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Question
How is the social life at Raveloe different from that at Lantern Yard ?
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Solution
According to the narrator, Before Silas came to Raveloe, he lived in a town to the north, where he was thought of as a young man “of exemplary life and ardent faith.” This town was dominated by a strict religious sect that met in a place called Lantern Yard. During one prayer meeting, Silas became unconscious and rigid for more than an hour, an event that his fellow church members regarded as divinely inspired. Later, when he moved to Raveloe, with its sense of “neglected plenty,” completely unlike the world in which he grew up. The fertile soil and climate make farm life much easier in Raveloe than in the barren north, and the villagers are consequently more easygoing and less ardent in their religion. Nothing familiar in Raveloe reawakens Silas’s “benumbed” faith in God. Spiritually depleted, Silas uses his loom as a distraction, weaving more quickly than necessary. He kept himself isolated and less active in lively interactions. He only focuses and concentrates on his work and earning of gold. For the first time he is able to keep the full portion of his earnings for himself, no longer having to share them with an employer or the church. Having no other sense of purpose, Silas feels a sense of fulfillment merely in holding his newly earned money and looking at it.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Answer any three of the following in 30-40 words each:
(a) Why has the poet’s mother been compared to the ‘late winter’s moon’?
(b) The poet says, ‘And yet, for these Children, these windows, not this map, their world.’ Which world do these children belong to? Which world is inaccessible to them?
(c) What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
(d) What will happen to Aunt Jennifer’s tigers when she is dead?
Read the following passage and do the activities:
A1 True or False:
Rewrite the following statements and state whether they are ‘true’ or ‘false’.
(i) Mashelkar’s mother did menial work to bring him up.
(ii) Mashelkar’s father died when he was twelve.
(iii) Mashelkar was born in a very rich family.
(iv) Tatas added much value to Mashelkar’s life.
I start with my greatest guru-my mother. I was born in a very poor family and my father died when I was six. We moved to Mumbai and my mother did menial work to bring me up. Two meals a day was a tough challenge. I studied under street lights and I walked barefoot until, I think, I was twelve. I remember when I passed the seventh standard and I wanted to go into the eighth standard, our poverty was such that even to secure 21 rupees for secondary school admission became a big challenge. We had to borrow from a lady, who was a housemaid in Chaupati in Mumbai. That was the tough life I had.
In fact, I remember, my passing the SSC Examination-i.e. 11th standard. Those days it used to be not 10th standard or 12th standard but 11th standard. I stood 11th among 1,35,000 but I was about to leave higher education and find a job. What helped me was the scholarship by Sir Dorab Tata Trust. It was just 60 rupees per month and would you believe that 60 rupees per month from Tatas added so much value to my life that I have been able to stand here today before you to speak to you.
I am on the Board of Tatas now and it is very interesting that the same Bombay House where I used to go to collect that 60 rupees per month now one goes and sits there like a Director on the Board of Tata Motors. The turn that these 40 years have taken is very interesting. It has all been possible because of the chance I got to do higher studies at the insistence of my mother. She gave me the values of my life. She was one of the noblest parents I have met in my life.
So, my greatest guru was my mother. My second guru was Principal Bhave, about whom I made a mention earlier. He taught us Physics. Because it was a poor school, I remember, it had to innovate to convey to the young students the message of Science.
A2 Complete:
Complete the following sentences and write:
(i) Mashelkar was inspired by his greatest guru _______
(ii) Mashelkar studied under _______
(iii) Principal Bhave taught _______
(iv) The scholarship by _______ Trust helped him in higher education.
A3 Find the meaning:
Choose the appropriate meaning of the underlined words from the given alternatives:
(i) We moved to Mumbai and my mother did menial work.
(a) skilled
(b) hard
(c) unskilled
(d) of low status
(ii) Because it was a poor school, it had to innovate to convey to the young students the message of science.
(a) do a cheap experiment
(b) introduce new things
(c) avoid
(d) try hard
(iii) I got to do higher studies at the insistence of my mother.
(a) firm saying
(b) being inspired
(c) being inspected
(d) being instigated
(iv) That was the tough life I had.
(a) difficult
(b) soft
(c) cheap
(d) simple
A4 Match:
Match the following sentences with their tags:
| 'A' | 'B' | ||
| (i) | I stood 11th among 1,35,000 |
(a) | aren’t I? |
| (ii) | I am on the Board of Tatas | (b) | didn’t we? |
| (iii) | It was a poor school | (c) | didn’t I? |
| (iv) | We moved to Mumbai | (d) | wasn’t it? |
A5 Personal Response:
“Mother is the greatest Guru.” Discuss.
'Whose roots lay deeper than our lives' – what aspect of human behaviour does this line reflect?
Name the world-famous personality who reached great heights despite of humble circumstances.
Little creatures in nature can also be your teachers. Think and write what we can learn from the following.
Bees:
Correct the following statement.
The real ivy leaf did not fall off at all.
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If winter comes, can spring be far behind? - Shelley
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An activity:
Speak fast, think faster! Form groups of 4-6. Discuss each of the following topics. Then each person in the group should choose a topic and speak about it for one minute. Try to say as many sentences as you can in that time.
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Find and read other poems of R. L. Stevenson using the internet. Find other rhythmic poems about trains, in English, or other languages.
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Why does the bee work hour after hour?
Choose the appropriate phrase to insert in the gap, to make the sentence meaningful. Use the appropriate form of the verb.
Before we ______ let us stand in attention for the National Anthem.
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- The creator
- The theme or subject matter
- Type of art
- Individual style
- Presentation techniques
- Its effect on viewers
- Message or interpretation
Compare the points with those you used for a book review and the review of a play. Present the comparison in the form of a chart.
| Book Review | Review of a play | Review of a painting |
Read aloud a couple of stanzas of the poem ‘Invictus’ and ‘Please Listen’. In what ways do they differ? Think and fill up the table with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
| Invictus | Please Listen | |
| Rhyming lines | ______ | ______ |
| Steady rhythm | ______ | ______ |
| Uniformity in the length of lines | ______ | ______ |
| Uniformity of the number of lines in each stanza. | ______ | ______ |
| Figurative language | ______ | ______ |
Write in your own words.
How does the poet describe his home in the second stanza?
Write a short note/story based on the ill effects of pollution.
Write what the poet is doing.
Does the poet like the experience?
Write the line which tells us about it.
What mistake did the man in the moon make?
What is a website?
Find a word that has a similar meaning.
Whole
Fill in the blank
______ is the festival which fills our hearts with delight.
Read the lines and answer the questions.
Deep inside the mountain
the adventures hide themselves.
Where do adventures hide?
Read the following article about the amazing similarities between the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln; then underline the passive forms.
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Lincoln was elected president in 1860. Voters elected Kennedy president in 1960.
Both men were particularly concerned with civil rights.
Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.
Lincoln was shot on a Friday. Someone shot Kennedy on a Friday.
Lincoln was shot in the head. The gunman shot Kennedy in the head.
Lincoln’s secretary was called Kennedy. Kennedy’s secretary was called Lincoln.
Lincoln was assassinated by a Southerner. A Southerner assassinated Kennedy.
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Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839. Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.
Both assassins were known by their three names and both names are composed of fifteen letters.
Lincoln was shot at a theatre named “Ford”. The gunman shot Kennedy in a car called a “Lincoln” that the company Ford made.
Booth ran from the theatre and was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse and the police caught him in a theatre.
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Uthaman was skilled in _____.
What did he make out of it?
