This article contains solutions to class 12 English, Flamingo chapter 6, Going Places.
Exercise Questions
Q1 :
Notice these expressions in the text. Infer their meanings from the context.
Answer :
- incongruity - quality of being unsuitable
- prodigy - a young person endowed with exceptional qualities
- chuffed - very pleased
- solitary elm - a secluded tall tree
- arcade - a passage or a walkway with shops and stalls on either side
- amber glow - orange-yellow light of the lamp
- wharf - a place beside the water bodies for loading or unloading of the ships
- pangs of doubt - a sudden realization of uncertainty about something
Think as You Read
Q1. Where was it most likely that the two girls would find work after school?
Answer :
The two girls, Sophie and Jansie, were already destined for a job in the biscuit factory and it was likely that they would work there after school.
Q2. What were the options that Sophie was dreaming of? Why does Jansie discourage her to have such dreams?
Answer :
Sophie dreamt of opening a boutique or becoming an actress or a fashion designer. She thought that she would be offered the position of a manager and that she would work there till the time she saves enough money for her boutique.
Keeping in mind their lower middle class family background, Jansie discourages Sophie to have such dreams. Jansie is more realistic and practical in life, and hence, knows that big ambitions cost heavy investments, something their working-class status could not afford.
Q3. Why did Sophie wriggle when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey?
Answer :
She wriggled when Geoff told her father that she had met Danny Casey because she was well aware of her father's short-tempered nature. She knew that he would scold her for spreading wild stories. Moreover, she was aware that no one would believe her. It is also possible that she did not expect Geoff to share her secrets with others, even family members.
Q4. Did Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
Answer :
No, Geoff does not believe what Sophie says about her meeting. He calls it "the unlikeliest thing [he] ever heard".
Q5. Does her father believe her story?
Answer :
Sophie's father does not believe her story and he warns her that her "wild stories" might land her into trouble.
Q6. How does Sophie include her brother Geoff in her fantasy of future?
Answer :
Sophie was jealous of the fact that her brother had access to the world outside. She fantasises about going to these places with him some day in the future wearing a yellow dress. She fantasises that the world would rise to greet them.
Q7. Which country did Danny Casey play for?
Answer :
Danny Casey played football for Ireland.
Understanding the Text
Q1. Sophie and Jansie were class-mates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?
Answer :
Sophie and Jansie were different from each other. Sophie was a dreamer who enjoyed creating her own fantasy world using her imagination. She showed an urge to transcend her working-class status and attain sophistication by pursuing the ambition of a fashion designer or an actress. Jansie, on the other hand, was more practical and realistic than Sophie. She tried to pull Sophie back to reality, but all in vain. Jansie's sensibility and maturity are evident in her attempt to remind her friend that they were earmarked for the biscuit factory, and expensive dreams were inappropriate to their financial status.
Q2. Discuss in pairs
- Sophie's dreams and disappointments are all in her mind.
- It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. What would you say are the benefits and disadvantages of such fantasizing?
Answer :
- Sophie was a dreamer who often made up stories for herself and for others. One possibility might be that she wanted to escape the squalor of daily life with the help of her fantasies. Her encounter with Danny Casey was a made-up story for the sake of catching her brother's attention. Eventually, she gets so much engrossed in it that she starts to live the fantasy. When Danny Casey does not arrive for the second 'date', she experiences disappointment. However painful and disappointing her fantasy might be,she was not willing to accept reality. Her dreams and disappointments are figments of her imagination.
- Teenage is the phase of life which constitutes of major changes in the life of an individual. During this phase, a person learns many things, sets his career goals, and deals with peer pressure and the pressure of adults' expectations. Hence, it is natural for teenagers to fantasies and to have unrealistic dreams.
Advantages: Fantasizing, based on realistic goals or the world around, provides a means to reach higher ambitions and dreams. Aspiring for higher career goals and working hard may ensure successful career prospects. Thus, it instills confidence and a spirit to achieve one's desire. In difficult situations of life, it helps instill positivity and optimism. It is a talent in those known as creative.
Disadvantages: Fantasizing builds a gap between fantasy and reality. The realization of the disparity between one's goals and capabilities may be painful. Non achievement may also lead to disappointment, depression or suicidal tendencies. Moreover, it is a sheer wastage of time for many.
(Sample answers have been provided for students' benefit. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answers on their own.)
Q3. Why didn't Sophie want Jansie to know about her story with Danny?
Answer :
Sophie didn't want Jansie to know about her encounter with Danny because she feared that Jansie would spread her story to the whole neighbourhood.
Q4. How would you describe the character and temperament of Sophie's father?
Answer :
Sophie's father is an archetype of the lower middle class father who has worked hard in uncompromising conditions in order to earn livelihood for his family. After his day's work, he watched the television instead of spending time with his family or sharing family responsibilities with his wife. He expects Sophie to buy them a new house instead of engaging in her expensive dream ambitions, if she gets a chance to earn money. His impoverished financial condition does not, however, stop him from watching the football match, or later, going to the pub for celebration. He is shown as a practical, but a self-centered and short-tempered person.
Q5. Did Sophie really meet Danny Casey?
Answer :
Sophie did not meet Danny Casey in reality. She made up the story of her encounter with Danny Casey only to seek the attention her brother, Geoff.
Q6. Why did Sophie like her brother Geoff more than any other person? From her perspective, what did he symbolize?
Answer :
Sophie liked her brother, Geoff, more than anybody else because he was not in the habit of talking much and remained lost in his own thoughts. She envied his silence and thought that he had access to an unknown world. She wanted to be a part of that world and she fancied herself wearing glamorous clothes and being welcomed by everyone. For Sophie, Geoff symbolized liberty from the monotonous life they had been living.
Q7. Which was the only occasion when she got to see Danny Casey in person?
Answer :
Sophie went to see the football match of the United team with her father and her two brothers. This was the only instance where she got a chance to see Danny Casey.
Q8. What socio-economic background does Sophie belong to? What are the indicators of her family's financial status?
Answer :
Sophie belongs to a lower middle class socio-economic background. She lives in a small house with her parents and two brothers, Derek and Geoff. When she returns home after school, she feels choked with the steam of the stove and is disgusted with the dirty dishes piled in a corner. Her mother's back has become stooped and bent by handling all the household chores and responsibilities on her own. Her father is a hard laborer and her elder brother, Geoff, works as an apprentice mechanic in a garage situated far away from his house. Her family wants Sophie to join work immediately after her school. These are some of the indicators of Sophie's family's financial status.
Working with the Words
Q1. Notice the following expressions. The highlighted words are not used in a literal sense. Explain what they mean.
- Words had to be prized out of him like stones out of a ground.
- Sophie felt a tightening in her throat.
- If he keeps his head on his shoulders.
- On Saturday they made their weekly pilgrimage to the United.
- She saw… him ghost past the lumbering defenders.
Answer :
- These words are spoken by Sophie to Geoff. In this line, Sophie compares the words uttered by Geoff to the precious stones that have to be dug out from the earth, both being laborious activities.
- After returning from her school, Sophie notices her father sitting on the dining table.
- In this line, she is expressing her fear of her father's wrath.
- In this line, Sophie's father compliments Danny's skills at playing football, but, he feels that he could only achieve long term success if he keeps himself well grounded.
- In the given line, the author points at the habitual visit of Sophie's family to watch the football match every week. The word 'pilgrimage' emphasizes the theme of hero worship in the story.
- In this line, the author describes Sophie's recollection of Danny Casey who leaves behind all other players and speeds towards the goal.
Q2. Notice the highlighted words in the following sentences.
- "When I leave,' Sophie said, coming home from school, "I'm going to have a boutique."
- Jansie, linking arms with her along the street, looked doubtful.
- "I'll find it," Sophie said, staring far down the street.
- Jansie, knowing they were both earmarked for the biscuit factory, became melancholy.
- And she turned in through the open street door leaving Jansie standing in the rain.
- When we add "ing" to a verb we get the present participle form. The present participle form is generally used along with forms of "be', (is, was, are, were, am) to indicate the continuous tense as in "Sophie was coming home from school."
- We can use the present participle by itself without the helping verb, when we
- wish to indicate that an action is happening at the same time as another.
- In example 1, Sophie "said" something. "Said", here, is the main action.
- What Sophie was doing while she was "saying" is indicated by "coming home from school". So we get the information of two actions happening at the same time. We convey the information in one sentence instead of two.
I. Analyze the other examples in the same way.
II. Pick out five other sentences from the story in which present participles are used in this sense.
Answer :
I. The explanations are as follows:
- Here, the main verb is 'looked'. Therefore, 'linking' is the present participle form of the verb 'link' and is not used in continuous tense. The two actions indicated are 'linking arms' and 'looked doubtful.'
- The main verb is 'said'. Therefore, 'staring' is the present participle form of the verb 'stare' and is not used in continuous tense. The two actions indicated are 'said' and 'staring'.
- The main verb is 'became'. Therefore, 'knowing' is the present participle form of the verb 'know' and is not used in continuous tense. The two actions indicated are 'knowing' and 'became melancholy.'
- In this sentence, the main verb is 'turned'. Therefore, 'leaving' and 'standing' are the present participle form of the verb 'leave' and 'stand' respectively, that are not used in continuous tense.
II. Examples of similar sentences are as follows:
- He was kneeling on the floor in the next room tinkering with a part of his motorcycle over some newspaper spread on the carpet.
- She watched along the canal, seeing him come out of the shadows, imagining her own consequent excitement.
- Jansie frowned, sensing she was covering.
- I feel the pangs of doubt stirring inside me.
- But all the same, it makes me despondent, this knowing I'll never be able to show them they're wrong to doubt me.
Thinking About Language
Q1. Notice these words in the story.
- "chuffed", meaning delighted or very pleased
- "nosey", meaning inquisitive
- "gawky", meaning awkward, ungainly
These are words that are used in an informal way in colloquial speech.
Make a list of ten other words of this kind.
Answer :
List of the words used by the characters in their colloquial speech is given below:
- “Airhead”, meaning a stupid person
- “Boo boo”, meaning to make mistakes
- “Glitzy”, meaning fashionable
- “Airy-fairy”, meaning to be overly idealistic
- “Tight-arse”, meaning a person who doesn't like to spend money on others
- “Thick”, meaning to be not very intelligent
- “Nerd”, meaning a person with lesser social skills
- “Gnarly”, meaning extreme
- “Bonkers”, meaning crazy
- “Eggy”, meaning stressed
Q2. Look for stories or movies where this theme of hero worship and fantasising about film or sports icons finds a place.
Answer :
The movie Chain Kulli Ki Main Kulli revolves around the life of a thirteen year-old orphan boy, Karan. He has been brought up in an impoverished orphanage, hearing from his caretaker stories about India's victory in the 1983 Cricket World Cup under the captainship of Kapil Dev.
One day, he finds an old bat with the year '1983' engraved on it. Karan fantasises that the bat found by him is the same bat which Kapil Dev had used during the 1983 Cricket World Cup matches. He believes it to be his lucky bat. On one fortunate occasion, the coach of the Indian cricket team spots Karan playing. He is highly impressed with Karan's batting skills and selects him as a member of the Indian cricket team.
Karan's bond and belief with his lucky bat grows stronger and it becomes his magic bat for him. Everyone congratulates Karan for his good performance in the cricket match except his orphanage mate, Raghu. He feels jealous of Karan's newly achieved success. To hinder his success, he breaks Karan's lucky bat during the India-Pakistan innings. Consequently, the incident becomes a huge setback for Karan and he refuses to play without his magic bat. This is the time when he is made to realise that the magic was not in his bat, but inside him. Thereafter, Karan plays well and his team wins the match. At last, Karan develops confidence in his own capabilities rather than depending on his magic bat.
(A sample answer has been provided for students' benefit. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)
Q3 :
- Think of a person who you would like to have as a role model.
- Write down the points to be discussed or questions to be asked, if you were asked to interview that person on a television show.
Answer :
Directions: Think of a person whom you admire and consider as your role model. He or she may be one of your teachers, or any famous personality who inspire you. Think of the questions you would like to ask that person, if given an opportunity to interview him or her. The questions should be prepared keeping in mind the profession of the person concerned.
Some of the questions that could be put to him or her during the interview are:
- Why and when did you decide to choose your present field as your prospective career?
- What is your idea of stress relief?
- What do you like doing apart from your work?
- What is your favorite holiday destination?
- What does success mean to you?
- Where do you wish to see yourself five years down the line?
- What are your future plans?
- If you wish to change one thing on the planet, what would it be?
(Directions and pointers have been provided for students' benefit. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)
For further questions, queries or suggestions, please leave your comments below.