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

Do the poor have the right to dream? Why then does the author call Mukesh's dream 'a mirage'?

OR

In what way was Sophie's hero worship and fantasizing at odds with her socio-economic background? Was she justified in dreaming the 'impossible'?

Yes, the poor do have the right to dream.

Mukesh is a son of a poor bangle maker in Firozabad. Mukesh’s family is engaged in making different types of colourful bangles just like the colourful rainbow. Mukesh’s father because of his poor financial condition could not renovate the house or send his two sons to school. Mukesh lacks interest in his family business and does not want to join the family business. His interest is to become a motor mechanic. He dreams of driving a car. The author describes Mukesh’s dream as a mirage because in the dusty streets of Firozabad, his dream is vague and his intentions unclear. With no improvements or developments towards enhancing the rights and equality status of the poor by the government or other authorities, the author finds Mukesh’s dream a dismal reality.

OR

Sophie’s hero worship and fantasizing were at odds in comparison to her lower middle class socio-economic background. Her family was bound by limited means and struggled with poverty. She lived in a small house with her parents and two brothers Geoff and Derek. Sophie’s father was a hard-working labourer and her mother toiled in her household chores. Her parents wanted Sophie to join work as her school got over. The small, dingy house, pile of dirty dishes and the stove fumes made Sophie day dream for a rosy life. In such trying conditions, Sophie’s dreams and aspirations were odd and ambiguous. She did nothing to make her dreams come true. Instead, she told lies which were unjustified and ridiculous. Sophie builds a false story about Danny Casey and their dates. Gradually, people began distrusting her. Her near and dear ones wished that Sophie behaved and conducted herself in a more reasonable way.

It is stupid and unrealistic to be lost in day dreaming. To achieve what we dream, we need to work hard and be realistic. Sophie’s thought and behaviour to escape the boring life cannot be justified by her day dreaming and falsehood. In the end, all this foolish dreaming did not help Sophie and she was left with shattered dreams and regret.