Class X: Fiction: The Letter by Dhumaketu

Synopsis:

Coachman Ali, who once upon a time used to be a hunter, is now leaving alone after his daughter left him after her marriage. The only thing he does every day is to get up before dawn and to go to post office for endless wait of his daughter’s letter. Workers in the post office makes fun of him, shouts at him, and shoos him away, but Ali as a devotee visits his pilgrimage every day. The Postmaster, who once insulted Ali for being ‘a pest’, is worried because of no news of his ill daughter. There he realizes the suffering Ali has been suffering since five years. In the end, he hallucinates Ali coming to post office. The story is of guilt consciousness of human being, love and faith.

Questions – Answers:

1.    Who was Ali? Where did he go daily?

Ans: Ali was an old man, in the evening of his life. He was a good hunter in his youth and was now known as "Coachman Ali" by the post office officials. He used to go to the post office every day, hoping to receive a letter from his only daughter Miriam who was married five years ago and was living in the Punjab regiment with her soldier husband.

2.    "Ali displays qualities of love and patience". Give evidence from the story to support the statement.

Ans: For solitary Ali it was impossible to follow a strenuous routine but the strength of patience and hope borne of his daughter helped him to do so. His daily attendance to the post office and taking a seat at the corner of the post office with a innumerable patience avoiding the sarcasms of the post office officials and other peons reflects his patience for the apparently triflingletter. His daily return in empty hand bearing the harsh and extreme weather and his collapsing figure shows his love for his daughter.

3.    How do you know Ali was a familiar figure at the post office?

Ans: Ali was a familiar figure at the post office. He always occupied a particular seat in a particular corner of the building. The postmen had begun to poke fun at him. When Ali did not come to the post-office for a few days, the postmen were curious to know what had stopped him. 

4.    Why did Ali give up hunting?

Ans: Ali’s only daughter Miriam had married and left him to be with her husband in the Punjab. He had no news of her and felt life had no meaning anymore. He could no longer enjoy the pleasures of hunting at this stage of life when he was old and lonely. 

5.    What impression do you form of the postmaster after reading the story 'The Letter'?

Ans: The character of the postmaster is a transmission of experience into innocence. The haughty, cold, indifferent post master ultimately changed into a touchy, mild, kind, sympathetic father. His evaluation about coachman Ali to be pest and declaring him to be a mad ultimately changed with the realization of the fatherly pain under a pitiable circumstance. At the end of the story we find the postmaster reproaching himself for failing to understand the ache of the fatherly heart of coachman Ali.

6.    The postmaster says to Ali, "What a pest you are, brother!" Do you agree with the statement? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans: I do not agree with it. But given the temperament of the postmaster at this point of the story, he behaves as he should. This speaks of the irresponsible and indifferent attitude of those in power towards the common people. In fact, the postmaster must have shown sympathy to Coachman Ali. Ali had been coming steadily to the post office for some solace from his own daughter Miriam.

7.    "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 had faith." Why were Ali's eyes filled with tears of helplessness? What had exhausted his patience but not his faith?

Ans: After the absence of several days Ali had turned up to post office with a special cause. He wanted to make sure his letters presence to him either dead or alive. When he asked for his daughter’s letter to the postmaster, the Postmaster being annoyed behaved rudely with Ali. This maltreatment had hurt Ali painfully and he could not hold his anger.

Ali’s decreasing physical energy, decaying physique, continuous hopelessness and maltreatment exhausted his patience but could not curb his faith i.e. receiving his daughter’s letter.

8.    "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?

Ans: The purified postmaster is tortured by doubt of remorse. He is utterly in the morose state.

The daughter of the postmaster was critically ill in the next town and on receiving no answer from his daughter his fatherly heart had the same feeling of coachman Ali i.e. the feeling of remorse. In the early dawn the postmaster experienced an uncanny incident, but on knowing the news of Ali’s death he was in complete dilemma about the credibility of the incident. So he was in doubt.

He is waiting for his daughter’s letter. His daughter is ill in the next town.

Extra Questions:

·         The writer carefully creates an atmosphere of loneliness and grief in the story. Write the sentences or instances from the story which symbolizes grief or sadness.
Ans.
1-........for whose sake alone he dragged along a cheerless existence.
2-But loneliness had come into his life since the day Miriam had gone away........
3-There was no one with enough sympathy or understand to guess the reason .........
4-Ali was never seen again ..........
5-But when the evening of his life was drawing in ..........
6-....... the young partridges bereft of their parents
7-........grief of separation is inescapable
8-.....weft bitterly
9-........went away empty-handed
10-But he doesn't get many letters
11-when I am here
12-His eyes were filled with tears of helplessness
13-To the grave
14-Today is my las day ;my very last, alas !
15-There were tears in Ali's eyes

·         Question:    What did Ali do in his youth? What made him leave his old ways?

Answer:    In his youth, Ali was a very skilled Shikari. He could trace and obtain the earth-brownpartridge from a bush, even when the dogs had failed to detect it. Ali was also a very skilled points man. Besides being a shikari, he would often go out fishing with his friends. He left his old ways became he had now grown old and there was no one to bring his rewards to. He also realized how much pains the animal or bird was going through, being parted from its loved ones so reflecting on all this, he gave up hunting.

·         Question:    Why did Ali go to the postmaster one fine day? How was he received by the postmaster?

Answer:    Ali hadn't been to the post office for several days. One fine day, breathing with great difficulty he went straight to the postmaster. Ali requested him to note down his address in case his letter came when he was not there. The postmaster lost his temper and calling him a pest, asked him to go away. He coldly told Ali that no one was going to eat his letter. Ali felt every humiliated at that and with tears of helplessness turned away.

·         Question:    How was Ali looked upon by the post office officials?

Answer:    Ali had been visiting the post office every single day, at five in the morning, expecting a letter from his only daughter Miriam. The officials at the post office poked fun at him by sometimes calling out his name, making him jump, thinking it was a letter from his daughter. They also called him "a mad man" who worried them everyday sitting for hours at the post office.

·         Question:    In the story, 'The letter' is the title appropriate. Substantiate your answer with instances from the story.

Answer:    The story is about Coachman Ali, once a clever shikari, waiting for a letter from his daughter, Miriam, for five long years. His daughter had got married and left him. He then understands the meaning of love and separation and gives up hunting. He waits for a letter from Miriam with boundless faith and patience tolerating the insults and teasing of the clerks in the post office. It is the arrival of Miriam's which changes the insensitive Postmaster's heart. His encounter with Ali's ghost come to collect Miriam's letter, leaves him absolutely shocked. The postmasters attitude towards letters changes. He beings to perceive them as containing a warm beating heart. He discover the essential human worth of a letter. Hence the title is appropriate as it sensitizes the reader to the importance of a letter and the promise of happiness, hope and emotion it carries with it.

Writing Skills:

Tortured by doubt and remorse, the postmaster sits in the glow of a charcoal sigri that night, waiting for news of his daughter. As he sits, he writes his diary. As the postmaster, write a diary entry in about 150 words outlining your feelings about the day’s events.

Ans:

12^th January, 1962

1:30 A.M.

Dear Diary,

I know now the value of each letter. It is a warm, beating heart; priceless to the receiver. I realize what Ali must have gone through, waiting anxiously for a letter that came, but came too late. Here I am now, waiting for one more night for my daughter’s letter, assuring me that all is well with her and that she sends me her love. Ali lived for five long years and died in the hope that his Miriam will write to her. But I had seen Ali this morning, with my very eyes. He was stooped double with age, yet when he lifted his eyes to look at me, I was shocked at the unearthly light that shone in them. And then he had vanished. Ali had indeed died three months back. I put the letter on his grave myself. Oh, how I wish that I had been more patient and understanding with him on his last day instead of brushing him aside with impatience. I am grateful to God that he gave me the opportunity of delivering Miriam’s letter to Ali with my own hands. I am sure now that Ali is at peace in Heaven. His letter, for which he has waited patiently for five years at the post office, finally arrived. I pray that God forgive me for my sins and take care of my own daughter and indeed, all the daughters in the world. Let no separation be so painful that the medium of a letter cannot bridge the gap between two loving hearts.

Class X: Not Marble, Nor Gilded Monuments

Sonnet 55: Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monuments

William Shakespeare

Concept Map:

About the poem:

This poem is the 55th sonnet of the 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare. Written in blank verses, the poem is about the futility of monuments and statues built by the kings and the powerful. ‘Not Marble, Nor the Gilded Monument’ is Shakespeare’s one of the most famous sonnet. A sonnet is a fourteen line poem. This sonnet is also known as Sonnet 55 (Shakespeare’s sonnets are also known by their numbers). Here, Shakespeare is saying that the poem, he is writing to someone unnamed, will last longer than gravestones or monuments which royal people decorate with gold on the time of their departure (death). On the other hand, the unnamed individual mentioned in this poem will live longer in human memory because he is cherished in this poem. This turned out to be a truth because this poem is still being read after four hundred years, on the other hand, those marble gravestones; golden monuments have been overturned, uprooted or destroyed by wars.

About the poet:

William Shakespeare is one of the well known poets, playwright, and also known as ‘Bard At Avon’. He has written 38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long narrative poems and many other poems. His plays have been translated and performed in many languages and in many countries.

Summary of ‘Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments’

Absolutely confident of his writing skills, the poet claims that his poetry would outline the ornate marbles, statues and gold-plated monuments built by the rich and the powerful. As a result, the name of his friend, who is referred to in his verses, would live for a much longer time than the monuments that would stand neglected and tarnished with the passage of treacherous time.

The destructive wars would leave no trace of the statues and the devastation caused by them would bring all the magnificent monuments to the ground. However, neither wars not their devastation would wipe out the memory of the ones praised in this poem.

Neither death nor the enemies’ hatred would absolutely affect their reputation and they would continue to be praised by the generations to come till the last judgments day.

The poet wishes this praiseworthy soul to live in his poetry and in the hearts of his admires till he finally rises from his grave, like all the other souls and is rewarded by God on the day of judgments.

Question and answers:

1.    Why do you think the rich and the powerful people get their statues and monuments erected in their memory?

Answer:

The rich and the powerful get monuments and statues carved on the one hand to make an ostentatious display of their wealth and on the other hand, to immortalize themselves so that the future generations know and remember them. However, the monuments and the statues fail to fulfill their wish.

2.    Describe how monuments and statues brave the ravages of time.

Answer: The statues and the monuments which the rich and the powerful get erected in their memory brave the ravages of time. Initially, they stand neglected and face the evil practices adopted by the future generations. Later, they are tarnished by the destructive wars. In short, they face the difficult and cruel times and thus, brave the ravages of wars and conflicts.

3.    Why does the poetry refer to time as being ‘sluttish’?

Answer: Time has been personified here as a slut which means being disloyal and untrustworthy. The poet calls time sluttish as it is not loyal to anyone. Just as a slut, loses its charm and beauty with time, the princes and the powerful, who enjoyed great privileges and popularity at one time get lost and forgotten with the passage of time. The ornate monuments and statues that they get erected to perpetuate their names even after their death stand neglected after some time and eventually, they are tarnished by wars. Hence, time displays its disloyalty towards once all powerful kings. The minds and the morals of the people change with the changing times. Wasteful wars, conflicts, etc dominate the cultural changes of the times. Unfortunately, the practices and behavior of the people get sluttish and unclean with the change in their time. Thus, the poet refers time as ‘sluttish’.

4.    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: Forces of nature or wars can destroy human beings, animals, cities, and even monuments. The power of the God of war, Mars, has a devastating effect on everything that is mortal. However, poetry and the great creations of the poet are immune to such forces of nature. The sonnet written by the poet in praise of his friend will survive all these natural forces, wars and the ravages of time. Even the godly power of Mars can’t diminish the shine and glory of his rhyme. The poem will survive all these and be remembered till posterity.

Sure of his verses not being destroyed by forces of nature, wars and the unmatchable power of God, the poet reveals his self-confidence, optimism and his immense faith in the power of his poetry. He conveys that ‘Pen is mightier than the sword’.

5.    The poet uses alliteration to heighten the musical quality of the sonnet. Note down the examples of alliteration in the poem.

Answer: Note the use of alliteration in the third line, with the two words "shall shine." This is something that is used in various places in this sonnet, for example in "wasteful war." Following are some of the instances of alliteration:

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme,
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword, nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
 

6.    Identify Shakespeare's use of personification in the poem.

Personification is a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities. In this poem, personification is used when referencing the marble monuments' capacity to have life. 

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments

Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;

In addition, the poetry is given the ability to have power and life.  In the second quatrain, war is wasteful and granted the capability to overturn statues and ruin brick work. 

In the third quatrain, the poem is alive according to the poet.

Imagery:

But you shall shine more bright in these contents 
Than unswept stone besmear'd with sluttish time.

There is a powerful image in the way in which "time" is personified as a character who is "sluttish" and "besmears" the tombs around her with her mess. The description helps to build up a powerful contrast with the person this sonnet is addressed to, who will "shine" compared to the dull and dirty tombs that time sullies.

Nor Mars his sword, nor war's quick fire shall burn

The mythological allusion to Mars the Greek god of war serves to strengthen the image of time as a brutal entity. 

Extra Questions:

a)   How, according to the poet, will his beloved outlive monument and time?

According to the poet, his beloved, is captured in this sonnet, and therefore shall outlive the marble and golden monuments built by the princes, because the monument shall get spoiled by time.

b)   How does the poet immortalize his beloved?

The poet immortalizes his beloved by stating that his beloved shall live forever in this sonnet and in the eyes of future generations. Also, this poem will wear out this world till the judgment day and outlive it.

c)   What is the moral of the poem?

The moral of the poem is that literary art is not affected by time, though marble and gilded monuments are. They are ravaged by time it will have no effect on his beloved who is a living record in this sonnet. Time is shown as a great leveler and destroyer here.

Class IX: The Solitary Reaper

The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

About William Wordsworth:

William Wordsworth, also known as ‘the nature poet’, is known for his love for nature and its separate status in his poetry. He believed that nature gives us joy and works as a healing force. He regarded nature as the great moral teacher. He is concerned with spiritual significance of nature.

About Romanticism:

Romantic period in literature is the time period after the age of reason and before the Victorian period. Romanticism talks about untamed nature, emotions, imagination, supernatural elements, and focus on individual.

Short answer Questions:

1.    What were the poet's first thoughts when he saw the solitary reaper?

The poet was so moved by the reaper working all alone in the fields, singing her song, that he felt the scene should not be disturbed. The slightest noise would be jarring. So he stood there quietly watching her at her work.

2.    Why was the valley filled with music?

The song was very intense and melodious. The beauty of the girl's voice was so deep, that the entire valley echoed with the song.

3.    To what does the poet compare the reaper's song?

The young maiden's song was inspiring and welcome to the poet, just as the nightingale's song in the desert which is indicative of an oasis nearby. The song is also compared to the cuckoo's song in the far off islands of the Hebrides.

4.    How did the reaper's song affect the poet?

The reaper's song made such an impact on the poet that he carried the music with him. He could feel the beauty of the song long after he had passed the valley.

5.    “Stop here or gently pass!” Why does the speaker say this?
The poet is so charmed by the sweet song of the solitary reaper that he does not want anybody to disturb her in her song. Thus he asks the passer by either to listen to the song or to pass by gently.

6.    What are the poet's guesses about the theme of the solitary reaper song?
The song of the solitary reaper has a sad tone. So the poet guesses that it about some unhappy incidents like battle of long past. It may all so be about so common sorrow, lass or pain of the present time.

7.    "Breaking the silence of the seas among the farthest Hebrides"------- What is meant by silent of seas? How does the silent break?
Ans. 'The silence of the seas' means stir less, lifeless, still atmosphere of the frozen seas in the north west of the Scotland. The deep silence is shattered in spring by the thrilling voice of the cuckoo.

Long answer Questions:

a)    Why did the poet compare the song of the solitary reaper with those of the nightingale and the cuckoo - bird? What did he think of the maiden's song?

The poet was deeply moved by the sweet melancholic song of the Highland lass. It was so profound that be compared it with the song of the nightingale and the cuckoo - bird. The nightingale sings to welcome weary travellers in the Arabian Desert - the maiden's singing is compared to the soothing effect of the nightingales singing on the travellers. Similarly the cuckoo - bird's song announces the onset of spring in the Hebrides Island and this singing is so pleasant that it breaks the silence of the gloomy winter - the maiden's singing has the same effect on the poet. The entire valley was overflowing with this music and the melody lingered on in the poets ears long after she had completed singing her song.

b)    How does the poet create an atmosphere of silence in the poem?

In the beautiful lyric, “The Solitary Reaper” Wordsworth nicely evokes an atmosphere of silence through suggestions. The reaper girl reaps the harvest in the valle and sings a sad song. The deluge of melody overflows the valley and captivates the poet and his companions. The uphill flight of the song suggests that silence prevails in the whole area. Again, the poet describes the Hebrides in winter when the surrounding seas get frozen and the fishermen shift to their upland camps. The entire area remains enveloped in deep silence which, as the poet imagines, is broken by the thrilling voice of the cuckoo bird. Thus, through subtle suggestions the poet evokes an atmosphere of silence in the present poem under discussion.

c)    What was the impact of the song of the reaper girl on Nature?

The poet listened to the song of the solitary reaper spell-bound. He could not move an inch. The haunting melody of the sad song arrested his heart and soul. Similarly, Nature was deeply moved by the „plaintive strain‟ of the solitary girl. There was no other noise in Nature when the reaper girl was pouring out her soul in absorbing melody. Like the poet, Nature was so profoundly affected by the song that she lay in trance for the time being.

Theme based Questions:

·         Briefly explain the significance of the title of the poem.

In the superb lyric, “The Solitary Reaper” the focus has been laid on the supreme sweetness of the song sung by an unknown reaper girl and its profound impact on the poet. The lonely waif was reaping and singing simultaneously a melancholy song in a desolate cornfield. The poet listened to her song motionlessly. As he failed to understand the meaning of the song, he guessed that the song might about some old unhappy incidents or about the daily oppression of the girl. In fact, the poem gyrates round the reaper’s song and the poet’s emotional response to it. Hence the title is apt.

·         Wordsworth the poet can hear music in nature. What effect does this have on him? Discuss this point in relation to "The Solitary Reaper."

In seeing Wordsworth as the speaker in "The Solitary Reaper," it becomes clear that he senses a musical quality regarding being in nature.  Human consciousness, the natural setting, and the music intrinsic to this experience are all convergent aspects of the Romantic notion of identity that Wordsworth articulates.  The opening lines of the poem speak to this:  "Reaping and singing by herself."  In casting the subject of the poem in this light, Wordsworth suggests a natural beauty in the setting that has unfolded in front of him.  Nature's music is evident in the song the reaper sings. Wordsworth makes the argument that there is music in nature in the specific form of the reaper's song because it enables him to be transformed and taken to another world. The expansion of Wordsworth's moral and spiritual imagination is how nature's music changes anyone who partakes in it.  The effect that this song of the natural world has on Wordsworth is to enable the expansion of his imagination, the ability to experience what can be in the face of what is.

The song has more meaning for Wordsworth because it takes place in something very natural.  It is natural for Wordsworth to see the woman in the field, hear her song, and see everything blend into something transformative.  This experience is where nature's music lies for Wordsworth.  This experience is one that "could have no ending."  Even after it dissipates, the resonant echoes of the music that the natural setting provided lingers on for Wordsworth:  "The music in my heart I bore,/ Long after it was heard no more."  For Wordsworth, this is where the natural song in nature continues endlessly. 

Figures of speech

Metaphor:

The poet compares the reaper with the nightingale and cuckoo respectively. He even claims that her son is more thrilling and more beautiful than those of the two birds.

Apostrophe:

The poem begins with an apostrophe. The apostrophe is a figure of speech in which an imaginary person or a thing is addressed as if present and capable of understanding.

Imagery:

Throughout the poem, Wordsworth uses visual imagery to have the reader’s picture what he is discussing. For example, in the beginning stanza, Wordsworth mentions a woman working in a field by herself singing. With this image the readers can picture cutting and harvesting grains in a field while singing. This is significant to the poem because the readers can better visualize the woman and the environment in which the poem takes place in. Another image that is in the poem, is the picture of somebody walking over a hill listening to the songs the woman is singing. This is significant to the poem because according to Wordsworth, everybody stops to listen to the woman sing. This image supports the statement of travelers stopping to listen and watch her harvest the grains on her field.

Class X: Notice Writing

Writing a Notice

What is a notice?

A notice is information regarding an important event that is about to happen or that has happened. It is publicly displayed -- a kind of information for others to know and follow:

·         The notice must contain complete information

·         The message with essential details includes:

-         an eye-catching caption - preferably a phrase and not a sentence

-         important details

-         the name of the body / organization organizing the event

Format of the notice

Given below is the format of the notice.

As the Head Boy/Head Girl of your school, you are organizing a Career Counseling session for IX and X class students of your school. Write a notice giving details to be displayed on your school notice board in about 50 words.

Question:

You are Dr. Ajay Balkrishnan, the Principal of X.Y.Z. High School. Your school has decided to introduce Mass Media Studies as a subject under the vocational stream. This is going to help students who want to pursue a career in films, its production and other attached fields. Write a notice for your school notice board informing all students who are studying in class X regarding the course.

  X. Y. Z. High School, A.B.C. City

Date: July 15, 2014                          NOTICE                                          

Mass Media Studies Launch

This is to inform all the students of Class X that our school has decided to introduce Mass Media Studies as a subject under the vocational stream. The purpose of including Mass Media Studies is to open variety of career option for our school students. This is going to help the students in pursuing a career in film, film production and other supplementary fields.

Interested students can meet Prof. Rajiv Gupta for further details. Admission for the Mass Media Studies will start from the next academic year.

Dr. Ajay Balkrishanan

Principal, X.Y.Z. High School

Class X: Writing Narrative Piece

Writing a Narrative Piece

What is narrative writing?

To narrate means to tell someone about some even or an experience, or the give detailed account of an event. It is a kind of commentary for a film. It includes particulars of course of events presented in writing.

While writing narrative piece of literature, one has to be careful about flow of events and the details of the events about which the writer is supposed to talk. The writer should write in such a way that it should sound like a story telling. The language should be casual. One should write it from first person’s point of view (if it is asked to write in that form).

Sample of narrative writing

Rahul is working as a machinist. He is your co worker but also a good friend. When you see him working with so much diligence and dedication, you feel happy at having supported him when his father was against him learning to be a Machinist. Write a narrative piece on Rahul's journey of self realization and success and how your support helped him achieve his ambition.

Whenever I see Rahul, my friend and co-worker, working sincerely with dedication, I feel proud of it for having ‘Never Give Up’ attitude. I still remember Rahul who came to my home at late night in his dirty clothes and eyes filled with tears. My father who is not so fond of friends visiting my place late night called Rahul inside and talked to him about his condition. That time, I came to know more about Rahul’s family and his ambition. The way he talked to my father revealed his ambition to be a machinist and his father’s ambition to make him an engineer. He was in dilemma just like Hamlet. My father gave him food and a mat to sleep in the verandah of our house. Next day, we had a talk with him during breakfast.

Rahul told us about his hobbies of handling toys. Usually children play with toys, but in his childhood, Rahul did not play with toys, but broke them. He then would assemble the different parts of the toy and make it as it was earlier. He told that this hobby of him developed his liking towards machines, screws and hammers. His father wanted him to be a computer engineer which Rahul didn’t like. His father threw him out of the house, and he came at our place to ask for help. My father assured him that he would help him in becoming a machinist. Father told me to help Rahul in all the possible ways.

Rahul got admission for Mechanical in Indian Polytechnic College of our town. He used to work late nights in the garage next to our house, doing something with the machines in the dim lights. His late night struggle with machines, his getting early morning for reading the books and then going to college was making me visualize his success.  I used to help him in understanding different concepts in Mathematics. I used to pack tiffins for both of us so that he would not be hungry throughout the day. Finally, Rahul passed with flying colours. We both got a job in TATA Motors as Mechanical Engineers. If I were him I would have given up long back.

Class IX: Villa for Sale Notes

Villa for Sale

Questions – Answers

1.    Why does Jeanne want to buy a villa?

Ans: Jeanne wants to buy a villa for her parents so that they can come every year and stay there from the beginning of April until the end of September along with Jeanne’s sister’s children.

2.    Why is Gaston not interested in buying the villa in the beginning?

Ans: Gaston is not interested in buying the villa in the beginning because he knows that Jeanne wants to buy the villa for her parents who he doesn’t like quietly. Also, the villa is not big and good enough to be bought for two hundred thousand francs. The villa has a very small garden and small salon which Gaston doesn’t like.

3.    Mrs. Al Smith makes many statements about the French. Pick out any two and explain them.

Ans:

Statement no. 1

“You French people have a cute way of doing business!”

Here, Mrs. Al Smith trying is not happy with the way sign board was displayed i.e. without the mention of the price. She comments on French people saying that French people are bad at business. She comments that French people negotiate.

Statement no. 2

“Frenchmen usually have to consult about ten people before they get a move on.”

Here, Mrs. Al Smith comments on the way French people do the business of buying and selling. She says that French people are not decisive. They are confused with their decisions. They take a long time for taking decision.

4.    Juliette says "................... now I have only one thought that is to get the wretched place off my hands. I would sacrifice it at any price", Does she stick to her words? Why / Why not?

Ans: No. Juliette does not stick to her words. When she notices Jeanne taking interest in buying the villa, she raises the price of her villa. Also, she shows her house to Jeanne only to lure her. When Gaston asks her the final price, she avoids answering him and takes his wife to the first floor.

5.    Who is better in business - Juliette or Gaston? Why?

Ans: Gaston is better in business. Here, he makes money very easily. When he understands the urgent need of Mrs. Al Smith, he buys the villa immediately and thus, makes the profit of one hundred thousand francs. He sells Juliette’s house without any effort and earns a good amount.

6.    Do you like/dislike Gaston? Give your reasons.

Ans: Yes, I like Gaston because he is a practical person. He is aware of Jeanne’s intention of buying the villa (that she wants to purchase the villa for her parents). He is smart enough to not to tell Mrs. Al Smith the price of the villa when she insists. He tells her higher price which she pays immediately. Thus, he does a good deal without taking efforts. He is smart businessmen and a witty character.

7.    Write the character sketch of Juliette.

Juliette is a smart lady who knows what to sell and how to sell. She deliberately writes SALE instead of SELL in order to attract more customers. She is an intelligent person who knows her needs of the hour and who takes a big decision of selling her villa. She is a self-esteemed person. She, though suffering from financial problems, doesn’t give a thought about her maid’s advice of working as a cook in the movie. She is a smart business woman who tries her best in convincing the customer with her words. She knows that her villa is not so good but she always present her villa as if it the best villa in the world. She is a person who understand other people, that is the reason she, when realizes that Gaston in not actually interested in buying the villa, takes Jeanne upstairs so that Jeanne can make her mind. She is a woman with positive attitude and never to give up attitude.

8.    Write the character analysis of Gaston.

Gaston is the one who brings more fun and laughs in the play. He is the husband of Jeanne who knows his wife’s intentions of buying the villa for her parents. That is the reason; he is less interested in purchasing the villa. He is a person who, though respect his in-laws, but doesn’t like the in-laws staying with him half the time of the year. He is a good bargain. He is practical. He understands the actual price of the villa and doesn’t fall prey to Juliette’s praise of the house. He is a comical person who keeps on taunting about the villa and its size. He is a smart businessman. He listens to each and every comment made by Mrs Al Smith about French people, but at the same time, he knows that she will buy the villa. He manages to sell the villa for the price for more than the actual price and makes benefit of one hundred francs. He is a smart person who plays with words and knows when to take decision of selling and buying.

Extra Questions:

·         Who were Gaston and Jeanne?

Gaston and Jeanne were the husband and the wife who came to see the villa with intention of buying it.

·         Who was Mrs. Al Smith and where was she living?

Mrs. Al Smith was a film star. She was from America.

·         Why did the maid ask for a leave of three hours?

Maid asked for a leave of three hours because she wanted to go for shooting of a film where she was offered the role of a maid and for that she was paid one hundred francs.

Writing Skills

Imagine yourself as Juliette. Write a diary entry about selling your villa at a good price.

Friday

16^th July, 2014

Dear Diary,

It was a wonderful day. I still can’t believe that my villa has been sold for a whooping and unexpected amount. To be honest, I was actually fed up of this villa, and was not able to sell it. I was worried about it. This morning itself, I told my maid that I would give this villa even for one hundred francs. But I got much more than my expectations.

The couple who bought my villa was very nice. They are from good background. While Jeanne is kind, her husband Gaston is a practical person. But finally, I convinced them to purchase the villa, and now I am feeling like the happiest person on earth. I was in urgent need of money. Now, I can go to London and spend some time with my freedom.

I hope that Jeanne and Gaston will have lots of fun and they will live a fruitful life there.

Juliette

Class IX: Informal Letter

Letter Writing

A letter is a type, written or printed message used for communication between two people, organization, institutes, etc.

A letter is of two types:

·         Formal Letter

·         Informal Letter

Informal Letters

They are either written to friends, relatives or juniors, and are not written for any official purpose. These letters or the themes of these letters do not reflect any kind of senior-junior relationship or official scenario. Such letters are called as informal letters. In simple language, informal letters are friendly letters that are written to friends, relatives and sometimes to our juniors.

Formal Letters

These letters are written either for asking permission or for requesting for something or for ordering or commanding someone. In all the scenarios, there was official relationship between the people mentioned. The letters were also written for the official purposes only. Writing such letters is a formality in their respective institutes or organizations.

Informal Letter: Sample

B-401, Ram Apts

M.G. Road

XYZ City

12 February, 2014

Dear Suman,

It was my dream that whenever I should go on a vacation to Goa, I would go with you because since childhood we have been best friend. Sadly, I got a chance to go to Goa along with my Geography Department friends, and I could not control myself for sharing my experience with you.

Our journey to Goa by train was satisfactory. As we reached Goa, the first thing that appealed to me is the golden sand on the white beach of Goa. The endless Arabian Sea stretching towards the horizon kept me enthralled till the end of the journey. The hermit crab which I caught hiding inside the shell on the Culungate Beach is one of the gifts for you. I missed here so much. Wish you were a part of this mesmerizing experience. A lot of shopping, a lot of eating and some project work made this trip memorable but it would have been great with you.

Don’t worry. Next time when we will go for a trip to Goa, I will make sure that I show you all the places that I visited. Tell Aunty that I have got something for her from Goa. Give my love to all.

Yours lovingly,

Roshni

If we observe the sample letter, we will come to know that the letter is divided into many parts as given below:

·         Address of the sender

·         Date

·         Salutation or greeting

·         Introductory paragraph

·         Body of the letter

·         Concluding paragraph

·         Ending salutation