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What is the Primary Purpose of “Hearts and Hands” by O. Henry? - English 2 (Literature in English)

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प्रश्न

What is the primary purpose of “Hearts and Hands” by O. Henry?

थोडक्यात उत्तर
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उत्तर

“Hearts and Hands” is a wonderful example of O. Henry’s signature literary style of irony. It is like watching a magician performing sleight of hand.

There are three characters: a U.S. marshall, a fugitive, and a proper young lady. They have a chance meeting on a railroad car.

The young lady goes to shake hands with the younger of the two, for she recognizes him as a former acquaintance. He shows great regret at the need to take her hand with his left hand, as his right is tethered to that of the grizzled older man. It is her assumption that her well-mannered, stately friend is the marshall, thus leading to the assumption that the glum man is the fugitive.

It is only as the two exit to the smoker’s car that another passenger points out the obvious. A marshall always keeps his right hand unshackled.It is at this point that O. Henry quite artfully points out that you cannot judge a book by its cover.

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पाठ 2.04: Hearts and Hands - Assignment

संबंधित प्रश्‍न

     Have you are wondered why soldiers are always clad in green? This is to enable them to camouflage themselves during wartime. Hiding in the jungles, their green attire blends into the surrounding trees and shrubs, making it difficult for the enemies to spot them.

        Long before man-made use of camouflaging, insects have already adopted the tactic of disguise to escape from the clutches of their predators. By having body colour close to those of the rocks and dried leaves, they can escape from being pursued by the predators.

       Butterflies and moths have developed a variety of camouflage strategies since they are quite defenceless and their predators are abundant. Possessing wings which resemble dried leaves help certain butterflies and moths to hide among heaps of dried leaves when predators are around.

   Fortunately, not all insects choose the art of disguise to escape from their predators; otherwise, the world would be so dull and colourless. There are insects which assimilate the bright body colours of bees and wasps to escape from being pursued by their predator. Long ago, birds have already learnt to avoid brilliantly coloured wasps and bees in fear of their painful stings. Hence, over millions of years, many harmless insects have assimilated the bees and wasps by imitating. their bright body colours and shapes. In this way, they appear dangerous and hence ward them off.

      The beefy, not only appears like the bumblebee in terms of body colour, even its hums sound similar too. The only difference is that the beefy does not have a stirring and is hence harmless. The hoverfly is another insect which imitates. the body colours of the wasps. Their bodies are striped yellow and black. The only deviations are that hoverflies do not have stings, and they have only one pair of wings each while wasps have two pairs each. These variations are hardly noticed by the predators and hence help them to escape.

A1. Complete the table with the information from the passage : (2)

Insects Similarity Difference
Bumblebee - Beefy    
Wasp - Hoverfly    

A2. Complete the tree diagram : (2)

 

A3. Find out : (2)

‘Nature has given a self-protection mechanism to insects’.
Find out at least two examples from the passage to prove this statement. 

A4. Vocabulary - (2)

Find the words from the passage for :
(i) animal or bird that hunts other for food
(ii) to get free from danger
(iii) to prevent something from harming
(iv) to make a copy

A5. Personal response - (2)

‘Soldiers disguise themselves to prevent enemies to spot them’.
Give two more examples when the disguising technique is used by humans.

A6. Grammar - (2)

Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) They have only one pair of wings.
(Make it negative without changing the meaning)
(ii) Insects have already adopted the tactic of disguise to escape from the clutches of their predators.
(Replace infinitive with gerund and rewrite)

(B) Summary : (3)

Summarise the above extract with the help of the points given and suggest a suitable title.
Camouflage of soldiers and insects - reason and ways for disguising - assimilation of insects - need of imitation.


The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blank in the sentence below.
I saw a cobra ___________ out of a clump of cactus.


The poet is prompted to call the sower an ‘august personality’ which means one who has reached the highest position in his workplace.

Explain this using the following point.

Hard work


The diagram below encircles the various features that make the script of a skit/ play. List the other words and mention the form of writing of which it is a feature.


As a local government official working in the flood-affected area you are talking to an old lady who has lost her belongings. Write a dialogue between you and the old woman. Complete the conversation.

You Good morning Madam.
Old lady Good morning.
You I am from the Fire and Rescue department. How can I help you?
Old lady  
You  
Old lady  
You  
Old lady  
You  
Old lady  
You  
Old lady  
You  

Malu lived with Malu’s parents in the North Pole. Malu had great fun with Malu’s seagull friends.

One day Malu’s father told Malu that the hunters had come to trap Malu and Malu’s family. Malu knew how to hide very well. Malu shut Malu’s eyes and curled up like a ball of snow.

The hunter searched for Malu and Malu's family everywhere but in vain.

We can avoid repeating the names by using certain other words in their place. Study the table below.

  Singular Plural
person speaking I, me  we, us
person spoken to you you
other persons he, him, she, her. they,
places, things it them.

Now rewrite the above paragraph using words from the above table.


Describe Hiawatha, his home and friends in ten lines.


Match with and write the complete sentences below.

A B
Whenever I go, I have friends.
Whoever I am hungry, I eat.
Wherever comes first, wins.

You had to cycle home through the town on the day of a festival. Describe the sights, the sounds and the mood of the people around you. What were your feelings at the end of the ride?


You are the editor of your school magazine. You want to bring about awareness among the students on the topic -Noise Pollution: A threat to all life forms. Write an article in about 300 words based on the following points:

Causes of noise pollution - effects on humans - effects on other living creatures - measures to reduce noise pollution - role of authorities - conclusion. 


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