CBSE Class 10

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 6 Virtually True are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 6 Virtually True.

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NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 6 Virtually True

TEXTUAL EXERCISES
(Pages 71, 78)

Question 1.
Before reading the story, attempt the following working in groups of four or five.

(a) Do you play computer games ? How many hours do you spend playing games on the computer as compared to outdoor games ?

(b) Make a list of your favourite games. Have a class discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of computer games.

(c) Look in your dictionaries/computer to find synonyms for the word ‘virtual’.

(d) Look at the K.W.L. chart given on next page. Based on the information you have gathered till now, complete the K and W columns. You may work with your partner. After reading the story complete the third column.

Answer:

(a) Yes, I do play computer games. On an average, I spend almost 2-3 hours playing computer games everyday. I play outdoor games for two hours daily, r

(b) My favourite games are : Pokemon Go, Road Rash, Need For Speed, Resident Evil,Grano Tursimo, Forza, Skyrim … class discussion to take place.

Advantages : pleasure-giving, entertaining, mental exercise, growth in analytical power, knowledge, general awareness, competitive spirit etc.

Disadvantages : promotion of violence, aggression, pain in backbone, in shoulders, time wastage, detachment from and neglect of family, social relationship hampered, sedentary life style, change in thinking, hardening of sensitivity, growth of abnormal behaviour.

(c) Few synonyms of VIRTUAL are : computer generated, simulated, cybernetic and realistic.

(d) (a) I know that it is not reality per se, but reality created with the help of computer software and some database. The user feels that he is inside it and is participating in it.

(b) I need to know the names of those particular softwares which help in creating such a situation. Also, if it could really be that easy then why isn’t every game prepared in such a format ?

(c) I learnt that everything is possible. Since cost is involved, so not everyone prefers to use these softwares etc.

(d) By Virtual Environment I know that it is nearer-to-truth environment. However, it is generated only by computers and softwares for the user.

(e) I want to know how much time does it take to create such an environment. Also what are the pros and cons for it ?

(f) There are no negatives of such an environment. However, the biggest plus point of this would be that the day such a procedure is initiated, the current era wouldn’t even exist. It’s all about advanced technology. The more you use it… the better it is for mankind.

(g) 3-D is about creating some sort of special effects to an image. It is to make the user feel as if the image or the subject is actually/physically present in front of , him.

(h) I want to know if there is any difference between a 3-D and a Virtual Environment.

(i) There is perhaps a difference between both of them. On the one hand 3-D is all about creating special effects to an image or a moving subject on screen. On the other hand, ‘Virtual Environment’ is all about creating a completely different environment. In it it’s not about throwing special effects over to a particular image. Instead, it’s about giving a continuous effect to the entire programme.

(j) Simulation Games. These games are made to give the player a realistic experience. For example : There is a normal racing game which is available with just a fixed image of a car. And the car keeps moving with the help of a remote controller. On the other hand, there’s another car racing game. In it the player gets to select his choice of car with all the settings of the car and tracks. There is sound as well along with a complete “Virtual Environment’. Here, in simulation games there is more of excitement than the normal games.

(k) I want to know nothing.

(l) I learnt nothing new.

(m) By Computer Simulations I know that it is all about using those extra additional gadgets to a computer. These are like, steering wheel, a shooting gun, some extra tools and weapons to play a particular game.

(n) I want to know if it is possible to get the same experience without using all such gadgets.

(o) I learnt that it’s not possible. To get a realistic feeling of the game and to actually develop more interest into it, one must have all those extra additions to his computer. Else, it would be like any other normal game.

(p) By Interactive Psycho-drive Games I learn that these are those car racing games wherein the player gets to handle a lot of crazy stuff. For example: If he wants to win the game or a particular level, he must perform some special stunts using some cheat codes. It is to gain some additional points than won by any other player.

(q) No questions.

(r) I learnt nothing.

(s) By Teleporting I know that it means switching over from one point to another within a split second of time. For example : While playing a game if the player gets a special bonus score or if he finishes up his target then he gets a special benefit. It is of skipping a level ahead or to get transformed into something else within a split second.

(t) I want to know if it has anything to do with any kind of voice service or interaction in between the game.

(u) No, it doesn’t have anything to do with any such service or interaction.

Exercises (Page 78)

1. According to the newspaper, what had happened to Sebastian Shultz ?
2. ‘Dad’s nutty about computers.’ What evidence is there to support this statement
3. In what way did the second game seem very real ? (V. Imp.)
4. The last game has tanks, jeeps, helicopters, guns and, headings. Would you put this and the other games under ?
5. What was Michael’s theory about how Sebastian had entered the games ? (V. Imp.)

Answer:

1. According to newspaper, Sebastian Shultz was badly injured in a motorway accident almost six weeks back. Now after six weeks he woke up from a coma that doctors had feared might have lasted forever.
2. He’s nutty about computers as he has a Pentium 150 Mhz processor with 256 of RAM, a 1.2 GB hard disk drive and a 16 speed CD ROM with speakers, printer and also a scanner.
3. It looked real as it was a continuation game after the first game ‘Wildwest.’ Also the name of the player was as well the same “Sebastian”.
4. This game with machine guns, bombs, helicopter, sniper fire, tanks, can be put under the heading ‘Wargames’.
5. Michael believed that Sebastian was also another intelligent personality like him in this world. He was so much crazy about playing games on computers. Both of them were playing a real game but virtually all together.

B. Reference to context

Read these lines from the story, then answer the questions.

‘That was my idea’ said Sebastian excitedly. ‘If only it would go a bit faster.’

1. Where was Sebastian when he spoke these words ?
2. What was his idea, and what was he referring to ?
3. Was the idea a good one, and did it eventually succeed ? How ?

Answer:

1. He was on the roof with the narrator and was waiting for the helicopter.
2. His idea was to make it to the staircase and move upwards to get the helicopter after its landing on the roof and escape.
3. The idea proved out to be negative as they somehow made it to the roof. But they couldn’t escape using the helicopter. They had to face almost 12 guards there along with their dogs. Sebastian got scared and he slipped down from the roof.

Question 2.
Answer the following questions briefly.
(a) Why did the news of the ‘miracle recovery’ shock Michael ?
Or
Why did the news about Sebastian Shultz shock Michael ? (CBSE 2015)

(b) Michael’s meeting with Sebastian Shultz had been a chance meeting. Where had it taken place and how ? (V. Imp.)
Or
How and where did Michael meet Sebastian Shultz ? (CBSE 2016)

(c) What kind of computers fascinated Michael and his dad ? Why ?

(d) Describe the first place where Michael was virtually transported.

(e) What help did Sebastian Shultz ask Michael for ? How did he convey this message ? (V. Imp.)
Or
How did Sebastian Shultz request Michael to help him ? (CBSE 2015)

(f) Why did Michael fail in rescuing Sebastian Shultz the first time ?
Or
Why couldn’t Michael help Sebastian the first time ? (CBSE 2015)

(g) The second attempt to rescue Sebastian Shultz too was disastrous. Give reasons. (V. Imp.)

(h) Narrate the accident that injured Sebastian Shultz.

(i) How had Sebastian Shultz entered the games ?

(j) How was Sebastian Shultz’s memory stored on Michael’s disk ? How did Michael discover that ? (V. Imp.)

Answer:

(a) Michael was shocked after reading the article as the name of the person involved in the article was Sebastian Shultz. He was someone whom Michael had recently ‘met’. Secondly, it was also because it was Sebastian with whom he had been playing all those games till then.

(b) Both of them played virtual video games on the computer screen. They thus met each other while playing virtual games on their respective computers.

(c) They were fascinated with the computers which could do almost everything from painting, playing music, creating displays etc. Both of them were very fond of playing games and doing all usual stuff on computers.

(d) The first place that Michael was virtually transported to was a complete dusty track through the centre of a town. He had a sheriffs badge pinned to his shirt.

(e) Michael received a printout from Sebastian saying that he was stuck. He wanted him to retrieve him by playing DRAGONQUEST. And he made a request for it through the computer. Precisely, it came through the computer printout.

(f) Michael was unable to save him the first time as both of them were trying to escape on a horse. However, ‘Sebastian’ was shot dead by the other ‘enemies’ running after them on their horses.

(g) The second attempt was negative as well, as he went down the dungeons with his sword drawn. But all of a sudden there appeared the dragon at the end of the corridor. He tried using his sword to kill the dragon. But it didn’t do any good and he was ‘killed.’

(h) It happened almost six weeks ago that Sebastian was badly injured in a motorway accident. His condition on arrival at the General Hospital was declared as critical, though stable. He was unable to regain his consciousness and his parents were informed that he was in a coma.

(i) Like Michael, even Sebastian was an intelligent person. He was very fond of computers and also playing games on them. This is how Sebastian entered the gaming world through playing psycho-drive video games.

(j) Michael used to play games on computers which had the capability to save the entire game in its memory while playing it. Based on this fact Sebastian’s memory had also got saved in his computer. Michael’s dad always used to tell him that a computer memory can never forget anything. Also no kind of data can get lost from it.

Michael discovered this after recollecting his father’s remarks. He also recollected Shultz’s mother stating that they stocked some games. But someone stole the lot. Shultz didn’t know what had happened to them. But Michael found them in the Computer Fair.

Question 3.
Sebastian Shultz had a close brush with death. After he recovers, he returns to school and narrates his experience to his classmates. As Sebastian Shultz, narrate your experience.
Answer:
Hi everyone ! I know you all must have been wondering about my whereabouts since so long. For all of you it’s been six weeks but for me it feels like as if everything just happened yesterday. I couldn’t even imagine that I would have to ever encounter such a situation. You may be amazed to know what had actually happened to me. Well! almost six weeks back I was on my way home riding a motorbike. All of a sudden there were these two speeding trucks which somehow hit each other and they collided. It took a split second for the two trucks to crash then and there themselves. I was riding my motorbike a little faster. On top of that the trucks were almost fifteen steps in front of me itself. In order to save myself from the crash I applied the brakes. The bike slipped and I fell over a huge pile of rocks on the pavement. I got hurt on my head and fell unconscious. It’s been almost six weeks that I’ve been hospitalized as I was in a coma. The doctors feared that it could last forever. However, by the grace of God I woke up from the coma and am fine now after having been saved by Michael, my friend. I am standing in front of you all narrating the most scariest experience of my life.

Thank you very much for a patient hearing.

Question 4.
Continue the story.

Will Michael and Sebastian Shultz meet in real life ? Will they be friends ? Will they try to re-enter the virtual world together ? You may use the following hints :

• How the accident occurred
• Transfer of memory
• Meeting with Michael
• Appeals for help
• Rescue and recovery

Answer:

No, it’s impossible that both of them would ever meet each other. After all, it’s just a game which has got no connection with the real world.

Perhaps, they can even be good friends to each other but only virtually and electronically. In reality there is no such real person by the name of Sebastian who is playing this game with Michael. They can never enter the virtual world together as Sebastian is simply the name of a player in the game and Michael is a real human being.

They would never be able to meet each other except in this virtual world created by these gizmos only.

If we go as per the points given above we may relate the story like this : The accident occurred which led Sebastian to slip in a coma. He had played the video game through 3-D and had got stored in the memory of his computer. It had been stolen and ended at the Computer Fair. From there Michael with his father had got the interactive psycho¬drive video game which had earlier been with Sebastian.

Appeals were sent for saving Sebastian from the coma. Michael got this information from the newspaper article. He played the video game himself and got hooked with Sebastian Shultz, the character in the video game. Thus he was rescued and saved.

Question 5.
Put the following sentences in a sequential order to complete the story.

(a) Sebastian Shultz was badly injured in a motorway accident and went into a coma.
(b) Sebastian’s memory was saved in the computer when he banged his head on it during the accident.
(c) When Michael played the game, he entered Sebastian’s memory.
(d) Michael bought the latest psycho-drive games from the Computer Fair.
(e) Sebastian Shultz was the second sheriff in the ‘Dragonquest’.
(f) Michael pulled Sebastian into the helicopter and the screen flashed a score of 40,000,000.
(g) Sebastian requested Michael to try ‘Jailbreak’.
(h) Sebastian failed to save the boy who fell through the air.
(i) Sebastian thought the helicopter was the right idea and they should go into the ‘Warzone’.
(j) The games were stolen from Shultz’s house.
(k) Sebastian thanks Michael for saving his life and asks him to keep the games.

Answer:

The sequential order to complete the story is : a, b, j, d, c, e, h, i, g, f, k

WRITING TASK
Question 6.
Do you think it is a true story ? Could it happen to you one day ? Here are some opinions about computer games in general.

Answer:

Yes, I do believe that it’s a true story, as such a thing can happen with almost anyone in this world. A similar instance could happen with me as well if I would ever think of playing games on computers like Michael did. But it all depends if I play interactive psycho-drive video games and have all the accessories needed.

Question 7.
Do you think these opinions are biased ? Write an article entitled ‘Virtual games are a reality’.
Answer:
Yes, I think these opinions are biased.

Virtual Games are a Reality

It’s a fact that virtual games are a reality. They are computer simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world as well as in the imaginary world. It’s just a matter of a few gadgets that are required to create such an environment while playing games on computers. Hi surround speakers, digital crystal clear sound output, a 3-D screen and few other hand-led devices are all it takes to view a picture image on a computer screen or an LCD/LED. Virtual games provide players a completely different experience compared to the kind of experience they get while playing normal games. It is because one gets almost physically involved in them through 3-D and becomes an integral part of what is seen on the screen. They are far much ahead of those normal animated games which are simple and have only a limited excitement. However, one needs both time and a lot of money to indulge in such activities because these modern gadgets are very costly.

Question 8.
In groups of four, design a new computer game.
Decide on the

• Setting
• Plot
• Characters
• Objectives

Answer:
For self-attempt at class level.

LISTENING TASK
Question 9.
Listen carefully to a text on ‘Tour of Body’ and answer the questions that are given below.

On the basis of your listening to the passage complete the following statements by choosing the answers from the given options :

1. The Cave-Automatic Virtual Environment is

(a) a modern surgical procedure
(b) a three-dimensional virtual reality room
(c) an accurate projection of the eye and the brain
(d) a technique for developing anatomical pictures

2. Projected image on the four walls of a room enables researchers to

(a) carry out micro surgery
(b) understand the functioning of the brain
(c) virtually get inside the molecular structure of cells and parts of human body
(d) reconstruct damaged parts of human body

3. The ‘CAVE’ is a boon to surgeons because

(a) they can treat diseases located in unreachable parts of the human body
(b) it has made X-ray and MRI unnecessary
(c) it helps them avoid surgical procedures in most cases
(d) it enables surgeons to use very small surgical instruments

4. For the CAVE to develop a virtual environment it is essential

(a) to apply mathematical formulae
(b) to project three-dimensional images on the walls
(c) to obtain two-dimensional MRI data first
(d) to understand the nature of the diseased cells and parts

5. Once inside a three-dimensional representation of an anatomical structure, surgeons can

(a) ‘move’ through and ‘peel away’ its layers
(b) shrink themselves and travel inside the body parts
(c) convert the data into a flat picture for detailed study
(d) locate the diseased parts of the body quickly

6. Dr. Szilard Kiss used CAVE to

(a) travel inside the eye of his patient
(b) identify the scar tissue growing over the retina
(c) go inside the layers of the retina
(d) isolate the ridge of the scar tissue

Answer:

1. → (h) a three-dimensional virtual reality room
2. → (c) virtually get inside the molecular structure of cells and parts of human body
3. → (a) they can treat diseases located in unreachable parts of the human body
4. → (a) to apply mathematical formulae
5. → (a) ‘move’ through and ‘peel away’ its layers
6. → (c) go inside the layers of the retina.

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NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 5 Patol Babu, Film Star are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 5 Patol Babu, Film Star.

All Questions and Answers from the NCERT Book of class 10 English Chapter 5 are provided here for you for free.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 5 Patol Babu, Film Star

TEXTUAL EXERCISES
(Pages 55 and 67)

Question 1.
With your partner answer the following questions :
What are your strengths ?

What is your dream career ?
I want become a ………

• Is there any correlation between your strengths and aspirations ?
• Do you think you can achieve your dreams ? Give reasons.

Answer:

I want to become a TV artist.

• Yes, I find correlation between my strengths and aspirations. I personally feel that I have acting blood in my veins due to my parents being stage actors. Then I have got training for acting also. I have played many roles both at school and college level. Most of all, I have got a good physique and charming appearance. All this has been appreciated, recognised and admired in a few reality shows.
• Due to this all, I can say that I shall surely achieve my dreams one day. In fact, I have done smaller roles in some TV serials. But I am looking forward to a lead role in which I shall show my hidden and yet-unexplored talents. God willing, when I get it, I shall show my talents and abilities. I shalj also improve my role in looking natural. I want to become like my idols through hard work and perseverance.

Question 2.
Answer the following questions briefly :

(a) What was the news that Nishikanto Ghosh gave Patol Babu ?

(b) How did Patol Babu react ? Why ?

(c) Why had Patol Babu lost his first job in Calcutta ?

(d) How does Patol Babu reconcile to the dialogue given to him ? (V. Imp.)

(e) Who was Mr. Pakrashi ? How do his words help Patol Babu in enacting his role ? (V. Imp.)

(f) How do we know that Patol Babu was a meticulous man ?
Or
How do we know that Patol Babu was a dedicated actor ? (CBSE 2014)

(g) Why did Mr. Mullick turn down Patol Babu’s request for a rehearsal ?

(h) What were the special touches that Patol Babu gave to his role to make it more authentic ? (V. Imp.)

Answer:

(a) Nishikanto Ghosh told Patol Babu that his youngest brother-in-law was in search for an actor for a scene in a film. The role was meant for an actor who could be fiftyish, short and bald-headed. It reminded him of Patol Babu that he could play it ; beautifully. So he gave this news to him.

(b) After hearing Nishikanto Ghosh. Patol Babu was very excited. He had never expected t such news at the start of the day. He started building castles in the air.

(c) Patol Babu had lost his first job in Calcutta due to war. Retrenchment had started in his office because of that.

(d) Patol Babu reconciles to the dialogue given to him by recollecting the words of his mentor and guru Mr. Gogon Pakrashi. He used to say to Patol Babu that as an artist his aim was to utilize the opportunity to squeeze the last drop of meaning out of his lines. An actor’s duty was to treat every word of his dialogue like a fruit of a tree. He should get its essence and serve it to the audience for adulation.

(e) Mr. Gogon Pakrashi was Patol Babu’s mentor and guru. His words help Patol Babu to prove his acting talent to the best. Patol Babu first fights his supposed insult at one-worded dialogue and then rehearses well.

(f) Patol Babu was a meticulous man and a dedicated actor because he rehearsed well for his shot. Then he gave his one-worded dialogue an emotion. He also suggested that he should have a newspaper to make the scene more realistic and authentic.

(g) Mr. Mullick turned down Patol Babu’s request for a rehearsal because the scene was to be shot in sunlight. There was then approaching a large patch of cloud also. So it needed to be taken without any more delay.

(h) The special touches were : giving different inflection, saying the single-worded dialogue in low pitch, high pitch, long-drawn, shouting, whispering, starting low and ending high and vice-versa.

Question 3.
Discuss the following questions in detail and write the answers in your notebooks :

(а) 7 hope the part calls for some dialogue ?’ Who says this ? Why does he / she ask this question ?

(b) ‘Were these people pulling his legs ? Was the whole thing a gigantic hoax ? A meek, harmless man like him, and they had to drag him into the middle of the city to make a laughing stock out of him. How could anyone be so cruel ?’ Why does Patol Babu have these thoughts ?

(c) Patol Babu is an amateur actor for whom walk-on part in a movie turns into an ultimate challenge. Discuss.

(d) Do you agree with the statement that Patol Babu is a practical man who comes to terms with whatever life has to offer 1 Give reasons for your answer.

(e) Why does Patol Babu walk away before he can be paid for his role ? What does this reveal about his character ? (CBSE 2012)

(f) Do you think making a movie is an easy job ? Discuss with reference to the story.

Answer:

(a) Patol Babu says this to Naresh Dutt. Patol Babu asks this question because he thinks that the actors must have some lines to speak. Doing so will enable them to show their talent and to spellbind the audience with the acting.

(b) Patol Babu has these thoughts because his dialogue is simply one word ‘Oh !’ He has been a great stage actor of his time. He feels insulted at being given this dialogue. Due to that he has these thoughts at this time.

(c) It is a fact that Patol Babu is an amateur, careful and a meticulous actor. It is his first role in a film. His nature is to follow his mentor Mr. Gogon Pakrashi’s words. So he gives out the most authentic and realistic emotion to his acting. He has been a versatile actor of the stage. So it is natural that he should find it an ultimate challenge and perform it with a grand success. And he does it nicely !

(d) Yes, it is very clear from what Patol Babu does that he is a practical man. He is a wise, understanding, mature and pragmatic person. He is not blind to the harsh realities of life and to his neighbourly relations, though he fights with his own self about the level of his role. First he finds the offer demeaning. But he surrenders to the demand of the time and ‘acts’ with a grand success. However, he registers his protest in going home without taking the remuneration.

(e) Patol Babu walks away because of his indignation at the ordinary attitude of the film people towards his talent. He feels that none of them recognises his talent. They are a bunch of commercialised-minded people. They don’t have any appreciation for art and artists like him but more to money. This reveals his genuine talent as an actor and love for genuine and authentic acting.

(f) This story reveals that making a movie is an easy job but not easy for the persons like Patol Babu. Patol Babu’s line clearly shows this fact. The line is : “They just got hold of some people, got them to go through certain motions, paid them for their labours and forgot all about it. Paid them, yes but how much ? Ten, fifteen, twenty rupees.”

Question 4.
Here are some lines from the lesson. What do they tell us about Patol Babu’s character ? You may take help from the words given in the table below or find some of your own from the dictionary. The first one has been done for you.

(a) That an offer to act in a film could come to a 52-year-old nonentity like him was beyond his wildest dreams unassuming; modest

(b) Indeed, there was a time when people bought tickets especially to see him ………

(c) ‘I was with Hudson and Kimberley for nine years and wasn’t late for a single day.’ ………

(d) It didn’t matter if the part was small, but, if he had to make the most of it, he had to learn his lines beforehand. How small he would feel if he muffed in the presence of so many people ………

(e) Patol Babu cleared his throat and started enunciating the syllable in various ways. Along with that he worked out how he would react physically when the collision took place—how his features would be twisted in pain, how he would fling out his arms, how his body would crouch to express pain and surprise—all these he performed in various ways in front of a large glass window ………

(f) It is true that he needed money very badly, but what was twenty rupees when measured against the intense satisfaction of a small job done with perfection and dedication ? ………

Answer:

(b) passionate actor, talented
(c) meticulous, humble
(d) diligent, meticulous
(e) talented
(f) genial, diligent

Question 5.
Here are some lines from the lesson. Match the meanings of the underlined words with their meanings listed below.

(a) Then he had ajob in a Bengali firm which he gave up in disgust when his boss began to treat him in too high-handed a fashion
(i) stimulate the imagination

(b) A faint memory was stirred up in Patol Babu’s mind.
(ii) to surrender or relinquish

(c) At first he opened a variety store which he had to wind up after five years.
(iii) staged

(d) In Jat ras, in amateur theatricals, in plays put up by the club in his neighbourhood, Patol Babu was always in demand
(iv) to gain control over one’s actions

(e) Patol Babu was about to step forward when he was pulled up short by a voice shouting ‘Silence!’
(v) shut down

(f) Patol Babu pulled himself together.
(vi) stopped

Answer:

(a) → (ii)
(b) → (i)
(c) → (v)
(d) → (iii)
(e) → (vi)
(f) → (iv)

Question 6.
After Patol Babu returns home he recounts his experience in front of the camera to his wife. In pairs write out the exchange in the form of a dialogue and enact it before the class. You may start like this …..

Patol Babu’s wife : So what happened at the shooting today ? Did you get to do your role ?

Patol Babu : Oh, Yes, I had the time of my life

Answer:

Mainly to be enacted at class level. One version is given below :

Patol Babu : … I was overawed to see the shooting for the first time. I felt excited that I would be a part of a film of mega hero Chanchal Kumar. But I felt dazed ….

Patol Babu’s wife : … What made you feel so?

Patol Babu : Well, I felt dazed when I was given a dialogue of only one word ‘Oh!’

Wife : It must not have happened. You have been a versatile actor. Times were when people bought tickets to see you on stage …

Patol Babu : Sure you are ! When I was given a one-worded dialogue, I felt quite heart-broken. I felt my talent was being abused. I looked at those people as useless. I felt how times had changed.

Wife : Before you went to Faraday House for shooting I had told you not to count your chickens again before they were hatched. But you were very optimistic. You boasted that you’ll again rise to fame and fortune. Now see yourselfl You always start building up airy castles like Sheikh Chilli. These always vanish in thin air.

Patol Babu : Yes, you are right. But you know I gave a real meaning to the scene. i gave inflection to the word ‘Oh !‘ and dipped it in an emotion. My suggestion to have a newspaper before colliding with Chanchal Kumar was readily agreed by the director Biren Mullick. Then Wife Then what?

Patol Bubu : Then… well… then I gave the shot without rehearsal though at one time I had a liking to return without giving it.

Wife : That could have meant you were not capable of doing the acting.

Patol Babu : Yes, this held me there. I recalled my guru’s words about a real artist. I saw that only. It made me deliver the scene in an authentic and realistic way. But by then I had developed a sort of hatred for these people.

Wife : How much did they pay you for it?

Patol Babu : Twenty rupees ! But I returned home without getting the money. I felt the meagre payment below my dignity that I might get. I don’t know why I did it, but it happened. Something from inside made me leave the place without accepting the money.

Wife : Will you take a cup of tea ?

Question 7.
Patol Babu impresses everyone at the shoot with his acting talent in spite of having a one word dialogue. In groups of four enact the word ‘Oh’ in different ways to show the following emotions :

• happiness
• sorrow
• excitement
• fear
• sarcasm
• pain
• disappointment
• surprise

Each group will then enact one of these emotions to the rest of the class using the word ‘Oh’. The other groups will try to guess which emotion is being expressed.

Answer:

Mainly meant for ‘acting’ at class level.

Students shall need to put up various expressions on the face suitable for these emotions. It would be better if they learnt something about various ‘Rasas’ necessary for actors.

WRITING TASK

Question 8.
Patol Babu writes a letter to Nishikanto Ghosh to thank him for being instrumental in his getting a role in a film. He also shares his experience at the film shoot including the excitement and deep satisfaction that he derived from the same. Write the letter in about 200 words.

Answer:

1804, Chattopadhyaya Nagar
Kolkata
28 July, 20 – –
My dear Nishikanto Ghosh

I am, indeed, grateful to you to have enabled me to get a small role in a film. I felt greatly excited after meeting you. I went to the shooting site well before time. It was a new experience for me as before that I had never seen a film shooting. A huge range of equipment and lots of people were involved in it. I met Naresh Dutt who told me that I as an absent-minded pedestrian was to collide with the lead actor Sh. Chanchal Kumar. When I asked Naresh Dutt for the dialogue he simply wrote one word ‘Oh!’ I was to speak this after colliding with the lead actor.

I felt a bit amazed at it. I became indifferent to the role at once. But I recalled the words of my mentor and guru. An artist should squeeze the last drop of meaning out of his lines for the audience. Each word spoken was like a fruit and the artist’s duty was to pluck it for the audience. I reviewed everything and decided to take my role seriously.

I started speaking ‘Oh!’ differently. I gave different inflections to it. I added different emotions to it. When my turn came, I played my role with utmost dedication. I performed it so authentically that I derived deep satisfaction. Even Chanchal Kumar complimented me the way I did this role in one go. I personally feel that this role brought out my natural talent as an actor.

I am thankful to you for having recommended me for the role.

With best wishes
Yours sincerely
Patol

LISTENING TASK
Question 9.
Listen to the passage on character actors and complete the exercise as directed.

1. Supporting roles are those roles that do not affect the plot or the subject of the film (True/False)

2. People become character actors chiefly because (Tick the right choices)

(а) they like doing supporting roles
(b) there are limited leading roles
(c) it is easier to act in a supporting role
(d) they can’t find any other work

3. ‘star quality’ refers to things like ……… (Tick the right choice)

(a) good looks and acting talent
(b) good looks and the right weight
(c) good looks and the right height
(d) good looks, height and right weight

4. After the age of forty the actors most likely to get less work are (Tick the right choice)

(a) character actors
(b) the male lead
(c) the female actors
(d) the female lead

5. The chief advantages of being a character actor is that ……… (Tick the right choice)

(a) they are never blamed if a film fails
(b) they can act for as long as they like
(c) they do not have to take care of their looks
(d) they do not need to be skilled at horsemanship or swimming

Answer:

1. True
2. → (a) they like doing supporting roles
3. → (d) good looks, height and right weight
4. → (c) the female actors
5. → (a) they are never blamed if a film fails.

We hope the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 5 Patol Babu, Film Star help you. If you have any query regarding NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 5 Patol Babu, Film Star, drop a comment below and we will get back to you at the earliest.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 9 Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 9 Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments.

NCERT Textbook Solutions are considered extremely helpful when preparing for your CBSE Class 10 English board exams. NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 9 free access available.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 9 Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments

TEXTUAL EXERCISES
(Page 102)

Question 1.
Look at the following picture carefully.
(a) What has Time been portrayed as ? Why ?
(b) What are the other symbols associated with Time ?

Answer:

(a) Time here has been portrayed as a human being having the banner in his hands. It somehow looks like Lord Christ. It has been portrayed so because there is nothing more powerful than man, though man is non-entity before time. Secondly, time has been portrayed as a human being because the poem is meant for them only.

(b) There are other symbols associated with Time, Sun, for instance, Nature and other aspects of Nature.

Question 2.
(a) What are the things that last for centuries ? List a few things around you that will survive four to five hundred years into the future.

Answer:

(b) Think of things that will perish and/or be forgotten with the passage of time.

Answer:

Question 3.
The word “sonnet” is derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning “a little sound” or “a little song.” A Sonnet is a poem of 14 lines with a structured rhyme scheme in which a thought about a subject is developed thoroughly.

You will read two sonnets on the powerful effects of Time.

Answer:
For students to read. No questions have been asked in it.

Question 4.
Listen to a recording of the sonnet ‘Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments’ by William Shakespeare played by your teacher. You could also listen to it on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOqCaljBhtM&feature=related
Answer:
For students to listen. No questions have been asked in it.

Question 5.
On the basis of your understanding of Shakespeare’s sonnet, answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.

(a) The rich and powerful got ornate monuments made in order to _____

(i) show off their wealth
(ii) display their power
(iii) show their artistic talent
(iv) be remembered till posterity.

(b) The poet addresses his sonnet to _____

(i) time
(ii) war
(iii) the person he loves
(iv) powerful rulers.

(c) In the line ‘The living record of your memory’, living record refers to _____

(i) the sonnet the poet has written for his friend
(ii) an existing statue of his friend
(iii) his friend who lives in the poet’s memory
(iv) the autobiography of the poet’s friend.

(d) The poet’s tone in the poem is _____

(i) despairing
(ii) optimistic
(iii) loving
(iv) admiring,

(e) The poem is set in _____

(i) the place where the poet meets his friend
(ii) a battlefield where Mars is fighting a battle
(iii) a city ravaged by war
(iv) the poet’s study where he is writing.

Answer:

(a) → (iv) be remembered till posterity
(b) → (iii) the person he loves
(c) → (iii) his friend who lives in the poet’s memory
(d) → (iii) loving
(e) → (iv) the poet’s study where he is writing

Question 6.
Answer the following questions briefly.

(a) Why do you think the rich and powerful people get monuments and statues erected in their memory ? (V. Imp.)
Or
Why do the rich and powerful get monuments made ? (CBSE 2015)

(b) Describe how the monuments and statues brave the ravages of time. (V. Imp.) (CBSE 2014)
Or
What according to Shakespeare outlives the ravages of time ? (CBSE 2014)

(c) Why does the poet refer to Time as being sluttish ? (V. Imp.) (CBSE 2015)

(d) The poet says that neither forces of nature nor wars can destroy his poetry. In fact, even godly powers of Mars will not have a devastating effect on his rhyme. What quality of the poet is revealed through these lines ?

Answer:

(a) The rich and powerful people get monuments and statues erected in their memory. They do so for being remembered till posterity.

(b) The monuments and statues brave the ravages of time. However, in doing so they get spoiled, disfigured and broken. This is also if they are not taken care of.

(c) The poet refers to Time as being sluttish because Time spoils the marbled or gilded monuments. It discolours them, breaks them or makes them dirty through its agencies. These agencies are like air, rain, natural vegetation etc.

(d) The quality of the poet is clearly revealed through these lines. It is the immortality of his verse and the permanence of his poetic or literary art. It is true that like Time or = Nature, literary art is also permanent and immortal. That’s why, we have poets and artists through their works who have lived thousands of years before and shall remain ever. They have become immortal through literary art.

Question 7.
Shakespeare’s sonnet has been divided into three quatrains of 4 lines each followed by a rhyming couplet. Each quatrain is a unit of meaning. Read the poem carefully and complete the following table on the structure of the poem.

Answer:

(a) ab ab
(b) cd cd
(c) living record of the poet’s beloved’s memory
(d) ef ef
(e) his beloved shall find room even in the eyes of
(f) g g

Question 8.
(a) The poet uses alliteration to heighten the musical quality of the sonnet. Working in pairs* underline the examples of alliteration in the poem.
(b) Identify Shakespeare’s use of personification in the poem.

Answer:

(a) Students to work in pairs. The following information shall help them :

1. Unswept stone besmear’d with sluttish time
2. When wasteful war
3. Nor Mars his sword nor war’s
4. Praise shall still
5. Lover’s eyes

(b) The living record of your memory’ has been personified here in the sonnet as a man. He shall pace forth against death etc. He shall live even in the eyes of all posterity.

We hope the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 9 Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments help you. If you have any query regarding NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 9 Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments, drop a comment below and we will get back to you at the earliest.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 8 Mirror are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 8 Mirror.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 8 Poem Mirror – detailed line by line explanation of the poem along with meanings of difficult words and literary devices used in the poem.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 8 Mirror

TEXTUAL EXERCISES
(Page 97)

Pre-Reading Task

Question 1.
In pairs discuss the following questions :

(a) When do you generally use a mirror ?

(b) Is a mirror essential for us ?

(c) Given below is a list of possible reasons why a person uses a mirror. Tick (✓) the ones you agree with :

1. to check one’s appearance
2. to look beautiful
3. to make sure one is neat and tidy before going out.
4. to check for a pimple or a grey hair
5. to apply make-up
6. to make a phone call
7. as a decorative item at home.

Answer:

(a) I use a mirror when I have to go outside or to school or when I comb my hair. In fact, looking into a mirror has become a kind of habit when I go out. I do so as I feel that I should look proper, formal and presentable.

(b) It is not possible to do without a mirror. It is because one should look neat and tidy, and of course, presentable. To be so means one is civil and civilized.

(c) (i) ✓ (ii) × (iii) ✓ (iv) × (v) ✓ (vi) × (vii) ×

Question 2.
The teacher will now play a recording of the poem, hasten carefully and answer the questions that follow :
Answer:
Classroom activity.

Question 3.
On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice.

(a) When the mirror is being described as being ‘unmisted by love or dislike’ we understand that the mirror is

1. not misted
2. not prejudiced
3. has four angles
4. is silver in colour.

(b) The other word for ‘contemplation’ is……..

1. contempt
2. meditation
3. mediation
4. thoughtful.

(c) When the mirror says ‘it has no preconceptions’ it means that :

1. it reflects back an image objectively
2. it modifies an image as it reflects it
3. it beautifies an image as it reflects it
4. it gives a biased view of a person/object.

(d) The mirror has been called ‘a four-cornered god’ because :

1. it is square shaped
2. like God it watches you unbiased and fair from all four angles
3. it reflects back all that it sees
4. it never stops reflecting.

(e) The ‘speckles’ refer to :

1. a pink object
2. the opposite wall which has spots on it
3. a person with pink pimples
4. pink spots in general.

(f) The phrase ‘agitation of the hand’ suggests that the person is :

1. very ill
2. very upset
3. very angry
4. very happy.

(g) By saying ‘Now I am a lake’ the narrator wants to show that

1. the poem is not only about external beauty but also the inside of a person
2. the lake can also reflect surfaces
3. the depth of the lake is important
4. the lake does not show as exact an image as a mirror.

Answer:

(a) → (ii) not prejudiced
(b) → (ii) meditation
(c) → (i) it reflects back an image objectively
(d) → (ii) like God it watches you unbiased and fair from all four angles
(e) → (iv) pink spots in general
(f) → (ii) very upset
(g) → (i) the poem is not only about external beauty but also the inside of a person

Question 4.
Answer the following questions briefly
(a) What is the poetic device used when the mirror says ‘I swallow’ ?

(b) How does the mirror usually pass its time ? (V. Imp.)
Or
How, according to the poet, does the mirror pass its time ? (CBSE 2015)

(c) What disturbs the mirror’s contemplation of the opposite wall ?

(d) Why does the mirror appear to be a lake in the second stanza ? What aspect of the mirror do you think is being referred to here ? (V. Imp.)

(e) What is the woman searching for in the depths of the lake ? (CBSE 2014)

(f) How does the narrator convey the fact that the woman looking at her reflection in the lake is deeply distressed ? (CBSE 2015)

(g) What makes the woman start crying ? (V. Imp.) (CBSE 2015)
Or
Why does the woman start crying ? (CBSE 2014)

(h) What do you think the ‘terrible fish’ in the last line symbolizes ? What is the poetic device used here ? (V. Imp.)
Or
What does the phrase “terrible fish” symbolize in the poem “Mirror” ? (CBSE 2014)

Answer:

(a) The poetic device used in it is ‘personification.’ The mirror is shown as a human being which it is not. ‘Swallow’ shows the use of ‘metaphor’ in it.

(b) It usually passes its time ‘meditating’, or ‘contemplating’.

(c) What disturbs the mirror is the opposite wall that seems freckled and is like a painted one.

(d) The mirror appears to be a lake in the second stanza because like the lake it reflects back the images objectively and hides things. The dispassionate and objective reflecting capacity of the mirror is referred in it.

(e) The woman is searching for the beauty of her face in the depths of the lake. Once she was beautiful. But now she has grown old and is not what she was earlier. Now she doesn’t want to see her old and wrinkled face. So she searches for her old face of her youthful days.

(f) The narrator conveys the fact that the woman looks at her reflection in the lake. She is deeply distressed which is seen in her agitating hands. Secondly, she weeps and behaves like ‘a terrible fish’ over the loss of her beauty.

(g) The wrinkled old face without beauty makes the woman start crying. She wanted to see her face always youthful. But now it is not so as she has grown old.

(h) The ‘terrible fish’ symbolizes the woman agitating at the loss of her youthful beauty. She is now old and behaves like ‘a terrible fish’ at the loss of her youth. The poetic device used here is ‘simile’.

Question 5.
Read the poem silently and answer the following questions :

(a) List out the adjectives that have been used to describe the mirror. Add a few more adjectives to the list.

(b) In the second stanza why has the narrator replaced the mirror with a lake ? What is he/she trying to focus on ?

Answer:

(a) The adjectives are : silver and exact, cruel, truthful, four-cornered, important. Adjectives from our side: dispassionate, unshaken, appropriate, objective, impersonal, unmoved.

(b) In the second stanza the narrator has replaced the mirror with a lake. Like the mirror the lake reflects the things objectively. It also shows the objects objectified or reflected back like the mirror does.

Now the narrator is trying to give a different meaning to the woman’s looking in the mirror searching for the depths of her face. The lake does so when one looks into it. When the woman looks at her reflection a little closer she agitates. It is because now she sees her wrinkled face and not the youthful beauty that she once had. So she agitates at the loss of her youthful face. She is trying to focus on the loss of her beauty.

Question 6.
Find the various instances of personification used in this poem.
Answer:

Various instances of personification :

1. I am silver—as a human being
2. I am the eye of a little god—as a god
3. I am ‘a part’ of the wall—now a wall
4. ‘Now I am a lake’—as a lake.

Question 7.
Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow by ticking the correct choice :
A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.

(a) What is the woman bending over ?

1. the mirror
2. the lake
3. the opposite wall
4. the moon and the candles.

(b) Why have the candles and the moon been called ‘liars’ ?

1. because they make people beautiful
2. they hide the blemishes of people with their soft light
3. they hide the blemishes and make people look beautiful in their soft glow
4. they can’t talk.

(c) Why does she turn to them in spite of calling them ‘liars’ ?

1. the reality is too harsh for her to bear
2. she is desperately looking for someone to comfort her
3. she wants to be told that she is still beautiful
4. she can hide her signs of graying in their light.

Answer:

(a) → (i) the mirror
(b) → (ii) they hide the blemishes and make people look beautiful in their soft glow
(c) → (iii) she wants to be told that she is still beautiful

Question 8.
Imagine you are the mirror. Write a speech that you would like to deliver to the humans who come to see their reflection in you. You could begin like this ……

Good Morning dear humans

I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity to express my feelings and share my thoughts with you. As you know, all my life is spent in faithfully reflecting all that comes before my eyes …..

Answer:

… I reflect exactly what comes before me. I do not act false. I am always truthful. I do not help any human being in romanticising about him or her. I have grown old seeing many human beings growing old. Some speckles have come out on my exterior. These are like the wrinkles grown over the bodies of young men and women. Many women have come before me. They have behaved very strangely. They have tried to see in their faces what they had had once. Not finding them beautiful they have sadly shed tears many times over this loss. I have been in deep sympathy with them. However, I have always wanted them to be truthful like me. Times are powerful. Human beings at physical levels undergo changes with the passage of time in their bodies. They must be aware of this change and compromise with these physical changes. When they don’t compromise, I feel pity for them. Then truth must be accepted in every way. Going away from it is always painful.

Question 9.
Here is another poem on mirror. The narrator calls the mirror a ‘fibber’. How is this poem different from the poem by Sylvia Plath ? Have a class discussion on the comparison in terms of the theme, the tone and the language used.

Answer:
For classroom activity.

We hope the NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 8 Mirror help you. If you have any query regarding NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 8 Mirror, drop a comment below and we will get back to you at the earliest.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 7 The Frog and the Nightingale are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 7 The Frog and the Nightingale.

All questions and answers from the NCERT Book of class 10 English Chapter 7 are provided here for you for free.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English Literature Chapter 7 The Frog and the Nightingale

TEXTUAL EXERCISES
(Pages 85 & 91)

Question 1.
Listed below are a few character traits of people. Some are positive qualities, while others are not. Tick mark the ones you feel are desirable qualities in a person.

Answer:

Question 2.
Have you come across people who are not what they seem to be-like someone who is extremely friendly and helpful yet you are not very comfortable with him/her as you feel it is a put-on ? Have a class discussion about such people and why you feel as you do.
Answer:
Meant for classroom activity. The following may help the students in their discussion.

Yes I have come across such persons. They, at first, are and can be successful in impressing others. But when the reality about them comes out they become the laughing stock. Also they lose something in their popularity and what they have shown earlier. We tend to develop distance between them as they stop being men of integrity.

A man with natural good human qualities and having integrity, honesty, large-heartedness, etc, is always respected in society. Such qualities defy time as they are basically human. Such persons always are the sources of inspiration for others.

Question 3.
Before you read the poem complete the word-web with the words that we associate with a Frog and a Nightingale.

Answer:

Question 4.
The following is a summary of the poem but it is jumbled up. Write out the events in their correct order to form a continuous paragraph.

(a) As a result, her voice lost its beauty, and the other creatures stopped coming to hear her sing.
(b) Soon the nightingale became famous, and creatures from miles around came to hear her sing.
(c) All the creatures in the bog cheered and clapped at her beautiful song.
(d) He offered to train the nightingale, so that she could sing even more beautifully.
(e) So the frog could sing unrivalled in the bog once more.
(f) The next night the frog introduced himself.
(g) The frog charged an admission fee, and earned a lot of money from these concerts.
(h) A frog croaked all night in a bog, in an unpleasant voice.
(i) But the frog made the nightingale rehearse continuously in the rain.
(j) One night a nightingale began to sing in a melodious voice.
(k) Finally, the nightingale burst a vein and died.

Answer:
The correct order is :

1. (h)
2. (j)
3. (c)
4. (f)
5. (d)
6. (b)
7. (g)
8. (i)
9. (a)
10. (k)
11. (e)

Question 5.
Now that you have read the poem, add more personality traits to the word- web of the frog and the nightingale as depicted in the poem. Then complete the table given below. (Some of the words in the box below may help you. You may also use the words given in Q.1.)


Answer:

Question 6.
Divide yourselves into groups of four or five and brainstorm on any one of the given situations in order to create an imaginary dialogue or a comic strip. Keep in mind the characters and situations while doing so. Representatives from each group could then present the dialogues/read them to the class.

Answer:

Mainly for classroom activity. The following information for different situations shall help greatly in this sort of discussion :

The points to be discussed in group activity together with characters and situations in each case are :

(a) Other creatures hate the croaking of the frog. They throw stone at him, pray to him to stop croaking and use sticks. But the frog refuses to budge. They also insult him publicly, complain against him or throw stones at him. But everything is useless to silence him. He is such a shameless person that these do not have any effect on him. Students to focus on the efforts of the creatures to stop the croaking of the frog.

(b) When the nightingale sings for the first time, the frog gapes with amazement. Other creatures stare towards the sumac tree fully charmed by the melodious song of the nightingale. Ducks swim to her and herons wade to her to hear her sing. When she stops singing they clap in admiration. Toads, teals and tiddlers call it ‘Bravo !’
‘Too divine’, and demand her to sing more.

(c) The nightingale is awestruck when the frog introduces himself. It is because she had never anticipated such a diversionary view about her song. Strangely, the frog introduces himself in a detailed manner. In doing so he shows an authoritative attitude. Strangely, he does so in a gentle tone. He tells her that he edits the Bog Trumpet and writes songs for it also. Thus he poses to be an intellectual.

Shallow persons always succeed in showing off their hollowness through hyperbolic overtones. But the reality about them is soon out.

(d) The nightingale offers herself to be trained by this Mozart. It is the morning and it is raining. Her ‘training’ starts. But she says she can’t sing in such a weather. The frog offers to sing with her. His training lasts for six hours. He makes her sing from this tree to that tree physically exhausting her in the name of training. The nightingale shivers due to cold and her voice gets hoarse and quivering.

(e) The nightingale becomes a huge sensation. Creatures from far crowd the place to hear her sing. The frog charges admission fee and earns a huge money. A large number of titled gentry crowds the place. But such a thing doesn’t last long.

Soon the nightingale fails to earn money for the frog. He calls her to give the audience ‘something sharper, snappier’ and add some frills. But the nightingale can’t continue singing for long. Due to continuous singing and over-exertion she gets very weak and tired. Her voice zips and trills and the ticket office gross crashes.

The frog gets very angry and calls the nightingale ‘brainless’. He asks her to puff her lungs with passion. But he has drained her energies. Weeping and trembling she puffs up to sing but dies due to the bursting of her vein.

The reaction of the frog : He calls her stupid, too prone to influence. He leaves no alibi to be responsible for her death—a crafty and wicked being.

Question 7.
On the basis of your understanding of the poem, complete the sentences given below by choosing the appropriate option.

1. The frog’s aim was to

(a) make the nightingale a sensation
(b) make the nightingale as good a singer as him
(c) maintain his supremacy in the bog
(d) make a lot of money.

2. The animals reacted to the nightingale’s song with

(a) hatred
(b) admiration
(c) indifference
(d) suggestions for improvement

3. The nightingale accepted the frog’s tutelage as she

(a) was not confident of herself
(b) wanted to become as good a singer as the frog
(c) wanted to become a professional singer
(d) was not a resident of Bingle Bog

Answer:

1. (c) maintain his supremacy in the bog
2. (b) admiration
3. (c) wanted to become a professional singer

Question 8.
Read the stanza given below and complete the sentences by choosing the appropriate option.

Day by day the nightingale
Grew more sorrowful and pale
Night on night her tired song
Zipped and trilled and bounced along,
Till the birds and beasts grew tired
At a voice so uninspired
And the ticket office gross
Crashed, and she grew more morose
For her ears were now addicted
To applause quite unrestricted,
And to sing into the night
All alone gave no delight.

(i) The nightingale was sorrowful and pale because

1. she had been practicing in the rain
2. she had been performing all night
3. she was losing confidence in herself
4. she was falling ill.

(ii) The audience was tired of her song because

1. they had heard it many times
2. it had become mechanical
3. she looked tired
4. she had added trill to her song.

(iii) She no longer enjoyed singing alone as

1. she wanted to sing only for titled crowd
2. she was now used to the appreciation she got
3. the frog was no longer with her
4. she had become proud of herself.

Answer:

(i) 2. she had been performing all night
(ii) 2. it had become mechanical
(iii) 2. she was now used to the appreciation she got.

Question 9.
Answer the following questions briefly.
(a) How did the creatures of Single bog react to the nightingale’s singing ? (V. Imp.) (CBSE 2014, 2015)

(b) Which are the different ways in which the frog asserts his importance ? (V. Imp.)

(c) Why is the frog’s joy both sweet and bitter ? (V. Imp.)

(d) Why was the frog angry ?

(e) How did the frog become the unrivalled king of the bog again ? (V. Imp.) (CBSE 2015)

Answer:

(a) The creatures of Bingle Bog reacted firstly to the nightingale’s singing very favourably. They, in fact, crowded the places where they could hear the nightingale sing so sweetly. Animals and birds came from long distances to hear her sweet and melodious song.

(b) The frog asserts his importance as a musician and an art critic. He also shows his importance that he owns the Bingle Bog and reigns supreme in it. He also tells her that if she gets training from him, she would scale new heights in singing.

(c) The frog’s joy is sweet because he is earning a lot of money from the nightingale’s singing. Secondly, he is getting success in tiring the nightingale out and killing her. His joy is bitter because the revenue is getting less and less. Obviously, the nightingale is not attracting a large crowd of animals and birds as expected by the frog.

(d) The frog was angry because the nightingale didn’t sing sweetly to enable him to earn more. Secondly, her voice was becoming ‘uninspired’. Her song now zipped, trilled and bounced along.

(e) The frog became the unrivalled king of the bog again after the death of the nightingale. Now no bird or animal could rival him in singing. Secondly, all of them over there were greatly scared of him.

Question 10.
Discuss the following questions and write the answers in your note-books.

(a) Bring out the irony in the frog’s statement—‘Your song must be your own’.

(b) Do you think the end is justified ? (V. Imp.)

(c) Do you think the nightingale is ‘brainless’ ? Give reasons for your answer. (V. Imp.) (CBSE 2014)

(d) In spite of having a melodious voice and being a crowd puller, the nightingale turns out to be a loser and dies. How far is she responsible for her own downfall ?

(e) Do you agree with the Frog’s inference of the Nightingale’s character ? Give reasons for your answer. (V. Imp.)

Answer:

Discussion at class level. The answers are given below :

(a) The irony here is that the frog means that the nightingale’s song is not hers but it has been stolen. Indirectly, he means to say that the nightingale steals others’ songs and that’s why her song is so melodious.

(b) The end seems to be appropriate as it justifies the truth that evil people at first have the upper hand over the innocent ones. Here the nightingale is alone ; so it is natural ‘innocence’ symbolised by her. This is crushed by the ‘cruel and crafty designs’ of evil frog.

(c) Yes, to a greater extent, the nightingale is ‘brainless’ because she doesn’t see into the things. She is innocent and credulous to the extent that whatever the frog says is accepted by her. She must have been worldly-wise, careful and alert. Also she should have seen beyond what the frog tells her. In a way she should not have followed what the frog told her to do.

(d) The nightingale herself is responsible for her own downfall as such men are bound to fail before the crafty and deceitful persons. She has no capacity to judge and evaluate the persons from their sweet tongues. That’s why, she is killed by the evil designs of the frog. He simply ploys her to her death.

(e) Yes, I agree with the Frog’s inference of the Nightingale’s character. She must have seen through the evil designs of the Frog and acted accordingly. But being innocent and simple-hearted, she didn’t evaluate the Frog’s tricks to liquidate her out of Bingle Bog. Being flattering and submissive she paid the price in her death.

Question 11.
The Frog and the nightingale’ is a spoof on the present society. Study the Mind Map given below. Divide yourselves into groups, select a box and discuss the statement given. Then present your views to the class

Answer:

Classroom activity. The following information shall help the students in their discussion :

1. Shallow thinking patterns are basically those patterns which dwell mainly on one’s selfishness and self-interests. These selfishness and self-interests are basically materialistic and harmful. Since these are born merely out of jealousy and ill-will, these produce fickle-mindedness in the people. Fickle-minded people have no backbone and can simply be harmful. They have no human virtues like fidelity, honesty and integrity.

2. Fickle-minded people have no locus standi of their own. They are simply those persons who pose to show that they are something. But in reality they are a group of brainless persons with a limited thinking. These persons are very dangerous as their sole aim is to cause damage to the progressive ones.

3. Materialistic society or materialism is the by-product of fickle-minded people and of those people who have a shallow thinking. People loving materialism are always showy and pompous. They have nothing to do with aesthetic or human virtues. They know only the mathematics of amassing materialistic things and looking at things in the name of buying and purchasing. The virtues that lie at the roots of a good person or a good thing are unknown to them.

4. Such materialistic persons have their eyes on successes by hook or by crook. They do succeed temporarily but in between face the music of their limited values. For instance, the frog aims to remove the nightingale and earn money. He earns money but for how long ? His clever plans succeed but partially. So materialistic persons succeed initially but not always.

5. If such persons are behind the art, art tends to be commercialized. The frog commercializes the art of singing of the nightingale. He treats the nightingale as a hen that lays golden eggs. But for how long ? So if art is in the hands of the people like the sly and wicked frog, God save us ! True art lies not in material terms but it is deeply connected with the aesthetic qualities of men. If it is balanced with materialism it ceases to be true Art.

CLASS DISCUSSION
How a person tries to put down another when that person is succeeding in his or her life.

Our self-image is often based on what others make us believe we are. A poor self-image can do irreparable damage to us. Do you agree with this statement ? Elaborate with suitable reasons and examples.

Answer:

Mainly for discussion at class level. The following shall help the students in their discussion :

Yes, I agree with this that our poor self-image can do irreparable damage to us. A poor self-image means loss of self-confidence or low self-confidence. This, too, is very bad as it never lets a person face the harsh and bitter realities of life. Low self-confidence or over self-confidence are both bad. There are many persons around us who may not digest our progress. So they may try to derail us by sweet talks. But their sole aim is to show that they are our well-wishers. But in reality their jealousy and ill-will damage us in one way or the other. Obviously, we should not take them on their face value or by their sly and clever talks. In fact, we should judge or evaluate their hypocritical advice or interpretation objectively. Flattery is another tool to damage us. In fact, we should always keep in mind that all that glitters can never be gold. If the nightingale had understood and evaluated the frog’s ‘sweet’ talks, she shouldn’t have died.

WRITING TASK
Question 12.
The nightingale has scaled the heights of success. But now the audience is dwindling, the frog is unhappy and reprimands her all the time. She is mentally and physically exhausted and fears failure. As the nightingale, write a diary entry highlighting her fears and analyzing the reasons for her failure.
Answer:
Sunday, 17th September, 20 – 9 pm

I can’t forget when the frog came to me for the first time and spoke sweet words. Those words were never sweet. But my foolishness and too much submissive nature made me feel so. Now I clearly visualize the crafty nature of the frog. He has really duped me and I, being foolish, believed in him !

I see now that I can’t sing melodiously as I did earlier. When I sang with my own choice and will, I sang melodiously. The sly frog charged fees and earned a lot. He compelled me to sing with trills and frills and change the style. He said that it was all in the name of training. But now I realize it was not training but killing me slowly due to overwork and exertion.

At this point of my life I see myself defeated at the hands of this sly frog. I feel physically exhausted. I can’t sing non-stop. I find myself physically exhausted. Truly he took full advantage of my innocence and simple-heartedness. Very cleverly he led me to my own death without any alibi. I want to leave a message that we must not believe in what others say about ourselves.

Nightingale

Question 13.
Write an obituary for the nightingale. You may begin like this : May the kind soul (or you may make use of your own beginning).
Answer:

An Obituary for the Nightingale

May the kind and innocent soul of the Nightingale rest in peace ! The Nightingale was really innocent, simple-hearted, cooperative and compassionate. In her death she has left a vacuum which is difficult to fill up. She had malice towards none but had to pay the price of being innocent, submissive, simple-hearted and credulous. But strangely she herself became a victim of the modern evils like craftiness, selfishness, and the power of place. One must be vigilant, alert and suspicious of others, especially of the sweet-tongued. One must be conscious that all that glitters is not gold. We must shun the people having the qualities of the frog. Being credulous is always harmful.

LISTENING TASK
Question 14.
Listen to a poem on a similar theme by Mary Howitt and compare the Fly to Vikram Seth’s Nightingale.
Answer:

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