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Question
Do you think that friendship is not a matter of age but of emotional connect? Give your views with close reference to V.S. Naipaul's short story B. Wordsworth.
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Solution
In the short story 'B. Wordsworth,' V.S. Naipaul portrays an exceptional friendship between an unnamed boy, the story's narrator, and a poet named Black Wordsworth. The narrative unfolds with the introduction of this friendship as the poet arrives at the school-aged boy's gate. As the story progresses, a deepening bond between the characters becomes evident. The boy learns that Black Wordsworth is a poet and the brother of White Wordsworth, who shared a similar taste in poetry.
After the poet leaves, the boy experiences a sense of sadness and prays for another meeting, indicating the emergence of affection for the old poet. When they meet again, Black Wordsworth invites the boy to his house for mangoes from his garden. Despite the untidiness, the boy willingly accompanies the poet, signifying the trust he has developed. The boy even turns to his new friend when faced with punishment from his mother.
During a walk, the old poet encourages the boy to lie on the grass and contemplate the distance of the stars. The boy complies, finding joy in following Wordsworth's instructions, showcasing the enjoyment of their companionship despite the age gap. The poet shares personal stories, including that of his wife's death during childbirth, revealing a shared emotional connection between the two.
The depth of their bond becomes apparent when the poet is on his deathbed, leading the boy to uncontrollable tears upon witnessing the poet's passing. The author emphasizes the uniqueness of this friendship, transcending age and cultural differences. The emotional connection prevails, highlighting that age disparity does not hinder the growth of their special bond.
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1. In 1953, Hooper was a favoured young man. A big genuine grin civilized his highly competitive nature. Standing six-foot-one, he'd played on the university football team. He was already a hard-charging Zone Sales Manager for a chemical company. Everything was going for him.
2. Then, when he was driving home one autumn twilight, a car sped out in front of him without warning. Hooper was taken to the hospital with a subdural haemorrhage in the motor section of the brain, completely paralysing his left side.
3. One of Chuck's district managers drove Marcy to the hospital. Her husband couldn't talk; he could only breathe and see, and his vision was double. Marcy phoned a neighbour, asking him to put Duke in a kennel.
4. Hooper remained on the critical list for a month. After the fifth week some men from his company came to the hospital and told Hooper to take a year off. They would create a desk job for him at the headquarters.
5. About six weeks after the accident, the hospital put him in a wheelchair. Every day there was someone working his paralysed arm and leg followed by baths, exercise, a wheeled walker. However, Chuck didn't make much headway.
6. In March, they let him out of the hospital. After the excitement of homecoming wore off, Chuck hit a new low. At the hospital there had been other injured people, but now, each morning when Marcy quietly went to work, it was like a gate slamming down. Duke was still in the kennel, and Chuck was alone with his thoughts.
7. Finally, they decided to bring Duke home. Chuck said he wanted to be standing when Duke came in, so they stood him up. Duke's nails were long from four months' confinement, and when he spied Chuck he stood quivering like 5000 volts; then he let out a bellow, spun his long-nailed wheels, and launched himself across three metres of air. He was a 23-kilo missile of joy. He hit Chuck above the belt, causing him to fight to keep his balance.
8. Those who saw it said the dog knew instantly. He never jumped on Chuck again. From that moment, he took up a post beside his master's bed round the clock.
9. But even Duke's presence didn't reach Chuck. The once-iron muscles slacked on the rangy frame. Secretly, Marcy cried as she watched the big man's grin fade away. Severe face lines set in like cement as Chuck stared at the ceiling for hours, then out of the window, then at Duke.
10. When two fellows stare at each other day in, day out, and one can't move and the other can't talk, boredom sets in. Duke finally couldn't take it. From a motionless coil on the floor he'd spring to his feet, quivering with impatience.
11. "Ya-ruff"
12. "Lie down. Duke!"
13. Duke stalked to the bed, poked his pointed nose under Chuck's elbow and lifted. He nudged and needled and snorted.
14. "Go run around the house, Duke."
15. But Duke wouldn't. He'd lie down with a reproachful eye on Hooper. An hour later he would come over to the bed again and yap and poke. He wouldn't leave but just sit there.
16. One evening Chuck's good hand idly hooked the leash onto Duke's collar to hold him still. It was like lighting a fuse: Duke shimmied himself U-shaped in anticipation. Even Hooper can't explain his next move. He asked Marcy to help him to his feet. Duke pranced, Chuck fought for balance. With his good hand, he placed the leash in his left and folded the paralysed fingers over it, holding them there. Then he leaned forward. With Marcy supporting him by the elbow, he
moved his right leg out in front. Straightening his right leg caused the left foot to drag forward, alongside the right. It could be called a step.
17. Duke felt the sudden slack in the leash and pulled it taut. Chuck swayed forward again, broke the fall with his good right leg, then straightened. Thrice he did that, then collapsed into the wheelchair, exhausted.
18. Next day, the big dog started early; he charged around to Hooper's good side, jabbed his nose under the elbow and snapped his head up. The big man's good arm reached for the leash. With Hooper standing, the dog walked to the end of the leash and tugged steadily. Four so-called steps they took that day.
19. Leaning back against the pull, Hooper learned to keep his balance without Marcy at his elbow. Wednesday, he and Duke took five steps; Thursday, six steps; Friday, failure- two steps followed by exhaustion. But in two weeks they reached the front porch.
20. By mid-April neighbours saw a daily struggle in front of Marcy's house. Out on the sidewalk they saw the dog pull his leash taut then stand and wait. The man would drag himself abreast of the dog, then the dog would surge out to the end of the leash and wait again. The pair set daily goals; Monday, the sixth fence post, Tuesday, the seventh fence post, Wednesday ......
21. When Marcy saw what Duke could do for her husband, she told the doctor, who prescribed a course of physiotherapy with weights, pulleys and whirlpool baths and above all walking every day with Duke, on a limited, gradual scale.
22. By now neighbours on their street were watching the pattern of progress. On June 1, news spread that Hooper and Duke had made it to an intersection quite far away.
23. Soon, Duke began campaigning for two trips a day, and they lengthened the targets, one driveway at a time. Duke no longer waited at each step.
24. On January 4, Hooper made his big move. Without Duke, he walked the 200 metres from the clinic to the local branch office of his company. This had been one of the district offices under his jurisdiction as zone manager. The staff was amazed by the visit. But to Gordon Doule, the Manager, Chuck said, "Gordon, this isn't just a visit. Bring me up to date on what's happened, will you - -so I can get to work?" Doule gaped, "It'll just be an hour a day for a while," Hooper continued. "I'll use that empty desk in the warehouse. And I'll need a dictating machine. 16
25. Back in the company's headquarters, Chuck's move presented problems -- tough ones. When a man fights that hard for a comeback, who wants to tell him he can't handle his old job? On the other hand, what can you do with a salesman who can't move around, and can work only an hour a day? They didn't know that Hooper had already set his next objective: March 1, a full day's work.
26. Chuck hit the target, and after March 1, there was no time for the physiotherapy programme; he turned completely to Duke, who pulled him along the street faster and faster, increasing his stability and endurance. Sometimes, walking after dark, Hooper would trip and fall. Duke would stand still as a post while his master struggled to get up. It was as though the dog knew that his job was to get Chuck back on his feet.
27. Thirteen months from the moment he worked full days. Chuck Hooper was promoted to regional manager covering more than four states.
28. Chuck, Marcy and Duke moved house in March 1956. The people in the new suburb where the Hoopers bought a house didn't know the story of Chuck and Duke. All they knew was that their new neighbour walked like a struggling mechanical giant and that he was always pulled by a rampageous dog that acted as if he owned the man.
29. On the evening of October 12, 1957, the Hoopers had guests. Suddenly over the babble of voices, Chuck heard the screech of brakes outside. Instinctively, he looked for Duke.
30. They carried the big dog into the house. Marcy took one look at Duke's breathing, at his brown eyes with the stubbornness gone. "Phone the vet," she said. "Tell him, I'm bringing Duke." Several people jumped to lift the dog. "No, please," she said. And she picked up the big Duke, carried him gently to the car and drove him to the animal hospital.
31. Duke was drugged and he made it until 11o'clock the next morning, but his injuries were too severe.
32. People who knew the distance Chuck and Duke had come together, one fence post at a time, now watched the big man walk alone day after day. They wondered: how long will he keep it up? How far will he go today? Can he do it alone?
33. A few weeks ago, worded as if in special tribute to Duke, an order came through from the chemical company's headquarters: ".......... therefore, to advance our objectives step by step, Charles Hooper is appointed the Assistant National Sales Manager."
About the Author
William D. Ellis was born in Concord, Massachusetts. He began writing at the age of 12, on being urged by an elementary-school teacher who discerned his talent at an early age. Ellis's study of the history of Ohio provided him material that he eventually used as the foundation for a trilogy of novels: Bounty Lands, Jonathan Blair:Bounty Lands Lawyer, and The Brooks Legend. Each of his novels appeared on best-seller lists, and the trilogy itself eventually earned its author a Pulitzer Prize nomination. The most important recurring theme in his works is the triumph of survival.
What does he plant who plants a tree? a
He plants a friend of sun and sky;b
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard____
The treble of heaven's harmony_____
These things he plants who plants a tree.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good____
His blessing on the neighbourhood,
Who in the hollow of his hand
Holds all the growth of all our land____
A nation's growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:
What motivates the man to plant a tree according to the poet?
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good , what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr.Tod,the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin,Pigling Bland,
And Mrs.Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr.Rat and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
Read the lines given above and answer the question given below.
Explain with reference to context.
Unleashing the goats from the drumstick tree, Muni started out, driving them ahead and uttering weird cries from time to time in order to urge them on. Me passed through the village with his head bowed in thought. He did not want to look at anyone or be accosted. A couple of cronies lounging in the temple corridor hailed him, but he ignored their call. They had known him in the days of affluence when he lorded over a flock of fleecy sheep, not the miserable grawky goats that he had today.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What did Muni do to urge the goats to move on?
“I love the West,” said the girl irrelevantly. Her eyes were shining softly. She looked away out the car window. She began to speak truly and simply without the gloss of style and manner: “Mamma and I spent the summer in Deliver. She went home a week ago
because father was slightly ill. I could live and be happy in the West. I think the air here agrees with me. Money isn’t everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid—” “Say, Mr. Marshal,” growled the glum-faced man. “This isn’t quite fair. I’m needing a drink, and haven’t had a smoke all day. Haven’t you talked long enough? Take me in the smoker now, won’t you? I’m half dead for a pipe.”
The bound travellers rose to their feet, Easton with the Same slow smile on his face. “I can’t deny a petition for tobacco,” he said, lightly. “It’s the one friend of the unfortunate. Good-bye, Miss Fairchild. Duty calls, you know.” He held out his hand for a farewell. “It’s too bad you are not going East,” she said, reclothing herself with manner and style. “But you must go on to Leavenworth, I suppose?” “Yes,” said Easton, “I must go on to Leavenworth.”
The two men sidled down the aisle into the smoker. The two passengers in a seat near by had heard most of the conversation. Said one of them: “That marshal’s a good sort of chap. Some of these Western fellows are all right.” “Pretty young to hold an office like that, isn’t he?” asked the other. “Young!” exclaimed the first speaker, “why—Oh! didn’t you catch on? Say—did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?”
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why is it ironic when Fairchild says, “people always misunderstand things and remain stupid —”?
The women came out on the shore, and made for the stepping—?stones. They had plenty to laugh and bicker about, as they approached the river in a noisy crowd. They girded up their skirts, so as to jump from stone to stone, and they clanked their sickles and forks together over their shoulders to have ease of movement. They shouted their quarrels above the gush of the river. Noise frightens crocodiles. The big mugger did not move, and all the women crossed in safety to the other bank. Here they had to climb a steep hillside to get at the grass, but all fell to with a will, and sliced away at it wherever there was foothold to be had. Down below them ran the broad river, pouring powerfully out from its deep narrow pools among the cold cliffs and shadows, spreading into warm shallows, lit by kingfishers. Great turtles lived there, and mahseer weighing more than a hundred pounds. Crocodiles too. Sometimes you could see them lying out on those slabs of clay over there, but there were none to be seen at the moment.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What were they doing on the hill?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
.......Once again Clover and Benjamin warned him to take care of his health, but Boxer paid, no attention. His twelfth birthday was approaching. He did not care what happened so long as a good store of stone was accumulated before he went on a pension.
Late one evening, in the summer, a sudden rumor ran round the farm that something had happened to Boxer. He had gone out alone to drag a load of stone down to the windmill. And sure enough, the rumor was true….
(i) In what condition did the animals find Boxer?
(ii) Why did the animals feel uneasy when Squealer told them that Boxer would be sent to a hospital at Willingdon for treatment?
How did Squealer reassure them?
(iii) How much longer did Boxer expect to live?
How did he plan to spend his remaining days?
(iv) What was written on the van that took Boxer away? What did Boxer do when he heard the screams of the animals?
(v) What was the new name given to Animal Farm by Napoleon?
What strange transformation did the animals notice on the faces of the pigs?
What is the significance of this transformation?
Answer the following question.
Why did Kari push his friend into the stream?
When Timothy was about six months old, a change came over him. The phrase in underlined means that
The following sentence has two blanks. Fill in the blanks with appropriate forms of the word given in brackets.
Hermits are_________men. How they acquire their________ no one can tell. (wise)
Describe the bearded man in your own words.
How did Mr Gessler described his brother?
How was Mahmoud, the cook, attached to the tiger cub?
What is the moral/message of the story?
Do you think the man would ever come back to pick up the watch?
Fans don’t talk, but it is possible to imagine that they do. What is it, then, that sounds like the fan’s chatter?
Read the lines in which the following phrases occur. Then discuss with your partner the meaning of each phrase in its context.
Drinking straws
What lesson does the young child narrator learn from his mother?
Multiple Choice Question:
According to the passage the home is a ________
Mark the right item.
The neighbour left Taro’s hut in a hurry because ______
Multiple Choice Question:
What does the phrase “repeat themselves’ mean here?
Answer the following question.
Nasir wants to learn ______________________________________________
What decisions were given by Algu and Jumman as head Panch?
Does the poet get scared at the thought of peeping through the window?
Add im- or in- to each of the following words and use them in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below.
| patient, proper, possible, sensitive, competent |
"Don’t lose patience. Your letter will come one day," the postman told me.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
| Shylock: | Shall I not have barely my principal'? |
| Portia: | Thou shalt have nothing but forfeiture. To be so taken at thy peril, Jew. |
- What is the 'principal' that Shylock asks for?
Why does Portia refuse to give it to him? [3] - What is the 'forfeiture' they are referring to?
What danger ('peril') would Shylock be in if he took the forfeiture? [3] - What further hold does the law of Venice have on Shylock? [3]
- What concession does Antonio offer to Shylock?
On what condition does he make this offer? [3] - Why is Shylock in a hurry to leave the courtroom after the trial?
How far can Shylock be blamed for the outcome of the trial?
Give one reason for your response. [4]
