Table of Contents

1. Where The Mind is Without Fear

(RabindranathTagore)1
2. River came home (Aditi Rao) 4
3. Felling of Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre
4
4. Rain, Rain, Go Away by Isaac Asimov
7
5. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost 9
6. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
15
7. Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley16
8. Gorillas in the mist by Dian Fossey 16
9. Ode on the death of a favourite cat by
Thomas Gray 16
10.Elder brother by Munshi Premchand 16
11.The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge 16
12.The Six Napoleons by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle16
13.The Commentator by Gareth Owen 16
14.The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry 16
15.The Last Wolf by Mary TallMountain 16
16.A Short Walk in the Hindu Rush by Eric
Newby 16
17.Refugee Blues by W. H. Auden 16
18.A Lesson on a Tortoise by D. H.
Lawrence 16
19.The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William
Shakespeare16

Where The Mind is Without Fear

(Rabindranath Tagore)
Summary
The poet talks about a freedom which needs
to be achieved within the human mind and
soul. He talks about a condition where “the
mind is without fear and the head is held
high” The poet wants to say that freedom
can be achieved if one is fearless in the
pursuit of his goal and dream. The poet talks
about a condition where one is ready to
explore the world of knowledge without any
hesitation and fear of customs and tradition.
The poet elaborates that when one is ready
to work hard in achieving perfection at what
he is doing- and when a man is free of age
old superstitions which defy his logic and
reason then one is in the path of achieving
freedom

•
• The words ‘mind is without fear’
mean that one does not have any fear of
oppression or compulsion. The poet is
talking about the minds of the people of
his country. He says so because his
country was under the subjugation of the
British, who perpetrated all sorts of
oppression on his countrymen.
• The words ‘the head is held high’
mean to have self-respect. The head is
bowed down because of exploitation and
oppression of the Indians by the British.
It needs to be held high with pride and
dignity which characterized the Indians
before India was reduced to the status of
a subjugated nation.
• By the words ‘Where knowledge is
free’, the poet wants to say that in his
country everyone should have the
freedom to acquire knowledge without
any restriction. The restrictions imposed
on the spread of knowledge include the
prejudices based on wealth, caste and
religion. Further, the British imposed
restrictions on the basis of the ruler (the
British) and the ruled (the Indians). They
curbed the freedom of speech and
expression by putting restrictions on the
Press.
• Due to the restrictions imposed on
the spread of knowledge, people
remained glued to their outdated customs
and traditions and could not think
rationally.
• A sonnet is a poem of fourteen
lines divided into an octave (the first
eight lines) and a sestet (the last six
lines). The octave presents an idea, raises
an argument, makes a proposition or
poses a problem, whereas the sestet gives
a solution to the problem posed by the
octave. The poem ‘Where the Mind is
Without Fear’ comprises an octave, in
which the poet talks about the wonderful
qualities his countrymen must achieve to
make their country free and heaven like.
Since this poem is only a part of the
complete song in his Nobel Prize
winning work, Gitanjali, we can say that
this poem is a part of the complete
sonnet.
•
• According to the poet, the narrow
domestic walls or divisions based on
caste, class, colour, religion, creed,
region and superstitions break up the
world into fragments or mutually
exclusive compartments.
• The narrow domestic walls refer to
narrow local divisions created by
prejudices like caste, colour, creed,
region and religion. They are called
‘narrow’ by the poet because they are
based on age old customs and traditions
and not on the basis of rational thinking.
• The narrow domestic walls can
harm the nation by creating divisions
among people and thereby, undermining
the unity and integrity of the nation.
• The poet wants to say that his
countrymen should be able to express
themselves truthfully without any fear.
He feels so because his countrymen at
that time did not have freedom of
expression as various restrictions were
imposed on the freedom of speech and
the Press by the British.
• Examples of alliteration are: (a)
Where the world (b) Where words
 • The poet shows that he has a
religious outlook by praying to God to let
his country awake to a blissful heaven of
freedom.
•
• ‘Tireless striving’ means to work
hard without getting tired to achieve
perfection. The poet wants his
countrymen to achieve the highest goals,
i.e., freedom at all levels — political,
religious, spiritual, moral and
intellectual.
• (ii) Reasoning allows a person to
have clarity of thoughts without being
restricted by narrow domestic walls such
as caste, colour, creed, religion, region
and superstitions. That is why it has been
compared to a clear stream which is free
of all impurities.
• (iii) ‘Dreary desert sand of dead
habit’ is a metaphor. Through this
metaphor the poet wants to say that his
countrymen should work for perfection
in everything and should not be led
astray from their goal in the dry desert of
dead habits, i.e., in a place where
outdated customs and traditions are
followed.
• According to the poet, the hurdles
in achieving perfection include the
outdated customs and traditions based on
irrational thinking rather than sound
reasoning and scientific thought.
• The figure of speech in the third
line of the given extract is a ‘metaphor’.
For explanation refer to answer (iii)
above.
• This poem by Rabindranath Tagore
is taken from his original volume called
Naibedya, which bears the title
‘Prarthana’, i.e., prayer. In this poem, the
poet prays to a universal father figure,
i.e., God to let his country awake to a
blissful heaven of freedom. Thus, the
poem is a song of prayer.
•
 • ‘Thee’ refers to God.
• The mind of the poet’s countrymen
is to be led forward to the ‘heaven of
freedom’, i.e., to an ideal state where
there is total freedom at all levels —
political, religious, spiritual, moral and
intellectual.
• The phrase ‘Heaven of freedom’
means an ideal state, where the poet
wants the Almighty to lead his
countrymen to. The three qualities
required to be able to attain the heaven of
freedom include:
• There is no oppression and people
can hold their heads high in self-respect.
• There are no prejudices based on
caste, colour, creed, religion, region and
superstitions.
• People should work tirelessly to
attain perfection in everything by
following scientific thought and rational
thinking, without being led to follow
obsolete traditions and customs.
 • ‘Father’ in the above extract is a
reference for God. He will awake the
country by leading the poet’s countrymen
to a heavenly state where there are all
kinds of freedom and where they can
hold their heads high in self-respect,
without any fear of oppression or
compulsion.
• The poet prays for his country to
attain all kinds of freedom — political,
religious, spiritual, moral and
intellectual. And only then it will attain
the blissful heaven of freedom, an ideal
state where his countrymen would be
able to hold their heads high in self-
respect, will not have a blurred vision
based on prejudices and work tirelessly
to attain perfection in every sphere of
life.
What is the heaven of freedom? How far has
the idea of ‘Heaven of freedom’ been
materialized in the modern world?
The “heaven of freedom” to the poet is a
condition where one can persue knowledge,
and work towards one vision without the
fear of societal pressures and superstitions.
In the modern world ,the world has become
smaller, connectivity has increased but still
there is war, oppression, fanaticism, racism
and discrimination which prevents an
individual to persue ones dream. The heaven
of freedom is still a distant dream even after
so many years of independence.
Short Answer Type
A. Read the first four lines of the poem and
answer the questions.
1. What does the poet mean by ‘the head
is held high’?
A. 1. The” head is held high” means one is
confident about oneself, about his goals and
dreams and no anount of superstitions and
pressures of the society can repress his spirit
and pride in himself.
2. Explain what does the poet mean by
‘where knowledge is free’?
A. 2. ”Knowledge is free” means that a
world where knowledge is not restricted on
the basis of class, gender, caste and race.
The world of knowledge can be explored by
anyone irrespective of the strata of society
he belonged to, and irrespective of any other
differences.
“Where the mind is without fear” −−
What type of mental condition is required
to attain ideal freedom as dreamt of by
Rabindranath ?

The poet talks about a freedom which needs

to be achieved within the human mind and
soul. He talks about a condition where “the
mind is without fear and the head is held
high” The poet wants to say that freedom
can be achieved if one is fearless in the
pursuit of his goal and dream. The poet talks
about a condition where one is ready to
explore the world of knowledge without any
hesitation and fear of customs and tradition.
The poet elaborates that when one is ready
to work hard in achieving perfection at what
he is doing- and when a man is free of age
old superstitions which defy his logic and
reason then one is in the path of achieving
freedom
What is the heaven of freedom? How far
has the idea of ‘Heaven of freedom’ been
materialized in the modern world?
Ans- The “heaven of freedom” to the poet is
a condition where one can pursue
knowledge, and work towards one vision
without the fear of societal pressures and
superstitions. In the modern world ,the
world has become smaller, connectivity has
increased but still there is war, oppression,
fanaticism, racism and discrimination which
prevents an individual to pursue ones dream.
The heaven of freedom is still a distant
dream even after so many years of
independence.
Short Answer Type
A. Read the first four lines of the poem
and answer the questions.

1. What does the poet mean by ‘the head

is held high’?
A. 1. “The head is held high” means one is
confident about oneself, about his goals and
dreams and no anoint of superstitions and
pressures of the society can repress his spirit
and pride in himself.
2. Explain what does the poet mean by
‘where knowledge is free’?
A. 2. ”Knowledge is free” means that a
world where knowledge is not restricted on
the basis of class, gender, caste and race.
The world of knowledge can be explored by
anyone irrespective of the strata of society
he belonged to, and irrespective of any other
differences.
3. What are narrow domestic walls?
A. 3. By ”Narrow domestic walls” the poet
means the wall of discrimination on the
basis of caste, creed and colour which
restricts a person in his pursuit of knowledge
and excellence.
B. Read the next four lines and answer the
following questions.
1. Find out the line expressing, ‘Endless
efforts are made to achieve the best
quality.’
B. 1. The meaning is expressed in “Where
tireless striving stretches its arms towards
protection”
2. What do you understand by ‘clear
stream of reason?’
B. 2. The poet asks for a world where one’s
reason, logic and decisions are clear and not
clouded by age old superstitions and
prejudices.
3. What is the ‘dead habit’ according to the
poet?
B. 3. ”Dead habit” are those habits of
superstitions and prejudices which are
prohibitive and restrictive in achieving the
freedom of the mind.
C. Read the last four lines and answer the
following questions.
1. What does the poet mean by ‘ever
widening thought and action’?
C. 1 By ”ever widening thought and action”
the poet means the expression of thoughts,
birth of new ideas and creations and a
relentless persuit of excellence through hard
work.
2. Describe any two traits of character the
poet wants to inculcate in his countrymen.
C. 2. The poet wants his countrymen to be
fearless and confident to pursue their
excellence.
3. What does the poet mean by let my
country awake?
C. 3. He also wants them to be laborious and
put in endless effort to achieve the best in
their work
4. What are the freedoms that R.N. Tagore
mentions in the poem?
C. 4. The poet talks about his country being
awakened to the path of glory where his
countrymen explores knowledge, expresses
innovation in thoughts, gives birth to new
ideas and directs endless effort and action.

Important Brief Questions with Answers

Q. When was Rabindranath Tagore born?
Answer: Poet Rabindranath Tagore was born
in 7 May 1861.
Q. Where was Rabindranath Tagore born?
Answer: Rabindranath Tagore was born in
Tagore was born in the Jorasanko mansion
in Kolkata, India.
Q. What is Rabindranath Tagore’s father’s
name?
Answer: Debendranath Tagore is the father
of Rabindranath Tagore. He was a very
learned person with wide range of study.
Q. When did Tagore’s family get
progressed?
Answer: During the reign of Hussein Shah
(1493–1519), the Tagore family became
well-known.
Q. What is the original family title of Tagore
family?
Answer: Banerjee is the original family title
of Tagore family.
Q. Who was the poetic inspiration (muse) of
child Rabi?
Answer: Poet Bihari Lal was his muse when
he was a child.
Q. What is significant about Tagore’s Nobel
winning?
Answer: He is the first non-European to win
the prize.
Q. When did Rabindranath Tagore achieve
‘Nobel Prize’?
Answer: He was awarded ‘Nobel Prize’ in
1913.
Q. For which piece of writing was Tagore
awarded the ‘Nobel Prize’?
Answer: For writing ‘Song Offerings’, he
was awarded the prestigious ‘Nobel Prize In
Literature’. He translated it from his original
‘Gitanjali’.
Q. Who had written the preface of the ‘Song
Offerings’?
Answer: Irish poet W. B. Yeats had written
the preface.
Q. Who had translated the short stories of
Rabindranath Tagore?
Answer: Irish poet W. B. Yeats had
translated the short stories of Rabindranath
Tagore.
Q. When did Tagore write his first poem?
Answer: Tagore wrote his first poem when
he was just eight.
Q. How many national anthems did Tagore
write?
Answer: He had composed and tuned three
national anthems: India, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka.
Q. What is pseudonym of Tagore?
Answer: Bhanu Singha is the pseudonym of
Rabindranath Tagore. Using this name, he
wrote a few Padavali (old verse).
Q. What is Rabindranath Tagore’s mother’s
name?
Answer: Sharada Devi is the mother of
Rabindranath Tagore.
Q. To whom was ‘Gitanjali’ dedicated?
Answer: ‘Gitanjali’ was dedicated to
William Rothenstein.
Q. Who is William Rothenstein?
Answer: Sir William Rothenstein was an
English painter and printmaker. He was a
draftsman and writer on art as well.
Q. When was William Rothenstein born and
did he die?
Answer: He was born at 29 January in 1872
and died at 14 February in 1945.
Q. Where did William Rothenstein born?
Answer: William Rothenstein was born into
a German-Jewish family in Bradford, West
Yorkshire.
Q. Who had written ‘Men and Memories’?
Answer: William Rothenstein wrote ‘Men
and Memories’.
Q. When was ‘Where the mind is without
fear’ composed?
Answer: This poem was most likely
composed in 1900. It appeared in the
volume Naivedya, poem named “Parthona”
Q. What does Tagore demand by this poem?
Answer: He gave a graphic independent
India. He wants not only the freedom of land
but also demand intellectual India.
Q. Which university was founded by
Rabindranath Tagore?
Answer: Rabindranath Tagore established
‘Visvabharati’.
Q. Who had published English ‘Gitanjali’?
Answer: Indian Society, London, had
published the English ‘Gitanjali’.
Q. What is the meaning of Gitanjali?
Answer: Gitanjali is the composition of two
words. ‘Gita’ means song and ‘anjali’ means
‘offering’. So, Gitanjali means ‘Song
Offerings’.
Q. What types of poem does Gitanjali
contain?
Answer: All poems are highly devotional. It
praises the freedom of humanity.
Q. Which American president did use the
two lines from Gitanjali-35?
Answer: President Barack Obama used the
first two lines while he joined New Delhi
Session.
Q. What types of images does Gitanjali-35
picture?
Answer: It tells the story of free thinking
and dynamic nation.
Q. What type of religion did Tagore follow?
Answer: He was the believer of Brahmo.
Q. What is Brahmo belief?
Answer: Brahma belief is the update version
Hinduism. They believe in one God. So,
they are theist.
Q. Who is the founder of Brahmo belief?
Answer: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the
founder of modern Brahmo Society.
Q. In which year did Rabindranath Tagore
surrender the knighthood as a protest against
Jallianwallabagh massacre?
Answer: In 1919, Tagore refused the
knighthood.
Q. Which great scientist was the friend of
Tagore?
Answer: Albert Einstein was the friend of
Tagore. He was very much fond of his
poetry.
Q. Which science fictionist was the friend of
Tagore?
Answer: H. G. Wells was the friend of
Tagore. Tagore and H.G. Wells met in
Geneva in early June, 1930.
Q. When did Tagore meet Einstein?
Answer: Tagore went to outskirt home
Albert Einstein in Berlin on July 14, 1930.
They talked about science and Indian
tradition.
Q. Which English imagist poet was the
friend of Tagore?
Answer: Imagist poet Ezra Pound was the
friend of Tagore.
Q. When did Ezra Pound meet Tagore?
Answer: Ezra Pound for the first met Tagore
in ‘Tagore Evening’ hosted by William
Rothenstein, July 7, 1912.
Q. Which Irish poet was the friend of
Tagore?
Answer: Irish poet William Butler Yeats was
the friend of Tagore.
Q. When did Yeats meet Tagore?
Answer: On Tagore’s third visit to Britain,
he met Yeats on 7 July 1912.
Q. Who said about manuscript of Gitanjali:
‘if someone were to say he could improve
this piece of writing, that person did not
understand literature’.
Answer: William Butler Yeats said so in a
party.
Q. Which magazine was edited by
Rabindranath Tagore?
Answer: Rabindranath Tagore used to edit
‘Bangadarshan’.
Q. What is the main motif of the portion of
Gitanjali-35?
Answer: It is a direction given by
Rabindranath Tagore. He gave a way to
create free India.
Q. What is the meaning of ‘domestic wall’?
Answer: ‘Domestic wall’ means the borders
of the countries.
Q. Which mystic folk song influenced
Tagore?
Answer: He was much influenced by the
mystic songs of Lalon Shah.
Q. Who introduced Tagore with the songs of
Lalon Shah?
Answer: Gagan Harkara (peon) introduced
him with the songs of Lalon Shah.
Q. Who was Gagan?
Answer: Gagan was a Postman at
Shelaidaha Post office in Kumarkhali. He
was a disciple of Lalon Shah. He was a baul
poet as well. He was generally known as
Gagan Harkara.
Q. Who had composed ‘Ami Kothay Pabo
Tare’?
Answer: Baul poet Gagan Harkara
composed the song.
Q. What is story between Tagore and Gagan
Harkara?
Answer: Gagan told Tagore about Lalon
Shah.
Q. Why is Gagan Harkara important for
Tagore’s career?
Answer: By the help of Gagan Harkara
Tagore knew about Lalon’s mysticism. This
is a gate way of his career. And later many
poems of Tagore were influenced by the
mysticism of Lalon Shah.
Q. Who is the wife of Tagore?
Answer: Mrinalini Devi was the wife of
Tagore.
Q. When did Tagore die?
Answer: He died on 7 august in 1941. He
became 80 when he died. He died in
Kolkata.
Q. How many wishes does Tagore long in
the “Song Offerings-35”?
Answer: Tagore longs seven wishes in the
“Song Offerings-35” for his country.
Q. What is the first prayer of Tagore?
Answer: The first prayer of the poet is that
his country should not fear anything and live
their lives with dignity.
Q. What is the meaning of ‘Father’ in the
poem?
Answer: Here ‘Father’ means ‘Father in
Heaven’ or ‘God’.
River came home (Aditi Rao)
Felling of Banyan Tree by Dilip Chitre
My father told the tenants to leave
Who lived on the houses surrounding our
house on the hill
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees
Trees are sacred my grandmother used to
say
Felling them is a crime but he massacred
them all
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were
all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a
problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
My father ordered it to be removed
The banyan tree was three times as tall as
our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the
branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap
was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree
And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two
hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this
slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one
Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams,
its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike
Understanding the Poem

1. Identify the lines that reveal the critical

tone of the poet towards the felling of the
tree.
Answer
There are many expressions in the poem that
reveal the critical tone of the poet towards
the felling of the tree:
“Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground”
“Sawing them off for seven days and the
heap was huge”
“Insects and birds began to leave the tree”
“Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped”
“We watched in terror and fascination this
slaughter”
2. Identify the words that help you
understand the nature of the poet's father.
Answer
There are such words in the poem that help
one understand the nature of the poet's
father.
The father was a much practical man.
Probably because the whole family was
moving to Baroda, the father got all the trees
removed and the surrounding property
demolished. He was not an emotional man
but a man of actions.
“the structures were demolished”
“but he massacred them all”
“My father ordered it to be removed”

3. 'Trees are sacred my grandmother used to

say'– what does the poet imply by this line?

Answer
There are many legends surrounding the
sheoga, the oudumber, the neem and most of
all the banyan tree. These are considered
mythologically relevant and holy in
Hinduism. Old folk who are deeply religious
consider it sin to cut down these trees as
they are to be worshipped according to the
Holy Scriptures. They even say that if one
brings neem or peepal down by felling them
they are cursed with ill fate. There are plenty
of stories in our mythology that fear and
plague our society with as many
superstitions as possible. Thus, the poet is
merely trying to convey the fears and
religious beliefs of old folk like his granny.

4. No trees except the one which grows and

seethes in one's dreams'– why is the phrase
'grows and seethes' used?

Answer
In the climax of the poem, the poet with his
family moved to Baroda. There, the poet
sees banyan tree. The memory of the banyan
tree in his own garden rushes to him. And
now that the tree in reality is dead, for his
father brought it down, the poet carries its
memories in his faded dreams. The poet
personifies the banyan tree by saying that
this tree is the one that grows in one's
dreams, i.e., in poet's dreams. There in the
dreams, the tree seethes, i.e., boils. It is to be
considered for why the poet has used the
second term. Is it possible that the tree is in
anguish, because it was brought down, and
thus it boils in anger while it grows in the
poet's dreams though dead in reality.

5. How does the banyan tree stand out as

different from other trees? What details of
the tree does the poet highlight in the poem?

Answer
In Bhagvad Geeta, Krishna said, “Of all the
trees I am Banyan Tree”. Banyan is
considered to be the most pious tree in
Hindu mythology. It is believed that Buddha
renounced under the banyan tree in Bodh
Gaya. There are many more such stories that
this tree encompasses in its age old aerial
roots that fall to the ground mysteriously.
The poet is impressed by its huge figure as
he says, “the great tree revealed its rings of
two hundred years”. The physical
description of the banyan carves an image of
an enigma. The tree's aerial roots dangling
from above to reach out to the ground. They
are the proof of all the years and decades the
tree has lived. It is a tough tree and it takes
more that usual effort to bring it down. And
when it happens, all watched it fall in terror
and fascination, the slaughter of the age old
banyan tree. It fees as if a raw mythology
was revealed it age to the poet and his folk.

6. What does the reference to raw

mythology imply?

Answer
The Banyan tree is a mythological one, and
when his grandmother calls it along with the
other trees to be sacred. A religious
sentiment is brought out in not just the poet
but the reader as well. When the tree is
slaughtered on the orders of the poet's father,
a mystery is revealed. First the scraggy
aerial roots were brought down unleashing
age old trunk that had a circumference of
fifty feet. It was a tree that had witnessed
ages and held all the knowledge knotted
inside. When it was brought down it felt as
if all the mythology was revealed to the
poet. The darkness and the concealed, the
enlightenment it has secreted away since so
long. The reasons and the answers to all the
logics all was beheld by the tree and now
was slaughtered.
7. 'Whose roots lay deeper than our lives' –
what aspect of human behaviour does this
line reflect?

Answer
A banyan tree's life cycle is a unique one, it
grows as an epiphyte. It may live for more
than 200 years or even 400-450 years. In
contrast an average human life is of 70-80
years. It is clearly visible that one banyan
alone may survive generations of humans.
Banyan has strangled roots knotted in its
trunk that grow for centuries. It transcends
human life and rolls and grows with the
knowledge that it witnesses all the while.
The poet has subtly juxtaposed a human life
to that of a banyan. For all its mythical
hugeness that makes it an enigma a human is
thrown into utter bewilderment and surprise
for all the knowledge that it secrets away
inside its vast trunk, which grows with its
aerial roots that grow to reach the ground.
They resemble the lives that it has lived
again and again witnessing all the human
lives that descended and perished with time
standing tall and erect.

8. Comment on the contemporary concern

that the poem echoes.

Answer
Poet is concerned about the pace with which
the traditions are changing and are affected
by modern notions. The value attached to
the trees in earlier times is not of concern to
people living in modern society. The old
cultural values are breaking free giving way
to western science and studies. The religious
values that were inculcated in a child from
her/his childhood are payed no heed. Life is
busy and is consuming not just our time and
space but our lifestyle. The moral values our
tradition was raised on are now treated as
bygones. The poet wonders at the change
our society is undergoing and has written the
poem on it.

Rain, Rain, Go Away by Isaac Asimov

1 Analysis of Rain, Rain, Go Away by Isaac

Asimov
2 About the Author Isaac Asimov was born
in 1920 in the Soviet Union. He came to the
U.S. when he was 3. He was a writer of
science fiction/fantasy. He died in 1992.
3 Rain, Rain, Go Away Rain, rain, go away,
Come again another day, All the children
want to play, Rain, rain, go away. What does
this story have to do with the popular
children’s song?
4 The Genre Rain, Rain, Go Away is a
science fiction story. Science fiction
includes unrealistic elements (for example,
characters being made of sugar). It is a story
that includes realistic concepts as well (such
as nosy neighbors, amusement park, etc.) to
make the fantastic events seem more
believable.
5 The Wright family represents the
stereotypical all-American family: – Mrs.
Wright = homemaker, nosy neighbor – Mr.
Wright = works, watches the game, ignores
his wife’s gossip – Tommie = plays baseball
(America’s pastime)
6 The name Wright is also significant in that
Asimov is suggesting that Americans are
always “right” (or, at least, they think they
are). George Wright’s comment that the
Sakkaro boy playing baseball is “like
Chinese water torture” is especially
significant: he is saying that a “non-
American” attempting to play baseball
(America’s game) is torturous for him to
have to hear (This is vindicated when Mr.
Wright “glanced with distaste at the
television” when “Schoendienst was at
bat.”). Tommie’s unwillingness (?) to play
with him shows the future’s lack of
acceptance (or at least hesitance) as well.
7 The Sakkaros are an enigmatic family.
They represent a family from a foreign
country; people Americans do not
understand and therefore judge. Also, the
name Sakkaro is a play on the word
saccharine which means sugar. Although
they are an anomaly, they are described as
“sweet,” “pleasant,” and “handsome.”
Asimov is suggesting that no matter how
sweet people (“non-Americans”) are, if we
(Americans) do not understand them, it
doesn’t matter…
8 The Sakkaro’s obsession with the weather
is symbolic of people from other
countries/who are “different” being
concerned with (dangerous) things they
cannot control… …such as the “climate” of
American society (in other words, how
American’s feel about them and treat them.).
9 The Sakkaro’s refusal to eat anything
“American” (like a hamburger or hot dog)
represents their uncertainty about
(unwillingness to?) acclimating into
American society. At the same time, the
Wright’s disgust at the Sakkaro’s “sweet
tooth” simply represents America’s
disapproval of new people.
10 The two families finally get together and
go to an amusement park (this can be seen
as an “all American” thing to do): the
Wrights feel perfectly comfortable while the
Sakkaros are on edge. It is fun and
comfortable for the Wrights, and unusual for
the Sakkaros: Mrs. Wright used her
“mother’s psychology” because it would be
“easier for her to go along with it.” Then
Mrs. Wright says, “I suppose they’ve never
been to a place like this before and they’ll
need time to adjust to the novelty.” It
represents American society. At the sight of
one cloud, the Sakkaros want to go home (to
safety), and the Wrights scoff at this.
11 Finally, the Sakkaros dissolve in the rain
because they were made of sugar (sweet and
fragile) just before they get into their house
(ironically). The rain is not something the
Wrights worry about. (Think about T.W.U.!)
The rain = the difficulties of fitting into
American society; it is the “climate” of
American society.) There is another IRONY
here: rain = water = cleanliness, purity, life
(all living things need it to survive) but it
kills the Sakkaros. The conclusion = the
theme of the story: Isaac Asimov is
suggesting that it is difficult (Americans
make it so) for “non-Americans” to be
comfortable in American society. But…
12 Discussion Question: Did the Sakkaros
melt (fail to thrive/survive; die) because they
didn’t try to acclimate themselves into
American society? Or because the Wrights
(the Americans, if you will) refused to
accept them for who they were? And, did the
Wrights mean well? Whose fault is it?

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost is
a well-known poem about the journey of
life. This lesson will cover a brief
summary of the poem, analyze its major
theme, and test your knowledge with a
quick quiz.
Poem Summary
Have you ever found yourself caught
between a rock and a hard place, trying
to make a difficult decision? Maybe
you've had to choose between two
equally desirable things, like following a
career path to become an astronaut or a
doctor. You may have considered the
different paths of study or activity each
choice would lead you down. We've all
been faced with challenging decisions in
our lives, and sometimes the difficulty of
making those decisions arises from the
fear of not knowing if what we choose is
right, or what will happen as a result of
our choice.
Well, the famous American poet, Robert
Frost, once wrote a poem that
describes this feeling exactly. 'The Road
Not Taken', first published in 1916, is
perhaps Frost's most famous poem. The
final lines in particular, 'Two roads
diverged in a yellow wood and I - I took
the one less traveled by, and that has
made all the difference', are often
quoted and referred to as inspirational
words that challenge us to overcome
obstacles in life.
The poem describes someone standing
at a fork, or turning point, in a road in the
woods, trying to decide which path he's
going to take. He looks down one road
as far as he can see, and after thinking
for another minute, decides to take the
other one because it looks like nobody's
been that way yet, and he's curious
about where it leads.
He thinks maybe he might come back
another day and try out the other path
but he has a feeling that the road he's
chosen will lead him to new places and
discoveries, and he probably won't be
back. He thinks wistfully about that road,
the road not taken, and where he might
have wound up if he'd gone that way
instead. Part of him regrets his decision,
but he also realizes that the things he's
seen and the places he's gone because
of the direction he chose has made him
who he is.
The Poem's Theme
'The Road Not Taken' is more
than a poem about someone
trying to decide which road he's
going to take on a stroll through
the woods. It's actually a poem
about the journey of life.
The two roads diverged in a
yellow wood symbolize a
person's life. The narrator's
choice about which road to take
represents the different
decisions we sometimes have to
make and how those decisions
will affect the future. Think of
the expression, 'down the road',
that we often use to describe
something that might happen
months or even years from now,
and you'll see how Frost is
making the connection between
life and traveling.
Frost captures the uncertainty
about making decisions and our
natural desire to know what will
happen as a result of the
decisions we make in the first
stanza of the poem:
'Two roads diverged in a yellow
wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I
could
To where it bent in the
undergrowth'
Here, Frost uses the bend in the
road as a metaphor for what the
narrator wishes he could see but
ultimately can't make out in the
undergrowth. The narrator
eventually decides to take the
other road because it really
doesn't matter; whichever path
he chooses, he has no way of
knowing where he's going to end
up.
The only difference between the
two roads is that the one the
narrator chooses in the second
stanza is 'grassy and wanted
wear'; in other words, it doesn't
look like anyone's taken it
before or in a long time. At this
point in the poem, Frost tries to
encourage readers to overcome
the fear of the unknown:
someone has to be the first
person to try a new thing. Just
think about what has happened
when men and women have
boldly gone where no men and
women have gone before.
Without that kind of
determination, Christopher
Columbus wouldn't have
'discovered' America, and Neil
Armstrong wouldn't have walked
on the moon.
The poet while travelling on foot in the
woods reaches a junction where two roads
diverge and he has to choose one among
them He stands there for long. Then he
decides to choose the road, which was
grassy and needed ‘to wear’. He feels this
choice will make all the difference to his
future life. He decides to try the other road,
some other time, knowing fully well that he
will not get a chance to go back to it. Later
he wishes that he had taken the other road.
This is the irony of life, we cannot travel on
all the available roads, no matter howsoever
we may wish to.
The poet feels that after ages from now he
would be looking at this decision with a
‘sigh’. He would tell that since he had taken
the road less travelled, it made all the
difference.
Thus the poet speaks of the basic problems
of making the right choice. Many
alternatives are available at the time of
choice but man has to select one. It is only
the future that will reveal, whether the
decision is wrong or not. After taking
decisions we cannot undo them, we can only
regret them. Even if we wish, we cannot
start all over again.

Stanzas Explanation

• Stanza 1: On the road of life,

the speaker arrives at a point
where he must decide which of
two equally appealing choices is
the better one. He examines one
choice as best he can, but the
future prevents him from seeing
where it leads.

• Stanza 2: The speaker selects

the road that appears at first
glance to be less worn and
therefore less traveled. This
selection suggests that he has
an independent spirit and does
not wish to follow the crowd.
After a moment, he concludes
that both roads are about
equally worn.

• Stanza 3: Leaves cover both

roads equally. No one on this
morning has yet taken either
road, for the leaves lie
undisturbed. The speaker
remains committed to his
decision to take the road he had
previously selected, saying that
he will save the other road for
another day. He observes,
however, that he probably will
never pass this way again and
thus will never have an
opportunity to take the other
road.

• Stanza 4: In years to come, the

speaker says, he will be telling
others about the choice he
made. While doing so, he will
sigh either with relief that he
made the right choice or with
regret that he made the wrong
choice. Whether right or wrong,
the choice will have had a
significant impact on his life.
Terms and Meanings from the
Poem

• Diverged – separated
• Undergrowth - a dense growth
of shrubs and other plants
• Lay – put
7. On the basis of your
understanding of the poem,
answer the following questions
by ticking the correct choice.
(a) In the poem, a traveler
comes to a fork in the road and
needs to decide which way to go
to continue his journey.
Figuratively the choice of the
road denotes
______________________.
(i) the tough choices people
make the road of life
(ii) the time wasted on deciding
what to do
(iii) life is like a forest
(iv) one must travel a lot to
realize his dreams

Answer

(i) the tough choices people

make the road of life

(b) The poet writes, 'Two roads

diverged in a yellow wood.' The
word diverged means
_______________.
(i) appeared
(ii) curved
(iii) branched off
(iv) continued on
Answer

(iii) branched off

(c) The tone of the speaker in

the first stanza is that of
______________.
(i) excitement
(ii) anger
(iii) hesitation and
thoughtfulness
(iv) sorrow

Answer

(iii) hesitation and

thoughtfulness

8. Answer the following

questions briefly.

(i) Describe the two roads that

the author finds.

Answer

One road was a beaten track.

Many people had walked on it. It
was lost in the small shrubs. The
other road was grassy and
unspoiled.

(ii) Which road does the speaker

choose?

Answer

The poet chose the road that was less

travelled because it had the better claim. It
was grassy and not many people had used it.

(iii) Which road would you

choose? Why?

Answer

I will chose the less travelled

road because I want to judge
myself test myself and check my
capability. I like adventure and
would want to explore new facts.
I am always enthusiastic for
venturing into something
absolutely new, uncommon and
unknown to the rest of the
world.

(iv) Does the speaker seem

happy about his decision?
Answer

There is a certain ambiguity

here. The speaker seems happy
and satisfied when he says -
“And that has made all the
difference.” However, the sigh
just before this makes us
question his happiness.

(v) The poet says “I took the one

less travelled by, And that has
made all the difference.” What is
‘the difference’ that the poet
mentions?

Answer

When the poet came to the cross roads, he

had a choice. He could take the road
travelled by many or he could take the road
less travelled. He decided to take the road
less travelled knowing fully well that once
the choice was made, it was permanent and
there was no turning back. That 'choice' he
had made, according to him, has changed his
life. It may have brought him success,
happiness and fulfillment. The choice that he
made at that time affected his future. That
choice made all the difference to his life.

9. Find the rhyme scheme of the

poem.

Answer

The rhyme scheme of Poem is a b a a b

Page No: 67
10. Fill in the blanks to complete the
following paragraph that deals with the
theme of the poem. Use the words given in
the box below:
decision
sorry
foresee
choices
pleasant
direction
fork
trail
rewarding
chance
wonder
both

The poem “The Road Not

Taken” by Robert Frost is about
the ___________that one makes in
life. It tells about a man who
comes to a ______________in the
road he is travelling upon. He
feels ____________that he cannot
travel ________paths as he must
choose one. Frost uses this fork
in the road to represent a point
in the man’s life where he has to
choose the ____________he wishes
to take in life. As he thinks
about his __________he looks
down one path as far as he can
see trying to ________________
what life will be like if he walks
that path. He then gazes at the
other _________and decides the
outcome of going down that
path would be just as ___________.
At this point he concludes that
the trail that has been less
travelled on would be more
_________ when he reaches the
end of it. The man then decides
that he will save the other path
for another day, even though he
knows that one path leads to
another and that he won’t get a
_____________ to go back. The man
then says that he will be telling
this story with a “sigh” someday
in the future suggesting that he
will ________what life would have
been like if he had chosen the
more walked path even though
the path he chose has made all
the difference.

Answer

The poem “The Road Not Taken”

by Robert Frost is about
the choices that one makes in
life. It tells about a man who
comes to a fork in the road he
is travelling upon. He
feels sorry that he cannot
travel both paths as he must
choose one. Frost uses this fork
in the road to represent a point
in the man’s life where he has to
choose the direction he wishes
to take in life. As he thinks
about his decision he looks
down one path as far as he can
see trying to foresee what life
will be like if he walks that path.
He then gazes at the
other trail and decides the
outcome of going down that
path would be just aspleasant.
At this point he concludes that
the trail that has been less
travelled on would be
more rewarding when he
reaches the end of it. The man
then decides that he will save
the other path for another day,
even though he knows that one
path leads to another and that
he won’t get a chance to go
back. The man then says that he
will be telling this story with a
“sigh” someday in the future
suggesting that he
will wonder what life would
have been like if he had chosen
the more walked path even
though the path he chose has
made all the difference.
11. Roads are fascinating as
metaphors for life, change,
journeys, partings, adventure,
etc. or simply as roads. This is
probably why they, and all their
attendant images, have
permeated art, literature and
song. In the poem, Frost uses
the fork in the road as a
metaphor for the choices we
make in life. Thus the roads are,
in fact, two alternative ways of
life. What other nouns could be
used to represent life?
• River
• ________________
• ________________
• ________________
• ________________
Answer
Stage
Flowers
Colours
Dream
Journey

13. 'The Road Not Taken' is a

biographical poem. Therefore,
some personal biographical
information is relevant to the
deeper understanding of the
poem we have read. Go to
www.encarta.com and complete
the following worksheet about
Robert Frost.

a) What "momentous decision"

was made by Frost in 1912?
b) How old was he when took
this decision?

c) Why was it so difficult to

make this decision? Think and
give more than one reason.

d) Was the "road" Frost had

taken easy "to travel"?

e) Do you think he wrote "The

Road Not Taken" before sailing
from the USA to England or
after? Can you quote a line or
two from the poem that can
support your answer?

f) Do you think Frost finally

became popular in America as a
poet?
Answer
a) In 1912 Frost sailed with his
family to Great Britain. This
decision is considered as
"momentous decision" made by
Robert Frost. Before this, Frost
was a failing New Hampshire
farmer as well as a part-time
poet. This was the year when
Frost give up farming and
started his career as poet. The
family moved to Great Britain,
where Frost met many other
poets and successfully set his
career on the path
to immortality.
b) Robert Frost was 42 when this
poem published. However, we
cannot assume that this poem is
actually autobiographical. Frost
created his speaker for the
poem to speak on his behalf. We
can guess the age of the
speaker based on the evidence
given in the poem. The only clue
we have to the speaker’s age
are the words “ages and ages
hence.” This implies that he will
be considering the effects of his
decision far down the road years
into the future. So we would
expect him to be a relatively
young man at the time of the
decision.
c) He was going to another
country where he had no
contact. Also, he give up his
traditional occupation. If he fails
in his poetic career then it is
very hard for him to survive.
Therefore, the decision was so
difficult.
d) The poem didn't make it clear
whether the road was difficult or
not. We have only knew about
the condition of the road is that
it “was grassy and wanted
wear.” That just means that it
was not a frequently traveled
road; it doesn’t tell us how
difficult it was.
e) The poem is written
after sailing from the USA
to England. We can understood
through his line "...and that has
made all the difference" which
means Frost had traveled the
road which changed his life.
f) Yes, Frost finally became
popular in America as a poet.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Summary
Defarge greets the shoemaker. He lets in
more light into the room. He asks the man if
he is going to finish the shoes. The man
doesn’t know. Jarvis Lorry comes forward,
and Defarge asks the man to show Lorry the
shoe. The man tells Lorry it is a lady’s
walking shoe. When Defarge tells him to
state his name as the person who made it,
the man replies, “Number 105, North
Tower.”
Lorry asks if he is a shoemaker by trade.
The man says no. He learned it. He taught
himself. Lorry then calls him Mr. Manette
and asks if he remembers him. He asks if he
remembers Mr. Defarge as his former
servant. Mr. Manette has brief recognition
on his face, but it dims almost immediately.
Miss Manette moves closer, feeling
compassion for him. The man resumes his
work. Defarge and Lorry move to the side.
Defarge asks Lorry if he has identified him
positively as Mr. Manette. Lorry says yes.
Mr. Manette finally notices the woman
standing next to him. He asks if she is the
jailer’s daughter. She says no. Lorry and
Defarge move closer, worried he might harm
her. He caresses her hair. He said she laid
her head on his shoulder. She had been
afraid of him going, but he hadn’t been.
When they brought him to prison, they
found something that he begged to keep. It
couldn’t help him escape physically, only
mentally. He asks if she is the woman he is
speaking about. Miss Manette begs Lorry
and Defarge not to interfere. Mr. Manette
realizes she couldn’t be that woman. She is
too young. He asks Miss Manette her name.
She promises to tell him at another time, as
well as reveal her parentage. However, now
is not the time or place. She asks him to kiss
her. She tells him to weep for any familiar
memory she sparks in him. She has come to
take him away, and his suffering is over. She
tells him her mother is dead, and that her
mother kept from her the fact that her father
was alive to spare her pain. He embraces
her, then gradually falls to the floor in
exhaustion.
She asks if they can prepare for their
departure. Lorry asks if Mr. Manette is fit
for a journey. She believes it is better than
letting him stay. Defarge agrees with her.
Miss Manette wants to stay with him. They
are reluctant to leave her alone. However,
much needs to be prepared, and there is little
time to do it. Lorry goes to hire a carriage,
and Defarge gets the papers.
At nightfall, they prepare to leave. Mr.
Manette seems confused by his
surroundings, since he expects to still be at
the prison. He doesn’t remember coming
here. They ride until they encounter some
soldiers asking to see their papers. Defarge
shows them, and they are allowed to
proceed.

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Page No: 107

2. Write a letter to your friend about the
sight you saw and your
impression of it.
Answer
Dear Friend,
Hey, I am writing to you to describe
something very interesting.
The other day I was going through
‘Literature Reader’ where I
saw a picture of a sculpture of two legs and
a beheaded face
lying on the floor in the desert. The
impression of the same, on
me, was very horrifying because it seemed
to talk of a very
powerful ruler who was no longer alive.
Who might have
guessed that years after his death…
XXX
4. Answer the following questions by ticking
the correct
options.
(a) The poem is set in
____________________________________
________
i. the wilderness
ii. an ancient land
iii. a palace
iv. a desert
Answers
iv. a desert (b) The expression on the face of
the statue is one of ____________________
i. admiration ii. anger iii. despair iv.
contempt Answer iv. contempt (c) This
poem throws light on the
_________________ nature of Ozymandias.
i. cruel ii. arrogant iii. boastful iv. aggressive
Answer iii. boastful (d) The sculptor was
able to understand Ozymandias'
___________________ i. words ii.
expression iii. feelings iv. ambition Answer
ii. expression (e) The tone of the poem is
____________________________________
____ i. mocking ii. nostalgic iii. gloomy iv.
gloating Answer iv. gloating Page No: 108 5.
Answer the following questions briefly.
(a)"The hand that mocked them, and the
heart that fed." Whose hand and heart has
the poet referred to in this line? Answer The
hand is the sculptor's hand who made the
statue and the heart of the King Ozymandias
which fed on the passions of his people. (b)
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:"
Why does Ozymandias refer to himself as
King of Kings? What quality of the king is
revealed through this statement. Answer
Ozymandias is the mighty king who has
defeated almost all the kings and their
empires around him. He is proud of his
glory and power. So, he calls himself ‘King
of Kings’. This statement shows that the
king must be very proud of his
achievements. He is a real snob. (c) "Look
on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Who
is Ozymandias referring to when he speaks
of ye Mighty? Why should they despair?
Answer Ozymandias refers to all the other
rulers to come after his reign. They should
despair, because according to him, they can’t
surpass his glory and power. (d) Bring out
the irony in the poem. Answer Ozymandias
was very powerful ruler. No ruler in that
time withstand against him. He was all high
and mighty king. But now, his statue is
present in broken pieces and has mixed with
the dust and sand. Here is irony. (e) 'Nothing
beside remains.' What does the narrator
mean when he says these words? Answer
When the narrator says these words, he
emphasises on the fact that human life is
time bound. The power and popularity of the
ruler descended with the descent of the ruler.
Nothing is immortal and immutable in this
world. (f) What is your impression of
Ozymandias as a king? Answer Ozymandias
was a great powerful king as he had defeated
almost every king in his empire. His
achievements could be seen throughout the
empire. But his boastful nature, his
arrogance, and his nature of showing others
down make him a weak person. (g) What
message is conveyed through this poem?
Answer Through this poem a very important
message is conveyed that time is all
powerful. No king or his power can defeat
time. All the achievement, in the end, leads
to grave as nothing lives in the world
forever. So, the pride and the showcase of
power are useless. The greatness of a man is
known by his good deeds. Page No: 109 6.
Identify and rewrite the lines from the poem
spoken by the narrator, the traveler and
Ozymandias: The Narrator:
____________________________________
_______________ _____
____________________________________
_______________ _____
____________________________________
_______________ _____ The Traveller:
____________________________________
_______________ _____
____________________________________
_______________ _____
____________________________________
_______________ _____ Ozymandias:
____________________________________
_______________ _____
____________________________________
_______________ _____
____________________________________
_______________ _____

Answer The Narrator: The narrator starts the

poem with the introduction as to how the
traveller had narrated his trip to the ancient
land. The Traveler: Two huge yet without
the upper part of the body sculptures stood
in the desert. Near them lay a shattered face,
which had a frown and a wrinkled
expression on his face. The face also held a
hostile expression of cold command. The
expression could be read very well on these
lifeless things because of the sculptor’s
artistry. On the pedestal appeared the words
of the king himself. It read that his name
was Ozymandias, king of kings, who
commanded the forthcoming rulers to look
up to him, and be saddened by the fact that
they can never beat the glory he had
achieved. Ozymandias: I am Ozymandias,
king of all kings: look upon my work and be
despaired by my might, which you can never
surpass. Page No: 110 8. Complete the table
listing the poetic devices used by Shelley in
Ozymandias.
Poetic Device
Lines from the poem
Alliteration
...and sneer of cold command
Synecdoche (substitution of a part to stand
for the whole, or the whole to stand for a
part)
the hand that mock'd them
Answer
Poetic Device
Lines from the poem
Alliteration
...and sneer of cold command
Synecdoche (substitution of a part to stand
for the whole, or the whole to stand for a
part)
the hand that mock'd them
Repitition
King of Kings
Personification
the hand that mocked them

9. Imagine that Ozymandias comes back to

life and as he sees the condition of his
statue, realisation dawns on him and he pens
his thoughts in a diary. As Ozymandias,
make this diary entry in about 150 words.
You could begin like this: I thought I was
the mightiest of all but... Answer Dear Diary,
Traversing over the desert, I was
dumbfounded with great shock when I
discovered that my statue was lying broken,
without head and body, in an eroded state.
Imagine my reaction. I had considered
myself above all, I was the greatest, the
mightiest, and I believed that the coming
generations would worship or pay respect to
my statue. The condition of my statue
pained me. All my achievements, my
confidence in my power was razed to the
ground. There were sands and loneliness
around. No one seemed to remember my
greatness. May be I was wrong. I should
have devoted my life to the welfare, looked
after my people with compassion and care,
maybe then the fate of my statue would have
been different. Ozymandias. 10.
'Ozymandias' and 'Not Marble, nor the
Gilded Monuments' are on Time. Compare
the two sonnets in terms of the way in which
Time is treated by the poets. Write your
answer in about 150 words. Answer In both
the sonnets, ‘Ozymandias’ and ‘Not Marble
Not the Gilded Monuments’ time is
presented in different way by the poets. In
‘Ozymandias’, Percy Byshhe Shelley
presents time more powerful than the most
of the powerful king. On the other hand, in
‘Not Marble Not the Gilded Monuments’,
Shakespeare present time as powerful but
not as powerful and long lasting as his
words for his friends. In ‘Ozymandias’ it is
seen that even a great king is forgotten in the
course of time if his deeds are bad. But if
you love someone more than anything else
in the world, as mention in ‘Not Marble Not
the Gilded Monuments’, your love for that
person lives forever. In such case, one
doesn’t need to make a statue to make the
memory live forever. Time can be won only
by love not by hate.

Gorillas in the mist by Dian Fossey

Gorillas in the Mist Worksheet

1. Who is this movie about?
2. Why are many hesitant for Dian to go do
this research?
3. What is the political situation going on in
the Congo upon Dian’s arrival?
4. How long was it before Dian sees any
gorillas?
5. What is the gorillas’ reaction when they
1st see Dian?
6. Where does Dian move her search to
after being stopped by civil war?
7. What did the “Batwa” think of Dian?
8. Was the trip with the photographer
successful?
9. How does Dian cut a deal to stop
poachers?
10.How long before research students were
sent to learn about Dian’s research?
11.Do you think that having to deal with
poachers is part of doing natural
observation? Why or why not?
12.What type of tactics does Dian use to
discourage poachers?
13.What parts of a gorilla do poachers
usually take?
14.What effect does the long-term natural
observation seem to have on the
researchers?
15.Do you think it was necessary for Dian to
make so many enemies? Why or why not?
16.What was Dian Fossey’s fate?
17.Do you think her research, through
natural observation was successful? Why or
why not?

Ode on the death of a favourite cat by

Thomas Gray
Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat
Thomas Gray Ode on the Death of a
Favorite Cat answers
1. D
2. E
3. B
4. B
5. C
6. B
7. A
8. D
9. A
10. A
11. D
12. C
13. B
14. B
The poem is by Thomas Gray. (1716-1771)
1. D. The lines describe a china bowl filled
with water in which goldfish are swimming.
It is probably blue and white porcelain.
2. E. The word order in this stanza is
inverted. The series of nouns in lines 8–11
are all the direct objects of the verb “saw”
(line 12). The subject of the sentence is
“she” (line 12), that is, the cat, Selima. The
cat is looking at her reflection in the water
of the goldfish tub.
3. B. In this context, the word “tortoise”
refers to tortoise shell, the hard, variegated
material used to make combs or eyeglass
frames. Tortoise shell, in its mottled yellow
and brown colors, is like a tabby cat.
4. B. Because the poem denotes the purring
as “applause” (line 12), the cat is celebrating
her own appearance, which is reflected in
the water of the bowl.
5. C. To answer this question, you must look
at the whole sentence, which goes on to say,
“but . . . two . . . forms were seen to glide.”
This construction with the conjunction “but”
makes it clear that “had stared” is a
subjunctive verb, not an indicative past
perfect tense.
In this context, “still” has the meaning of
“yet,” “even now.”
6. B. The use of the verb “glide” to describe
the motion of goldfish is not unusual. To
describe
motion of the water of a goldfish bowl, even
a very large one, as “tide” is elevated
diction. So is to speak of goldfish as “genii”
or their scales as a “scaly armor” or their
color as a “Tyrian hue.” This inflated diction
to describe ordinary things exemplifies the
poem’s mock-heroic language.
7. A. The hapless (unlucky) nymph is the
cat, Selima, who is about to drown.
8. D. There is a semicolon after “saw” in
line 19. That sentence is complete. In lines
20–22,
the subject and verb of the sentence are “She
stretched,” and the objects of the verb are
“whisker” and “claw.”
9. A. If they are decorations (B), the verbs
“came” and “stirred” make no sense. Tom
and
Susan are servants in the house (C). Nereids
are watery gods, but dolphins are not (E).
They are inhabitants of water (D), but that
does not explain the line. In classical myth,
dolphins
or nereids may be the rescuers of drowning
men, as in the myth of Arion. Notice
that this question can be answered by the
process of elimination and by common
sense. It
is easier, of course, for the student with
some familiarity with Greek myth. Because
no
mythical rescuers come to her aid, Selima
will drown.
10. A. Selima gets no supernatural or human
help from Tom or Susan. The use of
adjective
“cruel” for Tom followed by the remark
about a “favorite” suggests that the servants
resent
the cat.
11. D. The metaphor of the six stanzas
compares the cat with an epic heroine. She
is demure,
pensive, fair, with eyes of emerald, a hapless
nymph, a presumptuous maid who meets her
fate when the gods fail to intervene to save
her. The goldfish may be like epic heroes,
because they do wear armor, but the
metaphor is not developed through stanzas
1–6.
12. C. The improving advice of the last
stanza cannot be taken seriously, though the
death of
the cat is ingeniously turned into a lesson for
beautiful women. Nonetheless, the primary
intention of stanza 7 is not moral instruction.
This is a comic poem, well aware of the
incongruity
of this high moral tone set against the
accidental death of a cat. The poem takes
the death of the cat too seriously to be
serious.
13. B. The terms “informal,” “understated,”
and “impressionistic” are not at all suitable.
Though there is irony in the poem, mock-
heroic is the better choice. The mock-heroic
style uses an elevated language to treat a
trivial subject in an apparently serious
manner.
14. B. Although iambic pentameter is the
most common meter in English poetry, this
poem
uses only iambic trimeter and tetrameter. In
each stanza, lines 1, 2, 4, and 5 are iambic
tetrameter (four feet), while lines 3 and 6 are
iambic trimeter (three feet).

Elder brother by Munshi Premchand

1. What are the things that Munna liked to
do?
Ans. Munna liked to play marbles, fly kites,
play volleyball and kabaddi, drawing
pictures of animals and birds.
2. What did Bhaiya do all day?
Ans. Bhaiya reads books all the day.
3. Why was Munna not happy with the
timetable that Bhaiya made for him?
Ans. Munna was not happy with the
timetable that Bhaiya made for him because
there was no time to play for it.
4. How do you think Munna when his
brother was so strict with him? Why was
Bhaiya so strict with him?
Ans. Munna became sad and began to cry.
When his brother was strict with him.
Bhaiya was strict with him because it was
his duty to care that Munna would not waste
his time. He wanted Munna to study hard.
5. Whose character do you like more –
Munna’s or Bhaiya’s? Why?
Ans. I like Bhaiya’s character more than
Munna’s. It appears Bhaiya was a
bookworm. Still he did not pass his classes.
But in fact, Bhaiya had more qualities than
Munna. He felt that Munna was his
responsibility. He was strict with Munna
because he loved him. Because he was not
good at studies, but he had more experience.
6. After the reading the letter, answer the
following questions.
(a) Who has written the letter?
Ans. Pratap has written the letter.
(b) To whom has the letter been written?
Ans. The letter has been written to his
mother.
(c) Where is the writer of the letter?
Ans. The writer of the letter is Krishna
Boy’s Hostel in Kolkata.
(d) What is the name of his hostel?
Ans. The letter was written on 10th July
2000.
7. Read the following passage and answer
the questions that follow:
Oliver was a nine-year-old boy. He lived
with other homeless boys in an orphanage.
He was pale and thin as were the other boys
living there. This was because they had to
work hard but were never given enough to
eat. The owner of the orphanage, Mr
Bumble, was a cruel man and he ill-treated
the boys. The boys were always hungry It
was true that they were given three meals a
day but each meal consisted only of a bowl
of watery soup. They were almost starving.
So it was decided by them to ask the master
for more soup. But who would bell the cat?
Finally, the task fell to Oliver. When all the
boys had assembled in the cold stone hall for
their evening meal, the soup was served. It
soon disappeared. The boys whispered to
one another and one boy pushed Oliver a
little. Oliver, making a brave effort, stood
up, walked up to the master with his bowl
and spoon in his hand, and said tremblingly,
“Please sir, I want some more.”
(a) Why did Oliver live in the orphanage?
Ans. Oliver lived in the orphanage because
he was a homeless boy.
(b) Who was Mr. Bumble?
Ans. Mr. Bumble was the owner of the
orphanage.
(c) What meal were the boys given?
Ans. The boys were only given of watery
soup.
(d) What did Oliver say to Mr. Bumble?
Ans. Oliver said to Mr. Bumble. “Please Sir,
I want some more.”
(e) The boys were given three meals a day.
Then why were the always hungry?
(i) Because the soup they were given was
never enough.
(ii) Because they worked very hard all day
long.’
(iii) Because the older boys drank up their
soup.
Ans. (i) Because the soup they were given
was never enough
8. Find the words from the passage that
mean the same as
(i) very hungry (para 2)
Ans. starving.
(ii) to vanish (para 3)
Ans. disappeared.
9. All the boys assembled in the cold stone
hall. Here the word assembled means.
(i) moved away
(ii) collected
(iii) worked together
Ans. (ii) collected.
10. From the word ‘assembled remove the
last two letters. Add one letter to make a
word which means a time at the school when
the whole school gathers.

Ans. Assembly.
11. Give a suitable title to the passage.
Ans. Title: Hungry Boy.
12. Complete the following sentences using
the correct form of teach or learn.
(a) Will you ____ me chess?
Ans. Teach.
(b) Mr. Sharma ____ class VIII.
Ans. Teaches.
(c) The students have _____ about ‘road
safety’.
Ans. Learned.
(d) My sister has _____ me how to ride a
horse.
Ans. Taught.
(e) I have ___ some of the customs of India.
Ans. Learned.
(f) I ____ how to cycle when I was just four
years old.
Ans. Learned.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel

Taylor Coleridge
 Page No: 111
1.1. Look at the picture carefully and answer
the questions given below:
What can you see in the picture? Does the
man look happy? Give reasons for your
answer.
Answer
There is a distressed man standing in the
company of a few other men, who seem to
be on board a ship. The man, definitely,
doesn't look happy. He seems to be deep in
sorrow, because his neck is hung low and his
hand slapped on his forehead.
1.2. Why does he have the bird hanging
around his neck?
Answer
The bird hanging around his neck might
symbolize the memory of his committing a
terrible error.
1.3. Have you heard of the expression-
'having an albatross
around your neck'? What do you think it
means? Does it mean:
a. Something that you can always be proud
of
b. Something that you have to do because
you have no choice
c. Something that is with you all the time as
a reminder that
you have done something wrong?
Answer
c. Something that is with you all the time as
a reminder that you have done something
wrong.
1.4. What is an albatross?
Answer
An albatross is a large sea-bird with a wing
span of about 4m. Page No: 115
4. Here are some of the archaic words used
in the poem; can you match them with the
words used in Modern English Language
that mean the same? The first one has been
done for you as an example:
Stoppeth-
Stopped
Thy
entered
Wherefore
why
Stopp'st
you
Thou
lunatic
May'st
at once
Quoth
fainting fit
Loon
has
Eftsoons
can't you
Dropt
stopping
Hath
church
Spake
enemy
Kirk
yes
Paced
see
Foe
call
Aye
trouble
Ken
looking
Swound
your
Hollo
said
Plague
dropped
Look'st
spoke
Answer
Stoppeth-
Stopped
Thy
your
Wherefore
why
Stopp'st
stopping
Thou
you
May'st
can't you
Quoth
said
Loon
lunatic
Eftsoons
at once
Dropt
dropped
Hath
has
Spake
spoke
Kirk
church
Paced
entered
Foe
enemy
Aye
yes
Ken
see
Swound
fainting fit
Hollo
call
Plague
trouble
Look'st
looking

5.Using the words given above rewrite Part

1 of the poem in your own words. The first
stanza has been done as an example:
It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?
An old sailor stopped one of the three people
passing by, who asked: "Old man, with your
long grey beard and glittering eye, why are
you stopping me?"
Answer
An old sailor stopped one of the three people
passing by, who asked: "Old man, with your
long grey beard and glittering eye, why are
you stopping me? The bridegroom's doors
are open and I am one of the next family
members. The guests have arrived, the feast
is set. Can't you hear the merriment?"
The sailor held him with his skinny hand
and said: "There was a ship." The wedding
guest, disgustingly said, "Let go of me, you
lunatic person," and dropped his hand.
However, the sailor captivated his attention
with his glittering eye; the wedding guest
stood still. He was all ears to the old
sailor, just like a three years old child,
because now the >—
mariner had his will. ^
The wedding guest was left with no choice
but to listen to the ancient sailor. Thus began
the narration of the ancient mariner. "There
was a loud cheer on board, and the harbor
has clear, for the sun to rise above the
church, the hill, the lighthouse.
The sun came up upon the left and shone
bright all day, and set on the right, going
down the sea. The sun rose higher and
higher everyday till it touched the mast on
noon."
The Wedding Guest beat his breast in
impatience because he could hear the loud
musical instrument being played.
The bride had started walking down the hall.
She was as red as the rose. Before her went
a merry procession of singers and musicians.

The wedding guest didn't have a choice but

to hear. Thus continued the mariner: "Then
came the storm, severe and strong. The
storm overtook them, and chased the ship
southwards.
The cruel torturous ways of the storm is
described here. The storm blew harsh, yelled
and chased them towards south. The ship's
steer hung low.
They witnessed both mist and snow. The
weather became wondrous cold with ice
everywhere as bright and clear as emerald.
The floating ice and steep sides of the ice-
bergs formed a dismayed sheen, that is, a
smooth bright surface of ice.
There was ice all around them. The ice
cracked, growled, roared and howled, like
noises of a person in a fainting fit.
Then, the albatross arrived through the fog.
It was hailed in God's name, as a Christian
soul.
It ate the food it had never eaten and flew
round the ship. Then, a miracle occurred,
when the ice cracked and the helmsman
could steer the ship through the ice.
Throughout their journey down south, the
albatross followed them, and everyday, came
for food or play, at the call of the mariners.
The nights turned to become "glimmered"
like "the white moonshine."
Part 1 of the poem concludes with the
ancient mariner possessing an ill omen about
the albatross. This part of the narration gave
the ancient mariner a troubled look. When
asked the reason for the same by the
wedding guest, the mariner let it out and
revealed the terrible truth that he shot the
albatross.
6. Answer the following by choosing the
right option from those given below:
(a) The Ancient Mariner stopped one of the
three wedding
guests because
i. he wanted to attend the wedding with
him
ii. he wanted him to sit with him
iii. he wanted him to listen to his story
iv. he wanted to stop him from going to the
wedding
Answer
iii. he wanted him to listen to his story.
(b) The wedding guest remarked that he was
'next of kin' which
means that
i. he was a close relation of the bridegroom
ii. he was a close relation of the bride
iii. he was next in line to get married
iv. he had to stand next to the bridegroom
during the wedding
Answer
i. he was a close relation of the bridegroom
(c) 'He cannot choose but hear1 means
i. the mariner was forced to hear the story
of the wedding guest
ii. the wedding guest was forced to hear the
story of the
mariner
iii. the mariner had the choice of not
listening to the story of the
wedding guest
iv. the wedding guest had the choice of not
listening to the story
of the mariner
Answer
ii. the wedding guest was forced to hear the
story of the mariner
(d) 'The sun came up upon the left, /Out of
the sea came he
;'This line tells us that the ship
i. was moving in the northern direction
ii. was moving eastwards
iii. was moving in the western direction
iv. was moving towards the south
Answer
iv. was moving towards the south
(e) The Wedding-Guest beat his breast
because
i. he could hear the sound of the bassoon
ii. he was forced to listen to the Mariner's
tale when he wanted
to attend the wedding
iii. the sound of the bassoon meant that the
bride had arrived
and the wedding ceremony was about to
begin and he could
not attend it.
iv. the sound of the bassoon announced the
arrival of the bride
and the start of the wedding ceremony
Answer
iii. the sound of the bassoon meant that the
bride had arrived and the wedding ceremony
was about to begin and he could not attend
it.
(f) The storm blast has been described as
being tyrannous
because
i. it was so fierce that it frightened the
sailors
ii. it took complete control of the ship
iii. the storm was very powerful
iv. the sailors were at its mercy
Answer
iv. the sailors were at its mercy
(g) The sailors felt depressed on reaching the
land of mist and
snow because
i. there was no sign of any living creature
ii. they felt they would die in that cold
weather
iii. they were surrounded by icebergs and
there seemed to be
no sign of life
iv. everything was grey in colour and they
felt very cold
Answer
iii. they were surrounded by icebergs and
there seemed to be no sign of life
(h) The sailors were happy to see the
albatross because
i. it was the first sign of life and therefore
gave them hope that
they might survive
ii. it split the icebergs around the ship and
helped the ship move
forward.
iii. it was a messenger from God and it lifted
the fog and mist.
iv. it gave them hope of survival by splitting
the icebergs.
Answer
ii. it split the icebergs around the ship and
helped the ship move forward.
(i) The two things that happened after the
arrival of the
albatross were
i. the icebergs split and the albatross
became friendly with the
sailors
ii. the icebergs split and a strong breeze
started blowing
iii. the ship was pushed out of the land of
mist and the ice
melted.
iv. the albatross started playing with the
mariners and ate the
food they offered.
Answer
ii. the icebergs split and a strong breeze
started blowing
(j) 'It perched for vespers nine' means
i. the ship stopped sailing at nine o'clock
every day
ii. the albatross would appear at a fixed time
everyday.
iii. the albatross would sit on the sail or the
mast everyday
iv. the albatross was a holy creature
Answer
ii. the albatross would appear at a fixed time
every day.
(k) 'God save thee, ancient Mariner, /From
the fiends that
plague thee thus!- Why look'st thou so?'
means
i. the mariner wanted to know why the
wedding guest was
looking so tormented
ii. the wedding guest wanted to know why
the mariner was
looking so tormented
iii. the wedding guest wanted to know
whether some creatures
were troubling the ancient mariner
iv. the ancient mariner wanted to know
whether something was
troubling the wedding guest
Answer
ii. the wedding guest wanted to know why
the mariner was looking so tormented
Page No: 118
7. Answer the following questions briefly
(a) How did the ancient mariner stop the
wedding guest?
Answer
The ancient mariner held the wedding guest
with his skinny hand, and forced him into
listening to him, capturing his attention with
his glittering eyes. His gaze was so strong
and intense, that even though the wedding
guest did not want to listen to the story, he
was forced to, much against his will.
(b) Was the wedding guest happy to be
stopped? Give reasons
for your answer.
Answer
No, the wedding guest was not happy
because he was forcibly detained by the
ancient mariner whareas he being a close
relative of the bridegroom, was expected to
reach there well in time. The guests had
already arrived there. The feast was set. The
loud sound of bassoon could be heard.
(c) Describe the ancient mariner.
Answer
The ancient mariner looks lik a lunatic with
his grey long beard
with glittering eyes, His hands were rough
and skinny and he had a mesmerising gaze.
The mariner was badly ridden with a sense
of guilt and remorse after the wanton act of
killing the Albatross.He is cursed to be
haunted indefinitely by his dead shipmates,
and to be compelled to tell the tale of his
downfall at
random times.
(d) How does the mariner describe the
movement of the ship
as it sails away from the land?
Answer
The mariner described the movement of the
ship as it sailed
away from the land in a very animated and
interesting way. His description was so
realistic that the wedding guest was
mesmerised. As the ship moved southward,
the weather was pleasant. But soon the
weather started changing for the worst.
First, a storm broke. It later turned to mist
and snow, due to
which their ship was stuck in ice.
(e) What kind of weather did the sailors
enjoy at the beginning
of their journey? How has it been expressed
in the poem?
Answer
The weather was pleasant and sunny at the
beginning of the
journey.
The sun came as if appearing from the
innards of the sea. The sun was bright day
after day during the initial phase of the
journey.
(f) How did the sailors reach the land of mist
and snow?
Answer
The sailor started their journey happily. But
after a very short
spell of smooth journey a very turbulent and
violent sea-storm
rose. The storm was so powerful that it
completely overtook the ship and drove the
ship to the extreme South. In this way,
the sailors reached the land of mist and
snow.
(g) How does the mariner express the fact
that the ship was
completely surrounded by icebergs? Answer
The words "the ice was here, the ice was
there, the ice was all
around," gives us the picture of the ship
surrounded, or rather,
caught completely by the icebergs.
(h) How do we know that the albatross was
not afraid of the
humans? Why did the sailors hail it in God's
name? Answer
Albatross didn't fear humans because it
followed the mariners
day and night and ate and played with them
as well. The sailors
hailed it in God's name because it was a
messenger from God
which lifted the fog and mist.
(i) What was the terrible deed done by the
Mariner? Why do
you think he did it? Answer
The terrible deed done by the Mariner was
that he shot the
albatross. I think he did it because he
considered its presence to be a bad omen.
8. There are a number of literary device used
in the poem.
Some of them have been listed below.
Choose the right ones and write them down
in the table as shown in the example. In each
of the cases explain what they mean.

Simile, metaphor, alliteration,

personification, hyperbole,
repetition
1.
The Wedding-Guest
stood still, And listens like
a three years' child:
Simile; the wedding guest
was completely under the
control of the mariner
2.
Below the kirk, below the
hill,
Below the lighthouse top
3.
The sun came up upon
the left,
Out of the sea came he
4.
The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she
5.
And now the storm-blast came,
and he was tyrannous and strong:
6.
With sloping masts and dipping prow, As
who pursued with yell and blow
Still treads the shadow of
his foe
7.
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around
Answer
1.
The Wedding-Guest stood still, And listens
like a three years' child:
Simile; the wedding guest was completely
under the
control of the mariner
2.
Below the kirk, below the
hill,
Below the lighthouse top
Alliteration; the alphabet 'b' is repeated
several times
3.
The sun came up upon
the left,
Out of the sea came he
Personification; the sun is personified as
someone
4.
The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she
Simile; the bride is compared to a red rose
5.
And now the storm-blast came,
and he was tyrannous and strong:
Hyperbole; the extremity of brutality of the
storm is portrayed.
6.
With sloping masts and dipping prow, As
who pursued with yell and blow
Still treads the shadow of
his foe
Personification; 'of his foe'
implies reference to the image as an
individual
7.
The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around
Repetition; the word 'ice' is repeated several
times in the
reference.
Page No: 121
11. Answer the following questions briefly
(a) In which direction did the ship start
moving? How can you
say?
Answer
The ship started moving northwards. This
can be said because the line in the poem
says: "the sun now rose upon the right."
(b) Why does the mariner say that 'no sweet
bird did follow'?
Answer
The mariner says that no sweet bird did
follow with reference to the albatross which
followed them a few days back, and now is
dead.
(c) How did the other mariners behave
towards the Ancient
Mariner at first? How many times did they
change their mind
about the Ancient Mariner? What does this
tell us about their
character?
Answer
The other mariners rebuked him at first to
have killed the albatross. However, they
changed their mind immediately after that to
praise the ancient mariner who killed the
bird which brought in fog and mist. This
shows how confused the mariners were, to
set up a fixed notion about the ancient sailor.
(d) How did the sailing conditions change
after the ship had
moved out of the land of mist and snow?
What or who did the
mariners blame for this change?
Answer
The sailing condition changed for the worst
after the ship had moved out of the land of
mist and snow. Their ship was stuck in the
silent sea. The breeze dropped down,
making the sails drop down as well. The
ship came to a standstill. The mariners
blamed the ancient mariner for this change
because he had killed the albatross which
brought the breeze.
(e) What is indicated by the line 'The bloody
sun, at noon,/Right
up above the mast did stand,/No bigger than
the moon'?
Answer
This line indicates the excessive heat of the
sun, which shone above the mast at noon.
The word 'bloody' shows how unwelcome
the sun was.
(f) How does the mariner describe the fact
that they were
completely motionless in the middle of the
sea?
Answer
The stanza "Day after day, day after day,/We
stuck, nor breath nor motion/As idle as a
painted ship/Upon a painted ocean," portrays
a still picture of the sea and the ship.
(g) What is the irony in the ninth stanza?
Explain it in your own
words.
Answer
The ship was surrounded by the water on all
sides. The sailors were in the middle of so
much water but they did not have single
drop of water to drink. The water of the
ocean is salty, thus inappropriate for the
sailors to quench their thirst.
(h) What is the narrator trying to convey
through the description
of the situation in the tenth and eleventh
stanza?
Answer
In these stanzas, the narrator tries to convey
the standstill
description of the ocean and the ship.
Everything rot because
of the motionless sea. Animals from deep
within the ocean had
come out of their places and crawled in the
slimy sea.
At night, the 'death-fires' seemed to dance
near them. The
narrator refers to the sea water as the witch's
oil. Just like a
witch's oil has many shades and keeps
boiling, the sea water
also had 'green, blue and white' colours.
However, this was
due to the different coloured creatures
crawling in the sea.
(i) What or who did the mariners feel was
responsible for their
suffering?
Answer
The mariners feel the absence of the
albatross is the reason
for their suffering. Thus, they blame the
ancient mariner for killing the albatross.
(j) Describe the condition of the mariners as
expressed in the
thirteenth stanza. Answer
The mariners were feeling thirsty but they
didn't have water to
quench their thirst. Their tongue had become
completely dry at the root. They couldn't
speak because they felt if their throats were
chocked with soot.
(k) Why did the mariners hang the albatross
around the neck of the Ancient Mariner?
Answer
The mariners hung the albatross around the
neck of the Ancient Mariner as a cursed
reminder, so that the thought could plague
him for the rest of his life.
Page No: 122
12. Like part one, the second part also has a
number of literary devices. List them out in
the same way as you had done in question
number seven and explain them.
Answer
Out of the sea came he,
Personification of the sun.
Nor dim nor red, like God's own head,
Simile
The furrow followed free,
alliteration
Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards
did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
repetition
As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted
ocean,
simile, hyperbole
13. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
Answer
In most of the stanzas of four lines the
rhyme scheme is abcb. In the stanzas of six
lines the rhyme scheme is ababcb.
14. Find examples of the use of interesting
sounds from the poem and explain their
effect on the reader.
1.
The ice
'cracked
and
growled and roared and
howled'
Coleridge uses onomatopoeic words which
use harsh 'ck' sounds to make the ice sound
brutal. He also gives the ice animal sounds
to give the impression it has come alive and
is attacking the ship
 Answer

1.
The ice 'cracked and
growled,
Coleridge uses onomatopoeic words which
and roared and howled'
Coleridge uses which onomatopoeic words
and roared and howled' use harsh 'ck' sounds
to make the ice sound brutal. He also gives
the ice
animal sounds to give the impression it has
come alive and is attacking the ship
The fair breeze
blew, the white foam flew,
Cnomatopoeic words which give a
smooth picture of the breeze blowing.
O Christ!
This word exclaims the terror and the
horror with which the miserable
condition of the sailors is expressed.
The Six Napoleons by Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle
Summary-
• Inspector Lestrade is back yet
again.
• He is chilling at Baker Street and
he is distracted.
• Lestrade has a case that seems
really stupid and weird, but it's bothering
him.
• Holmes tells him to spill it.
• Lestrade tells us that a guy named
Morse Hudson, who ran the 1890s
version of Pier One, had someone smash
a bust of Napoleon in his shop and run
off.
• Lestrade at first thought that this
was "hooliganism."
• But then a man named Mr.
Barnicot had the same thing happen to
him. He used to be the proud owner of
two discount busts of Napoleon bought
from Morse Hudson.
 • But some person recently broke in
to Barnicot's home and office and broke
his Napoleon busts.
• Tragic.
• All three Napoleon busts were
made from the same mould.
• Lestrade is wondering if some
crazy person has some sort of Napoleon
obsession.
• Dr. Watson helpfully notes that
there are lots of mental disorders, so who
knows.
• Thanks for that tip, Watson.
• Holmes finds this all shifty, and
says to keep him updated since
seemingly dumb cases often turn out to
be major ones.
• The next morning Holmes barges
in on Watson and shows him a telegram
from Lestrade telling them to come to an
address.
• They do so and find a dead body.
• The dead body is outside the house
of journalist Horace Harker, who had his
Napoleon bust stolen last night.
• Holmes and Watson go to talk to
the upset Harker. Harker is partially upset
because he is too upset to write, and his
newspaper will miss out on his
eyewitness inside scoop.
• Harker gives them a quick run-
down of events and notes that he bought
his Napoleon bust from the Harding
Brothers store and not Morse Hudson.
Shop rivalry.
• The dynamic duo goes back
outside to chat with Lestrade.
• There's no identification on the
body, but he was carrying a picture of a
man that Watson describes as "ape-like."
• Historical Context Lesson! This
description of Watson's is important since
it echoes a lot of eugenics rhetoric that
was pretty popular in the 1890s.
Eugenics is a type of "race science" that
basically classed non-white people as
evolutionarily "lower" than white people.
If you want to read up more on eugenics
in this period, you can check out Beppo's
"Character Analysis," as well as the them
"Foreignness and 'the Other.'"
• The cops have also found a
smashed Napoleon bust nearby under a
street-lamp.
• Holmes theorizes that this person
is breaking these busts for a deliberate
purpose and not just to satisfy a
Napoleon vendetta or something.
• Watson and Holmes leave to go
talk to the people at the Harding
Brothers' shop and at Morse Hudson's
shop.
• Morse is able to identify the man
in the photograph found on the dead
body as Beppo, an Italian workman who
did stuff like carving and framing at
Gelder and Co.
• Then Holmes and Watson head to
Gelder and Co., which is where the
Napoleon busts were made originally.
• Beppo's former boss at Gelder and
Co. tells about what a punk he was and
how he got arrested on the job after
fleeing the cops. Beppo had knifed
another Italian in the street.
• He was a good worker until that
incident though.
• The ex-boss also gives Holmes
more info on the Napoleon busts. There
were six total made from the same mold.
• Later Holmes and Watson see a
hilarious account in the newspaper about
a homicidal nut with a Napoleon
complex running around London.
• They go back to the Harding
Brothers shop and find out who owns the
other two Napoleon busts.
• Holmes contacts both men.
• Lestrade comes back and fills them
in on his day's work. Lestrade found out
the identity of the dead body: Pietro
Venucci. He's an Italian with mafia
connections.
• Lestrade wants to go hunt for
Beppo in the Italian Quarter but Holmes
says they can let Beppo come to them.
• So Lestrade, Holmes, and Watson
go stake-out the house of Josiah Brown.
• Eventually Beppo shows up to
steal Josiah's Napoleon bust.
• Beppo is caught and arrested.
• Beppo smashes the bust before he's
caught, depriving Josiah of some nice
decoration in his home.
• Then Bepo is hauled off to jail, and
Lestrade goes back to Baker Street with
the dynamic duo.
• A Mr. Sandeford comes by to sell
Holmes his Napoleon bust.
• He can't figure why Holmes is
willing to pay so much for it, but Holmes
convinces him it's cool and shoves him
out the door.
• Then Holmes breaks the statue
open and reveals a black pearl hidden
 inside.
• Holmes explains that this is a
famous pearl that was stolen years ago.
Holmes couldn't solve the case until now.
• Pietro had a sister, Lucretia, who
stole the pearl. He doesn't know if Beppo
was in on the scam or if he robbed Pietro,
but Beppo hid the pearl in one of the
Napoleon busts as the plaster was drying.
But then he was arrested and had to wait
until he got out of jail to find the pearl.
The Commentator by Gareth Owen
Summary:
• It' about this boy that's a
commentator and his name is Danny
Markey he just does what a normal
commentator do.
• A commentator is like when
somebody just says what people are
doing in rugby for example it's a goal and
he is going he passed the ball, but Danny
commentator for soccer.
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Summary
In “The Gift of the Magi,” Della is
determined to give her husband a Christmas
gift. In order to afford the fob for her
husband's watch, she sells her long, beautiful
hair, only to learn that he has sold his
beloved watch to buy her a set of combs.
“The Gift of the Magi” summary key points:
• Della Young decides to sell her
beautiful hair to buy a watch fob for her
husband’s beloved watch.
• When Jim comes home, he is
saddened and surprised to see Della’s
beautiful hair missing. He offers her his
gift: bejeweled combs that she no longer
needs.
• Della offers her gift to Jim. He
looks at her and admits that he has sold
his watch to buy her the combs.
• The two are overcome with love as
they realize they have sacrificed their
 most prized possessions for one another.
EXERCISE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Answer the following questions, each in

about 40-50 words:
Q.1. How much did Della save for
Christmas? What did it show?
Ans: Della saved $ 1.87 (one dollar and
eighty seven cents) for Christmas. She had
collected this amount cent by cent. It
showed that she was a careful girl, who did
not spend much. It should the strength of her
character. She was preparing herself for the
future.
Q.2. Why did Della take pride in the beauty
of her hair?(or) what was Della’s hair likes
and what do you think she felt about it?
Ans: Della took pride in her hair because “It
fell about her like a stream of brown
waterfall. It reached below her knee.” It was
like a dress or skirt to her. It means that her
hair was very long, think, silken, and shiny. I
think she felt like a princess when she stood
before others in her shiny hair.
Q.3. Why and how did Della sell her hair?
Did she do well?
Ans: Della sold her beautiful brown hair at a
shop for twenty dollars. She wanted to buy a
gold chain for Jim as a Christmas gift. She
should have discussed the matter with Jim
first. But her action showed that she could
sacrifice her dearest possessions for Jim—
even his life.
Q.4. Why did Jim sell this gold watch? Did
he do well?
Ans: Jim sold his watch to buy special
combs for Della as a Christmas gift. He did
this in a hurry. He should have consulted
Della before doing this. But it also showed
that for Della he could sacrifice his best
things_ his life even.
Q.5. Why did Jim and Della want to present
the gifts?
Ans: The wanted to present the Christmas
gifts to make each other specially
happy.They loved each other very dearly. So
Della bought the gold chain and Jim bought
the special combs. But they never thought of
giving less expensive and commoner gifts to
fees easy as well.
Q.6. Why did Della feel sad on losing her
hair?
Ans: Della felt sad on losing her hair
because it was the most beautiful part of her
person (body). It was long, brown, thick and
silky that everyone liked. But more than
anyone, Jim liked it most. Della feared that
without it he may not like her so much.
Q.7. Why did Jim not welcome Della when
she stepped in?
Ans: Jim did not welcome her when she
entered the house because he found
Della'shair missing. He was in the habit of
looking at Della's hair with great pleasure.
But this time he could not enjoy the lovely
sight. He found to his disappointment that
her beauty was less than earlier.
Q.8. What did Jim bring out from his coat?
Describe the scene as well as you can.
Ans: Jim brought out something tied in
paper from inside his coat. He threw it on
the table. When Della opened the packet, she
found special combs for her “hair.” This was
the best symbol (sign) of his love for her.
But it was also a reminder to her that she
had lost the most beautiful part of her
personality, at least for several years.
Q.9. How beautiful was the gold watch
chain? Would you have liked to own it?
Ans: The gold chain was simple, but made
of pure and rich material. It was extremely
lovely as a love present. I would have liked
to own it. But with the gold chain should
have been like flowers without the plant.
Q.10. What was the wisdom on Jim’s part to
sell his most valuable thing?
Ans: Perhaps there was no wisdom on Jim’s
part to sell his most valuable thing, that is,
his gold watch. He was almost made in his
passion of love for Della. He did not talk
with or consult Della before selling it. But
love is almost always blind. Very few people
keep their senses in order when they are in
deep love.
Answer the following questions, each in
about 40-50 words:
Q.1. How did the Magi want to celebrate
their Christmas. (or ) Who were the first
people to give Christmas gifts?
Ans: The Magi were the three wise men
from the East who brought gifts to Jesus
Christ. This way these wise men also
celebrated Christmas. The Magi were very
wise because they made Jesus happy
through the gifts. They were the first people
who gave Christmas gifts to the baby Jesus.
Q.2. How much attached to each other were
Della and Jim in the story?
Ans: Della and Jim did everything in their
power to please each other. Della sold her
hair for twenty dollars only. She bought the
gold chain for Jim’s watch. Jim sold his gold
watch to buy special combs for Della.
Q.3. Why did Jim and Della sell their
beautiful and valuable things?
Ans: They sold their most beautiful things to
please each other. They wanted to show that
they could lose their all for each other’s joy
and satisfaction. They were trying to show
that they could even die for love.
Q.4. Describe the story in our words.
Ans: Della and Jim were lovers. Della sold
her hair to buy a gold chain for Jim’s watch.
Jim sold his watch to buy special combs for
Della’s hair. Della’s gift of gold chain was
useless for Jim and Jim’s gift of the combs
was useless for Della, yet they loved each
other.
Q.5. What is the moral of the story?
Ans: The moral is that we should not
become too emotional in love. We should act
wisely in all matters of life. In any case, we
should not overreach ourselves (do more
than we are able to do). The acts of Della in
selling her hair and of Jim in selling his gold
watch were highly emotional. Lovers should
use their minds more than their hearts.

• How essential is the setting of the

story? Could the story have taken place
at another time?
I like the setting and think it is important.
The amount of money Della had and how
she sold her hair wouldn't work in 400 B.C
or in modern times.
• How do the sacrifices of Jim and
Della compare to each other?
Ultimately, Della's hair will grow back. Jim,
however, sold a family heirloom which can
not exactly be replaced. I believe that Jim
has more entitlement to crying over his loss
than Della does, especially since Jim doesn't
actually care if Della's hair is short, and
Della rarely leaves the house.
• Do you think that Jim and Della
appreciated their gifts?
Jim and Della clearly appreciated their gifts,
although neither were usable. It was the
thought that counted, because both of them
had to get rid of their most prized
possessions in order to give the other person
a gift.
• Would the personalities of Jim and
Della change if they were better off
financially?
If you think about the stereotypes of rich
people, yes. Having everything you want at
your fingertips can definitely impact their
personalities. Jim and Della are kept
humbled by being poor and having only
each other.
• Why do you think the story
compares Jim and Della to the Magi?
The true value of a gift lies in the sacrifice
involved in it. The Magi gave their most
valuable possessions to Jesus, who was a
sacrificial gift himself. Both the characters
in this story and the biblical Magi gave their
most precious belongings for the benefit of
somebody else.
• How important do you think
appearances are?
Judgements, in general, are based mostly on
appearance. First impressions especially. As
such, I hold appearances to be of relative
importance.
• What is your most prized
possession?
My stuffed giraffe, Lovey that my dad
bought me after he came home from eight
months deployment in the navy.
• How would you react to losing
your prized possession?
It depends on the circumstance. If giving my
most prized possession to someone meant
making them happy, I would feel far better
than if the possession was stolen or
destroyed.
• If you were Jim or Della, how
would you feel about the gift you
received?
I would feel a little upset, because my
husband had sold the object I bought the gift
for. I still would feel grateful, because I
would know he cared.
• Would you prefer to be financially
secure, or emotionally content?
I would prefer to be emotionally content
because money can't buy happiness.

The Last Wolf by Mary TallMountain

The title of the poem “The Last Wolf”
makes me think that the poem might be
about a werwolf that is the last one alive or
is the only one around in the country or the
state. The meaning of the poem might be
how people used to believe that wolves or
wear wolves used to exist. They might be
thinking that how wolves are really
dangerous and how they kill. Maybe the
humans of the town killed all the wolves but
one got away and he was angry about it and
wanted revenge.
In the line where it says “Passing the
flicking red and green of traffic signals”
made me think that the wolf has killed all
the people in the town and now is after the
last person, he goes past the empty road
where the lights turn red and green. No one
is probably alive as the wolf may had killed
them all.
The kind of words they use is strange and a
lot of the words are what we use in our daily
life. some of them starting with alliteration
such as “steep smashed” gave me the idea of
everything is ruined and the wolf is running
down the steep ruined hill. Not a lot of
alliteration was there. Not much simile was
used in this poem. some words rhymed such
as ‘loping gait’ and ‘deadly night’
The poem was interesting a little but not
much. I got confused in some places and
some words I didn’t understand. I thought a
lot about what the poem was about and what
was the story about it. I think I was very
different compared to the other 180 poems
on the website. This poem was a bit weird in
its own ways and on its own ways. It was
strange the way how they used words to
show and express what happened then. They
told me how people were scared in the form
of poems. It made me image of what
happened to the people and I could picture
in my mind of the scene… I think it was a
complex poem to analyze.

A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric

Newby

Refugee Blues by W. H. Auden

A Lesson on a Tortoise by D. H. Lawrence
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William
Shakespeare