An Elementary School Classroom

An industrialist in a certain poor part of a poor country established a primary school for the poor
children there. His only aim was to make money by attracting the visitors for their donations.
The children inside the classroom were poor, malnourished and ill. They held their head down
under the burden of life. Their dreams didn’t find their realization inside the class room. The
interior of the school had nothing interesting for the children who were forced to attend the
boring classes. The stories of Shakespeare taught in the class inspired the children to steal. They
hated the map inside the classroom because it allotted rich land for the rich and the slums for
them. They hated the pictures of the tall buildings in the classroom because their own huts were
nowhere in front of them. They hated everything inside the class room and preferred the dusty,
clouded, dark and polluted world outside the classroom.

Far far from gusty waves these children’s faces

Like rootless weeds, the hair torn round their pallor,
The tall girl with her weighed- down head.

1. Where does the slum exist? How do you know this?

The slum exists far away from the seas and oceans and rivers where rich and prosperous
people live. Prosperity is found in cities and cities generally stand on the coastal regions
of the world. As the slum is away from the gusty waves of the seas, they are far away
from seas too.
2. Why is the hair of the children here compared to rootless weeds?
When weeds are rootless they are dead and decayed. Similarly the slum-children have
their hair without being groomed or nourished properly. Their hair tangle on their faces
without any order.
3. Why is the tall girl’s head weighed down?
There is possibly more than one reason for the tall girl’s head being weighed down. In the
first place she, being big and responsible, is burdened by her own terrible life. Secondly,
the girl, being tall, is ashamed of studying with small kids.

The paper- seeming boy, with rat’s eyes.

The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones,
Reciting a father’s gnarled disease, his lesson, from his desk.

1. What does the expression, paper seeming boy, suggest the appearance of the boy?
The boy is as thin as paper due to malnutrition and poor bringing up.
2. Why are the boy’s eyes compared to that of a rat’s?
A rat’s eyes are always restless. They are always in search of something and look for
dangers. The boy here is also searching for something other than the attractions inside the
classroom.
3. How does the term, stunted, describe the unlucky boy’s appearance?
The boy’s growth was slowed by his poor conditions. Poverty and malnutrition have
tortured his body and spirit. He looks like a living skeleton.
4. Why is the boy unlucky?
The boy has nothing at hand to be lucky. What he has inherited from his father is a cruel
 disease. Poverty is his companion. A skeleton-like figure is what he is. Hunger gleams in
his eyes and helplessness echoes in his heart.
5. What has the boy inherited from his father?
The boy has inherited neither money nor great legacy nor property from his father. He
inherited his father’s gnarled disease.
6. How does the unlucky boy ‘recite’ his father’s decease from his desk?
The unlucky boy is suffering from the same gnarled disease that his father too was
suffering from. When asked to recite his lessons in the class, the boy struggles to do so
due to his ailment/disease.
7. What do you understand by ‘gnarled disease?’
The possible ‘gnarled disease’ of the unlucky boy is either polio or uneven growth of
bones or even tuberculosis.

At back of the dim class one unnoted, sweet and young.

His eyes live in a dream, of squirrel’s game, in tree room, other than this.

1. Why is the classroom dim?

The classroom is left unlit by the owner of the school. The owner is not at all concerned
about the lightning of the classroom. Moreover, sunlight is a far-fetched dream for the
slum dwellers because most of the time the sky remains covered with smoke and dust.
2. What sort is the unnoted boy’s of dream?
The unnoted boy represents both a glimmer of wary hope and a shiver of mental curse.
The child’s desire is to be a squirrel, playing in a hollow tree hiding nuts, which
ironically reflects his current life.
3. What is squirrel’s game? Who is playing the squirrel’s game in the classroom?
Squirrel’s game refers to the game of hide and seeks of nuts in the hollows of the tree.
The boy who is unnoticed, sweet & young and has a dreamy world plays squirrel’s game
in the classroom.
4. Explain, ‘in tree room, other than this’?
The unnoted boy desires to play in the hollows of the tree rather than attending to the
lessons in the classroom. He likes the hollows inside the tree. For him, the classroom is
very boring.
5. Why does the boy prefer the tree room other than the classroom?
The boy finds the games played by the squirrel in nature more interesting than the
classroom. The dull color of the classroom wall and the donations by the benevolent
visitors make the classroom even more boring for these children.

On sour cream walls. Donations. Shakespeare’s head,

Cloudless at dawn, civilized dome riding all cities.
Belled, flowery, Tyrolese valley.

1. What are some of the donations that adorn the walls of the classroom?
The picture of Shakespeare, the painting of a cloudless morning sky, the pictures of the
tall buildings of the world in a canvas and the beautiful Austrian Tyrolese Valley rich
with its belled- flowers adorn the walls of the classroom.
 2. What is cloudless at dawn? Do you think the children love that? Why?
There is a picture of the cloudless morning sky on the wall of the classroom. No, the
children dislike that picture, because, it’s unlike their own slum’s sky, which is never
cloudless.
3. What is civilized dome riding all cities? Why do the children hate that, as well as the
others?
The classroom is constructed with donations from the visitors. Among them, there lies a
beautiful picture of the tall buildings of the developed cities of the world. The donations
provide a glimpse of some world to the students, but not their world.
4. How does the poet describe the Austrian Tyrolese valley?
Spender describes the Tyrolese Valley as beautiful. The valley is decorated with the bell
flowers.

Open – handed map awarding the world its world.

And yet, for these children, these windows, not this map, their world,
Where all their future’s painted with a fog,

1. How does the map award the world its world?

The map is a symbol of discrimination. Its distribution of the world is uneven and partial.
It allots the rich and prosperous lands and cities to the rich while the poor are given the
wastelands and slums.
2. Why do the children prefer the windows to the map?
The world that is seen through the windows is bleak, dark and dusty. Yet the children
prefer this dark world outside because the interior of the classroom is more hated by them
than the world outside.
3. What does ‘future painted with fog’ mean?
It implies that the future holds little promise for them and fate has made out a bleak
future for them. These children do not hold any prospect of a bright future and are thus
meant to live in such a condition forever.
4. How is the phrase, open handed map’ used ironically? Why do the children hate the map?
Open handed means generous. The map inside the classroom generously allots rich world
for the rich and slums for the poor. Even though the map is generous, it discriminates
between the privileged and the unprivileged.

A narrow street sealed in with a lead sky

Far far from rivers, capes and stars of words.

1. What closes in the narrow street of the slum?

A dark and polluted sky closes in the streets of the slum.
2. Why is the sky of lead’s color?
The slum is an industrial area with many factories scattered together. The emission of
dark smoke paints the sky lead.
3. What are stars of words?
The stars of words are the constellations of stars that form words or symbols in the sky.
Surely, Shakespeare is wicked, the map bad example,
With ships and sun and love tempting them to steal-
For lives that slyly turn in their cramped holes from fog to endless night?

1. Why is Shakespeare wicked?

Shakespearean stories are full of fortunate, beautiful, happy, romantic characters and
magical places and palaces. When these stories are told in the classroom, the children are
attracted to these stories and try to imitate these heroic characters. In this attempt they are
forced to steal and then are consequently caught. For this they blame Shakespeare.
2. Why is map a bad example?
The map inside the class contains colorful marking of the cities while dull and dark blots
represent the slum of these children, and hence a bad example.
3. Why is ship a tempting reality in the lives of the slum children? What else do tempt the
children?
Far away from seas and oceans, the children have not seen a real ship or real sea. They
are also tempted by the brightness of the sky and the love in the stories they have heard.
4. What makes the slum houses ‘cramped holes?’
The huts of the poor slum dwellers are very small with many members and no space to
move around.
5. Why is life slyly turning in the huts?
The life of the poor slum children remain uncertain with all their inherited diseases and
malnourishment. With no hopes for the future they lead a miserable life inside their small
huts.
6. What effect does ‘fog to endless nights’ add to the wretchedness of the slum dwellers?
The slum children do not have any hope for their future. For them their future is like a
fog-painting, transient and uncertain.

On their slag heap, these children

Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel
With mended glass, like bottle bits on stones.

1. Why are the bodies of the children called slag heap?

Poverty has made its toll on the slum children. Lack of proper food and polluted
atmosphere have made them look like a heap of bones and flesh carelessly arranged like a
heap of waste.
2. Explain, ‘skins peeped through by bones.’
The slum children have fragile built. They are so skinny that their bones are almost
visible on the surface of their skin.
3. What does ‘spectacles of steel’ tell us about the lives inside the huts?
It is to be supposed that the slum children, being part of an industrial slum, are engaged
in some sort of manufacturing for which they have to wear protector glasses with steel
rims.
4. Why is the glass of the spectacles ‘mended?’
The protector glasses have been overused and transferred from older generations and
therefore they are scratched and mended.
All of their time and space are foggy slum.
So blot their maps with slums as big as doom.

1. Explain, ‘All of their time and space are foggy slum.’

The atmosphere of the slum is always filled with industrial smoke and dust. The children
do not have a world other than this.
2. What blots the map of the slum? How are the slums blots?
The map inside the classroom is blotted with the dark marking of the slums. When
marked with huge dark blots, the slums in the map appear odd and awkward among the
colorful marks of cities and parks of the rich people.

Unless governor, inspector, visitor

This map becomes their window and these windows
That shut upon their lives like catacombs,

1. How does the school look different when there are visitors?
When there are visitors, the doors and windows of the classroom will remain open. There
will be light and better air passage in the classroom.
2. How is the map their window when there are no visitors? What do they see through this
‘window?’
When there are no visitors, the windows and doors will remain shut and the children will
not be able to see the dark sky through the windows. At this time the children have
nowhere else to look at than the map. They see their own slum marked in the map.
3. What are catacombs? Is the comparison of the classroom to catacombs apt? How?
Catacombs are underground burial places. They are dark and confined with hundreds of
dead bodies resting eternally. The classroom deserves to be called a catacomb because it
is also dark with children of half dead bodies and half alive minds.

Break O break open till they break the town

And show the children to green fields, and make their world run azure on gold sands,

1. What does the poet want his readers break?

The poet wants his readers to break the windows of the classroom that shut out their
freedom in the classroom. The windows remain always closed and restrict light from
entering the classroom making it a catacomb for the children.
2. Who will break the town? How does the poet expect to stop that?
The poet fears that the children will grow up to become anti-social elements and break
the town. He expects to stop this unfortunate occurrence by breaking the classroom and
its windows that create these anti-socials.
3. What is the irony in ‘run azure on gold sands?’
Gold sands refer to the sand of deserts while azure is the color of the nature in spring
season. Nothing grows in the desert. The world of the poor children is also like the desert
sand. The irony in the expression is the impossibility of spring in the desert land.
4. What does the poet mean by ‘tongues running naked into books?’
The poet is talking about a situation in which the children have access to the beautiful
 world that they have never seen in life. Here in the class room they learn what they do not
love to read while in the world outside they learn without restrictions.
5. Who, according to the poet, create history?
According to the poet history is made by those people who speak the language of the
Sun.
6. What is the language of the sun? How can people speak this language?
The language of the sun is its warmth and heat that make life possible. People can speak
this unique language by being as warm, lively and life-giving as the sun.

My Mother at Sixty Six – Kamala Das

A Poem By Kamala Das about the pain of separation.

Way to the airport

The poet was going to the Cochin international Airport. She was probably in a taxi. It
is certain that she was going to a distant place for a long stay there. She was
accompanied by her aged mother. The mother was very old, older than her age.
During the journey the mother slipped into a doze. Her mouth remained open like
that of a dead body. Moreover her face had lost the color of life. Her face was
colorless, ashen.

Pain of separation

While the poet was deeply thinking about this separation, the possibility of their
meeting again, the possible demise of the aged mother, she happened to look at
the mother. The poet was amazed to see that her mother had been watching her
throughout! She knew that the mother had been reading her mind as thoughts were
flashing through. An attempt to reassure the mother Now that the poet knew that
her mother had been reading her troubled mind out and measured the sadness in
her. But the poet wanted to convince the mother that she had not been thinking
about her death. To have that expression on her face, the poet looked out and tried
to brush away her sadness.

An attempt to forget pain

In an attempt to look cheerful, the poet now looked out of the car. But what she saw
outside didn't cheer her up. On the contrary she grew sadder looking out. What she
saw there sharply contrasted with what she had with her. The young trees were
running cheerfully. Young children were in their jolly mood, playing fun and frolic.
Everything looked cheerful and lively outside while the mother remained almost
lifeless and the poet sad. The security check-in was completed. The daughter was
left with a few seconds to see her aged mother. She turned back at the mother who
stood a few feet away.

Late winter’s moon

The poet now looks at the mother's aged face. The two words, wan and pale, well
describe the mother's appearance. The late winter's moon is dim. It is always under
the threat of dark clouds of fog and mist. Any moment the moon in the late winter
can be hidden by these clouds. Similarly the poet's mother is approached by death.
Any time she could be swept away by death.

Childhood fears return

In the childhood, the poet had to separate from her mother innumerable times. It
was quite painful for the poet to separate from her mother those days. She used to
fear these occasions as she thought they would never meet again.

Smiles that mean pain

The poet was overcome by the intense pain of separation. She could not speak
many words at this time. Controlling her overwhelming emotions she managed to
bid her mother farewell. She had the least hope of meeting her mother again. Yet
she struck a note of optimism by saying they both would meet again soon.

See you soon, mother…

The poet is attempting to ease the situation by a long smile that meant consolation
to her mother. She smiled with the expectation that her mother would translate it
that the daughter was not worried about anything and therefore there was no need
to worry about their union. They will definitely meet.

Driving from my parent’s home to

Cochin, last Friday morning,

I saw my mother beside me

Doze, open mouthed, her face ashen like that of a corpse.

Where was the poet going? Who was with her?

The poet was going to Cochin Airport. With her was her aged mother.

How did the mother look like? Why did the poet feel sad seeing the mother’s
appearance?

The mother was sleeping inside the car with her mouth open. Her face was colorless
like that of a dead body.

Why does the poet relate the mother's appearance to that of a corpse?

The poet's mother was aged. At sixty six it was hard to tell how long she would live.
Moreover, inside the car she was sleeping, her mouth held open and her skin so
colorless like that of a dead body.
And realized with pain that she thought away

And looked but soon put that thought away

And looked at young trees sprinting,

The merry children spilling out of their homes.

What did the poet realize with pain?

The poet realized with pain that her mother had been reading her mind and was
herself sad about their separation as the poet was.

Why was the realization painful?

The realization, that the mother was approaching death, was painful to the poet.
The poet was supposed to stay away from her mother for a long duration, far away.
They might not even meet again.

Why did the poet put that thought away?

The poet was thinking about a long separation from her aged mother. She even
feared that the mother and daughter would not meet again. Suddenly she noticed
that her mother had been reading her mind. In an attempt to disguise her line of
thoughts, the poet looked out of the car and pretended to be cheerful.

What did the poet see outside of the car?

The poet saw cheerful life outside the car. There were young trees running back in a
lively mood and children playing around their houses.

How does the poet strike a contrast between what traveled with her and what
moved outside? The mother was sleeping inside the car with her mouth open. She
was similar to a dead body. She was cheerless and approaching death. But outside
the car was life in its freshness and vivacity. There were young trees running
cheerfully. There were children playing and running merrily. This was a life-death
contrast.

But after the airport’s security check,

Standing a few yards away

I looked again at her, wan, pale, as a late winter’s moon

How did the mother look like at the airport?

The mother stood a few yards away from the poet who was about to disappear
beyond the check-in and then to a distant land for a long stay there. She appeared
to be lifeless and colorless, like a late winter's moon that was dim and supposed to
be hidden by the fog.

How do 'wan' and 'pale' describe the mother?

The mother was aged weak beyond her age. She appeared wan and pale. Wan and
pale suggest weakness and lifelessness.

What is a late winter's moon?

In the late winter the sky is filled with fog and mist. The moon at that season cannot
shine brightly. It appears to be dim and most of the time rests behind these clouds.
No one can predict how long the moon could stay and what time the clouds would
hide it.

Why does the poet compare her mother to a late winter's moon?

The mother was quite aged. She was cheerless and gloomy. Like the late winter's
moon that could any moment be overshadowed by the fog, the mother remained a
victim to imminent death.

And felt that old familiar ache, my childhood’s fear,

But all I said was, “See you soon, Amma”

All I did was smile and smile and smile.

What is the poet's old, familiar ache? How did that ache return at the airport?

The poet used to separate from her mother in her childhood. Those separations
were painful to her. After so many separations this pain and separations were
familiar to the poet. At the airport she faced another separation from her mother
and it reminded her of the number of separations in the past.

The poet had the fear of separation from her mother in her childhood. How was that
fear different at the airport?

The poet was about to separate from her aged mother at the airport. The mother
and daughter had many times stayed separated in the past but this was going to be
different from all. The childhood separations were brief and less painful. But today,
the poet was flying to a distant land for a long stay there. She could not say if the
two would ever meet again.

Why did the poet promise her mother of a meeting in the near future?

The poet was doubtful of her seeing her mother again. She knew that the mother
was also aware of the same as she was. Yet, to encourage her mother, to leave a
hope in her mind, to make herself strengthened, the poet promised a futile reunion
in the future.
The poet's repeated smile seems out of place in a way. In which way is that
appropriate?

The poet had no reason to smile at the time of separation from her aged mother.
She was deeply distressed and pained to separate her mother at such a very old
age of the mother. Yet, to make the mother feel 'there is nothing to worry,' the poet
attempted to be glad, cheerful and reassured by her extended smile.

Poets and Pancakes

Gemini Studios

Gemini Studios was one of India’s pioneer movie factories. Situated in the present
day Chennai, owned by S.S Vaasan and worked by over 600 staff, the GS made
movies for Tamilnadu and other southern Indian states.

Pancake[TM]

Pancake was the makeup material used by the Gemini Studios.

Asokamitran

Asokamitran was one of the staff whose job was to collect information such as news
events from newspapers and magazines and to paste them in files. The other staff
considered his job out of place and most of them thought so high of themselves.
Here are some of the interesting staffs of GS.

Office Boy

Office Boy was a grown up man in the Makeup Department of the GS. He was in
charge of the crowd makeup. He applied pancake on their faces with the help of a
dipped paint brush. Though his job was quite an easy one, the office boy considered
him to be a greatly skilled artist.

Kothamangalam Subbu

Subbu was another clerk. He was not as educated, as fortunate and as supported by
as the Office Boy, yet he reached the top of the GS. He was a man of amazing
genius. He was able to direct the directors. He suggested dozens of ways to shoot a
certain scene when the director failed to find one. He acted better than the heroes.
He wrote incredible poems. Though he was able to write more complicated ones
that could raise him to the status of a great poet, Subbu preferred writing them in
simple Tamil to enlighten the majority of Tamil people. Besides, he supported his far
and near relatives. But he had only enemies everywhere because he was very much
close to the boss, Vaasan.

Legal Advisor
The legal advisor worked in the Story Department. He was a lawyer and provided
legal advices to the writers yet he was known as the illegal advisor. The following
incident is one reason that gave him that name. Once a shooting was under
progress. The heroine, a highly emotional girl, got angry with the director and
producer. While the whole set stood stunned at this, the legal advisor recorded her
voice without her permission and made her listen to the playback, thus resulting the
end of a rising actress.

Poets and writers

Gemini Studios had some great poets like Harindranath Chatopadhyaya and a few
others. Most of the insignificant poets considered so great of themselves. They had
no great talent, no great creativity, no political views yet they assumed the airs of
the greatest poets, wasting Vaasan’s money and time. They believed Gandhiji to be
the last word of politics and had developed an aversion to Communism.

Communism and anti-communism

Communism was a new political order that was spreading throughout the world,
especially in Asian countries. Communism preached equality of people and abolition
of poverty and class divisions while it discouraged private ownership. But
Communism won a negative impression due the Capitalist countries such as
America.

MRA

MRA or Moral Rearmament Army was an international team of actors and actresses
that spread anti communist feelings throughout the world. The MRA came to
Chennai and saw how influential was Gemini Studios in the south of India. The team
got permission from Vaasan to stage their plays. Vaasan was only happy to give
them permission because he hoped that his staff would get inspiration from the
international team. But little did Vaasan know of their intentions. MRA staged their
plays with hidden anticommunist messages and went away and it was yet after
some time that Vaasan realized that he had been fooled. Stephen Spender Why
should Vaasan be fooled if an organization spread anti communist messages in
Chennai? It appears that Vaasan himself was a Communist! Or, he too had an
experience of a disillusioned abandoning of Communism. The author has not given
us a hint about this and therefore we have to different opinions:

Crisis

Vasan as a Communist: If so, Vasan felt terribly bad for being played into the hands
of the MRA that left a deep anticommunist impression upon his staff. He therefore
decided to bring back the Communist atmosphere in his studio and for this he
invited a communist poet to deliver a speech on how great Communism was.
Vasan as an anticommunist: If SS Vasan was an anticommunist, he was the one who
invited the MRA to the Gemini Studios. Later, when he saw that MRA had
successfully spread anticommunism among his staff, he wanted to strengthen the
new notions in them by inviting another anticommunist and therefore he invited
Spender.

Spender’s Speech

Anyway, Stephen Spender, who was once a prominent communist editor and poet
from England, came to the studio and gave his speech. His lecture was about
Communism on one side and about his struggles to establish as a poet on the other.
Whatever he spoke was great, hot, exciting and inspiring, but what use, his accent
was such terrible one that none of the Gemini staff could clearly understand what
Spender had spoken. They fell into shame for not being able to understand the poet
and wished not to meet him again. Asokamitran’s meeting Spender The lesson
ends with two incidents in which Asokamitran, our author, met Spender; not face to
face, but in two different ways.

Questions and Answers

How was Gemini Studios connected to Robert Clive?

The connection the GS had with Robert Clive was that its Make-up Department was
built on the upstairs of Clive's stables.

What was the fiery misery inside the make-up department of the Studios?

The makeup room had a lot of hot bulbs always burning inside and a number of
mirrors to reflect the heat. Madras, being a hot city and no cooling at that time at
the studio, it was a real misery inside the makeup room.

All this shows that there was a great deal of national integration long before A.I.R.
and Doordarshan began broadcasting programs on national integration. Explain.

The heads and the subordinates of the make-up department were from various
parts of India. There was no preference to any state or language or religion. Anyone
could be the head. Once there was a Bengali as the head of this department. He
was succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a Dharwar Kannadiga, an
Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the local Tamils.

Who was the office boy? What was his duty in the make-up department? How did he
appreciate himself and his profession?

The office boy was a forty year old man who worked at the lowest rank among the
makeup artists at the Gemini Studios. His duty was to apply makeup for the crowd-
players for shooting. As his work required no skill and that he was not satisfied with
his designation and the kind of work, the ‘Boy’ remained unsatisfied and criticized
everyone he was jealous.

How was the author's job odd in the eyes of the other staff? How did they respond
to this?

Asokamitran’s job at the Gemini Studios was to collect information from newspapers
and magazines and to paste the cuttings in files for reference. This was probably
the only work odd in the Gemini Studios while every other staff was some sort of an
artist. They therefore advised the author to do some better jobs other than wasting
his time cutting papers in a department similar to a barber shop.

Why did the author pray for crowd shooting?

Like many of the other staff who believed that Asokamitran was doing next to
nothing in the Gemini Studios the Office Boy too used to advise him for hours. When
the author was tired of his unending epics, he used to pray for a crowd shooting to
which the Office Boy assigned.

Who was Kothamangalam Subbu? How did he make all the other staff hate him?

Kothamangalam Subbu joined the Gemini Studios as a clerk and remained the same
in the records. But in practice he soon acquired the status of the No.2 at the studios
thanks to his amazing genius and multifaceted skills. He did any work for his boss
and ignored the rest above him. This made him envied and hated by the rest of the
staff.

Discuss Subbu's identity as a poet. Why was he not known as a poet?

Apart from being an amazing director of movies, Subbu had the identity as a poet.
The world of his time and later never recognized Subbu as a poet yet he was a great
unknown poet. He wrote poem in the simplest Tamil language and was able to
recreate the classical poems in his own style.

Subbu excelled as an actor too. Discuss.

Subbu was a good actor. He was able to act better than the lead actors yet never
wished to take any lead roles in any movie.

In spite of all the good qualities and readiness to be a host any time, Subbu had
only enemies. Why?

Subbu was good to everyone he came by, spoke in his niceness, fed his relatives,
excelled everyone in the Gemini Studios but was hated by most of them just
because he was so close to the boss of the studios. Being a clerk in the attendance
register he was above all and above all the departments. Those who bore
designations above Subbu felt it intolerable to obey him.
How did the legal advisor behave illegally in the instance of the actress?

The legal advisor was, of course, an advocate, yet was known as an illegal advisor.
Once he recorded the voice of an actress who shouted at the producer and director
while in the shooting sets. The legal advisor’s behavior turned out to be illegal
because he did it without the actress’ permission.

In what context did Congress rule mean Prohibition and how was it for the staff of
Gemini Studios meeting over a cup of coffee a rather satisfying entertainment?

Congress being the ruling party, made the public’s life horrible by imposing curfew
and emergency in the initial years of Independent India. Citizens were not allowed
to gather and hold meetings. While the whole of the nations struggled under
emergencies, the six hundred Gemini staff enjoyed freedom inside the studios as
their freedom was not restricted.

How did Subbu surpass the office boy despite his limitations?

The office boy in the makeup department was always ahead of Subbu in the
beginning, especially in education, having influential people to support. But he
ended up where he began while Subbu ascended the steps to the maximum height
and surpassed the Boy.

The staff of the Gemini Studios attributed Subbu's success to his being a Brahmin.
Why?

Most of the staff of the Gemini studios was unhappy with Subbu. His amazing
influence on the Boss and the consequent privileges he enjoyed made them feel
jealous of him. So, instead of accepting his talents, they consoled themselves by
attributing his fortunes to be a Brahmin.

What is Communism? What ideas about the communism gathered popularity in

India?

Communism is a political order that believes in the equality of citizens and abolition
of private ownership. The state or nation is the owner and caretaker of each citizen.
Citizen’s welfare is nation’s prime concern. It sometimes resorts to armed revolution
to establish social and political equality.

What was MRA? Why did it tour the world?

MRA, short for Moral Rearmament Army was an anti-Communist organization that
toured the world informing the world of the evil side of Communism that was
spreading throughout Asia and some parts of Europe. Headed by Frank Buchman,
the MRA believed that Communism was evil and it would wipe out democracy in the
world.

How did the MRA spread its anti Communist ideas in South India?
Moral Rearmament Army believed that Communism was evil and therefore wanted
to wipe it out of the world. This group of 200 men and women from twenty different
nations spread anti communist messages with the help of their stage performances
such as dramas.

SS Vasan was a communist but didn't want to be known as one because he was a
prominent film maker and editor on one side and Communism was considered evil.
There are hints that his magazine, Ananta Vikatan published communist articles as
well in its early days.

SS Vasan was a disillusioned Communist as Stephen Spender was. In order to bring

the Communism to decay in India, Vasan brought MRA first and the Stephen
Spender to spread anti communist ideas.

SS Vasan had no connection with communism and it was his deliberate attempt to
bring Communist Party down in South India.

1928 Vasan purchased Ananta Vikatan

1940 Vasan purchased Gemini Studios

1949, God that failed published which means he was not a communist by that time.

1952, MRA visited Gemini Studios.

1953, Spender's visit to Gemini Studios.

1953 to 66, Spender was the Editor of Encounter.

1969 Vasan died in Madras/Chennai

How was Vasan played into the hands of the MRA?

There is no clear indication that Vasan, the owner of the Gemini Studios, was a
Communist or not yet there are very clear hints that he was a prominent
Communist of Chennai. The MRA spread its anti-Communist messages through their
stage programs and made the poets and writers of the South India hate
Communism which was a great achievement. Vasan, who knew nothing of their
intentions, was indeed fooled by MRA at his cost.

(The idiom, "to play into somebody's hands" means "to give someone an
advantage, usually an advantage one person believes another should not have. If
this information is made public, it will play into the hands of people who are
demanding an investigation of the police.)

Why was Stephen Spender invited to the Gemini Studios? Who wanted him there?
Stephen Spender was a great poet with Communist inclinations. SS Vasan, the
owner of the Gemini Studios, wanted Spender give a speech on the greatness of
Communism to his staff.

Spender's Speech was a shock for him and a matter of utter shame for the literati of
the Gemini Studios. Explain.

Stephen Spender was specially invited to the Gemini Studios to enlighten the staff
there with communist ideas. When Spender began his speech he was amazed to
see the way he was being listened to. But soon, when he realized that his audience
didn't follow him the least due to his accent, Spender's amazement turned to utter
shock and embarrassment and he stopped his speech in the middle.

How are poets and prose writers different according to Asokamitran? What personal
experience makes him say that?

Asokamitran says poems can be written by any genius while prose writing is the
true pursuit of a really determined person who has suffered a lot of rejections and is
ready for any further disappointments with more perseverance to pursue his
mission of writing a long prose.

Spender's Speech was a shock for him and a matter of utter shame for the literati of
the Gemini Studios?

Stephen Spender was called to the Gemini Studios to talk to the staff there about
Communism but what he spoke was of his struggles as a poet. Whatever he spoke,
his talk was not followed by practically anyone. When Spender realized that his
audience didn’t follow his talk, he stopped in utter shame to have made a talk to a
deaf audience while the Gemini staff got dispersed in great humiliation because
Spender’s accent failed them.

How are poets and prose writers different according to Asokamitran? What personal
experience makes him say that?

Asokamitran believes in the qualitative difference between prose writers and poem
writers. A poem can be written in no time if the poet is a genius while prose such as
a novel can be written by a person who has a lot of patience and perseverance. The
prose writer’s mind should be so shrunken that no rejection can disappoint him but
he will be encouraged from failures and rejections.

How did the magazine 'The Encounter' become important in Asokamitran's life?

The Encounter was a British Communist magazine. When Stephen Spender was its
editor, this magazine organized a short story competition for writers from all over
the world.
How does the book, 'The God That Failed' deserve its title? OR Justify the title, 'The
God That Failed.'

The ‘God That Failed’ was written by six eminent writers who were attracted to
Communism and abandoned it because they hated it later on. Communism was in
its beginning, a God because it stood for equality and removal of class systems and
poverty. While the Gods or incarnations before it achieved their goals, Communism
failed in attaining its goals as it was a failure in itself.

What made Asokamitran hope Stephen Spender too would be singing the same
song at the same time when he sealed the envelop of his manuscript?

Asokamitran had been struggling to establish as a writer when he came across the
magazine, The Encounter. When he saw that the editor of The Encounter was
Stephen Spender, the same poet who came to Gemini Studios and talked about his
struggles to become a poet, Asokamitran felt as if he had found a long lost brother.

'In a moment I felt a dark chamber of my mind lit up by a hazy illumination.' What
was the dark chamber? What did light up the darkness?

Due to Spender’s British accent the normally educated staff could not understand
his speech and therefore his speech remained an unsolved mystery for the staff
including Asokamitran. This mystery was the dark chamber of his mind. When
Asokamitran saw that Spender wrote the book the God that Failed and that Spender
had once been a communist, he understood that Spender had been invited by SS
Vasan to talk about communism but he had talked only about his thrills of being a
writer and suddenly he related this to his speech he made years ago the Gemini
Studios.

The Boss of the Gemini Studios may not have much to do with Spender’s poetry.
But not with his god that failed.' Explain.

Stephen Spender was invited to the Gemini Studios to enlighten the staff with great
ideals of Communism but what Spender spoke was about his thrills and struggles to
establish himself as a poet. The bosses of the studio like S. S. Vasan were interested
in Spender as a Communist, not as a poet.

Memories of Childhood

Two people recall their childhood when they were made victims of social
inequalities. Zitkala Sa was a Red Indian. She was admitted in the Carlisle Indian
School run by the British. The school authorities imposed a lot of rules on the
students, some for the students' good and some to show the British superiority and
some for fun. But Zitkala could not agree with all this; she could not think of
allowing her long hair to be cut. She didn't like to wear the short skirts, stiff shoes,
uniforms… But she had to. When the authorities attempted to cut her hair short,
Zitkala ran away and hid under a bed. But she had to submit. They tied her to a
chair and cut her hair. Another custom that she didn’t agree to was the ceremonial
eating which she calls ‘eating by formula.’ The basic human way of eating doesn’t
involve any rules. Eat when you are hungry is the natural way. But the British
superiority wanted the people here to dance to their senseless tunes. There were
bells to take the chair out, sit on the chair, pray to God, take a spoon, take a fork…
Zitkala did not know of these rules. When the first bell sounded she thought it was
time to eat. She sat down and initiated eating for her great shame.

Similar was the case with Bama, an Indian writer from Tamilnadu. She too was a
human being but the richer and privileged society didn't consider her so. She was a
happy girl but once she witnessed a scene of discrimination. A much respected
elder of her society was once made the victim of untouchable ity. This infuriated
her. She wanted to react. She knew the only weapon to fight ostracism was
acquiring equal status through education.

Short Questions and Answers

Zitkala Sa, the Red Indian

What do you know about Carlisle Indian School?

Carlisle Indian School was a school run by the British to educate the Red Indians and
the British students. It had strict rules and regulations for all students. The students
had to wear uniforms, girls had to wear short hair and skirts and tight shoes. The
eating style also was different there. There were bells before eating. There was a
prayer before eating.

How was Zitkala Sa different from the other native American students?

Zitkala Sa was a native American girl. She had great love for her tradition and
culture. She was proud of her beliefs. She held closer to her heart these beliefs and
felt hurt when the rest of the girls followed the foreign culture without any
hesitation.

What does Zitkala Sa mean by, 'this eating by formula?

When Zitkala Sa was admitted in the Carlisle Indian School, she faced a number of
rules the students had to follow. One of them was the manner of eating. There were
three bells to be tapped before the students were allowed to start eating. Being a
natural being, Zitkala Sa could not digest the meaning of these polished manners
which were alien to her culture.

What was that the school authorities had failed to recognize in Zitkala Sa?

The British authorities of the Carlisle Indian School were colonists and therefore
could not understand the feelings of the people they ruled over. They believed that
it was their duty to impart their civilization to the uncivilized native Americans but
failed to understand their attachment to their own culture and traditions.

Why was Sa against the idea of cutting her long hair?

Zitkala Sa’s mother had taught her that shingled hair was worn by mourners,
cowards, and unskilled warriors caught in war. She had a great deal of love for her
traditions and her hair. For her the hair meant much closer to her culture. To save
her identity, to uphold her civilization and pride Sa fought against the attempts of
the authorities to cut her hair.

Bring out the extreme orthodox, blind racial beliefs that Zitkala Sa had held close to
her heart.

In which way did Zitkala Sa deserve the shame of getting her hair shingled?

Bama, an Indian writer

How was Bama's innocent childhood ruffled up by the sight of an elderly man
handing the parcel to the landlord at the threshing-field?

Bama was an innocent girl. She lived in a discriminated society with landlords above
them and her community running errands for them. The first instance of class
discrimination Bama experienced in her life was the incident of an elderly man of
her caste carrying food for the landlord. The man had to carry the packet in the
most shameful manner, holding the hand away from his body as a mark of
untouchability.

What made Bama laugh at the sight of the elderly man handing the parcel to the
landlord at the threshing-field?

Bama saw an elderly man of her society carrying a very small and light parcel to the
landlord. The way the man held the parcel with its strings, the special respect the
man showed towards the parcel and the way he offered it to the landlord without
supporting it from the bottom made Bama laugh.

What did Bama feel when her annan explained to her why the village elder had to
carry the parcel in a funny manner?

When Bama saw the elderly man from her society carrying a small parcel of eatable
to the landlord, she laughed a lot but when her Annan told it was a scene of caste
discrimination, she could not laugh any more. She grew angry with this social evil
and wanted to touch the eatable herself and make it dirty. She felt helpless about
her being untouchable and angry with the rich people who considered her so.

“Because they had scraped four coins together…” What did Bama mean?
According to Bama the cause of the rich people’s superior attitude and behavior is
the possession of money. Money makes a man feel superior over the poor and it
makes him blind. While the ordinary people have a little wealth in their hands, the
rich ones have a lot.

What was the point of the question raised by the landlord’s man to Bama’s elder
brother, “On which street do you live?”

The people of Bama’s time believed in untouchability and social discrimination.

Some people were considered privileged while the majority of the others suffered
from the shame of being backward class. People gave respect or disrespect to each
other on the basis of caste, religion and being rich and poor. The landlord’s men
wanted to know if Bama’s brother was touchable or untouchable and therefore he
asked where he lived.

How did Bama fight against discrimination in her life?

Bama lived in a discriminated society with the evils of untouchability playing havoc.
When she was aware of it Bama determined to fight it in her way. She was told by
her Annan that education only could liberate her from being looked down by the
society. Bama studied in a frenzy and stood top in the class and fought the class
discrimination.

Long Questions and Answers

Power leads to dominance and reaches oppression and ends up in rebellion and
failure. How is this statement true in the case of the rebellion raised by Zitkala Sa
and Bama?

One of the most irrevocable human tendencies is domination. Everyone wants to

impose some sort of dominance over the other and if one doesn’t do so it is
because he is weaker than the others or that he is educated. Both Zitkala Sa and
Bama lived on two opposite ends of the world yet they experienced this social evil
in their early life.

The Red Indians were the true inhabitants of America. With the discovery of this
new continent the European world converted it into their mines for resources. The
European colonists considered educating the rest of the world to be the white man’s
burden. They established schools for the backward and taught them their culture,
their language, their whims, their fancies, their funs but failed to respect the values
of the people they oppressed and ruled. The Red Indians too had their own sacred
culture and practices. They considered cutting of one’s hair equal to death but all
the students were forced to get their hair cut. The British cut short the decency of
dressing and curbed personal freedom by imposing uniform system. They brought
in rules for eating.
The same was the case with the privileged landlords of India. Because they were
richer than the peasants, the landlords restricted their freedom. The poor peasants
had to accept their state of being untouchables in the public. The mortification that
this status brought to them was beyond sheer shame. The blindness that extreme
possession of power brings makes anyone do the worst activities including
suppressing the weak ones. But this power is always temporary. One day the
weaker ones will gather power of resistance and fight back the oppressors

Evans Tries an O’level

If you are more serious than an average student, read the following extract about
the real Oxford Prison where this story is based on: Oxford Prison was built in 1870.
All the cells had windows, and its massive central gallery (A Wing) — three tiers of
cells — was brightened by sunlight pouring through three-storey-tall, barred
casement windows. In its day, Oxford Prison was considered airy, healthful, and
light. But when the prison closed in 1996 it was so overcrowded that prisoners were
apportioned three to a cell. Nevertheless, the once-revolutionary design qualified
parts of the building for coveted protection status. Malmaison, which has earned a
reputation for converting unusual city center locations into luxury hotels, was one of
the few companies willing to take on a project that involved keeping A Wing
virtually intact. The Oxford Prison site closed for redevelopment in 2004 before
reopening as a Hotel, Malmaison Oxford.

Who was James Roderick Evans? Why was he put in the Oxford Prison? Evans was a
smart young man who had a number of amazing skills to fool anyone and escape
any prison. He had a gang of friends who used to make money by imitating other
people. Because of his smartness in breaking prisons, Evans was sent to the Oxford
prison that was thought to be the most secure prison in England.

How was Evan's presence in the prison felt by the authorities? Even though Evans
was a prisoner, the whole of the prison seemed to have loved to have him there. He
being a smart, tricky, intelligent and the most popular inmate of the prison, even
the authorities admired his skills but were worried only about the possibility of his
escape. He had many good friends among the prisoners and even the Governor
himself was concerned for him and at times behaved to be Evans’ fan.

Why did the Governor apply for an examination for Evans? Evans was a prisoner in
the Oxford Prison. He had convinced the authorities that he was genuinely
interested in learning German and was tutored for a while. When the tutor
announced that Evans was prepared for an O'Level exam, the Governor of the
prison applied to the Examination Board for his exam.

Who was Mc Leery? What is his role in the story? Rev. Mc Leery was a parson at St.
Mary Mags, a monastery. He was supposed to invigilate Evan's examination at the
Oxford Prison. He was about to leave his residence for the prison when two of
Evans' friends entered his room and tied and gagged him until Evans had escaped
from the prison.

Why was Evans particular about keeping his hat on his head during his exam? Evans
wore a bobble hat at the time of his examination. When he was asked to remove
that, Evans pleaded to let stay it because he believed it was his lucky charm. In fact
he had hidden some of the makeup materials in his hat which was the reason he
didn't want to remove it.

Why did the Governor think of frisking Mc Leery? Mc Leery was the invigilator of the
examination and he was to sit inside Evan's cell while the latter wrote the exam.
The Governor had made sure that Evans had been thoroughly frisked and there was
nothing to fear about that. But when he thought about the possibility of Mc Leery
carrying a paper-knife or that sort, he feared Evans would make use of that and
escape by holding the parson his hostage.

Why did Mc Leery's expressions change when he was frisked? While frisking Mc
Leery, the prison officers found out a semi-inflated rubber tube in his bag. When he
was asked of this Mc Leery's amiable appearance suddenly changed and he turned
shy and embarrassed for having made to admit that he was suffering from piles. In
fact this was only an excuse to stop the authorities from asking further questions
and to allow him to carry the rubber tube that had some blood inside for the escape
drama.

What was the intention behind the call from the Examinations Board? It was one of
Evans' friends who made the call from the Examination Board. This call was
primarily meant for confirming the beginning time of the exam in order to calculate
the end of the exam. The equally important reason behind this call was to misguide
the Governor into Hotel Golden Lion to arrest Evans from there and thereby to make
the escape altogether safer.

The Governor's pride in his little knowledge in German was of great help for Evans
to escape. Explain. The Governor had acquired a little bit of German earlier and was
proud of that. On seeing the correction sheet and faintly recognizing the hidden
message that would help him to trace the escaped Evans, he became over
enthusiastic and decided to track the prisoner with the assistance of another officer.
Later when he trapped Evans so ‘smartly,’ the Governor forgot all caution and went
high in the sky of his pride and that gave Evans a great opportunity to escape.

What had 'Mc Leery' brought with him to the prison to help Evans' escape? Evans’
friend dressed up like Mc Leery had brought some very useful articles for Evans’
escape. He had worn an extra clerical collar and a clerical front. In his bag he had
carried a semi inflated rubber tube filled with blood. He had also carried a paper
scissors even though it was frisked by the prison authorities.
Why did Evans ask for a blanket while writing the exam? As part of his escape plan,
Evans had to dress up him as Mc Leery, the invigilator. To cut his long hair and to
dress up, Evans wanted a hiding. Moreover, he had hidden part of the invigilator’s
costume under the blanket.

How did Stephens feel when he was asked to accompany Mc Leery out of the
prison? Stephens was a new officer at the Oxford Prison and was naturally
apprehensive about his duties. He was already glad that he was in charge of the
invigilator and the examinee. When he was asked by the Governor to accompany
the invigilator out of the prison, Stephens felt greatly flattered and proud of himself

When did the Governor realize that the invigilator was fake? The Governor had
initially assumed that it was Evans who had run out of the prison after hitting the
invigilator. But later, when he made call to the Radcliffe Hospital where detective
Carter had admitted the invigilator, he was informed that the hospital had not
admitted the invigilator. More confused, the Governor made another call to the
invigilator’s residence and confirmed that the parson who had to come as the
invigilator had been tied and gagged in his room and the one came as the
invigilator was Evan’s accomplice.

Why did Evans want the Governor arrest him at Hotel Golden Lion? Evans’ plan had
been one very intelligently crafted. He wanted to make sure that his plan had to
amaze everyone and the very smart Governor also had to be overtaken. To do this
he wanted the Governor arrest him with his ‘own smartness’ and feel ‘elated, proud
and over confident and consequently less careful about keeping Evans under high
security.

Evans was 'visibly shaken' when he saw the Governor in his room in the hotel. Why
was he shaken? It was part of the escape plan that the Governor had to come to the
Golden Lion Hotel to arrest Evans from there and take him to the prison. The
purpose was to make the Governor believe that he was really intelligent and
efficient and thereby let his confidence go loose. It was because of this that Evans
pretended that he was really caught.

Why is the Governor called ‘good for a giggle Governor?’ The Governor was in a way
intelligent and smart. Though a little late, he was successful in tracing Evans in the
Hotel Golden Lion and in arresting him. But little did he know that it was Evans who
wanted the Governor to arrest him. Evans raised the Governor’s confidence level
sky high and let him fall from such a height of pride. When he caught Evans, the
Governor thought that he was the most intelligent prison governor in the world and
drove to the prison dreaming of the praises and ranks he would be given for his
efficiency as a Governor. But in the prison he would know how he was made fool by
Evans and the world would only giggle at him.

Do you think that the Governor was really intelligent? Support your answer with
instances. The Governor was a very intelligent officer but his overconfidence was
his weak point. The instances of his intelligence can be seen at various places of the
story. He didn’t believe that Evans was genuinely interested in learning German
when he noticed that Evans didn’t understand the basic German expression, “Guten
Gluck.” He was doubtful when the call came from the Examination Board and made
a return call to confirm if the call really came from the Board. It was his intelligence
that thought of frisking the invigilator and found the rubber tube. It was he who
discovered the secret message regarding the assault on the invigilator
superimposed at the back of the question paper. Soon he found out that the real
McLeery had never come to the prison and that it was Evans who had escaped from
the prison as the injured invigilator. The Governor deserves praises for tracing Evan
to Hotel Golden Lion at Chipping Norton and arresting him.

How far was Stephens helpful for Evans' escape? Stephens was a newly recruited
officer in the prison. He was very particular about showing his efficiency in front of
the higher authorities and was especially glad that he was in charge of Evans’
examination which was a risky job indeed. Evans complained of Stephens’ breathing
and got him naturally out of the cell. Once out of the cell, Stephens kept peeping
into the cell but soon found it childish. To show that he was very confident and
efficient, he left the cell door to come after short intervals. The short intervals soon
became longer and very longer giving time for Evans to dress himself up inside the
cell. Stephens was taken to the highest joy when he received the fake call from the
Governor to take the invigilator out of the prison. He in his pride took the invigilator
out of the prison and made way for Evans’ escape in a wonderful way.

How did Evans escape from Detective Carter? Disguised as the invigilator, hit by the
escaped Evans, Evans misguided detective Carter in the pretext of helping the
officer to find the escaped Evans. When they reached Radcliff Hospital, Evans
pretended to be most critical and told the detective to admit him in the hospital.
Carted wanted to drive the wounded invigilator into the hospital but Evans advised
him to call the ambulance and drop him on the roadside to be picked by the
ambulance so that the detective could continue his chase after Evans the escaped.

Can you imagine what had happened when the Governor reached the prison? While
driving to the prison the Governor thought that he was the most efficient and
intelligent prison governor in the world. He was very confident, overwhelmed with
gratification and was therefore least cautious. But there was the worst news
awaiting him in the prison that Evans and his friends had escaped by fooling and
disgracing him. He would also realize that he too was one among the idiots like
Stephens and Jackson.

How did the blood help Evans make his escape easier? Why did Stephens refuse to
inform Jackson that Evans had put on the blanket? What was the initial
apprehensions about Evans' escape? Why did the Governor call the Radcliffe
Hospital? Why did the Governor call Mary Mags monastery? What did that call
reveal? Why did Evans pretend to have seen Gorgon when he saw the Governor in
his hotel room?

On the Face of It

Summary

Derry was a teenager, highly pessimistic and withdrawn from the mainstream
society. He developed this attitude after one side of his face was disfigured by acid.
He avoided company of others and remained lonely lest he be noticed by other
people. He believed that no one loved him and his mother loved him because she
was supposed to. Derry cannot be completely blamed for his pessimistic and
aggressive attitude towards the world around him. Once he heard two women
commenting about his monstrous appearance. They said only a mother could love a
face like his. On another day Derry heard his parents conversing that he would not
survive after their death because he was deformed. The shock he received from
these words was big. On another occasion Derry heard his relatives saying that his
being put in the hospital where he had been treated after the accident was good for
him. In their opinion a deformed boy like Derry could accommodate himself with
other deformed boys and girls. Derry had his ears always open for such comments
and used to respond to them in his silent way. He concluded that the world
altogether didn’t need a boy like him.

One day Derry accidently met a man called Mr. Lamb. Mr. Lamb was an old man
with a lame leg. After he became lame, Mr. Lamb began to develop a positive
attitude with his deformity. He worked hard to defeat this impairment and learnt to
walk and climb ladders. He was happy to be alive and ignored his lameness. He
made everyone his friend and had a house with no curtains and open doors. He
welcomed anyone who came to him.

While Mr. Lamb took his impairment as a challenge and tried to overcome it, Derry
believed that he was unwanted and lost. His pain was physical and mental. Being a
child he was not as strong as Mr. Lamb about suffering. He couldn’t take the
sneering and sympathizing world as taken by Mr. Lamb. Mr. Lamb was able to sit
smart and unaffected as long as he wore trousers and sat but Derry had no way to
hide his face.

After meeting Mr. Lamb Derry realized how foolish he had been to believe his
parents. For him Lamb was a man who opened the doors of his closed world in an
hour’s time the same of which were shut on him by his parents and therefore
believed that his company with Lamb would make him a perfect person.

What sort of a boy was Derry?

Derry was a teenager, a highly pessimistic and withdrawn from the mainstream
society. He developed this attitude after one side of his face was disfigured by acid.
He avoided company of others and remained lonely so that he would not be noticed
by other people. He believed that no one loved him and his mother loved him
because she was supposed to.

Why did Derry go into Mr. Lamb’s garden?

Derry preferred a lonely life in order to hide his disfigured face from the world. Yet
he had love for the world such as a garden and he wished to own one. He thought
that Mr. Lamb’s garden and his house were empty and therefore went into it.

Why did Derry wish to get out of Mr. Lamb's garden immediately after getting into?

Derry went into Lamb’s garden because he thought it was empty. But when he saw
Mr. Lamb there and that he had been being watched by Mr. Lamb, he felt ashamed
and wished to get out of the garden.

What kind of a man was Mr. Lamb?

Mr. Lamb was an old man with a lame leg. Since he was lame, Mr. Lamb began to
develop a positive attitude with his deformity. He worked hard to defeat this
impairment and learnt to walk and climb ladders. He was happy to be alive and
ignored his lameness. He made everyone his friend and had a house with no
curtains and locked doors. He welcomed anyone who came to him.

Both Mr. Lamb and Derry had much to suffer yet Derry was the worst affected.
Explain.

Mr. Lamb was an old man who had lost one of his legs in a blast while Derry was a
teenager with a burnt face. While Mr. Lamb took his impairment as a challenge and
tried to overcome it, Derry believed that he was unwanted and lost. His pain was
physical and mental. Being a child he was not as strong as Mr. Lamb about
suffering. He couldn’t take the sneering and sympathizing world as taken by Mr.
Lamb. Mr. Lamb was able to sit smart and unaffected as long as he wore trousers
and sat but Derry had no way to hide his face.

How does Mr. Lamb explain the dual faces of a weed garden?

Mr. Lamb believes in a positive attitude. He always found the better parts of reality.
He says that it is people’s perception that goes wrong, not the realities. Some
people consider some plants fit for a garden while some other people consider the
same plants as weeds, to be removed from their gardens. Both have leaves and
flowers and the beauty of these flowers vary from person to person.

What does Mr. Lamb teach Derry from his exploring the two types of sounds of the
bees?

Mr. Lamb believes in a positive attitude. He always found the better sides of reality.
He says that it is people’s perception that goes wrong, not the realities. Bees
produce the very same sound: music for some and irritation for others. If one is
happy, the bees sound music and if one is sad, the bees buzz. He explored this dual
perception to show Derry that it was important for him to change his attitude.

What makes Mr. Lamb say that Derry wasn't completely lost?

When Derry entered Mr. Lamb’s garden, the former appeared to be highly
pessimistic and withdrawn. He sounded bitter because the world had been so cruel
to him. But at one point Derry said that he loved a garden and a house like the one
as Lamb’s, Mr. Lamb saw his love for the nature and beauty and this gave Mr. Lamb
the hope that Derry was not completely lost in his gloomy world.

Why did Derry's mother warn him to keep away from Mr. Lamb?

Derry’s mother was very particular about not letting her son mix with other people.
She was much stricter about not allowing the boy to go to Mr. Lamb as she had
heard that the old man was not good.

Why does Derry say that he would never go out to the world if he didn't go to Mr.
Lamb?

Derry’s parents were greatly responsible for making an introvert out of him. They
believed that the world was not the place for their son due to his burnt face. They
advised him to keep away from people. They convinced him that his life would be
impossible after their death. Thus Derry’s parents shut him in a narrow world of his
own, inspiring him to hate and avoid everyone. But after meeting Mr. Lamb Derry
realized how foolish he had been to believe his parents. For him Lamb was a man
who opened the doors of his closed world in an hour’s time the same of which were
shut on him by his parents and therefore believed that his company with Lamb
would make him a perfect person.

Do you think Mr. Lamb really had a lot of friends? Explain?

Mr. Lamb claimed to have a lot of friends but in fact he appears to have few. Mr.
Lamb is a peculiar person with no complaints about his deformity but his heavy,
philosophical talks may bore people who run into him. Even though Mr. Lamb had
claimed he had hundreds of friends, he didn’t know of those names and no one
showed up while Derry was with him for such a long time. Moreover, Mr. Lamb
himself is found telling his bees that human beings do not keep their promise of
returning to his garden. From all these one can conclude that Mr. Lamb had no
friends but the bees and the nature around him.

Mr. Lamb says to Derry: ‘It’s all relative. Beauty and Beast’. What does he mean by
that?

Mr. Lamb believes in the relativity theory of beauty. Quoting the fairy tale, ‘The
Beauty and the Beast,’ he said that everyone has beauty inside but people hardly
recognize that. The beautiful ones are not always good at heart and the ugly ones
can have a beautiful heart.

Who should be ‘friends’ according to both Derry and Mr. Lamb?

Both Mr. Lamb and Derry keep different views regarding friendship and company.
Derry thinks that one should know all the particulars of a person before becoming
friends. He also thinks that two people who met casually on the way cannot be
friends because they are not going to meet again. In contrast, Mr. Lamb doesn’t
agree with Derry. He doesn’t know the names of his friends yet he has a lot of
friends. For him anyone is his friend, whether he met them just once or so many
times.

“That would do you more harm than any bottle of acids.”

Mr. Lamb was a man who tried to look at problems with reduced importance while
Derry thought his deformity was the last word of his life and existence. He said that
he hated some people for their hatred and sympathy for him. Seeing the burning
hatred in Derry, Mr. Lamb warned him that hatred can burn in and out of a person
while acid can burn part of the body alone.

How was the society and family responsible for forming Derry an introvert?

Derry cannot be solely blamed for his pessimistic and aggressive attitude towards
the world around him. Once he heard two women commenting about his ugliness.
They said only a mother could love a face like his. On another day Derry heard his
parents conversing that he would not survive after their death because he was
deformed. The shock he received from these words was big. On another occasion
Derry heard his relatives talking about his being put in the hospital where he had
been treated after the accident. In their opinion a deformed boy like Derry could
accommodate himself with other deformed boys and girls. Derry had his ears
always open for such comments and used to respond to them in his silent way. He
concluded that the world altogether didn’t need a boy like him.

“And the world is there to look at.”

In Mr. Lamb’s opinion the world is a perfect example for people with deformity. The
earth is full of good and bad things, beautiful and ugly places, inhabitable and
uninhabitable places yet we love the earth as a whole, not as a part. Mr. Lamb
wants to make Derry think of himself as a whole person with good and bad in him.

Why does Derry go back to Mr. Lamb in the end?

Mr. Lamb was a wizard who could transform Derry into a positive character. Derry
realized the importance of a man like Lamb and hoped that he would change
completely in his company. Moreover, he knew, he could revert to his old attitude if
he lived with his pessimistic mother and father.
How does Derry claim that his deformity is graver than Mr. Lamb’s lameness?

Derry had a burnt face and Mr. Lamb had lost one of his legs. In Derry’s opinion he
bore more damage and pain than Mr. Lamb because his burnt face cannot be
hidden from others while Mr. lamb could sit somewhere as a normal man. For Derry,
the deformed face was his identity. People got away from him because of the face
and he believed that no one runs away from a lame man.

Should Wizard Hit Mommy?

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is the clash in the story?

Jack ended his story with Roger skunk’s mother hitting the wizard for giving a new
smell to her son. In fact Joe had loved the previous ending of the story where Roger
became a happy creature with the smell of roses that the wizard gave him. She was
displeased by this new ending and wanted her father to make the wizard hit Roger’s
mommy. But Jack was not ready to make any change as he thought Joe should
accept him without questioning. As Jack had created Roger after himself and
Roger’s mother after his own mother, he wanted the story remain a reminder to his
daughter to understand the importance of yielding to her parents.

Why did Jack bring in an addition to the story that had in fact ended?

Jack was a very peculiar father and man. He wanted women clinging to him rather
than he yielding to them. When his story really ended as usual, Joe, his daughter
began to show signs of it and looked distracted. He didn’t like this behavior of his
daughter. According to him it was he who had to declare that the story was over. To
establish his authority over the story, over his daughter and over all women, Jack
took the story to a much unexpected twist and declared that the story was over.

How does Jack justify Roger’s mother? Why does he do so?

Interestingly, in all stories of Roger, Jack had infused his own childhood and placed
himself as Roger and his mother as Roger’s mother. Jack did it because he was very
much attached to his mother and had idealized the mother above all. He had
certain limitations in his childhood but his mother didn’t blame him for his good or
bad. She didn’t want her son change like the other boys of his age. What she
wanted was a son who always remained her pet, obedient, unquestioning his
parents. Jack wanted his children to be like he was to his mother.

Jack appears to be an immature father. Discuss.

Jack is the father of two children yet he exhibits traits of an immature man and
father. His mind is not as grown up as it is expected from a man of his age. He clung
to rigid opinions like a small child. He felt angry with Joe when she took liberty to
feel that the story had ended. In order to establish his authority over the story and
the child, Jack added an unwanted tail to the story. When the daughter commented
that the story ended badly, he fights with her over such a trifle, still behaving like a
child.

How did Roger’s mother react to his son’s change of smell?

Roger had a very bad smell. He was very sad and disappointed about it. But his life
changed after getting the smell of roses from a wizard. Though his friends loved
Roger with the new smell, his mother expressed her vehement protest to it. She
didn’t like the change. She loved her son with the hereditary smell, however bad it
was.

Why was Roger’s mother unhappy about the end of the story?

Roger and his friends were greatly happy with the smell of roses Roger got from the
wizard, but his mother wasn’t. The mother loved her son with the bad smell
because the bad smell was her son’s identity. She wanted him to be an obedient
child, loving his tradition, proud of the family smell, however stinking it was.

Why does Joe consider Roger’s mother stupid?

Joe considered Roger’s mother stupid because she was so senseless that she could
not appreciate her son’s acquiring a new smell replacing a very unpleasant smell.
She was moreover ignorant about what was good and what was bad. For her,
traditions are more important than a pleasing appearance and therefore she was
ever willing to carry her ugly smell as a mark of her identity.

Why was Joe against the end of the story?

Joe was a little girl of four years. She had a good appreciation to her father’s stories,
however monotonous they were. She used to fall asleep at the end of each story her
father told her. But the unusual ending of Roger skunk’s story didn’t please her. She
disliked the idea of the good wizard hit for helping Roger. She saw no reason why
goodness be punished. She was angry with Roger’s mother who didn’t accept a
change that happened for good.

What was the ugly middle position that Jack found himself in?

Jack was a husband and father. He had considered himself to be very obedient to
his mother and was proud of that submission. He wanted his children follow his
example and therefore hated being contradicted or questioned by his children. It
was with this in mind that he chose to tell bedtime stories to his children rather than
leaving it to Clare, his wife. But Jack was a failure as a story teller, a husband and a
father and this placed him in a middle position, somewhere nowhere.

What hadn’t Joe foreseen in the story of Roger Skunk?

Joe was glad with the usual ending of the story of Roger skunk, however repeated
the story was. She had heard this same line of story a hundred times before and
was satisfied with each ending. But Joe was not happy with the additional ending of
Roger’s story. She had never foreseen that there was something wrong with getting
pleasant smell and that the wizard would be punished for helping Roger to possess
the smell of roses.

Was Jack a success as a story teller? Explain.

Answer 1: No, Jack was very poor at telling bedtime stories. First of all, he never told
stories out of his head as was demanded by Joe. He modified a base story everyday
and therefore his stories lacked curiosity. He doesn’t quite know the psychology of a
child and hence his stories couldn’t bring the child to sleep. Instead of ending the
story as loved and expected by the child, he ended his story in a highly complicated
manner. If he had ended the story where Roger Skunk got the smell of roses or with
the wizard hitting the skunk’s mother, Joe would have been satisfied and slept
peacefully.

Answer 2: Jack was not a good story teller. The purpose of his telling Joe a story was
to put her to rest. He was a lazy story teller as he used to tell the same story with
slight variations. Even though Jack applied expressions, sound effects and curious
details such as the finding of pennies, he could not make the story a great success
because he had forgotten the basic purpose of telling the story. For him his stories
were meant to teach his children morality that he inherited from his mother. Jack
had to remember that children want curiosity, not philosophy; a peaceful mind, not
a turbulent one.

Answer 3: Yes, Jack was a good story teller. Even though he failed to put Joe to
sleep with the story of Roger skunk, he was always successful with his stories. He
had good imagination, a very effective way of narration with sound effects and
expressions. Besides, he was able to measure the depth of Joe’s concentration and
involvement in the story.

Why do you think Roger’s decision to get the smell of roses was right? Or, Should
wizard hit mommy?

There is no good reason why Roger’s mommy hit the good wizard. What the wizard
did was an act of goodness. Even though he charged Roger a few pennies for the
magic, he gave him a lovely identity that followed friendship and happiness. The
mommy was a bad one because she could not appreciate her son’s good choice.
She was more concerned about traditions, identity and her son’s safety with the
help of the bad smell. She overlooked the happiness that her son got and friendship
he gained. After all, Roger chose good for good while the mother chose the bad for
good. She should have appreciated Roger for this change and thanked the wizard
for this great transformation.
Why was Jack enthusiastic about telling the stories of Roger? OR Why did Jack
consider that his stories were what his children should listen to?

Jack had held certain values close to his heart. First of all, he believed that he was a
well formed man and father. He had suffered certain humiliations in his childhood
and therefore he had sympathy for the weak and the deserted. He never liked
women being superior. This male chauvinist, Jack, considered his four year old
daughter Joe as a woman and taught her that children should not question their
parents even if they are wrong.

How should Jack have ended the story in order to make Joe sleep?

If Jack was primarily interested in making Joe sleep, he should have ended the story
hitting the mommy. He had to admit the unusual ending of the story a fault. If he
didn’t want to do so, Jack should have promised his daughter that he would tell her
the story as loved by her.

The Enemy
Sadao was a Japanese surgeon. He studied in America and returned with Hana, a
Japanese girl whom he met there, and married her in Japan and settled down
comfortably. While most of the doctors were sent to serve the Japanese army in the
World War II, Sadao was allowed to stay home because he was wanted by the old
General who was dying. But one night into his uneventful life came an American
Navy-man, shot, wounded and dying. Though unwilling to help his enemy, Sadao
took the young soldier into his house and provided him with medical aid. He was in
danger from that moment. Soon his servants left him. Yet the doctor in Sadao saw
that the soldier was getting well and absolutely alright.

Once his patient was no more in need of him, the doctor turned out to be his
assassin, conspiring to kill him in his sleep. He informed the General of the
American and the General promised he would send his private men to kill the
American. Sadao awaited the American’s death every morning but to his gloom the
man was still alive, healthier and posing danger to him.

At this point Sadao becomes the real man in him: a true human being who realizes
the essential worth of human life and universal brotherhood. He thinks beyond
countries and continents and races and wars. He finds no reason to believe that the
American is his enemy. Sadao rescues the American.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Why did Sadao wait to fall in love with Hana?

Both Sadao and his wife Hana were Japanese. Sadao met Hana in America where
both were students. Though he was impressed by her, Sadao hesitated to propose
to her until he was sure that Hana was pure in her race because he knew that his
father wouldn’t love to have her as his son’s wife if she were not pure Japanese.

Why was Sadao not sent with Japanese troupes that were in war with America?

Sadao was not sent with the Japanese troupes even when the country was in war.
Being a renowned surgeon, he was highly required by the old general who was
under treatment. Also, Sadao was inventing a new medicine that was supposed to
clean wounds entirely.

How patriotic was Sadao’s father?

Sadao’s father lived a perfect Japanese life. He was blind about his country and
loved it throughout his life. He never used anything made in a foreign country. He
could not think of a foreign daughter in law. He wanted his son study abroad so that
he could serve Japan for its growth.

What were the servants’ superstitions against keeping the American soldier at
Sadao’s home?

The servants didn’t like the American soldier being helped by Sadao and Hana
because they were superstitious. According to them, first the bullet, then the sea
and finally the sharp rocks in the sea tried to kill the soldier but he escaped from all
of them. Now, if Sadao helped the man then the bullet, the sea and the rocks would
turn against him and ruin him and his family.

What was Yumi’s excuse for not washing the young American?

Yumi was Sadao’s maid servant, especially in charge of the children. She, like the
other servants, had greatly disliked Sadao’s decision to take care of the American
soldier. She equally disliked washing the man because he was her enemy and she
didn’t want to take risk by helping Sadao and Hana, who she believed, would be
arrested by the police.

What were Sadao’s strange habits while performing surgery?

Sadao used to talk to the patients while operating them. When the patient cried or
groaned during the operation, he used talk to him, calling him his friend.

What was the most remarkable instruction of his American professor Sadao had
taken into his heart?

Sadao’s anatomy professor used to remind his students that the biggest crime of a
surgeon is his poor knowledge in human anatomy. If a surgeon operates a patient
without perfect knowledge of the human body, he would be killing the patient.

How did the servants react to Sadao’s act of taking the American soldier into the
house?
The servants were from the beginning against Sadao’s idea of taking the American
soldier in for whatever reason, to kill or to treat. They openly expressed their
dissatisfaction and made clear that Sadao should not treat the American because
Americans are Japan’s enemies. When they found that Sadao was not yielding to
their wishes, the servants quitted their service at Sadao’s house amidst great pain
of separation.

Why did Sadao plot plans to kill the American?

Sadao was a kind-hearted doctor who valued life and considered saving any life to
be his prime concern. Though for this reason he admitted the American in his home
and provided him with all medical support, Sadao turned out to be plotting plans to
kill him because the American was perfectly cured and therefore the doctor-patient
relation was snapped and he was the American’s enemy.

Sadao was a perfect doctor, a pure patriot and clearheaded human being. Explain.

Sadao’s life was a happy one. He was one of the happiest men in Japan during the
war. While most of the doctors were on board with the troupes, Sadao was allowed
to remain home with his family. He was rich and enjoyed more liberty and privilege
because he was the old General’s personal surgeon. But the entry of the American
soldier was going to strip all this happiness off him. Sadao could easily have ignored
the American or handed him over to the police or thrown him back to the sea. The
dedicated doctor in him behaved like a savior for the dying man. In spite of the
servants’ protest, he took the man in his house and gave him all the medical aid. He
continuously attended to the man and made sure he was getting better. Once the
American was perfectly out of danger, the doctor in Sadao died and a perfect,
patriotic Japanese took birth. Suddenly he became the enemy and began to plot
plans to kill American enemy. He awaited the private killers of the General every
night and grew disappointed in the morning to see that the American was still alive.
His nights became sleepless. Having passed through this disappointing time, Sadao
finally shifted to the next and last of his person; he once again wanted to rescue the
American. This time it was not for the fun of exhibiting his surgical skills, nor to get
rid of his enemy. This time he did so because he realized that the concept of ENEMY
was abstract. He broke the barriers of narrow mindedness and became a universal
brother. Thus, Sadao was a perfect doctor, a perfect enemy and a perfect human
being.

Did Sadao show the equal degree of honesty in rescuing the American at the end of
the story as in operating him? Give instances.

Sadao was very honest towards rescuing the American soldier. It was not for the
sheer pleasure of showing his surgical skills to a small audience of his wife and
servants that Sadao did it. Keeping all his fears and anxieties, he cured the
American for humanitarian reasons. The same degree of honesty was shown when
he rescued him, too. Sadao was not getting rid of a menace. He made sure that the
man really escaped. By providing him with a boat, clothes and food, his favorite
torch light and further instructions in case the food was over, Sadao sent the man
into the sea. He was restless for days concerning the safety of the man wandering
in the dark sea and got his peace of mind only after getting an assurance that the
man was really safe.

What does the old general mean by the American sentimentality and the German
brutality? What did he expect from combining both?

The General believed that the Americans were highly emotional and the Germans
very brutal. According to him, a perfect doctor should have both these qualities. The
doctor should love the patient on one side and be brutal towards his physical pains.
By combining both these qualities, the General expected to make a perfect doctor
out of a man.

Journey to the End of the Earth

Summary

What is going to happen to our planet? What will happen to this earth after another
million years? No one can say but Antarctica can give us some hints. The coldest
place of the earth, Antarctica warns us to take care of the earth so that it will take
care of us!

Yes, we the human beings have indeed caused a lot of harm to this earth. We
multiplied in the last 12000 years of our existence and brought every species under
our control and destroyed many of them for our water, for our food, for our shelter,
for our fun. Now stop and listen to the warnings from Antarctica. It was once a dry
and hot landmass. Forget how it became cold. Now the big thing is that it is going to
become that same dry, hot landmass again! If so, what will happen to the dry
regions of the earth? Will they turn up to cold continents again? If you don’t believe
these facts, come to Antarctica and start digging the miles-deep ice-sheets. You will
discover layers after layers rich with the well preserved fossils of a lot of unknown
animals and birds and trees. Join us, to the Journey to the End of the Earth to see if
the world is really journeying to its end.

What is ‘Students on Ice?’

‘Students on Ice’ is an educational journey to Antarctica. It takes high school

students to show them the horrifying impacts of human activities in Antarctica so
that the youngsters, the future policy makers of the earth, will realize that the end
of the earth is quite near and therefore something is to be done to save the planet.

Why did Geoff Green decide to take high school students to Antarctica?

Geoff Green didn’t find any good in taking curious celebrities to Antarctica until he
thought of taking high school students. He believed the young vibrancy in them
would easily understand the seriousness of the threat that poses the earth by
visiting Antarctica and would act their bit to save the planet from further
deterioration.

Why is Students on Ice a success?

When one stands in the midst of the calving ice-sheets and retreating glaciers and
melting ice-bergs, he realizes that the threats to the earth are real. It is different
from talking about Antarctica from the comfort zones of our warm countries and
therefore being in Antarctica is a shocking realization.

What does the parable of phytoplankton teach us?

Phytoplankton is a single-celled grass that feed the entire southern ocean’s marine
life. These micro organisms require a low degree of temperature for their survival.
But due to the overheating and the depletion of ozone layers, their existence is
threatened. The message for the humans is to take care of the small things so that
the bigger things will also fall in place.

What beauty of balance does the author see in Antarctica and in the warm
countries?

While in Antarctica the author saw crab-eater seals having sun-bath on the ice-floes
much like the stray dogs sleep under the shade of trees in the warmer countries.
While the polar animals prefer a bit of warmth, the tropical ones desire a bit cool.
The author believes that the earth has a balancing of climatic variations and after
millions of years the Polar Regions will once again become warmer and the warmer
will turn cooler.

‘In that short amount of time we have managed to create quite a ruckus…’ Explain.
OR, What is the human impact on Antarctica?

Humans came to the earth’s scene just twelve thousand years ago which is
comparatively a second in the geological clock. Yet the destruction we have created
on the planet is countless. We have made this planet almost a scorching desert by
way of deforestation for our developmental works. All these consequences are
affecting the Antarctic regions even though we have not started any destructive
works there.

How is Antarctica significant in climatic debates?

Antarctica is a continent that has a landmass with miles deep ice, layers over
layers. In each of those layers lie millions of years old carbon records of the
organisms that existed since the beginning of the earth. While pondering over the
issue of the future of the earth, these carbon records will shed light on the past and
enable the scientist to co-relate the past, present and future.
What is the significance of the title, ‘Journey to the End of the Earth?

The title, ‘Journey to the End of the Earth,’ has more than one meaning. It describes
an educational journey to Antarctica undertaken by groups of high school students
to learn more about the real impact of Global Warming and the future of the earth.
The journey, being to the extreme south of the earth, is really towards the end of it.
Another meaning of this title is more significant as the warnings that Antarctica
gives are shocking and much concerning the humanity and the millions of other
species on the earth. The changes taking place in Antarctica are pointing a warning
finger at the existence of the earth; the earth is journeying to its end!

Why does the author consider his walking on the Antarctic ocean to be one of his
epiphanies?

Indigo
Share cropping system in Champaran

Champaran is part of the state of Bihar. It was famous for its indigo plantations
owned by the British landlords and worked by the Indian peasants. The British
forced the peasants to cultivate indigo in the 15% of their land and submit the
entire harvest to the landlords as their rent. Good idea, was it not? Poor Indians,
they had to obey the British because they were afraid of the British. They hated this
agreement and wanted to be free.

Synthetic indigo

It was during this time that Germany developed synthetic indigo and the British
knew that the peasants would be free from the agreement and that they would get
no more income from them.

Landlords’ trickery

So the smart landlords freed them from the agreement by making them pay heavy
amount for that. Most of the peasants were happy and paid and got their freedom
from the landlords. But soon the news of the German indigo reached them and they
realized that they were cheated.

Indian lawyers fool the peasants

The peasants went to the Indian lawyers and paid them heavily to get back their
money. The lawyers knew that the peasants would never get their money back from
a court controlled by the British, yet they pretended to be helping them. Soon the
peasants realized that they needed a stronger and reliable help and they turned to
Indian National Congress. Accordingly, a peasant, Raj Kumar Shukla reached
Lucknow where the Congress Committee was being held and happened to meet a
young Congress member called Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Mr. Gandhiji heard
Shukla’s story was impressed but regretted his inability to help the peasants of
Champaran. He tried to escape Shukla but Shukla was not ready to abandon his
pursuit. Finally Gandhiji had to comply. He reached Champaran and learned the
situation. He was moved by the way the poor Indian peasants had been exploited
and fooled by the British landlords and the Indian lawyers.

Who was Raj Kumar Shukla? Why did he want Gandhiji in Champaran?

Raj Kumar Shukla was a peasant from Champaran. He was a sharecropper under
the British landlords there. The sharecropping system had become a big trouble for
all the peasants in Champaran and there was no one to help them. Shukla heard
from someone that Gandhiji could solve their problems and therefore wanted
Gandhiji in Champaran.

What made Gandhiji accompany Raj Kumar Shukla to Champaran?

Gandhiji had no plan to involve himself in any mass movements. But when he heard
about the miseries of the Champaran peasants under the British landlords and that
the Indian lawyers there didn’t do anything honestly for the peasants and having
seen the determination and tenacity of Shukla, Gandhiji decided to accompany him
to Champaran.

How were Gandhiji and Raj Kumar Shukla treated by Rajendra Prasad’s servants?
Why?

Rajendra Prasad was an influential lawyer in Patna. Gandhiji had acquaintances with
him too. But when he reached his home with Raj Kumar Shukla, he was not at
home. His servants thought that Gandhiji was also an ‘untouchable’ as the peasants
were generally considered and asked them to stay on the ground and refused to
drink water from the well.

Why did Gandhiji want to make a fresh enquiry into the sharecroppers' problem?

Raj Kumar Shukla had given Gandhiji an exact account of the nature of problems in
Champaran. But Gandhiji, being a seeker of truth, wanted to gather all the facts
regarding the sharecroppers’ problems beyond what Shukla had imparted to him.

What was extraordinary about Professor Malkani's accommodating Gandhiji in his

home?

Professor Malkani was a British Government professor at Muzzafarpur and Gandhiji

fighting against the same government for freedom and home-rule. Generally no one
harbored the advocates of home-rule for fear of the British and therefore Professor
Malkani’s act was extraordinary.

How did the Muzzafarpur lawyers look at Gandhiji's presence in Champaran? What
did Gandhiji blame them for?
The Muzzafarpur lawyers were of the opinion that the sharecropping issue would
never be solved. The thought that this issue would be a long-term source of their
income. So they convinced the poor, illiterate peasants that there would be justice
for them. Therefore these lawyers were unhappy with Gandhiji’s arrival there to
solve the sharecroppers’ issue.

What was the cause of the Champaran sharecroppers' resentment?

The sharecropping system began a long time before Gandhiji was called to involve.
The peasants were already struggling under this. What aggravated the resentment
was a new agreement the British landlords had made the peasants to sign to pay a
big amount to get free from the old agreement. The landlords did this not to
alleviate the peasant's struggles but because they learnt that Germany had
developed synthetic indigo due to which the demand for natural indigo would
decline.

Why did Gandhiji discourage the peasants and the lawyers from going to the court
of law?

When Gandhiji saw that the illiterate peasants still relied on the Indian lawyers who
promised justice for them, he knew how foolish that was. Being himself a lawyer,
Gandhiji saw that the poor Indians would not get justice as long as the law,
prosecutors, courts, judge and the accused being British.

Why were the sharecroppers ready to sign the agreement to pay the money to get
released from the previous agreement to plant indigo?

The peasants had already been suffering due to the age old agreement made by
their forefathers. They could not do any other work than the cultivation of indigo
and therefore remained poor. When they were told of the new agreement to pay a
compensation to be released from the previous agreement, the peasants found it
better.

Why did the sharecroppers demand their money back?

The British landlords were very shrewd and knew how to exploit the poor,
unlettered Indian peasants. When they heard that the demand for natural indigo
would soon fall and that the Champaran peasants would be free from the
agreement, they exhorted/took money from them before the peasants knew the
true story. But when the peasants knew the truth they realized that they were
cheated and therefore wanted their money back.

On what grounds was Gandhiji called an outsider? How did he react to that?

India was not a federal nation at the time when Gandhiji reached Champaran. The
country was scattered into kingly and princely states. Gandhiji belonged to the West
of India while Champaran lay on the extreme East. Though Gandhiji considered
India as a whole, the British ruled it divided and therefore Gandhiji came from
outside Champaran, hence an outsider. Gandhiji felt angry to be considered an
outsider and he wanted to show the British who was outsider and who was insider.

Why was Gandhiji stopped on his way to the village where a peasant was
maltreated?

While in Champaran, Gandhiji heard that a poor peasant of another village had been
beaten by the landlords’ men. Gandhiji and many of his followers went to see the
situation. But Gandhiji was stopped by the police fearing that his presence along
with many furious people and the sight of the maltreated peasant would cause a
mutiny in Champaran.

What did Gandhiji learn from the voluntary support of the villagers in Champaran?

Gandhiji had never foreseen the support he would have got from the peasants of
Champaran. He was not sure of the unity among this people but when he saw the
voluntary support the uneducated peasants gave him Gandhiji learned that what
India wanted was a strong leader and that he could certainly win the battle of
Champaran.

How were the British authorities held helpless during Gandhiji's trial?

The day when Gandhiji was tried in the Tirhut court, thousands of villagers
surrounded the courthouse announcing support for their leader. With their limited
police force, the British authorities were helpless in front of the mob fury. They were
forced to seek Gandhiji’s help to save their face.

Both Gandhiji and the British authorities learnt lessons during his trial. What were
the lessons?

Both Gandhiji and the British authorities were not aware of the unity and strength of
the Indian peasantry till they witnessed it at the time of Gandhiji’s trial. Gandhiji
learned from this that a leader was what India needed while the British became
aware of the real threats to their existence in India.

What were the two types of duties Gandhiji brought to a conflict?

Being a lawyer himself Gandhiji amazed the lawyers and judge of the Tirhut Court
with the accurate use of eloquence and law points. He said that he was involved in
a conflict of duties: one with the law of the court and the other with his own
conscience. He said he had to stand with his conscience because he believed that
serving people was more important than serving the law.

How did Gandhiji make the judge grant/allow him bail?

The crafty British judge wanted to postpone the trial so as to get Gandhiji without
the cover and support of the peasants to put him behind the bars. Sensing this,
Gandhiji declared that he was guilty and requested the court to grand him his
punishment. at this point, the judge was forced to announce the verdict and
released Gandhiji on bail.

What was the immediate reaction of the Indian lawyers when Gandhiji sought their
advice?

Gandhiji was released on bail but was still in danger of being caught and tried in
secret. Knowing this Gandhiji sought the advice of the Indian lawyers. The lawyers
were already discontent with him and therefore said they would not mind if he went
to prison.

When did Gandhiji announce that 'the battle of Champaran was won?' What made
him say so?

The Indian lawyers behaved indifferently with Gandhiji when he was released on
bail. But Gandhiji reminded them that they would lose support and trust of the
peasants if they didn’t help him. He further explained that he was an outsider yet
was going to jail for the peasants. At this crucial point the lawyers discussed among
themselves and announced their support for Gandhiji. Having secured the support
of the rich and poor, the educated and the uneducated, Gandhiji announced that
the battle of Champaran was won.

'Civil disobedience had triumphed, the first time in modern India.' Comment.

Gandhiji began his Civil Disobedient Movement in Champaran by refusing to leave

the place as ordered by the police authorities. His arrest and trial followed. But
finally the judiciary had to release Gandhiji and drop his case due to pressure from
the peasants and thus his Civil Disobedient Movement became successful in
Champaran.

Why was Gandhiji ready to accept a meager compensation of only 25% of the
money from the landlords?

The Commission that was set up for solving the Champaran issue finally agreed to
pay 25% of the money as compensation to the peasants who had been fooled by
the British landlords. Gandhiji, being the only representative of the peasants,
agreed to this suggestion of the Commission. Even though the amount was very
less for the peasants, Gandhiji considered the agreement to be a mile stone as it
was the first instance in the history of Indian freedom struggle when the British
were forced to obey the Indians.

Gandhiji foiled the Commission's hidden plans to help the British landlords by his
tactful reply. Explain what were the Commission’s hidden plans.

Even though the Commission seemed to be ready to solve the Champaran

peasants, the British members of the commission had some hidden intention in
mind. They were prepared either to foil the Commission or to save their money and
prestige. It was for this that they disagreed to pay the 50% of the peasants’ money
even though Gandhiji’s demand was more than just. Gandhiji outwitted their hidden
plans by unexpectedly accepting their meager compensation amount.

How was the Champaran episode a turning point in Gandhiji's life?

When Gandhiji undertook his mission in Champaran he was least certain about the
cooperation and unity of the people that would have turned out to be support for
him. But the voluntary support they gave him at his trial opened his eyes and
Gandhiji placed himself the leader that the whole of India needed and began his
Freedom Struggle since then.

Who was Charles Freer Andrews? Why did Gandhiji's friends want him in
Champaran? Why was Gandhiji against this?

Charles Freer Andrews was an English man, a close follower of Gandhiji with similar
ideas of a pacifist. He was a social worker in Champaran. When Gandhiji came to
Champaran, Andrews was getting ready to go to his new destination. Gandhiji’s
friends thought of stopping Andrews in Champaran for Gandhiji’s help. But Gandhiji
read their minds and saw that they were depending on a foreigner for India’s
freedom. To show them the meaning of self reliance, Gandhiji refused to ask
Andrews to stay with him.

Who was Charles Freer Andrews? Why did Gandhiji's friends want him in
Champaran? Why was Gandhiji against this?

Charles Freer Andrews was an English man, a close follower of Gandhiji with similar
ideas of a pacifist. He was a social worker in Champaran. When Gandhiji came to
Champaran, Andrews was getting ready to go to his new destination. Gandhiji’s
friends thought of stopping Andrews in Champaran for Gandhiji’s help. But Gandhiji
read their minds and saw that they were depending on a foreigner for India’s
freedom. To show them the meaning of self reliance, Gandhiji refused to ask
Andrews to stay with him.

Rattrap
SUMMARY

Peddler

There was a poor man who went selling rattraps that he made himself. He had no
family. He was not educated. He led an indecent life. He even stole to survive.

A new idea!
Thinking about the rattraps once he caught glimpse of a new philosophy: The whole
world is a rattrap and all the riches are the baits that attract the human rats into it.
He loved this idea and watched the rich people getting into this rattrap of the world.

First trap

This was what had happened with him: One evening he knocked at the door of a
house and the owner, an old man, welcomed him happily. The old man was once a
crofter and had no family. He earned his living by selling his cow’s milk. The peddler
and the crofter spent that night like friends.

Second trap

On the way he decided to take the road through the forest to avoid police and lost
his way in the confusing forest. He fell down and thought his end had come. He
realized he too was in a rattrap. While lying down, the peddler heard the sounds
from an iron mill. He got up with all his strength and walked to that direction. He
reached an iron mill and took shelter near the fire inside the mill and soon fell
asleep.

Again Traps

While the peddler was sleeping the owner of the mill happened to reach there. The
Ironmaster came close to him and noticed his face and suddenly misunderstood him
to be his lost regimental friend Nils Olof, a captain in the army. The Ironmaster
woke him up and asked him to come home with him. Though this misunderstanding
would have helped the peddler to get some money, he refused to go with the
Ironmaster out of fear and suspicion. The Ironmaster gave up and went home and
sent his daughter to persuade the peddler. The daughter, Edla Willmansson, came
to the mill and with her innocent, loving words and manner, took the peddler home.

False Identity

Next morning the peddler was washed, shaved and dressed and brought to the
presence of the Ironmaster. To the Ironmaster’s horror, he noticed that the peddler
was not his friend and he realized his mistake. He asked the peddler to get out of
his home. But the Ironmaster’s daughter was a good person. She felt sympathy for
the peddler and requested her father to allow him stay for Christmas that day. The
Ironmaster unwillingly complied to his daughter and the peddler was allowed to stay
for Christmas. The whole day and night he ate and slept. He was never before so
much happy, so much at peace, so much fed. He felt important. He distinguished
between the dirty life of a peddler and the decent life of a respected captain. He
wished to be a decent, respected man.

Thief in the village!

Next morning the Ironmaster and his daughter went to the church, leaving the
peddler at home with the servants. In the church they heard a bad news from the
crofter that a peddler selling rattraps stole his hard earned 30 Cronors. Father and
daughter immediately returned from the church and reached home fearing that the
peddler would have robbed their house.

Peddler becomes captain

They reached home and saw that the peddler had gone. They were given no shock.
They were greatly surprised to see that the peddler had not taken anything from
their home and that he had left a rattrap as a gift for Edla and the money he had
stolen from the crofter and a letter revealing his change.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Why had the peddler to resort to petty thievery?

The rattrap seller lived mostly by selling rattraps that he himself made. At times,
when his business did not go well, he had to resort to petty thievery for survival.

What was the new line of thought the peddler once came across?

The peddler was once thinking about the rattraps. Suddenly he realized that the
whole world is a rattrap. The riches and luxuries and comforts are the baits. Like
rats people allow themselves to be tempted by these baits and get caught and end
up life struggling to get out.

How is the peddler's philosophy practical and true in the modern world?

The peddler found that the whole world with its riches and comforts alluring people
is a rattrap. This is even today a practical philosophy. The modern world is full of
alluring things, people, places and opportunities everywhere. Humans have an
unquenched thirst for all these. Instinctively they desire to achieve them but turn
out to be trapped at the end. Addictions are the best examples.

Why was the peddler happy to think of the world as a rattrap?

The peddler was a struggling man and was therefore glad to see others getting into
troubles. Moreover most people he met were heartless and showed him no
generosity. He wanted them to get into troubles in life so that they could
understand the sufferings of the poor and he could be happy to see them in
troubles.

Why was the peddler welcomed by the crofter? How did this amaze the peddler?

The Crofter was old, lonely and was in need of someone to talk to. This amazed the
peddler because it was not quite usual that anyone welcomed him so warmly and
fed him so lovingly and behaved with him so friendly.
'The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with his porridge and
tobacco.' Explain.

The way the peddler was welcomed by the crofter was unusual. The crofter
generously served him food and let him stay with him. Besides he went to the
extent of sharing his secrets with the peddler and showed him his great treasure of
an amount of thirty cronors.

What was the extraordinary 'bossy' of the Crofter?

The crofter was once able to support himself. But now he has become old and could
not do labor as before. He is now supported and taken care of by his cow whom he
considers as his boss.

What made the Crofter show the peddler his money pouch?

When the crofter told the peddler that he had thirty cronors in possession, the latter
seemed to have disbelieved this. To prove himself true the crofter showed him the
entire amount of thirty cronors.

Why did the peddler return to the Crofter's house after half an hour?

Even though the peddler had been generously treated by the crofter, the former
was tempted to steal his thirty cronors and therefore he returned to the Crofter's
house when he was away.

What made the peddler take the woodland road to his destination?

After stealing the crofter's money, the peddler began to feel insecure going the
main road where he could be easily arrested by the police. To avoid any risk he took
the woodland road.

Having taken the Crofter's money as bait, the peddler got trapped into a rattrap.
What is the irony in this?

The peddler believed his own philosophy that the whole world is a rattrap and the
attractions here are baits attracting people into its deadly doors. But by taking the
crofter's money, the peddler had forgotten his philosophy and took the bait and
allowed himself to be caught.

How did the hammer strokes rekindle the lost spirit in the peddler? Or How did the
sounds from the iron mill encourage the peddler?

Having wandered through the confusing forest and fallen down on the earth, the
peddler thought that his end had approached. But as his ears lay close to the earth,
the peddler heard the regular thumping of hammer strokes and guessed that was
from an iron mill. He dragged himself to the direction of the sounds hoping to get
himself warmed from the chilling cold and dripping water and find a way out of the
forest.

Why did the Ironmaster invite the peddler his home?

The Ironmaster, the owner of the iron mill, was once in the army. He had a close
regimental friend there. His name was Nils Olof Von Stahle. After his retirement
what the Ironmaster last heard of Von Stahle was that he too had retired from the
force. The peddler had the similar looks of Von Stahle and the Ironmaster took him
for his lost friend therefore wanted him to come to him home.

Why did the peddler refuse to go with the Ironmaster?

Initially the peddler was glad to be acknowledged as the Ironmaster’s friend, the
captain, with a hope that he could get some money from this confused gentleman.
But when the Ironmaster asked him to come home to his manor house, the peddler
refused, suspecting some crazy intentions behind the Ironmaster’s invitation.

Why did the peddler agree to go with Edla?

Edla Willmansson was the Ironmaster’s daughter. She was not pretty or attractive
yet was compassionate. When she came and asked the peddler to come home, he
agreed and went with her because she seemed friendly and that boosted up the
peddler’s confidence. Besides, probably he didn’t want to be disturbed again.

How were the Ironmaster and his daughter different in their outlook?

The Ironmaster invited the peddler home for celebrating Christmas with his
daughter and him because he thought the peddler was his old friend and that they
had none to celebrate Christmas with. The Ironmaster was business minded and it
was not the genuine compassion that made him treat the peddler. But Edla was just
the opposite. She was a fountain of true love for others. She had the same
compassion and love for the peddler even after knowing that the man was not her
father’s regimental friend.

Why did Edla intercede/request for the peddler?

Edla Willmansson, the Ironmaster’s daughter, had a soft corner for the peddler. She
was sympathetic to him because she was so to all the poor and suffering people.
She had understood the essential value of human beings, too. She interceded for
the peddler because she had wished his presence with her family as a Christmas
friend, not as his father’s old regimental friend. She had believed in the true
Christian values such as charity and benevolence, which are in fact the spirit of
Christmas.

How did the peddler celebrate his Christmas at the manor house?
It was the first Christmas the peddler ever celebrated in his whole life so peacefully.
The whole day and throughout the Christmas night he was sleeping that was
interrupted only by the calls to eat at intervals.

What was Edla's Christmas gift for the peddler?

Edla Wilmansson didn't give anything apparently to the peddler. She informed him
that her father's fur coat that had been given to him was not to be returned. She
told him that he would be welcome to the manor house on every Christmas to
spend a peaceful Christmas. But the real Christmas gift that Edla gave the peddler
was the great transformation that made him a new man.

Why did Edla sit dejected when she returned from the church?

Edla and her father had left the peddler home while they went to church for
Christmas celebrations. But in the church the crofter whose money the peddler had
stolen earlier told everyone how and by whom he had been robbed by a man who
sold rattraps. Realizing that the same man was at her home and that it was she who
wanted him home and that he would have stolen everything, Edla felt dejected.

How did the peddler dare to consider himself as a captain? How far is that apt?

A captain is far refined than a peddler. When the peddler began to think and behave
different from his usual tramp way, he felt a need for change in his life. Moreover,
the newly awakened man in the peddler could command the old man in him to
change, as a captain commands.

Do you think that the peddler had really changed?

Yes, the peddler changed his old way of life after staying with Edla and her father on
a Christmas. He did not take anything from Edla’s house even though he was able
to. Besides, he returned the 30 cronors that he had stolen from the old crofter.
Moreover, he calls himself ‘captain’ in the letter for Edla. From all these, we can
conclude that the peddler had changed.

Deep Water
Why was Douglas' mother particular that he should not go to the Yakima river? How
did she manage to keep the son away?

The Yakima River was treacherous. Drowning was common in it. By reminding him
of each drowning incident, Douglas' mother kept him away from the Yakima River.

What made the YMCA pool a safe place to learn swimming?

The YMCA pool at Yakima was not so deep. At the shallow area it was only three
feet deep and at the deepest end it was nine. Moreover, the bottom of the pool was
tiled the pool was tiled and the water clear.
What was the author's early childhood fear of the water? How did it affect him in the
rest of his life?

The author and his father once went the beach of California when the former was
three or four. While playing in the surf of the sea, the author was knocked down by
the water and was buried under it. His breath was gone and a deep fear developed
in his mind.

What was the misadventure that happened while William Douglas was making his
attempt to learn swimming in the YMCA pool?

Douglas was attempting to learn swimming in the YMCA pool. He was sitting on the
side of the pool waiting for other boys to come. Unexpectedly a fat boy arrived
there, and, seeing Douglas sitting timidly, grabbed him and threw him onto the
deepest part of the pool and left him to drown.

'I was frightened, but not yet frightened out of my wits.' What does this mean?

It was quite unexpected that Douglas was thrown into the deepest part of the YMCA
Pool. The fact that he didn’t know swimming increased the risk and danger. But
Douglas was not ready to overtaken by the sheer fear of sinking. On the contrary he
strengthened his mind and got ready to apply his wit to overcome the situation.

What were Douglas' plans when he went down the water the first time?

Douglas was frightened at being hauled into the deep water but was strategic even
at such a crucial stage. While sinking, he planned to make a leap once his feet
touched the tiled bottom of the water and consequently reach the surface and swim
to the side and escape.

Douglas presents before us the true experience of dying which is not frightening but
peaceful. Explain.

Douglas' experience of dying in the YMCA pool taught him an untold mystery about
death. He says it is a peaceful experience to die. People generally think of death as
a frightening experience. When all efforts to escape from death, one is left with no
other choice than dying, a sort of peace wraps him. It wipes out fear, it wipes out
terror. There was no more panic. I t is quiet and peaceful. Nothing to be afraid of.
One feels it nice, to be drowsy, to go to sleep, no need to jump, too tired to jump. it
is a feeling of being carried gently, to float along in space, tender arms around us,
tender arms like Mother’s.

Love for water could never die in Douglas. How did this statement come true to
Douglas in the years that followed?

Water was very cruel with Douglas since his childhood. Even though he had been
frightened twice, Douglas' love for water was everlasting. After having undergone a
fatal experience at the YMCA pool Douglas didn't give up his desire to learn
swimming. He waited for his time and overcame the fear of water and made himself
a good swimmer.

This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by. Which handicap does the
author refer to?

The fear of water that possessed him first on the California Beach and later at the
YMCA Pool crippled Douglas. This was an additional handicap for him other than his
polio.

How did Douglas decide to overcome his fear of water?

After the misadventure at the YMCA Pool, Douglas found his fears for water
assuming an alarming height. He decided to overcome this fear by getting effective
training from a professional trainer.

But I was not finished. What was unfinished for Douglas?

At the end of his rigorous training to swim, Douglas' trainer informed him that his
job was completed. Yet Douglas was not entirely satisfied. He had his own fears and
anxieties regarding his swimming skills. He wanted to overcome the last bit of fear
from his mind.

What did Roosevelt mean when he said, 'All we have to fear is fear itself?' How did
Douglas realize this in his own life?

President Roosevelt believed that it is fear all we have to fear. People are afraid of
fear. Even when the mind wills to do certain acts, fear stops us from doing that. In
the case of Douglas, too, he never feared water. On the contrary he had great
attachment to water. What he feared was the fear for water.

Lost Spring

Stolen Childhood

Rag pickers and child-workers are common in Indian cities. Even though Lost Spring
portrays the sad picture of the plight of the poor children of India, Anees Jung is
revealing another face of the Indian society through Saheb and Mukesh.

Saheb

Saheb was a rag picker from Seemapuri. He is a rag picker because his family and
society believe that they are the privileged ones chosen to pick the waste. Saheb
has simple dreams. He is curious about learning. He believes the promises of the
BIG people. One day suddenly Saheb was found doing another job that was out of
his tradition. Having abandoned the rag picking he adopted to carrying milk to a
shop that paid him decently. Changes!
Mukesh

Mukesh is a bangle maker because his family, caste and society strongly believe
that they are the fortune makers of the country. Mukesh is determined. He has a
clear dream. Just one dream. But he finds it hard to achieve that. His society
believes that they are the chosen ones of God to make bangles: make the fortune of
the country. Yet they are not fortunate. Fortunately Mukesh realises this and is
ready to look for a change that would change the course of history. He is dreaming
of becoming a motor mechanic.

Neither is Saheb privileged nor is Mukesh fortunate. They will be, only when they
break away from the stigma of religion and caste and many others. A change in the
attitude of the poor people towards their work and the choice they are supposed to
make.

Where is Saheb coming from? Why did he have to leave his country?

Saheb is a rag picker who lives in Seemapuri on the Delhi-UP boarder. He came to
Seemapuri from Bangladesh with thousands of others forced by natural calamities
there.

Why did the author realize that her advice was 'hollow?'

On meeting Saheb the author advised him to go to school. But when she gave an
afterthought the author realized that the thought of going to school had never
occurred to children like Saheb. For them rag picking is more meaningful than
schooling and learning.

Why was the author embarrassed when Saheb asked her if her school was ready?

Seeing Saheb ruining his childhood picking waste, the author once asked him if he
would join her school if she started one. Saheb gave her a positive answer. Another
day when the two met, Saheb asked her if her school was ready. The author
suddenly felt speechless as she had not meant to start a school as Saheb had
expected.

How does Anees Jung explain the over sensitivity of the poor rag pickers to the rich
men's promises?

Anees Jung strongly believes that the poor people are over sensitive to the promises
of the rich. She had experienced this in the case of Saheb who believed the fake
promise of starting a school given by her.

Why should there be a hard time for Saheb to believe the meaning of his name?

Saheb's full name is Saheb-E-Alam which means the Lord of the Universe. Being a
poor rag picker, Saheb cannot believe that the Lord of the Universe is supposed to
be like him and therefore he will struggle to believe the meaning of his name.
How does the author reason the barefoot tradition of the rag pickers?

The rag pickers of Seemapuri are traditionally barefooted. The author is doubtful
about the origin and reasons behind this tradition of the rag pickers. She believes
that it is an excuse to explain their poverty. But on the other side she sees the
possibilities of the traces of an ancient tradition preserved by the poor rag pickers.

What does the story the man from Udipi told the author tell about the blindness to
traditions and religious stigma?

A man from Udipi once told the author his own story when he was a boy and his
father a priest in the temple. As a young boy he would go to school past this old
temple and stop briefly to pray for a pair of shoes. Thirty years later when the
author visited his town and the temple, she saw a lot of modern instances in the
town and lifestyle of the people. The author means to indicate the timely changes
education brings to people and how the illiterate rag pickers remain unchanged,
carrying the rotten traditions.

How is Seemapuri both near and far away from Delhi?

Seemapuri is a backward area on the periphery of Delhi. Geographically it is very

close to Delhi whereas its traditions, standard of life and people are far behind the
time.

Food is more important for survival than an identity. How is this statement true in
the lives of the Seemapurian rag pickers?

Thousands of rag pickers live in Seemapuri. They do not have any identity in their
society or in the country. Yet they are happy for the fact that here thsey don't need
to starve as it used to be in Bangladesh where they had come from.

How did Seemapuri turn out to be a better place for the Bangladeshis?

Seemapuri was a deserted area when the Bangladeshis arrived here three decades
ago. They were forced to come here due to the natural disasters in Bangladesh.
They loved Seemapuri because they could survive here. They had food and shelter
here.

How do you understand rag picking having the proportions of a fine art in
Seemapuri?

Like any other art form, rag picking possesses certain talents and rules. One needs
guidance and inborn talents to be a successful rag picker. He should know where to
find garbage, what to take, what to ignore, what time is best for it and so on. In
Seemapuri every child is taught the essential art of rag picking.

'It seems that for children, garbage has a meaning different from what it means to
their parents.' Explain.
In Seemapuri survival means rag picking. The elders have made it their profession
for a fixed wages whereas for the children rag picking is a game of treasure-
hunting. They work through the garbage with a hope that one day they would get a
gold coin or a rupee note from the garbage heap.

Why is Saheb keenly watching the neighborhood tennis players?

Sometime Saheb can be found outside the club watching people play tennis. He is
not interested in playing tennis. He was content to watch the game from outside. He
is more interested in using the swing.

Whether Saheb likes or not, he is altogether changed for all his prosperity. What is
the change? What does this change suggest?

Saheb was once a rag picker and now works in a tea-shop, carrying milk for a
better, fixed wages. Unlike the others in his family and caste, Saheb's willingness to
opt another line of work other than the traditional way of following his lineage is a
mark of change in his life.

How is Mukesh's attitude different from that of Saheb, both two sides of the same
coin?

Mukesh and Saheb belong to slums and are forced to work as children. Saheb is
cool and lack much determination in life. He is less expressive. Changes happened
to him unexpectedly. Mukesh is determined and well planned. He is practical too.
Unlike the rest of his people, Mukesh is ready to rebel with the social set up and is
optimistic about his bright future.

What is the incongruity of Mukesh's dreaming to be a motor mechanic?

Mukesh belongs to a bangle-making family in Firozabad. His people believe that

they have to keep up with the traditions and that they have to do no other work
other than bangle-making for the auspiciousness of marriage in the country. But
Mukesh wishes to be a motor mechanic which is out of question in his tradition.

How does the author narrate the child labor prevailing in Firozabad?

Around 20,000 children are working in glass furnaces with high temperatures, in
dingy cells without air and light. Here they slog their daylight hours, often losing the
brightness of their eyes. Their eyes are more adjusted to the dark than to the light
outside. Due to this they often end up losing their eyesight before they become
adults.

Karam and God-given lineage amply tell the sad picture of the stigma of religion
that rules the poor people of India? Explain.

India is still primitive in many spheres of life even in our time. A big majority of
Indians in the villages still believe the division of labor system that began centuries
ago. When one is not doing any better in life due to the unwillingness to adopt
another profession, they accept it as God's plan and do the same work as if it is a
God given lineage.

Which are the two hurdles that Mukesh has to break away for a better existence?

Mukesh has realized that being a bangle maker will not alleviate his poverty and
therefore he wishes to become a motor mechanic to be successful in his life. But
doing any job other than bangle making is out of question in his society. He has to
first convince his family and society of the need of undertaking another profession.
If the society lets him choose his way, Mukesh has to face an inconvincible group of
middlemen, politicians and their watchdogs, the police of Firozabad, who are
altogether the sole beneficiaries.

Why is Saheb not his own master?

Saheb was his own master when he was a rag picker. He was not accountable to
anyone nor was he to work for someone. But now Saheb is working for a tea shop,
having to carry milk from a milk booth. Even though he is paid Rs.800 and all his
meals, Saheb has lost his freedom to roam with his friends and to be his own
master.

How far is the change good for Saheb?

Saheb was once a carefree boy, with no responsibilities and tensions, and of course,
no achievements in life. But now he is a responsible boy, earning more than anyone
in his society does. While the others go on a lazy life, Saheb-e-Alam is rising to a
prosperous life. Soon he will be rich and leading a different life and a model for the
rest of him.

In what sense is Mukesh’s father a failure?

Mukesh’s father was once a tailor before he became a bangle maker in Firozabad.
He was a failure in his life as he could not teach his two sons nothing other than the
art of bangle making.

Explain: Daring is not part of his growing up.

Mukesh’s society does not dare to question the social evils that they suffer under
the middlemen and politicians and policemen. Most people here believe that they
are asked by god to carry on this unprofitable profession of bangle making while
some people blame their destiny for their wretchedness. So no one is allowed to
think differently and the question of how to overcome the curse of the middlemen
usually doesn’t arise among them because if any one dared to rise against them,
they are suppressed.

What do you mean by 'stigma of caste?'

Religion has the power to make anyone anything. Once one got trapped by any
religion, he is no more ruled by reason; superstitions start ruling them. He finds
reason for any senseless act of him in the mirage created by the religion. This
illusion is called stigma of religion.

What is the vicious circle for the people of Firozabad? Why is it called so?

People of Firozabad live in an illusionary world. Bangle makers over generations,

they believe that it is a god-given work that they are doing and feel proud of being
bangle makers. In fact this superstition is a trap for them. They are in an
inescapable whirlpool, surrounded by beliefs and traditions. They do not understand
that the rich people and the politicians want them believe such beliefs.

Do you think Mukesh will reach his goal of becoming a motor mechanic? Give
reasons.

Yes, there are all the possibilities that Mukesh will one day become a motor
mechanic. First of all it is his unique ambition in life that he shares with none else in
his society. He is aware of the hurdles he has to face. His dream is a very
reasonable and not far from his reach if he could overthrow the middlemen or run
away from them.

If you have another question or another answer, kindly ask us or answer us down
there in the box.

Questions you can answer:

How are politicians, agents, middlemen and policemen responsible for the
misfortunes of the people of Firozabad? (2 marks)

Before he is aware, he accepts its as naturally as his father had accepted. Explain.
(2 marks)

In his small murmur there is an embarrassment that has not yet turned into regret.
What embarrassment is the author talking about? Why should Mukesh regret it? (2
marks)

Why don't the bangle makers of Firozabad organise worker's unions and
cooperatives? (2 marks)

How does illiteracy and ignorance play a cruel game in the lives of the bangle
makers? (2 marks)

The Last Lesson

Background
Two states of France, Alsace and Lorraine, were conquered by the Prussian troops in
the beginning of the 1890 Franco-Prussian war. (The war lasted for only one year)
The new government imposed rules and bans on the French people. The last of the
bans was the ban on the learning and teaching of French.

Ban and its impact

The news of the ban was displayed on the bulletin board in front of the town hall.
People crowded there to read the bulletin. They were very much shocked and sad.
They had to accept the ban under great resentment. They saw how much they had
loved their mother tongue. They saw how important their language was. They didn’t
want to lose their language. They discussed their fate, shared their bitterness and
felt helpless.

Franz, the lead character

It was at this time Franz was rushing to his school. He was a student of the
elementary school in Alsace run by Mister Hamel, the teacher who taught them
French. He was, as usual, late. A blacksmith, Mr. Watcher, saw him dashing by.
Watcher expressed his anger and helplessness at the ban on French by asking
Franz not to go in such a hurry as there was no more French to be learnt. But Franz
hurried on, because he didn’t understand what Mr. Watcher mean.

Franz reaching school

Once outside the school, Franz wondered at the silence around the school. It was
never silent like this! Was it Sunday? He wondered. He waited for the noises from
the school to get in without being noticed but there was not a sound. Finally he had
to go in in front of all. To his amazement he was not punished for his late coming.
M. Hamel, the cranky teacher, asked him to get in and regretted having begun the
class without Franz. Franz took his seat.

The unusual classroom

Among others Franz noticed that the classroom was full and there were some old
villagers sitting in the back benches. M. Hamel announced that it was their last
French class as the Prussians had banned French in schools and introduced German
instead. It was shocking news for Franz. Only then he understood why the people
had been staring at the bulletin board. He too felt his love for French returning. He
hated the Prussians for every reason. He began to love his teacher, classroom,
books and lessons. He felt sorry for not learning his lessons, for postponing his
study and for not realizing the greatness of his language.

M. Hamel’s speech

Franz heard his teacher praising French, blaming French parents for not sending
their children to school and children for not attending school. He also blamed
himself for not being a committed teacher. M. Hamel said that language is very
important for a nation because the unity of a nation mostly depended on its
language and no aggression can make such a united nation its slave. There was
complete silence in the class. Even the children made a sound. They were all sad.
Franz heard pigeons cooing on the roof of the classroom and wondered if the
Prussians wound impose a ban on their cooing-language the next day. He heard an
old man, Hauser, reading lessons with the children. He too was crying.

The class is dismissed!

It was noon. The Prussian soldiers went marching by the school. Their sounds
frightened everyone. If they noticed that a class was still progressing, they could
have arrested M. Hamel. But M. Hamel showed amazing patriotism. He wanted to
say, “Long live France” but he could not. Either he was overwhelmed by emotions
or he was scared of the Prussians. He went to the black board and wrote as big as
he could: viva la France! Long live, France!

In short

The people of Alsace and Lorraine had true love for their nation and their mother
tongue, French, but they were not keen enough to learn it. They always put off
learning for another day. Parents used to send their children to mills and fields to
make more earning rather than ending them to learn.

M. Hamel's school was rather a mess. The children used to howl. The teacher was
very cranky yet there was no peace inside the classrooms. Due to the scarcity of
teachers, all the students sat in a hall. The back benches were always empty.

One day Alsace was conquered by the Prussians. They imposed a ban on teaching
French in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine besides introducing their language
German as the official language. As per the ban all the French teachers were to quit
the territory in no time. The ban gave a heavy impact on the people. The ban was a
blot from the sky. The people of Alsace for the first time realized how much they
had loved their mother tongue.

The last lesson turned out to be a new lesson for young and old. They learnt the
importance, greatness and sweetness of French language. They wished if they could
learn it in an hour. They realized that the cause of their defeat was their illiteracy.

Why was Franz late for school that day?

Franz was instinctively not interested in learning French language. That day he had
to learn the rules of Participles and he was least prepared for that and was therefore
afraid of his teacher, M. Hamel. Moreover, he was allured by the attractions on the
way to school.

What attracted Franz on his way to school?

Franz was attracted by the warm weather outside. The birds that chirped at the
edge of the forest and the Prussian soldiers who were drilling also slowed down his
interest to go to school.

What did Watcher mean by saying Franz would get to his school in plenty of time?

Answer-1: Watcher, the blacksmith, meant it ironically. He meant there was no

more French taught in the school as per the ban imposed by the Prussians and it
would take a long time to get it back and therefore there was no need to hurry to
his school.

Describe the atmosphere of the school on usual days.

On usual days the school no longer looked like a school. The noises inside the
school could be heard out in the street. Children were in a playful mood, opening
and closing their desks and shouting their lessons in chorus. The teacher had to use
his ruler to silence the class.

How did the classroom look different that last day? Whose presence was
extraordinary?

For the first time in its existence, M. Hamel's classroom looked like a classroom.
There was a deep silence in the class. No one spoke a word. All were sad. Besides,
the presence of the villagers there was extraordinary.

Why was that class to be the Last Class?

Alsace was conquered by the Prussians and as a result a new order came from
Berlin to ban teaching of French in the schools of Alsace. The order further said that
all the French teachers like M. Hamel had to leave the territory within a day and
therefore that class was to be the last class.

How had Franz' books become 'old friends for him?

Friends become sweeter when they depart from us. With the ban on French, his
books were also going to separate from Franz and therefore they seemed to be old
friends for him.

Franz related the extraordinary changes in the classroom to the ban on French that
had been published on the bulletin board. How?

When Franz passed the bulletin board at the Town Hall, he didn't know what was so
curious about it. Later, when he reached his school there were changes and
curiosity there too. Finally when he was told of the ban on French and of M. Hamel's
transfer, he connected the order on the bulletin board and the extraordinary
changes in the classroom.

What did M. Hamel mean by, 'And now you see where we’ve come out!'
The people of Alsace were generally unwilling to learn their language. They left
learning to another day and did all except that. Suddenly the ban on French was
imposed by the Prussians and the people had no time left to learn their mother
tongue.

How does M. Hamel blame the parents of his students?

The parents of his students were, in M. Hamel's opinion, greedy for money. They
considered learning less important than making a living. They used to send their
children to work in the farms and mills to earn an extra amount of money.

How is a nation's language important for its citizens beyond the mere use for
communication?

Language is primarily important for communication. Besides, it has the amazing

power to bind a nation together. Once a nation is thus united it can stand against all
foreign aggressions and safeguard its freedom.

The dead reaction to the beetles that flew into the classroom clearly said the
children's resentment to the ban on French. Explain.

In M. Hamel's school beetles used to swarm in and children used to take that for
fun, too. But that day there was an amazing change in the usual reactions to the
beetles. Due to the shock and sadness caused by the ban on French even the little
children took no notice of the beetles.

What changes had happened in and outside the classroom during the forty years of
M. Hamel's service? How do they speak of his incompetence?

M Hamel was sent to teach the Alsace population. Forty years passed yet Alsace
remained illiterate. Only the desks and benches had been worn smooth; the walnut-
trees in the garden were taller, and the hopvine that he had planted himself twined
about the windows to the roof. Yet there was no change or growth in the literacy
and education levels of the people.

How does the author present a nation's love for its lost freedom?

For the people of Alsace being conquered by another country wasn’t a new
experience. But they had never foreseen that their freedom to learn their own
language would be taken away from them one day. They had a teacher to teach
them French but they never took him seriously. They used to put off learning for
another day but one day came without another day to follow. Their freedom to learn
their own language taken away from them, the people of Alsace realized its
importance. Everyone, young and old, reflected the loss of something whose
importance they realized only when it was taken away from them. They wanted
their freedom back. They wished to learn their language as intensely as their
teacher wished to teach them in an hour’s time. The usually boisterous classroom
became a peaceful place of learning. Some felt a sudden love for their books that
were once burden for them while others wept with their books in hand. The teacher
became emotional and accepted his failure in teaching the people and his students
strove to learn French in an hour. They hated the Prussians and themselves for their
lost freedom.

How far is a language important for a nation's freedom?

A nation that stands separated cannot stand against its enemy. Language is one of
the most powerful elements that boosts the unity of a nation. If a nation has a
single language it is said to be united and no aggression can conquer it.

How was the last class a new lesson for Franz?

Franz was a typical child of Alsace. He too, like the others, had put off learning for
another day. To Franz learning French was very difficult. He loved anything except
his own language. But when he was told that there was no more chance to learn of
his language, Franz felt guilty of not having taken keen interest to learn it. It is
obvious that Franz knew no French, if at all to read and write. All of a sudden his
love for learning his language grew strong in him. He paid his full attention to his
master Hamel. He understood every rule of the grammar, every sentence, very
easy. The teacher no longer appeared to him cranky nor his terrible ruler any more
terrorizing. He loved to learn French in an hour. He felt very sorry for not learning.
The last class was unforgettable for Franz.

Assignments

How did M. Hamel behave in the last class? (2 marks)

What hidden message did Watcher's advice to Franz contain?

"What would I not have given to be able to say that dreadful rule for participle all
through, very loud and clear, and without one mistake?" What did Franz mean by
this? (1 mark)

What is the great trouble of Alsace, in M Hamel's opinion? (1 mark)

"Now those fellows out there will have the right to say to you…" What will the
fellows rightly say to the French men? OR What was the justification of the
Prussians for imposing German on the Alsace population? (2 marks)

Was M Hamel an efficient and successful teacher in your opinion? Support your
answer. (10 marks)

The Tiger King

Summary
When the prince of Pratibandhapuram was just ten days old the astrologers
predicted that the prince would be killed by a tiger because he was born at the hour
of the bull star. When the prince grew up and became the new king he went on
hunting tigers to kill the hundredth tiger that was believed to be the king’s killer.
Overcoming all the hurdles that came in the king’s hunting mission, ninety nine
tigers were killed. The hundredth tiger was not found anywhere. The king became
furious and mad. He dismissed many of his ministers and his people began to hate
him. To put an end to all this, the Devan, the prime minister of the king, brought a
very old tiger to the forest where the king was hunting and placed the tiger in front
of the tiger. The king shot the tiger and went to the palace believing that he had
killed the hundredth tiger, his enemy (But the tiger was not in fact killed; it had
fainted at the sound of the firing; the bullet missed the target). Next day the king
and his son were playing with a wooden tiger when a sliver pierced his finger.
Though the king ignored the wound, soon it became critical and some very famous
surgeons were called to the palace. The surgeons operated the king and declared
that the operation was successful but the king had died.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWRS

What extraordinary event happened when the Tiger King was merely ten days old?

When the tiger king was only ten day old the astrologers made an incoherent
prediction that the child would grow up and one day meet his death. While others
heard them sadly, the baby prince asked a very wise question as to what was new
in such a prediction as it is a universal truth that everyone should die.

What were the two hurdles that the maharaja had to face during his tiger hunt?

The two hurdles that the maharaja faced during his tiger hunt for ten years were the
extinction of tiger population in his own country and the arrival of the British officer
who wished to kill tigers.

What was the rationale behind the astrologer’s prediction that the tiger king would
be killed by a tiger?

According to the astrologers, the Tiger King was born at the hour of the bull-star.
Anyone who is born at the time of the bull is killed by tiger because tiger and bull
are enemies.

Why did the Tiger King decide to marry?

The Tiger King went on a tiger hunt to kill the hundredth tiger to remove his fear of
death but the tiger population in his country went dry. To hunt further tigers he
married a princess whose father’s forest had tigers in it.

Why did the Tiger King exempt the hillside villagers from their taxes for three
years?
During his tiger hunt, the Tiger King was left with just one tiger to be killed. After his
desperate search for a single tiger there came news that there was a tiger in a
village in his country. Pleased to hear that, the king announced exemption of tax for
that villagers.

Why did the Devan decide to bring a tiger from the People’s Park?

The hundredth tiger was not very easy to hunt down. The king became furious and
mad and dismissed many of the officers. Being a wise man, the devan knew the
country would pass into the hands of Indian National Congress and that he too
would lose his position, he decided to bring an old tiger from the People’s Park in
Madras.

“At another time he was in danger of losing his throne”. How?

While the maharaja went on killing tigers one after another and thus reaching his
tally of the hundredth tiger, an English officer landed Pratibandapuram with an
intention to hunt tiger. But the maharaja was not happy with this and denied
permission for the officer which roused the latter’s ill will. The maharaja was firm to
his decision and stood at risk of losing his crown by not yielding to an English
officer.

What was the compromise the British officer was ready to make with the king? Why
did the king refuse this?

The British officer was ready for a compromise when he heard that the maharaja
was unwilling to let him hunt in his forest. The officer sent his messenger to the king
and informed him that he could take the photograph after the tiger was killed by the
king. Even though this appeared to be the best solution, the king refused the
suggestion fearing that soon other officers also would come to his forest with similar
requests.

How did the maharaja get out of the clash with the British officer?

By denying permission to the British officer to hunt tigers or at least to get

photographed with the carcass of the tiger killed by the maharaja, the king
aggravated the fury of the officer. In order to pacify the officer and thereby retain
his throne, the maharaja sent a gift of fifty diamond rings to the officer’s wife and
pleased her and got out of the spat.

How does the maharaja appear to be a satirical character?

The maharaja of Pratibandapuram deserves to be called a maharaja in every case.

He was strong enough to kill the wild tigers with his bare hands. He was brave
enough to think about killing not one, but hundred tigers. He was bold enough to
stand against a British officer by refusing him permission to hunt in his forest. He
was wise enough to please the officer by pleasing his wife and was rich enough to
send fifty diamond rings to the good lady of the officer. He was even cunning
enough to arrange his marriage with a princess whose father’s forest had the
maximum number of tigers. Yet he appears to be the opposite of what he had done
and what he was because this powerful king was finally killed by the sliver of a
worthless wooden tiger! His death brought him great shame. His boldness,
cunningness, strength and bravery failed miserably at the hands of an insignificant
wooden tiger. He can also be laughed at for his blindly believing the astrologers, for
the dereliction of duty as a king, for imposing tax on the villagers out of rage, for
forgetting the sanctity and meaning of marriage and for dismissing his officers for
no official reason.

Going Places
Sophie

Sophie belonged to a poor family. She had a lot of unfulfilled dreams. She wanted to
own a beautique, she wanted to be an actress, she wanted to be a fashion designer
and much more. She longed to be anything that was beyond her reach. When she
could not achieve them she satisfied herself by telling lies and enjoying when
people believed her.

Sophie tells a lie

After an interval Sophie came with another sophisticated lie: She met Danny Casey,
a popular football player from Ireland now a distraction for the English youth. As
usual she made her brother Geoff believe this story by reminding him he was
always the first one she told her secrets.

The lie spreads

Geoff took the story to their father and then proudly to his friends. The story
reached many and people started asking Sophie about her relations with their great
hero, Casey. They were also told that Sophie was to meet Danny in a park on a
certain day.

Lie hardens to truth

Days passed and everyone forgot Sophie and her Casey. By this time the effect of
telling the lie continuously made Sophie believe her own lie. She could not think of it
in clear lights. In a way Sophie became the victim of her own repeated lies.

Victim of a lie

The day on which Sophie was to meet Casey arrived. Sophie found her walking to
the park to meet Danny Casey. She sat there and began waiting for Casey’s coming.
Minutes ticked away and Danny delayed his coming. Sophie’s excitement gave way
to doubts. She began to doubt if he would really come or not. She grew sad for his
not coming. And then, when she thought the other way, she realized that it was all a
lie. Realization came to her. She saw how big a burden it was for her to put herself
in such a situation. She rose and walked back.

Do you think Sophie appears to be impractical? Explain with an example.

Sophie was a dreamer at its chronic stage and was therefore impractical in her
behavior. She used to jump from one to another plan, all beyond her reach. Once
she told her friend Jansie that she would start a boutique. When Jansie commented
that it would not be possible for her, Sophie changed her plan and quickly went on
planning to be an actress, a manager or a fashion designer, all beyond her reach.

Why did Sophie, then, make such big plans?

Sophie was poor and was aware of that yet she was not able to accept the fact.
Between facts and desires, she struggled to build a dreamy world of hers where she
had expensive friends and sought-after boutique. In this world she was a manager,
an actress and the centre of attraction. Thus, by creating this fairy world, Sophie
made her dreams take wings and fly.

Geoff was an entirely different character from Sophie. Explain.

Geoff was Sophie’s elder brother. He was a very practical young man. He dreamed
to become a motor mechanic and worked hard for it and became one. He took life
with all its struggles and conquered it as much as he could. But Sophie lived in her
dreams and found enjoyment and realization in dreams. She was never ready to
struggle.

Why was Sophie jealous of Geoff?

Sophie was a nonstop speaker. Whatever she talked was impracticality and lie. But
on the other side Geoff was a silent young man. His silence gave him a lustrous
personality. Sophie always wanted to be able to hold her tongue but was never able
to do so and this made her jealous of Geoff’s silence.

What was Geoff’s unknown world that Sophie believed to have existed? Did this
world really exist?

Sophie believed that Geoff had a world unknown to her, that existed in the city. In
that world there were exotic and interesting people. No, this world did not really
exist.

'Sophie wished she could be admitted more deeply into her brother’s affections.'
What does she mean by her brother’s affections?

Sophie’s world was one of fantasy. Her brother Geoff was a very practical young
man with an urge to work hard. Unlike Sophie, he was very silent. Sophie believed
that Geoff had a world of great friends and lovers, unknown to her. After thinking so
over and over, Sophie began to believe that Geoff’s world was real and wanted to
be considered very important among Geoff’s friends.

Evaluate Sophie from her feeling that the city expectantly awaited her arrival?

Even though Sophie was a poor teenager, she had expensive dreams. She could not
accept the fact that she was poor. She considered her to be a rich city girl. She
considered herself to be very important for the city. She placed herself to be the
centre of the city life. From all this Sophie appears to be an impractical girl who
lived in a world of dreams.

What was Sophie's latest lie?

Sophie was a habitual liar and an endless dreamer. She told lies in the best
convincing way. The latest of her lies was that she had an unexpected meeting with
Danny Casey, the Irish football player. She further told that the great hero was in
love with her and that he had promised an evening with her in a park.

Why did Sophie give an extra importance to Geoff by showing that she was
'chastened by his unawareness?'

One of Sophie’s tricks while telling lies was to pass the lie first to Geoff, her brother.
Geoff was a simpleton and easily believed her stories. When Geoff asked her
whether she had told their father about her meeting Danny Casey, Sophie
expressed her pain and agitation at his forgetting that he was always the first one
to whom she disclosed her top secrets. In fact the purpose of making Geoff feel that
he was very important to Sophie was to make him believe her by pleasing him.

How was Danny Casey going to be a lot of distractions for youngsters?

Danny Casey was a rising football prodigy from Ireland. He had already become a
sensation in England where he played for the United Manchester. People believed
that Danny would become a distraction for the youngsters of the time if his
popularity went on rising.

What were Sophie's expectation when she walked to the park?

Sophie expected that she would meet Danny Casey in the park. She wondered
about the thrill the moment she saw the great hero walking to her. She was happy
that she would get an autograph from Danny Casey and that she would be able to
convince everyone that she had not been a liar.

Why did Sophie go to the park to meet Danny Casey even though it was a lie?

A repeated lie sometimes appears to be a truth, especially to the one who told it.
After telling everyone about her meeting Danny Casey, Sophie too had a faint
feeling that she had really met him. When that feeling grew up to a concrete belief,
Sophie forgot that it was a lie and therefore she went to the park to meet Danny
Casey.

In the second stage of Sophie's mental transformation she starts doubting Danny
Casey. What makes her suspect him?

In the final stage of Sophie's mental transformation we see a Sophie suspecting

herself and realizing the truth. Explain.

'I can see the future and how I will have to live with this burden.' What burden is
Sophie talking about?

Sophie is talking about her habit of telling lies and her helplessness in keeping this
burden down for ever.

Interview

Do you like to be interviewd?

You cannot love interviews when you are a celebrity, all the time surrounded by the
interviewers and camera flash, by unnecessary questions and seeing your answers
twisted, misinterpreted and gossiped in the media…

Do celebrities like to be interviewed?

Some celebrities have expressed their views about interviews. Most of them
condemn being interviewed. VS Naipaul condemns interviews because interviews
are unnecessary intrusions into our personal life and they hurt people. Lewis Carroll
had great fear for the interviewers. He loved to have normal life and therefore
hated being interviewed because he believed interviews give a person too much
importance in the society. Rudyard Kippling had an even more condemnatory
attitude towards interviews. He considered it to be a crime, an immoral activity and
wanted the interviewer punished for stealing, assaulting and attacking. H.G. Wells
was a celebrity who considered interview to be an ordeal while Soul Bellow felt he
had been forced to speak during the interview. He felt his windpipe being thumbed
to speak.

Why do ordinary people like to read interviews?

Yet we cannot forget the benefits of an interview. It is a medium that brings down
the great thoughts of the great people to the ordinary people and make them great!

An Interview with Umberto Eco

Here is a sample interview. Umberto Eco is the celebrity being interviewed by

Mukund from the Hindu newspaper. Umberto Eco is a professor at Bologna
University, Italy and an expert in Semiotics, the study of signs. Eco’s books on any
academic subject have some narrative/story style and therefore they are not boring
to the student. After writing so many books on Semiotics, Eco turned to writing
novels. His Name of the Rose became an international bestseller. He explains his
writing style, his secret of finding time to write, the secret of the success of his
novels, his love for Semiotics, etc.

How do you find time to write a number of books on various topics?

I believe in the theory of Interstices, that is, there is a lot of empty spaces in every
atom and if we can remove those empty spaces, the universe will be as small as a
fist of the hand. Similarly, a lot of wasted time is there in our routine. I make use of
the empty spaces in my life.

How do you make your academic books extraordinarily interesting?

My narrative style. I write my academic books/educative books like stories full of

characters and incidents rather than theories.

You dedicated your life for academics, teaching and Semiotics but you became
popular as a novelist with the publication of the Name of the Rose. Does it bother
you?

I am disappointed on one side because Semiotics could not become a popular

branch of study. On the other side I am happy that I could be popular and, to some
extent, Semiotics as well because the content of my novel is also semiotics.

‘The Name of the Rose,’ deals with the academic stuff. How did you make it a
success?

I mixed a detective yarn in the storyline.

‘The Name of the Rose’ was a success even in America where the theme was new.
How was it possible?

A mystery. The fate of the novel would have been different if it were published
some years before or after.

Questions & Answers

Why do celebrities despise interviews?

While common people are eager to read the interviews of the celebrities, the very
celebrities have an aversion to being interviewed. Most of them find interviews
intruding into their personal lives while some fear it, some loathe it, some consider
it immoral and assaulting.

What is V.S. Naipaul’s attitude towards interview?

VS Naipaul feels that some people are wounded by interviews and lose a part of
themselves.

What were Lewis Carroll’s fears regarding interviews?

Lewis Carroll says interviews bring unparallel heights to the person in the society
and that they will be regarded more than what they are and consequently they will
lose their friends and dear ones.

What make Rudyard Kipling condemn being interviewed?

Rudyard Kipling considered interviews to be immoral. He said it is a crime, just as

much of a crime as an offence against the person interviewed, as an assault, and
just as much merits punishment. He adds that it is cowardly and vile and therefore
no respectable man would ask it, much less give it.

What does Saul Bellow mean by saying that ‘interviews were thumbprints on his
windpipe?’

Saul Bellow used to allow to be interviewed yet he used to comment that he used to
have great trouble to be interviewed because it was an experience of his throat
being thumbed by his interviewers.

How does interview serve a noble purpose in the modern world?

Even though most celebrities condemn interviews, it serves a noble purpose to the
rest of the world. The great thoughts and attitudes of the celebrities reach the
common people through the medium of interview and make people’s life more
meaningful and enlightened.

What is the irony in Eco’s statement, ‘I am a professor who writes novels on

Sundays?’

A novelist can never say that he keeps a day for writing novels. Writers are always
writers. Yet Umberto Eco is an exception. Though he is a world famous novelist, he
primarily considers himself as a professor and an academic writer and hardly get
time for writing novels except on Sundays.

What is Semiotics? How is Eco known in connection with Semiotics?

Semiotics is the study of signs. Eco is a professor of semiotics at the Bologna

University, Italy, and writes academic books on this subject.

What enabled Eco to acquire the equivalent of intellectual superstardom?

Umberto Eco is famous for his books on semiotics and popular for his novel.
Besides, he deals with literary interpretation, medieval aesthetics, literary fiction,
academic texts, essays, children’s books, newspaper articles, etc. This quality of
being at the same time able to handle such a wide range of subjects as a writer
enabled him to acquire the equivalent of intellectual superstardom.

Explain Eco’s theory of interstices.

There is a lot of empty space between the nucleus and electrons in each atom and
if that empty space is removed, the universe will be as small as a human fist. Even
though this is a bit of exaggeration, Eco wants to say that similar empty spaces are
in our lives too and if we remove them we can find out a lot of time to do more.

How does Umberto Eco manage time to write a wide range of books in his limited
time?

Umberto Eco believes that there is a lot of empty space in everyone’s life. If we
efficiently make use of this wasted time, however short they are, we can find a lot
of time in our lives. Eco finds his time to write during such times.

What is the marked departure from a regular academic style that is found in Eco’s
academic books?

Most of the academic books are uninteresting and dry. But Eco’s books on any
serious academic subject is different because his books have a story style where
the student can find characters, incidents and stories that teach the subject of
study.

What important lesson did Eco learn while writing his doctoral dissertation? How did
it influence him in his writing academic books and later becoming a novelist?

What makes Eco identify himself with the academic community even though he is
better known as a novelist?

How does Eco balance his botheration of being overshadowed by the fame of a
novelist?

What do you understand about the Name of the Rose?

Why were journalists and publishers puzzled about the success of the Name of the
Rose before it really became success

What personal theory made Eco to pen down his successful novel, The Name of the
Rose?

What was extraordinary about the success of the Name of the Rose in America?

Why does Eco admit that the reason behind the success of the Name of the Rose
was a ‘mystery?’

Why are interviews loved by a great many common people?

Interviews are loved by the common people. They love Interviews because it is a
medium of communication between the great people and ordinary people. Some
people have great ideas and great lives while the rest think ordinarily and live an
ordinary life. By reading the interviews of the great people, the ordinary people are
enlightened and inspired. They too can live a great life.

Keeping Quiet

The poet, Pablo Neruda, advises us to be silent for some time during our busy,
frustrated, insecure and selfish life. He promises us lasting peace of mind and
endless happiness that we have never experienced in our lives. Shut up! This is
what he asks us to do. Count as long as twelve, stop talking to others by words or
by signals of hands, start talking to one's mind, search in the depth of the mind the
causes of sadness, realize that the solution for your sadness is not committing
suicide, there is a better way: accept that your ego is the cause of your sadness. Kill
the ego, die with your ego and wait for a new birth. Definitely you will live a new life
without ego. Come back fresh to a world devoid of wars of any kind, selfishness of
any sort and sadness of any depth…

Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the Earth let’s not speak in any language,

Let’s stop for one second, and not move our arms so much.

What is the significance of 'counting to twelve?'

Twelve is an extended counting. While counting for a longer time one feels more
relaxed than counting for a short time such as one or three. As the counting is
followed by a relaxed time of silent meditation, one needs to keep his mind at ease
by counting steadily for a longer time.

Why does the poet ask his hearers to stop using any language?

Languages help us to communicate with other people. As the poet wants this time
of silence for talking to oneself, not for talking to other people, he doesn't want us
to use any language.

Why does the poet ask his hearers to make no movements of the arms?

Like any language, movements of arms can also communicate with other people.
The poet wants his hearers to stop all sorts of communication with others to achieve
a silent meditation and therefore he asks his hearers to stop any movements of the
arms.

It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines,

We would all be together in a sudden strangeness.

How does the time of silent introspection become an exotic moment for us?

The result of a silent introspection of this kind guarantees a perfect peace of mind.
When this peace is achieved through silence, the happiness it it provides is equal to
no other happiness. It is exotic. Tail: This self-imposed silence will turn out to be
unexplainably pleasant. You will experience the happiness you have been after all
these years.

What does the poet mean by 'rush?'

Rush means the rush that people make to defeat the others, to reach before the
others reach and the rush for achievements.

What sort of 'togetherness' can we experience while keeping quiet?

By keeping quiet we are able to understand our true self and its limitations. We
realize how selfish we are and wipe out our ego through meditation. By eliminating
a vast world of ego we give room for our brothers and feel a new togetherness.

What does the poet mean by the sudden strangeness?

By eliminating one's ego he finds room for all the rest of the people in the world.
When one starts feeling this togetherness, this new relaion will be a new 'strange'
experience.

Fisherman in the cold sea would not harm whales

And the man gathering salt would look at his hurt hands

What does 'fisherman' symbolize?

Fisherman is a symbol to represent the mighty/rich/influencial people of the world.

There are many in every society who can rule the people and ruin anything. But the
poet requests them to stop their atrocities for a while and think about themselves.

Who are represented by the salt gatherers?

Salt-gatherer is another symbol, representing all the poor/crushed people of the

society. His hands are hurt and wounded while collecting salt for making a living.

What should the salt-gatherer do at the time of silence?

The salt-gatherer has to look at his miseries and accept his state of being. A life that
doesn't accept itself is always sad.

Those who prepare green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire,

Victory with no survivors, would put on clean clothes

And walk about with their brothers in the shade, doing nothing.

What are green wars?

We use our deadly weapons to kill the mother earth. We have poisonous gases and
explosives to kill the earth.

Why is victory without survivors?

Anyone can fight, kill and destroy. Anyone can defeat and be victorious. But no one
can enjoy the victory of his wars.

What does the poet want in the place of wars?

It is not war we want. We want peace. It is time to hate wars and destruction. It is
time to walk peacefully with everyone whom we call enemies.

What I want should not be confused with total inactivity.

Life is what it is about;

What confusion, does the poet fear, has been created by him in his readers' mind?
Or, What misunderstanding does the poet want to clear?

The poet at this point fears that his readers might take him wrongly. He makes it
very clear that he is not talking about inactivity but activity. He wants his listeners
to keep silent and inactive only for some time.

Explain, 'life is what it is about.'

The poet reminds us that life is meaningful only in activity. Life is an ongoing
process and everything and everyone should be moving at all time.

I want no truck with death.

If we were not single-minded about keeping our lives moving

And for once could do nothing perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness

Of never understanding ourselves and of threatening ourselves with death…

What does "truck with death" mean? Why does the poet not want a truck with
death?

Truck with death means an agreement with death. The poet believes that man has
a tendency to get the help of death when he is surrounded by sadness and dullness.
Poet doesn't want any agreement with death because he believes that introspection
is the right way to get rid of our sadness, not death.
What happens when one is interrupted by silence?

When one is interrupted by silence, one gets time to introspect and thus get time to
kill his ego and all the internal struggles caused by selfishness.

Which are the two prerequisites for achieving the interruption of silence?

The first prerequisite for achieving the interruption of silence is to keep our single-
mindedness away while the other is to do nothing for a while.

When do people threaten themselves with death?

People tend to threaten themselves with the idea of committing suicide when they
find themselves surrounded with sadness and inescapable dullness of mind.

Perhaps the earth can teach us

As when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive.

What does the earth teach us about the significance of keeping silence?

The earth is full of examples that approve of the necessity to be silent. Everything
keeps silent for sometime in order to rejuvenate. Autumn dying in order to come
fresh in the Spring season and seeds decaying to give live to a new plant, are
examples for this.

Now I will count up to twelve

And you keep quiet and I will go.

The poet concludes here. His instructions are completed. Now it is the time to put
them in practice. He is going to start counting for his listeners at the end of what
they are going to go silent and still.

And you keep quiet and I will go. The process will begin soon. We will all keep silent
as the poet has asked us to. We will introspect by diving deep into the abyss of our
dark minds and find out great happiness that we have never experienced in our
lives. We will then accept our limitations like the salt-gatherer, we will then stop
harming others, we will finally cease to be selfish. Thus we will start shedding our
ego which is in other words, our feeling of 'I.' Shedding of one's EGO or 'I'ness' is
what the poet means by, 'I will Go!'

A Thing of Beauty

Summary

A beautiful thing is happiness forever. Whatever happens, we cannot hate a really

beautiful thing. Even when it fades, decays or dies, we love such things without any
conditions. It will never be forgotten even after its death, a thousand or two
thousands later. When we live surrounded by beautiful people, places and things,
our minds will be refreshed and will have sweet dreams while sleeping. As a further
result we will have good health and quiet breathing.

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever

Its loveliness increases, it will never pass into nothingness;

But will keep a bower quiet for us, and a sleep full of sweet dreams,

And health, and quiet breathing.

How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?

A thing is said to be a 'thing of beauty,' because it is a source of joy for ever. When
we think of it we should be happy and in its absence too, it should fill our minds with
divine memories of it.

How does the loveliness of the beautiful thing increase?

A really beautiful thing gives us such a happiness that will keep on increasing every
day and will continue to be doing so for ever contrary to the ordinary things that
give us happiness for some time and then disappears.

How does a thing pass into 'nothingness?'

A thing passes into nothingness when it dies and disappears from our memories.
Such a thing is not a thing of beauty.

What is a bower? How does the beautiful thing keep a bower quiet for us?

A bower is a shady place under the huge branches of trees. A bower is always
restless and noisy due to the wind that makes leaves rustle and birds to chirp. But
there will be a sudden silence and stillness in a bower at the presence of a beautiful
thing like a flower.

How is the beautiful thing able to provide us with sweet dreams? What else does
the beautiful thing provide us with?

If we have the sweet memories of a beautiful thing, it will provide us with sweet
dreams in sleep. It also gives us health and quiet breathing.

Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to the

earth.

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and over darkened ways made for our searching:
Yes, in spite of all, some shape of beauty moves away the pall from our dark spirits.

Explanation: Imagine that someone took to the habit of taking drugs. It is said that
one gets a pleasure by taking drugs. But soon he becomes an addict to it and won't
be able to pass a day without drugs. The comfortable blanket that he was covered
with the first time turns out to be a burden! He wants to stop taking drugs but
cannot. The comfort has now become a misery for his dear ones and for him. The
'blanket' cannot be lifted from him by any power. It is at this time a beautiful thing,
such as a loving smile, a loving touch, a loving care, etc., comes for his help.

What does the poet mean by 'wreathing a flowery band?'

Wreathing a flowery band refers to arranging flowers in a beautiful order. Here the
poet refers to our habit of gathering all good hopes, dreams and aspirations for
beginning a more successful life each day.

Why do we need to 'wreathe a flowery band every morning?

Wreathing flowery band is symbolic of gathering all good hopes every morning to
begin a happy day. It is very necessary for all human beings to wreathe a flowery
band every morning to love life in spite of all the sufferings and pains of life around.

What is the 'spite of despondence?'

Spite of despondence is a state of our minds filled with ill-will and hatred for others
due to profound hopeless and gloom.

How does the 'dearth of noble natures' occur in our lives?

With the passage of time we generally ignore the great values and moralities taught
by our ancestors. It happens due to our tendency to embark the lighter ways and
easier rules in the society.

How do days become 'gloomy?'

Days become gloomy when hopelessness fills our lives.

Why do people take the 'unhealthy and over darkened ways for happiness? Do they
find happiness there? Explain.

The pleasure that one gets from bad means appears to be sweeter than those that
come from good means. Even though they find happiness there, such happiness will
not last. After providing a time of excitement and pleasure, this sort of happiness
turns sour and misery.

What is the 'pall' that covers our spirits? How does it fall on our spirits?

The pall that covers our spirit is a blanket of comfort that we get from wrong means.
It falls on us when we allow ourselves to enjoy evil pleasures.
What can remove the 'pall' from our dark spirits?' How?

Only beautiful things can remove the pall from our dark spirits.

What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and ordeals?

The presence of beautiful things in the world gives human beings an urge to live
longer.

Such (as) the sun, the moon, trees old and young,

Sprouting a shady boon for simple sheep;

And such are daffodils with the green world they live in; and the clear rills

That for themselves a cooling covert make against the hot season;

The mid forest brake, rich with a sprinkling of musk rose blooms;

How are the sun and moon beautiful things?

The sun and moon are beautiful because they are source of life and endless joy for
everyone.

How is 'tree' a perfect example for a beautiful thing in its greatness by providing
shade to the simple sheep?

The tree bears the heat of the sun to give shade and cool for anyone who seeks
shade and rest under its branches. Its greatness is a degree greater because it
gives shade not only for the mighty ones, but also for the simplest of the animals
such as sheep.

How are the daffodils beautiful things?

Daffodils are beautiful for the charm and fragrance that they spread in the garden
where they live.

What are clear rills? What act of the rill makes it a beautiful thing?

Clear rills are beautiful, clean rivers. They flow through all kinds of lands, selflessly
sharing their water with all the trees and animals on their way, making them rich
and grow.

How is the 'mid forest brake' made rich?

The mid forest is made rich with the fragrance of the musk rose.

What act of the 'musk rose' makes it beautiful?

The musk rose grows and blooms along with ferns. The humility of the great musk
rose to grow with the dull fern makes it beautiful. Moreover, it spreads its fragrance
far away and makes the nature more beautiful and sweet. The musk rose' readiness
to share its goodness with the rest of the world makes it rich.

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

All lovely tales that we have heard or read;

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

What is the 'grandeur of the dooms of the great people?' How does the poet
compare this 'grandeur' with that of the beautiful things?

The greatness with which the great people die is the 'grandeur of the dooms of the
mighty dead.' The poet compares this greatness with that of the beautiful things on
account of the fact that the great people die for giving happiness to the rest of the
world.

Who are the mighty dead? Why are they called so? How are they beautiful?

The mighty dead are the great people who have sacrificed their lives for the
humanity by struggling and dying for others. They are called so because they were
selfless and provided happiness for the others. They were mighty because it is more
difficult to die for others than living for oneself. They are equally beautiful as they
suffered for other people like the daffodils and trees, they provided happiness to
others like the clear rills and they burnt for others like the sun.

Which 'tales' does the poet here refer to? Why are they lovely?

The poet refers to the really beautiful stories that we have either heard or read.
These tales beautiful because they can leave an indelible happiness in us and each
time we recall these stories, we feel burdens lifted, mind refreshed and life moving
happily in spite of all disturbances.

How are the 'lovely tales' 'fountain of immortal drink?’

A fountain of immortal drink gives us immortality. Similarly, reading and listening to

really beautiful tales fill our minds with joy beyond description.

A Roadside Stand By Robert Frost

The little old house was out with a little new shed

In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,

A roadside stand that too pathetically pled…

Why was the 'little old house' extended towards the road?

The little old house, the roadside stand, existed on the roadside to make a living out
of the city money. The owners of the roadside stand expected to attract the rich city
men by extending the stand closer to the road.

Which traffic is referred to here? Why are they 'speeding?'

The traffic referred to here is the cars and other vehicles of the rich people from and
to various cities. These rich city men are in great hurry to make money by doing
business in the city.

Why is the Stand's existence said to be 'pathetic?'

The roadside stand's sole expectation is the flow of city-money into their hands. But
their expectations are never fulfilled as the rich men are not considerate about
them and hence a pathetic existence for the roadside stand.

It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread

But for some of the city money, the cash, whose flow supports

The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint…

Dole: Piece

City money: Big amount of money

Why is it unfair to say that these people are begging for a 'dole of bread?'

One may think that the poor people at the roadside stand are beggars. But they are
not. Unlike the beggars, who beg unconditionally, shamelessly and sometimes
unreasonably, the people of the roadside stand have something to sell, some
information to share and a noble reason behind their begging.

What do the poor people really expect from the rich?

The poor people expect a small share of the money from the rich people.

How do the poor people look at the city money?

For the poor people at the roadside stand money is very essential for growth and
survival. It boosts the growth of the city and the city people.

What is the flower of the cities? How?

Prosperity/growth is the flower of the cities. As the flower is the crowning glory of a
plant, growth becomes the flower of a city.
The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead

Or, if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts

At having the landscape marred with the artless paint

Of signs with S turned wrong and N turned wrong…

What do you mean by 'polished traffic?

Polished traffic portrays the insensitive attitude and gentlemanly appearances of

the city-men. They appear to be 'polished' outside but their minds do not
understand the sufferings of the poor people.

Explain, 'passed with a mind ahead.'

The city people who passed by the roadside stand were self centered and their
minds were restless with greed for money and ambitions for great profits in their
business.

What are the usual complaints made by the city men when they stop at the
roadside stand?

The rich people to and from the cities usually have the same sets of complaints.
Having failed to see the wretchedness of the poor, they complain that the roadside
stand, with its artless paint, ruined the beauty of the nature. Another complaint is
that the letters are wrongly written.

How senseless do the rich men's complaints sound to the poor people?

For the poor people of the roadside stand, the rich men's complaints, that the
landscape is destorted with their poor sense of color, that they sell poor quality
fruits and that they have a low literacy level, sound to be childish and infuriating
and senseless.

How did the poor people "mar" the landscape?

What does 'of signs with S turned wrong and N turned wrong' convey?

Offered for sale are wild berries in wooden quarts

Or crook necked golden squash with silver warts,

Or beauty rest in a mountain scene…

What articles are 'offered for sale' at the stand?

Wild berries in wooden containers, croock-necked golden squash with silver warts
and paintings of mountain scenery are for sale at the roadside stand.
What qualities of the 'offered articles' make them unfit for sale?

The articles for sale at the roadside stand are wild and therefore lack the polished
look of the similar articles available in the cities. Moreover these articles are not
packaged properly and they are far expensive than those in the cities.

What does, 'beauty rest in a mountain scene' mean?

Beauty resting in a mountain scene is probably a scenic painting made by the

inhabitants of the roadside stand meant for selling to the rich people.

You have the money, but if you want to be mean

Why, keep your money (this angrily) and go along.

What do the poor people of the roadside stand feel when the citymen decline from
buying anything?

When the rich city men decline to buy articles from the roadside stand, the poor
runners of the stand feel dejected and angry. They ask the city men to keep their
money with them and leave the roadside stand without further bargain or
comments.

How do the rich people behave meanly in front of the roadside stand?

Do you justify the poor people's growing angry with the rich people's attitude?
Explain your stand.

The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint

So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:

Why is the poet's complaint different from that of the rich city men?

The rich city men have their hollow complaints that come out of their failure to
understand the core level struggles of the poor. But the poet is concerned for the
poor and therefore his complaints are relevant.

What do you mean by the trusting sorrow of the poor people?

The poor people are instinctively sensitive and expectant to the promises of the rich
and the mighty. They believe their hollow promises and wait for their realization.
But finally their hopes give way to the miserable realization that the promises made
by the rich are not meant to be fulfilled.

What do you understand when the poet says that the trusting sorrow of the poor
people is 'unsaid?'
The poor people place their trust in the fake promises of the rich people and the
ruling parties and consequently become sorrowful. The poet complains that this
sorrow of the poor people has not been brought to the serious concern of the
concerned authorities, media and the public.

Here, far from the city we make our roadside stand

And ask for some city money to feel in hand

To try it will (not) make our being expand…

Feel in hand: Material possession of money in all sense

Being: Life

Expand: Improve

What do the people at the roadside stand expect from the rich? What for?

The poor people at the roadside stand expect the generosity of the rich city people.
They hope to alleviate their poverty by getting money from the city people.

How is feeling in hand different from the false promises of the parties?

What is city money? How is city money expected to help the poor people?

And give us the life of the moving pictures’ promise

That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.

What are moving pictures? What kind of life is promised by the 'moving pictures?

The movies the poor people have watched are full of promises for them. In those
movies they saw people who journeyed from poverty to prosperity.

What do 'the parties in power' 'keep from the poor people?

The governments and the corrupted politicians keep the share and the allotted
rights of the poor people away from them and use that for their selfish motives.

How are the rich politicians responsible for the misery of the poor people?

The rich and corrupted politicians keep the money assigned by the government for
the poor people in their own malicious hands and make selfish use of them, thus
depriving the poor people of their rights, happiness and all that they deserve.

It is in the news that all these pitiful kin

Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in

To live in villages, next to the theater and the store,

Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore…

What is the good news for the poor people?

The media keep on advertising that the governments are planning schemes for the
welfare of the poor people.

Do you think the 'good news' for the poor people' ever come true? Why?

No, the promises of the governments for the poor people are not seriously meant
and therefore most of them remain just promises and are forgotten. This happens
because these promises are the election baits and the bureaucratic trick to exhort
money in the name of the poor people.

Who are the pitiful kin? Why are they called so?

What are the promises made by the politicians?

While greedy good doers, beneficent beasts of prey,

Swarm over their lives, enforcing benefits

That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits…

Who are the greedy good doers? What is the irony in the 'greedy good-doers?'

The business class and the political parties and leaders are the greedy good-doers
mentioned here. A greedy person cannot be a good doer. These good doers intend
to make money out of the poor people by appearing beneficent to them.

What does 'beneficent beast of prey' imply?

Similar to 'greedy good-doers,' 'the beneficent beasts of prey' is also an indication

to the greedy people who make money in the name of social and political and
charitable works.

How do the rich 'enforce benefits' on the poor?

In business promises wrapped up in glossy appearances have great value. The rich
business people convince the poor of the advantages of their new schemes and
promotions and make them buy their products and be their customers.

What sort of calculation is made to 'soothe the wits of the poor?' Does this
calculation work? How?

The business minded city people attract the poor people with their well-planned
promotional offers and promises. These promises and offers are such a way
calculated that the poor people cannot escape the traps of the rich. The business
man's calculations work well as there is a more efficient brain behind all these
promises.

And (by) teaching them how to sleep, they sleep all day,

Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way…

Who teach the poor people to sleep? How?

The rich people through their alluring promises of peace of mind and prosperity in
life teach the poor people sleep.

Are the poor able to sleep? Why? Who are really able to sleep?

The poor people are unable to sleep as promised by the rich as the promises were
not meant to be. On the contrary the rich people are able to sleep peacefully with
the satisfaction of making themselves richer by exploiting the poor.

How do the influential rich destroy the sleep of the poor? How is this done in the
ancient times?

The influential rich people give the poor great promises and exploit them to make
profit out of them. This destroys the sleep of the poor people. This method of the
rich and mighty is as old as the human civilizations.

Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear

The thought of so much childish longing in vain,

The sadness that lurks near the open window there,

That waits all day in almost open prayer…

What is the childish longing? Why is it in vain?

The poor people's uncertain and futile expectation for the city money is the childish
longing. It is in vain as the rich city people do not have the generosity to help them.

OR: Children long to achieve things beyond their reach; but never get them. The
poor people’s expectation that the rich people would give them money is their
childish longing. it is in vain because the hard-hearted rich people never give them
a penny.

Why can't the poet bear the childish longing of the poor people?

The poet is a true humanitarian who is genuinely concerned for the poor people's
misfortunes. He wants a solution for their poverty. But seeing how childish their
longings are, the poet feels it unbearable.
What sadness remains at the window of the roadside stand?

There is a sadness of helplessness, of unfulfilled promises and of being fooled by

the parties in power remaining near the roadside stand.

What is the prayer of the open window?

The open window is praying for a generous traveler stopping at the stand to buy
something and paying a generous amount to alleviate the distress of the poor
people.

Why is the ‘open window’ said to be in ‘open prayer’ for the city people’s
generosity?

The open window of the roadside stand has acquired the attitude of poor people of
the roadside stand. Just like the people, the window also expects the city-men to
stop their cars to help the poor people.

For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car

Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass

Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are…

How do the poor people react to the squeal of brake in front of the roadside stand?

At the sound of the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car, the poor people at
the stand feel their spirits cheered at the possible arrival of a customer to buy their
things.

Why are the cars called 'selfish cars?

The cars are selfish because the people who travel in them are self centered.

What do you understand by 'farmer's prices?' Who want to know that? Possibly
why?

Farmer's prices refer to the wages for which the farmer could be hired to work in
the city. Farmer's prices can also refer to the prices of the berries, squash and
paintings displayed at the roadside stand for sale.

What make you think that the city men stopped at the roadside stand to hire
farmers to work in the city and that farmer's price refers to the per head wages to
be paid to a farmer for working in the city?

And one did stop, but only to plow up grass

In using the yard to back and turn around;

And another to ask the way to where it was bound;

And another to ask, “could you sell a gallon of gas?”

How do the city men plow up grass in the yard of the roadside stand?

The insensitive and selfish city men drive their cars into the yard of the roadside
stand to back and turn it around, leaving a huge cloud of grass plowed up.

What is the most queer demand of the rich man at the roadside stand? How is it
queer?

The insensitive city man demands a gallon of gas at the roadside stand. This is
queer because the city man is not aware of the fact that the poor man cannot
provide him with expensive items such as gas.

Why are the poor people angry with the city men when they ask for gas?

The roadside stand has the store of wild berries, squash and paintings which are
never bought buy the city men. On the contrary the city men require a gallon of gas
and the roadside stand does not have it for sale. This helplessness make the poor
people angry.

They couldn’t (this crossly), they had none, didn’t it see?

No in country, money, the country scale of gain,

The requisite lift of sprint, has never been found…

Why do the people at the roadside stand talk ‘crossly’ with the rich people?

The poor people sometimes become angry with the rich people. The latter refuse to
buy the wild berries at the stand at a price demanded by the owners of the stand.
They indulge in bargain and blame the berries and squash. But the poor, who know
the rich people are so mean, grow angry at their unwillingness to help them by
parting with a little amount of their money.

How is money important for the village people?

The village people think that money is important for growth in the village. They
hope to make improvements in their wretched state of life.

What are the two significant roles of money in the lives of the poor people?

Money is the measuring rode of growth for the village people. They estimate their
economic growth by means of the small amount of money at hand. Similarly, money
is necessary for a villager to feel confident. He feels a ‘lift of spirit’ with money in
reach.
How does money become the 'requisite lift of spirit for the country men?

Money is the most important requirement for man in the modern world. If one has
money at hand then he feels confident and a feeling of his spirit being lifted.

Why is money never found in the villages?

It is a common truth that countryside is backward and therefore it remains poor and
penniless. Moreover the country folks are easy targets of the politicians and
business-men and therefore they are easily cheated and looted. Besides, if these
poor people are given money then they will migrate to prosperous cities or make a
city in the place of their village.

Or, so, the voice of the country seems to complain.

I can’t help owning the great relief it would be

To put these people at one stroke out of their pain…

What is the voice of the country?

The voice of the country is that the rich people have no concern for them, and that
they are being exploited, cheated and given false promises by the parties in power,
and that there is no end for their miseries.

Why can't the poet help 'own' the relief of helping the poor out of their poverty at
one stroke?

The poet wants to see that the poor people are given some kind of help and support
by the rich people but he knows that this would not happen. When he fails to see
this, he allows himself to dream that these poor people have been helped by some
supernatural powers to alleviate their miseries.

What kind of a relief does the poet dream for the poor people?

The poet dreams of a supernatural help for the poor people, a touch of magic or the
like, so that the poor people will be redeemed from their state of poverty and
misery.

Why does the poet seek an unrealistic solution for the poor people’s distress even
though he himself blamed them earlier for their 'childish longing in vain?'

The poet, unlike the greedy good-doers, genuinely wishes to get the poor people
out of their pain, poverty and endless miseries but he is sad and helpless to see that
there is no one to help them come out of their poverty. This helplessness drives the
poet to seek an unrealistic solution for the poor people’s misery.

And then next day as I come back into the sane,

I wonder how I should like you to come to me

And offer to put me out of my pain.

What does the poet see when he comes back into his senses?

The poet sees the city cars still passing without feelings, the helplessness of the
poor people and the endless misery of the people at the roadside stand.

What does the poet want his readers do for him?

The poet is greatly distressed that the poor people are not helped by the
government and rich people. He finally resorts to some heavenly help for the poor
by which their poverty would be removed. But soon he realizes how childish his
dreams are seeing that the poor haven’t improved. At this point the poet wants his
readers to promise him to help the poor.

What is the poet's pain?

The poet’s pain is that the poor people are still waiting for the rich people’s
generosity and that the rich people never help the poor people. He is also sad that
his insane dreams of the poor people helped by a stroke were only dreams.

How can his readers remove the poet's pain?

The readers can get the poet out of his pain by offering to help the poor people.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Summary and Theme

Adrienne Rich wrote poem to liberate American women from male domination. Aunt
Jennifer knitted tigers on her canvas. Rich faced difficulties, criticisms, rebukes and
pain for writing poems meant to liberate women while Aunt had to struggle a lot to
knit her tigers. Rich's struggles were due to the fact that she was a woman, wife
and therefore meant to be slaves while Aunt's

Questions and Answers

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,

bright topaz denizens of a world of green,

They do not fear the men beneath the tree;

they pace in sleek chivalric certainty

Why are the tigers called 'Aunt Jennifer's tigers?'

The tigers are knitted by Aunt Jennifer. She knits them for the realization of her
dreams.

Where do the tigers prance?

The tigers prance in a wild green forest that is drawn on a panel or canvas.

What is topaz? How is it descriptive to the tiger?

Topaz is a kind of yellow stone. The yellow color signifies the bright yellow fur of the
tiger. The feminine beauty of the tiger is well represented by the ornate topaz color
and the black stripes running through it.

How are Aunt Jennifer and her tigers the indicators of the poet's own life?

Adrienne Rich's life and poems were dedicated to the freedom of the suppressed
American women. Aunt Jennifer is no one else than Adrienne Rich while her tigers
are the new generation of American women.

Who are they in these lines?

They are the tigers of Aunt Jennifer on the panels.

Why don't they fear men beneath the tree?

Aunt Jennifer's tigers are fearless and confident. They have chivalrous qualities and
therefore they do not fear men.

Explain, ‘sleek chivalric certainty.’ What makes the tigers pace in sleek chivalric
certainty?

Sleek, chivalric and certainty are the three qualities of the tigers knitted by Aunt
Jennifer. Sleek indicates the smoothness of their fur while chivalric and certainty are
fearlessness and confidence respectively. As the tigers have overcome the fear of
men beneath the tree, they pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

What do you mean by the certainty that the tigers possess?

The tigers used to fear the men. But once they were made by Aunt Jennifer, they
learnt courage. In their new birth these tigers feel at ease and confident. Now they
do not have to run away from anyone. They move slowly. They run ferociously.

Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.

The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band

Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.

Why do Aunt's fingers flutter?

Aunt Jennifer is the victim of male domination. She loves to knit tigers for the
realization of her dreams. While she does so she finds it difficult to pull her light
ivory needle due to the weight of the marriage ring that her husband put in her
finger years ago.

How does the poet use 'wool' and 'ivory needle' to reveal the weightlessness/ease
of Aunt's knitting work?

Wool and ivory needle are very light to carry. They are so light that one doesn't
notice their weight. The poet intends to create an atmosphere of complete
weightlessness and ease through these objects used for knitting.

Why is the Uncle's wedding band massively heavy to Aunt Jennifer?

In fact a wedding band is very light, but for Aunt Jennifer it a sign of her husband's
dominance over her. It has become a burden for her that limits her freedom as a
social being.

Why is the term 'sits' used instead of 'remains?'

Sits here refers to domination over someone's freedom. For Aunt Jennifer her
husband's wedding ring was no sign of love or care. For her it was a sign of
suppression and burden.

How does the poet draw the picture of male domination through 'Uncle's wedding
band?'

Uncle's wedding band for Aunt Jennifer was never a representation of love or
matrimony. The band symbolized bondage for her. Like a rope binds one, the
wedding band bound her.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.

The tigers in the panel that she made will go on

Prancing, proud and unafraid.

What will happen to Aunt Jennifer when she is dead?

When she dies she will herself have no freedom even in her grave.

Why are Aunt's hands terrified?

Aunt Jennifer's dream-work was to knit tigers in her panels. While she did this she
was stopped, threatened and burdened by her husband. This fear of her husband
later left her hand terrified.

Which were the ordeals Aunt was a master of?

Aunt Jennifer's life was a life of submission, slavery and sufferings in a male
dominated society. She wanted to knit tigers for herself but the wedding band that
her husband had put in her finger stood a stumbling block in her life. By sitting on
her finger, the wedding band made her suffer a lot of pain while knitting tigers. By
bearing these sufferings she became a master of sufferings.

Will Aunt have freedom after her death? Why?

No, Aunt Jennifer will have no freedom even after her death. As a tradition she will
have to wear her matrimonial ring even in her grave. This ring bore the mark of her
slavery under man, her husband.

How will male domination follow Aunt beyond her life?

Male domination used to haunt Aunt Jennifer throughout her life. When she wore her
husband's wedding band on the day of marriage she became a slave of the male's
power. Later on, even after her death, Aunt’s name will be engraved on her
tombstone under her husband’s name, but she will not have an identity of her own.

What will happen to Aunt Jennifer's tigers after her death?

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers will survive proudly and bravely even after their creator's
death.

How can the tigers remain proud and unafraid even after the death of their creator?

Aunt Jennifer was the creator of the tigers in the panel. Even after her death these
tigers will live proud and unafraid with the cherished feelings that they are no more
the slaves of men. They feel proud of their newly achieved free status in the society
and of their great liberator, Aunt Jennifer.

How do these lines shed light on the success of Adrienne Rich in her attempts to
liberate the female species of America?

Aunt Jennifer is the poetic representation of Adrienne Rich. Aunt left a flock of tigers
on her panel to prance unafraid. Similarly did the poet do by strengthening,
empowering and awakening a new generation of American women to stand
confident on their feet. Aunt’s tigers and the new American women are the same.

Bring out the symbolic representation of the poet Adrienne Rich, her works,
struggles, her success in freeing women through the image of Aunt Jennifer.
Aunt Jennifer is a parallel character who represents the poet Adrienne Rich, her
attempts to liberate the women folk from male domination, her struggles and
ordeals, and finally, her victory. Like Aunt Jennifer who knitted tigers with wool and
needle, Adrienne Rich knitted a new America inhabited by brave women. However,
while knitting her tigers, Aunt Jennifer had to face difficulties because she wore a
heavy wedding band imposed upon her by her husband. Similar was Rich's
experience. She too had to face harsh attacks from her society for writing poems
against the existing male domination. Aunt Jennifer never had a time free from
ordeals. She was constantly haunted by her fear of the wedding band. Similarly did
Rich have to live till her death. Unfortunately the male ruled her even after her
death as she still had to bear her hushand's name even in her grave. The two
women had similar life and death and pains and failure at death but what they left
behind them was a brave generation. Aunt Jennifer left behind her a number of
fearless tigers while Rich had new generation of brave women to succeed her.

How are tigers symbolic of women?

Tiger is a feminine symbol. The bright yellow color of topaz and the dark lines that
adorn their sleek fur give tigers beauty rather than grandeur or might. Moreover,
their submissive yet fearless attitude, even in front of their enemy, gives them the
female maturity.