Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
From the library or Internet, read the story ‘How much land does a man need?’ by Leo Tolstoy and write a review of the same, covering the following points.
- Background of the story
- Characters
- Plot/Theme
- Climax
- Message/Moral
Advertisements
Solution
Background of the story:
Leo Tolstoy wrote “How much land does a man need?” against the backdrop of the massive changes in 19th-century Russia. Until the emancipation of Russian serfs by Tsar Alexander II, the peasants were virtual slaves of landowners and aristocrats. Tolstoy wrote this story after the Serfs had already gained their freedom for 25 years. They now had rights and their own land. There was progress among the peasants, but Tolstoy was apprehensive about whether the peasants’ progress brought changes they would regret. This story serves as a harsh warning against unchecked materialism, clearly established through the fate of Pahom, the protagonist, and his sad, untimely death.
Characters:
Pahom (the protagonist), his wife, his sister-in-law, the Bashkirs, and the Devil.
Plot/Theme:
Pehom, a Russian peasant, overhears his wife and her sister arguing over whether it is better to live in the country or the city. This leads Pahom to make the dangerous declaration that if he had just enough land, he would not even fear the Devil. The Devil hears this boast, decides to put it to the test, and exploits Pahom’s greed. The story relates to Pahom’s success in buying land, yet also his dissatisfaction.
Climax:
Pahom learns about the Bashkir region, where very fertile land can be purchased cheaply. The Bashkirs agree to sell him for 1000 roubles, as much land as he can pace off in a day, as long as he returns before the end of the day to the starting point. Pahom walks far, trying to get as much land as possible, but when he sees more fertile land ahead of him, greed overtakes his senses, and he keeps walking further and further away without realising it would be difficult for him to return to the starting point. In his rush to get back to the starting point. In his rush to get back to the starting point, which he succeeds in, he collapses and dies. When he dies, the Baskhins ask Pahom’s servant to bury him on the same land, and he ends up with six feet of land, enough to bury him instead of all the land that he had acquired.
Message/Moral:
The story tells us about the destructive consequences of human ambition & greed. The message is clear: a warning against biting off more than you can chew. The story shows us how human nature pushes us to want more and more. We are never content, no matter how well off we may be. While trying to improve our standard of living, we risk ending up with nothing. It gives us the message that greed and excessive desire for earthly desires can destroy a person.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Write a summary of the above extract with the help of the following points and suggest a suitable title :
Points : Kalpana's affection towards India and Indians her humble - nature her love for the earth Harrison's visit to India.
Write a short summary of the passage given in the following and suggest a suitable title.
Human and dogs are inseparable for thousands of years and they are dependent on each other for protection and survival. Relationship between humans and dogs is often characterized by strong emotional bonds which run both way. Dogs are very popular as pets and companions. Dog is the ‘Man’s Best Friend’
and a family member. The dog is one of the most loyal, faithful and devotee animal. In earlier days dogs were kept mainly for hunting and guarding; now they are kept for companionship, protection and showmanship.
There are millions of people all over the world who are dog lovers Puppies need more attention at the, early age. As much as possible try many methods of socialization, such as playing with them, taking them for walk, expose them to crowds, make them to obey the orders etc.
Cut redundant words:
We’re often inefficient in our language, using more words than necessary. Consider the following phrases. Find five more redundant words.
- “Circle around” can become “circle.”
- “Write down” can become “write.”
- “Added bonus” is simply a “bonus.”
- “Get to the point as quickly as possible” is really “get to the point.”
- “Close proximity” is “close.”
- “During the course of” is “during.”
Adverbs clutter up your copy. You can usually live without them. Just delete italicized word and rewrite.
“That’s usually a good thing to do.”
Read any book of your choice and write its summary according to the steps explained in the chapter.
Prepare a summary of the extract given in Q. 2 (A). Give it a suitable title. You may use the following points :
Luxurious houses in nature – fear of wild animals – leopards enjoy human habitation – provide food
Read the passage and write a summary of it in a paragraph. Suggest a suitable title.
|
Fireflies are beetles and go through several life stages, starting out as an egg, then hatching into larvae. At the juvenile stage, they turn into pupae and then, finally adults. Fireflies spend most of their lives in a larval stage, hidden away. There are 2000 different species of fireflies. But they all go through a long juvenile stage and a short adult life, which is mainly about courtship, mating and reproduction. The juveniles living underground or underwater, are very different though-they're hunters, they eat snails and soft-bodied insects and they have very different habitats. Conserving them is essential for human life as fireflies are a key part of the food web. They are predators of agricultural pests. In turn, they are prey for spiders and other insects. They are completely enmeshed in the web of life. In addition, about 70 years ago, scientists unravelled the mystery of fireflies' light-producing talents. Since then, the bio-chemical reactions that fireflies experience have been used in detecting bacterial contamination in foods, testing drugs against cancer, developing drought-resistant crops. They have been used in space exploration. So fireflies give us beauty and inventions. Fireflies carry oxygen, calcium, magnesium and a natural chemical called luciferin. These react together to produce the photons. This is how the fireflies glow. Firefly tourism is growing across the world. In Maharashtra, for example, a particular species monsoon fireflies, emerge before the rains. They're beautiful and a festival is held in Purushwadi, encouraging firefly tourism. Its wonderful that people around the world go to see fireflies in their natural habitat. We need to be cautious. Too many people can disturb adult and larval habitats. Fireflies need darkness to communicate with each other and we need fireflies because they are harbingers of hope. |
Read the following passage and write the summary of the following in a paragraph. Suggest a suitable title for it.
|
You are endowed with certain naughtiness as a child. Keep it alive. Humour will lighten all tough situations. One who has humour can sail through any conflict. Humour is buffer that saves you from humiliation. Humour brings everyone together, while humiliation tears them apart. In a society tom with humiliation and inSult, humour is like a breath of fresh air. Humour should be coupled with care and concern. Humour can keep the spirit high, yet if overdone, it leaves a bad taste. Humour without wisdom is shallow. |
Read the passage given in below and write a summary of it in a paragraph. Suggest a suitable title.
|
The humble son of a farmer from Sarakkalvilai village in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, Dr. K. Sivan as Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman was leading the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon. Sivan studied in a Tamil medium government school. After graduating from S.T. Hindu College in Nagercoil, Sivan completed a Master's in Engineering from IISC in 1982. In 2006, he received Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Bombay. Sivan is the first graduate in his family. His brother and two sisters were unable to complete higher education due to their poverty. "When I was in college, I used to help my father in the field. That was the reason he got me admitted to a college near our house." Sivan told TOI, "Only when I had completed my B.Sc. (Mathematics) with 100% marks his mind changed." Sivan said he had spent his childhood days without a shoe or sandal. I continued wearing a vesti (dhoti) till college. I wore pants for the first time when I entered MIT." He joined ISRO in 1982 and worked on almost all rocket programmes. Before taking charge as an ISRO chairman in January 2018, he was the director, of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) which develops rockets. He is known as ISRO's 'Rocket Man'. |
|
Love is a great force in Private life; it is indeed the greatest of all things, but love in public affairs does not work. It has been tried again and again; by the people of the Middle Ages, and also by the French Revolution, a secular movement which reasserted the Brotherhood of Man, And it has always failed. The idea that nations should love one another, or that business concerns or marketing boards should love one another or that a man in Portugal should love a man in Peru of whom he has never heard — it is absurd, unreal, dangerous. ‘Love is what is needed,” we chant, and then sit back and the world goes on as before. The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something much less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance. Tolerance is a very dull virtue. It is boring. It is negative. It merely means putting up with people, being able to stand things. No one has ever written an ode to tolerance, or raised a statute to her. Yet this is the quality which will be most needed after the war. This is the sound state of mind which we are looking for. This is the only force which will enable different races and classes and interests to settle down together to the work of reconstruction. The world is very full of people— appallingly full; it has never been so full before and they are all tumbling over each other. Most of these people one doesn’t know and some of them dosen't like. Well, what is one to do? If you don't like people, put up with them as well as you can. Don't try to love them; you can't. But try to tolerate them. On the basis of that tolerance a civilized future may be built. Certainly I can see no other foundation for the post-war world. |
Write a 'summary' of the above extract by using the following points.
(Love as a force - its limitations - tolerance - need of tolerance)
