salaries

The subject matter of financial and contractual transactions considered by the

meeting

Generally, all specific business upon which decisions were taken

                     MINUTES ARE OBLIGATORY

It has always been recognised as the duty of a company to keep minutes of what
takes place at its general meetings. Since the validity of every transaction and
decision by a company must depend ultimately on some meeting having been duly
held and on some resolution having been duly passed, it is clearly necessary to keep
an accurate permanent record of all meetings and resolutions of shareholders. A
company can only speak, say to say, through its minutes.

The duty of keeping minutes is now made explicit in the Act, which prescribes that
every company must cause minutes of all proceedings of every general meeting to
be entered within thirty days of the conclusion of such meeting in the book kept for
that purpose with its pages consecutively numbered as stated in Section 193 (1).

STATUTORY OBLIGATION

Under the Indian Law, the obligation as to maintaining of minutes is compulsory.

Provisions of Section 193 of the Act statutorily require that, every company shall
cause minutes of all minutes of every meetings of its Board of directors or of every
committee of the Board, to be kept by making within 14 days of the conclusion of
every such meeting concerned, entries thereof in books kept for that purpose with
their pages consecutively numbered.

Section 193 of the Indian Company Act provides that every company shall cause
minutes of all minutes of:-
Every general meeting
Every meeting of the Board of Directors or its Committee.

The minutes, having thus been written up after the meeting to which they relate, are
read at the next following meeting, which is invited to confirm them. Confirmation is
not an accurate term in this connection, but it is commonly employed. A meeting
asked to confirm the minutes of the preceding meeting is simply called upon to
approve them as being a true record. The process of verification is not essential, but
it adds to the cogency of the minute book as evidence of what was transacted. Upon
adoption of the minutes as an accurate record, they are signed for the purpose of
authentication by the chairman. The signature need not be written at the meeting to
which the minutes relate. When statutory regulation demands that minutes should be
kept, they are given statutory force as evidence, provided, however, the statutory
requirements such as signature by the Chairman are duly fulfilled. Thus, Section 145
(2) of the Companies Act, 1948 provides as regards a general meeting of
shareholders that a minute if purporting to be signed by the chairman of the meeting
at which the proceedings were heard, or by the chairman of the next meeting, shall
be the evidence of the proceeding.

If any member disagrees with any decision recorded in the minutes, and desires to
have it changed, he should according to rules move a resolution at a subsequent
meeting to change it.

Where the minutes are usually printed and circulated before the holding of the next
meeting, there is no need for reading the minutes at the meeting unless the majority
of members present request that they be read. When minutes are not circulated to
the members, they should always be read before they are signed. Minutes duly
passed by the meeting and signed by the Chairman are deemed to be proof of the
validity of the proceedings until the contrary is proved.

OBJECT

The object of minutes is to keep a record of decisions of any business transacted at

the meeting. The basic purpose of the minutes is to show beyond doubt as to what
was done at a meeting or rather what was said and done at a meeting or what were
the reasons which prompted a particular decision.

ROLE OF MINUTES

Minutes should always be looked on as legal documents; they should contain no

more, and no less, that what is really necessary. It is customary to record in the
minute’s votes of thanks to the chairman, directors, staff, etc. This is unobjectionable
on special occasions, but it too often becomes a routine, and the minutes become
loaded with courtesies, which serve no purpose except to obscure the more
important items.

PREPARATION OF MINUTES

The characteristics of good minutes written by the person responsible are-

a) TITLE- Title should be self contained and explanatory, brief, suitably phrased,
uniform and continuity maintained and can easily be indexed.

b) RECITAL- Before recording of any resolution a brief description of the subject

matter that was discussed at the meeting be given. It should state the facts of the
case that was considered by the members in the meeting.

c) THINKING- the recital or resolution should reflect the thinking that influenced the
members at the meeting in arriving its decision.

d) DECISION- It ought to be embodied in a resolution or recommendation and must

be framed in different terms.

e) OUTSIDE FACTORS- If any outside factors has been taken into consideration
while arriving at a certain decision that must be duly reflected in the minutes.

There are two classes of minutes-

Minutes of narration
Minutes of resolution
The former give an explanatory account of the business brought before the meeting,
and the latter records the resolutions passed.

ESSENTIALS OF GOOD MINUTE WRITING

1. Accuracy
2. Free from ambiguity
3. Precision and conciseness
4. Completeness
5. Index
6. Use of past tense

ABSENCE OF MINUTES

Absence of minutes is of two types-

Compete absence of the minutes of the meeting

Absence of minutes relating to a particular item
Where the omission relates to meeting itself, it is assumed that whatever ought to
have been transacted was in fact transacted.

Where the omission related to a particular item, the onus is upon the persons
alleging the omission to prove the item. Consequently where a resolution passed has
not been entered in the minutes, other evidence to prove it will be admitted.

Accordingly, an unrecorded minute may be proved “ALINUDE”.

VOTING BY PROXY

Section 176 of the Companies Act deals with voting by proxy. A member can vote
either in person or by proxy. A proxy shall be allowed only if it is allowed by
the Articles of the Company. A proxy shall not be allowed to vote except on a poll if it
is not allowed by the company. This trend has become a trend nowadays, because
of the unwillingness and inability of the shareholders to be personally at the
meetings.

A proxy is a person who is a representative of a shareholder at the meetings held by

a company and is known as his agent to carry out the course which the shareholder
has himself decided upon. A proxy should carry out the work as instructed and
directed by the shareholder. There is a relation of principal and master between
them.

More importantly, accordingly to Section 176(1) of the Companies Act, a proxy has
no right to speak.

The instrument appointing a proxy must be in writing and should be signed by the
shareholder, and should be deposited with the company forty eight hours before the
meeting. There is no provision of law requiring holidays to be excluded in computing
48 hours and, hence, forms filed on a Sunday would be valid. The proxy forms are
provided along with the notice of the meeting to the members.

A proxy is always revocable. Revocation is subject to the provisions of the articles.

When the revocation was communicated before the poll, but not before the meeting,
it was held to be ineffective and the proxy’s vote stood. When however, there is no
provision in the articles the power of revocation would be unfettered.

Proxy forms can be inspected by any member who has a right to vote at the meeting
or on any resolution to be proposed at the meeting.

RESOLUTION BY POSTAL BALLOT

Section 192-A of the Companies Act deals with the postal ballot. The Amendment of
the year 2000 has introduced this new section in order to pass the resolutions by
postal ballot. This facility has been provided to the listed public companies and that
too only for the business which the Central Government declares by notification that
it would be conducted by postal ballot. In such cases, the company passes the
resolution by the postal ballot method rather than transacting the business in the
general meeting of the company.

The company has to send a notice to all the shareholders along with the draft
resolution and carrying the explanations of reasons which necessitated the
resolution. The notice should request the shareholders to send their or dissent in
writing on postal ballot within the period of 30 days from the date of the posting of
letter.

If the resolution is assented to by the requisite majority, then it shall be deemed to

have been passed at a general meeting.

If any person manhandles or distemper with the ballot paper fraudulently as sent by
the shareholders or his identity, such persons are punishable with imprisonment for
six months or fine or both.
Postal Ballot would also include voting by electronic mode.

MERITS OF MEETINGS

Meetings are great for people who work best face to face. The advantage of
meetings is it allows them to see the progress of what they are doing or what are
others are doing in terms of everyday work or projects. Meetings are a great way to
explain complex and non-complex ideas and offer a great format to exchange ideas
and really think them out. Meetings are a great way to communicate lots of
information a short amount of time and create a "game plan for the future ahead.”

Some of the advantages of the meetings are-

It helps in developing better solutions than any one individual can do.
It provides free interchange of ideas, thereby stimulating and clarifying thinking.
Group decisions promote more effective coordination of subsequent action plans.
The biggest merit is that meetings help in building good working relationships.
LS.2. THE ROAD NOT TAKEN : SUMMARY

2. THE ROAD NOT TAKEN : SUMMARY

Robert Frost.
The poet while travelling on foot in the woods reaches a
junction where two roads diverge and he has to choose one
among them He stands there for long. Then he decides to choose
the road, which was grassy and needed ‘to wear’. He feels this
choice will make all the difference to his future life. He decides
to try the other road, some other time, knowing fully well that
he will not get a chance to go back to it. Later he wishes that he
had taken the other road. This is the irony of life, we cannot
travel on all the available roads, no matter howsoever we may
wish to.
The poet feels that after ages from now he would be looking at
this decision with a ‘sigh’. He would tell that since he had taken
the road less travelled, it made all the difference.
Thus the poet speaks of the basic problems of making the right
choice. Many alternatives are available at the time of choice but
man has to select one. It is only the future that will reveal,
whether the decision is wrong or not. After taking decisions we
cannot undo them, we can only regret them. Even if we wish, we
cannot start all over again.
Stanzas Explanation
• Stanza 1: On the road of life, the speaker arrives at a point
where he must decide which of two equally appealing choices is
the better one. He examines one choice as best he can, but the
future prevents him from seeing where it leads.
• Stanza 2: The speaker selects the road that appears at first
glance to be less worn and therefore less traveled. This selection
suggests that he has an independent spirit and does not wish to
follow the crowd. After a moment, he concludes that both roads
are about equally worn.
• Stanza 3: Leaves cover both roads equally. No one on this
morning has yet taken either road, for the leaves lie
undisturbed. The speaker remains committed to his decision to
take the road he had previously selected, saying that he will
save the other road for another day. He observes, however, that
he probably will never pass this way again and thus will never
have an opportunity to take the other road.
• Stanza 4: In years to come, the speaker says, he will be telling
others about the choice he made. While doing so, he will sigh
either with relief that he made the right choice or with regret
that he made the wrong choice. Whether right or wrong, the
choice will have had a significant impact on his life.
The Road Not Taken Questions And Answers
The Road Not Taken : Short   Questions and Answers

1.Describe the two roads that the author comes across.

Ans. The author comes across a fork in his travel. He stands and
looks at the both roads which are equally lay with grass. One was
much traveled and the other was less traveled.
2. Which road does the speaker choose? Why?
Ans. The speaker has chosen the road less traveled. Because there
may be two reasons. One is that he has left the other road for
another day anticipating that he may come back in future and the
other is that he wants to prove his adventurous nature and to show
the world that his brave decision has led to the success attained by
him.
3.Which road would you choose? why?
Ans. I would choose the road less travelled. Because, the entire
wold is running on a theme ‘me’. If I follow somebody’s footsteps,I
cannot be identified  as an individual.The life is too short ,whether
you  choose or do not choose,you must die.I don’t want to die as
unrecognized  fearing the short ditches on my way.
‘Face the problem, become tough, reach destination’ is my
philosophy.
4. Does the poet seem happy about his decision?
Ans. No, He is not happy about his decision. Because the title
is “The Road not taken” not “The Road Less Traveled”. Though
the last word of the poem ‘difference’ suggests a positive note/
expression, the word is said with deep grief, according to the word
‘sigh’ used in the first line of the stanza.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
1. What is the theme of the poem ‘The Road Not Taken’?
Ans. The regret in life when we do not make the right decision. Life
is full of challenges and difficult decisions have to be made on
which depends our future life and success. When even this happens
and we make a choice out of many or two then the choices or
choice not made keeps haunting us making us ponder what could
have happened if we had made that choice which we did not, if we
had taken that road, which we did not take.

2. Which road does the poet choose? Why? Is he happy

about his decision?
Ans.He chose the road not frequented, which had not been
trodden so far; reflecting and arguing with himself that maybe
some day he would come back, find that road and walk on it. But
somewhere in his mind he is troubled with the thought that maybe
he would not be able to do so. Life does not deal in rewinding and
coming back to end one’s decisions or undo mistakes. We have to
continue with the decision we once make whatever the outcome.
3. Why was it so difficult for the poet to make a decision?
Give reasons.
Ans.It was difficult for the poet to make a decision as he had no
idea what any of them had in store for him. He was at a difficult
time in his life, to remain in USA where he was not given
recognition or to migrate to England. Only the future could tell. It
was like taking a leap in the dark. Who could tell its result? It was
difficult to say how he would be received in England as his
experience of his birthplace USA was bitter.
4. What is the moral presented by the poet in the poem ‘The
Road Not Taken’?
Ans.This is an inspirational poem and quite tricky, according to
Robert Frost himself. The poem presents an antithesis. The
traveller comes to a fork and wishes to take both, which is
impossible. One of the roads is described as /;[[   grassy and
‘wanting wear’, then he says that both the roads look the same.
This represents the eternal dilemma of man : he finds the grass
greener always on the other side. This poem is a call for the reader
to forge his or her way in life and not follow the path that others
have taken. This poem encourages self-reliance, reinforces the
power of independent thinking and sticking to one’s decisions.
The poet does not moralise about choice, he simply says that
choice is inevitable and you will never know till you have lived
the ‘difference’. So there is nothing right or wrong about a choice,
it is all relative. Whatever direction one takes one must pack it
with determination and zest for one can never turn the clock back,
or relive that moment.
5. As the poet who took the road not taken by many people,
write a letter to your friend stating how “it has made all the
difference”. [CBSE 2010 (Term I)]
Ans:Dear Smith,
As you know that I have established myself as a poet but this
journey of life had not been very simple. I must tell you about the
day when I was facing a dilemma to choose between the two
roads to walk upon and I chose the one which was less
frequented, leaving the first one for some other day. I knew fully
well that I will not get a chance to go back to it. Now I wish I had
taken the first road. But friend, this is the irony of life, we cannot
travel on all the available roads, no matter howsoever we wish to.
The basic thing is to make right choice because after that we can’t
undo them. It is only the future that will reveal whether our
decision was right or wrong. Since I took the road less travelled
by, it has made all the difference—The outcome is known to you.
Rest in next letter.
Yours
Robert Frost
6. Describe the two roads the author finds.
Ans.One day during his walk, the poet reached a point of
bifurcation. There were two roads and he had to take only one. He
stood there surveying the pros and cons and looks at both the
roads with great care. The poet looked at the road, as far his eyes
could see till it bent in the undergrowth. He saw that the other
road was more grassy and needed to be travelled upon. But when
he had gone a little ahead, he saw that the other road was also
grassy.