SJ

UNIT I: 'THE OPEN WINDOW' by H. H. Munro

RFERENCE MATERIAL FOR TEXTBOOK EXERCISES

• The pointen provided below are ONLY for your reference to help you guide with the
answers.

• You are required to frame PROPER ANSWERS in your notebook using these pointers.
Nobody will copy these pointers as their final answen in the English Notebook.

APPRECIATION PG. No.:13-16

QI.
a. ii- a short story
b. iii- amused and entertained
c. iv- a twist in the end of the tale 10 surprise and delight the reader
Q2.

• ·Retreat' means a peaceful and private place where you can go in order to rest and
'rural' is characteristic of the countryside.
• Framton was suffering from a nervous disorder and hence, he sought a 'rural retreat'
to recover from it.
• came to see Mrs Sappleton on his sister's insistence, who strongly believed that
meeting new people will soothe his nerves.
• She had given him a letter of introduction; with a special reference of Mrs Sappleton.
Q3.

• According to Vera, three years ago, on this very day, Mrs Sappleton 's husband and
her two young brothers went ofT hunting
• were engulfed in a bog.
• were caught unaware since this was the first lime there was a wet summer due 10
which many parts of the land became marshy.
• Their bodies were never recovered and till date Mrs Sappleton still waits at the
window hoping that someday the men will return.
Q4.

• There were three men: her husband and her two younger brothers, accompanied by a
little brown spaniel
• Her husband had a white waterproof coat over one of his arms; her youngest brother
would often tease Mrs Sappleton by singing, ··Bertie, why do you bound?""
• Vera loved mystery and was passionate about making stories and having fun at
other's expense; was quite an expert at it since she knew how to build the case to
make it look convincing.
:~·,,,,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,, ,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,, ·:~

·,
...
-..
·,
-,

Q5.

• It was ghastly and horrid since Vera's story suggested the return of the ghosts of Mrs
Sappleton's menfolk.
• when Mrs Sappleton arrived, she spoke about the same incident: of the spooky return
of her husband and her brothers from a hunting expedition. In that moment,
• Vera's account was testified and this made him feel uneasy.
Q6. a-

• The much talked about menfolk were now walking towards the open window with the
spaniel.
• Vera had skilfully described the men so when Framton actually saw them, the
description matched with what she described
• created an element of ghostliness that petrified him; by this time Framton was
vulnerable.
• was filled with horror; flung from his chair in fright and ran out of the hall door;
funnily making a cyclist end up into a fence to avoid collision.

b-
• The men were shocked to see this behaviour. Mrs Sappleton found his behaviour
unreasonable.
• ascertained that he was a selfish man who paid her a visit only to talk about his frayed
nerves; left without bidding goodbye and thanking her for her hospitality.
• Ironically, she found his reaction eerie and spooky as though he had seen a ghost; in
reality Framton believed that he had seen one.
c-

• Vera explained how Framton ended up in a newly-dug grave when a pack of dogs
tried to attack him; like the previous story, she gave an amusing angle to it by
describing how the dogs waited for his outside the grave
• Vera was a master in making up believable mysterious stories so much so that the
listener's logic failed to see through the situation.
• was foxy enough to link the two stories with a common factor: the spaniel.
Q7.

a-iii
b-iii
c-ii
d-ii
e-iii
f-i
QS.
• The ending of the story surprised us since all through the story; Vera not only
managed to convince Mr Nuttel but also the readers.
• The practical joke was indeed played not only on Mr Nuttel but also the readers. ·,
.,
·, ...
·,
...
·,
·,
·, ·,
·,
.,
> , , , , , , , ' , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ' , , ' , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ' , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,')
'
 1
....... ,,,,,,,,,,.,.,,,,,,, ... ,., ... , . , , . , . , , , .. ' , , , . , ........ , , , , .... ,.,,.,,, .. ,,,, ................ , ... ,,, .. •,,

• She continued in this note till the very end of the story; hint was given by the author
with the hilarious account of the way Mr Nuttel ran from the house. ::
• the real twist in the story came when Vera played a similar joke on Mrs Sappleton; '.l
this time the hero of the story was Mr Nuttel himself. ·::
Q9. MEANINGS OF THE ADJECTIVES ARE GIVEN BELOW. STUDENTS, ::
THEMSELYES, HAVE TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF THE BEHAVIOUR PRESENTED ::
BY THE CHARACTERS OF THE STORY AFTER UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING
OF THE ADJECTIVES.

!.J:'.ul
i. precocious- highly developed mature mind
ii. mischievous- playfully annoying
iii. selfish- concerned with only one's own interest
iv. evil- morally wrong
v. inventive- apt at creating with the imagination
vi. wicked- Morally bad in principle or evil
vii. bold- fearless
viii. self-confident- confidence in one's self
ix. insensitive- showing no concern for others
x. quick-witted- having a clever, alert mind

b. MrNuttel
i. gullible- easily cheated
ii. timid- lacking bravery
iii. cowardly- lacking courage
iv. naive- showing lack of experience and judgement; lacking self-assurance

QIO.
a. confident

b. been quiet for sometime

c. sorrow

d. unlikely to happen
e. not paying much attention to him
 UNIT -2
THE SIGNALMAN BY CHARLES DICKENS
REFERENCE MATERIAL

!:!QR ;
you ,ulde with the answ en.
• The pointers provided below are ONLY for yow reference to help
• You are requir ed to frame PROPER ANSWERS In your noteb
ook uslnc these pointers. Nobo dy wBI
copy these pointers as their final answers in the En,llsh Notebooll.

APPRECIATION (PG 24-271

Ql.
a. i- a ghost story

b. ii- the author, Charles Dickens

it
c. ii- the mysterious apparition and events connected with
Q2.
ess that I stopped a
a. "His attitu de was one of such expectation and watchfuln
moment, wondering at it."
with a fallen colour,
b. " ...that while he was speaking to me he twice broke off
opened the door of
turned his face towards the little bell when it did not ring,
), and looked out
the hut (which was kept shut to exclude the unhe althy damp
towards the red light near the mou th of the tunn el."
the inexplicable
c. "On both of those occasions, he came back to the fire with
air upon him which I had earlier noticed."
Q3.
and gloom y
• worked in a solitary, dull and impenetrable place; was crude
'dripp ing wet
• the narrator reinforces it by using words like, "jagged",
wall", "excluding all view but a strip of sky".
s him feel
• dismal state of the place builds on the narra tor and make
uncomfortable.
dor and
• mentions a long dark tunnel at the end of a gloom y corri
place
describes it to be as deprived of sunlight as the rest of the
 • a "deadly smell" and a "barbarous" air made it seem unnatural and eerie
and this is precisely what the narrator felt at that time.
• reader identifies with the narrator and can feel the uncanniness as it
grows on the latter.
• vocabulary used to build the scene is so visual that we can easily picture
the place in the mind; sets a note of suspense, a presentiment of
something eerie.

Q4.
• was responsible for controlling the movement of the trains by operating
the railway signals from a signal box; often communicated with the
engine driver by way of flags.
• the signalman carried out his duties with precision and dedication.
• To quote a few lines: "In the discharge of his duties, I observed him to be
remarkably exact and vigilant, breaking off his discourse at a syllable and
remaining silent until what he had to do was done."

QS.
• narrator marveled at the way in which the signalman discharged his
duties with exactitude
• he would often lose color while glancing at the bell, fling open the door
of the hut, stare at the red light near the mouth of the tunnel as if
expecting someone.
• the narrator found strange about the signalman when he first met him
that foreshadowed the man's behavior later, "When he [signalman]
heard a voice thus calling to him, instead of looking up to where I stood
on the top of the steep cutting nearly over his head, he turned himself
about, and looked down the line. There was something remarkable in his
manner of doing so, though I could not have said for my life, what."
 Q6.

Time or One night a year Daybreak five/ six One week earlier and
incident earlier months earlier frequent intervals 'i
thereafter
Behaviour/ c. Stood near red h. Didn"t cry out or e. Stands at red light-waves
Attitude or light---0ne hand across wave-leaned against hand as ifto say 'For God's
spectre his eyes-waved with the shaft of the red sake, clear the way!'-calls
the other-called out: light-hands covered out in agony: 'Below there!
'Halloa below there ... both eyes in an attitude Look out! Look out!"-rings
Look out! Look out!' of mourning. the signalman's bell.

Occurrence f. Within six hours of d. The same day a train b. Nothing has happened yet,
that followed its appearance a terrible stopped at the station- but the signalman is
accident took place on a beautiful lady had convinced that some terrible
the line and the bodies died-her body was event is about to take place.
of casualties were brought to the
brought to the station signalman's room.
throul!.h the tunnel. ,!
Narrator's i. Feels a disagreeable g. Pushes his chair back a. Tries to convince the 'I.

reaction to shudder pass through in an involuntary signalman that his

signalman's him. reaction-his mouth is imagination is playing tricks
account dry. on him.

Q7.

a. '"Why, see,' said I, 'how your imagination misleads you. My eyes were on
the bell, and my ears were open to the bell, and if I am a living man, it did not
ring at those times."'

b. "Involuntarily I pushed my chair back, as I looked from the boards at which

he pointed to himself. I could think of nothing to say, to any purpose, and my
mouth was very dry."

c. "His pain of mind was most pitiable to see."

Q8.

a. speaker of these lines is the signalman; speaking to the narrator; signalman

is very sure that the calamity will happen since like the previous two times; had
once again seen the spectre that always forebode a dreadful calamity.

b. signalman is a solitary man living in a dull, somber place; twice he has

witnessed the spectre in the past preceding a dreadful calamity and both the
times he was inept to avoid them; is indeed a "cruel" place since neither the
place nor does he have the capacity or the power to avoid the mishaps.

c. troubled by the course of the events and of the foreboding danger.

• the narrator empathizes with the farmer's plight, the queerness of the
situation has grappled him too.

Q9.
• the narrator was on his way to the signalman's post; noticed the spectre
at the mouth of the tunnel
• appearance was similar to what the signalman had described the
previous evening: a man with his left sleeve across his eyes, waving his
right arm feverishly
• narrator sensed that there has been another mishap; ran down the
narrow mountain pass only to learn that this time the tragedy struck on
the signalman himself; he was run down by an engine.

QlO.
• narrator hears about the mysterious circumstances in which the
signalman died; a man known for his alertness was cut by an engine in
the broad daylight
• he was also noticed holding a lantern in his hand at this time
• gestures of the spectre that the signalman had described a day before to
the narrator, with the voice calling, 'For God's sake, clear the way!' was
indeed a premonition to the latter's own death
• engine driver ended up calling out to the signalman with these very
words, pleading him to go off the railway track
• in the end, when the driver realized that this might be the end of the
signalman, he put his one hand on his eyes, still waving his other hand
signaling the signalman to clear the way
• strangely, the narrator realized that it was these very actions of the
spectre that had been haunting the signalman.

Qll.

a. ii- the rocks were already moist and became more damp the lower he went.

b. iii- it was an isolated and mournful environment.

c. iii- he had a look that could not be described or explained

 SJ
UNIT 3- Young Poets by Todd Michael ST. Pierre

RFERENCE MATERIAL FOR TEXTBOOK EXERCISES

NOTE:

• The poinlers provided below are ONLY for your reference lo help you guide wilh lhe answers.
• You are required lo frame PROPER ANSWERS in your notebook using lhese poinlers.
Nobody will copy these pointers as their final answers in lhe English Notebook.

APPRECIATION PG No.: 31-33

QI.

a. ii
b. ii

Q2.

• poel is speaking to tbe young poets, imploring them to be the moutbpiece of nature;
speak up against human beings· careless attitude towards its flora and fauna.
• ii is the responsibility of the young poets to be "defenders of Earth"; encourage
humankind to preserve it for the benefit of tomorrow.
Q3. a. 'They' refers to nature, its flora and fauna.

b.

• they would call out to humanity to allow tbem to survive in this world with as much a
right to exist as human beings themselves
• to have respect and honour matched with humanity.
Q4. a. Personification
b. The poet attributes the voice of tbe young poets to represent the voice of nature.

Q5.

• to be loyal supporters of Earth

• to "stand up for" tbe cause of conservation of nature, depolluting the land, sea and air
• to offer hope or a better tomorrow
He attributes to them the voice of tomorrow, of freedom oftbought for one and all and most
importantly, of self-worth. But while tbese poets hone their skills to achieve this, he inspires
them to take the cause of Nature and "speak for the Forest."

Q6.
• whole world will be influenced by the writings oftbe young poets
• future generations will have a path to move forward to
Q7.
a. 'Her' refers to Nature.
b.

• Earth along with its forests, streams and rivers, wildlife, birds and sea creatures suffer
silently at the hands of humanity
• he asks the young poets to be their spokesperson: let their poetic lyrics communicate
the plight of Earth
• increase awareness amongst humankind to conserve and protect the Earth and its
bounties.
Q8.

a. The poet refers to the young poets as the 'defenders of the Earth'.
b.

• Equipped with their pen and the power it yields amongst the readers
• the young poets will spread the message of preserving the Earth.
c. Words have the power to create or disrupt a thought; they have the power to encourage or
discourage an action; words must be chosen judiciously to derive an action or thought in
favour of nature.
Q9.

A B
What/ on behalf of whom should the How the poets should express
poets write themselves
Nature; clean loud
clean air and rivers with great courage
the forest with a whisper
lakes with a shout I

trees and birds choosing words carefully

jungles and streams with respect
hope

QI0.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOTH THE PHRASES IS MENTIONED BELOW.
STUDENTS HAVE TO COMPREHEND THE MEANING AND FRAME SENTENCES
ON THEIR OWN

"Stand up" means "to rise in a standing position" or "to remain intact under attack or
criticism" while "stand up for" means to "defend against attack or criticism".
 •••

S3

UNIT I: 'MRS FLOWERS' from I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
bv Maya A11gelo11

REFERENCE MATERIAL FOR TEXTBOOK EXERCISES

• The polnten provided below are ONLY for your reference

to help you guide with the answen.
• You are required to frame PROPER ANSWERS In your
notebook using these polnten. Nobody will copy these polnten
as their final answers In the English Notebook.

APPRECIATION (Pages 40-42)

I. a. iii an extract from an autobiographical novel

b. iii the author's memory of her relationship with the lady who changed and influenced her
in a positive way
c. ii. Mrs Flowers

2. The narrator, Marguerite, describes Mrs Flowers as the aristocrat of Black Stamps. She was
never disturbed by the changing seasons. She was thin without being wiry and she wore printed
dresses and flowered hats that suited her perfectly. She didn't laugh much but smiledoften.
One afternoon, Mrs Flowers asked Marguerite to carry provisions from her mother's store to
her house. Along the way, she spoke to the girl about her school. She said that reading was
good but it was more important t o ~ with confidence.
After treating her to tea cookies and lemonade. Mrs Flowers began the first of what they
would later refer to as lessons in liYini- She advised Marguerite to be intolerant of iimorance
but understanding o f ~ - She read out loud from the novel ATale ofTwo Cities and the
narrator felt that she was listening to poe!!:)'. rather than prose. Mrs Flowers then gave hera
book of 12Qe1M and told her to read them and to memorize one of them for recitation on her
next visit. Marguerite was most excited by the fact that Mrs Flowers made tea cookies and
read to her.

3. a. i. 'Our side' refers to the Black community that lived in Stamps, Arkansas. This identities
the town as cohabited by blacks and whites, with racism rampant in thearea.

ii. --Maya seems to have encountered problems due to the overt racism in the
neighborhood at the hands of the whites.
--The blacks were clearly deemed as inferior in position
-- Mrs. Flowers. a black woman, who is not only royal in stature but also an aristocrat
in herways of carrying herself, Maya finds her as a fitting reply to the white's criticism.
b. ---Mrs. Flowers had a rich. black skin
 --- She was thin but not wiry and looked fresh in her "printed voile dresses" and "flowered
hats".
--- A radiant smile shone in her "small white teeth". One may have never noticed her
laughing, her smile attributed grace that wasso "inclusively benign".

c. --- Maya describes Mrs. Flowers as a woman of graceful ease.

--- The changing seasons didnot ruffle her ....continued to look as elegant in the bitter
winters as in the summers.
-She was one tranquil beauty in her "printed voile dresses" and "flowered hats". She
wore gloves (Like the whites) and "didn't encourage familiarity".
--- She was withdrawn without being snooty; she may not have ever laughed but she
smiled often. "The action was so graceful and inclusively benign".
4. --- Her for performance in academics and her passion for reading.
--- Mrs. Flowers expressed concern over herunwillingness to talk to and in presence
of people.

5. --- (According to Mrs. Flowers) mastering the written word was not sufficient, for its only
when the words are rendered the human voice and expressions that they acquire a more
valid and deeper meaning.
--- The spoken word is at the heart of human communication. If we as humans refrain from
talking and exchanging words, there will be no higher order of human beings. We will be
similar to the lower animals in capacity and merit.
--- Maya was particularly impressed by the explanation and the thought behind it. More
so, with the ease with which Mrs. Flowers chose her words and delivered it.

6. --- Mrs. Flowers gave some books to Maya and expected her to read them aloud at home
and "try to make a sentence sound in as many different ways as possible".
--- She also handed Maya a book of poems and asked her to memorize one and recite it to
her on the next visit.
-Both these assignments were meant to give Maya practice in speech delivery that, in tum,
Mrs. Flowers believed, would motivate her to talk. She herself read out a passage from A
Tale of Two Cities to illustrate her point and her "lessons in living".
--- Mary had read the book before but when Mrs. Flowers cited a passage from it, the result
was magical: "Her voice slid in and curved down through and over the words. She was
nearly singing. I wanted to look at the pages. Were they the same that I had read? Or were
there notes, music, lined on the pages, as in a hymn book?" Mary was spellbound.

7. --- Mrs. Flowers believed that the beauty of the written word came alive when it was
deliveredwith feelings, in rhythm and with elegance ... demonstrated this when she read the
famous line from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, 'It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times ... '
--- Maya was swept away by the ringing sound in her voice ....ease with which her voice
cascaded, falling gently on Maya's ears, she might have been reminded of what Mrs.
Flowers had previously said: "Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes
the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning."
8. --- Mrs. Flowers had planned to take Maya to her house that day and had perhaps even
rehearsed in her mind what she wanted to talk to her about. (Mrs. Flowers had already learnt
from Maya's grandmother that she read a lot.)
--- She had also received the teacher's feedbackthat (while Maya performed well in written
academics she refused to talk in class.).
--- It was not just a spontaneous, one-time visit. Mrs. Flowers wanted Maya to come more
often so that she could help her brush her oral skills. For this, Mrs. Flowers offered Maya
to borrow some of her books, even a book on collection of poems out of which Maya was
to recite any one poem on her next visit to Mrs. Flowers.
9. a. Before Maya met Mrs Flowers, her existence was as aimless and purposeless like an "old
biscuit, dirty and inedible". At this time, it is easy to make out that Maya lacked self-worth.
b. i. 'Lifeline' literally means 'a rope or line used to rescue someone in difficulties in
water'. In this context, the word 'lifeline' means 'a thing/person that provided means to
escape from a difficult situation'.
ii. The figure of speech used in this context is personification.
iii. Maya lived in her own bleak world of ignominy lacking self-worth and purpose of
life. Mrs. Flowers came into her life as a fresh whiff of air giving her the purpose she
lacked and showing her the abilities that she was worthy of. In this sense, Mrs Flowers
was her 'lifeline'.

c. ---Maya experienced a sea change in the way she felt about herself.
--- Froma soppy existence of aimlessly "wandering around the house, the Store, the
school and church", and thinking of herself no less important than an inedible biscuit, her
heart became warm with feelings for herself. She felt love for the first time; the love for
'self', its capacities and its position in the racist community.

d. --- It didn't matter to Maya that on what pretext did Mrs. Flowers actually even think of
inviting her in the first place and then spend time with her. To her, for the first time she
was liked.
--- Tea cookies were specially made for her; Mrs. Flower read from her book, evengave
her books to read to Mary. For the first time indeed, she was liked not because she
belonged to someone but because she belonged to herself-to Marguerite Johnson.

10. C.

SOME IMPORTANT LINKS BASED ON THE AUTHOR/STORY

I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya Angelou (Bio)

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM GnJbOM (poem STILL I RISE)
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcwZm5WuKdO (interview- about her childhood)
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stA0pg7l vK4 (interview- on going mute for several
years)
 fra me
• You ar e re qu ire d to
th es e po in te r~ . Nobody
in thA En ali sh No teb
oo k.
an sw ers

51
APPRECIATION Pa es 49-

blind. But Sukhram did

ple wo uld feel sor ry for his disability. Sukhram was
According to Sukhram, peo
no t indulge in self-pity.
sen ses of touch,
d bu t he ma rve lled on his exceptionally dev elo ped
• He may have been blin erstanding of the nat ura l wo
rld
hea rin g tha t con trib ute d to a completely new und
smell and
aro und him. m experienced a whole
rus tlin gs in the gra ss" to the "fe el of things", Sukhra
• From the "little
peo ple in his village.
new world unk now n to the

much
sorial faculties tha t though
ng blin d, Suk hra m dep end ed heavily on his oth er sen
• Bei ces.
wo nde rs only in familiar pla
advanced, he felt, wo rke d home. He was unsure of how
his
Suk hra m wa s not we ll ver sed with his gra ndf ath er's
• But
in an unknown terrain.
oth er faculties would work goats in tha t place. "I am
e of him self , he felt eve n mo re bur den ed to graze his
Unsur
ce, unsure and unconfident.
nothing," he said in a low voi

hand. He was so
his goa ts in a ter rai n tha t he knew like the back of his
All this while, Sukhram grazed ded eyes to see it. But the
ce tha t it nev er occurred to him tha t he nee
much at eas e wit h this pla bility. For the first
ce stru ck him ; it bro ugh t him to terms with his own disa
unfamiliarity of a new pla s 'darkness' to him.
hra m felt uns ure and it is this precariousness tha t wa
time, Suk
 • Sukhram was well acquainted with the terrain that his goats grazed on. It was not his eyes,
but his feet and what they touched that told him where he was. His feet knew well "the sand
and the stones" and the "different kinds of grass" so much so that he never felt unconfident
grazing a hundred goats on a steep hill slope all by himself.
• While leading Tantia Tape's army, he raced up the rocky terrain simply by "recognizing the
scents of the mountain, the trees, the little breezes, the small eddies of air...." It was rather
dark and the troupe could not see; "only Sukhram Lodhi could see".

a. Sukhram could clearly distinguish the way the horses in one troupe galloped from the other.
When he heard loosely reined horses, accompanied by the smell of sweaty bodies he knew that this
was Tantia Tape's army. This is the army that his lather and brother had joined a few days back. On
the contrary, the horses of the British army troupe were swifter since the sound of the hooves was
heavier. Accompanied by the sound of the jingling chains, Sukhram knew them to be the other party,
the enemies.

b. Tantia Tape's army seemed tired of being pursued by the British Army. From the former, he smelt
the familiar and felt a part of them. On the contrary, he sensed the British troupe to be
overpowering from the clanking of the metal chains and the controlled movement of the horses.

c. On meeting Tantia Tape's troupe of soldiers he felt reassured, a similar feeling when he grazed his
father's hundred goats in the known mountain trail regardless of his blindness. He communicated
with them at ease, told them his name and that he was blind. However, the British army of soldiers
posed threat to him of the unknown. He immediately withdrew himself, feeling endangered and
bare.

a. Tantia Tope told Sukhram that the English were stuck between the northern storms on one hand
and on the other hand, they were unaware of Tantia's army and hence, were retreating towards the
river.

b. But something had gone wrong. A troupe of English army headed its way up the mountains from
the other way posing threat to the Indian army, which was only a handful as opposed to the
opponent's huge number.

c. The only way to attack the British army that was stationed on top of the mountain was by going up
a risky goat trail ,n the middle of the night. None of the soldiers, not even Sukhram's father or
brother had the expertise to do that. But blind Sukhram, who had been grazing his father's hundred
goats daily, knew every bend in the rock by the touch of his feet. He could smell the "small eddies of
air'' of every nook and corner of the place. Tantia Tope rightly chose him to lead the way for
darkness of the night meant nothing to him.

Sukhram's feet knew where to take him. The goat trail, though steep and stony, was an easy walk for
Sukhram for "his feet knew each stone and root, each bend, each rock". He was being reassured
from time to time by the scent of the mountains and the trees. Consequently, he successfully led the
troupe up the mountain. His father felt sorry that he daily sent his blind son up such a rocky path but
Sukhram knew he would have never slipped here for this was 'his' mountain trail. Tantia's troupe
managed to defeat the British army and Sukhram was applauded for his bravery and precision.

Sukhram, in actuality, had never dared to climb the top of the mountain. But when Tantia Tope
sought his help, Sukhram felt a passionate drive to prove to himself. As his feet led him through the
stony path, Sukhram felt the foothold of his goats in the rocks and managed to climb to the top of
the mountain.

a. Sukhram may have been blind but his other sensorial faculties of hearing, smell and touch were
highly developed. He could not see the world from his eyes. Nevertheless, he familiarises himself
with the goat trail by touching the grass and rocks in the area.

b. We humans take God's gift of senses for granted. It is only when we are deprived of a faculty like
Sukhram that we value the world through these senses. Sukhram was blind by birth but we humans
have "blind noses" that cannot recognize "the scents of the mountain, the trees, the little breezes",
and "the small eddies of air".

c. A part of the English force was stuck the in the storms in the north while another part of the
troupe was withdrawing towards the river crossing. On both sides there was danger for the English
force and they were now in a tight spot.

d. Tantia Tope's army was only a hundred men. Most of the English army was stuck but a sizeable
portion had managed to reach the top of the mountain by an alternative route. While the river
crossing was still in Tantia Tope's control, he feared to be outnumbered by the English army.

e. Though Sukhram was blind, it was only he who managed to lead the entire army up the goat trail
in pitch darkness. There were steep cuts, jagged stones which no human eye could see in the
darkness of the night but to Sukhram Lodhi darkness was familiar. He would simply feel for a hold in
the rock and give the command to climb. Ironically, at this moment, Sukhram was the eyes for the
hundred army men who climbed the goat trail that night.

REFLECTION Pa e 51

Ql.
Both Sukhram and Marguerite felt marginalised by the community due to their own limitations.
Sukhram was blind, the only boy in the neighbourhood who could not see. So, when the young boys
joined Rani Lakshmi Bai's army along with their fathers, Sukhram was the only boy left behind in the
village.

Marguerite was a black, living in an increasingly racist neighbourhood of Stamps in Alkansas. She was
exceptionally capable in academics but lacked the confidence to make a conversation with people.
Living the life of a black and Mrs Henderson's grandchild or Bailey's sister, Marguerite had lost the
sense of 'self'.

Both Sukhram and Marguerite, hence, stood exposed, uncertain of their own potential and how they
could contribute and be a part of the community till they experienced a life changing episode. Mrs
Flowers is the angel in Marguerite's life who, through books and poetry, introduces her to the world
of language and appreciates her merits. This boosts her confidence and for the first time instead of
just Mary, she looks at herself as Marguerite Johnson.
 UNIT-6
HARVEST HYMN

REFERENCE MATERIAL

NOTE:

• The pointers provided below are ONLY for your reference to help you plde with
the answers.
• You are required to frame PROPER ANSWERS In your notebook usl.. these
pointers. Nobody wll copy these pointers as their final •-rs In the E..ilsh
Nowbooll-

APPRECIATION PG-55
Ql.

a. i
b. iii
C. ii

Q2.

• speakers in this poem are the village men and women.

• are rejoicing the fruits of the harvest
• thanking the Gods and Mother Earth

Q3.

• mood-celebration, rejoice and lively festivities

Q4.

a. Lord Prithvi
b. Lord Surya
c. Lord Brahma
d. Lord Varuna
e. Lord Surya
f. Lord Brahma
g. Lord Prithvi

QS.

a. Lord Varuna
b. Lord Brahma
c. Earth
d. Lord Surya
Q6.

• Lord of Sun, whose meUowing·radiance flourished the seeds and nurtured the crops
• Lord Varuna, the •sender of rain and dewfall" for aiding in irrigation.
• womenfolk express deepest gratitude to Mother Earth for offering her fertile womb to the
seeds to sprout: grow into healthy crops.
• Lord Brahma,'who is the ultimate element; who is both •the Seed and the Scythe", and both
•Hands and Hearts"; in His will and blessings that seeds sprout, flourish into saplings; the
farmers toil in the fields and tend to the crops with love and care.

Q7.

• The womenfolk aptly invoke Mother Earth, epitome of motherhood.

• In her fertile womb, the tiny seeds are sown and grow.
• only deity who gives the boon of life itself.

Q8.

• From Lord Brahma

• •Grant us thy succour, thy counsel, thy care."
• village folk ask the gods to grant them this ability so that they may be able to set themselves
as their worthy examples

Q9- NEXT PAGE

QlO-

a. munificent• generous

b. bounty• plentifulness

c. tribute - expression of gratitude

d. cherished • protected and loved

e. new-garnered - freshly harvested

f. omnipotent - all- powerful

g. opulent - lavish

h. ineffable - that which cannot be described

i. succour - help and comfort

j. counsel - advice and guidance

 •••

1. a. iii; b. i; c. iii; d. iii

2. The story is set in an automated house where every household activity is timed and
occurs at the click of a button. Presumably, the author is not in favour of such a
technology-driven house where every activity from the cleaning of the house to
cooking, gardening, even bedtime reading takes place automatically and without any
human interaction. To express his displeasure of the invasion of technology in human
lives and human imagination, he deliberately chooses the narrative technique as a
series of diary entries, with a specific time-line, highlighting the mechanical humdrum
of the situation.

3. The voices came from a centralised computer network that interconnected multiple
programmes simultaneously, timing them by human preference. This is typical of a
smart home.

4. The mice robots were the cleaning squad of the smart home.
They scurried out of their burrows, sucking at dust and dirt and picking up scraps in
their tiny steel jaws. They would later shove it into an incinerator through a tube that
ran under the burrows.
The mice robots behaved like neat freaks scuttling out of the burrows the moment
there was dust, dirt or scraps in the house. So when the dog walked around in the
house tracking mud, the neat freaks (mice robots) got "angry at inconvenience", racing
behind him picking mud.
When the fire broke out later in the day, the mice charged at the fire, head-on and
squeaking from the wall like a band of army sounding a war alarm. They fervently
shot water at the fire, running to and fro between refuels and pistolling. The visual
imagery that the author builds in the combat is so powerful that the reader considers
them to be living creatures, and almost heroic.

5. It is at ten o'clock that a devastating disaster is first hinted at when the author
describes the house to be standing alone amidst "rubble and ashes". At night, the city
emits a "radioactive glow" that could be seen for miles. This combination of the
solitary house, rubble, ashes and radioactive glow builds on a powerful imagery of a
nuclear disaster, pointing more clearly to humankind's fate. It projects the city as a
radioactive wasteland after heavy shelling, with the only survivor being the house.
 But the house has no human life. The story now moves into the backyard where the
garden sprinklers extinguish the burnt west side of the house. Here, for the first time
the reader notices semblance of life in the human silhouettes only to end up seeing
them charred in "one titanic instant"-A man mowing the lawn, a woman picking
flowers, and two children at play points out at the "Hiroshima Shadows"-a major
nuclear menace in Hiroshima, Japan in World War II.
A second element of nature is introduced in the family dog that now enters the house.
But this is not a pleasant surprise. The morbid imagery carries on with the dog
whining and shivering at the porch and "gone to bone" that was once "huge and
fleshy". He wanders in the house, yelping helplessly in search of his owners. The sores
on his body, the froth in his mouth, fire in his eyes and him spinning in frenzy is
symptomatic of radiation sickness, to which the dog finally succumbs.
The author continues his use of descriptive language to drive his point, but also takes
aid of another writer to emphasize the fatality of mankind as a natural consequence
when technology overpowers. As the clock ticks nine o'clock, it's time for bedtime
reading and walls ask multiple times for which poem/song should be played there
was no response. It played the house begins to read There Will Come Soft Rains by
Sara Teasdale. The poet aptly speaks of human extinction at the hands of nuclear
war where humankind suffers complete annihilation; what prevails is nature and its
forces.

6. a. The story introduces an automated house that is constantly at war with nature. In the
early part of the story, the author suggests how cut off the house is from nature. This
imagery returns with the death of the dog. The dwellers of the house, the copper rats,
scurry out of the burrows and dispose the carcass unceremoniously and unnaturally.
But ironically, this is the very code of the house; the rats are then seen as "regiments"
that execute the ceremony of the house.
b. The dog enters the scene with sores on his body and weak to the bone. He is the
only element of nature that manages to enter the house since its automated system
recognized the dog's voice. Just before the entry of the dog, the reader encounters
charred human silhouettes in the west part of the house. So when the dog yelps
frantically searching for his owners in the house and fails, all doubts are confirmed.
The humans in the house have perished following a nuclear disaster and the dog is
afflicted by radiation sickness.
c. The dog accentuates the war between the house and nature, making it even more
sinister. The cleaning activity at the beginning of the story shows the house to be on
the verge of paranoia. Devoid of humans, the house is unused and shut from the
outside world. And yet the copper rats scuttle ceremoniously to do their assignment.
This unceremonious "ceremony" takes on a more grotesque form in the death of the
. .
gI I g
 Sensing the carcass, the house immediately sends its "regiment" of rats to clean it up.
In the light of the previous cleaning incident, the reader identifies the house to be
once again victorious: the dog or nature become easily disposable in a world with
flourishing technological progress. The house acquires anthropomorphic (having
human characteristics) attributes enjoying its victory over nature in the "glowing"
incinerator and sparks of joy "leaping up the chimney".

7. The triumph of the house could not last for long. Nature's wrath is invoked and a
falling branch causes the house-cleaning solvent to ignite, setting the kitchen afire
instantly.

8. The author begins nature's revenge on the house by introducing the rhyme, "a falling
tree bough crashed through the kitchen window" denoting a sense of mischief and
excitement for the coming chaos on the house. Ironically, the series of tragedies that
unfold on the house are due to the branch falling on the cleaning solvent of the house
causing it to combust and set the kitchen on fire. This is nature's first victory.
The house desperately tries to save itself but the fire spreads on the linoleum, "licking,
eating under the kitchen door". The house lets out its regiments, the cleaning rats that
try to douse the fire. But nature's wrath is overpowering: "ten billion angry sparks
moved with flaming ease". As against the previous sighing of the incinerator (out of
triumph) while disposing off the dog's carcass, this time the water pump sighs (out of
defeat); both the quenching rain and the rats pistoling water cease. The author
continues to build the imagery of nature and technology engaged in an epic battle. The
fire "crackled up the stairs", "lay in beds" and "stood in windows". But the house did
not give up as yet. This time, it deployed a green fire retardant from the attic. But the
fire was clever; it seemed to retrace only to climb the sides of the house from the
outside. This was the fire's ultimate blow. It reached the attic and disabled the "brain"
of the house. The battle ends. The house lay defeated and scorched, with "smoke and
silence" around.

9. a. i. Words suggesting no human inhabitation: "empty", "emptiness", "silent"

Phrases suggesting no human inhabitation: "no doors slammed", "no carpets took the
soft tread 1 of rubber heels", "empty chairs", "silent walls", "rain tapped on empty
house", "waiting car", "house stood alone", "only silence was here", tables were
silent", "cards untouched", "cigar. .. smoking, waiting"
b. "voice-clock sang", "clock ticked on", "stove gave a hissing sigh", "relays
clicked", "front door sang", "garage chimed", "[mice] thudded against chairs"

10. a. Personification
b. Simile
c. Anthropomorphism
d. Hyperbole
e. Simile