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प्रश्न
The anthology `ISC Collection of Short Stories' includes several stories in which a woman is a central character. Which female character has awakened your admiration, sympathy or interest and why?
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उत्तर
From all the lessons I have learned from “ISC collection of short stories” where the woman is the central character my favourite is the woman character in the lesson “The Drover's Wife”. This woman has endured all types of scenarios by herself: fires, snakes, dying livestock, illness, killing and skinning a mad bull, the loss of a child, floods. Yet, interestingly, through this woman's eyes, there are ''things a bush woman can't do.'' A bush woman is a woman who lives in the Australian outback. This one is only recognized as the wife of a drover, one who drives livestock. The story was unique in its time, as a female protagonist was uncommon. Lawson sheds light on the life of such woman, allowing the reader insight into their often heroic actions as he creates authentic depictions of their existence in the bush and their fight to make it a home. In this story we learn about one such woman, struggling against all odds to protect her family against the elements and being shaped by the landscape that she inhabits. She is lonely and poor, but remains strong, dreaming of fashion and another life. As she waits up for the snake, she recalls various dangerous situations she had to face in her life. It is apparent she is accustomed to the hardships that life brings her, and that she is capable of taking care of herself and the children. She inspires us a lot that women can do every possible thing and we should discriminate on the basis of gender. It is a story the lives of people in the Outback are molded by the environment so that they, too, become hardened, desiccated, silent, and of necessity even predatory. It also gives us a message that women in backward areas need some encouragement so that they can also show their talent and get exposure and do many better things in life.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
In what sense is the tree ‘the harvest of a coming age’?
Explain the use of the rhetorical device like the apostrophe by the poet.
How is the theme of self-awareness shown in the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou?
What do you like about this poem?
The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
Read the above lines and answer the question that follow.
According to the poem, how can the free bird be best described ?
Don John: Come, let us to the banquet
[Exeunt all but Claudio]
Claudio: Thus answer 1 in name of Benedick,
But hear this ill news with the ears of Claudio. 'Tis certain so; the prince woos for himself. Friendship is constant in all other things Save in the office and affairs of love. Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues. Let every eye negotiate for itself, And trust no agent; for beauty is a witch Against whose charms faith melteth into blood. This is an accident of hourly proof, Which I Mistrusted not. Farewell, therefore, Hero.
[Enter Benedick]
Benedick: Count Claudio?
Claudio: Yea, the same.
(i) Where are the speakers? Describe Claudio's state of mind?
(ii) What has Don John just revealed to Claudio?
(iii) Explain the lines:
"Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues.
Let every eye negotiate for itself,
And trust no agent;"
(iv) How does Don John succeed in conveying his thoughts to Claudio? What is his intention in doing so?
(v) Why is 'beauty' said to be a 'witch'? Which aspect of Claudio is seen here?
(vi) Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the context of the passage: ill; save; office;
Choose two of the passages (a) to (c) and answer briefly the questions that follow:
Raina :
Come away from the window (She takes him firmly back to the middle of the room. The moment she releases him he turns mechanically towards the window again. She seizes him and turns him back, exclaiming) Please! (He becomes motionless, like a hypnotized rabbit, his fatigue gaining fast on him. She releases him, and addresses him patronizingly). Now listen. You must trust to our hospitality. You do not yet know in whose house you are. I am a Petkoff.
The Man: A pet what?
Raina : [rather indignantly] I mean that I belong to the family of the Petkoffs, the richest and best known in our country.
The Man: Oh yes, of course. I beg your pardon. The Petkoffs, to be sure. How stupid of me!
Raina: You know you never heard of them until this moment. How can you stoop to pretend!
The Man: Forgive me. I'm too tired to think, and the change of subject was too much for me. Don't scold me.
(i) Why did the man keep turning to the window?
(ii) Which examples of the social superiority of the Petkoff's does Raina give the man?
(iii) Which opera does Raina mention? With whom does she compare herself? What does this tell you about her?
(iv) In Raina's opinion, what should the man have done instead of threatening her?
(v) What does the man tell Raina about his father? Why does he do so?
(vi) What does the man do at the end of the scene?
Why couldn't the narrator sleep?
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Lying in bed, Swami realized with a shudder that it was Monday morning. It looked as though only a moment ago, it had been the last period on Friday; already, Monday was here. He hoped that an earthquake would reduce the school building to dust but that my good building, Albert Mission School, had withstood similar prayers for over a hundred years now.
At nine o'clock, Swaminathan wailed, “I have a headache.”
His mother said, “Why don’t you go to school in a bullock cart?”
“So that I may be completely dead at the other end? Have you any idea what it means to be jolted in a cart?”
“Have you any important lessons today?”
“Important! Bah! That geography teacher has been teaching the same lesson for over a year now. And we have arithmetic, which means for a whole period we are going to be beaten by the teacher............ Important lessons!”
And Mother generously suggested that Swami might stay at home.
At 9:30, when he ought to have been lining up in the school prayer hall, Swami was lying on the bench in Mother’s room.
Father asked him, “Have you no school today?”
“Headache,” Swami replied,
“Nonsense! Dress up and go.”
“Headache.”
“Loaf about less on Sundays, and you will be without a headache on Monday.”
Swami knew how stubborn his father could be and changed his tactics.
“I can’t go so late to class.”
“I agree, but you’ll have to; it is your own fault. You should have asked me before deciding to stay away.”
“What will the teacher think if I go so late?”
“Tell him you had a headache, and so are late.”
“He will beat me if I say so.”
“Will he? Let us see. What is his name?”
“Mr. Samuel.”
“Does he beat the boys?”
“He is very violent, especially with boys who come late. Some days ago, a boy was made to stay on his knees for a whole period in a corner of the class because he came late, and after getting six cuts from the cane and having his ears twisted, I wouldn’t like to go late to Mr Samuel’s class.”
“If he is so violent, why not tell your headmaster about it?”
“They say that even the headmaster is afraid of him. He is such a violent man.”
And then Swami gave a lurid account of Samuel’s violence; how when he started caning, he would not stop till he saw blood on the boy’s hand, which he made the boy press to his forehead like a Vermillion marking. Swami hoped his father would be made to see that he couldn’t go to his class late. But his father’s behaviour took an unexpected turn. He became excited.
“What do these people mean by beating our children? They must be driven out of service. I will see…..”
The result was that he proposed to send Swami late to his class as a kind of challenge. He was also going to send a letter with Swami to the headmaster. No amount of protest from Swami was of any avail: Swami had to go to school.
By the time he was ready, his father had composed a long letter to the headmaster, put it in an envelope, and sealed it.
“What have you written, father?” Swaminathan asked apprehensively.
“Nothing for you. Give it to your headmaster and go to your class.”
Swami’s father did not know the truth—that, actually, Mr. Samuel was a very kind gentleman.
(a) Give the meaning of each of the following words as used in the passage. (3)
One-word answers or short phrases will be accepted.
- jolted
- stubborn
- avail
(b) Answer the following questions briefly in your own words:
- What did Swami wish for on a Monday morning? Why was his wish unlikely to be answered? (2)
- Which sentence tells us that Swami’s father was completely unsympathetic to his son’s headache? (2)
- In what way was Swami’s mother’s response different from his father’s? (2)
- Why did Swami give a colourful account of Mr. Samuel to his father? (2)
- In what way did Father’s behaviour take an unexpected turn? (2)
- What was Swami finally ordered to do by his father? (2)
(c)
(i) In not more than 60 words, describe how Swami tries to prove that Mr. Samuel is a violent man. (8)
(ii) Give a title to your summary in 3
(c). Give a reason to justify your choice. (2)
What does the phrase “her barred face identity mask” mean?
Discuss in groups of four.
“We have not inherited this earth from our forefathers; we have borrowed it from our children”.
Distinguish between the following pairs of sentences.
The team played the two matches successfully.
Write your views/opinions in brief on the following topic.
Steps to be taken to eradicate inequality.
Discuss with your partner on the following topic. Express your views and opinions in favour of and against the topic.
Should the 'Earn and Learn' concept be made mandatory for students?
Convert the stories into dialogues and read the dialogues aloud in the class.
Answer the following question :
If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, what does it indicate?
Prepare attractive advertisement using the hints given below.
Home appliances – Aadi Sale – 20-50% - Special Combo Offers – Muthusamy & Co., Raja Street, Gingee.
Look at the image of the familiar advertisement given below. Identify the product and try to frame your own slogan.
Create a poster for the following.
You are Raja/ Ranjani. Draft a poster to create awareness about the harmful effects of using plastics, in not more than 50 words.
Your friend has presented a beautiful art piece on your birthday. Write a letter to her appreciating her art work.
“The Himalayas are the highest mountain ranges.” He knew that the Himalayas ______ the highest mountain ranges.
Read scene I. Discuss with your partner what Mrs Reed might write about Jane in her letter to the owner of a school. Now complete her letter to Mr. Brocklehurst.
Fill in the form given below.
POST OFFICE SAVING BANK
ACCOUNT OPENING/PURCHASE OF CERTIFICATE APPLICATION FORM FOR INDIVIDUALS
Punctuate the following sentence.
when I went fishing I caught an old shoe a plastic bag and a bad cold.
Fill in the blanks according to the example given below
| tiny | tinier | tiniest |
| big | ______ | biggest |
| sleepy | sleepier | ______ |
| ______ | lovelier | loveliest |
| ______ | later | ______ |
| round | ______ | ______ |
| small | ______ | ______ |
| good | ______ | best |
Why did Mary Kom think that she should not return empty-handed?
Observe the following picture and write a paragraph in about 150 word about each one of them.
That special human quality does the poem 'Nine Gold Medals' celebrate?
Write a composition (in approximately 400-450 words) on the following subject:
Cooking should be made a compulsory subject in the higher classes. Argue either FOR or AGAINST the given statement.
Despite being a half monster and half human, Caliban comes across as superior to Stephano and Trinculo. Justify the statement with supporting evidence from the Acts studied in 200-250 words.
