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Engaging English Chapters Upto 12 Chapter
Engaging English Chapters Upto 12 Chapter
•
• 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remained glued to their outdated customs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 ?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stanzas Explanation
• 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
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
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
Answer
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.
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