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Here are some questions answered . Hope this helps!
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Baldeo walked confidently for, being a tribal himself, he was used to the jungle and its ways. Like his forefathers, he carried a small axe, fragile to look at, but deadly in use. With it, three or four swift strokes, he could cut down a tree as neatly as it had been sawn.”
a) Where was Baldeo going? Why did he walk confidently?
Ans: Baldeo was going to the station where he worked.
He walked confidently as he was used to the jungle and its ways, being a tribal himself. He was also confident of the fact that the deadly axe he carried with him could protect him from the dangerous wild animals on the way.
b) Why was he carrying an axe? Who made the axe and how?
Ans: Carrying the axe served many purposes for Baldeo. Not only did the deadly axe serve as a protective weapon against the wild animals he might encounter on his way to the station in the jungle in the dead of night, but it was also an indispensable part of himself – it was almost a tradition for him as his forefathers would also carry an axe with themselves always.
Baldeo’s father had made the axe out of pure steel, ringing true like a bell, over a charcoal fire.
c) Who had offered to buy the axe? Why didn’t Baldeo sell it?
Ans: Occasionally an official who would come to the station would offer to buy the axe at a good price,but Baldeo refused to part with it.
Baldeo refused to sell his axe as the axe was a part of him. Be it to the local market seven miles away or to a tribal dance, the axe was always with him. Being deadly in use against wild animals, the axe served as a protection for Baldeo and was also something he cherished, as his father had made it and his forefathers always carried an axe with them.
d) What had Baldeo heard about the tiger? How did Baldeo almost manage to defeat the tiger with the help of the axe?
Ans: Baldeo had heard many tales of the famous tunnel tiger, a man-eater, which was said to frequent the spot where his station was situated.
Baldeo was a brave man who displayed great courage in his fight against the tiger. The axe helped him to almost defeat the tiger. When the tiger attacked Baldeo, attempting to bowl him over with one strike of its paw, Baldeo leapt away with great agility, avoiding the attack and struck the tiger’s shoulder with his deadly axe. The tiger closed in but Baldeo drove his axe right into its shoulder, almost tearing its leg apart. Had the axe not stuck to its bone as it did then, Baldeo would have lived to tell his courageous tale. The combination of Baldeo’s exemplary courage and skilful use of the axe did finally prove fatal for the tiger although not rightaway.
e) Briefly describe what impression you form about Baldeo’s character.
Ans: Baldeo was a tribal who was used to the jungle and its ways. Courage came naturally to him.
The brave fight he put up against the tiger displays his fearless spirit even when his life was at stake.
Being a Khalasi at a small wayside signal-stop it was his job to signal to the passing trains whether the line was clear or not, by lighting the signal-lamp. Baldeo did his job with great dedication and sincerity – not even the chill of the winter night or the dangerous wild animals on his way to the station could deter him from doing his duty.
Baldeo was also a responsible man. Not only was he responsible at his job, but he was also a responsible father, thinking of his son’s well-being even when he first encountered the tiger. It was responsibility towards his family which led him to take up the job of a signal man as farming, which was his main livelihood did not enable him to earn sufficiently to support his family.
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
“Where the clear stream of reason
has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by Thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that Heaven of freedom
My Father, let my country awake.”
1. What do you understand by ‘clear stream of reason’?
Ans: Tagore prays that his countrymen be able to think clearly and logically. Tagore compares the ability to think clearly without being influenced by age-old customs and meaningless rituals and superstitions to a stream of clear water.
2 What is ‘dead habit' according to the poet ?
Ans: ‘Dead habit’ refers to the age-old rituals, customs and superstitions which are baseless and not founded on any logic or reasoning. People are simply continuing with such beliefs and customs as they have become a matter of habit for them.
3. What does the poet mean by ‘ever widening thought and action’?
Ans: By ‘ever-widening thought and action’ Tagore refers to broad-minded and progressive thinking and action that will lead to the true progress of the nation.
4. Describe any two traits of character the poet wants to inculcate in his countrymen.
Ans: The poet, Rabindranath Tagore, wants to inculcate in his countrymen some basic values which will, according to him , ensure that the country becomes a veritable ‘heaven of freedom’. Primary among these is the quality of self-respect and courage. When ‘the mind is without fear and the head is held high’, the citizens of a country cannot remain oppressed for long and true freedom is not far away.
Another trait Tagore has written about is the trait of honesty. The country of his dreams is one where ‘words come out from the depths of truth’. It is the spirit of truthfulness that will enable one to create the ‘heaven of freedom’ Tagore dreams of.
5. What does the poet mean by ‘let my country awake’?
Ans: By the phrase ‘let my country awake’ the poet, Rabindranath Tagore implies that the country has been asleep all this while. Prejudice, narrow-mindedness, dishonesty, complacence and the inability to stand up for one’s own self are only a few of the many problems that have the country in its grip- the reason why the country has not woken up to its own identity and power.
6. What is the ‘Heaven of freedom’ according to the poet?
Ans: The ‘Heaven of freedom’ the poet, Rabindranath Tagore refers to, is the country of his dreams. It is the land where virtues such as honesty, self- respect, determination, industriousness and broad-mindedness will make it heaven-like to live in – as that will be the true freedom sought.
3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Gratiano: I tell thee what, Antonio –
I love thee, and ‘tis my love that speaks-
There are a sort of men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pond,
And do a willful stillness entertain,
(i) What has Antonio earlier said to make Gratiano comment like this?
Ans: Antonio has said that he considers the world to be a stage and the part he plays in it to be that
of a serious actor.
(ii) How is Gratiano different from Antonio?
Ans: While Antonio is melancholy by nature and is found brooding sadly over nothing in particular, Gratiano finds reason to be cheerful in everything. He claims to prefer his liver being heated with wine and thus having a lively personality as opposed to groaning and sighing his time away like Antonio, and letting his heart be drained of all blood in doing so. Gratiano is extremely talkative although much of what he says does not make sense. Antonio, on the other hand, is more of a listener and a sensible man.
(iii) What does the speaker have to say about a warm-blooded young man?
Ans: Gratiano says that a young man should not sit motionless like a statue made of stone – when he is very much alive and his blood is warm within. He should not sleep when he is awake – meaning that he must be as lively as he really is, being a young man. Acting irritable and unhappy will only make him feel unwell – ‘creep into the jaundice’ as they say.
(iv) What does he say about his own ‘liver and ‘heart’?
Ans: Gratiano says that he prefers allowing his liver to be heated up with wine - as that would ensure he has a lively personality rather than letting his heart cool with groans and sighs. The Elizabethan belief was that drinking too much wine would heat the liver and increase blood circulation contributing to making a person lively. They also believed in those times that groaning and sighing too much drained the heart of blood and cooled it – making one weak. Gratiano thus clearly mentions his preference for a lively cheerful attitude to life.
(v) Explain the given extract and state the reason for such behaviour.
Ans: In the given extract, Gratiano professes his love for Antonio and tells him that the advice he gives him is for his own good.
He says that Antonio is behaving like one of those people who always like to look serious. Their faces never show any expression or emotion, like stagnant ponds covered with a layer of scum. One does not know what lies beneath the layer. The reason for such behaviour is to create an impression upon others about oneself that may not be true. People like to look serious and grave although they are not really so, in order to seem important.
(vi) How does Gratiano, sarcastically, sum up the behaviour of this kind of men?
Ans: Gratiano sarcastically makes fun of such behaviour that attempts to create an impression on others - he says that such people believe that by looking stern and serious, they would make people think they are wise, important and respectable. They feel that when they speak everyone else must simply stop talking and just pay attention to what they are saying. But when they really do open their mouths to speak, they sound foolish.
(vii) Who would call whom fools and what would be the consequences?
Ans: Those who would hear these seemingly grave men speak would call them fools when they opened their mouths to speak. According to the Bible, those who call their fellow human beings foolish are damned to hell. Those who would call these men fools on listening to them speak nonsense would suffer damnation. Gratiano is quite certain that such people who only put on an appearance of being serious would sound foolish when they speak.
(viii) What parting advice does he give Antonio?
Gratiano tells Antonio that he must make use of his tongue, that is, talk. The only tongues that are useful when silent, are that of an ox – which is used as a delicacy.
Some figures of speech I found. Can you find some more?
Metaphor: Act 1 Scene 1: Gratiano tells Antonio “Fish not with this melancholy bait for this fool-gudgeon, this opinion,” creating the idea that good opinion is like a fish, to be caught.
Simile: Act 1 Scene 1: Bassanio: “His reasons are as two grains of wheat hid in two bushels of chaff.”
A link that might help :
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/merchant/page_8.html
