Q8 of 24 Page 1

Answer any four of the following questions in 30 – 40 words each:

(a) Sophie flits from one dream to another. What trait of her character is brought out by this action?


(b) How and why was M. Hamel dressed differently that day?


(c) Why did Zitkala-Sa resist the cutting of her hair?


(d) Why does Aunt Jennifer create animals that are so different from her own character?


(e) What kind of person was Evans?


(f) Who actually killed the hundredth tiger in ‘The Tiger King’? Why?


(a)Sophie flits from one dream to another; she is a daydreamer, much like many girls from poor families. She seems to live in a dream world, imagining things that might not be possible. She fails to accept the reality that she and her family live in and weaves dreams of owning a boutique someday. It is clear that she is a daydreamer and cannot accept her reality.


(b) M. Hamel was dressed differently that day. He was dressed in his beautiful green coat, with a frilled shirt and a little black silk cal. Everything was embroidered and looked special. He usually wore this dress on occasions like prize distribution and functions. That day he chose to wear this dress because he knew it was going to be his last lesson in their mother tongue French. A new order had been imposed by the government that only German will be taught in the schools, and the new master in that language had already arrived. This was the reason M. Hamel was dressed differently, to mark how important the day was to him.


(c) Zitkala-Sa resisted the cutting of her hair because she had been taught at home that someone cutting your hair signified humiliation. Shingling the hair on the other hand was an act of cowardliness. In her family, the ones with short hair were the mourners and the ones with shingled hair were the cowards. This is the reason she resisted the cutting of her hair.


(d) When Aunt Jennifer created the animals on her embroidery, it was not her character that she was reflecting on them, but the imprint of either men in general, or her husband in particular. She had suffered all her life under him, and through her depiction of a tiger, she symbolised his handsome yet scary attribute. She might have also wanted to signify how women create men, who end up treating them harshly and dominate over them after growing up.


(e) Evans was in general a pleasant person, but he was a kleptomaniac by birth. He had a tendency to steal things, and had been arrested several times for it. Despite all this, he had an acute intelligence. He had even managed to run away from jail three times in all. Besides, he was also witty and took great pleasure in mocking the prison officer from time-to-time.


(f) The royal hunters of the Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur known as ‘The Tiger King’ actually killed the hundredth tiger.


The king had resolved to kill a hundred tigers, in order to defeat the prediction his astrologers had made about his murder by a tiger in the future. In his attempt to do that, he kills ninety-nine tigers, but is unable to kill the hundredth one, which survives a bullet miraculously. The royal hunters who accompany the king, in an attempt to escape his fury, kill the tiger themselves and feast on him.


More from this chapter

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6

The eminent psychologist, Dr. Madhumita was invited by your school authorities to speak to the students on the topic, ‘How to maintain robust mental health’. She delivered a lively speech without using any medical technical terms. After the lecture the students asked many questions especially about how to cope with stress during examinations. Dr. Madhumita addressed their concerns very patiently and gave them some very useful tips. Write a report in 150 – 200 words for your school magazine describing the session with the psychologist. You are Noor/Hilal Head-girl/Head-boy, National School, Sonepat.

OR


The Nilgiris Senior Secondary School is holding an interschool debate on the topic, ‘School bullies are a menace; they should be expelled’. You will be participating from your school in the debate. Write your debate in 150 – 200 words choosing a stand for or against the motion.


 7

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

... On their slag heap, these children


Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel


With mended glass, like bottle bits on stones.


All of their time and space are foggy slum.


So blot their maps with slums as big as doom.


a. Name the poem and the poet.


b. Which image is used to describe the poverty of these children?


c. What sort of life do these children lead?


d. Identify and name the figure of speech used in line 3.


OR


but soon


put that thought away, and


looked out at young,


trees sprinting, the merry children spilling


out of their homes.


a. Name the poem and the poet.


b. What thought did the poet put away?


c. Why are the young trees described as sprinting?


d. How do you know that the joyful scene did not help her drive away ‘that thought’ from her mind?


 9

Answer any one of the following questions in 120 – 150 words:

(a) Gandhiji said, ‘‘Freedom from fear is more important than legal justice for the poor.’’ How does it become clear from the lesson ‘Indigo’ that freedom from fear is an essential condition for justice?


(b) Give instances from the chapter, ‘The Rattrap’ to show that most of its characters are victims of loneliness.


(c) Douglas has a near-death experience in his childhood which has a negative as well as a positive outcome. Justify the statement with evidences from the text.


 10

Answer any one of the following questions in 120 – 150 words:

(a) ‘‘Things that matter. Things nobody else has ever said. Things I want to think about.’’ What are the ‘things’ that Derry is referring to? How did Derry’s chance meeting with Mr. Lamb prove meaningful for him?


(b) ‘The Enemy’ portrays the victory of humanity in a moment of crisis. Illustrate this fact through the actions taken by Dr. Sadao for the enemy soldier.


(c) How does the story, ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy’ bear testimony to the fact that the frustrations faced by adults and their personal experiences often intrude upon their interaction with their children? Elaborate.