HIS FIRST FLIGHT - NOTES

1.REVIEW of ‘His First Flight’

Liam O’Flaherty’s ‘His First Flight’ is one of his most famous works. It is a parable (a short moral story). It
symbolizes the nervousness we experience before doing something new. The theme is ‘Overcoming
fears in life’. We need to be independent and confident in life. We must not live away from family. Our
family is a source of inspiration and motivation. Parental guidance, encouragement and discipline have a
major role in shaping the future of children. Mother seagull does the trick to get her young son to fly.
Leaving him alone on the ledge without food did not work well. She decided to exploit his hunger. A
piece of fish right in front; he went for it, and he was in the air, making his first flight. The baby seagull
faced a crisis, a do-or-die situation, fall or fly. He had good wings. But he was in a state of fear and
ignorance. He had no belief in the strength of his wings. He knew their strength only when his life was in
danger. Flaherty creates effective word pictures. We have the feeling that we see what we read. Each
and every movement of the birds is given in all its details. Bird life and habits are revealed clearly in the
story. Flaherty’s seagull is not a bird. It is every beginner, always afraid of taking the first step. The story
gives the message ‘Conquer fear; and we realize that we are born with wings’.

2.Character Of Young Seagull (Point wise Note)

The young seagull is an important character in the story ‘His First Flight’
The young seagull was afraid to fly.
He was not ready to take risks.
He was very hungry.
He couldn’t fly like his siblings.
He was over-dependent and lazy.
He was not ready to work hard.
Vigilance and care of his mother made him his first flight possible.

3.Write a paragraph about the role of parents in helping children attain their goal.

It is the responsibility of parents to help their children attain their goal. As Children you may not
always take things seriously. Some times the parents will scold their children; sometime they may deny
their demands, etc. though it may be thought as cruelty from their part, they do such things out of love
for their children. They are always concerned about their children‟s future.

4.Don‟t you think that the mother was cruel to the young sea-gull? Write a paragraph on why parents
sometimes behave so. Are they really cruel to their children?

The parents sometimes behave in a cruel manner because they want to make their children self-
reliant. It does not mean that they do not love you. It is because they love you that they want you to
become independent and self-reliant. At times they have to pretend to be cruel. Some time they scold
you. They do such things to make you active and successful in life.
5.Parent’s attitude towards young Seagull

The parents love their young child and want him to be self-reliant. wanted to teach him how to
be courageous and self confident They use clever tricks to make the bird fly. The mother tempts him by
bringing a piece of fish very near him and forces him to fly and get it. He dives for the fish. His wings
open suddenly and he begins to fly. They succeed in their attempt and are extremely happy at it.

6. In the story, ‘His First Flight’, the writer tells us about the first victory in the life of the young
seagull. The helping hand for the maiden flight was extended by his mother. Have you not received
such support in your life too? Narrate your experience in a paragraph.

Just like the young seagull was helped by his mother to make his first flight, I too was helped by my
mother to overcome problems and succeed in life. I remember the day when I was in Class 1.1 had failed
in my Arithmetic Test. I got 0. My friends ridiculed me and laughed at me saying that I was an idiot. I
went home crying. I refused to go to school. But my mother raised my spirits by telling me that
everybody makes mistakes and one should not feel dejected because of just one failure. She told me the
story of Robert Bruce who learned the lesson of perseverance from a spider.

Bruce who was the King of Scotland was defeated and he ran away to a forest, utterly dejected. One day
he was sitting and thinking about his cruel fate. He saw a spider jumping from one end of a rock to
another rock to weave its web. It failed the first time, the second time and the third time. But it
continued and on the 8th try it succeeded in reaching the other rock.

Bruce learned his lesson and he went back, organized his army and defeated his enemies and became
the King once again. My mother taught me arithmetic by showing me practical examples and soon I
became the first in the class scoring 100% marks in arithmetic.

7. The literary club of your school has decided to celebrate Dr. Kalam’s birthday as World Students’
Day. In connection with the celebrations, the club is conducting an oratory training programme for
higher secondary students to develop their skill and eloquence in public speaking. You, being the
secretary of the club, are asked to deliver a speech to motivate them. Draft the script of the speech
you would like to deliver there in the light of your reading of the story, ‘His First Flight’.

My dear students,

You are soon going to appear for your+1 Examination which is considered to be a big turning point in
your life. Some students get panicky before the examination and spoil their chances to do well. There is
no need to fear. The examinations are simply to test your understanding of the things that you have
been taught in the class. Millions of students before you have taken this kind of examination. So this is
nothing new or terrifying.
Be confident. Don’t be nervous. Be optimistic. Be cool, calm and composed. Fear will not help you. It will
only make you forget what you already know. You have been reading your lessons regularly and doing
the assignments. The teachers have been testing your knowledge every now and then. You already
know what types of questions are coming in the examination and the time you have to answer them. So
read the instructions and questions carefully and make a plan to answer them in the most appropriate
manner.

You have read the story ‘His First Flight’ by Liam O’Flaherty. The seagull was reluctant to take his first
flight. But goaded by his mother, he takes his flight and then he finds it is smooth and he experiences no
problem. In a similar fashion, you go courageously and confidently to take your examination and
everything is going to be fine. Keep your mind happy with encouraging thoughts. Be optimistic. You are
not the first or the only one going to write this examination.

Life is full of examinations. The people who face them with confidence and courage will succeed in life.
You don’t have to compare yourself with others. Kalam has told you to be unique, you to be you. You
know you have done your best during the preparation time. Now you simply have to do your best as you
write the examination without being unduly worried about the result. Do your best and leave the rest to
God.
I wish you all resounding success in the forthcoming examinations!

8. Summary:

It was a family of six seagulls-father, mother, three brothers and a sister. They lived on the top of a ledge
. The two elder brothers and the sister had already learned to fly. But the young seagull could not collect
enough courage to fly. He saw the wide sea miles down beneath him from the top of the ledge. He
became afraid. The parents had tried hard to get their young son to fly. They encouraged, scolded and
threatened him. But the young seagull thought his wings would not support him. The parents left the
youngest son alone on his ledge and flew away to another ledge at some distance. The two elder
brothers and sister went with them. Now the baby seagull was alone on his ledge without food. He just
watched his parents flying about with his brothers and sister. His parents were giving them training in
skimming the waves and diving for fish. He saw his older brother catch his first herring and eat it. The
whole family laughed at the young seagull. Twenty-four hours passed. The day was getting hot. The
young seagull was hungry and tired. He felt the heat of the sun. Last night he had found a dried piece of
mackerel’s tail. He searched every inch of the ledge for food. He found only some pieces of eggshell in
his nest. He began to trot from one end of the ledge to the other. He was trying to reach his parents
without having to fly. But it was impossible. Each side of the ledge was steep-down; His parents were on
another rock. It was the wide sea between the two rocks. His father and siblings were busy with
themselves. Only his mother was looking at him. She was worried about her son. The young seagull
stood on one leg at the edge of the high rock. He closed his eyes and pretended to be falling asleep. He
was hungry for twenty four hours. He saw his mother tearing a piece of fish. The sight of food
maddened him. He cried with hunger. Mother seagull picked up a piece of fish and flew across to him.
When she reached just near her son, she became motionless in the air. She did not get down on the
ledge. The young seagull dived at the fish in his mother’s beak. Just then she flew upwards