English Summary

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A Shady Plot Summary in English by Elsie Brown

A Shady Plot Summary in English

‘A Shady Plot’ is a story within a story. The narrator is an author of short stories about ghosts. In this story he reveals how he gets the plot for his latest ghost story.

The narrator had been told by the editor of the magazine that frequently published his stories to write a ghost story as his ghost stories were well-liked by the readers. As he sat thinking of an idea for a plot, the narrator was confronted by a ghost. She slowly materialised in a dark comer of the room like a moving picture cartoons being put together.

First an arm came out, then a bit of sleeve of a stiff white shirtwaist, then a leg and a plaid skirt, until at last, there she was, complete. The ghost was angry at being called to help. In fact, she informed the narrator that it was she who had been supplying him with plots for his ghost stories. She claimed she had been a writer in her other life. Now she, and some other ghosts who had been writers earlier, had organised ‘The Writer’s Inspiration Bureau’. They put ideas into the mind of a writer without ideas and with a mind soft enough to accept impressions. Though initially they had done this willingly, but lately they had been called out too often and so they wanted to put an end to the practice. The ghost wanted the narrator to get all his friends and acquaintances to stop using the Ouija board.

Just then the narrator’s wife, Lavinia, came in. Much to his dismay, she informed the narrator that she had bought an Ouija board. Nothing the narrator said dissuaded her from using it.

The next evening, when the narrator returned, their maid Gladolia met him in the hall. She informed him that his wife had organised an Ouija board party that evening. By the time he changed into his second best suit and a fresh shirt and collar, the guests had arrived. They were mostly elderly people belonging to Lavinia’s Book Club. They were sitting in couples and between each couple was an Ouija board! He looked around for the ghost but could not see her. His wife told him to partner with Laura Hinkle.

When the Ouija board began to move, the narrator at first thought that Laura Hinkle was cheating with that board. But then the board spelt out aloud the word ‘T-r-a-i-t-o-r’. It also told Laura Hinkle to ask the narrator what it meant. The spirit identified herself as Helen. Other couples with Ouija boards also claimed they had received communications from Helen for the narrator. The narrator’s wife looked at him suspiciously. The writer left the room. Angry and suspicious, Lavinia slept in the guest room that night. The next morning she threatened she would be going back to her grandmother and that her lawyer would communicate with the narrator.

John sat in the study, upset with the turn of events. The ghost of Helen arrived again. She said she had been sent to ask when his wife was going to get rid of that Ouija board. At that moment Gladolia called to say she was quitting her job. Lavinia came in then wearing the brown hat and coat she usually travelled in, carrying a suitcase which she set down on the floor.

Since Helen was there in the room, the narrator tried to get her to leave. Just then the door opened and Gladolia announced she was leaving because she would not stay in a place where there were Ouija boards. Lavinia told her to bum the Ouija board. She then suspiciously asked him who was hiding in the room. Helen spoke to Lavinia. She introduced herself as Helen of Troy, New York. And saying so, she left, waving a hand in farewell. Lavinia forgave her husband who declared he had the best plot for a ghost story.

A Shady Plot Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Based on your reading of the story above, answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.

a. The narrator earns his living by …………………
(i) writing ghost stories
(ii) working as a reader for a magazine
(iii) working as a stenographer
(iv) working as an accountant in a lumber company
Answer:
(i) Writing ghost stories.

b. The writer was overconfident about his ability to write ghost stories because …………………
(i) whenever magazines wanted a ghost story, they got in touch with him
(ii) he was always able to write a ghost story whenever he had to write one
(iii) the readers appreciated his ghost stories
(iv) he knew the ghost lady would help him write a good ghost story
Answer:
(iii) the readers appreciated his ghost stories

c. The sight of the ghost materialising in his room filled the narrator with …………………
(i) fear
(ii) excitement
(iii) joy
(iv) anticipation
Answer:
(i) fear

d. The ghost wanted John to …………………
(i) stop his wife from using the Ouija board
(ii) stop using the Ouija board himself
(iii) stop his guests from using the Ouija board
(iv) stop people from using the Ouija board
Answer:
(iii) stop his guests from using the Ouija board

e. John wants the ghost to disappear before his wife enters the room and waves his arms at the ghost with something of the motion of a beginner when learning to swim. His movement shows his …………………
(i) fear
(ii) amusement
(iii) desperation
(iv) anxiety
Answer:
(iii) desperation

f. When the narrator says his wife is never so pretty as when she’s doing something she knows he disapproves of his tone is …………………
(i) amused
(ii) ironic
(iii) angry
(iv) irritated
Answer:
(ii) ironic

g. The ghost says “It’s all your fault. ‘It’here refers to …………….
(i) the narrator’s wife’s anger
(ii) the ghost’s anger
(iii) the narrator’s wife leaving him
(iv) the ghost materialising in sections.
Answer:
(iv) the ghost materialising in sections.

h. Gladolia wishes to leave the narrator’s house as …………………
(i) she does not like the Ouija boards .
(ii) she is afraid of the ghost
(iii) she is afraid of magic and hoodoo
(iv) she likes Ouija boards and hoodoo
Answer:
(iii) she is afraid of magic and hoodoo

Question 2.
Answer the following questions briefly.

a. What genre of stories does Jenkins want the narrator to write? Why?
Answer:
Jenkins wants the narrator to write a ghost story because readers want to read his ghost stories, and his ghosts are well-defined characters like living beings.

b. Does the narrator like writing ghost stories? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
Answer:
The narrator did not particularly like to write ghost stories. He does feel that the editor is exploiting him as he says, ‘Well, I was in no position to contradict Jenkins, for, as yet, his magazine had been the only one to print my stuff.’

c. What makes Helen, the ghost, and her other co-ghosts organize The Writer’s Inspiration Bureau?

d. Why had Helen, the ghost been helping the narrator write ghost stories? Why was she going on strike? What condition did she place for providing continued help?
Answer:
Helen had been a writer before she died. So she and other writers who were ghosts now, had formed ‘The Writer’s Inspiration Bureau’. They scouted around until they found a writer without ideas and with a mind soft enough to accept impressions. The case was brought to the attention of the main office, and one of the ghosts was assigned to it. Helen had been assigned to the narrator. She had come to tell him that they were going on strike.

e. How does the ghost undermine the narrator’s faith in his ability to write ghost stories?

f. Why does John want the ghost to disappear before his wife appears on the scene? What impression of his wife’s character do you form from his words?
Answer:
John says that his wife is very sensitive. The sight of the ghost in her house may drive her to hysterics. Also she may not like the presence of a woman in the house, even if the woman was a ghost. Lavinia leaves the impression of a self-centred and flighty woman, given to jealousy and hysteria.

g. Why does the narrator hesitate to be a partner to Laura Hinkle during the Ouija Board Party?
Answer:
The narrator’s wife had told him to partner Laura Hinkle as her partner, Mrs William Augustus Wainright had not come. When the narrator approached, Laura looked at him with a flirtatious smile that implied danger for him as she was untrustworthy.

h. What message does the ghost convey to the group that had assembled in the narrator’s house? What is their reaction to the message?
Answer:
The ghost called John a traitor and asked the Ouija board users to ask him why she was calling him that. The people using the Ouija boards all reported that they had received a similar message and began talking about it.

i. Why is John’s wife angry? What does she decide to do?
Answer:
The narrator’s wife was angry because she felt her husband had been trying to flirt with Laura Hinkle who had partnered him at the Ouija board. She decides to go to her grandmother’s house and communicate with him through a lawyer. The narrator is upset and is angry with the ghost, Helen.

j. Why does John wish he were dead?
Answer:
John wished he were dead so that he didn’t have to face Lavinia’s reactions to the incidents that happened at the Ouija board party.

k. John’s apprehensions about his wife’s reaction to her encounter with the ghost are unfounded. Justify.
Answer:
John felt that his wife was so sensitive that she could not bear to have a mouse say ‘boo’ to her. Seeing a ghost in her own living-room would drive her to hysterics. His fears were unfounded as she smiled at the ghost, relieved she was not Helen of Troy.

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The Letter Summary in English by Dhumaketu

The Letter Summary in English

Every day for the past five years, Coachman Ali walked slowly through the town. Now and then he drew his tom clothes tighter to shield his body from the cold and biting wind. At the post office, the old man went in quietly and squatted on the veranda.

Inside, the clerks separated the letters. Name after name rang out from within as the clerk read out the English addresses in the letters and flung them to the waiting postmen while the old man waited patiently outside. In the middle of this action, a jesting voice from inside called out Coachman Ali’s name.

The old man got up, raised his eyes to heaven in gratitude and stepping forward put his hands to the door. He called out eagerly to the clerk who had called out his name to enquire if there was a letter for him.

The clerk turned to the postmaster and said that Ali was a mad man who worried the post office employees by calling every day for letters that never came. Disappointed, the old man went back slowly to the bench on which he had been accustomed to.sit for five long years.

Ali had been a clever shikari but now, in his old age, he had given up hunting. His only child, Miriam had got married and gone off with her husband, a soldier, to his regiment in the Punjab, and for the last five years Ali had received no news of his daughter.

As a result of the parting, Ali had come to understand the meaning of love and separation and had therefore given up hunting. The post office had become his place of pilgrimage. He always sat in a particular seat in a particular comer of the building. People got to know his habit and they laughed at him. The postmen made fun of him. Even though there was no letter for him they would call out his name for the fun of seeing him jump up and come to the door. But with unlimited faith and,patience, he came every day, and went away empty-handed.

For several days Ali did not come to the post-office. Though no one had enough sympathy or understanding, they were all curious to know why Ali had not come. Finally, one day Ali came, breathing with difficulty, looking as if he were at death’s door. He asked for his Miriam’s letter and was rudely rebuked by the postmaster.

Ali came out very slowly, turning after every few steps to gaze at the post office, his eyes full of tears. He heard one of the clerks coming up behind him, and turned to him. He gave the clerk five golden guineas and told him to forward Miriam’s letter to him to his grave. That was the last anyone saw of Ali and no one bothered to check on him.

Then the postmaster’s daughter fell ill in another town and he sat anxiously waiting for news of her.

The post was brought in, and the letters piled on the table. Looking anxiously through the mail, he spotted a letter addressed to Ali. He picked up the letter thinking he’d give it to Ali himself when he came, for now the postmaster understood Ali’s heart and his very soul. After spending one night anxiously waiting for news of his daughter, his heart was full of sympathy for the poor old man who had spent his nights in the same suspense for the last five years.

At five, he heard Ali at the door and called him in. He handed the letter to the old man, bent double with age, who was standing outside.

One of his clerks, Lakshmi Das, the one to whom Ali had given the money, came to check who the postmaster was talking to. On learning that the postmaster was talking to Ali, he exclaimed that Ali had died three months ago.

The postmaster was bewildered. Miriam’s letter was still lying near the door, Ali’s image was still before his eyes. He listened to Lakshmi Das’s recital of the last interview, but he could still not doubt the reality of the knock on the door and the tears in Ali’s eyes.

That evening Lakshmi Das and the postmaster walked with slow steps to Ali’s grave and laid the letter on it.

The Letter Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Answer the following questions by ticking the correct options:

a. Ali’s walking to the Post Office daily even in biting cold weather shows his
(i) courage.
(ii) optimism.
(iii) foolishness.
(iv) strength of will.
Answer:
(ii) optimism.

b. The Post Office is referred to as Ali’s “place of pilgrimage ” as he
(i) visited it daily.
(ii) came there to pray for a letter from his daughter.
(iii) went there with faith and hope.
(iv) believed God would bless him if he went there.
Answer:
(iii) went there with faith and hope.

c. The Post Master’s rudeness to Ali reveals his
(i) lack of empathy.
(ii) preoccupation with his work.
(iii) preconceived notions.
(iv) sensitivity.
Answer:
(i) lack of empathy.

d. Ali did not come to the Post Office for several days as
(i) he had given up hope.
(ii) he was upset by the Post Master’s rebuke.
(iii) he was unwell and not able to walk to the Post Office.
(iv) he was busy hunting.
Answer:
(iii) he was unwell and not able to walk to the Post Office.

e. “Tortured by doubt and remorse, he sat down in the glow of the charcoal sigri to wait. ’’ The Post Master was waiting for ‘
(i) a letter from Miriam.
(ii) a letter from his own daughter.
(iii) a letter from Ali.
(iv) Ali to deliver Miriam’s letter to him.
Answer:
(ii) a letter from his own daughter

Question 2.
Answer the following questions briefly.

a. Who was Ali? Where did he go daily?
Answer:
Ali was an old man who had once been a famous shikari. His only daughter Miriam had married a soldier and had gone away with her husband to his regiment in the Punjab.

Since the last five years Ali had no news of this daughter. He went every day to the post office to wait for a letter from her.

b. “Ali displays qualities of love and patience ”. Give evidence from the story to support the statement.
Answer:
The story ‘The Letter’ is built around Ali’s love for his daughter. Ali misses her deeply after she moves to Punjab with her husband. Though he was a great huntsman, he gives up hunting as he understood the pain of parting now. He went to the post office daily for five years in wait for a letter from his daughter. Every day he waited patiently for his Miriam’s letter despite jokes and rebukes from the post office employees.

c. How do you know Ali was a familiar figure at the post office?
Answer:
The post office is referred to as Ali’s place of pilgrimage. Ali always occupied a particular seat in a particular comer of the building every day. The postmen began to tease him. Even though there was no letter for him they would call out his name for the fun of seeing him jump up and come to the door.

d. Why did Ali give up hunting?
Answer:
Once Miriam went away with her husband, Ali understood the meaning of love and separation. He gave up hunting partridges as he could no longer enjoy the sportsman’s pleasure and laughter at the bewildered terror of the young partridges whose parents he had killed.

e. What impression do you form of the postmaster after reading the story ‘The Letter ’?
Answer:
At first the Postmaster is haughty and arrogant. He dismisses poor Ali as being mad.

One day when Ali inquires after his letter of him, the Postmaster very rudely rebukes him and tells him that the post office employees would not eat his letter. Being unimaginative, he is not able to understand another person’s pain till he suffers himself. But the Postmaster is ready to admit his mistake. As soon as he sees Ali’s daughter’s letter, he picks it up and decides to hand it over to Ali personally. He even accompanies Lakshmi Das to Ali’s grave to place the letter there, displaying his underlying compassionate nature.

f. The postmaster says to Ali, “What a pest you are, brother! ” Do you agree with the statement? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
No, Ali is not a pest. Though Ali goes daily to the post office, he waits patiently without disturbing or bothering anyone. Hope lures him to the door whenever the post office employees jokingly call out his name. When he realises they had been joking, he never rebukes them.

g. “Ali came out very slowly, turning after every few steps to gaze at the post office. His eyes were filled with tears of helplessness, for his patience was exhausted, even though he still hadfaith. ” Why were Ali’s eyes filled with tears of helplessness? What had exhausted his patience but not his faith?
Answer:
Ali’s eyes were filled with tears of helplessness as he had yet again received no letter from his daughter,

Miriam. The long wait, his approaching end, and the Postmaster’s sharp rebuke made tears of helplessness well up in his eyes. He had no energy left in him to come to the post office again, but he still had faith that Miriam would write, so he gave the clerk Lakshmi Das five gold golden guineas and told him to forward Miriam’s letter to him to his grave.

h. “Tortured by doubt and remorse, he sat down in the glow of the charcoal sigri to wait. ” Who is tortured by doubt and remorse? Why? What is he waiting for?
Answer:
The Postmaster is tortured by doubt and remorse. He now realises a father’s anxiety and worry. As his daughter is sick and he is awaiting news of her, he understands Ali’s anxiety. He realises he has been rude to Ali and is filled with regret at his behaviour. He sits down to wait for a letter from his daughter who is sick.

We have decided to create the most comprehensive English Summary that will help students with learning and understanding.

Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger Summary in English by Saki

Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger Summary in English

The story ‘Mrs Packletide’s Tiger’, written by Saki (H. H. Munro) makes fun of the Victorian-Edwardian fascination with wild-game hunting, as well as the urge of the people of this time to show off and prove themselves to be better than their so called ‘friends’. In this case, Mrs Packletide has a deep desire to be one up on her friend Loona Bimberton. Mrs Bimberton had earned a lot of media attention for having travelled in the newly invented mode of transport— ‘the airplane’ piloted by an Algerian aviator.

Mrs Packletide, her greatest rival, is now determined to outdo her feat and decides to shoot a tiger which was the only way in which she could counter all the publicity achieved by Loona Bimberton.

Fortunately, she has enough money to accomplish almost anything she wishes, and she offers a reward of a thousand rupees to anyone, or any group, that can assist her in reaching her goal. A nearby village takes up the challenge. They are fortunate to have an old tiger who had taken to preying on their domesticated animals, and are as eager to get rid of him as Mrs Packletide is keen to shoot him.

So the villagers construct a platform in a leafy tree for Mrs Packletide and strategically tether a goat ‘with a particularly persistent bleat’ underneath it. Armed with a rifle, Mrs Packletide, accompanied by her paid companion Louisa, waits through the night for the tiger to appear. At last the tiger is seen making his way into the clearing. Instead of attacking the terrified goat, the tiger lies down.

‘I believe it’s ill,’ Louisa says, but the tiger rises again and heads for the goat. Mrs Packletide fires and the tiger falls.

When the smoke clears, however, it is apparent that Mrs Packletide had shot the goat while the tiger had died of a heart attack. The villagers will not give away Mrs Packletide’s secret, for they are richer by a thousand rupees and Mrs Packletide presumes that she can trust Louisa who in any case is her paid companion and owes her some loyalty.

But Louisa, who has been feeling underpaid and underappreciated for some time, informs Mrs Packletide that she would require a little extra money to ensure that the true story of the tiger hunt is not leaked out, specifically to Loona Bimberton. She adds that the money would help her to buy a small cottage near Dorking.

Hence, people are very surprised when Louisa, a humble paid companion, suddenly becomes a homeowner; but they are even more surprised when Mrs Packletide gives up her newfound hobby, big-game hunting. ‘The initial expenses are so heavy,’ she tells those who ask the reason.

Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Answer the following questions in your own words:

a. Why did Mrs. Packletide wish to kill a tiger?
Answer:
Mrs Packletide wished to do so because it was the only way she could think of getting more publicity than her social rival Loona Bimberton who had received a lot of media attention for her feat of having travelled in an airplane for eleven miles.

b. What made her decide to give a party in Loona Bimberton’s honour? What did she intend to give Loona on her birthday?
Answer:
Once she had managed to kill the tiger she wanted to give the party to show off her success to Loona Bimberton and enjoy watching her bum with jealousy. Mrs Packletide planned to give her a brooch made out of the tiger claw.

c. How was the tiger shooting arranged? What kind of a tiger was chosen for the purpose?
Answer:
Mrs Packletide leamt of a village which had an old tiger in the neighbourhood and she promised to pay the villagers a thousand mpees if they helped her to hunt it down. An old tiger on the verge of death was chosen because it presented very little risk to Mrs Packletide while hunting.

d. In what way did the villagers help Mrs. Packletide shoot the tiger?
Answer:
First of all the villagers left their pet animals around so that the tiger did not stray from the village in search of food. Secondly, they took care not to disturb the tiger when it was resting. Thirdly, they helped set up a hunting platform for Mrs Packletide. Finally, they tied up a goat with a loud bleat to attract the tiger.

e. Who was Miss Mebbin? Was she really devoted to Mrs. Packletide? How did she behave during the tiger shooting?
Answer:
Miss Mebbin was Mrs Packletide’s paid companion. No, she was not sincere towards Mrs Packletide because she threatened to disclose the hue facts of the hunt if she were not paid the money that would enable her to buy a cottage for herself.

f. What comment did Miss Mebbin make after Mrs Packletide hadfired the shot?
Answer:
Miss Mebbin commented that the shot had killed the goat while the tiger had died of a heart attack.

g. Why did Miss Mebbin make this comment? How did Mrs Packletide react to this comment?
Answer:
Mrs Packletide was annoyed at her for pointing out the hue circumstances of the hunt to her but she was not too concerned because she never imagined that she would use this piece of information against her.

h. How did the villagers react to the tiger’s death?
Answer:
The villagers decide not to disclose the secret that the tiger died of a heart attack because they are richer by a thousand rupees and the tiger won’t prey on their animals anymore.

i. How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her week-end cottage? Why did she plant so many tiger lilies in her garden?
Answer:
Miss Mebbin threatened to reveal the true facts about the hunt to Loona Bimberton unless Mrs Packletide paid her the required amount to buy herself a cottage. Mrs Packletide had no choice but to give in to her threat. Therefore, she was able to buy her weekend cottage. The flowers were planted to honour the tiger which had indirectly been responsible for her being able to afford a cottage of her own.

j. “The incidental expenses are so heavy, ” she confides to inquiring friends. Who is the speaker? What is she referring to here?
Answer:
The speaker is Mrs Packletide and she is referring to the expenses incurred for the tiger hunt.

Question 2.
Choose extracts from the story that illustrate the character of the people listed in the table given below. There are some words given to help you. You may add words of your own. One has been done as an example:
Answer:
vain jealous competitive shrewd manipulative stingy materialistic spiteful

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Two Gentlemen of Verona Summary in English by A.J. Cronin

Two Gentlemen of Verona Summary in English

Two Gentlemen of Verona is a heart-warming story of human relationships and family ties. In the story set in Italy against the backdrop of the Second World War, the two gentlemen of Verona, the brothers, Nicola and Jacopo, take care of their sister Lucia who is suffering from tuberculosis.

The boys are poor and wear shabby clothes. Their father was a famous singer and a hard worker who had died in the war. The boys willingly take on the responsibility of providing for their ailing sister, in the absence of their father.

While driving through the foothills of the Alps to Verona, the narrator was stopped by two small boys selling wild strawberries. The boys were dressed shabbily in old clothes that were too large for them. The two were dark-skinned and thin, with tangled hair and dark eyes, which had a serious expression. Though their driver tried to dissuade them from buying the strawberries, the narrator and his companion bought the biggest basket the boys had for sale because they were attracted to them. The boys were brothers. Nicola, the elder, was 13 and Jacopo, the younger one, was nearly 12. The next morning, the narrator found the two brother shining shoes outside their hotel. The boys told him that besides picking fruit and shining shoes, the two boys also worked as tour guides.

As the boys showed the narrator and his companion around the town, he noticed the boys were childish and innocent. But even though Jacopo was lively, and Nicola had a charming smile, both the boys appeared to be very serious.

During the week that the narrator and his companion spent in Verona, they often saw the boys who were always ready to do chores for the two men.

One night, they were surprised to see the boys in the windy and deserted square, resting on the stone pavement beneath the lights. It was nearly midnight, and though he looked tired, Nicola sat upright while Jacopo slept with his head resting on his brother’s shoulder. They were waiting for the last bus from Padua so that they could sell the newspapers.

The narrator was surprised at how hard the boys worked and when he questioned Nicola about it the next morning, he looked ashamed and tongue-tied. The narrator presumed the boys worked so hard and spent frugally as they were saving up to emigrate to America. Nicola expressed a desire to go to the States but said they had plans in Italy at the moment.

The narrator then offered help before he left for the United States on the following Monday. Nicola declined the offer, but Jacopo readily took him up on it and asked him if they could go to Poleta, 30 kilometres from Verona, in the narrator’s car. The narrator readily agreed to drive the boys there himself. He assured Nicola, who appeared to be angry with his brother that it wouldn’t be any trouble to do so.

The following afternoon they drove to the tiny village set high upon the hillside. At Poleta, Jacopo directed him to a large red-roofed villa, surrounded by a high stone wall. As soon as the car came to a halt, the two boys jumped out and telling the narrator they would be back in an hour, they entered the villa.

After a few minutes the narrator followed the boys inside. When he rang the bell, a nurse opened the door. He asked her about the two boys. She led the narrator through the hospital and stopped near the door of a little cubicle. Through the glass partition, the narrator saw the boys sitting next to a girl of about twenty who sat propped up on pillows listening to their chatter, her eyes soft and tender. He realised at once she was their sister from their resemblance to another.

The nurse told him that the children, who had lost their mother earlier, lost their father in the war. He had been a well- known singer. Shortly afterwards, a bomb had destroyed their home. As a result, the three children were left homeless and destitute. The children who had always known a comfortable and cultured life, suffered from lack of food and cold. For months they lived in a shelter they built with their own hands amidst the rubble. Then for three years the Germans ruled the city. The boys grew to hate the Germans. When the resistance movement began secretly, they were among the first to join. When the war was over, and there was peace at last, they came back to their beloved sister. Lucia, who had earlier been training as a singer had developed tuberculosis of the spine.

The boys did not give up. They brought her to the hospital. Lucia had been in the hospital for twelve months and was making good progress. One day she would walk and sing again. The boys, in the meantime, struggled hard to pay for her treatment.

The narrator went back outside and waited until the boys came out. Then he drove them back to the city. He did not let them realise that he knew their secret though he was very impressed by their devotion. War had not broken their spirit. Their selfless action brought a new nobility to human life and gave promise of a greater hope for human society.

Two Gentlemen of Verona Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Based on your reading of the story answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.

a. The driver did not approve of the narrator buying fruit from the two boys because
(i) the boys were untidy and poorly dressed
(ii) the strawberries were not fresh
(iii) they were asking for a heavy price
(iv) the driver did not approve of small boys who worked
Answer:
(i) the boys were untidy and poorly dressed

b. The narrator was most impressed by the boys
(i) desire to earn money
(ii) willingness to work
(iii) ability to perform many tasks
(iv) sense of fun
Answer:
(ii) willingness to work

c. Nicola was not pleased when Jacopo asked the narrator to drive them to Poleta as he
(i) did not want a stranger to become involved with their plans
(ii) preferred going to Poleta by train so that he could enjoy the scenery
(iii) did not want to ask anyone for favours
(iv) did not want to take help from someone he did not know well
Answer:
(iii) did not want to ask anyone for favours

d. The narrator did not go inside Lucia’s room as
(i) he did not want to intrude into their privacy
(ii) he thought that the boys would object
(iii) Lucia would not welcome a stranger
(iv) the boys wouldfeel he was spying on them

(e) The boys were the first to join the resistance movement against the Germans because
(i) the Germans had hurt their sister
(ii) the Germans ruled the city
(iii) the Germans had ruined their family
(iv) the Germans had destroyed their home
Answer:
(iv) the Germans had destroyed their home

f. The author did not speak to the boys on their return journey because
(i) he thought the boys would prefer to keep their secret
(ii) he thought the boys were ashamed of their sister’s condition
(iii) he thought they wouldn’t tell him the truth
(iv) he thought the boys might ask him for money for their sister
Answer:
(i) he thought the boys would prefer to keep their secret

Question 2.
What do you understand by the following statements?

a. “We do many things, sir, ” Nicola answered seriously. He glanced at us hopefully.
Answer:
Nicola tells the narrator when questioned by the latter that they don’t just pick fruit for a living but do many other things as well.

b. He coloured deeply under his sunburn, then grew pale.
Answer:
The narrator had commented on their frugal lifestyle despite the money they earned.
The boy was embarrassed by this.

c. He smiled uncomfortably. “Just plans, sir, ” he answered in a low voice.
Answer:
Nicola does not want to disclose to the narrator that they are not saving up for a trip to the States but to look after their invalid sister.

d. Yet in both these boyish faces there was a seriousness which was far beyond their years.
Answer:
The narrator sees integrity and self-reliance in their faces and in the way they work. He conies to realize that they are far more mature than their actual age.

Question 3.
Answer the following questions briefly.

a. Why didn’t Luigi, the driver, approve of the two boys?
Answer:
Luigi disapproved of their shabby appearance and did not want the narrator to buy strawberries from the boys. So, he also tried to convince the narrator would get better strawberries in Verona.

b. Why were the narrator and his companion impressed by the two boys?
Answer:
The narrator and his companion were attracted by the sincerity and honesty they saw in the friendly open faces of the boys. They were very impressed by the earnestness and genuineness they saw in their dark eyes.

c. Why was the author surprised to see Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys?
Answer:
The narrator had encountered the two boys Nicola and Jacopo the previous day as fruit-pickers and fruit-sellers. Therefore, he was surprised to see them working as shoeshine boys in the town square the next day.

d. How were the boys useful to the author?
Answer:
Nicola and Jacopo performed a number of tasks for the narrator including procuring a pack of American cigarettes, seats for the opera and the name of a good restaurant where they could eat. They also took him around the city to show him the sights.

e. Why were the boys in the deserted square at night? What character traits do they exhibit?
Answer:
The boys were in the square at night waiting for the last bus from Padua. They wished to sell the papers to the – passengers who came off the bus. This shows their capacity for hard work and their commitment. They were unmindful of their own tiredness or discomfort.

f. The narrator asks the boys, “Mustyou work so hard? You both look rather tired. ” The boys reply, “We are not complaining, sir. ” What do you learn about the boys from their reply?
Answer:
The boys worked hard and without any complaints despite their physical fatigue. This shows their sense of commitment and devotion. Their dignity and self-respect did not allow them to take help from anyone even though they had to pay for their sister’s treatment.

g. When the narrator asks the boys about their plans, they are evasive. Why don’t they disclose their problems?
Answer:
The boys were dignified and self-reliant. They did not want anyone to pity them. They wanted to discharge their responsibilities themselves, therefore they were evasive when the narrator presumed they were hoarding up their money to emigrate to the United States. They did not want him to know about their invalid sister.

We have decided to create the most comprehensive English Summary that will help students with learning and understanding.

Memories of Childhood Summary in English by Zitkala-Sa, Bama

Memories of Childhood by Zitkala-Sa, Bama About the Author

Born Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, (Zitkala-Sa) (22 February 1876 – 26 January 1938) was a Sioux writer, editor, musician, teacher and political activist. She was the co-founder of the National Council of American Indians in 1926. Her articles were published in the ‘Atlantic Monthly’ from 1900 to 1902 and in ‘Harper’s Monthly’. Most of her work is focused on tensions between tradition and assimilation and literature and politics. She was also an active member of the society of ‘American Indians which published the ‘American Indian’ Magazine. She worked for the recognition of native American culture and traditions but at the same time advocated US citizenship rights for American Indians to bring them into the mainstream.

Bama (Born: 1958-) is a Tamil novelist. Her autobiographical novel Karukku (1992) brought her fame. After this she wrote two novels Sangati and Vanmam along with two collections of short stories. Kusumbukkaran and Oru Tattvum Erumaiyum. She was born in a Roman Catholic family in Madras.

Most of her novels focus on caste and gender discrimination and that prevailing in Christians and Hindus. Her works embody the Dalit feminism and celebrate the inner strength of the subaltern woman.

Memories of Childhood Introduction to the Chapter

The “Memories of Childhood”, written by Zitkala-Sa and Bama has extracts taken from the writings of two different female writers from the marginalised communities. In both these autobiographical extracts, the writers narrate the painful experiences of their childhood when they were subjected to humiliation merely as they belonged to backward tribes or communities. The former is a victim of racial discrimination, whereas the latter is a victim of caste discrimination.

The first part titled ‘The Cutting of My Long Hair’ is by the extraordinarily talented and educated Native American writer, Gertrude Simmons Bonnin (pen name Zitkala-Sa). Her works criticised the dogma and the evils of oppression towards the Native American culture and women. The second part ‘Vie too are Human Beings’ is written by Bama, a Tamil Dalit woman from a Roman Catholic family. This is an excerpt from her 1992 autobiography, ‘Karukku’. This excerpt relates her first experience with untouchability.

Memories of Childhood Theme

The chapter, ‘Memories of Childhood’ explores the theme of prejudices and humiliation faced by the marginalised communities. The chapter tells us how the two brave girls stood up for their own and community rights, using their talent and education.

Memories of Childhood Summary in English

The Cutting of My Long Hair – Zitkala-Sa

The first day in school was a bitter and cold day. The noise made by the breakfast bell, the clatter of the shoes and the constant murmuring voices in a foreign tongue annoy the author. She sees many girls dressed in clinging dresses with stiff shoes and shingled hair. She finds the breakfast ritual of doing things according to the bell, strange. She calls it eating by formula. More atrocities were to follow for the new girl.

Zitkala-Sa’s friend overhears a talk about cutting r the long hair of the new girls. For Zitkala-Sa, this was absolutely atrocious. She belonged to a Native American warrior tribe. Their tradition was to keep long and heavy hair. Only those warriors captured by the enemy had their hair shingled. Short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards. Zitkala-Sa tries to rebel by hiding herself, but finally gets caught. Her voluble protests bear no fruit and her hair is also shingled forcibly on the very first day. This extract describes the narrator’s agony. She lost her beautiful long hair. Nobody provided comforit to her. Other children in the school had shingled hair. So she felt herself as one of the many animals driven by a herder.

We too are Human Beings—Bama

Bama was an innocent child living in a village. She had never heard of the word untouchability during her childhood. Certain small incidents of her life made her feel that she was born in the marginalised caste. She was a happy peppy girl. She loved the short-but- long walk from her school to her home. The plethora of beauty that she experienced on the way back from school made her very happy.

The performing monkey, the snake charmer, the Maariyaata temple, the pongal offerings being cooked in front of the temple—she could just go on and on looking at the beautiful sights. Once when she was in the class 3, while going home, she saw her people working hard for their landlords. In spite of their hard work, the landlords humiliated them.

Bama further narrates how an elder of their street had to act in a humiliating manner just because he belonged to the Dalit community. The village landlord sent the elderly man to get some vadai for him. The man held the packet by its string. He was not supposed to touch the packet as his touch would pollute the vadai. That is why, he had to carry the packet by its string. When Bama’s elder brother told her all the reasons behind this, her mind filled with revolt. She was enraged thinking why her elders work so hard for those people who despised them so much.

She wanted her people to stop paying undue respect and reverence to the upper caste people. Her brother told her that if they study hard and progress in their lives, it would help them in throwing away the indignities. Education is their weapon with which they fight back the society. Bama did the same and got many friends in her life. Education gave her double¬sided sword to fight very sharply against the unjustified caste system.

Memories of Childhood Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
How was Zitkala-Sa different from the other Native American students?
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa was a Native American girl. She had great love for her tradition and culture. She was proud of her beliefs. She held these beliefs close to her heart and felt hurt when the rest of the girls followed the foreign culture without any hesitation.

Question 2.
Mention any two reasons because of which it would take thirty minutes to an hour for Bama to reach home? (Memories of Childhood—We too are human beings)
OR
What would take ‘Bama’ half an hour to cover ten minutes distance?
Answer:
There were many reasons why Bama took long to reach home. She would watch all the fun and games going on the road, she would also look at the shops and bazaars; she loved looking at the performing monkey and the snake charmers. The various food stalls, the street plays, the political meetings, the Maariyaata temple, the pongal offerings being cooked in front of the temple—she could just go on and on looking at the beautiful sights.

Question 3.
Why was the girl tied to a chair in Memories of Childhood?
Answer:
The girl, Zitkala-Sa was refusing to accept the school’s decision to shingle the hair of all girls. According to her traditions and customs, a girl’s long hair was shingled only when captured by enemy, in mourning or for cowards. She felt insulted and hid herself. She was finally caught and forcefully tied to a chair and her long hair was chopped off.

Question 4.
Why did Zitkala-Sa not want her hair to be cut short?
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa belonged to a Native American warrior tribe. Their tradition was to keep long and heavy hair. Only those warriors, captured by the enemy, had their hair shingled. Short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards. Therefore, for her, this was absolutely atrocious.

Question 5.
When did Bama first come to know of the social discrimination faced by the people of her community?
Answer:
Bama came to know of the social discrimination when she was in class 3. On her way back from school, she saw an elder from her community carrying a small packet of eatables by a string without touching it. She found it very funny that a huge elderly man was carrying a small packet so strangely. Later on, she discovers from her brother that the real reason was that the landlords were of a higher class and they thought that their food would get polluted, if touched by people from her caste.

Question 6.
How did Zitkala-Sa try to prevent the shingling of her hair?
OR
Describe how Zitkala-Sa tried in vain to save her hair from being cut. Why did she want to save her hair?
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa went upstairs and crawled under a bed to hide herself. But to her plight, she was caught and brought downstairs and tied to a chair. Though she made many voluble protests, they were not fruitful. She cried, shook her head all the while but could not avoid her hair from being shingled.

Zitkala-Sa belonged to a Native American warrior tribe. Their tradition was to keep long and heavy hair. Only those warriors captured by the enemy had their hair shingled. Short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards. Therefore, for her, this was absolutely atrocious.

Question 7.
What are the similarities in the lives of Bama and Zitkala-Sa though they belong to different cultures?
OR
What kind of discrimination did Bama and Zitkala-Sa experience? How did they respond to their respective situations?
Answer:
Both Bama and Zitkala-Sa are victims of racial discrimination. Zitkala-Sa was a Native American and their community was treated poorly. The white skinned settlers of Europe considered local tribes as inferior. Similarly, Bama was a Dalit and was treated badly by the higher caste people. Both of them have painful experiences as they were subjected to humiliation merely as they belonged to backward tribes or communities. Both of them protest in their own ways and try their best to overcome all these humiliations. Zitkala-Sa fights against the shingling of hair by hiding, voicing out her protests aloud. Bama tries to study hard and be successful.

Question 8.
How was Zitkala-Sa’s hair cut?
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa’s hair was cut even after her resistance and strong opposition. It was all in vain since her stiff resistance was met with equally stiff efforts. She was tied to a chair and amidst her loud disapproval, her hair was cut.

Question 9.
Why did the landlord’s man ask Bama’s brother, on which street he lived? What was the significance?
Answer:
The street on which a person lived signified the caste of a person. Each street was dominated by a particular caste.

Question 10.
What did Zitkala-Sa feel when her long hair was cut?
Answer:
Zitkala-Sa was terribly shocked. She was in tears. She cried for her mother. However, no one came to comfort or reason out with her.