A House is not a Home

Q1. Why did the author feel isolated in his new school?

Answer: After passing the junior high school, the author joined a new school. He
was very popular among his old teachers and friends in the old school. But in the
new school, he had to restart as a fresher. He did not have any friend there. So he
felt isolated in his new school.

Q 2. Why did the author visit his old school? How did his teachers encourage him?

Answer: He could not adjust himself in the new school. He missed his old teachers
and friends so much that he would go back and visit them. They encouraged him
to get involved in school activities so that he could meet new people and make
new friends.

Q3. Why did the author love his cat so much?

Answer: The author had a pet cat which was his constant companion and a source
of entertainment. He was fond of her and could never think of living away from
her. He had a special bond with her because he had rescued her when she was a
small kitten.

Q4. On seeing the house on fire, what did the author do?

Answer: His house caught fire and soon the whole roof was engulfed in flames.
The author was shocked but he showed his presence of mind and ran out to the
neighbours to call the fire brigade.Q 5. Why did the mother run back into the
house for the second time?

Answer: His mother wanted to collect letters and pictures of her late husband.
These were very precious to her. They were the only things that she had as her
husband’s last memory. She did not want these precious memories to go into the
flames. So she ran back into the house for the second time.

Q6. Why did the firemen hold the author?

Q7. What happened to his mother who had run into the burning house?

Answer: In her efforts to collect the pictures and letters of her late husband, his
mother entered the burning house and inhaled a lot of smoke. She fell
unconscious. The firemen rescued her and she was put on oxygen mask. Soon she
regained her senses and became all right.

Q 8. How did the author feel when he went to his new school after the fire
accident?

Answer: One day after the fire accident, the author’s mother asked him to go to
school. He did not have proper clothes and shoes as they all were burnt in the
fire. He felt embarrassed in his weird clothes. He felt as if he was an outcast. He
felt so depressed that he just wanted to curl up and die.

Q 9. What were the only things not destroyed in the fire?

Answer: The fire had destroyed everything in the house. If something was not
burnt, it was destroyed by the water and chemicals used to extinguish the fire.
The only things that were saved, were the photo albums, documents and some
other personal items that the mother had managed to bring A out.

Q 10. How did the author get rid of his feelings of loss and tragedy?

Answer: His new friends in the new school and the kindness of the lady, who
returned his cat, helped the author in getting rid of his feelings of loss and
tragedy. He regained confidence. Now he wanted to live happily in. his new
‘home’.

Q 12. What three things made author’s house ‘a home’?

Answer: The fire tragedy changed the author’s life. He was so depressed that he
did not want to grow up and wanted to die. But his reunion with his cat, his new
friends in the school and his new house made his house ‘a home’ where he could
live.

A House is not a Home

Long Answer Type

Q 1.Describe the author’s love for his cat. Do you also have the same feelings for
your pet?

Answer: When the narrator lost everything in the fire, he did not cry but when he
realised that his cat was missing, he broke down in tears. He used to visit his old
house every day hoping to find his missing cat. A month later a woman contacted
him and gave him his cat. On seeing the cat, he leapt up ‘and cried into that
beautiful orange fur.’

He was very happy. He forgot about the loss caused by the fire. He remarked, ‘My
cat was back and so was I’. It reveals the love for animals. Yes, I also have the
same feelings for my cat. I can’t live without her. Whenever she is out of sight, I
become restless. I take very good care of my pet cat ‘Pussy’.

Q 2. How did a wonder woman bring happiness back in the life of the author?
Making someone happy by our deeds is the best service to God and his creation.
Do you agree?

Answer: Making someone happy by our deeds is the best service to God and his
creation. In the story, the author lost his cat whom he loved the most. After the
fire, he could not find his cat anywhere. He broke down and cried bitterly. In fact,
when the fire broke out, the cat was so scared that it had run away about a mile
and lost its way home. A kind lady found the cat and tried to contact the author
over the phone. But all the phone lines were out of order due to the fire. At last,
the lady located the address of the author. She gave him his cat. The author was
extremely grateful to the wonder lady who had given him a new l,ease of life.

Q 3. Write a brief character sketch of the author. What impresses you the most?
Answer: The author is a bright, loving, affectionate, sensitive and emotional boy.
He is academically bright and popular among his old teachers and old class
fellows. He actively participates in the activities. He feels lonely and lost in the
new school. After the fire tragedy, he feels isolated and depressed at the loss of
his cat and house. His emotional and sensitive nature makes him cry. He loves his
mother too much.

He displays the value of gratefulness. He is grateful to the lady who brought his
cat back. He expresses his gratefulness to his class fellows who supported him in
school. His love for his mother and his cat, his attachment to his old school and
teachers are some values that have impressed

No Men are Foreign

Q 1. What does the poet ask us to remember in the first stanza of the poem ‘No
Men Are Foreign’?

Answer: In the poem ‘No Men Are Foreign’, the poet asks us to remember that
under all uniforms, a single body breathes like ours. We all walk on the same land.
We all live and work in the same way. So, we are not different from each other.

Q 2. How does the poet compare life with others in stanza III of the poem ‘No
Men Are Foreign’?

Answer: The poet does not believe in narrow patriotism. He says human beings
are equal. All the men have eyes like ours. These wake up and sleep equally. Love
can win all. There is no difference among the nations.

Q 3. “We are told to hate our brothers.” How does it affect us?

Answer: The poet says that hatred pollutes our own air. When we hate others, we
dispossess ourselves. We tend to betray and condemn ourselves. If we hate
others, we defile our own earth. Hatred brings only destruction.

Q4. ‘Are fed by peaceful harvest.’ What does it imply?

Q 5. ‘Remember they have eyes like ours that wake or sleep.’ Who are ‘they’?
What does the poet convey through this line?

Answer:They’ stands for the men across the world. The poet conveys through
these lines that no men are foreign. There is no difference at all. People may
belong to different countries or religions, follow a different lifestyle, speak a
different language but they are all the same.

Question 6. What message does the poet convey through the poem ‘No Men Are
Foreign’?

Answer: The poet conveys the message of universal brotherhood through the
poem. He says that the people living in other parts of the world are like us in
many ways. There are many common things among the nations. All live, work,
eat, walk and sleep in the same way. All hate wars and love peace. We should not
hate them as they are also humans like us.

Q7. How do all human beings live and suffer the same?

Answer: The poet says that all live and suffer the same. The human body is the
same everywhere. All are aware of sun, air and water. All prosper when there is
peace. All starve when there is war. War destroys everyone equally.

Q 8. ‘Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence of air.’ Explain.

Answer: The poet conveys that hatred pollutes the air we breathe in. If we fight
among ourselves, we create hell only. All prosper in a peaceful environment. The
war replaces the innocence of the environment with hatredness.

Q 9. ‘Patriotism does not mean hating the people of other countries.’ Do you
agree? Explain.
Answer: It is true that patriotism does not mean hating others. We should love
our country and have equal respect for others. We should always remember that
no men are foreigners and no countries are strangers.

Q10. “It is ourselves that we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.” What does the
poet convey?

Answer: The poet conveys that when we hate others, we hate ourselves. No men
are foreigners, or strangers. We should not hate our brothers as they are like us in
many ways. We should not wage a war against any country as we all are one.