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प्रश्न
Read the news story given below.
|
India's elderly face growing neglect Traditionally older people have been revered in India, signified by the touching |
Discuss in groups:
a) What are the reasons for the old people being "abused, harassed and
abandoned" in India?
b) What are the problems faced by the old people as a result?
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उत्तर
(a) The news is really an eye-opener in a country like India, where children are expected to take great care of their elderly so as to express gratitude to them. An extended family was the norm where parents and grandparents were revered by their children. However, western influence and dwindling moral values have led to an unpleasant situation where old people are being “abused, harassed and abandoned”. Social and economic development has caused the extended family system to change into a single family system. Old people, generally, find it hard to adjust their way of thinking that results in a clash between them and the somewhat rigid and insensitive younger generation.
(b) Due to this lack of emotional, moral and even financial support, old people are facing many problems.
- a feeling of loneliness and being neglected
- physical and mental impairment
- emotional trauma resulting in sleeplessness and anxiety
- feeling of insecurity and loss of dignity.
(b) These problems are: loneliness, neglect, absence of communication among their own, lack of sympathy, no medical help, growing independence on others, absence of interacting with others at social level, not sharing of grief etc.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
Read an excerpt from the diary of a 72 year old man :
As I sit here alone and waiting
I gaze at people passing me by.
I try to smile and reach out to them
But no one notices; no one waits.
They look to me like I am nothingAre they afraid to be seen saying "Hi" to an old
man like me?
Once my life, it's like a flower,
I had bloomed into a child.
Now, like the dying flower
Waiting for my one day to comeIt will be then that I am gone,
And yet, I still would not have heard that simple word, "Hi"
That for so long my heart had desired.
• What do you think is he feeling?
• What situation do you think leads people to feel so?
• Can such people be helped? How?
Given below are the main incidents in the play. They are in a jumbled order. Arrange them in the sequence in which they occur in the play.
1. Victoria is asked to fetch the bunch of keys to the bureau to look for the insurance
receipt.
2. Mrs. Slater instructs Victoria to put her white frock on with a black sash.
3. Mrs Slater discovers that grandfather is 'dead'.
4. The Slaters fetch the bureau and the clock from upstairs.
5. The family sits down to have tea.
6. Henry wears the new slippers of grandfather's
7. Grandfather comes to know how his daughters have been in a hurry to divide his
things between them.
8. Grandfather announces his intention to change his will and to marry Mrs.
Shorrocks.
9. Grandfather comes down and is surprised to find the Jordans.
10. They discuss the obituary announcement in the papers and the insurance
premium payment.
11. The Jordans arrive and learn the details of grandfather's 'demise'from the Slaters.
Answer the following question briefly.
How does Mrs. Slater plan to outshine the Jordans? What does it reveal about her character?
Answer the following question briefly.
Why does Mrs. Slater decide to shift the bureau from grandfather's room before the arrival of the Jordans? How does Henry react to the suggestion?
Answer the following question briefly.
What is the reason for the Jordans taking a long time to get to the house of the Slaters? What does it show about the two sisters' attitude towards each other?
Answer the following question briefly
What does Mrs. Jordan describe as 'a fatal mistake'? What is the irony in the comment she makes on Mrs. Slater's defense?
Answer the following question briefly.
Ben appreciates grandfather saying 'its' a good thing he did'. Later he calls him a 'drunken old beggar'. Why does he change his opinion about grandfather?
Answer the following question briefly.
What change does grandfather make in his new will? What effect does it have on his daughters?
Answer the following question briefly.
What are the three things that grandfather plans to do on Monday next?
Answer the following in detail:
Bring out the irony in the title of the play.
Answer the following in detail:
Compare and contrast Henry's character with that of his wife. Support your answer with evidence from the play.
Bring out the traits in Mrs. Slater's personality quoting evidence from the play.
| Trait | Evidence from the play |
| Greedy | |
| Overpowering/ dominating | |
| Blunt/ straight talking | |
| Impolite | |
| Insensitive |
Answer the following with reference to the context.
"Are we pinching it before Aunt Elizabeth comes?"
a) What does 'it' refer to here?
b) How does Vicky conclude that her parents are 'pinching it'?
c) Mention the two reasons that Mrs. Slater gives for her action.
d) What does it reveal about the difference between the attitude of the elders and that of Vicky?
Answer the following with reference to the context.
"I don't call that delicate stepping into a dead man's shoes in such haste."
a) Who makes this comment?
b) What prompts the speaker to say this?
c) Bring out the significance of this statement.
What is Stanley Houghton's primary purpose in employing irony in the play ‘The Dear Departed’?
