THE LAST LESSON

Short questions

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

A. The French teacher M Hamel was going to ask questions on participles which Franz
had not prepared. Secondly, he was late for school. So, he dreaded scolding from the
teacher. Even the day was warm and bright, birds were chirping and Prussian soldiers
were drilling. This all tempted him to play truant from school.

2.What was unusual about the school that Franz noticed when he entered the
school?
A. On entering the school Franz noticed there was unusual silence. There was no usual
bustle of opening and closing of desks, rapping of teacher’s ruler on the table, lessons
being repeated in unison, etc. The village elders had occupied the last benches that
usually remained empty.

3.Why was it the last lesson? How did Franz react to it?
A. M Hamel announced in the class that an order from Berlin had come to teach German
in all schools of Alsace and Lorraine; so ,there would be no French lesson form the next
day. The announcement was like a thunderclap to Franz. He felt sorry for not learning
French. The French books, which earlier were nuisance, became attractive. He felt he
could not give up his French books. Even he started liking the otherwise cranky teacher.

4.What reasons did M Hamel give for their lack of interest in learning French?
A. The lack of interest in learning French was due to the parents who wanted their
children to work in farm or mill to earn, due to the students who were reluctant to learn
and often put off the lesson for the next day and due to himself as he asked them to water
the flower and gave them off when he had to go for fishing.

5. Why does not M Hamel want the people to forget French?

A. M Hamel wanted them not to forget French as it was the most beautiful and logical
language and as long as they hold fast to their language it would be as if they had the key
to their prison.

6.Describe how M Hamel conducted the last lesson.

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

7.What is Linguistic Chauvinism? How do you classify M. Hamel's love and the
villagers' concern for French?
Ans. 'Linguistic Chauvinism' means carrying pride in one's language too far. But the love
of Hamel and the village elders for French doesn't amount to this. Rather they are victims
of it. German is being imposed on the French speaking people of Alsace. M. Hamel feels
genuinely proud of French language. He urges others never to forget such a beautiful
language.

8.What did M. Hamel tell the people in the class about French language ? What did
he ask them to do and why ? (A.I. CBSE 2008)
Or
How does M. Hamel pay a tribute to the French language ? (A.I. CBSE 2008)
Ans. M. Hamel went on to talk of French language. He told that it was the most beautiful
language of the world. It was the clearest and the most logical of all languages. He asked
the people to guard it among themselves and never forget it. As long as people 'hold fast
to the language' they have the key to freedom.

9. Why were the old men of the village sitting there in the back of the classroom ?
Ans. The old men of the village had come there to show their sympathy and respect to the
teacher. It was their way to thank M. Hamel for his forty years of faithful service. They
had also come to show their respect to France and their most beautiful language French.

10.Why was there a crowd in front of the bulletin-board at the town hall ?
(A.I. CBSE 2008)
Ans. Usually there used to be a crowd in front of the bulletin-board at the town hall. All
the bad news- the lost battles, the draft, the orders of the commanding officer, etc would
come from there. But that day another bad news shocked the residents of the town. An
order had come from Berlin that German language was to be imposed on the people of
Alsace and Lorraine and they had to forgo their own native language.

LONG QUESTIONS
Q1 Franz thinks “Will they make them sing in German, even the pigeons?” what
could this mean ?
Ans. The story ‘The Last Lesson ‘ centres round language chauvinism proving true to the
statement , “ power corrupts , but absolute power corrupts absolutely” . When man adopts
a dictatorial attitude, he becomes insensitive towards human feelings and emotions. He
believes in absolute enslavement and thus wants to acquire not only the lands but also to
master the mind and heart of the people he enslaves
The story is set in the days of the Franco – Prussian War { 1870 – 71} . France was
defeated by Prussia { Germany}. The French districts of Alsace and Lorraine passed into
Prussian hands but this was not all they were satisfied with. They wanted to crush the
identity of French people under their feet and this they did by snatching away from them
their native language {French},” the most beautiful and logical language in the world
“.German was imposed on them which was quite foreign to them.
Little Franz was quite upset when he received this news. He began pondering over man’s
thirst to enslave man, over his lust to become the “ master of the world “.He wondered if
man could master nature and all creatures existing on earth .During his last lesson in
French, he wondered if the Prussians would make the pigeons sing in German too. His
thought shows his disgust at the Berlin order.
The domination over land of one country by another is condemnable. But trying to evade
them of their language, customs, rituals etc is inhuman and beyond any reasonable
justification.

Q2 describe the effect on life at school produced by the passing of Alsace and
Lorraine into the Prussian hands.
Ans The story, ‘The Last Lesson’ beautifully brings to light the human tendency to
neglect the thing when in hand and cry for it when it is lost.The story depicts a single day
in a French school in the district of Alsace. The students and even the people of that area
neglected learning of their native language and the day their right to learn and study that
language was taken from, they realized their mistake. Even Little Franz felt upset when
he heard the shocking news that no more French would be taught to them.
With the passing of Alsace and Lorraine into the Prussian hands, an order from Berlin
cane that no more French would be taught in these areas and German language was
imposed upon them forcibly. The last day when French was to be taught in the school,
was remarkably different from other days. The school was completely silent that day – no
noise of the opening and closing of desks, repetition of lessons in unison by students,
rapping of ruler by the teacher, M. Hamel. That day everything was as quiet as Sunday
morning. To the utter surprise of Franz, he was not scolded for being late and even for
not learning rules about participles. Even M.Hamel wore his beautiful green coat, his
frilled shirt and little black embroidered silk cap that he wore only on special days in
honour of the last lesson in French. Another striking feature of the class room was the
presence of the villagers along with the students on the back desks. The strict and
‘cranky’ teacher became polite and easy to understand for Franz. Students exhibited rare
attention that day. Everyone was set to work; the only sound that could be heard was the
scratching of pens over paper. Everyone was roused to emotion when the lesson drew to
its close.
Thus, the teacher, students and villagers were all overwhelmed by the order from Berlin.
The natives of Alsace realized their folly of not giving due importance to the study of
French. The last day in French proved to be an ideal school day, altogether different from
other days.

Q3 How was M.Hamel a different teacher while giving his last lesson ?
Ans. M.Hamel, the French teacher, is a round character and not a one dimensional one.
We see an altogether change in his character towards the end of the story from what
Franz tells us about him in the beginning.
According to Franz, the teacher is a very strict one and a hard task master. He appears to
be a ruler – wielding stereotyped teacher, who is strict and domineering. He is very
particular that his students learn their lessons regularly and for this purpose he does not
even spare the rod.
But on his last day in the school, he emerges as an ideal teacher, a true facilitator, a guide
and a philosopher for his pupils. His domineering tone withers away and becomes gentle
and polite. His concern for the knowledge of French people is clearly manifest. He feels
sad over the fact that the villagers of Alsace neglect learning this language. He loves this
language deeply and considers it ‘the most beautiful language in the world – the clearest
and the most logical’. Like a friend and guide, he advises the innocent villagers to shift
their priorities and pay more attention to learning at school. He calls upon them to
safeguard their language because ‘when a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to
their language it is as if they had the key to their prison’. He is also seen as a true patriot
when he proudly writes ‘Vive La France’{long live France} on the blackboard in the end.
Thus, we see M.Hamel is an outstanding and completely dedicated teacher who puts in
forty years of meritorious service to spread the knowledge of French in the district of
Alsace.
LOST SPRING

SHORT QUESTIONS
1.Seemapuri a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it
metaphorically. Justify this statement.
A. Seemapuri the rag pickers shanty is just in the outskirt of Delhi but it is far away from
Delhi so far as Delhi’s glitter and amenities are concerned. Here the squatters of
Bangladesh who came after 1971 war live in structures of mud with roof of tin or
tarpaulin. There is no sewage, drainage or running water supply that Delhiites enjoy.

2.Through the years rag picking has acquired the ‘proportion of a fine art’ in
Seemapuri. Justify the statement.
A. The means of survival of migrants of Bangladesh in Seemapuri is rag picking.
Garbage to them is gold. Like a fine art that has no end in appealing to the sense of
beauty, the rag picker’s scrounging the garbage is a never ending process which provide
them their daily bread day after day.

3. Does the rag picking mean the same thing for parents and children? Give reasons
for your answer.
A. No, rag picking is not the same for parents and children. For elders rag-picking is a
means of survival. It gives them some money for food. But for children, garbage is
wrapped in wonder. They never stop scrounging. There is always hope of finding more
Sometimes a child may find a rupee, even a ten rupee note or a silver coin in the garbage.

4. Saheb's full name is "Saheb-e-Alam". Isn't it ironical ? Justify your answer.

Ans. After months of knowing, the narrator asks Saheb's name. He tells her that he is
called "Saheb-e-Alam". It means 'lord of the universe'. It is quite ironical that this 'Saheb-
e-Alam' is a young barefoot ragpicker. He scrounges for gold in the garbage dumps of
Delhi.

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

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

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

7. Who is Savita? Does young Savita know the sanctity of bangles she helps make ?
Explain their sanctity for married women.
Ans. Savita is a young child engaged in bangle making who makes bangles with great
expertise and ease. No, young Savita doesn't know the sanctity of bangles she helps
make. She is still young to understand their importance to the married women. Bangles
symbolise an Indian woman's 'suhaag'. They stand for auspiciousness in marriage. She
will come to know of it when she becomes a bride.

8. How is Mukesh different from the others of his family ? Why is the author
cheered when she sees him ? (Imp.)
Ans. Mukesh belongs to a poor family of bangle-makers. But he can dare challenge his
fate. He is determined. He has not let his hopes and dreams die. He wants to be a motor
mechanic. He doesn't dream of flying a machine but a car on the roads of Firozabad.

9. 'Food is more important for survival than an identity for the ragpickers', says
the author. Do you agree ? Why ? (A.I. CBSE 2008)
Ans. Anees Jung rightly thinks that 'food is more important for survival than an identity
for the ragpickers. More than 10,000 ragpickers of Seemapuri have lived there for more
than thirty years without an identity. They had to leave their beautiful land in search of
food. Yet they are happy for the fact that here they do not need to starve as it used to be
in Bangladesh from where they had come from.

10.Garbage to them is gold. Why does the author say so about the ragpickers ?
(CBSE2008)
Ans. For the ragpickers of Seemapuri, garbage is nothing less than gold. It is their 'daily
bread'. For the children it is wrapped in wonder. Sometimes they find a ten-rupee note or
even a silver coin in a heap of garbage. For the elders it is a means of survival.

11.What did Saheb's mother say about leaving their home in Dhaka and coming to
Seemapuri ?
Ans. Once Saheb's parents lived in Bangladesh, They lived amidst the green fields of
Dhaka. There were many storms. They swept away their fields and homes. They were
ruined. That's why they had to leave their fields and homes. They came to the big city and
settled down in Seemapuri looking for gold.

13. What explanations does the author offer for the children not wearing foot wear?
When the author asked the children why they were always barefoot , one said it was
because his mother had not pulled his shoes from the shelf while the other explanation
was that it was a tradition in their community to walk barefoot. The author did not quite
believe it and realized that it was their perpetual state of poverty which was responsible
for their moving around in that manner.

14.Mention the hazards of working in the glass bangles industry.

Working in the glass bangle industry is full of numerous health hazards. The children
work in the glass furnaces with high temperature. They work in the dingy cells where
there is no light and no air. This spoils their health, eye-sight and other parts of the body.
Long questions

Q1 Justify the title of the story, ‘Lost Spring’.

Ans. Spring is the best season of the year. It signifies growth and development. It is a
season which is full of colour, fragrance and freshness. The childhood of human life is
similar to the spring season. It is the time for the physical , mental and emotional growth
of the child. There is no place of tensions and worries of any kind in their lives. But there
are millions of children like Saheb and Mukesh who are deprived of ‘spring’ in their
lives. They receive no education, no facilities, not even basic human needs and
requirements. Their childhood is burdened with tensions and worries of earning
livelihood and supporting their families.
In the chapter, incidents from the lives of two unfortunate children are given who suffer
from ‘lost spring’. One is Saheb, who is a rag picker, who wishes to receive education but
finds no such opportunity. It is his eternal yearning to enjoy pleasures of childhood like
wearing shoes, playing tennis, going to school, etc. The other boy whose mention is made
in the lesson is Mukesh. He is a child labourer in a glass blowing factory in Firozabad.
He works in inhuman conditions and also runs the risk of losing his eye sight. He aspires
to be a motor mechanic but is a victim of born in a poverty ridden family of bangle
makers.
Thus, we see both the boys, Saheb and Mukesh are working and have no access to
education or any pleasure. For them, childhood never dawned on them and brought no
pleasures or comforts. Thus, the title is a very apt one bringing out the misery of poor
child labourers.

Q2 Describe the life of squatters at Seemapuri.

Ans It is a stark reality that human beings, the world over can be divided into two slots -
the haves and the have-nots and also that all affluent cities are surrounded by slums. The
poor exist on the periphery of the city constantly yearning for the bright world and the
rich are dependent on them to keep their world clean and perform their menial work. This
is exactly the fate of Seemapuri which is situated on the periphery of the city, Delhi.
‘Seemapuri is a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it, metaphorically’.
Those who live here are squatters who came from Bangladesh back in 1971. These
people came in search of better existence and livelihood and live in structures of mud
with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. They earn
their livelihood through rag picking. They have lived there for more than thirty years
without any identity, without permits but with ration cards that get their names on voters’
lists and enable them to buy grain at cheaper rates. Food is more important to them for
survival than an identity. The need to provide a ration card was perhaps realized by sly
politicians who recognized a massive vote bank in the 10,000 plus refugees.
Thus, the life of squatters of Seemapuri is at the mercy of the rich people of the city and
their life reflects an utter contrast from the life of city people
Q3. what does Anees Jung tell us about life in Firozabad ?
Or
The bangle makers of Firozabad make beautiful bangles and make everyone
happy but they live and die in squalor. Elaborate.
Ans. Firozabad is the centre of India’s glass blowing industry where families have spent
generations working around furnaces, welding glass, making bangles for all the women in
the land it seems. Every other family in Firozabad is engaged in making bangles.
After nearly sixty years of independence, Firozabad is an underdeveloped, backward
town with neither any infrastructure nor basic amenities. The town resembles a dumping
ground with garbage strewn all over. Their houses are no better than hovels with
crumbling walls, wobbly doors, no windows, crowded with families of humans and
animals coexisting in a primeval state.
The glass furnaces where workers make bangles are ill lit and ill ventilated, dingy hovels
with high temperatures. As told by old woman in the lesson, it is difficult for them to
enjoy even one full meal in a day. To add to the misery, all of them lose their eyesight at
a young age and live the rest of their lives with no pension, no help and no hope.
The bangles are a vicious circle for them as they cannot wriggle out of it. They cannot
break family lineage of making bangles by adopting any other vocation nor have funds to
do so. They are exploited by the money lenders, the middlemen and the police. Being
weak and ignorant, they do not organize themselves and form a cooperative. Infact, little
has moved with time in this town.
Thus, we see the bangle makers of Firozabad make all colours of bangles for Indian
women. The bangles which are a symbol of ‘suhaag’ and auspiciousness in marriage
scatter happiness in the lives of all women. But they themselves live and die in squalor.

Q4. what forces conspire to keep in poverty the workers in the bangle industry of
Firozabad.?
Ans. After nearly sixty years of independence, Firozabad is still an underdeveloped,
backward town with neither any infrastructure nor basic amenities. Here, a father cannot
afford to give any facility like that of education to his children, all he can do is teach
them what he knows – the art of making bangles. It is to them a God given lineage that
can never be broken. Generation after generation, these families have devoted their whole
lives in making bangles. But this vocation fails to provide them even meals thrice a day.
There seems no ray of hope in the betterment of their situation.
The present vocation is fruitless, they don’t have funds and skills for other vocations, and
their children being illiterate can also not rise to higher positions in future. Thus, they are
caught in a vicious circle from which they cannot wriggle out. Despite all their hard work
and labour, they can not make much gains. Only the middlemen benefit from their
situation. They provide cheap labour with no demand of insurance or provident fund and
help the sahukars, middlemen, politicians and police fill their coffers. They don’t even
organize themselves into cooperatives for lack of leadership, fear of police, resentment of
the sahukars, politicians, middlemen, etc.
Thus, we can sum up the forces that conspire in poverty of the bangle makers: one, they
are burdened by the stigma of born in a caste of bangle makers who can take up no other
vocation, and second, they are caught in the vicious circle of sahukars, middlemen,
policemen and even politicians. Thus, they are doomed of eternal poverty.
 DEEP WATER

SHORT QUESTIONS

Q1. Why did Douglas choose to practice in Y.M.C.A. & not Yakima River?

Or

Why did Douglas’ mother recommend that he should learn swimming at the YMCA
swimming pool? (Delhi 2015)

Ans. Douglas chose to practice in Y.M.C.A. & not Yakima River because YMCA was safe &
depth at YMCA was gradual whereas Yakima River was too deep & treacherous.

Q2. When did the writer’s aversion to water begin & why?

Ans. Douglas developed an aversion to water at the age of two or three. He went to California
beach with his father; there he stood with his father in the surf when huge waves swept him over.
Since then, he was full of fear for water.

Q3. What is the ‘misadventure’ that the writer speaks about?

Ans. One day, the writer, was all alone at the YMCA pool when a big boy tossed him into the
deep side of the pool. He went to the bottom of the pool & in spite of several attempts to save
himself; he became unconscious & could not save himself. Later he was saved by others. This
misadventure developed a phobia of water in him.

Q4. Why was Douglas determined to get over his fear?

Ans. The misadventure of having a near drowning experience left an indelible mark on Douglas
mind. The phobia of water hampered all his attempts of enjoying different water sports like
fishing, canoeing, boating & swimming. Douglas did not want to live with this handicap. So, he
was determined to get over this fear.

Q5. What he did to overcome his fear?

Ans. To overcome his fear, he finally got an instructor to learn to swim. He went to a pool &
practiced five days a week for an hour each day. Within six months, he learnt to swim. Then, to
make sure that he conquered the old terror, he swam alone the pool & then swam across lake
went worth & warm lake. In this way, he overcame his fear.

Q6. How did the ‘misadventure’ affect Douglas?

Ans. The ‘misadventure’ affected Douglas in a terrific manner. He evolved a fear for water
which deprived him the pleasure of water sports like swimming, fishing, boating & canoeing.
Q7. Why does Douglas as an adult recount a childhood experience of terror & his
overcoming it?

Ans. He does so to bring home the fact that death itself is not terrifying, instead it is peaceful. It
is the fear of death that is torturous. Therefore, it is necessary to get over fear otherwise one may
die many deaths before his life actually comes to an end. “All we have to fear is fear itself”.

8. When Douglas realised that he was sinking, how did he plan to save himself? (Delhi
2010)

Ans: When Douglas realised he was sinking he was frightened out of his wits and it was then that
he decided to make a big jump and come up to the surface. He thought of lying flat on water for
some time and then to paddle to the edge of the pool.

9. What sort of terror seized Douglas as he went down the water with a yellow glow? How
could he feel that he was still alive? (Delhi 2010)

Ans: When Douglas went down the water with a yellow glow it was a nightmarish experience for
him. His legs were almost paralysed, his lungs were aching and his head was throbbing. He felt
the thumping of his heart and the pounding in his head and these made him realize that he was
still alive.

10. What did Douglas experience as he went down to the bottom of the pool for the first
time? (Delhi 2010)

Ans: When Douglas is pushed into the pool, he at once goes to the bottom of the pool. The nine
feet deep pool appears like ninety feet to him. He feels a sense of acute uneasiness and as if his
lungs are ready to burst. Despite feeling absolutely suffocated he makes desperate efforts for
survival.

11. Why did Douglas go to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire? (Delhi 2011)

Ans: Douglas went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire to test whether he still had any fear of
water. After his vigorous swimming practice he was still not very sure if his terror for water had
left him. So he wanted to try out his swimming skills at Lake Wentworth. He dived into the lake
and only after swimming across the shore and back did he feel certain his terror of water had
fled.

12. What did Douglas learn from his experience at the YMCA pool? (Comptt. Delhi 2011)

Ans: His experience of drowning at the YMCA pool had a very deep impact on Douglas. He
became extremely terrorised and fearful of death. He had experienced both the sensation of
dying and the terror that fear of it can produce. So his will to live grew in intensity. He learnt
slowly to become a swimmer brushing aside his fear gradually.

13. Which two frightening experiences did Douglas have in water in his childhood?
(Comptt. Delhi 2012)

Ans: Douglas’ first frightening experience in water was when he was three or four years old. He
was knocked down by waves while surfing at California beach. He had been terror-struck at that
time. Years later, his experience at the YMCA pool revived unpleasant memories when an
eighteen years old boy had hurled Douglas into the deep end of the pool. Both these experiences
led Douglas to develop a fear of water.

14. How did Douglas remove his residual doubts about his fear of water? (Delhi 2015)

Ans: To remove his residual doubts about his fear of water, Douglas went up the Tieton to
Conrad Meadows, up the Conrad Creek Trail to Meade Glacier. He camped in the high meadow
by the side of the warm lake. There he dove into the warm lake, swam across to the other shore
and back just as Doug Corpron used to do.

15. What lesson did Douglas learn when he got rid of his fear of water? (Comptt. Delhi
2015)

Ans: After getting rid of his fear of water Douglas realized that ‘what one has to fear is fear
itself’ and if he is able to overcome that fear he can achieve anything he wants.

LONG QUESTIONS

Q1. Narrate the ‘misadventure’ of the writer in detail.

Ans. The excerpt “deep water” by William Douglas is an autobiographical account of a

childhood misadventure which left an indelible impression on the narrator’s mind. It is a first
person account of the event that the readers can feel being reconstructed right in front of their
eyes.

The writer joined the YMCA swimming pool. One day he went to the pool a bit early when
no one else was there. Being timid about going in alone, he sat on the edge of the pool to wait for
others. He had not been there for long when a big muscular boy came & unwillingly tossed him
(the narrator) into the deep end of the pool.

The narrator was frightened but not frightened out of his wits. On the way down he planned that
when his feet hit the bottom, he would make a big jump to reach to the surface & then would
paddle to the edge of the pool. The strategy didn’t work out as rather popping out of the water
like water, he came up slowly. He struggled at the surface, but couldn’t bring his legs to paddle,
as they hung like lifeless objects. He felt suffocating, tied to yell but no sound came out.

He was again going down. He was paralyzed under water-stiff, rigid with fear but still
determined to follow the same strategy to hit the bottom with all strength to come up & then to
paddle to the edge of the pool.

But the jump made no difference. The water was all around him. He came up for a while &
then started down a third time. This time all his efforts ceased & he became unconscious. But
fortunately, he was rescued at the right time.

This incident made a great impact on him. He never went to pool again & developed phobia for
water which never let him enjoy water sports like fishing, canoeing, boating & swimming even
after he grew up.

Q2. How did the swimming instructor ‘build a swimmer’ out of Douglas.

Or

How did Douglas overcome his fear of water?

Ans. Terrifying memories of the childhood haunt even the adult mind. The shadows of these
frightening experiences continue to lurk in the mind & rob one of all piece of mind &
confidence. To come out of the crippling impacts of childhood memories, one must make
deliberate, planned efforts. This is what Douglas did to get back his life.

Due to a childhood misadventure, he developed an aversion to water. In order to overcome it,

he engaged a professional instructor to learn to swim. The instructor well understood his fear of
water & thus rather than teaching him swimming in one go, he built a swimmer out of him bit by
bit.

First of all, the instructor put a belt around his waist & attached it securely to a pulley that ran
on an overhead cable. For almost three months, he was made to go back & forth across the pool.
Each time the instructor relaxed his hold on the rope & he went under, some of the old terror
returned. It took him three months before his tension began to melt.

Then he taught him to put his face under water & exhale, & to raise his nose & inhale.

Next he held him at the side of the pool & made him to kick his legs in the water for several
weeks.

Thus, piece by piece, he built a swimmer. And when he had perfected each piece, he put them
together into an integrated whole. The narrator learnt how to swim by then.
But, in order to satisfy himself that he had overcome his fear, he swam alone in the pool. He
practiced on his own for three months. He then went to Lake Wentworth in New Hampshire &
swam across the lake. Next, he swam across warm lake & was certain that he had overcome his
fear once for all.

Thus, the writer puts before us an example of human will & determination. He proves that “all
we have to fear is fear itself”. All humans are susceptible to fear but one must try to defy it & can
surely defy it (if one wills).
 THE RATTRAP
SHORT QUESTIONS

1.What was the peddler’s philosophy about rattrap? Why did it amuse him?
A. According to the peddler the whole world with its lands, seas, cities and villages was nothing but a big
rattrap. It only existed to set baits for people. If offered riches and joys, shelter, food and clothing as the
rattrap offered cheese and pork and as soon as anyone let himself be tempted to touch the bait, it
closed on him and then everything came to an end.
The world had never been very kind to the peddler. So it gave him unwonted joy to think ill of the world. He was
content by himself that he was better off than others for not falling a prey to the worldly rattrap.

2.What kind of host was the old crofter?

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

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

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

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

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

Edla’s ability to persuade and convince the peddler to stay on, made him accept the invitation. She was
compassionate and friendly. She asked him not to be afraid and assured him that he could go away freely after
Christmas dinner. She begged him to join them for Christmas. Her sincerity and friendly nature made the peddler
accept the invitation.

7. Why did the peddler sign himself as Captain Von Stahle?

The iron master had invited the peddler to his house mistaking him for Captain von stahle. He was welcomed
there and looked after as a Captain, even after the reality became known. The peddler got a chance to redeem
himself from dishonest ways by acting as an honourable Captain. He did so by gifting Edla a small rattrap with
three wrinkled ten kronor notes and a letter saying that he did not want her to be embarrassed this Christmas
season by a thief and he wanted to be nice to her as if he were a real Captain.
8. Why was Edla happy to see the gift left by the peddler? (All India 2010)
Answer: Edla was happy to see the gift left by the peddler as he had respected her faith in him. Edla had retained
him in her house even after knowing his real identity and he, in turn, had shown her that the guest she had
honoured was as honourable as the Captain. The latent goodness of his heart had been awakened and he had
been able to overcome the bait of the rattrap.

9. Why did the peddler keep to the woods after leaving the crofter’s cottage? How did he feel? (All India 2011)
Answer: The peddler discards the public highway and keeps to the woods after leaving the crofter’s cottage
because he wants to avoid being caught with the thirty kronors that he had stolen from the crofter’s house. He
walks through mazes of forest paths but lands nowhere. When he realizes he has been trapped in the forest, he
feels extremely tired and sinks to the ground in despair.

10. Did the stranger agree to go to the ironmaster’s house? Why or why not? (Comptt. Delhi 2011)
Answer: Initially the stranger declined the ironmaster’s invitation. He had the stolen thirty kronors on him and
thought it was like going into the lion’s den. But then he accepted the ironmaster’s invitation because Edla’s
sympathy and compassion allayed his fears and her friendly manner made him to have confidence in her.

11. Why did the peddler decline the invitation of the ironmaster? (Delhi 2012)
Answer: The peddler declined the ironmaster’s invitation because he had the stolen thirty kronors on him. He
feared that he would be caught there for stealing the crofter’s money. For the peddler going to the manor house
of the ironmaster would be like throwing himself voluntarily into the lion’s den.

12. Why was the crofter so friendly and talkative with the peddler? (Delhi 2012)
Answer: The crofter was lonely. He lived alone in his cottage without a wife, a child or any companion. Since he
suffered from acute loneliness, he was extremely happy when he got the peddler’s company. That is why he was
so talkative and friendly with the peddler.

13. Why didn’t the stranger tell the ironmaster that he was not Nils Olof? (All India)
Answer: When the ironmaster mistakes the stranger for Nils Olof, an old regimental comrade, the stranger
decides not to correct him as he hopes to get a couple of kronors from the ironmaster. So he does not want to
undeceive him all at once.

14. How was the crofter ‘generous with his confidences’ when he spoke to the peddler? (Comptt. All India
2013)
Answer: The crofter was generous not just with his porridge and tobacco but also with his confidences with the
peddler. He informed the peddler that he had been a crofter but now his cow supported him. She would give milk
for the creamery every day, and last month he had even received thirty kronors as payment.

15. What did the peddler do to keep his body and soul together? (Comptt. All India 2013)
Answer: The peddler made and sold rattraps but his business was not really profitable so he had to resort to both
begging and petty thievery to keep his body and soul together.

16. Why did Edla plead with her father not to send the vagabond away? (All India 2014)
Answer: Edla pleaded with her father not to send the vagabond away as it was Christmas eve and she wanted to
keep the spirit of Christmas alive. She wanted to provide the vagabond with a day of comfort and solace. She
justified that they had invited him against his will and since he was lonely she wanted to do something special for
him on Christmas eve.
17. What were the contents of the package left by the peddler as a Christmas gift for Edla Willmansson?
(Comptt. All India 2014)
Answer: The package that the peddler left as a Christmas gift for Edla Willmansson contained a small rattrap
which had a letter he had written in large, jagged characters and in it also lay three wrinkled ten kronor notes.

18. The peddler declined the invitation of the ironmaster but accepted the one from Edla. Why? (Delhi 2015)
Answer: The peddler declined the ironmaster’s invitation because he had the stolen thirty kronors on him. He
feared that he would be caught there for stealing the crofter’s money. For the peddler going to the manor house
of the ironmaster would be like throwing himself voluntarily into the lion’s den.
But he could not decline Edla’s invitation. She looked at him with compassion because she immediately noticed
that he was afraid. So she spoke to him in such a friendly and warm manner that the peddler felt a kind of
confidence in her. Infact the peddler even tells her that it would never have occurred to him that she would
bother herself over him and he would come with her immediately. So he accepted Edla’s invitation though he
refused his father’s.

LONG QUESTIONS

Q1. Write the character sketch of the peddler.

Ans The character of peddler is a true study of human nature. He is like everyone of us, full of weaknesses yet
embodies hope of displaying rare courage and goodness of heart remains latent in him.
The peddler had a sad and monotonous life with no family altogether. He was all alone in this whole world. He
made his living by selling rattraps and as the business was not profitable, he had to resort to both begging and
petty thievery to keep body and soul together. His physical appearance was pitiable. His clothes were all in rags,
his cheeks were sunken and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
The only thing that gave him joy was his philosophical line of thought that the whole world with its riches and
joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing was nothing but a big rattrap. He was content by himself that he was
better off than others for not falling a prey to the worldly rattrap. But we see that he too got tempted and stole
old crofter’s money.
He proved himself to be a thankless person who deceived the man(crofter) who had been kind to him. Not
revealing his true self to the ironmaster in hope of a couple of Kronor further showed his weakness of character.
But the kind and considerate behaviour of Edla Willmansson touched him and he returned the stolen money. This
act of the peddler redeemed him and he escaped from the world’s rattrap.
Thus, his character proved that man is what circumstances make him. When he was a poor vagabond, he was
tempted to thievery but when he got love and affection, he accepted his mistake and returned the stolen money.

Q2 Describe how the story shows that basic human goodness can be brought out by understanding and love.
OR
What made the peddler finally change his ways.

OR

'The Rattrap' is a story in which a good deed or an act of kindness changes a

person’s view of the world. Discuss with reference to the theme of the story.

(Ans)
‘The Rattrap’ is an entertaining and philosophical story that reveals the theme of the human tendency to redeem
oneself from dishonest ways. The tramp proves the idea that the essential goodness of human beings can be
awakened through understanding and love. Circumstances had forced the peddler to indulge in petty crime. Even
though he used to sell rattraps made from scrap metal, his poverty had brought out the worst in him, making him
bitter and killing his conscience.
The tramp’s view of the world was a cynical one; he envied those who were better off than him. He believed the
world to be like a rattrap that offered temptations like shelter and food for entrapping victims. The peddler does
not hesitate to steal the money from the crofter even though he enjoys his hospitality and warm welcome.
Pangs of guilt trouble him when he loses his way in the forest. His bitter and hardened temperament receives a
chance for repentance when he encounters the iron master and his daughter.
The author brings about an effective twist in the story to show that innate goodness exists in all human beings. It
takes a little love, understanding and an act of friendship to bring it to the fore. The iron master’s daughter
showed him sympathy, love and respect and restored his dignity and self-esteem. This touched a chord in the
heart of the peddler who at once felt that he was no longer the nameless tramp that he had been all his life but
somebody with an identity. Motivated by Edla’s kindness, he redeemed himself by returning the stolen money
and feeling sorry for his deed.

Q3 the story focuses on human loneliness and the need to bond with others. explain

Ans The theme of loneliness runs throughout the story. All the characters- the peddler, the crofter, the
ironmaster and his daughter suffers from loneliness and for bonding with others.
The peddler suffers from loneliness as he leads a lonely, dull and monotonous life. There is not a single place in
the country where he could feel at home. Wherever he goes, he is chased away.
The old crofter also suffers from loneliness. In the absence of wife and children, he yearns for company. Thus,
when the crofter gets a guest for a night, he is overjoyed and shows his generous hospitality.
The ironmaster lives with his eldest daughter but feels lonely. He mistakes the peddler for an old acquaintance.
He desperately seeks his company and invites him to come to their house.
Edla too shows a need to bond with others when she stops the peddler from going away and convinces her father
to let him stay in the Manor house for Christmas. She pours all her kindness and hospitality on the peddler.
Thus, all of them have a strong desire to bond with others. Bonding with Edla transforms the peddler and
awakens the goodness of his heart. Thus, bonding makes all the characters of the story happier and better human
beings.

Q4. What are the instances in the story that show that character of the ironmaster is different from that of his
daughter in many ways ?
Ans. The father and daughter stand in contrast to each other in the story “The Rattrap”. There are several
instances in the story to prove that iron master’s character is different from his daughter in many ways.
Firstly, the ironmaster was not a keen observer as he did not see through the peddler and continued to believe
that he was Captain Nils Olof, his regimental comrade whereas when Edla saw the peddler, she felt that either he
had stolen something or else he escaped from jail.
Secondly, the ironmaster did not have the persuasive powers like that of her daughter. He tried hard to convince
the peddler to accompany him to the manor house but he refused. But Edla’s friendly and compassionate
demeanour managed to persuade the peddler to accompany her to the house.
Thirdly, the ironmaster was not as compassionate and unforgiving as his daughter. On finding out, that the
peddler was a fraud and was not Captain, the ironmaster planned to hand him over to the sheriff, whereas Edla
interceded on the peddler’s behalf and asked her father to let the former stay for Christmas Eve.
Lastly, the ironmaster was very suspicious and on returning from the church expected the peddler to have
escaped after stealing the silver spoons. However, Edla did not mistrust the peddler and was pleasantly surprised
to receive a Christmas gift from the peddler which contained the stolen money to be returned to the crofter.
 INDIGO
SHORT QUESTIONS

1. Why is Rajkumar Shukla described as being ‘resolute’?

Rajkumar Shukla was a man with a strong will power and determination. He had come all
the way from Champaran district to Lucknow to speak to Gandhiji. He accompanied Gandhiji
everywhere, even to the ashram near Ahmedabad. For weeks he never left Gandhiji’s side
till he asked him to meet him at Calcutta. So, he is described as being ‘resolute’.

2. Why do you think the servants thought Gandhiji to be another peasant?

In Patna, Rajkumar Shukla led Gandhiji to the house of Rajendra Prasad who was a lawyer. The
servants knew Shukla as a poor peasant of Champaran who often came to Rajendra Prasad’s
house and pestered him to take up the cause of the indigo sharecroppers of Champaran. Since a
simple-clad Gandhiji accompanied Shukla the servants mistook him to be another peasant.

3. What did the peasants pay to the British landlords as rent? What did the
British now want instead and why? What would be the impact of synthetic indigo
on the prices of natural indigo?
The peasants used to pay indigo as rent to the British landlords. Germany had now
developed synthetic indigo. So the British landlords wanted money as compensation for
being released from natural arrangement. The prices of natural Indigo would go down due
to the synthetic indigo.

4. Why did Gandhi agree to a settlement of 25 percent refund to the farmers?

For Gandhi the amount of the refund was less important than the fact that the landlords had
been forced to return part of the money and with it, part of their prestige. He taught the landlords
that they could not act above the law all the time and also gave courage to the poor peasants that
they also had rights and defenders to protect them. So he agreed to the settlement of 25 percent
refund to the farmers.

5. How was Gandhi able to influence lawyers? Give instances.

Gandhi asked the lawyers what they would do if he was sentenced to prison. They said that
they had come to advise him. If he went to jail, they would return. Then Gandhi asked them
about the injustice to the sharecroppers. The lawyers held consultations. They concluded
that it would be a shameful desertion if they returned home. So they told Gandhi that they
were ready to follow him into jail.

6. Why did Gandhi stay on in Champaran even after the sharecropper’s problems
were solved?
Gandhi aimed at improving Champaran culturally and socially. The problems were many.
Health conditions were miserable. There was poverty, illiteracy and lack of sanitation. So, he
stayed on even after the sharecropper’s problems were solved.

7. How did Gandhi teach his followers a lesson in self reliance?

Charles Freer Andrews, the English pacifist and follower of Gandhi came to bid him farewell.
Gandhi’s lawyer friends asked Andrews to stay on and support them. Gandhi vehemently
opposed the suggestion and asked them to face the crisis independently. If their cause was
just, Gandhi said, they would win the battle by relying on themselves.

8. How were Shukla and Gandhiji received in Rajendra Prasad’s house? (Delhi 2012)
Answer:
In Patna Shukla led Gandhiji to the house of a lawyer, Rajendra Prasad. He was out of town but
his servants knew Shukla as a poor peasant who pestered Rajendra Prasad (their master) to help
the indigo sharecroppers. So he was allowed to stay there with his companion. But Gandhiji was
not permitted to draw water from the well lest he be an untouchable and some drops of water
from his bucket pollute the entire source.

9. What were the terms of the indigo contract between the British landlords and the Indian
peasants? (All India 2015)
Answer: The arable land in the Champaran district was divided into estates which were owned
by Englishmen and worked by Indian tenants. The chief commercial crop was indigo. The
landlords compelled all tenants to plant 15 per cent of their holdings with indigo and surrender
the entire indigo harvest as rent.

10. Why was Gandhiji opposed to C.F. Andrews helping him in Champaran? (Delhi 2016)
Answer: Though Gandhiji’s lawyer friends thought it would be a good idea for C.F.Andrews to
stay in Champaran and help them, Gandhiji vehemently opposed it. He said that if they had an
Englishman on their side it would show the weakness of their heart. They should not attempt to
seek a prop in Andrews just because he happened to be an Englishman. Gandhiji wanted Indians
to be self-reliant.

11. Why was Gandhiji unhappy with the lawyers in Muzzafarpur? Why was he against
taking cases to the law courts? (Comptt. All India)
Answer: Gandhiji was unhappy with the lawyers in Muzzafarpur as they were collecting a huge
fee from the peasants. He was against taking the case to the law courts as he knew the fear
stricken peasants would be further crushed and exploited in the court. Gandhiji wanted to free the
farmers from the fear of Britishers.

LONG QUESTIONS

1 Civil disobedience had triumphed the first time in modern India. Relate the
events during Gandhi’s stay in Champaran that led to the triumph.
Gandhi visited Champaran to look into the problems of the poor peasants. At Motihari, he
was greeted by thousands of peasants. This was the beginning of the peasant liberation
from fear of the British. A peasant had been maltreated in a nearby village. Gandhi set out
to see him. The police superintendent’s messenger overtook him and ordered him to return.
Gandhi complied. At home, he was served an official notice to quit Champaran. Gandhi
signed the receipt and wrote on it that he would disobey the order. This was the beginning
of Civil disobedience.
Gandhi received summons to appear in court the next day. The peasants thronged the
courtroom. They wanted to help the ‘Mahatma’ who was in trouble with the authorities for
trying to help them. The officials were powerless. Gandhi helped them regulate the crowd.
This baffled the officials.
The magistrate postponed announcing the sentence by two hours and asked Gandhi to
furnish bail. Gandhi declined. The judge released him without bail. The judge said he would
not deliver the judgment for several days. Later, the case was dropped by the Lt. Governor
himself. Civil disobedience had triumphed.

2. Why did Gandhi consider freedom from fear more important than legal justice
for the poor peasants of Champaran?
The poor peasants were ruthlessly exploited by the landlords of Champaran. Germany had
developed synthetic indigo which resulted in a steep fall in indigo prices. The landlords had a
long term contract by which peasants grew indigo in 15% land and handed it over as rent.
The landlords no longer needed indigo and very cleverly wished to give up this arrangement
for compensation. When the news of synthetic indigo reached the peasants, they demanded
their money back and engaged lawyers to fight their battles. There was no respite for the
farmers under the unjust system.
When Gandhi came to Champaran, he realised that the fear stricken peasants got no help
from courts. The real relief for them was to be free from fear of the British. Gandhi was
summoned to appear in court for having refused the official notice to quit Champaran. The
news of Gandhi being in trouble with the authorities spread fast. The peasants gathered in
thousands around the court house. They shook off their fear and held demonstrations. The
officials were baffled and helpless.
This voluntary uprising of the peasants was their liberation from fear. For them, the British
power was no longer unchallengeable. This was made important than legal justice as
revealed in the future events.

3. What idea do you get about Gandhiji from the Chapter ‘Indigo’?
The chapter ‘Indigo’ highlights the greatness of Gandhiji who was simple, unassuming and
yet a force to be reckoned with. His humility is revealed by his comment on the victory of
civil disobedience ‘What I did was a very ordinary thing’. He was mistaken as a peasant by
Dr. Rajendra's servant.
At the same time, Gandhi was firm and resolute. He faced the officials and with conviction
disregarded the orders to leave Champaran. The case against him had to be dropped.
He fearlessly faced four protracted interviews with the Lt. Governor for the justice of the
indigo sharecroppers. Even though he was the sole representative of the peasants, he
proved his point. He broke the deadlock settling for only 25% refund. He was wise and
judicious. He agreed because the refund instilled courage in the peasants as the landlords
were obliged to surrender part of their money and prestige.
Gandhi demonstrated by his actions an important lesson of self reliance in the freedom
struggle. He refused the help of Mr. Andrews and claimed that if the cause was just one
must rely on oneself.

4. Why do you think Gandhi considered the Champaran episode to be a turning point in
his life?
Gandhi went to Champaran in 1917 and it was th en that he decided to insist on the British
leaving India. It was there that not only did he raise his voice against the injustice of the
landlord system in Bihar but also freed them from fear. First he defied the secretary of-
the British landlords' association, who refused to give information to an 'outsider'. Next,
he refused to leave Tirhut division in which the Cha mparan district lay despite being told
to do so. He also arranged a gathering of peasants in huge numbers which was the
beginning of their freedom from fear of the British. The official felt powerless without
Gandhi's cooperation, This was his proof that the power -of the Britishers could be
challenged by Indians. The peasants realized that they had rights and this was their first
lesson in courag-e. Soon within a Jew years, the British planters returned the estates to
the peasants. This was the end of indigo sharecropping. Through the Champaran incident,
Gandhi declared for the first time that the British could not order Indians in their own
country. It did not begin as an act of-disobedience though. He was through personal
example, able to motivate the masses into civil disobedience and teach them to be self -
reliant
 Poets and Pancakes

Question 1. Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to us as unexplained mystery?

(2002 Delhi)
Answer: The visit of the Englishman raised many queries and doubts in the minds of
those who were working in Gemini Studios. The Englishman’s name was unfamiliar
and his credentials too were unconfirmed. No one could understand his speech so
everyone wondered why he had come to a film studio that made Tamil films for simple
people who had no interest in English poetry.

Question 2. Who was the English visitor to the studios and what was the purpose of
his visit? (2004 Delhi; 2011 Comptt. Delhi)
Answer: The Englishman who visited the studios was Stephen Spender. He was an
English poet and the editor of a British periodical, ‘The Encounter’. He visited the
studio to deliver a speech at the invitation of Mr. Vasan who was the boss of Gemini
Studios. He was unable to establish a rapport with his dazed audience. No one really
understood the purpose of his visit. Even his identity was discovered by Asokamitran
years later, that too by sheer chance.

Question 3. What was MRA and why it was welcomed at the Gemini Studios?
(2005 Delhi)
Answer: The MRA, the Moral Rearmament Army, was a kind of counter movement to
international communism. They were welcomed at the Gemini Studios due to their
political affiliations. The big boss of the studio, Mr. Vasan literally played into their
hands. Also, people at the Gemini Studios were averse to communism. So the Moral
Rearmament Army could not have found a better host in India than the Gemini Studios,
who welcomed them warmly.

Question 4. How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet
addressing the audience at Gemini Studios? (2006 Delhi)
Answer: The English poet’s address was a complete misfit in the midst of the Tamil
knowing audience at Gemini Studios. His speech was incongruous and his accent so
indistinct that no one actually understood a word of what he said. He was talking about
the thrills and travails of an English poet to a dazed audience. Finally, neither the
Englishman himself nor his audience understood why they were going through the
entire ordeal.

Question 5. Why did everybody in the studio think of giving the author some work
to do? (2008 Delhi)
Answer: The author’s job was to cut out newspaper clippings on a wide variety of
subjects and store them in files. Most people saw him doing this and considered it as
useless work as they felt he was doing next to nothing. So everyone in the studio
thought of giving the author some work to do.

Question 6. Why did the ‘boy’ in the makeup department come to the author?
Why was the author praying for crowd shooting all the time? (2008 Outside Delhi)
Answer: The ‘boy’ in the makeup department thought that he had a great literary talent
and he wanted to enlighten the author how this talent was being allowed to go waste and
that the department was fit for barbers and perverts. The author was very eager to avoid
his epical narrations so he prayed for crowd-shooting all the time to keep the ‘boy’
busy.

Question 7. Who was Subbu’s enemy? Why? (2008 Delhi)

Answer: Subbu’s enemy was the ‘boy’ at the make-up department. All his anger and
frustration were directed against him. The boy was convinced that Subbu was the cause
of his woes and miseries. This ‘boy’ was jealous of Subbu’s rising stars, his success and
his intimacy with the boss.

Question 8. What were the positive qualities of Subbu that the writer admired?
(2009 Delhi; 2011 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer: The writer admired Subbu as he was a multi¬faceted genius and gave a new
direction and definition to Gemini Studios. Subbu knew the technicalities and details of
film-making and was a good actor and writer. He was civil, friendly and completely
devoted to his boss, Mr. Vasan.

Question 9. Why was Subbu considered number two at Gemini Studios? (2009
Outside Delhi; 2012 Comptt. Delhi)
Answer: Subbu made a position for himself in the studios by pushing his way to the
forefront with flattery. Mr. Vasan was the boss at Gemini Studios and Subbu, his right-
hand man, became the number two at Gemini Studios. Subbu used his entire creativity
to his boss’s advantage. He was a multi-faceted genius and if a producer was not
satisfied Subbu would come up with fourteen alternatives. With Subbu around, film-
making became a sheer pleasure. Moreover Subbu gave direction and definition to
Gemini Studios during its golden years.

Question 10. What made the lawyer lose his job? What does the writer find so
funny about the situation? (2012 Delhi; 2013 Delhi)
Answer: The lawyer was the legal adviser of an assembly of writers of the Gemini
Studio’s Story Department. One day, the Boss terminated the services of the poets and
writers as he found their contribution to the Studio negligible. With the closure of the
Story Department the lawyer too lost his job. The writer found this situation funny
because the lawyer lost his job as the poets and writers were told to go.

Question 11. How did the people of Madras and those at Gemini Studios respond
to the plays staged by the Moral Re-Armament Army? (2010 Outside Delhi )
Answer: The Moral Re-Armament Army presented two plays ‘Jotham Valley’ and ‘The
Forgotten Factor’ in a very professional manner. The people at Gemini Studios saw the
plays over and over again. Though the message was plain, the costumes and sets were
first rate. These plays ran several shows in Madras and left a great impact on the studios
and on Madras in general. For some years almost all Tamil plays imitated the scenes of
sunrise and sunset of ‘Jotham Valley’.

Question 12. Why was the Moral Re-armament Army welcomed at the Gemini
Studios? (2010 Outside Delhi; 2011 Outside Delhi)
Answer: The Moral Re-armament Army was a kind of counter movement to
International Communism. The big boss of Gemini Studios, Mr. Vasan literally played
into their hands. People at the Gemini Studios had an aversion to communism. So the
Moral Re-armament Army could not have found a better host in India than the Gemini
Studios who welcomed them warmly.

Question 13. Which example of national integration in Gemini Studios is given in

‘Poets and Pancakes’? (2010 Comptt. Delhi)
Answer: The make-up department of the Gemini Studios gave a rare example of
national integration. The department was first headed by a Bengali who was succeeded
by a Maharashtrian. He was assisted by a Kannadiga from Dharwar, an Andhra, a
Madras Indian Christian and an Anglo-Burmese. Then there were the usual local
Tamils. All this gave ample proof of national integration.

Question 14. Why did Asokamirtan pray for crowd¬shooting all the time? (2010
Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer: Asokamirtan was wrongly believed to have nothing to do; so the office-boy
often came to his cubicle to give an outlet to his frustrations and stress on the fact that a
great talent was being wasted. The author was bored with the office boy’s never-ending
babble and prayed for crowd-shooting all the time so that the boy remained busy and
did not pester him.

Question 15. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at Gemini studios?
(2011 Delhi; 2012 Delhi)
Answer: The author’s job was to sit at his desk and tear up newspapers all day. He used
to cut newspaper clippings on a wide variety of subjects and stored them in files. His
job was not directly related to film making at the studio. So he appeared to be doing
nothing at Gemini Studios.
Question 16. How did the author discover who the English visitor to the Studios
was? (2012 Delhi)
Or
How did Asokamitran come to know that the English visitor to the Gemini Studios
was Stephen Spender? (2012 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer: Years later, when Asokamitran was out of Gemini Studios he bought a pile of
brand new books at a reduced price from a footpath in front of Madras Mount Road Post
Office. In a book ‘The God That Failed’ six eminent writers had described their
journeys into communism and their disillusionment with it. It was in this book that he
came across the name of Stephen Spender and finally discovered the identity of the
English visitor to the Studios.

Question 17.What is the significance of the words ‘poet’ and ‘pancake’?

Ans: ‘Pancake’ was the brand name of the make-up material that Gemini Studios
bought in large quantities. It was used as a make-up base for the actors shooting in the
studio. Thus this chapter deals with the people working in Gemini Studios, most of
them in the make-up department. The word ‘Poets’ comes from the fact that Gemini
Studios was the favourite haunt of poets, who had influenced the thinking of the
employees of the Studios. It was also visited by the English poet Stephen Spender.
Question 18. What was the hierarchy that was maintained in the make-up
department?
Ans: The authoritarian chain of command in the make-up department spelled the duties
of the employees by their position in the hierarchy. The chief make-up man did the
makeup for the main actors and actresses; his senior assistant worked on the ‘second
hero and heroine’, the junior assistant on the ‘main comedian’, and so on. The players
who played the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy, who was the junior-
most. Because the office boy was the junior-most in the hierarchy, he was only required
when a crowd scene was to be shot as he applied make-up on the crowd players.
Question 19. What was the writer’s job? How was it viewed by the others in the
Studio?
Ans: The duty of Asokamitran in the Studios was to cut out relevant newspaper
clippings on a wide variety of subjects and store them in files. People who saw him at
work felt that he was doing next to nothing. They saw him sitting at his desk tearing up
newspapers the whole day long. So anyone, who felt he should be given some
occupation, would barge into his cubicle anytime and deliver an extended lecture. More
often than not, it was the ‘boy’ in the make-up department who pushed his way in to
enlighten him on how his great literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a
department fit only for barbers and perverts.

Question 20.Why was the legal adviser referred to as the ‘opposite’?

Ans: The lawyer was also officially known as the legal adviser, but everybody referred
to him as the opposite because he did not give legal but illegal and destructive advice.
He marred the career of an extremely talented actress. Once, when that actress threw a
tantrum on the sets, the lawyer switched on the recording equipment and when she
paused for breath he replayed it. It was an outburst against the producer. When she
heard her voice again, she was struck dumb. A girl from the countryside, she never
recovered from the terror she felt that day.

Question 21.Why did the book, The God That Failed to assume great importance
for the writer?
Ans: The writer paid fifty paise and bought the book, The God That Failed. It had six
separate essays by six eminent men. They had described their journeys into
Communism and their disillusioned return. One of them was Stephen Spender. Just
then, the book became very important as this very poet had visited Gemini Studios. The
purpose of his visit at once became clear. The Boss of the Gemini Studios had nothing
to do with Spender’s poetry but his dislike for Communism he shared.

Question 22. What political significance does Gemini Studios’ invitation to Moral
Re-Armament army and Stephen Spender show? (2012 Outside Delhi)
Answer: The Moral Re-Armament army was a kind of counter movement to
Communism and the people at the Gemini Studios had a natural aversion towards
Communists and Communism. They considered that the aim of Communists was to
spread unrest and violence. So by being a ‘warm host’ to the Moral Re¬Armament army
the people at the Gemini Studios actually displayed a counter movement to the ideas of
Communism. By inviting Stephen Spender, once again the purpose of the Gemini
Studios was to highlight how a renowned English poet, who was once attracted to
Communism, was later completely disillusioned by it. This further strengthened their
aversion to Communism and they were able to publicly display this aversion.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1.Kothamangalam Subbu was a ‘many-sided genius’. Elaborate. (2000
Delhi, 2013 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer: Kothamangalam Subbu was universally hated by all in the make-up
department. He had a modest beginning as an office boy and had now reached to the
position of No. 2 at Gemini Studios. He was a Brahmin and hence, had contacts with
affluent people. He looked cheerful at all times. He could never do things on his own
but his loyalty endeared him to the Boss. His creativity surfaced when commanded. He
could come out with various alternatives for enacting a scene. He gave direction and
definition to Gemini Studios during its golden years. Subbu was also a poet and capable
of complex and higher forms of poetry but he purposefully addressed it to the masses.
His success in films overshadowed his literary achievements. He composed several
‘story poems’ and also wrote a novel, Thillana Mohanambal. He was an amazing actor
though never acted for a lead role but got more praise than the main character. He was a
tailor-made actor with unmatchable capacities. He loved people and his house was a
permanent residence for guests. Despite this, he had enemies. It could be because he
seemed so close to the Boss or because he seemed like a sycophant.
It is through the character of Kothamangalam Subbu, that the author depicts a caricature
of the so-called ‘go-getters’ who are not really talented but manage to create an aura of
talent around themselves. Though officially on the rolls of the Story Department at
Gemini Studios, he was always with the boss. Subbu directed all his energies and
creativity to his boss’ advantage. He delved into the various spheres of film-making
successfully giving the impression of being a brilliant story-writer, a talented actor and a
man who was always ready with many solutions for any problem. He made the art of
film-making appear rather easy for his boss. Thus Subbu with his scheming nature takes
advantage of his boss’ gullibility and passes off himself as a multi-sided genius with
multi-faceted abilities.

Question 2. Asokamitran has used humour and satire effectively in ‘Poets and
Pancakes’. Discuss. (2001 Delhi)
Or
How does humour and satire enliven the account of the events and personalities at
Gemini Studios as portrayed by Asokamitran in ‘Poets and Pancakes’? (2013
Outside Delhi)
Answer: In the chapter, ‘Poets and Pancakes’, Asokamitran uses a lot of subtle humour
and satire to highlight human foibles. Petty professional differences and inconsequential
differences not only keep our minds occupied but also bring out a subtle humour that is
spontaneous without being superfluous.

The humour is manifested in the writer’s description of the make-up room people. The
make-up room, he says, was in a building that had once been the stables of Robert
Clive. He makes fun of the makeup applied to artists which can change any decent
looking person into a hideous crimson hued monster far from being presentable. He also
refers to the fiery misery of the actors when their make-up was done under the bright
bulbs, large mirrors reflecting blazing heat. Facts like the sets required the actors to look
ugly so that they look presentable in the movie invoke laughter.
The characterisation of the office boy, Subbu and the legal advisor, have subtle touches
of humour. His description of Subbu’s No. 2 position in Gemini Studios, the frustration
of the office boy and the opposite role played by the legal adviser in the acting career of
a countryside girl are humorously dealt with but effectively bring out the flaws in
human nature. The writer’s praying for crowd shooting and the reason behind such
prayers evoke laughter.

The purpose of the visits of the Moral Rearmament Army and the English poet also
baffles everyone. Satire is also directed towards people who are against communism
and can go to any length to oppose it. The writer’s tone of ridicule is devoid of the
slightest trace of mockery, which is most commendable.
The showmanship of the boss and what influences his guest list (any movement/person
against communism) point out human weaknesses in a light-hearted manner. The
humour is at its peak in the description of the visit of Stephen Spender. S.S. Vasan’s
reading a long speech in his honour but he too knew precious little about him. Spender’s
accent is highly unintelligible. Then the author’s establishing long lost brother’s
relationship with the English visitor is also funny and humorous.

All these slight digs at human foibles tickle in us humour.

3. Describe the make-up department of Gemini Studios?

Answer: The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was established on the upstairs
of a building that was believed to have been Robert Clive’s stables. The make-up room
had the look of a hair-cutting salon with lights at all angles. The lights were
incandescent which produced the extreme heat and about half dozen big mirrors
reflected the light, that was totally unbearable for the artists to be made-up.

The make-up department was first headed by a Bengali who when left, a Maharashtrian
headed it with an assistant Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian,
an Anglo-Burmese and the usual local Tamils. In this way, there was a great deal of
national integration. A strict hierarchy could be noticed at make-up department. The
chief make-up man attended to the chief actors and actresses. His senior assistant looked
to the ‘second’ hero and heroine, the junior assistant the main comedian and so forth.
The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the office boy. He used to
mix his paint in a giant vessel and slap it on the crowd players.

So, the gang of nationally integrated make-up men could turn any decent-looking
person into a hideous crimson hued monster with the help of truck-loads of Pancake and
a number of other locally made potions and lotions. Thus, the make-up room was not
less than a torture room for the artists who were to be prepared for the shoot.
 THE INTERVIEW

SHORT QUESTIONS

Question 1. Why did Umberto Eco prefer himself to be called an academician than a
novelist? (2000 Delhi)
Answer: Despite achieving fame as a novelist, Eco preferred to associate himself with the
academic community because his non-fictional work occupied him for the first fifty years of
his life. He wrote his first novel at the age of around fifty. He identified himself more with
the academic community and resorts to writing fiction only when he was not pursuing some
scholarly work.

Question 2. What are the views of writers like V.S. Naipaul and Lewis Carroll on
interviews? (2005 Delhi)
Answer: Celebrities like V.S. Naipaul, Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll and H.G. Wells have
expressed their strong despise for interviews. They consider interviews immoral, ‘an assault’
because they feel interviews leave a rather disparaging effect on their personalities and are an
encroachment on their privacy.

Question 3. What do you learn about Umberto Eco’s distinctive style in his doctoral
dissertation? (2013 Outside Delhi)
Answer: Umberto Eco’s academic writing style is personal, informal and playful. He fills his
research stories with all the trials and errors so that even his research work has the
uniqueness. of creative writing and reading. It is not only informative but also interesting.

Question 4. State the reason for the huge success of the novel, “The Name of the Rose”.
(2008 Delhi)
Answer: There is no one reason for the huge success of the novel “The Name of the Rose’.
Umberto Eco himself calls its success a mystery. It is possible that this detective story that
delved into metaphysics, theology and medieval history, interested the readers because the
time in which it was written was most appropriate, neither a decade earlier nor a decade later.

Question 5. “The Name of the Rose” deals with medieval history. Was it responsible for
the novel’s success? (2008 Delhi)
Answer: The success of the novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ did not depend on merely one
factor. Many other novels dealt with medieval history but did not achieve much success. Its
success is more attributed to the timing of its publication, its narrative style and detective
yarn and also the fact that it delves into metaphysics and theology along with medieval
history.

Question 6. What did the publisher think of ‘The Name of the Rose’? (2008 Delhi; 2012
Delhi)
Answer: The American publisher of ‘The Name of the Rose’ loved and liked the novel but
did not expect to sell more than 3,000 copies. No one goes to a cathedral or studies Latin in
America so it was really difficult to sell such a novel there. But the publisher was proved
wrong as two to three million copies of the novel were sold in America.
Question 7. What drawbacks of interviews have been pointed out by Lewis Carrol?
(2010 Delhi)
Answer: Lewis Carrol considers interviews as an ‘unwarranted intrusion’ that is immoral and
an offence against his person. He shunned interviews for fear of being projected as larger
than life. His vehement refusal for interviews enabled him to keep his fans as well as
interviews at an arm’s length.

Question 8. Why do most celebrity writers hate to be interviewed? (2010 Comptt. Delhi)
Answer: Most of the celebrity writers shun interviews as they feel that interviews leave a
disparaging effect on their personalities. They consider them as an encroachment on their privacy.
Writers like V.S. Naipaul feel they are being wounded by interviews and thus losing a part of
themselves.

Question 9. How did Lewis Carroll react to the interviews? (2012 Comptt. Outside
Delhi)
Or
What was Lewis Carroll’s attitude towards being interviewed? (2010 Comptt. Outside
Delhi)
Answer: Lewis Carrol shunned interviews for the fear of being projected as larger than life.
He vehemently refused to give interviews and kept his fans, acquaintances and interviewers
at an arm’s length. This gave him a great sense of satisfaction.

Question 10. What do you think about Umberto Eco? Does he like being interviewed?
Give reasons in support of your answer from the text ‘The Interview’. (2006 Delhi)
Answer: Unlike various other celebrities who express a strong dislike for interviews and
consider it an encroachment upon their privacy, Umberto Eco seems to enjoy giving
interviews considering the spirited manner in which he answers the questions put forth to him
by the interviewer, Mukund Padmanabhan. Eco readily and truthfully answers all the
questions in the most humble and sincere manner, delving into details, thus revealing the fact
that he actually does not mind sharing his experiences with others. At no point does he
display any kind of haste to wind up the interview. In fact, he explicitly answers all the
questions that Padmanabhan asks him giving the interviewer a feeling of warmth and being
welcome.

Question 11. Why did Umberto Eco start writing novels and when? (2008 Outside
Delhi)
Answer: Umberto Eco was essentially an academician who pursued his scholarly pursuits
through academic writings. He wrote about forty non-fictions and as he himself says, ‘he
became a novelist by accident’. That was the reason he started writing novels at the age of
almost fifty. Eco considers himself ‘a university professor who writes novels (only) on
Sundays’.

Question 12. Eco’s academic work has certain playful and personal quality about it.
Comment. (2013 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer: Eco presents his arguments very logically and with a subtle wit and playfulness to it.
He himself says that he started writing novels by accident. He essentially considers himself a
university professor who wrote novels on Sunday. This non-fictional writing is a marked
departive from the regular depersonalised style which is often dry and boring. Even his
research work has the quality of creative writing and makes not only information but also
interesting reading. In his doctoral dissertation, Eco tells the story of his research including
his trials and errors. His: essays too always have a narrative aspect.

Question 13. Why do some celebrity writers not like being interviewed?
Answer: Some celebrities see themselves as victims, and despise the interview as an
unwarranted intrusion into their lives. They feel that it somehow diminishes them, just as in
some primitive cultures it is believed that ‘if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody
then one is stealing that person’s soul’. V.S. Naipaul feels that ‘some people are wounded by
interviews and lose a part of themselves’. Lewis Carroll says that he has ‘just a horror for the
interviewer’ and he never consented to be interviewed. Rudyard Kipling expressed an even
more condemnatory attitude towards the interviewer. His wife reports her husband as saying
that he considered an interview as a crime and immoral and thus it merits punishment.

Question 14. How can we say that Umberto Eco had a wide range of writing?
Answer: Umberto Eco was an expertise in semiotics and other than this he started to write
fiction, literary fiction, academic texts, essays, children’s books, newspaper articles etc. So
his versatility in writings can be easily understood.

Question 15. Umberto Eco does many things, but says, “I am always doing the same
thing but that is more difficult to explain”. What does he mean to say?
Answer: Umberto Eco says that he has philosophical interests which reflect in all his writings
: fiction and non-fiction. In this way, he does the same thing, though he seems to pursue
various activities : writing notes for newspapers, novels, teaching, writing essays, children’s
books etc.

Question 16. Despite the drawbacks, the interview is a ‘supremely serviceable medium
of communication’. Explain.
Answer: Despite its drawbacks, the interview has its own advantages. Though, interview is an
intrusion into the personal life of the interviewee, it is always a supremely serviceable
medium of communication. Through the interviews only, we get vivid impressions of our
contemporary celebrities. We get a glance of their way of working.

Question 17. What are some of the positive views on inter-views?

Answer: Interview is considered as a reliable source of truth. Contemporaries and their
success can be read through the interviews. A very important part of journalism is interview
now a days.

Question 18. How does Eco find the time to write so much?
Answer: 1. According to Eco, just like the universe has empty spaces, our lives too, have a lot
of empty spaces or ‘interstices’. Whenever he has a few moments to spare in between two
different tasks, instead of wasting them, he uses the time to write.

2. He even gives an example of his working technique. He says that while waiting for
someone to come up the elevator he keeps himself busy.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question 1. What made the American publisher think that the novel ‘The Name of the
Rose’ won’t sell in America? What actually happened? What was the secret of its
success? (2013 Delhi)
Or
What is the reason for the huge success of the novel “The Name of the Rose” according
to Umberto Eco? (2002 Delhi)
Answer: The American publisher believed that people like trash whereas ‘The Name of the
Rose’ delved into metaphysics, theology and medieval history and people do not like these
difficult reading experiences. Through his novel, which sold between 10 to 15 million copies,
Umberto Eco reached only a small percentage of readers. But, according to him, it is those
kind of readers who do not want easy experiences, or at least, do not always want this.

Umberto Eco cannot categorically state the reason for the huge success of the novel, ‘The
Name of the Rose’. He himself refers to its success as a mystery. He feels this detective story
that delved into metaphysics, theology and medieval history interested the readers as it was
written at the most appropriate time. Had it been written a decade earlier or later, it would not
have been so successful. The way the book stormed the literary world, once it was out,
surprised everyone. Even though it contained somewhat heavy reading, the book attracted a
mass audience and Eco became famous as a novelist, rather than an academic scholar the
world over.

Question 2. What impression do you form about Umberto Eco as a scholar and writer
on the basis of ‘The Interview’? (2010 Outside Delhi)
Or
What was distinctive about Eco’s academic writing style? (2011 Delhi)
Answer: Umberto Eco’s style is narrative, written in the manner of a story. This is in contrast
to a regular academic style which is invariably depersonalised, dry and boring. His scholarly
work has a certain playful and personal quality to it. He pursued his philosophical interests
through his academic work and novels. He also wrote books for children on non-violence and
peace.

Umberto Eco, a professor at the University of Bologna, in Italy, is an authority on

Semeiotics, the study of signs. He is also a well known novelist. His scholarly works include
academic texts, essays, childrens’ books and newspaper articles. He pursues his philosophical
interests through his academic writings and novels. In spite of having reached the zeniths of
intellectuality, Eco is a humble and modest scholar. He brushes aside compliments and never
boasts about his achievements. He is keen to share his experiences with others and shares the
secret of accomplishing so much work by revealing the facts that he makes use of time- gaps
between different pieces of work. Eco follows an informal and playful style of writing with a
narrative aspect. Even his research work has a quality of creative writing and makes
informative as well as interesting reading.

Question 3. Give a character sketch of Umberto Eco on the basis of the chapter ‘The
Interview’.
Answer: Umberto Eco, a university professor at the university of Bologna in Italy, is an
academician and a famous novelist. He, through various interview discloses his secret of
success in life and never hates the interviewers. He has his taste in various fields of writings
as academic texts, fiction and non-fiction, literary fiction, essays, children’s books,
newspaper articles etc.

He always wanted to be called as an academician not a novelist. He used to participate in

academic conferences, on the other hand, he avoided the meetings of writers and Pen Club
Members. He has written forty scholarly works and novels only five. He used to denote time
for writing novels on only ‘Sundays’. He discovered a magical trick of working in interstices.

He used to use even the seconds of his time. He captured the empty spaces for writing notes
or any content. He had an expertise in ‘Semiotics’: the study of signs. He never became a
slave of proud as he openely admitted that his novel ‘The Name of the Rose’ got success
accidently and the time was in his favour. He didn’t have any attitude of the celebrity though
his novel was bought by more than the 10 million of the readers.

Question 4. Several celebrities despise being interviewed. Is this justified? Why? Why
not?
Answer: There are several celebrities mentioned in this chapter like Rudyard Kipling, V.S.
Naipaul, H.G. Wells, Saul Bellow and etc. who dislike interviews very strongly. They never
became ready to be interviewed. Most of them considered interviews as an unwarranted
intrusion into their lives. They did not want to reveal the secrets of their personal lives.

Even an interview is considered as an immoral activity, as a crime or sometimes as an assault.

They feel that the interviewers waste their precious time which can be used by them for more
creativity. On the other hand, common mass take interviewes very positively as they come to
know about the inner and hidden things of their ideals. But interviewes have their drawbacks
also.

Celebrities feel shy and disappointed when they are asked for interviewes but they forget that
they become famous and wealthy through the successful interviewes. General mass become
their fan and devotee by knowing more and more about their ideals. Celebrities are even
worshipped. In this regard, it can be said that interview cannot be termed as an immoral
activity.
 GOING PLACES
Short questions
1)Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?
Ans-Sophi and Jansie were both classmates and friends. On their way to home from school, both
were discussing to find some work after schooling. Sophie was a girl of imagination and day
dreaming. She thought of having a boutique. Jansie was very much aware about their financial
conditions and family background. She knew that both were earmarked for the biscuit factory
after passing school.
2)Why did not Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Ans- Sophie had requested her brother Geoff not to tell anything about her meeting with Casey.
When Jansie asked Sophie about her meeting with Danny, Sophie was much amazed. She cursed
Geoff for it because Jansie was ‘nosey’ and would spread the facts everywhere in the
neighbourhood. In case her father knew about it, there would be a great row which her mother
did not like. Sophie felt relaxed that Geoff did not tell about the date bit. She requested Jansie to
keep it a secret.
3)Which was the only occasion she got to see Danny Casey in person? (M.IMP)
Ans-The only occasion when Sophie got to see Danny Casey in person was when her family
went to the weekly pilgrimage. They watched united on Saturday. Sophie, her father and little
Derek went down near the goal. Geoff went with his mates higher up. United won two-nil and
Casey drove in the second goal. Sophie was the Irish genius going round two big defenders near
the penalty. She saw how Casey goaled beating the hesitant goalkeeper from a dozen yards.
Sophie glowed with pride.

Long questions
Q1. The story ‘Going Places’ draws a beautiful contrast between fact and fiction. Comment
Barton’s story ‘Going Places’ takes us into the world of fantasy which offers an escape from
reality. Sophie’s character is a vivid portrayal and beautifully brings out the contrast between
fact and fiction. In reality, this young girl belongs to a lower middle class family who is
struggling for survival. In her dreams and fantasy, she becomes a part of the ‘glamorous world’.
Sophie is basically a dreamer who finds an escape route in her fantasies. She dreams of buying a
boutique one day and shares the thought with her friend Jansie. Jansie is practical and realistic.
She tries to make her see reality but Sophie refuses to accept it and thinks that it would be easy
for her to earn a lot of money. She dreams of becoming a manager or an actress or a fashion
designer. In her dreams and fantasy world, Sophie dates Danny Casey, an upcoming Irish
football player. She tells her family about her imaginary meeting with Danny, making it seem
quite realistic and true. So much so that she even makes them believe that she would be meeting
him again. In her dream world, she forgets her humble background, her small house, and ‘goes
places’ only in her dreams that are far removed from reality. She becomes a symbol representing
all adolescents who undertake a journey into the world of dreams.
.

Q2. “Its natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams.” On the basis of your reading
comment on the advantages and disadvantages of such fantasizing.
Ans. Our dreams are an integral part of our lives. Devoid of dreams, life will become dull, drab
and morbid. Its our dreams which remain our motivating force and make us strive for a better
life. Teenage is that phase in one’s life when one is preparing oneself to face the challenges of
life. Teenagers are still not acquainted with harsh realities of life and get enchanted and allured
with what life has to offer. Much of their dream world is influenced by movies and media where
the Cinderella Syndrome forms the basis of their creation. The teenagers see the ordinary simple
people like them, making it big as rock stars in just a span of three hours. Their dreams draw
them into this glamorous world. They idolize their heroes and think that achieving high in life is
not a distant dream. They start nurturing unrealistic dreams like Sophie in the story. No doubt it
is important for us to dream high. If one doesn’t one can never be successful in life. However,
dreaming the unachievable can be damaging to the personality. We hear many cases of
youngsters getting into depressions, developing suicidal tendencies. Sometimes they even
commit suicide, which is the outcome of unrealistic goals and unrealized dreams. Dreams are
certainly a part of life but if not dealt with adequately, they may prove to be extremely harmful.

3)Sophie and Jansie were classmates and friends. What are the differences between them
that show up in the story? (M.IMP)
Ans-Sophie and Jansie were both classmates and friends. Both were considerate, sensible and
were looming in between the ideas of finding some work after their schooling. Sophie was a
sophisticated and a fantasizing type of a girl. She had big and beautiful dreams of having a
boutique like Mary Quant. On the other hand Jansie was more practical and a realistic type of a
girl quiet aware about their lower middle class family background. She asked Sophie to be
sensible because the shop work required money and her father won’t allow this. She knew that
both were earmarked for the biscuit factory.
Sophie entertained the idea of being an actress and then dream of being a fashion designer. She
was unaware of the reality as to how she would do all these things. Jansie knew that all those
different types of works needed, money which was beyond the capacity of Sophie’s parents. She
advised her to be practical. Sophie had no faith in Jansie and understood her to be ‘nosey.’ She
would spread the news in the whole neighbourhood. So she did not want to tell any of her
secrets. Thus we can note a lot of difference in their attitude towards their life and things.
4)How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie’s father?
Ans-Sophie’s father was a man of authority, truth, hard work and deep senses. He understood,
saw, experienced and realised the very truth about life but he was not well off. He had to work
hard for keeping his family alive. He had a realistic approach towards life and had firm faith in
social interactions. Being a considerate, kind and sensible father, he understood the nature of the
family but was deadly against wild stories. He always wanted to keep his family members happy
and peaceful but financially he was not well off. The day’s hard work was clearly evident on his
plump face.
He was a sports lover and used to go out with his family on weekly pilgrimage. While seeing the
united team winning, he boosted Danny’s morale. After the victory, he went to the pub for
celebration and drink. When Sophie told that Danny was buying a shop, he made an ugly
expression on his face to show disgust. He did not approve Sophie’s wild stories for Danny and
rather warned as well as advised her about a lot of trouble she was going to be entrapped in.
though he was aggressive, yet he was a true and rightful person. Sophie was much scarred of him
and told Jansie ‘‘you know what a misery he is.’’
5)Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her
perspective, what did he symbolize? (M.IMP)
Ans-Sophie liked her brother more than any other person in the world. She could open her heart
to him. She knew that Geoff was a person who could share her dreams. Geoff was an apprentice
mechanic who had left school for three years. He had to travel for work to the far side of the city.
He spoke very little and his silence troubled Sophie very much. Moreover the words were to be
prized out from his mouth like the stones from the ground. So she was jealous of hi silence and
she thought him to be living in some other world which was unknown to her.
But Geoff was always the first with whom she always shared her secrets. She liked him more
than anything. Sophie was a simple but plain speaking girl who had a strong faith in Geoff. Like
every other sister, she dreamt of riding behind her brother in their attractive dresses, to place
where people would welcome and praise them. She wanted to be more affectionately with her
brother among all his friends and to all his places. In his own way, Geoff warned her that Casey
must have string of girls and she was one of them.
Sophie saw in her brother Geoff, her moral supporter. She thought the world was ready to
welcome her. She told Geoff about her meeting with Danny Casey at Royce’s window, though
he considered it unlikeliest. To Sophie, George was bold, smart, tall, promising and helpful. He
recognised and respected his younger sister’s emotions and aspirations well. She was certain that
he would never let her down.
6)What socio-economic background did Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her
family’s financial status?
Ans-‘Going places’ details the middle class people with their stages of hardwork, helplessness
and satisfaction. They are not well off people to lead a luxurious life. They belong to a middle
class family. Two classmates Sophie and Jansie have a lot of difference in their attitude and
temperament of life.
Sophie is a sophisticated type of girl who goes on daydreaming and fantasizing. She dreams of
having a boutique, becoming an actress and a fashion designer. She goes on looming in the
unrealistic life which is far from their approach. Jansie is a practical girl who knows that both are
earmarked for the biscuit factory. She urges Sophie to be sensible and she understands the
financial and other social implications.
In the lesson one can note that Geoff has to go to a far off place to learn apprentice mechanic. He
has left schooling three years earlier. Their father works hard and the drops of sweat are visible
on his plump face. He is worried about the welfare and peace of the whole family. It is a poor
family where all the domestic chores are done in the family. The ladies do washing and other
household works and the piles of dirty clothes can be seen near the sink. The people are fond of
enjoying matches. Her father goes to the pub on a cycle to celebrate. All these facts indicate that
they belong to a lower middle class family.
7)Sophie dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.
Ans- like every youth when he is about to leave the school, the struggle of thought begins, even
in Sophie. On their way back home, Sophie and Jansie discuss possibilities of work to be started.
Sophie’s flight took off from boutique to shop manager, to an actress cum boutique owner to a
fashion designer, though both the girls were earmarked for a biscuit factory.
Like every young girl, Sophie also fancied the world was prepared to greet her. She also had in
her fancies a strong feeling of knowing the unknown, seeing the unseen and even meeting the
welcoming strangers. Though her father forbade her for to be taken to unknown places and
countries, yet Sophie expected Geoff to acquaint her to all new and strange things, people and
places. She fancied the world greeting and applauding them.
Finally in her fantasizing she had a over Danny Casey in her mind. So she visited the perfect
place for lovers and sat on the solitary wooden bench under the tree. She waited for her lover
coming out of the shadows but there was no sign of him. She became burdened with sadness.
Thus Sophie’s dreams and disappointments are all of her own creations.